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January 18th, 2012
01:46 pm - Internet blackout day: See you all on Thursday
Originally posted by  box_in_the_box at Internet blackout day: See you all on Thursday Google: End Piracy, Not Liberty
Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the U.S.
Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.
The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.
Tell Congress: Don't censor the Web
Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There's no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of U.S. jobs.
Too much is at stake — please vote NO on PIPA and SOPA.
78751
Current Tags: activism, adverts, the internets
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January 11th, 2012
10:13 pm - Electronic Cigarette Info
I'm getting about 2 requests every week for information about the e-cigarettes, so I'm just going to write my own personal FAQ here. This is public, so feel free to share it. Please note: this is based on my own personal experience after asking lots of questions, reading the whole Vapor Pro website, and then my own experiences with my e-cig. It's not meant to be the be-all, end-all guide, just some answers to questions my friends ask me a lot. Don't hesitate to comment with a question about any of this, just understand that my experience is limited mainly to my Joye-510 and one website, and that I know very little about other brands or sites. This post is also up on my Facebook, if it's easier for you to share it with a friend there than here.
( Q & A under the cutCollapse )
Q: Does it work?
A: In almost 3 months, I have thought it a good idea to try a regular cigarette twice. One of those times, I was extraordinarily drunk. Both times, I found myself unable to finish more than a third of the cigarette. It didn't taste good at all, and even the Ultra-Light hit too hard. This is huge for me, because other times I've quit smoking, it was far too easy for me to pick it right back up, because the cigarettes tasted good and didn't hurt to smoke. Even after the time I had quit for 3 years, it took just a few weeks for me to get back up to a pack a day. The benefit of the e-cig for me is that I haven't given up my habit, just changed it to something far less expensive and unhealthy. Eventually (and I'm going to take this very slowly), I'll transition to juices with less and less nicotine. There are even juices with no nicotine at all. Granted, 3 months is really too soon to tell for sure if it really works, but so far I'm doing great with it. Other people smoke around me and it smells bad (it never used to) and I don't want to smoke anything but my e-cig.
It's important to note that the e-cig does not really hit like a regular cigarette. The first few hits feel all sorts of wrong to most people. That's normal. It took me about two hours to get used to the different feel in my throat and learn to make the e-cig hit just how I wanted it to. It's nice and smooth now, with just a little bit of hit to my throat when I take a big puff. There are additives you can buy if you actually miss that harsh feeling, but I'm not interested.
78751
Current Mood:  accomplished
Current Music: H.I.M. - Beyond Redemption
Current Tags: rampant consumerism, smokes
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November 30th, 2011
April 15th, 2011
03:11 am - total bad-ass moment.
I totally almost bit it tonight on my bike. And by "it," I mean the ground, or possibly a very thick hard metal railing on a bike trail/bridge under Mopac (actually, pretty much right near the point marked "F," if I've got my bearings right; it was either there, or closer to Enfield Rd). I was on the social ride, and had lost track of Angry Punk Rocker, which didn't concern me overly much, so I was going at a good clip with plenty of room in front and to my sides, when some hipster kid in a green shirt pedaled backward too hard on his fixed-gear. He was probably only trying to slow down, but he ended up almost totally stopping short AND jerking his bike in front of mine. So I crashed into him, careened off, put my feet down to get some balance, wobbled some more, slammed into the rail/wall to my right, and ended up skidding along that for a good few seconds before I regained full control of my bike.
That said, I did not fall off my bike in front of 250 or so other riders. I did not even slow down. The friction rash on my arm from the rail proves it. As soon as I pulled myself off the wall, I was pedaling again without missing a beat. I heard cheers and shouts of "good job, girl!" from other cyclists behind me, so I threw a goat and kept riding.
78751
Current Mood:  chipper
Current Music: Hepcat - Can't Wait
Current Tags: austin, bike riding, glee
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March 11th, 2011
04:24 am - ...WTF.
