Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Dragoon3428's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
12:11 pm	Happy Thoughts When I get into the groove of work it's really quite enjoyable. I only seriously consider getting a more advanced degree when I consider portability of my job but, given the lack of (serious) prospects that I'd want to move for (i.e. love being the only prospect that I'd even consider... and then only if the lover in question had a better established life, where-ever) I don't see that as terribly productive as it'll make even more years of my life unproductive. I mean, more time to build a testament to my love. Not just for an individual, mind, but, rather, for everyone that I love (and ever have loved, although I still love everyone I've ever loved so I suppose those are one and the same). They are my underlying answer to the existential question, after all. Current Mood: loving Current Music: Sponge - Have You Seen Mary (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
12:42 am	AC Report to Follow (possibly flawed by time and memory) Some days I have this sense of unity in the universe that's just so strong I feel like I could drop to my knees and cry from the weight of it... tonight I got that feeling from having to put up with people driving close to my car while I changed a tire out for the little shitty spare tire that GM cars tend to have. Ugh. Replacing tires is annoying. Current Mood: tired (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
12:05 am	FRIDAY NIGHT BEER TASTING! I'll be bringing some beer tasting to AC with me. I figure I may as well, right? Anyway, I've decided to go with ciders Harpoon Cider and Hornsby's Crisp Apple Cider. I look forward to some modest drinking at AC. Current Mood: tired Current Music: R.E.M. - Sweetness Follows (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
7:38 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This Friday's theme is going to be IPAs. To this end I have obtained the following beers (22oz each so get here early to try 'em all!): Stone Ruination IPA Stone IPA Brewdog Hardcore IPA For those who are curious, I've found a new favorite lager... Taj Mahal. Also, screw you Beer Advocate for hating my favorite lager. Edit: The 13th Final Study (etude) from Arban's rocks my socks... and I can nearly play it end to end without having to stop and gasp for air now! I rule. Plus I'm getting a lot faster at these long slurred bits... then again that was always my greatest strength. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Crystal Castles - Magic Spells (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 15th, 2009
7:59 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This week's theme is "Summer Ale" and the beers I have requisitioned are Samuel Adams Summer Ale and Shipyard Summer Ale. Hope to see y'all there! Current Mood: busy (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 8th, 2009
7:36 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This week's theme is Summer Lagers. This week's selections are Schlafly Helles Style Summer Lager and Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager. Better recognized beer makers in the hope that they'll draw a wider audience since last week at least it was just my brother and I... I mean, even when I only get a couple of 22oz bottles it gets pretty heavy for just two of us. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Wire - On Returning (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
8:04 am	Racism as an unconscious phenomenon? I think this is interesting. I think the chain may be something like this... having an advantage -> happiness -> other people feel better around you (i.e. an advantage) -> having an advantage, etc. It seems to me that there is feedback up-regulation involved, hence the thought. Then again perhaps there is no happiness differential here... anyone have any information on this? Current Mood: thoughtful (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
7:36 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This Friday's beer selections are Stone Imperial Russian Stout and Left Hand Brewing Company's Oak Aged Imperial Stout. I'm in an Imperial Stout mood this week. I may go with Ommegang beers next week since I know where I can find three bottles (750ml) and a glass for $23. Then again I've already had one of the beers included (Three Philosophers) so I'm not sure if it'd be appropriate... hum. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
9:19 am	I Think You've Answered My Own Question... ( This well known koan should do nicely. ) Now I think I just need to work on emptying my cup. Thanks to those of you with suggestions. It appears obvious to me at this point that I'm doing the equivalent of yelling "Come on in!" to guests when I forgot to unlock my front door. D'oh. Probably just being too busy trying to grow strong with discipline to admire kindness in the world around me. }:=8P Current Mood: calm (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
8:17 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This Friday's brews are going to be a couple from Unibroue (working on having everything they make!), namely Seigneuriale and Quarte-Centieme. Current Mood: busy Current Music: Nope, goin' back upstairs shortly. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
11:14 pm	[Locals] Beer Club! Ok y'all! This week's selections are... Hobgobllin Ale and Newcastle. The theme is dark English Ales. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Nope (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
11:29 am	I would posit this... ...right makes mighty. I feel even more strongly about this now that I've read Dr. Warwick Fox's book "A Theory of General Ethics." His "Responsive Cohesion" jives with my own ideas albeit with a different point which I tend to find less useful given that I'm an egoist (and I believe that humans are natural egoists to some extent) and his argument involves thinking about what's good for everyone whereas mine has a somewhat different mindset but we both converge in terms of what we prescribe as ethical actions/ways of doing things or at least I think so. I'm only referring to personal power/empowerment and only in context. Just so we're clear as I would anticipate most people would make this overly self-centered when (recent) history has shown the power of social beings (e.g. humans, ants and termites). What do you think? Does doing the right thing lead to power or is the right path the path away from power? More importantly, what is power/might? Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: Nine Inch Nails - Discipline (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
