patrickrhett

At the beginning of November I moved to a new webhost. (site5, since you asked, and we’re very happy together, thanks) I was so anxious to get away from Yahoo webhosting and move on with my life that I skipped a pretty important step. I won’t go into great detail here about the very tecnical aspects of the problem, but, well… ok, fine. I didn’t back up my db. If you know what I’m talking about then you know I’m an idiot, and if you don’t, you probably suspected.

Anyway, I was checking my visitor log today, and clicked on a google search that brought someone to my page. Lo and behold, there was one of my old posts, cached on Google! (The search that started this all, oddly, was a Google India search on “Terry Gross is Jewish“) I pulled up the source code, copied the pertinent data into WordPress, changed the date and presto, my post was back. I started to wonder how many of my old posts I could find on Google, and thus began a quest of hours. At this point I have resurrected 57 posts from January and April – July. I’m not sure exactly why I couldn’t find anything from February, March, or August – September. I guess I’d need a better understanding of how Google works, how long they save this information, what their criteria are, etc.

Most of the old links work (even to the pictures), though some of the stuff, like the hit counter on links, is a little wonky. Also, all of my comments are gone. I could have saved a few of them, but that would’ve been a much, much bigger pain in the ass.

…has a new song, “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other)“. You can say he’s jumping on the gay cowboy chuckwagon, you can say the group who originally sang the song are a one-note joke band, but damn if Willie doesn’t make it sound good. In my book, Willie can do anything he damn well wants to.

No time for a big post, so here are a few diversions.

Choose your life. I’ll warn you up front, it’s not going to be good.

From the same source, Become Republican. Yes, it’s tounge-in-cheek.

How to make pop-art portraits. This is #237 on my list of things to do, but it is on the list.

Exactitudes. I’ve been stumbling across this page for years so you’ve probably already seen it, but it always seems to merit another look.

On a personal note I quit smoking a little earlier than my plan called for, so I am now on day 7. It is easier than attempts in the past but still, at times, pretty damn unpleasant. I am prepared for that, and just keep reminding myself that it’s also pretty unpleasant to spend $200 a month on a habit that, at best, makes you weak and smelly.

10. Best in Show

This is funny and you know it, because you’ve seen it a couple of times before, just like me.

9. City of God

What an excellent movie. Beautifully filmed, great story. It opened my eyes to a part of the world that I knew next to nothing about. Just go see it. Even the DVD extra documentary was better than some movies I’ve seen.

8. Wedding Crashers

I started watching this days ago and wasn’t feeling it. I finished it today and it got better. There were some funny bits, but I don’t see what all the fuss was about.

7. Enron – The Smartest Guys in the Room

Another Saturday morning on the couch with the wife, this time with slightly more serious fare. At 110 minutes, this doc makes quick work of some aspects of the story, but it’s a good overview nonetheless. It barely touches on links to the Bush family, but I came away from the film wondering if GW may have been a one-term president if 9-11 hadn’t been there to distract from the fall of Enron.

If the movie leaves you wanting more, read Conspiracy of Fools : A True Story. I listened to the audiobook version last August, and it was a fascinating. I highly recommend it.

Yesterday was the first full day of my step-down to Camel Ultra Lights, and it went much better than I expected… until this morning. I guess the drop in my body’s nicotine level took a day to register, because this morning I’m starting to feel some of the withdrawal effects – lethargy, mental slowdown and a general blah feeling, like a bit of the color has been leeched out of everything. I guess the idea is that this will last a few days, my body will normalize, and I’ll step down again in a week and do it again. Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah, the cancer and the carrot.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who left some encouraging words in my last post. I appreciate it.

6. Groundhog Day

Saturday morning on the couch with The Lovely Wife, a cup of coffee and a good movie. Good times. I’ve probably seen this a dozen times, and if you haven’t you’re a blood sausage eating moron.