Date:	2009-01-22 06:59
Subject:	Give my creation LIFE
Security:	Public
Mood:	hopeful

So after being beaten in the knees by a malicious software crowbar, which entered my computer quite mysteriously (I am super-careful and super-aware of crap like that, I swear), last night I finished the slow and painful backup process and now have a squeaky clean hard drive and a fresh OS install. I will be as fastidious with my compy's contents as with my own personal cleanliness (which is very!).

Strange dreams, every night. Emotional urgency. The cat keeps waking me up before I can figure out what my brain is trying to tell me... 

Anyway, I have my first class of the semester to go to. Seems an decent-- though dark-- morning for a trudge.

Date:	2009-01-01 06:42
Subject:	Made it safely to Nashville...
Security:	Public
Mood:	contemplative

Can't write much beyond that at the moment-- grabbing a minute in a hotel lobby. The flight was (mostly) uneventful. My poor skin is incredibly dry and itchy! The air here feels like it's made of different constituents, like switching to another terraformed Jovian moon.

Its good to see the homeworld again.
 

Date:	2008-12-30 22:50
Subject:	This much colder.
Security:	Public
Mood:	optimistic

By "FOG," weather-dot-com surely means "whipped-up snarls of heinous on-the-ground exhaust-cloud matter ("ice fog") which threaten one's lungs and line-of-sight with toxic thickness/stinkiness."

One hour until our shuttle comes. Not that I need a machine to fly. *raises hands to sky*

Date:	2008-12-27 22:23
Subject:	Here and now, how much colder tonight?
Security:	Public
Mood:	cold

     vs.    

Date:	2008-12-27 12:30
Subject:	My superpower is FLIGHT
Security:	Public
Mood:	energetic
Music:	Sufjan Stevens - The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts

Sufjan's song

There will be an air journey, broken into pieces: I will fly at high speed over North America starting in frigid Fairbanks Alaska, at 1:30 AM on December 31st. Owing to effect of sunspots on my telekinesis, transfer stops will take place in Seattle and Cincinnati, but the journey will continue until this protagonist arrives in Nashville, Tennessee that evening. Fortunately Jenni(aka Masked Lagomorph)'s father will be waiting with a car for the last leg of the trip to Huntsville Alabama (powers can't be sustained forever). The flight back to the frozen north happens on Saturday, January 17th.

If anyone out there is dying to see me (foil a supervillain), send an email to moundgarten@gmail.com expressing your wish to bask in my warm glow. I make no guarantees, except to do my best to defeat evil. Excelsior!  

Date:	2008-06-23 00:53
Subject:	Damn.
Security:	Public
Mood:	sad

George Carlin died today.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/arts/24carlin.php

Just finished my second of two big tests in one day-- one in my programming and one in my math class. Unless I'm severely delusional, they both went very well. I feel almost shocked-- in my old school days I was such a slacker. Back then I never could shake the feeling that I must somehow have done something unsavory in order to write a good paper or get a decent grade (not that I did either consistently-- I didn't know why I was taking classes at all), and maybe a bit of that lingers on me still. It's an old ever-present guilt-- at not having tried hard enough. It's my childhood's "leave me the fuck alone I just want to watch TV" apathy, with its stink on me still, enough so this work hard/do well thing stays intuitively elusive.

It just started snowing again, coming down fast. Good stuff. Proper pictures next time.

Date:	2007-10-01 09:05
Subject:	busy busy busy in Fairbanks
Security:	Public
Mood:	hungry

I can hardly believe how busy I am, or how busy Jenni is. We've been going non-stop, studying from morning 'til night, walking wherever we need to go (Jenni rides her bicycle to school most days), wondering when the first winter snow will come. We're overdue for it, now, though it may not be quite cold enough. On my way to school the University's marquee said the temperature was -1C, and I stepped over a couple of frozen puddles before getting here, but no frozen white oblivion just yet. I want to see it, dammit! I managed to get some winter boots, so at least my feet won't freeze.

It's a decent place, this. I still feel a bit isolated, and a bit hungry. I'm waiting to hear back about a couple of job interviews. To be honest, I don't think I have time to do anything else, even to work part time, but I need money to eat, and I need to eat to keep my feet moving and my brain operating.

Drat, my professor just got here. More later.

Hey everyone, since I will soon be departing for Fairbanks, Alaska, I'm selling my lovely dark-blue Bandit RC-150z motor scooter (odometer total: 3637.6 km). That's got pretty much the same specs as a Baron 150cc retro-style scooter, with an alarm system-- I had been riding her to work until one morning two months ago when she mysteriously stopped running (the electrical system and alarm work fine). I didn't make nearly enough at my crummy job to take my scooter in for evaluation or repairs, so she's been in the driveway since then, and now I'm moving away. Pics (clicky pics for larger versions via flickr):







While running, my scooter worked great-- kept up with most all traffic quite well, and probably got around 50 mpg. I'd like to sell this scooter ASAP, and I'll throw in all the scooter-related goodies I've got. First, though, here's what's wrong with the scoot:

-- the scooter isn't running right now-- I'm not sure why.
-- the left side of the scooter is scratched due to taking a spill.
-- the right rear-passenger foot peg is no longer attached.
-- there is no kick-start lever
-- the front left turn signal is attached by tape.

