Everything2 Cool Archivehttp://everything2.com/?node=Cool%20Archive%20Atom%20Feed2012-05-23T21:18:39ZWe can meet her for you wholesale: a dreaming girl's singularity (idea)http://everything2.com/user/enth/writeups/We+can+meet+her+for+you+wholesale%253A+a+dreaming+girl%2527s+singularityenthhttp://everything2.com/user/enth2002-04-26T14:51:39Z2002-04-26T14:51:39Z<p align="left">
Under <a href="/title/fluorescent+light">fluorescent light</a>s everything looks a little bit more <a href="/title/grey">grey</a>. Grey walls, hard grey carpeting, portraits of birds and flowers cast in greyish pastel, all of these things driven down upon by that blue-shifted flicker, negating any pretensions of color they ever may have had. One night Naomi dreamed that she had changed to match her surroundings, a chameleon-girl who lost control of her skin. There was a mirror in her cubicle in her nightmare in her slumber, and when she looked in it she saw herself as cast in blanched porcelain, the grey and paper white of a <a href="/title/Zenith">Zenith</a> with its contrast turned to full.
</p>
<p align="left">
So goes Naomi's train of thought right now, concentrating (<i>as ever</i>, an ex-high-school teacher might interject) on something other than the situation at hand. Likely because this is the sixth time today the fine idiots of Order Entry have sent up a half-done job, and Naomi has already settled into her most tolerable balance between <a href="/title/frustration">frustration</a> and…Paul Krugman (person)http://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop/writeups/Paul+KrugmanJet-Poophttp://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop2012-05-23T15:37:20Z2012-05-23T15:37:20Z<p>American <a href="/title/economist">economist</a>, <a href="/title/professor">professor</a>, <a href="/title/author">author</a>, and <a href="/title/pundit">pundit</a>, born in
1953 to traveling circus folk in <a href="/title/Zipperhead%252C+New+York">Zipperhead, New York</a>. He grew up
traveling throughout the Northeast with his family in <a href="/title/Lucifer+Bleake%2527s+Traveling+Darkside+Carnival+and+Hell+Circus">Lucifer Bleake's
Traveling Darkside Carnival and Hell Circus</a>, one of a number of <a href="/title/evil+carnival">evil
carnival</a>s that roamed the nation during the early to mid-20th century,
seeking <a href="/title/soul">soul</a>s to enslave and <a href="/title/fantasy+writer">fantasy writer</a>s to inspire. While his
family tempted and devoured farmhands and schoolteachers, young Paul
learned all the trades of the circus -- tent set-up and take-down,
<a href="/title/trapeze">trapeze</a> <a href="/title/acrobatics">acrobatics</a>, <a href="/title/clown">clown</a> wrangling, barking, <a href="/title/human+cannonball">human
cannonball</a>ing, <a href="/title/international+economics">international economics</a> and <a href="/title/trade+theory">trade theory</a>, and
beating the <a href="/title/geek">geek</a> when he escaped from his cage. Coincidentally, that
geek eventually grew up to become fellow New York Times columnist
<a href="/title/Thomas+Friedman">Thomas Friedman</a>.</p>
<p>Upon fleeing from the circus just prior to the big top being sucked
into Hell in 1970, Krugman earned a dual bachelor's degree in
<a href="/title/economics">economics</a> and…1,340,666 women just like me (thing)http://everything2.com/user/radlab0/writeups/1%252C340%252C666+women+just+like+meradlab0http://everything2.com/user/radlab02005-06-26T05:52:32Z2005-06-26T05:52:32Z<p>I would like to have a long and potentially unsettling conversation with you about my uterus.</p>
<p>I went off <a href="/title/Birth+control+pill">the pill</a> back in December, mostly because it was making me fat and moody enough that it no longer seemed worthwhile. I started <a href="/title/fertility+obsession">tracking my basal body temperature</a> so that I would know when I was ovulating and when to expect my period each month (being scientifically-minded, I like measuring things. Being mildly obsessive-compulsive, I like knowing what to expect). <a href="/title/WonkoDSane">Scott</a> and I returned to the ranks of those who rely on condoms to avoid pregnancy. The thing is (and it's a little embarrassing to admit that I would let something like this slide), we are disease free, married, and do want to have kids eventually. Suffice it to say that there were occasional <a href="/title/Fast%252C+Cheap+and+Out+of+Control">lapses</a> in birth control, and these lapses were not generally followed by any sincere secondary efforts to avoid pregnancy. We weren't trying to get pregnant,…Paul Krugman (person)http://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop/writeups/Paul+KrugmanJet-Poophttp://everything2.com/user/Jet-Poop2012-05-23T15:37:20Z2012-05-23T15:37:20Z<p>American <a href="/title/economist">economist</a>, <a href="/title/professor">professor</a>, <a href="/title/author">author</a>, and <a href="/title/pundit">pundit</a>, born in
