Childhood Heart Repairs May Not Last

I had a congenital heart defect, corrected with surgery.

I always say, I am totally fine and I've never have never had any complications since then. ...

*100 Things About Me [36-40]

Mr. Pinkerton
When we last caught up with Keith at Ironpants, he and "San Francisco Lawyer Chick" J were riding off into the Phoenix sunset. Nearly a year later, things didn't quite work out that way. I love that he still does Weekend Report by the Numbers, and he's inspired me to do my own January by the Numbers. Stay tuned.

Almost 40-Year-Old Virgin
It's a stretch to say I "love" this blog. Almost 40-Year-Old Virgin's blog reads like a train wreck and yet I can't look away. He has some serious problems (basement-level self-esteem, extremely prejudicial, self-fulfilling rationalization, paralyzed with fear), but his lack of sexual experience isn't necessarily or inherently one of them. Sincerely, I wish A40YOV the best and hope that he finds what he's looking for, but, like a lot of his commenters, I think he needs to start seeing women as human beings, not a list of characteristics who use him for money.

Nice Guys Finish Last
Desperate Guy doesn't have any obvious problems, though he does get a little down on himself sometimes. Unlike A40YOV, Desperate Guy seems well-adjusted, witty, social and just having a dry spell. Is he fishing for blog groupies? I don't think so, but I'm surprised he's not getting more dates via the blog. (If he is, he's not writing about them.)

UPDATE: I feel weird having judged A40YOV like I did in this post, and even felt that way when I was writing it but posted it anyway. I'm sorry, A40YOV. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me. :( ... On the other hand, I judged Desperate Guy too, though in a more positive light. Does that make it OK? ... Did I judge these men? Did I just write my observations and opinions? Is it the same thing?

Previous Blogs I Love Lately
November 14, 2005
September 6, 2005
August 18, 2005
April 14, 2005
February 9, 2005

I wanted to go to the gym today. It is Saturday.

When I got there, it was already closed. I tried another branch that was only a few blocks away, and though it closed later than the other, it too was already closed for the day.

So what did I do? Come home and finish off a bag of Doritos? No.

I ran up and down 7 flights of stairs here in my building (first floor up to the roof access).

For 30 minutes.

Then I fell into a hot bath.

I'll get to the gym tomorrow before it closes.

See headline.

You should be proud, Jon!

Sunday 11:00pm
I buy Imogen Heap's Speak For Yourself from the iTunes Music Store because I love the song Hide & Seek, which I heard on a mix CD from Claire. I drag that puppy onto my iPod shuffle. It doesn't appear to load quite right, so I leave the shuffle plugged into my computer when I go to bed.

Monday 8:45am
On the sidewalk in front of my building, I flip on my iPod. I get the shuffle's version of the Blue Screen of Death—green and orange flashing lights. Nooooooooo!

Monday 1:30pm
Apparently, I was not alone. After following all of these ridiculous instructions and consulting the fine folks at Tekserve (and not the assholes at the Apple Store), I log onto apple.com to look into redeeming my one-year warranty, which is only good for a few more weeks.

Monday 2:00pm
I get a confirmation email that a replacement shuffle is on its way to me.

Tuesday 8:00am
I click on the package tracking link in my confirmation email and see that my replacement shuffle is on a delivery truck in Manhattan.

Tuesday 12:30pm
I get back to my desk after a meeting, and the awesome mail dude has a little envelope for me to sign for: my new shuffle.

So, for those keeping track, less than 24 hours after I reported that mine was broken, I had a new iPod. As Smash suggested, it's like they knew it was about to break. "When did Solly get her shuffle? Crikey, pack up a new one! It's gonna pop on her any second now!"

*cuteoverload.com [via]
I have this guy as my computer's background. At home. And at work.

*A Million Little Lies [via]
Is James Frey a fraud?

*How do you distinguish between when you should stick to your guns and when you should compromise, especially in relationships and careers? Discuss.

