10 Unanswered Questions?

I'm going to do this for shits and giggles, but past experience has
taught me that I should never do these kinds of things.

>1. What is the meaning of life?

42. We don't yet have the question to go with that answer.

>2. Is there a God?

No, because proof denies faith.

>3. Do blondes have more fun?

Well, I'm not a blonde and I'm not having much fun, so I'd say yes.

>4. What is the best diet?

One that keeps you alive. Some say the Mediteranean (sp) diet is best. I
prefer Japanese.

>5. Is there anybody out there?

Well, the universe being infinitely vast and all, there's no chance for
anyone ELSE out there, let alone us either. The entire population of the
universe is actually zero. There's also no money, imports, or exports.
Consult The Guide for more information.

>6. Who is the most famous person in the world?

The guy who unclogs toilets.

>7. What is love?

A song by some guy.

>8. What is the secret to happiness?

Sex and Money. Though some people with money aren't always happy, the
sex makes up for that. The 2 are very related in many ways. I know if I
had money, sex would be there soon after, and having both would make me
happy.

>9. Did Tony Soprano die?

Probably. We'll exhume the body someday to find out for sure.

>10. How long will I live?

What does the expiration date on your birth certificate say?

A Year Ago Today, 9/15

Mom had the first of two planned surgeries to correct cataracts in her
eyes. I remember her having to put eye drops in one eye that they were
going to operate on, but they told her the wrong eye. So instead of the
eye she was putting drops in, they operated on the other. She described
it as looking through a yellow mist.

She was waiting for the availability of that year's flu shots. The H1N1
flu was going around. She didn't want to catch it. She usually got her
flu shot as soon as she could every year.

She was telling the people at the hospital that they were Awesome and
afterwards telling her friends how the staff put her at ease. The doctor
told a few jokes. There was a delay in the actual procedure because they
had to put the drops in the eye they were going to work on and gave the
stuff a chance to do what they were supposed to do.

I wish I could remember the stuff she said about the whole experience.
She was so worried about it all, but it ended up changing her life.
After things healed enough, she found she could see without glasses for
the first time in over 40 years. She said it takes getting used to
trying to take off her glasses to see up close and she's not wearing
glasses. I even shopped for her to buy some reading glasses since the
replacement lens fixed her vision but only up to a point. The doctor
said she would need something for the up-close stuff.

I'll have to ask my younger sister to see if she remembers more about
what mom told her about that first cataract operation.

This next month is going to be hard to get through. I see the stuff
around me that got left behind and I cry. My mom should be here and
she's not and it's not fair. I keep telling myself that she's just in
the hospital and I keep wondering when she's coming home.

I was hoping the pain would go away, but it hasn't.

Report on Loose Socks v.0.1

I have been going through my saved Email messages on the terminal and
found this gem which I am posting to my blog.

------

This is a short essay on Loose Socks, the socks in fashion with Japanese
school girls. This is before I do any translation on actual quotes of
loose-sock-wearing girls from one magazine article I have.

According to my source, they are available in at least 3 different
sizes:

Normal length - not sure on the length, but it's about 609 yen

Long length - about 60 cm, 735 yen

Super Long length - about 90 cm, 1575 yen

The Normal length is called "Cute Style" made by Chu Chu Anna in Japan.
The care instructions warn "Do Not Bleach" though with these being white
socks, it's a wonder to me why not.

The Long Length is made by "St. Bearding House". The socks are a Cotton,
Acrylic, Nylon, Polyurethane blend. This pair is a King Original made in
Japan.

The Super Long Length (also known as Too Long Length) are 90 cm, and are
the most commonly seen style. These wonderfully long socks go right up
the shin, and can practically go up over the knee. These are the right
pair for the proper baggy or "loose sock" look. This pair is called
"It's Art" and is officially labelled as "Loose Socks" by Elegan Co,
Ltd. Yokohama, Japan. One sticker even boasts "Best Quality / Good
Feeling Loose Socks". I'm not going to argue that!

Instructions with these socks include how to wash, what not to wash them
with, and how to keep them up. The fact that these 3 pairs of loose
socks do not have elastic is also indicated in some way.

How To Keep Them Up -

Wearing shoes plays an important part in keeping these socks up, as does
some kind of Sock Stickem. 3M could make something for these and make a
mint.

