sick still

I'm still sick. I had mostly gotten over my cold but a few late nights seem to have brought it back full strength.

However I'm making some progress learning morse code from my ARRL CDs. Not much else going on, so I'm focusing my attention on it, and it's paying off. I'm getting bored already with the speed of the morse code on the CD, so I edited the files a bit in Audacity, and sped up the morse code parts, because eventually I'll need to hear it faster anyhow.

heh heh

Today at work, it was fun, because on our break someone discovered that Hilarious House of Frightenstein is on during our break, on the Space channel or something. Aside from its camp Canadiana value, and the fact that it reaches quite back far into my youth, it was surreal to hear my Hamilton-area-dwelling co-workers discussing minutiae about where the show was taped and where Vincent Price stayed when he was working on the show. It's just a really funny show in a tenderly bizarre way, without even really REALLY trying.

Tonight I listened to Abba on my way home, and it was all I could do to not disco dance on the GO train.

sick

Most summers, for one or two days, I have to break out the Nasonex to keep my airways open enough to breathe. This summer I didn't get away without using it, though that 1 or 2 days seems to have happened in September. O.o I have a bad cold, usually this kind of thing is due to smog.

TGIF

Gah I'm sick today... I have a cold, one of those ones that makes you feel like you were hit with a truck. I took an advil one night because I can feel this pain from my jaw to my temples, and behind my ears - not sure if it's my TMJ + stress, or if it's sinus trouble. Today I didn't feel like eating much... for my before-the-news snack at work I had a strawberry freezy popsicle thing and some (wait for it) green iced tea. Nestea is my favourite - I don't know what they put in it, but crack isn't mentioned on the ingredients list. Thank god it's the weekend. I wanted to call in sick so bad, but I'll put them in a pickle at work, cause someone else is already off this week. I have a birthday thingie to go to tomorrow, I don't get out much so I do want to go, but I still feel like scheisse so I'm not sure.

some music goofing around

here is some music that I made last night.
It's 12 min of random piano playing... I think a summer of trying to wade through Ulysses, and buying a Brian Eno CD this week have taken its toll.

Seriously though, I heard a thing on Ideas about 4 years ago on the connection between brain waves and music, and since then I've been interested in the idea that music reflects the brainwaves of the person who made the music (more or less) and I believe that those brainwaves can then occur sympathetically in the brain of the listener. The researchers on that particular Ideas had somehow transmuted brainwave info into MIDI data controlling a keyboard... and it sounded like relaxed improvisation, with chords - it made sense musically. So after I heard Thursday Afternoon, (well some of it) I thought if Brian Eno can make 60 min of the same chords, lemme see what I can do. However the material on that MP3 is not relaxed LOL

outlaw inlaws

My sister and her husband have picked out maybe 3 Irish names for their impending offspring. However, after hearing the names, at the shower, a Greek chorus of inlaw aunts were hollering "how about something we can spell?" Ummm, we've had to spell our last name constantly, forever, so try again, let's hear a real reason? Our own first names aren't Irish, but I have to constantly spell my first name too, so meh. If I need to give my last name for something official, I don't bother pronouncing it, I skip right to just spelling it out. For unofficial things, I don't care if they spell or pronounce it wrong. I only have so much time in the day, right? In any case, these aunties have proven that it's better for everyone to find out the name after it's on the birth certificate.

back home from the rock

Well I am home now from Newfoundland. It was truly surreal. After growing up without many close relatives nearby, it was weird to spend time on a road in which everyone was related to me, except for 2 families. !!!!! There was fabulous scenery as well. here are some pics

I saw Little Miss Sunshine. Not a film for the kiddies, lots of cussing and drug use, but it was very very good.