Met galen this weekend! We had a good conversation and good steak. Finished another draft of my paper over the weekend. I'm responsible for a bunch of work stuff to do before the weekend, but if I don't procrastinate too much I should be fine and head out to my fam for the long Pinkster (Pentecost) weekend.
Oh man, the schnitzel was so good. Currently eating dining hall schnitzel and thinking of better days ;) Although I got lost for 2 hours after dinner with veen (phone was dead so no maps), it was totally worth it! The conversation, I mean. Also the schnitzel.
Nice! Seeing photos of people is always funny - "So that's what they look like!" Loving the t-shirt, too.
You know, I haven't gotten any photos off of her yet at all! I should see her next week and will demand their release.
Here is the view from my friend's house in Cork. Yeah, the grass needs a trim. But it's a stellar view. I'm in great spirits, with the sun splitting the stones and getting some time in with one of my favourite people in the world. And, of course, just getting away from home for a few days. I'm thinking of moving down here. I'm feeling very relaxed.
Gorgeous. Cork was lovely when I visited a couple years ago; moving to Ireland sounds more attractive by the day.
Thus, my first game of Diplomacy ends victoriously (I'm Turkey, the yellow one). All it took was a few weeks of treachery and subterfuge... GG to: mk, Quatrarius, spencerflem, nowaypablo, zebra2, and wasoxygen. May we fight again soon.
That’s wild. Congrats and good game cough you heartless bastard. I’d love to kick off another game though for whoever is up for it. edit: I can't declare a Hubski IV without mk's blessing, but it looks like we got some interest for a rematch.
I'm on my way home from my New Mexico hiking trip. I saw some sheep. 
For the past month, I've been mostly lurking and it's going to stay this way for at least a few more weeks. At least until graduation. TL;DR: Life is busy. Good stuff: I was allowed to take two out of my five exams early, one of which is going to be tomorrow. Assuming no hiccups, I'll get to defend both of my diplomas in the first half of June. Timing is particularly important because I got heads-up from a friend about a job opening at his division of the Central Office of Measurements. They require completed higher education while simultaneously being very amenable to employing people going through grad school, which is great news for me if I'll get the job. The paper I talked about a few months ago got sent, so now we play the waiting game with editors and peers. The next one is in the process of writing and I'm doing it my own, which is challenging and oddly fun. Anxiety-inducing, but fun nonetheless. It's the one kind of second-guessing myself that I can get behind. Blood pressure is consistently at the low end of the normal range, which is a significant improvement despite going off one of the medications. It has been three consecutive weeks since I dipped below 90/60. Legs continue to feel slightly stiff for about an hour after waking up and get worse if I stand still for too long, but that's nothing more than an inconvenience. My cardiologist recommended looking into something like tai chi, but I'm reluctant to try it. Both of the places I checked out so far gave me a cult-like vibe; I'm only interested in getting some exercise. Shitty stuff: My father came to pay me an unannounced week-long visit and we were sick of each other by day two. Or at least I was. By day four I was doing everything to stay away from the house. He came here only to yell and I don't like loud people. Almost non-stop, day in and day out, listening to his seemingly unending list of grievances and generally being told how everything I do is shit. I can usually pinpoint the exact moment when he stops listening, this time he didn't even start. It didn't take long for me to give up on even attempting to have a discussion. I'm still kinda pissed off and he left over a week ago. This thing was evolving ever since my parents moved to Germany, but the shit he was saying bordered on a total personality change. Three years ago he was great. Supportive, firm, reasonable and among very few people who seemed to respect me. Now, he's just a douchebag who can only make himself feel better by putting others down. Though, it wouldn't be half as insulting if he wasn't bent on trying to leverage every argument with money. That's a bitch move, even he should know it. On the other hand, at least he hasn't threatened me with throwing me out of the house, so at least it's not the lowest move.
It's not even about earning more money, though I won't deny it's a nice perk. I want to be as well-rounded as possible and having an option of earning a theoretical physics degree while working along (mostly) engineers presses all the right buttons in my head. It wasn't easy for anyone in the family, but I don't find his way of adjusting to it as appropriate. Switching from a laid-back academic to a raging control freak is hard to swallow. I still hope he'll turn around, just don't expect it to be easy.Sounds as though the past 3 years did a number on him as well.
