Friday, September 28, 2007

Dream: Ed and the fish tanks

I had a dream last night that began with me getting up in the morning and noticing that the fish tank was really cloudy and silty looking. The lights weren't on yet (they are on a timer that turns them on about 10min after I wake up), but I could still tell the water quality was really, really bad.

I stepped back and realized that he had switched the fish tank and TV around (this makes no sense given our current living room arrangement, but...). And I saw that in this configuration the TV was closer to the couch and it allowed more room for us to get down the hall. So, I was more ok with what he had done after understanding why he did it, but still kind of annoyed that the fish had to suffer for it.

Then, from there, I noticed 2 new fish tanks -cubes, both freshly set up from an aquarium store. Ed said he had them out on loan or that they were returnable -he just wanted me to have them if I liked them. Sweet! But, he didn't just get the aquarium, there were plants (both real and fake) and all other kinds of accessories and new fish as well. (Enough to stock a store.) But, half the fun is picking all that stuff out. From there, stepping back on more time, the area of wall was then taken up by all kinds of 10gal tanks, all dirty and stocked with all kinds of different fish, etc.

There was even one with a snapping turtle and a 3-legged frog. When I started thinking that the turtle was probably to blame for the missing frog leg, it took a wild jump at me and I woke up.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Dream Log: Overnight Dinner Party?

The basic idea in the dream was that Ed and I were invited to a dinner somewhere. It felt like it'd be a family thing, but uncomfortable, like maybe it was my Dad's side of the family.

There was a lot of time to kill before leaving and for all of the time except when it was time to get dressed for the party, it was someone else's house.

Towards time to go to bed, we went upstairs, but to get to the 3rd floor where we'd be sleeping, you had to go up one set of stairs, then down another, and then up again. It was very odd. I told Ed and the other person who was with us (my brother?) that I had seen this before and asked (my brother?) if this was really the only way up -he said it was.

We briefly went out on the upstairs balcony, but the house wasn't very well kept and it looked rotted and covered in moss. I went as far as the roof line, and wouldn't go over although I was teased by Ed about not being willing to go any further while he danced around and stuff.

Then we started getting ready for the party. I looked in the mirror and was mad that my hair had grown so that the haircut I just got a few weeks ago no longer looked like it had much style -it was basically back to the long, straight cut it was before -boring. My clothes were also boring. I looked through the closet and didn't find much except a dark-colored tie-die sweatshirt that I liked the look of and it was comfortable, but I knew it wouldn't be appropriate for the party, so I eliminated it as a choice. -I never actually picked anything out.

We went downstairs -I think it was morning, and we looked for our host, who was thinking about performing at the party. We found him playing with a sword. This is where he turned into Mike B. He started having this imaginary sword fight with himself. Pretending to struggle, etc. Then my brother (or whoever) joined him with (something). Eventually a Japanese sword was brought out to use in sword practice. Mike rolled it and twirled it around untl he got the air inside moving so it made a very low, soft hum. It was supposed to make a noise or something when used in sword play, but I grew bored and went to look at the Japanese pottery and stuff on display in the house. -The patterns painted on them were exquisite!

Then I was alone (waiting for people?) in a restaurant setting. Then I thought I was waiting for food that I had ordered. The waitress kept walking by, but I got nothing. I got up to pretend to go to the bathroom because it was close to the display area where the kitchen put the finished food, and it all looked nicely made, but not all that appetizing. It occurred to me that I had passed the table before and saw 2 of the same dishes still there. I sat back down and told the waitress she might not want to serve those dishes because they were old. She apologized that my food wasn't out yet, and I continued waiting...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Things that will kill you: Fluoride in your water

An over-consumption of fluoride can lead to: poisoning, kidney failure, osteoporosis, brain damage, and more! http://fluoridealert.org/health/index.html

Supporting a cause VS being confrontational about it

I've yet to come right out and say this on my blog because I have no idea who reads it. I know my Mom's read a couple of my photography-related posts that were linked to from Flickr, but I don't think she reads it regularly. Anyway, I consider myself bi. There. That should be fun if my family finds it...

Anyway, I deeply believe in supporting gay rights. In fact, I can't understand how anyone can deny that it's a cut and dry civil rights issue. So, there's a part of me that wants to put that HRC sticker on the back of my car.

Similarly, I want a Darwin Fish or something to counter all the religious cr@p people put on the backs of their cars.

