D'oh! I was told by yahoo that angry beavers was on at 2:30.. not CatDog!

razza-frazzin...

update --it was off by 30 min. Angry beavers at 3pm.

Well, holy cow.. this is the season for old pals catching up. I think that if I heard from Steve Jacoby, my collection would be complete. Sheri was a very kind and friendly co-worker of mine back in the late 90s... '97-'98, if memory serves, back when I was at AMS. She located me by visiting a Coos Bay, Oregon newspaper, found a link to a North Bend Blog in the Paper's Guest book, and then a comment of mine in that person's photo log. Pretty neat chain of events, from Fort Lauderdale, and back again. A Round trip, geographically of about 7000 miles or so. Net time to travel, I'm guessing perhaps a half-hour.

She's got her own candle business going on now, and I don't imagine she'd mind my mentioning her sites Wicks Works - Distinctive Handcrafted Candles and Mia Bella's Hand Poured Gourmet Soy Candles.

How neat that Friendly folks from the past are solidifying from their former more ghostly memory forms.

So far, I've recovered four folks from the way-back machine. I wonder how many more will find me as a result of my net-presence?

I don't know why I made this mini-movie.

I feel bad that there's no Linda Hamilton in the new Terminator movie... and Ed Furlong is replaced because of his drug problems. (Even after his horrid rendition of the Doors "People are Strange".


You excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which
is really good because who knows when you'll
run into that disgruntle troll or banshee going
through menopause.


Which Class at Hogwarts Would You Excel at?
brought to you by Quizilla

I want to hit the Morikami Museum soon. I was reminded, after seeing these cool fish prints (which make a few fine wallpapers, maybe after I cycle out of Ganesha again).

7/5/03

Somebody buy me "They Came From Hollywood" when it comes out? Screenshots and more info here. Or Maybe "I was an Atomic Mutant?"

Downloading the atomic mutant demo now.

update -

Well, the demo of "I was an atomic mutant" has whetted my appitite. nothing like being a giant radioactive lizard, destroying towns. I'm really craving to be a giant, disembodied brain. Looks worth $20. Not sure what the lasting gameplay is like, though... no multiplayer, and it's basically "rampage 3d".. smash down, move to next level.

On second thought, I'll hold out for They Came from Hollywood.. looks like more options and ideas.

Gigantic monster personality test Returned my answer as a big geek..Well, that's true. (I suspect the quiz doesn't have the giant plant as one of the answers.

Well, Newt didn't mind the fireworks too much, yesterday, though when someone right out back started firing them off, he peered through the window, and Mer'd at each explosion. Fortunately there weren’t too many. *Pop* Mer? *Pop* Mer! *Pop* Mer! He's been afraid of thunder when it's right on top of the house, though.

I was going to go out to breakfast this morning, but decided it was nicer to just relax a bit and have a cup of instant General Foods International Coffee, Orange Cappuccino. Yummy, though I'm partial to the Swiss Mocha. I'm overdue for Coffee with Sappho and Ihop with Kev.

My daily spam between my regular mail and my registration mail is rather high, in my opinion. ~90 mails daily in the junk mail account, and about 70 in my regular mail, too. Filters work ok, but some things still fritter through. My bulk mail folder is especially large and I use a disposable addy whenever there's a chance of it being harvested or traded. It's not gotten too bad yet, but I might not feel the same way a bit more down the line. I'm wondering if perhaps I should consolidate my addys, and redistribute? I'll concern myself more with it later on.

Danny spent a long time yesterday working on homework... he had to outline 4 chapters, and when I called him, he's spent 2 hours outlining a 30 page first chapter. That seems too long to me, but I have no idea what the chapter contained. I figure that it's a Danny-ism... making more work for himself than is needed. I'm amazed at his current Saturday Schedule... 8-hour cram class and then goes out with the wife for 3 hours dancing that night. He must be fried come Sunday. I'll give him a call midday tomorrow and see how he's surviving. He just had a pesky doctor's visit, too… that can't be helping matters.

Most of my nearest and dearest are needing repair in some way lately... Hip/back, hand, skin, legs... It seems most folks in my age group are starting to see the warrantee expire. Oh for a super-fixy bacta tank!



In other Star Wars nerdy News, while talking about bellybuttons, *someone* suggested mine was similar to a sarlacc, drawing in lint akin to Boba Fett with my yeti-hair acting as graspers. I’ll have the world know that my navel is generally lint-free.

Extra dork bonue - RPG stats for Sarlaac

Looks like weather station K4VAE was back online, but is down again. Bah.

7/4/03

Kazaa lite is amazing.. Pluck any music you want (within reason. it has to exist somewhere) and presto, you can draw it down rapidly...most times in less time than the playing length of the song.

7/4/03

I tend to agree with this. Zack Exley is calling for a new brand of American patriotism that doesn't involve jingoistic slogans, and asks that we live up to our responsibility to our fellow citizens.

America: Love It but Don't Leave It - By Zack Exley, AlterNet

Patriotism is love of country. But love comes in many forms: deep, permanent and unconditional, as well as superficial, fleeting and with strings attached. Too often in America, expressions of patriotism seem to flow from our perceived status as "#1” – in terms of military might, wealth, freedom, and democracy.

Our leaders remind us in nearly every speech they make that we live in the "greatest, freest, most just nation on Earth." They remind us so often, that one can't help but wonder if they really do believe it. That is a patriotism borne of fear, confusion and insecurity.

What if America wasn't – or isn't – number one? Would we still love our country then? Suggest American fallibility, and you may find yourself labeled a traitor. But how, then, are we to find our way to a better America, if this superficial, insecure patriotism prevents us from naming problems that need fixing and traits that need changing?

The solution is to reject false, jingoistic patriotism, and to embrace a patriotism based on the unconditional love of one's country. Note: that's unconditional love, not unconditional approval. Like a parent loves a child, or a child a parent, we love our country because it is our country. Period.

Beware: This type of patriotism brings with it much more responsibility than the kind based on superficial, conditional love. Once you accept responsibility for your country in the way that a parent does for a child – or a child for a parent – then you're really committed. When your country misbehaves, you can't just roll your eyes as if you had nothing to do with it.

Too many on the left have tried to absolve themselves of responsibility for their country by saying "that's my government, not me." Too many on the right have tried to erase the responsibility governments have to represent all the people by saying, "Love it or leave it!"

Perhaps as old political categories such as left and right lose their relevance, we can aim for a new political unity based on a new kind of patriotism. Let's leave behind the hollow patriotism which is based on disdain for and fear of others. Instead, let's define a new patriotism – one that expresses our unconditional love for America and lives up to our responsibility to our fellow Americans.

Mildly sore throat today, fell asleep without the CPAP on, and as a snoring result, my uvula is a bit swollen. Lovely sleepy time this morn.

I hope that the Mother got to talk with the Brother. I'll know by this evening.

Happy 227th birthday, USA! Happy Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Day!

I heartily recommend reading the Declaration of Independence. It's brief, and has a good vibe to it.


If that's not your thing, have a fart joke. (Personally, I like both!)


Classic Obstacles. (I will refrain from highlighting ones that apply to any places of work, current or former.)

When an enterprise refuses to start or run vigorously, the reason may be on this reminder list of common demons:

• Overemphasis on defense of position, class, or reputation.


• Too much love for the familiar or routine. Fear of discomfort


• Evaluating new information and ideas for form rather than content.


• Failure to create a climate of acceptance for new ideas.


• Inordinate concern with turf and title boundaries. Be interested in everything.


• Overspecialized education; insufficiently comprehensive view.


• Lack of deep dedication and commitment. Beware enthusiastic lip service.


• Unrealistic and incomplete job descriptions / titles; unclear lines of responsibility.


• Failure to provide responsible persons the authority they need to carry out their work.


• Failure to delegate authority in order to prevent work overload.


• Overdelegation authority; there must be a boss.


• Fear and avoidance of responsibility.


• Failure to personally follow through and support your ideas at all stages; including the dirty-hands work.


• Unneeded chain of command. Compartmentalization of people reduces accuracy and interrupts the flow of information.


• Permitting information bottlenecks to occur as a result of red tape and authorization procedures intended mostly to establish or maintain power.


• Bucking decisions up to the next level merely to cover ass.


• Failure to provide a (safe) means of criticizing superiors who may be wrong.


• Unwillingness to doubt conventional wisdom and respected sources.


• Accepting without question expert opinion (including yours) that "it can't be done."


• Succumbing to jealousies that divert and distort focus and energy.


• Overemphasis on competition both in and out of house.


• Overemphasis on cooperation both in and out of house.


• Fear of being seen as too aggressive.


• Fear of being seen as weak.


• Failure to address issues of low self-confidence and low self-esteem.


• Feeling apathetic and powerless.


• Fear of making mistakes or being thought a fool.


• Fear that your ideas will be stolen. Hiding can deflect needed information.


• Believing that you "can't understand it." If "they" can comprehend it, so can you. Don't mistake jargon use and cliquishness for superior intelligence.


• Failure to define the problem and its territory clearly.


• Failure to do your homework.


• Narrowing and defining the problem too soon. Take time to mull it over.


• Not making time to think things out deeply.


• Believing that fantasizing and dreaming are a waste of time.


• Failure to fish or cut bait; also known as "time to shoot the engineer" effect. Endless modifying and talk can prevent action.


• Failure to distinguish between cause and effect.


• Failure to distinguish between opinion and fact.


• Failure to investigate the obvious.


• Failure to search for and identify patterns.


• Mistaking "should" for "can" or "will". Beware unrealistic promises to and from.


• Inappropriate timing, especially in presenting ideas or products.


• Failure to develop the influence, PR, and money needed to boost your ideas.


• Failure to accept or nurture ideas that your work has inspired in others.


• Bumming out everyone including yourself, with depressing talk of failures and weaknesses. It helps to phrase your goals and requirements in positive language. "The assembly should be as light as possible" gets better results than "Excess weight should be avoided."

7/3/03

Groceries!

Restocked Freezer!

Grocery fun facts -

• Publix's Top Selling Snack - Pringles Original, 7oz.


• On average, there are eight peas in a pod.


• Olive oil is made only from green olives.


• The cashew is part of a fruit called a "cashew apple" that grows in tropical regions. After harvesting, the cashew apple keeps for only 24 hours before the soft fruit deteriorates. The cashew apple is not commercially important since it spoils quickly, but local people love the fruit. To harvest the nut, the ripe apple is allowed to fall to the ground where natives easily gather it. The apple and nut are separated.


• On the average, each American consumes 117 pounds of potatoes, 116 pounds of beef, 100 pounds of fresh vegetable, 80 pounds of fresh fruit, and 286 eggs per year.


• On the Italian Riviera in Viareggio, there is a culinary tradition that a good soup must always contain one stone from the sea. This stems from the days when an Italian fisherman's catch was scooped up in nets; fish and stones frequently ended up together in the same cooking pot.

Hmm.. The bakery didn't finish the key lime pie for delivery. Ah well... such is life. I'll get some next time.

Hotty-hot day today, clear skies. I hope that'll make fireworks that much nicer for the throngs of beachgoers tomorrow... though if recent history is any indicator, it'll rain.

Bloggers Gain Libel Protection

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.

Online free speech advocates praised the decision as a victory. The ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists. One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.

Story Tools

"One-way news publications have editors and fact-checkers, and they're not just selling information -- they're selling reliability," said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But on blogs or e-mail lists, people aren't necessarily selling anything, they're just engaging in speech. That freedom of speech wouldn't exist if you were held liable for every piece of information you cut, paste and forward."

The court based its decision on a section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, or the CDA. That section states, "... no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Three cases since then -- Zeran v. AOL, Gentry v. eBay and Schneider v. Amazon -- have granted immunity to commercial online service providers.

Tuesday's court ruling clarifies the reach of the immunity granted by the CDA to cover noncommercial publishers like list-server operators and others who take a personal role in deleting or approving messages for online publication.

"Here, the court basically said that when it comes to Internet publication, you can edit, pick and choose, and still be protected," said Cohn.

The case traces back to a North Carolina town in 1999, where handyman Robert Smith was repairing a truck owned by attorney and art collector Ellen Batzel. Smith claimed to have overheard Batzel say she was related to Nazi Gestapo head Heinrich Himmler. He said he concluded that the European paintings he saw in her home must be stolen goods, and shared this in an e-mail he sent to the editor of the Museum Security Network, an organization that publishes information about stolen art.

Without telling Smith the e-mail would be published, Ton Cremers -- the sole operator of Amsterdam-based Museum Security Network –- made minor edits, then posted Smith's e-mail to a list of about 1,000 museum directors, journalists, auction houses, gallery owners and Interpol and FBI agents.

Three months later, Batzel learned of the post. She contacted Cremers to deny both the stolen art and Nazi ancestry allegations. She also said Smith's claims were motivated by financial disputes over contracting work.

Smith said he had no idea Cremers would publish a private e-mail on the list or on the Web.

Batzel sued Smith, Cremers and the Museum Security Network for defamation and won. Cremers appealed.

The appeals court questioned whether Cremers' minor edits to Smith's e-mail altered it so much that the post became a new piece of expression, and decided it had not. But because Smith claims he didn't know the e-mail would be published, the court also questioned whether the immunity provision of the Act applied, and passed the case back to the district court. The lower court will reconsider whether Cremers had reasonable belief that Smith's e-mail was intended for publication.

"Some weblogs are interesting mixes of original and forwarded content, so this issue may come up again in the courts," EFF's Cohn said. "Where that legal line is drawn may become a point of contention."

Ellen Batzel says the case changed her life.

"This was a small, North Carolina mountain town -- I talked to the (district attorney) and he said 'Get a dog, get a gun, get a security system or better yet get out of town.' I sold my house and moved. I've been hurt in my professional reputation and in my private life.

"I know what free speech is, and I support it, but this is about invasion of privacy and my civil liberty. Every time I meet someone now, I have to say, 'Hi, I'm not Himmler's granddaughter."

Attorney Howard Fredman, who represented Batzel in the case, said the next legal steps could include a rehearing before the appeals court, or petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.

7/3/03

Phone died officially yesterday.. I need to pick up a midterm cheapie until my uber-phone comes in.

Doctor visit today, and we'll see how that goes.

I'm tired of hack comics relying on one-trick humor. Fat guys telling *only* fat jokes, Black guys telling *only* black jokes, Lesbians telling *only* lesbian jokes. Come back when you've got an assortment. Just because you can make fun of your personal diametric is no reason not to expand out a bit. Maybe add a little storytelling? It's getting so that I can flip past a stand-up and tell you any of the jokes a person might say, just by a glance. I think that for the most part there's some sort of heirachy too, in the event of "combo packs". I suspect sexuality dominates ethnicity, and ethnicity trumps overweight content (unless the comic in question is overwhelmingly obese). I wonder how big a business comedy clubs is anymore?

Mother's back from Sweden, going to the Bahamas this weekend... and moving into her new condo right after she returns. I'm guessing she's not hurting for funds too badly.

Neat! I got a friendly hello from one of my spawn in the vampire game, . (Between Hessite & 8th, and Horror & 9th)

Tree types

I think I'll underline the accurates, and bold the ones I find especially inaccurate.

Scotto

Strong
muscular
adaptable
takes what life has to give
happy content
optimistic
needs enough money and acknowledgment
hates loneliness
passionate lover which cannot be satisfied
faithful
quick-tempered
unruly
pedantic and careless.

Newton

Full of charm
cheerful
gifted
without egoism
likes to draw attention
loves life
motion
unrest and even complications is both dependent and independent
good taste
artistic
passionate
emotional
good company
does not forgive.

Ok, we're making progress. I’ve got a prescription for a foot brace to build up some strength there, and a MRI.

Let's hope Workman's Comp stays Johnny on the spot. I'd like that to be scheduled swiftly. I'll start pestering them on Monday.

I've picked up my new cheapskate phone, and it seems to do the job well enough. it'll make for a good spare when the new one arrives.

Had a nice day today, though there's a tiny headache seed in my noggin... hopefully it'll pass before taking bloom.

7/2/03

Dreams of a belly dancer came to me last night. *rawr*.

Net meeting today. Had a nice, solid hour-long dev-chat. good suggestions, pleased with where I've gone with both of the projects. We're going to have to schedule another one soon, for when I implement some of the requests. pending data coming?

multi-form for history and notes. item master - subsets of history -split data

batch processing concentrate

customer id job #

get the data into postal soft

xml import of Dbase, rather than CSV

smaller batches / 750 records at a time file-chop.

"When water enters the cup, it becomes the cup! When water enters the bottle, it becomes the bottle! Now, water can flow, or it can crash.

Be the water."

Where's that from?

I'm so very happy for and her poet! Rock on, sis!



ElboRoom Cam

Sun-Sentinel.com Web Cam

Cape Canaveral

Lauderdale marina cams

all 4 Boat station cams

intracoastal dock
underwater
fuel dock
west entrance

Manatee cam 8-5 est gallery


Fort Lauderdale international airport.

Edison South Beach

Sloppy Joe's Key West

Key West Aquarium - in tank

Key West Aquarium - over tank

Mallory Square, billyfish, pier, and sunset cam

Hog's Breath Saloon

Oh, and of course,

Newtcam!



Random Big Trouble in Little China Quote in my head -

"What’s that?"

"Black blood of the earth."

"You mean oil, right?"

"No, I mean black blood of the Earth!"

Miss Keane has an orange cat named Valentino, which broke up Keane and the Professor.

Gray's Anatomy online. A fun surf. I'm pondering synching it to my palmtop.

The Bush Administration modified HIPAA. And not in a good way. What started as a privacy law has become a way for the government to catalogue your most intimate personal physical details. Welcome to the new Amerika and Happy 4th!

Logic Primer - a good introductory catalogue of logic and fallacy. If folks participating in the debate-style communities stuck to this sort rule set, I'd be more prone to participate in discussions there. Not that I'm not an atheist, but the logic remains.

I confess to being especially guilty of Cum hoc ergo propter hoc, Equivocation, Appeal to Nature attacks in debate.

Giant Sea Creature Baffles Chilean Scientists

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Chilean scientists were baffled on Tuesday by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on the southern Pacific coast and were seeking international help identifying the mystery specimen.

The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.

"We'd never before seen such a strange specimen, We don't know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts or maybe it's a new species," said Elsa Cabrera, a marine biologist and director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago.

Photographs showed a round leathery substance like a mammoth jelly fish, about as long as a school bus.

Giant squid live at a depth of 9,500 feet and only rise to the surface when they die. Specimens have been known to be as long as 60 feet.

There was speculation that the mass might be a whale skin, but Cabrera said it was too big and did not have the right texture or smell.

Cabrera said she was contacting Chilean and international organizations in the hope that they could help shed some light on the find.

The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen along with another large mass, but the other dead animal turned out to be a dead humpback whale.

7/1/03

Hm... Net meeting was supposed to start at 10am... but nobody seems to be around. I waited until 11, and then sent out an email to the bosses asking if there is a time that we can reschedule for. I have to be at physical therapy by 1:30. (Which I'd forgotten about until my pop-up reminder this morning.) I hope that they missed the meeting due to some groundbreaking discovery that'll make us all a gazillion dollars.

Golden grahams with marshmallow fudge are not the best breakfast, and it was so rich I could only eat about a 1/2 ounce of it with my cereal. Smores-y good. . I think that riblets will be supper tonight... a little high in sodium, but delicious and otherwise very healthy. Lunch, I don't know...maybe some green beans and enchiladas. Those things are yummo!

Users on the cartman cluster will be unable to update their journals as we work to repair it. You can find the cluster you are on here. Hm.. It think that's the first time in local memory that it wasn't the chef cluster (my cluster)

Talking to Ray, I hear that Austin is supposed to be some sort of Mecca of sanity in the Madness that is Texas. (A large University Town?) Maybe I can get Juliabee to elaborate.

My creepy neighbor commented on stuff that I throw in the dumpster. It's really none of his business that I like to eat much the same thing every week. Pretty weird that he noticed cans of peas and green beans.

6/30/03

Wow. Remember asking for a better vibe? It arrived. :)

A day of wonders and good cheer.

I can't even remotely say how happy I am about the day's events.

Talked to three cool people today; Danny at lunch, Ray after, and my sweetie after that. So nice!

Lunch with Danny was groovy... we had Thai (I had red curry tofu) , and a long rambling talk about assorted things.... my journal, his church, his 8-hour Saturday class, FAU's horrible record-keeping and baurocratic system, my brother, gaming, There... and lots more. Gave Danny a stamp to put on his good student's papers..."Double Happiness"



Ack, photos didn't come out from today very well. We went past a number of art galleries on Las Olas... some amazing sculptures in the windows there... sadly, the female forms made of chain and coins didn't come out an auction house with tons of ivory had this cool dragon boat in the window... all hand carved. I don't even want to know how much that much old ivory is costing.



We got some chocolate covered pretzels form Kilwins for dessert... (I got some rocky road fudge for later) Dan teased Bonnie, who was putting out chocolate coins, and she was reasonably cool with it. The smell was heavenly. Interesting woodcarvings of African animals, too.

Afterwards, I got home, managed to get some work happening, and got a nice phone call from Ray... it's been about 7 years since I spoke with him voice, and he sounds exactly the same. It was great fun catching up with him, even though work sort of interrupted a few times near the bottom. That’s the high price of telecommuting, I suppose. I look forward to more gabs in the future.

Nobody's business but mine what I gabbed to sweetie about, but suffice to say, she's spellbinding.

From an email tonight -

A line from Dan's textbook:"Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge" by Joseph D. Novak, 1998.

From chapter 1, page 7:

"If schooling as we know it now ranks a 2 or 3 on a scale of 10, . . . I predict we shall see improvements to a level of 7 or 8 in 20 years. Considering that almost no progress has been made in the past 40 years, I recognize how optimistic my prediction is."

Sakes. I can only hope!

6/30/03

Goofing around and made a new Icon... We'll see how long I keep it. I had a lot of trouble resting last night. I couldn't think straight and was generally anxious. I wish that I had been able to focus rather than just sit and stress. Ah well, today is a new day, and hopefully a better vibe will come.

Talked to Danny last night, and he didn't get me the Playboy, so I called the magazine up today, and they cancelled the subscription. Apparently it was an unpaid one and they don't keep phone numbers on file, so if the person made a mistake in writing out the address they're out of luck. I wonder if it was some sort of prank? If so, a free issue of playboy is a pretty good one! Apparently, they were going to bill the person here.

