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[active_apathy]

This is likely to be my last entry for a few days; I'm planning on an early-ish night (around or shortly after midnight, just to really scare you), and I don't think I'm likely to feel another post coming in the next 2 hours.

So, my day. I did my washing today, and again marvelled at the way my washing machine turns ordinary fibres into cheap felt. The only thing I like about it being an automatic was that today I used its powers of set and forget to get out for a bit.

It seems to be a universal law that when you find a Coke machine, it will not be operational. The chances are doubled if it's an outdoor machine. This rule struck again today - three seperate machines, each selling 600mL bottles, each about 20-25km from the next, were non-functional. Defunct. Kaputt. The first two had sustained serious damage and had a number of apologetic signs taped on them assuring fast and efficient repairs, but the last had a rather more insidious problem.

It was unplugged. This one was outside, and it was a bit windy, but you think I'd have noticed; however, between windy!noises and wind-blown!hair, I didn't notice until I put a coin in and it fell out of the bottom of an unmarked, speedily-repaired machine. This was confusing to me. The thought occured to me to just plug it back in, but the drinks within rely upon that very electricity to stay cold.

This all leads me to wonder what happens to them. I'm imagining some kind of kids with skateboards going about the place in upturned garbage bins, saying things like "It's a Coke machine. Let's break it, hey."

My other scrap of musing tonight is that I heard on the radio earlier that this year, the 31st of December will be extended by one second to bring the atomic clocks into line with the Earth's rotation. You'll be able to pick the scientists - they'll be the ones who say: "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 1... Happy new year!"

In other news, I now have a pirate!icon. With a dragon. Yarr!

Comments

[liadlaith.livejournal.com]

That icon ROCKS my SOCKS

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

I quite enjoy that icon. It's very, very cute.

Coke is bad for you. It was a cosmic sign that you weren't go get one today. Yes yes, I know it's very yummy. But it's bad for you.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Thankyou kindly!

Coke isn't that bad. It takes about 300 cans of it in the space of two hours to overdose on caffeine. The phosphoric acid is weaker than most naturally present ones, and the other ingredients rather slay its effectiveness. Finally, it's sugary, but less so than many other soft drinks, and my waistline's happy to lend its credit card to my rongue because it's got quite a favourable metabolic rate.

I might just be saying all this because there's a glass of it about a foot away.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Tongue, even. *glares at keyboard*

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

Hey man, I'm just tryin' to help ya out. Ya know.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I know. And thanks! *squish*

You should see what I go through to reason that Jolt's not bad for me. It's my drink of choice, when I can find places that sell it.

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

the caffeine alone in Jolt would knock me on my ass and cause a panic attack faster than you can spell H.E.L.P.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

:| That sounds very not-good. Note to self: Never, ever give Jolt to Dana.

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

It took me a while to learn that caffeine is a Bad Thing for me to consume. I still enjoy my Coke, but I can't have Mountain Dew or anything of that sort, even though I love it.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Do you have to drink decaf, or is normal coffee Dana-friendly? Or does it depend on the grounds?

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

I don't normally do coffee. Not as a rule, just as a preference. When I do drink it I try to drink decaf but if it's not available and I'm feeling the coffee-vibe, I'll drink regular.

I like coffee with ice cream.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

There's an Italian dessert, the name of which I can't remember off-hand, where you take a scoop of icecream then add a shot of espresso and a shot of some alcohol of your choice.

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

Hm. The only Italian dessert I've ever had was Teramisu. And, um, glurrrrghh...

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Tiramisu's a delightful dessert, also made with coffee. :)
It's especially good if you find one where they don't try to find a substitute for the marscapone.

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

There's a restaurant not far from me that's called Tiramisu (Tera? Tira? Bah!), and it's their specialty. :)

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Right. When, one day, I visit you, that makes two foody places we have to go to. :)

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

::whispers:: I forget the first place...

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

*whispers back* The Mongolian one.

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

Oh! Yes!

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed! I'm off to bed now, so you take care. *überhugs*

[eighthcloud.livejournal.com]

Oh! And: ::::HUG::::

You will be sorely missed.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Bwee! ::::RETURN!HUG::::

I'll sorely miss all of this, especially my wondrously awesome friends.

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

I predict that is going to be one of the most stolen icons. Ever. (And I'd be one of the first except I'm already at my limit.)

Did you consider that you may have stumbled on the filming of a series of Pepsi commercials? They always come through and unplug the Coke machines first before planting their sparkly new competing models to serve as chick magnets.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to do it for weeks, but only got around to it today.

And I, for one, would be far more magnetised to a Jolt machine. :)

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

You guys get Jolt?

Not only is that stuff one of the three most significant societal contributions ever to come out of Rochester, New York (the personal-use camera and the Xerox machine being the others), but their corporate headquarters is in my office complex.

And would you believe that in our basement, a mere 6 buildings away from the center of the Joltiverse at 130 Linden Oaks, there's no Jolt machine in the vending area?

That's just cruel.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Some places do. I wish every place did. There's no Jolt machines, though.

Personal-use camera? This is not a name I'm familiar with.

Could you convince their headquarters that I'm the loveliest person ever and deserve a lifetime's supply of free Jolt? Please?

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

I think I have seen Jolt machines on a college campus someplace. If it were me, I'd design it on the gas-pump model with a squirthose to stick right into the piehole and a dinging bell to charge by the gallon.

"Personal-use camera" was my bad genericizing of "Kodak," sorry. Before George Eastman came along, there were cameras, but every one had a professional photographer nailed to it. His innovation was turning the process into something everyone could use but his company could still make millions from. And did, until about 2 years ago when members of the company's research and development department suddenly discovered the "pixel" and all simultaneously jumped to their deaths from the top floor of Kodak Office.

As for the marketing campaign: I have no doubts about your loveliness, but we might want to start with a case or two first. You might consider making a Jolt icon so they can watch the sales skyrocket.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

And then they got into making those affordable and desirable, but they lose! For I want a digital SLR, to which I can mount my lovely and expensive lenses that live with my film SLR. Optical zoom that, Kodak.

Hmm... a Jolt icon. *muses* This shall have to wait until I get back.

[theshadowlurker.livejournal.com]

*watches icon* *over and over and over again*

...bwah! *steals for Later Use*

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Go right ahead! Steal it for use today, if you feel like it. Normal 'rules' apply. :)

[theshadowlurker.livejournal.com]

That is the single most fascinating icon I have seen in, like, ever.

[herekittykitty.livejournal.com]

Being the insufferable dork that I am, I'm so excited over the atomic clock thing. No one will understand the plus amount of numbers!! bwaaahahhaaa!!!!!

*yanks icon and smiles because active_apathy is brilliant*

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

They're adjusting the clock because - and this is the bit I love - the clock is definitive, and the reality is inaccurate. I imagine Douglas Adams being quite amused by it.

[crackedwraith.livejournal.com]

Icon love! :D

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! =D

[ianthefira.livejournal.com]

Ooh, an extra second. That's really cool! I wonder why I didn't hear of that earlier?

...I'm such a dork.

In passing, awesome icon.

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'll be adjusting all my clocks, but that's mostly because they're all x_n minutes fast anyway, for 0 < n < (num_clocks+1).

[nyctanessa.livejournal.com]

Is it supposed to be just a random map thing?

[active-apathy.livejournal.com]

I saw the little red 'x' in the IE broken image icons, and thought it'd be fun to make a pirate map out of it. It's all hand-drawn in Photoshop, except the background which was made with standard filters. Beyond that, it's just a fun map thing - I thought it'd be fun to have a tree to go around and a dragon to run away from.