From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V3 #226 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Thursday, August 27 1998 Volume 03 : Number 226 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived [CJMark@aol.com] RE: Alloy: Melissa's job problem ["Ulfstedt, Louise" ] Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. [RThurF@aol.com] RE: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. ["Ulfstedt, Louise" ] Re: Alloy: Airplanes from hell [Chris Cracknell ] Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived [TBlagg@aol.com] Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived [TBlagg@aol.com] Alloy: I'm still a drag princess. [Chris Cracknell ] Alloy: Goodbye Mr. Jurkan, I'm sick and tired of workin' [Chris Cracknell] Re: Alloy: I'm still a drag princess. [RThurF@aol.com] Alloy: alloy: crackers' message part one [RThurF@aol.com] Alloy: part 2 of crackers' message [RThurF@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 03:31:47 EDT From: CJMark@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived LOL... Melissa.. That name.. sounds to me like a star is born!! I'm just not sure what she will star in though. BTW.. my best friend's family name is Hardman.. Could you be related? He is from California and Seattle.. Ciao for now.. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 13:54:39 +0300 From: "Ulfstedt, Louise" Subject: RE: Alloy: Melissa's job problem Hi Melissa! Oh pet,...It was only a couple of months ago that I was also venting to our alloy buddies about a very similar situation,...and the fact that I didn't have the time or the money to do something more artistic with my life. Then I quit my job, took something far less flashy (went from global exec to local technical writer,) cut my journey to work by 45 minutes each way, got my stress down, rid of my sexist boss, my life back, creativity back into my job,and best of all, I have the time and energy to make music again. With the savings on travel, I haven't ended up worse off,...and it's the very best move I ever made!!! I TOTALLY agree with what David said below! (She snatches her breath,...),...I'm just glad I did this at 26 rather than being 50 before I realising where it was all going,... Hang on in there Melissa, and don't let that B**tard get you down! Do what'll make you feel good! (and now for something completely different!) Ebay,....what a great thing it is! I have a rare KLF poster coming as a prezzie for my other half, and a Max Headroom - 20 minutes into the future book of the film on their way to me,.....I tried not to compete for any of the dolby stuff at the moment,...(I'm so sorry if I bid against anyone here for the poster,.. I took a brief shot at it until I noticed that some of the other bidders e-mail addresses were a bit familiar,...then I got worried that I'd trodden on anyones toes. sorry if I forced the prices up,..:-( ) Still, someday, I hope to have something dolbyesque to put up on my wall in my little finnish log cabin! heck,...gotta get on with work,...and answering all the e-mails I owe people,...just in time for me taking a weeks holiday next week,..(when my mail box will fill up again!) bye for now, Lissu a.k.a. "Tiger" Clay (sounds more like a professional boxer than a drag queen, wouldn't you say??!!) > -----Original Message----- > From: DThurkirk@aol.com [SMTP:DThurkirk@aol.com] > Sent: 27 August 1998 05:56 > To: alloy@smoe.org > Subject: Alloy: Melissa's job problem > > > In a message dated 8/26/98 10:26:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > wearart@erols.com writes: > > << Greetings from soaking wet Washington, DC, where Hurricane Bonnie is > showing us her soft side with a good, heavy downpour. The temperature > is still ridiculously high, though, which means that tomorrow it's going > to be like a jungle out there. Right now, though, it's wonderful. I > have the lights out, candles burning around the computer, and, in the > middle of the pouring down, there's a freight train rumbling through > about half a mile away. That's one of my favorite sounds of childhood > -- the Rock Island Lines ran past my parents house, and my bedroom > window served as a perfect conduit for relaying the hum and clatter. > > And now, for a non sequitor transition... > > I am pleased to see that the Alloy folk have embraced the free market > mayhem of eBay. I hope that, by sharing the joy of eBay with the > uninitiated (Crackers discounted, as he was already annointed with the > information), I have brought a little memorabilia happiness to someone's > home -- okay -- fess up -- who got the songbook? > > I think that, the last time I wrote, I had just come back from a job > interview in Iowa. Well, I didn't get the job out in beautiful Muscatine > -- just as well, really, but it means that I'm now stuck at Goodwill for > a while longer, working for an even more bizarre person than I was > previously (and my ulcers are ready to reach out and throttle this > guy!) Would you believe he introduced himself to me on Monday by > saying, "So... you're Melissa. I want your resume this morning... I'll > be going over it in detail this afternoon. Be prepared to justify your > employment here..." In Russian, I would call this man a "khuysos." > (Just know it's not good.) > > All this is making me realize that I do not want an office job. I > generally dislike office jobs. I want to be writing and designing > full-time. Now, when