... almost too quiet

So the last couple times I logged on I noticed I didn't get any email or spam at my CU account. I could understand a lack of ham, since it's Thanksgiving break and legit email is pretty light on breaks. But when I logged in today after the heartbreaking loss to Nebraska, I was a little unnerved at no-email-in-three-days. So I sent myself a test message, which bounced back indicating that flwyd.dhs.org was not a recognized domain. Erm? I quickly diverted my CU mail to a special username at trevorstone.org, and then investigated the problem. It seems that, yet again, my account with DHS expired without any email notification. I do believe they sent notification, I just seem to have fallen off their mailing list for the second year in a row.

So I try to PayPal them some money, only to discover that my PayPal password is so secure that I can't figure it out. No problem, right? Just have them email it to you? Except the service for which I wished to pay was the restoration of service to the domain that PayPal would send my new password to. D'oh.

So I had to bus across town (losing a glove) so I could tell them to call me at home. But it's all better now, and I have a little more redundancy in place. *sigh*

So yeah. If you tried to contact me through flwyd.dhs.org in the last few days, change your address book to trevorstone.org -- I'm more on top of that one.

(None of this should be taken as a knock on DHS, aside from maybe their email announcement system. You can get a domain for $5 per year and not be bothered for some time ;-} )

So unfortunately I bought something on Buy Nothing Day. However, it was something I was supposed to buy in August. But I did hold up a big "Happy Buy Nothing Day" sign at the Colorado-Nebraska game, with letters "ABC" highlighted. My dad said he didn't see it, but he missed the first quarter. And at least I exposed over 53,000 fans to it.

Math and Science Ritual

I was having trouble focusing on schoolwork, so I finally posted the Math and Science Ritual that Heather, Michelle, and I led at Dragonfest. You know you want to read quarter calls based on states of matter, fundamental forces, types of numbers, and domains of biology. You know you want to read an invocation to the Flesh become Word. And you're certainly curious how to form an elemental human finite state machine.

I hope to get some more material on my Pagan page by early January, but graduation is a higher priority, eh. But this folder of Math and Science Ritual stuff has been sitting next to my computer desk for three and a half months. And now that I've cleaned the rest of my room, it can find a rightful place as well.

Quiz Answers

Final standings:

1  	MLE  	30
2 	that g!rl 	28
3 	Kat 	28
4 	tia 	23
5 	Stephanova 	21
6 	Aaron 	21
7 	kakos 	21
8 	Malakim_angel 	21
9 	Hebert 	18
10 	nother 	17
11  	Alia  	16
12 	me 	16
13 	alacrity 	16
14 	falcondreams 	16
15 	Lurker 	15
16 	dan 	12
17 	Annabel 	12
18 	RowanHeart 	12
19 	rubicantoto 	9

1. What's on my birth certificate between "Trevor" and "Stone"?

Nothing (0 points) 5
Keir (1 points) 3
MacFergus (1 points) 2
Keir MacFergus (5 points) 7
MacFergus Keir (2 points) 2
Keir is one letter off my mom's last name Keiry. MacFergus means "son of Fergus," which is my dad's name. For an extra 10 points, tell me what my brother's middle names are. Hint: they're the same as mine, but quite different!

2. Where did Trevor's parents meet?

Fairview High School (0 points) 3
A Vietnam Protest (0 points) 6
Honors Folklore (5 points) 5
A Concert Featuring My Dad (0 points) 4
A Beer and Steer Party (0 points) 1
Er, oops. I mean Honors Mythology (at CU in the late '60s). I enrolled in Honors Folklore, but had to drop it. Factoid: my parents were married in '69 on the same weekend as Woodstock.

3. Which is Flwyd Least Likely to Eat?

Brie (5 points) 3
Chocolate-covered Grasshoppers (0 points) 4
Hagis (0 points) 7
Sushi (0 points) 1
Tofu Hot Dogs (0 points) 4
Flwyd is allergic to dairy, so cheese is out. Even when I ate cheese, I wasn't a fan of stinky gooey cheese. I've eaten and enjoyed hagis. I like sushi, but I'm not as all over it as some people are. (I'd rather pay the same amount for three times as much food.) Tofu hot dogs are pretty good, especially with some pickle relish. And I haven't had chocolate-covered grasshoppers only because it's never come up. I've eaten live ants, and they're pretty tasty (and high in protein!), so I'd certainly try a grashopper. I suspect hagis was the favorite because the answerers would least like to eat it.

