Bill Gates is helping me?

I wanted to see how well Microsoft Office 2007 played with Blogger. I went to create a new document and saw that you could use it to create a new Blog posting. Well, always worth a try, right? Well, here is the evidence that it works. Isn't that snazzy? I guess I'm going to have to show this to my dear faculty members the next time I do a Web 2.0 workshop.

Picasa Rocks!

Well, I got started with Picasa today. And it has great editing potential. You do have to download something to you hard drive and install Picasa. They only have it for PCs, nothing for a Mac. BOOOOOO! Picasa. But it's fun on a PC. Thanks Google - but please don't discriminate against Mac users. We're a nice bunch!

Are you semantical?

I once had a college professor tell me that I had a keen sensitivity to semantics.

So, I had to go online and look it up:

Main Entry: se·man·tics
Pronunciation: si-'man-tiks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
1 : the study of meanings: a : the historical and psychological study and the classification of changes in the signification of words or forms viewed as factors in linguistic development b (1) : SEMIOTIC (2) : a branch of semiotic dealing with the relations between signs and what they refer to and including theories of denotation, extension, naming, and truth
2 : GENERAL SEMANTICS
3 a : the meaning or relationship of meanings of a sign or set of signs; especially : connotative meaning b : the language used (as in advertising or political propaganda) to achieve a desired effect on an audience especially through the use of words with novel or dual meanings

Main Entry: general semantics
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
: a doctrine and educational discipline intended to improve habits of response of human beings to their environment and one another especially by training in the more critical use of words and other symbols

I guess that is a good thing, since it was a graphic design class. So, are you semantical?

NY Times gets soused by House of Reps

Okay- the government now not only wants to be able to tap all your phone calls, but now wants to be able to have access to all your financial transactions.

The resolution for the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, as specified in the NY Times article and mentioned on Yahoo! News:

The resolution "condemns the unauthorized disclosure of classified information" and "expects the cooperation of all news media organizations in protecting the lives of Americans and the capability of the government to identify, disrupt and capture terrorists by not disclosing classified intelligence programs such as the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program."

Since when has the Media supposed to be controlled, nay! Supressed by the government.

My friends, I am smelling the whiffs of fascism. What next? Silence the media. Silence the naysayers. Got Gitmo? Got Auschwitz?

My dear fellow countrymen and women: Stalin and Hitler started small, by stripping your freedoms and rights little by little. What we are seeing within our own country worries me deeply.

Send a strong message that you expect the media to always be against the government. Only then will there be checks and balances so that our government does not take away our liberties and freedoms. That it does not overstep it's bounds!

Maine Lobstah...Wicked Good

Well, I was up in Portland for Karla and Eric's infamous Memorial Day BBQ. The next one is July 4th. Hoo ha!

So, lots of fun. Weather was gorgeous but so damn bright. There is something about the thinness and quality of the air on the seashore that makes the sunshine that much brighter and clearer. Or maybe it's all that Shipyard and Gritty's summer ale I kept imbibing.

Of course, Karla and Erik have to have the craziest most comfortable apartment ever! Getting up and going before 1pm is really hard when you've got that cushy couch, chairs and beds. Don't even get me started on the size of the bathroom!

So, Portland is a beautiful beautiful city. Caught up with some old friends. Sharon drove up with me. We did a lot in three days...BBQ/consignment shopping/walk on the causeway/cookie baking/shots & bar dancing on Saturday. Supersized chowdah/Victoria Mansion tour/Casco Bay ferry ride/drinks at The Spur on LI/Crazy good chili at $3 Dewey's/early to bed on Sunday. Portland Head light/Biel's amazing blueberry cheesecake yogurt/real Dunky's iced coffee/back home on Monday.

All in all, it gets harder to leave every time I visit. Can't wait to go back!