The Thorns is a new group comprised of Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins, and Matthew Sweet. They're making music with a focus on vocal harmony that brings back memories of Crosby, Stills, and Nash (some say The Beach Boys, but I don't feel the "surf vibe".) Give their song No Blue Sky a listen - it's one of my current favorites. (the lyrics) You can read this article if you want to know more about the band.

For folks that are too lazy to make hot dogs octopi-style on your own. I first learned about Octodogs in the Tick comic. Be sure and read "So How does it work?" $16.95? (or $23 with S&H) Simpler to cut the bottom twice, and poke eyes with a toothpick.

A wonderful Retrocrush look at King Kong, and his 60th birthday.

I still can't believe how much trouble it is finding a DVD version. I'd love to get that as a present for myself. (or put it on my wish list.) Something in copyright allows for UK, but not USA?

Random Scotto factoid - I've never had a black eye, but have probably received a couple dozen bloody noses. (it's never been broken)

Great King Kong site

The Illustrated Catalog of ACME products. Compiler, I salute you!

Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is out, and it fixes a ton of bugs Imagine that.

Danny just called, and we're going to have an impromptu lunch together. ...Until later, dear journal.

6/29/03

I still feel free use the term "fairer sex", because as a whole, I do find women to be more pleasing to the eye than men. If politically correct monkeys don't like it, they can lump it. On looking up fair maid, I think definition two is rather comical. I may yet use that in the future.

I'm looking forward to this... Apparently it's running trailer son Finding Nemo (when you can get there in a timely manner). The Incredibles - Pixar. Oh, you can bet I'm looking forward to it. Pixar supers! I notice that the music is like a slower version of OHMSS.

Also, Columbia Pictures has bought the rights to Marvel Comics' most famous black superhero, Luke Cage. Ben Ramsey (THE BIG HIT) will write the adaptation of the long-running character. Luke Cage is a former gang member from Harlem that is framed by his best friend and sent to federal prison on drug charges. While in prison, Cage volunteers for a medical experiment that ultimately gives him super strength and bulletproof skin. Using the new powers, Cage escapes and becomes Luke Cage: Hero for Hire. Avi Arad will produce for Marvel Studios. I wonder who could play him well? As long as it's not Will Smith, I'm cool. What about Iron Fist? Luke Wilson would be horrid, yet well cast, I think.

Sweet Christmas!

There's a weakness in my heart for zombie movies...I hope 28 days later is good. I've heard some positive things already.

Scottobear’s Weekly Fotolog Stats/Reminder

* Your Fotolog has been viewed 88 times.
* You uploaded 5 photos in the past week.
(They've been viewed 93 times in the past week.)

Spreading a meme from who knows where

COMFORT TV OR COMFORT BOOKS?

Comfort books, unless I'm too tired to even read, but unable to get to sleep. (Which happens a lot when I'm in need of comfort.) Cartoon Network, Discovery, and History Channel work wonders.

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIRT?

My current favorite shirt is a black white and red Tie-dyed "Pirates of the Caribbean" shirt I got from Disney world back in 2000. It's comfy, has hippy and pirate context, and reminds me of a lovely little vacation.

DO YOU WRITE? IF SO, WHAT DO YOU OVERUSE?

I write, and probably rely too much on detail of the area rather than cutting to the point of the story. Too much scenery. (It's the first thing I start trimming.)

BAND YOU HATE MOST?

Any that's playing too loud outside my bedroom window. I really like all sorts of music.

PUNK IN DRUBLIC?

Nah, I don't even drink all that much in private.

DUDE, I CAN'T *BELIEVE* PEOPLE...
Worry so much about the opinions of strangers with no apparent knowledge about what they're talking about. I'm concerned with opinions of folks that matter to me, and professionals in the field...not Joe Blow off the street. (Even most professionals don't matter to me, either, honestly.) The opinion of someone I know and respect however is very valuable.

FIRST BOOK I REMEMBER READING ALL BY MYSELF.
I can't recall much of my very young childhood, but an issue of Spidey Super Stories (a kids comic cross-promoted on The Electric Company television show.) Sometime in the early 70s. Easy Reader was in it, and Spidey was fighting the Lizard, while Spidey teamed up with Easy Reader to fight the Vanisher. (Edit) In fact, after a little googling, I just found a picture. April 1975 issue (so I was about 6 years old), picked up at the grocery store. I'm sure there were books before that, but that one stands out in my mind because I bought it with my own money and made a point of reading it on my own. There was a teenage-girl named "Thumper" who likes to dress like Napoleon Bonaparte and uses a boxing glove she hides in her vest to whack people in the back of their head when they're not looking. Her origin? "When the Thumper didn't get a Yellow Pony for her birthday... she got very angry and turned to crime. Dressed as the great French Hero Napoleon, the Thumper looks for someone to Thump." It was something very close to along those lines.

Hmm. You know, I hear that's the exact same origin Mysterio originally had. Except replace the line about 'someone to Thump' with 'someone to try desperately to frighten with rubber bats'.

I've come to a conclusion. Morgan Freeman must reprise his role as Easy Reader in the next Spidey movie.

I need to go to a comic book store and pick up a copy of this just to have again. Three Villains, Lizard, Thumper, and Vanisher. Pretty good for a kid's comic. 35¢ well spent.



FAVORITE ANIMAL?

I love a lot of animals... very difficult to choose one, but I suspect that my true favorite animals are Chimps..Or Giant Squid. No.. Gorillas. Gorillas. It's Gorillas. Unless they mean favorite animal in particular, and then it’s Newt, hands down.



STUPIDEST THING YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST WEEK?

Overwriting a practically final draft of a project with one that was only maybe three feet into the journey of a thousand miles. 'doh!

SMARTEST THING YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST WEEK?

built a SQL database cleanup and transmission system in under an hour.

THING FROM THE PAST MONTH YOU'RE MOST THANKFUL FOR?

Spending time with D. It's so nice to have someone there that knows and follows along a trail of weirdness, good vibes, nostalgia and friendship. I’m also very glad that Ray decided to reopen lines of communication, along similar terms.

6/29/03

Check out the deadliest computer peripheral to hit the market since the Microsoft Natural Keyboard:



Metal Storm's new VLe electronic handgun.

That's right, no moving parts, all electronic. Metal Storm makes all kinds of all-electronic weapon goodies that they're trying to peddle to the U.S. government, including a 36-barrel minigun that fires at a rate of over a million rounds a minute. That's a lot. Here's the article at CNN.

BRISBANE, Australia (CNN) -- Imagine a gun that fires a million rounds a minute -- enough to shred a target in a blink of an eye, or throw up a defensive wall against an incoming missile.

This is Metal Storm, a weapons system that forsakes old-style mechanics for the speed of electronics.

Its inventor is Mike O'Dwyer, a one-time grocer in the Australian city of Brisbane. He's spent 30 years and much of his own money to develop the technology.

Now, finally, the doors are opening for him at the Pentagon, the U.S. Defense Department's headquarters.

O'Dwyer says that the real value comes from Metal Storm's electronic capability to deliver rates of fire and different types of projectiles very precisely.

The weapons range from a handgun that can only be operated by an authorized user to a grenade launcher that can fire either lethal or non-lethal ammunition.

While much of the technology is a closely guarded secret, the firing mechanism has no moving parts. Instead, it uses electronic ballistics technology. Unlike other guns, the only parts which move are the bullets.

The Metal Storm handgun employs electronic locking, which can limit firing access and stop unauthorized use. It can even be programmed not to fire within, say, the grounds of a school.

Its grenade launcher can give the same defensive security as a minefield, but without physically putting any explosives in the area being guarded. Instead, sensors can alert an operator to any intrusion. The operator can then decide whether to use lethal or non-lethal grenades to warn off -- or destroy -- the intruder.

O'Dwyer is a passionate advocate of applying technology to modern warfare and the rise of networking in defense thinking.

"Where network-centric warfare is going is moving the principal systems of weapons from the big, heavy, slow stuff to the small, light, fast, inexpensive (weapons), many of (which) -- and here's the important part -- is very smart."

It's this promise of speed and flexibility that has got the American and Australian military to commit $60 million in research and development funding for O'Dwyer's array of weapons.

Metal Storm started in a small Brisbane workshop, where all the prototypes have been built.

Increasingly, the project looks to the United States, where most of its staff are now based and where it hopes to clinch sales to defense agencies and police forces next year.

Going global has been in O'Dwyer's sights for many years. It's a target that gets a little larger and a little closer every day.

• Forget the million-round super gun. Here are a few cool things about the VLe handgun (and I know guns are bad):


• gun can only fire in the owner's hand


• you can upload info -- like when the gun's been fired -- to a laptop


• it can talk, and says things like "safety on" and "lethal". Why do all handguns have female voices? The company thinks this will encourage criminals to give in. "Hey, the gun says it's lethal. We'd better surrender, boys."


• it can fire bullets ... or bean bags

Watch the video, in RealMedia format.

Once they get the VLe compatible with PalmOS, you'll be able to sync to keep track of whom you've killed. Neato.

My favorite part? It has four barrels, quite possibly making it niftier looking than Deckard's gun in Blade Runner:




You're The MP5!
Legendary Performance.
H&Ks Project 64 was the codename for the weapons
development effort that eventually spawned you
a solid, robust performer, a close-quarters 9mm
submachine gun in ubiquitous service with SWAT
teams and Counter-Terrorist forces worldwide.


What HK Weapons System Are You
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Random Scotto Factoid - I can juggle up to 3 beanbags.... badly.

6/28/03

This week's topic - Angles



Weird... somebody subscribed me to Playboy magazine. (Well, my address, the name on the bag it comes in was "Elad Rozman". Elad... Dale?

I wonder if the numbers got mixed up on the address box. I'll have to ask Danny if he subscribed me as a weird sort of present or something. If it's not a secret goodie, I'll call up the magazine offices on Monday, and let 'em know that I didn't order it.

Meanwhile, free playboy. (Following links may contain nudity)

Carnie Wilson Nude... wearing a corset to cover up her gastric bypass scars, I'm guessing. Her face has an odd characteristic to it...seems long or something. It looks like she got a doctor to help trim the sag that must've been bound to happen after losing that much weight that fast. She looks ok.. I hope her health is better as a result of the operation.

Some airbrushed Girls from Survivor, I thought the way it worked was you were in playboy first, and then ended up on a crappy TV show? For what it's worth the ladies are appealing, and even though I don't normally gravitate to blondes, she has a nice look. I could not gather through a perusal of the article which name went with which girl, so that seems to be an oversight.

a very bland, generic centerfold. She's a very typical airbrushed girl.

When did Playboy start with "sexy letters"? I though that was a penthouse/more hardcore thing.

A nifty article about crime scenes, and a lot of very standard Playboy panel cartoons, another article unread as yet about undercover cops, cool electronics, Interview with Tobey Maguire. Could be good, The Blameless society is especially nifty, about pointing fingers.

Not a bad mag for $5.99 on the street.

My registration @ do not call came back tome about 36 hours later. that's a slow turnaround for an automated system. This registration will be effective until 6/29/2008.

6/28/03

Aww!! Giant plushie microbes! How cute are they? (via ...Athlete's foot and the common cold are both so cute!

Broccoli Wokly can be purchased at Piggly Wiggly.



Sig Sauer P226. Greatest gun ever! Feel special.
Beautiful and reliable but can still scare the
living bejesus outta anyone.


What handgun are you?
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Saw the girls from Charlie’s Angels 2 interviewed. They were coming across as *really* (not just generic actor) airhead dumb. It surprised me, and leads me to wonder if they're *acting* really dumb (given that TV interviews are canned and totally non-spontaneous) or actually total vacuum-heads. Either way, it begs the question... Does it make them more attractive to the public at large, or was it a horrible mistake to let them go on a promotional tour?



I got to talking with Ray via email about the great old USA TV show "Night Flight" . There is very little of value about the show online, though. Lots of weird, goofy rock videos, movie clips and cult films. (It was later renamed or replaced by "Up all Night" and it just wasn't as good with a host, even if it was Gilbert Gottfried.) Ticking off things that wake back up... music videos by The Residents, Dynaman (the Japanese version of Power rangers) Episodes, SubGenius "Bob" films, Starewicz films and if I remember right, the first time I saw Porky pig say "Son of a b-b-b-b-b... gun. I bet you thought I was going to say Son of A bitch, didn't ya?" as he hammered his thumb. I'm wondering if I have any episodes on tape in my "box of unmarked random TV" collection along with old episodes of the real Ghostbusters, max headroom and misc MTV. If so, hopefully I'll be able to get Kev to burn them to a DVD for me. I'd really like to view The Intruder and Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge again.

I wonder if Tony is still part of Amway? The allure of that company is very strong, and the conditioning is not unlike certain cult tactics of peer pressure and indoctrination. Speaking of indoctrination, someone scanned in a Scientology promotional book from the 70s. Even if you don't care about the cult, the production values and the styles are well worth it. Every single page is a riot.

I was also reminded of Kelly... whom I had a massive crush on. I thought it was a great match... she was cute, personable, a gamer, from Massachusetts, and the only other person in our group that was single. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... I think I tried too hard. Kelly was part of our old gaming group one summer, compliments of the Wu's and SFSFS. That and meeting Danny via Tropicon are two of the best influxes of folks into my social circle thanks to the society. Downside... I think Elaine was obtained through there as a result, too. I've attended quite a few Tropicons, though three of them resulted in an early exit and trip around town instead. Highlights include Kathleen and I assisting Ray as GMs, and a Zombie killer game... Meeting Neil Gaiman, and talking about the CBLDF, sweeping the casino, and having my choice of all prizes one year, winning a grab bag of all Shadowrun items available that year. Sneaking in to just browse the dealer’s room before bolting off with Danny for lunch elsewhere, after getting fun loot to send to people and keep for myself. Other Kelly Memories are going to See Men In Tights and peanut butter M&Ms, 60s DC universe game.

6/27/03

Went in for Physical Therapy check over. Only on one crutch now. If spending this many weeks on crutches is any indication of what life on one is like, I have no idea why Freddy Freeman ever bothered switching back (save to slip Cap'n Marv Sr. his fragment of strength back). Of course, if I were Boston Brand I'd probably find some guy in good shape about to be pulled off of life support, and take control of that body, as my secret identity.

In more *good news* regarding out current government - (bolding added by me)

370,000 Sign Up for Anti-Telemarketing List

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One thousand people per second signed up Friday to get on a free "do not call" list that will prevent telemarketers from bothering them at home, swamping telephone lines and a Web site set up to handle demand.

Eager Americans rushed to place their home phone numbers on the Federal Trade Commission's list shortly after President Bush (news - web sites) launched the measure in a White House ceremony.

By noon the list had grown to 370,000 and was increasing by 1,000 per second, the FTC said.

The do-not-call list should help Americans enjoy their private time without unwanted interruptions, Bush said a few hours after the list was opened up for registration.

"When Americans are sitting down to dinner or a parent is reading to his or her child, the last thing they need is a call from a stranger with a sales pitch," Bush said in a White House Rose Garden ceremony.

Telemarketers who call numbers on the list after Oct. 1 will face penalties of up to $11,000 per call, as well as possible consumer lawsuits.

Consumers can sign up for the list by logging on to (http://donotcall.gov), while those living west of the Mississippi river can also register by calling 1-888-382-1222.

Consumers will not have to pay to get on the list, as telemarketers will fund it.

Plunging long-distance rates and computerized dialers have led to a five-fold increase in telemarketing calls over the past decade, prompting a deluge of consumer complaints.

The FTC announced plans for the list last year, and Congress approved it shortly afterward. The list will also include mobile phone numbers.

Do-not-call lists have proven popular in the roughly 25 states that have set them up. In Minnesota, for example, roughly half of the state's 2.2 million residential lines have subscribed.

FTC officials ultimately expect 60 million households to sign up for the national list, prompting the agency to delay telephone-based registration until July 7 for those living east of the Mississippi in an effort to handle demand.

Individuals across the country said they had trouble getting on to the Web site Friday morning, or were kicked off once they started the registration process.

FTC spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said consumers don't need to rush as they have all summer to sign up, and will not see a drop-off in telemarketing calls until Oct. 1.

Consumers will also be able to sign up for the list after the summer.

The list does not cover all callers. Nonprofit and political callers will be free to ignore it, but will have to honor consumer requests not to be called back. Businesses will be free to call customers for 18 months after making a sale, but they too will have to honor opt-out requests.

Telemarketing groups have sued to scratch the effort, arguing that it abridges free-speech rights, and say it could decimate an industry that employs 2 million.

Privacy advocate Jason Catlett, who has pushed for a national list for years, said he has little sympathy for their plight.

"Free speech doesn't give you the right to pester people in their homes when they don't want to be pestered," said Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp., which helps clients avoid unwanted commercial pitches.

1000 people per second. Wow! Someone might think people don't like being sold things over the phone during dinner or something... http://donotcall.gov was open just now when I registered, but I've not gotten my confirmation email yet.

Hearing the telemarketing shill on the News complaining that this would ruin their business, got me thinking: These are all people that don't want to be bothered. how many folks like this would buy anything anyway?

Can't get this song out of my head.
"Monkey mate in the jungle, robot replicate in factory. They both love their mother, why must they both hate each other?"

The Howard the Duck mini is up for a Stoker Award! - Look under "Illustrated Narrative."

Horror? Oprah. Dr. Phil. New Age-ism. Backstreet Boys. Girl Scouts workin' for The Man. The horror seems apparent to me.




What rating is your journal?
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6/26/03

Supreme Court wisely rules that you can't legislate morality and that privacy between consenting adults is a-ok as the Texas sodomy law (that applies to homosexuals only) is struck down. Ruling invalidates other remaining sodomy laws on the books.

Well! Florida will now legally allow noncoital sex! Strictly, onanism counts, but that common usage was dropped not too long after St. Peter Damain coined the term in the 11th century. I know that oral does as well as the more commonly recognized anal. (I've heard it used to describe bestiality, though I doubt that's legal.) I'm not gay, but those laws applied to me too, given that I'm happy to have nerve endings.

See more legalese, here

Beta version 2.0 of the Google toolbar is out, including blogging tools, an auto-form filler, and a pop up stopper.

My daily photo log has been added to my bio page...I'm not sure for how long. If I use it 3 or 4 more times I'll start contributing the registration fee to it.

Scroogle community apparently didn't read my bio page when it added me along with about 700 other uses. A minor pain in the ass. I've unsubscribed myself, and sent a little text message to the listed phone. The down side is that I might've enjoyed reading it if I hadn't been spam-added. To his credit, he IMed me back right away and apologized, and was nice enough about it. He claimed to have added my page because he liked the design, but that's most likely a load of crap. if he'd taken any interest and read the first thing that comes up on my bio page, he'd have known proper procedure.

I'm getting more Harry potter Spam in my email filter now, and fewer Mortgage or Penis enlargement.

New meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning for the XML import upgrade and Tradeshow database. It'll be good to get Mark, Tom and myself all on the same page... I imagine that they'll come up with some options and usability features that I've not thought of including so far. The xml is really, at its heart just a set of user macros that automates the existing procedure, and takes care of some of the more common errors.

New Ren & Stimpy Episodes on TNN tonight at 10:pm, then some annoying sounding other cartoons, and Then, more ren & stimpy at 11:30. Tricky going against Family guy, and adult swim on the cartoon network. Weirdly, it seems that by looking at it, all TNN has right now is Real TV from 9am to 6:30 pm, then some misc junk, then ren & stimpy. They need to buff out the roster some. I wonder why it's going under its third incarnation. The "star trek and duke boys" channel didn't work out? I know Nickelodeon owns it, too… maybe slap a few more cartoons in there?

6/26/03

I call the cat Tiny, because he's my Newt.

I slept really poorly last night, despite hitting the sack early. (or is it because?) I'm feeling very "heavy in the face"... puffy, I guess? I was quite groggy for about 10 minutes after getting up, and really didn't get wakeful until after my shower.

Harrison Ford finger-pointy gallery.

A parody on the ending of every 80s movie ever made. 6 min.

via ben peek-


it looks like there is a ghostly procession of mourners, forever showing their devotion. (Mark Twain in the box)

"CASTRILLO DE MURCIA, Spain - A man dressed as the devil leaped over babies lying on mattresses on Sunday as the small Spanish town of Castrillo de Murcia held its traditional Corpus Christi celebrations.

While many people across Spain celebrate the Catholic festival with processions and mystery plays, this northern Spanish town has for centuries chosen to protect its young from evil spirits with this unusual ritual.

Dressed in a red and yellow costume, the man representing the devil was pursued around the town by a Catholic priest -- leaping over the babies in his flight while the anxious parents stood nearby.

In all, he vaulted over around 20 mattresses each holding four or five babies.

It is believed that the devil, known as El Colacho, draws all the evil from the children and leaves them cleansed. Parents bring their children from all across the northern region of Burgos to participate in the ritual."

They show close ups of the sausage people at the site. The Hot Dog shark reminds me of Turbo and Drunko, twin brother robots who fight alongside the bikini eating bees.

via seebelow - Steve Ditko's Objectivist Comic Books

And like a real life Howard Roark from Rand's The Fountainhead; who chose to work in a quarry rather than compromise his vision, Ditko simply walked away from Marvel.

So, um, does that mean Stan Lee is Peter Keating?

6/25/03

It's such a pleasant surprise to see a rational, human response to the screw-up yesterday. I'm really glad that it was received as well as it was.

Just noticed a cool name subscribed to my journal... Sernya. (it's a pair of golden fish, Symbolizing resurrection of eternal life, rebirth etc. The pair signifies the ability to swim with ease without obstruction in the ocean of this world. They may also be taken to symbolize the eye of perception as fish can see through muddy water. The fish couple suggests mutual aid and indispensability between male and female material life.) I wonder who they are, and if I know them?

I hear Hagrid is sort of a second-string character in the latest HP. That's sort of a bummer, he's my fave. I wonder if having such a huge franchise is allowing her to write stuff that's an 870 page children's book. Sounds like an editor is needed.

Groceries coming by between 1:10-2:10, Dan's Coming by today sometime midday...after he registers at FAU. Hooray for key lime pie and Danny!

I don't watch Smallville, but I hear that they got Terence Stamp (General Zod) to Play Jor-El recently. How keen is that to a Fanboy?


LONDON (Reuters) - Move over Spider-Man -- mere mortals may soon be coming to a ceiling near you.