4. What's Trevor's Elemental Life Metaphor?

Earth - Bountiful and Receiving (0 points) 1
Fire - Intense and Passionate (0 points) 3
Lake - Peaceful and Reflective (2 points) 5
Mountain - Strong and Firm (0 points) 1
River - Flexible and Focused (5 points) 9
Well, yeah. Flwyd is all about moving water.

5. How Many Girlfriends / Sex Parters has Flwyd Had?

0 / 0 (0 points) 0
1 / 0 (0 points) 2
1 / 1 (2 points) 3
2 / 1 (5 points) 10
2 / 2 (2 points) 4
Good job, everyone. This is an exercise in following along with my journal.

6. Trevor's Life Philosophy Most Resembles...

Aristotle (0 points) 4
Christ (0 points) 4
Confucius (0 points) 2
Lao Tsu (5 points) 7
Nietzsche (3 points) 2
I look like Christ, I've dressed as him for Halloween, and I've toyed with taking a Jesus stand-up show and/or indie film on the road, but my life philosophy differs from most interpretations of Christ's life philosophy. Confucius is too into fixed roles; I'm all about creating my role as it develops. I don't know the details of Aristotle's life philosophy very well, but the little reading I've done seems to waffle between stating the obvious and being quite wrong. I like Nietzsche's philosophy of saying "Yes!" to life, of trying on ideas for size, and of unusual (and contradictory) virtues, like solitude. But I find the most resonance with Lao Tsu and Chuang Tsu. My ideal life is awash in flwydity, appreciating the beauty in the small and weak, fighting fire with water, appreciating balance, and action without action.

7. Flwyd Hasn't Gotten a Haircut / Shave in X / Y Years:

5 /5 (0 points) 2
9 / 5 (1 points) 8
9 / 9 (4 points) 2
9 / 24 (5 points) 7
24 / 24 (1 points) 0
That's right. I've never shaved, and my last haircut was the summer before my freshman year in high school. Due to a typo, the correct answer was originally worth 0 points, so several of you should have five more points. 9/9 is pretty close, though, since I started growing a 'stache around summer '94.

8. Trevor Hasn't Held Which of These Jobs?

Cashier (5 points) 6
Desk Clerk (0 points) 5
Programmer (0 points) 0
Resident Advisor (0 points) 0
Umpire (0 points) 8
I was a Little League umpire for two years in high school; it was my first job and a lot of fun. I'd love to volunteer in such a capacity again; especially if I have kids. Being an RA doesn't pay much, so I made extra cash by working at the front desk or in the mail room. Working the desk gave me a better understanding of what goes on in Housing, and working as a mail clerk gave an interesting perspective on little slices of peoples' lives. And, of course, I've had several programming jobs and assume I'll have many more. So I can proudly say I can't identify with "Clerks," but I still think it's bloody hillarious.

9. What\'s the Proper Event Order in Flwyd's Life?

Lose Virginity, Get Driver's License, Drink Legally 1
Get Driver's License, Lose Virginity, Drink Legally 2
Drink Legally, Lose Virginity, Get Driver's License 9
Lose Virginity, Drink Legally, Get Driver's License 2
Drink Legally, Get Driver's License, Lose Virginity 5
That's right. I first drank legally on my 21st birthday with my parents at Connor O'Neil's for lunch, and then stayed up all night writing a homework assignment in Scheme. I lost my virginity about a month later, and didn't get my driver's license until the following summer. GO ALT.TRANS HIPPIE.

10. Which Actress/Movie has Trevor Not Had the Hots For?

Carrie Fischer / Return of the Jedi... 1
Li Gong / The Emperor and the Assas... 1
Shirley MacLaine / The Apartment (0 points) 8
Carrie Anne Moss / The Matrix (0 points) 9
Audrey Tautou / Amelie (0 points) 0
The first time I saw RotJ I was about 4, so I wasn't turned on then. And women who are restrained don't do that much for me. So while Leia was hot, I've never walked away from the movie saying "Damn. I wish I could jump her bones." Li Gong's character, on the other hand, is the hottest Asian I've ever seen. MacLaine had this cute short hair cut, but was sad for much of the movie, evoking a protect/comfort response. I saw "The Apartment" after "Some Like It Hot" and walked out fantasizing about Shirley MacLaine instead of Marilyn Monroe. Clearly I'm unusual. And while I didn't think Trinity was that hot in the second Matrix (or in Memento), in the first movie she was the epitome of ass-kicking, computer using, power fighting, tight black wearing hotness. For a while, I would rearrange the windows on my screen so I had a better look at Trinity on my desktop. And good job on Ms. Tautou everyone. The world needs more hot geek love.