Did I Shave My Legs For This?

Insert pithy catchphrase here

Holy crap. I'm running behind. A few days of River City and I have about 211 posts to read on bloglines. That's usually why I never make comments, I get so tired of reading.

Today we did an UNREP, or Underway Replenishment. We pull alongside an Oiler and they send over a big hose and we refuel while going between 8-12 knots in the middle of the ocean. It is really cool the first couple of times you see it, but after 17 years, I just get annoyed because I can't smoke for a few hours. UNREP looks like this:

The ship on the right is a DDG, like what I'm on. If you look in the distance, you can see another ship approaching.

We're heading into some bumpy weather. The Captain is telling us that it's going to get bad for the next 24-48 hours. I get to laugh at people getting seasick. Unless of course it gets really, really bad, then it will be my turn to get all vomity. Yay.

Hello there

So...I know it's been a while. I have no excuse, at least none that are believable to the rest of the world. I just haven't had anything to post about. Okay, that's not true. I just haven't been willing to share the stupid shit in my life - because, well, it's so banal.

I'm up to my ass in underways, including lots of exercises, drills and certifications. All I do is work and go home to catch up on sleep. Sounds exciting doesn't it?

Well, hopefully I can stay in touch - though when I'm out to sea it becomes an issue. But I'll still try. Hopefully. Maybe.

I'm not a snob, I swear!

So I still can't make comments, and I feel like I'm being such the snob. The help ticket hasn't been resolved yet, though they act like it has. Oh well. Just four more months and I won't have to worry about it!

Now Playing: Fisher - I Will Love You

O Rly?

Reading a lot of posts about BlogHer, and I must say although I'm a wee bit jealous that there's no possible way for me to be there, some of the stuff I've read perplexes me and disappoints me.

Yes, I can totally see the need for some sort of Grrl Power Get together, in regards to the Mommy Blogger arena (Are Mommy Bloggers still getting criticized, or is that so last season?) and maybe the previously male-dominated technical area, (Haven't we already proven that women can be the bomb there too?) but what if you blog just because? Am I irrelevant because I do it for fun? Am I worth nothing because I don't have a theme or some cause to rant over? I mean I don't particularly give a rat's ass about increasing traffic, nor do I think that my "blog content" is one of the three things it should be. I just write crap and I'm going to keep writing crap. I don't need anyone to tell me it's crap, especially a bunch of people at some conference I can't even go to.

But I wouldn't mind meeting some of the ladies that I read, not because they have some sort of impact on the blogging world, but because I have read them for over 2 years and actually give a shit about them as people.

Have I mentioned I haven't had a cigarette since Thursday? And I need coffee.

On Vox: Entering the Voxiverse

So I received an invitation to try Vox because I am a "long time supporter and user of TypePad", which is true since I started the dismlft before the DISMLFT blog way back in April 2004.  So I guess I feel special.  I decided to try it and anyone that wants to visit can do so at my Vox page.  The theme is kinda cute, and you guys know how I love my martinis.  Anyway, it allows you to upload actual music (but watch out for the RIAA), and this is actually a cross-post from Vox.  The only downside is the ads at the bottom, which is kind of a downer unless they want to donate to the Lisset Retirement Fund.

If anyone is already wandering around Vox, give me a ring, I could use the company.

The ISP Issue

It seems that I am not the only person that has issues with the local (and only) ISP, but it turns out I'm not having these issues just because I'm a spoiled American. Whew.

Just thought I'd add this:

Not that I can actually boycott them, seeing as my Landlady is paying for it, but I'm all about supporting a cause that deals with internet usage. They have introduced broadband at lower costs, but in the process they have gotten rid of the unlimited usage ADSL packages and instead imposed a 15GB monthly usage limit.

From the Batelco website:

If you are on (BD40) 256Kbps unlimited package: (BD40 = $106)
Your speed will be increased by 400% to 1Mbps and now it will be subject to an enormous threshold of 15GB for the same monthly rental of BD40. Usage over the designated 15GB threshold will be charged 10fils/MB.

