well, i am stealing from mr. wheaton, too. this is pretty trippy...

1. Open up a blank word doc.
2. Type in Q33 NY in capitals (this is the flight number of the 1st plane to hit the WTC)
3. Highlight it.
4. Change the font size to 48
5. Change the actual font to windings (1)

onto other less disturbing things...someone should invent a coder's keyboard. one stroke could give you the needed tags...click b, get < b >< /b >, typing w will get you a 'http://www.', and t + 2 + 3 will write the code for a two column - three row table. it could get more complicated than basic html, of course. wouldn't it save a lot of cutting and pasting? and silly typo coding errors? as i try to become a more proficient at coding, this seems as if it would simplify things. or maybe i am thinking too much again.

there is a 'curtis park harvest pumpkin faire' next weekend at the park by my house. why is it that we add vowels to the end of words in the english (or, should i say, american) language to give them a new meaning? adding the letter 'e' seems to create a medieval or renaissance tone. add 'i' or 'ii'? you change the word to a scientific sounding plural. the plural of scissors? scissii. see? and when you add 'o' you get a slang 'i wanna sound cool' word. yo' daddy-o. no wonder our language is so complicated. there are many grammar and spelling rules, yet they all can be broken. hmmm. yup. it's sunday morning and i have had too much early-morning-pondering time. off to read the paper. you know i will have something to say about THAT later... :)

oh, and the tree picture? it's shep's. taken at pollywog holler. i haven't asked him if it is ok yet. so i hope it is...

ok, now i know we may not be at a point where this is humorous, but for your viewing pleasure...

finally 'me and pics' matches (somewhat) the design i have here. made some slight 'me' updates (i haven't changed that much, yet. it's only been a month or so. give me some time. v.2.0 may take a few years. it's in the works :P ).

i discovered the answer to a question i have always had, but was too embarrassed to ask. especially since my dad is a 'car guy' and believes that i have all car knowledge hot wired in to my brain. he's really good at giving me that quizzical 'that is an innane question. you're supposed to be a smart kid. why are you asking?' look. so, if you, too, wonder how gas pumps know when the tank is full, check it out. and there are some good time wasters on the click and clack page...

y'all should be jealous. i can see bullfighting - just a short drive away! they're not too violent, though:

'California bullfights are bloodless battles, the bulls affixed with a Velcro pad atop their shoulders.'

ahh, technology. thank goodness for velcro!

still working on some sort of graphic...i am spending way too much time on this, but i can't make up my mind as to what i like. should be us soon. as will the east coast pics (i know, i said that days ago. patience, grasshopper.)

i wish i was going to bridge school this year - forgot about buying tickets, and i was on vacation during the warehouse lottery. it should be a fine show, and shoreline is a great venue, even if it's built on an old landfill. be careful when lighting your cigarettes there! rem, ben harper, dave matthews, pearl jam - a much better lineup then when i went in 1995. well, i did get to see hootie and the blowfish :P. and what a suprise they had in athens last night! sounds like quite a show...

now ground troops. do they really think they will be able to find a man hidden in the mazes of the mountains in afghanistan? sending warnings to the citizens to stay off roads, bridges, and not to interfere with the military operations. 'if you do this you will not be harmed' the message announces.

how i hope this is true. enough innocent people have already perished.

whew. well, it's a start. new! different! better? eventually i am going to add some pretty pictures, too. won't that be nice? :P

at the grocery store today i saw juice in those little plastic barrels - 'lil sips'. i remembered them from from when i was a kid - we always had them at summer day camp. they always gave me sore throats. just like otter pops. but i would eat them anyway. wait. i am not old enough to get nostalgic over things yet...

trader joe's the the best grocery store on earth. those of you who don't live near one? bummer. you're missing out. :)

All is lost never to be found
When the tears fill up my eyes and no one is around

I feel like I'm slipping outside myself
As the water rushes all over me and tears fill up in my eyes

And I feel like I could cry
If I had the breath I'd scream
Why is this happening
I feel like I'm slipping outside myself

i always thought, as a teenager, that when i graduated college, found a job, got married, blah blah blah, i would be ME. and i would know, with confidence who that me was and where that me is going. but that me isn't so certain - i can look at where i came from, what got me to where i am today. but i can't seem to figure out where i am going. could someone tell me where to find that life instuction manual? i seem to have misplaced mine.

