I tried.

I swear, I crashed-proofed this obsolete laptop. (Yeah, it may have cost a ginormous 4 grand with every optional extry Back In The Day, but now, with a 3gb drive and a whopping 96 megs of RAM... it is now a $400 doorstop.)

When I got it, it acted as if The Blue Screen of Death was the default wallpaper.

Every day was much drama.

I spent a day fettling it back into shape. I massaged and cleaned and whispered sweet nothings until I seduced it into passivity and stability.

Hasnt crashed or frozen since.

Until...

Now, when Dreamweaver came out - I would behold its intelligent design, its common sense principles. It was fucking BRILLIANT. I could run a god-damned BUSINESS with this software.

By the time Dreamweaver 4 came around, I kept a copy of Dreamweaver 2 on my ftp site, cuz it was the last one that I knew of that didnt implode spontaneously.

Mac or PC, run it hard and you will pay. Memory management is apparently a foreign concept to many of the developers at Macromedia.

I only installed Dreamweaver 3 cuz it could talk XML, even though I rarely had problems apart from the occasional freeze - I still regarded it as I would a drunken suspect.

But with a web site redesign needed, I said fine. So, I installed Dreamweaver 4 on the doorstop.

For the first hour, I romped. Romped, I tell you. I RTFM'd and sent Fred (the goddess of Palm and Dreamweaver and Freehand) silly questions, cuz I was all excited about using it.

The development team worked hard on this software, and it showed.

Life was beautiful.

Hours and hours of productive effort went by.

And then.

Ok.. all together now... lets all sing along to what happened next:

Blue Screen of Death
Blue Screen of Death
You didnt save a goddammed thing before
You hit ....theeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Blue Screen of Death

All gone. Style Sheets. Templates. Settings. Gone.

Add that to people reverting to habit and Acting Badly...

Grrr.

Hi. My name is Joey.

How YOU doin'.

Today's horrorscope:

Don't make a fuss about trivia this week.
If someone you live or work with makes a mess of something, express sympathy rather than anger.
There are far too many interesting things going on in the world to waste time worrying what others are doing wrong.

Besides, it's what you're doing right that counts.

Ah yes. Dont let silly people get to me.

Its hard.

Although I have no intention of staying here past my due date - Im concerned folk are thinking Im looking to stay here and Im having way too much fun.

Plus, as I told Tisha - This is a place that makes you think you deserve everything you want.

And that worries me even more. Ive sacrificed faar too much to want to get into that state of mind and being...

No matter what some folk think.

Today's horrorscope tho sez:

You'll find it easy to panic today, especially if you fear that your work load is getting too much for you.
What you have to remember is that with strong aspects transiting the most sensitive area of your chart, you have a tendency to look on the dark side of everything that happens.
Lighten up.
It's a passing phase

Uh-huh.

Im checking the weather in California daily.

Heh. Mars was right. Dolphinfish is also the MahiMahi fishi of Hawaiian fame.

(Mahi Mahi is also more PC on a restaurant menu. Only in Florida do I see "dolphin" on the menu. They know the difference between mammal and fish here.)

She pronounces it to be "good eatin' ".
(She actually said 'mmmmmmmmmmmmm', but I'll paraphrase that. :-)

I had takeout from a local italian joint tonight, and guess what was the seafood special this evening?

Dolphinfish in a marinara sauce.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Never had MahiMahi/Dolphinfish before. I hear its really good eatin'.

I chickened out (by getting the chicken parmigiana instead).. but I was in the mood to munch on some Mahi Mahi tonight after seeing them go after that little fish like that.

Next time.
---------
Those MahiMahi things are impressive lookin live and up close.

Big, fast and built for speed. Fins sharp and tapered. The colors built to blend in and yet identify each other.

Efficient co-ordination on the hunt.

Predatory efficiency. Cat, Eagle, Shark. That is always something to see.

People tell me they see tarpon and snook in the canals too.

Whoa.
-----------
*sigh* Since my peripathetic (made-up word alert) writing isnt good enough for SOME people, its time for .. silly random pictures...

Little Havana











No, Im not about to screw with Cuban coffee, specially since my body can barely handle a Sandwich Cubano





Its a little thing, but it brought back memories of Jamaica.

