The view of the fireworks from my building’s deck was actually pretty good. I wish I had a digital camera or phonecam so that I could post some pictures.
Big hooray to Dell for abandoning its practice of using cheap prison labor. I’m amazed that not only does this practice persist, but it’s getting more popular. Prison inmates should certainly have meaningful work to do, but they shouldn’t be used as a cheap labor pool for for-profit companies.

All those grade school lessons on Roman numerals really paid off…
Happy Independence Day, everyone. It’s a fine and clear holiday here in the Great North. I hope all of my readers, both foreign and domestic, are feeling free and unfettered. Boy, that’s a lot of F’s. Oh well. I wonder if I’ll be able to see fireworks from the deck of my building.
Been messing around with my Newzcrawler reader and discovering the joys of RSS. As someone so astutely observed, RSS is like TiVo for the Net. It makes keeping up with my blog reading much easier. And everyone should try out the new Google toolbar.
Some of you probably wonder why I sign my posts “wintermute2_0.” It’s a variation of a name from the classic geek novel Neuromancer. It thought it sounded cool and edgy, but it probably just highlights what a dork I am.

Everyone’s posted this, but it’s worth repeating. Go to Google and type WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION–no quotes–then click the I’m Feeling Lucky button. Hilarity will ensue.
Cute CLE Girl, the subject of my RCB post, e-mailed me back today with a friendly note. Take that, Extremely Negative Mark, you bastard!
Did you take one of those dorky career aptitude tests when you were in high school? They never seemed to give many options to the kids who liked to blow stuff up in the field just outside town. So for all you reformed pyromaniacs, here’s one career idea…

Did John Wayne’s ghost suddenly assume control of our President? Is it really a good idea to taunt potential terrorists, especially given the current situation in Iraq? Has he thought about how his moment of dick-swinging bragodiccio might get some pool American soldier killed? This just reinforces my belief that the scripted and unscripted Bush are two very different people.
A couple weeks ago, I went to get my picture taken for a new ID card. I still have my Wisconsin ID and it expired about five years ago. So i go to the Government Center and discover that my chair can barely fit into the photo booth. Once I finally get myself situated, we discover that the automated camera can’t aim its lens far enough down to see my face. After about thirty minutes of fiddling with the camera, we finally decide that the best solution is to have someone physically lift me out of my chair and hold me up high so that the camera can see me. Something tells me the picture is gonna suck. But that’s not nearly as interesting as the time six bouncers carried me up a flight of stairs into a topless bar for a friend’s bachelor party. I’ll save that story for later.
If anyone’s interested, I could still use some ideas for a banner or masthead for this site.
I may also be looking for additional nursing staff within the next month or two. If anyone knows of RNs or LPNs in the Twin Cities area who may be interested in picking up some home care shifts (for a pretty good hourly wage), drop me a line.

Last night, I picked up some comics by Warren Ellis. Today, Warren and I are both guest bloggers on the Reverse Cowgirl. More than a little surreal, if you ask me. I checked the hits to The 19th Floor just now and almost fell out of my chair. I’ve had more hits today than in the past few weeks. Pretty cool. So keep reading and I’ll keep trying to make this thing interesting. Thanks for having me, Susannah.
Got my tickets to see the New Pornographers this weekend. I’m going with a friend from work, so it should be a good time. The last time I went to a concert was last summer at the Fine Line to see the Doves. I nearly got trampled. Hopefully, First Avenue is more wheelchair friendly.
It’s great to see some progress in the Mideast peace process. My father’s side of the family is Jewish (technically, I’m not Jewish because my mom isn’t) and while I feel no special connection with Israel, I do hope that both peoples can achieve some measure of normalcy and security for themselves and their children. In the long run, I do think most conflicts end because people simply tire of fighting. It’s just a question of how long it takes to reach that point.