Researchers at the University of Manchester say they have cracked the secret of one of the reptile world's greatest climbers, the gecko, and produced a sticky tape that can mimic the lizard's gravity-defying abilities.

Soon, people could walk on walls like comic-book superhero Spider-Man, the university said.

"The new adhesive -- gecko tape -- contains billions of tiny plastic fibers which are similar to natural hairs covering the soles of geckos' feet," the University said in a statement.

"The research team believes it won't be long before Spider-Man gloves become a reality."

Bob Full, a biology professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the United States, who was also involved, said the technology could be used for handling computer chips and could have applications in medicine.

Plans are under way to produce larger pads and to improve the tape's durability, said the journal Nature Materials, which published the paper. It added that humans could hang from the ceiling by covering just one palm with the tape.

But Manchester University said cost was currently prohibitive.

"We have considered producing a large amount of gecko tape, sufficient amounts to enable a student to hang out of the window of a tall building," it said. "However it would cost too much money, and would not benefit us scientifically."


Thanks to Matt for pointing out that Hi-C's Orange Lavaburst is the same Flavor as the old Ecto Cooler.


Some very cool comic book action figures. I wish they had a pic of the Golden age Green Lantern. The plushie version is pretty cool. I'm tempted to get Doug Deadman. I lean to Crypozoology ones, for myself. Hooray for Bigfoot action figures!

I just got to play super-database wunderkind for work, so I think that my street cred is up another few notches again. They had two totally demolished excel files, and I was able to write a quick bit of SQL that put the thing together again, resized fields and prepped the data for import into the xml system. Hooray for MySQL! I can't recommend it enough to anyone who does any sort of database programming. Did I mention that it's FREE under the GNU General Public License (GPL)?

Oh, I'd say that's the best ever. Now, if you want tech support, and can't be bothered to read the documentation (which is very complete and easy to follow) they're happy to charge you for that, and for certification.

Doug's getting into No One Lives forever... Dan got it for me a birthday or three ago, and I still have to say it's my favorite fps/spy game in a long time.

I joined fotolog, after seeing 's online. You can upload one image of up to 2 Megs a day. I took a quick snap of Dan & Myself (as Mage knight) fighting zombies on a bridge. I'm a little disappointed that it auto resized it... but I like the effect. More like a bad TV image than a woodcut now. If anyone else adds the log, let me know, so I can see your stuff!

I don't think it's good to remotely link the images to here, look like they kill the bandwidth.

New guy delivering groceries... he was about 45 min late. Nice fellow though, and I didn't mind.. not like I was waiting to go to a concert or something.

6/24/03

Pleasantly surprised yesterday! I heard from Ray out of the blue. Strange, in that Danny and I were just talking about Man of Iron & the rest the other day. I've already written him back, and look forward to rekindling the friendship that was once there. We've both agreed to let whatever happened be water under the bridge. It was a nice event, and I hope the goodwill continues. I was quite happy to hear that Dart is still kicking and Kooky as ever. Dart's part of the reason I was willing to Foster Newt.

Superhero special on History Channel tonight was good, but like most history channel fare, there are too many commercials. A very complete overview. Hooray for Jim Steranko! Will Eisner looks very good for his age, surprisingly so. I wonder if his interview was done a few years back?

Dan asked for Ray's email address, too. With Ray's permission I'll give it. Perhaps they can get back in communication, too. It'd be nice to see folks all back together. I gave Dan’s addy to Ray... I hope I remembered the proper spelling.

Rick is moving North, as his Wife has a new gig with universal. He's got a comic out, and is in the works for big promotions coming soon.

I got a citation on Blogpulse? pretty neat... I wonder how they found me. I'll have to research it more.

Pondering Raleigh NC in about a year. And a vacation trip to Orlando in the nearer future. Both make me smile.

my vampire rank just hit count at 2504 pints.

It's funny to me that Danny got a gift certificate form Xanadu hair design. He's gotten a manicure, a pedicure and a facial so far, and sounds like he really enjoyed it. :)

I also heard back from Gali which is so nice... my first there-buddy. (Out for months with Computer and life issues).
Tomorrow morning is the net meeting with the big boys at the office re: the booth management system. I think they'll be pleased with the result, though I have some work left to polish it up and make it shine.

[edit] Well, crap. I was synchronizing it to the main server (I thought) and it turns out that I've downloaded a much older version over my new one. It looks like I've lost like a week or two's worth of work, though it should be much faster to reconstruct rather than redesign. I sent an email off to Mark, and I hope he understands. Crap. That'll teach me not to save with version numbers, and not to make extra backups elsewhere on my system.

Bro and I got a postcard from Mom in Sweden today, and I need to get that to the bro for his collection. He's been very good about calling and checking in with me lately, so I know he's got work and a place to stay.

Earlier, Ray reminded me of my first big superhero character, Trism. Abducted by aliens at Grover’s mill, he was experimented on as a way for humans to develop "true movement" or teleportation. Mental blank, returned in the 90's (unaged) with only the haziest memories of the event. Got to play the "1940's sensibility, 60 years later" He wasn't a racist or ignorant though. He was the "Good old days" sort… sanitized like a cartoon character could be.

I can't seem to remember many of Pam's characters... she cycled through them fairly rapidly, if memory serves... testing out different disads and etc. I vaguely remember a shadow controller and a mute (I don't think that they were one in the same, but it's possible.). There seems to be an echo of witty banter in the back of my mind, but it’s a haze. The other, more regular characters are stronger in my mind... Like Magneta's multiple personalities, (some stored on a chip... I do remember liking the one on the chip rather than the vigilante's actual mind), the giant powerhouse with his bomb on the roof,

Kyoko was nifty... the proto-ghost. She could make parts of her body desolid, and just do martial arts with solid hands and feet. (That didn't work well when caught in an area effect blast, mind you.) Leroy, the one-handed Danny Glover sidekick was something, as was the New-age store proprietor Mandy, who was quickly glommed onto as a romantic interest.

After doing a quick search on my journal for Trism, I pulled up an entry from about a year back, regarding the Colinas and my fandom of same, as well as the rest of that gang. I fairly gushed about them a year ago. I'm glad I'm getting a chance to be friends again.

6/23/03

Your heart is a muscle the size of a fist. Keep loving. Keep fighting.

Five people added me yesterday, the biggest influx in a long time. I wonder what brought you in? Welcome!

It's amazing to me how some people can make *consistently* thoughtless, mean-spirited, and bitter comments. Then I remind myself that there's one in every crowd. (Hopefully only one!) I'd gotten spoiled by hanging out with thoughtful, friendly people. Talking with Bluehair really was caustic and thoughtless, and just really upset D.... put my teeth on edge, too. I've been feeling more annoyed with the person, but rather than lash out (like I'd like) I'm going to try to help that person be nicer to others. It's possible C doesn't realize what a dink he's being, but I'm going to start pulling him aside and making a point of informing him of what he's doing.

Bro did well today, got work, was able to take care of his own bills, and just called to be nice today. That's always a plus!

Newt's being a little doll today, just content to snuggle close. I can't get enough of him! I'm so glad that there are so many nice folks in my life right now. :)

6/22/03

There's some stuff about the new Ren & Stimpy cartoon up at the TNN website:

If the video clips are any indication - especially the first one - it looks like TNN/Viacom have kept their promise to John K regarding no censorship. I was worried after seeing a couple of episodes of The Ripping Friends that he had lost it, but this looks like it's going to be pretty good.

Guest artist, Danny on my palmtop yesterday.

Dodecahedron

Mermaid

6/21/03

Back from seeing the Hulk... It wasn't too bad, but could've been Edited a bit, and the paternal issues reworked. The Fights with the army were well done, Actors a little flat with a few exceptions. (I Never thought that I'd take General Ross's POV). the "super night fights" were a little too dark, and there were a lot of wacky scene changes. I'd give it a 5/10. it could've been edited and cleaned to a 7 I think.

Before the Hulk, Danny and I had a little lunch at Boston Market, and Chitty chatted about nothing in particular. I'm glad that he brought me a few boxes to pack goodies into.

Brother just called me up and said he needed to talk to me... and looking at my call waiting, he's been calling me hourly. He's supposed to be coming over so we can discuss whatever is bothering him. My hindbrain cynically suspects it's just a beg for money. My forebrain fearfully hopes that's the only problem he has. Meanwhile.. I get to sweat it out a bit and worry while I wait for his arrival.

Apparently, bro got picked up in his bosses' truck, and the boss had outstanding warrants. So, bro doesn't have pay for today, or money to stay at the hostel tonight. To add insult to injury, his pack was in the car when it was impounded, and his pack taken (when he was asked...he said nothing in the car was his, because he thought the office was referring to the beer in the car, and didn't want to go back on what's he said for fear of pissing off the cop. Now, if he wants to get the bag with his phone charger, toiletries, and 4 sets of clothes, he has to go to the jail, fill out forms, get his boss to sign it, and get it notarized.

Meanwhile he came by here to get fresh clothes from his stores, and chat for a bit. I gave him enough money for another night at the hostel. I feel that he was telling me the truth. If it were for something illicit, he'd have asked for more money.


So. That trouble is over with, for now.

6/21/03

For Photo Friday



I love having conversations with folks that know what I'm talking about. Communal thoughts involving "Kneel before Zod" and the like. Lucky for me I know some... Lunch with Danny this afternoon, and maybe a viewing of the Hulk.

Dialect survey maps - I rather like the "What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?" Um... The devil is beating his wife? What? Liquid sun is a cool term, though. Also - What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage?

Internet Sacred Text Archive - This site is a freely available non-profit archive of electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics. Texts are presented in English translation and, in some cases, in the original language. This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.

Random factoid - A coffin is coffin-shaped, tapered roughly like a flat faceted mummy case; a casket is essentially a regular rectangular box.

Little fold-up robots!

From my monkfish search spider - Fish You May Want to Avoid

Just over 100 years ago Victorians imagined what the future would be like, anticipating marvelous inventions like personal buoyancy balloons (to allow us to walk on water), trains able to move several buildings at once, and a weather control machine, among others. Cards illustrating these splendors were printed by a German chocolate company, and now they're online. Victorian Visions of the Year 2000 is a most interesting browse.

Dr. Daystrom / Blacula / King of Cartoons passed away this week. So many cool roles. Thanks for contributing so much to pop culture, Mr. Marshall.

Updated: Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2003 - 9:16 AM EDT.

Kristi King, WTOP Radio
WASHINGTON - As you contemplate what type of fish to have for dinner, conservation groups are urging people not to eat certain fish because their numbers are getting dangerously low.

"The science is not in question. The science is strong that our oceans are under tremendous threat," says Ocean Conservancy President Roger Rufe, Jr.

Rufe says many fish populations are at risk from over fishing and destructive fishing practices.

On the Conservancy's suggested list of fish to avoid eating are orange roughy, imported king crab, Atlantic swordfish. Chilean sea bass and Icelandic and Atlantic cod. Beluga caviar, monkfish, rockfish, sharks, imported shrimp, wild sturgeon and bluefin tuna are also on the list.

On the list of best choices are farm-raised seafood, including clams, oysters, and mussels. Farm raised abakine, catfish, rainbow trout and striped bass.

Rufe is a member of the Pew Oceans Commission which just gave its recommendations to Congress. A Presidential Commission report is expected soon.

"This is the opportunity for President Bush to do for our oceans what Teddy Roosevelt a hundred years ago did for our land," he says.

related link, Seafood watch - Choices for healthy oceans.

No Danny today, but probably Lunch on Saturday. Project #2 is coming to a close for me... a large Net-meeting with bigwigs first thing Wednesday morning to go over what I've cooked up for them so far. I'm hoping that they'll be pleased.

Today's Island Boy's last day at my old gig... If corporate HR had been a little more responsive about his raise, they'd probably still have him. Ah well, I hope he's happier at his new gig with Tuan. Saturday is Erica's B'day.

Dan's talking to a Mortgage broker about getting a new deal on his place, and his wife's feeling the stresses of starting her own business. (I dare not mention the rule of "don't expect a profit for at least 2 years" to her, or even Danny. It might dash their hopes even more.)

Back from PT. Looks like I had a power outage. All of my non-autorun files are closed. I'm glad that my developer's environment auto saves every 10 minutes now.

I got lucky... I thought my appointment was at noon, but it was really at 11... I must've gotten my schedules mixed up somehow. Fortunately, they had a cancellation... good thing, too… because although it's just across the way, rain is coming down in big, thick, heavy drops. Walking with a Crutch on one hand, and an umbrella in the other is no easy feat. It's been coming down hard for a little while now... drainage is becoming an issue. The flowerboxes around my south and east windows are totally flooded, as is the side walkway and rear alley. I hope all of the lizards from yesterday are safely in the trees. Biggest problem about crossing the street was the gutters full of overrun. Puddles about ankle deep and three feet across at the narrows... and I'm not in a condition to go stomping or pole-vaulting over them.

According to - Weather conditions at N4HHP-1

Last report received 10 minutes 25 seconds ago

Wind from 138 degrees @ 5 MPH
Temp 82 Humidity 72% Rain last 24 hours 41.01 inches

41 inches in 24 hours! Gadzooks!



courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel webcam

6/19/03


Got my times mixed up for Doctor today... I swung by there at 10:45 for my 11am appointment, and it turns out it was at 1pm. MY physical therapy is at 1:30p, so I went downstairs to PT, and the woman there was enthusiastic about having me work right then, as she had a cancellation, and wanted to head out today by 2pm if she could (taking her daughter to the orthodontist). I didn't do traction today, but the workout with heat and stim worked nicely.

It seems my original PT guy quit to go work in Brazil for a private individual. My mind stereotypes, and wonder if it's a big crime leader or something.

Went to the doctor, and I've got to stay on physical therapy, and may end up going to get another epidural done. Two weeks and time will tell.

In the office a kid was playing with *MICRONAUTS* today... the time-traveler one. My gosh, they're so small! Either they re-released them with different, smaller molds, or I really have gotten a lot bigger since I was 8. (The latter is more likely.) Only about 3 1/2 inches tall. On the way home I noticed the lizards are out in force... I had one hop on my crutch and ride across the street with me, a brown anole with a red throat and a really pretty speckled back in browns and yellows.. Many small ones were out and about, so I suspect a hatching season has kicked in. My rider was bigger, and pretty well fed...I made sure that he got off before entering the Newton-Zone, however.


I plan on spending some time with Danny tomorrow; both to get some quality time in, and to get some boxes so I can start packing stuff up.

A new GeoURL has popped up, 0 miles form my apartment, the Fort Lauderdale Clear Sky Clock, so I won't have to bother referencing with Heavens Abovefor my sky info anymore, as I can reference it from the Clock. Sadly, Due to light pollution in the cite, it takes a little doing to get somewhere with good stargazing light. I've added the small thumbnail to my ever-growing bio page, right underneath the Sun-sentinel cam.

A baby dolphin beached yesterday.. Tiny (3-feet long, 50 lbs), maybe a week old. The report yesterday called it a whale, because of witnesses to the event not knowing the difference. (Risso's Dolphins have a blunt head and no beak, like Bottlenose "Flipper" Dolphins)


Officials: Stranded baby dolphin will never be released

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

NORTH MIAMI -- A newborn dolphin rescued after she washed ashore on a Fort Lauderdale beach will never return to the ocean because she doesn't have the skills to survive, such as catching fish, officials said Tuesday.

Rescuers said the female Risso's dolphin was in critical condition Tuesday, a day after her rescue. The baby is recovering in a 22-foot diameter tank at Florida International University's campus in North Miami. Volunteers are feeding her Pedialyte, a solution for infants to prevent dehydration and replace electrolytes, and a gruel made of calcium, vitamins and other supplements.

"If (she) does beat the odds and (she) makes it, we would find a home for (her) in a captive care facility," said Blair Mase of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The dolphin is about a week old, said Sarah Gomez, a rehabilitation supervisor with the Marine Animal Rescue Society. She said the dolphin, nicknamed Nemo, might have beached itself because her mother died, there were problems during her birth, or because she is sick.

"She really needs to sleep and fatten up," Gomez said. The 3-foot dolphin weighs 46 pounds.

Veterinarians took blood samples, a blow whole culture and a fecal sample, Gomez said. They hope to determine whether the baby nursed from its mother, which would give it essential antibiotics to develop a healthy immune system.

Risso's dolphins are usually seen only in warm, deep oceans or seas. They have a blunt head and no beak, a curved dorsal fin and a dark gray to white body. They can grow to 12 1/2 feet long and up to 1,100 pounds.

After the baby washed ashore Monday, lifeguards took it to shallow water about 100 feet offshore until state wildlife officers and special rescue workers arrived.

Volunteers dubbed the dolphin Nemo after the character in the new Walt Disney movie, "Finding Nemo," the story of a boy fish stolen from his home and his father's search for him.

The Marine Animal Rescue Society is an all-volunteer network. Volunteers and donations are needed to care for Nemo, Gomez said.

6/18/03

Does anything marketed today worry about Tropical oils anymore?

My Knee got creaky last night...I hope it's not more damaged than I first thought. It was giving easily. (Though, maybe I'm working it hard than I was before, too)... Newt woke me extra early with his morning paw swabbing, and the Knee is still not the sturdiest. I'm a little concerned how that'll be when I move to a new apartment, and may opt to stay here another month as a result. Now that I'm up and about, He's sleeping on the bathroom windowsill. If I were a vengeful sort, I'd poke him until he had to get up, in reciprocation... but being the softie that I am, I won't tell him to move until I need to take a shower... and even then I'll cut him some slack, until I feel dingy to the point of saying Enough is enough.

The infrared Zoo - Infrared light shows us the heat radiated by the world around us. By viewing animals with a thermal infrared camera, we can actually "see" the differences between warm and cold-blooded animals. Infrared also allows us to study how well feathers, fur and blubber insulate animals. As you tour this "Infrared Zoo", see what new information you can gather about the animals here that you would not get from a visible light picture. Enjoy your tour!

Oprah + Sex = heehee. An entertaining explanation of oral sex from the Oxygen Network. Not likely work safe, unless you work at a sex-counseling center.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to *remotely destroy* the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.

The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.

Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

By TED BRIDIS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 17, 2003; 5:22 PM


WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.

The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.

During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.

"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to disrupt music downloads. One technique deliberately downloads pirated material very slowly so other users can't.

"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."

The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."

"If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize" the seriousness of their actions, he said.

"There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Hatch said.

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., who has been active in copyright debates in Washington, urged Hatch to reconsider. Boucher described Hatch's role as chairman of the Judiciary Committee as "a very important position, so when Senator Hatch indicates his views with regard to a particular subject, we all take those views very seriously."

Some legal experts suggested Hatch's provocative remarks were more likely intended to compel technology and music executives to work faster toward ways to protect copyrights online than to signal forthcoming legislation.

"It's just the frustration of those who are looking at enforcing laws that are proving very hard to enforce," said Orin Kerr, a former Justice Department cybercrimes prosecutor and associate professor at George Washington University law school.

The entertainment industry has gradually escalated its fight against Internet file-traders, targeting the most egregious pirates with civil lawsuits. The Recording Industry Association of America recently won a federal court decision making it significantly easier to identify and track consumers - even those hiding behind aliases - using popular Internet file-sharing software.

Kerr predicted it was "extremely unlikely" for Congress to approve a hacking exemption for copyright owners, partly because of risks of collateral damage when innocent users might be wrongly targeted.

"It wouldn't work," Kerr said. "There's no way of limiting the damage."

Last year, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., ignited a firestorm across the Internet over a proposal to give the entertainment industry new powers to disrupt downloads of pirated music and movies. It would have lifted civil and criminal penalties against entertainment companies for disabling, diverting or blocking the trading of pirated songs and movies on the Internet.

But Berman, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary panel on the Internet and intellectual property, always has maintained that his proposal wouldn't permit hacker-style attacks by the industry on Internet users.

---

On the Net: Sen. Hatch: http://hatch.senate.gov


It's already worked out with Microsoft, as part of their DRM system.

Their plan is to put these chips in everyone's computers, that are made with bits of rocks from Stonehenge, and when they play pirated music, a laser beam shoots out at the music pirate, and makes bugs come out of their mouth. It will be awesome.

And then a ninja comes and totally cuts the pirate's head off.

Tiny robots! - It's small enough to "turn on a dime and park on a nickel."



Best Baby name ever.

Worst Dolls Ever. They will give you nightmares. Really. Don't say I didn't warn you. They are seriously disturbing things.

6/17/03

Had a long and unexpected phone conversation with Doug... just chewed the fat for a few hours. I fear for both of our phone bills come next month. Strange week for old-school reminiscing and pleasant conversation. Would that there were more of them.

Yahoo weirdness tonight.. not sure what happened with that.


Listening to Weird Cooing


Why are all the words capitalized?

6/17/03

Danny sent me a set of Game notes from June of 1995. (With a few revisions for 1997) Where he played a Science Nerd that Changed into a powerhouse that had powers based on Magnetism. Other people of the same team was my Character, miniMAX (A shrinker/grower gadgeteer... sort of Henry Pym with weirdness magnet, a goofy streak, and an intelligent shrunken chimp sidekick), Ghost (Kathleen's Character with variable Desol / Invisibility & acrobatics), The Aquarian (Doug's Mystic Master), Mystery (Cathy's Amnesiac bot-character), and Silver Hammer (Tony's Flying energy-projector...I remember he had a low Ego & Pre... made for an easily spooked super guy.. looked like the silver surfer in black bicycle pants, usually running away.) The Head of our Team was Agent 13 of "The Agency". Sort of a cross between Nick Fury and Susan Powter (with the buzz-cut.. wow, I guess she phased that look totally out, and got breast implants & a nose ring... Powter, not Agent 13).

Some of his quotables... (Some are better than others, and proper emphasis is important.)

IN COMBAT

"Come out you cowards, and fight the six of us!"
"Do you wanna hit the jackpot with the tooth fairy?"
"What's worse than getting cut with a knife? ... Getting cut with your own knife!" (Non-seq... Iron never cut anyone.)
"You're gonna have a hard time picking up your teeth with broken fingers!" (My personal fave.)
"You look pale! You need more IRON in your diet!"
"Your Life is a lemon, and I'm here to refund your money!"
"My Great, Great, Great... Great Grandmother can punch harder than that!"
"I'm only gonna hit you once, and then the floor's gonna hit you!"
"Let me introduce you to my fist!"
"My fist fights for the side of Law and Order!"
"I'm gonna crack you like a soft-boiled egg!"
"I'm gonna peel you like a fruit roll!"
"I'm gonna hit you with so many lefts, you're gonna beg for a right."
"If you wanna whoop me, you better bring your lunch because it's gonna take all day." (Way too cumbersome.)
"You're gonna fly so far when I punch you, they're gonna need the Hubble Telescope to Find you!"
"If Brains were dynamite, you wouldn't have enough to blow your nose!" (That was old in the 50's.)
"You're a few sandwiches short of a picnic!"
"You're the Titanic, and I’m the Iceberg!"
"I'm gonna hit you so hard with my right you're gonna beg for a left!"