In front of our house in Kingston we had these trees, and they were painted white up the trunk like that.

Its a common practice in Jamaica.. although I cant imagine why people do it.

But apparently they do it in Cuba too.. cuz I saw tree trunks painted like that all up and down Calle Ocho (Eighth Avenue)



Ay mami.

She was nice. I fell in love several times standing at that open air counter.

Didnt speak a word of english.

If this is the motivation I need...

Ay mami.

Boats

This place is a yacht paradise.





Actually its a cruise ship paradise too..









But while taking those images, I noticed a sloop..



In this place of super yachts.. it didnt look like much except for that incredibly tall mast.

(These pictures dont capture the height).

So, I amble over for a closer look see

And when I saw the name in blue script.. I realized it was THE boat I never thought Id see in my lifetime.



Its actually the main supporting actor in the book, The New New Thing.

Whats so special about the Hyperion?



The mast is 164 feet high (184 feet above the water), making it until recently the tallest mast made.



It is controlled by 20 Sun computers, allowing the boat to be controlled - if so desired, from anywhere in the world.

I know. Big Fat Hairy Deal.



*pshah* I totally agree.

If thats all it is.



Heh. But thats not what makes it mythic..

This boat is owned by Jim Clark, the guy who started Silicon Graphics AND Netscape AND WebMD.

(bear with me here..)

He wanted the most unique and kickass boat in the world. However, not yet being a Billionaire.. he needed to pay for his dream boat as it was being built and the costs went up by the millions.

So, he decided to push Netscape - a dinky little company that was essentially giving away its main product, into its record breaking IPO. (causing the VC's he coerced into backing him billionaires and the one who turned him down into commiting suicide).

Fifteen billion dollars later, he had his boat and the frenzy had started.

In essence, this little sloop with the big dick mast, was the catalyst that kickstarted the Internet boom and changed the world.



It should be in the Smithsonian.

And now he's building another boat....

Something I wanted to write down before I forgot it..

While I had drives formatting and service packs and updates and checklists in my head.. I decided to walk out of the office for a bit of fresh air.

Behind the office, a part of the canal ends, and normally its a muddy wallow.. but today, the tde is in.

I normally try to see if I see any ocean fish in there.. I might see small bass and perch, but not much.

Then there started this almighty splashing. Then it stopped. Curious, I went to the edge looking.

Nothing.

Then out in the distance, I saw/heard splashes and a fish leapt out of the water, staying out of the water in these desperate leaps, coming back towards me....

I watched as it skipped back to the shallows, making crazy turns and leaps almost coming up and over the retaining wall to the grass bank.

Then I saw them thru the greenish murk. A pod of about 5 or six.. I couldnt tell.. barracuda? tuna?.. fast, sleek and predatory flashing back and forth, teeth snapping at the fish, herding it.

The little fish screamed back to the shallows toward me, when it would normally be running from me. The pod saw me, stopped.. and slowly turned away from the shallows.

Thats when I saw the distinctive green and squarish head of dolphinfish.

When I moved again, the dolphins broke off the attack, turned and screamed back to the depths.

The little fish stayed in the shallows.

Heheh. The staff thought I was beyond retarded as I kept going.. THAT WAS SO COOL!!!

Heh.

I guess the little fish escaped today.

After awhile I went back inside running mental checklists of service packs, IP addresses, VPN's and vendors to call.

But I had to write this down.

I just didnt want to forget that memory.

Its rained here a few times of the past few days. Randomly too.

I repressed an urge because of rational fears of getting soaked and hit by lightning.

But I shoulda stepped outside and gotten soaked in it.

Woulda been good for me on several levels.

Im feeling the urge now, and its not raining.
----------------------
Reason number 3 Ive been a cranky ass bitch these last few days...

I have not gone paddling in the surf in over 10 years I reckon
---
Wait. It is raining. I'll be right back.
----
Nah, it wasnt raining. It was just the neighbors sprinklers...

But I looked at the canal and realized the hightide is in, so I sat down on the dock and paddled my feet in the still waters under the moonlight with the slight breeze.

I needed that.

I finished off by coming in and washing my legs off.

That was good enough.

Where was I?