1953 to traveling circus folk in <a href="/title/Zipperhead%252C+New+York">Zipperhead, New York</a>. He grew up
traveling throughout the Northeast with his family in <a href="/title/Lucifer+Bleake%2527s+Traveling+Darkside+Carnival+and+Hell+Circus">Lucifer Bleake's
Traveling Darkside Carnival and Hell Circus</a>, one of a number of <a href="/title/evil+carnival">evil
carnival</a>s that roamed the nation during the early to mid-20th century,
seeking <a href="/title/soul">soul</a>s to enslave and <a href="/title/fantasy+writer">fantasy writer</a>s to inspire. While his
family tempted and devoured farmhands and schoolteachers, young Paul
learned all the trades of the circus -- tent set-up and take-down,
<a href="/title/trapeze">trapeze</a> <a href="/title/acrobatics">acrobatics</a>, <a href="/title/clown">clown</a> wrangling, barking, <a href="/title/human+cannonball">human
cannonball</a>ing, <a href="/title/international+economics">international economics</a> and <a href="/title/trade+theory">trade theory</a>, and
beating the <a href="/title/geek">geek</a> when he escaped from his cage. Coincidentally, that
geek eventually grew up to become fellow New York Times columnist
<a href="/title/Thomas+Friedman">Thomas Friedman</a>.</p>
<p>Upon fleeing from the circus just prior to the big top being sucked
into Hell in 1970, Krugman earned a dual bachelor's degree in
<a href="/title/economics">economics</a> and…Motorcycle Emptiness (fiction)http://everything2.com/user/xunker/writeups/Motorcycle+Emptinessxunkerhttp://everything2.com/user/xunker2012-05-23T03:24:50Z2012-05-23T03:24:50Z<p>There is this book, "<a href="/title/Zen+and+the+art+of+Motorcycle+Maintenance">Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance</a>." I have a copy, but I've never read it. Never even cracked the spine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The subtitle says it is "<em>An Inquiry into Values</em>". But what does that mean. Finding out what you <a href="/title/value">value</a>? Why you value it? What "value" even means? Who has time for that? Well, the <a href="/title/Robert+Persig">author</a>, obviously, but that's not me. You can't build a philosophy by <a href="/title/writing">writing</a> about.</p>
<p>I don't get on my motorcycle to inquire after anything. I am not out there to ponder my life, I am there to be as far away from it as I can. I don't want to find myself, I want to lose myself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="/title/National+Highway+Traffic+Safety+Administration">The Man</a> says that the odds of dying on a motorcycle are about twelve times higher than in a <a href="/title/car">car</a>. I like to think that's the figure for <a href="/title/mere+mortals">mere mortals</a> and I am doing my best to get that number to be <em>much, much higher</em>. Partly it's for the saying that "only when close to death do you know what…Strangers talk to me (idea)http://everything2.com/user/Demeter/writeups/Strangers+talk+to+meDemeterhttp://everything2.com/user/Demeter2000-10-09T03:24:53Z2000-10-09T03:24:53Z<p>You know how your mother always said "<a href="/title/Don%2527t+talk+to+strangers">Don't talk to strangers</a>"?</p>
<p>Well, strangers talk to <b>me</b>. They do it <i>all the time</i></p>
<p>Lost children, lost adults, little old ladies, <a href="/title/nutter">nutter</a>s on the bus, each and every person <a href="/title/sell">sell</a>ing their own particular brand of <a href="/title/salvation">salvation</a>.</p>
<p>They always talk to me.</p>
<p>A happy-faced woman will stop me in the street and say, "I just had to tell <b>someone</b>, my son took his <a href="/title/first+step">first step</a> today."</p>
<p>A young man will sit beside me on a <a href="/title/bench">bench</a> and tell me the story of how he moved to town to be with his <a href="/title/girlfriend">girlfriend</a>, and how she dumped him, hours after he arrived.</p>
<p>In the airport, someone with tear-stained cheeks will turn to me and ask, "<a href="/title/Isn%2527t+saying+%2527goodbye%2527+the+worst+thing+in+the+world%253F">Isn't saying 'goodbye' the worst thing in the world?</a>"</p>
<p>And wherever I go, and I do mean <b>wherever</b>, even if I'm toting a <a href="/title/backpack">backpack</a> and dragging a <a href="/title/suitcase">suitcase</a>, I will be asked for <a href="/title/directions">directions</a>.</p>
<p>It isn't a new thing, it's been happening ever since I was ten or…May 22, 2012 (log)http://everything2.com/user/The+Custodian/writeups/May+22%252C+2012The Custodianhttp://everything2.com/user/The Custodian2012-05-22T08:06:25Z2012-05-22T08:06:25Z<p>
In a small way for some, a huge way for others, history was made early this morning.