OUT OF COMBAT
"Make it so, Number One!" (Star Trek nerd and all)
"I'm not gonna bite that biscuit."
"My Dance card is filled."
"No, my little thumbscrew!"

1997 additions
"You have to break a few eggs to pound the daylights out of a supervillian."
"You cannot defeat what you do not understand."

COMBAT CODES W/MINIMAX
Hail Mary - Throw miniMAX (Fastball special)
Drop ___ - coordinated attack on ____
Cover___ Protect ____
Gimme 5 to___ Grab-by
Piggyback
Maneuver 1 E-Man climbs on his back. (E-man was his sidekick.. usually behind the scenes)
Bad guys numbered, squishies (innocents) lettered.

From a fax sent to miniMAX from Frank, 6/1/1995

Esteemed Colleague: After attenuated years of painstakingly arduous matriculations, interrupted by brief but frivolous, discontinuous episodes of mountain dew and star trek digestive assimilations, we, the deliberately imprudent, though excessively honorable and high-minded representative ideals of mannish ineptitude, must undauntedly proceed to shamelessly and precipitously, yet not without brassy mettlesomeness, exalt our affiliatedly-united alliance of equally disarranged associates in perplexity, who, though of general kindredity are also filled with a craving inclination to crushingly subjugate the purveyors of perniciously-malicious malevolency, above the teraqueously terrestrial, yet decidedly inelastic and unshakably steady bosom of our obliging enticer, Mistress 13, and originate ourselves, Frank and miniMAX, into a neoterically fresh and unaccustomed epitome of non-exemplifory superheroes, metamorphosing ourselves, through a perplexing complexus of trasmutive dementia-praecox, based on the propitious virtues of giddiness, happiness, and scientific wackiness, ignoring with spock-like curious disregard all objections and whining threnodies, save those which inspirit and support our illimitable, unfeigningly sincere endeavor.

Damn the torpedoes!
Cars will not hurt us!

Frank.



As a side note, was revived briefly, with a slightly altered history in 1999/2000 for a play by mail game, and just wasn't the same without the Fine Ferrous Fellow alongside.

6/17/03

A bit of morning Newt for my pleasure. :)


Black Spot Campaign - the latest Adbusters Campaign. (Via )

Because my country has sold its soul to corporate power,
Because consumerism has become our national religion,
Because we've forgotten the true meaning of freedom,
And because patriotism now means agreeing with the president,
I pledge to do my duty . . . and take my country back.

also, the awesome signmaker

Not sure what color combo to use yet... I'm partial to the green and brown.



Dick Morris on Hillary Clinton & Living History on NRO


June 12, 2003, 8:50 a.m.
Setting the Record Straight
An open letter to Hillary Clinton.

By Dick Morris

Dear Hillary,

In your new book, Living History, you correctly note that when you asked me to help you and Bill avert defeat in the congressional election of 1994 I was reluctant to do so. But then you assert, incorrectly, that my reluctance stemmed from difficulties in working with your staff. You even misquote me as telling you: "I don't like the way I was treated, Hillary. People were so mean to me."

As you know, I never said anything of the sort. I had, in fact, no experience in dealing with either your staff or the President's at that point, and had not yet met Leon Panetta or George Stephanopoulos. My prior dealing with Harold Ickes had been twenty-five years earlier.

The real reason I was reluctant was that Bill Clinton had tried to beat me up in May of 1990 as he, you, Gloria Cabe, and I were together in the Arkansas governor's mansion. At the time, Bill was worried that he was falling behind his democratic primary opponent and verbally assaulted me for not giving his campaign the time he felt it deserved. Offended by his harsh tone, I turned and stalked out of the room.

Bill ran after me, tackled me, threw me to the floor of the kitchen in the mansion and cocked his fist back to punch me. You grabbed his arm and, yelling at him to stop and get control of himself, pulled him off me. Then you walked me around the grounds of the mansion in the minutes after, with your arm around me, saying, "He only does that to people he loves."

I continued to work for Bill since I felt a responsibility to do so until Election Day in 1990. But our relationship was never close and never the same. After the 1990 campaign we parted ways as a direct result of the altercation.

When the story threatened to surface during the 1992 campaign, you told me to "say it never happened."

That, and not the invented conversation in your memoir, was the reason that I was reluctant to work for Bill again.

Yours,
Dick Morris

— Dick Morris, an adviser to Bill Clinton for 20 years, is author, most recently, of Off with Their Heads: Traitors, Crooks & Obstructionists in American Politics, Media & Business.

The hook on my telephone seems to have a loose wire in it.. I need to smack the phone against the palm of my hand a time or two to answer the phone.

Random Scotto factoid - I've spelled my name as Skot, Xkot, and Lars, just to see where the junk mail comes from.

Random Newton factoid - He takes more pleasure in being fed by hand than the types of treats I give him. If I see him begging for whiska lickin's, I can grab a mitt's worth of kibble from his dish and he'll eat it happily as if it were a soft treat.

6/16/03

Had a good time role-playing a nightmare mix of “Dukes of Hazzard”, “Magnum PI”, “MacGuyver”, and old movie serials involving drunken sharks / killer robotic bees. No, really. I won't even mention Beowulf being a big milk baby and having stinky diapers.

I need to dig up a transcript of the whole thing, and save it in my journal so that it doesn't get lost. I haven't laughed that hard in an age.

Talked to Todd Today about getting Adobe distiller on my machine.. it seems like a lot of work to have to go through to print items to a file, but if it works, it works.

I never remember to send out the check on the 15th... I'm glad that Silverman calls me on the day after, to remind me.



Newton, the Prince of Cute Orange Cats, wants me to point out that Abbie the Cat is a very funny writer. "He isn't as literate as I am, but then again, I applaud his willingness to get his paws dirty and type his own entries, instead of just making his human servant take dictation."

He also wishes to make it clear that while he admires Abbie, he is not a part of his posse. He does, however, plan to offer Abbie a position in his court once he takes over the world. (I am delighted that I will have a place in his New Furred Order.)

Skeletal rag doll... be sure and turn on the sky if you've got a good processor

Runaway Train! - Orisinal's games are always a pleasure on the eyes.

6/15/03

Father's Day...To all that can celebrate it, I wish you the hearty best. I miss my dad, but I'm not aching about it today.

Looking online for more places... Not having a lot of luck... I may need to pick up a paper, and recruit my bro to do some footwork for me too. I tried calling him earlier for chitty-chat, but he wasn't able to talk at the moment.

Vampire Clues
"Pssst. Thieves Guild 1 is right next to Aardvark and the northern city limits today. I don't know how much longer it will be there, though."
"Potionworks, right by Gypsum and 73rd. I do wish those damn magic shops would stay still for a while."

I wonder how different the world would be if there were no mind altering substances in existence… no caffeine, no alcohol, no chocolate.

What wars would've been won or lost? What Judgment calls would or wouldn't have been made? Would Grant have been a better president? A better general?

Talked to Dave today, and it came out in passing that Cooper (The agency I was looking at for apartments) is notoriously evil, and should be avoided. In other real estate news, his evil family next door moved out, and he may be picking up the corner lot, with a four-bedroom home for a steal. Cathi seems to want to be an Art teacher, and I think that she'd excel at it.

Random photos of Danny drinking a Red Stripe, and a creepy back storage area near the bathrooms, under the plaza during our people watching / chat making time. I am glad we chose to talk rather than to see "A Mighty Wind." (I do want to see it, but can watch Mockumentaries from the comfort of home.) I had trouble going up and down stairs with my back, especially up.



We spent much of the day discussing dreams, teaching, the passers-by, and old days of superhero gaming…his fellow, "Man of Iron”, my own miniMAX and realizing that we have total blanks for the majority of the other characters in the games. We went down a list... FOCUS, Z-Squad, Mercenaries, Paladin Station, the 60's game. Topic of Tony came up, someone I've not given a thought to in a number of years. Silver Hammer was the only guy we could remember of his at all. Overall, I think FOCUS was the most memorable of the social game-times.

I got home, and it turned out my Brother's Hand was very swollen... he was bitten by something, It seems. He had to go to the ER, put on an antibiotic IV, and have minor surgery to correct / drain / disinfect it. He’s now wrapped in a large bandage and a palm-brace, His antibiotic 'scrip cost over $100, ... I think it'd be cheaper for me if I bought and paid for his insurance. He seems to be doing well now, thank goodness, and the scar from his last tumble is barely visible anymore.

6/14/03

How sophisticated have video game consoles become? Researchers have linked 70 or so Playstation 2s in series and created a supercomputer.

No, really. Check out the CNet story for the details.

Meme stolen from


If I were a month I would be: October
If I were a day of the week I would be: Thursday
If I were a time of day I would be: Right after waking up
If I were a planet I would be: Neptune
If I were a sea animal I would be: A starfish
If I were a direction I would be: Thataway
If I were a piece of furniture I would be: a fainting couch
If I were a sin I would be: Sloth
If I were a historical figure I would be: Iron Monkey
If I were a liquid I would be: the cleaning fluid of a moist towelette
If I were a stone, I would be: Granite
If I were a tree, I would be: Mangrove
If I were a bird, I would be: A pelican
If I were a tool, I would be: A trowel
If I were a flower/plant, I would be: lavender
If I were a kind of weather, I would be: a soft rain with distant thunder
If I were a mythical creature, I would be: A yeti
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: Tuba
If I were an animal, I would be: A bear
If I were a color, I would be: Forest Green
If I were a vegetable, I would be: Sweet corn
If I were a sound, I would be: a gasp of surprise
If I were an element, I would be: beryllium
If I were a car, I would be: A station wagon
If I were a song, I would be: What I am, by Edie Brikell and the New Bohemians
If I were a movie, I would be directed by: Terry Gilliam
If I were a book, I would be written by: Robert Anton Wilson
If I were a food, I would be: Delicious Tofu
If I were a place, I would be: a broad park with lots of soft grass and trees, with a small brook
If I were a material, I would be: Teflon
If I were a taste, I would be: Bittersweet
If I were a scent, I would be: Baking Bread
If I were a religion, I would be: Unitarianism
If I were a word, I would be: Zoinks!
If I were an object, I would be: an axe handle
If I were a body part I would be: islets of langerhans, or the whole pancreas
If I were a facial expression I would be: Smiling
If I were a subject in school I would be: Mythology of the Modern World
If I were a cartoon character I would be: Norb (of the Angry Beavers)
If I were a shape I would be: recursive
If I were a number I would be: 5


Travel hint for those in Miami, via the hidden city - Coco's

There's a little Cuban restaurant, Coco's Coffee Shop. It's an institution, having been in the same hole in the wall location for over 20 years. As in common in Miami there's a sidewalk window, where you can walk up and get a quick shot of Cuban coffee for 50¢ (including the tip). Inside it's cramped and utilitarian, with cheap plastic tablecloths and silk flowers on the two-person tables, and the ubiquitous Formica counter where the regulars sit and gossip and sip their cortaditos. One wall is dominated by a gigantic painted menu, but I don't think it's been updated in the last ten years. You can always tell when someone new comes in, because they'll spend time looking at the wall for inspiration, and wondering why there aren't any prices listed. It's the only menu in the place.

Coco and her husband will try to help you out if you look confused, but it really isn't a place for tourists. There's a small chalkboard with today's specials listed (en Español, of course), and they'll translate it for you if needed, but beyond that, you're on your own. You can get all the usual Cuban coffee shop fare, so just ask for something you've had before and odds are good you'll be fine.

In exchange for this no-frills dining experience, you get deals it's hard to beat: a large Cuban sandwich—roast pork, ham, cheese, and pickles on crusty Cuban bread, pressed flat and heated through— and a tiny cup of extremely strong, extremely sweet Cuban coffee, for $5 including tax and tip. (Vegetarians my have trouble. vegans even more so. It is Cuban fare, after all... I think that they'd make the napkins of pork, if it were possible and sanitary.)

I love places like Coco's, which will never end up in Zagat's or reviewed in the Miami Herald, but which have character, local flavor, and great food and at really great price.

Any place like that in your neighborhood?

6/13/03



Happy Birthday, ! I hope that this sixth is as good as your first sixth, or better! The Marvel Comics Pope gives you his blessing.

edit -


I'm craving some pink lemonade gum. And some Chili-Fries. And a long nap.

I've discovered that shoutcast works well in There, but only if you use a stereo stream.. also, bandwidth will make it skip after about 2 or three hours. I may start doing web-broadcasts of OTR again, just because it seems like there's a need for more dragnet / the shadow / cbs mystery theatre


There is one major, MAJOR difference between brown eggs and white eggs.

Brown eggs are brown and white eggs are white.

Does that answer your question?

No? OK then. According to the Egg Nutrition Board (and who should know better?), "White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition between white and brown eggs." The people at Crisco (who may know even more than the egg nutritionists) go further to say, "They simply come from two different breeds of chickens. Brown eggs, however, are more expensive because the chickens that lay them eat more than those that lay white eggs." Among the breeds that lay brown eggs are the Rhode Island Red, the New Hampshire and the Plymouth Rock--all larger birds that require more food.

But Bill Finch of the Mobile Register suggests that brown eggs may have tasted better at one time. He says, "For years, the chickens preferred by commercial growers happened to lay white eggs. A few smart cooks sought out brown eggs because most of the home-reared American flocks, which had access to flavor-enhancing weeds and bugs, happened to lay brown eggs. Commercial egg producers eventually got wise to this. They started raising chickens that laid brown eggs, and charged a premium for them at the store.

"But because the white AND brown grocery-store eggs are the result of the same bland commercial diet, their eggs taste exactly the same. Many people still apparently don't realize they've been duped at their own game."




Here on Fibber Island
We strum rubber guitars
Our friends live on Mars
And we sew buttons on our cars

Here on Fibber Island
Our house is made of pie
Our dog is two miles wide
And all he talks about is pie

Here on Fibber Island
We swim on the ground
Wheels are square, not round
We eat chocolate by the pound

Here on Fibber Island (here on Fibber Island)
No one sings along (no one sings along)
We just ride giraffes (we just ride giraffes)
And wear bicycles for hats (bicycles for hats)

To get to Fibber Island (oooooh)
You just close your eyes (oooooh)
Start fibbin' in your mind (oooooh)
And see what you can find (oooooh)

Here on Fibber Island
We hide mittens in our hair
You might need to stare
To see the mittens in our hair

Come to Fibber Island
And strum rubber guitars
Meet our friends from Mars
And sew buttons on our cars


Which Family Guy Character are you? Take the Quiz!

6/12/03

Nice. They’ve allowed shoutcast to broadcast through jukeboxes /radios / loudspeakers in there. (Until august 1 anyhow) very nifty. They seem to have all sold out. I'm glad I got a otr style and a loudspeaker.

Do we really want Idiotic Psychics running around? Every day our brains are not being melted into paste by super villains is another day we just got lucky, and now thanks to this book, we have to worry about morons firing invisible rays out of their heads on accident.

See also vampires This is the book you need if you're plagued by mystical blood-sucking creatures of the night, but want your tiny brain's hand held while it learns how to defeat them. This might be taking advantage of complete idiots, since as you know, vampires were long ago made extinct by the Easter Bunny's hunter-killer cyborgs. That's why there isn't a Completely Level-Headed Non-Insane Person's Guide to Vampires, and even if there were, it would just be one page long with a graph illustrating how you should quickly run in the opposite direction from any approaching Dracula.

Super huge Bollywood and Lollywood poster gallery (via Coudal Partners). The linked page takes a long time to load even on a fast connection - and it's just one of several!

Looking for Billy the Kid
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- New Mexico is putting the legend of Billy the Kid under a microscope, using DNA tests to verify if the man who claimed to be the infamous gunslinger really was.

Gov. Bill Richardson scheduled a news conference Tuesday to detail how the state will aid an investigation launched by Lincoln County, where the Old West outlaw made a dramatic escape from custody 122 years ago.

The investigation calls for exhuming and testing the remains of Billy the Kid's mother and Ollie L. "Brushy Bill" Roberts. Roberts, who died in 1950, swore he was William H. Bonney, the name most often given by the Kid as his real one.

Roberts was buried in Hico, Texas, where he lived. Bonney's mother was buried in Silver City, New Mexico.

Others have also claimed to be the Kid, said Lincoln County Sheriff Tom Sullivan. One, named John Miller, was buried in Prescott, Arizona, and another, not identified, was buried in Mexico.

"We don't have a theory. We just want to know the truth," Sullivan said.

Historian Frederick Nolan, author of several books about Billy including "The West of Billy the Kid," doubts that Roberts was who he said he was.

Nolan, who lives in London, contends the Roberts' family Bible showed "Brushy Bill" was born in 1879, making him only 2 when the Lincoln County jail escape occurred April 28, 1881.

Besides the genetic testing, the investigation will examine whether an accomplice provided Kid with the pistol he used to kill two deputy sheriffs during the escape.

The sheriff credited with killing the Kid later in 1881 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, never investigated the jailbreak killings because he already had a death warrant against the outlaw, said Steve Sederwall, a volunteer investigator helping Sullivan.

Sullivan said he hopes to recreate the crime scene. Some physical evidence, such as bullet fragments, might still be imbedded in the Lincoln courthouse, he said. Fragments could indicate whether Billy used one of the deputy's guns or an accomplice's.

Wouldn't it be great if DNA test results from ALL of the Billy the Kid claimants matched? And oooh oooh, just match EACH OTHER, not Billy's ma....

6/11/03

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, leader of Congressional opposition to the Iraq war, took to the House floor today to continue pressing for the truth about the Administration's drive to war:

"The credibility gap is growing. First the Administration said the US had to sweep aside the UN inspections and the UN Security Council because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were an imminent threat. Now, Paul Wolfowitz says: 'The truth is that for reasons that have a lot to do with the US government bureaucracy, we settled on the one issue that everyone could agree on, which was weapons of mass destruction as the core reason.'

"Now their story is changing: Iraq had a weapons 'program,' they say. No longer weapons of mass destruction, but a program. If this Administration can fabricate reasons for war after the fact, where will America be headed for war next?

"Congress must demand accountability for the wanton exercise of war power, for the loss of life, the destruction of property, the waste of tax dollars and the damage to America's reputation. Thirty-three members of the House have now signed the Resolution of Inquiry to demand the White House tell the truth."

Kucinich's Resolution of Inquiry, demanding the Administration turn over intelligence to back its pre-war claims about Iraq, was introduced Thursday and has growing support. It is a privileged resolution and must be voted on in Committee within 14 legislative days of being introduced.

In local news, (via Mike Cohen/Sun-sentinel)



It's one of the most annoying intersections, whether or not it's really dangerous. On each street, you need to be in the proper lane to either continue straight or turn left or right, so people either scramble at the last minute to get in the correct lane, or turn from the wrong lane.

WILTON MANORS -- The five-way intersection at the heart of this city is a tangle or a trademark, depending on whom you ask.

Some drivers say Five Points, where Dixie Highway, Wilton Drive and Northeast 26th Street meet, is a breeding ground for sideswipes and fender-benders. The Florida Department of Transportation calls it a troublesome traffic spot that needs fixing.

But one proposed solution -- turning Five Points into a traditional, four-legged intersection -- has some residents fuming. Wilton Manors wouldn't be the same, they argue, if Five Points were reduced to four.

"The city begins at Five Points; that's our signature," said Diane Cline, president of the Wilton Manors Historical Society. "It's the gateway to our city."

The unusual intersection and nearby properties are considered the middle of everything the city has to offer -- restaurants, cleaners, groceries, a drugstore and even libations. Also in the works a few dozen yards east of the intersection is Wilton Station, a residential and commercial development to break ground next year with designs for its own restaurants, shops, offices and residential lofts costing upward of $400,000.

via seebelow/calamityjon/yahoo -

In other news, a pre-release version of The Hulk is apparently floating out there on what your grandfather calls "The Inter-what Email." Ain't-It-Cool reporters, always keen observers of their surroundings, are apparently bashing the product for - among other failings - possessing scenes in which the Hulk is invisible. THE SPECIAL EFFECTS WEREN'T ADDED YET, YOU DOPES!

Best line of the article: " But the damage may have been done. Ain't It Cool (www.aint-it-cool-news.com), whose bad buzz has known to derail would-be blockbusters (see Rollerball)..."

YOU SONSABITCHES! Rollerball could've been HU-U-U-UGE!

6/11/03

Signs that you may not want to rent in the area.

• Ask about noise / crime and get evasive answers.


• close to primary city traffic


• the agent mentions a nicer apartment just up the road, but for reasons unknown, won't take you there


• while waiting for a cab, you witness an impromptu pit bull fight- a young lady's being walked is attacked by another not tethered in the yard over. Thank goodness for aluminum crutches.

Though the apartment was clean, tile floors, looks a bit small for a one bedroom. Has a pool and laundry facilities. I'm going to look a bit more deeply into the quieter parts of town, as that place had three units available; I have mixed feelings about it. I probably won't get one of those. Most places are only asking first and security, and a few are offering $100 off if I move in within 2 weeks, another $100 off if I get the application back to 'em in 24 hours, and yet a third $100 off if I tell them that I found the place via rent.com.

Other Things seen -

About 5 apartments, all within a 6-block radius. varied wildly from "Oh, Hell no" to "Wow, that's gorgeous". I think that I can find a nice place, a little bigger for not much more than I'm paying now.

A kid (13?) get off the school bus with a bright yellow folder labeled "languish arts" written by what looks to be a 6 year-old's off-hand script. I think Languish Arts is a cool name for a band, but I don't think the kid was being clever, just illiterate.

A young Spanish girl, maybe fifteen, with colorful neck tattoos, as well as on one either arm and at the base of back. I wonder how she'll feel about those in another fifteen years? Will she live to see forty-five? Sixty? The arms are easily covered, but the neck would be very difficult. I wonder how, if at all it'll affect her ability to get a job?

Why did I opt not to take my camera with me today? I forgot. I planned on taking it with me to take photos of the apartments I visited.