Originally posted by lavenderfrost at ...WTF.Well, there goes my good mood for the day. NYTimes, the bastion of quality reporting, reported on the gang-rape of an 11 year-old girl in Texas that's led to charges against 18 high-school boys so far - all well and good so far, right? Shit like this NEEDS publicity to raise awareness. Only problem is, they repeated - without refutation or critical commentary - the claims that the girl brought the rape on herself because of the way she was dressed. Choice Quotes (No cut b/c everyone needs to see this - DEAL.):“It’s just destroyed our community,” said Sheila Harrison, 48, a hospital worker who says she knows several of the defendants. “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.” As opposed to the victim, who's gonna bounce back lickety-fucking-split, right? Residents in the neighborhood where the abandoned trailer stands — known as the Quarters — said the victim had been visiting various friends there for months. They said she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said. TOTALLY BEGGING FOR IT. THIS IS RAPE CULTURE, PEOPLE.Now, what's being said and done in this community is bad enough, but the NY Times should be fucking ashamed of themselves right now. ( Here's how to contact NYT: )
United States, Texas, Austin
Current Mood:  angry
Current Tags: activism, assholes, wtf
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February 27th, 2011
02:46 am - (no subject)
In case you didn't catch it on FB, Crissy is dying. Like, this week. I thought she was just putting on a bit of weight from actually keeping her food down since she got those teeth yanked, but apparently, her abdomen was full of fluid. It seems her whole intestinal tract is falling apart and full of tumors.
They're giving her steroids through tonight to try and buy her a few days, and assuming they can stabilize her through that, I get to take her home in the morning and keep her comfortable until she dies. I don't get to go to work this week, I'm going to be spending every minute possible with her. I'd be afraid to leave her side for long enough for a shift.
I am not anywhere close to ok. A girlfriend from my posse drove up from San Antonio to be here with me tonight, and that and some wine and Xanax are the only things keeping me from sobbing in a corner.
78751
Current Tags: austin, friends, kittycats
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October 3rd, 2009
05:55 pm - there's a first time for everything
In 7 years on LiveJournal, I have not once actually cleaned my friendslist. Until today.
This was step one. 71 humans, and a bunch of communities and feeds, totalling over 100 little checkboxes on the "Edit Friends" page. Pretty much all of them are "abandoned," at least as far as I know. If you're one of the people I deleted, and I'm wrong, and you're actually still here and reading and want to be included, feel free to drop a comment or private message and let me know to add you back.
The next round is going to be tougher, as I'm going to have to start pruning from the list of people who actually update.
Hudson County, NJ
Current Tags: el-jay/dreamwidth, friends
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August 19th, 2009
05:16 pm - one year ago today
I still miss you, and think about you every day, Jack. ♥
Current Mood:  melancholy
Current Tags: kittycats, pictures
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May 1st, 2009
March 27th, 2009
12:23 am - route planning (it's really hard to find free info about mountain highway grades)
I know I've got a few truckers, ex-truckers, and general road-trippers reading here. I need your help.
I'm pulling a trailer from (metro) Phoenix to Norman, Oklahoma.
In the interest of not only gas mileage, but wear and tear on my van, I'm trying to find the least steep way uphill to get from here to I-40.
up AZ87, though Payson, and then along 277 to Holbrook, to I-40E, has been suggested. This is my top choice. The only reason I'm unsure is that for the one good recommendation for it I've had, I've also had a person or two tell me that this would be unpleasant.
My other choices seem to be:
- going straight up I-17 to I-40E, which probably wins for speed, but I know from experience that the grades are 1- steep, and 2- curvy like Anna Nicole Smith.
- Taking I-10 southeast, through Tucson, into NM, and then up I-25 to catch I-40E. This would be the winner for absolutely least steep, but it adds a lot of time to the ride.
Anyone who's been these ways and can tell me about the grades on 87 and 277, or anyone who's good with topographical maps of highways, please help?