<p>
At 0744 GMT, a <a href="/title/Falcon+9">Falcon 9</a> booster with a <a href="/title/Dragon">Dragon</a> spacecraft atop it successfully launched from <a href="/title/Cape+Canaveral">Cape Canaveral</a>. 13 minutes later, it was in orbit. It successfully shut down its engines and deployed its <a href="/title/solar+panel">solar panel</a>s, switching to solar power.
<p>
Even as I write this, thousands of people involved - the employees and relations of <a href="/title/SpaceX">SpaceX</a> foremost - are celebrating.
<p>
The United States has placed a spacecraft in orbit, carrying a cargo towards the <a href="/title/International+Space+Station">International Space Station</a> - operating outside the <a href="/title/NASA">NASA</a> framework. Using NASA money, experience and facilities, true - but SpaceX has now launched three Falcon 9 boosters successfully, and has placed 2 Dragons into <a href="/title/LEO">LEO</a> on 2 attempts.
<p>
Commercial space is happening.
<p>
I might live to see ticket sales. Won't that be a thing?
<p>May 22, 2012 (log)http://everything2.com/user/The+Custodian/writeups/May+22%252C+2012The Custodianhttp://everything2.com/user/The Custodian2012-05-22T08:06:25Z2012-05-22T08:06:25Z<p>
In a small way for some, a huge way for others, history was made early this morning.
<p>
At 0744 GMT, a <a href="/title/Falcon+9">Falcon 9</a> booster with a <a href="/title/Dragon">Dragon</a> spacecraft atop it successfully launched from <a href="/title/Cape+Canaveral">Cape Canaveral</a>. 13 minutes later, it was in orbit. It successfully shut down its engines and deployed its <a href="/title/solar+panel">solar panel</a>s, switching to solar power.
<p>
Even as I write this, thousands of people involved - the employees and relations of <a href="/title/SpaceX">SpaceX</a> foremost - are celebrating.
<p>
The United States has placed a spacecraft in orbit, carrying a cargo towards the <a href="/title/International+Space+Station">International Space Station</a> - operating outside the <a href="/title/NASA">NASA</a> framework. Using NASA money, experience and facilities, true - but SpaceX has now launched three Falcon 9 boosters successfully, and has placed 2 Dragons into <a href="/title/LEO">LEO</a> on 2 attempts.
<p>
Commercial space is happening.
<p>
I might live to see ticket sales. Won't that be a thing?
