Wednesday, February 28th

Why I will have a heart attack and die by age 30

music: Coldplay
mood: frustrated

Me: Right-click on My Network Places on your desktop and go to Properties.
Her: It's thinking...
Her: OK.
Me: Do you see "Local Area Connection"?
Her: ..........no.....
Me: What does the blue bar with the red "X" in it say on the left side?
Her: File, edit, view--
Me: No, above that. The BLUE bar.
Her: My Network Places.
Me: You left-clicked on My Network Places. Close that window and go back out to the desktop.
Her: ..............OK........
Me: RIGHT-click on My Network Places and click Properties.
Her: ...................................OK........
Me: Does that blue bar say "Network Connections"?
Her: My Network Places.
Me: You left-clicked again. Close that window.
Her: .................................................yeah............OK.....
Me: Now. Click on My Network Places with the RIGHT button. JUST ONCE. A menu will pop up.
Her: .....................um.........uh.........Open.
Me: NO! NOT OPEN! CLOSE THAT WINDOW AGAIN.
Her: ....uhh.....................
Me: RIGHT-CLICK ON MY NETWORK PLACES. ONCE. Stop when the menu pops up.
Her: ............
Me: Click on PROPERTIES in that menu.
Her: I don't have a "Properties".
Me: [literally slamming my head repeatedly into my desk]
Me: It's the last thing on that menu.
Her: ...........I don't......
Me: Read to me what's in that menu.
Her: .............Open...........Explore........................................
Her: ...................................................................................
Me: Keep talking to me. What else is in there?
Her: ...................Search For Computers...........Map Network Drive............Create Shortcut, Delete, Rename, Properties--
Me: PROPERTIES! CLICK THERE!
Her: .................OK...........

It's a wonder I don't drink more than I do.
PikaPikaChick on 02.28.07 @ 01:02 PM CST [link]

Monday, February 26th

NSFW! NSFW! NSFW!

music: Slayers soundtracks
mood: confused

WTF?

I tell you, you find the weirdest stuff Googling for nude models to draw.
PikaPikaChick on 02.26.07 @ 09:41 PM CST [link]


Met my quota for the year

music: 89.3 FM
mood: burpy

2? 3? Jamison shots, 2 Jag bombs, pineapple upside down cake shot, way too much PBaRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Hoooo... I haven't been that drunk since that one Grand Old Day.

Fun observation: I'm way better at table hockey when I'm plastered.

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling like a CHAMPION. Of course, I was still drunk. I drank a bunch of water (never a good idea for me) and ate some leftover Buca (BAAAAD idea). I sat on the couch and watched some TV and started feeling worse and worse as I sobered up. I tried to crawl back in bed but that wasn't working.... My body finally rebelled (everybody out!) and it was all downhill from there.

That, my friends, is why I don't usually drink.

I was able to eat solid food later that night. We binged on delivery from AJ's Fish & Chicken. If your job forces you to deliver food to lazy assholes in the driving MN snow they're not paying you enough. You have my sincere thanks.
PikaPikaChick on 02.26.07 @ 06:26 PM CST [link]


Party pooper

music: 89.3 FM
mood: artistic

Until the day that the Academy Awards becomes a full-contact sport, I won't give a rat's ass.
PikaPikaChick on 02.26.07 @ 06:24 PM CST [link]

Friday, February 23rd

Jokes for nerds, pt. II

mood: very amused

WHEEEE!
PikaPikaChick on 02.23.07 @ 03:56 PM CST [link]


Jokes for nerds

mood: amused

HTML Tags Illustrated
PikaPikaChick on 02.23.07 @ 09:28 AM CST [link]

Wednesday, February 21st

Your awesome link of the day

mood: amused

MEOW meow meow-meow MEOW meow-meow MEOW
PikaPikaChick on 02.21.07 @ 03:20 PM CST [link]


Chewy bloggy center

music: No Doubt
mood: dreamy

I have been neglecting my blogging duties lately and cheating with inane quizzes. Now that I've got some time to kill (imaging laptops... wheeee) I guess I can do this up right for once.

I think mostly my brain has just simply been empty lately. I've been under a lot of stress lately and I'm just trying to keep my head above water on all fronts. I don't know what I need. Wait -- no, I do know. I need to win the lottery and get my pilot's license, then find a good sponsor and start racing vintage planes in Vegas. Ah, dreams.

I have this fantasy where I've got this beautifully restored F4U Corsair all painted up in Navy colors with some kind of sweet punk rock pinup chick noseart. I'm rolling by the crowd at some airshow, probably the big EAA one in Oshkosh. The cockpit is open and I'm waving at the crowd in a vintage bomber jacket, goggles, and one of those jaunty white scarves. I taxi to the end of the runway and close up the cockpit. The loudspeakers start playing "Beyond Electric Dreams" by Bad Religion and I take off, immediately do a couple of barrel rolls, and proceed with some badass aerobatic routine. The grand finale is me flying at the front of a slow V formation with two P-51s and two more F4Us. From the back of my plane unfurls a giant banner that says in bold letters, "FUCK WAR." At that point the fantasy just gets silly and involves half naked girls with cheeseburgers.

Anyway, that's my fantasy. Good talk, blog. Good talk.
PikaPikaChick on 02.21.07 @ 10:21 AM CST [link]

Monday, February 19th

Your happy link of the day

music: Aerosmith
mood: happy

I love, love, love this!