Mesa, AZ
Current Mood:  curious
Current Music: Insane Clown Posse - Bodies Fly
Current Tags: arizona, lazyweb, my vehicle, plans, travel
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February 5th, 2009
12:50 pm - (no subject)
Today:
- did not lock myself out of house. yay!
- heading to the gym soon, for my "one free trainer session" and workout
- then, shower at the gym, and head to work
- my cat is on top of a very high set of shelves; her new game seems to be diving onto my squishy bed from it. cute.
- somehow, without noticing I was doing it, I have managed to chew the insides of my cheeks into hamburger. owwies.
Mesa, AZ
Current Mood: chipper
Current Tags: arizona, injuries, life around the house, lulz, weight loss and exercise
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November 29th, 2008
11:54 pm - like an autistic kid with a blowtorch
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/symptoms.htm
I do not have a rash, but otherwise, my symptoms match those of West Nile Fever. Colleen says I'm being a hypochondriac. I expressed a concern that it might still develop into encephalitis (scroll down the CDC page) and  Chris (on speakerphone) pointed out that dinosaurs might come out of my butt.
Now I'm scared that I might develop Dinosaurilitis. Colleen wants a dinosaur of her own if I poop one... I just don;t want a horribly distended dinosaur-ass.
This led to a rousing discussion between the 3 tents of Castle Discordia with a vote of what we'd rather poop: a Velociraptor or a Brontosaurus.
I see this as mere proof that my brain is swelling.
Hammond, LA
Current Mood:  distressed
Current Tags: large dinosaur cock, louisiana, lulz, sick
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November 6th, 2008
11:49 am - all NJ/NYC/Brooklyn locals please read!!!
Soren is the partner of a friend I've had on this site for years, and been fortunate enough to hang with all of once. These are really great people, if you're in Brooklyn or NYC or even NJ, please go to this and throw some money their way.
"Save Soren!!! Our good friend Soren (of Velma and Soren deSelby-Bowen) unexpectedly had a stroke about a month ago and now he's in a bad way. We are confident that he will pull through but once he does he and Velma will be facing a huge financial burden as he does not have health insurance. This Saturday night will be our meager attempt to raise some money for them to help them through these difficult times. All the money from the door and a portion of our merch sales will go towards the cause.
If you can't attend the show please feel free to contribute anyway. No matter what, the lovely Velma (who has been a rock through all this) urges everyone to get their blood pressure checked. You can control your blood pressure through diet and exercise and prevent this from happening...you DO NOT want to have a stroke.
On Saturday we will have more information for everyone in addition to some
kick-ass rock 'n' roll. As a bonus, this is a female-fronted band night so
there will be a slew of hot rocker chicks in the vicinity. Hope to see you
there. Peace out!
-Sarah, SN
www.myspace.com/systemnoise
*Save Soren!!!*
*System Noise @ Desmond's Tavern*
*433 Park Avenue South (btw. 29th and 30th St. NYC)*
*Sat. Nov. 8th, 10pm*
*$10/21+*"
Hammond, LA
Current Mood: hopeful
Current Tags: activism, el-jay/dreamwidth, friends, nyc
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11:18 am - lololol
Crissy is finally truly an internet celebrity!
I took this picture a few months ago, a few of you LOLcat'ed it on Cheezeburger, and now it's showing up on sites I've never even been to!
PS - she's doing great right now, roaming around camp on her lead, only occasionally turning into a tangled-up-retard-cat. The other day, there was a highly entertaining summit meeting between her and some other Khitns-about-camp. (Crissy is the only cat around who's over a year old.) She and Calliope did not hiss at each other, and then Calliope ran Velcro out of camp, and was permitted to loiter around the kitchen for the evening in return. The fluffy black boycat whose name I cannot remember is not welcome in the presence of any of these little ladies, by their decree, and baby boy kitty Roscoe hasn't made his way over here yet; we'll see how that goes.
Hammond, LA
Current Mood:  amused
Current Music: Metallica in the next camp over
Current Tags: kittycats, lulz, pictures, the internets
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November 4th, 2008
10:38 pm - 333 electoral votes.
