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Just some off-the-cuff observations, and whatnot. Welcome, and enjoy your stay.
Saturday, December 07, 2002
Testing the comments feature.. try 3
Sunday, November 24, 2002
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.- Proverbs 15:1
"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience
of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."You are Augustine!
You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them.
Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating
with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to figure it all out. You're also
very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.
What theologian are you?
A creation of HendersonAugustine is one of the biggies... a master of rhetoric, and a brilliant author. I read a lot of his stuff when I went through my "apocryphal philosophy" phase a few years back. I'm not in great agreement with much of what he's written, but he's a fantastic thinker and analyst. I'd like to see who the other answers returned..
Aliens was on AMC last night... It features an orange cat named Jones, a little girl named Newt, and probably the first reasonable use of human form mechs as forklifts...Not to mention it being a sequel that was totally different from the movie that spawned it, but was still good. (from lurking horror to action/terror) The first two movies are the only ones that exist to my mind... the others are just crapola.
Hmm... 20 minutes of previews before the movie? That doesn't bother me, as long as they keep the lights at dim, rather than dark. I'd prefer to be able to navigate into my seat later.
Keith Parkinson Online a capable fantasy artist... he’s' done good work on Book covers, Everquest, TSR stuff and Magic the gathering cards. He started out looking like Larry Elmore (who I'm not fond of) but developed a style that's well suited for the genre, now.
Lots of wonderful rain and cool wind this weekend. A delight... makes it all the more worthwhile to stay in, read and rest, though my sleep schedule is a little out of whack now. I'm only stepping out long enough to pick up my scrip. today.
NASA scientists have just released new predictions for the 2002 Leonid meteor storm. The 2002 Leonid meteor shower peaks at 0400 UT and 1030 UT on Nov. 19th... Looks like 4am my local time is the best for me to view.
current mood: a bouquet of water lilies and toast
current music: Everybody to the Limit - Strong Bad
The pill they gave me for right before the epi was 1mg alprazolam (xanax). one hour before the procedure. I'd never heard of it used for nervous tension before. No wonder he told me to hold off on the other meds for a day before taking it.it went well.. strangely enough, the present to myself from the toy store next door had a spine sucker in it. there's a fun little bit of coincidence.
Newt's fawning all over me, so I think it's treats for him, and then a icepack in bed for me.
Thanks for the good vibes, dear journal!
Awww. Do I have to be a freemason to get the fun costumes?I always wondered how much they spent on Fezzes... Though, I've not really noticed the shoes until now.
"Newton Really Satisfies." a reload also gave - "Think Newton” and then "I Liked The Newton So Much, I Bought The Company!"
"I'm Not Gonna Pay A Lot For This Scotto" and "I Feel Like Scotto Tonight." and you know what? I do feel like Scotto tonight!
Ok. Back to the icepack.
Morning light flows in
rose glow changes to orange
time to start againRobert Culp is a great actor... highly underrated. I've been watching old "Outer Limits" episodes on the Sci-Fi channel, and he seems to act in about every third or fourth episode... and he does a great job in them all. I'd like to see nickelodeon or TV Land bring back I Spy... I used to *really* dig that show. Probably one of Bill Cosby's better roles (clever, but not a goofball comic), too. I don't think that the Eddy Murphy / Owen Wilson Movie could possibly hold a candle to the old show.
The evil mind controlling rocks episode this morning is great, even though what I just wrote makes it sound goofy as all get out. The title is Corpus Earthling. (#9 on the list) Really... it's a great episode, I swear.
My back feels great.... comfortable bending, and such. (I'm taking it gently, but it looks pretty darn good so far.)
Sabrina Lloyd gets a job on Ed. I'm glad to see that all of the old Sports Night folks are getting gigs -- Jeremy's been on West Wing, Casey is obviously on Six Feet Under. I think Felicity Huffman had a baby recently, so she hasn't been working as much (although she also guest starred on West Wing a while back). I don't know what Josh Charles is up to though.
Dark shadows just started… my cue to change Newt's litter, hop in the shower, and afterwards shave off my week's worth of facial scrub grown since a week ago Monday.
Until later, Dear Journal.
Pretty solid day of just chewing on catch-up work... I have a new project on my plate, now, too... always good to see. I get to generate a program that can create assorted sample/ test data on the fly, within an assortment of parameters. The hitch? The requesting folk don't know for sure what the parameters will be... so I get to leave the architecture very open, for hanging other aspect on as I go. It should be pretty simple...though I know enough about the way things work to expect a few curveballs before the job is over with.It seems that while I was away, Pam decided to put in her 2 weeks... it looks like she's headed back to Ohio... in *December*... Brr… quite the way to jump in with both feet. I imagine that Sappho and Riker will miss her the most... They're the last three Tampa-imports left, I think. Accounting will be much more dull, that's for sure. Santie has some help selling now, too. A few departments have assistants now... Mail shop, sales, and Chupa. Perhaps (wishful thinking on my part) this means raises might come along sometime soon. Unlikely, but anything's possible in this wacky world of ours.
Kev's sis won free tickets to the new 007 flick... so he took the opportunity to blow out of there at a reasonable hour today. Good for him! I hope it's a halfway decent movie.
PSA-feel free to pass it along.
It's that time of year. Go get shot. The Flu shot, that is.
Two reasons: First, of course, you don't want to get sick. Especially, you don't want to get miserably, incoherently, Stephen-King-The-Stand-everybody-dies sick.
Second and less obvious: If you don't get sick, you can't pass the bug to someone else. And even if you are strong and healthy, and shake it off in a week, the person YOU give it to, or the person THEY give it to, may be more vulnerable. The flu kills kids, and old people, and invalids. You don't want to be part of that chain.
So get vaccinated... and if you get the bug anyway, stay home. Don't share. With enough immune people, and with enough common sense among those who do catch it, flu season won't turn into an epidemic, and people will live who otherwise would have died.
It's my duty to please that booty!Wishing I could wave a magic wand and cure all the blues I see. (And some of the ones I can't.)
If not cure them all, at least brighten their day a bit. I like to think that I do a little, already. I take pleasure in that they know they're loved, and can come to me any time if they want advice, a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend. I can beam love, regardless, and keep thinking positive.
Gardening for bats. awww....I wouldn't mind a bat roost nearby.
I'd really like to wear something like this to work. But with the pointy shoes.
ACCexpo this weekend. I forgot that the fossil/rocks and minerals show was last weekend...whoops. Having second thoughts about the tourney... I may just take photos of the cosplayers and hit the dealer room instead. We'll see how it goes.
A white guy tried to use a bathhouse in Japan but was turned away. The bathhouse had a sign that read "Japanese only." The guy became a Japanese citizen a year later and tried again, but was turned away again. He sued the bathhouse and won about $25,000.
Wow, that seems a little extreme to me. Must be one heck of a bathhouse.
Which eye is the evil eye? The one where I can do the Mr. Spock / Lee Majors arch, or the more muted, subtle other eye?
Figuring out what's the deal for thanksgiving this year. I want my bro to go with, if he's into it. Hippies? Pasta at home? Mom's place? Chinese? Heck, I dunno. I just don't want to do dishes.
Beautiful moon out last night. Just the right temperature at 73F...I stayed up late and just sort of moon-basked.
Val Kilmer's "Simply cool" ad for Nikon… looks kind of creepy. He must’ve dropped his lucky “I’m a hunk” good luck charm or something. Or Perhaps it’s the freaky haircut.
They're trotting out Christmas Specials earlier every year... here's my take on it. You don't need any specials other than a very few.
Animated ones: Charlie Brown Christmas &The Grinch. Everything else cartoon-wise is fluff... Though stop motion Rudolph / Santa ones are groovy nostalgia.
Live Action - A Christmas Story. (It's a Wonderful Life is cool, but somehow, it's aired 23,423,234 times between November and December..and I always catch the *same* 10 minute range of film.] National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. (Miracle on 34th street?... It falls into the "Wonderful Life" Dilemma. I'd love 'em more if I could land on them at the beginning and ride them to the end.)
I don't think I'm forgetting any. Earnest Saves Christmas? Santa Clause, or Santa Claus, The Movie? I don't think those have as much universal Holiday appeal. Plus, I don't like folks offing Santa, and swapping him out. Scrooged? Eh.
Oh! I forgot Muppety-things! A Muppet Christmas Carol, the John Denver Holiday Special, and Emmet Otter's Jug-band Christmas. Those are good.
Best Holiday spirit? Charlie Brown. The Monolog Linus makes is about as good as it gets.
IN THE AUDITORIUM, CHARLIE BROWN AND LINUS ARE STAGE RIGHT, AND THE REST OF THE PEANUTS GANG ARE STAGE LEFT
CHARLIE BROWN: I guess I really don't know what Christmas is all about.
SHOUTS
Isn't there anybody who knows what Christmas is all about?
LINUS: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.
WALKS TO CENTER STAGE
Lights please.
LIGHTS GO DOWN, SPOTLIGHT ON LINUS AS HE RECITES LUKE 2:8-14
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
LIGHTS COME BACK UP AS LINUS WALKS BACK
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.I don't need the He-Man Christmas, or Rugrats, or the like. Who knows... maybe there'll be a good Spongebob or something, but it'll be hard to approach Ol' Chuck.
Well, I'm off to work again in a moment. Until later, dear journal.
Two cute kittens at work today. Gossamer and Gollum. One black with brown highlights, and one a tuxedo with little white feet. Both wholly adorable. So adorable, in fact, that Kev's keeping them for himself, rather than letting anyone else adopt them.
It's just as well that Kev took 'em in.. I was getting won over by them, and would've adopted them myself if I could. Newt seems so gigantic now that I'm home! He's a total sweetie-boy tonight to. I bet that he smells the babies on me.
I need to go shopping soon, and pick up a birthday present for Mayah. She's going to be one on Saturday!! I wonder what she might like. She's got some cool toys already, but I don't know about clothes.
I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray...yum... I took a side route home today, and came across an empanada stand.
Any Guesses as to what I'm having for supper? Zucchini, portabella mushrooms, onions, green olives and spinach in a pastry shell, with spicy olive oil and who-knows what dip. numma-num
man, it's good. I'm certainly going to return there. I also grabbed a beer, which was also a spur of the moment decision.
Dexter and Bailey were by today, but I'm too lazy right now to transfer and resize piccies. Maybe tomorrow night.
The Hut is at 809 members. Vagpagina has a 1117, and they ask for monetary support via paypal, cafe press-based clothing, postcards and such. I wonder how much money they make? I think it's sort of shabby asking for money, unless they donate it to a valid charity of some sort... there's really *no* effort needed at all to maintain the hut's community at all. Maybe I'm spoiled by just having had very few problems with folks? Vagpag Started 9/19/2001. The Hut was created 2/23/2001, and I remember thinking that they were a copycat community at the time, but I know now that they have a much stronger feminist bent, rather than the hut's biological and general support feel.
If I walked a mile in most folks' shoes, I'd be hurting.. I wear size 15 American. I do need to pick up a new pair of shoes... maybe two. Perhaps I'll swing by the birk store when I get Mayah's birthday prezzie.
I abstained from the office's secret Santa again this year.
I've learned a lot about GIMP art program (Linux) and GIMP for Windows the last few days... I'm amazed at how powerful an image editor it is, and I'm finally getting the knack of layer-based image fiddling.
PSA, and then on to my entry - Microsoft announced a really nasty bug in their Data Access Components (MDAC) yesterday. Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-065 has the details Go get the patch here, if you've not updated your system recently.Ok, now on to regular Scotto...
Friday-Friday!
Sappho and Riker are making a pilgrimage to FAO Schwarz this weekend.... I've got an urge to go there, too. Maybe I'll add it to the hubbub over thanksgiving weekend sometime. Anyone want to get me a personal hovercraft for Christmas? I think i might actually get the Lego Hagrid's hut, if I can find it at ebay for under $20.
Cool as all get out classic children's audio books. Gerald Mcboing Boing and Little Black Sambo.
I can hear the Goodyear blimp overhead... it really pleases me that it travels this far south.
History Wired - sort of a random wandering through the Smithsonian National Museum of American history. (Strange to me is that they have a display about Life in ancient Greece Reflected in the Coinage of Corinth "American history"? Not that I mind.. it's a neat)
Hit the Fan! The object is to propel a mound of fecal matter with your ping-pong paddle so that it connects with the rotary air circulation device. Once you get some practice, try springing one off the stapler or landing it in the coffee cup. Even better yet, go for a "Mac attack" and ricochet one off the iMac screen into the blades. They did a fairly good job of creating a sound effect for the moment when the caca hits the old ventilator too - so how can you lose?
