LiveJournal for Benjamin Geiger.
|
|||||||||||||
| Tuesday, August 9th, 2005 |
|
||
|
In case you haven't noticed, I don't post here anymore. In fact, I forgot I had this account. In the meantime, I created another journal, but I don't post there either. All of my writing is at my main blog or my school blog. I'm just keeping this account active because it's cool having a number this low. |
||
|
|
| Tuesday, January 1st, 2002 |
|
||||||||
|
I couldn't sleep the night before, so I simply laid down and tried to rest, deciding at 3:30 AM or so that it was a lost cause. I showered, got dressed, and called my friend Josh to wake him up. We left for Epcot at about 4:45 AM. Arriving at the parking gate, we were informed that it would open at 6:45 AM, and that we should wait behind the other three or four vehicles that were already in line. So, I pulled behind a motorhome and shut the engine down, leaving the radio on. At 6:30, the gates were opened. We ended up parking in approximately the fourth or fifth row (row 59, in Imagine, I think, but I'm probably wrong). We were first in line at the turnstile we chose. The park itself was scheduled to open at 9:00 AM, but the turnstiles were opened at 7:45 AM. We got two adjacent lockers, stowed our bags (which were searched before we entered; officially outside food isn't allowed into the parks, but the security lady who searched our bags didn't care), and waited for the rope to drop. At 8:45, the rope finally dropped. My first stop was the FountainView Cafe, to meet with one of my dad's coworkers, a very friendly lady named Ruby. Dad had given her a few things, with instructions to pass them on to me, so she did. Then, it was off to have a good time. We rode Body Wars (very rough) and watched Cranium Command (very funny). Then, it was time for a nap. I crashed in the hallway next to what was formerly the Pasta Piazza; Josh went his own way for a few hours. At nearly 4:00 PM, after about an hour of sleep (I'm a fairly light sleeper in unfamiliar environments), I woke up and got ready for the festivities. As soon as it got dark, I started using my SkyLiner, with various messages, such as: "NERD PRIDE", "EAT AT JOE'S", "INSERT JOKE HERE", and "MY FEET HURT!"; I also played with my new laser pointer. (I can stand near the lockers and shine the red dot on the highest visible panel of Spaceship Earth. No kidding.) I met with Dad at about 8:30 PM; he let me know where he would be working. The party had already begun, and one set of fireworks had gone off already (for families with young kids who didn't want to miss the fun, but couldn't stay until midnight). I found a comfortable place to sit, put in my earplugs (I was sitting right next to a speaker), and bided my time. At 11:30 PM, Josh and I met up and we went to watch Illuminations. The fireworks were excellent, not only the usual show, but especially the New Year's special extension. There must have been ten minutes of constant explosions, and they were rattle-your-brains good. Afterwards, we met up with Dad again, and cleared out our lockers. On the way there, some girl started blowing chunks all over the sidewalk right in front of us, so we had to be careful not to step in it. After cleaning out our lockers, we waited in the FountainView until about 1:00 AM to let the crowds thin out, then we went out to my car, arriving there at 1:30 AM. We got out of the parking lot at about 2:00 AM. Not bad. We had a lucky break once we got out of the lot, though; there was a large sign saying something to the effect of "I-4, US 192, Hwy 417, turn right"... people assumed that they had to be in the right lane (both lanes actually turn right). However, the route I take home involves passing by Animal Kingdom, which meant I had to stay in the left lane. I was able to pass 40 or so cars and zip right out. I didn't have to wait in another line for the rest of the trip home. I dropped Josh off at his grandmother's house, went home, and slept until 5:00 PM. I have just one thing left to say right now: "Is there a podiatrist in the house?" |
||||||||
|
|
| Wednesday, December 5th, 2001 |
|
||||||||
|
Heh.... I decided it was time to start using this thing again. Most of my daily stuff can be found on my Advogato diary. I try to reserve this for things that are wildly off-topic for that forum. Anyway, the romantic part of my life still isn't happening. As I've explained on Advogato, there's a certain guy (let's call him "Dick"; names are changed to protect the guilty), who's been generally bugging me. I was going to ask a certain girl I know ("Jane") out. Somehow, I end up mentioning this to Dick. The next day, Dick comes back and says that he had gone out with her that night. Not only that, but he constantly brags about how close he supposedly is to getting into her pants; I'm sure this is some sort of "I want to be the alpha male" reflex. This wouldn't be so bad, except that this guy is a complete moron. He also has a fiancee. "She's in Texas," he says, "so she'll never know." She will, if I have anything to say about it. I have her email address, her mailing address, her phone number.... I'm sure I can get in touch with her somehow. I also have an AOL Instant Messenger client that supports logging conversations. All I have to do is get him to brag over AIM, and he's busted. Perhaps the alpha male should watch his back... in the wild, beta males constantly fight to overtake his position. In the human world, we "beta males" have more subtle ways of taking the wind out of his sails. Yes, this is personal. He's been subtly mocking me for long enough, and it's time for the shit to hit the fan. When it does, look out. Here's the thing, though. I can easily cost him his job. I don't want to do that. I only want to embarass him... but when I do I want to embarass him thoroughly. So I have to be careful not to cross that line. I'm not going to say any more because it'll take the fun out of it when I do it. More later. |
