*whew* I just finished setting up my portal page. It has links to all the blogs, web comics and news sites that I like to read. For the record, I know there’s really more on there than I should be spending time reading but… some (most?) days I get really bored at work.
For the curious, most of blog links I found via the WordPress Support Forums. The web comics, news (including tech news) & other sites came to me through friends, links and hearsay.
Hi, I’m Mark (aka Manzabar1). If you want to know more about me; well, you’ll just have to keep reading this blog and see what you can learn as I go along.
I’ve had this domain for a short time now and finally plunked down the moolah to get a proper host for it (thank you Digital Sense Hosting).
I imagine if you’ve probably got some questions about the who/what/why of CoffeeBear.net, so here are some of the answers. If you have a question that’s not answered in this post; contact me and I’ll reply. Though if your question is too personal, then the reply might be no more than “I’m not going to answer that.”
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I stayed up way too damn late last night so I could finish watching the end of PlanetES1, so this morning I stopped by the Terrapin and got something to drink. My usual drink is their “Grand Canyon”, which is 2 shots of espresso, a shot of chocolate, a shot of mango and steamed milk. Today, I decided to try something different and while it was good; for the sake of my stomach lining, I’m not planning on ever ordering it again. I got an Honest Terrapin Sunrise. That’s 3 shots of piping-hot espresso layered on top of a glass of ice-cold orange juice.
Naturally, I had to get this to go and to do that; they stick it in a plastic cup (since the majority of the drink is the OJ) with a lid and a straw. Personally, I think they should have used the paper cups with the sipping lid that most of the coffee drinks come in because I think the idea of the Sunrise is to slam down the espresso & chase it with the OJ. And that idea is defeated by putting a straw in the drink that bypasses the espresso and makes you drink the OJ first. As soon as I was safely back in the office, I removed the lid and started to drink the Sunrise as “God intended it to be drunk”. *grin*
It’s an unusual sensation because the OJ cools the espresso and raises the acidity of the drink considerably. Also, the espresso and OJ do start to mix into one another as you drink it. This forms a layer of slightly-warm , bitter OJ on your tongue. It’s not as unpleasant as that might sound but the Sunrise is definitely an acquired taste, which I could not recommend to everyone (unlike say the Grand Canyon which just rocks my world).
It sounds bizarre but the caffeine of the espresso combined with the vitamin C & natural sugars in the OJ really helps to wake you up. Of course, it’s been a couple of hours since I drank it and it’s beginning to wear off now, which is bad. On the other hand, I’m just about ready to head out to lunch; so I should be able to pick something else up to help me get through the rest of my head, which is good.
1A very good series that starts off weak (too much comedy/slapstickishness) but ends much stronger with several very good heartstring tuggin’ episodes. For the most part, each episode stands by itself but uses information in previous episodes to build the story. Unfortunately, the last 6 episodes or so seem to be more tightly integrated and I’m missing 22 & 23; which puts a massive gap into the story for me. This is one that I will strongly consider purchasing once it’s available in the US (my current copies are all fansubs).
As mentioned in a post earlier today, I got a new toy this weekend. I probably shouldn’t have, but Ariesna kind of ambushed me into doing it and I’ve researched my choice of toy enough to know that I’m going to like it.
What is the new toy you ask? I finally got myself a new camera. My old one was a Pentax K1000 SE (all manual, 35mm). My new one is a Canon PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH. It’s a 5 megapixel camera but it’s teeny-tiny (roughly the size of a deck of playing cards) and the best part is that even my bear paws fit on the thing without smashing half the buttons. There’s a nice wide, clear spot on the back to put my right thumb, the lens is shifted enough to the left (as seen from the back of the camera) so that I’ve got room to put my fingers across the front of the camera giving me a fairly, solid grip. The left side is a bit more crowded, but there’s enough room on the top & bottom of the camera that I can steady it when needed. The zoom on this camera is nothing to write home about (3x optical, 12x digital) but that’s the price you pay for compactness. I’ve only played with it a little bit so far, but I can say that I’m really digging it. Though my co-workers are a bit annoyed seeing the flash go off. That’s ok; I won’t be taking any more pictures around the office (for now) and will delete the test shots that I made. Though I do plan on carrying this camera with me everywhere, since it’s so small and since there’s been so many times that I’ve wished I was carrying a camera.
Oh and in a related note, though the camera’s specs say it only works with Windows & Macintosh computers; I was able to browse/download the photos on the camera using Digikam under SuSE Linux 9.0 Pro under KDE 3.2.2. Score!
Right, back to work for me. Again. *sigh*
A coworker of mine forwarded me the following list of signs:
Friends don’t let friends take home ugly men
– Women’s rest room Starboard, Dewey Beach, DEBeauty is only a light switch away.
– Perkins Library, Duke University , DurhamIf life is a waste of time, and time is a waste of life, then let’s all get wasted together and have the time of our lives.
– Armand’s Pizza, Washington , DCRemember, it’s not, “How high are you?” it’s “Hi, how are you?”
– Rest stop off Route 81, West VirginiaFighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
– The Bayou, Baton Rouge , LONo matter how good she looks, some other guy is sick and tired of putting up with her shit.
– Men’s Room in Linda’s Bar and Grill, Chapel Hill , NCAt the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry.
– Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZIt’s hard to make a comeback when you haven’t been anywhere.
– Written in the dust on the back of a bus, Wickenburg , AZMake love, not war. -Hell, do both GET MARRIED!
– Women’s restroom The Filling Station, Bozeman, MTIf voting could really change things, it would be illegal.
– Revolution Books in New York , New York .If pro is opposite of con, then what is the opposite of progress? Congress!
– Men’s restroom in House of Representatives, Washington , DCExpress Lane: Five beers or less
– Sign over one of the urinals in Ed Debevic’s, Phoenix, AZYou’re too good for him.
– Sign over mirror in Women’s restroom in Ed Debevic’s, Beverly Hills ,CANo wonder you always go home alone.
– Sign over mirror in Men’s restroom, Ed Debevic’s, Beverly Hills ,CAA Woman’s Rule of Thumb: If it has tires or testicles, you’re going to have trouble with it.
– Women’s restroom in Dick’s Last Resort, Dallas, TX