do I win the lottery to get to do this? I did get > my first freelance art job last week -- a designer in town needed images > of women for a website, and I got to draw up some sketches that will > eventually be out there for all to see -- and made a modest fistful of > cash. It's sure as hell not rent, but it's a start. > > Done venting. Thanks for listening. This may not be interesting or > Dolby-related, but it's nice to feel revved enough to communicate. > > Now, for something completely different. Yesterday, in an attempt to > cheer me up about working for The Death Troll, a friend related to me > the silly urban(e) legend of how drag queens and porn stars get their > stage names -- take the name of your first pet and add it to your > mother's maiden name. Just to give y'all a giggle -- mine is Fluffy > Hardman. I'm thinking of getting business cards. > > Wishing you all well from Scandalville, > > Melissa >> > > Melissa, > > I know that your job does keep the rent paid, but there are many jobs that > pay > the rent and don't ruin your life. To be absolutly honest if anyone ever > approached me as your new boss has you they would....suffer. Although > what he > said is probably legal it sure isn't right so you should make him eat your > resume and then move on. > > Don't be afraid of taking a job that has nothing to do with your current > field. Just think in terms of paing the bills and living a life style > that > allows you to have the energy to do creative work when you get home. > Whether > its flipping burgers, waiting tables, or temping just find something to > get > you out of there. Then put your real energy toward your art and marketing > yourself. > > Oh...and my porn star name is.....Lad Marshall. > > __Dave Thurlow ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:08:00 +0300 From: "Ulfstedt, Louise" Subject: RE: Alloy: travel Hi Paul,...(catching up on my mail here again) I hope you're OK, my sweet? BTW,...that Icehouse album is one of my favourites, but I've never found another by them over here! Lissu :-) P.S. this message powered by "Lusty" from Lamb's debut album. Magic. > -----Original Message----- > From: bailyp@yahoo.com [SMTP:bailyp@yahoo.com] > Sent: None > To: alloy@smoe.org > Subject: Alloy: travel > > > ---- > Hi y'all, > > Horrendously behind in my email (as usual) but I saw the message about > people wanting to know when people get back safely from wherever > they're going. > > Well, despite a car accident (not my fault) on the way in, I got in to > work in mostly one piece today. Everyone involved was okay thankfully, > everything else is replaceable: my car had little more than it's pride > dented, but I was surprised the other two behind me could be driven > away. > > Anyway, enough about me, the shakes are just about over so back to it. > > Paul. > This message powered by "Nothing too Serious" off Man of > Colours/Icehouse. > _________________________________________________________ > DO YOU YAHOO!? > Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > > >> ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 07:23:54 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. In a message dated 8/26/98 10:26:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, wearart@erols.com writes: << I am pleased to see that the Alloy folk have embraced the free market mayhem of eBay. >> I have yet to do so... can you give that address again? It sounds like fun :) It would be a riot to get into a bidding war with another Alloy person... do you ever know who you're bidding against? Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:37:40 +0300 From: "Ulfstedt, Louise" Subject: RE: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. Hi Robin! It's http://www.ebay.com Ciao! (we had pasta for lunch) Lissu :-) > -----Original Message----- > From: RThurF@aol.com [SMTP:RThurF@aol.com] > Sent: 27 August 1998 14:24 > To: alloy@smoe.org > Subject: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. > > > In a message dated 8/26/98 10:26:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > wearart@erols.com writes: > > << I am pleased to see that the Alloy folk have embraced the free market > mayhem of eBay. >> > > I have yet to do so... can you give that address again? It sounds like fun > :) > It would be a riot to get into a bidding war with another Alloy person... > do > you ever know who you're bidding against? > > Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 13:50:56 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. Thanks for reminding me of the eBay address Lissu :) I've just registered... maybe I'll see ya there sometime! The only things offered there currently having to do with Dolby are things I wouldn't be able to make good use of, chances are i won't have a laser disc player any time in the next century! Oh well! But if you go there you'll also see the cover of the "Blinded By Science" mini LP I bought a copy of in high school, featuring that weird machine that's been perplexing me for fifteen years! Does anyone know what it is & what it's for? My "porn star" name sounds very unfeminine, and more like a gangster name... "Harry 'the Clam' Maturo" yes... oh memories ... I had a pet clam who lived in a matchbox... he hibernated much of the time but would open his shell when I ran him under tap water. It was really cool, but my sister accidentally sat on him one day. Poor Harry! I had dug him up on a beach in Connecticut, he probably never knew what hit him. Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:01:32 -0700 From: "Michael and Denise Luckey" Subject: Re: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. Yes, if their screen name is close to their real name or you know what their nickname is! Of course, mine is luck-man. M.L. - -----Original Message----- From: RThurF@aol.com To: alloy@smoe.org Date: Thursday, August 27, 1998 4:29 AM Subject: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. > >In a message dated 8/26/98 10:26:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, >wearart@erols.com writes: > ><< I am pleased to see that the Alloy folk have embraced the free market > mayhem of eBay. >> > >I have yet to do so... can you give that address again? It sounds like fun :) >It would be a riot to get into a bidding war with another Alloy person... do >you ever know who you're bidding against? > >Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:08:00 -0700 From: "Michael and Denise Luckey" Subject: Re: Alloy: Melissa's job problem Lissu, I mentioned awhile back that I had Mr. Dolby sign some album flats of A&E for Alloy members. They're free if you'd like one-all I ask is that you pay the postage since it is rather large. Any one with any interest can email me at: luckey7@prodigy.net M.L. - -----Original Message----- From: Ulfstedt, Louise To: 'alloy@smoe.org' Date: Thursday, August 27, 1998 4:00 AM Subject: RE: Alloy: Melissa's job problem > >Hi Melissa! > >Oh pet,...It was only a couple of months ago that I was also venting to our >alloy buddies about a very similar >situation,...and the fact that I didn't have the time or the money to do >something more artistic with my life. >Then I quit my job, took something far less flashy (went from global exec to >local technical writer,) cut my journey >to work by 45 minutes each way, got my stress down, rid of my sexist boss, >my life back, creativity back into my job,and best of all, I have the >time and energy to make music again. With the savings on travel, I haven't >ended up worse off,...and it's the very best move I ever made!!! > >I TOTALLY agree with what David said below! >(She snatches her breath,...),...I'm just glad I did this at 26 rather than >being 50 before I realising where it was all going,... >Hang on in there Melissa, and don't let that B**tard get you down! Do >what'll make you feel good! > >(and now for something completely different!) >Ebay,....what a great thing it is! I have a rare KLF poster coming as a >prezzie for my other half, and a Max Headroom - 20 minutes into the future >book of the film on their way to me,.....I tried not to compete for any of >the dolby stuff at the moment,...(I'm so sorry if I bid against anyone here >for the poster,.. >I took a brief shot at it until I noticed that some of the other bidders >e-mail addresses were a bit familiar,...then I got worried that I'd trodden >on anyones toes. >sorry if I forced the prices up,..:-( ) Still, someday, I hope to have >something dolbyesque to put up on my wall in my little finnish log cabin! > >heck,...gotta get on with work,...and answering all the e-mails I owe >people,...just in time for me taking a weeks holiday next week,..(when my >mail box will fill up again!) > >bye for now, > >Lissu a.k.a. "Tiger" Clay (sounds more like a professional boxer than a >drag queen, wouldn't you say??!!) > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: DThurkirk@aol.com [SMTP:DThurkirk@aol.com] >> Sent: 27 August 1998 05:56 >> To: alloy@smoe.org >> Subject: Alloy: Melissa's job problem >> >> >> In a message dated 8/26/98 10:26:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, >> wearart@erols.com writes: >> >> << Greetings from soaking wet Washington, DC, where Hurricane Bonnie is >> showing us her soft side with a good, heavy downpour. The temperature >> is still ridiculously high, though, which means that tomorrow it's going >> to be like a jungle out there. Right now, though, it's wonderful. I >> have the lights out, candles burning around the computer, and, in the >> middle of the pouring down, there's a freight train rumbling through >> about half a mile away. That's one of my favorite sounds of childhood >> -- the Rock Island Lines ran past my parents house, and my bedroom >> window served as a perfect conduit for relaying the hum and clatter. >> >> And now, for a non sequitor transition... >> >> I am pleased to see that the Alloy folk have embraced the free market >> mayhem of eBay. I hope that, by sharing the joy of eBay with the >> uninitiated (Crackers discounted, as he was already annointed with the >> information), I have brought a little memorabilia happiness to someone's >> home -- okay -- fess up -- who got the songbook? >> >> I think that, the last time I wrote, I had just come back from a job >> interview in Iowa. Well, I didn't get the job out in beautiful Muscatine >> -- just as well, really, but it means that I'm now stuck at Goodwill for >> a while longer, working for an even more bizarre person than I was >> previously (and my ulcers are ready to reach out and throttle this >> guy!) Would you believe he introduced himself to me on Monday by >> saying, "So... you're Melissa. I want your resume this morning... I'll >> be going over it in detail this afternoon. Be prepared to justify your >> employment here..." In Russian, I would call this man a "khuysos." >> (Just know it's not good.) >> >> All