A friend needed inspiration today, so I used her need as my own.

—

In the space of a breath, I saw her, that euphoric moment when your lungs are full
Making you high, just for that instant, before you have to let go
She was darting between puddles, keeping her shoes dry, her eyes low
An exhalation spoiled my buzz
And she was gone
Still there, like the painted ads that fade on the sides of buildings
But gone like a whisper
I wanted to hold her, I think, but who can really come to grips with all one’s thoughts
In the space of a breath.

Right now, my reputation is soiled. The reputation of a thousand years is determined in a single moment.

Right now, I am being judged for my faith in another person. Beware of how you take away hope from any human being.

Right now, people want more from me than I am able or willing to give. The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth. She acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and doesn’t think that she is better than anyone else.

Right now, there is nothing I can do but push forward. If you’re going through hell, keep going.

EDIT: This is not so dire as it might sound. It is more of a conversation between my two selves.

EDIT, part 2: The concern of my friends is very kind, but really I am fine. Sorry to alarm anyone.

“The best thing about writing fiction is that moment where the story catches fire and comes to life on the page, and suddenly it all makes sense and you know what it’s about and why you’re doing it and what these people are saying and doing, and you get to feel like both the creator and the audience. Everything is suddenly both obvious and surprising (“but of course that’s why he was doing that, and that means that…”) and it’s magic and wonderful and strange.

You don’t live there always when you write. Mostly it’s a long hard walk. Sometimes it’s a trudge through fog and you’re scared you’ve lost your way and can’t remember why you set out in the first place.

But sometimes you fly, and that pays for everything.”

(from Neil Gaiman’s blog, which I am too lazy to re-link here. It’s over there on the right somewhere.)

A couple of articles by people who like PCs more than Macs.

The last line of this article (with a somewhat inflammatory title) is fantastic.
The Worst Thing about Macs: Apple Rules, or Else.

Exponential talks about her experiences.

A nice little bit of IM fun from my day:

Most-Honoured Girlfriend: i got apples, pears, grapes and meat & cheese for sandwiches
Most-Honoured Girlfriend: (and mike & cereal)
Steelbuddha: You got Mike?
Steelbuddha: At the store?
Most-Honoured Girlfriend: yes, in the dairy csae
Steelbuddha: Weird. What do you suppose he was doing there?
Most-Honoured Girlfriend: he was chillin’
Steelbuddha: High-five, Rick!

Found on Digg, 8 reasons Windows users don’t switch.

I have to say this reminds me of a thought I posed to Most-Honoured Girlfriend in the car last week. We passed one of those cars that seemed painted with slogans, so ubiquitous were its bumper stickers. These stickers had expanded their territory well across the trunk and rear windshield. To a one, they were emblazoned with “clever” phrases designed not only to criticize the current political administration, but also to raise the ire of its supporters.

Said I to that person, though only Clare could hear, “Don’t do that. You’re not helping.” She turned to me. “What?”

My argument is thus. The current government is supported mainly by persons who would be generalized as conservative. Republicans are ostensibly the conservative party. The denotation of the word is “holding to traditional values and cautious regarding change or innovation.” The connotation of the word (not to say the ideology, neccessarily) is someone who is unlikely to change their opinion easily or quickly.

So, if a person of this ideology has been demonstrated that all persons of the opposite liberal viewpoint make inflammatory comments rather than argue logically, then the conservative person’s opinion will be formed. Next time they argue with someone of a liberal ideology, certain understandable prejudices will exist. Even the word “liberal” has come to mean something filthy to many conservatives, when really it only means someone “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.”

This explains also the religious divide seen in the two-party system. Organized religion is certainly a traditional value, many of them having existed for thousands of years. Whereas the “godless” gravitate toward the political party that espouses* views less grounded in religion**.

Apple – PC is an easy analogy to liberal – conservative, hence the commercials which are likely another point of contention for a conservative person. Unfortunately, the suffers from the same arms-length mud-slinging between people. Many people are unwilling to even dip their toe in the other water, seemingly due to fear of an undertow.

So, knowing full well that many people are disappointed with their experience, I hold to my standard answer regarding computers: “If it does what you need it to, then you’ve got the right one.” But, I invite you to prove otherwise.

* – though in recent memory, parties have not cleaved to even their own values.
* – in the US, almost solely Christianity, which seems inappropriate considering our country was founded on freedom of religion