Pure white, Pure night Jan22 '05
The Shining
I sit here now with mounds and swirls of pure white burying my house. At times like these, why not let Stephen King describe it?
Snow
"Will it ever be spring?" Wendy murmured.
Jack squeezed her tighter. "Before you know it. What do you say we go in and have some supper? It’s cold out here."
...
So they went in together, leaving the wind to build the low– pitched scream that would go on all night – a sound they would get to know well. Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three quarters of a century, its darkened windows now bearded with snow, indifferent to the fact that it was now cut off from the world. Or possibly it was pleased with the prospect. Inside its shell the three of them went about their early evening routine, like microbes trapped in the intestine of a monster.
– Stephen King; Chapter 24; The Shining
I can also picture that evil, sinister look on Jack Nicholson’s face, as he relished the reality of himself becoming crazy – realizing that there was, indeed, no turning back. In his head, what had to be done, was going to be done.
Back to reality
It may not be as "sinister looking" as the Overlook Hotel in Colorado, but I reckon there are some strong similarities outside my window:
My desk... my work area – with light barely passing through, due to the accumulating snow on the window ledges.
I have to admit, though, it’s kind of cozy.
Work already accomplished today
I have accomplished many things already today – the first item being my zip code MySQL database.
I was able to easily import an Excel spreadsheet into phpMyAdmin (MySQL). This is done by saving the Excel file as a Comma separated list, or CSV, and then importing that via phpMyAdmin. More on this topic later...
I also began writing down thoughts for my Smart Playlist web site – SmartPlaylist.org. What I plan on doing – since my initial idea already exists, is to create a purely informational site regarding iTunes Smart Playlists – rather than a "community oriented" site, or forum.
For me, this has turned out to be a better option, because I believe there is a philosophy behind Smart Playlists, and I intend to explain it thoroughly.
My site (SmartPlaylist.org) is just "introduction content" right now, with minimal styles. I intend to make the site look pretty darn appealing, as well as overly informational, during the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned.
On a final note... I changed my "About" image, at my About section. I snapped this photo today, and I loved all the angles present – not to mention, the "mirror effect." With some Photoshop editing, I think it looks pretty good – and fits in well with the site colors.
I floated the image to the left, and put some extra margin (10 pixels) below it, but something tells me Internet Explorer 6 for Windows is displaying it wrong. I’ll have to take a look sometime later today, if I can get my PC working.
The rest of today
The rest of today, snow and all, I don’t plan on doing much. Watching a bunch of movies with Shell sounds like the best option. After all, you can’t do much outside, except shovel. It’s better to bundle up and keep warm.
Various movie choices include:
- The Big One
- 50 First Dates
- Men In Black II
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Back To The Future
- The School Of Rock
- The Burbs
Those are some good choices. Although... we could always watch The Shining.
Categories: Miscellaneous 
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Ah, but the Stitch shirt must make me seem somewhat harmless... ;) Maybe I'll try to smile next time. ... Read more.
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