Click to Confirm

I have recently upgraded the operating system on my laptop, and with that installed the most recent version of Apple's iPhoto software. It has a facial recognition component to it and I tried it out on a few pictures of me. Based on the following two photos it came back with interesting results. To get all the photos from the years I used one really old picture and one recent one.

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After tagging myself in these two photos iPhoto went through all my pictures to find pictures of me, and it did a great job. However apparently my father and I look as alike as everyone thinks, because according to iPhoto we have the same facial structure. Almost all of the photos with my father in them came back in the results. Here is a typical picture that came back of my father.

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In correlation to that, more recent pictures of my older sister Carrie came back. Not the photo above (that came back with my dad's face highlighted), but any photo from the last year with Carrie in it came back under my results also. The picture below, of my three wonderful sisters (two whom are very obviously and adorable pregnant with my future nephew and niece) is from Christmas this last year.

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Carrie (on the left) came back as me. I'm sorry Angie, while we always referred to ourselves as twins, according to Apple Carrie and I have the same facial structure, not you and I (although I will still call you my evil twin). I just though it was interesting thats all.
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Best Sleep Ever

I was in bed before 10 last night. It was amazing. I slept all night long and loved it. Wednesday night I woke at 1 am and had this killer jaw pain. It was so bad I could not get back to sleep. I got up and took some ibuprofin, put a heat pad on my jaw and watched tv for two hours until I was tired and numb enough to fall back asleep. I felt like someone had punched me in the jaw, hard. It was not tooth pain, it was jaw pain. And it continued all day yesterday, my jaw was just sore.

Last night I was exhausted from being sore all day, and lack of sleep, and well, I work with kids. So I took a long bath to relax (that’s right, I’m a guy and I take baths on occasion. And yes, I do use bubbles.) Long bath worked. Less than an hour after getting out of the bath I was passed out on the couch, and shortly thereafter moved to bed.

I did have this weird dream though. I was in a small town hall where President Obama was hosting a dinner. He got to give his speech. I was sitting on a stage in front with Obama and his crew. Looking into the crowd I could see Tom Schwob and Janine Tocke. The both were smiling at me, and Janine was mouthing something at me, like she was trying to say “what the hell!?!” And after Obama was done speaking he left, and Schwob grabbed me and pulled me to the back. The flyer said I was an undersecretary of Early Childhood Education. I was kind of shocked but then Tom and I looked at the flyer again and the place where my name was changed. I did not know what this meant, but when I went looking for Obama he already left.

Anyways, regardless of this dream, I still slept very well. And feel quite refreshed today. And while my jaw is a little sore, it feels much much better.
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Floppy Disks

Reg,
You cannot get information off of floppy disks using a piece of paper and a comb. I know you told me that in my dream, but I want to be sure you know that in real life too.
Your friend,
AJ

PS- For some reason apostrophes are not showing up in my recent entries. They are some sort of weird symbols instead. I have to work at it. Look at this: Can’t. Weird huh. I have to figure it out.
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Highlights

Highlights of my weekend:

-Dreams: I had a dream that I had a cardboard box that was a perfect cube, but had 8 sides. It was messing with my head. I could not figure out how a cube could have 8 sides (it cannot, a cube has 6 sides or its not a cube). But this one had 8, I even tore it apart and laid it on the ground, but it still had 8 sides, I was actually getting mad in my dream that the cube had 8 sides. A second dream had me as a super hero feeding super villains in the top of a parking garage in New Orleans while there was a flood.

-Hiking. I hiked Whipps Ledge with a friend Saturday. Tons of fun.

-Candyland. Who the hell doesnt like Candyland.

-Cutting my thumb. Totally cut my thumb open with a knife while washing it Sunday.

-Stepped on a shard of glass. In my apartment. It hurt. I have no clue where it came from. Bloody foot, awesome.

-Grocery Shopping. $70 of food, I’m done for a month.
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Yep.

The only that sometimes keeps me coming home instead driving off into to no where is my cat, Angelo. Him and the fact I like a comfortable, familiar place to lay my head down. Which I’m about to do. I got into some sort of funk this afternoon. It culminated with me coming home and grabbing a bottle of whiskey. Then I reheated some pizza (I have no food, just leftovers. After the pizza is gone I have to go shopping or starve. Haven’t decided which yet). I spent about three hours working on my iMac. I haven’t fixed it, but I feel closer than I was before. I have that “I’m getting there" feeling going on. So that’s a plus. I also have to take apart my speaker system. Something in the subwoofer is no longer sending power to the right speaker. Sound is coming out on the right, just at low volume (think about if you used a pencil and piece of paper to build a speaker for a record, its very low, power amplifies the sound). I’m hoping its just a loose wire I can reattach. However, If I need to learn some amateur electronics along the way to fixing it so be it. Alright. I suppose that is it. I had this longing urge to go for a walk late at night tonight, but bed is calling so much more. It wasn’t so much for a walk, but that it was so nice out today I wanted to lay on the beach or hillside and stare at the lake at night. I thought it’d be calming and peaceful. And it is supposed to stay above freezing (practically a heat wave compared to a few weeks ago). Maybe tomorrow night.
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Long Weekend

Alright. I skipped about half the things on my list. Well I did less than half. I did go for long walks, including Edgewater Park. I did see some museums (well the art museum, for a little bit on Saturday). I opened my windows.