PS. This userpicture was taken in AZ. ANNNDD WHAT!
Hammond, LA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Corrosion Of Conformity - Vote With A Bullet
Current Tags: activism
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October 23rd, 2008
11:57 am - Boxing Against Breast Cancer
My friend Jared is doing something awesome... Please help him out if you can. From lord_pendulous's journal:
"Crunch is doing this event called Knockout Breast Cancer Saturday. It's a boxing event to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.
I need help two ways...the first is I am raising money so any donations will help. If you decide to donate I need to get your info so I can have Crunch send you a special thank you card that you can use as a tax write off. If I collect a minimum of $250 I will be included in a special sparring class that includes a lot of cool free boxing gear including new sparring gloves. I also get to spar a few rounds against a few people including a pro boxer for one round. So yes people I am willing to get beat up to fight breast cancer.
EDIT : Thanks to a helpful Bubbles I have figured it out. If you go to paypal and use my email address killercadoogan@gmail.com you can make a donation. For accounting purposes when you do please comment on lord_pendulous with your name, address and donation amount so I can add it to the sheet. Comments will be screened.
Please help me literally fight against breast cancer. If you'd like please post this to your journals to help me out.
Thank you in advance for all your help. I love you all."
Rutherford, NJ
Current Mood:  needing a shower
Current Tags: activism, adverts, friends, money
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October 17th, 2008
04:54 am - (no subject)
Poop. I am now up to date on every episode of Weeds. Except season 4, episode 11. Which I know exactly where to get streaming, but my connection is too slow to even try it.
Also. Poop. I stayed up until nearly 5am watching TV on my computer when I have a bunch of shit to do tomorrow.
Epic fail.
Crownsville, MD
Current Mood:  dorky
Current Tags: geeking, sleep, verizon
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October 3rd, 2008
12:20 pm - goodmorning
Quote of the morning:
Regan: "I'm so glad you found not a loser. Because I'd really hate to have to get into a fistfight with your boyfriend. He looks pretty tough, I might have to wear my boots or something."
Ants are trying to take over my tent. In theory, this means I should stop eating in here. But with another person (my girl Regan) staying here, that's even less likely to happen. The spider destroyer spray works on them too, though.
Crownsville, MD
Current Mood: chipper
Current Tags: chris, friends, lulz, quotes, tent life
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September 21st, 2008
10:41 pm - deep thoughts #90763
Crissy is sitting/walking back and forth across my shoulders as I type this.
It's sort of nice, actually. Like a shoulder massage. Except with claws.
my tent
Current Mood:  loved
Current Tags: kittycats, lulz
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September 15th, 2008
12:27 pm - horrible spider battle and awesome boyfriend
Saturday night, I was tired. Really tired. Not only had I had a long day at work, but the night before, I hadn't slept all too well. The normally quiet campground was full of loud douchebags. So on Saturday, all I really wanted was to go online for a bit and crash out.
After being online for a bit, I realized that my internet energy was going to outlast my computer battery, so I brought the whole works over to my van and charged up while geeking out. Very nice.
When I left the tent, I checked it for spiders, and there were none. But when I got back, there were two big motherfuckers. The smaller of the two was hanging from my rainfly, right over the door. The big black one with a stripe was on the actual tent. I was brave, and reached into my tent around them to get the special spider killing bug spray, and began cackling maniacally as I hosed them down with the stuff. "Yeah, you like that, bitches??? DIE!!! DIE!!!"
The smaller one died pretty obediently, but he had a strong web, and stayed hanging from it. I had to look at him and tell him I'd deal with him later, though, because the bigger one (his body alone was the size of my index finger up to my first knuckle, nevermind the legs!) just fell off the tent and started coming for me! I kept spraying, and cursing him out (YOU FUCKER! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?!?), he kept coming at me. Finally (we're like 3 minutes into this battle, at this point), I grabbed an empty can of cold coffee drink (iced Caribou, you are my savior!) and crushed him. I had to crush him twice before he even close to stopped moving.