<p>Hammer pants (thing)http://everything2.com/user/passport/writeups/Hammer+pantspassporthttp://everything2.com/user/passport2001-08-23T09:59:04Z2001-08-23T09:59:04Z<b><big><big>It's Hammer Time!</big></big></b>
<p>In the early 90's <a href="/title/MC+Hammer">MC Hammer</a> did the impossible. He started wearing pants that look like they were stolen from an <a href="/title/Arabic">Arabic</a> <a href="/title/genie">genie</a>. He didn't just get away with it either. People actually started emulating his <a href="/title/genie">genie</a> style.</p>
<p>Hammer pants were a style of peg-legged baggy pants, with a huge billowing <a href="/title/crotch">crotch</a> that went down below the knees. They were made out of this strange kind of shiny metallic <a href="/title/parachute">parachute</a> material. Strange was to good a word to describe these pants. Maybe <a href="/title/Hammer">Hammer</a> got away with it because everything that he did was one big <a href="/title/show">show</a> in the first place. Maybe he was lucky. But he was copied, from the <a href="/title/ghetto">ghetto</a> to the <a href="/title/suburbia">suburbia</a>, he was copied. Fans of <a href="/title/MC+Hammer">MC Hammer</a> begun to wear similar clothing. But rarely would someone be seen in public with a pair of pants as extreme as the ones that Hammer sported on a daily basis.</p>
<p>Hammer pants faded from popularity almost as fast as Hammer himself did. Now they are but an amusing…Southern Funerary Rites: Things to Do In Dixie When You're Dead (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Bitca/writeups/Southern+Funerary+Rites%253A+Things+to+Do+In+Dixie+When+You%2527re+DeadBitcahttp://everything2.com/user/Bitca2003-06-27T02:01:54Z2003-06-27T02:01:54Z<big><u>Things to Do in Dixie When You're Dead</u></big><br><br>A <a href="/title/Cultural+Anthropology">Cultural Anthropology</a> Term Paper<br><br><br><br><i>17And unto Adam He said: . .<br>
. . 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,<br>
till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken;<br>
for dust thou art; and unto dust shalt thou return.'<br>
Genesis 3:17 & 3:19<br></i><br><br>
<a href="/title/Death">Death</a>, whether it is seen as a <a href="/title/celestial+dragon">celestial dragon</a> etching firey souls onto the bank of the <a href="/title/Grand+Central+Station">heavens</a>, a portentous grinning <a href="/title/Mort">skull</a> with hourglass in hand and scythe under the arm, a radiant angel bearing the deceased up to the heavens, or even more recently a <a href="/title/Neil+Gaiman">winsome smile and sweet eyes</a>, is <a href="/title/tremulo">feared</a>, <a href="/title/Fill+Me+to+the+Parting+Glass">sung of</a>, revered, and respected in virtually every culture across the globe. It was in an effort to make death less frightening that humanity began enacting various rituals of respecting and honouring the dead, leaving something permanent behind, even if it…Essence of Dad (personal)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-22T20:13:57Z2012-05-22T20:13:57Z<blockquote><p align="center"><i>"Few sons, indeed. are like their fathers. Generally they are worse; but just a few are better"</i> <br> - <a href="/title/Athena">Athena</a>, appearing to <a href="/title/Telemachus">Telemachus</a> in the form of <a href="/title/Mentor">Mentor</a></p></blockquote><br>
<p>
Dear Dad,
</p><p>
I was thinking of you the other day, and realise that I hadn't written to you in, well, basically forever. Back in my <a href="/title/boarding+school">boarding school</a> days I wrote every week, but then of course, I had to - they made me. I probably would have written to you, just not every week.
</p><p>
At any rate, and as I was saying before I interrupted myself with excuses, you came very clearly into my thoughts quite recently. Like you, and your father before you, I enjoy growing a little kitchen garden, and I have lately started a new <a href="/title/allotment+garden">allotment</a>. I love the smell of damp earth, the very essence of the garden. I grow the things I like - Peas, cabbages, kale, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and of course, beans. I mention this last of all because it was during the…Essence of Dad (idea)http://everything2.com/user/witchiepoo/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwitchiepoohttp://everything2.com/user/witchiepoo2000-09-27T00:56:58Z2000-09-27T00:56:58ZI remember the <a href="/title/cigar+box">cigar box</a> full of animals; hippos and big <a href="/title/cat">cat</a>s, elephants, horses, <a href="/title/monkey">monkey</a>s. They lay so snug and intertwined that only my Father could make them fit back into the box without a tail or a slender foot left sticking out. His eyes would soften when I asked, "Daddy, can we play with the <a href="/title/animal">animal</a>s?" He would bring them down off the high shelf and lay them on the <a href="/title/kitchen">kitchen</a> table. He would lean in towards them, and I would too. Then we would marvel at the wee snouts and fine details of his <a href="/title/treasure">treasure</a>. I always tried to be very careful. I knew as a child that to hurt something he loved would be to hurt him also. He seemed too sensitive to take hurts. When we were leaning over the table I felt like I knew him, like he was my <a href="/title/friend">friend</a>.<br>
