http://www.brykmantra.com Always a work in progress ... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:56:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It is my solemn duty to announce the death of our long time friend, our iced-tea maker. It was a Salton 2-quart model, cost around $20 back then, and it has served us well since at least 1996. Now, however, the brew button won’t push in, so we have ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=755 It’s the first week of summer, and the brutal Texas heat is upon us. It is time, therefore, to blow the dust of the old Blazing Sun mini-icon and give it its inaugural showing for the year. And now, some miscellaneous stuff, and let’s try to make this fast: Thanks to ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=752 I need to post more, I know, but basically I’ve just been DJing some more in Second LIfe … I do have things to say about it, of course (like: I finally got wife my to try Second Life, and she’s hooked — mostly on the shopping part; I’ve ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=753 Well, I’m happy to report that my debut in my regular slot as a DJ in Second Life went very well in spite of technical glitches (stupid Winamp ate one-and-a-half of my playlists just hours before the show) and accidents of nature (our power went off 15 minutes before ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=749 I’ve mentioned that I’ve been dabbling in Second Life in recent months, and have even been in job discussions with a potential employer smart enough to see Second Life (and the other social networking sites I belong to) as an asset. What I haven’t mentioned is something that I’ve been angling ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=751 I had a little adventure on Wednesday … a weird adventure, but it was interesting. In addition to my job hunting efforts on the regular sites, my wife combs CraigsList for job listings. One day last week she found something that wasn’t a job exactly (though it did offer ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=750 First off, thanks to everybody for the birthday greetings! Kim, Pam and Renny were the first to check in, even though I had given them a pass on having to remember anything this week. Then Todn8r commented, then The Spook, 2 days fashionably late, then Gigglechick. The gang’s all ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=748 It’s my birthday! More later, but for now, I gotta crash … http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=746 My wife says I need to post, but there’s not really any one thing worth posting. So here’s bunches: 1. Since the job I interviewed for is so contingent on my web networking skills, I’ve been spending even more time on those types of sites, including Second Life. ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=745 There once was a time — it seems a million years ago — I was having to drive in downtown Dallas all the time, finding this office or that, navigating the maze of busy, narrow one-way streets and somehow getting where I needed to be. Visiting friends and relatives ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=744 I’m so thrilled to be able to blog again that I’m at it again after just five hours. First of all I’d like to thank my friends Kim and Pam for already noticing I’m back without me even telling them, and to Renny, who didn’t know I was having problems, but ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=742 Well, after a whole #$%@%&$# month of not being able to blog for no apparent #*&$*&$%# reason … now, all of a sudden, I CAN!!!! And again, for no apparent reason. %$@#. SO anyway, I’m back, and have a few things to post, and hopefully I will, assuming I don’t get %$@#ed around ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=741 Okay, a few things: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPOOK! Okay, actually, it’s tomorrow (Friday the 11th), but I have to do it now so that he can actually SEE it on time. In case you’re just tuning in, The Spook is my old college buddy, who sometimes checks in here and comments, ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=740 Okay, so it’s not March any more, but, rebel that I am, I’m trotting out the shamrock icon one more time for this miscellaneous stuff: I wanted to post this while the posting’s still good: As of last Sunday, I’m below 190 pounds (189.8, to be exact) for the first ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=739 (Click the picture to view the large size for full effect.) Well, I finally did it: I finally broke down and checked into Second Life. I heard about it a couple of years ago, but never really got motivated to check it out, and lately I’ve been hearing that ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=738 I still don’t feel like posting anything today — I’ve had the out-of-work blahs this week — and I’m not posting a direct link yet to my own RPM Challenge album, so here’s a link to the new 2008 Challenge Jukebox. But if you really want to hear my songs, you ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=737 I was actually going to post more than this tonight, but after lunch today I hooked up a piece of USB hardware, and suddenly I no longer had a display. Most illogical. So, long story short: Eight hours and a 30 pound monitor hauled in from the garage later, I finally ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=734 Okay, I give up, here’s my last post of the day: A mention of the fact that I’ve uploaded even more of my photos from the Irish Festival, and you can view all of them here. That oughta hold ya until next year … http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=733 It turns out that the U.S. that goes all out for this Irish holiday: Our blogging friend Renny in Norway reports on the Oslo St. Patrick’s Day Parade. After all, Norway’s Vikings founded Dublin, so they’re understandably proud, and want a little credit for themselves. Bonus points: It’s an excuse ... http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=732 Now for some traditional Irish and Celtic music, in video form: Keep coming back, there’s more! http://www.brykmantra.com/?p=731