Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:11:10 GMT - Review roundup - HeroesCon, iPhone 3GS, and more!

OK, it’s been a month since I’ve updated. The ERP project at work had it’s first go-live, and as we build into the second one, I don’t see my free time to post freeing up much of anything.

But! Tomorrow we leave for AnthroCon in Pittsburgh, PA, and I’m off for 7 days straight. While it’s a “working vacation for me” (in support of Ursula - I’ll be with her in the Dealer’s Room when it’s open, and probably with her the rest of the time too), I’m looking forward to a getaway.

So, since my last update, we ran to HeroesCon 2009 in Charlotte, NC. If you read Ursula’s update, you know that it drained us dry. It actually took me close to a week to recover, which is unusual. I did meet some AWESOME people, and as usual the fans were great. However, I don’t think we’ll be back next year, since sales were “meh.” We’ll update when we know what con we replace it with if we decide to do it.

So, That brings us to last weekend. Last weekend was a BLAST. Why? Ursula’s Signing at Chapel Hill Comics. The Fans were even more fun, we sold out of their stock, and my kids had fun. Everyone’s a winner! Afterwards, we headed to Southpoint Mall so she could check into Mac Games. As long as we were at the apple store, I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS from my 3G.

The 3GS is awesome. If anything it just polishes what the iPhone 3G did right, and added some missing features. That and it’s SCREAMINGLY fast. Much faster than my 3G ever did. Color me impressed.

Ursula, on the other hand, was *NOT* impressed with the number of Mac games in the store. The remodel they did REALLY reduced their software selection, and she wasn’t happy at all about that. I did turn her on to MacGameStore online, and she is now happily playing one of the games she wanted.

My final review of the night is my brand new Stillwater Kilt. As many of you know, I started wearing kilts out to cons and the club. They’re comfortable, they look good on me, and yes, I’m both Scotch and Irish, so I can get away with wearing them. So first I had a Utilikilt - sturdy, comfy, and plenty of pocket space. The I picked up a SportKilt in Blackwatch Tartan. No pockets, but it works well with a sporran, and seems to be a little warmer in the winter than the Utilikilt. Also, the SportKilt uses a velcro waist, so it’s a bit more adjustable.

The Stillwater Kilt is a full-on traditional kilt. Worn higher, with a thick belt and a sporran. Also somewhat heavier than the SportKilt, and definitely higher quality. Can’t wait to wear it out this weekend.

So, if you’ll be at AnthroCon this weekend, drop by Ursula’s space at the SofaWolf Island. We’ll be there. And around Pittsburgh when the Dealer’s room is closed. Stop by and say Hi!

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:07:50 GMT - Dragonbreath Release Party

Come out to Chapel Hill Comics on Saturday, June 27 from 1-3pm, to Celebrate the release of “Dragonbreath,” Ursula’s latest book (published by Penguin/Dial). Meet Ursula, buy your copy of Dragonbreath, and get it signed - all in one stop! We’re really excited about this release, and we want to share that excitement with you! More information is available at http://www.chapelhillcomics.com/content/?p=583

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sun, 31 May 2009 23:42:50 GMT - Upcoming Events

And the busy Summer begins! Here’s a quick list of what Ursula and I will be up to over the next few weeks :

• Dragonbreath comes out on June 11
• HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC June 19-21
• Dragonbreath Release Party at Chapel Hill Comics June 27 1pm-3pm
• Anthrocon 2009 in Pittsburgh, PA July 2-5

There will be more, so stay tuned!

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sun, 31 May 2009 03:03:56 GMT - Movin’ On UP

So it’s been a while since I posted here. I realize I need to post more here, but really, my life hasn’t been nearly as interesting as Ursula claims it is.

Case and point: my work for the alst two weeks ahs consisted of sitting in a room, load testing the new PeopleSoft deployment for my job site. Really exciting stuff - 8 hours (or more) of watching server CPU and memory utilization going “Yes, there’s a load on it” or “no, not really” for about 10-15 mins, and then waiting while the person writing and running the tests adjust their stuff. It wouldn’t be so bad, except about the time I get into the groove on some other task, it’s time to watch the numbers scroll by. You’d think, with my borderline ADD, this would be OK, but since I can’t get into the groove on anything, it’s frustrating as hell.

