Octopus Overlords

Kewl!

dbt1949 wrote:Kewl!

Find yourself?

No, I'm still lost.

So, two months ago, I call in a "wellbeing check" to the Phila PD on behalf of one of my postal patrons. He's too weak to stand up, but the cops and I spend half an hour trying to convince him that he needed to go to the hospital. I have to leave before the incident resolves itself.
Didn't hear anything for a long time, his apartment is uninhabited. I fear the worst.
The other day, I have medicine to deliver and he is home. He thanks me profusely for saving his life. The doctors told him that he would have perished that day if it wasn't for me. Tell him I'll glad he's ok. He tells me, while in the hospital, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Tells me he's going to call the station, which he does after I leave him. Raves about me. Calls the 1800 number. Raves about me.
Yesterday, he passes away.
Fuck. All I can do is accept that I bought him two months to say goodbye.

You also showed him that people care. Never underestimate that gift you gave him at the end. He clearly appreciated it from the calls.

You did a good thing.

Remus West wrote:You also showed him that people care. Never underestimate that gift you gave him at the end. He clearly appreciated it from the calls.

Exactly.

Default wrote:Fuck. All I can do is accept that I bought him two months to say goodbye.

It's a good thing this guy had time to say his goodbyes, and good that it wasn't a long, drawn-out, dignity-depriving episode.

Strap-On spelled backwards is No Parts.

Coincidence? I think NOT!

That must have been one hell of a work meeting, Brian.

Isgrimnur wrote:That must have been one hell of a work meeting, Brian.

Even worse when the guys on the assembly line run out of stock.

Strap on, strap off.... The STRAPPER!

I just hope they don't double book this with Brian's next excursion

Premium Barbie Cruise Experience

Barbie fans young and old will jump for joy when they enter their wildly pink-decorated staterooms containing the souvenir Barbie blanket, tote bag, tiaras and teacups, toothbrush and toiletries, pillowcases and specially designed (by Mattel) nautical outfits for your very own Barbie.

I certainly hope you remember to pack her, but if not you can buy a new Barbie Cruise Vacation doll onboard in the Royal Caribbean gift shop.
...
There will be Barbie design workshop to create their own outfits for Barbie and show them off on the "pink carpet" in the Barbie Fashion Show. They'll join in a Barbie "Mermaid Dance Class" to learn the "latest dance moves" from the hit movie Barbie in Mermaid Tale 2 followed by the "Tiaras and Teacups Party" - an invitation only affair with a "whimsical" palate of pink pastries and pink lemonade. There will be enough pink to make Mary Kay mad with envy!

Will the waitresses all be 6'5",44DD cups with 23" waists?

"Why are all the Barbies puking over the rail, Daddy? Are they seasick?"

"No, cupcake, their silicone implants make them bulimic."

I received a package today from UPS that was marked "Hazardous Materials" all over it. I did not remember ordering any hazardous materials, but with all of the things I've backed on Kickstarter, who knows? So I opened it up to find that a mysterious benefactor had sent me a Sodastream dispenser.

The irony of the whole thing, is that I don't drink soda any longer. But I can use it to make carbonated water, which I do drink with a little bit of lime.

So THAT's what I ordered at the last "Martini's & Infomercials" party!

I have found a great sounding fried chicken recipe that I will be trying next time I fry chicken. this one is from Paula Dean ya'll.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons MSG
1/3 cup water
About 1 cup hot red pepper sauce (recommended: Texas Pete)
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon pepper
House seasoning, recipe follows
1 (1 to 2 1/2-pound) chicken, cut into pieces
Oil, for frying, preferably peanut oil

Directions

In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce so the egg mixture is bright orange. In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper, MSG, paprika, and . Season the chicken with the house seasoning. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with oil.

Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer then white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.
House Seasoning:

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

EDIT: I hear on the reviews that Texas Pete is not hot enough, you cant tell any heat. So I recommend Tabasco.

So, we should substitute out Pete for Tabasco (which will alter the flavor, let alone the hotness) but we should keep in the MSG for that "down South" taste?
I've never read a recipe before that called for MSG surprised at Ms Dean

If I made that recipe I'd replace the MSG with about a tablespoon of salt.

My ears feel like I've been flying and they just refuse to pop clear. It is driving me nuts.

Linux? Really?

*Looks at MCSE certificate on wall of cube*

Oh yeah. I'm screwed...

hentzau wrote:Linux? Really?

*Looks at MCSE certificate on wall of cube*

Oh yeah. I'm screwed...

Linux? Really?

Sure, I'd love to work with that. I'm rusty, but I'm sure I can pick it up.

/browsing job ads

I've discovered, however wrong it may be, that Linux is mostly for hardcore geeks, hobbyists, and people who want job security - or businesses that think "free" means "free". We're planning to run a website and database on it, and the rest of our network is Microsoft. We're not using it to get away from Microsoft, but instead because that's just what the developer is good at. He programs in a relatively obscure language coupled with Java to fill in the holes and slaps it all onto a pair of Linux servers. It then becomes my new job responsibility to work with these servers.

You can accomplish anything on a Linux server that you can on a Microsoft server and vice-versa - but the Linux server is a magnitude more arcane in practice and drastically harder to troubleshoot when something does go wrong. It's been a while, I'll admit I didn't really care for it and I may be biased by that.

When first introduced to Linux as a young'un in college, my first response was "Linux? Isn't that for people who don't bathe?"

Just got put in as project lead on a new project that next to none of my skill set can be used on. We're bringing in a Linux appliance that I have to get up and working in a couple of weeks.



Think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the contractor for this one.

hentzau wrote:Just got put in as project lead on a new project that next to none of my skill set can be used on. We're bringing in a Linux appliance that I have to get up and working in a couple of weeks.