Sometime last year, I installed the Greasemonkey extension into my Firefox, but I never knew what it was good for, so I eventually uninstalled it. But I decided to give it another try, and wow! It's a lot easier to use than I thought. Install the extension. Restart Firefox. Right click on a script's link and choose "Install User Script." Piece of cake!

I Firefox more and more every day.

Lifehacker:

The “Swiss Army Knife” of Firefox extensions requires a bit of rampup to get going, but it’s an incredibly versatile and useful way to customize the web to your liking.

mozdev.org:

Getting started:

1. Get Firefox 1.5 (if you don't already have it).
2. Install Greasemonkey.
3. Learn how to use Greasemonkey.
4. Find useful scripts.

Script recommendations:
*userscripts.org (Look for your most-used sites in the tag cloud ... like WoW, you lovable weirdos)
*Lifehacker’s Favorite Grasemonkey Scripts
*More Lifehacker on Greasemonkey

Scripts I've installed: (After you've installed Greasemonkey, you can right-click on these links to install the script.)
Bloglines Teal Killer by Gina Trapani
Lifehacker Blackener by Gina Trapani
Amazon Music Helper by Jesse Andrews
Bloglines - Open Links in New Tab by Julien Couvreur
Bloglines sidebar tweaker by Simon Lieschke
Bloglines Subscribe by Johan Sundström (Good replacement for LiveLines extension, which isn't compatible with Firefox 1.5 - what's up with that?)
Clean My Yahoo by Unknown
Yahoo Mail Extras by Unknown
Google Images in IMDb by Stefan Berndtsson
IMDb links in Netflix by Unknown

Do you use Greasemonkey? What are your favorite scripts?

Related:
*Learn to Love Change
*How to Read Blogs via RSS/XML (Also: How to Start Using Bloglines)
*I Want to Tell You (Cool Firefox keyboard shortcut)
*Clearing the Cache (Top 15 Firefox Extensions)
*Potpourri (Reorder Tabs in Firefox)

The Artist is redecorating.

When I first walked into her rent-controlled Village apartment over a year ago, I was visually bombarded. The mustard yellow walls were patchworked with small gold picture frames. A painting inspired by a mega-celebrity she knew hung over the mantle. Another celeb-inspired work was drying on the dining table. A beautiful portrait of her overlooked the mismatched antique furniture which crowded the small living room. Even her refrigerator door was overflowing with inspiring quotes and photos of loved ones. It was an overwhelming experience, and in the many times I’ve visited since, I’d always noticed something I hadn’t seen before.

Now, it’s all gone.

The broken antique chairs and the heavy coffee table have been thrown away. The picture frames and artwork have been taken down from the walls. Even the dining table is gone. The yellow walls are now white, and so is the new carpet. She’s brought herself back to basics, creating a sleeping area and a studio. That’s pretty much it. She’s discovered what’s important to her. And what isn’t.

A mutual friend who was describing this redesign to me before I’d gotten to see it firsthand said that The Artist had concluded that her old décor had been proof that she existed. The loud colors, excessive wall hangings, and crowded spaces were to remind us all that she was here and doing big exciting things. You tripped over her. You couldn’t miss her. It was for us, not for her.

I think I used to blog like that.

Just last week, two friends and I were doubled over in the dim light on a SoHo sidewalk. An off-duty waitresss named Gigi had just told us the funniest story I’d heard in weeks. As soon as we said goodbye to her, both friends turned to me and said, “Now that’s something for your blog!” Indeed it was. But I don’t really feel like retelling it here. It was a funny moment between four people on a sidewalk.

This year has been full of amazing, fulfilling, scary, stressful, and emotional experiences. And I haven’t really told you about any of it.

On purpose.

I don’t need to have all of my highs and lows hanging on the wall in order to know that I am truly living life. These experiences—and the ones yet to come—are mine, and I don’t have to share them to know they really happened or discover their meaning in my life.

I’ve redecorated. And I like the new look.

Written June 28, 2005