See? Boring.

More exciting, though, is my laptop upgrade. My original 15-inch MacBook Pro has been steadily getting crankier and crankier, and video bugs have abounded. So I cut a deal with Ursula, and on Friday bought a new 17″ MacBook Pro. I almost got another 15, but after trying out an older 17 a friend bought used, I couldn’t resist. And it’s all kinds of WOW. The bigger screen makes a HUGE difference. Plus the new unibody design is TIGHT. The new touchpad takes some getting used to…but now that I AM used to it, the thought of using the old-style trackpad on my work laptop (an HP running Linux) feels like stepping back to 1990 and only having two buttons.

I have got to get a USB trackpad that works like this for my other machines. This thing is AWESOME.

I would also like to say that the OSX Migration Assistant is one of the coolest things I’ve used. Sure, it took 10 hours to copy my old stuff over, but it was nice to have all my stuff on the new laptop for my first use, already configured, and the only adjustments have been to the new hardware. Hell, one of my tools (HyperSpaces) turned on 64-bit on that first boot. Very, very cool.

And then, tonight, we saw Pixar’s UP which I really enjoyed. I’m not going to give any major spoilers, but personally, I think it holds up well against other Pixar films, and the main character and his wife reminded me a lot of Ursula and Myself. Normally, when I go see a Pixar film, I expect at least one “OMG, I can’t believe they’re making me CRY” bit, but this time the buggers did it to us twice, which both pleased and annoyed me. Then again, maybe only the grown ups get that, since my kids kinda glossed right past it.

And that’s possibly the most adventure we’ve had all week. Well, except for going to Siler City to fetch a very large painting Ursula bought, and I’m saving that for an Intrepid Media Column. MWAHAHAHAHA.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:23:21 GMT - “There is no greater sorrow than losing a friend, no greater joy than remembering one with oth

Let’s go back in time a bit. In 1990, I was a part-time Jr. Sysadmin for a little company in Raleigh, NC called DaVinci Systems. Those of you on Novell Networks at the time may know it - they made DaVinci eMail[1].

Not long after I started, Larry asked me to come join the Tech Support team full-time. My first office mate was Greg Casey. Thanks to Greg, I learned lessons about troubleshooting, customer service, and patience. Greg, Larry, Misha (the other frontline support rep), and myself were the technical support group through the bulk of the 1.x releases - a good year or so, and one of the best work-environment experiences I’ve had in my career.

DaVinci was a great place to work, and we were FAMILY. To a very large degree, we still are. Distant family, but family none-the-less. The entire company (from that time period) was at Greg’s wedding, and again a few years later at Misha’s wedding. By then, though, a lot of us had gone our separate ways. I was fresh back from NYC, Larry had co-founded the successful One Tree Software, and the internet revolution was in full swing.

Over the next few years, we all kinda lost touch, but I would still see Greg around town. He was always seemed in good cheer, healthy, and happy with where he was.

Feb 27, 2009 at 8:30pm, Greg died at the age of 43.

What I knew, like most (if not all his friends), is that Greg had Cystic Fibrosis. His doctors didn’t expect him to live to 20. In the late 80’s/early 90’s, when I knew him, he was the anomaly, and I think he took a certain joy in proving them wrong. And aside from the infrequent day out or mention of it, you’d have never known.

Over the last few months, he’d been getting steadily  worse as the disease took it’s toll. In the end, Greg made the decision to have them disconnect the machines that were keeping him going, and he left this world in peace.

Greg lived his life to the fullest. Everyone who knew him (and there were a lot of us at his memorial - including damn near everyone fomr Da Vinci, most of whom I hadn’t seen since I left for NYC in ‘93) loved him. I’ll always remember the 20-something guy who put up with my punk-ass 20-year-old attitude. Who taught me to be a good tech, a good support rep, and to have patience with anyone and anything thrown at me.[2] [3]

All of us - and there’s an email list of friends and family - are still dealing with it. He was a good friend - more than that, he was one of those once-in-a-lifetime people, who you are better for having known. And he is missed, both by those of us who lost touch and recently reconnected, and those who were with him from beginning to end.

Bon Voyage. See you on the other side, my friend.

Update : Greg’s best friend Amy (and one of the sweetest people I know) is captaining a team on the Raleigh CF Great Strides Walk. Please take a moment to help support her as she walks for the first time in Greg’s Memory. Thanks!

