I don't post good things nearly as often as I should and definitely not as often as the negative or mundane. I also rarely post pictures and photos (on the blog, at least, anyone who's looked at my pictures page knows I post many there!); so, without further ado, here is some goodness in photo form.
More to come when FTP comes back up. For now, I'm enjoying Flickr's "Blog It" feature. -gasp- I know, you'd never imagine me saying that, right? Nevertheless, I can see how it will be nice when I only want to post a picture or 2.
My newest desktop theme - done by hand, of course - and complete with Bumblebee theme. I'm not sure whether I like him or Optimus better. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. Anyway, you can admire my sexy, silver flatscreen monitor here,
I don't post good things nearly as often as I should and definitely not as often as the negative or mundane. I also rarely post pictures and photos (on the blog, at least, anyone who's looked at my pictures page knows I post many there!); so, without further ado, here is some goodness in photo form.
More to come when FTP comes back up. For now, I'm enjoying Flickr's "Blog It" feature. -gasp- I know, you'd never imagine me saying that, right? Nevertheless, I can see how it will be nice when I only want to post a picture or 2.
Sunset, originally uploaded by Cole on 28 Sep '07, 9.04am EDT PST.
We are very fortunate to have many beautiful sunsets and to be high enough (the 9th floor) to have an almost unobstructed view. Additionally, our balcony has a view of the lake off base and mountains in the background. Sometimes it it quite stunning. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as dark as is appears in the photo so the true beauty doesn't shine through.
I don't post good things nearly as often as I should and definitely not as often as the negative or mundane. I also rarely post pictures and photos (on the blog, at least, anyone who's looked at my pictures page knows I post many there!); so, without further ado, here is some goodness in photo form.
A yummy Halloween themed cake I made recently. I had been wanting cake and Rian doesn't like strawberry so I settled on confetti. Sadly, the cake aisle had none, but I was in luck because the bread section had some Halloween baking items! It might not be homemade, but it was (soon to be "was") delicious!
I've been trying for several days to publish a post. -grumbles at Blogger- It finally worked!
Also, please ignore the odd looking parts of the site. Something accidentally ate my CSS file.
Cole @ 5:28 AM
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Clever Title
9/24/2007
I've updated all the sub-navigation (girl, site, links, content) pages so they look and function a bit nicer, in my opinion. I've also been finishing up the Website Primer. All old pages have been completely updated and there's a few new ones, too. You'll find information on getting started, content, image use, divs, hosting, getting hits and http://7and1.net/content/website-primer/hits.php!
I've also slightly increased the font size across the site. I know a few people thought it was a bit small and tonight it seemed incredibly tiny to me so I changed it.
[edit] I've added a page to help those interested in learning about blogs, blogging programs and related questions. Step over to Blog 101 if you've ever considered starting a blog but just didn't know how!
Cole @ 6:57 AM
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tiiired
9/21/2007
I went to bed at 3, with the intent of getting 6 hours of sleep. I tossed and turned restlessly for several hours, until Rian came in to bed. I tossed some more and decided to sleep on the couch. It worked for a bit. Around 7, I went back to the bed and finally got a few blinks of shut eye. Not nearly enough, though. Today is going to suck.
Cole @ 7:46 PM
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Confession
9/15/2007
I was lost and my faith was lost, too. I lost my faith in humanity, in myself and in us. I looked upon everyone as scum of the Earth; I assumed everyone was a liar, a cheater, a thief, a manipulator. I thought everyone was out to get everyone else, especially me. I feared that people only had one goal: to be horrible and make everyone miserable. In reality, I was being the horrible person and I was the one intent on making everyone else miserable because I would only be happy if they weren't. And I wasn't happy, as you would probably expect; I was a bully and I was miserable because I wouldn't let myself be anything else.
Tonight, I saw a couple holding hands and I felt happy for them and I thought that it was such an unusual feeling and it was so tragic that it was unusual. I want to be happy for people; I don't want my only satisfaction coming from making or seeing others miserable. But I can't do that until I let go of some of my insecurities and perhaps some of my insecurities are well founded.
And I think I finally had a moment of acceptance today - acceptance of my own humanity. And it was such a relief to simply be rather than trying to be better. Such a weight was off my shoulders and it felt great, honestly, great. Sometimes I am so competitive, so unproductively competitive and, in the end, it all comes back around and makes me miserable. Others may have a hard time living up to my expectations but I have the hardest time of all.
I feel as though I've come to a new place, a better place and I recognize where I was before; I recognize it for how detrimental and self-destructive it really was. Not only that, but I can see how it was hurting others, hurting those I would never wish to hurt. But I was.
Furthermore, I see how I got to that place, what it was the dragged me so low and helped prevent me from coming back up again. And I can see how easy it would be for that dark force to enter my life again.
I don't want to go back there again. I won't. I would do anything to prevent that, anything.
Have you been interested in Netflix but never got around to signing up? Do so now and get 1 month free. Select movies you want to see, add them to your queue and have them sent to you via snail mail, keep them until you're done (up to 8 at a time), send them back in and a new movie will be sent back once yours is received.
It worked perfectly for me because I didn't drive, kept odd hours and now because I'm in the middle of nowhere with next to zero movie choices when it comes to renting but with Netflix I have a choice of thousands of movies! I an also rate the movies I've seen and rent and Netflix will recommend me movies based off of my ratings. If that weren't enough, I can share ratings, reviews and queues with my friends, which we can do if you sign up right now!
Add to this that Netflix posts new movie releases, lets you add movies to your queue before the release and lets you sort through movies by genre as well as suggesting related titles and you'll be sure to find something you love at prices better than the local movie store. OF course, soda and candy is on you. ;)
I'd also like to add that since I joined Netflix, the prices have never gone up. In fact, they've gone down - twice!