this is making me realize that I do not want an office job. I >> generally dislike office jobs. I want to be writing and designing >> full-time. Now, when do I win the lottery to get to do this? I did get >> my first freelance art job last week -- a designer in town needed images >> of women for a website, and I got to draw up some sketches that will >> eventually be out there for all to see -- and made a modest fistful of >> cash. It's sure as hell not rent, but it's a start. >> >> Done venting. Thanks for listening. This may not be interesting or >> Dolby-related, but it's nice to feel revved enough to communicate. >> >> Now, for something completely different. Yesterday, in an attempt to >> cheer me up about working for The Death Troll, a friend related to me >> the silly urban(e) legend of how drag queens and porn stars get their >> stage names -- take the name of your first pet and add it to your >> mother's maiden name. Just to give y'all a giggle -- mine is Fluffy >> Hardman. I'm thinking of getting business cards. >> >> Wishing you all well from Scandalville, >> >> Melissa >> >> >> Melissa, >> >> I know that your job does keep the rent paid, but there are many jobs that >> pay >> the rent and don't ruin your life. To be absolutly honest if anyone ever >> approached me as your new boss has you they would....suffer. Although >> what he >> said is probably legal it sure isn't right so you should make him eat your >> resume and then move on. >> >> Don't be afraid of taking a job that has nothing to do with your current >> field. Just think in terms of paing the bills and living a life style >> that >> allows you to have the energy to do creative work when you get home. >> Whether >> its flipping burgers, waiting tables, or temping just find something to >> get >> you out of there. Then put your real energy toward your art and marketing >> yourself. >> >> Oh...and my porn star name is.....Lad Marshall. >> >> __Dave Thurlow ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 14:33:00 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: the free market mayhem of eBay. In a message dated 8/27/98 2:02:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, LUCKEY7@prodigy.net writes: << Yes, if their screen name is close to their real name or you know what their nickname is! Of course, mine is luck-man. >> Mine is... Robin :) Hey, if anyone sees anything on eBay let's post it here & we'll wrastle for it! Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 16:25:26 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Re: Alloy: more t-shirt compliments In article <430151ed.35e1fdb1@aol.com>, you wrote: >into this bondage clothing shop in Cambridge several weeks ago to look around >(great stuff, wish I had a million bucks!) ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ You could buy a lot of batteries for the strap-on. Thug 2: Yeah. CRACKERS (Leather Goddesses of Phobos from hell!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan *** http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base *** *** http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo | Hozer Video Games *** Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 16:25:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Re: Alloy: Airplanes from hell In article , you wrote: >Just wanted to let you know that, despite my nagging feelings to the >contrary, I escaped my round trip flight unscathed. Well, except my >patience. And how are you doing, Crackers? ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ I just got back yesterday. It's now 7:00 in the morning and I'm wide awake. Normally I sleep in until noon if I can get away with it. So this is what the world looks like to a morning person. Had a great trip. I'll post a more detailed message later when my brain isn't so fuzzy. CRACKERS (Didn't crash from hell!!!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan *** http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base *** *** http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo | Hozer Video Games *** Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 16:42:43 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived Hej Melissa and the alloy crew, I woke up this morning 5.30am, did the English thing and made a cup of tea, before getting dressed and quietly venturing into the spare room (or studio as I like to call it) to read my Email. This, you must understand, is a pre rush hour ritual that must be adhered to in order to save me from the insanity you mention called work! What touched me this morning though, more than most days was your 'through the window' description of that thing I saw on the TV news last two nights ago....The hurricane! It made me for one moment contemplate just how amazing technology has become. We all sit at various corners of our 'Flat Earth' thousands of miles apart yet within a few seconds of each other! You were experiencing something that I could only ever wonder what it was like, yet 10 mminutes later it was all forgotten, I put on my obligatory tie and made my way to work in time for an utterly inhuman 7am start. Bon nuit! Frisky Bisson! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 16:42:46 EDT From: TBlagg@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: Bonnie Has Arrived Hej Melissa and the alloy crew, I woke up this morning 5.30am, did the English thing and made a cup of tea, before getting dressed and quietly venturing into the spare room (or studio as I like to call it) to read my Email. This, you must understand, is a pre rush hour ritual that must be adhered to in order to save me from the insanity you mention called work! What touched me this morning though, more than most days was your 'through the window' description of that thing I saw on the TV news last two nights ago....The hurricane! It made me for one moment contemplate just how amazing technology has become. We all sit at various corners of our 'Flat Earth' thousands of miles apart yet within a few seconds of each other! You were experiencing something that I could only ever wonder what it was like, yet 10 mminutes later it was all forgotten, I put on my obligatory tie and made my way to work in time for an utterly inhuman 7am start. Bon nuit! Frisky Bisson! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 18:13:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Alloy: I'm still a drag princess. In article <35E4C3E3.59CA@erols.com>, you wrote: >Now, for something completely different. Yesterday, in an attempt to >cheer me up about working for The Death Troll, a friend related to me >the silly urban(e) legend of how drag queens and porn stars get their >stage names -- take the name of your first pet and add it to your >mother's maiden name. Just to give y'all a giggle -- mine is Fluffy >Hardman. I'm thinking of getting business cards. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ You can call me "Mini Ledgerwood". If it was the second pet I'd be "Tigger Ledgerwood", third I'd be "The Masked Marvel Ledgerwood", fourth I'd be "Scruffy Ledgerwood" (now there's a drag queen name that brings up a grousome mental picture... alas it would most likely be the most accurate description of me in drag), fifth would be "Chicago Ledgerwood", sixth would be "Slinky Ledgerwood" (not a bad drag queen name), seventh and final would be "Saskatoon Ledgerwood". And once again, I beg anyone who has pictures of the performance Thomas did in drag to scan them and E-mail them to me. Somebody must have taken a picture. It just had to have been recorded for prosperity. Maybe we should continue that "Fake Thomas Dolby Drag Queen Photo Contest" we started on the old tap room. Alas though, I don't think I still have the single entry it received. Slarvi must still have it... Slarvi keeps everything. CRACKERS (When a gay man has too much fashion sense for one gender from hell!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan *** http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base *** *** http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo | Hozer Video Games *** Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 18:13:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Chris Cracknell Subject: Alloy: Goodbye Mr. Jurkan, I'm sick and tired of workin' In article <35E4C3E3.59CA@erols.com>, you wrote: >All this is making me realize that I do not want an office job. I >generally dislike office jobs. I want to be writing and designing >full-time. Now, when do I win the lottery to get to do this? I did get >my first freelance art job last week -- a designer in town needed images >of women for a website, and I got to draw up some sketches that will >eventually be out there for all to see -- and made a modest fistful of >cash. It's sure as hell not rent, but it's a start. ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ Nothing can suck the creativity out of you faster than a miserable day-job. Many a year ago I used to work as a System's Engineer for a company that sold computers to fortune 500 businesses. I designed systems for companies such as Coca Cola, General Electric, and Kodak to name a few. I loved the job when I started there but a few years later my co-worker quit and the company hired an absolute asshole. The man lied like you wouldn't believe on his resume. He said he was a purchasing manager for Wang computers. In truth it turned out he was a truck driver at Wang. He knew absolutely nothing at all about computers and came to work as our purchaser. It made my life there a living hell. He would constantly screw up the customer's orders and then I'd have the salesreps having fits in my lab wondering why I hadn't built their computers (the dockets would first go to purchasing so they could buy the componets we didn't have in stock before coming to me). I got pretty sick of explaining that I can't build a system if I don't have a docket for it, or if the purchaser ordered the wrong parts (since he didn't have a clue he assumed that "parts is parts" so would order whatever was cheapest) If a salesrep requested 2mb PC simms (this was in the days when 2mb was the biggest simms got) he would order 2mb MAC simms because they were cheaper, or even worse... DRAMs. The other thing he would do would be to sit on a huge order until the day it was due and then give it to me. I'd get an order to build 50 custom machines for Blacks Photography on the day they were due at the clients. The order was made two months ago and we've had all the parts in stock the whole time. Then I'd have the salesrep screaming at me because the order was late. Not only was the man an occupational fuck-up, he was a complete social fuck-up as well. He really resented the fact that I was in a bi-cultural marrage and was quite openly racist. He would brag about how proud he was of the fact that he and a gang of his friends