[1] I still consider 99% of mail clients inferior to DaVinci. I’d LOVE to have the DOS version of DaVinci ported to Linux and the transport migrated to SMTP & IMAP. Just changing the back-end to SMTP & IMAP would make something far superior to Thunderbird, Outlook, and Mail.app. This may have led to my current “all mail clients SUCK” view, since DaVinci eMail spoiled me *EARLY* in my career.

[2] There was a company-mandated Dale Carnegie Customer Service Course a few years later, but for me - and anyone who was mentored by Greg, it was old news.

[3] Also, I’ll admit that my patience wears thin after a time, but in fairness so did his. But I never saw him handle it badly - something I only recently learned to do.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:12:40 GMT - Ursula Signing - Tuesday, April 21 at 7pm - Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh NC

In case you didn’t know (mostly ’cause she and I have been slack with the updates on her schedule - sorry!), Ursula will be signing copies of Nurk (and maybe some other stuff if you bring it with you) at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC at 7pm.

This is part of Quail Ridge’s “View From Tuesday” Monthly Book Club meetings. View from Tuesday meets the 3rd Tuesday at 7 pm during the traditional school year to talk about the current state of children’s books from various perspectives. Geared toward librarians and teachers but all are welcome.

More Information on Quail Ridge Books is available at http://quailridgebooks.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:17:02 GMT - Two Months of Pain

So You’ll notice I’ve been slack on the updates. There’s  good and bad reasons for this. 

Shortly after WHTCon, I picked up Ursula’s Crud. That was two weeks of Misery. I mean, cough, nasal crud, soreness, tiredness. Just BLECK. By the time we were over that, it was the week before StellarCon in High Point. 

That week, I got my shin tattooed. I’d like to say, that shin tattoos are by far the worst pain I’ve had yet getting any mods done. And it takes a LOT longer to heal than any of my arms did. 

StellarCon was a BLAST. We got to hang out with some great friends (at least, I think they are) - Mur Lafferty, Cmar & Laura, and SusanZ & Tim. And the usual con crowd. 

Got home, got the kids, and settled into what was supposed to be a normal week - only to be hit with a kidney stone on that Thurday. HOLY SHIT, that’s some pain right there. Ended up having Ursula drive me to the emergency room after dropping the kids off with their mom. They doped me up, checked me out with a CT scan, and sent me home with good painkillers. I spent the next four days basically doped to the gills, that is, until it dropped to my bladder, and the pain stopped. I passed it sometime Wednesday night.

So, to make up for the prior weekend, I picked the kids up a day early. We saw Monsters vs. Aliens - a fun flick, but nothing to write home about. Loved B.O.B. - as with so many Dreamworks animated bits, it’s the supporting cast that makes the film. 

And then this past week, which was uneventful. Saturday we hit the Ren Faire, and I’m sore from all the walking. Well, that and mowing the lawn for the first time this spring earlier today. My legs muscles are ache-y, but it was worth it, and nothing a martini of Gin Fizz can’t fix. 

After all that, I’m just hoping this week is uneventful.

Edit : Flickr Goodness of the cons, tattoos, and other bits

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:02:28 GMT - What happens at the Con…stays on the Internet

So if you’ve read Ursula’s Con Report, you are aware we had an adventure Friday night at WTHCon.

Before we get to that, though, I’d like to say the Con itself was a BLAST. It’s always good to see the fans and the other guests. The WTHCon staff was, as always, fantastic. The Geek Auction was awesome, even if Jennie Breeden and I required liquor to get through some of the more interesting bits (Ursula needed it too, but she was the driver…). I could go into detail over the rest of the con, but I’m thinking y’all only want to hear about one thing :

Friday night, there was lobster and strippers.

It went down like this. A few months back, Ursula mentioned that she’d never been to a strip club. Of course, this had to be rectified - for Science! Of course, finding a time and the right company would be important. Otter volunteered to be a part of this - for Science! - and then roped Jennie into coming along.

After setup on Friday, we headed to dinner at Red Lobster. It was here that I briefed them :

“OK, the rules are simple :
1) Drink before we get there so we’re not overpaying for drinks.
2) No making the strippers cry - Otter, this means you” [1]
3) No doing anything that makes the bouncers hurt *ME*” [2]

Knowing now the rules, well fed, it was time for the ladies to get a little liquid courage going[3], and off we went.