I am including with this scooter the following goodies:





-- CRW Classic Rider Wear size M Fieldsheer armor jacket, with insulation and inserts, almost never worn (seriously), though it's a great jacket
-- Bell Aerostar full-face DOT helmet, red/white/black, size 7-1/2, never, ever worn
-- backup CVT belt
-- rubber grip gloves
-- emergency hand tire pump
-- super-thick Kryptonite cable lock
-- Master disk lock
-- hex keys for adjusting/tightening controls in case you take a spill
-- Bell/Rodia open-face DOT helmet, white, ("L 59-60") 7-1/2
-- (not pictured) rear trunk for the scooter
-- (not pictured) if you want it, a pretty tough cover for the scoot, though it's a little dirty
-- books:

* the owner's manual for this scooter
* The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance by Mark Zimmerman
* Haynes TECHBOOK for automatic scooters
* The Scooter Book by Alan Seeley

Date:	2007-08-03 20:43
Subject:	Moving to Alaska? YARD SALE!
Security:	Public
Mood:	energetic

Yard sale at my place tomorrow: Saturday, August 4th, starting at first daylight (we'll be awake all night getting it together). Come see what horrors two geeks can amass and eventually sell (in this yard sale, of course) in preparation for a trip to a far-away land of bears and snowmobiles. We will have a crap-ton of damn fine-looking clothing for sale (we have good taste, but precious little suitcase space), many, many honestly geeky books (including subversive/political/areligious/revolutionary/science-fictionary insanity, and a few boring(i.e. "good") books as well), toys (including a rocket!), games, furniture(bookcases, desk, shelves) electronics, antique cameras, sporting goods, picture frames, a cute little tv/vcr, a musical instrument of two, cages for rabbits/ferrets/chinchillas/rats, some good shoes, a well-loved motor scooter, some pretty things, and if there's any left when you get here, free coffee! Shockingly low prices for everything, I promise.

So, the essential information:
Saturday, August 4th, starting early. Early!
16553 Bama Road, in Athens, AL
Questions? call Mike @ (205)383-4783

Date:	2007-05-21 03:53
Subject:	Upcoming adventures...
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper

Labor Day weekend, we'll be in Madison, Wisconsin for WisCon 2007 and all its science-fictiony goodness. So! Jenni and I will disappear from this familiar world on Thursday the 24th, and remain dis-apparated through Monday the 28th. We've pulled together the nerve to order some field recording equipment (finally) and we'll probably be geeking it up all over the damn convention. The main thrust is this thing:



I am excited to be going, but I will be quite relieved when it's over and we can come back to relax a bit and think about our Alaskan future. I'll probably spend many days and nights editing audio from this binge for further episodes of the podcast.

I want to party with the Next Generation crew. Perhaps we can find and run over that little snot Wesley. It doesn't matter how cool Wil became; WESLEY.MUST.DIE.



My eyes hurt. Durrfff.

Date:	2007-05-11 23:58
Subject:	new blog, cross-post!
Security:	Public
Mood:	bouncy
Music:	Audio of a Richard Dawkins interview, rawks!

Started a new one, http://subzerohero.blogspot.com, the first entry reposted here (originally posted at the end of April):

This blog doesn't start in the frigid North, as the title might suggest, but in my soon-to-be former apartment here in Homewood, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham), where I'm sitting on the floor early in the morning in my underwear using Jenni's computer, to the Mouse House (so named because it's so tiny) in Athens, Alabama, a 1-1/2 hour drive north from here. Pretty soon I'll have to get ready to go work my second-to-last day at the library, but for now I thought I'd write a quick round-up of the current craziness and excitement, though these sorts of intros aren't usually very exciting, so I'll keep it short.

Jenni found out maybe a month ago that she was accepted to the Graduate writing program at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, and then last week they told her she'd be getting a teaching scholarship, which will completely cover her tuition and pay a modest stipend. That was enough motivation for us to commence our Fairbanks adventure.

Last night was my last as a bookslave here in Birmingham. I'm getting a transfer to another bookstore close to Athens, as a temporary thing until I can find a better way to fund the first part of our northern journey. As part of full journal disclosure, check out my old employee biography card, which I removed from the worker wall last night (linky, pops to flickr):



We'll stay in Athens until mid-August, when we go to Southern California to spend a couple of weeks with my family before heading up to Fairbanks on September 2nd. It'll be good to hang out with my parents and my sister, to finally meet my long-lost nephew, to see CA again and eat some good food. I think my mother will be sad that we're leaving to go someplace just as far from CA as Alabama, though to me it feels closer. Anyway, I'm excited. There's a lot to look forward to.