Back from Mayah's b'day party... lots of babies and little children (ages 10 mos to about 11 years) there, all of them angels. Many hippies, grandparents and friendlies there.I got tons and tons of affection from the kids there... they know instinctively that I'm no danger, and a pushover to boot. I got all sorts of warm fuzzies and playtime in. Mayah liked the little purple outfits a lot.
Traveling mostly backwards in time... tunnel en route to party, mage knight after Acc expo, and so on.The Haunted Tunnel! (Vantage point, Dan's car)
Dan and I played Mage knight in the park...The little pavilion worked out pretty nicely.
The only picture from the expo that came out ok... the lighting was poor, and minimal flash was used.
This morning before heading out for breakfast and the Expo
Not From today... Dexter Thursday!
I got a nifty bit of terrain at Eckerd’s (picture in the cut) before breakfast (I swung into Eckerd’s to look for some supposed Captain Nemo bestseller Dan was talking about.. no dice...I think someone moved a Nemo book to the bestseller shelf or something. A winter Pavilion; just perfect for mage knight. I'm going to have to see how my customs look inside it in a little bit. After, we got hummus bagels and OJ... my bagels were salt, his poppy seed. I also got a cup of coffee to go with.
The Expo was interesting.. Mart Nodell (Creator of the golden age Green Lantern, and The Pillsbury Dough boy) is a nifty guy, and very talkative I've met him a few times now (he lives in west palm beach) and he seems to have a lot more on the ball lately. Last time, he was getting pretty old and confused. Sara Douglas (Ursa form Superman II) still looks dang good, far younger than I'd thought. Richard Hatch (Apollo from Battlestar Galactica) on the other hand... well.. he needs to wear a shirt with sleeves is all I'm sayin'.
Cosplayers... there were quite a few excellent costumes, and a couple of "That character and you haven't got remotely the same body shape". I'm rather disappointed that the gross (in more than one sense of the word) majority of the snaps didn't come out.
I don't know why I didn't take celeb piccies.
The selection of stuff was very diverse... I'm still thinking about picking up a Kimono for myself tomorrow. Lots of nifty vintage comic/ movie stuff, and unusual crafts like custom glassblowing.
The gaming area was a travesty. Populated by the most off-putting parodies of unwashed and socially retarded gamer-types, Dan and I decided instead to adjourn to the park next door, play outside in fresh air, sunshine, and some peace and quiet. After playing a match, we took off for Toys R Us, and picked up Mayah's birthday outfits. I couldn't settle on a good educational, fun toy... so clothes did the trick.
The Video area was quite nice... Anime was showing Escaflowne on a big screen in a little theatre area.
No go for Dave tomorrow, so I can get my chores done first thing, and out of the way by noonish, I think.
A great adventure is waiting for you ahead.
Hurry onward, Lemmiwinks, or you will soon be dead.
The journey before you may be long and filled with woe
But you must escape the gay man's ass so your tale can be told.
Lemmiwinks. Lehehemiwinks Lemmiwinks Lemmiwinks-Lemmiwinks' journey, a distance far and fast.
To find his way out of a gay man's ass.
The road ahead is filled with danger and fright
But push onward, Lemmiwinks, with all of your might.The Sparrow Prince lies somewhere way up ahead.
Don't look back, Lemmiwinks, or you'll soon be dead.
Lemmiwinks, Lemmiwinks, the time is growing late
Slow down now and seal your fate.Take the magic helmet torch to help you light the way.
There's still a lot of ground to cross inside the man so gay.
Ahead you lies adventure, and your strength still lies within.
Freedom from the Ass of Doom is the treasure you will win.Lemmiwinks has made it out and his tale is nearly through
Now that you're the Gerbil King there's more ventures to go on
Fly away to faraway lands and to the setting sun
There's still so many enemies and battles yet to fight
For Lemmiwinks the Gerbil King we told a thousand nightsLemmi- Lemmi- Lemmiwinks, etc.
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Cool words I rarely have the opportunity to use when speaking and really like.
- rhombus and its derivatives - rhomboid, rhomboidal and rhombic
- helipad
- frigate
- philtrum
- quagga (about the only thing of value I got from playing Rogue)
- oneiric
Those are just the ones that come to mind just now...many more come to mind here and there during the course of the day.What am I? Heck, it depends on who you ask, and when. I've been considered all sorts of stuff from a misshapen gopher-thing to an iridescent insect man to a mass of seething twine to a yeti with buzz saws for hands to a bouquet of water lilies and toast.
Latest weirdness my news spiders have brought back - Honestly sounds like the aftermath of a ritual of some sort to me, especially considering the poor guy's profession.
One of the best pages for fonts ever.
Weather in my area
...IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES... BROWARD MIAMI-DADE PALM BEACHA TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS....
I got my toys in the mail today. :) I was short one demolishing ape, but I'm guessing it was an honest mistake. I don't imagine anyone'd try to cheat me out of a $0.17 piece of plastic. (Though I do want it… it's an evil munkee, after all!) I sent him an email, and hopefully he'll be rejoined with his brothers soon.
Random Scotto factoid - as a child I constantly got Rhombus and trapezoid mixed up. I finally learned to remember it by thinking of the trapezoid as a lobster trap. (which has a narrower top). That's what comes from learning shapes in New England. Who knows how I'd have remembered it if I was raised in Arizona.
The poem in the Chevrolet Tahoe commercial is called "Nobody Knows It But Me" written by Patrick O'Leary with the voice-over by James Garner. The words of the poem are as follows:There's a place that I travel
When I want to roam
And nobody knows it but me.The roads don't go there
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me.It's far far away
And way way afar
It's over the moon and the sea
And whenever you're going
that's wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me.
That's beautiful. More commercials should be an introduction to poetry. It reminds me a bit of a fragment of a poem (the rest of which is lost to the dust of memory) called Green Banana Moon. I don't remember the dream portions, but instead only the refrain sticks in my noggin. Perhaps later I'll be able to pry the rest free later.every night we see a moon
it never looks the same
there's one that's full
and one that's sliced
and one that has a name.searching with its moonbeam
its glow will find us soon
and once it does
we're sure to dream
beneath the green banana moon.
I'd like to take hold of my beloved and dream with her right now under the green banana moon. Happy dreams. pleasant waves of bliss and cheer.
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns toast to a horrible crisp no one would ever eat? Does anyone deliberately chomp on "chunk of carbon"?I wonder how soon the 2nd Harry Potter movie's going to be on p2p stuff... or if it's on already? Did J.K. ever get around to getting the fifth book out? (Quick Amazon check) Nope. Slacker. She’s going to miss the bus. Amazon is scary, now that I have paypal / online funds transfer again. Danger! One click shopping! Run, boy! It'll gitcha if'n yer not careful!
Q: what kind of bees gives milk?
A: Boo-bees!10:45 appointment for the epi on Monday, now. That means I take my pill at 9:45 that morning
Got my check deposited... They had a big honkin' spread of punch and snacks... Sakes... there's a way for me to come inside more often..."hmm... maybe I should just check my account balance and have a *COOKIE*". Some sort of party? I don't know, but I got a smiley face sugar cookie out of the deal...a nice reward for tossing my paycheck into my account. I almost (but not quite) regret getting direct deposit now.
Took a delicious hot bath and am now relaxing a wee bit, curled up with a good book, soft lights, and thoughts of my sweetheart. We got to talk for a bit tonight, and it was surely the highlight of my day. a quick pop to the news sites, and then back to frozen text on the page. I'm sending my sweetheart thoughts of mint oreos.
In Florida wacky news -
Schoolbooks could be banned not because of controversial content, but because they weigh too much
Elephant tries out McDonald's drive-through service. Hilarity ensues I wanna feed an elephant veggie burgers!
Authorities on lookout for 'Champagne Bandit', a 300 pound man stealing fine wines
famous deaths, the week in review. has great photos, which makes all the difference. See also the much more complete and useful archive-wise Dead People Server.Newton looks like a newscaster, or a hangin' judge here. I think he needs a little red tie, blazer, a few blue index cards... and a microphone. "Next caller, you're on the air!"
Ed Rooney should never have gotten on that school bus.
Just got a call... they've tentatively rescheduled my epi for Tuesday, because my doctor's office hasn't sent the proper referrals over yet. That's a peeve... I got my rides and such all lined up, and now I get to rework it again. I'm looking quite forward to the new insurance company as of 12/1.
Deep One sunning itself in Florida? Possibly...
This is what I want for my next toy... Lindows, the company that ships a version of GNU/Linux that runs most Windows apps, will be shipping a <$500 tablet PC (most tablet PCs to date go for $2000-$3000). The device has wireless networking built in, a nice sharp LCD, and will look mighty fine nestled on my coffee table.
A male contraceptive, 100% effective, and with no bad side effects? Available 2005Wow, that's outstanding. Questions raised - Will STDs increase as a result of less condom use? Can men in general be relied on to take it daily? (I know I could... just make it part of the routine, along with showering and brushing.)
Dan exchanged money for services with O.J. Simpson last Saturday... a $6 viewing ticket for volleyball-- Dan was ticket concession and his school's team was playing against O.J's Daughter's. Of course, I asked if Danny said anything about "acquitted murderer's discount" or the like. He didn't... his exchange was limited to "six dollars" and that was it...we didn't get as much mileage out of that element of conversation as I'd thought.
Here are some lovely shots of Newt and I in a plastic spoon-wrestling match. Also known as "Newt doesn't want his teeth brushed yet this morning"... I have to get him in the right mood before giving him the brusha-brusha... he needs to be worn out and in a snuggle-bug mindset in order for me to stick my finger in his mouth. Though he looks fierce, it's just horsing around. He's got a lot of strength in his mitts. His paws are so big... little snowshoe-rabbit cat.
Unfortunately, I could get no good shots of him getting brushies this morning... maybe next week. I was lucky to get those two above of him trying out for a part in Sabretooth.
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Art Nouveau - Comic Book Style - some great stuff...some not so much so, but the majority is quite good.. Interesting theme idea, Dig Batgirl and Wonder Woman, or this group... Ivy reminds me of my sweetheart there, again. Warning, some of the links there contain nudity, but pretty tasteful.
oh yeah, baby.... milk bottle of the week. more proof that every flippin' thing is on the net.Nifty site - Omar Zabir's Portal. It's a DHTML/Javascript tour de force. Pretty amazing... very well written and quite complete. (I get leery of sites that dominate your whole desktop experience though... a windows simulation that's a little too close.)
I want waffles, or potato pancakes for breakfast/ lunch. I'm not hungry, but craving some comfort food.
Sacre bleu! There are so many cool French comics! Do you remember pipe-smoking superhero Mister X? Or the flamboyant motorcycling crime fighter Motoman? Or the bizarre antihero Satanik, who only robbed and killed other criminals? And who could forget reading Otomox: Master of Robots while eating camembert and sipping chardonnay before school, mes amis? Despite all this, are you prepared for the ultimate team-up of Batman and... Tintin!?! (BTW: Other Tintin parodies abound.) (via memepool)
side note.... my sweetie could wonderfully fill a Batgirl costume... or Poison ivy. Rowr.... beautiful girl with brains and a darkish sense of humor. That's my beloved... so yummy. If I were a superhero, I'd want her on my team.
I'm tempted to try a custom paint from bed. I don't think it'll work...more likely, I'll get paint on me. I think it'll be easier to write fiction instead. I'm overdue for doing that on the laptop, anyhow. Let’s see how my mildly addled skull does.
The Wolfsonian is a museum of 20th century design in Miami Beach, and their website is a fine place to dig around. Looks like it has a ton of spiffy streamline modern and art deco objects, not to mention world's fair nifties. I'm going to check it out in person as soon as I've got the time and ability to do so. I fear that I'll go a little loopy in the shop. I really like the keychain! ) $5 a head is very reasonable.
Comiclopedia - a searchable gallery of over 3,200 international comic artists with biographies and artwork samples. hee...this one reminds me of my sweetie.
Steal this book (now available as hypertext)It's already getting warm again... 81F during my 9am bike ride? Something to note about tunnels... they're loud. The noise doesn’t have as many traveling options as a free, open area.
Well, my new savings account has already gotten $.04 interest, and it's only a tiny amount of seed money until next paycheck. Next deposit, my rate will jump a little bit, which can't hurt. Most of my funds landed in checking for bills and whatnot, until I decide how I want the sliding scale to go. I'm still waiting for the pay pal deposit to show up (probably won't appear until Monday...) so I can take care of a little treat or two.
I recently heard the "McDonalds Theory of War and Peace," which starts with the observation that no two countries that both have McDonalds have ever gone to war with each other. A middle class strong enough to support a McDonalds is presumably never going to support a war with an equally developed country. Note that Vietnam, Iraq, Cambodia and Somalia are all Big Mac-free zones.
