Two Years
I won't say this lot has been sitting on my Desktop the entire time. But it has been waiting in the wings for over two years. Sure, other projects took precedence.
But why?
Oh, is that a question? If so, please let me answer. The project was on hold (no doubt) because of some difficulty... I'm guessing it was either personal boredom concerning the subject matter or a creative hurdle my mind was having a hard time overcoming. Certainly, as I resume work on the project, I'm having difficulty with issues of privacy. Some of the images contain information I do not wish to reveal. And then, of course, there is the mindless (mind-numbing) mundanity of it all: i.e. the subject matter involved is quite dry and boring.
But let's overlook that last for the moment and just get down to it.
You see, the working file (the file from which this Web-Page will be created) consists almost entirely of pictures. But as it turns out, I don't want to post those pictures. Or as my mental shorthand goes, This will go quicker if I don't post that many pictures.
And with that little insight (which handily solves so many problems), we are off and running.
Train Stubs
I collected my Train Stubs for a year... or two... or whatever. And before throwing them out, I took a picture of them. But it's a fairly boring picture; not to mention, slightly out of focus. And really, if I can't be bothered to use that photo as the Lead In Image for this Web-Page (which clearly, I cannot be bothered to do), I should just hit the delete button and scrap it.
Anyway, the real point is (having nothing to do with the photographic evidence itself): I kept my Train Stubs. It's exactly the sort of thing that I do... mainly, so I can write about it (whatever it is) right here. Which I have now done. And with that said and done, there is nothing left to do but post the image... or throw it away.
Guess which option I chose?
Grocery Store Giveaway
Now, I would say it was the Train Stub Image which was giving me all the trouble. But that's not true. The concept was good. It's just that the picture was mediocre... and, well, I didn't want to give away my station stop.
The next photo in line (I will be reviewing them in time-stamp order), is just crap... pure and simple.
The Local Grocery Store had a contest. I collected my tickets, collected my prizes, and photographed the lot: a short stack of slightly less than $20 worth of Name Brand Products.
It's a photograph of no worth. It has no value.
Besides, it's the worksheets which track my tickets (in the hopes of hitting The Big Win) that are real artefact, here:
GAME-2018
GAME-2019
There was another Game in 2020. But on account of The Virus, I Abandoned All Hope and threw-out the pieces midway.
Brett Rants
Killing Time
Existentialism By Any Other Name
Text Editor
Despite what I may have said, not everything is being posted in Time Stamp Order. In fact, precious little has been, thus far.
The Grocery Game was really the Odd Man Out. It veers the most from the rest of the entries on this page. So really, I just wanted to get it out of the way. And the above tidbit follows very closely on its heels, as I could have just as well posted images of the Grocery Story text files as the text files themselves, which is what I did here: i.e. the above Text Editor Test File is an image of a text file.
Confused?
It matters not.
Let's just move on.
I have been known to download both programs and data as if they were valuable and/or either might suddenly disappear from the Internet (as this site someday will).
So, I collect them. But most of the programs prove to be uninteresting. Or maybe, more to the point, my Prime Directive seems to be Get Out Content! And since I can crank out a greater quantity of the easier content, it's hard to justify the more complicated stuff.
This page will take me a full day worth of labor... maybe more, depending upon how much time one wants to allot for the base photographs. But it could easily take weeks or months if I started going crazy on the coding, making custom images or what not.
So, this sort of throwaway page is easy... and as this (or that) is where I seem to be spending my time, I have less and less need for complicated programs.
NeoCon
I like going to NeoCon. It is a free (open to the public) convention held in Chicago (at The Merchandise Mart, now just The MART) on an annual basis which primarily focuses on Interior Design. I mean, that's a big subject. And although I am sure many an attendee is a local looking for ideas, most of the attendees are (in theory) design professionals focused on Commercial Design: Offices, Hospitals, Restaurants, Hotels, and so on.
Is that enough of a lead-in?
Go NeoCon!
I am interested in the subject matter... maybe, possibly, in a post-professional, it's nice to keep my feet in the water sort of way. At a long-shot, perhaps I will discover something truly revolutionary.
As I walk the aisles, I tend to meditate on a life that's been.
Oh, and was it last year? No, it was the year before, I mentally mapped out a Media Room, as I explored all there is to know (or all I am going to know) about Sound Attenuation.
