The Raging Tech

Quite Possibly a Vampire

The last couple days I’ve had several severe migraines, like back when I was getting my wisdom teeth. It seems directly proportional to the amount of sunlight to which I’ve been exposed. I’ve mostly gotten over my temporary lactose intolerance, but I still seem to have bad acid-reflux from other food items. Last night Kylara made Ruff and I spaghetti and it was delicious, and I did okay eating that.  I’m going to try to drink more water.

I’ve always wondered if certain people are tuned for irregular sleep schedules without detriment to their health. I figure, years and years ago when everyone had to be a farmer and a hunter or some other kind of tradesman to barter for what they needed, everything was lined up with the hours of sunlight in the day. So people naturally lined their sleep patterns up with the rising and falling of the sun.

If it’s not  inherent or biological, it seems likely that now and then there should be people who feel more naturally in tune with a later schedule. I have always felt more in line with sleeping from around 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then getting up for my waking hours.

It clashes with so many paradigms in our society, such as store and restaurant hours, school hours, and most places of business. Which also means that those who work these sorts of hours would be confined to 3rd shifts at menial jobs, working at night clubs and bars, internet businesses, and call center (like 911 or technical support services) / telemarketing work.

I like the sunlight, don’t get me wrong. It’s warm and comforting and gives me a tan if I stay out in it long enough. But when you’re trapped underground like I am all day, and you (by choice) leave only the emergency lights on in your call center, you get adjusted to the darkness. I jokingly say “Curse the Day Star!” when I go outside and see the sun.

Also, as of recently, I’ve found it enjoyable to bite people. I’ve been ordering my steaks cooked medium rare, and they’re delicious. Garlic is less appealing to me than it used to be. I still love Jesus and the crucifix doesn’t make me hiss. So either it’s all coincidence, or maybe I am becoming a vampire and not all the symptoms from the movies are true.

(P.S. Mom, this is purely farcical in nature, I don’t really think I’m becoming a vampire.)

Protected Posts

My Mom A reader commented on another post of mine saying, “how am i supposed to read when it is now password protected and there is no directions on how to get a password?”

So I thought I’d shed some light on the feature of my blogging site that I haven’t really used before - password-protected posts. These are for me, an “eyes only” sort of deal.

You’re probably thinking, But RT, why would you want to put a password on a post about your personal life that is on the *internet*? And the answer is pretty simple. Blogging can be cathartic or maybe just personal, and sometimes I may want to share things with only certain people and not everyone.

Sometimes it’s because I’m keeping someone else’s confidence but really need to get something off my chest, other times it’s because I want to talk about things I might not want a potential employer to know. Either way, if it’s something you’re supposed to read, I’ll make sure whoever you are, you get the password you need. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

I may also put personal thoughts and worries in there, and I don’t want you all to think I’m a complete basket case. I could keep a completely separate blog for that and just not tell anyone about it. But that’s too much work - this is easier.

Sparring for Fun and Stress Relief

When you’re frustrated, as I imagine many people are at the end of a long work week - you’re probably looking for some way to work out some stress and then unwind so you can enjoy your weekend. While some people like to do this by hitting the night life, getting drunk, or doing recreational drugs - others still prefer physical activities.

While it might not be healthy to just punch your friends to work out that stress, it’s actually OK if they’re adequately prepared and wearing protective gear. Karate is a martial art form that is both powerful for self-defense and adequate for exercise and stress-control.

AWMA is a major retailer of Martial Arts Supplies for karate lovers everywhere. They operate online at AWMA.com where they sell heavy bags, sparring gear and accessories at a reasonable price. This is also a store where you could pick up your karate uniforms and protective padding. Check them out and see if they have what you need to work out your work week stress with karate.

Being a Man: Ride to Destruction

Before you get up in my face with the name-calling and chauvinist comments, I’m in no way saying that women don’t enjoy danger and nearly killing themselves doing stupidly awesome things. I do know that there is some primal part of me that gets excited thinking about jumping off of stuff and blowing things up.

