UQWPB HQY UQGDI: UTTUK DYT QOU, DZG KQR GQ P HTTS? MTUUTY UKDZ P FKQOSG, HYQX RKDU WTQWST UTSS XT. UKT WYQBTGOYT RDF ZQUKPZJ, UKDZAF UQ UKT DZDFUKTFPD (HPNT, HQOY, UKYTT, QOU). RKQ KDF MTTZ QOU MTHQYT? PU UQQA XDIMT HPNT FTBQZGF, DZG UKTZ UKT ZTVU UKPZJ RDF RDAPZJ OW RPUK KQSTF PZ XI XQOUK. UKT FRTSSPZJ PF DSXQFU JQZT, DZG UKT QVIBQGQZT P RDF UDAPZJ PFZ'U ZTTGTG (DZG UKTYT PF WSTZUI STHU). UKOYFGDI ZPJKU RDF JYTDU UKQOJK. FUDYXGQU DZG P RTZU UQ FTT MTZ HQSGF DZG JOFUTY, DZG RT RTYT UKPYG YQR! PU RDF PZBYTGPMST UQ MT UKDU BSQFT, DZG PH IQO RQOSG SPAT UQ FTT UKT WPBUOYTF, FTZG XT DZ TXDPS DU FKQRWPBF DU GYQWBDFT GQU BQX, DZG DFA ZPBTSI. UKDZAF DJDPZ HQY WSDIPZJ DSQZJ, DZG KQWT UQ FTT IQO MDBA HQY XQYT FQQZ.

MQZOF EOTFUPQZ: BDZ DZIQZT UTSS XT KQR P BDXT OW RPUK UKT FBKTXT UQ BQGT UKPF UPXT?

snap, rip, pop

...and other noises happening in my mouth tomorrow.

yes, tomorrow morning shortly after 11am eastern time, i'd like you all to think of me. i'll be sitting in a chair getting put under... so i can have all four of my wisdom teeth yanked out. i'm not particularly looking forward to it, but it needs to be done. three of them are in and mostly fine, but one is the problem child and is making it so the others should come out. blech.

maybe i'll get a picture or two up... then again, maybe i won't. oh, and speaking of pictures, i'm hoping we have some to show you after tonight. *m. and i are going to see ben folds and guster at the hatch in boston tonight! she scored some sweet tickets and we'll be seeing them third row... i should be in great shape for my appointment. if i don't talk to you, have a great weekend and i'll talk to you all soon (and will have another crypto). well, kind of.

it's that time...

are you ready?

let me know what you think, or if it's just too tough for you, i might make an easier one. heh. how was everyone's weekend?

cipher #0010 (because i forget where i left off...)

FYTYSV JZRS GERJ CZJ SRIIRHQNG, TQG FYTYSV JZRS RG CZJ FYG.

RG RJ GYQDE GY SY GERJ CRGEYQG QJRFD "P" TQG R ZU DYRFD GY

GKV, ZNYFD CRGE FY HYFGKZHGRYFJ. CGI, R HZF FYG SY GEP P

GERFD, JY GERJ HKVOGY OQWWNP EZJ MQJG DYGGPF PZJRPK ZDZRF.

IYK ZFV YI VYQ CEY HYUONPGP GERJ, GEZFA VYQ IYK HYURFD GY

UV JRGP ZFS KPZSRFD UV UPZDPK KZUTNRFDJ. JYUPSZV R CRNN

UZAP RG UYKP CYKGE PBPKVYFP'J CERNP, YFHP R DPG JYUP GRUP

GY UVJPNI ZFS KPUPSV JYUP RJJQPJ. RI VYQ CYQNS NRAP UYKP,

MQJG JZV JY ZFS VYQ JEZNN KPHPRBP. R URDEG PBPF OQG GEPJP

YF SKYOHZJP GYY, JY ZFVYFP HZF ONZV.

PFMYV, ZFS GEZFAJ ZDZRF.

bwahahahaha...

anyone seen it? i know it was here.

lost my mind a little while ago. looking for it now.

oh, and i might start doing the super-fun-easy crypto things again, if anyone wants.

to my adoring fans:

could both of you help out?

just kidding... i like my readers, and i like that people actually come back to my page to read more. it's funny, after the whole bianca thing (sorry to mention that name for those of you in the know), i waited a few months to join. i'm coming up on my three year, and it's been a good three years. when i started, i had no idea what xanga was, what it was really for, or how to get other people to read it (and comment!). so i started finding people, and reading, and commenting from time to time, and posted something every weekday for the first... well, at least the first few months.

then it happened. i had a couple of regular readers, and people were adding me to their sub lists. i was amazed. that was back in the days when there were less than 20,000 users (i think - could someone tell me what number i am?), and i remember thinking i would be happy to have ten people subbed to me... then twenty, then thought that fifty would never happen. today, i think i have close to 200, and i'm still floored every time i think about it. i know it's not a record, but then again, i'm not competing.

