Agent Paper

Just a heads up to anyone who still has me in their f-list...

I've just converted my joomla site into two sites - photo and personal - and they are available at
www.poppyphotodesign.com and
personal.poppyphotodesign.com

I've added LJ syndication for the personal site: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/poppytalks/

If you encounter problems with the syndication, PLEASE let me know.

Y'know, the hard part about creating a nice shiny new web site with a blog and everything is trying to decide whether I want to put memes on it or not.....



Answer the following questions in a comment for me, then post this in your journal.

1.Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
5. Favorite Song:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:

HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...
1. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
2. Whats your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you repost this so i can fill it out for you?

Howdy all... I've gotten the blog space over on my new site up and running.... there might be slight changes, but for now, I'm happy with it. That being the case, I expect posting here on LJ to be rare.... soooooo, in order to not inconvenience anyone who's used to seeing updates on their f-list, I've syndicated the feed from my new site here.

photopoppy

Have at :)

Click here to read the latest news, updates, and whatevers.

So with this new enterprise happening, I haven't yet determined what the fate of this LJ will be.... ultimately, I expect to post much less, maybe let it die altogether. Things are a bit busy in my end of the world right now, and any and all decisions have to wait until September 15.

I learned two new words yesterday!! *bounce*

Steakfucker

Apology-Flavored


In other news, THIS POST is the best thing I've seen on this whole nonsense. I love how Ms. Riggs very quietly and patiently explains WHY the boys club is a problem - because it puts us in the position of either putting up with something we're uncomfortable with or excusing ourselves and possibly missing out on the goings-on - which can mean anything from having less interaction with the group to vastly reduced potential, depending on how serious the situation is or becomes. And before anyone starts yelling that it's our choice whether to accept the discomfort or to accept reduced openings, answer me this: would YOU put up with being put in a position of extreme discomfort for the sake of a job? For the sake of associating with a particular group? What price is enough to put up with that level of discomfort?

Y'know, the graphics are kinda ridiculous, but I had to try it out anyway.

I've got a surprise for you. It's an exciting surprise, and I'll post more about it, ummm, maybe this weekend.

In the meantime, check out this link. InformationWeek

Highlights:

Companies that give employees BlackBerrys and cellular modems, providing always-on connectivity, may wind up with lawsuits, if they don't promote balance between work and play, Porter warned Monday. "The relentless pace of technology-enhanced work environments can create stimulation that may become addictive," she said.

I'm not really sure what to think about this.... on one hand, I really dislike the concept of "I managed not to know what was good for me and now my addiction is your fault" in general. It's the same theory used in the argument that McDonalds is responsible for all of the people who super-sized their meal and became either overweight OR unhealthy from doing so. The growth of the arguement makes it essentially "Ok" to not be aware of what is good for you, makes it someone else's job.

And yet... and yet... We are a community. We should be looking out for each other. It's immoral to provide a service, a good, without providing for disclosure - at the very least, a list of the ingredients or nutritional information for that burger you're eating - for individuals to judge your product by. And frankly, if the threat of lawsuits is what it takes to get companies to understand that no-one signed up to work 60 hour weeks or to give them 120% of their energy, I'm all for it. Because common sense doesn't seem to be working.

There's a line between my responsibility to take care of myself and your responsibility to enable that. I think we as a society are having a hard time with where that line is drawn and how best to support it.

1. Don't ever, EVER plan another wedding. If you must get married, do it at City Hall and drop the news on Christmas to the family. That way, someone else is already planning dinner. Even if you get married on New Years, just wait until the next Christmas anyway.
   
2. Always return the RSVP card. I know, it's really easy to count on the happy couple knowing you'll be there because you're the best friend from grade school/bride's parents/second-cousin's old roommate/groom, but honestly, it's saner and more realistic to count on the couple being so involved in details like the color of the froth on the cake, renting special chairs for great-uncle Flip, and losing the 10 pounds gained from the stress of planning the event that having that little card from you to remind them of how many people you are planning on bringing is going to make the difference between playing musical chairs and playing "Here comes the bride". Seriously, I'm already juggling trying to remember that KyrieM and I will be there, plus the grandmother who refuses to return her card - that's as high as I can count right now.
   
3. It really doesn't matter how far in advance you intend to start planning. We've ostensibly been planning for 2 years now. And I'm still a couple of weeks behind.
   