Dave wants to get together at about 4... that's going to screw up my schedule. I probably won't be able to hang out with him today after all. (I was shooting for a morning to noonish sort of thing) I wanted to get some tunnel shots in the early evening. Dan's grading papers, and my bro's sleeping, so it looks like all of my available 2-legged friends are out of the hang-out option. I don't know if I'm going to go to the hobby store today... I might swing by B&N and pick up some books with my gift cards. The good one is only three miles from here. Yes, I think I'll do that. A cup of iced coffee and some fresh reading would be a lovely addition to my day.
My apartment smelled of freshly chopped onions and baking bread earlier... now it's nag champa.Maybe going to swing by -
Discount Train & Hobby
211 E. Oakland Park Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334
tomorrow... look for more terrain and paints to play with…perhaps find a way to prevent the odd Newt-hair from landing on freshly painted stuff. I can Newt-proof... but his hair turns up in the darndest places. I'm hoping that they have some decent o-scale models and maybe some more mixable acrylic paints."Stupidity" author busted for trying to pick up teen girl online - "We can't be lovey-dovey in public," stupidity expert James F. Welles explained to his online friend. "Bottom line, I'm committing a crime." The author of "The Story of Stupidity and Understanding Stupidity" thought he was chatting with a 15-year-old girl, but it was actually a 40-year-old male detective at the keyboard. (Palm Beach Post)
Hm! Rachel's now a successful photographer and has been shown internationally. I'm delighted... she's quite a talent, and I'm sure she deserves the kudos. I still have some of her slides here...maybe I'll scan them in at work and post them here, if we still have the capacity. I haven't heard from her since '98ish. It looks like she's got a nice little life building with a guy / pet / home / marriage.
Newt shook off his "parachute-bag" just before the piccie was taken. He was on a big tear around the house, with the crinkly-toy in tow. you can see it starting to float to the ground behind him.
You are walking down a cracked inner city sidewalk. It is morning, slowly warming into a sunny day. You look up and yonder along the cement you see someone walking toward you. You are surprised to have perceived someone so far away. But, you keep walking, expecting nothing more than a friendly nod as you pass. He gets closer. You see he has a slight limp and shuffling gait, though he seems to be moving quickly. He is closer--a torn and stained suit jacket with tattered pants and bare feet. Closer--a mottled green and purple face, and slightly yellowed skin pinched back along his cheekbones. You and he are fifty yards apart. You, and an undead mockery of what was once alive are twenty yards apart. You approach on the notably empty path, no traffic on the road to the side. You nod. He waves, a pinky finger hanging loosely from a broken knuckle, and passes.
Well, groovy. Got my new check card finally... now I just have to wait while paypal takes a day or three to deposit a little into my account,Traffic's heavy tonight... I'll probably hold off on scoping out the haunted tunnel until Sunday, late. I wonder how the other spook-hunts are going this evening?
Someone's burning something made of a fragrant wood outside... the air smells nice. I hear a light rain just starting, too... or maybe it's just wind through the trees.
Taking a break, and kicking back. Tomorrow, my only duty is to do laundry...I'm going to try to get in by 10 and out of there by noon-ish.
Off to relax and chill. Nighters, dear journal.
Smacking crabs with a yo-yo is a good way to start the day. Froggy-fly eating is good too.Friday, again. Was Halloween already over a week ago? Are the ACC expo and Thanksgiving really looming up ahead so soon? That Means that not so far away lies Christmas... the start of a new year, and my birthday. This year hasn't totally screamed by, but it is speeding along at a good clip right now. I'm still stunned that Newt's three, and that I've known my sweetheart for more than two... it seems like I've had them in my life for longer and shorter than that at the same time.
Newton J. Underfoot doesn't like frosted cheerios, but he'll happily scarf up the milk-dregs. He doesn't go for the Honey-nut afters, though. He's in "Trip Scotto Up" mode. Nearly knocked me off of my pins twice this morning.
More linkie-doodoo
Alex Toth has a personal site... interesting to see the guy responsible for the art of space ghost / herculoids / super friends talking about how he draws handwritten and scanned onto a web page.
Killer Squirrels on the loose. - Featuring Dr. Booty of Knutsford.
Zoological Bloopers and Practical Jokes. Strange Science is a great little page of missteps in the classification and illustration of exotic and extinct animals. It's hard to classify all the links; some are dinosaur goofs, some are just poor depictions of animals from the time before photographs. Most are fascinating. Folks thinking that elephant skulls were cyclops remains is an interesting observation. I didn't even know that there were ellies in the Mediterranean.
O.J. Simpson's bad driving habits and legal problems extend beyond the Earth. Eschewing a white Bronco for a speedboat, the ex-football star and acquitted murder suspect was on Wednesday--for a brief time, at least--a wanted man for terrorizing a bunch of manatees in the waters off the coast of Florida.
Cats wearing hats. No way would Newt put up with that for more than .00005 seconds.
I feel really drained after today's work. I'm not going to linger on the stupid stuff... politics, ever politics.Good things -
Dexter Thursday, with special guest star Bailey!
Two badly lit pictures of them running in the hall. 800x600, so behind the cut they go...
Poor Bailey bonked his head running up and down that dingy hallway... they were neck in neck, and someone wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He's fine, but got scared for a moment.
I'm pleasantly surprised that my direct deposit might kick in next paycheck, rather than two pay-periods from now.
Ummm.... was there something else nice? *Reaching*
Oh! Free leftover Halloween candy, orange creamsicle slushies and baked potato from burger king. The potato is the best thing they could've added for me.
One of our work-associates is named Dick Pouch. Y'think he got made fun of much as a kid? I wonder how much strength and character he's gathered from such a mockable name.
Other wacky-named people I've worked with - Dick Knott & Geoff Glasscock.
Sky was very clear, and the weather dropped to 68 this evening. Quite a great temperature to bicycle in. I watched the temperature go from 72 this morning to about 79, and then down to 68 tonight. That's a big span!
Thinking of my sweetie in her leopard jammies, sleeping in my arms.
Sent off a $23 Check for my toy auction. I hope they come over soon.
As of this writing, the menstrualhut has 798 members, and is actively watched by over half that.
I heard that wheel of fortune is in Seattle this week, and Pat Sajak is still the host. I thought the show was cancelled! Shows how much I'm in touch with game shows these days... isn't there some sort of hidden-camera extreme x-games show that took the place of the traditional ones?
I think a hot shower and relaxation is due.
bonus news link- Hero of the day - Woman kills would-be rapist by extensive yanking on his thingee.
A gift! printable paper rulers!According to haunted Fort Lauderdale...My Tunnel has a ghost... this weekend I'm going to go down the pedestrian walk area, and take some pictures. (That particular 'haunted Fort Lauderdale' guy is a little bit of a crackpot... lens flare does not equal ghostie, in my mind, anyhow)
It's odd... I seem to keep a light balance between who links and unlinks me. I'm about at -3 from sept 01. I'm dead even if you don't count folks that have deleted themselves. Interesting to see who comes and goes on a history list.
A day full of uses of the poo wand for my sweetie and me but had a nice time, despite the tech-struggles... perhaps even because of them.I've determined that my tools at work are woefully inadequate, at least for me. Corel photo paint and Corel draw 8 not only aren't cross compatible, but they both are dung-filled doughnuts of despair as far as tools go.
Give me Photoshop, Photopaint, or the GIMP any day over the Corel nightmare. I've sent the files to work with home, but I think instead I'll work on them with proper tools tomorrow... I'm going to install the gimp there...my only element remaining is to make a decent banner graphic. (It’s actually going to be the background, but it'll be at the top of each page, all banner-like.
The scent of synthetic ambergris is on my mind and in my mental directory.
A good hump day. Tomorrow, she is Thursday, yes?
Three great words/phrases of power.
- Please
- Thank you
- I'm sorry.
If I hear people use any of those with sincerity, my brain clicks into uber-helper/friendly mode. I like to think that I'm normally pretty nice, anyhow... but those are the magic words. Watch me jump to action.wow! The piggie amendment made the cruel site of the day! The ban passed, by the way.
Koko's got a CD coming out? Didn't they know about apple nipple hungry?
I want just Black Manta and the Sub. Aquaman... I wonder who I could give him to? I'd like to trade him for Will Magnus. Is it me, or does Lead (Who should have a Pb as his logo) look a little sissified? Everyone else seems true to form. This Manta is pretty cool, too.
It is really beautiful weather-wise outside. Maybe 72 degrees? Just downright nice.
I dreamt last night that I ran a turtle-powered farm/ mill/ bakery. They were used as *very slow*, but strong beasts of burden... pulling plows and carts full of some sort of grain. There was a large geodesic dome storage area, and a water wheel powered millhouse by a fresh water river full of well-rounded stones along with a "petting zoo" area where folks could feed the off-duty turtles apples right off of the tree. The bread we made was a very good seller... we couldn't keep it in stock. The "secret ingredient" was sea salt, and apparently it made all the difference in the world. Apparently the Amish thought we were especially good, and wanted to trade all sorts of quilts and furniture for our wares, too. I don't recall if we used Amish milk in the production. We did have juice there too.. but I don't know if it was made on site or brought in. (I figure a cider mill would work with the waterwheel, and apple tree but I don't recall in the dream.)Of course, I had to do a search for turtle bread, and found this bread machine recipe... sounds pretty darn good, actually. It's been a little while since I've made my own bread. I may try it later on down the line, but it sounds pretty hefty... a slice of bread that has more calories than a can of soda! I've not used sucanat in cooking before... I imagine splenda might be an alternative? This calls for more research, later.
Turtle Bread
1 1/3 cups water
13 vegan caramels, unwrapped
3 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons dry, powdered soy or rice milk
2 tablespoons sucanat
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecansPlace all ingredients except the chocolate chips and pecans into the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the sweet or basic/white cycle. Use medium or light crust color. Do not use the delay cycle. Add the chocolate chips and pecans at the beep signal or 5 minutes before the last kneading cycle ends. Cool on a wire rack. Makes a two pound loaf (16 slices).
Per slice: 195 calories 5 grams fat
From the grab bag -
a treasury of macramé owls My brother and I both got macramé owls as kids from Sally Brunot. We were quite young, and thought that they were cool as all get out. Come to think of it, Over at Sally and Bill's House, I encountered my first copy of playboy. My Brother's owl looked a bit like the leftmost one on page five, and mine looked like the leftmost one on page seven.
Speaking of pretend animals... these *non-taxidermy* mock-animals are awesome. (the other stuff on the site is also quite good)
New Kitty Cartoon... Outtatheway - The vines That Tabby needs an orthodontist. Featuring a little Newtie mosh-action.
Italics are some of the ones I really likeScotto is truly one of our greatest sopranos
Scotto is the moderator of the gravity
Scotto is likely to wear something like an alligator
Scotto is currently beginning a study of female Russian pop and rock singers who are popular among Russian teenage girls
Scotto is stressed
Scotto is one of the most interesting artists of the Neapolitan new wave
Scotto is guest researcher at the berghof centre
Scotto is the last of the mad
Scotto is an assistant professor of theory at the Eastman school of music
Scotto is making great good sense
Scotto is one of the counselors that is a part of Lagrange College’s counseling center
Scotto is Christopher Columbus
Scotto is a trustee
Scotto is "justifiably famous"
Scotto is a pet peeve of mine
Scotto is a cal poly alumnus
Scotto is often the target of raised eyebrows
Scotto is owned and operated by the Scotto family
Scotto is an industry veteran with over twenty years of experience in software development and data storage management
Scotto is famous
Scotto is increasingly active
Scotto is first and foremost a man of the theatre
Scotto is more sensitive as desdemona than ricciarelli
Scotto is the list moderator
Scotto is feeling
Scotto is a local business owner and has been a volunteer field coordinator for the Torrance unified school district since 1983
Scotto is a remarkable artist
Scotto is a wonderful liu
Scotto is amazingly strong
Scotto is an inspired butterfly
Scotto is moving her noncredit class in striptease to a Northampton studio
Scotto is reported to be considering a run for staten
Scotto is at 79 Madison Avenue near 28th street
Scotto is deceptively beautiful
Scotto is losing control
Scotto is a fine heroine in this work
Scotto is breathtaking
Scotto is on both the maazel version and the lp reissue of the barbirolli/emi set
Scotto is a floppy
Scotto is enrolled in the naeric incentive program
Scotto is worth further exploration
Scotto is the director of cpc behavioral healthcare’s "programs for assertive community treatment"
Scotto is writing that part
Scotto is planning on teaching it again
Scotto is opera i am compelled to respond to the absurdly hostile review from Robert Levine
Scotto is one out of thousands analyst on Wall Street
Scotto is stoically drinking a coke
Scotto is uniquely suited for the job
Scotto is something of a rarity available usually in privately duped copies
Scotto is a leading electric utility analyst and senior managing director of bear
Scotto is convinced that rival big al marracottaa five
Scotto is approximately thirty years old and inexperienced in matters involving OSHA citations
Scotto is looking for more playtesters for his recent games
Scotto is back
Scotto is equally rivetingScotto is gone
The Pain, Oh the Pain! - The one and only Dr. Zachary Smith, veteran actor Jonathan Harris, has passed away, three days shy of his 88th birthday
Jonathan Harris
11/06/1914 - 11/03/2002
Pokey, the Three-Legged Bear is dead, too.
