My 48th Birthday

Sarah, I need you to get this important message to my Mother. I know no one will listen but please, I don't want any b/day presents. You've seen my house, I don't have much and I don't need much and I want to keep it that way.

So as you won't listen I have a rule, I don't want anything bigger than a paperback book, it doesn't have to be a book though, just the general dimensions. Getting through the airport and home with Iris is stressful enough without having to haul half the crap you'll all buy me, each thing the size of a small loaf of bread.

Tim once bought me a boulle set, I don't want to sound ungrateful, it's great, still use it, love it but, it was heavier than hell to carry home and didn't half cause some consternation at the x-ray machine.

Here's an idea, jewelry, the idea being I don't want any of that either. Why, see following paragraph on "your taste".

Clothes? Forget it, I own 3 t-shirts and two pairs of jeans, don't want or need anything else. Anyway, you'll all be so far off with what you think I may like I'll only donate it to a homeless person.

Free Text Messages

Did you know you can send text messages from your computer. All you do is send an email to the phone number @ cell companies domain

So for example, to send me a text you would address an email to 2164030328@text.att.net

Here are the domains for the most popular US carriers:

Alltel -- @message.alltel.com
AT&T -- @text.att.net
Nextel -- @messaging.nextel.com
Sprint -- @messaging.sprintpcs.com
T-mobile -- @tmomail.net
VoiceStream -- @voicestream.net
Verizon -- @vtext.com

Try it out, send yourself a text right now.

There are a couple of things to be aware of though.

1. The person you send it to will know it came from you because whatever name you have set up in your email program is the name that will be sent with the text. Your phone number however will not be sent so they won't be able to just hit "Reply". For instance, I got a text the other day from an email, the reply field was 1010100026

2. Watch out for your signature. Some people have 3/4/more line signatures for their email, this will be sent along too, if you've got a 320 character signature, the person you're sending to is going to get charged for 2 texts just for your signature. The problem may arise if your signature doesn't show when you're composing but is added on when the mail is sent.

3. In a similar vein as No. 2, Most free email providers, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, and many others, add a line or 3 of ads on the bottom of each email you send through them. My Sister in England sent me a two line text the other day, her hosting company, Tiscali, added so much junk to the bottom of her email, it cost me 5 texts at International rates.

To see exactly what would be sent as a text, just send yourself an email using the same account you will text from.

4. Be aware how few characters 160 is. Your "Reply To" name is part of that 160 chars. as is the Subject of the email. You can leave the subject blank to save space. So you may only have 135/140 characters to play with before you push it to 2 texts and more, and it's really easy to do with a full keyboard over your phone's keypad.

Also, some carriers don't allow multi-text, texts unless they're from someone else on the same carriers network. So you may send a 2 page text and the person only gets 1 page with no indication there were more. Just because you're on Verizon and so is the person you're texting, your email program isn't and that's what's sending the text.

So what do you do if you don't know the carrier of your friend? Well you click here. This is a small form that allows you to input the phone number and message. It will then send 1 email to each of the major carriers. Of course that email address can only be valid at one provider because your phone number is unique, so, 1 email goes through, the other 6 don't -- done.

One week down, one week at a time

I am now 10 days sober. It hasn't been bad at all, a few times I thought of drinking but that was out of habit rather than out of a desire.

My drinking problem is that "1 is too many and 10 is not enough". I can easily not have a drink, if I have 1 or 2, I found it impossible almost to stop.

So I am going to keep on working at it each day to not have that first one.

Pink flowers

Pink flowers.jpg,
originally uploaded by MelvinPrice.

Iris dreams of pink flowers

O Brother Where Art Thou?

1. Sleeping in my bus
2. Living with DS
3. In a very calm place
4. Exploring friendships and relationships
5. Purging the old and bad and that which doesn't have my best interests at heart
6. If things go horribly wrong on Friday - Prison
7. Finding my religion
8. Purging my demons
9. Being cryptic :)

Dance as if no-one is watching

So, on Saturday, St. Patrick's day, he who rid Ireland of snakes (Not as cool as St. George slaying the dragon), I went to see my favorite local band, who are a cover band for my favorite band and about who Spider Stacy from the Pogues said, "They are the best Pogues cover band in the world", well I can't confirm that quote but I heard it and, I like the guy who said it and, the band are that good so I don't care whether Stacy said it or not, It's true. Oh yeah, who are the band? They're called "The boys from the county hell". I know I say "My favorite band" and "My favorite movie" a lot but I've been around for 45 years so I'm allowed to have more than one "My absolutely all time favorite"

Where was I, oh yeah, so for like 3 solid hours I danced and a group of people around me danced just like me and I was like "o mi god and jesus too", Before I go any further I'd just like to say to the prick in the white top and long black hair, I hope your next shit's a Porcupine. But even she, with her totally trying to spoil everyone's night assholeness couldn't ruin it for the rest of us. We took it in turns being the one stood next to her getting battered while the rest danced.

So, I met my separated at birth dancing quadruplets, or however many there were.I can't remember everyone's name but of course I remember you Kim, Marylin and Chris. I love you guys. Also cool glasses guy. thanks for reciting that awesome poem. And mustache guy and S. American or somewhere American dude, hi and hope to meet you again.

To Kim's date, remember what I told you the other night "Let it free and if it was meant to be yours, it will return", Don't hold your fucking breath though. I felt for you at first but later on you were just getting on my tits and just because we're both English don't mean we got anything in common.

To the band, "I would give anything to play with you guys", there is one small stumbling block though, I can't play an instrument. I can learn the tambourine, or maybe show my ass to the beat while you play "The Irish Rover"

Everything I said to you guys was the truth, except some of it may have been embellished to get a cheap laugh, most of it actually, and to be truthful most of what I said wasn't the truth either. But the sincere stuff was all sincere and thank you one and all for the compliments and for allowing me to enjoy such an awesome night with you. You were the first to talk to me Marylin, thank you.

Mora and Conner, you guys rock, really rock, I hope to run into you again one day.

MDMA Therapy - Drug Stories - The Good Drugs Guide

MDMA Therapy - Drug Stories - The Good Drugs Guide: "the first nibble
Before smileys. Before glow sticks and Mitsubishi's. Before raves and techno, ecstasy had a lengthy, respected, and legal career as a psychotherapeutic drug.

MDMA had been chanced upon by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912 (they also extracted cocaine from coca leaves around the same time). It was patented but since it had no obvious use it soon disappeared off the radar. It was not developed as a diet pill as is often rumoured."