He was still twitching when I finally found a stick to extract the other guy from the web and therefore my tent, and went inside. Chris told me that if it was still moving when he got here, he'd kill it for me, and I was like, "Baby, if that thing is still moving tomorrow evening, I'm fucking moving my tent, that bastard will have won!"
When the wonderful creature I'm fortunate to call my boyfriend showed up yesterday, he had two cans of cold coffee drink, some Dentyne Ice, a bunch of books for me to read, and two more cans of spider killer for me. Is this guy onto me, or what? Not to mention, I think he's good for my sales; I always sell more boots when he's around. After work, we went out to eat with some people, and cleared out early, so we could hose off the day in the showers and get just as sweaty as we had started out, except in my tent. Giggity.
And now, I must be going, because I have that mythical full tank of gas for an empty van, and so I'm heading up to NJ for a few days. I'm going to hang out with Trey tonight, see my amazing, intelligent, and sexy boyfriend tomorrow (by the way, yes, we're just this vomit-inducing in person or on the phone, too), and hopefully work at some club or another on Wednesday. Thursday morning, I'm out, back here to pick up this week's shipment of boots.
Crownsville, MD
Current Mood: busy
Current Tags: chris, having an adventure!, maryland, new jersey, plans, travel, wtf
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September 13th, 2008
09:27 pm - Funny bit of Ike news coverage:
In Surfside Beach, retired carpenter and former Marine Ray Wilkinson became something of a celebrity for a day: He was the lone resident in the town of 805 to defy the order to leave. Authorities found him Saturday morning, drunk.
"I consider myself to be stupid," Wilkinson, 67, said through a thick, tobacco-stained beard. "I'm just tired of running from these things. If it's going to get you, it's going to get you."
He added: "I didn't say I had all my marbles, OK?"
-- http://www.livescience.com/environment/ap-2008-hurricane-ike.html
Crownsville, MD
Current Mood:  tired
Current Music: Paradise Lost - Hands Of Reason
Current Tags: drinkin' and druggin', lulz, texas, the internets
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August 20th, 2008
08:41 pm - (no subject)
"I had to put Jack to sleep today. I'm picking out a nice place to bury him by moonlight. Don't comment on this post unless you really have something to say more than 'I'm sorry.' I just wanted you all to know because it's probably going to be radio silence for a little bit."
-Trey posting for Nicole.
Current Tags: kittycats, maryland, note
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July 18th, 2008
02:16 pm - In short: not enough time, not enough beer, not enough money.
- I woke up late this morning, since I had been out late last night on a date of a midnight showing of BATMAN (!!!! so good!!! OMG NEW TERMINATOR MOVIE PREVIEW), and someone else had already started the sausage cooking for the last breakfast I'll have to make this week. I crawled out of bed and got on it quickly enough, though. My sandwiches no longer taste like confusion. As I suspected, this whole running-the-kitchen thing turned into more of a community service project and a cooking challenge than a profitable venture. I made breakfast every morning (matzo brai yesterday!) and found guest cooks for dinner each night. I'm good at breakfast. Not so much for dinner. I am a good manager, though, or I wouldn't even have come as close as I did to breaking even for the week. Nobody was on site.
- I may have found a place to put my cats during Pennsic. I hope. Down to the line much?
- Today, I need to sort through the kitchen and get my stuff back into my kitchen tupper to take when I leave here on Monday (dood, I can not WAIT to leave here), and clean my van. I'm not sure which of these jobs I'm dreading worse. I can't even do my own laundry, I had to send it with Ben. I also had to get on here and work on the cats thing some more.