Occasionally, I'm bad about minimizing other people's pain. Sometimes I feel that if you've got a roof over your head, food in your belly, and are able to read... you're already a thousand miles ahead of the gross majority of the world.

But, some folks feel other pain more deeply, and when I remember to, I reflect on that, and feel for them, as well. Some folk ache in the heart or the mind over things that seem very real to them, so as far as that goes, is real.

Broken hearts hurt, as do any broken oath. Broken people can hurt others with their sharp edges, too. I feel for those that suffer from breakage, and fear for those I love being hurt too. The trouble being that I think all people are broken, in some way. Everyone I know particularly well is, anyway. Including myself.

So, what's the solution?

I try to keep my jagged side from hurting people, and likewise, try to help those I care about do the same.

I don't mind getting some nicks and cuts along the way, if it means those I care about can be made happier, and maybe even have those broken parts coated so that they don't hurt themselves.

I know I can do little spot-welding here and there, but can't really fix other people. I can only help. I think that I've gotten a lot of my own issues worked out, drawing strength and guidance from important people in my life, too.

I don't know where I'm going with this. Just stating what's on my mind.

Maybe broken isn't the right term? If we all work that way, maybe it's more of a design flaw.

What bit of myself that needed changing has been repaired lately due to another's help? I think compassion is it. I'm far more merciful a person than I was when I first started this journal. I'm more for easing off on punishment now, even when justice demands it. I've been good at consideration, but not so great at compassion.

What needs the most work right now? Heck, I don't know...maybe developing a better focus. Better to cloud some vision and crystallize others. Perhaps a broken body currently needs more tending to than a broken mind. Maybe writing more again.

6/11/03

simcamera is remarkably handy, not just for there or the sims. Handy for taking window or screen shots.

Just finished scraping hair from the sides of my jaws. I've gone from the wild man from Borneo to a more respectable tight-trimmed goatee. Must look good for the rental agent later today. (Convince 'em I'm not a total freakazoid)

Random Scotto factoid: You can replace the word Smurf with dork, and it'll make me laugh. "Papa Dork! Dorkette! Handy Dork!"

Trevor Goddard (the gruff Aussie actor who so expertly portrayed Kano in the first "Mortal Kombat" flick) died of a drug-overdose yesterday. The world is a darker place without him.

http://cmdrtaco.net/poemgen.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscottobear.livejournal.com
LiveJournal poetry. Add yours by changing the URL at the end

the later on the cheap Ooooh,
childhood playtime
than my annoying iron fist
technique on this month
a more sense to figure T... remember to
another. battle scar. I
really industrious
when she
was sage who
left so much regular TV,
new and I thought of Perperikon in
the one of physical therapy..


the kid has access.
How did Bob Well, known,
of august. Plus side, three
of July, a metal pipe bomb
in a year ago
I need to commit to my life
seems to the head
and headache and Danny.
Hobbit pub, lots of Broward County!

the parent, a 1930s pulp adventure film
being lazy, having failed to gel re:
no roof but I have yahoo
which was 8,
comments on this Friday,
to fulfill an improvised explosive
device IED . A Thracian temple ruin
on DVD,
I have
reached by Wednesday, for
memorial Day I laugh at Englebert
Humperdinck and hopefully be
jealous, ! the ghost
The name Mehboob Khan ... but I know
we may 5, I
missed it
Freak Wind
chimes and is
over. the
national anthem being gathered up a broad
spectrum of being the ancient village
of how do know
if going well at the ugliest
thing I do* know
if going to hack the
Sims Online, sometime soon and all I
had come. Personally, I will be a person.

the hairs on the cutting edge.
This poor so delightful right to crash.
got a double fudge .I
understood ranking
methods. Speaking of dance!
Poor schmuck grabbed his bowel
movements! Surely I crave
me on a lot
with great with blue rosebuds, gnomon, Herman
the vibe there.



"Cannibalism is increasing in North Korea following another poor harvest and a big cut in international food aid, according to refugees who have fled the stricken country.
...
If a funeral takes place during the day and the burial is performed that evening, the grave may be dug open and the body stolen before morning, said one refugee."
Famine-struck N Koreans 'eating children'
By Mark Nicol
(Filed: 08/06/2003)


Cannibalism is increasing in North Korea following another poor harvest and a big cut in international food aid, according to refugees who have fled the stricken country.

Aid agencies are alarmed by refugees' reports that children have been killed and corpses cut up by people desperate for food. Requests by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to be allowed access to "farmers' markets", where human meat is said to be traded, have been turned down by Pyongyang, citing "security reasons".

Anyone caught selling human meat faces execution, but in a report compiled by the North Korean Refugees Assistance Fund (NKRAF), one refugee said: "Pieces of 'special' meat are displayed on straw mats for sale. People know where they came from, but they don't talk about it."

The NKRAF, an aid body set up in China five years ago which helps to smuggle food and medicines into parts of North Korea off-limits to WFP officials, interviewed 200 refugees for the report.

"If a funeral takes place during the day and the burial is performed that evening, the grave may be dug open and the body stolen before morning," said one refugee.

Another witness, named only as Lee, 54, said he feared that his missing grandsons, aged eight and 11, had been killed for food. As he searched widely for them, they boys' friends said they had vanished near a market.

Mr Lee said police who raided a nearby restaurant found body parts. The business's owners were shot.

Gerald Bourke, the WFP's representative in Beijing, said it was difficult for his organisation to substantiate the reports of cannibalism as they were unable to get to the markets. "As in any desperately poor country, it is something we might stumble on," he said. "It's not just a problem for us, but also our donors." Because of the food shortages, many people were having to survive on nine ounces of rations a day - less than half the recommended minimum daily intake.

North Korea's ability to feed itself has been hit by floods, deforestation and lack of farm fertilisers and equipment.

The WFP says Japan provided 500,000 tons of food aid in 2001, making it the biggest donor, but sent nothing last year. Food aid from America has been cut from 340,000 tons in 2001 to 40,000 tons so far this year. Washington has pledged to send a further 60,000 tons if Pyongyang lifts restrictions on the operations of agencies such as the WFP.

6/10/03

I wonder what folks 40 years from mow will be nostalgic about and miss? What will folks look back on about now and call it the "Good old days"? I'm not sure I can think of anything in particular, but that may be a problem of being too close to the puzzle to figure it out right away.

I slept very late today... not sure what caused it, but I drowsed from about 2am to about 1pm.

Helped out by being the "fashion photographer" for D's purple gown in the early evening, and was rewarded with a paint tommy gun for my trouble. Playing paintball n a temple ruin on flutterpacks is a hoot! We played team too, Sluggo, Whimsy, Sammy, and Ciara. (I'm still *terrible* about confusing Ciara and Chiasmodus. Katie and Columbina we only see on briefly at the clubhouse.

While at the photo hut, a person showed us the way to the beach campfires.. one of which was inside of an old shipwreck. I really ought to take some pictures for keeping, in case the beta changes the environment again.

Current plans on the drawing table are a "Kiss My Grits" woman's shirt with a yellow rose on it. I don't thing most users will get the reference to Flo, but maybe it'll become a cult favorite.

Mummy locator. If you can get past the color scheme, it's pretty handy if you're wanting to seek out mummified folks.

Looking for new apartments in earnest, today. I'll be visiting some possibles tomorrow. I've already located a few great-sounding deals.

6/9/03

So many things on my mind these days... I need to shake the box and see if pieces fall through the right-shaped holes.

Well, I just heard that Island boy may be moving on to Nordis from my old workplace, and will be making quite a tidy sum. That's the same place that shafted me back in February, but I think that was due to the CIO being a dingleberry, RE: Tuan Leaving, and then not. I hope that he gets comfy, and excels there...it looks like there's a more solid future for him, certainly.

An underground group known as the Sims Shadow Government has taken over the fantasy world that is ``The Sims Online,'' meting out mob justice.

``They show up at your house and they request protection money. `You have to pay me 100,000 simolians if you don't want your house torn down.' It's technically harassment.''

[...] ``We weren't playing the games as hoodlums, we were playing the game as protectors of the city,'' said Mathieson.

At least at first. Somewhere along the line, though, the Sims Shadow Government turned from benevolent overseer to a virtual version of La Cosa Nostra. Maybe it was the emergence of a rival family, the Playtime gang. Or maybe it was the Mia impostor, who tarnished the real Mia's reputation by inviting other players to work for her as a prostitute. Perhaps the final straw was when someone hijacked Mathieson's America Online account -- and stole all of his in-game cash and property.

[...] Particularly egregious affronts to the Shadow Government could -- at least until game maker Maxis disabled this feature -- be dealt with by ripping out an opponent's heart. Of course, nobody dies in the ``Sims Online.'' It's just to prove a point.

Cheese 'can be as addictive as morphine'

Dr Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine, says cheese is addictive because it contains small amounts of morphine from cows' liver. [...] "Cheese contains high levels of casein, a protein that breaks apart during digestion to produce morphine-like opiate compounds, called casomorphins. These opiates are believed to be responsible for the mother-infant bond that occurs during nursing. It's no surprise many of us feel bonded to the refrigerator." [ he went on to say "blah blah blah buy my diet book." ]

got my Kraft pack today... I think I'll enjoy the newtons and the trial mix the most. The stuff arrived via UPS ground, and looked quite weathered from the journey. Though packed in bubble-wrap, some things were bumped and prodded a bit.

The full list of goodies - (holy carb & salt, batman!)

• GF international Coffees Creme Caramel Coffee


• Cherries 'N Cheesecake Newtons


• Planters Nut & Chocolate Trail Mix


• Pasta Anytime Fettuccine with Alfredo Sauce


• Rotini & white cheddar cheese sauce with broccoli side dish


• Mexican Velveeta Loaf... (Heehee.. Loaf.)


• Minute Rice Cheese broccoli skillet


• Big bottle of BBQ sauce


• Lifesavers fusions - strawberry/banana and Cherry/pineapple


• sure jell no cook jam pectin


• Chocolate/vanilla mix pudding snacks - Yum! (Bro will probably take a few.)


• macaroni and cheese crazy noodles (turns mac & cheese Green? erm, bleh! Bro can have that)


• Wheat thins Crispy thins - yum!


• Kool-Aid mad scientwists wild watermelon kiwi - will be donated to Bro :)


• crystal light raspberry lemonade mix - Yum!

I'm still not sure what fruit I'll use the sure-jell on. maybe a Strawberry/Blueberry mix?

I *do* know that it'll all get used.

Elboroom Patio cam... all the wet scared everyone off!

What's on top of Your Computer?

My Monster Name is Demon Ooh, what a classic, your monster name is nice and simple; it’s demon. Demons keep themselves busy in the hell dimensions where they have reached popular acclaim by staring in Buffy and Angel. This new popularity has allowed the demons to expand their wardrobe out from the usual red skin, horns, tail and goat legs to a whole series of weird and wonderful suits. The Levenshtein distance between Newton and Demon is 3.
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Well, Red fur and a tail, anyhow. :)

My Monster Name is Ghost Ghosts are often spirits of people who can’t find rest in death. Having failed to fulfill an important task in life, ghosts find that they’re no more likely to fulfill this role in death either and so make do by floating around and scaring people. Telltale signs of a ghostly presence include a drop in temperature, the hairs on the back of your neck raising and people running away screaming “Ahhh! A ghost!” The Levenshtein distance between Scotto and Ghost is 4.
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Ghost is pretty accurate, these days... I like a cool room, and have been restless.

Brunching Shuttlecocks is no more. :( At least there are archives.

is the most recent person that I've given a LJ code to. Welcome to the addiction! :)

I've tried to explain to Danny that DSL would be the same price as normal Dial-up if he's going to get another line, but I don't think that it's sunk in. I'm not sure what part of "it costs the same, and is 50x faster" he doesn't understand. I suspect he's just not listening.

Looks like I'm back in the lj top 40 again.. I was out for a week, after being steady at 20/21 there since it's inception. I have no idea what booted me off, or who left so that I'd reappear at 20 again. I still only recognize maybe 5 journals on the list, and three of those are communities. I've got no idea how I went form 20, to off, to back at 20 again, without changing ranks...the top 40 would make more sense to me if I understood Google's ranking methods. Speaking of Google, they've added Google compute a mass cooperative information designed to help solve problems hit by distributed computing, like the old Seti@home site. This is even more handy, not as a screensaver but as just helping out. More info is available at folding@home. At one time at my last company, I had over a dozen machines with the screensaver running. turned me on to the medical version (rather than seti) method way back when.

One of my vampire-spawn has vanished, leaving me with only 3 direct descendants. Liliana , mixedresults and LdySaphyre (sire of are all lasting quite nicely, though.

6/7/03
Heard from the brother this morning... his coherence was weak. I'm not sure if it was the fact that he'd just woke up or something less friendly. I asked Dave earlier about a place for him, but that may or may not be a helpful route of questioning. (The *last* thing I need is for Tony and Bro to join forces... not a safe mix of personalities there). Bro's voice still sounds a little "off", maybe due to his crash, a thump to the mouth or nose.

Had a nice time with Danny yesterday...new shoes, new pants, a little pub-crawl, conversation and people watching. I spent more money than I'd intended, but didn't really dent myself all too badly. There are a lot of Brazilians in this region of Florida, and we got a kick out of watching form for a while over drinks. (A few other ethnic groups stood out last night at supper, too... German tourists, and some young Japanese girls giggling near where we had our din-din. I'm still trying to figure out what the girls were eating... calamari? Some sort of puffed, fried thing. Could have been garlic rolls for all I know, but it didn't look quite like anything that I've had at Big Louie's before. I can't believe Dan's been teaching for 4 years now!

6/6/03
Long, lovely day with Danny.. Hobbit pub, lots of talking and carrying on. :)

brief piccies from today -

DARPA is still on the cutting edge. This time they're slicing through that thin veil of your privacy with the proposed LifeLog. Their site calls it "an ontology-based (sub)system that captures, stores, and makes accessible the flow of one person s experience in and interactions with the world in order to support a broad spectrum of associates/assistants and other system capabilities." Of course, the people the LifeLogger is reporting on just might see it differently. The story in Wired calls it "an all-seeing, ultra-intrusive spying program."

Well, now we're just splitting hairs.

6/5/03

Bollywood night tonight, and every Thursday night this month on TCM... Forum is a fun place to go see them on the big screen. I still snicker when I hear the name "Mehboob Khan"... but I laugh at Englebert Humperdinck and Dick Butkis.

Still up in the air what Danny and I will do tomorrow...I'm hoping we get lunch and a show… I *really* want a good conversation with him. The last couple of times on the phone have pooped out.

Well, Gay Days in Orlando starts tomorrow. The one week in the summer where Orlando is mobbed again. My only problem with Gay Days at Disney is that WDW is a kid’s park at heart, and a lot of heavy public displays of affection are going on. I don't think handholding or hugging is too bad, but anytime sexuality issues of any sort are put in the mix, there are bound to be folks who abuse it. (I know that firsthand from Grad Night... fortunately the park was closed to kids that evening.)

I'm overdue for a visit... I think the last time that I went was shortly before I started this Journal. (May 5, I think). I was disappointed to hear that the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon Revue was nixed this year. It's surprising, because they always pack 'em in, from what I remember.

Speaking of Disney... The Haunted Mansion movie looks like it's going well so far.

Random thought:

Cap'n Crunch / Spongebob tie in. The cereal is yellow and square already, with a nautical theme.

Personally, I prefer Orange Newton


Brother went to the emergency room for a cat scan and a general evaluation for his fall off of the bike the other day. He called me from the ER, and sounds ok; he was having a smoke break outside. Apparently he's been having nausea and headache and he should've gotten a stitch or two. Looks like he'll have another battle scar.

I found out that Tony's gone form bad to worse, and he's got a second kid on the way. I feel sorry for Caroline... she had her own problems to fix (kicked Heroin, well before this baby, thank goodness) and now Tony's on the C-pipe. Great father figure, T... Jobless crackhead.

My health is progressing well, though I've still not heard back from the workman's comp folks regarding PT. if I don't hear today, I'll do my annoying iron fist technique on them tomorrow. Believe me, you don't want to piss ol' Scotto off, especially if he's wounded.

Looks like I fell off of the LJ top 40... I don't know how I dropped 20 places, but gone I am! so much for my six week streak. I still have no idea what the criteria are. I still nose over and check to see if anyone I know is there.

Going with Danny on Friday to see a movie. Hulk, X2 or Finding Nemo (Nemo's the highest on my priority list, but he's already seen it.)

Brothel Offers Free Sex to Returning Troops

Wed Jun 4,10:22 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Talk about what you can do for your country!

In an unusual act of patriotism, a Nevada brothel is offering free sex to troops returning from the U.S.-Iraq war.

The Moonlite BunnyRanch in Nevada, a legal brothel, also plans to extend 50 percent discounts on sex to the military for the next few weeks, proprietor Dennis Hof told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Hof hit on his unique gesture for honoring U.S. troops when BunnyRanch star and former Playboy magazine centerfold Sunset Thomas was flooded with letters from the front lines.

"We were receiving about 20 letters a day," Hof said. "We thought, when these guys are done we'll do something special for them."

The first 50 servicemen and women through the door will receive a sexy knockoff of their military-issued "TA-50" kits of personal hygiene items. Instead of toothbrushes and soap, Hof's kits contain condoms, lubricant, an adult magazine and a certificate for free sex.

Thirteen men and three women in uniform have shown up so far to claim their gifts. All told, the free and discounted sex will cost Hof about $50,000 -- a worthy sacrifice, he said.

"We want to feel patriotic and feel we are doing something for our servicemen," he said. "If we owned a Dairy Queen we would be giving away free ice cream, but ... we own the sex capital of the world. What better way is there to give back?"

Wow. So it's about $1000 a person. I bet this'll be all over the news here and there, too. That $50,000 investment will probably get them all sorts of press conferences and public recognition. Best advertising possible.


via - Kraft offer -A box of our latest products worth $30 will be delivered right to your door, and all you pay is shipping and handling ($4.99). Fill your cupboard with the latest Kraft products from brands you know and trust: Nabisco, Planters, and many others.

Mine is on the way. $5 for that loot works for me. Let's see how long the shipping takes.

FIA got hoverboats yesterday... D has a pink-bunny boat, Sluggo a blue-green sort of camo, and a rather graphite with yellow highlights for myself.

6/3/03

isketch - online pictionary?

New Skeletor and Gang.

SAG15: Cooking with Grizzlor
Hairy Chef Grizzlor is manager of restaurant! He invites boss Skeletor to have a snack! Whatever will he cook? Uh oh! Skeletor is having issues with his bowel movements! Surely Grizzlor is the one to blame!

Not the best of them, but still nifty.

Super Heroes named Scott that I can think of.

• Golden age Green Lantern (Alan Scott)


• Mr. Miracle (Scott Free)


• Antman (Scott Lang)


• Cyclops (Scott Summers)

(I won't bother going into the Wold Newton family of heroes)

idea swiped from a private journal - 10 things I like, in no particular order

I Like waking up naturally and at my own pace
I Like reading, snuggled under covers
I Like being up-front about things, knowing trivia, secrets, and being nosy
I Like giraffes,
I Like hanging out with nice people, exchanging ideas, feeling of laughter and common jest
I Like having Newt sleep next to me, purring
I Like to be complimented on doing something well (by someone I respect)
I Like fresh key lime pie, baking bread, and orange tofu
I Like the terms "bum's rush", "Mickey Finn", and "dumbass"
I Like the sound of the beach, banjo music, techno, wind chimes and citar.(preferably *not* all at once.)


Hey, you know what this is? It's some sort of big freaky, ugly scarecrow action figure, courtesy of MacFarlane Toys.

Okay, and hey, this here's some sort of horrific lion man.

And this thing? This thing seems to be some sort of clumsy robot/cyborg/metal dude thingie...

Hey, wait a moment - a scarecrow, a lion and a metal guy? These couldn't possibly be Wizard of Oz figures, could they? I mean, if they were, they'd still need a Wizard of some sort, and this steampunk'd fop certainly couldn't be it. I mean, what would that make Toto, some sort of sloppy carnivore roughly the size of a show pony? It couldn't be.

Okay, what's the worst part of this, exactly: MacFarlane aping American McGee for the cheap "Ooooh, childhood memory turned dark" pop, or just the idea of a dark, sinister Wizard of Oz in the first place? Oh, or wait, I forgot one: Dorothy in bondage. You heard me. Comes with horrible mutant Munchkins. Someone remind me to hate MacFarlane later on today, okay?


Sources: 411mania.com, seebelow & calamityjon

6/2/03


for Photo Friday - Transportation



My trusty oldest Birkenstocks... been through many a journey, and now reside on the tile out back. Taken June 02, 2002



Riding the bus home, October 29, 2002.

6/2/03

Paid another Month's worth of rent. (Even though in theory, June is my last month here, and I've paid first last and security.) I don't know if I'll be out of this place by the end of this month, but by the end of July, surely.

I sort of miss going to the library lately. I wonder what Boynton is looking like, these days? I hope to See Doug online sometime soon and chat him up for a bit.

Brother got a new cell phone after his 2-day-old other one was demolished in a cycling accident, also plowing his face into a pole. no lost teeth or broken nose, but the kid has wiped out more times on his bike than I can count. I'm beginning to think that it's a good thing that he doesn't have a larger vehicle to crash. He's got Metro PCS now, so he can use it all day over the tri-county area without time charges. I may go to that service too, if the next area has cable-modem access. (How I've held out this long from getting a cellular is a miracle, though.)

Wet Washcloth origami. (how to appears next to them)

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 53%
Visual : 46%
Left : 56%
Right : 43%


Scotto, you are mildly left-hemisphere dominant while showing a slight preference for auditory processing. This overall combination seems to indicate a well-working blend of logic and judgment and organization, with sufficient intuition, perception and creativity to balance that dominance.

You will at times experience conflict between how you feel and what you think which will generally be resolved in favor of what you think. You will find yourself interested in the practical applications of whatever material you have learned or whatever situation you face and will retain the ability to refine whatever knowledge you possess or aspects of whatever position you are in.

By and large, you will orient yourself toward intellectual activities and structure. Though not rigid, you will schedule yourself, plan, and focus on routine and continuity of operations, rather than on changes and disruptions

When changes or disruptions occur, you are likely to consider first how to ensure that such disruptions do The same balance is reflected in your sensory preference. You will tend to be reflective and measured in your interaction style. For the most part, you will be considered objective without being cold and goal-oriented while retaining the capacity to listen to others.

