Below are the most recent 12 friends' journal entries.

Monday, January 4th, 2010
poltr1	4:30p	Results (so far) of the Great Linux Experiment..... This past month, I've used Ubuntu Linux almost exclusively. There have only been a few times where I've needed to use Windows or Windows-based apps. One was to download some videos from YouTube.* Another was to rip a CD. One major disadvantage of Ubuntu Linux is that I've found is that many laptop modems don't work with it. That's because many PCMCIA modems are really winmodems, using the OS to perform some of the functions that a normal modem would use. This would impair my ability to use a Linux laptop or PC in places where I don't have a network available, such as my mother's house. Other than that, I intend to keep using Ubuntu Linux whenever and wherever I can. *I know I can download videos using youtube-dl. But it doesn't give the .flv file a nice name. I've been looking for PyTube but the website that it's supposedly on is no longer available. [Updated 22:15] I found a copy of PyTube at http://www.marcosrodriguez.me/pytube/. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
estllechauvelin	11:52p	There wasn't a marshal at archery practice today, but I shot a Winter Round for myself unofficially just to see what I could get. I tied my high score, 87. I was quite content not to have scored an 88 or higher, because doing something that would have affected my ranking except for the lack of a marshal to witness it would just have been irritating. That puts my new average for the season at 77.25, so my goal of 79 should be well within grasp. Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: "One Day More," TAC DVD (3 Comments |Comment on this)
poltr1	3:59a	More adventures in breadmaking.... After cleaning out my kitchen of extraneous stuff, I now feel more inspired to do things in the kitchen. I think I'm a pretty good cook, especially when I follow the recipe. :-) One of my favorite things to eat in the winter is homemade bread. And so, I took the bread maker out of its box and put it to use. ( Allow me to share some of my more recent successes. ) Current Mood: content (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
estllechauvelin	3:30p	Happy 2010, everybody I've been working quite a bit this week. I picked up sub hours on Monday and today, plus a few on Thursday because the other county system just closed early, and on Tuesday I had to make up some hours in my department because I would normally have been working more hours over the course of Thursday and Friday than I am entitled to for holiday pay. For New Year's Eve I cooked dinner at Target's, then we went and hung out with his sisters and played on his parents' Wii for a while. We had the traditional New Year's gaming at Target's house yesterday. owlsforodin, Rob, and Vince joined us for Pirates in the morning, and then CJ joined us, bringing Ben Hurt, which we played all afternoon. They played some Red Baron in the evening, but I've had a cold the last few days and at that point was somewhat too tired to think. Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
estllechauvelin	3:22p	2009 in Review 1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Rank as Yeoman in archery, make the Baronial Archery Guard, become Baronial Archery Champion, retain during Court, go to a rally at the Statehouse, canvas for a ballot issue, greet at the polls, go to an ALA convention by myself 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Last year's resolution was to work on longterm financial stuff, which I guess I did in the form of registering for Ohio Deferred Comp. My resolutions for 2010 are SCA related - get my Winter Round average up to 79 at least, make the Baronial Archery Guard again, and get ranked as Marksman. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No, but a weird number of acquaintences did. I don't care that it's becoming more frequent, it's still weird! 4. Did anyone close to you die? No. 5. What countries did you visit? Never left the U.S. 6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A full time job. 7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? I'm becoming worse and worse at remembering the actual dates on which things ocurred, but November 14 is when I was sworn in as Baronial Archery Champ. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Baronial Archery Champion. 9. What was your biggest failure? Not getting a full time job. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major. 11. What was the best thing you bought? Lots of books. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Lots of people made me happy at their normal levels but nobody really exceeded my expectations. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Governor Strickland 14. Where did most of your money go? The biggest single chunk that I remember is probably theater tickets, once the season tickets are figured in. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Trying out for Assassins, assorted library advocacy 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009? Songs from the musicals that I first saw this year, Next to Normal, Toxic Avenger, The Addams Family 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Sadder. ii. thinner or fatter? Probably about the same. iii. richer or poorer? Richer. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Hang out with friends 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? I wish that less job hunting had been called for, but the only way to have done less of that would have been to have a full time job. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Target and I went to his parents' house for presents, breakfast around lunch time, and lunch nearly at dinner time, and then came over to my house for presents and dinner. 22. Did you fall in love in 2009? Still in it from 2004. 23. How many one-night stands? None. 24. What was your favorite TV program? I started watching Big Bang Theory. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No. 26. What was the best book you read? The Unincorporated Man 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I don't remember making any 28. What did you want and get? Baronial archery guard 30. What was your favorite film of this year? Frost/Nixon 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was twenty-six. I worked and then went to see Roger Drawdy and the Firestarters at the pub with Target 32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Getting a full-time job. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? Try to be vaguely feminine, but not too much at work. 34. What kept you sane? Target 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? It has been a long time since I have done much hardcore fancying of celebrities. I felt rather protective of Bryan Batt's status on Mad Men and greatly enjoyed getting to hear Terrence Mann sing live again, even if it was about a squid. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? Library funding, state and local. 37. Who did you miss? I still miss gypsy_rover. Actually, I've missed most people I don't see any more. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I met people? 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009? Again, I'll let you know when I think of one. Current Mood: content (4 Comments |Comment on this)