Yea, sorry about the advertising but I figured I might as well give it a shot.
Cole @ 5:04 AM
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We Belong
Sometimes I see couples - sometimes strangers and sometimes acquaintances - and I wonder how they can be together. They seem too dissimilar, too this, too that but they don't seem like they'd make a good couple. Especially with people I know, I think I tend to actually be thinking "I couldn't be with him/her" because I am familiar with and can relate to one half of the couple and couldn't see my place in his or her shoes. Often, I forget that others are not myself and this does skew my judgment, unfortunately.
Thinking this, makes me wonder if others look at me in the same light, if others wonder how Rian and I can be together, what we see in eachother, how we make eachother happy, why we chose to be married so on and so forth. I know this sounds like a negative thought, but it's not.. It's really more of a thing that makes you go "huh. Well, that's something."
The title actually, is the title of a Pat Benatar song which I'm listening to at the moment which, I believe, was co-written by Dave Nvarro. Neat, huh? It sums up the way I am currently feeling quite well and it's also a great song. Quite a change from this, no doubt, and I think it's a good thing. The last week and a half or so has been really great for us. I'm not sure why and Rian says not to question if but, if you know me, you know I have to because I want to harvest whatever it is that makes things go well and use it in the future.
Lyrics below:
We belong, we belong to the light Many times I've tried to tell you Many times I've cried alone Always I'm surprised how well you Cut my feelings to the bone
Don't want to leave you really I've invested too much time To give you up that easy To the doubts that complicate your mind
Chorus:
We belong to the light We belong to the thunder We belong to the sound of the words We've both fallen under Whatever we deny or embrace For worse or for better We belong, we belong We belong together
Maybe it's a sign of weakness When I don't know what to say Maybe I just wouldn't know What to do with my strength anyway Have we become a habit Do we distort the facts Now there's no looking forward Now there's no turning back When you say
(chorus)
Close your eyes and try to sleep now Close your eyes and try to dream Clear your mind and do your best To try and wash the palette clean We can't begin to know it How much we really care I hear your voice inside me I see your face everywhere Still you say
(chorus)
I've also just realized that my archives only work until the end of last year. Hmmph.
Cole @ 3:03 AM
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A World Without Music
9/12/2007
This past week I developed a bit of an 'owwie' in my ear - a horribly placed surface irritation which became infected, consequently causing me to have headaches, face pain and trouble chewing - when it was at its worst. So, as you might expect, I haven't been listening to my CD or MP3 player, both of which I use with earbuds which go inside the ear. Instead, I've been reading a book (Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman,FYI) when I would normally be listening to music: on the bus, in waiting rooms et cetera.
It's different not having music in my head all the time. I miss it, surely, but there's also a sense of freedom and reattachment to the world. I guess it's just easy to wall yourself off without even realizing it, to separate yourself from the surrounding environment and be so lost without your head - or music - that you don't really realize what's going on around you. Of course, one can easily do this with reading, too, but I think it's not as easy to be fully enveloped.
Please, do not give your child a ridiculous name! If, as a moronic teen, your spawn desires to be known as "Muney", "Turtle", "@Man" or something else completely half-assed, let him because, even if the decision is stupid, he is choosing for himself. But before then, be considerate enough to chose a name that will not embarrass him and everyone around him.
I know it may be temping but resist the urge to call your kid something which will result in a lifetime of torment. Now, I know that many common and accepted names haven't always been popular or even considered names; everything has to start somewhere but some trend just should not ever (have) start(ed).
I can be lenient about some things: seasons, for one, and names steeped in tradition - whether it be familial, religious or ethnic, no matter how awkward they may be - but some trespassed I will not forgive. To avoid years of therapy for your child and evil glares in your direction, keep in mind these (not so flexible) guidelines:
Use only alphabetic characters
Not alpha-numeric; although, I don't care which alphabet you choose from as long as it is an actual alphabet (Good thing his name isn't "4real" anymore, right?)
Never use name brands
Your kid should not be named Mattel or - God forbid - Chevy and as much as I love Mt. Dew, it's a soda, not a person
Avoid most nouns
We seem to be stuck with Cats and Kittys but nouns such as the aforementioned soda and other admonishable names such as secret and tower are things not names.
Beware the creative spellings
To use unique spellings of common names, the name origin should not be difficult to pinpoint (is it really necessary to call her "EmmaLeigh?") and the name should not become difficult to spell also...
Names should be pronounceable
Creative names or spellings of common names should be reasonable enough that a perfect stranger should understand it without needing explanation and while you may switch up a letter here or double a letter there, please...
Keep length in mind
Some long names are reasonable (Christopher or Alexandria for example) and some long names are just plain stupid: Marekeiya Autiyunnah, for example. Don't do that to your poor kid!
Do not blatantly copy infamous names
No matter how you look at it, we know why you're naming your kid "Clark Kent" or Lestat. We also know it's not original and (as your kid will come to know) your child will never live up to that ideal. Way to set him up to lose.
Do not set impossible goals with names
When someone says a child's name, their personality should come to mind; the name should not shape the personality so anything which puts your child on an unrealistic pedestal (Jesus, Caesar, Prince/Princess, Bishop) or represents a certain characteristic or ideal which isn't automatically obtained by birth (Malice, Spite, Superman), will cause your child to either have a damned hard time trying to suit his/her name or have a planet-sized ego because of it.
Remember, your child will be special no matter his name
After switching between several desktop themes, I decided I wanted to go with one from Transformers. Of course, finding one which had Bumblebee was more difficult than it should have been. Luckily, other people are even more enthralled with it and have made some. My new desktop theme is awesome!
