Gabrial

a long time since...

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 04:01:52 GMT

I've not updated for a very long time. I guess I threw myself into my job and have not come up for air.

The Secret Lives of Dentists: another movie about middle age men coming to grips with doing the right thing and getting happy about it. Am I to be a Lester Burnam some day?

I'm going to keep refocusing my bliss direction and continuing to create my own myth. Life for me is a creative event. I attempt to create value in order to receive value. I pursue and cultivate relationships, to reap an interesting harvest of experience.

On to the adventure at hand, I just rolled a 19 for initiative!

I am the Walrus...

Thu, 09 Jan 2003 04:33:10 GMT

cooo, coooo, k-choo...

Spent the last 2 days in an egg grading and breaking plant. It's very surreal to look out on a dark cold Indiana sky at 3 am and know that you are completely surrounded by 3 million chickens all desperately trying to come to terms with being a chicken. Laying 100's of each/month for about 14 months before not being a chicken anymore....

Fish update:

Got 5 tanks up, all clean, and with air. G. Hater gave me about 30 Goosehead Oranda's he hatched on 12/23/02. They went into a 30 gallon new tank on the left of the tower. Also got about 5 of the F4 Red Ranchu for the competition next year, to make up for the the 6 I killed 4 weeks ago. All are eating and doing well.

When I get home tonight my large Lion head is chasing a obvious female F2 Red Ranchu and she is throwing eggs. I separated her out and will try to hand strip if I can later tonight. Who knows, maybe my first line bred fish in Kentucky will be born this month.

Work is just too much fun. Going to Allentown, PA next week to work with the Moz/Provolone plant again. Then meeting each week for 4 weeks. Last week of the month is in a posh ski resort in Northern Quebec. Skiing is part of the program, so that will be interesting. Chubby white guys from Ohio rarely know how to ski.

Watching some of my new Metropolitan Opera Wagner Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold) before I hit the bed. Opera is powerful awesome stuff.

New Year, new projects...

Sun, 05 Jan 2003 14:49:54 GMT

Of the 3 or 4 people who may read this journal, I'm not sure that any of them will think today's update is remotely interesting, but who knows.

I've been updating the fish room big time lately and writing about the changes here may a great way to keep up with it. If I figure out how to add pics to this, then I'll do that on future updates.

1/4/02 Changes
Finally put in the 110 acrylic tank and moved the store-bought Lionheads and about 4 G. Hater F3 Ranchu. The largest lionhead is amazing these days, he is definitely male and absolutely stunning in head growth and color. The 4 G. Hater Ranchu are marginal at best and have no head growth and crappy tail push. Also, one of the contest F4's that survived (the only one) went into the 110 and I'll keep an eye on him to see what the future holds.

Moved all of the week 11/15/02 Import Red/Black Ranchu fry into the tub on the floor where the Lionheads were. Four of those are growing like freaks, but i need to the cull down the rest to get rid of spikes.

Project for today:
Put up 6 tanks... Don't know if that's possible but the cinder blocks and 4x6's I bought yesterday should create the surface I need, now I just need to create air sources and plug the drilled tanks.

Watched Chinatown for the 1st time last night. I got it from Netflix primarily because I just saw Rosemary's Baby and all anyone talks about Roman Polanski is that he is a pedophile and he made Chinatown. It was very well done and I continue to think Jack Nicholson is a fantastic actor (As Good as It Gets is his best). It also reminded me of a Raymond Chandler book, I've only read one, but it had that feel to it. Next I'm going to watch "Seven" with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

Work this is week is going to be a filled with completion of the Allentown, PA Mass Balance (1st meeting on my own) and a trip to an egg processor near Indy. Two days out and 3 days in. Perfect week. I'm working out how set-up my own portable COD/BOD lab. Colorimetry part is apparently easily worked out, but the portable spectrophotometer is giving me the willies. Anyone who had to do an Absorbance vs Transmittance type Analytical Chemistry lab in High School or College chemistry will know what I mean. The idea that I could (or should) take a analytical instrument on an airplane anywhere once or twice a week is insane. Keeping a calibration curve stable on an immovable bench-top instrument was hard enough, with the baggage handler error variable, it must be impossible.

Update...

Mon, 23 Dec 2002 00:48:28 GMT

Life is very good.

Adding Value in a different place...

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 13:24:39 GMT

Yep, I got a new job. One where i may be able to use my college education to a higher level. There are also a few grown-ups at the new place and sounds like they don't hassle you for or every little detail of how you travel and spend company resources.
They are only interested in results. Usually not a problem, but i'm making sure to play lots of video games and goof off till I start on Monday.

I could be going back to a 70 Hour/week Type A lifestyle.

passing time the ether of adding value...

Wed, 02 Oct 2002 23:58:50 GMT

In another hotel room. Trying to entertain myself. I wonder if there is a 12 step program for the obsesively chronic bored?

Back home.

Mon, 30 Sep 2002 00:28:22 GMT

Long week. Too much stress. I'm very unhappy with my job.

Cali bound.

Tue, 24 Sep 2002 03:53:04 GMT

Done with Cleveland, now off to the land of fruits and nuts.

Friday already.

Fri, 20 Sep 2002 23:48:44 GMT

The week evaporated in a chaos of activity. My job is taking too much time. So maybe I need to do something about that. Trip to see the lovely and talented Tinka on tuesday next week, so that's good. Problem is I get there via Cleveland for 2 days.

Currently sitting through several episodes of Bubblegum Crisis 2040. It's amazing how different the minds of Japanese animators think...

Monday Evening

Tue, 17 Sep 2002 02:31:41 GMT

Ok, ok. This is going to be a hard habit to get into.

Working hard tonight on projects that are renting space in my head on a regular basis. Work for the coming end of year meetings. Work that may be a very different end of year for my career.

So much for enjoying being at home.

Updating a Journal...

Sun, 15 Sep 2002 19:12:45 GMT

This is something I've never done. Write opinion's about life the universe or anything in a public format? Some good things begin a little awkward. So here goes...