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Archive Page: Summer 2003

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Unmentioned Highlights From Previous Quarter

Not much to tell this time around, except that the mustache I've been keeping has been progressively trimmed down to its current thin strip within the indentation (philtrum) area.

June 2, 2003 (Monday)
19:25, Hawaii Standard Time.

Kept my ultrasound appointment this afternoon (Ninety-F*cking-Dollars!), then did a loop of Mauna Leahi (Diamond Head crater) via Waikiki. (The City is now charging for admission to Diamond Head -- which, I suppose, Mayor Harris had to institute in order to offset some of the expenses of his endless ''Weed & Seed'' and other ''beautification'' projects ... not that I'm complaining about the committment to aesthetics that our Mayor has shown, because I, and a rare few, actually appreciate the work that has been done, despite the costs involved.)

Cooked some of the boneless leg of lamb I bought early this morning past midnight. Being paranoid of red meat as I am, I'm sure I overcooked the hell out of it even  before  adding it to my stewing egg noodles.

June 3, 2003 (Tuesday)
20:50, Hawaii Standard Time.

For the second straight attempt, the DVDs I put up on eBay have not sold collectively, so my next step is to try listing them separately instead of as a group.

Also installed that  ''VideoLan''  freeware media player I downloaded sometime last week onto the ''Jade Succubus'' with no conflict issues, but the program itself is total crap. I'll keep an eye out for updates of the software to see if they improve upon it any. (I downloaded it in the first place because I wanted a way to play  ''region-free''  DVDs.)

June 9, 2003 (Monday)
22:30, Hawaii Standard Time.

My ''Level II''  Rosetta Stone  Japanese language study system came in the mail already, after only a few short days of having ordered it (what's holding up the other stuff is beyond me). I ponied up the extra cyber-greenbacks even though I've hardly made any use at all of the ''Level I'' instruction program.

Made  dejiikame  images of the fell-out-of-favor DVDs I've been trying unsuccessfully to get rid of. I've decided this time to try to sell them individually instead of as a bundle as I have been previously. I'll also be including the extra copy of Urusei Yatsura TV Series, volume #20, which AnimEigo accidentally sent last week after having already exchanged the extra #19 in my most recently received box set with a needed copy of #20. Because of this second mix-up, the person responsible for correcting bungled orders told me not to worry about sending it back.

June 12, 2003 (Thursday)
17:20, Hawaii Standard Time.

Just got back from the  advance-date examination  Dr. Aspera in Urology at Kaiser, Moanalua asked me to call in if I had ever experienced a urinary bleeding episode that she could look at while ''in progress.'' I got to see my ''insides'' (urethra/bladder) on the monitor during the cystoscopy (''We're made of meat!'') Based on this examination and earlier ultrasounds, it was determined that the problem lies not in the kidneys, bladder or prostate, but somewhere in the urethra -- that I have some sort of weird shaped junction which appears to be traumatized. She believes it is a problem that can clear itself up over time.

June 15, 2003 (Sunday)
18:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

Heard my next-door makai neighbor, Ping, returning home and I used the opportunity to ask her if she wouldn't mind helping me again with some of the Mandarin dialogue on a couple more of my Hong Kong DVDs (a couple of blank subtitle spots in  ''The Legend of Zu''  and a few untranslated in-film texts in  ''Internet Ghost Stories''), but she could not spare the time, as she had to leave again. But it was during this brief time that she revealed to me that she had undergone breast cancer surgury and has undergone three chemotherapy treatments (which have taken all of her hair) and still needs a fourth treatment.

June 20, 2003 (Friday)
14:45, Hawaii Standard Time.

Despite having been  ''released''  June 1st and 3rd, it took all this time for my ''Die Another Day'' and ''Animatrix'' DVDs to arrive. (This after having just yesterday been told by an independent seller via the Amazon.com ''Marketplace'' that the copy of ''Psycho II'' I had ordered along with the 1998 ''Psycho'' remake and ''Zardoz''-- neither  of which I would have ordered had it not been for the assurance that I could also get a copy of ''Psycho II'' with this order --was not available after all! Okay... whatever. Maybe I'll be surprised by the release of a ''widescreen'' version by the time the ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' DVD is finally available -- sometime around October, according to the latest rumor.)

June 24, 2003 (Tuesday)
18:50, Hawaii Standard Time.

Picked up the three paychecks I still had sitting at the office this afternoon and got those deposited. I then decided to make a date with the ocean for about a half-hour or so at Ala Moana Beach Park, riding there on the motorcycle  without a helmet  (something I almost never do), before returning to the apartment and attempt to drive myself crazy again by reloading ALL initial and updating software onto the ''G3'' (which, since last week, I was instructed to no longer bring to work with me), all in anticipation and preparation of doing the same thing on the ''G4,'' which has been giving me attitude lately.

July 1, 2003 (Tuesday)
23:50, Hawaii Standard Time.