This is so very wrong. Talk Dirty with Mr Rogers.
Today’s been a sleepy, relaxing day. I've spent much of the day in a calm place, and taking it easy... as has my gluttonous protégé, Mr. Newtie McTreatEater. We've been flung all over the house in assorted comfortable poses, and just sort of lollygagging about, reading, napping, burning incense, wrestling with each other in a slackerly fashion and watching the occasional Spongebob cartoon...I'm having trouble figuring out the recorder fingering for the Spongebob theme... I may have to look up the sheet music for it, rather than playing it by ear. A complete slackerboy Saturday... I’ve needed something like this for a little while now. I'm bemused by the idea of the undersea creatures having a snowball fight.
Just popped into my head - I'd like some taco bell right now, and the phrase "wreak terrible vengeance" is a good one, as well as the variant "a terrible justice has been done"
I dig these groovy CD-R's... they look like 45s!
His fuzzy orange hinder is weighing down the futon down... :)
TOPPS Trading Cards including the brilliant Mars Attacks, as well as Batman, Frankenstein, and Ugly Stickers from 1965. From The Norman Saunders Site. "...a reference guide that documents the entire published works of Norman Saunders."
You Got Me Into This. From The West: Old Paintings created to be the Covers of Pulp Fiction Magazines. "...The pulp paintings of the 1930s-40s astound the senses with visions of gun smoke, brawny cowboys and beautiful heroines - frozen in moments of maximum impact, guns exploding or a terrified damsel on horseback."
wondering where my little brother is. hm.
I'm reading a book by C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity. Superb. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a good, non-predatory evangelical insight about the faith. The reading can be heady, but well worth some of the thinking required.
As I mentioned earlier, here's me lost in a cave, and some cave-drawings. It's an elephant, but the shaman-guy is wearing elk-antlers.
I wonder lately if I escape being called sir because I've got long hair. If I got a wiffle-cut (no, I'm not planning on it) tomorrow... would suddenly, most strangers call me 'sir'? Right now, most often, I'm referred to without title... "Excuse me" or "May I help you" or "Yes/No"... and I'm sort of glad of that. I've seen folks use the term, and it appears sort of weird.
I do get called mister occasionally, when a little kid wants to ask me something. I like that I'm approachable by kids.
Speaking of which, the almond joys are officially gone. My trick or treating brother assisted in my consumption of mass quantities over the last week.
It’s too late in the night to make a hot supper... I think a bowl of cheerios will do the trick. I just realized... I didn't eat lunch today! Dang... how did that happen? I'm not that hungry, probably because I drank about a gallon and a half of water from the cooler over the course of today. I've only had cereal today... breakfast and supper. Well, that works. I'll have some real food tomorrow though. Just reflecting on not having had any makes me hungrier.
Before I hit the sack, a fun link... bcdb: it's an imdb just for cartoons!
Cool singing horses. Safe for work, but it's got sound.
Coca Cola is releasing a Yoo-Hoo-like substance called Choglit.... possibly the dopiest name for a drink this decade. Looks dangerously similar to a Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper can. Careful mixing them up!
Put my votes in all nice and neat-like. I'm actually more enthusiastic about the amendments than the candidates. a lot of negative campaigning has been going on the TV lately, and I'll be happy to see those commercials brought to an end. A pleasant surprise is that I seem to have gotten less political junk mail this year. Maryland has a neato-named Governor candidate (though he won't win, because he's a libertarian, rather than the 'big two') SPEAR LANCASTER. He sounds like a cool private eye, or an angry white savage, raised by a lost tribe of javelin-throwing natives. Spear. That's an odd name... a weapon. I'd heard of Dirk, Lance, Glaive, Pike and Mace.... am I forgetting any? I can't say as I know anyone named Halberd, Flail or Quarrel... I suppose Gun names don't really count, because they're generally named for a person, not the other way around. Smith & Wesson... Is Colt named for a person, or just a horse?
"What's green, has eight legs, and would kill you if it dropped on you from out of a tree?"
"A pool table!"Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!
Newt was fairly vocal this morning...not sure what set him off, but he was willing to carry on a conversation for a little while. "Mer!" "What's that?" "Mer!" "Are you sure?" "Mer!" "The Blue one?" "Mer! Mer!" "Ok... what about the monkeys?".. with that, Newt just cuddled back with in bed... I may never know the answer to the Monkey question. I've worn him out this morning. He's now purring peacefully atop monitor two as I type this... he's more fond of the screens, as they're warmer than the futon, and he can play with me more easily when in front of me, rather than behind.
I should pick up a new web cam. This one’s output is pretty dang fuzzy.I'm still not terribly hungry, even after yesterday's semi-fast. I wouldn't mind some waffles, though...maybe I'll treat myself to something tasty at lunch. I'm not sure who'd deliver waffles, but IHOP would be nice about now. I could really go for one of my sweetie's apples in the bowl on her desk, too.
Saturday, November 02, 2002
oh! belly-dancer fig, before modification...
hmm... coin bra? colors? so much to decide!
have to get rid of the sai, though... maybe a sword or a sash? so many decisions...
Ok.. I like Charlton Heston well enough, but the photo of him there is scary and hilarious at the same time... In fact, I like it so much, I'm going to grab it, put it on my server, so when I look back in a year or three, I can tune in and laugh and shiver at the same time again.
Brother and I went to call my grandmother and wish her a happy 80th birthday, and she was out and about! Ah well, if at first you don't succeed...[update, 8:15 - got through... she sounds quite well, though Ted seemed a little scattered... he's a swell guy.. I hope he mends quickly.)
There’s a three-day week, and then a four-day weekend coming up. I'm glad of that... I'll enjoy the breather. I will swing by on Friday, to get my pay paperwork, but I'll be gone again before anyone can lasso me into any work. October seems to have just blipped on by.
I have an urge for potato skins, or something with pimento cheese... but will more likely have some sort of noodles for dindin, as I have the latter on premises.
The crisp, colorful prose of Susan Orlean, from The Orchid Thief, which I strongly recommend: The state of Florida does incite people. It gives them big ideas. They don't exactly drift there: They come on purpose--maybe to start a new life, because Florida seems like a fresh start, or to reward themselves for having had a hardworking life, because Florida seems plush and bountiful, or because they have some new notions and plans, and Florida seems like the kind of place where you can try anything, the kind of place that for centuries have made entrepreneur's mouths water. It is moldable, reinventable. It has been added to, subtracted from, drained, ditched, paved, dredged, irrigated, cultivated, wrested from the wild, restored to the wild, flooded, patted, set on fire. Things are always being taken out of Florida or smuggled in. The flow in and out is so constant that what exactly the state consists of is different from day to day. It is a collision of things you would expect to find together in one place--condominiums and panthers and raw woods and hypermarkets and Monkey Jungles and strip malls and superhighways and groves of carnivorous plants and theme parks and royal palms and hibiscus trees and those hot swamps with acres and acres that no one has ever even seen--al toasting together under the same sunny vault of Florida sky. Even the orchids of Florida are here in extremes. The woods are filled with more native species of orchids than anywhere else in the country, but also there are scores of man-made jungles, the hothouses of Florida, full of astonishing flowers and that have been created in labs, grown in test tubes, and artificially multiplies to infinity. Sometimes I think I've figured out some order of the universe, but then I find myself in Florida, swamped by incongruity and paradox, and I have to start all over again.A chunky, satisfying paragraph that reinforces my desire to write.
What candy should I get for Halloween? I suspect that I won't get many TorT folks again... The trick is to get a kind of candy that I can bring in to work, so I don' t eat it all. If left to my own devices, I suspect almond joy will be the way I go. Yum.
speaking of Joy... Jacques Henri Lartigue: Imprints of Joy. at the Edwynn Houk Gallery. "...Lartigue (French, 1894-1986) took his first photograph in 1900, at the age of six. At seven, he acquired his first camera as a birthday gift. The young Jacques-Henri reveled in photography's magic power to preserve everyday moments of joy so that they could be infinitely revived. He photographed obsessively, carefully keeping his pictures in diaries, alongside anecdotes and sketches, all meant, as he put it, to 'trap' the very 'scent of happiness'."
More entries into the moonpie contest
I am Zarkon, a humble time-traveler. My Memory of Moon Pies takes place four hundred years in your future, from which I have just arrived. It is necessary for this entry to win the contest in order for my world to continue it’s idyllic existence.
War, poverty, hunger, disease and crime have been eliminated, thanks to your miraculous confection. Know that as the centuries roll by, all will be revealed.
It’s not a coincidence that UFOs are shaped like moon pies… To say more would jeopardize my mission. As we say in my time, pax via empanada de luna.
----------
smile. flower. young love. blush. laughter. running home. hayride. fumbling kiss. bare feet. dreaming. breeze. raindrops. crickets. climbing trees. pajamas. sunsets. holding hands. moon pies. my true love.
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My name is Rufus, and I am a loup-garou, or as you would say... a werewolf. Your moon pies make me happy, rather than the real moon, whose harsh silver light transforms me into a slavering hairy creature of the evening. Before I chain myself to the cement pillar in my basement in order to fend off my cravings for more active prey, I stock up on your delicious moon-pies. Even a crazed animal can appreciate the marshmallowy goodness and quality workmanship that can be seen in every cellophane-wrapped morsel.
Goodnight, dear journal!
Woke up early early this morning, despite hitting the sack late... dreams are forgotten with my eyes fully opening. I was back home from my constitutional and out of the shower by 9. I wonder how beat I'll be come the end of today?My sweetheart is well in the forefront of my mind this morning… Pleasant, loving thoughts.
got this floating all over the net... www.babynamer.com. Type your name in the right-hand side box, and then when the next page comes up, click 'drawbacks'.
There are *no* drawbacks for Newton, though it does mention Newt as a Nickname. No Drawbacks on Prescott, but there were Drawbacks on Scott -
Scotty Potty
Scooter (I think that this one is fairly innocuous, too)
Scottie Tissues
Snot
Squirt
Scott Pot (Never seen)
Scott Tot (Dan's Used That one)
Scotty Snotty
Slot
Scottie the Hottie (My Sweetheart's used a variant... Not a drawback, in my opinion)
Squawty Scotty
Gotta go to the Potty Scotty
Scooter Pie
Scott Twat (That's a new one!)Associations:
''Scotty'' is a slang term for crack cocaine.
''Beam me up, Scotty,'' a catchphrase from Star Trek, refers to transporting someone as a stream of matter.
Trillian’s been pesky the last couple of times I've tried yahooing, so I'm going back to the original on this system.
Got to spend some giggle time talking to my sweetie this morning, before work...she makes me smile, but our time was too short. Drat my having to go in! I still have an image in my head of BB with bright red boots on. I really enjoy it when we synch up. It's my feeling that the autumn surge of creativity and wisdom will continue... My thoughts are of us together, and it makes me smile.
After I finish the belly dancer, I think the boys'll be next. I need to trade for the pictured figure, and I think I can make a Newtie and a Blackie. Either that, or find some panther toys and paint them up, and put on a stand instead. I rather like the latter, for the serene look that they have.
I'm back in my mole-hole now, with lights down low and sandalwood burning off to the side.
I've got some positive thoughts, focusing on them. I'm happy that I have some good touchstones. I remember sharing a secret memory with my sweetheart on Halloween night last year... something only she and I know. She's a bright beacon that warms my heart.
My bro has gathered information today about getting extra medical aid... he's going to gather multiple copies, so I can go over it and compare to my insurance... between the two, we'll get things straightened out.
Work seems to be slowly, *slowly* gathering some semblance of structure again. I feel the kinks there unwinding, but it's still a little tense.
I'm pondering what to carve into a pumpkin if I get one this year.
10/29
Taken between 8:00 - 8:40 tonight.
I like how the light turned out by the escape door in the roof. The "next stop" light illuminated the area well enough
That corner stoplight is always kind to me. I wave to it in the morning, and it's always green to let me through. I get a good feeling about it, like friendly car accident victims or something haunts it. I told it this morning that I was going to photograph it, and it felt like it was cool with the intersection. The set of lights beyond the corner is Federal Highway / US1, a far less friendly road/ light set.
Newt was ready and waiting for me when I got home... I really enjoy his big ol' pupils and pink little nose.Work today was fairly tedious, with the exception of discovering some new aspects to CSS, and reworking the laser department programs to work with the revised network and software.
looking through the checks available to me... reflections, harmony, tie dye, bugs (bugs may be a little girly, but I like the dragonflies a lot), and the cheapies, but calm pocketpack.. Right now I'm leaning a little towards harmony.