4. The number of people who've changed either addresses or phone numbers or who failed to give us their info (!!) is kinda sad. There's a couple of people we would have liked to invite - but we didn't have addresses. Don't worry, we'll have pictures. If I remember to call the photographer.
   
5. Removing 1 of every 5 GB of MP3 files is not a common wedding preparation activity. (the home game on this one is that I got a free hard drive that I promptly dumped my files on.... and only then found out that I had bad sectors up the wazoo. So I've lost probably 1/5 of my music collection, and in order to put together reception music I've got to figure out which fifth I've lost and replace the important stuff.)
   

Gender: Lady Birth date: 1975/1/1 4:20

Ba Zi Chart
　時　　　日　　　月　　　年　
　正官　　比肩　　劫財　　正印　

　壬　　　丁　　　丙　　　甲　　
　寅　　　未　　　子　　　寅　　

　正印　　食神　　七殺　　正印　
　劫財　　比肩　　　　　　劫財　
　傷官　　偏印　　　　　　傷官　


Your sign is Star in Chinese Horoscope
◎Your life is represented by the stars in the night and always the focus of attention, but starlight might sometimes be covered by the dark cloud. You like wise and trustworthy people. You are smart, enthusiastic, well-behaved and a quick learner, however your enthusiasm usually doesn't last long. ◎

Your characteristics, subconscious, and behavior modes, according to your fate and destiny, are represented by the stars, not only delicate, yet with femininity. There are many stars in the sky, but not as bright as the sun and moon, so you do not like to show off. You do not like to make decisions and often wait for the opportunities to come to you.

You are born intelligent and clever, but cannot quite stick to what you do. You have short-lived enthusiasm, are interested in many things, but lack the determination and perseverance to carry it through. In addition, you show a very strong and obvious reaction between love and hate, and willing to sacrifice for one and totally block out the other. You like mature and dependable persons, dislike frivolous behavior, and admire people with artistic talent and those who can enrich your spirit.

Your entire life is like the stars, stable, secure, and without uncertainties. You are most afraid to be covered by the dark cloud that reflects the down time of your life, during which you may be unappreciated, unaccepted, and face many unexpected obstacles. Although very painful, as long as you face these challenges, learn from others and do not complain or blame others, you will learn and grow, and then become the brightest star in the sky.

◎Health Analysis: The function of your nephridium water system is weaker.◎

According to your destiny analysis, the function of your nephridium water system is weaker. Your physical strength is not as good as others, and you always feel tired and have cold hands and feet in the winter. You have had no major problems when you were young, but over age 40, additional care of your nephridium water system is needed, or it may easily lead to blood pressure, anemia, heart problems and unsmooth periods, or even insomnia, accidie, cranial nerve anemic, hearing problems, kidney problems, urocystitis, urethrits, gynecologic problem, heart and blood vessel problems. Therefore, you should avoid fatigue, maintain a stable and regular lifestyle and schedule, and sleep and wake early in order to protect a congenitally weaker nephridium water system system. Also avoid iced and cold drinks and reduce the frequency of sexual activities in order to maintain good vitality.

There's a saying that all disease starts from the mouth, which means many human diseases are related to food. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, food can be divided into gold, wood, water, fire and earth (concept of the five elements). You seem to prefer the salty flavors, especially in seasonings, which means your cells are filled with too much water element. This negatively affects your health, fortune and career, so we suggest you try different foods to balance your diet and nutrition, which leads to harmony in life and a balance of yin and yang based on the five elements. In addition, if you have recently felt unlucky or things were not going smoothly, then you are probably affected by bad spirit, which caused bad luck. The best solution is not to eat meat and fish for a period of time until the bad spirit goes away. The bad spirit tends to stay with those who eat meat and fish, and also chicken, duck, green onion, garlic, leek and other spices, so a vegetarian diet can help change your luck.

◎Health Analysis: The function of your respiratory system is weaker as well.◎

The function of your respiratory system is weaker as well, and you have had minor problems like allergies, runny nose, cough, cold, chest pain, diarrhea and constipation when you were young. But over age 40, additional care of your respiratory system is needed, or it may lead to nasosinutisis, asthma, bronchopneumonia, bronchitis, intestines polyp and proctitis. Therefore, you should avoid fatigue and smoking, maintain a stable, regular lifestyle and schedule, and sleep and wake early in order to protect a congenitally weaker respiratory system.

According to your destiny analysis, your working and living environment tends to be a bit messy and without good air circulation, which is not good for your respiratory system. You tend to be anxious, lack patience and tolerance, which means you don't get along well with friends.

