Trouted...

So, the following conversation occurred via AIM just now (my screenname has been replaced for privacy purposes):

CounseledTrout (1:39:43 AM): Have you lied to your children today?
Syl (1:40:00 AM): o.O
CounseledTrout (1:40:12 AM): ?
Syl (1:40:16 AM): who is this?
CounseledTrout (1:40:21 AM): yeah
CounseledTrout (1:40:25 AM): i can't remember...
Syl (1:40:48 AM): well when you figure out, let me know.
CounseledTrout (1:41:00 AM): goodness, can you just tell me...
CounseledTrout (1:41:04 AM): its like going on 2 AM lol
Syl (1:41:30 AM): well seeing as how you would know better than I would...
CounseledTrout (1:42:05 AM): seriously though
CounseledTrout (1:42:11 AM): its late...
CounseledTrout (1:42:18 AM): and i've gotta crash soon
Syl (1:42:20 AM): yes, it is
CounseledTrout (1:42:30 AM): i'll happily answer your first question
CounseledTrout (1:42:37 AM): but now i'm just curious to know
CounseledTrout (1:42:44 AM): who you are since I dont' remember...
Syl (1:43:33 AM): well I've never even seen your screenname before, so I can't tell you where you know me from if I don't know who you are
CounseledTrout (1:44:16 AM): if you've never seen my screen name, how'd you know to IM me and ask me a question like that...>.>
Syl (1:44:27 AM): ....you IMed me...?
CounseledTrout (1:44:38 AM): you IM'ed me actually
Syl (1:44:56 AM): CounseledTrout (1:39:43 AM): Have you lied to your children today?
Syl (1:40:00 AM): o.O
CounseledTrout (1:40:12 AM): ?
Syl (1:40:16 AM): who is this?
Syl (1:45:04 AM): you initiated.
CounseledTrout (1:45:16 AM): my name isn't Syl
CounseledTrout (1:45:20 AM): its O------
CounseledTrout (1:45:29 AM): and i didn't ask you those questions
Syl (1:45:58 AM): yours is CounseledTrout, mine is Syl...
CounseledTrout (1:46:12 AM): nope
CounseledTrout (1:46:18 AM): my name's O------
CounseledTrout (1:46:24 AM): you probably returned the wrong IM
Syl (1:46:27 AM): not according to aim
Syl (1:46:44 AM): CounseledTrout (1:46:12 AM): nope
CounseledTrout (1:46:18 AM): my name's O-----
CounseledTrout (1:46:24 AM): you probably returned the wrong IM
CounseledTrout (1:46:58 AM): your aim's messed up
CounseledTrout (1:47:05 AM): cause thats not me
CounseledTrout (1:47:11 AM): lol
Syl (1:47:19 AM): or yours is
Syl (1:47:51 AM): and how could I reply to someone who never IMed me in the first place?
CounseledTrout (1:47:51 AM): well, anyway best of luck xDD
CounseledTrout (1:48:01 AM): your IM was random to me
Syl (1:48:18 AM): maybe you have a virus :p
CounseledTrout (1:48:50 AM): doubt it
CounseledTrout (1:48:54 AM): catch you later
Syl (1:48:59 AM): mmhm
Syl (1:49:02 AM): bye

I did a bit of googling around to try to figure out exactly what had happened, and found a few references to the same "Have you lied to your children today?" on Twitter...further searching revealed that apparently there is a set of AIM bots that randomly IM two people and connect their IMs to each other....

"Responses from users are then forwarded by the bot to another one of the users similarly contacted. From this both users are typically confused insisting the other messaged them first and try to figure out what is going on." (quoted from the above-linked wikipedia article)

Not sure how it got my screenname. Apparently the original bots trolled LiveJournal. Facebook is a suspected new source, which is possible. Either way, a very weird (and initially kind of creepy) experience.

Edit: you can actually ask one of these bots to connect you with someone, which, if you enjoy messing with people, could be kind of fun. Took me a couple minutes to get a message, but it worked.

Charcoal Burger, Anyone?