While last year (yes, this was last year), I was more focused on Building Security. I for one was quite surprised at the amount of information that can be extracted from a current running through a wire. I mean, feel free to continue to view cyclone fences (and the like) as obstacles to entry and exit. But I for one will henceforth view them as part of the overall Surveillance System, providing as much information (albeit of a different modality) as a Video Camera.
But then, that's me. And most of the information came from my reading after the fact. It's not what NeoCon is formally about.
Either way, it matters not.
These things (random input, whatever the source) hardly ever lead anywhere.
Besides, the forgoing has almost nothing to do with the putative purpose of the page. For, the image I am looking at is comprised of all The Loot I collected at NeoCon: chocolates, candies, sake glasses (which the salesperson would have been more than happy to fill with the good stuff, if I was of the mind), and a measuring tape. But the best of the best was (undoubtedly) a pair of gridded (graph paper) notebooks. It is hard to describe how much I lusted after these last... even if years hence (well, it's been at least a year hence), I have yet to find a suitable way to put them to use. What can I say? I am no longer a Pencil & Paper sort of guy.
Every year, I say I won't load up on the goodies. And every year I do. And that Compulsive Hoarding Behaviour is exactly what this page is about.
Of course, I can easily forgive the Compulsion to Collect. But what's perhaps more amusing is that some of this stuff is of really high quality, but I still can't be bothered to use it: those wonderful graphite pencils, which I have never bothered to sharpen, come rapidly to mind... as does the coloured pencil set, which ironically enough, I value solely for it's sharpener, but which I have never come close to using to prime the aforementioned graphite pencils.
Oh, well.
When the time comes, they will be waiting for me. Which is to say, at least I still have that stuff. Some stuff I throw out almost as soon as I get home... typically the next day or within the week.
The ---- Event
Down on the drag, they've got an annual eating and drinking event, which sort of launches an even bigger bit of debauchery.
And along with the food (sort of meh, but it's the crowd that counts) and the liquor (it's quicker than candy, which is just dandy), the local businesses turn out en mass, handing out all sorts of freebies.
The following represents my notes on the haul for this particular event. And as I was starting a running list (which was quickly abandoned), a few other outings are mixed in, as well:
_----_---------- Hotel
Please, don't ask me to explain why some things (NeoCon, for instance) I am willing to mention directly, while others I feel the need to obfuscate. Though, if I had to choose one way or another, I'd obfuscate it all. {And in fact, I started with NeoCon being raw, decided to obfuscate it; and then, finally, changed it back to how it is now, completely spelled out and obvious. So, my feelings on the subject are more than a bit mixed.}
I stayed at a Hotel. It was delightful. I walked away with (this being a list of items to be found in a photograph that I'd rather describe than post):
Member's Night
I went to Member's Night, because I am a member, and being able to attend Member's Night is among the primary benefits of being a member.
I hope all is clear.
They gave me (and/or I picked up) five buttons, which is five more buttons than I need, seeing as how I neither wear nor collect buttons. Still, they were there. And as I may have mentioned, I cannot help myself.
I hemmed and hawed about including this image, as the background is the aforementioned hardback copy of Moby Dick. But in truth, it is a very boring picture, hardly worth the bandwidth. And I've decided not to give them (I guess, any of them, except for NeoCon, ironically enough) free advertising, as Member's Night is quite crowded enough as it is.
Join Today?
Are you kidding? Please. There is absolutely no way that a single night (while hosting another couple, to boot) is worth, what? The price of Four Single Person Admissions (which is what a membership costs). And so, it's like getting the rest of the year for free after paying for the one night.
Totally not worth it.
Do Not Join!
A sellout crowd year after year?
The Fools!
The Suckers!
Who wants to spend a behind the scenes evening with a bunch of fossils, dinosaurs, and other antiquities (i.e. old people, really old people, and those really-really old people), anyway?
Not me!
And neither should you!
Despite what I may have said, not everything is being posted in Time Stamp Order. In fact, precious little has been, thus far.
The Grocery Game was really the Odd Man Out. It veers the most from the rest of the entries on this page. So really, I just wanted to get it out of the way. And the above tidbit follows very closely on its heels, as I could have just as well posted images of the Grocery Story text files as the text files themselves, which is what I did here: i.e. the above Text Editor Test File is an image of a text file.
Confused?
It matters not.