If you want to change your fate and destiny, breath deeply for five minutes per day, maintain good air circulation, and open a window or door in your room. As long as you have sufficient oxygen in your body, your destiny will be completely changed with better health, more wealth and happiness coming into your life.

◎In your relationship, you are mutually loving and respectful of each other. Your love is full of romance and happiness. Your future partner will also help you with financial management, and contribute fortune and wealth as he has the luck to help his wife. ◎

In romance, according to our analysis, men usually like you at first sight. If they win your heart, a romance develops quickly, but doesn't last long because it's difficult to maintain the same level of passion from beginning to end. Generally speaking, you make a good first impression because you are charming and capable, but over time your passion is replaced by arguments. You are often admired, but are not satisfied with what you have, and your romantic partner may be very sticky if you want to break up. Therefore, if you are still waiting for a good romance, try to conceal your outer beauty in order to find more sincere and suitable lovers who aren't just attracted to your looks. Then true romance will come your way.

In the journey of life, your romantic or marriage partner is not easily found by love at first sight. You need to spend time together and interact in a neutral setting before the possibility of love. The relationship might start from working together, and time spent together planning or meeting regularly. You tend to concentrate and focus on career and work, so you may marry later in life. If you are still seeking your love partner, among those around you, someone who has a deep understanding and strong ability might be the one. As long as you sincerely give a little hint, the happiness is right beside you.

◎Career Analysis: Most of your jobs, in any industry, require some leadership and management skills, teamwork.◎

Most of your jobs, in any industry, require some leadership and management skills, teamwork; your career may also involve non-profit government organizations. For example, manager, general manager, high level management, plant manager, government or legal official, auditor, investigator, soldier, police officer, non-profit organization volunteer, etc. These types of jobs might not have the same professional training required for the corporate world, but will offer personal growth and teamwork challenges. If you choose these types of jobs, then your work will go smoothly, but you may lack the professional training for an executive position in the future. You should further strengthen your professional training because you have good management skills, but might not understand technical staff well enough or have a strong foundation for important decision-making. Jobs in other fields that require creativity or working independently are not suitable for you.

◎Wealth Analysis: You know how to make and save money, so you are seldom short of cash.◎

According to your destiny analysis, you know how to make and save money, so you are seldom short of cash. You knew the importance of the money since you were very young, so you started working earlier than others. Therefore, you were making money with investments while others were spending money and enjoying their lives. In addition, you were born very clever, and will not spend money if unnecessary, but when it comes to business investment, you are not stingy because you always wanted to be your own boss. You will be investing most of your wealth to establish your business. Afterwards, you will not bequest much to your descendants, instead you will donate money to a charity or hospital because you think your descendants gain wealth by working hard on their own.

As time goes on and my patience wears thin, there's a few things that come out as my own personal irritants and pet peeves.

1. We both work for the same damn company. Stop greeting me with your sugar voice and "how y'all doing" like I'm a customer. This goes twice if you've just taken a job that used to be filled by someone I know.

2. Stop arguing with me. No, really. Stop. Arguing. With. Me. If I wanted an arguement, I'd call a customer instead of talking to you.

3. Why is it that the same people who apparently cannot think up a creative solution to a problem to save their lives suddenly become Stephen King when coming up with reasons why they haven't done the most obvious step?

4. And finally, a request to the universe: please, please, please... drop your preconceived notions of what a "fix" will entail and open up to the possibility that maybe what needs to be fixed is the workflow, not the error message.

That's important to marketers, who are trying desperately to understand how women buy and play games.

We are becoming a demographic, albeit a risky one, since publishers still aren't sure how we think - which is why game marketers are crafting ways to target young women, while simultaneously appealing to their reliable old standby: young men.

Y'all just don't get it, do ya?

Politicians, listen up, y'all are missing the same boat.

Sometimes all anyone really wants is to not be a second thought. To be first. To be considered important enough to drop everything for - just for one release, maybe two, a year. Out of all of the games that hit the market every year - is one or two really that much to ask for? Hell, no! I call it a good start.

Look, if you're trying to attract a date, the method of "Well, I'd rather be dating your brother, but I guess you'll do if I'm bored" just ain't gonna work. What makes you think attracting customers works any differently? Or attracting votes?

I'm still alive.

