MikeBrum.com

I did A LOT of changes to the site today. Again, like most of my changes, you probably won’t notice any of them.

The main thing is the file structure. I had to change a lot of things around to make it scalable and organized. I find that I just keep on adding new features and code as I get an idea… and that leads to basic chaos in the directories.

Another thing I did was delete all of my old and outdated files. There were A LOT of them! I’m guessing at least 50 that I simply did not use any longer and a bunch that were just redundant. Oops. At least that’s all taken care of.

There was one file that somehow got corrupted; the image roll over tutorial. I’m going to check with someone at work tomorrow to see if she has a copy of it. If not, then I’ll probably just re-create it. Shouldn’t be a huge problem.

Other than that, I *think* everything’s working. I’m still testing things as I go. If you notice any problems, PLEASE contact me with the problem area and whatever errors you encountered.

I’m going to get back to testing things now. Enjoy. :)

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Well, I had to fix up the image upload / thumbnail routine… obviously, it’s working.

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Ok… had a problem with the image display page… fixed that finally. That took way too long than it should’ve. I should turn off the TV and AIM when I’m trying to seriously program.

Here’s something that I got from Nick’s LiveJournal.

When you type two words into Google and have a single page returned to you, then you’ve succesfully “Googlewhacked”.

I’ve found two combinations thus far:

Infintessimal & Donut and Astrologically & Witticisms

You’d be surprised how entertaining it is. Well… I guess more obsessive than entertaining… but it passes the time none-the-less.

Leave any “Googlewhacked” combinations as comments!

Well, my computer is running rather smoothly right now. I’m somewhat surprised, actually. Up until recently, there hasnt’ been a time that I recall that there wasn’t *some* sort of problem with it. I know that I definately have learned a lot since networking them, and it’s given me quite a bit of insight into a few computer areas that I just hadn’t delved into before. It’s definately a good thing.

For those of you that don’t know, I stretched my lobes up to 3/4″ about a week ago. It was a very easy stretch since I had been taping up my plugs with PTFE slowly as my lobes continued to relax. It’s probably the most healthy way to stretch lobes after you get into the larger gauges. I’m really happy with how the look and just need to get myself some more 3/4″ plugs. I think I’m planning on staying here for a while. I definately have to get a pair of Tomoye plugs, though. Ever since about 00g, I believe, I’ve had a pair of tomoye plugs in whatever size I was at. The tomoye symbol has meaning to me, and I make it a point to always have a pair of plugs with a tomoye on it at every size. I just have to get my ass down to Providence and pick up a pair.

Hmm… as I sit here, it seems that something’s fucked up with my webcam settings. I have to remember to check that out when I’m home tonight. Hmmmm…. I wonder what the issue is. I’m sure it’s just a matter of me putting the wrong value in the wrong box when setting stuff up. Shouldn’t be too difficult to fix. I’m a decent problem-solver, so I’m not concerned.

I’m not sure what else is going on to that I can mention. Been doing a bunch of D&D stuff with Nick & Pat the past couple of weeks. I haven’t gotten to see Joe that much though. Just conflicting schedules. I know what it’s like, so I understand.

I think that’s about all I have to babble about right now. As you can see, I have a bunch of “little” things going on, but not all that many “huge” things. One thing that I need to get my ass in gear and finish is my webpage revisions. I have over half of it finished… I just need to put in the time and wrap it up! Again, like most of my changes, you probably won’t see a difference… but it’s worth it in the long run – promise!

I came to the conclusion a long while ago that people, in general, are inherently stupid.

Take today for example. It’s the first of the new month, so all of last months subway passes no longer work. This happens every month and has since monthly subway passes were issued, probably over 10 years ago.

So this guy is standing there running his pass through the little reader and trying to walk through the turnstyle. *thud* It doesn’t budge. What does he do? He tries again. He tried 3 times from what I saw while walking up to another turnstyle. (I was trying to avoid the moron)

Apparently, he must have believe that that particular one wasn’t working, so he goes to the only other one left, the one I was about to use. *swipe* *thud* It didn’t work. Big surprise. So, being in a somewhat helpful mood I say, “It’s February”. He didn’t seem to notice. *swipe* *thud* Wow, big surprise. It didn’t work – AGAIN. So again, I say “It’s February”. He gave me an inquisitive look like your dog would when confused. At least I knew he heard me. *swipe* *thud* JESUS – It didn’t work! Again, “It’s Februrary”. I could see the thought register and he mumbled something incohearent and got out of my way.

I proceeded to use my FEBRUARY pass and get my ass on the train.

I had the *opportunity* to see this guy swipe his pass AT LEAST 6 times with the same exact result. It makes me wonder if I hadn’t told him it was February, if he’d still be there now. I’d like to think not, but his learning curve was obviously very low.

And that’s how my day began.