||||||||
|
|
| Thursday, June 14th, 2001 |
|
||||
| It's been almost a month since I've seen the friend I mentioned a few entries ago. I'm still going to ask her out, when I see her again. | ||||
|
|
| Friday, May 25th, 2001 |
|
||||
|
Woot! I finally got the new script done. It's a script that ithought calls, which in turn calls LoserJabber to post the message. At least I think it does. ;-) It'll be in CVS soon, if it works. |
||||
|
|
| Thursday, May 24th, 2001 |
|
||||||||
|
I've been thinking about ithought and LoserJabber. At the moment, ithought's LiveJournal module is semi-broken. It actually posts the entry, but crashes immediately afterward. This is a change from earlier, when it would crash before posting the entry. But it got me thinking. LoserJabber is stable, and has a nice interface, not to mention being under the GPL. What would stop me from creating a patch to LoserJabber (a GPL program) to let it become a plugin for ithought (another GPL program)? Or even just create a wrapper, that handles the interface? Can anyone see any problem with this? (I'm going to ask the author(s) of LoserJabber for their blessing, but it's not required.) Later... After much reflection (and inspection of the LoserJabber source code), I've decided to instead write a small wrapper that calls LoserJabber in text mode. I just hope the interface stays the same. LoserJabber ROCKS, man. |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||
| Well... what was appearing here was actually an old entry from ithought, that I tested posting with, and I didn't think it actually got posted. My bad. | ||||||
|
|
| Wednesday, May 23rd, 2001 |
|
||||||||
|
So. Now I understand why MIT has a 'charm school'. Since I've been so wrapped up in computers and schoolwork, I've completely missed the whole 'socialization' aspect of school. What I wouldn't give to be glib and silver-tongued, and able to 'read people'. Instead, I stand there trying to impress the object of my affection, but instead making a total fool out of myself. Most people go through this in junior high. I'm 19. I read through ESR's "Sex Tips for Geeks", in particular, the final chapter, the one on oversensitivity. I got the feeling that he was reading my mind while writing it. The problem is, if I do make a pass at this person, and it falls through, I have to deal with her on a daily basis for months. I'm thinking I should just suck it up and ask her out, but... Then again, what's the worst that could happen? She could turn me down... and I'd be no worse off than if I never asked in the first place. I think I'll ask her out. Later that afternoon... Well, I would have asked my friend out... if she were here. Grrr. Actually, I don't know if she's here or not... but I haven't seen her since I got here. It's a shame, really... I was all worked up over this, and for what? Well, we'll run into each other soon. I hope. |
||||||||
|
|
| Sunday, March 4th, 2001 |
|
||||||||
|
Sorry, but I've endured too much feminazi BS and just feel the need to rant. The feminazis, while preaching equality, chastise men for even the most harmless acts. The double standards are ridiculous: If a man holds a door open for a feminazi, he's being patronizing. If he doesn't, he's a chavinistic pig. If a man takes overtime work, he's abandoning his family. If he passes on the overtime, to be with his wife and kids, he's just a lazy bum. If a woman has to leave work early to take care of her kids, she's nobly protecting her family. If a man has to leave work early to take care of his kids, he's just trying to get out of work. Of course, feminazis want men to be soft, and sensitive, and in touch with their 'feminine sides'. If a man actually does get in touch with his feminine side, he is laughed at by those very women, for not being 'manly'. I can't help but be reminded of the case in which a female employee of a company sued the company for sexual harassment, against a man who didn't work in the same department, who she didn't even know, just because she knew he went to strip clubs after work. Just because she knew that there was some guy at her office that went to strip clubs traumatized her so badly that she felt the need to sue. It all boils down to a sense of entitlement. These women feel that since they have been slighted in the past, they deserve to have the rest of the world bend over and kiss their asses. Sorry, ladies, but it doesn't work that way. I'm a heterosexual white male. I'm going to face a world just as bad as that the blacks and women and gays used to face. I have to compete against those who are not nearly as competent, but are given priority status in all things due to racist, sexist laws. When did "survival of the fittest" give way to "survival of the most protected"? Since when does "to the victor go the spoils" need to be qualified with "unless the loser was a member of a minority"? The term 'minority' is antiquated. Women make up more than 50% of the population in the United States. Therefore, men are a minority, and should be accorded special rights just by that designation. You see, that's what the feminazis are truly after. Not just equal rights, but special consideration because they happen to have concave genitalia. If I spent a week out of every month complaining about feeling bloated, crying for no reason, becoming violently angry, et cetera, I wouldn't be able to hold a job. If a woman does it, it's just her time of the month. Men just can't win. |