I received a postal-sent letter from my mother (the first in ages, since we've kept contact via email over the past year). The news is not all good. It turns out that the woman whom my GrandFather raised as a daughter (through his marriage to her grandmother) has been, along with her husband, defrauding and stealing from the old man, running him into debt and even getting him to sign over his acreage to them, obviously taking advantage of his progressing state of dementia.

Now, I fucking HATE the ''Confederacy,'' and could never envision myself living there again-- especially in that claustrophobic pisshole where my mother had chosen to establish herself after escaping with me in tow from that sadistic maniacal con artist she had us living with in New Jersey --and I'd like to leave it and all of the bad memories associated with it as far behind me as possible, but these latest developments has me taking the idea of moving back there into consideration, since she has since taken up residence with the Grand-Man a county away and has quit her job, just so she can be there to protect him from further abuses at that ungrateful bitch's filthy hands, as well as protect him from himself in his mentally deteriorating state.

My mother says she's been ''involved'' with a widower for about the past two years (I'm just now being told) and that he's been looking after her house in her absence, as well as providing some financial help for her in this time. I'm not too comfortable with arrangement, but it's her ''man'' and her life, and I (at least for the time being) cannot argue against it. Besides, what else am I going to do? Suggest that my  sister  move in and look after everything? Hell, I don't trust  that  woman any more than I would a starving white shark alone with me in the middle of the empty ocean and I had deliberately slashed both of my wrists.

I'd shit myself at the prospect of having to leave my home here in Hawaii, and I'd go totally insane in that deteriorating toilet bowl city of my mother's within a month of being there, but until I learn more about what's involved and how serious the situation is, I may have to consider it as an option. So far, though, she claims that she and her brothers are managing to get the situation under control.

July 4, 2003 (Friday)
14:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

Sent off a very anger-filled letter to my mother this morning, regarding the abuses of my grandfather at the hands of that step-grandbitch, completely forgetting that there is no mail service today. That letter marks something of a significant historical event, as it marks the first time I've  ever  used terms of ''profanity'' in my mother's presence -- although, since it was in the form of a handwritten letter, it was not done  technically  'in her presence,' still, the principle is the same. That just goes to show just HOW infuriated this news about the victimization of my grandfather has made me.

I'm probably going be kept very busy at work tonight, trying to see to it that nobody violates the ''no fireworks'' rule. I think I'm also supposed to be getting  'time and a half'  tonight as holiday work compensation, I don't know. But in ''Baby Doc'' Bush's economy, it doesn't amount to much, anyway.

July 7, 2003 (Monday)
14:45, Hawaii Standard Time.

Why is it that whenever I do anything to format these computers that I suspect will take a relatively reasonably amount of time-- whether it be a few minutes or a few hours --always ends up taking an entire lifetime? I had successfully scrubbed and reinstalled OS software onto the ''G4'' in a very smooth and timely fashion, but when it came time to reload and download supporting & third-party software, then resetting all of my preferences manually, what began a little after Noon yesterday continued unabated into the seven O'clock hour this morning!

The greatest difficulties came as a result of reinstalling all of my Internet browsers: I initially had problems reloading  Internet Explorer 4.5  from an old OS 9 disc, then it would not operate, which required me to do a complete removal of both versions (4.5 and 5.0) before I could reload it successfully; Then the download of  Netscape 7  had to get in on the act, deleting my preferences during start-up, which required the same diagnostic fix as with Explorer.

I ended up losing a few things by not being too careful in the file back-up process, but fortunately I had duplicate copies of my MP3 URL streams and downloads scattered about in other strategic locations, so I, by sheer accident, managed to avoid what would have been a measurable catastrophe. My biggest frustration now, as a result of my absent-mindedness, is that I will have to rebuild my Internet ''cookie jar'' and re-register at a number of frequently visited websites.

I got up a little over an hour and a half ago and worked on resetting my remaining formats and preferences. I still need to arrange my desktop icons and reconfigure my desktop themes --  THEN  I get to do it all over again in ''Mac OS X.''

(So far, everything  seems  to be transferring over and performing well, but whether any or all of the operational problems I've been having which led me to this drastic end still remains to be seen.)

July 13, 2003 (Sunday)
21:15, Hawaii Standard Time.

Finally ''completed'' all of my software reloading, system set-up, file back-up and repairs/protections, and everything seems to have carried over very well, with one main exception -- my  ''DiskWarrior''  repair utility informed me that my directories are again around 30% corrupted/non-optimized (no doubt as a primary result of my numerous attempts to trash that crap-ass ''Version 2.7'' of Apple's DVD Player-- which, for some inexplicable reason, operates without a hitch on the ''G3'' unit --and replace it with any one of the earlier versions, which the ''G4'' flat panel refuses to allow me to do), but for some reason I cannot figure out how I managed to bypass it the first time I managed to repair my files. So for all of my time and tiring effort, I'm stuck with having to purchase a new ''disk repair'' utility (...that'll be at least  another  forty bucks -- why Apple cannot include a repair disc for their own systems as part of their software bundles is beyond my comprehension).

