The internet: Tried the wireless thing but with no joy. Actually tried it a few feet from a wireless router without luck, so I think it was the card I got (NetGear--same as the router I was very happy with). Anyway, just got dial-up and boy does it suck! I'm really disappointed with both my ISP and the size of the Cold Fusion MX trial download (77M). I barely noticed when I had DSL. Now I'm unable to download it because the connection invariably bombs out at somepoint along the 5+ hour download time...danielsjourney.com, however, loads great at any speed! ...might have to go ahead with DSL...just don't know how much longer we're going to be in country...and I may only get dial up abroad, so I may need to get used to it... On better news: the Tour de France started today and we get OLN on our TV! So I will be watching the daily coverage every day! This is the first time in history that the Tour is being broadcast daily in the U.S. (In Europe it has always been shown live daily.) One funny thing already--there was one moment where they left the audio on from the starting gate camera man, and he was going off on someone. Too bad I couldn't understand the French! But it was funny enough to hear his tirade broadcast around the entire world. On the EFM (that's Eligible Family Member) front: Did some country research today and there are quite a few places I would be quite happy with...mostly Eastern Europe, of course. One more teaser of the future daily serial, just because I wrote it and want to share it already (you'll have to humor me when I repeat it later on): Airec is the dark horse. Not literally, of course. That�s a figure of speech. He�s a POC. That�s Paranoid Obsessive Compulsive for those of you not in the know. When Airec was 6 (or was it 8?) his mother ditched him for good while they were shopping at a major upscale suburban mall near DC. He�s been wandering the malls 5 days a week looking for her ever since. There are also a few other things about Airec that are good to know ahead of time. He won�t step on street grates. They might give way and cause him to fall a good story and a half, possibly five to six, down into the subway. He won�t step foot into a Starbucks. Starbucks is in cahoots with the federal government and the CIA has cameras installed in every Starbucks worldwide. Even Beijing. Especially Beijing. This is why only the most blind can step into a Starbucks. The most resigned. They don�t mind being watched for the consumption duration of their iced grande skim raz latte. And there is one more thing: Airec doesn�t need the needle. Literally. He gains enough comfort hanging out with people on the stuff that he doesn�t actually ever feel the need to use himself. He just prefers junkies� company. He finds their personalities comforting. 78632858daniel millerSaturday, July 06, 2002publish<a href="http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/k/ksirotinskiy/">K. Sirotinskiy</a>, a friend and fellow photographer 78621632daniel millerpublishThis is mostly for the south Floridians: Yesterday (or was it the day before? I forget.) we went to Hollywood Video (the closest to our place) to get a couple videos. After we�d picked up our selections from the new releases, I said, �Let�s check out the foreign section.� It was at least 5 or 6 times the size of any foreign section I�d ever seen in FL. Amazing. Of course this all comes at a cost. No 99 cent video days here. No sir. Ree. Additional minutia: Last night we watched the DC fireworks, the ones over the capital, from our balcony. Pretty cul. During the day yesterday we consumed like crazy. Miriam needed shoes desperately, so we just got her a few pairs to try out and I�ll return the ones she doesn�t want later. I told her not to worry or mess about with this, that she needs good shoes now. So that�s what we did. We also did the Wal-Mart thing for some TP, etc. Reminded me I hope I get to my Next-Wave article before they �go to print� this month. I had some additions and errata. Well, there�s always the message board. Also, when I said Miriam won't get back to you on email, you can still drop her a line by phone or email to encourage her. If you call I may pick up but you can always call right back and leave her a voicemail...or just call on the weekends (BTW thanks all who have already called or emailed!)