||||||||
|
|
| Thursday, January 4th, 2001 |
|
||||||||
|
Night/Early Morning. It's been three days since New Year's. My legs are still killing me. I did make it into Epcot for New Year's. Over the course of the day, I visited almost every pavilion in Future World (I'm boycotting Energy for personal reasons, and the Land didn't seem interesting enough for a 2 hour wait.) Each of these pavilions required long periods of standing. For the first time in years, I walked around World Showcase. I also danced at Scooter's Dance Party, which was a mistake. Not a tour group in sight, though. The crowds were respectful, to limits. (When you have five hundred people in a space the size of a broom closet, you're forced to be pushy.) I don't see why people like Test Track so much. It's boring, except for the last minute or so, with the barrier test and the high-speed loop. Not only that, but it's steeped in GM advertising. Normally, advertising is limited to post-ride; in Test Track it's pervasive. It's all about "What GM does to ensure your safety", with a connotation of 'other car companies don't.' Then again, commercialism isn't always bad. Ice Station Cool is a perfect example. It's Coca-Cola all the way, but it's not as glaring. Besides, you're given a place to cool down and free drinks; I think I can handle seeing a few Coca-Cola items. By the way, Tito Puente Jr. wasn't too bad. He actually has talent, unlike MDO. But all the same, it's Latin music, which I don't really like much. Well, gotta get to bed. I have to buy my books for next semester tomorrow, then I have a doctor's appointment. Wish me luck. |
||||||||
|
|
| Saturday, December 30th, 2000 |
|
||||||||
|
Evening. Yay, I'm going to Epcot for New Year's! The band for Epcot New Year's Eve is going to be Tito Puente Jr. Last year it was Menudo, or "MDO" as they call themselves now. Obviously, Disney is bowing down to the hispanic cultures, especially Brazilians. [ Update: Someone informed me that Brazilians aren't a 'hispanic' culture, since they speak Portuguese. My bad. But, everything else I said applies. ] (Disclaimer: I don't intend any offense to Brazilians in general, only to the specific groups I mention.) Here's the rub. I'm local to Disney, living 15 miles away and having a dad who works there. Therefore, I tend to visit the Mouse during off-peak times. But the same times are prime visiting times for Brazilian tour groups. These groups consist of a large number of teenagers and one token adult. Now, as it's been explained to me, Brazil has a very strong caste system. People are raised from childhood to believe certain people are below them. These groups of unruly teenagers believe that all Americans (and any other nationality) are inferior, and can therefore be pushed aside and disrespected. It's an unusual feeling to be standing in the middle of a theme park and have a group of loud, belligerent youngsters barrel through, nearly knocking you down. My usual response is to go to a shoulder-block position (As you may remember, I weigh more than 250 pounds) and try to get one of them to run into me. Usually they fall down, stand up, mumble something, and run off. Besides, if they do complain, I have the defense that "(s)he ran into me." Sometimes the "token adult" tries to control the kids, but (s)he is outnumbered 50-to-1. Why doesn't Disney do something about this? Simple. These kids buy tons and tons of stuff. More tourists equals more money in the hands of Eisner and Co., hence Disney Security isn't fond of imposing any restrictions. Anyway, I'll post more later. |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Well, I'm here. Yeah, yeah, I know, I've already got a journal at Advogato, but I needed to start a journal here, so I could help work on the LiveJournal module to ithought. Anyway. I'm 5 feet 9 inches tall (in my shoes) and two hundred and *cough* pounds. I currently attend Polk Community College. I'm just there to pick up credits while I wait for UCF or USF to accept me. Or so I tell everyone. I'm one of those "Microsoft hating Linux freaks". My parents are perpetually annoyed at me due to this. I'm an aspiring programmer. I'm currently working on ithought, which is a GTK based text entry program. It stores entries, and can post them to online journals such as Advogato or LiveJournal. I just got a Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital 3D, and I'm very happy with it. True, the twisting handle feature gets annoying at times, but that's why I'm glad they have a way to turn it off. I guess that's about it. Come back soon. I'll be here. I think. |
||||||||
|
|
LiveJournal for Benjamin Geiger.
|
|||||||||||||