On the way in, we were informed that at least one of us would need to purchase a membership. “Otter, you live here…” I said, to three ladies looking pointedly at me. Oooo-kay. So I’ve got a membership at Christy’s Cabaret (A.K.A. The “Taj MaTitty”) of Greensboro now. And in we go.

“Have a good time” says the bouncer, holding the door. And then he points at Otter “But you, I’m watching you, you look like TROUBLE.” “Wha? Me?…”

Christy’s is pretty typical for strip clubs, although they could do a better job on the stage lighting[4]. I did have to tell the ladies not to gawk at the guys getting lap dances in the VIP area. That’s just not polite. And, of course, if you stare at the girl in the cage, tip her! Even from a distance. Turning and pointing means you tip extra!

Most of the rest, Ursula covered. I’d like to highlight something she missed though. See, Ursula had to pee. It happens. And so, off to the ladies room she goes. And then returns a little bit later.

“My GOD, it’s HORRIBLE. The tiles are falling off. Only one of the stalls has a working door, and there’s a toilet seat in the corner!”

This isn’t unexpected, really. I mean, it’s a place where men go to look at naked women. The bathrooms are bound to be a bit rough. A bit later, Otter headed to the Women’s room (suitably warned) and I headed to the Men’s. I got back with my report first.

“Well, you take care of your business, and then a very nice older man turns on the water for you, squirts the soap in your hands for you, hands you the towels, and holds the trash can for you. He also has cologne and mouthwash. Oh! And there’s candy.”

“Candy?!?” exclaims Ursula, just before she gave me the finger and spat out a venomous “FUCK YOU!”

Otter came back. I waxed poetic once again about the Men’s room. And in the most matter of fact tone I’ve ever heard from her, she replied :

“I just watched a hooker change”

I think she won.

Now, the one drawback to taking three women to a strip club is this - it makes any man with them into Stripper Kryptonite. Seriously, it was like I didn’t exist. For their special dollar dances[5], I got plenty of singles, set them on the table (chum in the water, as it were), and…NOTHING. No, not quite. Otter switched seats with Ursula - so as not to be in the line of traffic. So here we are, trying to flag down a dancer to no avail, and suddenly Otter gets swung around and a very enthusiastic black girl starts dancing for her. Karma. The ONE PERSON in the group who actively tried to avoid boobs gets a face full of breasts.

I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in months.

Guys, take women to strip clubs. It’s hella more fun than going with the guys. Just be aware you’ll be buying them dances, and probably will have to work hard to get them for yourself.

[1] “HEY! I’ve hardly ever made someone cry!”
“What about the time you…”
“I didn’t make him cry.”
“He totally went home and bawled…”
[2] On the drive up, I outlined these to Ursula. “Oh come on, what could we possibly do…oh, wait, yeah, I have a scenario….”
[3] Bailey’s for the most part
[4] Seriously, the stage lighting SUCKED. could hardly see what was going on up there.
[5] $1 plus tip for 30 seconds of lapdance. Song changes, get a new stripper for another dollar and another 30 seconds.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:56:27 GMT - Sorry about that

Wordpress has this AWESOME plugin for doing event calendars. I updated mine this morning. Sadly, the Livejournal cross-post plugin spammed them out here, which spammed them out to twitter, etc. I suspect they’re also showing up in my RSS feed, and probably in my facebook notebook. I love technology sometimes.

For the record, I deleted them from Livejournal, and I’ll be re-publishing them about a week prior to the actual events.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:04:07 GMT - WTHCon 2009

Ursula and I will be at WTHCon in Greenboro, NC! Meet Ursula, Jennie Breeden, Otter (from a Girl and Her Fed) and a whole host of others comic creators and interesting people. For more infomation, visit the Yachting Club: What the Hell?! Con Homepage.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:47:17 GMT - The 25 Things about Me Thing

This Meme is going around facebook like a house afire, and I’e had a couple requests for it. I’m usually anti-meme, but Ursula said “You know, you should put that on your blog” so here it is.