I’m definately tired. I tried to go to bed *early* last night… that didn’t work. I woke up at 2:00 for some strange reason and a couple other times before 7:00. Definately sucks. It’s left me particularly exhausted today, and it’s only 10am.

In other news, both of my lobes are now at 3/4″ – which is really cool! I’m quite psyched about that! I popped one in with zero effort yesterday morning and the other one in last night. I’m surprised at the ease that they went in – also very pleased with it!

I’m sporting the acrylic plugs that I initially bought Mariah for her first pair or 3/4″ plugs. It’s neat that I get her hand-me-down jewelry. Not only is it cost-effective, but it seems I buy most of it and I have good taste in plugs :D

For a septum update, it’s doing fine. The hyper-sensitivity that I usually get in my nose for about one to two months after stretching is gone – and it’s only 5 days later! I’m VERY surprised at that. Maybe I’ll be able to stretch to 2g after all and not have to punch or cut. That’s a relieving thought. Just gotta keep up the salt-soaks, which I’m doing. Everything’s on track :)

I’ll try to get some pics of my lobes in the next few days. Just gotta get someone to take them for me. I don’t think I could get a good pic of my head by myself. You’ll see them here first. :)

Well, my septum feels 100x better than it did on Saturday and considerably less achey than yesterday. Two VERY good things in my book. The only *bad* part is that I was cleaning it this morning and it was all kinds of nasty. Not just *some* kinds of nasty – ALL OF THEM! I’m sure nobody’s overly interested in what goes on in my nose, but it definately has an effect on me.

I’m going to keep up with the salt soaks and hope that drains the relative nastiness. They went a long way to relieve the pressure and pain, so now that I can do a better job in cleaning, I think it’s just a matter of time before things clear up.

I’m not fond of nastiness in my nose.

Well, my septum is at 4g right now. I stretched it up finally last night. God did that fucking hurt. I got a taper in with little problem and only slight stinging. Then I got a plug that went in after it and it only got through about 1/2 way. How fucking lovely. On top of that, it was grooved for o-rings, which is undoubtedly why it got stuck. So, either I push it one way or the other and feel pain due to the groove, so I decided to push it through.

So, after it was finally in my nose fuckin’ hurt and was running like nobody’s business. No real surprises though. I just hope it stops hurting sometime soon. I made up some sea-salt-water and did some rinsing. Hopefully it’ll go a ways to keeping it less sore and relax a lot sooner.

And, as to be expected, my nose is sore this morning. That’s not the worse part by far though. What’s happening is that since my nose has a constant ache, it’s making my eyes water a bit more than normal. Then, with my eyes watering, it makes my nose run more than normal. And with the constant running of my nose, I have to wipe it rather frequently, thus making it ache more, perpetuating the circle. What a pain in the ass!

I wish my nose wasn’t ALL cartilage, giving me some sort of ease with stretching. Oh well… I’ll just have to make due with it for now. Though, I’m expecting my nose to be hyper-sensitive and sore for at least 4 weeks, maybe as much as 8 weeks, which was how sore it was when I stretched to 6g from 8g.

Well… it’s Friday, so that’s one thing to look forward to!

Yup, I’m still here. Just haven’t posted in a bit. My online presence has wained a bit the past week or so. It comes and goes, so it’s no big deal.

I’m having a strange urge to re-arrange my room. I have no plans this weekend, so it might be a viable project. We’ll see though… I’m thinking moving my computer desk and setup alone would be quite a bitch! Actualy, I’m sure of that.

But… we’ll see. Maybe I’ll just feel lazy and not want to do anything at all. That’s definately a possibility too.

I added three items to the BME jewelry classifieds that are too small for me:

• 1/2″ Stainless Taper – $20
• 5/8″ Bamboo Plugs – $25
• 9g(ish) Stainless Tusk (real cute!) – $15

I can take some other pics if anyone wants. Just be sure to click the thumbnails to see a full-sized image. Shipping’s free on all of them too. Can’t beat a deal like that! :)

Hope to sell the pieces soon. Contact me if you are interested in any of the pieces.

Well, it’s Wednesday and today’s going by fairly well. Work’s moderately busy which is “just about right” in terms of work load and how the day moves by. But for those of you that things are moving slowly for (and that’s probably why you’ve come to my site), here’s some links:

• Dark Energy – Here’s the deal… up until recently, scientists believed that the universe’s expanse had 2 possible routes – it could start to contract if the density of the universe was greater than a particular value or it would continue to expand indefinately if it was smaller than that value. It turns out that from recent evidence that the universe’s expanse is actually accelerating.
• The SoloTrek – this thing is just really dangerous and really cool. I want one!!! Take that Buck Rogers!!!
• Is the mayor the mayor? – only in South Carolina can something like this happen it seems. Sure countries all over the world have screwed up their voting… but they never forgot to actually do it!
  
• Personal Satellites – I want one of these too… too bad I’d have to build it myself. : )

Ok, that’s it for now. No new pics since I’m at work. Enjoy the links though!