<p>
I once refolded a gum wrapper, inserted it back into the package and offered it to him. "Hey Dad, want a piece of <a href="/title/gum">gum</a>?" He looked so eager and thankful that when he realized I had played a <a href="/title/trick">trick</a> on him and his face fell, I thought, "What have…Hu Jintao (person)http://everything2.com/user/kalen/writeups/Hu+Jintaokalenhttp://everything2.com/user/kalen2003-02-18T18:43:47Z2003-02-18T18:43:47Z<p><strong><big><big><big><big><big>胡锦涛</big></big></big></big></big>
<br>(Hú Jǐntào)</strong></p>
<p>At the <a href="/title/16th+National+Congress+of+the+Communist+Party+of+China">16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China</a>, on <a href="/title/November+12%252C+2002">November 12, 2002</a> a remarkable transition took place. For pretty much the first time ever, power in <a href="/title/China">China</a> changed hands with something approaching the regularity with which it happens in most western nations. A new team of leaders was presented to the assembled press, and Hu Jintao was installed as the new <a href="/title/General+Secretary">General Secretary</a> of the <a href="/title/Chinese+Communist+Party">Chinese Communist Party</a>. In March <a href="/title/2003">2003</a>, Hu was duly elected as <a href="/title/President">President</a> of the <a href="/title/People%2527s+Republic+of+China">People's Republic of China</a>. There were four votes against him and two abstentions, making for a huge majority. He has also now (as of <a href="/title/September+20%252C+2004">September 20, 2004</a>) taken over as chairman of the <a href="/title/Central+Military+Commission">Central Military Commission</a> from <a href="/title/Jiang+Zemin">Jiang Zemin</a>; it is worth noting that Jiang continuing to hold this post for almost a full two additional years was seen as both a legitimization of Hu, and also a "br…solid state disk (thing)http://everything2.com/user/xunker/writeups/solid+state+diskxunkerhttp://everything2.com/user/xunker2012-05-22T23:35:33Z2012-05-22T23:35:33Z<p>A solid state disk, or disc, (hereafter <strong>SSD</strong>) refers to computer <a href="/title/storage+device">primary storage</a> that has no moving parts. Whereas traditional forms of primary storage were <a href="/title/hard+drive">rust-covered Frisbees</a>, <a href="/title/floppy+disk">brown donuts</a> or <a href="/title/Tape+drive">long strands of magnetized Christmas Tree trimmings</a>, an SSD is comprised wholly of <a href="/title/Flash+Memory">Flash Memory</a>*.</p>
<p>SSDs are a huge advancement in computer technology in that they have become one of the best ways to wrest <a href="/title/cash">cash</a> from the pockets of customers who would otherwise be completely happy with their computer if they didn't have another <a href="/title/acronym">acronym</a> to buy.</p>
<p>This is because:</p>
<p><strong>Flash memory is FAST</strong>. SSDs write data and read data faster than traditional <a href="/title/rotational+media">rotational media</a> ever could. This also means that there is another open arms race for "<em>faster</em>". Whereas before, your standard hard drive may have been seen as current for any number of years, an SSD becomes second-hand <a href="/title/thrift+store">thrift store</a> fodder mere weeks…Get The Fuck Out Of My Office (idea)http://everything2.com/user/ModernAngel/writeups/Get+The+Fuck+Out+Of+My+OfficeModernAngelhttp://everything2.com/user/ModernAngel2000-02-02T17:55:50Z2000-02-02T17:55:50ZBetween <a href="/title/May+1999">May 1999</a> and <a href="/title/October+1999">October 1999</a>, the <a href="/title/mantra">mantra</a> that helped me <a href="/title/maintain">maintain</a> my <a href="/title/sanity">sanity</a> under the pressure of <a href="/title/doing+the+work+of+3+people">doing the work of 3 people</a>. <a href="/title/Spoken+aloud">Spoken aloud</a> as a <a href="/title/salesperson">salesperson</a> closed my office door behind her. <a href="/title/Loop">Loop</a>ed in <a href="/title/my+brain">my brain</a> as a salesperson <a href="/title/eyed+up">eyed up</a> a week's <a href="/title/backlog">backlog</a> of <a href="/title/work">work</a> and proceeded to <a href="/title/verbal">verbal</a>ly <a href="/title/issue">issue</a> <a href="/title/complex">complex</a> <a href="/title/instructions">instructions</a>, <a href="/title/as+if">as if</a> I might <a href="/title/remember">remember</a> them <a href="/title/by+the+time">by the time</a> I was actually <a href="/title/able">able</a> to start her <a href="/title/project">project</a>. My former <a href="/title/assistant">assistant</a> (and <a href="/title/replacement">replacement</a> in <a href="/title/October">October</a>) carries on the "<a href="/title/Get+the+fuck+out+my+office">Get the fuck out my office</a>" <a href="/title/tradition">tradition</a> to this day. Now, at a <a href="/title/new+job">new job</a>, I find that <a href="/title/Get+The+Fuck+Out+Of+My+Office">Get The Fuck Out Of My Office</a> is <a href="/title/universal">universal</a>; the fellow with whom I <a href="/title/share+an+office">share an office</a> here <a href="/title/mutter">mutter</a>s the same as an <a href="/title/asshole">asshole</a> leaves the room, with no knowledge of my own <a href="/title/Get+The+Fuck+Out+Of+My+Office">Get The Fuck Out Of My Office</a> experiences.<br><br>