Been playing on the Mac - well, maybe playing is the wrong word. Been doing a lot of art and photos on the Mac. Getting really comfortable with it, and all I really do on the PC anymore is A) host mp3s and B) play Dungeon Siege. Which, like most games, gives me odd dreams. I dreamed the other night that in order to get anywhere in real life I had to click on it first. Made walking down the hallway a tad slow, and I was glad to wake up where I didn't have to premeditate every step.

For the last 6 weeks, we've been trying to eat better... cooking healthier meals, eliminating most carbs that don't contribute anything besides carbs.... after all, if carbs = energy, I don't really need that large helping of mashed potatoes right before bed. Doctor ordered a cholesterol test, which came back (unsurprisingly) with my HDL too low and my triglicerides too high. From this, the doctor astutely determined that I'm overweight. The bonus is that she didn't harrass me too much; I've heard of people getting badgered by their doctors about weight issues, but all mine ever says is "try and exercise a bit more, ok?"

Invitations have mostly gone out. Still a few that need addresses, so if you're expecting one and it hasn't arrived yet, don't worry.

One of my latest projects - an excuse to get used to photoshop and the graphic tablet on the mac - has been making anime wallpapers. I'm looking for a good site to contribute them to, a place where I can make them available for anyone who wants one. Drop a comment if you have a favorite spot to go to download stuff.

Work is still work.... we're losing 2 of our 4 managers in the next couple of weeks, and I'm feeling more and more like the young teen being left in the house alone with the creepy uncle. Not that the remaining managers are all that creepy, but I trust the creepy uncle more than the head guy who'll be left. At least you know what the creepy uncle wants and can lock yourself into another room.

Spent Saturday afternoon with my nieces.... let them each pick out a manga to buy at the bookstore. The little one started reading the one she picked out, and stopped about 5 pages in, insisting that she couldn't read it because there were bad words in it! The child was raised on a Hollywood diet, and objects to the word "hell" in a comic. Oh dear. (she eventually did finish reading it and enjoyed the story quite a bit).

As I glance over the papers from the doctor.... she gave me a lab form to use before I come in 6 months from now. The note that she jotted down on it to remind me to have a blood test done a few days before the appointment says "Fast 2-3 days" ... Completely different from what she explained to me, and I hope in November, when I need to get this done, I remember what it means. I will NOT be fasting for 2-3 days before going in for a blood test, that's just silly. And uncomfortable. Waiting until 9 for breakfast so they could draw blood this last time was bad enough.

( Memage )

I almost have all of the software I need on my new mac installed.... need to do some cleanup and organizing - get rid of MS Office which I have no intention of paying for and download OpenOffice - or not. I've got text editors, and I'm not sure I even need a spreadsheet on it.

Been spending what little time in the past couple of days I've had available trying to get iPhoto to print.... I think there's gotta be something wrong with my configuration, the drivers that are installed, etc. Because I know my printer can do much better than I'm getting from it. It's printing photos on photo paper (with borders, which is a whole 'nother gripe) as if they were GIF graphics - limited color palette, very grainy, etc. I had to transfer a file to my Windows machine yesterday to get it printed with anything close to acceptable.

And all I can find on "print quality from iPhoto" is all about the photo books. I haven't even signed up for .Mac yet, much less ordered a book.... not even sure it's worth the effort when I can get a decent printed book from Lulu.com or Shuterfly.com. My printer has OSX drivers, and directions on the HP website for printing borderless prints makes me think that it SHOULD be working.

Also trying to figure out how to get kyriem's *.AVI files burned onto DVDs so that he can pull them off of his drive and free up some space.... and how to burn backup DVD's -- we're both at a point where CDs just don't cut it anymore.

Had to run out yesterday to do some errands.... after leaving work late to start with. Didn't get home until 7, and managed to scorch part of dinner because I was trying to set up Delicious Library instead of stirring the vegetables. Oops. Left me feeling pressed for time and stressed. So after dinner, I convinced kyriem to play Dungeon Siege with me... until it crashed on my side and left him running around town on his own. Grrr. No chance to save my current level - I suspect I'll come back in a level down. Unless I sit down and play for a while just to get myself up a bit.... Hmmmmmm.

And my phone rang and I completely forgot what else I was going to say.

I tried out my new toy - and I almost prefer it to the mouse.

I printed 50 invitations and response cards.

With some help, said invitations and cards were stuffed into envelopes.

I'm almost finished printing inserts for the invitations.

