Category: Too Much Information

If You Use Google Products or Services, Read This

Anyone who uses Google’s products or services, such as gmail, gtalk, google searches, etc should read this article at Ars.  It discusses how you can access your dashboard to see what information Google keeps on you, and you can opt out of various parts as needed.

As someone who reluctantly uses Google (my account on gmail is called “reluctantkirk” – doesn’t get more obvious than that) and who tries to keep my privacy intact as much as possible, I was a little disconcerted to see that I could go back and see an eternal history of Google searches and that somehow several friends have ended up as Google contacts when I didn’t intend them to (I don’t want to share their info with Google if it can be avoided).

That being said, the dashboard allows you to manage these things, delete history, remove contacts, etc.  Thank you Google for trying to make money without doing evil.

My Inner Claustrophobe Is Squirming

Beware those of you who are claustrophobic, for this video will make you squirm.  Well, it did for me at least.

How did I come across this?  I was searching for a fellow named Keith Dryer (I think – no luck so far) and came across a video of some guy name Keith going into a dryer (how odd!).  That video wasn’t so bad because there wasn’t that moment where I said “He’s not going to be able to get out!”.

Not this one though … this one had me squirming in sympathy.

It’s Not Itchy – Really!

This morning Marley woke up with a little rash around her leg.  It quickly expanded to encompass most of her body, at an alarming rate.  The doctor says Benadryl, and Prednisone if things aren’t under control in 24 hours.

Right now we’re flummoxed as to the cause.  We’re comforted by the fact that immune/allergic reactions like this can take days or longer to actually show up, and that the Benadryl seems to be working.  Here’s hoping for a quick recovery little girl!

Peter Murphy – Calling Me Home

Sometimes there’s just something that speaks to the core of a person, and today I want to expose my inner goth by saying that Peter Murphy and his songs, voice, and face are a part of the inner me.

This song started it all, leading me to the Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Daniel Ash, David J – a whole new genre of music which continues to influence my tastes today.

Even today Peter has an astounding voice – mesmerizing. Just listen.

Like Little Angels …

You know those deep down itches you get once in a blue moon if you’re particularly unlucky? No, I don’t mean deep down on your body, I mean those deep, rooted, soul-tickling itches that emanate from the very core of your body. No you can’t scratch it! You must endure it! Yes, it will subside … eventually. They lead to madness and despair – s’truth!

Now imagine one of those itches in your ear – a subtle inflammation of your eustachian tube. Not enough to cause pain but just enough to give you a soul-shredding itch that feels like it emanates from the inner side of your mushy cerebellum.

Well that’s what I’ve got.

But there is hope! I have been prescribed ear drops and lo they are the cure! I do not refer to their protracted and longterm curative effects (though I look forward to those as well) but rather to their immediate benefits.

A drop, a mere drop, whispering down the ear canal – it feels like there are little angels dancing on the tips of my cochlear hairs, throwing up pixie dust under their crystal-tipped blue suede shoes. I kid you not, a single drop is enough to make me want to follow the great Leonard Cohen‘s footsteps to Mount Baldy Zen Center to stay a decade or two in contemplation of the divine.