Thinkin' of mah baby in a dirndl. Hubba hubba.
I remember a horrid jacket that I got in a thrift store, ages ago... white with very wide salmon pink lapels. I wonder where it is now? Landfill? Some other weirdo teen? I would imagine that it had magical powers for being so hideous... like being able to telekinetically manipulate the hair of any haired being within my line of sight.
I remember when I was younger...it was three in the morning on the coldest night of the year...I'd just about finished building a device to keep a squad of fascistic ghosts from manifesting themselves in the land of the living...I realized that I needed a belt buckle to complete the machine, but not just any belt buckle would do... the pewter death's head which held up the slacks of Moira, Prime Minister of Baboons. She didn't part with it as willingly as I'd hoped... but that's a story for another time. Suffice to say that I'm still around to tell the tale.
Trick or treat!
The newest Microsoft Advert thingum is scary. Mothman meets MSN. I think he wants to extend a huge proboscis and suck out my brain fluid. If I saw him coming, I don't know what my first reflex would be... possibly fight or flight. It’s not better with the butterfly! I think it'd have worked better if they'd made it a buxom female "fairy-butterfly" thingie. Sex appeal, and not so intimidating.
Marshall McLuhan: "A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding.... I wonder how many people that are voting even know what all the issues are about. I'll refrain from all the Florida voter jokes that might be out there. This is mostly for my own memories a few years down the line…
How I'd like to see the polls go this Monday - just blah blah politics, very south centric-centric: See also the sample ballot for more detailed info No on Amendment 1; reject death penalty change - an unwise and unnecessary amendment placing the death penalty in the state Constitution in a harmful way. The amendment is bad public policy, takes away Floridians' civil rights, undermines the Florida Supreme Court and is a bunch of hooey, to boot.
Yes on Amendment 2; require cost impact notice on constitutional amendments -protect the state and their wallets and bank accounts from irresponsible high-cost amendments that don't have a price tag attached.
No on Amendment 3, for 'home rule' - a harmful change that lawmakers have already wisely rejected.
Yes on Amendment No. 4: make it harder for state lawmakers to impose clouds of secrecy to block out "Government in the Sunshine," which requires government records and meetings to be open to the public.
What was amendment 5? Is it gone? It’s not in my book or on any of my research sites. It's not even on the sample ballot.
No on smoke-free Amendment 6; it goes too far... I'm all for no smoking rules, but I think smoking and non-smoking sections work ok in food establishments and hotels.... got to keep the tourists happy.
No on Amendment No. 7's tax ‘free riders’ Proposed state Amendment No. 7 is an unwelcome and unjustified example of lawmakers asking voters to sew yet another jagged patch onto Florida's crazy-quilt tax system.
Yes on Amendment 8 - Universal Pre-K schooling - I'm all for helping to make children smarter, happier, and more able to think.
Yes on Amendment 9 - smaller classrooms - From pre-kindergarten through third-grade, no more than 18 students could sit in one room. In grades four through eight, 22 students would be allowed. High school classes would be limited to 25 students. see above.
Yes on amendment 10 - would make it a crime, punishable by a year in jail and/or $5,000 for a farmer to confine an expectant sow in a gestation cage, typically a 2-foot-by-7-foot metal crate. An animal cruelty start.
No to Amendment 11 on statewide university board ... Florida's system would only get *more* screwed up.
Charter Questions
- yes on creation of a citizens' bill of rights
- no on revaluing chair & vice chair to mayor and vice mayor
- no on county auditor
- yes on coordination of inter-county fire departments
- no on revision authority
- yes on protection of "whistleblowers"
- yes on requirements of posting notice and a public hearing prior to county's consideration and adoption of new amendments
- yes on adopting a non-interference ordinance
- no on general hullabaloo
- yes on clarification of the charter review commissions powers and abilities
- yes on updating technical changes since 1974
- no on revised rule on initiative and referendum elections
- yes on number of signature minimum
When you picture government forces going after militia groups, do you picture 7-year-old kids? There are more than 300,000 children soldiers serving around the world. I think that it's interesting that they don't mention Israel in the study. (That's who I think of, when I picture military children.. start military training at about 12, and go into the army at 17)
This treasure map is a clue...drawn on my palmtop.
It remains to be seen how much help it'll be.
Evil Clown generator is pretty nifty.
I've got tomorrow off... duties will include swinging by the bank, and finishing the new accounts there. Must remember to bring some candy corn to give to all employees in costume. Bring the bike to the shop, and have the rear tire looked at.
I read something about being a spectrum apart. Somehow, I read that as "speculum apart". Where's my brain, tonight?
Version 6 of PalmOS will be built on BeOS and include .NET support. Wow. That's as big a changeover as Windows to WinNT or MacOS to OS X. Wow.
Back from the bank, and many tellers got candy corn.... saw my brother doing deliveries this morning, and he hooked me up with a few yummy cookies and sody-pop. Morning Sugar-Rush!Big Gay Al's gift shop had their cow dudded out as a witch. I was surprised that Al himself wasn't dressed up.
I made it back at just about noon... I'm wondering when or if the little knock-knocks will begin tonight.
stopped at the corner of Federal and Broward... the building is coming up quickly. I preferred to photograph the cranes over the building... the top of the building is about four stories right now.I also saw a Vactor Hydroevacuator on the site, but it rounded a corner before I could photograph it. A very nifty truck...it looks like some sort of wacky mad max vehicle. Lots of pipes and compressors...probably quite capable to burst through concrete walls with A-team-like acumen and gusto.
I wonder how my sweet little Victorian undead beloved is doing today? I imagine that I'll catch her here or there sometime soon.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Enjoy lots of candy, ghosts and goblins!
To celebrate, a picture I just took of Newt.
He's strategically placed so I can bury my face in his tummy, and give him kitty-smoochies.
note to self... put the Newtie-treats back in the cupboard after giving him his goodies.This morning, I heard him playing with the little container for them, but I thought he was just rolling the tube along the floor... nope. he was smacking it around to get the tasty goodness inside. while laying in bed I heard a pop-rustle of a half-full bucket of treats opening up. I got to them, but not until after the little orange thug had scarfed down as many as he could wrap his mouth around.... I guess *somebody* had a trick or treat snack bonanza a day late.
Naughty little monkey.
Today’s been a sleepy, relaxing day. I've spent much of the day in a calm place, and taking it easy... as has my gluttonous protégé, Mr. Newtie McTreatEater. We've been flung all over the house in assorted comfortable poses, and just sort of lollygagging about, reading, napping, burning incense, wrestling with each other in a slackerly fashion and watching the occasional Spongebob cartoon...I'm having trouble figuring out the recorder fingering for the Spongebob theme... I may have to look up the sheet music for it, rather than playing it by ear. A complete slackerboy Saturday... I’ve needed something like this for a little while now. I'm bemused by the idea of the undersea creatures having a snowball fight.
Just popped into my head - I'd like some taco bell right now, and the phrase "wreak terrible vengeance" is a good one, as well as the variant "a terrible justice has been done"
I dig these groovy CD-R's... they look like 45s!
Saturday, October 26, 2002
There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets?
All my chores are done, except for laundry and groceries. I'll take care of those tomorrow morning.
I'd like to run off with my sweetheart into the woods, and just camp and enjoy nature and each other for a while. We've both been working a lot lately. I’d also like to have easy roof access to my apartment... it'd be nice to relax up there. According to their government, the Australians are being overrun with feral camels. Take their camel, please! All of it!
Very nifty archive of WPA posters. The library of Congress online. Very keen. Sew for victory!
A yearly family development from 1977 to 2002. This is fantastic! I don't know these people personally, but just seeing where time has taken them facially is remarkable. I'd like to do a similar yearly thing.
Chicken Dance Elmo. If there were some parents that I hated, I'd get this toy for their child... and get the kid rechargeable batteries. Now for cool toys…I saw this sea-monkey explor-a-sub at the mall a while back with Sappho and Riker after the Cyndi Lauper concert...I'm very impressed with it.
I had coffee and fresh from the oven cookies last night... along with playing army men at 2am with a buddy just about what I thought being a grown-up would be like as a kid. I forgot to mention Dave and Cathi's costumes... they're going as mushrooms (or people with *giant* pith-helmets on their heads, painted as mushrooms.) very nifty. Mayah is going to be a fairy-baby. I liked the spider-costume idea more, but the fairy goes well with the shrooms.
Random Breakfast cereal factoid: Cap'n Crunch's first name is Horatio.
rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, re-charged my headMmMm. Just saw my sweetie off... having her touch my day like that, however briefly, makes all the difference... my day has brightened considerably.
I worked late last night, and then went to the Bohl's to play a game of mage knight. I think the game *started* at about midnight. We played a 2000-point game.... the levitating ram army worked well against his hill giant & co but I didn't put my tank to very good use. I'll know better strategy for next time. I won, but only by a hair. 1110 vs. his 1026 (I think I'd have won by a greater margin if we only went to tourney time limit.)
This morning, I rode Newtie ragged. It was some good quality time with him, because I saw him very little last night, short of hitting the sack and a short series of head butts. I made up for it this morn by running him all over the house...letting him ride in the grocery-bag chariot, and helping him to hunt assorted toys. He's officially tuckered out now.
Rolie Polie Olie was on the tube all the while, so there had to be a slight variation for Newt's sake.
Wayyyy up high in the rootin' tootin' sky... is a little round planet of a really swell guy...
He’s rootin' tootin' Newton
Smart and soft and round....
And in the world of fur and stripes
He’s the swellest cat around!He's Rootin! (Rootin')
He's Tootin'! (Tootin')
Hooray!And as far as fur and stripes, he's the swellest cat around!
Now, while he's all knocked out, I think it's a good time to gather my laundry, and get some chores done.
The Rattlesnake Echo - From American Myths and Legends by Charles M. Skinner, 1903 In Bear's Gulch, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, lived Turtle Dove with her little girl, Ohoteu, and her baby boy, Sage Cock. She would leave the children together, sure that they would keep out of mischief, while she went off to gather berries, nuts, and seeds.
These absences were noted by a woman who lived on a mountain, alone, and had become a witch, out of spite because nobody had ever made an offer of marriage to her. Seeing that Sage Cock was a bright, stout youngster, she resolved to make him her husband; so, during one of the daily visits of the mother to a distant berry-patch, she ran off with him, and took him to her home.
She was "no chicken," as to years, and had she waited till the little shaver had grown to manhood she would have been yet more hopelessly an old maid than she was then. But she did not wait. She had supernatural power. She worked over Sage Cock all night, mauling and stretching, and finally pulled his arms and legs to adult size. She fed him on buffalo-meat and fish, and in a few days he was as large and strong as any warrior in the hills.
Alas for her hopes! Sage Cock was a man in stature, it was true, but he remained an infant in understanding. His mind did not grow any faster than the minds of other babes. In order to hurry his education in hunting, that he might at least seem to be a man the earlier, the witch had to take him abroad, though she knew that his mother would be on the watch.
So it was. Turtle Dove had the help of her brother, Eagle, in the search, and they traveled for days together, climbing the trees for better views now and again.
Once Sage Cock cried to the witch, "I hear my mother!" and indeed the voice of Turtle Dove was heard, calling across the hills. The witch pretended that it was some stranger, imitating his mother's voice that she might find and eat him. "Crawl into this skin," she urged, "and you will be safe." It was a skin that had been stripped from a huge mountain-sheep, after he had shot it, and was big enough to cover them both. The seekers came closer, calling, for they had seen the two at a distance, and knew that they must be near.
Search revealing nothing, the mother and Eagle tried strategy. They hung a dead rabbit in a tree, stripped the trunk to a height of ten or a dozen feet, hid in a thicket, and waited.
As they expected, the witch put out her nose, after a time, for a breath of air, and sniffed the carrion. Her appetite, already large, was sharpened, and in a little time she stole out and tried to climb the tree; but the smoothness of the trunk and the age in the limbs of the old woman made this nearly impossible.
Being desperately busy in trying to reach the rabbit, she did not see Turtle Dove and Eagle run to the sheepskin, pull out the smooth-faced lummox who lay under it sucking his thumb, and carry him off. So soon as they had put him back in the hollow where the witch had found him, he shrank into the same baby that he was before, and bawled for milk. The rescuers put the youngster into his sister's arms and went back to kill the witch.
Suspecting that they would attempt revenge, she crept into the cast-off skin of her grandfather, the rattlesnake. And lying on a ledge among other serpents where there was little likelihood that any one would attempt to disturb her, she mocked the call of her pursuers, and, feeling more safe and more at home in the company of reptiles than in that of human kind, she has lived in the same place ever since. She takes a pleasure in mocking people, and white men call her cry an echo.