beat the crap out of a boy from India when he was in the boy scouts. I can remember one day when he came into my lab and saw me and the other technicians sitting at a table talking. None of us had any work to do because every work docket was either missing parts or the wrong parts had been ordered (it was not too uncommon for there to be no work for me and my guys to do because of these kinds of purchasing screw-ups since Hal took over the job). So he comes in, sees us, and says, "How can we get some productivity out of you guys. I come in here and I see you all just lazing around. If you didn't come here to work maybe you should just not come here at all." Well at this point I had had about all I could take and I exploded at this guy unlike I had ever exploded at anyone in my life. I gave this guy a downdressing more severe than any downdressing I'd ever seen anyone receive when I was in the army. I explained how much I'd love to be doing anything other than "lazing around" and if he really wanted to increase productivity he should stop being a complete screw-up and do his job right. Appearantly everyone in the company could hear me chewing this guy out (including the VP who was in the next room getting a cup of coffee). Hal was completely at a loss for words and slunk back to his desk and I had people comming up to me all day congratulating me for finally putting this asshole in his place. A few days later he went to the boss and made up a story about me throwing a monitor at him in a fit of rage. I ended up getting fired. A few weeks later they found out he was a complete crock and fired him. I was told I could have my job back but I didn't want it. In such a short while it had gone from being a job I absolutely loved to being a job I absolutely dispised. I took a teaching job instead at a local boy's and girl's club teaching kids classes in computers and audio/visual production. It was for much less pay but the job was so much more enjoyable. Later, when my son was born I left that job to stay home and look after him. Now I raise kids by day and play accordion by night and my professional and home lives have never been happier. It's much better to read a Dilbert strip than it is to live it. CRACKERS (Found my place in the sun from hell!!!) - -- Collector of Atari 2600 carts - Accordionist - Bira Bira Devotee - Anime fan *** http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html | Crackers' Arts Base *** *** http://www.angelfire.com/ma/hozervideo | Hozer Video Games *** Nihongo ga dekimasu - 2600 programmer - Father of 2 great kids - Canadian eh ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 20:03:13 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: I'm still a drag princess. In a message dated 8/27/98 6:17:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, crackers@hwcn.org writes: << You can call me "Mini Ledgerwood". If it was the second pet I'd be "Tigger Ledgerwood", third I'd be "The Masked Marvel Ledgerwood", fourth I'd be "Scruffy Ledgerwood" (now there's a drag queen name that brings up a grousome mental picture... alas it would most likely be the most accurate description of me in drag), fifth would be "Chicago Ledgerwood", sixth would be "Slinky Ledgerwood" (not a bad drag queen name), seventh and final would be "Saskatoon Ledgerwood". >> Crackers, I've missed you :) !! dave's favorite is The Masked Marvel... while mine is definitely Scruffy. Go with it, babe! This rumor of Thomas' drag performance... are we talking heels here? The mind boggles! On the subject of photos of Thomas, I really love the ones Michael scanned in from Plug.In. THANKS Michael! I have some questions about Thomas' presentation... I see no computers around... & for some reason I pictured there being many, many computers cramming the convention site. What really was done or discussed? Did Thomas' talk just have to do with Headspace on the whole, or was there a demo too? or was it something else entirely? Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 20:08:36 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: alloy: crackers' message part one The following is the unretouched FIRST HALF of crackers' message upon returning from his trip!! (I'm having to forward it in two parts because of its length) Robin T & now a word from the man we've all been waiting for :) ... << G'day my fellow alloyites! I am once again in my home and native land of Canada after an exhausting whirlwind tour of Austria and Germany. It's a hell of a long flight and to make matters worse I was flying via Canada 3000, or as it's also known Air Sardines. I'm not afraid of flying, and unlike my wife I greet turbulance with a "wheeeeeeeee!!!" (infact, the turbulance was my son's favorite part of the flight). And although I don't suffer from a fear of flying, I am very claustrophobic. I was sitting in a very very cramped jet stuffed with more people than I could have ever imagined a jet that size could carry. By the time we arrived in Munich I was on my last nerve (not to mention it was 3:30am back in Hamilton). We wern't going to be in Munich very long as we were taking a train from there to Vienna, so we just booked a day room so we could freshen up and take a nap. I didn't want to nap as I planned to stay awak until it was a proper bed time in that part of the world and sleep then so I just showered and then went off to explore the city. Very lovely, very nice, and 1 DM is almost