i remember when VeryModern, NotForProphet, GudKarma, and a few others were the big hits (not that they aren't now), and when seanmeister had a blue background and told people they were "hella smart monkies" for figuring out babelized stuff. i remember wanting to write more, and get people interested, and have a common thread that tied my posts together. then it hit me: that's my common thread - not having one. i just write for the sake of writing, and xanga has been one of my more common outlets, at least in non-meatspace.

for anyone thinking this is a good-bye letter, it's far from it. it's more a welcome-myself-back letter, because i want to do more on here and write more and get more people interested and get more people writing. we'll see what happens, but i wanted to thank a lot of you (even those who don't or can't still read or post) for being around. i think of some of you as friends, regardless of whether we've met. thank you to the xangods who made this possible, some of whom i've talked to before and had good conversations with... that's all for now. aaaand, i'm spent.

ink, a needle, and a design.

i think you know where this is going.

i almost got a tattoo a few years ago. it was going to be a celtic knot on the inside of my left forearm, just below my elbow. for one reason or another i never did, and kept putting it off. i had the design picked out, redrew it a couple of times on paper, but still held off. i think part of it was because a friend of mine (and a tattoo artist) said that the one i wanted would blur because of the fine work, unless i wanted it to be at least three inches in diameter, or bigger... which wasn't gonna happen. i *did* however, end up with a couple more holes in me, besides the one in my upper left ear. i got my tongue done in november '97, and my nips done september '98. the ear and tongue are empty now... so i'm back to thinking about the tattoo thing again.

i think. maybe not, it's probably just a passing phase, just something i thought looked cool somewhere. i would still want to get a celtic knot, but i found another one that i like... and i'm not sure that i'm done looking. maybe that's my answer, and i'm giving myself a reason to not get one, at least for now. then again, maybe it's a permanence issue...

what do you guys/girls/people have (if anything)? just curious.

i have a lot of shoes.

for a guy, anyway... and don't even think about making a joke.

it's true. i have a lot of footwear. it's not a record or anything, but from what i've seen, i have more than the standard "three pairs" or so that guys usually have. how many, you ask? well, i like to keep my options open, and have these pairs:

1 pair black doc martens shoe with lug sole and buckle
1 pair black doc martens 3-eye steel toe shoe
1 pair black doc martens boots (the classic 8-eye)
1 pair black börn wavz (cool soles on 'em too)
1 pair brown ("cocoa") birkenstock milano
1 pair black birkenstock boston (don't really wear them anymore though)
1 pair light blue rockport sneakers
1 pair grey/blue adidas running shoes
1 pair tan specialized mtb shoes (spd compatible)
1 pair brown boot-style shoes (forget which brand)
1 pair black nunn bush dress shoes (dotted design)
1 pair black bass dress shoes
1 pair brown unlisted (kenneth cole) dress shoes
1 pair dark greenish-brown rockport slip-ons
1 pair grey/white heelys
2 pairs of tevas (one velcro, one click)
1 pair brown/black nike acg mids (very old, but still good)
1 pair black adidas sambas (also old, like 12 years)

grand total: 19

daaaaaaamn, and that's after getting rid of a couple (like my nubby adidas sandals, which i need another pair of). sure, it's not as much as some people, but i think it's a lot for a guy.

*tap-tap-tap*

is this thing on?

did i miss the memo, or have i just updated so infrequently that people forgot i was here? wait, maybe it's the fact that i've barely left a comment for anyone in a while... sorry, that's kinda selfish of me, isn't it? give and ye shall receive, right?

i want to start making t-shirts and stickers and mugs.

those aren't the only things, but i've got ideas.

sometimes i just stare at the blank screen, because i know there was something i wanted to say, and i just can't think of it for the life of me. there have been a few times that it's come to me and i've been able to get it down, but most of the time i just get frustrated and write something else. today was one of those days, but the idea i'm using to replace it is good... and something i wanted to write about already.

i want to make t-shirts (deja vu). does anyone know of a good place to get them made, and/or a way to sell them? i know those are vague questions, but i'm keeping an open mind. i already looked at a few options, but i want some fresh eyes to look at this issue. anyone interested in helping out with it once it's going? maybe just want to send some ideas? i'll give more information in a little while, but for now just keep the brainstorms rumbling. thanks.

arrrrrrrgh! i'm stuck!

not in place, but in information overload.

so i started using sharpreader to test the waters of rss. bad idea. i now have tons, and it makes for finding tons more. i even have a few xangans on rss. in playing with that, i also found out about foaf (friend-of-a-friend), which is a whole other project in itself. i can't be doing that all... although i want to try. hey, maybe i should actually work on my site for a while, recode some stuff...
redesign the logo.
work on site look.
change the color scheme.
learn python, plone, zope, etc.
update my plone sites (yes, more than one).
keep learning php, mysql, apache, etc.
continue with (x)html, css, and js.
keep this (and others) updated.
continue playing with / updating freebsd.

meatspace:
ride my bike.
get my day job done.
spend time with *m.
go to the cape.

yeah, a little busy... and that's not all of it (or in any particular order). i just need to have a large sum of money come my way (multiple millions, if at all possible). then i could get more done, right? you know, 'cause it's just that easy.