So my Norwegian has improved! I find many moments where I am listening to Norwegian and forget that it isn’t my native language. I credit a great deal to the fact that I have fixed some sleep problems I have had for the last 15-20 years. Sleep Apnea. A sleep test proved it was severe. I have been a walking zombie for many many years.

It’s winter vacation, -20c and I am sitting on the couch watching the olympics. Nice cozy Sunday night.

See you soon.

Here’s what I got for this year. 

I have been thinking about some of the things I have learned, from the internets, that has made my life better or cheaper… or both. I have compiled a list. 

1. You know that stuff you put in the dishwasher to stop streaking and spots? Well, we have hard-ass water here and, instead of that chemical crap, we put in white vinegar. Works great. 

2. You know the lint trap in the dryer? Take it out and run water on top of the screen. You will notice that the water does not go through. That’s fabric softener crap. Its the number one reason people’s dryers burn out. I was freaked out the first time I tried it. Just wash it with soap. Use, again, vinegar as your fabric softener. 

3. A simple bowl, near where I walk in the door, has saved me hours of looking time. I put all my pocket crap there when I walk in. Bonus: Put your chargers there (ipod, phone). 

4. If your there is any appendage you have that hurts when you move it… don’t move it. 

5. Shaving. I hate it. Old hair conditioner is awesome for shaving your face, legs, ass or anywhere else society has told you to remove hair from. 

6. You know those 5 blade razors that cost a shitload? Want to make them last? Dry them off, back and front, with a towel after you use them. I have used the same razor for the last 3 months. Still works great. 

7. Boil a bag of potatoes every week. Let them cool and leave ‘em in the fridge. They go with everything when you are hungry. 

8. Metric apology… 

          - 5 deciliters rice

          - 10 deciliters water

          - little salt and oil

          - Put it all in a microwave bowl and mix it up…

          - HIGH 10 minutes

          -don’t stir!

          -15 minutes medium low. 

          -fucking rice man!

I use this one 3 times a week. 

9. Use soap and vinegar for cleaning pretty much everything. Google is your friend. 

10.  Don’t ever put salt in your eyes.

My goal for this year is to create enough online lessons for the students that I won’t have as much work next year. Grammar, video, online stories, flash… the works. Match them to the standards, many times using the auto-grade feature, and let them learn. Up til now I chose to work on this stuff amidst the chaos that is the living room on the first floor. I never really got anything done there. 

—————-

My work had a pile of old G3, 500mhz iMacs sitting in a corner. I asked if I could get a few. The answer was, “Take what you want.” There were 30 at least. Not to be greedy I took 4. That brings the total up to 8, not including the two decommisioned ones sitting in the storage closet. One bit the dust after a surge from a lightning bolt that fried its insides. The other, a clamshell iBook, bit the dust after Natalie, while learning to walk, seemed to knock it on the floor at least once a day. I just wish I still had the 3 I gave away before moving here. Those included the original Mac from 84, a 200mhz 6800 (I think that was its number) and another white G3 . 

So what do I do with all these? Let me count the ways. 

   1. Mac Mini- For the tv downstairs. 1 terabyte of hd space for a million films for the kids. Front Row makes it easy to put anything on quickly. 

   2. Macbook- My baby. My primary computer. 4gigs RAM, 200 gig hd, Leopard, VMware

   3. eMac- The work horse of the house. Another terabyte of storage, raid, for music and pictures. It is, as are all the Macs in the house, connected to the stereo via airport express. You can play tunes, on the stereo, throughout the house,  from any Mac in the house. 

   4. Powerbook- Natalie and Amanda’s laptop. I have stuff like tuxpaint and other stuff for the kids to play with. 

  5. iMac #1- Office. Connected to the printer. All computers have access to the printer via bonjour. Running Tiger which still works with this HP all-in-one. Sadly Leopard offers only printing for this model. 

 6. iMac #2- Running Ubuntu. The kids can use this in their living room to play open source educational games, surf the net and beat on as much as they want. I may use this as a web server in the future, but have no need right now. 

7. iMac #3- Running OS9. For the kids again. This computer is so fast with all the apps compatible with OS9. It’s amazing how much crap they put on the new computers these days. 

8. iMac #4- Running Tiger. In the kitchen with full voice control on. Used for listening to podcast while cooking, finding recipes and just to show off. 

The nice thing with the macs are, when they are on I can share and move files around easily. Pics go to one computer, while films to another. I like the new Back-To-My Mac feature. I can access any files and control the screen from work. It works flawlessly so far.  I freaked the family out the other day by blasting music at home while I was at work. 

I also have 2 PCs. 

The one given to me from work is used primarily by Deb for whatever it is she does. 

I also just bought a new ASUS Eee Pc, with a ssd hd and other good stuff. I use this when I need a pc (xp)  to do something. It comes with bluetooth, ssd slot and everything else I need. Just no cd/dvd, but who needs one of those? It’s a neat little small thing. 

Have I geeked anyone out yet?

I won’t have time to finish cooking everything today. I get home too damn late from work. Guess Friday will have to do. The Norwegians don’t know what they are missing. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

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When it envelopes you, you will know. It’s this haze that overcomes you. It fills you with a fatigue. Rather than nothing it turns into everything. Need a glass of water? It doesn’t want it to be easy. People want to talk to you?  You plaster a smile and hope they don’t see through it. When you are finally home, before you even take off your shoes, you are headed for the couch. You will remain there, paralyzed, for the remainder of the evening. 

There is nothing to read that grabs your attention. There is no curiosity, only burdens. 

So what is the remedy? I have heard them all. Exercise. Exercise is painful enough as it is. How can I even get myself to begin? Read. Reading makes me want to fall asleep immediately… Something that never was before. Find a hobby. Nothing interests me at all right now. 

I have studied philosophy, religion, literature. I also have put myself in situations that have challenged my drive, desire and sanity. Well, I have reached some sort of place now that is the most challenging of all. 

I feel like a fucking robot. It all feels so full, but pointless, like going through the motions. I have no fucking passion or desire to do anything!!!