<b><a href="/title/Midday+Serenity+Meditation+Exercise">Midday Serenity Meditation Exercise</a>:</b>
Find <a href="/title/a+quiet+place">a quiet place</a>: an empty <a href="/title/office">office</a>, your <a href="/title/locker">locker</a>, your <a href="/title/car">car</a>, the <a href="/title/alley">alley</a> behind the <a href="/title/office+building">office building</a>.…Essence of Dad (personal)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-22T20:13:57Z2012-05-22T20:13:57Z<blockquote><p align="center"><i>"Few sons, indeed. are like their fathers. Generally they are worse; but just a few are better"</i> <br> - <a href="/title/Athena">Athena</a>, appearing to <a href="/title/Telemachus">Telemachus</a> in the form of <a href="/title/Mentor">Mentor</a></p></blockquote><br>
<p>
Dear Dad,
</p><p>
I was thinking of you the other day, and realise that I hadn't written to you in, well, basically forever. Back in my <a href="/title/boarding+school">boarding school</a> days I wrote every week, but then of course, I had to - they made me. I probably would have written to you, just not every week.
</p><p>
At any rate, and as I was saying before I interrupted myself with excuses, you came very clearly into my thoughts quite recently. Like you, and your father before you, I enjoy growing a little kitchen garden, and I have lately started a new <a href="/title/allotment+garden">allotment</a>. I love the smell of damp earth, the very essence of the garden. I grow the things I like - Peas, cabbages, kale, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and of course, beans. I mention this last of all because it was during the…Essence of Dad (personal)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-22T20:13:57Z2012-05-22T20:13:57Z<blockquote><p align="center"><i>"Few sons, indeed. are like their fathers. Generally they are worse; but just a few are better"</i> <br> - <a href="/title/Athena">Athena</a>, appearing to <a href="/title/Telemachus">Telemachus</a> in the form of <a href="/title/Mentor">Mentor</a></p></blockquote><br>
<p>
Dear Dad,
</p><p>
I was thinking of you the other day, and realise that I hadn't written to you in, well, basically forever. Back in my <a href="/title/boarding+school">boarding school</a> days I wrote every week, but then of course, I had to - they made me. I probably would have written to you, just not every week.
</p><p>
At any rate, and as I was saying before I interrupted myself with excuses, you came very clearly into my thoughts quite recently. Like you, and your father before you, I enjoy growing a little kitchen garden, and I have lately started a new <a href="/title/allotment+garden">allotment</a>. I love the smell of damp earth, the very essence of the garden. I grow the things I like - Peas, cabbages, kale, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and of course, beans. I mention this last of all because it was during the…May 22, 2012 (log)http://everything2.com/user/Auspice/writeups/May+22%252C+2012Auspicehttp://everything2.com/user/Auspice2012-05-22T19:28:01Z2012-05-22T19:28:01Z<p>For the first time in three years, I've unplugged from the corporate network. On Thursday of last week, I changed my password to something I can't now remember, and walked out of the data center and into the afternoon air. In California now, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the <a href="/title/San+Francisco+Bay">Bay</a> is doubtlessly blue.</p>
<p>I'm not there.</p>
<p>If I'm anywhere, I'm here, in Portland, though my mind feels adrift, overwhelmed. I'm in love. Confusedly, tangledly, contentedly so. So there's that, and there's the possibility of <a href="/title/the+trajectories+of+falling+stars">exit trajectories</a> in a way I haven't considered before, even when I came west last year. The idea of leaving this corporate reality bubble, of leaving my servers and fiber and having a job that doesn't eat 50-60 hours minimum of my week, is astounding. The idea of having emotional support, stability, and love, is even moreso.</p>
<p>This town is so strange, too. It rains all the time, but the food is good, the coffee is good, and…Essence of Dad (personal)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-22T20:13:57Z2012-05-22T20:13:57Z<blockquote><p align="center"><i>"Few sons, indeed. are like their fathers. Generally they are worse; but just a few are better"</i> <br> - <a href="/title/Athena">Athena</a>, appearing to <a href="/title/Telemachus">Telemachus</a> in the form of <a href="/title/Mentor">Mentor</a></p></blockquote><br>
<p>
Dear Dad,
</p><p>
I was thinking of you the other day, and realise that I hadn't written to you in, well, basically forever. Back in my <a href="/title/boarding+school">boarding school</a> days I wrote every week, but then of course, I had to - they made me. I probably would have written to you, just not every week.
