Evolution Annihilated

I finally got pissed off at Evolution, since every single time I have to restore from backups, something fails. this time, it refused to read my mail signatures, Contacts and Calendar, which was the last straw — I wiped it from the system.

I’ve switched over to using Mozilla Thunderbird for my mail and the new Mozilla Sunbird for my calendar. The only problem is that Sunbird seems to like crashing any time I try to make a change, but it’s a very new piece of software, so I’ll forgive it its sins. It’s a very nice piece of software, and if it develops further, it’ll rock. It already rocks, it just needs higher “cool” and “stability” quotients.

Thunderbird is a little limited — I can’t do threaded message views or maintain multiple signatures. I have yet to dig around Mozilla Update to see what’s there for Thunderbird, though, so there might be something…

The other big, annoying thing about Thunderbird: I relied extensively on SpamAssassin for my spam filtering while using Evolution, and can’t for the life of me determine how to use SpamAssassin and Thunderbird together. I’ve read a few articles that suggest I could do something weird like a procmail/SpamAssassin combo, but that’s way too complicated for my tastes. I don’t really want to use Thunderbird’s built-in stuff; I’ll settle for SpamAssassin if I can.

Oh, and for a “holy crap, that’s cool” moment: type in about:config into Mozilla Firefox. For control junkies, this is just plain cool.

Groundhog’s Day

Desperate for it to be spring, and you want to be sure of positive results on Groundhog’s Day? Here’s a few options for you:

Option One: Hair Dryers and Long Extension Cords
Hibernation takes place only so long as the creature believes that it’s not warm enough to wake up. Find a hole in the ground. After verifying that this hole belongs to a groundhog (no moles, rats, or ants accepted), plug a long extension cord into the nearest electrical outlet. Plug the other end of the extension cord into the hair dryer’s electrical plug and start the hair dryer. Warm to a reasonable temperature (baked groundhogs don’t tell you if it’s Spring), lightly blow warm air down the hole until groundhog decides that it’s warm enough, wakes up, sticks its head out of its hole, then promptly bites you and gives you rabies after discovering that it’s been horridly lied to and it isn’t, in fact, mating season.

This option may require some patience, a couple of days before Groundhog’s Day, and several rabies vaccinations. Hair dryer an absolute necessity; depending upon model, you may not require an extension cord.

Option Two: Baja Vacationing
This option requires some forethought and preparation. Depending on when you decide to exercise this option, you will either need a car or a plane ticket and a passport. Groundhog is required. Shovel is required. A very large, deep box is also required.

Step one: carefully dig a very, very large trench around the groundhog’s hole (after verifying that this hole does, in fact, belong to a groundhog). Prepare large box with densely packed dirt. Transfer the dirt inside the trench (groundhog included) into box. Seal the box nicely, but be sure to give the poor creature some ventilation; dead groundhogs do not serve their intended purpose.

Step two: travel to Mexico or some other warm clime. Now, unseal the box and wait a few days — sooner or later, the groundhog will get the idea, wake up, and declare it spring. Mission accomplished, and the groundhog isn’t mad in this option — who would be, with an all-expenses-paid trip to foreign lands, when most groundhogs never get out that much?

This is based upon a thirty second conversation with my girlfriend, and is admittedly so horrible that I myself can scarcely believe I bothered to write it. Insight into my horrid sense of humor is thus provided, and everyone’s happy.

Hi, mom.

Prius Again

Salsa Red 2005 Toyota Prius

I must confess that my obsession with the Prius is such that I continue to point out the car every time I see it. I’m a particular fan of either the salsa red color (shown at right) or the black. I don’t have a particular color preference, per se, but there’s something about the red that really jumps out at me. The black does the same.

In the past, I’ve talked a lot about the Prius, perhaps to the point of slight insanity (I admit that building a car I can’t afford and then posting the specifications might be slightly overboard). However, this is because of my background; ever since my freshman year in college, I’ve been very interested in issues of sustainability and environmental awareness. This is almost a necessity if you want to attend Evergreen, but it’s very sensible in my eyes. I’d love to do my part, and I do really, really want a car, but a part of me wants to hold off until I can afford a hybrid. What better way to make a statement than to use alternative methods of transportation until you can drive a car that reflects your values?