My favorite: "The Magician Turned The Whale Into A Flower."
PikaPikaChick on 02.19.07 @ 01:36 PM CST [link]

Thursday, February 15th

Zombie PPC

music: Rancid
mood: seeeeeeeeck

Valentine's day was lovely. Dan and I took a half day at work. We went to see the race exhibit at the science museum (it was just OK), had some dinner at Cossetta's, eyeballed the drug paraphanalia and silly stoner merchandise at Maharajas, and went to the Wild game. They lost. Stupid Canucks. We didn't get out of the parking ramp and home until almost midnight.

We have both been kinda sick for the last week or so but last night pushed us both over the edge. I am at full-fledged, critical mass, should-not-be-at-work sick right now. I know I'm sick because I'm all weepy. There is not enough Sudafed in the world to stem this tide. Right now I'm putting all my hope in this home cough remedy so I can get some damn sleep tonight.
PikaPikaChick on 02.15.07 @ 01:10 PM CST [link]

Tuesday, February 13th

Just in time

music: Janet Jackson
mood: amused

Amazon.com published their Valentine's Day: Bad Gift Ideas list. Good stuff.

But come on now... I think the ninja hand claw would be a SWEET gift for V-day!
PikaPikaChick on 02.13.07 @ 03:03 PM CST [link]

Monday, February 12th

Space makes everything better

music: Soul Coughing
mood: sick

Who knew? Exposing seeds to space radiation makes for better veggies
PikaPikaChick on 02.12.07 @ 04:32 PM CST [link]

Thursday, February 8th

My hoohaa is offended

music: Boston
mood: hopeless

You people are retarded.
PikaPikaChick on 02.08.07 @ 01:04 PM CST [link]


The joy of womanhood

music: Modest Mouse
mood: crankypants

If I don't feel better soon I'm going to start freebasing Pamprin.

I'm having an especially hard time of things this time around. My motor skills are all over the place. I can't focus on anything, including driving.
PikaPikaChick on 02.08.07 @ 09:09 AM CST [link]

Tuesday, February 6th

PGP installs are boring

music: TLC - Unpretty
mood: bored

Being productive: Installing PGP Desktop on four laptops at once.
Being bored: Installing PGP Desktop on four laptops at once.

They're taking up all available slots on my KVM switch so I literally can't do anything else right now. Wheeeeeee.

We're doing yoga at derby practice tonight. I had egg salad for lunch. This could be very bad.

Our next bout is on March 3 and I'm craving it like a crack addict.

Prince is awesome.
PikaPikaChick on 02.06.07 @ 03:14 PM CST [link]

Thursday, February 1st

Layman's Review: Manny's Steakhouse

music: Dan's drumming in the basement
mood: annoyed

So my boss' boss took us out to dinner at Manny's the other night. I had high expectations. Manny's is supposed to be THE place to eat a steak, just as the next door Oceanaire is supposed to be THE place for seafood.

First, the ambiance. I'd describe it as a sort of white linen cafeteria. The bar is cozy and dark (and small) but the dining room is lit up with more fluorescent lights than my office. The walls are sparsely decorated with framed comic panels (??!) and I spied more than a few cheesy fake floral arrangements that would be well at home in great-aunt Edna's basement den. They seated our party of five right next to the entrance, which was also right next to the station where they keep the carts with the selections of the day. The whole time the staff was rolling the cart in and out directly behind me. I think the live lobster was staring me down and trying to get me to put it out of its misery with my butter knife.

Our drinks arrived speedily and a small basket of bread arrived shortly after. There was a light rye and a dark, sweet, raisin-studded bread that was actually pretty good, if not surprisingly sweet.

We started with an appetizer of oysters. I had never had oysters before but I decided that I'd probably do it again. It was strange but good. Decidedly un-snot-like.

The prices were about where I'd expect them to be at a high-end steakhouse. The portions are generous, of course, but I suspect you're paying for quantity over quality. I had the New York Strip ($41.95) and the rest of my table had the 14 oz filet mignon (43.95). We also got a side of the biggest asparagus I've ever seen, which came with hollandaise ($13.95), and mashed potatoes built into a volcano-like situation with sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives ($8.95).

I asked for my steak medium-rare. It arrived medium on one half and medium-well on the other. The outside was absolutely crusted with salt and maybe a tiny bit of fine ground (read: cheap) pepper. The salt was distracting and the overcooked meat was bland. When I get a good New York Strip I expect it to be tougher than a filet, but the amount of knife sawing I had to do was ridiculous. It wasn't juicy at all and it tasted like a cheap supermarket steak. That is to say, it hardly tasted at all.

If I had been paying for the meal I would have sent it back in a heartbeat. But since I was there in a sort of business dinner situation I didn't want to be that girl.

For dessert we got key lime pie (a huge portion), cheesecake (also huge), and strawberries that shouldn't have cost as much as they did because they were just plain ol' boring supermarket strawberries in a fancy glass. The strawberries came with a plate of a glop of sad, waxy-looking, half melted whipped cream.

Manny's, that's just not right.

Our server was fine and attentive and all, but he did make fun of my girl drink. Points off for that.

If you're looking for a great steak that's worth every penny, check out Murray's.
PikaPikaChick on 02.01.07 @ 06:57 PM CST [link]


They grow up so fast

music: Brother Ali
mood: amazed

He's 18 now so I don't have to feel like such a dirty old woman.
PikaPikaChick on 02.01.07 @ 08:01 AM CST [link]