Both are reactions to feeling attacked. Is it really a fault to be attracted to people of the same sex? Science says it's not a choice, and I have felt this way all my life. My only choice was to restrict myself to men and the result is that I've always questioned myself to the point where I felt asexual at times. Everything in my life has to be carefully controlled and outwardly perfect just like I was raised to be when our family was being torn apart by alcoholism. (Which is no one's fault, it's just a disease we need to find better treatments for.)

And, the religious (Christian) fundamentals (I try hard not to lump everyone into that group, but...) are trying to push science out of schools when our schools are doing so poorly already. They interrupt a Hindu guest's opening prayer in the Senate, while calling for more religious tolerance (huh?). And they fight to exclude the recognition of other religions by protesting stores that wish people "Happy Holidays" rather than restrict their kindness to Christians by wishing their customers a "Merry Christmas".

So, what am I to do? I feel the need to fight back. Explain my views. So, I started thinking about getting a couple bumper stickers. Until...

I walked into Starbucks one day, ordered a mocha, and went to sit down. I noticed that the lady beside working feverishly on her laptop had a rainbow sticker on there. Cool. She's a "friendly". I went on with my sipping, reading my cup, talking to Ed, etc. Then, I glanced over again and looked at the rest of the stickers on her laptop. Wow. There must have been at least 10 -the whole top was covered in stickers, and every last one of them related to her sexuality.

It was then that I realized that that's not who I want to be. Despite our similar positions on GLBT issues, she's more like the people I hate than those I'd want to align myself with. The problem -no matter what side of either debate we are on, is militantism. So, you're a Christian and I'm an atheist. As long as we respect each other's beliefs, why does it matter? Don't try to push me to believe what you believe, and I won't argue with you about why I think your beliefs are silly. End of story. -Sure, gay marriage isn't quite as easily dismissed because there's laws being considered, and that means a side must be taken, and a vote cast either for or against. But, if that same mindset were applied, I think we'd all be better off.

To push this (probably farther than I should) -I mean, what are the arguments against gay marriage? Well, you have a majority Christian nation who's led by a church who interprets one line in the Old Testament as saying homosexuality is bad. (Of course, that line is just a few pages away from several lines explaining that God wants you to make sacrifices of "burnt flesh" to him, but hey, that's the OLD Testament, no one really believes that stuff anym... oh, wait...). And the other argument is that it'd corrupt heterosexual marriage (how is that, exactly?). The one issue that may hold water is homosexual couples raising children, but that's a seperate issue anyway, isn't it? I mean, a gay couple can't produce children on their own... Yes, I know they can find a donor and produce a child that way -my answer for that is this: There are no parenting classes or consideration given to heterosexual couples who want to marry. Known violent offenders can marry anyone, including each other. Retarded couples can marry and have children...

Blah. This is just making me angrier. What do I, as a reasonable adult do? Fight back and add to the horde of people who take an in-your-face stance on their positions? Or do I sit back down and just hope people come to their senses on their own. One thing's for sure, you'll never change anyone's mind with a bumper sticker. So, how do you quietly make your arguments known? Perhaps my answer lies in my first reaction to the woman in Starbucks when I thought she just had one rainbow sticker... Hmm...

A correction about the Starbucks woman is here.

Things that will kill you: Food dye

The following blog entry covers the various ways food dye can kill you such as: cancer, organ failure, allergic reaction, mental retardation, chromosomal damage, and obsessive compulsive disorder:
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/09/19/the-7-wonders-of-the-food-coloring-world/

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Got exhaust on the WRX

Ed bought me a full ERZ "ebay exhaust" for around $325 shipped and we got it installed over Labor Day weekend. I won't write about how the install went, 'cause I'd rather forget about it. Between stripped bolts and an "extra" bolt found stuck between the tranny and a frame member, it was kindof a mess. I suspect it was due to the body shop we used after our Dec '05 accident. :-P

Anyway, it's on and you can hear the wastegate open now. Funky. Sounds like a mean cat purring at idle, and just gets meaner the faster you go.

The exhaust looked really well made, especially considering the price. No fitment issues whatsoever, the gaskets all looked good... the only complaint was that we were missing 5 or 6 bolts. -A quick ride out to Lowe's fixed that, though. All-in-all I'm quite happy. It's LOUD without the silencer, and a little less loud without it, but it sounds nice, so we'll see how long I can go without a fix-it ticket for it >:-P