Since white men came into the country the Indians say that the rattlesnake has been talking in lower and lower tones, and may in time become altogether silent.
10/25
On waking up this morning, I'm feeling better. I wish it were Saturday, so I could run around and play all day, rather than go to work. Well... next Friday I can do that.Dreamt about my sweetheart and I trick or treating. We brought the kitties with us and they had treat bags of their own, because someone said we were too big to get candy. She was dressed as a leopard and I was wearing a lion-tamer outfit. I wonder why I wasn't dressed as a lion? Maybe it was too hot. A pith helmet, whip, and a chair.. not the Las Vegas Magician style.
Hmmm... reviewing ebay costs, the mind sifter like the one I want to get rid of is going for between $10-$20. I'll hang on to it and try to sell it at the convention in November. I'd like to swap it for some other fun figures that I'd be more likely to use. (or even a painted version of him, and a friendly trade bait figure)
Random Scotto factoid - I really like the Dick van Dyke show. They make a great married couple, and can make me laugh without any shock-innuendo.
The Klan gets stylish, and oh, my gosh... Talk Dirty to Me - Things overheard at the STD clinic I'd like to see the whole list.
Speaking of the Klan...Google self-censors? I forget about other countries not having freedom of speech.
Note(s) to self:
- Talk about Charlie, the jerky white-supremacist cab driver sometime soon.
10/24Weirdo dreams last night... I dreamt that I was a professional shopper.. one of those guys that goes to stores, buys something, and then appraises the salespeople. I was pretty nice overall, but got mad when a lady figured out who I was, and tried to bribe me with free hats.
Hmm.. I was hasty on judging the Newtcam dead... it looks ok this morn... I guess it's just spotty. (I'm still getting a new one, soon.)
Egads! There's a Cap'n Crunch and (even better) Jean La Foote action figure! I wonder if Jean'll be at the toy fair this thanksgiving.
Regarding the picture... It's my sweetheart and me working on the steam-powered battle tank... Let's see the zombies get through this! Undead meanies... if there are any mummies, they'll be dry enough to use for fuel!
The BBC has won a court case against the Metropolitan Police over the trademark of the TARDIS...er, police box.
What Office Space character are you?
brought to you by QuizillaA slight variant on the mechanics piccie, just to compare server speeds. I think Netscape (this one) is much slower.
ew... who makes a chocolate frosted apple-filled doughnut? I just ate it for breakfast...my bro brought me the doughnut last night... he went on a goodie run, and dropped it off late. Another perq of having him next door, to be sure! :)
I thought it'd be Bavarian cream or something. It's an unusual combination of flavors. not bad, just unexpected. it was a glazed, filled doughnut, with chocolate icing on top... you figure... custard or cream, right?
Wrong-o... Apple-cinnamon.
Nice sugar rush to follow, though, I'm sure. :)
Ok... off to work, Mr. Scotto, chocolate/apple gizzard guy.
I'm glad that it seems that the snipers in Maryland have been caught... I hope that's the end of that horrible stress. One less thing for folks to worry about. That's a layer of the onionskin I can peel off. I hope that decompression continues... I feel a couple of weights remaining to be lifted.
I really like the Salem police department's shoulder patch. That's the real logo.
Random Scotto factoid - I associate scarecrows with ghosts, but I don't think of them as frightening. I feel that it's the arms outstretched perpendicular, strikes me more like a waiting and friendly embrace rather than something that's been crucified. Perhaps the ghost vibe comes from the old clothes involved in the production I think. The last costume I wore was a scarecrow, going to see Lenny Kravitz with Nicole and Heather... (They were The Wicked Witch and Dorothy, by the way... Both looked outstanding. I still have the floppy hat that I wore, somewhere.) I got some nice compliments when I went out with those two..."Way to go! Lucky Man!" People tended to assume I was dating one or both of them. They were funny... they'd make up stories about me, and then start to believe them… because of something I might have said offhand. I'd feed their imagination by never confirming or denying anything, instead, just leaving open-ended questions with replies that instead raised more queries.
Sweet dreams, dear journal. Or in the words of my pet skeleton...
and when I say good night
the pictures in my head
will dance around the room
and frolic in my bed
and when I say good day
they hide behind my eyes
waiting for the dreaming
to bring them back to life
10/23Paper airplane simulator is fun for a few tosses. My best distance is 102.3682 feet
Didn't go for the morning cycle today... just wasn't into it. I preferred to walk around my apartment building and the blocks surrounding. I want to get a more intimate knowledge of my region.More free movies in my vicinity Young Frankenstein, Rocky Horror, Men in Black and Back to the Future... the weather's getting nice, too. Python wasn't bad, not too muggy... but the nights are much more pleasant now.
I look at the LJ logo of a pencil, and wonder if a broken record wouldn't be a better one.
Hee... Dave picked this thing up to take on my big guns...I like the shoulder-turreted dwarves. The detail is *excellent*... I wonder how they get such good work on such an inexpensive product... like MacFarlane's toys. I'll be interested in seeing how well it stands up to cannon-fire.
Looks like ye olde Newtie webcamme is about kaput. He put in a good term of service... a few solid years. I'll pick up a fresh one the next time I hit the office depot...they're so cheap these days! It's so old that Windows 2000 doesn't have a support driver for it... sort of been fudging with a home-brew one I found online after the system was reformatted. I'd still like to grab a Lego cam to work with the rest of the mindstorm stuff.
In a similar vein, here's an article about camera zapping with a laser pointer... neat! Temporary, too.
First wave is less important to me than second wave.
The Original:
Gojira aka Godzilla aka Godzilla, King of the Monsters, 1954First Wave of Godzilla Movies:
Godzilla Raids Again, 1955
King Kong vs. Godzilla, 1962
Mothra vs. Godzilla, 1964
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, 1964
Invasion of Astro-Monster, 1965
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, 1966
Son of Godzilla, 1967
Destroy all Monsters, 1968
All Monsters Attack, 1969
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, 1971
Godzilla vs. Gigan, 1972
Godzilla vs. Megalon, 1973
Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster, 1974
Terror of Mechagodzilla, 1975Second Wave of Godzilla Movies:
Gojira 1984 aka Godzilla 1985, 1984
Godzilla vs. Biollante, 1989
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, 1991
Godzilla vs. Mothra, 1992
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, 1993
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, 1994
Godzilla vs. Destroyer, 1995
Godzilla 2000: Millenium, 2000Non-Godzilla Toho Movies:
Rodan, 1956
The Mysterians, 1957
Varan the Unbelievable, 1958
Battle in Outer Space, 1959
Mothra, 1962
Atragon, 1964
Super Atragon, 1995
Super Atragon 2, 1996
Mothra aka Mothra 1996, 1996
Mothra 2, 1997
Mothra 3, 1998It's funny... thinking of the painted desert, two years ago... it's like it happened yesterday. I've got a warm feeling inside.. I like that.
Special Bonus Photo - Newton Starring in Jacob's Ladder!
D'oh! I left my camera at work! How'd I do that? It must've been because I had my handspring in my pocket. Looks like Bonbon spawn#2 got a talking to for drag racing on company time...not to mention Buddha, Sissy-Greg, and Buddha2 got in trouble for sleeping on the job. Second time in two days. I'm *very* surprised they didn't get fired... just a suspension for a day.
Wachovia now has my proof of residence... I'm probably going to get a call tomorrow, confirming that I can open the account.
One of my dollars made it to Scottsdale Arizona! Ito only took 2 yrs, 238 days, 22 hrs, 19 min to get there... traveled 1963 miles (or an average of 2 miles a day)
I registered years ago with Where's George, and forgot about it about six months later. I registered maybe a dozen bills, and grew bored when none came back. Now that I've finally gotten some confirmation, I'll start registering more, just to see where it goes. I think that I first found out about Where's George via Ana cam, just like I found LiveJournal, though I haven't really been to Ana cam in ages. Danny still has a T-shirt from her site somewhere... it's a great shirt.
I've just found an interesting element of the magic levitation rules...Dave's going to get it, next time we play.
The Wording, verbatim- bold is the special part
This warrior can move another figure up to 10 inches. (Optional) Give this warrior a move action, but do not move him. Select a target figure that was in base contact with this warrior at the beginning of the turn. Pick up the target figure and move it up to 10 inches in any direction, ignoring terrain and figure bases. You decide its facing. The target figure may not be placed in blocking terrain. The target figure may not be given an action for the remainder of the turn.That means...The target figure has to be in base contact with the levitator at the start of the turn; it does not need to be in base contact with the levitator at the time of the levitation. Therefore...If I have four guys touching a battering ram or the like and four actions available, I can toss it 40" around the board! (Considering the play area is 36" by 36", that opens the whole thing up. or if I want to get tricky...I can send it out up to 20", put it in base contact with an enemy, and reel him in like a yo-yo, back where he started at the beginning of the turn, to repeat the process again and again. Major artillery... that might serve well vs. his giant.
Ten New Wallace and Gromit Episodes are coming! As is the Day of the dead.
This big German boy made little pizzas in a Japanese toaster oven on English muffins, and used jalapenos and Mexican seasoning for din din tonight... There's a multicultural dish for you! Makes up for the blah-ness of my lunch. I'm also having a killian's red... I think that this is the first beer in the new apartment. Only one, however. If I need more to drink after finishing it, I'll have water.
Dan's a go for calling in sick a week from Friday... good. We'll get to goof off, post-Halloween. He's got blood sugar troubles, and his wife has other dietary issues...so I claim his candy in the name of Yetis everywhere! (If he gets any.)
Nifty proggie - Get an inventory of both your computer hardware and software. Lists virtually everything you may need to know about your machine. Go here and click on the free download.
10/22
CNN has a weird news section now. Pretty, because they have higher production values than Reuter's "Oddly Enough" which is my other fun wacky news source.Playing with the eviltron Rubik’s cube,while my hair dries from the shower. I really like the astronauts. I still have a tiny keychain cube around here somewhere, too. Rubik’s too calm and placid? Go run over pedestrians, then. Especially with the groovy soundtrack it has. My best score there to date is 105 little dead German senior citizens.
Also see bookworm... scrabble meets bejeweled. if it becomes available for the palm, I'm in trouble.
The moon was beautiful last night, as was the quiet chirping of crickets in accompaniment. my thoughts were pleasant as I drifted off to sleep, thinking of her nestled close... a peaceful, blissful time to be sure. Awake and in the daylight now, some overflow remains...I'm going to keep and hold that seed of calm, and mentally try to get it to bloom over me today. Things at work have been a little pesky lately, and I carry thoughts of her as a touchstone to keep me happy and tranquil. I want to give her cow tales, hold her in my arms, and tell her how much I love her.
Work has begun on my second variation of my beloved in miniature... still in the planning stages. I wonder if cellophane will work as the more transparent aspects of the new costume? This one may take a while to develop properly.
Had a moment of stupidity yesterday, but I think that I've successfully squelched it. it hasn't reared it's ugly head today, much to my relief
There’s some sort of flu-bug going around work, making folks icky-sicky here and there. It’s tagged Island Boy, Chupa, Kev and I'm not sure who else. My eyes were burning a little yesterday, but that seems to have faded. I'll be happy if it bypasses the rest of the gang... a few people going on vacation in the next week or two... (Myself included) they don't need boogie-snots to mess it up.
Sappho and Riker are taking off for a week-ish on Friday Going to spend Halloween at the campground on the peace river. I bet that'll be a hoot. Simple Home-Made remedy That is Free from Opiates and Harmful Drugs.
An effective remedy that will usually break up a cold in twenty-four hours, is easily made by mixing together in a large bottle two ounces of Glycerine, a half-ounce of Virgin Oil of Pine compound pure and eight ounces of pure Whisky. This mixture will cure any cough that is curable, and is not expensive as it makes enough to last the average family an entire year. Virgin Oil of Pine compound pure is prepared only in the laboratories of the Leach Chemical Co., Cincinnati, O.- Minnetonka Record, January 28, 1910
My goal today is to see at least three people smiling.
People only seem to ever remember Nietzsche's "That which does not kill me" quote. Here's one of his which I like a lot more:
"I would believe in a god who could dance. And when I saw my devil I found him serious, thorough, profound, and solemn: it was the spirit of gravity - through him all things fall. Not by wrath does one kill but by laughter. Come; let us kill the spirit of gravity! I have learned to walk: ever since, I let myself run. I have learned to fly: ever since, I do not want to be pushed before moving along. Now I am light, now I fly, now I see myself beneath myself, now a god dances through me."Good news... We're switching insurance companies at last...and the dental is staying as is. I got a refund on my aflack I discontinued the service, but they never stopped pulling it from my paycheck. All better now! Posted an update to the automatic writing thing in the original entry... I heartily recommend anyone being a member there leave before the association is made. (well, perhaps that's too harsh. I just think that the moderator there is a bee-itch.)
