http://cafechatnoir.net No fate but the fate you make for yourself. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:08:17 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I would just like to take a moment to say... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to the best damn little brother on the planet. DonnieLove, there are not many people in life that you can truly count on to come through in the clutch, or just be there to listen when you need to bitch about ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/10/07/ahem-3/ Not that I don't RIDICULOUSLY miss my Dad, too, because I do.  But, Mom & I had developed a great ability to talk politics with absolutely NO hurt feelings whatsoever. I think it is because we both discovered that we had a lot more in common politically than either of us ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/10/03/i-miss-my-mom/ When I initially announced to my friends that my brother & I would be living under the same roof, the reaction was pretty much the same:  "I know you two get on very well, but you've lived alone for 5+ years - won't it drive you crazy?!" I did fully admit ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/30/come-home-donald-come-home/ Maybe I've been in DC too long and am just too close to the politics.  Or I just spend way too much time watching CNBC. But, I will admit I was very surprised when I heard that various Rep's said their constituents were overwhelmingly against today's package being passed.  (Of course, ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/29/interesting-5/ Well, sort of. Looks like Wachovia Bank is next on the chopping block.  Of course, my grandmother has 2 accounts there... Given that her FAVORITE activity is to actively seek out things to worry about and to then expect me to have all the answers, this should be fun. Hopefully a few things ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/27/and-the-financial-crisis-hits-home/ Watching the Banking Committee hearings this morning on CNBC re: market bailout. It would be more comforting if the members understood what a reverse auction was. http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/23/god-save-our-happy-home-2/ OK, so over on the trading forum I follow, it seems there have been some folks that have had problems getting to their online brokerages (mainly TD Ameritrade it seems) and they are understandably ticked off over the situation.  (It's not like today's volume in the markets is unprecendented, and ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/19/what-the-hell/ I got a tech on the phone at Cox Communications who... -- Had a sense of humor -- Wanted to be helpful (though there really wasn't anything he could do) -- Saw no need to "pull up my account" just to give me info on the outage in my area I called to see ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/19/will-wonders-never-cease-2/ If you don't like roller coasters, obviously this has not been the best week to be following the stock market. However, if you are like me and actively follow the stock market, you may agree that today is a really crappy day to have the cable go out and not be ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/19/wheeeeeeeeeee-3/ XKCD.com on the eve of the potential end of the world... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/10/ill-admit-i-was-waiting-for-this-one/ Is on it's way out and has been crazy insane scary a bunch of rain... Not much wind, lots of rain.  Scattered power outages, Huntington is flooded (not unusual) and Rt 1 is shut down in several places.  Went out to run some errands, roads are a little messy with standing ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/06/ts-hanna/ If TS Hanna turns out to be a really big nothing around here, I confess it is my doing. Why? Because this week I finally got out and picked up the weather radio that has been on my to-do list all summer long.  It occured to me that I am rarely watching ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/05/and-here-comes-hanna/ So, Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant.  Already seen lots of snarky comments floating about re: the parenting skills of the VP candidate and her husband.  Eh, as far as I am concerned, it's more of an "it is what it is" situation.  They're hardly the first to try ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/09/01/well-the-republicans-are-just-full-of-surprises/ STILL having the issue with the posts, despite the upgrade. Consider this a test to see what happens next... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/30/dammit-8/ Just got a news email that Gustav is now a Cat 5. Still absorbing McCain's VP pick. I know Palin is very well regarded among her constituents and it doesn't appear that Alaska is about to fall into the ocean so I assume she's not done too badly there. ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/30/well-its-going-to-be-an-interesting-weekend/ Soooo, some of my posts have been randomly disappearing. Thought I'd figured it out, but apparently not. I now suspect there may be some inadvertent hole in the comment page thanks to the "subscribe to comment" plugin. Sooo, that's disabled for now, upgrading WP will be the ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/18/poof/ New laptop arrived on Friday, had a few missteps getting it up and running and set just the way I wanted, but it's all good now and it is SO nice to get through the day without it overheating and shutting off. It's also MUCH faster than the old one. So far, ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/18/shiny/ Something is erasing my posts... Just trying to figure out what's triggering it - so, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain and all that. http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/14/test-posting/ Went and did the Summer Super Sprint out in Manassas today and had a blast. All the gory details can be found here. http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/08/10/i-raced-today/ OK, the post that was originally here is not anymore.  I have no idea where it went. But the jist of it was that I met Dicky Betts of the Allman Brothers Band. http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/07/22/with-all-this-shit-there-must-be-a-pony/ OK, the rogue piece of script has been located and removed, WP has been upgraded and now it is a matter of getting all the little add-ons working with the newer version of WordPress.  Hopefully Google/StopBadWare will take this site off their "OMG, it will kill you!!!" list in short ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/07/17/site-issues/ Tonight, we broke the rules.  "We" being myself and Moxley. In season, dogs aren't allowed on the beach in Southern Shores.  (One neighborhood north, they are allowed year round.)  I understand why - in any given population, there is X% that don't clean up after their critters.  In the offseason, in ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/07/17/scofflaws/ When the wildlife comes up and poses for you. I was down on the beach, on my stomach & propped up on my elbows reading a book and minding my own business when something went skittering under my chest.  I sit up and find myself face to face with the biggest, ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/07/14/wildlife-photography-is-easy/ Best Cat Ever.  Couldn't have asked for a better 15 years from my furry friend. http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/07/09/target-1993-2008/ Anyone out there know what a reasonable lifespan for a very heavily used laptop would be? Mine is 3 years old and starting to overheat again on occasion, and I'm trying to figure out if this is the beginning of the end or if taking it to the shop would make ... http://cafechatnoir.net/2008/06/27/alrighty-then-4/