I've made a bunch of good trades for coffee in the last week or so. I traded two different guys for records. Several interesting albums, some 45's about $100 worth in all. A lady who works at a weed warehouse traded me 36 high power edibles, a mix of 50/50 and 100% THC. They will last me months as long as the wife doesn't get into them too hard. She is way too generous a trader. She starts insisting to pay about half way into the trade value. I got an arborist to cut down the base of a tree which I've cut down 90% of but the remaining 10% is too thick for my tiny electric chainsaw. I love trades.
I gave the local coffee shop owners' dropout daughter math lessons so she could get her GED six years ago. They still won't let me pay for my coffee no matter how much I insist. I'm an absolute shit teacher too; that girl might be the only person in the world with a GED, no degree, and an AMS membership because I couldn't answer stupid questions without teaching her about Galois theory and how to construct the real numbers. She probably could have gotten a BS in math for the amount of work she put into learning high school math from me. Bartering is fun but holy shit does it make you feel guilty when you and the people you're bartering with have very different valuation functions.A lady who works at a weed warehouse traded me 36 high power edibles, a mix of 50/50 and 100% THC. They will last me months as long as the wife doesn't get into them too hard. She is way too generous a trader. She starts insisting to pay about half way into the trade value.
No update of substance with regard to health. More testing has been scheduled after the treadmill stress test I took showed a drastic decrease in exercise capacity. Essentially as soon as I start moving I become anaerobic because blood isn't getting to all the bits it should. Another neck-needling cardiac procedure sometime soon, inner ear testing to check for/rule out true vertigo, a few other things. I have a long time friend and mentor who got a heart transplant last year after almost fifty years of living with a condition almost identical to mine. Last week she found out her donors name, Brandy, and some more information about her. She left behind a sister and a teenage daughter, and they have tentatively begun to get to know one another. There is no standard model for contact between a donor family and an organ recipient, everyone seems to do things their own way, for better or worse. My friend is a strong, kind and deeply affectionate person. I hope that Brandy's family will take some comfort in knowing that their mother's, sister's passing accomplished some good, and allowed my friend to continue her work improving cardiac care across the country, across the globe. Barring some massive development in artificial hearts in the next few years, this is the path I will be on. If you had asked me a year-ish ago if I would accept a donor organ, I would have told you no. I would have told you that there is a high demand for organs, and I have lived my life without much regret. I would have told you that someone younger than me deserved a chance at more years. I would have told you that someone older than me has obligations to dependents, and it would be unfair of me to take a heart when someone's parent might need it. I would have told you lots of things, most of it true-ish. But the real reason I didn't want one is because I truly didn't think that I was worth keeping around. I have since been convinced otherwise. In less dire news, my request to terminate my lease early because of foundation leaks/water damage was approved. We have a cute little house to move into at the end of the month, after it's had it's carpets cleaned, a few other odds and ends. For the first time in three years, I'm going to have a yard, a garden, and nobody smoking cigarettes outside my windows at all hours of the day and night. Cheers Hubski.He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.
Subheadings Hubski It's been great hanging around here the last day or two. Definitely a consequence of having time, not travelling, and spring. By "great," I mean challenging, stretching myself to be responsive, compassionate, and creative. Changes 1 . . .are afoot. Last night, with some anxiety, I gave my four tenants six-months notice. (My ex let me keep our previous domicile - a big house in another city away from him. (flagamuffin has visited). I moved here when ex told me he "needed space" in 2015. The tenants, four working women, age 24-29, have been okay and the $$ has helped me keep the house going for sure. My grievances are relatively minor -- but it's time to leap into an unknown future. Changes 2 West coast bf is moving in with me. I will fly out west in August and we will drive across the country together. Spring Planted annuals all around the house. Here's Hydrangea, Stump, and Squirrel.