I’m not going to tag anyone, because I’m a rule-breaker like that. 
— Begin Meme —
Rules:

Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

1. I have an insane sushi habit. Some people have seen this, a lot haven’t. If you want my affection forever, pay for my sushi dinner - but take out an equity loan on your house first.

2. People are scared of me. I have no idea why. Animals and small children like me. People will tell me their life story. But adults, for the most part, don’t want to make me angry. I have no idea why. 

3. I am, believe it or not, an upstanding member of my community. For the most part. 

4. I can cook, really cook. I have yet to find anything I can’t learn to cook. Yes, even sushi. But those guys at the sushi bar do it WAY better than I do.

5. I love living out in the woods. Just far enough away that I can have lots of trees, but not so far out that groceries are a 3 hour trek to civilization.

6. I like gin. Nothing beats a well mixed martini. I blame Mur Lafferty for this. 

7. I like scotch. Good blends and single malts. My current favorites are Lagavulin and a 50-year old bottle of Black & White that I inherited from my grandfather. 

8. I get mortally offended and angry at people who abuse women, children, and animals. Those are the only things I think I could kill over, and would accept the consequences of doing so gladly and without complaint. 

9. I love my kids, without question and unconditionally. I don’t think I knew the meaning of the words “unconditional love” until my sons were born. When they aren’t here, my house doesn’t feel quite right. 

10. Even so, there are days I would also gladly sell my kids to the circus or gypsies given the chance. I might love ‘em, but it takes work to LIKE them all the time. 

11. I cannot cook unless all the clean dishes are put away and the dirty dishes washed or put in the dishwasher. If I’m forced to start cooking before this is done, it drives me CRAZY until it can get done. This is, according to my cousin, a family trait.

12. I used to take photographs. Reasonably good ones. I have recently started doing so again. 

13. Until I met Ursula, I was incapable of sleeping unless I had on some form of pants. Sorry about the TMI. 

14. I love Ursula, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but have no interest in marrying her. She feels the same way, so it’s OK. 

15. I will feed a sick cat by hand, and will risk life and limb to give my dogs and cats medicine. 

16. I am a sympathy vomiter. This made my ex-wife’s morning sickness and many child-born stomach bugs interesting in my house. (Again with the TMI!)

17. I have an irrational fear of needles. I will faint when getting blood drawn.  

18. Despite that, I had my nipples pierced and would like a couple more piercings. (More TMI?)

19. Also despite number 17, I have 7 tattoos, and plan on getting more. I couldn’t look at the needle until about the 5th one.

20. I miss a lot of the people I worked with at prior jobs. I do still keep up with a few of them. 

21. I listen to, and like, almost all kinds of music if executed well. This includes opera, classical, and country. I cannot stand noise bands. 

22. Had I been born 20 years earlier I probably would have been a hippie. I cannot stand today’s “hippies.”

23. I used to be a country and western DJ for a dawn-to-dusk AM radio station. 

24. Someday, I will own my own company, or companies. There is a drive in me to be my own boss.

25. Right now, all the animals are asleep, Ursula is asleep, and if my kids were here, my house would be complete. I’ll take what I can get.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:23:49 GMT - Project Update

So I’ve got several projects “cooking” right now. Some I can talk about, some I can’t.

One project I can talk about is my writing. For those of you who read my twitter, these articles are not new, but check ‘em out anyway :
intrepdimedia : Guide to the Stages of Intimacy part 2
Wireless Hobo : Linux - We’re still not there yet

I have really enjoyed getting back into real writing. It is an adjustment from writing tech manuals and guides, but it’s a good adjustment.

Project Number 2 is taking pictures again. I used to love photography. I’m rebuilding my kit and getting back into taking photos of more than just the kids or something nifty I saw. Also, I’m hoping to get a proper SLR 35mm film camera again - I love taking B&W analog photos - I like the “feel” of them more than digital.

Project Number 3 is a new website for Ursula’s art. HOPEFULLY it’ll be done before WTHCon next weekend. That’s the plan anyway.

Project Numbers 4 and 5 are need-to-know - for now. Watch this space for details…

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:43:06 GMT - It’s been a year already?

So a little over a year ago I met this girl. She was out with our mutual friend Joe. And I didn’t think too much about it. Until I showed up at game night a week later and there she was again. And I didn’t think much about it until I was at a Christmas party about a week later, and there she was again. And I started to think that maybe there was a message there.

