Wednesday 27 October 1999

Screenshot

Pic of the day: Wouldn't it be practical if options in real life were grayed out when not available, just like in Windows? But as we know, this is not so. One practical application of this is shown in the picture above, though for reasons of anonymity I have used a screenshot from the roleplaying game Daggerfall instead. The principle still holds. :)

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Shop of angels
The shop where I bought the air filter yesterday, holds a special place in my heart. I think of it as run by angels, though this may not be taken literally. There is however something special about it.

I first noticed years ago, when I had lost my bank card. I had not the faintest idea where. But as I came by this shop, a young man hailed me and told me that they had my card, and I got it back. Now, there was a picture of me on it, so this was not exactly supernatural. But in a city of 60 000 people (this was some years ago) and quite a few more in the surrounding areas, it still takes that little extra to notice one customer. Even me. I don't remember if he stopped me on the street outside or if I for some reason was in the shop, but I had not asked for the card and had no idea it was there.

Later I have noticed an almost disturbing trend: Whenever I need something electrical, they have it, and they have it cheaper than elsewhere. The more I need it, the more likely that article is on sale just then. If however I just wish for something but really ought not to buy it, they don't have it. Or, in the rare case that they do, they will still try to dissuade me.

This happened a few days ago, as I saw this sleek little portable computer. Now, I have a really good portable computer, which is actually useful. The one I saw in the shop was too small to be useful, but a wonderful gadget. And it was cheap enough that I could just afford it... I only should not, since I don't need it and it's really too small for Superwoman. And so I found that the young man actively dissuaded me from buying it. Or rather, he told me that I should look it up on the Internet first.

So I felt pretty safe yesterday when I bought that air cleanser. Now I did not buy it from a young man (you may have noticed from the Bible that angels tend to materialize as young men), but the lady incidentally happened to have just such a machine at home and recommended it over the more expensive model which stood beside it. That's a rare thing in itself, so I was only too happy to buy it and take it home.

I uploaded yesterday's entry a bit earlier than usual, hoping that nothing exciting would happen for the rest of the day. This was almost correct. I did get some strange symptoms later in the evening. But I am not sure it comes from the ion generator; it could just as easily come from the chocolate covered caramel I had for dinner... New tests scheduled for the near future.

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I was very sleepy at work today, as I got up way too early. Slept a little bit on the bus home, but once home there are just too many interesting things. Games, mailing lists, yoghurt, usenet, chocolate cookies, games, online fashion mags. And I haven't even started the online chat program for the evening. Ack. Good thing I don't have a family, or a TV, or a big house and garden. Now how can I get out of the job and still have money for yoghurt and phone bills? Lottery is a tax on people who are bad at maths. The pension plans are far from fruitation (they may outlive me for all I know). The only remaining options would be to take with me more private matters to the office. I'm filling out another questionnaire now, in between desperate pleas for help from my fellow workers. (Hey, the Gallup questionnaire is probably more useful for our society than the workplace, but still I feel traces of loyalty to the hand that feeds me.) Though I would have preferred sleeping.

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The novel is progressing slightly. Not that I'm ever going to finish it, much less publish it, if I even remotely know myself. I've been writing some flippant dialogue lately. Like, female main character taking off pullover: "Oh, I'm sooo hot!" -Male main character: "I agree." (Always a useful line, now freely available from your friendly journal writer. Use at discretion.) But today I've been working on the deep dark secret which makes our superperson rather estranged to sex. As you know, superheroes are not really into sex. And a good thing too: If Superman had decided to go looking for girls, he wouldn't had much time for superheroics.

Anyway, the Deep Dark Secret should give me a politically correct excuse to not pepper the book with graphic sex scenes. Not only would those offend the fundamentalists, but they would also reveal my innocence in this matter compared to the average reader. Just in case the book should somehow be finished (fat chance) I've decided to keep a kind of middle road towards the fundamentalist part of the buying public. On one hand, there will be no graphic sex scenes. On the other hand, neither will there be any spanking of children. Though of course both of the above may be alluded to. I'm looking into it.

Benediction of the day: May you all have fun and get paid for it.


Adrift in time?
Yesterday (Yes, I believe in yesterday.)
This month
Tomorrow (if any.)

Visit the Diary Farm for the older diaries I've put out to pasture.


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