If you are on (BD50) 512Kbps unlimited package: (BD50 = $132)
Your speed will be increased by 100% to 1Mbps and now it will be subject to an enormous threshold of 15GB for 20% lower monthly rental of BD40. Usage over the designated 15GB threshold will be charged10fils/MB.

How did we (as a collective we) go from unlimited usage to a 15GB limit a month? Don't they realize that with the faster speed, people will be downloading more? And I feel bad for the owners of apartment buildings when they are charged for overusage because everyone in every flat becomes a downloading fool. Man, I've never missed AOHell or Cocks Comms so much in my life.

By the way - the net profit for Batelco since it's inception in 1996? BD 0.572 BILLION. This is equal to US $1.517 BILLION. In 10 years people. Over. One. Billion. Dollars. In. Ten. Years.

Sheesh.

No more voting

I've decided not to repost any old ones from the old blog, even my favorites. Scott is right, no need to revisit the past.

Oh, to have cable internet again

My internet is sucking ass right now. Some web sites are timing out, and I can't even play by beloved World of Warcraft. I got booted 5 times in a 20 minute period, twice when I was killing stuff. Luckily when I logged back in, the thing I was killing was dead and I was still standing. Wait a pain. It's also creating havoc with my email. This is not making me a very happy camper. I think I'll have to go play my PS2 instead. Grrr.

Trackbacks be damned!

Seems as though I've been getting an influx of crappy spammy trackbacks, so I've removed the trackback option. Not that I have anything important enough to track back, so it really doesn't matter. If I do say something so out of character that it's Profound Enough to warrant one, email me, comment, smack me on the back of the head and I'll enable them.

By the way - Even though I haven't commented myself, stop by Jo's and lend her your support. I haven't been good enough with words lately to say anything myself, but I'm hoping she's feeling my version of the Islandly Vibes I'm sending her. Mwah Baby! And I love the Ativan theme song! By the way, They gave me that stuff for five days - didn't do a damned thing for me. On the other hand, if you're having BP med problems, try Lisonopril. Worked wonders for me with no side affects. We are all different though, aren't we?

The Bahrain Flood of 2006!

The water pump under the kitchen sink just exploded! My kitchen is now a small pond.

Wheeee!

Teh internets are teh sux0rs

Sure, maybe my internet at the house villa might go out for days at a time, but I will never, never, never, never complain about the speed of it compared to here at work. It must be because the IP address here shows as Pensecola, FL instead of Bahrain. Huh?

Florida, Bahrain. Florida, Bahrain.

Makes sense, yes? Of course it doesn't, but that's because it's the military honey. This means we aren't getting our internet the conventional way, we're getting it through a damned satellite with a download speed of 125 kbps! I guess it's better than the upload speed of 74 kbps. Sad indeed.

I guess the reason my panties are all twisted about this is because I can't load any blogs or any fun web sites. They keep timing out. And with five hours more of work (heh, I said work) left, 8:30 am doesn't look like it's going to be coming any time soon.

Oh to get used to TypePad again!

I mean really! What the fuck happened in the last month or so that I got rid of the other blog? I guess I just did a TP data dump. I'm hoping that wrangling with the advanced cutomizations will be a lot easier than when I did them before since I saved some of my previous layouts. At least I hope I saved them.

Wondering if I should republish some entries from before since I know I saved those. Also, how do I go about letting people know that I've returned? Should I do the full Blog Pimp thing and email? Hmmm... Questions for the ages, I tell you.

I'm back and I'm bad...

Okay, maybe not bad in the good way, but I am back. Yes, the URL may be different, but it's a hell of a lot easier to remember. So change your bookmarks and your links folks!

Now all I have to do is get off of work and work on the the layout and stuff. Do you have that bated breath yet?