Preferentially you learn by listening and maintaining significant internal dialogues with yourself. Nevertheless, you have sufficient visualization capabilities to benefit from using graphs, charts, doodles, or even body movement to enhance your comprehension and memory.

To the extent that you are even implicitly aware of your hemispheric dominance and sensory style, you will feel most comfortable in those arenas that emphasize verbal skills and logic. Teaching, law, and science are those that stand out among the professions, along with technical sales and management.

Feel free to try the mindedness test

Unknown man dies after life with stolen identity

Last July, a man identified as Joseph N. Chandler committed suicide in his apartment. It turned out he had stolen the identity of an 8-year-old boy who was killed with his parents in a 1945 car crash near Sherman, Texas.

The impostor was described by police as a loner in his 60s.

"We don't know what or who he was hiding from or who he really was," police Detective Lt. Tom Doyle said.

The man left $82,000 in a savings account, but didn't leave a will. Police said family members listed on a rental agreement led to nonexistent people or addresses.

"We thought at first maybe he was in the witness protection program, but that has been ruled out," Doyle said.

A judge has ordered investigators to try to find the man's heirs. If they cannot find any within 18 months, the money will go to the county's unclaimed-funds account.

After police found his body last July 31, the county coroner discovered the man had colon cancer that soon would have killed him.

His closest friend, a former co-worker who knew little of the man's past, was appointed by the court as executor of the estate. Two investigators he hired to notify heirs discovered the relatives they found were family members of the dead Texas boy.

Investigations learned that a man claiming to be Joseph Newton Chandler, of Rapid City, South Dakota, requested his first Social Security card in September 1978, at 41.

The man listed his parents as Ellen Christina Kaaber Chandler and Joseph Newton Chandler Jr. and said he was born in Buffalo, New York., on March 11, 1937 -- all information taken from the Texas boy.

Making identification more difficult, the body was cremated soon after an autopsy, and neither the suicide weapon nor items in the apartment had fingerprints clear enough to be of much use, police said.

"This guy made a life out of another life and he made a point to stay unknown," Doyle said.

6/2/03

Ugh, can't sleep. Back’s tweaking up for me big time, and it'll be a while before meds kick in.

Changed icon to The Thing as Blackbeard, at least for a bit. It sums up how I feel about things as a whole. Things aren't the best by a long shot, but there are certainly some elements that I am surely growing fonder of as the days pass.

Occupying my time with Character Studio 4 tonight. Holy cow. It's fun... you get a sharp little armature configuration, slap on a musculature, and twiddle for some great creature effects and design goodies. (I would be painting miniatures, but I can just step away from this immediately if sleepy time effects start to kick in.)

Read this amazing story about a 1930s pulp adventure film that's being shot entirely with blue screens -- not a single set, just a few props and the actors in costume. The story and style sound like something I'd dig I just hope it all works out.



ANGELINA Jolie's latest film, World of Tomorrow, is the first Hollywood film to be shot entirely without props and locations.
In a technological advance on the old back-projection system, the whole of World of Tomorrow was shot on a blue screen - that is, actors played their roles against a blank wall, leaving the background to be filled in later by computer programmers.

Filmed at Britain's Elstree Studios, all locations, scenery and even furniture were abandoned, except for a handful of props used as markers to show where Jolie and her co-stars, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, should stand during the seven-day shoot.

Jolie plays a British pilot who comes to the aid of Law, another heroic airman, and a wisecracking New York reporter played by Paltrow. They investigate mysterious flying machines that threaten the 1939 World Fair in New York and their adventure takes them to the Himalayas for a dramatic showdown with an evil genius.

Jolie said she was indebted to blue screen. "I had just finished Tomb Raider 2 and making another such film in a similar way would have taken another year to shoot on location," she said.

Note to self -

• Check direct deposit


• Call Francesco re:rent

Sweet pics from the hellboy movie... abe sapien looks really impressive.

my vampire is getting behind on his blood sucking...his most active offspring is only about 300 pints behind, and closing fast. (The others are growing at a more reasonable rate)

6/2/03

Flipping passed the cartoon network last night, looking for background sounds. GI Joe is on, and I catch a snippet of what the Joe team and Cobra are trying for...The MacGuffin Device.

Ok...now is that the writers being lazy, having fun, or both? The same three minutes had the thug minions in a brawl outside hollering "Breath mint! Candy mint!" I want to work for writing cartoons, just to put stuff like that in the scripts.

I plan on going with Danny to Pier 66 for drinks and conversation sometime this month. There's a rooftop lounge that revolves every 66 minutes and is reached by an exterior glass elevator. Great for taking in the region, I understand.

Today, Dave's planning on bringing by his old TV since he got a new one for his house, and the elder didn't sell at the garage sale. Hopefully I'lll be able to dig up the controls for the tube on my universal remote.

Working on making a few shirts for users in There... an "Om Mani Padme Hum" as well as a male Ganesh / Female Shiva set of tops. Not much eastern stuff in there, short of the standard yin-yang symbols.

5/31/03

Flipping passed the cartoon network last night, looking for background sounds. GI Joe is on, and I catch a snippet of what the Joe team and Cobra are trying for...The MacGuffin Device.

Ok...now is that the writers being lazy, having fun, or both? The same three minutes had the thug minions in a brawl outside hollering "Breath mint! Candy mint!" I want to work for writing cartoons, just to put stuff like that in the scripts.

I plan on going with Danny to Pier 66 for drinks and conversation sometime this month. There's a rooftop lounge that revolves every 66 minutes and is reached by an exterior glass elevator. Great for taking in the region, I understand.

Today, Dave's planning on bringing by his old TV since he got a new one for his house, and the elder didn't sell at the garage sale. Hopefully I'lll be able to dig up the controls for the tube on my universal remote.

Working on making a few shirts for users in There... an "Om Mani Padme Hum" as well as a male Ganesh / Female Shiva set of tops. Not much eastern stuff in there, short of the standard yin-yang symbols.

5/30/03

I'm a little disappointed that Kev doesn't gab with me much since I'm not at FMM anymore. I imagine he's still very busy, but it's still sort of sad. I still sort of chitty chat with Sappho, but I miss the daily gab that used to happen there, too. Google news is my main newspaper these days. Seems to be a good mix of things.

I wonder how many people remember back before 24/7 cable was a total standard... the national anthem being played at the start and end of "the broadcast day". When I was a kid of eight or nine, I was a night owl, and didn't have many things to watch on TV because everything went off the air at about 2am or so.

I've reactivated trillian for all save yahoo (which doesn't show status messages, and lately, that’s half the reason to have yahoo open (A little game played with - Ciara, Chias, D, Fathamburger, Sammykun, Sluggo, Whimsy, and a couple of others.// a running gag looking at the buddy list.)

The pop anthropologist Jared Diamond likes to use Easter Island as an example of how a human society can self-destruct. Over a few hundred years, a people that had once been prosperous enough to build the famous stone monoliths, the moai, crashed into extinction. The island was deforested, the societal structures fed apart, and by the time the Europeans discovered the island in the early eighteenth century, the once fecund island could barely support the Rapanui people; the Rapanui may even have turned to cannibalism. Diamond, in a lecture entitled "Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions?", speculates that the Rapanui's religious beliefs -- particularly their continuing desire to build the moai -- prevented them from altering their behavior until it was too late. But no one knows for sure, because we can't read the Easter Islanders' written records.

Only a handful of examples of this script, Rongorongo, still exist. Although experts agree about certain aspects of the Rongorongo corpus, including at least one bit of text that is a lunar calendar, much about the language is unknown. Those few wooden tablets and implements that could be found by the Bishop of Tahiti, Tepano Jaussen, were preserved; Jaussen then cataloged the hieroglyphics, which seemed to be read in a weird, turning-the-tablet-around manner. But not enough of a corpus survived for definitive analysis to be done. The language of Rapanui survived, and there were hopes in the nineteenth century that someone could be found who could read the tablets. Ure Vaeiko, a native who was believed to have studied Rongorongo as a child, was consulted and shown photographs of one of the tablets, and he gave a recitation known as "Atua-Mata-Riri" ("God-eyes-angry" or "God Angry-Eye"):

God Atua Matariri and goddess Taporo produced thistle.
God-of-the-angry-look by copulating with Roundness produced the poporo.
God Ahimahima Marao and goddess Takihi Tupufema produced rocks.
Himahima-marao by copulating with Lichen-growing-on-the-soil produced the lichen.
God Aoevai and goddess Kava Kohekoe produced medicine.
Oevai by copulating with Fern produced the fern.
God Matua anua and goddess Kappipiri Aaitau produced the Miro tree.
The Parent-mother by copulating with Pipiri-hai-tau produced wood.

Sadly, Vaeiko's recitation has not been shown to conform to any of the extant tablets, leaving experts to argue about what Rongorongo means.

Translating tends to be hit or miss. We can read Hittite, but our understanding of Etruscan is dubious. The early form of written Greek called Linear B has been translated (thanks to the insights of amateur linguist Michael Ventris and Cambridge classicist John Chadwick, among others). Linear A remains a mystery.

If it hadn't been for the discovery of the Rosetta stone, hieroglyphic script might never have been translated. That sort of luck doesn't happen every day. All the computational power in the world, the sort of thing that reveals that the Voynich manuscript seems to be written in a real language, can't tell you what the text means. Experts argue about what flavor of writing Rongorongo is, or if it's even writing at all. The Easter Island heads lend an air of mystery to the island; all sorts of amateurs and cranks have their theories about where the island was settled from. Rongorongo remains silent. Visitors to the island today can buy replica tablets, mute and unexplained, as souveniers.

LJ Barcode LJ username:

Random factoid - The world's largest whales are blue whales, and these excrete a minimum of 2 percent of their body weight--about 3 tons--each day.

5/29/03

How did Bob Hope live to see 100? Good Job, Bob!

Well, another three weeks of working from home. :( I sent off my first payment for COBRA this week, and have to submit the bill to accounting for expense reimbursement. (I go on company insurance at the top of august.

Plus side, three more weeks of physical therapy have been approved. Thank goodness for PCAnywhere.

I received a sweet letter from Rachel today, and her life seems so delightful right now. I'm very happy for her and her hubbie.

The revised regions of There are amazing... most have been at least a little cosmetically reworked, and some are downright new and improved.

Random Scotto factoid - Being a kraut, I have a gene that allows me to yodel.

Random German Joke:

How do you make a German chocolate cake?

First, you occupy der kitchen.

I really don't sound anything like this. but we do, what we can, don't we? - Newt returns.

revamp of the old talking heads site.

flashback thanks to for the new linkie... I really don't like the custom submission method, spam roulette, but it's fun anyhow.
Sweden bans 'Superman' baby name


IT'S a bird. It's a plane, but it's not Superman.

At least not in Sweden, where a couple who wanted to name their child after the comic book hero found the law harder to bend than the man of steel himself.

The tax authority, which oversees rules for names in the Scandinavian country of 8.9 million, blocked a request by Sara Lindenger and her live-in boyfriend, Johan Leisten, both 28, to name their child Staalman, Superman in Swedish.

"We wanted to call him David Rune Staalman Leisten," Lindenger said. "It would be much worse to be called 'Fantomen' (the Phantom) or Tarzan."

The authority said it wasn't suitable because it might "lead to discomfort for the person who uses it."

Lindenger and Leisten appealed the decision to the county administrative court in their hometown of Goteborg, southwest of Stockholm, but it was denied. They haven't decided whether to appeal.

And yet, in America, Jon Bogdonave names his kid Kal-El ...


This is what I'll use when someone asks me about free speech in other countries. When you can't even make your kid have a wacky *MIDDLE NAME*, then I think it's time to change countries.




A Florida family is suing Dr. Doom.

There are so many fascinating things about this article. There's the fact that the woman suing Dr. Doom is named "Buffy". There's the fact that they think a guy yelling at their misbehaving brat is worth 15 grand. There's the fact that when this poor schmuck grabbed his neck because the kid yanked his head back, the family interpreted this as a threat, which means that they're essentially suing for something that was their fault. There's this:

"Skinner said Brozovich was not playing the character of Dr. Doom during the confrontation."

How do they know that? Seriously. I mean, how do they know that it wouldn't be in character for Dr. Doom, who is, after all, a supervillain, to threaten to break the fingers of a kid who yanked on his cape? I would think that would be, short of actually breaking the kid's fingers, quite in character for ol' Vic.

And finally, there's this:

"Skinner said she thinks the incident wasn't taken seriously when she reported it to park management."

No kidding. (thank you seebelow!)

5/29/03


Brother has another gig at the shipyard, and has picked up a cell phone. It looks like he's moving ahead nicely.

I go in for my checkup today, and hopefully some more solid options will avail themselves to me.

I need to get back into the writing habit... post stuff here that I'm posting There. I have to commit to a minimum of forty minutes a day of just writing. I enjoy rereading memories from times past.

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...FLOOD STATEMENTNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL1123 AM EDT THU MAY 29 2003
...THE FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR BROWARD METROPOLITAN AND MIAMI-DADE METROPOLITAN UNTIL 7 PM...

...THE FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR EASTERN PALM BEACH COUNTY...

SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER INTERIOR SOUTH FLORIDA WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE TO THE EAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH...AND MOVE INTO THE METRO REGIONS OF MIAMI-DADE AND BROWARD COUNTIES THIS AFTERNOON. THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL, WHICH WILL HELP TO RENEW FLOODING OF ROADS... UNDERPASSES...POORLY DRAINED LOW SPOTS AND NORMALLY FLOOD-PRONE AREAS. SHOULD THIS HAPPEN...FLOOD WARNINGS FOR ALL OR A PORTION OF THE FLOOD WATCH AREA WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED.

THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER PALM BEACH COUNTY THIS MORNING ALONG THE COLD FRONT HAVE MOVED INTO THE ATLANTIC WATERS AND SOUTH OF THE AREA. THERE COULD STILL BE SOME SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...BUT THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL WILL OCCUR SOUTH OF THE METRO PALM BEACH REGION.

DURING A FLOOD WATCH, HAVE A PLAN TO DEAL WITH POSSIBLE FLOODING. IF YOU LIVE IN A HIGHLY FLOOD-PRONE AREA TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT PROPERTY INCLUDING HAVING SAND BAGS ON HAND AND MOVING YOUR VEHICLE TO A LESS FLOOD-PRONE AREA. HEED THE ADVICE OF LOCAL OFFICIALS AND EVACUATE IF ASKED.

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THE THREAT OF FLOODING EXISTS WITHIN THE WATCH AREA.STAY TUNED TO THE WEATHER CHANNEL AND WEATHER.COM FOR UPDATES....

The monkfish earlier has drawn me to reading more about the beastie. This thing is maybe the ugliest thing to come out of the sea, and thus I have a soft spot in my heart for it.

Monkfish Fun Facts:

• Monkfish have been reported to eat prey nearly one-half their size, as well as capture water birds at the surface.


• Monkfish are sometimes known as "allmouth" since the fish is mostly head and the head is mostly mouth. AKA Goosefish, Anglerfish, Lophius americanus

Eeple!!
Practically a Muppet-monster!
Julia Child and Monkfish



Monkfish are marine bottom-dwelling fishes belonging to the family, Lophiidae. These fishes have very broad, depressed heads (head is as wide as the fish is long) and enormous mouths. They have long, sharp teeth and a modified spine called an "esca", that is quite mobile and can be angled forward so it can dangle in front of the fish's mouth and be wiggled like bait to lure its prey. Monkfish range from the Grand Banks and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence south to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. They are occasional visitors to the lower Chesapeake Bay from late fall to early spring. They inhabit sand, mud, and broken shell bottoms from inshore areas to depths greater than 800 m (2,300 ft).

Monkfish reach maturity between ages 3 and 4, and spawning can take place from spring through early fall depending on latitude. Females lay a non-adhesive, buoyant gelatinous egg mass that floats as a broad raft on the water's surface. Larvae and juveniles are pelagic and remain in this stage for several months before they settle to the bottom at a size of about 3 inches. Monkfish grow rapidly with females reaching approximately 39 inches and living to 12 years of age. Males have not been found older than age 9, and their total lengths reach approximately 35 inches. Monkfish are voracious predators and feed on benthic fishes and other prey almost as big as themselves.

American monkfish is found all along the Atlantic coast and as far north as the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. A whole monkfish is an unusual sight, and it has been called one of the ugliest fish of the sea. The monkfish's head is about twice as wide as the tail. It has a large wide mouth (which seems to be smiling maliciously) filled with dozens of sharp pointed teeth. There are three spines on top of the head. The first spine has a leaf-like flap of skin that is used by the fish as a lure for its prey. When hungry the monkfish erects this spine and rapidly moves it back and forth to attract smaller fish. The "bait" is skillfully waved out in front of the monkfish's mouth until its prey is close. Because of this "fishing or angling" behavior the monkfish has also been called the Anglerfish.

The appetite of this species is insatiable. Flounders, dogfish, skates, eels, herrings, cod and sea bass are only a few of the fishes in its diet, and sea birds, including cormorants, gulls and ducks, are also part of its regular fare. Lobsters, crabs, squid and other assorted invertebrates are also taken. There are authentic records of monkfish grabbing the feet of bathers. Even wooden buoys from lobster pots have been found in the monkfish's stomach.

In France monkfish, called Lotte, is a delicacy as expensive as Dover sole. Fortunately the price in America is much more reasonable, making monkfish a good value. In New York, commercial vessels that fish in the ocean along the south shore of Long Island and from the ports of Montauk and Shinnecock in particular generally catch monkfish.

Whole monkfish are rarely seen in seafood markets. Generally, skinless monkfish tails are sold in retail stores or served in restaurants. Monkfish tails may have a variety of different hues when raw, but the meat turns pure white when it's cooked.

Monkfish has a very lean delicate-flavored white flesh with a firm texture and no visible flaking. Monkfish is versatile in the kitchen and can be prepared in a number of different ways. Moist heat cooking methods like frying, baking, steaming, or poaching tend to work best. Cooking methods like broiling can cause monkfish to loose excess moisture and get tough and dry if it is overcooked. Because of its firm texture and mild taste, monkfish is also a great choice for seafood soups and stews.

The only edible portions of the monkfish are its muscular tail and its liver. The tail meat of the monkfish is delicious: dense, sweet, and very similar to lobster tail meat in both flavor and texture. Like many fish, monkfish is an excellent low-fat, low-cholesterol source of protein and B vitamins. Monkfish liver is quite popular in Japanese cuisine, usually served as sashimi (Ankimo).

Danny got a letter of character assassination and outright lies sent about him form the parent of one of his students.

This girl's father (a lawyer) wrote a letter to Danny's boss, which was so god awful that Danny had to share it with me.

I will, in fact put the letter in its entirety behind a cut, edited only to keep folks names from being used. Italics will be my commentary.


Dear [PRINCIPAL]

First, let me take this opportunity to thank you and all of the staff at [THE SCHOOL] for the excellent job you have done in educating our daughter [NAME] not only academically but also spiritually for the three years she has attended. [NAME] will be a better person throughout her life because of the education she received at [SCHOOL].

However, unfortunately there is always one bad apple in the bunch. (That's why the region named him teacher of the year and students clamor to get into his classes, I guess) Our daughter [NAME] has been in your learning center for three years receiving extra help, specifically from [OTHER TEACHER'S NAME] who stands alone in the effort, care and love he has devoted to our daughter [NAME]. The reason she has been in the learning center is that [NAME] (Thank goodness he finally stopped with the "Our daughter [NAME]" bit... simple enough to figure out who he's talking about.), no matter how much she studies and how hard she tries, tests very poorly and therefore is prone to failing mid terms and final exams. (From what I was made to understand, she wasn't trying very hard, as she didn't do homework, nor had a displayable grasp of the subject at hand, and that she's not some sort of heroic blind woman climbing to the top of Mt. Everest. she's a slacker that didn't do work, and failed as a result at least in part due to that.)

In spite of the above history, it appears that [NAME]'s present Algebra teacher, [DANNY], fails to understand the physiological significance of attention deficit disorder of which [NAME] has been diagnosed and for which she takes medication. (Ok, I can understand to a point that this is a "kid with special needs"... but see below, regarding her work and understanding level.) [DANNY] takes the position, [NAME] has been cheating and/or copying her homework and make-up tests and has decided that he will fail her irrespective of what grade she gets in the assignments she has recently turned in. (Well, if you get caught cheating, you get a zero on the test. If you are caught replicating someone else's homework, that too is a ground for a zero. Repeat this enough, and you will, in fact, end up in such a deep hole that it will be nearly impossible to dig yourself out of it. Paired with the fact that the girl doesn't know math, odds are good that she won't pass. Note that there were plenty of mid terms going out with grades on them the entire time. They get gruff a week before graduation because the girl is failing, and will have to go to happy camp summer school for 3 weeks rather than graduate immediately.) We understand [DANNY] has had problems with other students and this complaint may not come as a surprise to you. (It came to the father's surprise that Danny not only has not had serious problems with any other students, but rather he is well loved, despite being a teacher that has a hard-nosed stance against cheaters and slackers.)

As soon as we learned [NAME] was having extra ordinary trouble in Algebra, we hired a private tutor who has been working with her for six weeks. The tutor, [TUTOR] attempted to call [DANNY] for at least the past two weeks to discuss with [DANNY] what if any additional help he could give [NAME] in understanding the material. (the tutor is a professor at Miami Dade Community College) including the fact that [NAME] completes the assignments with his help, but with her effort, all of which is falling on "deaf ears". (Danny did try calling the guy back, but apparently neither side could get to the other for the two weeks.. again, way too late to be of any good. Math is a skill that builds upon itself. If you don't know the fundamentals of addition, you're never going to figure out how to multiply. Danny's not one to ignore a student's legitimate cry for help.)

In sum, [DANNY] is intent on failing [NAME] apparently from personal animosity toward her and not because of her lack of effort or lack of understanding the material. (So, this father has no real understanding that this is actually the case. Danny's a consummate professional, and would never, ever fail a kid just because he didn't like them. A child fails ONLY when they either fail to understand or to do the work placed in front of them. And yes, even if you have ADD, you can fail math. Heck, let's stretch it a little further and have someone that only understands Hebrew pass English because they copied someone else's tests, and got a tutor at the 11th hour. Let's pass 'em, because they're disadvantaged, due to them not knowing English to start with!) Your school is above having teachers such as [DANNY] on your staff. (If the school had more teachers like Danny, I think that the quality of the system would go up by at least a factor of one.) I request that you investigate the matter and if our understanding of the matter is true and [DANNY] has had other confrontations with other students of a similar nature, you consider terminating him. (First instance of him actually coming forward with the idea that his information source might not be entirely accurate. a bit late in the letter. I'd think a lawyer would be better at something along these lines. Again, for the record, what this guy is saying doesn't jibe at all with the reality of the situation.) As far as [NAME] is concerned, she will go forward, she has a strong personality and the support of her family and friends irrespective of the "[DANNY]'s of the world". However, for the benefit of your students in years to come, they deserve better. (Despite any reality of the situation , we will send letters from attorney's offices rather than allow [NAME] to face up to the possibility that she may not always get her way.)