And we went out to dinner, and I had to explain that I was seeing someone and that while we could be friends, we couldn’t, you know, be FRIENDS. And she took that kinda badly, but I groveled a little and made things right and it was cool.

Not long after, I broke up with the girl I was seeing. It wasn’t working, and that was obvious.

Not long after *THAT* I went to Joe’s birthday party and there was this girl again. And we hit it off again. But you know, we didn’t need anything SERIOUS, so we were just gonna keep it casual.

And we went out together and hung out and did the things couples *DO*.

And then it got serious while we weren’t looking.

Eventually I introduced her to my kids and friends, and things kept going and going and going….

…if I wasn’t at her apartment, she was at mine. And it sorta made sense that since we were basically living together in two places on days I didn’t have my kids, we might as well consolidate since it made sense and would be easier on gas millage and our bills. Plus we hadn’t been apart for more than three days in a row in several months.[1][2]

So there was some moving. And re-arranging. And cleaning, and decorating and painting, and meeting of parents, and…

…here we are. Tomorrow is the one year mark since Ursula and I hooked up at Joe’s Birthday party.[3]

Best Year EVER.

Thanks Ursula, for being there when I need you, and for putting up with me when I’m an ass. I love you, and I’m so damn happy I have you and you have me.

Thanks Joe, and Happy Birthday.

Thanks kids, for adjusting so well to sharing a house with Ursula. And for loving her almost as much as I do. [4]

Thanks to all our friends and families, for putting up with us.

Oh, and thanks to the fans - for your support, comments, and acceptance.[5]

It doesn’t feel like a year - sometimes it’s an eternity (in a good way) and sometimes it’s the blink of an eye.

[1] Anthrocon was the test case, since if we could be in the car, then a hotel, on the con floor, and basically attached at the hip for 5 days straight and not want to kill each other we’d be OK. And it was OK. More than OK, it was GLORIOUS.

[2] And I knew it would be OK when my kids would say things like “Is Ursula at your house? No? Awwwww” when I’d be picking them up.

[3] I realize the Joe was the one who was supposed to get presents, but I think I got the best one of all.

[4] I know you do, even if you don’t say it.

[5] Seriously, I was afraid I’d be taken out back at AnthroCon, cooked on a grill, and eaten if y’all didn’t approve. I may still have this fear…

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:37:22 GMT - How to convert an LJ to wordpress

I’ve had a lot of questions about this since I did it the other day. Rather than answer everyone individually, here’s a post with a quick and dirty HOWTO. (HTH, HAND, YMMV, restrictions apply, $standard_disclaimer, if it eats your LJ or WordPress I’m not responsible, etc, etc)

You will Need :
WordPress 2.7 and a Hosting service for WordPress (I have my own Linux server, thanks)
LiveJournal CrossPost Plugin for WordPress
ljArchive (Windows program) and a Windows Install to work from

Steps :
1) Set up WordPress following their instructions
2) Install but do not activate (yet) the LiveJournal CrossPost Plugin
3) install ljArchive
4) Run ljArchive and “sync” your entries
5) In ljArchive, File->Export->XML Writer
6) Chose a filename, and Split the file by YEAR. this will create one XML per year of your LJ.
7) Save the files to somewhere accessible to your web browser
8) In Wordpress, log into /wp-admin/ and choose “Tools->Import”
9) Use the Livejournal Importer to import each year’s archive
10) go to Tolls->Plugins and turn on the LJ cross-post plugin
11) Under Settings->LiveJournal, configure your LJ account setting.

And that’s done - you should now not only have your entire LJ (with comments!!) in WordPress, but also have posts from WordPress show up in your LiveJournal.

If I want comments from post-import LJ entries (like this one), I’ll have to import this post as well…or just set it to “don’t allow comments on LJ, only allow comments on WordPress” in the LJ plugin settings.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:45:51 GMT - That’s done, and here’s some insurance

Well, I did it. I imported all my LJ posts into WordPress, in case the LJ Apocalypse happens. Backups, I can haz one!

Well, OK, that was just the excuse. I wanted to do it for a while anyway. The tools I used grabbed comments as well, so most of those have migrated over. I’m sure there’s stuff that will need cleaning up and all, but the bulk is done.