I did not buy new jeans. I did not play frisbee. I did not apply at any other jobs. I did not barbecue. Damn. But it was a good weekend. I cleaned a lot. I ate. I walked. I meandered and spent very little money. All good things. Oh, and I worked on my computers.

I upgraded the operating system on my Macbook. I tried to upgrade the iMac and completely messed it up. I actually took it down and put it in the closet, at least til I feel like fiddling with it again (probably this week). I may have to wipe the drive and start from scratch. Which would suck because all of my music is on it (although I did back up documents and drawings and other such before upgrading).

So my Macbook is in the living room, and I have no computer or tv in the bedroom for the first time in a long time. I think I may like it. I am considering buying some sort of ipod dock for my bedroom now. Even after I fix the iMac, I am considering leaving it in the closet and using it as a storage drive, but I not overly excited about that idea. We shall see.

Alright. Off to bed. I tire, and work tomorrow.
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A Good Day

I'm betting on a good day today. And a good weekend follow up. Its a long weekend, and I have absolutely no plans, but I don't need any to have a good time. Things I am going to do this weekend,

- Go to Edgewater Park, just to hang out by the lake. According to the Weather Underground its going to be decent weather this weekend.
- Frisbee Golf. It'll be 40 degrees. So yeah, its going to be soaking wet outside, but good January frisbee weather.
- Open my windows. Fines be damned.
- Apply for jobs (sometimes I swear, the people who do the least work, but bitch the most, get what they want. Or get away with what they want. Me, who does my job exemplaray, doesn't bitch, but can't seem to get what I want - I want my hours moved up earlier in the day, and seems to have more and more asked of me because I'm competent.)
- Hit up the West Side Market. Fresh produce and cupcakes. Ohhhhh... maybe I'll grill this weekend.
- Go see The Book of Eli. Yeah, Denzel kicks ass. I want to see it.
- Buy a new pair of jeans. I need a new pair, and also some new shoes. Target bound I think.
- Go to some Museums. It'll be packed on Monday I'm sure, but all the museums, galleries, and other venues around University Circle (including the outdoor skating rink) are free, or near free.

Thats the plan. Or list. So I guess I have some sort of plan. But I just came up with it as I was typing. If I can't come up with an impromptu list of things to do like this, then I should be alright. Oh, and I want to go to the Coffee Pot for breakfast. I haven't been there in a long time.
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A series....

A series of letters reflective of tonight's Cajun Fettuccine Alfredo dinner;

Dear George Foreman Grilling Tool,

You are amazing. I don't know what I would do without you. You are great for grilling, cleaning, and basically an all purpose tool. You are awesome. But you know it. You cocky bastard. Don't think I don't see your smirk. I hate you. I hate that I can't live without you. Stop staring at me with that self-assured grin.

Sincerely,
Guy from Apartment 209

Dear Can of Green Beans,

I am so sorry I left you in the back of my cupboard for over three months. Opening you tonight, I have realized how much I have missed you. I am sorry I never opened your earlier. I promise never to leave any of your brother cans in the cupboard that long again.

You were a wise and tasty, if not out of place, vegetable to have with dinner tonight.

Sincerely,
A Green Bean Fan

Dear $5 jar of cracked pepper alfredo sauce,

I picked you up by accident at the store Saturday. I swore you were on sale for $2.50. That was the jar next to you. You were in the absolute wrong spot on the shelf. I am pretty sure someone picked you up, saw that the other jar was on sale and you were actually a rather expensive jar of sauce, set you down and picked the one on sale. I, stupidly, picked you up without looking at the brand on the tag, thinking the price reflected was you. You are not worth five dollars. You are not fantastic alfredo sauce, in fact you are kind of bland. I did not taste any cracked pepper.

Next time I see your brother jars in the store I am going to "accidently" drop one of them on the ground out of vindictive spite.

Sincerely,
Disappointed with Alfredo
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Frakking Awake

Its past five a.m. and I am awake.

I laid down for bed just after 11 p.m.
I woke up around one a.m.
I stared at the ceiling til 2 a.m.
I read a book and listened to the radio til 3 a.m.
I laid back down and stared at the ceiling again til 3:30 a.m.
I drove around til 4:30 a.m.
I am still awake.

Ever have that night, where insomnia kicks in. You're tired, but not. You're awake but not. Its a long night. Good news is I finished my book. Time to pick up another one (actually I have a book I started but put down for some leisure reading instead of informative text).