I had a pleasant 4-day weekend last week and went on a nice little walk along Fall Creek. Got some pictures, which will be finding their way online when I finish moving stuff around on my computer(s).

I had a couple of very depressed days handling the fact that my fiance, formerly a stay-home kind of person, now has a more active social life than I do - I'd like for it to be about equal, but when you've got 4 close friends, and two of them turn out to have the attention spans of cats, and the other two live too far away, there's not much hope for that.

Muddled through the depression, and explained that part of it was caused by wanting something to look forward to. So we actually went on a real date - dinner and a movie. X3 was pretty good - the scene after the credits was worth staying for. I am a little miffed that the deadliest force known to mankind is STILL an angry woman. I guess I'll go sit down and shut up so I don't scare any of these big strong men now. </snark>

Went on a hike Saturday - if you haven't been there, McDowell Creek near Lebanon is really wonderful. Also got some good pictures, which will be finding their way online, yadda yadda.

Found a virus on my PC. Ok, I didn't find it - my firewall asked me politely if it was ok to let the virus have internet access. After getting the virus cleaned up, found a trojan/worm lurking around, too. Both of them fairly recent, someone hacked my VNC password and gave 'em to me. VNC is now off for the forseeable future unless I really need it - and it will be better secured. I already changed the password, although it was really tempting to make the password "get out of my computer you asshole"

Coincidentally enough, I discovered both of the above the day I was getting and setting up the below image:

( Read more... )

Isn't it CUTE?!?!

I've finally broken down, now that everything is in savings that should be, and although I still don't get to travel (other considerations, not the least of which is leaving an unstable job for the amount of time it would take to get anywhere and back), I'm picking up a couple of new toys. The first one to be delivered (got it on Saturday, and have been playing since!) is below the fold:

( Read more... )

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi 85% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 75% Jean-Luc Picard 60% Geordi LaForge 60% Chekov 55% Will Riker 55% Spock 52% Uhura 45% Mr. Scott 45% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Worf 40% Data 34% Beverly Crusher 25% Mr. Sulu 25% James T. Kirk (Captain) 25%

You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character am I?" quiz...

WHY is it that every time I come up with an idea to help make the information flow in the directions it needs to go, someone co-opts it, and it turns into something completely different.

I suggested weekly meetings to brainstorm solutions to some of our hard-to-solve issues. Everyone agreed that we needed them.... and then they turned into business meetings.

I suggested, even created, a mailing list to distribute information to different parts of Support because I realized that one team wasn't getting information that another team had. That's grown, there's tons of people on the list now, and it's just inefficient now for getting information from our team to another team across the office so that they can do their job better.

The nature of the beast is confusion.

Considerate Idealist

You are an Idealist

• As an IDEALIST, you are distinctive for your integration of confidence, imagination, willingness to explore, and desire for competence over style.
  
• You have a strong capacity to comprehend the inner workings of things, finding new ideas and innovative insights to feed your curious nature.
  
• You are quite comfortable in the realm of abstract thought. You don't need a practical solution to every one of life's questions.
  
• You are comfortable with the decisions you make in life. You don't need to second-guess yourself, or seek a lot of opinions before you make up your mind.
  
• You enjoy the routines that you have created in your life, and don't feel the need to shake things up just for the sake of change.
  
• You generally succeed at what you do, and others would describe you as successful.
  
• It is important to you that products be efficient – looking good has to come second to working well.
  
• You aren't the kind of person who needs to collect stylish items in an attempt to create an attractive environment – you know that what matters most is function, not style.
  
• You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.
  
• You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

You are Considerate

• You trust others, care about them, and are slow to judge them, making you CONSIDERATE.
  
• You value your close relationships very much, and are more likely to spend time in small, tightly-knit groups of friends than in large crowds.
  
• You enjoy exploring the world through observation, quietly watching others.
  
• Relating to others so well, and understanding their emotions, leads you to trust people in general, even though you're somewhat shy and reserved at times.
  
• Your belief that people are generally well-intentioned contributes to your sympathy regarding their problems.
  
• Although you may not vocalize it often, you have an awareness of how society affects individuals, and you understand complex causes of people's behavior.
  
• You like to look at all sides of a situation before making a judgment, particularly when that situation involves important things in other people's lives.
  
• Your close friends know you as a good listener.
  
• You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute.
  
• You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

Compare this to what you perceive me as here. (Number 6126035f9d75)

Find your own Personal DNA here.