worth as much as $1 CND so it made it very easy to figure out the price of stuff. It wasn't too expensive. Later we boarded a train for Vienna and got a sneak preview of Slazburg as well as a really good view of the Austrian countryside. Traveling by train is the way to go. Man, what a view. The mountains, the forest, the wee quaint villages. Absolutely spectacular. We arrived in Vienna pretty late and got our first taste of Europe's favorite game, "Screw The Tourist". The taxi driver appearently mistook the phrase "Take us to the SAS Radison hotel" for "Drive over every square mile of the city before dropping us off at our hotel." As well there were all sorts of "mystery charges" that didn't appear on the taxi metre. Oh well, I'm too tired to argue with someone who can counter anything with "I don't understand english". Got into the hotel and they didn't have the room we requested which means we got bumped up to a free upgrade. Woohoo!!! Big big big luxurious suite. Of course I didn't really see much of it as over the next three days I had packed up the kids with me and we pretty much covered all of the downtown core by foot. I was quite suprised by the fact that I got to speak Japanese quite a bit on this trip. Vienna is swarming with japanese tourists (there was even a japanese channel on the TV at the hotel). I also fell in love with a bean goulash with jamacan pepper sausage that I ate at "The Goulash Museum". I must find that recipe! Wow, is Vienna ever a site. There's nothing over 10 stories high, but the building are so ornate and stately that they seem bigger than life. You can't throw a rock without hitting a statue or a fountain (or a Japanese tourist, for which I appaulogized very profusively... "Sumimasen! Doumo sumimasen!") I had a great time walking around looking at all the sites and snapping thousands of pictures (I must now save up for a year not to pay off the vacation but to be able to afford the film processing). Lots of fun to be had there. Things were definetly more expensive than in Canada, but if you avoided buying things from the tourist areas and went to where the Viennese people would buy things it wasn't too bad. 100 Shillings works out to about $14 CND. The only problem with Vienna was this is where my wife had to do the business part of her trip so I rarely got to see her while we were there and only had one afternoon to take her on a site seeing trip. (Having so extensively surveyed the city before I knew where to take her) Then we were back on the train for Salzburg. Salzburg is not as stately and grand as Vienna, but it is very beautiful and quaint with it's tiny, narrow streets and towering mountains. Near our hotel was a big castle on top of a mountain. We climbed up the steep roadway to it and were rewarded with an increadable view (took 3 rolls of film just in the castle alone). The castle is the largest surviving fortress in central europe and parts of it date back to the 1400s. Logan and I also climbed to the top of another mountain and had not only a spectacular view but discovered another old fort that was being restored. Beena only made it halfway up before she was too pooped to continue. Slazberg was great fun since Beena had no business there so we were able to spend all our time together. I have a natural ability to find my way around any city. I can start off from my hotel walk all over the place and return following a different path than I took. This means we got to see an awful lot by foot. Unfortunately, one night we went out for a walk around the mountain that the castle was on. On the far side of the mountain a thick fog suddenly rolled in. We couldn't see a thing and the castle (which was my point of reference) was nowhere in site. We ended up getting lost for about an hour or so before (and the blinding fog turned into a blinding rain) before I found the way back to the centre of the city. That was about the only unpleasant thing that happened in Salzburg. >> ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 20:10:24 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: part 2 of crackers' message Part 2 of the letter, from the man we all know & love... << Then back on the train for Munich. This was our last night in europe and we were staying at a hotel not far from the airport (but very far from the city). There was absolutely nothing for miles around this hotel so they knew they had you screwed. We were hungry and went to the hotel restraunt. Everything on the menu was over $20 when Beena and I noticed a hamburger and fries for $10.99. Well, that's pretty damn expensive for a hamburger and fries but since it was the cheapest item we decided to get it. As it turns out we were mistaken with the price. The $10.99 was if you wanted a glass of wine with the hamburger. The price of the burger and fries was $22. Twenty-two freaking dollars for a lousey hamburger and fries!!!!!!!!! Well it seems that the Movenpick hotel won't be seeing us ever again. The flight back was much more comfortable than the flight to. We were seated infront of an emergency exit so I had plenty of legroom and did not suffer an attack of claustrophobia on the return. It was also less turbulent (to my wife's delight and my son's dismay). Unfortuantely the flight was delayed by two hours, the german staff were increadably rude, and there was this annoying american woman who just could not grasp the concept of a queue. The people on this