Picture of my bike on the front of the route 60
The Route 60... travels north up Andrews to where I work. Picture taken at the central Terminal. I had to buy my monthly pass today, and I got my quota of smiles there. That reminds me, time to synch the palm.Ok, the new palm client isn't so hot... revised update here.
three smiles before I even made it into work.
one - a older spanish couple talking and joking about someone's brother... (that's all I could make out.. my Spanish is spotty at best) broad, smiles and laughter.
two - A 20-something guy that just made it to the bus as it was getting ready to pull away.
three - a little boy looked at me and I waved... he smiled and waved back, with great enthusiasm. I really dig that. Future looks friendly!
actually, #1 could count as two, but it's an informal tally. Made my day. I think I'm going to go on a smile photo-safari soon.
oh, Newt's being cute, and since the webcam is being fritzy, I took some digipix instead. It's been a span since I've put any up, so I think four is acceptable. I really enjoy looking at the patterns in his fur...I think that it's close enough that I could make an animated icon, possibly.
10/21
Yup... my g: drive is just about toast. It keeps saying that it's been removed. It could be the cable, but I doubt it as the machine hasn’t been moved very much. Next time it comes back up, I'm mirroring it over to f... I hope that it snaps back long enough to do so. Fortunately, I've only been using it primarily for just kazaa and temporary games.The G: was the last remaining part from Astley's old "gray market" machine, short of the case. It was only a matter of time. I'll replace it with a bigger HD as a self-gift this coming holiday.
Poor Dave is banned from getting any more toy soldiers to play mage knight with me, at least for the time being...which I think is fine. We both have more than enough pieces to play a big honking battle, plus we’ve been trading amongst ourselves to our mutual benefit. (I'm not planning on getting any more myself, unless something really amazing comes out in the next expansion... like pirate ships or something.)
Little knot on my skull seems to be ok... sore to the touch, but the swelling has gone mostly down, and I don't notice it unless I run a finger over it.
I've discovered that whenever ER is on, it's always about the abandoned little Russian girl. I can't say that I've ever seen any other episode, though I've run over this one about five times.
The Accexpo is coming soon...I thought it was thanksgiving weekend, but it looks like it's the weekend before now. It looks like they need volunteers.. maybe I'll take on a shift for free tickets. Security or door monitor is easy work, and you get some lovely perqs... free t-shirt and all. The gaming schedule has very little listed...the Marvel heroclix and mage knight head to head looks like the only things there that tickle my fancy, thus far.
idea swiped wholesale from Christine ...a good one, because I've been feeling a bit dark lately. I'm feeling lighter now.
Things about this day that gladdens the heart -
- Waking up slowly & feeling the world around me start to begin to live
- Hot shower
- Email from my sweetheart/ my hearing her voice in my mind as a result
- Popcorn scent
- Sounds of Newt licking a fresh ice cube
- Work Clothes coming off at the end of the day
- Nag champa smoke ribbons
- Cheddar Corn-curls
10/20
Little known Movie factoid - In the short story that 2001: A space odyssey was based on, the Monoliths were crystal pyramids.Little known Scotto factoid - I like a lot of science fiction, but feel that 2001 is basically plotless and highly overrated. It's easy to assign a great depth of meaning to places there are none. I like to find shapes in clouds, too...that doesn't mean that there really is a horsie sliding down the back of George Washington's head.
Back from the bike ride...took a few piccies, but nothing worth saving...nice to get out of the house for a little while. I guess the boat show's coming soon...all the richie-riches will be in town with the yachts and such. I wonder if it'd be cool to swing by the Las Olas marina for kids to go trick or treating? With those guys, you'll probably get the *good* stuff.
Newton's Kitten ratings are doing well..
- Starchild - 8.10 (95 votes) (the 2001 mention earlier reminded me to check his stats)
- laying on back - 9.57 (86 votes)
- After his bottle feed - 7.00 (60 votes)
- first day at work...one of my faves - 8.27 (94 votes)
- face shot... looks so sad! - 8.00 (76 votes)
Raining out now... came from out of nowhere. Good nappy-nap weather... go watch we come in peace cartoons, while I gaze lovingly at my sweetie and snuggle with Newt.
Bonked my head on a branch outside, earlier. A mild bump formed, but nothing terrible.
My machine's being downright pesky... giving it a healthy defrag and diagnostic... hopefully that'll fix what's wrong. Lost the HD for a bit.
it's still pretty chunky, but it's still limping along reasonably well...just a stick and stop sort of thing.
Who wants to be the leather guy for halloween! *snort*
10/19
From earlier this year, dream of Newt at a graveyard, breaking a skellie...
I'm going to hop into my amazing x-5 nitro-burning dyna-plunge® crust-crawler sedan, made in Austria (probably by hopping gnomes), designed for burrowing lithely through the earth and into dreamland, with my sweetie by my side. (I saw an ad for it in the back of Hammerhead Comics, right next to the one for X-ray specs:"Look at your friend's head. Is that really the throbbing brain within?") Hee-hee! After working all summer at the state fair's pony-ride concession, I sent away, and six to eight weeks later, Hoo-Boy!
Off to dream Leopard-spotted dreams of comfort and rest.
I've been described as "A huge, hulking creature, with thick drool gurgling through tremendous pearly white fangs...a thick, bristly hide of poisonous quills and razor-sharp, rotating spines, exhaling a noxious, flammable gas from dripping nostrils, and can fire a concentrated energy beam from squinky, red eyeballs."
I don't have rotating dorsal spines and electrical ray-gun eyeballs. I am kind of husky though, and the nose drip and eye redness is only when I hit something I'm allergic to. The Noxious, flammable gas doesn't come from my nose, and that's only when I have a lot of broccoli.
Dave is a go for Lost realms this morning. That's good! Hitchhiking is dangerous... too dangerous. Cannibals, you know.
Newt's a sweetie... i ran out of soft treats to give him, and instead just poured a few kibs into my palm for him to have. He ate them just as greedily. I think he just likes being hand-fed by his mamma.
Received a wrong number phone call this morning... I've had them call before. A 6:15 call wasn't what I was wanting to start the day with, but it got me up and moving. I'm off to the quest... until later, dear journal!
Ok... I have Zombies... the game is great. Very simple to play, turns go quickly, and it's something right out of any classic zombie movie. The figures are the same size as army men (or mage knight, sans bases) and now I have many many little glow in the dark undead shamblers. As an added rule, I think I might make the glowies a little tougher to beat than the nons.
Total count... 100 regular gray zombies, 106 glowies. (Zombies2 expansion came with six glowies... and more goodies too... I've not tried the expansion out yet), Very nice artwork and the pawns (figures? sculpts? whatever. the little men) are very nice... the only disappointment is that all the zombies have the same pose. Limping along, one arm outstretched...stomach has fallen out, and you can see the spinal column through the middle. Oh, heck, lemme take a picture. There, I slapped it on the left. Newt's already fond of batting them around... but he still prefers the twist ties. Good thing, too. I have a way of distracting him from hopping on the table, and making off with play pieces.
An additional upside of this is that now if I'd like to make a night of the living dead, I can use my custom figures of myself and my sweetie to fend off literally *hundreds* of incoming zombies. In addition, the customs are the right size to use as personal markers in the game. (Or any game really... it'd work for monopoly / candyland or whatnot too...) I can add my mage knight zombies for some variety in poses, too..
I also picked up some artillery, speaking of mage knight. I got a pack of cannons, a stone thrower, and ballista. That should make things a mite more interesting on the field, next combat with ol' Dave. I'm thinking about painting a few of them, too... just to mix it up, and add some detail... maybe in just all black / white / gray paints, though, to keep it in theme...
In other news, I have all the ingrediants to make that tasty stir fry for supper, now. I may cheat and make it for lunch. :) Also, my clicker rings finally came in the mail today!
Holy moley. The demo for no one lives forever 2 is better than the first game... and the first game was outstanding. Much improved graphics, the interface is far better, and a lot more options. The water effects and textures are insanely good. Lots of variety, too… fun hunter-killer missions, and excellent stealth ones. I think the AI's gotten smarter, too. My favorite new feature: you can pick up bodies and move them, so that they're not discovered as soon. It's going on my Christmas list for Kev. (And maybe he'll get me a copy!) It's really the best first person shooter I've played... since NOLF#1. Taking on Ninjas in a trailer park, while a tornado's coming is just keen.
I'm looking forward to playing it multiplayer, too... neat opportunities.
Discovered that the only email I seem to get from Bigfoot is spam, anyway. Let it bounce, I say.
I feel that the resized version actually helps the tombstone out... smoothes it more comfortably, and kills the jaggies.
Reflecting on the little service tunnels in the Boynton Beach mall. when they were building it, my brother and I would run around in there, and I played lazer tag (that spelling always bugged me... it's LASER! Acronym! Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation! Like SCUBA, or NASA) in them with my buddies at the time. The perfect place to run and hide was underneath the escalators being built... reminds me...when I was a child, I remember having nightmares about escalators. They were in department stores, so underneath them, bathed in the green light, lived the mannequins. Where else would they live when they weren't wearing clothes? a whole nation of subterranean naked mannequins...maybe it's just me, but it's still sort of scary.
I just looked at the mall food directory... the Taco Viva (yikes... whose nephew did they get to do the homepage?) I first worked at is gone. Fun times in the giant freezer, with rubber gloves full of frozen "el scorcho" sauce, set up to look like a lopped off arm... the mop dipped in hot water, and then slapped against the roof, freezing it there. I wonder which place replaced it? I didn't know that Taco Viva, like Burger King and Miami Subs got its start in South Florida... I wonder if it's just a local phenomenon? Weird... the first Taco Viva that ever opened was launched exactly a year and a day before I was born. I still remember the horrible Clint Eastwood "Mirage" commercials of folks lost in the desert, only to find a Viva oasis... (MM! over salted, spicy food when you've been trapped in thirsty heat!) When the person said "MmmM! Great taco, it all evaporated, because "he didn't say viva..." "When you say taco, say viva" was the tagline. This is what the viva looked like, to a degree. A 3-d drawing of the old place... very strange seeing it like that, something like 17 years later. Thing is, they have far better food than Taco Bell... fresher, better portions, and serve beer with the meal in the food court. When I gamed with the Colinas, it was a regular mall staple. (Though they eventually turned me on to the much cheaper bell )Now I wonder if there are any Perkins or Lums left. (After research, Perkins, big yes, Lums... mehbeh.)
Anyhow, running around the mall after hours, whooping loudly, and laughing with the big security guard guy... what was his name? PJ? Something like that. I can't remember but he was a nice guy, though sort of creepy because he was 30ish and seemed immature to us 16-year-old guys. A giant empty mall is the best place to play lazer tag, ever. Especially if you have two teams of about six people each.
Parting Quote from Norville "Shaggy" Rogers -
Hey, lady! Like, I thought this was America? I don't want to live in a country where four hippies and a talking dog can't have the freedom to catch fake ghosts with the occasional help of Phyllis Diller or the Harlem Globetrotters! That's my America! And while you may not agree with my opinion, you're not gonna change it!
10/17
Rather cool out this morning.... quite nice, really. Tomorrow, I'm going to remember the GPS, and measure my downhill speed over the drawbridge. I suspect that I'm hitting 25ish mph there. (But I could be vastly overestimating) Note to big-breasted women with too-small bras... the "split-boobie foursome" look isn't good. Find a top that fits, please. I worry that a too-tight brassiere is cutting off circulation, or is painful in some way.This weekend I'm swinging by PPF to pick up a bag of 100 glow in the dark zombies, and the Zombies!!! game... a friend there is giving me an employee discount, where he's throwing in the extra zombie-bag for free! I've got to make a point to send a few zombies to friends and family.
Some maintenance guys doing yard work out back... Newt's fascinated. It's impressive to me that he's not frightened of the noise. I think that if he got near a blower, he'd take off, though.
Spiky, sporadic dreams last night... I don't remember them too well, because I neglected to commit them to memory right as I woke. I do remember that they were pleasant for the most part, but some adrenaline in there, too.
What Element Are You?
brought to you by QuizillaErica came by tonight with Bailey, so that he and Dexter could run around and play, while she caught us up on what's new in her life... work/school/dance pretty much. She mentioned that she's looking for an after-hours job...I don't know how she can handle that sort of workload... you'd think that she'd like four free hours a week to rest and recover. I suspect that she's tight for money right now, though.
What Weird Quote Are You?
brought to you by QuizillaMy sweetheart's going out Saturday night... What to do with myself while she's hanging with her squad? I think I'll play video games with the bro, or teach him the Zombies game.... sakes, Payday's going to be welcome... a few unexpected expenditures this last month or so, and it'll be nice to replace those funds.