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I went to a cookout tonight with my family. My brother is leaving for college on wednesday, and it was a sort-of surprise for him -- he knew there was a cookout happening, but he didn't know he was the guest of honor. He was appropriately happy/embarrassed/surprised. It was a pretty nice get-together, about 15 families or so.

The family hosting the cookout has a pool, so all of the kids, most of the teens and a few of the adults got some swimming in. Nothing personal, guys, but there is a certain point after which men should not be seen in public in swim trunks (women's swimsuits tend to be a little more forgiving, though they have their limits as well). If your gut is hanging more than a couple inches over the top of your trunks, please do the rest of us a favor and wear a t-shirt, ok?

Cookouts tend to reflect extremes in terms of food quality. The food is either awesome or awful, there's not usually very much in-between. Most of the food at this particular cookout was of the awesome variety, but the burgers...the guy manning the grill apparently decided the burgers should reflect the flavor and texture of the charcoal. I prefer my meat more on the non-crunchy side, personally. I think I piled about half a tomato on my patty. All in all, though, an appropriate level of calories for a cookout (translation: way too many) were consumed.

At one point everyone was sharing stories about my brother...it was really great. I'm so proud of him. He can be a dork (what brother isn't at times?), but he's a really great kid. I guess I can't call him a kid anymore, what with him headed off to college and all. *sniff*

Olympic Fever!

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So, tomorrow is officially the first day of the 2008 Olympics. I am not a sports fan in general, but I do enjoy watching the Olympics...not so much the more traditional sports like basketball, but the stuff you rarely get to watch at other times...diving, gymnastics, rowing, stuff like that (the winter games are fun to watch too, of course). A healthy dose of sports every couple of years is plenty to keep me going!

As anyone who has been paying much attention to the news knows, there's a lot of controversy this time around, thanks to China's crappy handling of a lot of issues. Everything from Tibet to pollution to going back on their promise to allow journalists open internet access during the games...they're really not doing a very good job of projecting a good image over there.

The threat of terrorism is also a much bigger issue than in the past. While terrorists have targeted the Olympics in the past (Atlanta, for example), China has a pretty significant number of people that are both (a) pissed enough and insane enough to launch an attack, and (b) in the right places to do so. There has already been one attack in China very recently, though not in Beijing, but it has people even warier than before.

There's already some scandal going on, too...what would sports be without scandal, right? From China's suspected underage gymnasts to suspected doping by 41-year old American swimmer Dara Torres, there's a decent bit of gossip and speculation going on before the Games even start.If past Olympics are any indication, we'll have plenty more in the next few weeks. With all the pressure on athletes these days, it makes the whole "just have fun and do your best" concept a little less popular....

At any rate, despite the scandals and the threats and the Chinese government, I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Olympic fever has struck!

I Live!

Sorry about the extended absence, folks...that was not a pleasant cold. I'm still coughing a teeny bit, but I've mostly recovered. Thanks for the get-well wishes!

I'm going to sort of cheat and do a meme today to get myself back into the blogging groove...real post (and photo!) tomorrow, I promise.

Ten Things

1. List some things you want to say to 10 different people but you know you never will.
2. Don't say who they are.
3. Feel free to comment, but don't confirm or answer anything.

In no particular order....(seriously, I wrote them and then jumbled them up just to make it even more confusing)

1. I hope you understand why things changed between us. I think you do.

2. I am so proud of you. I hope you do as well as I think you will.

3. I hope you find what you're looking for. You deserve it.

4. You've changed, but for the better in a lot of ways. I wish it hadn't taken what it did to make you grow up. I'm glad you didn't grow up too much.

5. I hope it doesn't take you as long to wise up.

6. I'm scared. Not of you.

7. Don't change. Grow, but stay who you are now too.

8. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of comforting you. I just didn't know what to say.

9. I envy you a lot of the time...but there are a lot of times I'd never trade places with you, too.

10. I'm worried about you. I wish you'd stop saying it's everyone else and admit maybe there's something to worry about.