Tisane's revisited

Last Wednesday, I went back to one of my favorite haunts, Tisane's. Located in the artsy-fartsy West End of Hartford on Farmington Avenue right across from Kinko's, it's has a good martini list and impressive tea selection. Walking in, there was a live three-peice jazz ensemble playing. Talking up a couple waiting at the bar to order their drinks, I found out that they have live jazz every Wednesday night. I ordered the Plum Sake martini and their turkey and cheddar pannini. When it warms up, you can sit on their patio and drink more martinis!

I met up with my old pal, DJ Markie G. Markie moved to the Midwest not so long ago. Wasn't too long before he figured out that they're a bit too square for his tastes and he was back in Hartford. I missed him a lot and glad for the chance to catch up on what was new in his neck of the woods.

It was nice to relax, listen to jazz, have a martini, eat a panini for dinner and just catch up with a great old friend. I really need to get out in Hartford more often. I've been much too much a recluse this winter. Mt. Snow really was strapping me for the ole cashola. One reason to be glad that spring is here!

Jenn

My good friend Jenn from my UConn days emailed me. We hadn't talked since her wedding about 10 months ago.

It's wierd how we connect and disconnect. And it's amazing what happens in a year. Another mutual UConn friend and my karate partner from East West Karate, Vickie, is pregnant and due in June. Now she will officially be Dr. Mom.

I also learned that Jenn's brother, Greg, was diagnosed with cancer last June. He's done his chemo and is in complete remission. I've only met Greg twice, at Jenn's graduation from grad school (and the night at the bars prior!) and at her wedding, but I feel I know him from so many glowing stories that Jenn told about her brother. She loves him so much and he seems like the male version of her. Since I love Jenn, it would only follow suit that I would think Greg a great guy. I am keeping him in my thoughts and prayers.

It's hard to hear about cancer. My coworker Sarah goes for a biopsy for breast cancer this Friday. Last year, we lost a good professor friend to breast cancer, Dr. Priscilla Spencer. This lady was awesome and she died too young. She was only in her early forties.

The year before, I lost one of my longest and most dear guy friends, John Grossi, to colorectal cancer. He was only 30. And the three years preceding that, I lost two uncles and one aunt to cancer, one per year. One was only 50. Another was one of my favorite uncles and the aunt was like a second mom to my own mother. It's gotten to a point that I'm just waiting to hear the next announcement of who is sick.

Cancer doesn't seem to shock me anymore...the shock is that the person who is sick runs a huge chance of permanently leaving your life.

Of course, then there is the witnessing of the grief everyone goes through. Then there is your own grieving. I've found that my grief takes many different forms depending on who it is is sick or dead. For John, I had no tears until I saw a common friend 6 months later. For my uncle, the first to die of cancer at 50, I couldn't seem to stop crying. He was my first taste of true grief. For Priscilla, it was more of a dimming of brightness in my day to day life. She was that amazing of a soul. For monocle Gaston, it was deep pain and sense of loss because he was such the epitome of what a father should be, a genuine and warm man and loving uncle. His wife, my aunt, is especially dear to me and I loved visiting her and their kids. It was hard to see their grief. Matante Bibianne I think was more a shock for my mom. My mom seemed to age a lot due to it. She became very quiet and more introverted. My mom has known her fair share of death and grieving, losing her mother at 6, her father at 24, and another brother to cancer at age 30. It seems that she has gotten comfortable with the grim reaper, almost feeling at home with the reality that it will revisit again and again and again. I feel somehow I am slowly moving towards this perspective myself.

Mortality is something the young deny and the old embrace. It's a wierd thing. When I was younger, I hated thinking about it. I thought I'd never die. But after seeing so many loved ones pass away, it's very much in my mind. And really it comes down to this: Life is a gift. It is a privilege. The quality of your time here is totally up to you. You can make connections with people who amaze you. You can collect moments upon moments that take your breath away. You can stop being a chicken shit and takes those damn risks. Only then can you deem your life a fucking success. Only when you are in this position are you able to look back and face your mortality with as few regrets as possible.