And now I know how to do it for Ursula’s stuff as well. Which will be nice as we get her new site rolling soon….

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:44:22 GMT - Betrayed! (by a beagle)

In June of 2007, some friends had a dog they couldn’t keep anymore. Beagles weren’t meant to live in townhouses, and my place offered a lot for him. Plus it meant he didn’t go to the pound.

He’s a sweet dog, and he’s dumb as a sack of hammers. He’s picky about going outside in the rain or cold, he sometimes decides the carpet is easier to pee on than the grass, and he really doesn’t like to share his food.

For the last year and a half, I have fed, sheltered, and loved him. And for the most part, he has loved me. Sure, we’ve had to occasionally re-establish dominance (typical for the breed), but in general, He’s been mine, and I’m his.

Until SHE moved in.

Since Ursula moved in, it has become more and more obvious that I’m just the caretaker, and she’s his human. His great goal in life is to sleep at her feet when she’s working in the studio. He crys the great beagle cry when she won’t let him in. He sleep at her feet of the bed, and GOD FORBID actually listens to her sometimes.

Yesterday cemented it.

We pull into the driveway. I open the door so that the dogs can get out. I gett greeted by Brandon, the boarder collie. And Gir, the animal whom I have sheltered and fed and loved?

He CRIES, he WHINES, and he runs over to Ursula and PEES WITh JOY that she’s home. Jumping and whimpering and all kinds of loving HER, and ignoring ME.

The ingrate.

On the other hand, now SHE’S stuck with him…..

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:34:54 GMT - And so we return from the Northlands

“Isn’t it great to be back home, Home is where I wanna be…” - Simon & Garfunkle, “Keep the Customer Satisfied”

The trip up was uneventful, but the trip home? Not so much. After a long delay on the ground in Houghton, MI so they could de-ice the plane, we ended up stuck in Minneapolis, MN (MSP) last night, with a 6:30am flight home this morning.

Now, had it been me alone, past experience has shown that I’d have gotten the finger and “tough shit, there’s a bench in the corner, see you in the morning.” Instead, they gave us food vouchers, a hotel room in a swank place, and got our luggage on the same re-route as we took. Add to that the “luck of the Ursula” : she calls her best friend who lives up there, and the three of us ended up at Blackbird in downtown Minneapolis - owned by old friends of hers - instead of the hotel bar or just passing out in our room.

Good food, Good people, Good conversation, and it’s the best layover/missed flight ever.

If you happen to be in MSP, go to Blackbird. The appetizers are swank, the Walleye Po’Boy is delicious, and the desserts out of this world.

Sadly, we were too tired to stop by her publisher’s fondue party after dinner. (Next time we’re in the area, guys, I promise - and with better planning!)

Waking up at 4:30 Central sucked, but we snoozed most of the way to Detroit, got to our plane out in plenty of time, and had a whole row to ourselves on the flight to RDU. And now we’re home, showered, napped, pizza’ed, and just laying about watching TV.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:18:36 GMT - Whoa, it’s snowing

I am currently in Upper Peninsula Michigan, visiting Ursula’s Mom and Step-dad. I’ll be talking more about the anxiety and whatnot of “meeting the parents” in my next IntrepidMedia article. So you’ll have to wait for that.

Today, I’m going to talk about snow.

In the south, snow is an EVENT. It’s not something that happens with any regularity, it’s more something that is inflicted on us - we enjoy it as it falls, we rush to the store for bread, eggs, milk, and beer at the merest mention that snow will fall (and there is a collective embarrassment and bitching about this), and we’re disappointed when the snow doesn’t fall. Kids dream of snow days - and so do grown ups, even if we don’t get them.

Up here, snow is a way of life. It’s snowed every day we’ve been up here, including a blustery and windy band of snow that we, in our foolishness, attempted to walk two blocks in on Monday.

And it’s BEAUTIFUL. Heartrendingly, majestically beautiful. It is the kind of snow you see on TV or in post cards. As we were driving up to Copper Harbor yesterday, Ursula commented that “I’d love to paint this, but it’s so CLICHE” and it is and yet it’s the kind of winter wonderland you think of when the Christmas Carols are on.

Until you open the car door or step outside.