g.w. was in sacramento yesterday. closed off a bunch of the downtown streets, and wouldn't even allow pedestrian traffic near the auditorium where he was speaking. he then flew via an air entourage that consisted of: three Chinook military helicopters, two marine one helicopters (one real, one decoy), two f-16 fighter jets and one awacs early-warning radar plane to travis air force base where he spoke again. heard this on npr, then read it in the paper:

Bush sought to assure the military personnel that their sacrifices have a purpose. He told the story of a 4-year-old boy whose father had been shipped out from Travis. According to the boy's mother, the president said, he has been telling neighbors that "Daddy's saving the world."

"The boy's right." Bush said.

i am afraid that the world, at least as it used to be, is beyond saving. and i am conflicted inside as to how i feel about this bombing. there really isn't a 'right' way to fight this war, and i don't know if it will ever be won. we have already lost. at least a major battle. one that snuck up behind us...what kind of battles will we face in the future?

i am probably thinking way too much about all this...

...yup. i am. but then, after hearing on the 'california report' this morning that they are concerend at the diablo nuclear power plant about air stirkes (the 3 foot concrete dome can withstand a 7.5 earthquake, but it is not likely to withstand being hit by a plane), as well as in san onofre. then, this. i lived about an hour from three mile island as a child, when there was almost a meltdown. my college was 15 minutes from diablo. to be honest, i never really thought about living that close. me and my damn trust. what if they would've decided, 'hell. screw the WTC. we'll get 'em good by hitting a neuclear site'. fucking scary. argh. i need to stop reading this stuff...

didn't change the template. but had fun with some other stuff. tweaked my neck climbing today. ouch. had fun flipping through cookbooks. planning to cook a big dinner this weekend. dan's parents are visiting. evening cliff notes.

this anthrax stuff was exactly what i was worried about. i fear that this is only the beginning. and i am truly frightened of what is to come. i feel like they are teasing us, testing us, seeing if we are alert. but they know the holes that exisit. and no matter how hard we try to cover them, a way can be found in through the cracks along the edges.

well, it's still the same. i spent yesterday futzing with it..changing templates, updating templates...trying to make comments work, adding the links. yesterday it looked different every hour, as i experimented. i found a template i liked (well, as much as you can possibly like a template, which isn't saying much), but couldn't get the comment code to work with the blogger code. then, in the midst of my experiments, IE crashed and refused to open (damn you, microsoft). so, then i tired to fix it in netscape. which led to even more problems. (back in the day, i was a netscape devotee - swore i'd never turn to the dark side. but, i switched to IE a year or so ago, and haven't looked back. am i evil?) anyways...after all that, i gave up and kept it the same. i wish i could host my own site on the avenue13 server, but the company i use to host it uses windows2000 (according to dan) and will not allow me to CHMOD the cgi files. therefore, greymatter and movabletype are out. and i am stuck in blogger land. grrr.

i am scanning my east coast trip pictures, and should have them up by tomorrow (unless something exciting happens tonight to fill up my evening). i may even try to make a photo album that doesn't look like crap.

it's pumpkin ice cream season at gunther's. now, in my family we never had pumpkin pie at thanksgiving. my dad is a chocolate fan. when i was a kid we would go out to dinner and he would sometimes order mud pie - as his dinner. his logic? he would eat dessert even if he ate an entree, therefore he was dieting by just eating dessert. hmm. where was i? oh - so no one ever made pumpkin pie, even at family gatherings. apple pie, carrot cake, ice cream, but no pumpkin. i don't like pumkin pie. the custardy texture isn't for me. the same reason i dislike creme brulee. but when i tried pumpkin ice cream? perfect. the sweet/spicy/cinnamony taste, and creamy, gooey ice cream texture. ah, dessert heaven.

i read a headline about texas insturments. and all i could think of was speak and spell and speak and math. didn't realize the company was still around...

pictures of seattle (in a very very cheesy 'i was lazy and had dreamweaver make a photo album' layout). enjoy. changed it a little this afternoon. and as an addendum to my anthrax ramblings, on npr today gray davis' assistant announced that there was a scare already this morning in the governor's offices. a white powdery substance. turned out to be sugar from a doughnut.

no, i am not kidding.