I actually asked a Japanese school girl in Japan how to keep these socks
up and she tells me:

"In order to keep loose socks up, we use a kind of glue called "Sock
Touch"."

She drew a series of pictures. Get a small ball (or dab) from the
container, pull up your socks to the height you desire, then roll them
down a bit. Smear the little ball of stickem around your leg where you
intend to keep the socks up at, and then roll up the edge of the sock -
"Stuck!"

Without any translation of the article I've seen, it seems school girls
who wear the long loose socks take pride in the fact they can get theirs
to look perfect. Until I actually do some research on their answers,
this is all I can report.

-end of paste-

So I've been thinking...

This latest bit has had me thinking a lot in the past week. I just
wonder if I can understand it a bit more.

If you don't agree with something said about you (ie negative
criticism), is it illegal?

If it hasn't caused anyone harm, can someone still be sued because of
it? I would believe a burden of proof is required here.

What if the person who wrote it had good reason to believe it was true
at the time it was written? This is a plausible defense.

If you feel someone is saying negative things about you or your group,
company, etc, at what point do you just simply defend against it in your
own way in a professional manner and hope nobody takes the negative
comments seriously as opposed to threatening with legal action or
"other" methods?

In my mind, there is a difference between saying / writing negative
comments and untrue things, and a difference between saying them
intentionally and saying them because at the time that's what one
believed to be true until further evidence turns up.

And then there's the terms regarding saying untrue things (slander) and
writing them (libel), and just plain negative comments (which I call
Criticism).

You can't be sued for criticism. Most of the time you also can't be sued
for expressing an opinion. The words "I feel" or "I think" also apply
here.

I wish I had the capability to sue people for saying untrue things about
me. But at the same time I already have the skills to act professionally
when people express negative criticism. I can take it as a means to
better myself or to respond as to why the negative comments / criticism
is unwarranted. It's also the other people's responsibility to read that
response and act accordingly. Most of the time they have only their
point of view. They should be willing to understand the other side of
the situation.

It's really sad when they refuse to learn how to act professionally.
Maybe a class in Business communication is required.

Case in point. One day years ago while working at the restaurant, I had
woken up with a really bad pain in my back. This limited my capabilities
for the day until I could find some way to get my back into shape again.
One of the shift supervisors didn't like me, and even though I told her
that my back wasn't in the best of shape and she would have to pull a
bit more of her own weight, that still didn't stop her from ignoring
what I had told her. So while trying to take care of something, she
yelled at me from the front line because I hadn't acted fast enough for
her. I got mad and kicked a trash container across the back line floor.
She had a couple friends in and "encouraged" them to complain on the
toll free comment phone number.

A few days later they were back in, so was the annoying shift supervisor
girl and my boss. I explained to her friends that "we discussed the
incident and we agree it was unfortunately not handled in the best
manner possible." My boss was impressed by my response. The girls
accepted this statement, but nobody noticed that I did not apologize for
the incident in any way. But the annoying coworker never did that sort
of thing to me again!

I found out a few years ago she went on to get a nursing degree when her
obituary was printed in the local paper. I thought OMG. She must have
gotten cancer or something. I didn't wish for that.

Oh well. Things happen.

An annoying aggravating inconvenience

I don't know what my sister is doing now. Apparently there's some GFI
outlet that needs to go in somewhere in the basement. Only thing is the
circuit that powers most of the downstairs (TV, computer, much of the
kitchen) she feels the need to switch off. Upstairs, the bathroom, one
outlet and some part of the kitchen (fridge) are on other circuits.

This means I can't watch TV or use the computer that's on that circuit
while it's off. I hope the router retains the settings.

Anywho, I've waited PATIENTLY for an HOUR. I don't think she planned
this out very well. I know you can install light fixtures and switch out
outlets without turning off the electricity. I've done it and it's
simple science. Just don't touch both wires at the same time. That's all
there is to it.

I don't know what she is doing. Most people, say if they're putting in
an entirely new outlet, usually get said outlet and box in place, run
the wire from the outlet, then if they need to, switch off the circuit
to connect the wires. Much less down time than what I'm putting up with
now.