Ah yes, I forgot that with the snow comes the cold. The bitter, bitter bite of cold that seeps into your toes and under your hat as the wind finds every leak in your clothing, and the ice collects in the soles of your shoes. My mustache actually started to freeze up while we were out looking at Lake Superior yesterday. This is a sensation I will not forget.

But I think I could, if I wanted to, live up here. I’m not sure. It certainly feels like home.

Sadly, we return to NC today. I will miss looking out of an upstairs window into a white landscape with snowflakes dancing and whirling in the wind. I will miss the warmth of good food, good family, and good times. I will not miss the biting wind and angry chill.

We’re leaving before I start to get homesick. And before I start to hate the white, pure, sparkling snow.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:39:51 GMT - Intrepid Column back up!

My December column for Intrepid Media is back up Here

Read, Comment, and most of all Enjoy!

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:03:17 GMT - Yes, one man CAN make a difference

Posing as a Bidder, Utah Student Disrupts Government Auction of 150,000 Acres of Wilderness for Oil & Gas Drilling

A Utah Student disrupts the Bush administration’s fire sale of Utah public lands. Notice, also, that the first story below barely mentions the manner in which the lands went up for auction in the first place.

Tim DeChristopher Throws Utah Oil And Gas Drilling Leases Auction Into Chaos
DemocracyNow Interview with Tim DeCristopher

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:59:50 GMT - You guys are awesome

The publisher over on Intrepid Media wanted to hold my article until Wednesday. I think you guys hit the server too hard or something.

Anyway, we’ll re-post the link when it goes up live.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:24:27 GMT - oh dear god, it’s time to buy presents

My December column for Intrepid Media is up Here

Read, Comment, and most of all Enjoy!

Now the other dilemma - do I post the heavy articles, the ones that didn’t quite work, and etc here, or do I flush them into the eternal bit-bucket?

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:48:08 GMT - Sunday Morning Coming Down

I’m sure I’ve used that title before, but what the hell, right? Today is a a lazy Sunday, and I should be writing or being productive or something, but I’m not.

This past week was the usual busy with the kids and the cats and work. And then, on Saturday the dreaded maintenance weekend at work. Up at 4am, in the car before 5, at work until about 1:45pm. The kids were shopping with Mom and Dad, so I hoped over to the NC Web Comics Coffee Clatch Meeting with Ursula - since it was across the street from my datacenter. That’s always an interesting time, since the creators are all…creative, and seeing them interact is always an interesting experience.

Then it was off to Mom and Dad’s for dinner, home with the boys, and maybe time to sleep?

No such luck - my body was all kinds of “sorry, you’ll be up until your usual time, SUCKER.” But we did revisit the land of the purple (black in the original comic) Smurf, caught some of the Superman Animated Series Marathon on Toon Disney, and generally snuggled until I passed out.

Although living with Ursula does mean, at 11pm when she has an idea, it MUST BE SKETCHED. She has mentioned that it’s odd when I bring the laptop to bed, so I can’t say anything about a sketchbook. You have to get stuff on paper/on record any way you’re comfortable.

Today we’ve had brunch (8-egg omelet with Rosemary, Tyme, and Smoked Cheddar) received and AWESOME bookcase from Jason and done some de-cluttering and hanging of art. My kind of day off.

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:24:57 GMT - Have you joined the CBLDF yet? Here’s why you should :

“Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you’re going to have to stand up for stuff you don’t believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don’t, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person’s obscenity is another person’s art.

The CBLDF will defend your First Amendment right as an adult to make lines on paper, to draw, to write, to sell, to publish, and now, to own comics. And that’s what makes the kind of work you don’t like, or don’t read, or work that you do not feel has artistic worth or redeeming features worth defending. It’s because the same laws cover the stuff you like and the stuff you find icky, wherever your icky line happens to be: the law is a big blunt instrument that makes no fine distinctions, and because you only realise how wonderful absolute freedom of speech is the day you lose it.” — Neil Gaiman, 12/01/08

Read the Whole Article
Join The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:10:25 GMT - New intrepid Media article online

A Guide to the Stages of Intimacy, Part I : Our Bodies, Ourselves

Read, comment, critique. Tell me I’m a genius, tell me I’m a hack, tell me where to go, but first just go read it! *grin*

Originally published at sonney.com. You can comment here or there.

Kevin

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