I also watched an internet streaming presentation featuring Steve Jobs touting the new OS X (''Panther'') and other stuffs during this time. I have to admit that some of the latest features which will be part of the new OS look a bit more promising than what they have now with ''Jaguar.'' As it stands currently, I totally loathe OS X and avoid setting foot in it as much as possible (the aforementioned DVD Player and iTunes' tendency to 'crash & burn' my desktop configuration when in ''full screen'' visual effects mode remain pretty much the only reason I ever even venture into X territory).

August 6, 2003 (Wednesday)
01:50, Hawaii Standard Time.

Just downloaded the latest Mac version of  VideoLAN  multimedia player, after dispensing with the paranoia a couple of hours ago and installing it, and determining that it appears to work well enough for me to check on an available update. Spurred on by last evening's discovery of the outrageous cost of Alsoft's  DiskWarrior  repair utility at CompUSA, I've been searching sites for other (more ''reasonably priced'') utilities and other downloadable add-ons I was advised to check out.

I'm also having a helluva time doing battle with this damned cockroach invasion! The utterly filthy neighbor next door was finally evicted a couple of days ago (half a decade too late, if you ask me), and with his absence his legion of cockroaches have been making a pilgrimage over to my area... probably meaning that they'd likely bug-bombed the place after he was out.

August 9, 2003 (Saturday)
22:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

Installed the  VideoLAN  update and ran one of my ''regionless'' import DVDs through its entire feature while a cleaning crew worked on the apartment next door. When both were done I hunted down and sprayed any surviving cockroach I found outside in the hallway.

August 12, 2003 (Tuesday)
23:30, Hawaii Standard Time.

Picked up my latest shipment of the ''Urusei Yatsura box set series. Before returning indoors I'd hoped to get caught in some of the rain that appeared to be starting, but apart from a few tiny drops neither built up to anything and nor lasted any significant amout of time -- but the disappointment did coincide with a special sight, as I beheld a  fugu  (pufferfish) about the size of a football swimming along the side of the canal.

August 16, 2003 (Saturday)
14:00, Hawaii Standard Time.

Kept my eye appointment that was set up for me yesterday afternoon on an ''urgency'' basis. I was concerned about my left eye ...  again  -- this time mainly as a result of the blurring & hazy vision I've been experiencing relatively recently. It turns out that my retinas still appear to be holding firm, but I have been told that what I'm experiencing now are some of the preliminary signs of an impending  cataract ... no doubt with the major surgical procedures I had already undergone being a contributing factor to its premature development. So it would seem that with my venture into the realm of  ''Hawaii Four-O''  come a number of those ''statistical'' age-related health difficulties many of us have to suffer through.

Went to the movie theatre right afterwards-- dilated pupils and all --to see the new  ''Nightmare on Friday the 13th''  movie, which was actually much better than I was expecting it to be, though still silly, simple-minded and escapist fun, which was the whole idea. (The toss-up was between that and ''Uptown Girls,'' which I'll try to see on Monday.)

August 25, 2003 (Monday)
18:50, Hawaii Standard Time.

Waiting around indefinitely for the official ''Region-1'' releases of  ''The Quiet Earth,'' ''Phantasm II''  and the  [Peter Benchley's] ''Creature''  made-for-telebi movie, I pushed patience out of the window and in effect told the U.S. DVD manufacturers & distributors to go finger themselves by placing an order for these titles from a company in the U.K.

''The Quiet Earth,''  fortunately, is listed as a ''regionless'' DVD, so I should have no problems playing it on my regular players. The remaining two, however, are ''European'' (i.e., ''Region-2''/PAL-format) discs, which will probably not be compatible with the iMac installed players, so I'm hoping that the  ''VideoLAN''  multimedia player will be able to handle them. Also, as a back-up-- since I will not be ridding myself of the ''Jade Succubus'' anytime soon --if all else fails, I'll simply have to resort to switching the region code on the ''G3'' unit.

And since it's not being re-released anytime soon, I guess I'll just have to settle for trying to track down  ''Psycho II''  on eBay.

What really sucks the most is that every single one of these titles, as they are currently available, are in ''standard'' (non-widescreen) screen ratio.


ARCHIVES

* ''5-Year Archive'': Autumn 2001 - Winter 2006 *
* ''5-Year Archive'': Winter 2006 - Winter 2011 *
* ''5-Year Archive'': Winter 2011 - Winter 2016 *
* ''5-Year Archive'': Winter 2016 - Winter 2021 *


Autumn 2001 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2001 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2002 (Mar-May) / Summer 2002 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2002 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2002 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2003 (Mar-May) / Summer 2003 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2003 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2003 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2004 (Mar-May) / Summer 2004 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2004 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2004 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2005 (Mar-May) / Summer 2005 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2005 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2005 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2006 (Mar-May) / Summer 2006 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2006 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2006 (Dec-Feb)

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