Where Dustbunnies Go To Die

I'm all packed for tomorrow's trip to Atlanta. I still haven't managed to get caught up on stuff that I missed while I was in LA, though... I was running around today to the bank, Grand & Toy (to buy a black ink cartridge for my computer so that I could print my e-ticket), and the laundry room. While I was waiting for my clothes to dry, a neighbour with whom I'm friendly came in to put his clothes in the washer. We were chatting, and I told him about going to Worldcon and Dragon*Con. He asked me if I was familiar with the Dragonriders of Pern books, and when I said yes, he mentioned that a few years ago, he was involved in an effort to make a television series or movie (I wasn't clear on which) from the books... with some guy named Ron Moore. Yes, that Ron Moore. (!!!!!) I asked him if he still kept in contact with him, but he hasn't. It seems they never actually met - they only interacted via phone and email. But still...

I don't imagine I'll get much sleep tonight. Apparently my body decided that today was the day to catch up on missed sleep from last week... and I woke up at 2:45. Eek. I haven't even read today's emails, and there's been a flood on the SMOFS list since the end of Worldcon. Maybe I'll stay up and get caught up on TrekBBS, since I've only been able to log on once since getting home, and only read the Miscellaneous and Meet-Ups fora. OTOH, I'm staying at the same hotel as last year, and I know they have a small business centre where I can use a computer.

Today's amusement, from metaquotes, courtesy of ironychan:

Here's a planet
There's a planet
And another little planet
Fuzzy planet
Funny planet
Planet
Planet
Not

Planet
Planet
Comet
Planet
Asteroid
Potato
Planet
Planet
Galileo
Planet
Planet
Planet
Not

Tombaugh found a planet
It showed up late at night
Comparing pairs of photographs
It moved from left to right
They thought it was a big one
It turned out to be small
And now we have decided
It's no planet after all

Did you ever see a planet
Watch a planet
Do the planet
Planet's planet
What's a planet
Planet
Planet
Not

Half a planet
Double planet
Not a planet
Hawking
Planet
Extrasolar pulsar planet
Planet
Planet
Not

Is this how it's told now?
Does everyone agree?
What became of Ceres
And of UB-313?
The solar system's getting thin
Pluto's been forgot
Time for it to spin away
'Cause planet it is not

Makes me wish I knew Flash.

The same user also created the following icon and has said it's stealable:

Some of you have already read the details on gurudata's LJ, but those of you who are members of LGBT fandom who aren't on his friendslist should be informed of this development... and even those of you who aren't may want to read this.

A few weeks ago, gurudata (who is head of Publications for Gaylaxicon) contacted a printer (Moffitt Print Craft Limited in Guelph, Ontario) to get a quote for our Programme Book. He managed, thanks to whitesangria, to find a printer that would do the job at an excellent price. He sent them the files on Monday night, well before their June 1 deadline to get the job done, and was reassured that everything was fine, and that they would have no problem getting the order done.

Fast-forward to Wednesday, and they contacted him, saying that they were unable to complete the project. When gurudata pointed out that they had only recently told him there were no problems, the guy made excuses: they were too busy, they were understaffed, and so on.

Now, stuff happens, sure... but it gets stranger.

gurudata decided to remove the files from their FTP server, so he logged on... and discovered that the files had already been removed. That may not seem strange in and of itself, but there were several other, older, files still there. Including files from the "World Of Life Bible Institute" and several other Christian organizations. (That's right... these guys have no security to prevent you from seeing what their other clients have submitted.)

When gurudata first posted about this yesterday, I was suspicious, but not as quick to jump to conclusions as he and others were. Perhaps some big job came in from a regular client that had to be done quickly, who knows?

Except that this morning, dx4 phoned them, pretending to be seeking quotes for a fairly large print job that needed to be done quickly... and they said, "Sure, no problem - we can do that."

A call to the Better Business Bureau is definitely in order. Had I known about this at 8:45 this morning when I was on the phone with the Xtra writer who had to submit her article on the convention this morning, I would have mentioned it to her then.

This is a country where discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is Constitutionally prohibited. And the more I think about this, the angrier I get. I'm thinking "lawsuit". (Okay, maybe that's a little overboard... but I'm still upset.)

Fortunately, gurudata was able to find another printer who would take on the job for only slightly more money. But still... there's a principle here.

Come to think of it, I think there was a similar case recently that also involved a printer refusing to take on a job for a gay-related organization. I just can't remember if it was in the States or here... perhaps one of my TrekBBS friends will remember, since I think I read about it in TNZ?

On a lighter note, bovil shared the following with his friendslist the other day, and I'm sharing it with you. You know the carnival game that involves throwing beanbags at a hole in a plywood wall for prizes? Well, apparently in Cincinnati this game is known as 'cornhole'...

And you can even buy 'Cincinnati World Cornhole Championship' t-shirts...

