Ultranormal

Author: Kevin Lawver

  • 26 things about me

    26 things about me @ 26 (thanks to Jodi for the idea):

    1. I’ve been married to Jen since 1/23/98.
    2. I have a 20 month old son named Max who’s really really cute (and smart… really really smart).
    3. I work for AOL building search engines (now who else can say that?)
    4. I drive a ’97 Chevy Blazer with two stickers on the back, the Apple logo and a Linux sticker (since I couldn’t find a LinuxPPC or YellowDog sticker @ ThinkGeek).
    5. I think Linux is is fun. I think it’s the most fun I’ve had with an OS ever.
    6. I think MacOS 9 is stupid the more I have to use it. My PC crashed (video card fried) and I had to use my Powerbook to do actual work on for about 4 days. The more I used it, the more infuriated I got, hence, my love of Linux on the Mac.
    7. I think MacOS X sucks. I wish they’d finished it before they released it.
    8. I love HBO. I love Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Dennis Miller Live and Oz, not in that order, and all for different reasons.
    9. I miss my friends in Tucson.
    10. I like Morphine (the band, hence the M instead of an m).
    11. I like Massive Attack.
    12. I realized yesterday that I’m an adult because I’m grumpy and teenagers seem young and stupid to me (not cool and intimidating like they used).
    13. I remember times I consider “the good old days” of Pac-Man, saturday morning cartoons, GI Joe, Star Wars toys and our Coleco Adam computer, where I wrote my first Basic program, a super crappy game a lot like Robotron only with one robot and one guy.
    14. This is number 14. When I was fourteen, I earned my Eagle Scout, which I keep forgetting I’ve earned. I haven’t been to a scout meeting since my brother Steve got his Eagle almost 5 years ago.
    15. I think I’m smart. But, as I get older I realize the world is much more complicated, evil, good and beautiful than I ever imagined.
    16. I used to be a Republican, because my parents were, but they scare the crap out of me. I was going to be a Democrat, but they’re just as scary, just for different reasons. So, I’m a political wanderer at the moment.
    17. I really wish John McCain did have a necklace with human ears on it that he wore for every press conference. This is an old Joke between Jon Morris and me from our days in PrimeHost. Wouldn’t it be funny if for every news conference, John McCain came out wearing his ear necklace and then anytime someone asked him a tough question he’d start yelling incoherently about the War and how he was a prisoner of war. Ok, maybe it’s not so funny… but we laughed and laughed at the time.
    18. I used to do a public access TV show in Tucson called Tech X. It was all about computers and getting away with stuff. I was Otto the HED and wore a blue sheet so I was this fat floating head. It was a lot of fun.
    19. I learned how to write Tcl and build web pages because I worked for PrimeHost, a crappy web hosting company that used to be owned by AOL.
    20. I’ve been online since February 1995.
    21. My AOL account has been active since May of 1995.
    22. I used Netscape 2.0.
    23. My dad was in the Air Force and we moved around a lot. I’ve moved 19 times in my 26 years on this planet.
    24. I hate moving. My least favorite move was from Fairfax, Virginia to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the middle of my junior year of high school. Because of that one, I am an embarrassed graduate of Vicksburg High School, class of ’93.
    25. I love Dr. Pepper. My affair with the good doctor began when I worked nights doing tech support and couldn’t stay awake. It also goes well with Tucson’s bargain Mexican food.
    26. And Number 26: I am really really bad when it comes to video games. I’m chum when it comes to Unreal Tournament or any other shooter. I suck at puzzle games. You’d think I’d be better at it, but I’m not.

  • I’m leaving my wife…

    I’m leaving my wife… Oh, had you there for a sec, didn’t I? I’m going to Boston on Thursday with my sister, who’s going to win a biiii-iiiiig prize. And if she doesn’t, well, that’s ok. It’ll be my first trip by myself since I’ve been married, and well, I’m not sure how I feel about that. Right now, I feel fine. Right now, I feel great. Jen went to visit her parents with Max over Easter (was it last year), and I was fine. She was a semi-wreck, but for other reasons.

    You’d think that I’ve been married long enough that this shouldn’t be a big deal. I hope it’s not. I hate big deals. I get enough big deals at work. I live for little deals. Taking out the trash, getting milk on the way home, deciding who to call for carryout. Those are my kinds of deals. Buying a house, conference calls with partners, money. Those are not my kinds of deals. I would like now to hand off all my big deals to other people to deal with, and I’ll just go to Boston.

  • Max’s Page is new and

    Max’s Page is new and improved with a super-cute pic from our trip to the beach, and pics from Christmas and early 2001. It’s amazing how much he’s grown in the past 6 months. I’ll try to get the beach pics up soon…

  • What a cool site. The

    What a cool site. The Bitmap fonts are very nice, and check out SixGun. Very cool, and for free no less. I love free stuff…

  • Because I don’t edit… I

    Because I don’t edit… I won’t replace the last post with this one. Has anyone come up with a geographic Blog Directory? I think it would be really cool to see local bloggers. Ok, maybe not REALLY cool, but it would be interesting. And then you could do a big map with dots on cities and the number of bloggers in that city. Yeah, good idea… too bad I don’t have time to do it. I COULD do it, really I could. I just don’t have a public place to host AOLserver, Postgres and RedHat. Maybe when I get DSL… I keep saying it, and some day, it’ll get out here in lovely Sterling. I just don’t know when.

  • Ok, this is weird, and

    Ok, this is weird, and it’s a totally personal problem. I think because I started my bloggy life reading people who live in San Francisco, or other West Coasty places, I’m still surprised when I find blogs from people living IN MY AREA! Go figure. With more people online than anywhere in the country OTHER than San Francisco, there are probably tons of DC area blogs… I’m just too stupid to realize it. Ok, back to my fetal position under the desk. Ring the bell when it’s time for dinner.

  • The cobra will bite you

    The cobra will bite you whether you call him cobra or Mr. Cobra. – Old Indian Proverb

  • So, basically, the concept of

    So, basically, the concept of the day is comparative advantage. I couldn’t find a good definition on the web, but, basically, it means “do what you do best, and leave the other crap to people who do it better than you do.” In my case, I know I’m not so hot at graphic design. I’ve resigned myself to that fact. At work, I don’t try to design products anymore. I’ve given it up to the people who do it. They, on the other hand, don’t know HTML or Tcl or how to put a site together from scratch. That’s what I do well. So, that’s what I do…

  • Ahhhh, the smell of burnout.

    Ahhhh, the smell of burnout. It’s funny that I can smell it coming. I’m tired of working on a million different projects and dealing with a million different people who all think they get a say in everything. It would be nice if we all concentrated on what we were supposed to do and did it right. Instead, I have to work with groups and people who have decided that they can stick their hands into everything and make my life hell. People who deal with the backend and hardware shouldn’t care what color something is. People who deal with the design shouldn’t care what the backend looks like as long as things work. Maybe my problem is that I’m in the middle and have to deal with all of it… or at least am touched by all of it. Hopefully, my trip to Boston will help, and I’ll come back ready to deal with them some more. We’ll just have to wait and see.

  • Jen says I’m a stinker…

    Jen says I’m a stinker… and she’s right.