It pisses me off over inconveniences like this. Yes, she told me that
she was going to do this, but all I thought it was some simple outlet
installation switch out or something. You don't need to turn off the
power. This is bad planning what she's doing now.

She knows I'm annoyed. It might not get her to finish any sooner, but
maybe in the future she'll consider others and plan better.

Ferengi Nosed Over Priced Dvd Guy

Came home early from Kitsunecon

After doing the cooking panel, I was really tired and in some pain, and
I also decided I had enough fun for the weekend so I came home early. I
was looking forward to Sunday Afternoon as my return window. As it is,
Kitsunecon is an anime convention waiting to be discovered and possibly
grow.

The dealers room needed more dealers and more variety. Asian Invasion
was cool being there. There was one other lady in another corner selling
all sorts of nice useful items and some cosplay. I think she made some
money. The Overpriced DVD guy made a sale, and he tends to show up
almost everywhere.

I had hoped to find some "I"s that I don't have or even Eiken books I
missed. I figured I spent enough and that wasn't going to change. I came
to do a good cooking panel at last and I accomplished that. If I get a
chance to do it again, I'll try to do only 2 things, maybe 3. Still, I
managed to make some food that was well received. All those who missed
it, too bad. I really should have taken some more Ibuprofen just before
the panel began. My organized preparation made it easy to get through
what I wanted to do.

As it turns out, coming home early was a good thing another way. My
younger sister who I asked to look after Melody, apparently unlocked the
deadbolt on the back door, so anyone who wanted access but not approved
by me while I was away could get in to the basement, for example, even
though there was access from outside already. The basement door was
unlocked from inside, too. Shows who I can trust. Both people I asked to
watch after our dog claimed allergies. I need to find someone else I can
trust who won't give access to people who don't freaking need it and
take advantage of when I'm away.

It's the principle of trust.

Anywho, Rant over for now. I'm sleeping in. I got a picture of that one
dealer with the DVDs to post. I managed to get a photo of only 1
cosplayer. And that Robert Axelrod who was supposed to appear? He may
very well do that for Sunday. I don't know. There were some other guests
who did appear, though. There were some last second changes made for
whatever reason. I hope they can find slightly bigger facilities and
better promotion. This was sort of like Anime North in its 2nd year.
Just don't grow too fast.

Kitsunecon Day 2

Cooking panel: Mission Acomplished. It was very well received, with the Takoyaki and Taiyaki with chocolate Gnutella being a big hit. It took longer than I am used to when cooking these things with the little electric burner I used, so I barely got to doing the California sushi rolls when time ran out. I filled the 2 hours I was graciously and generously given. The Okonomiyaki was enjoyed but didn't get to cook up the entire batch I mixed up.

I'm hoping to be able to do another cooking panel, possibly with help, as well as a 2nd burner or an electric griddle for okonomiyaki. The only thing I didn't do was CURRY. Oh well. I guess it's better to be over prepared rather than have to strain and fill 2 hours of panel time with 30 minutes of content.

Got to see Adam again, though it was just a wave at the door. I wish he had come in to see the panel. Also got to see more of the Spatula crew that I miss.

The most interesting vendor in the dealers room is the one selling $1, $5, and $10 mystery goodie bags.

Kitsunecon Day 1

This is a little convention just waiting to be noticed. The people are nice, both staff and the few attendees I have spoken to, some who spoke to me first! There weren't many people present early on due to being on the edge of school starting up, but things got livelier at night, which was a good sign.

Other con attendees described one guy in the dealers' room as the Over priced Ferengi-nosed guy. He has several tubs of DVDs but has no clue how to price them so they'll sell. He's got Right Stuf and Amazon to compete with (maybe even eBay) as well as the occasional load found at Big Lots. That was my big anime score of the day - Tsubasa #1, Tokyo Godfathers, and 2 Trinity Blood DVDs I didn't already have - each $3.

I'm not sure of one dealer who might be called White Wolf Enterprises, but when the guy was setting up I saw he had Sailor Moon mugs in stock, and when I bought 2 (1 of each design) he charged me $20 each then later in the hotel room found a sticky with $12 on it in one mug. He might have taken advantage of the annoyance of people hovering around him while setting up.

Ate at Donato's that night which seemed kinda fitting.

Dealer Catching Up On His Reading