As a man, I know that until I find the right woman and start a family, I’m mostly not going to take safety as seriously as I should. So with that being said, I looked up on Wikipedia what wakeboarding is all about:

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques.

The rider is towed behind a boat; typically at speeds of 18-24 miles per hour depending on water conditions, rider’s weight, board size, and all depending on the riders comfort speed. But wakeboarding can also be performed on a variety of media including closed-course cables, winches, PWCs, and ATVs. Wakeboarding can be dangerous.

And since that last line “can be dangerous” was exciting, I found this site that sells wakeboards, and they’re pretty dang cool looking. And if I thought I’d get the opportunity to do it, I’d totally get a wakeboard of my own.

But since most people, around where I live at least, don’t do things like that, I’m pretty much stuck with jumping in the river or hiking to a mountain stream and cliff diving. Or, you know, blowing stuff up. Or jumping off of things. Or driving too fast. Or starting underground fight clubs. Yeah. I do all that stuff. That’s the ticket.

T..G..I..Your Mom!

I know. Real mature, right? Well, bite me. I’m not in a mature mood this morning. I got to sleep some last night, which was nice. It’s hard to choose between sleep and hanging out and having fun, sometimes. But eventually, your body will take over and demand that you sleep.

So, thank goodness for Fridays. We have a weekly meeting this morning, then some “project time,” and then lunch and phone duty. But the end of work today is not the main thing I’m looking forward to tonight. Fridays are pretty much always “game night” with me and my friends. Even cooler - the girl I’m dating is in that group of friends, so I get to see her and have our usual Friday night festivities.

Anyway, everyone have a good Friday and keep checking back here for more posts today! Remember, some people call Friday POETS day. Why? It stands for Piss on Everything, Tomorrow’s Saturday. Just FYI. I’m not saying anything but relating to you a fun fact. A little FF.

On Giants and Gentlemen

Last Sunday, I had very low expectations out of the Super Bowl. I don’t really like the Patriots, nor do I hold any special place in my heart for the Giants. In fact, football really doesn’t hold a special place in my heart at all. I’m lucky I at least understand the rules enough to know what’s going on in the game. But I must say, the first two quarters weren’t that exciting - and then it all went crazy.

Sportsmanship used to mean something in America - but nowadays we just have spoiled brats in the NFL. Eli Manning, good job - one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. But Pats - come on, just because you’re desperately clinging to a 1 touchdown lead does not mean you should drop all fair play and attempt to rip the ball from the precariously falling man’s arms, to his injury. He clearly had made the catch and was on his way to the ground to complete the play, but you had to go be a douche bag about it.

All that being said, where are the gentlemen in America? I know some guys who do everything they can to be gentlemen to any woman they encounter - not to be flirtatious or impressive, but because it’s the right thing to do. But what’s up with the rest of our half of the species, guys? The other day I opened the door and held it for a lady at the post office, and she patted me on the shoulder and said “Your mother raised you the correct way,” and I thanked her and said I’d be sure to mention it to her (here you go, Mom - I’m mentioning it here because I know you read this).

So what is it guys? Do you think chivalry is dead? I know some girls don’t prefer it, and that’s OK to let some things go if they are bothered by you holding doors. I know I forget sometimes, or sometimes positioning does not easily allow for it. But make the effort. Let’s honor the women in our lives, guys, in one way or another.

Oops - We Let It Slip

Some of you may have noticed that over the weekend the site went down, possibly being replaced with another page or search engine. That’s because silly me registered the domain name with GoDaddy and never updated my contact information, so GoDaddy had sent my domain expiration notices to an e-mail I don’t check any more.

To make up for it, I went ahead and registered the domain for the next two years - so count on me being here, writing neat stuff for you to read, for at least that much longer! Everything should be back up and functional now, including my e-mail, thank goodness!

Thanks for your patience over the weekend!