10:31 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This Friday's beer tasting beers will be Beamish Irish Stout and Old Rasputin Imperial Stout. Come ye quickly for I only have a four pack of each! Also, my brother and I walked ~2.87 miles each way to get this beer so you better like it. Grrrr! Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Nope, goin' back upstairs shortly. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
8:07 am	Anthrocon Who is going? Who would like me to meet them? How should our meeting be organized (e-mail or cell phone are preferred)? Current Mood: busy Current Music: Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
11:21 am	Thankfulness for my Critics I'm thankful for the people in my life that give me a hard time (hur-hur... no, not like that) because they help me to become a better person, a better diplomat, or, at the very least, they give me a good example of what not to be like. I've had arguments recently with a number of officials and it's nice being able to admit that I'm wrong when I am... and not feel like I should when I really feel that I shouldn't. To this end I'd like to point out a number of traits that I feel I've gained from being given a hard time/drama: - Being more straightforward, especially with my criticism. I'm no longer afraid to tell people that they're wrong when I feel that they're wrong. I can, as always, still couch my suppositions in statements like, "it seems to me" even though these things are normally assumed... regardless, I've become more straightforward and more critical (but only in a good way). - Being unafraid of being wrong. Thanks to my graduate schooling I've learned to at least partially overcome my overwhelming fear of failure/being wrong. It's the biggest fear of mine and really motivates a LOT of my risk aversive behavior... and a good deal of my criticism of others who I feel have swung too far the other way (i.e. not sufficiently afraid of being wrong). - Being kinder to others. Being forced to be generous to get what I want is actually surprisingly not too bad... plus, given my ethics system it makes me feel like I'm buying my right to be self-righteous. - Being willing to take/give criticism at face value (related to being straightforward). I think I learned how to do this best, initially, when having my poetry torn apart, but I learned that it applies to more than just poetry but every aspect of our selves and our lives. We have room to improve, and people, despite their humanity, have opinions that should be considered, even if it's just in passing. These are all changes I've made to my psyche at the advising of others. I'll gladly take the time to identify these people, but I don't think most of you would know them or they wouldn't want you to know who they are. Regardless, I had an urge to write something about this yesterday and now I have so I feel much better. (Note on love for this entry: People love it when you really pay attention to them. };=8} ) Current Mood: calm Current Music: Gin Blossoms - My Car (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
7:25 pm	[Locals] Friday Beer Tasting! This Friday's beer tasting is going to be taking place at trufahlan's house in conjunction with a cook-out. This week's beers are IPAs and they are Wild Goose IPA and Great Divide Titan IPA. Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: Prodigy - Out of Space (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
8:12 am	Birthday Party and More! I've created a club for fans of my friend Jouster! I shall name it stork_patrol. Named after an awesome music video. And I have a birthday on April 29th... if I had a party on the weekend following, May 2nd-3rd, who might be interested in attending? I'll probably make it a continuation from my Friday beer tasting. Current Mood: amused Current Music: The Lonely Island - Stork Patrol (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
8:13 pm	[Locals] Beer Tasting Ok, this week's theme is going to be "Darker Ales." (i.e. not pale) I've picked up Sheltowee 502 Amber Ale and Left Hand Brewing Company Deep Cover Brown Ale. Attend, or you'll miss it! EDIT: Ok, review time... (sadly, from the following morning) Sheltowee - A fairly simple beer. I liked it but it wasn't anything exceptional. It had a very... earthy taste to it. Deep Cover - A much finer beer than the Sheltowee. It was rich, dark and fairly complex but mostly it had just the right amount of smoothness to go down easy. I liked that. I still do. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Green Day - Walking Contradiction (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
2:13 am	Beer Tasting: Huge Success! We had a party. Many beer tasters came over. Good times were had by all. I shall enjoy the Thunder Over Louisville thing tomorrow... The Beers: Siberian Night from Thirsty Dog Brewery - A very solid beer with a strong chocolate and coffee taste and a sweet after-taste. I really enjoyed it although it was a little heavy for my taste. Kalamazoo Stout from Bell's Brewery - A beer with HEAVY licorice overtones initially... but those overtones fade to a faint chocolate and coffee with time. This beer is one that I'd love to sip for hours, perhaps while nibbling some good dark chocolate. I preferred it of the two, but mostly because it lives up to what I think a stout to be. The beers were a wash as beers go it's just that the Siberian Night was too much of a... generalist. The Bourbon: My Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year has arrived. Come visit me by yourself or in small groups (i.e. 1-2 people tops) and we'll taste this bourbon in small quantities. It wasn't cheap, but I'm going to share it with as many people as I can! Current Mood: happy Current Music: The silence following the storm/party (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
8:01 pm	[Locals] Beer Tasting This Friday's beer tasting will have a Stout theme. I've picked up Bell's Kalamazoo and Thirsty Dog's Siberian Night Imperial Stout. I'm looking forward to them, and the company I'm sure to have as well. Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Geto Boys - Die Mother F--ker (3 Comments |Comment on this)