According to a conversation I had this week, I've been kicked out of the nerd/geek clubhouse. Their reasoning? I've only seen one of the Marvel movies (deadpool), not watched any of the new Star Trek movies, Never seen Dr. Who, and in general do not give a shit about pop culture. I've reached the point that I don't know who the actors are. Pop music will grate against my brain when out and about and I have no idea who or what the bands are. I heard a terrible song in a waiting room and it turned out to be one of the #1 hits this year. Meanwhile I sit in a room with more computing power than all of planet earth in 1968, have four separate VPN tunnels, am running (at current count) nine different OS's on 14 running PCs/Pi's/laptops/servers/routers, have five pairs of binoculars, several telescopes, and a library that would have made a monk in the 1800's rage with envy. I have 20TB of raw astronomy data that I have been working on in my spare time (lol), I'm learning how to study for a test to get certifications, I'm active on several forums where the median education is a Master's degree (and I bring down that average having barely graduated high school), and can rattle off ten year old 4chan nonsense which flies over the head of those in the room. Yet I am not a nerd because I have not seen a movie or two. (How many of these Marvel movies are there now?) After a good bout of friendly back and forth I realized that the words geek and nerd have been lost to people like me (aka I'm old get off my lawn, whippersnappers). Watching TV does not make you a nerd. Obsessing over a fandom where the entry cost is your cable bill... does that count? Knowing actors and roles and movies, does that now make one a nerd/geek? Hell, is there still a difference? Spouting lines of dialogue from a movie that grossed $1 billion, then calling yourself a geek? Nerds and geeks were the the rejects and weirdos. The people who found something they loved and went all in, for better or worse. This love of betterment generated skills that (sometimes) lead to employment, or maybe enlightenment? A music nerd was someone that could tell you the influences of a band, provide examples, probably had a record collection that rivaled radio stations. Almost to the point you were afraid to talk to the guy because you knew the 3 hour dissertation on how 1970's California Punk fractured and influenced the people who wound up in Seattle and became Grunge. The guy who could tell you why a big-block Chevy engine was awesome, and go deep into detail, to the point of showing off pictures of his latest engine build. The girl who got into knitting and wants to tell you all about the stitches, where they came from, why different needles work with different threads etc. The gardening nerds excited that winter is over and want you to be happy that the tomatoes and peppers are growing. Add into the mix that the tech industry pisses me off. I spent time looking at how to get a CDL and become a truck driver today. I sit on my ass all day anyway and there is a shortage, not that I would really do that. I caught myself doing the math on how much I really need to earn to live. I wanted to put something here other than a shaking fists at clouds rant, but lost the thoughts in the middle of two boring chapters on Microsoft Server. I can't tell if I am frustrated that our exclusive club of weirdos and oddballs has been burnt to the ground only for an amusement park to be built in its place, or that I've hit the age where everything new is shit, or even if I've lived inside my own head for so long that I'm angry that I did not see all the changes coming down the pike. Fuck 'em. I am going to rebuild my home RAID as I am running out of room; the 12TB drives have come way down in price and now the controller cards are reasonable, can operate the big drives and all have build-in Linux functionality. I think this summer I will build a 100TB server to help get my mind back in focus. There are a few newer Linux builds that will do a full redundant file system and if you get the right hardware you can even expand the storage as you need more space. I think I can have the full rig done for $5K or so if the 12TB drives hit $300. I'll wipe the old server, put a decent OS on it get it set up and sell it to recover some of the cost. And I was so unsettled this week that I pulled the trigger on a new astronomy camera, so I get that to play with over the summer as well.
It's amazing how culturally rich one's life can be without super hero movies or other expressions of pop culture. And if you hear a reference that you want to understand, Google can usually explain it. Nerd or geek are words used by people whose imagination is so limited that they think humans can be understandable by reducing them to a classification. Meanwhile, they make a big deal about the Big Bang -- as if that were the beginning.several telescopes
And while the fictional astronomical universe can be amusing, you have the ability to look at, understand, and teach about the real astronomical universe.