</p><p>
At any rate, and as I was saying before I interrupted myself with excuses, you came very clearly into my thoughts quite recently. Like you, and your father before you, I enjoy growing a little kitchen garden, and I have lately started a new <a href="/title/allotment+garden">allotment</a>. I love the smell of damp earth, the very essence of the garden. I grow the things I like - Peas, cabbages, kale, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and of course, beans. I mention this last of all because it was during the…hangover cure (thing)http://everything2.com/user/iceowl/writeups/hangover+cureiceowlhttp://everything2.com/user/iceowl2002-05-26T16:56:17Z2002-05-26T16:56:17Z<p>
So you've had a long day <a href="/title/what+noding+means+to+me">noding your opus maximus</a>. A couple of your <a href="/title/noder+buddies">noder buddies</a> have dropped by to celebrate the end of the day and as is wont to happen when noders gather, <a href="/title/beer">the intoxicants flow liberally</a>.
</p><p>
You partake. You enjoy <a href="/title/the+flow+of+noding+company">the flow of noding company</a>, coursing into and out of subjects non-noders and mere mortals couldn't track if they had guide dogs and GPSes.
</p><p>
Couple of hours later, it starts. You can't remember when you stopped drinking--somewhere between the discussions of <a href="/title/G-spot">minimum penis length to reach a woman's Gräfenberg spot</a> and <a href="/title/the+chemical+composition+of+a+nuclear+weapon+trigger">the chemical composition of a nuclear weapon trigger</a>--<a href="/title/hangover">it hits</a>. And it gets worse as the wee hours of the morning progress.
</p><p>
You pass out. You wake up. Your head has been replaced by a slab of concrete. There is pain behind your eyes so strong it seems they're dangling from their sockets by the optic nerves. Your stomach is full of live cats chasing live hamsters.…Fleshlight (thing)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Fleshlightwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-20T22:19:29Z2012-05-20T22:19:29Z<p>
<b>A Little Background on Male Masturbation Technology</b>
</p><br><p>
<blockquote><p align="center"><i>
There once was a fellow named Greene<br>
Who invented a wanking machine<br>
On the sixty-ninth stroke<br>
The bloody thing broke<br>
And whipped his <a href="/title/bollocks">bollocks</a> to cream<br>
</i></p></blockquote>
</p><br><p>
I recently came across the appallingly-named Fleshlight (figuratively speaking) during a recent discussion with a rather more worldly-wise acquaintance of mine. As with <a href="/title/leaf+blower">leaf blowers</a>, I wanted to know who invented the thing, and as is so often the case, the answer was quite surprising. As the <a href="/title/Tremoussoir">Tremoussoir</a> was the precursor to the <a href="/title/steam-powered+vibrator">modern vibrator</a>, I felt there had to be a similar and earlier machine. When I researched the ancestor of the Fleshlight, it came as something of a shock. The first shock the date; I'd always assumed that it would be a 20th-century invention. The second was that the inventor was a woman.