And here's another amusing t-shirt, from Offworld Designs:



Crap, there goes a flash of lightning. And I was thinking about running over to Dominion for a loaf of bread, because I feel like having a peanut butter sandwich. At least I think it was lightning. I wasn't actually looking out the window at the time.

Everything else that I've said was the funniest thing I've seen all week? This beats them all...

What the Easter Bunny does the other 364 days of the year...

Though I have to admit, the leg isn't the part of the cowboy I'd want... and I find myself wondering what, exactly, "joss-stick" is.

Menu #1

This restaurant serves it too. I wonder if it has something to do with the "many privates," or possibly the "fuck to fry the cow river."

Menu #2

I think I'll just keep on ordering shepherd's pie and the like when I'm out. At least I know it's not made with real shepherds.

(ETA: I've never actually eaten at these restaurants. I shamelessly lifted these links from thirdworld.)

I had that meeting this afternoon with the headhunter about a position downtown. She still couldn't tell me what the company is, but she thinks I'm a really good fit - mind you, that's what they all say. However, in this case, it sounds like it would be pretty much the same kind of stuff I was doing at CDS, albeit for about 30% less than I was making there. It's not as senior a position as I had - it turns out that the reason for the sudden need to hire is that they recently promoted everyone. That being said, she thinks that given my experience, there's a possibility that they might hire me at a level more commensurate with my experience and past salary. And in any case, it seems there's no 24/7 support required, which is a good thing - most of the discrepancy between what this job pays and what I used to make was extra pay for carrying the pager, anyway. Take that out, and the assorted overtime I used to do, and the difference is about 13%. Still not great - and still 30% less than I made at Manulife, where I had the title of "team lead" despite never getting a team to lead - but it's better than nothing. (Of course, that's what my mother says about working at McDonald's...)

I'd still like to go back to school, but if something comes up before I figure out what I want to do and where I want to do it, I'm not going to turn my nose up. I want to be working - I'm the sort of person who keeps looking at my bank balance decreasing with every bill I pay and rent cheque I write. Even with the inheritance having finally been cleared up, so there's no imminent threat of homelessness, I would still like to have an income. (Am I nuts, or what?)

Anyway, I told the headhunter that I'm going to be away from next Thursday to the following Monday evening, so she's going to try to get me an interview for early next week. It seems this company is in a hurry to hire someone.

Oh, and apparently, while they're looking for a mainframe person, there might be an opportunity to learn Websphere, which I'm seeing in job ads all the time these days. I have no idea what it is, but if they want to teach it to me, I'm all for it.

I even managed to get through the interview without having a coughing fit or having my nose spontaneously start to run. This cold is particularly nasty - I'm dehydrated constantly, and my lips are chapped. I think I'll be making myself a Neo Citran tonight.

I spent some time this evening watching the Olympic opening ceremonies - not bad at all. I missed the parade of athletes, but I enjoyed Pavarotti, the acrobats, and the fireworks. I also enjoyed the Italian skier who took the oath for the athletes. :)

I still think the hats on the Canadian athletes look a little goofy. Now I know - they reminded me of the hat that Charlie Brown wore in winter, with the ear flaps. All they need are the idiot strings on their mittens.

Oh, and the reason I missed the parade of athletes? I finished watching season one of Desperate Housewives the other night, and had been watching the extras. There's a fantastic bit in the blooper reel from the season finale, where everyone is coming to see Bree at the hospital after Rex's heart attack - the elevator doors open, and they all step out and assume the Charlie's Angels pose. There's also a segment entitled "Oprah Winfrey Is The New Neighbour." I'd sort of assumed that it was footage of an interview segment on the Oprah Winfrey Show or something - but no. They actually wrote a mini-episode which has Oprah moving onto Wisteria Lane and meeting all the neighbours. Great stuff. My only complaint about the extras is that there wasn't enough Steven Culp.

I keep seeing an amusing ad on the subway - amusing in its geeky-inside-jokeness, anyway. There's a decorating show on HGTV called Designer Superstar Challenge. The ad depicts a photograph paperclipped to a file folder. The photo isn't important (though it's pretty garish) - the funny thing is the Post-It note on the photo that reads, "Application #NCC1701-D".

Let's see, what else do I want to share with everyone... oh, right. montrealais helpfully provided this link to a CBC news story about our new Parliamentary Secretary To La Francophonie. It seems Stephen Harper appointed a unilingual anglophone to the post. Real smart, there.

And bovil posted a link to Something Awful's Very Star Wars Valentines. They're all hilarious, but this one in particular made me laugh out loud:

( Cut to save space... )

Anyway, that's it for tonight, I think. Unless I think of something else to prattle on about.

For those of you who aren't members of TrekBBS, but who are familiar with the "Chick tracts" which promote Christianity, and aren't easily offended, you might get a kick out of this: link.