I grew up in New Mexico. I know nerds. You, sir, are not a nerd... and likely never were. Guy I went to Odyssey of the Mind with (three times!) programmed the graphics on his HP 48GX to show an animation of a cumshot. Definitely a forward-thinker. Then? Pantsed and abused all the time. Now? Does Reddit AMAs and book tours. Was he a nerd? Mos Def. Is he a nerd now? Tell that to the hundreds of people who pack auditoriums to hear him speak. But has HE changed? Nerds were the ones who couldn't socialize and wanted to. The guys who could tell you why a big-block Chevy was awesome were also the guys most likely to beat the shit out of you and the most likely to have cigarettes, chew, and beer. They had friends, they had enemies, they had people who feared them. The music nerds? I mean, they were nerds to someone sure but they also had the hottest chicks. If you're calling yourself a nerd, that means that you're so fucking isolated that there's no one else to do it for you. I suspect the term has been diluted because society has become so fractious and disengaged that different cliques no longer engage, let alone fight each other. Into that loneliness flies consumerism. Girl in my CNC class has an Order of the Deathly Hallows sticker made up of a light saber, Gandalf's wand and some other fuckin' thing. I liked her a lot better when I thought it was an AA symbol. Is she a nerd? Yer damn skippy. Why? Because she has no friends and the only fucking thing she aligns with is that "buy me friendship" consumer culture. Does she have to be a nerd? No she does not. But it's the easy choice and one that makes somebody rich, so she's encouraged. Who are you enriching? Celestron? Unless you're giving your social allegiance to Disney, nobody cares. By the way, I hope you will choose to enrich Synology. I will say it's because I very much enjoy having two servers under management that work 100% of the time without fail but in no small part it's because I know if you build a hotter one than mine, I'll have someone to ask questions of when mine gives me headaches.
What's important is I give zero fucks. The symbol is basically merchandising/merchandising/merchandising/merchandising/merchandising and from a cultural perspective, it basically says "I will consume everything you're selling me." Back in the day we drew band logos on our Trapper Keepers. If you could draw/could recognize the Sepultura logo, you were a member of a secret society the same as any fuckin' shriner. Now? Now we're playing logo bingo and pretending it's culture.
Keep thinking about breaking up with my girlfriend. The hard part of the conversation is that the problem isn't really her, it's that I don't know if I want a serious long term relationship right now. Hard to shake the voice in my head saying leave. Turned down that company job transfer.
Is it possible to have it be a long term relationship without it being serious? Would that help? I have a lot of flexibility being single, and losing that would be a fear of mine. But there must be some middle ground.
Well, I guess I've always considered those two things to go hand in hand. Can you elaborate?
I guess, to be in the relationship but to have a mutual understanding that there's little expectation of doing couple-y things. I'm not sure if it would work; both people would need to be on board with it or one could be offended. But it would be, like, Friday night and don't want to eat home alone? Text the girlfriend and see if she's interested in going out. But similarly if you want to get up early to run Saturday morning, there's no expectation of being a couple just because it's Friday night, and if she texts you, it's ok to say no. Maybe one or the other people end up frustrated with it, but if it's an option of ending it or trying a different approach, maybe it's an option. Caveat: I'm very single and probably the last person in the world to give advice.
Reminds me of a line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (Act 2, Scene 1, 65-67) And the first motion, all the interim is Like a phantasma or a hideous dream.Hard to shake the voice in my head saying leave.
Have you talked about it?Between the acting of a dreadful thing
School Looking to Airbnb my last semester instead of subletting. Taking a martial arts course as a break to keep me in school over the summer while working part time. I get the impression adding another plate to spin would be nice. Give myself another week and we'll see. Relationships I've been substituting a lot of time reaching out to others with quailty time with the lady friend. Partly since my go-to's have not been available. Starting to reconnect with them now that they are available. Each I've spoken with have made it sound as though I should be advancing my relationship with her. Not something I haven't thought of. Just not something I've committed to despite getting concrete, positive feedback.
Which martial art are you studying? Is it your first one?
Excellent! I train very irregularly in Judo, and I rate it pretty highly. Sanshou is my primary art, but Judo's comprehensive clinch throws (in the gi, at least) are unparalleled in other disciplines. Best of luck, and happy training!
eeeeeeeyyyyyy. We're on the same boat with this one, except I haven't had people saying "spend more time together". Just her. And it's hard because I have a lot of opportunities for various experiences this year, and keep saying yes as more come up. Which then leads to (-->) wondering if you should even be in a relationship at the current moment if that's where your priorities are. And wondering if you even want to shift priorities right now.I've been substituting a lot of time reaching out to others with quailty time with the lady friend. Partly since my go-to's have not been available. Starting to reconnect with them now that they are available. Each I've spoken with have made it sound as though I should be advancing my relationship with her. Not something I haven't thought of. Just not something I've committed to despite getting concrete, positive feedback.
So she's the one advocating for spending more time together, and you're caught wondering whether you'll have time for her and said opportunities - or whether its worth re-evaluating your time with her? Makes me wonder what need isn't getting met on both ends. Maybe spending more time is the band-aid for something else she wants and vice versa? Whereas the wound could require less a time investment for treatment - since that seems to be the issue at hand. Thanks for the reminder with the last sentence. Now that I'm at the point where intimacy is an option, I've been questioning why I'm here in the first place, LOL.