Larkspur, CO
Current Mood: busy
Current Tags: colorado, food issues, having an adventure!, kittycats, pennsic, tent life
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June 6th, 2008
May 14th, 2008
07:16 pm - recipe for chaos
15 rennies
6 computers
4 hair dying adventures
2 cats
1 rockband game
0 competent drummers
not nearly enough cigarettes or soda cups
1 bathroom
priceless
someone else's place in Marietta, GA
Current Mood:  entertained
Current Music: my friends butchering "weezer - say it ain't so"
Current Tags: friends, lulz, party
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May 7th, 2008
04:40 pm - credit card offer
Is there anyone reading this who'd be interested in signing up for a Citibank student credit card? If you do it through me, I get $100 off my balance for each of the first five of you who get approved for a card. (Our accounts wouldn't be connected in any way, it's just a referral offer.)
I have room for 10 addresses. Hell, if you have a friend who wants a credit card, send them my way. It's through Citibank, they're reputable and reasonable, I've had my card for over two years now.
This post is public, comments are screened for your email addresses.
Marietta, GA
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Tags: adverts, friends, money
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April 11th, 2008
12:57 am - Cereal with no pants.
I don't miss running water when I live in a tent. In fact, I've become adept at peeing standing up. Frequently, I can find a truck stop or gym with a shower that's cleaner than can be found in most motels.
While I probably watch more of it since going on the road, I don't really miss TV out there. I really never used to watch it, anyway. I sort of feel like I should use it when I have access these days (hence this past winter's addiction to Tila Tequila's Shot At Love), but I don't care when it's not there.
Internet is nice, (we all know what a junkie I can be,) but I can get that without much problem. You'd be amazed at the sorts of places that have free wi-fi. And tent life doesn't usually allow much time for it, anyway.
But there's nothing quite like super cold milk. I'll probably be through half a gallon of 2% by tomorrow morning. The only thing better is being able to have super cold milk in my cereal first thing when I wake up. No pants, no driving, no $3 bowls of Cheerios at Waffle House or wherever. Did I mention no pants?
Marietta, GA
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: some movie on Mars
Current Tags: food issues, georgia, life around the house, tent life, the internets
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March 24th, 2008
03:51 pm - how we roll
Me: "Oi! You with the mohawk!"
Kid with tiny one inch high mohawk and Hollister shirt: "Yo?"
Me: "Tell me what 'Nihilism' means.
Kid: "What?"
Me: "Define nihilism."
Kid: "I have no idea what that means."
Me: "Shave your head."
I have this conversation roughly 3 times a day each Saturday and Sunday. Other good answers have included gems like, "is that something from Communism?" and "I used to be punk; mohawks aren't punk rock anymore anyway," (from a guy who couldn't answer) to which I responded, "that's true, and it's also the fault of people like YOU, sir. Congratulations on helping to pound nails in the coffin of something meaningful."
In 7 weekends, exactly one kid with a mohawk (out of an average of three I ask each weekend day) has managed, "the belief in nothing?" as an answer. I'm thinking he probably just saw "The Big Lebowski," but I told him he could keep his hair and his CBGB's shirt.
Apache Junction, AZ
Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Dead Kennedys - Viva Las Vegas
Current Tags: arizona, assholes, faire days, food for thought, irl trolling, lulz, tent life
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March 4th, 2008
08:10 pm - ok maybe not
This userpicture was taken in August 2005, on a night when I spent a lot of time wandering around in the dark and thinking about where I was. I tried to take a picture in the pitch black to find myself, and this was a piece of the result. Then I spent the morning denying everything to myself that I had learned the night before.
I know where I am, and where I was. I'm better off. It took nearly a year from that night to acknowledge, but I am.
And if we've learned anything since then, I suppose it would be to know what's on your mind and your machine, and never share your password with anyone.
At least I have.
Apache Junction, AZ
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: hippies on stage
Current Tags: i feel the cosmos!, lulz
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February 26th, 2008
11:37 pm - on a totally unrelated note from my last post:
If I was a man, you would not care.
Apache Junction, AZ
Current Mood: irritated
Current Music: Rise Against - Life Less Frightening
Current Tags: arizona, assholes, note
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