I am: James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon) In the 1970s she was perhaps the most memorable, and one of the most popular, short story writers. Her real life was as fantastic as her fiction.

Milgram's presentation on his obedience experiments at Yale. 100% scary, sad, and relevant to the United States today. Be sure to check out Milgram's further findings close to the end of the video.

Date:	2006-12-04 20:32
Subject:	Hmph.
Security:	Public
Mood:	content

Like hell!

Date:	2006-11-20 20:46
Subject:	Monday Blues, tribute #1
Security:	Public
Mood:	thoughtful
Music:	library-thrum

I'm just getting over being sick, and feeling a bit better physically, which is good, because hanging out and sleeping alone tonight are enough to take me back mentally to a time when every night was too quiet. I'm here at the library, wishing I was home so that I could hop onto Skype and give Jenni a call. I imagine it feels strange in Jenni's father's place, with darkness outside and the apartment otherwise uninhabited. Jenni's there tending it for her dad. I talked to her briefly earlier this evening, and she let me know she's okay. She had the television on, I think to drive away the quiet. It's a cold day today, one of those days that might sparkle with promise if it wasn't also such a harshly wintery night.

We're a good match, Jenni and I, good for each other. These days I feel like I'm a good person-- I know the real person I am, and he's a pretty good fellow. I got to know this "good person" I am because Jenni has helped me to appreciate myself, every day since I've known her. She loves me, and even though I sometimes like to entertain the idea that I'm just a dork who wandered into some beautiful place and will soon be discovered for the stowaway I am, I know I've helped her, too. Everyone seems to have this idea that every couple should fight, but we listen and communicate (except when thwarted by noisy phone lines) and things work. We don't have anger or resentment or any of those other supposed relationship common-themes between us.

Jenni's an amazing person, and I admire her a lot. I love her. How could I not? She's creative, smart, and really damn fun. She's a geek! She volunteers her time for the local Rape Response Center, she has a podcast that oozes geek-cred, she's a staff writer for Sequential Tart... she loves rats, science fiction, travelling, conventions, and comics, and she takes care of me when I'm sick. Several years back, long bfore I met her, she decided she was going to experience Japan, and she did it. How fucking cool is all that?! I'm a lucky guy.

My lovely Jenni's podcast, the Phantom Power Comics Podcast, may be found at http://ppcp.libsyn.com. I'm proud to be able to help make her show happen, and I know she's going to do some amazing things both with her podcast and with all of her other creative endeavors. For fun I'm making some pictures involving her podcast mascot, the Phantom Bunny:



Here's a sighting of the Phantom Bunny at Niagara falls:



Have a listen to her show. It's good stuff.

Oh, hell yes. This is right up my alley, brought to my attention by my lovely partner Jenni:

http://community.livejournal.com/wiscon/61362.html

Dude, WTF: http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=55228

I am very much against the occupation-- I say (I really do) Fuck Israel! For the benefit of people who don't understand, I am definitely not "Anti-Semitic."

Fucking dictionary. Fucking theocrats. Fucking stupid-ass fundie US politicians. Fuck them all!

Pretty damn spoiler-free, yo:

I was inspired to pick up Air after it won the Tiptree award (Jenni and I attended the ceremony at Wiscon 30) and after Jenni and I got a little bit of store credit at Little Professor. I cashed in a bit of that store credit and settled in to read Air. While Air is quite firmly in the realm of science fiction as far as its premise and feel go, it incorporated some fantasy elements that I didn't much care for, and one story element in particular that was so painful it threatened my finishing the story at all. I'm sure anyone who has read the book would agree with me that if Ryman had ditched the book's one huge howler (hint: it (sort of)rhymes with "Womack Maybe") that the book would not only have felt more firmly attached to reality, but that the book's flights into Air itself woul have felt more daring. I guess that fantastic thing poking me in the gut lessened the unreal appeal of heroine Chung Mae's experiments in Air. Now that I've mentioned Chung Mae, I guess I should say a bit more about her. Rhyman's protagonist is an extremely interesting character, smart and strong and sometimes confused, determined to help her village and her people even when her head is a mess. She takes it upon herself to prepare her people for the coming of Air, a new technological leap forward which will link up the minds and data of all humans all over the world, after a disastrous test of the new technology causes a death close to Mae which damages her mind and opens her up to some bizarre side effects of Air... good premise, quite compelling through most of the story. Some other cool characters upped my interest in Mae's village. Still... something is missing, which one is clued in on after encountering a number of minor editorial mistakes in the text-- it evidently wasn't edited with much zest, and I couldn't help but wonder if the parts that bothered me about the book might have been excised by a sufficiently ruthless (and worthwhile) editor.

After some deliberation, I do recommend this book. Some parts are just fantastic reads-- certainly the begining up until Mae's captivity in businessman Tunch's research facility is worth reading all on its own (the actual captivity and escape from the facility are another matter, however). Good characterization and the thrill of Mae's initial challenge will probably be pretty enjoyable.