I have discovered an alternate reality, or a future one. I have spent the last few days documenting it. I may continue; for how long, I'm not sure. But I haven't drawn a dude with a boombox head yet and I'm pretty sure I finna do that one for sure. Hubski, I will keep you posted as I report back from this superserious mission. Send me fancy glass chemistry tubes that do extra cool stuff, please. Cathode rays are premium. I must blend in with my environs.
can i say, i get how this picture could seem emo, but take a step back and consider the ironic and hilarious oddity of going to a place (let's call it, perhaps, a zooseum) to observe a tv which, it turns out... will turn around and start watching you right back. That's what I find v delightful here. "Mummy! Let's go to the museum, I want to see the telly-vision!" Who watches the watcher, Alan Moore, eh?
FINALLY got my Charisma up to LVL6 so I could set up trade routes between my settlements. It took a long time because I didn't notice that I could put points into my base stats, and not just toward special skills. Duh. Upgraded my robot companion, but her friends are a supreme pain in the ass, and just show up randomly over a hill when I am least expecting/prepared for them. And they are frantic, frenetic fighters. No time to think, switch weapons, etc. Just unload with whatever happens to be in my hand and run backwards, looking for cover. --- The sun is out in Seattle for the first time in 8 months. We do dreary winter here, but this one was particularly epic. The break is really nice. Had a picnic in a park. Life is good.
Keep wanting to play New Vegas but don't have time to spend on it right now. Considering starting a new playthrough in 4 but don't have time for that either. Did get a game called The Flame in the Flood and played that a little, and enjoyed the mechanic. You survive the end of civilization and have to keep moving down river in your raft while not dying of hunger, dehydration, cold, wild animals, or wrecking the crop out of your raft in the rapids.
I keep thinking I'd like to go back to New Vegas again (due to the new backwards-compatibility of the XBox One), but I'm not done with 4 yet. In fact, just started over with a new character, after downloading a bunch of add-ons. My main companion is now a robot named Ada. The Flame In The Flood sounds interesting! What a clever idea... I might try that out... I also have played a bit of Sea of Thieves, but I don't really get it yet. Just sail around until I happen to hit a rock and hole the hull, or someone finds me and shoots me. But the sailing part is fun... I like checking the wind direction, setting the sail length and angle... and trying to park next to islands, or do fancy shit like swooshing in a circle around an island. It's fun. But there are Other People playing, and they are generally assholes.
things are still steadily getting better, slowly can't imagine how i'd handle it if my life was actually difficult
i don't know what classes i'll be taking yet: there are a couple meetings with advisors and an orientation to go through where presumably i/we can figure that out i had applied to go on a pre-first semester trip abroad thing in italy and i just learned today that i got accepted for that, so i'm going to a study abroad thing in italy now apparently (isn't that lovely?) that's about it uni-wise as far as i know (so far)
In the event anyone hasn't seen the post down the page, #scificlub is back at it: I'm liking the suggestions so far. Right now I'm leaning towards The Red One since it's been suggested previously and meets the ideal criteria. Edit: on a side note, I need to get glasses for the first time ever. Astigmatism in both eyes.
actually does anyone know anything about like digital media like say you drew some stuff and then wanted to put it into a program and fix it and further improve. first of all is there a "best" way to get those paper images digitized? like is it really byzantine to take photos of drawings and then send them to your laptop or is that going to be just as good as scanning images? second i really hate both free photo editing apps i tried today, one didn't have basic capabilities and the other one for some reason is refusing to talk to my photos and vice versa basically i have no idea what i'm doingggg does anyone on hubski draw using a tablet? i've got a few friends who do and i'm kind of curious but know nothing about how any of that ish works at all
Hey Dala, thanks for responding. the 2 i downloaded are polarr photo editor and photo scape x. Polarr was the one that didn't offer some basic functions (I think the assumption of the app is that you can do that editing with even basic software so why include it - but my thought is I don't want to have to edit a photo in one program and then another) and then photo scape x is the one that just refuses to find my photo library and allow me to easily access it. :-/ i'm really just looking for something that's going to allow me to edit photos of drawings i've done on paper - clean them up, remove lines, remove shadows, stuff like that. :-/