Eh, mebbe later.
----
Five minutes later, Cecily - American in Vancouver...

cecily: *tap tap tap*
JPennant: well hey there :-)
cecily: Hiya :-)
JPennant: how are ya? :-)
cecily: Groovy. Yourself?
JPennant: my feetz are feeling incredibly good right now. And all i did was go paddle my feet in canal water. (See post from 5 minutes ago)
cecily: Hee!
cecily: Sounds lovely.
JPennant: So im feeling groovy too
cecily: We went to Pacific Rim Nat'l Park this weekend.
JPennant: yeah? tell me about it.
cecily: Saw the Pacific.
cecily: Lots of big rocks.
cecily: Cold and windy.
cecily: Whoooooooooooooooooosh.
cecily: No whales, but that was okay.
cecily: Lots of huge trees.
cecily: I mean HUGE.
JPennant: <-- imagining :-D
cecily: 320 feet high HUGE.
JPennant: whoa
JPennant: what did it smell like?
JPennant: the day
cecily: Oceany.
cecily: Clean.
cecily: Except when it was low tide. *holds nose*
JPennant: heheh
cecily: The forest didn't really have a smell, strangely enough.
cecily: I expected something very fertile.
cecily: It might have been the wind.
JPennant: was it clear, or foggy?
cecily: A mixed bag.
JPennant: ooh
cecily: Clear/rain/fog.

JPennant: wow
JPennant: That was nice. Thank you. :-)
JPennant: you just took me there.
cecily: You're welcome.

cecily: Did I mention the twisty twisty pretzel-like roads?
cecily: Going up up up up up?
cecily: Then dropping down to sea level without notice?
JPennant: ooh, go ahead :-)
cecily: Ah.
cecily: Yeah.
cecily: Popping ears.
JPennant: heh. nice
cecily: The roads didn't bother me when we still had daylight.
cecily: But at night it was frightening.
cecily: There's a certain point where there are 85 KM between towns
cecily: And sometimes we were on that road all alone
cecily: No cell phone.
cecily: The road was so twisty in places that you couldn't go over 30 Km/h.
JPennant: thats a memory for yo ass, aint it?
cecily: Right?
cecily: *whew*

That *was* a nice trip.

As tricianna put it:

I needed to ..... stretch my frequently unused muscles, get some sunshine and remember that things will be alright.

(her emphasis)
Yup. Absolutely.

Damn. She knows how to crystallize a feeling, doesnt she.

Thanks to kate, tish, mars, bri, thebleakone and t-Lo for reminding it for myself.

If I say it often enough.. I might even believe it. Heheheh.

Easter Sunday

Operation: Sunrise on Sunrise Blvd













A) You dont want to step on these Jellyfish. The burns from brushing on these tentacles



B) I tried saving a few but then I discovered why they'd been washed to shore - their tentacles were entangled in the seaweed.

C) They are indeed filled with a jelly. (I just poked them, not burst them). Theyre not filled with air.






Around, a few churches had also come out to do baptismals on this Easter morn..









I think these sand-Cats are the coolest things..



They basically pick up trash, seaweed and debris as well as groom the beaches.





Example A as to why I dont swim.

Dont go putting babies in salt-water when theyre less than a year old. They remember.

I know I do.

Thats the mother grabbing the baby away from the father after he fell into the water and was struggling to keep the baby's head above the surf.






By the time I and everyone else was leaving, these two were still reluctant to go get a room.. (refer to first image)

----------------------------
Further down the road on A1A









I hadda get coffee. Whaddya think I am, a barbarian?

Anyway..







I was drawn to the colors on the Hobies. These pics dont do it justice.





Heheh. Anything I can do to make Volkswagens look good. :-D








-------------
Speed trap - Fort Lauderdale style





Ooooh.. a Corvette!!





Sweeeet.



Wonder why he's parked like that? (Check out the license plate papi! 2-XTREEM! Sweeeet!)



I did mention the speed trap, didnt I?



All they have to do is wave you over.

By this time, I just wanted to get back home.



Good thing it was leisurely...







They raised the bridge for a little jalopy that had 50 feet clearance.

SOMEBODY was feeding their ego...

Anyway, on the ride home.. grabbed a copy of the Sunday Post, snapped a few more..








All this before 8am. Heh.
----
Oh yeah, there is a boat story here.. but it'll take too long to tell.

Maybe later.