well, because everybody else seems to be doing it, (and they are looking pretty sweet) i was going to change my template last night, just so i looked different, too. (let me know when y'all are planning the jump off that cliff...i want to do it too!) but i was too lazy to change all the customizations, too (add my links, comment code, blah blah) so it's still the same. you think it's boring? it's looking to fluffy to me - you know, chick like. nice soft grey and peachy colors. maybe i will change it today.

wow am i not interesting this morning...normal life is just way too normal now. i should find a job that makes me travel.

pictures. i gots 'em. from the travels. i think i will scan them today...well, the ones that are somewhat interesting. :P

oh, one more thing. just one. from my.ca.gov.

This is an official CDC Health Advisory
Distributed via Health Alert Network-October 12, 2001, 21:00 EDT (9:00 PM EDT)

HOW TO HANDLE ANTHRAX AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL AGENT THREATS
many facilities in communities around the country have received anthrax threat letters. Most were empty envelopes; some have contained powdery substances. The purpose of these guidelines is to recommend procedures for handling such incidents.

suspicious Unopened letter or PACKAGE MARKED WITH THREATENING MESSAGE SUCH AS "ANTHRAX":
1. Do not shake or empty the contents of any suspicious envelope or package.
2. PLACE the envelope or package in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage of contents.
3. If you do not have any container, then COVER the envelope or package with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove this cover.
4. Then LEAVE the room and CLOSE the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).

marked with a threatening message such as anthrax? i found this funny. hmm. if i get an envelope in the mail marked 'ANTHRAX' what am i going to do with it? rip it open and fling powdery substances into the air? geez. duh. and it will be labeled anthrax? well, that is at least helpful. now i know which mail i shouldn't open...

the 'alissa america' tour is now over...to the atlantic ocean, north almost to canada, south almost to mexico...it has been wonderful. i am not sure if i am ready for this return to routine. the wedding in san diego? fabulous. so wonderful to see old college friends, all together. doesn't happen much anymore. all of us talking about wanting to move to the pacific northwest, yet only one of us has made it there so far. jason and ali were married on coranado island, home of the famous hotel del coranado. very so cal. the reception site was right on the ocean, and we watched the sun sink on the horizon as we celebrated their marriage. drinking and dancing to a great irish band. good friends, good music, good food, good drink...does it get any better?

driving through LA today - no wait. la today. it certainly is not deserving of my little-used capital letters. :P - and saw a humorous sight...in a jeep wrangler, with the top and door removed sat a tan, buff guy with his shirt off. and a ski cap on. and a cell phone pressed to his ear, with his hand over the other ear, presumably to drown out excess noise. all of this while travelling at 80mph on interstate 5. no, i am not sure how he was steering. only in la.

the sunset today? wow. amazing. just enough clouds to create that look where each cloud looks as if it glowing from the edges with a pinkish gold light. tinges of blue at the edge of sky. mmmm....

when i studied architecture, i was geeked on frank gehery. i remember quoting him in a paper i wrote - 'i seek the work of artists and use art as an inspiration'. read this today. and enjoyed seeing the seattle music experience building, and the differences between the inside spaces and outside appearance.

read this, too. (you see, when i read the newspaper, i have a tendancy to read interesting [well, i find them interesting] things out loud to whomever seems to be sitting nearby. so y'all are sitting nearby now). why oh why did it take such a tragedy for us to realize how important our families and friends are? to stop promoting violent movies and toys? though the article points out some interesting (if pointless) tidbits - women are buying sensible underwear - no lacy thongs and garter belts, and crock pot sales are up. i think i have my mom's avacado green crock pot somewhere. anyone hungry for some pot roast? odd to see the these changes in people. sensible underwear is boring. if you're spending more time at home, that lacy stuff could be useful...ahem. anyways...

i realized something about myself this weekend. there are times when i forget about what happened. so involved in the moment at hand - whether chatting with friends, discovering a book, dancing my heart out - that all thoughts of danger, fear, worry escape my brain. and those times seem to be happening more and more...realizing that life is still happening as is used to in many ways. it is comforting to me to feel this. then i remember the bombs we are dropping right alongside 'care' packages of food labeled 'this is a gift from america'. do the bombs have that imprinted on them, too?

wishing you a blissful "lil pink sock" day. :)