Happy hour etc., a rant, a story, and a bit of tech geekery

Met Christine at her office after work, by which time we'd already decided to pass up the NARAL Pro-Choice Happy Hour at Ozio right around the corner, in favor of a two-person happy hour at Fin, a few blocks away. And happy it was, over a Blue Fin for each of us (sweet, tasty, blue! with a cherry and a gummy shark!), a Lynchburg Lemonade for me, and sparkling wine for her, plus a delectable crab concoction and sweet and tasty chicken. Back to her place via Metro, stopping along the way at her corner market, a little hole-in-the-wall place that has the distinction of being willing to order just about any grocery product you want that they don't carry--try that at your local supermarket!

Got home in time to watch a new episode of CSI, and then I headed home, bearing remarkably little of the brunt of the Red line's maintenance. (They had a minor derailment mid-afternoon, which delayed train traffic the rest of the day, and by the time I needed it they were running both directions on one section of track--and when I got the platform, I heard mutterings of people having already waited 30+ minutes. However, I only had to wait about 10, and less than 10 to transfer to Blue at Metro Center.) I then had to pay to get out of parking, at 2330, because now they've gone to the Fabulous Automated System, they can charge for parking as late as they damn well please, instead of the previous "as late as they want to pay attendants to wait around, which used to be 9 or 10pm." Bah!

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profworm, Straight-Up Adressin' the Nation, Yo: Ladies and gentlemen... We are not at a crossroads. And we must not Stay The Course.

Via notjaffo, a sci-fi story from Analog, titled The Cookie Monster." I haven't yet read it, as it's rather long, but I'm willing to take his word for it as a story so good in concept that the execution doesn't matter.

( Tech-geekery in Eudora settings )

More with Uno's, and cute kitten!

As you may recall me complaining: On Aug10, I went to Uno's, charging $26.55+tip=$35.00 on my check card. Shortly thereafter, online, I saw four Pending Items at $26.55, most of which went away, in favor of a remaining $26.55 -and- a $35.00, cleared by the 13th. So, on the 15th, I called Uno's, spoke with a manager, who a) wanted me to fax in the receipt, but at any rate b) said he'd sort it out and call me back by the next day.

Five days later--today, that is--I called again, spoke with Brian, explained the situation. He pulled up the records for the 10th vs. my check card number, and found: five swipes of the card at $26.55, three properly voided, plus the tip on the last swipe making that one $35.00. Apparently, with check cards at Uno's, every time they physically swipe the card, it counts as a transaction, and all but one have to be voided out. Thus, he said he'd void/credit back the remaining incorrect $26.55, close it out tonight, and since tomorrow's Saturday, I should see it by Monday--else, I can call him back Tuesday and he says he'll take it up with my bank.

Man, if only I'd gotten him five days ago!

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Via deusinnomen: Kitten cuteness! My favorites: 3, 7, 8, 9, 21, 30, & 33

Fische225 (11:29:17): good lord
Fische225 (11:31:59): definitely going into sugar shock
CU Stryker (11:32:35): hm?
Fische225 (11:33:10): krispy kreme + kitten = overload

Cooling pad, cool sci-fi, and dairy issues

Huzzah, got my laptop-cooling-fan pad! (Twister 2 from Acortech via Pricewatch, $9 + free shipping, item 3 here. :)

And I actually finished The Cookie Monster, the story I linked to the other day. Excellent concept, indeed. Splendid execution.

And now, a question about allergies, pertaining to someone else: Symptomatic reaction to dairy products (cheese, milk, creamer) includes increased mucous production in the sinuses, but no stomach upset. Milk in baked good produces no reaction. Still lactose-related, or some other quality of dairy?

Another story, quite unlike the previous post's. Plus more!

Speaking of concept and execution, check out this story by the_alchemist, written in response to a challenge.. as always, I'm quite impressed by her work.

The Thirteenth Day; or, Freedom and the Chickpeas.

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Other stories I plan to read, suggested over dinner in a Jamaican-themed restaurant/club in Ocean City, MD:

Gadsby: A Story of Over 50,000 Words Without Using the Letter “E”
by Ernest Vincent Wright

Gödel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore

Walter James Miller's translation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

(Note that the first link is to the full text; the others are to Amazon.)