... Also getting used to hi-rise life. Looking down from the balcony is pretty weird. Taking an elevator many times every day is definately new. Definately different from the 1 story south Florida life... SO MUCH to do today. It�s crazy. Chat at you again soon. I sortof know where I'm going with this now...these two have just been teasers...proper dialy serials coming very soon...: Rodger isn�t a liar. He just needs to keep up pretenses. Rodger doesn�t really work for the government. The government, to the best of his limited knowledge about such things, doesn�t hire gay sexual predators with heroin issues. Rodger is a rent-a-cop at a major upscale suburban mall near DC. He does live in Arlington and Angie does come over a few days a week. Sex? You�re kidding, right? Heroin is way better than sex. 78584070daniel millerFriday, July 05, 2002publishThings have been too busy to post or even work on getting a web connection or get another copy of Cold Fusion for the work I am trying desperately to do (despite two unreturned phone calls from <a href="http://macromedia.com">Macromedia</a>, rapidly becoming my least favorite technology company). But <a href="miriam/">Miriam</a> posted our 25 bid countries, but not in order. That's for you to try and figure out before the end of next week... This time is taking more faith than ever before. This is more limbo than I've ever experienced, and I've been in limbo before, trust me. We could be going overseas in Sept, or next June. Too bad all our winter clothes are in permanent storage.... 78553304daniel millerThursday, July 04, 2002publishIn the coolest thing ever dept.: <a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=891161840">This</a>, by my fav web celeb, <a href="http://johnheronproject.com">JHP</a>. 78553182daniel millerpublish...You might want to check out <a href="/miriam">M</a> for some importanto info... let's just say Bosnia, Poland, Latvia...Israel, Turkey are making the top of my list... ...Let me know who's starting the pool...and let me know the buy-in! :) ...actually I might build a little message board where you can place your "bet"...we'll c... 78485617daniel millerTuesday, July 02, 2002publishThe minutia: Had my first "class" today; lots more information to digest and still lots more to come. We get the "bid list" today, so we�ll know what countries are even possibilities. I�m going to be pretty busy between all the information I need to absorb, tasks and classes I need to tend to, doing the everyday things like the shopping and the washing... Yes, I am making this stuff up (and I have no idea where I�m going with it): Angie is not an addict. She can quit anytime. Angie lives sometimes in a deserted house in Arlington. Sometimes at her friend Rodger�s house. Rodger isn�t an addict either. He works for the government and has a nice flat in Arlington. When Angie spends the night at the house, she wakes up to the birds chirping, a huge building made out of the glass her window lacks. She climbs out of said window and scavenges a little behind the various food establishments on Wilson. When Angie spends the night at the flat, she steps out onto the balcony, smokes them if she�s got them, and wonders about all the people with normal lives across the street in the next high-rise building of flats. Angie is not an addict. She�s not that stinky all the time. 78472553daniel millerpublishRob: Well, no-one has found Tim yet. Hrumph! So you should have lo<a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/advert2/" style="text-decoration:none;">o</a>ked at <a href="http://www.danielsjourney.com/advert1/">these ads</a> more carefully. 78443199daniel millerMonday, July 01, 2002publishHey just real quick--M's first day was great; but don't expect to ever hear <s>anything</s> (<a href="/miriam">update</a>...ok, well no details whatsoever...) about her job...no offense or anything but this is the internet we're talking about... I was going to apologize for so much details about my everyday minutia (sp?), but then I realized that for now there's not much else for your ears! :) :P :) Also, just FYI, M's going to be way too busy for too much personal stuff...for the next 7 weeks especially. I on the other hand crave your attention and communi-kays. So send any emails to me; and I will also continue to let you know about life in Washington on my blog. 78442606daniel millerpublish<blockquote>"To be a good writer, you not only have to write a great deal but you have to care. You do not have to have a complicated moral philosophy. But a writer always tries, I think, to be a part of the solution, to understand a little about life and to pass this on. Even someone as grim and unsentimental as Samuel Beckett, with his lunatics in garbage cans or up to their necks in sand, whose lives consist of pawing through the contents of their purses, stopping to marvel at each item, gives us great insight into what is true, into what helps. He gets it right--that we're born astride the grave and that this planet can feel as cold and uninhabitable as the moon--and he knows how to make it funny. He smiles an oblique and private smile at us, the most delicious smile of all, and this changes how we look at life. A few small things seem suddenly clear, things to which we can cling, and this makes us feel like part of the solution. (But perhaps we have the same problem with the word solution as we do with the word moral. It sounds so fixative, and maybe we have gone beyond fixing. Maybe all we can do is to make our remaining time here full of gentleness and good humor.)" Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird</blockquote>...<a href="http://www.overtherhine.com">OverTheRhine</a>.com is full of great new content... 78430481daniel millerpublishWell it's 3:14 now and I've managed to keep myself fairly occupied. I watched a little too much tely (sp?); the end of the movie Net with Sandra Bullocks (sic). But then I managed to clean our place fairly thoroughly--moving the bed and the couch to sweep under them; dusting the tops of the doorways and doors, which were particularly gross. So it feels a little bit better now; I have high cleanliness standards thanks to M*. Only thing is I think M tried to call me when I was vacuuming and I didn't hear the phone in time... Went for espresso, then lunch at the ol' Euro Cafe. They wouldn't let me plug in my computer, which was weird (don't you think?), so I went to this other place, Cozi, for another espresso and to install XP Pro on my machine. It worked out great (the place is a copy of Starbucks but with food, but for now anywhere besides the Big Green Straw is better IMHO). So I'm back at the ol' biz cntr now. Couple things I've lost or left behind. <s>Found out I can get DSL for 25/mo no setup fee which is great. Only my modem is in storage. Good thing is they provide one for free (and you just return it).</s> (Update: forgot I would then have to install a software firewall which I'm not a big fan of; will have to think about it.) Router is long gone; sold; but only one machine on the 'net is fine...Also missing are my Oakley's; hopefully they'll show up in the air shipment (which also found out today is sitting on the dock in FL--due to leave FL tomorrow but let's all pray a quick one); and I forgot to burn a new copy of my programs backup, so the copy of Cold Fusion (the reason I had to install XP Pro) I downloaded in FL is also in storage, on the hard drive of the tower. :P So I'll have to try and order a physical copy of the CF demo. Or get the laptop connected to some broadband somehow. Will know more tomorrow when I get to go in to the training and ask all kinds of questions (like do I get some special gov rate dialup or something? :) ...right now anxious for M to come home and let me know how day 1 went! *no footnote. the * is an emoticon-type-thingie denoting smarts, as in M* ..Miriam is super-smart! 78429156daniel millerpublishIt�s 7:17 and I just saw Miriam off to her first day at work as a FSO. She�s not even down the elevator yet and my system is already "a flurry of activity." It could very well be that I am more nervous than she; except I will be so until she gets home tonight and gives me the lowdown! So this could very well be a long blog day. 78428807daniel millerpublishRight now I'm watching the World Cup final, I have a copy of VeloNews in front of me, and this morning I had my espresso at place called EuroCafe. So yes, it's already begun; and life is pretty good sometimes. (BTW I'm writing these on my laptop then bringing them on floppy to the biz cntr machines for now.) Little update on the coffee thing: it's actually more like 5-6 places within short walking distance. The only way Starbucks will ever be patronized is if there is a wireless connection in their building; I'm going to check on the web for wireless zones around here. If I'm lucky, a coffee shop will reside within a zone. Last night we unpacked and settled into our place a little bit more. Much more livable now that we've moved in. Oh and <a href="/miriam">Miriam</a> mentioned it but I forgot to: we had Indian food last night. Oh yeah. I'm realizing what a life change this whole thing is. Major career move for Miriam. Major opportunity for me to chase my dreams, build my design business; whatever I want really; which is a dream in itself and an opportunity I don't take for granted and certainly don't want to waste. Anyway, we've got a lot to do and learn in the next few weeks; it will be interesting. 78388411daniel millerSunday, June 30, 2002publishI had posted this to Miriam's blog but she didn't want it there so here it is: <a href="http://www.ucf.edu/aboutUCF/strategic/planning/externalforce.html">Miriam on the web</a>. A Google for "Miriam Lacho" actually gives you Miriam as the top 5 out of 6 (one is her old blog which is no longer and another is a very old dealing with madness review which I have no idea where it came from!). 78388363daniel millerpublish