Let's just move on.
I have been known to download both programs and data as if they were valuable and/or either might suddenly disappear from the Internet (as this site someday will).
So, I collect them. But most of the programs prove to be uninteresting. Or maybe, more to the point, my Prime Directive seems to be Get Out Content! And since I can crank out a greater quantity of the easier content, it's hard to justify the more complicated stuff.
This page will take me a full day worth of labor... maybe more, depending upon how much time one wants to allot for the base photographs. But it could easily take weeks or months if I started going crazy on the coding, making custom images or what not.
So, this sort of throwaway page is easy... and as this (or that) is where I seem to be spending my time, I have less and less need for complicated programs.
NeoCon
I like going to NeoCon. It is a free (open to the public) convention held in Chicago (at The Merchandise Mart, now just The MART) on an annual basis which primarily focuses on Interior Design. I mean, that's a big subject. And although I am sure many an attendee is a local looking for ideas, most of the attendees are (in theory) design professionals focused on Commercial Design: Offices, Hospitals, Restaurants, Hotels, and so on.
Is that enough of a lead-in?
Go NeoCon!
I am interested in the subject matter... maybe, possibly, in a post-professional, it's nice to keep my feet in the water sort of way. At a long-shot, perhaps I will discover something truly revolutionary.
As I walk the aisles, I tend to meditate on a life that's been.
Oh, and was it last year? No, it was the year before, I mentally mapped out a Media Room, as I explored all there is to know (or all I am going to know) about Sound Attenuation.
While last year (yes, this was last year), I was more focused on Building Security. I for one was quite surprised at the amount of information that can be extracted from a current running through a wire. I mean, feel free to continue to view cyclone fences (and the like) as obstacles to entry and exit. But I for one will henceforth view them as part of the overall Surveillance System, providing as much information (albeit of a different modality) as a Video Camera.
But then, that's me. And most of the information came from my reading after the fact. It's not what NeoCon is formally about.
Either way, it matters not.
These things (random input, whatever the source) hardly ever lead anywhere.
Besides, the forgoing has almost nothing to do with the putative purpose of the page. For, the image I am looking at is comprised of all The Loot I collected at NeoCon: chocolates, candies, sake glasses (which the salesperson would have been more than happy to fill with the good stuff, if I was of the mind), and a measuring tape. But the best of the best was (undoubtedly) a pair of gridded (graph paper) notebooks. It is hard to describe how much I lusted after these last... even if years hence (well, it's been at least a year hence), I have yet to find a suitable way to put them to use. What can I say? I am no longer a Pencil & Paper sort of guy.
Every year, I say I won't load up on the goodies. And every year I do. And that Compulsive Hoarding Behaviour is exactly what this page is about.
Of course, I can easily forgive the Compulsion to Collect. But what's perhaps more amusing is that some of this stuff is of really high quality, but I still can't be bothered to use it: those wonderful graphite pencils, which I have never bothered to sharpen, come rapidly to mind... as does the coloured pencil set, which ironically enough, I value solely for it's sharpener, but which I have never come close to using to prime the aforementioned graphite pencils.
Oh, well.
When the time comes, they will be waiting for me. Which is to say, at least I still have that stuff. Some stuff I throw out almost as soon as I get home... typically the next day or within the week.
The ---- Event
Down on the drag, they've got an annual eating and drinking event, which sort of launches an even bigger bit of debauchery.
And along with the food (sort of meh, but it's the crowd that counts) and the liquor (it's quicker than candy, which is just dandy), the local businesses turn out en mass, handing out all sorts of freebies.
The following represents my notes on the haul for this particular event. And as I was starting a running list (which was quickly abandoned), a few other outings are mixed in, as well:
The ---- Event{And having already deleted the picture}
three golf balls
two yo yos
pen
glow stick
drink mix
potato chip bag clip
three seed packets
Eh, there's maybe more... maybe already thrown out., I can't remember. These things are not important. It is the thrill of the chase, the thrill of the moment, the thrill of the catch.{Perhaps, many more. Often enough, I had more than one Ice Cream Bar at a time. And my note taking for this project sort of fell off. I mean, I'd completely forgotten that I'd started to take notes until just a few seconds ago when I opened the file and started working on this sub-section of the Web-Page.}
Community Outdoor Movie
I got a plastic bag full of protein bars targeted at the children's market. They are not premium. So, it's a cashing in of the brand name, at a lesser level of quality, because kids don't matter... and/or they like their sugar.