Really, though, the nature of the hybrid market is such that it’s now beginning to approach mainstream status (though, I admit, some car makers still don’t get it). Honda’s jumped on teh bandwagon, and Subaru is rumored to be doing so. The hybrid is the thing of the future. The big debate seems to be just what kind of hybrid.

There’s some minor justification for this pet of mine (which, I admit, even my girlfriend probably groans over from time to time, though she obliges me by pointing out Priuses when we’re out and about). Hopefully, that clarifies some things.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the New American Dream contest I wrote about long ago is now in its voting phase — I didn’t get into the final stage, though an entry very, very close to mine did. I submitted “Gasoline is so yesterday”; someone else submitted “Gasoline is so last century”. Ah, such is life.

What Year Do I Belong In?


You Belong in 1969


1969

If you scored…

1950 – 1959: You’re fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

1960 – 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule – oh, and drugs too.

1970 – 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you’re partying or protesting, you give it your all!

1980 – 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You’re colorful at night – and successful during the day.

1990 – 1999: With you anything goes! You’re grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It’s all good!

Spring Quarter 2005 Class Planning

Looking at Spring Quarter classes, there’s not really all that much that’s interesting me at the moment. Currently, I’m looking at Illustrations of Character: Literary and Philosophical Studies for 16 credits, Advanced Web Design for 4 credits through the Evening/Weekend Studies Program, or Web Graphics and Flash for 4 credits, also through EWS. I may also take both EWS programs at once, since the schedule doesn’t conflict — the only thing that switching to part time studies might affect is my ability to work in the Writing Center as a full-time enrolled student. Not being sure of my eligibility for the last two programs, I’ve e-mailed the faculty member responsible for both of them.

We’ll see what he tells me. At the moment, it’s slim pickin’s.

A Hectic Grouping of Recent Events

So in the last week, I’ve been struggling to keep up with reading in class while meeting obligations for the Enrollment Growth DTF. Since Sunday (and after going home for the weekend), I’ve had to give a presentation on American artist John Singer Sargent, write a paper, post fliers for the upcoming student focus group for the DTF, read 42 proposals for the DTF meeting on Wednesday, and read through the first thirteen chapters of Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

The paper hasn’t been written and I’m only two or three chapters into James. All the flyers are up after some running around, but I’ve only read the first 11 proposals or so. Thus, to put it succinctly, I’m behind in every major endeavor I’m embarking upon this quarter. Thankfully, the minor ones don’t really count. naturalaxis is basically at a standstill until further notice (or until I get an actual client request, whichever comes first), and I’m only working in the Writing Center three hours a week, but I’m still getting slammed. As I said in a previous post, I asked for it, but I seem to have misjudged (and continue to badly misjudge) the amount of time needed for each segment of my work. I don’t think this is an issue of taking on too much (at least, not intentionally) — I was on the DTF long before I knew I was taking this class, and long before I knew how hard this class would be.

I desperately need to refine my tactics for time management if I am to survive the rest of the quarter with sanity intact.

So what’s left for the rest of the week? Tomorrow I have class from 10-12:30, a meeting to plan the student focus group from 1-2 (location indeterminate), a Grammar Rodeo workshop to attend from 2-3 as part of my brush-up on grammar for my tutoring work, and a DTF meeting from 3-5. To top all that off, I then get to come home, write a paper which is woefully late, catch up on reading I’m woefullly behind on (or try to), then collapse in a useless, top-heavy, brainless stupor while attempting to get some sleep so I can get up Thursday and go to class.

Ironically, I’m writing all this because I can’t sleep after a very full and overwhelming day. Yet, despite all this, I love my life, and I can write that with complete certainty and honesty.

Let’s ignore for now the possibility that I will eat those last words later.