I've been getting the idea lately that my sleep patterns are a little off. A normal sleep cycle looks something like this.
sleep_cycle

Now compare that with this graph of my sleep. I got this from an app on my iPhone. Apparently by measuring your sleep movement it can tell how deep of sleep you are in. While not 100% accurate, I'm pretty sure it paints a decent picture. This is from Sunday night, and is a typical graph for my sleep.

sleepgraph

See. Its bizarre. Apparently by the time I reach my first REM most people have had two full cycles. Whatever. Point is I am awake. And not asleep. Like awake right now. Which by all means sucks.
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Less is more

I've been looking around at what I have. I've spent the last year with no cable. I've bought less, used less, and spent less (also earned less, but we'll leave that one out). I have drank more coffee than recent years. But that's aside from my point. If I've survived on this, what about getting rid of some more and surviving on less.

What esle can I get rid of? I'm not sure. Despite my November decluttering, I still haven't tackled the bedroom closet. So maybe this week I'll do that, and then look around my living room and get rid of some more in here. We'll see. Just a thought this morning.
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Parma, Ohio

Dear City of Parma in the state of Ohio,

What the fuck. You can't announce a parking ban to be enforced at 11 pm at 10:50 pm. Regardless of the, wait........ wait for it........... 2 - 4 inches of snow you may get over the course of the night. Granted tomorrow during the day you're supposed to get another 4 - 6 inches but really, you can't declare a parking ban at 10:50 pm, when most residents are probably sleeping, for ten minutes later at 11 pm. Its just plain stupid. I feel bad for anyone who parked their cars on the street and went to bed at 10 pm. They'll wake up with a ticket. Its like your city just wants to steal every last dollar they can from you. Fuck that.

Check out the posting for breaking news. See the time stamp for its posting. 10:50 pm. That's right Parma residents, your city gave you a ten minute warning to run out to the street and move your car. You should feel proud.

Parma, Ohio; you fucking suck. I am glad I reside in Cleveland city limits and not your shitty city.

Sincerely,
AJ
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Daft

Despite a sore throat, I had a pretty good day. I listened to Daft Punk a lot. Good shit. So my drawings today reflect that. And I always said good music makes for a good day. Or at least I will now.

Oh, and Sean texted me and said that Ella is started to take after Funcle AJ. Awesome. Awesome to the max.

AroundtheWorld
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Phlemy?

I wanted to type out this whole long verbose idea. Also a weird dream about being Doctor House (I've watched a lot of House lately) but Angelo just jumped in my lap, so this will have to do. Two quick little sketches done with extremely fine point markers.

LoveColors

MazzyStar
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Cleveland

Its so bizarre the difference a word can have in two different locals. Lake Effect Snow. I know it refers to the condition behind the weather, but the connotation it brings with it in Buffalo is "Danger!!! Freak out snow is coming in bucket loads!!!" We're talking an inch an hour of snow, heavy, thick, and a lot.

Cleveland redition of lake effect snow is 3 - 4 inches over twelve or so hours. I woke up to "Lake Effect Snow" yesterday in Cleveland. Essentailly there was an inch of snow on the ground, the city streets were a little slushie, and the highway was clear. No snow on the highway. But traffic was ridiculous. 5 mph driving to work. On a clean and clear highway with no accidents or spin outs. It killed me. At one point my phone, with the traffic taken into account, told me it would take almost two hours to get to work for a drive that would usually take me 15 - 20 minutes.

Anyways, I got a whole slew of sketch pads for Christmas. One is light brown. I also got some fine point markers. So heres what I came up with.

WhataCatch_0001
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Dan Brown

Dear Dan Brown,

Your novels are trite and see through. Why are the "villians" or "bad guys" in your novel so transparent. You might like to think no one sees the twist coming, but everyone does. Your dialogue is awful. You push pseudo science, you steal ideas from other people and their research and pass it off innovate and amazing new knowledge. The human soul has weight. This is from an experiment that was done in 1907, and more recently the title of a movie from several years.

Your settings are interesting. You do seem to pick out obscure locals, buildings, and items of interest. However often you dive into too much mundane detail. The character of Robert Langdon has lost all interest to me. While I found the concept behind The Da Vinci Code interesting, it wasn't my first exposure to the concept. The premise of The Lost Symbol is ridiculous. Listening to the book all the way through (I had the audiobook) annoyed me. Especially the ending. It went on and on. Remember how Return of the Kings had 9000 endings, Peter Jackson just went on and on with it. The Lost Symbol was the same. Except less poignant, and it seemed to think it was all revealing and interesting.

Please stop writing books. You bore me, and your plot lines are awful.

Sincerely (oh and he cleverly explains where we get the ending sincerely from),
AJ
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Holiday Ventures

Going home for Christmas was great. New Years, was alright. That's all I have to say about holidays.

Pant hangers. I saw some yesterday. I am contemplating getting some. It would fit in my decluttering of my closet. Yes....pants hangers are the key.

New scanner will go into use soon. Need to figure out its bells and whistles first.

More riveting entries to come soon.
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