flight were 95% canadian and canadians take their queues very seriously. There are all sorts of social protocols that are to be observed in the queue and most canadians are well aware of them and follow them with a natural ease as from the cradle to the grave the queue is a very big part of canadian life. This is not to say that canadians enjoy standing in a queue, but it is an unpleasentry that we grin and bear our way through as well as possible. The american woman would shove people aside and say, "Out of my way, I'm from Santa Fe." as if the cleaverness of her rhyme would make it all okay. Of course she picked the right crowd to do it to because as canadians the most we would do is frown at her or more likely say, "Oh, I'm awfully sorry to have gotten in line before you arrived." You could also tell that she treated her kids diffently, she practically ignored her daughter and fussed over her son as if he were the emperor of the world. Her son was very charming and outgoing and talked extensively with my son about the wonders of life in Sante Fe and her daughter was very quiet and withdrawn no doubt a result of the neglect. This ticked me off more than her abuse of queue ettiquette. Her fashion sense was also quite non-existant. I won't go into the details of her outfit but let's just say she got an A for including as many colours of the flourencent spectrum as she could. I've seen velvet "black light" posters in headshops with less colours than she had on. I also discovered an annoying trait of my video camera. It has a battery indicator in the monitor that shows the various stages of battery life. It has the annoying habbit of going from fully charged to empty in a very short period of time. It then remains on empty for the rest of the life of the battery. It's not until it starts blinking that the battery is truely near the end of it's life. This made me believe that I had precious little battery life left. As a result I took very little video footage in Vienna, then expected to get a minute or two of footage in Salzburg. (I had thought that perhaps I had not properly charged the batteries). I had two batteries with me, a 5 hour battery (which I had foolishly forgot to charge) and a 45 minute one (which was fully charged). I ended up getting the full 45 minutes out of the charged battery and most of that is in Salzburg. It would seem my video camer's battery indicator is somewhat like the fuel indicator on many old cars. It tells you the tank is empty but there are still a few hundred kms worth of juice in the tank. Oh, incidently, for those Pulp Fiction fans out there, the "Quarter Pounder" is also called a "Royal" in Germany and Austria (although it's called a "Royal mit kasse"). We ate at a McDonalds in Vienna. When you have kids, for some reason the biggest thrill for them is to eat at a McDonalds in a different country. Logan couldn't wait to get home to tell his friends about that. Oh, and one other thing. I would greatly appreciate it if the American government would stop doing things that turn me into a potential target each time I'm in a different country! Granted, it's not as bad in europe as it is in asia since most europeans understand that Canada is not part of the United States. But I'm thinking of making myself a T-shirt that reads "Don't shoot me. I'm a Canadian, not an American." in as many languages as I possibly can. I was suprised to turn on CNN (one of only two english TV stations I could get over there) and see that the US had just bombed Sudan and Afganistan. The last time I traveled I was in India when the gulf war broke out. This time things went much smoother for me. I was in Madras when the gulf war broke out and their government had just been overthrown. There were angry anti-american mobs in the streets and you just couldn't stop and explain the differences between canadians and americans. This time I didn't really have much to worry about. And on the subject of TV. It was very interesting to get a look at german TV programming. I was suprised that about 90% of the shows were imported from the US and dubbed into german. It was funny to hear the differences in the voices of the german versions. Odo from DS9 seemed to have suffered from a poor choice in voice actors. He had a kind of whiney voice instead of his gruff english version voice. There were also some odd late night shows. One was virtually a clone of Letterman, and the others were boardering on "soft core porn" (although nowhere near as bad as late night Japanese TV). There was one variety show which I swear was the inspiration for "Viva Variety" and another show called "Peep" in which people hidden in shadow told of some sort of bizarre sexual experiance they had while some soft core porno actors preformed a dramatized recreation. There was a judge who appearantly who appearenly would have meant something different than I did were he to say "Don't forget we need batteries for the strap-on." And that's a brief description of my trip. Oh yes... we also returned with a mysterious black, lacey bra much too small to have been Beena's. I don't know how it got into our luggage but luckily Beena belives my hypothesis that it must have already been in one of the dresser drawers at a hotel and got unwittingly packed up with our stuff when we left. CRACKERS (Dodged that bullet from hell!!!) >> ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V3 #226 ***************************