Over the course of the summer, I was given three Premium Ice Cream Bars... and counting.{In all truth, this list was totally abandoned. As at two entries, it's clear that I stopped recording my finds almost before I began. Suffice to say, there is a Free Pile of Stuff at the Library, from which I have snagged:}
Local Library
{But like I said, this is where the list ends. But off the top of my head, I can add: picture frames, cupcake holders, postcards, birthday cards, pens, and obviously, a huge selection of books, including many a high quality hardback... a Moby Dick in immaculate condition from the late 1800s for instance is among the finds, as is a beautifully illustrated Vanity Fair from the 1950s.}
collector book marks
film strip bookmarks
The Notes are {clearly} not of archival quality {having lots of contemporary annotations mixed in}, while the base has been edited {quite heavily} for clarity. But it's good enough for a Rant such as this._----_---------- Hotel
Please, don't ask me to explain why some things (NeoCon, for instance) I am willing to mention directly, while others I feel the need to obfuscate. Though, if I had to choose one way or another, I'd obfuscate it all. {And in fact, I started with NeoCon being raw, decided to obfuscate it; and then, finally, changed it back to how it is now, completely spelled out and obvious. So, my feelings on the subject are more than a bit mixed.}
I stayed at a Hotel. It was delightful. I walked away with (this being a list of items to be found in a photograph that I'd rather describe than post):
- Individually Wrapped Jelly Bellies
- Hey, guess the Hotel?
- Every time I walked through the lobby, I grabbed a handful...
- Or two...
- Or three.
- Or two...
- Every Time!
- I snagged upwards of two Mason Jars worth.
- Booyah!
- Individual Jellies & Jams
- The good kind...
- In glass jars.
- Let us assume breakfast set us back $100 or so.
- The general consensus was that we'd paid for everything on the table.
- Sort of like Dinner Rolls.
- So, Snag!
- The general consensus was that we'd paid for everything on the table.
- Two Pens
- Great Pens!
- We met the housekeeper in the hall and it very much felt like shopping.
- "No, we don't need the room made up."
- "Need anything? Well, er, um. As long as you're asking..."
- Begging the question: How many of those small shampoo bottles are required to make a world class bubble bath?
- Sewing Kit
- A nice one.
- Cotton Swabs
- If it looks like a freebie, it is a freebie.
- I mean, it's odd. I remember taking ashtrays as a child. And I feel sort of guilty about that. But I wonder how I would feel about that today?
- Plastic Spoon
- Don't judge me.
- Actually, it looks so much like a metal spoon, it's quite impressive.
"I admit to myself and others that I have an uncontrollable compulsion to collect freebies, to hunt out freebies, to fill my pockets, and when that doesn't do the trick, to search for one of those reusable bags that have been lovingly provided by a thoughtful vendor, so my pockets do not burst at the seams."So, I've got that First Step covered. And I'm more than happy to confess my sins to others. But I don't think I am ready to change.
Member's Night
I went to Member's Night, because I am a member, and being able to attend Member's Night is among the primary benefits of being a member.
I hope all is clear.
They gave me (and/or I picked up) five buttons, which is five more buttons than I need, seeing as how I neither wear nor collect buttons. Still, they were there. And as I may have mentioned, I cannot help myself.
I hemmed and hawed about including this image, as the background is the aforementioned hardback copy of Moby Dick. But in truth, it is a very boring picture, hardly worth the bandwidth. And I've decided not to give them (I guess, any of them, except for NeoCon, ironically enough) free advertising, as Member's Night is quite crowded enough as it is.
Join Today?
Are you kidding? Please. There is absolutely no way that a single night (while hosting another couple, to boot) is worth, what? The price of Four Single Person Admissions (which is what a membership costs). And so, it's like getting the rest of the year for free after paying for the one night.
Totally not worth it.
Do Not Join!
A sellout crowd year after year?
The Fools!
The Suckers!
Who wants to spend a behind the scenes evening with a bunch of fossils, dinosaurs, and other antiquities (i.e. old people, really old people, and those really-really old people), anyway?
Not me!
And neither should you!
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It's way easier to start a project than finish it. So, I've got years and years worth of these half finished things lying around. I wonder what project that I've completely forgotten about is next?
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