estllechauvelin	2:40p	2009 Theatre Year in Review January Once Upon a Mattress, Playhouse South February 1776, Footlighters March Inherit the Wind, Playhouse South Doubt, Human Race Theatre April Nothing, apparently May Footloose, Dayton Playhouse June Next to Normal, Broadway Exit the King, Broadway August: Osage County, Broadway Mary Stuart, Broadway 39 Steps, Broadway The Toxic Avenger, Off-Broadway 9 to 5, Broadway The Lion in Winter, Playhouse South Assassins, Beavercreek Community Theatre July nothing August Kiss Me Kate, Playhouse South Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Dayton Theatre Guild September Cabaret, Dayton Playhouse Lend Me a Tenor, Human Race Theatre The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Beavercreek Community Theatre October Sunshine Boys, Dayton Theatre Guild Man of la Mancha, Human Race Theatre November Back to the '80s, Playhouse South Circumference of a Squirrel, SEED Theatre Project Corpus Christi, Dayton Playhouse The Addams Family: The Musical, Chicago, pre-Broadway tryout The Hallelujah Girls, Dayton Theatre Guild December Gepetto and Son, Town Hall Theatre Broadway Holiday, Victoria Theatre A Christmas Carol, Dayton Playhouse A Christmas Carol, Human Race Theatre Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
poltr1	12:45a	A lazy day at home.... Last night, I went to a friend's New Year's Eve party. I left at around 1:30am and got home soon after that. Woke up at 11am. I pretty much stayed in my sweats and wool socks all day as I watched the Tournament of Roses Parade, the NHL Winter Classic, the Rose Bowl (OSU Bucks won), and the Gator Bowl (UC Bearcats lost). In the meantime, I made some bread in the bread maker and cooked a batch of chili for dinner. And I cuddled with the cats. Is this how I intend to spend all of 2010? Probably not. But it was nice to have been a lazy slug for a day. Current Mood: tired Current Music: The Weather Channel (Comment on this)
Friday, January 1st, 2010
poltr1	4:38p	Intermission..... ....while the Zamboni machine resurfaces the ice. One of the cartoon characters I grew up watching was Peter Puck, a talking and animated hockey puck. NBC -- and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada -- would air 3-minute episodes during intermissions of hockey games. The episodes, produced by Hanna-Barbera and voiced by Ronnie Schell -- covered the rules and mechanics of the game. Poking around YouTube, while watching the NHL WInter Classic, I found some vintage episodes. I'd love to get a DVD of the original episodes. But for now, these will suffice. Episode 1: How To Play The Game Epidsode 2: Equipment, Officials, and Players Episode 3: Pucks, Skates, and Sticks Episode 4: Penalties, Signs, and Fines Current Mood: nostalgic Current Music: Dolores Claman, "The Hockey Theme" (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
zorya_thinks	1:17p	D & D Test No, I haven't posted here in a while. Yes, I need to get back into the groove, if for no other reason to keep from getting stale. Got drawn into trying this test, and after all that it would be silly not to post the results. :-) I Am A: Lawful Good Human Paladin/Sorcerer (4th/3rd Level) Ability Scores: Strength-12 Dexterity-11 Constitution-11 Intelligence-16 Wisdom-13 Charisma-14 Alignment: Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest. Race: Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like. Primary Class: Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting from disease, healing, and guarding against fear. The paladin can also direct this power to help others, healing wounds or curing diseases, and also use it to destroy evil. Experienced paladins can smite evil foes and turn away undead. A paladin's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Many of the paladin's special abilities also benefit from a high Charisma score. Secondary Class: Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast. Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 28th, 2009
poltr1	10:25p	....but I'm not snowed in! We got about 2 inches (5 cm) of snow in Dayton yesterday and this morning. Yet I'm acting as if we got two feet (60 cm) of snow. I'm staying inside, not going out very much, and getting stuff done at home. Last night, I made a trip to Kroger to get some groceries after dropping off my daughter with her mom. Today I made another trip to Kroger to get a few more groceries -- items that weren't on my list last night. There's really not a lot of shopping I want to do now. Money's a bit tight right now, and I need to concentrate on getting what I *need* and not what I *want*. I have food at home, and I should work on eating that instead of going out for lunches and dinners. Somewhere I have it in my head that I'm snowed in, like I was during the Blizzards of '77 and '85. I don't know why. Maybe I just feel like staying at home and tackling the things that need to get done, instead of avoiding them by going out. Believe me, there's plenty of things that can be done. Having things to do at home is my hedge against getting cabin fever. In the meantime, I brought out the bread maker and made two loaves of bread. I also made chicken pot pie casserole, varying a recipe I obtained from a cookbook. And I cleaned up -- and cleaned out -- the kitchen. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: The Weather Channel (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 27th, 2009
poltr1	9:18p	The 3rd Annual NHL Winter Classic..... This year's NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game will be at Boston's Fenway Park. The game will be between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. I think you all know where I'm going to be come New Year's Day at 1 PM: parked in front of my TV set watching the game! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 25th, 2009
poltr1	10:46p	More sadness..... While perusing music and videos for the Alan Parsons Project on YouTube, I found out that former Project collaborator Eric Woolfson passed away from cancer on December 2 of this year. I don't think it's been mentioned here on mine or anyone else's LJ. Now is a good time for me to add his musical works to my wish list -- Freudiana (oh please re-release this!), Gaudi (the musical), Poe: More Tales of Mystery and Imagination, The Alan Parsons Project That Never Was, and so on. I should be able to get most of these via the ericwoolfsonmusic.com website. Rest in peace, Eric. You and your musical talent will be missed. Current Mood: crushed Current Music: The Alan Parsons Project, "Old And Wise" (2 Comments |Comment on this)