</p><p>
It was a rare…Emotionally horny (idea)http://everything2.com/user/Justin+Johnson/writeups/Emotionally+hornyJustin Johnsonhttp://everything2.com/user/Justin Johnson2000-03-13T10:43:25Z2000-03-13T10:43:25ZA state of <a href="/title/internal+conflict">internal conflict</a>, in which one's <a href="/title/self-respect">self-respect</a> clashes with one's <a href="/title/hormonal+drives">hormonal drives</a>. The cure is not simply to get laid, but to get <a href="/title/emotionally+hosed">emotionally hosed</a> by someone: <a href="/title/sex">sex</a>, <a href="/title/cuddling">cuddling</a>, <a href="/title/a+little+crying">a little crying</a>, <a href="/title/some+tender+touching">some tender touching</a>, along with <a href="/title/volcanic+orgasms">volcanic orgasms</a> and <a href="/title/silly%252C+sweet+nothings">silly, sweet nothings</a>. A <a href="/title/naked%252C+desperate+need">naked, desperate need</a> for <a href="/title/intimacy">intimacy</a> instead of <a href="/title/fucking">fucking</a>. Usually the motive behind <a href="/title/serial+monogamy">serial monogamists</a>.
<p>Stereotypically the province of females, it's now almost okay for men to admit to this state.Daniel 4 (idea)http://everything2.com/user/ModernAngel/writeups/Daniel+4ModernAngelhttp://everything2.com/user/ModernAngel2000-02-29T23:54:05Z2000-02-29T23:54:05Z<b><a href="/title/Daniel+3">Previous Chapter</a> | <a href="/title/Daniel+5">Next Chapter</a></b><br><br>4:1 <small>Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.<br>
</small>4:2 <small>I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God
hath wrought toward me.<br>
</small>4:3 <small>How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation
to generation.<br>
</small>4:4 <small>I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my
palace: </small>4:5 <small>I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon
my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.<br>
</small>4:6 <small>Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon
before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of
the dream.<br>
</small>4:7 <small>Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and
the soothsayers: and I told</small>…flash memory (thing)http://everything2.com/user/Oeq1st1/writeups/flash+memoryOeq1st1http://everything2.com/user/Oeq1st12001-08-09T00:23:12Z2001-08-09T00:23:12Z<b>Definition :</b><br>
Flash <a href="/title/Memory">Memory</a> is a <a href="/title/non-volatile+memory">non-volatile memory</a> (it doesn't lose data when power is turned off) with a fast read time but relatively long write time. It is the optimum solution for many devices because of its low cost, low power, high speed and fairly high <a href="/title/density">density</a> (currently 32-64<a href="/title/MB">MB</a>). <a href="/title/Wireless">Wireless</a> devices such as cell phones (the primary flash memory customer) usually require a set of <a href="/title/protocol">protocol</a>s to be written to the device once, and then repeatedly used to make calls, which is perfect for flash. I believe the word "flash" came from the fact that the read cycle is very fast. Flash <a href="/title/memory">memory</a> isn't studied much in an <a href="/title/academic">academic</a> setting, much of Flash technology is owned by various companies.<p>
<b>Applications :</b><br>
Flash memory is primarily made by <a href="/title/Intel">Intel</a> and <a href="/title/AMD">AMD</a>. Its fast read time but slow write time make it useful in many <a href="/title/wireless">wireless</a> devices. Flash memory is currently used in <a href="/title/cell+phone">cell phone</a>s, <a href="/title/MP3">MP3</a> players, <a href="/title/digital+camera">digital camera</a>s, handheld computing devices, and sometimes in…Essence of Dad (personal)http://everything2.com/user/wertperch/writeups/Essence+of+Dadwertperchhttp://everything2.com/user/wertperch2012-05-22T20:13:57Z2012-05-22T20:13:57Z<blockquote><p align="center"><i>"Few sons, indeed. are like their fathers. Generally they are worse; but just a few are better"</i> <br> - <a href="/title/Athena">Athena</a>, appearing to <a href="/title/Telemachus">Telemachus</a> in the form of <a href="/title/Mentor">Mentor</a></p></blockquote><br>
<p>
Dear Dad,
</p><p>
I was thinking of you the other day, and realise that I hadn't written to you in, well, basically forever. Back in my <a href="/title/boarding+school">boarding school</a> days I wrote every week, but then of course, I had to - they made me. I probably would have written to you, just not every week.
</p><p>
At any rate, and as I was saying before I interrupted myself with excuses, you came very clearly into my thoughts quite recently. Like you, and your father before you, I enjoy growing a little kitchen garden, and I have lately started a new <a href="/title/allotment+garden">allotment</a>. I love the smell of damp earth, the very essence of the garden. I grow the things I like - Peas, cabbages, kale, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and of course, beans. I mention this last of all because it was during the…