If any of the foregoing is erroneous or I have misstated the facts (like all of it?) please contact me so that we may discuss our misunderstanding. In the alternative we have requested and request again a meeting with the dean of students, dean of teachers, [DANNY], [OTHER TEACHER'S NAME] of the learning center and any other persons you feel are appropriate to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
[SIGNATURE]

cc: [DANNY]

End document.

When the Parent-Teacher-staff meeting was held on Friday, the Principal, in his own words, "Tore the parent a new asshole." Danny was vindicated, and got an apology from the parent, which was accepted.

[addendum] Principal opened the meeting by saying that he's been in education for 38 years and that this is the most inappropriate letter he'd ever seen.

5/28/03

Will the sun never shine again? Rainy rain rain!

It feels like someone stole my body while I slept and replaced it with a forgery.

Bro came by this morning (at about 7-7:30) to say hi, and we chitty chatted a bit about his recent travels. He seems to be doing well, and looks like he has a summer agenda ironed out for working by the water. Maybe doing a month-long expedition to Mexico. He was really industrious when he was here... he helped out a lot with the trash and etc as we gabbed. I hope he's staying on a solid path.

Tomorrow I go to the doctor and hopefully regain access to physical therapy. I'm still hurting enough to want treatment. I think more detrimental than my pain is are the effects of getting so little sleep. I can see my performance and cognitive skills suffering as a result this morning.

I see that the little pencil icon is back on my friend's list page. Fun big pile of current LJ issues, if you're wondering what's needing to be addressed...check the yellow box., I knew about /. and Juno.

Bubba Ho-tep is at a nearby theatre. That, I've got to see. (I missed it in march)

Random Scotto factoid: I actually use the following expressions with great regularity - Oh My Ears and Whiskers (Replaced Oh, My Stars and Garters), Zoinks!, Great Rao!, Crumbs.

scared me with this picture of a monkfish.



You are the Low-Fidelity All-Star. You were born
with your cool, and it's totally natural. You
run the gamut from Hipster Supreme (only they
can ingest as much coffee as you) to the geeky
hipster (Mario Kart, anyone?).


What Kind of Hipster Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

5/27/03

If you were thinking of running Windows Update on XP today, you might want to think again.

5/27/03

LJ is down once again...
LJ! It sucks like a drowning nymphomaniac and my testes are filled with wonderful, life-giving oxygen.

Candy bar cross-sections, and cross-sections in general.

I would *really* like for someone to make me a couple of grilled cheese sammiches and hot tomato soup. Not going to happen, but I've got bagels which are good follow up comfort food. I also have an urge to go to the Morikami and take in the vibe there. I'm long overdue. I dreamt last night of being picked up dozens of times and being thrown against a wall or the ground with great force… I don’t remember the hows or whys, just being gathered up and thrown.

Working on a devkit to do direct xml export to the web from Postalsoft... we'll see how that goes.

Insanely cool 360 degree panoramas from around the world.

I want to build my own hut.

On several occasions I have come across this candy, called "Surreals." They tend to turn up as a single bag on the shelf in less-traveled Miami drugstores, and I always buy them, because they are odd, but quite tasty. (They are kind of like a round Kit-Kat. with chocolate and wafers mixed in together.)

So I decide to look them up, and of course they are from a Brazilian company, Garoto. I guess they don't have much US market penetration, since their website is only available in Portuguese. But thanks to the miracle of Google I can read the site in a strange, surreal translation.

"Surreal Peanut. It tries this newness!"

In other news, the rain has begun again, and I grow sleepy.

Skeletor and Gang - wonderful videos.

The dance contests, especially, though the others have fun ones, too.

SAG14: The Rigorous Shindig
He-Man, Roboto and good King Randor are celebrating their reunion! Oh no! Man-At-Arms is wounded! Where is Teela? Skeletor is the obvious villain! A hard party ensues filled with shock and awe!

Much fun, and far too close to my childhood playtime than can be safely related here.

#6 is way up there for me.
Skeletor and He-Man cannot fight everyday! They are having a contest of dance! Poor He-Man, Roboto cannot dance very well! Oh no! Don't be jealous, He-Man! (the music choices make this one)

Side note: I most resemble Grizzlor.

Another side note: Subway should never have chosen a word like chipotle to use on television.

The word is pronounced with a way over-heavy "muy ethnic-o" accent next to bland (though equally exuberant) non-Spanish sounding text.

Chipotle is not a word to use in text ads, either... the word just looks typoed.

Random Scotto factoid: I used to have a colossal crush on Joan Cusack. Quirky, geeky-smart, slightly scattered, yet cute redhead. (at least, she played characters like that.) My crush for her dissolved the instant I knew she was married in 1993. (but I still dig the type)

5/26/03

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a national holiday set aside to remember those who gave their lives in defense of freedom.

Thanks to 'em all. I appreciate it.

Freak Wind Causes Maine Building Collapse

LEBANON, Maine - A freak burst of wind on a clear day apparently caused an auto body shop to collapse, killing the owner, officials said.

Monday's collapse was initially thought to be caused by an explosion, but a witness reported seeing a windstorm lift the roof off Vintage Auto Body, causing much of the two-story building to collapse, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Public Safety Department.

Large sections of the building's metal roof were ripped up and the wooden frame was visible in several collapsed areas. Hunks of corrugated metal were thrown hundreds of feet away.

The owner, Danny Lehoux, 51, was killed. An employee who dove under a car was not hurt.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service said the cause may have been a dust devil - a whirlwind that travels along the ground like a miniature tornado and sucks dust into the air. Several dust devils are reported in Maine each spring when temperatures rise quickly in the morning and there are light winds, said meteorologist Jim Hayes.

Although the whirlwinds have the power to push garbage cans around or rip doors off hinges, Hayes said the collapse was unusual.

"They're normally not destructive," he said, adding that they generally last less than a few minutes.

Hayes said he couldn't be certain a dust devil was responsible for the building's collapse, but weather conditions favored one. It was a sunny when the building collapsed.

"Sometimes the weirdest things happen on clear days," he said.

There is going to be down, until 3pm Wednesday for revisions and updates into the 3rd beta. I know quite a few people that will miss it while it's down, myself included. I got Gmax and 3ds to work with Whimsy's help, so I'll get a chance to work on models in the meantime, anyhow.

A famous monk once said, 'I don't always know what the right thing to do is, my Lord, but I think that the fact that I want to please you, pleases you.'"


The guy that plays Lex Luthor on Smallville is the voice of the Flash on Justice League. Lucky guy.. I wonder if he's a fanboy, or just pestered by them?

5/25/03

Newtcam is active, at the moment.



Astronomers have discovered a new red dwarf a little less than 8 light-years from Earth . . . making it the third-closest star to our own.

Why didn't we know about a star that close before now? Read the Space.com story.

Had lunch With Danny today, we rode up and down the strip, as I'm not really into a big walk quite yet... I need to remember to take my camera with me. We had a nice long talk about how we were raised, and what biases grew out of where we were and what we did. I'm planning on getting together with him again next weekend, to celebrate his Teacher of the year award (for all of Broward County! )

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_24/05/2003_29992

KARDJALI, Bulgaria (AFP) - Bulgarian archeologists believe they may have found one of the most famous oracles of antiquity, a Thracian temple of Dionysus, in the mountains of southern Bulgaria.

“Since we began our research in 2000, archaeological evidence that we may have found Dionysus’ sanctuary has mounted,” said Nikolaï Ovtcharov, the head of the archeology team.

“But this hypothesis will only be proved if we find a document that supports it,” added the archaeologist, who has been combing through the site of the ancient village of Perperikon in the Rhodope mountain chain. The name Perperikon was taken from the Greek word for incendiary, which archaeologists see as a pointer to the sanctuary of Dionysus, the son of Zeus, and the legendary rituals of wine and fire that were performed there.

In ancient Greek history this sanctuary is as important as that of Apollo at Delphi, Ovtcharov stressed. It is where Alexander the Great heard before he embarked on his conquest of Asia that he would become master of the world.

Inside a building interpreted as a palace, archaeologists have found an oval hall that had no roof but a round altar carved out of the rock. This matches a description of the oracle by the Roman historian Suetonius.

Cool, eh?

5/24/03

The Yale bombing is interesting to me... perhaps there were more rare books in the collection than rare law books...

Something else: while I keep hearing about a large fireball, I've not seen any news reports mentioning shrapnel.

The news media might be using "pipe bomb" as a generic term for an improvised explosive device (IED). A traditional pipe bomb is made from a metal pipe (go figure) and almost always leaves some of the pipe intact. See: http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/27/pipe.bomb.explain/ for an explanation.

Shrapnel is well known, of course: http://www.unioncountynj.org/police/bomb.htm
"A pipe bomb can easily kill someone who is 300 feet away from the explosion because it will throw many pieces of shrapnel in all directions. "

So... you could have an IED composed of a paper towel tube with explosive filler and timing mechanism. There would be some blast damage, but no shrapnel. Even if people are nearby there is a good chance they will survive. I wonder why I've not seen more about the Yale bomb in LJ?



The Kiwano is a delicious fruit, contrary to what some might tell you. Hooray for the exotic fruit finder!

The wonderful thing about veggie corn dogs is that the originals really didn't need the .00000000017 grams of meat to taste like regular tasty corn dogs and they go great with a side of kiwano salad.

Note, that they no longer use the starlink corn, though I was eating them at that time, too, and didn't suffer for it.

I can't seem to get a doodle idea to gel re: "The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." it' sounds easy, but maybe I'm gazing too deeply into it.

I crave me a jacuzzi, I do, I do.

I'm enthusiastic about this coming week with regards of going back to work, though I'm still having some trouble getting around.

D and I both won more cool stuff in There last night, at the Beta rollover party.. a pair of red boots and a board that looks like a swarm of bees... *very* cool. I'm getting a PSD to do my own custom buggy, just for the heck of it. Whimsy has her "Whimsical" and D has her Spider-car... what would I do? I'm debating as yet.. a pod? something that says Scotto.. .I'm not sure. A Newton hood ornament?

5/24/03



coming comic movies.


The Hulk (2003)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Hellboy (2004)
The Amazing Spider-Man (2004)
Superman (2004--maybe)
Blade 3 (Who knows?)
Constantine (2004)
Fantastic Four (2004--maybe)
Namor (Who knows?)
Batman (Who knows?)
Catwoman (Who knows?)



funny how there's a puffball collective in both the Marvel and DC universe.

5/24/03

My rock solid ghetto shiznit name is Doctor V.
What's yours?
Powered by Rum and Monkey.

I miss and . Why’d they have to delete as well as stop posting? I hate not being able to look into the past for them, too.

I want a double fudge yoo-hoo.

I have the tenth-most popular document read in There. I wish I knew which one it is.

It's still raining steadily, and it's sharpening my mind, I think.

Eek.. lj has been blocked by slashdot!
I'm getting

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"

*cracking up* My favorite line from last night's family guy. I may end up quoting it long into the future.

"As you know, we of the christian faith believe that Christ isn't really dead; but that he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him." Dah duh dahhhhhdahhhh.... (Slides hulk half-pic along the Jesus image at a funeral)

One thing from the Prisoner is the recognition hand gesture and phrase "Be seeing you."

The hand gesture is the "OK" sign: thumb and index finger of right hand touching at tips, forming an O, with the other three fingers spread. Bring the hand up to the face and look through the circle. "Be seeing you."

This "OK" hand posture is also a Buddhist mudra named Vitarka Mudra. In it's passive state it is a gesture of debate, specifically explaining the Buddha's teachings.

Mudras are ritual postures, gestures and hand signs that focus and channel prana, which is that energy tied to life that variously gets called chi, orgone, or life force.

The Vitarka Mudra can also be used actively. It's meaning changes from "teaching/debate" to "have no fear" when used to focus consciousness. Now, it is important to explain the context of this focus. This isn't focusing consciousness for concentration or study or meditation - this is focusing consciousness in self-defense when attacked.

The right hand is raised, forming a circle with thumb and forefinger. You sight through the circle at the person projecting an unwanted reality with the right eye, then focus on the right hand and let the attacker go out of focus. Like checking your hands in a dream, this gesture reminds the user who is ultimately responsible for how consciousness is experienced.

I think that's just awesome, and I love that it's been incorporated into pop culture via a wacky TV show.

5/24/03

NEWT SAYS MAKE THIS MEME LIVE!



1. Easy part - the book you're currently reading. If you're in the middle of multiple books, pick one.

2. Harder part - give a memorable line from it. If you can't come up with one, I'll have to assume it's not a memorable book (or your memory isn't what it used to be).

My answers:

1.The Tidewater Tales

2. "We will pay, but not count, the cost."

Misc linkies -

Pic of Earth from Mars and, even more spiffy, Earth and Jupiter from Mars

Soap Camera See also: Clock - From the fine people at cockeyed.

IT IS STILL RAINING!

I should'a built that dang ark when I had the chance.

Friday 5

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
- margarine
- diet barq's cream soda
- fresh orange juice (YES!)
- huge bottle o' water
- silken tofu

2. Name five things in your freezer.
- microwave pad thai
- freezer-pack for my back
- ice cubes
- mint chocolate chip tofutti
- veggie burgers

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
- litter bags
- air
- a drain pipe
- mole men
- The earth's core

4. Name five things around your computer.
- Newt!
- Palmtop cradle
- jar of fossils / gravel
- bankbook
- hair ties

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
- relaxing
- Hanging out with friends at some point. (Probably Dan on the holiday)
- reading
- enjoying the rain
- sleeping in

Speaking of fives... Happy Kallisti-day! Hail Eris, and all that. I am not a cabbage, though I am a pod.

5/23/03

My rock solid ghetto shiznit name is Doctor V.
What's yours?
Powered by Rum and Monkey.

I miss and . Why’d they have to delete as well as stop posting? I hate not being able to look into the past for them, too.

I want a double fudge yoo-hoo.

I have the tenth-most popular document read in There. I wish I knew which one it is.

It's still raining steadily, and it's sharpening my mind, I think.

Eek.. lj has been blocked by slashdot!
I'm getting

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"

*cracking up* My favorite line from last night's family guy. I may end up quoting it long into the future.

"As you know, we of the christian faith believe that Christ isn't really dead; but that he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him." Dah duh dahhhhhdahhhh.... (Slides hulk half-pic along the Jesus image at a funeral)

One thing from the Prisoner is the recognition hand gesture and phrase "Be seeing you."

The hand gesture is the "OK" sign: thumb and index finger of right hand touching at tips, forming an O, with the other three fingers spread. Bring the hand up to the face and look through the circle. "Be seeing you."

This "OK" hand posture is also a Buddhist mudra named Vitarka Mudra. In it's passive state it is a gesture of debate, specifically explaining the Buddha's teachings.

Mudras are ritual postures, gestures and hand signs that focus and channel prana, which is that energy tied to life that variously gets called chi, orgone, or life force.

The Vitarka Mudra can also be used actively. It's meaning changes from "teaching/debate" to "have no fear" when used to focus consciousness. Now, it is important to explain the context of this focus. This isn't focusing consciousness for concentration or study or meditation - this is focusing consciousness in self-defense when attacked.

The right hand is raised, forming a circle with thumb and forefinger. You sight through the circle at the person projecting an unwanted reality with the right eye, then focus on the right hand and let the attacker go out of focus. Like checking your hands in a dream, this gesture reminds the user who is ultimately responsible for how consciousness is experienced.

I think that's just awesome, and I love that it's been incorporated into pop culture via a wacky TV show.


One year ago, I was compared to Travis Tritt, an image of MyCn18, a broken link or 2, genetic music, Sleestak music, fresca and goldfish crackers, got the complete prisoner TV series on DVD, I restocked some clothes, discovered line-through deleted journals on bio-page.

Two years ago, propitiate, chaplet, sweetheart went out for ice cream, I've got naughty thoughts, brasilein, friends only review of new work arrivals. (all but one of whom still work at FMM.)

Three years ago, April interviewed for Barnies, EMAGE goes downhill, my first "who I am" post. I was friended by , and , and first thoughts about developing Newtcam.

5/22/03

Well, that's my last PT appointment until I see the doctor in a week. I was hoping workman's comp would foot the bill for at least 2 more visits.

Raining like a fiend here, major thunder and lightening. I wonder if I'll hang on to my net?

People are bidding for a preemptive hoverbike for $150,000 therebucks... bah. I'll wait a week and get one for 1/8 that price.

I think my back is extra sore as a result of the barometric change?

back fro physical therapy.. the traction seems to have really worked wonders... my favorite part. a good 170 lb pull on my hips seems to relieve so much trouble. :)

I fell asleep a few times on the heart/stim and again on the traction.. the only really comfortable places I've been the last few days. I need to get a timer for my plug, so I can put a heating pad there at home (the timer, so if I fall asleep, I don't mottle or burn myself).

Newt's sort of sleepy right now, too.

He goes from grumpy to nosy in .00005 seconds.





meanwhile, my connection to work is *still down*.

Ah well... I've got a more powerful machine here to work on anyhow... just no work email.

5/21/03

Why is Buffy liked by so many fans and critics alike, and not me?

My gosh... this may be blasphemy or something, but I'm glad "Buffy" is over. I could never get into the show, (though I thought the Movie was a hoot) for reasons that escape me. I should love it.... Vampires are (for the most part) inherently evil creatures to be destroyed? Check. Cute, shy redhead? Check. Tried and true "excuse for local weirdness, a la 1000 other sci-fi shows?" Check.

So what made it suck in my opinion?

Really, only two things.

One: First and foremost, the writing sucked so bad in my opinion that I couldn't bear to watch more than five episodes before seeking solace in *anything* else. From what I hear, this season was especially poor, so much so that the fans were annoyed more at the writing than the show being put to rest. I think that's a good sign that the show's time had come. Personally, I like to see stuff go out on a high note, like Calvin and Hobbes or The Far Side stopping before they lost what made them entertaining.

Two, Sarah Michelle Gellar cannot act, nor is she attractive in my eyes. (And please, don't tell me that an anorexic dolt of a bottle-blonde with tight clothes, fake boobs and a penchant for picking abusive boyfriends is a good, solid, feminist role model.)

I've had people say I don't like Buffy (or Voyager, for that matter) is because I don't like strong female leads. Not true, at lease not entirely. I have no problem with Sarah Conner, Ripley, Dax, Jaime Sommers, Dana Scully, Xena, or Oracle... and all the shows / movies that featured those characters had a stinkeroo or three, too. The difference? The writers and actor involved managed to find something that made me sympathize, respect or admire them in some way. Sure, eye candy is nice, but you can't do an entire episode of Voyager featuring 7 of 9 skipping rope. (Well, Danny'd watch it.... probably.)

I'm not choosy. I liked the first 3 seasons of Xena... not exactly a literary masterwork, but good enough to keep me close to the fold. (Note that the writing on Xena went way downhill after around season 3ish. I don't need pointless subtext or bonus super joke episodes.. or "alternate mythos". Xena had a foxy brunette amazon, suitable for using as wonder woman. The sidekick, Gabrielle, was sage who was just the perfect "calmer" cohort to keep the show's namesake in line. It was a fine pattern. (They later broke it, and killed the show dynamic, I feel) It was a spin-off of the Hercules show, which was at its best when he had a goofy mortal sidekick, Iolus. I think the writing on the later episodes of Hercules is what got Xena's writing to roll so well at first.

I was fooled by the x-files before it went off the air. I gave it a 3-show try out, and I got the three worst episodes ever. "Invisible Circus animals" stick out in my mind. I went back and started watching it here and there when folks told me there was a good episode being rerun, so I'd watch the inevitable replay on FX the following Saturday, and was won over. I loved the lone gunmen spin-off, but *hated* the addition of the two new players... the "dumb jock-guy" and "chick with her own agenda". it reminded me of what I hated so much about gaming with lone-wolfers. I like teams to be a team, not these guys, and some one else. I msay be wrong about buffy.. maybe all I saw were the crappiest of crap episodes. Maybe it's golden, otherwise.

Reflecting on it now, I like shows with teams that perform teamwork, or play well off of one another well for the most part.

I don't think science fiction fans want to see a woman be a part of a cohesive unit. More than three main characters, and it gets tough to allow everyone fair air time, and contracts make it so that every character has a line every episode. I don't know if you can have it both ways, and still make it fit in under an hour.

5/21/03

Well, they've moved my computer over to the new building and I can't log in again... ack. Hopefully I'll be able to jump back in shortly. I don't like delays in my development.

Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score
Category	Your Score	Average
Hacklust	39.62% Has conversations in between massacres	52.5%
Sensitive Roleplaying	11.39% There is no player. There is only.... Zuul.	50.3%
GM Experience	34.78% Closer to a novel than to a campaign	66.6%
Systems Knowledge	58.9% Guardian of the out-of-print game	88.9%
Livin' La Vida Dorka	42.53% Has interesting conversations in public	59.8%
You are 39.5% pure Average Score: 66.3%
Take The Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test and see how you match up!

5/20/03
ad shield is great... I've been using a trial version of it, and finally went and bought the full blown one.
It's small, and easy to use--you right-click on ads to add them to a block list, and they don't appear again. You can also block popups, redirects, and pages.

It takes a little bit before you have a decent number of ads on the list so that you're blocking a lot, but after that, things run faster for all sites. And all Yahoo ads have an identical section in their address, so if you set it to block just that section, you will thereafter block *all* Yahoo ads. Speeds things up enormously. There are also a couple of places on the net that have block lists available to just download and add, but I found that the default is fine for me, and I like shooting down ads that sneak through.

It works really well on those evil super-popups like the vampire game, too... pop-up stopper was good, but this on will stuff the weaselly ones that squeeze through. Live 365, too.

Limited Edition hulk cereal is corn pops with hulk marshmallows. Strange, and ugly to look at, but tasty!