Think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the contractor for this one.

That's me and Cisco and Linux. I have no problems with that as long as they let me choose the contractor. I have a relationship with two sets of experts that works well. It took a lot of time with "experts" to find consultants I trust to actually do what they promise to do AKA their jobs. Makes me wish I was a big boy. Both contractors command $150/hour so that's what we pay for outside help. When they (used to) want to shop around for $80/hour labor I ask someone else to take lead.

LordMortis wrote:When they (used to) want to shop around for $80/hour labor I ask someone else to take lead.

No kiddin'. ... a Cisco pro for $80 an hour? Is he in rehab?

I'm a Crisco pro. Should have called me.

hentzau wrote:Just got put in as project lead on a new project that next to none of my skill set can be used on. We're bringing in a Linux appliance that I have to get up and working in a couple of weeks.



Think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the contractor for this one.

Run a nessus scan on that appliance, then pack it back up and return to sender. My experience is they are rarely up to date and the vulnerabilities are severe. Just saying.

FishPants wrote:

hentzau wrote:Just got put in as project lead on a new project that next to none of my skill set can be used on. We're bringing in a Linux appliance that I have to get up and working in a couple of weeks.



Think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the contractor for this one.

Run a nessus scan on that appliance, then pack it back up and return to sender. My experience is they are rarely up to date and the vulnerabilities are severe. Just saying.

It's a virtual appliance. We're going to house it on a VM for a few weeks while we evaluate it. All this crap is voodoo to me right now.

For the last 15 years, I've brushed my teeth 2 (sometimes 3) times every day and flossed twice (once after lunch, once before bed).

I'm going in for my 8th root canal tomorrow afternoon. Does not compute.

hentzau wrote:

FishPants wrote:

hentzau wrote:Just got put in as project lead on a new project that next to none of my skill set can be used on. We're bringing in a Linux appliance that I have to get up and working in a couple of weeks.



Think I'm going to be leaning heavily on the contractor for this one.

Run a nessus scan on that appliance, then pack it back up and return to sender. My experience is they are rarely up to date and the vulnerabilities are severe. Just saying.

It's a virtual appliance. We're going to house it on a VM for a few weeks while we evaluate it. All this crap is voodoo to me right now.

Unless its based on a normal distro and you can update at will, scan it. You will be surprised.

My experience was with a security related appliance no less. Nessus + metasploit, you'd be surprised.

Form, meet function.

One more week until mom comes home and we can start preparing for Halloween. I'm crossing my fingers that we're not being too ambitious this year. Especially with only 4 and a half weeks to find time to turn idea into concept and then concept into costume. I may have fall back on to simple and recycled and that would make me sad.

I'm wondering how may Bozo the Clown Aurora shooters there will be this year. (Sorry, I refuse to learn his name) I can only imagine that's about as tastelessly topical as it gets for the year, so the costume will then be common.

My favorite local made for Halloween (and autumn, in general) band is being passed over for the Halloween party this year for some variety, so I have to catch them somewhere else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxUcyTV-x_c" target="_blank

And by the way, how perfect is the weather right now? I woke up to 52 degrees and sunny outside and right now it's 78 with an autumn breeze in the air. I so want to be outside, especially in the morning. I even mowed the lawn yesterday and didn't curse life and the lord above at our futile instance that we can master entropy. Well, I didn't curse until the mower stalled, anyway.

Fuck almonds.

I decided to download the free trial of World of Warcraft. 20 freaking Gig download! It'll be midnight before it's done. So far I've got about 4.5 G downloaded in the last hour or two. Not sure I want to pay the $15 a month but we'll see.

dbt1949 wrote:I decided to download the free trial of World of Warcraft. 20 freaking Gig download! It'll be midnight before it's done. So far I've got about 4.5 G downloaded in the last hour or two. Not sure I want to pay the $15 a month but we'll see.

Ahem

WoW is free to play until level 20. That should give you adequate time to let you know if you want to pay for it.

Of course, there's also Lord of the Rings Online, which is free to play, as well as many others.

I meet the minimum spec for GW2 but Can you run it? didn't say anything about the recommenced, which I assume means no.

Tried WoW for an hour. Didn't care for it. Last time I download anything that large too.

Is it sad that I was just called into the bosses office and informed that 1) I need an office and not a cube and 2) that after the last survey taken they found I make way too little money and they will taking the next five years to ease me into the pay scale they think I should have. I fear the expectations for my position are about to go through the roof in 2013. I don't want a competitive job. I don't want to climb the ladder. I don't want more faith put in me. I want a stable job that I know I can find a way to do. I'm ascared.

Skinypupy wrote:For the last 15 years, I've brushed my teeth 2 (sometimes 3) times every day and flossed twice (once after lunch, once before bed).

I'm going in for my 8th root canal tomorrow afternoon. Does not compute.

Teeth vary by person. Some are fragile, some are strong, some are granite.

I brush my teeth once a day and never floss. I haven't been to a dentist in 17 years. I have no tooth pains, no fillings, no visible issues. I suppose there might be things I don't see, but they're not bothering me in any way.

I've been thinking of going in for a screening and to have my sealant replaced, but have never liked the experience of a dentists' office. My recollections are them jabbing my gums with sharp metal pins until I bleed and then telling me that I'm not doing a good enough job.

More recently, though, the only one of my wisdom teeth that came through partially has been causing problems for the back of my mouth. It feels as though an infection has crept in and I'm fighting it off with liberal use of listerine. I dread the thought of having the tooth surgically removed. Scares the bejeezus out of me. None of my other wisdom teeth have tried coming through - just this one.