I edited the first 19 pages of “Graveyard Shift” and also wrote the first of several new sections, which adds an important subplot to the story. All told, I added about 500 words of new material to the story, but I also trimmed a little from the first 19 pages. I think the second draft is coming along very well, and I like how the story is beginning to smooth out and fall into place.
Month: April 2006
One mile run
I beta tested my cardio play list a little while ago when I went for a one mile walk, followed by a one mile run. It was the first cardio exercise I’ve done since last summer. I managed the entire mile without having to stop, although I jogged at a very slow pace. The music was good and helped some. I think it took me 10 or 11 minutes to do the mile, so it technically isn’t true cardio (at least 20 minutes). But I couldn’t keep going at the end. I’ll have to build up to 2 or 3 miles to get the full benefit. In the meantime, I’m going to try and keep it up 3 times a week and see if it helps.
The world of high finance
I have stock in an energy company. Energy companies (gas, electric, etc.) are supposed to be very stable companies in which to invest and this company has been very stable, with steadily increasing stock prices, right up until the time I obtained my stock. Since that time, the stock price has fallen (plummeted would be a better term) by nearly $8/share, or nearly 17% of its value.
Today I received the annual report for this company. Seeing as how I own a small part of this company, I feel obligated to try and read these reports when I get them. It is my understanding that most people do not try this, and I can see why. These things are impossible to understand.
Granted, I never did well in economics (I received a D in macro econ in college, even while I read the text book and attended every lecture. It was a mental barrier I have never been able to overcome.) You would think these things would be written in a language, as Living Colour would say, that everyone here can easily understand.
The main part of the annual report is some 50 pages long, with lots of tables. What is incredible about this is that the “footnotes” to the annual report are some 26 pages long, making the whole thing close to 80 pages of very small print. Reading it is bad enough, but I feel sorry for the person who has to write these things.
The annual report that I received today was the first one I’ve ever received that had a reader card in it, the way magazines do. The card asked several questions about how I enjoyed reading the annual report and how much time I spent reading it. Did I read it at work or at home? Well, to be honest, the time that I spent reading it so far was in the bathroom (multitasking). Interestingly enough, there are no questions about the clarity of the report.
I say all of this as preface to the fact that I believe I just wasn’t made for the world of high finance. Gross incomes, net incomes, operating expenses, pre-tax operating income, nuclear fuel tax credits; it means nothing to me. The entire document could be written in South Martian for all the sense I can make out of it. As someone who feels he is a reasonably intelligent person, my inability to understand a document such as this tears at my ego. But it is nonetheless true; try as I might, I simply can make no sense of the annual report.
They also sent some paper work asking me to vote on something which I also don’t understand. I don’t mind doing that for two reasons:
1. It’s the American Way to vote for something for which you have no understanding.
2. I always vote against what I think the majority wants. It’s my feeble act of spiteful rebellion against their stupid annual report.
UPDATE: Since posting this, my stock closed nearly 2% higher today, it’s single highest one-day gain since I’ve held it. I need to bitch and complain more often.
Busted Tees
I came across this site earlier today while reading Boing Boing. The t-shirts are pretty hilarious.
1,000th book!
I got my 1,000th book today. I picked up James Morrow’s The Last Witchfinder at Borders. Given my current pending reading list, I probably won’t get to this book until sometime over the summer, but I’ve been a big fan of James Morrow’s previous books and I felt this was a worth book for number one thousand.
I also picked up my 1,001st book, Expanded Universe by Robert Heinlein–primarily for the short story, “Solution Unsatisfactory”.
50 greatest independent films
I caught a link to this site (http://www.empireonline.com/features/50greatestindependent/50-41.asp) on digg.com this morning. I went through the list of films and here are the one’s that I have actually seen. I’ve rated them in order of my most favorite to least favorite. The number after is the ranking on the top 50 list itself.
1. Lost In Translation (26)
2. Grosse Point Blank (38)
3. Memento (13)
4. Clerks (4)
5. Sideways (9)
6. Being John Malkovich (37)
7. Run Lola Run (49)
8. The Usual Suspects (8)
9. Swingers (42)
10. Donny Darko (2)
11. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (5)
12. Max Max (45)
13. Terminator (3)
14. Lone Star (19)
15. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (7)
16. Reservoir Dogs (1)
I know that some folks might disagree with me placing Reservoir Dogs last, but I thought it was a dismal, awful, movie. It wasn’t the violence either, it was the rhythm of the dialog. The entire movie seemed to me to be Terantino attempting to show off and I think it utterly failed.
On the otherhand, while almost nothing happens in Lost In Translation, I think it was brilliantly written and filmed, and incredibly well acted.
I was surprised to see that Time Code had not made the list, and also surprised that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had not made it either. Maybe it wasn’t an independent film. Finally, I was also surprised to see Garden State missing from the list. If it were there, it would be my #2.
Cardio Playlist (beta)
I’ve put together a cariod workout playlist, which I plan to beta test as part of my new cardio routine beginning tomorrow. The list is below. I’m open to suggestions of songs that you’ve found work well in your own workouts. (Note: I list them in their default order, but I always play the list on random to mix it up a bit.)
1. Jump. Van Halen
2. Bad Day. R.E.M.
3. Goodbye–Goodbye. Oingo Boingo
4. Mrs. Potters Lullaby. Counting Crows
5. Kickstart My Heart. Motley Crue
6. A Little Respect. Erasure
7. Demolition Man. Def Leppard
8. On Through the Night. Def Leppard
9. Run Riot. Def Leppard
10. Come On Eileen. Save Ferris
11. Whiplash. Metallica
12. Call Me. Blondie
13. Walk Like An Egyptian. The Bangles
14. Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky). Bill Conti
15. Surfin’ U.S.A.. The Beach Boys
16. I’m On My Way. The Shimshaws
17. American Girl. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
18. Mess Around. Ray Charles
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving (it’s a compound adjective, not a noun!) time is already having it’s effect on me. I was up at 8 AM this morning and I have spent much of the morning reading. Much of that reading has been done on the couch, while I wait for it to warm up outside and I can go sit outside and read. Well, I dozed off for about an hour just now–and it’s barely noon!
But I’ve come out of my coma and it’s beautiful out now so I’m headed outside. Maybe, just maybe, that will keep me from nodding off again.
No animals were harmed during this blog
I was wondering something this evening. In some movies, toward the end of the credits, there is a notice that “No animals were harmed during the filming of this movie.” With all of the animals used in movies, however, there is bound to be some kind of accident. I mean, a horse might sprain an ankle, a dog might break a leg. Not intentionally, of course, purely by accident.
But if an animal is harmed, what then? Do the credits read: “One animal harmed during the filming of this movie”? Has anyone out there ever seen credits that indicated that animals were, in fact, harmed?
You’ve got to wonder.
New story
I started a new story this afternoon, a mainstream story with a working title of “Muscle Memory” (a title that will definitely change in the final draft) and wrote about 1,300 words. I was eager to get this story written since it’s short and since I didn’t write a new story in March.
In the meantime, I am still proofreading “Graveyard Shift” and I plan on adding some of the new sections this weekend.
Taxes have been paid
I went to the post office and mailed in my check for $2,900 to the Federal government, covering what I owed for tax year 2005. I dated the check today, April 1, 2006. Who knows? Perhaps the IRS will think it’s an April Fool’s Day joke and refund my money.
RSS - Posts