Got to chitty chat today via email for the first time in an age. That made me happy.

5/20/03

cat treats fell on the chocolate cake

From sjgames

Everybody talks about large amounts of monkeys, and large amounts of time, and the complete works of Shakespeare. Very occasionally, someone actually puts a monkey in front of a keyboard . . . but we have not yet gotten so much as "To be or not to QEWRIQER#$%@$%" out of the hairy little shirkers. Clearly we need more monkeys, or more typewriters, or more money. Yes! More money!

Indeed, progress marches on, and the Arts Council of England, bless their little hearts, has financed a milestone of sorts: the first politically correct monkey-Shakespeare experiment. Not only can you read some very advanced thinking about the meaning of monkeys and who REALLY wrote the plays (they don't take seriously the idea that it was a guy named Shakespeare) . . . but also you can send them YOUR money and get your very own copy of the simian scribbles, on your choice of media. And if you do send them money, what do you think they'll spend THAT on?

It’s interesting to see there an upswing of linkers again... I wonder what sets that trend off or on? People seem to come or go in a group.

Misc meme found in 's journal. Any relation to ?

*5 things you are wearing*
1. an orange cat armband (well, he's laying across my arm...)
2. my patience with work's network, thin
3. my heart on my sleeve
4. a thin film of toothpaste inside my mouth
5. gray sweatpants

*5 things you can see*
1. a cobra microtalk communicator
2. a cool jar of gravel and fossils that I got from for my birthday. (I’ve only gone about 1/8 in, and found all sorts of loot)
3. a woefully underused recorder, waiting to be played again when the time is right
4. 100 glow in the dark zombies
5. a Buddha incense burner

*5 things you are doing right now*
1. breathing slowly
2. wondering what the other edge of "the big three" is up to (Newt's asleep on my arm, and bro is prepping for tomorrow's trip)
3. waiting or some reply emails to come down the pipeline
4. sniffing around LiveJournal
5. beaming at the nice comment made about me on friendster

*5 things you ate in the last 24 hours*
1. cinnamon raisin bagel
2. chocolate cake with whipped cream icing
3. veggie chili with cornbread
4. green beans
5. Newton-ears (well, nibbled)

*5 things you did so far today*
1. woke up
2. got out of bed
3. dragged a comb across my head
4. sang "red rubber ball"
5. forgot last night's dream

*5 things you can hear right now*
1. mockingbirds in the distance
2. wind in the trees, and in the chimes
3. the computer fan
4. street traffic of folks coming to work
5. my fingernail scratching the back of my neck

*5 colors you can see*
1. maroon (on the n-50 slider toggle)
2. cyan (Shiva’s' skin)
3. slate (gargoyle)
4. fire engine red (3.5" disk)
5. Cherrywood (gift box)

5/19/03

Physical Therapy went well, there is a new girl there, and she seemed to be learning. Apologetic, but I really didn't mind. I think she was just nervous.

Going back Wed 21, 2:30, Thur 22, 2, Tues 27, 2, wed 28, 2 Then to the doctor Thur 29, 1pm, to determine if I can commute to work again, or have more work at home time. I'd like a split setup. Working from home has a lot of appeal, though I can't manage folks without coming in at least a little bit each week.

Bro doesn't launch until Wednesday, rather than today... that's good, it means I'll get a chance to see him again once or twice before he takes off.

Severe weather alert. I made it inside just in time!
...SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENTNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL354 PM EDT MON MAY 19 2003
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR WEST CENTRAL BROWARD COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDAHAS BEEN CANCELLED...

AT 354 PM EDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RADAR INDICATED THAT THETHUNDERSTORM THAT PROMPTED THE WARNING HAD WEAKENED AND WAS NO LONGERSEVERE...THUS THE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT HEAVY RAIN...SMALL HAIL...AND GUSTY WINDS WERE STILL POSSIBLE FROM THE THUNDERSTORM AS IT CROSSES ALLIGATOR ALLEY AFTER 4 PM.

I'm still holding steady at 21 on the lj top 40.
#21 out of as of this writing - I wonder what causes mine to skew higher than say, ana or brads? The only other journals (non-communities) I even recognize are cortana, insomnia, and lizvang.

I'm impressed the average Ljer is now of legal age to vote in the usa.(She's also a female with a free account, living in California, and usually updates via the web.)

I don't own a LiveJournal T-shirt... I wonder if anyone who's bought one has gotten it yet. Are they beefy t's? Are they cheaply made?

Found via comparative enneagrams...

Want to see how much you're like ol' Scotto?

SimilarMinds.com Compatibility Test

Your match with pageeater you are 60% similar you are 66% complementary

How Compatible are You with me?

5/19/03

I really can't believe I've been using this thing for three years now. The function has changes a little here and there, as have my moods and whims. I've met some wonderful people here, and only encountered a few problem children. It's reaffirmed my faith in humanity, or at least that part of it which is willing to write in electronic format on a regular basis. My personal, private entries have increased, and I've managed to make at least one post a day, averaging at about 3-4. If LJ was removed tomorrow, I think that I'd have at least 4 nice people that I'd be able to stay in contact with, and not see them dissolve completely.

My brother is off on his fishing trip... He'll be back in a week, with some real money in his hand. He sounds like he's off to a good start, and that he knows he needs to get his stuff together… but I'll reserve judgment until later, if at all. I'd like to see him get into an apartment, and clean up his act. We'll see. He's reopened a can of worms with the house thing, and that really should have just been laid to rest years ago.

Note to self, try to do a doodle for - "The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." Hmmm...maybe a series.

Eh.net is an interesting resource for folks interested re: world currencies, inflation rates, power of purchase and minimum wages in the world. (not just the USA.) really handy if you're writing (or running a campaign) in the 1930s, you can assign costs appropriately.

According to this New Scientist article, the first probe specifically designed to explore an asteroid just launched. If all goes according to plan, the Japanese satellite Muses-C will return in 2007 from asteroid 1998 SF 36 with a host of data, including samples.

my vampire clue "The closest shop to here is Discount Magic, right by Regret and 87th. I do wish those damn magic shops would stay still for a while."

I've sired 2 more vampires... who are Liliana and Angelis?


word of the day is on the button!

zombie (ZOM-bee) noun, also zombi

1. A person behaving like an automaton: listless, wooden, or lacking energy.

2. A snake god in West Indian, Brazilian, and West African religions.

3. In voodoo, a supernatural force or spirit that can enter a dead body; also, the soulless body that is revived in this manner.

4. A computer process that has died but is still listed in the process table.

5. A drink made of various kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice.

[From Kimbundu nzambi (god, ghost). Kimbundu is a Bantu language of northern Angola.]

"Only a zombie would fail to see the brilliance of Cowan's campaign."
Peter Howell; The Beyond's Zombies Have Long, Gory Family History; The Toronto Star (Canada); Jun 17, 1998.

"Any film that manages to put together, for example, a battle between two real-life giants; a zombie emerging from the grave; a six-car demolition derby in the lobby of the Chrysler Building; a trotting race run by dead horses; a stunning, blond athlete named Aimee Mullins, who happens to be a double amputee, ... and much more, including a final scene in which the Irish giant flings a stone into the sea, where--in time for `Cremaster 4' -- it becomes the Isle of Man, well, a film like this may be one that only a Dick Cheney could walk out on without a frisson of self-doubt."
Calvin Tomkins; His Body, Himself; The New Yorker; Jan 27, 2003.

A photo of bookhenge, for posterity. That's my avatar in his standard set of clothes... red pirate jacket and bunny slippers. Maybe I can get a There Family portait made, sometime soon with D, Whims, and the rest all in a bundle. I wonder how to get a good group shot? There are more than 7 of us now, tough to fit into a chat unit.


Drunk Man Hurt After Running Into Elephant

May 19, 2003 02:52 AM EDT


HANOI, Vietnam - A drunk Vietnamese tourist who ran into an elephant he didn't see standing in the street was injured when the animal picked him up and tossed him aside, an official said Monday.

Vu Quang Phuc, 39, was rushed to a hospital after Saturday's attack, said the official of Buon Don tourist site in Daklak province, some 220 miles northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

He suffered three broken ribs and bruises on his face and body, a doctor at the hospital in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Phuc was among a group of tourists from Ho Chi Minh City. He stumbled out of a restaurant when he heard an 8-year-old boy wailing on the ground after tripping, said the official who identified himself only as Du.

Phuc didn't see the full-grown elephant - one of several dozen owned by villagers in the area - and he ran into it. The animal lifted him up with its trunk and pitched him several meters.

Du said it was the first incident in the area of a tourist attacked by an elephant.

Buon Don is a popular site among foreign and local tourists, where they can ride elephants and visit ethnic minority groups living in the area.

5/18/03

Dreamt of visiting an acquaintance’s house after meeting them at the mall in a store that specializes in selling carved-wood skulls. Something weirdly redundant, as each tooth was a smaller, just as detailed skill... totally recursive in my dream memory. I didn't much like the person I was visiting; it was thought they were a neutral party that suddenly said tat pushed my buttons... I don't recall what was said, though. I do recall trying my best to make friends with them again, and when they agreed I pulled out their teeth (quite painlessly) and replaced them with skull teeth. The regular teeth went into the wooden skulls, which then began screaming.... annoyed, I woke up.

My body and mind today are alternately in torpor and then enlivened. I can feel it acting almost as a switch. Hopefully that means my body is in a healing state, and is shutting me down to focus the repair functions. I hope that this means that I’m that much closer to being fully functional soon.

Running around There with D as Velma and Whims as Daphne in the Mystery machine is a hoot. Whims and I pulled good weight together solving the Caldera Chase quest.

I populated There with assorted books. Including a bookhenge... I wonder if it'll become an attraction there?

RIP Miss June Carter Cash
Here's a link to an obituary. I fear that Johnny may not be long for this world after losing the love of his life. The combination of illness and grief is never good and I've often read about the close proximity of death in husbands who lose wives and vice-versa. My deepest sympathies to the man in black.

5/17/03



What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla
I don't think I'm all *that* stubborn, though. I'll cop to the other charges.


- 1014 members.

Downloading Matrix reloaded has gotten me -

1. dumb and dumber


2. daredevil


3. 2:30 of a black, silent screen.


4. some other movie I promptly deleted.

Serves me right for being a dirty pirate. I'll get it yet, though.

Groceries got here on time, in excellent shape and sorted by freezer / fridge / non-cooled / non-food

Everything looks good, I got a lovely bonus of a cool magnetic pen and pad set to track when stuff gets low on the fridge, and the driver was courteous and friendly.

It turns out the delivery charge is $7.95 per order, no matter what the size. I just may stick with this, at least for the major refills.

As it turns out, I don't think I could've planned for any more stuff to go into the freezer... but plenty of room in the fridge.

On different note, Newt vastly prefers his water with an ice cube.

5/16/03

Eclipse last night was nice at 11:30-midnight. Fun to watch it go from silver to gold to deep orange. Fascinating stuff, thinking about these huge masses and how they’re related. It’s a pity my digicam just isn't up to taking good moon-shots.

Brother got a job on a fishing boat, a week's pleasure cruise for $700, and a possibility of more depending on how this one goes. I'm happy for him. He's also got a gig lined up at Target, should the boat thing not work out.

Network at work is down, so I'm doing my thing without the umbilicus to the system there. Not too hard, really. I suspect things are being shaken up because of the move to the building with the mezzanine.

On my list of books to read: THE LANGUAGE POLICE: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn.

"[The book] shows how publishers are squeezed by pressure from groups on the right (which object to depictions of disobedience, family conflict, sexuality, evolution and the supernatural) and the left (which correct for the racism and sexism of older textbooks by urging stringent controls on language and images to weed out possibly offensive stereotypes)"

There is no shortage of colorful examples: a scientific passage about owls was rejected from a standardized test because the birds are taboo for Navajos; one set of stereotype guidelines urges writers to avoid depicting "children as healthy bundles of energy"; editors of a science textbook rejected a sentence about fossil fuels being the primary cause of global warming because "[w]e'd never be adopted in Texas."

Appendixes include "A Glossary of Banned Words, Usages, Stereotypes, and Topics" as well as a recommended reading list for students.

To what exactly do the censors object? A typical publisher’s guideline advises that

• Women cannot be depicted as caregivers or doing household chores.
• Men cannot be lawyers or doctors or plumbers. They must be nurturing helpmates.
• Old people cannot be feeble or dependent; they must jog or repair the roof.
• A story that is set in the mountains discriminates against students from flatlands.
• Children cannot be shown as disobedient or in conflict with adults.
• Cake cannot appear in a story because it is not nutritious.

Lawsey knows I hates me too much political correctness and censorship, I do!

5/15/03

Physical Therapy again today, and some pictures to go along with it. New, added regimen of working out.. some are quite ambitious... I'm again hurting a bit but in a good way.






As of this writing, that was taken this afternoon... sphinx-relaxing and totally spoiled because I'm home all day.No Froggie headdresses for him!

I dreamt last night that I went out with Ray and Kathleen to an ice cream shop, that had "Cthulhu" as one of the flavors. Apparently it was some sort of alcohol / Tabasco / Squid thing, and was really popular and trendy with the "hip kids". I got a Gin and Tonic flavored one (Miskatonic?) and recall enjoying it quite a bit. Ray and I were joking and getting along like the old days, but Katleen wasn't her normal, friendly self the way I remember her. (It was almost like Pam was talking out of Kathleen's mouth, now that I think of it.) I asked why they never talked to Danny anymore, and Ray said something along the lines of "Well, you know how it is... School and work... things catch up." I understood that for a bit, but Kathleen said "Anyway, it's not like we're going to see him again." (That sounds much more like Pam than Kathleen.) I got pretty ticked off at that point and got up and left, only to be bounced off the hood of a car in the parking lot. (Buggy Soccer?) I got up, dusted myself off, and continued walking home.

I really think of Ray and Kathleen very rarely these days, only when something new and unusual comes out that strikes me as "Ray-ish" or "Kat-ish" like The Austin powers movies "Kung-fu chop" or The Matrix. Pam, I never think about, except when I see someone bringing out my negative side. There are a few people that can do that, and Pam was one of them. On the flip side, we fed off of one another, so I made her a bit more evil, too. Sometimes I think that I'm a mirror for some people, bringing out some of their stronger qualities. Ray, goofy, fun, knows the meaning of bizarre. Kathleen, pleasant, helpful, very observant and clever. Dan, Quirky, intelligent, silly. They all brought out the same sides of me when I'm with them. Of course, I have my own personality too, and bits of that rub off back and forth during social intercourse. I think part f my personality is to pick up bits of those around me, but the whole of it comprises it is my spin on those attributes that I find attractive.

Chickenhawk cards.

Now, we're raising the ante – with the Deck of Republican Chickenhawks, depicting the 54 Republican officials, congressmen, politicians and pundits who avoided serving their country through connections, deferments, or other excuses... "The United Republican Chickenhawks."

What exactly is a "chickenhawk"? According to The New Hampshire Gazette, "a "chickenhawk" has three qualities: bellicosity (a warlike manner or temperament), public prominence, and a curious lack of wartime service when others their age had no trouble finding the fight.

Today's Cool Weirdness -

A Carmel couple is trying to solve a mailbox mystery.

Last weekend, Barbara Mitchell received an old postcard at her home, a print of the fishing fleet of Monterey. The postmark on the card, inked over an old 1-cent stamp, says it was sent in 1934.

But Mitchell was born in 1951.

Lunar Eclipse tonight! If you're on the east coast, or anywhere in South America, it's a go. See the link's picture for best times. This link is useful for most sorts of eclipses in general. :)

For folks in South Florida, It'll be between 10pm and 12:30am.

Speaking of that time frame,

Your Delivery Window Sat, May 17 10:30 am-12:00 pm

Well, I've gone with Publix direct for grocery delivery. We'll see how it goes.. the web interface was easy enough, and my first order didn't have a delivery charge.

Pretty neat. Now you set up a window that's convenient for you, and they bring the loot by. All sorts of windows open from 7am to 10pm, seven days.

I may go with this from now on if the delivery charge is decent... if it's under $10 I'll do it.

Teen girl squad... #3

5/14/03
UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFNITIONS

The Worm_Fizzer.A has been causing some folks problems lately, uses its own SMTP and also plays via Kazaa network.

UPDATE YOUR VIRUS DEFNITIONS

Now for fun stuff.

If I had a hammer...
Rain on the duckies because you are the Rainmaker. See also Friends, a nice reworking for the tortoise and the hare. It’s nice to see buddies working together. Sometimes turtle is on top, sometimes the bunny is.

Another fine bit of coolness from Orisinal

TV 7/19/2003 - The Cartoon Network will premiere a new animated series featuring a teenage Robin. In Teen Titans, based on the DC Comics series, Robin the Boy Wonder unites teen superheroes Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven as they join forces to defend the world against a new generation of supervillains, all the while dealing with the horrors of being a teenager.

The full press release

Yay for Beast Boy...though I'm surprised they didn't go with his other moniker, "Changeling". Maybe that means the Doom Patrol Might make a guest appearance? I don't know.. it's in the far future... hard to say. Another picture

Talked a bit with Sappho at FMM... it sounds like she's doing well, and life is much the same at work. Thursday the big boss comes in, so Dexter Thursdays are now Dexter Fridays, but everything else is as is.

Told Frankie next door in polite terms that my house isn't a phone booth... he gave me some line about him thinking I wouldn't mind some company occasionally. Um, I don't consider coming over, using the phone and leaving a visit.

I told him it was ok once in a while, but from now on, keep it before 10pm, and not every day. Plus, no incoming calls, please.

We'll see how it goes.

5/13/03


OK, so it might be right up there with cold fusion and other technological flimflams . . . but it might not.

In this Discover magazine article, scientists (and more importantly, businessmen) believe they can turn just about anything -- waste from poultry processing plants, manure, plastic bottles, old computers, garbage, you name it -- into fuel oil, and do it cheaply. Read the article and decide for yourself.

Update: The article discusses a full-scale plant in Carthage which was to be running by the end of April. A spokesman for the company now says "The Carthage plant will be fully operational later this spring, by end of June we hope."



I am a giant mutant kitten. Not strange at all.


Which cute or possibly strange kitten are you?
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Every eye sees differently, As the Eye, Such the Object.
Every thing possible to be believed is an image of truth.
The Sun's Light when he unfolds it
Depends on the Organ that beholds it.
-- William Blake

Back From Physical Therapy.

My guy is ok, not as amazing as the last one I had, years ago. The workout is much the same, traction went surprisingly well, and getting into position for the TENS / Heat therapy was surprisingly difficult. I left feeling worse than when I entered, but I think it's a pain of the "good" variety. I've got a worksheet of eight different routines to do twice a day... the bridge is the most problematic, but I think that strength will be built up pretty rapidly there.

All in all, it took about an hour and a half... I'll be repeating the procedure on Thursday and Monday.

I have the xml automation about in place... a few bits of sample data to test for extra weirdness, and I think we'll be ready to rock and roll.

Newt's such a mamma's boy... I leave the apartment for 2 hours, and he's mister hello when I get back... I suspect part of it is the smells of the outside world, too.

This is pure, bottled genius. I'd love to create a LJ that's written entirely by a program that goes to this site every 2-5 days, captures the output, and posts it as an entry.

Even more ambitious: Write another part of the program that generates and posts ambiguous, ELIZA-like responses to 1 out of every 10 or so user comments. How long before someone caught on, d'you think?




Redefining the Term "Blustery Day"... The next time you're feeling hot & oh bothered, why not whip out a Winnie the Pooh vibrator?

There's about a million honey jokes I could make right about now, but I'll refrain.

Sing ho for the life of a bear!

In unrelated news, I've found the perfect setting on my toaster oven for toast. Perfect toast. Oh, how I've missed it!

5/12/03

Private investigator came around this morning asking about Tom out front... I was sleeping, but a card left in the doorjamb had a case number and the investigator. They asked about his red Mitsubishi eclipse, and I told them that Tom hasn't been around since at least march, maybe earlier.

I imagine it's just a repo job, but I remember that Tom came East from California...and that he supposedly went to Paris.

Diet Barq's Cream Soda is much better than Diet A&W Cream Soda.

Vampire Clue - "The closest shop to here is Discount Potions, right by Horror and 77th. I do wish those damn magic shops would stay still for a while."

Scott von Berg has invited you to join Scott's personal and private community at Friendster, where you and Scott can network with each other's friends.

Friendster is an online community that connects people through networks of friends for dating or making new friends.

Friendster is for people who are single, people in relationships, and anyone who wants to make new friends or help their friends meet new people.

You can use Friendster to:

* Meet new people to date, through your friends and their friends
* Make new friends
* Help your friends meet new people

Once you join Friendster, you will be automatically connected to your friend Scott, and all of Scott's friends.

Click below to join Friendster:
http://www.friendster.com/join.jsp?invite=207420

5/11/03

Frankie, the new guy in my bro's old apartment just came by to borrow the phone...I thought it would be a quick call, but it turned out to be like 7 calls over about 20 minutes.

I found out that he's renting by the week, and he asks to borrow $20 form me, even though this is the 2nd time I've seen him. I'd gauge his age at 40, and he's another scumbag of the same caliber of mike and mark. Needless to say he's not getting any money form me. Then he asked for a beer. I told him that I have water, Cheerwine, Pink Lemonade, and diet cream soda... he wasn't interested.

I'm going to keep my eyes open around here for the next 2 months. I don't trust this guy.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

To everyone who has acted as a caregiver and nurtured a living thing. Newt brought me a dead lizard. How did he know?

*Huggo*

Won a cool 60's style blue and purple tie-dye buggy at the theme party last night… Top door prize. D got an orange butterfly top, and the other prizes were a men’s tie-dye, and I forget what else.

That makes 4 vehicles that I've won, (not counting the groovy pirate buggy that I was given).



Why you should never, NEVER flush a used condom...

There's a special brand of cheap condom making the rounds in Europe and just entering the North American market. The brand is popular for its especially pleasing "texture." What many don't know is that when these condoms have served their purpose, they're actually fertilized. Submerging them in water completes the gestation process and within 24 hours, the condoms become living, swimming little latex creatures desperately wanting to go somewhere. If placed in a container, they'll just keep swimming in that same direction, bopping their head against their prison walls or leaping out of the container to their suffocating death. As far as anyone "in the know" knows, they'll die when exposed to open air or when turned inside out and emptied of their contents.

Anyway, just to be on the safe side, don't ever flush a condom. You never know where it'll end up.