There’s a LiveJournal Meetup at the starbucks right up the street from me...but I'm not going, I'll be at work, I don't know any of them, and it seems to be a younger crowd than I'm used to. (16-year-old Goth girls, generally...I think I'm better off)
A bit of history -
Hat Pins are Really Menacing by Alton E. Gasso.I was a passenger on a Chicago South Side elevated train the other evening and was standing in the aisle holding a strap when a young woman approached and in the crowd tore my face with her hat pin as she passed. I was very fortunate that my eye was not seriously injured.
Had she been a little taller or had I been shorter such an injury would have resulted. The pin projected fully two or three inches over the side of her hat.
It seems almost incredible that in a civilized community women will wear such dangerous weapons in their hats.
If they must wear them, why not have the sharp projecting ends protected by some kind of shield?
Would it not be a good thing for the city fathers to take notice of this pestiferous and dangerous menace to life and limb?
The writer is not actuated by any desire to be frivolous, but as a victim of that hat pin he would be glad to save some other person from a like injury.
-Minnetonka Record, February 4, 1910
Made a zombie icon, but he needs tweaking... he works well as an army, though...
![[ prepare to bow before my invincible irony and sarcasm] Super Sarcasmo! You're the one with all the witty wisecracks. We bow before you. Really, we do.](http://images.quizilla.com/1034168888_esirny_sar.gif){kind=small}
10/16
Edgar Allen Poe story... Hop-Frog... men dressed in orangutan outfits set on fire, the perils of drinking wine, and why you shouldn't piss off a dwarf, even if you are a king.Mmm.... Mexican sugar skulls.
I lost a game of world war to the palmtop...Mongolia finished my last landmasses in Asia. Before I knew what I was saying, I muttered "F-ing MON-GO-REE-ANS!". I need a great wall to keep 'em out.
I've seen no sign of Oktoberfest anywhere. I missed it! German-American Club (warning, tacky embedded wav), you're slacking with the advertising. I want a hot pretzel with mustard, and a beer! I guess I'll have to enjoy Bavarian music and chicken dancing in the privacy of my own home.
Looks like a rainy day today... I'm all for that... I just hope it doesn't make me too sleepy!
Is Thomas a Rhymer? A Peeper? A Doubter? A Tank Engine?
Hmm. Now the Netscape hosted images are temporarily broken, and live journal’s servers are bumpy. Bigfoot email is grousing at me that I get more than 25 emails through there a day now...we'll have to see what's up with that.
sasparilla...a lovely herb.
General - stemless perennial; a single leaf (up to 50 cm high) rises above the short flower stalk, both produced from a stout woody rhizome.Leaves - a single, long-stalked compound, basal leaf divided into 3 groups of 3-5 leaflets; leaflets elongated lance- to egg-shaped, finely toothed on the margins.
Flowers - numerous, in 2 - 7 (usually 3) umbrella or ball-shaped clusters on top of a leafless stalk; individual flowers very small, with 5 greenish-white petals; naked, flowering stems hidden under leaf; appearing early summer.
Fruit - berries, nearly black when ripe, in a cluster; edible but not palatable; ripening mid-summer.
Habitat- Common; occurring across a broad range of forest habitats and soil/site conditions, especially in dry to moist hardwoods and mixed-woods, less often in coniferous forests and on moist/wet sites.
Notes: The rhizome was used by North American Indians both for medicine and as food. European settlers made wine from the berries and a form of root beer was made from the rhizome. In the 1800's, sarsaparilla was popular as a spring tonic.
Height: 24-36 in. (60-90 cm) Hardly a tree, methinks!
Bloom Color: Pale Green / White
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Early Summer
Herbal Usage - Hormonal precursor which is used to increase energy, protect against harm from radiation exposure, regulate hormones, and it also contains diuretic properties.. Useful for frigidity, hives, impotence, infertility, nervous system disorders, premenstrual syndrome, and disorders caused by blood impurities.
Not to be confused with -
Menispermum canadense - Common Names: Moonseed, Canada Moonseed, Texas Sasparilla, Yellow SasparillaDescription: Woody twining vine grows to 12 feet. Large broad leaves are 8 inches long and slightly lobed. Grape-like fruit in clusters and is bluish black with a crescent-shaped pit. May be confused with wild grape.
Toxic Part: Fruit.
Symptoms: Convulsions.
Now then... my favorite application of the good kind... Though I've never brewed my own.
OLD-TIME ROOT BEER
These recipes are from a very brittle New England Housekeeper Cookbook, published 1894. It would require great dedication to embark (pun intended) on making either of them. In any case, they're fun to read.
ROOT BEER
1 small handful bloodroot
1 small handful prickly ash bark
8 large handfuls spikenard root
8 large handfuls sasparilla
1 handful hops
2 handfuls cherry bark
2 handfuls popple bark
4 handfuls burdock root
4 handfuls dandelion root
1 cup yeast
Sugar to tasteWash roots and barks thoroughly, and cover with water in a large kettle. Boil slowly until their strength is extracted. Strain, dilute and sweeten to taste; when cool add yeast and let stand 24 hours. Bottle or cork tightly in large stone jugs. If spruce twigs or wintergreen can be obtained, use them also, for they will improve the beer.
OLD-TIME ROOT BEER ("old-time" by 1894 standards!)
1 part black birch bark
1 part wintergreen, leaves and stems
1/2 the quantity of spruce twigs
1/4 the quantity of Prince's pine
1 small root fennel
6 gallons waterPour the cold water over the herbs and roots, bring to the boiling point, and boil till the strength is extracted. Strain, and if there is too strong a flavor, dilute with water. Add 1 pound of sugar to every gallon of the mixture, and 1 cup of yeast, while lukewarm. It should stand 24 hours and be stirred frequently. At the end of this time, bottle or pour into a small keg. This makes a refreshing and wholesome summer drink.
Newton the insane was rowdily running around, leaping from the laundry bin and out like an obstacle course. I went to take a piccie of him, and he made a dash for the bookcase... I caught him hanging out on the middle shelf, ducked down in pounce mode, then stretched up, and took great interest in the copy of Nightmare of Ecstasy... quite a fun read., and a real glimpse at the man.
The Killing of the Cooley FamilyPLUS:
Fort Lauderdale's first industry: How to prepare coontie starch
"Cooley was reported to be growing coontie (arrowroot), and he had a mill to make it into starch, the manufacture of which appears to have been the area's first industry. By 1835, coontie starch was bringing eight cents a pound in northern markets."The following text is exactly as it appears in the original:
FROM THE CHARLESTON COURIER
SKETCHES OF THE PENINSULA OF FLORIDA -- By Dr. Strobel.
When about half way between New river and the Miami, our water suddenly shoaled, and we were under the necessity of getting out, and dragging our canoe over. This place is called by the people the Dividers, the water south of it running towards the Miami, whilst that on the north empties itself at New river. It appeared to be nothing more than a sand bank running from east to west
As we approached New river, the land upon our right consisted of the same sandy pine barren as I have already described. The Indian arrow root, called coonte, is found here is great quantities. We landed, and collected several roots, which were very large, weighing several pounds. This is the Indian's principal bread stuff. It is met with in most of the pine barrens in this section of Florida, but it grows in such profusion in this neighborhood, that they come from considerable distances to procure it. Mr. Cooley (whose wife and children were so inhumanly murdered by the Indians a short time since) was engaged in the manufacture of this article, and had brought it to great perfection. The following is the manner of preparing it: A sufficient number of roots being collected, they are peeled, washed, and grated, in the same manner as potatoes, and thrown into large tubs of water. After remaining in soak for a certain length of time, the water is stirred and strained: by this process it is greed of the feculent matter. The coarser portion, thus separated, may be given to hogs, whilst the finer portion, which passes through the sieve, is allowed to settle. The farina, which is almost insoluble in cold water, subsides at the bottom. The water is drawn off, and the yellow portions which remain on the top are removed. The white arrow root, which from its specific gravity, is found at the bottom, is collected, and repeatedly heated with fresh water, until it becomes perfectly pure and white, of a granular, glistening, crystalline appearance. I am inclined to think that , when thus prepared, it is very nearly, if not quite equal, to the Bermuda arrow root, not only as a starch, but also as an article of diet. And here I may as well mention the circumstances attending the murder of Mr. Cooley's family, as they are calculated to illustrate the treachery of the Indian character. He had resided among them for many years, spoke their language well, and treated them with uniform kindness and hospitality. Indeed, such was his friendship for them that he named his sons after two of their chiefs. Standing in this relations, and confiding in their profession of friendship, which had led him into a fatal security, he left his home for a few days, and returned to find it desolate. His wife and children had been murdered, and the smouldering ruins of his house lay before him. It is a remarkable fact, that the villains who did this deed had not the hardihood to scalp the poor wife and her three innocent children. Was it the recollection of former friendship that induced them thus to spare? Or were they conscious that their own savage colleagues would have blushed for the chivalry of those warriors who could find no work more becoming their tomahawks and scalping knives than the cruel butchery of women and children? The unfortunate schoolmaster shared a different fate; to him they owned no obligation of friendship: he was a man, and, as such, capable of resistance; his scalp was, therefore, torn from him, and borne off as a testimony of their cruel and savage triumph.
It should be borne in mind that, in their devastation of his other property, Mr. Cooley's manufactory was spared. This, no doubt, will be serviceable to them hereafter, in preparing their food. I have no pretensions of being a military man, but it appears to me that it would be well to place a sufficient body of troops between Cape Sable and New river, to cut off the supplies of the Indians from that quarter, and to prevent them from escaping into the everglades, from whence they may readily pass to the Florida Keys. If they once cut down into the everglades, they will scatter like a covey of partridges, and each one will have to be hunted up separately, which will be an interminable task.
Towards night we came up with several Indian hunters, who were lying around their fire. We went ashore, with the determination of joining them. On our approach, a dog sprung out, and uttered a noise between a yell and a bark, which echoed and re-echoes through the woods. In an instant the Indians were on their feet; but a whoop from JOHN soon brought them down upon their haunches. We went up and seated ourselves around the fire
They at first seemed to take no notice of me, as they sat on the opposite side of the fire, their dusky faces partly obscured by the current of smoke. Occasionally they eyed me sulkily and by stealth. A few words, chiefly monosyllables, passed between them and JOHN, but they did not enter into any length conversation. A silence of some minutes having elapsed, which induced me to believe that I was not a welcome guest, I concluded that something must be done to conciliate. I therefore told John to inform them that I had something to eat, and some fire-water, and that we must be good friends. This information acted upon them like a charm. They began to snuff the air like a parcel of hungry dogs, become more sociable and conciliatory, brought out some fresh venison, which they placed over the coals to broil, having first run a stick through it. To keep my word, I produced my cold ham, and biscuit, and gave each (they were in number three) about a gill of gin; the instantaneous effect of which astonished and alarmed me. It was almost miraculous: from being silent and demure, they became talkative and forward. They insisted upon having more whiskey, and endeavored to possess themselves of the bottle by force, and I was obliged to conceal it. They were now unable to repress their flow of spirits, and began to sing, and dance, and to make the more horrid faces, thrusting their tongues out of their mouths, and rolling their eyes in every direction. As they reeled, and danced, and yelled around the fire, throwing themselves into the most ludicrous attitudes, they resembled a parcel of infernal spirits, or the furies. This sport they continued until perfectly exhausted, when, one by one, they sank upon the ground, and fell into a sleep. I place my buffalo skin on the opposite side of the fire, covered my head with a cloak, and slept soundly until morning. The Indians were up betimes; they rose from their lairs, shook themselves, kindled up the fire, and ate a scanty meal. Upon the subsidence of the effect of the liquor, all their former reserve seemed to have returned. Having collected some coonte, they placed it along with their venison in their canoe, paddled rapidly up the everglades, and were soon out of sight. It being now time for me to think of returning, John and myself took the opposite direction, and paddled back for Cape Florida, and, as we had nothing to delay us, arrived at the Cape about 3 o'clock in the afternoon: there, according to agreement, I found Mr. Dubose's boat in waiting for me. So that I was enabled to reach the Light-house about six o'clock in the evening.
10/15
This is what I'm going to make for supper this weekend (after I get the ingredients)
Szechuan Spiced TofuVary the hotness of this dish by adjusting the amount of chili paste. As with all stir-fries, have all the ingredients measured, chopped, and ready before beginning to cook.
Heat in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat:
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
Add:
- 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add:
- One 8-ounce can flower-cut baby corn, drained
- 4 cups ½-inch-thick slices bok choy
- ½ small onion, sliced
Stir-fry until the bok choy is slightly wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Combine and stir in:
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock
- 2 tablespoons light or dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon black bean sauce or black bean paste
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns, lightly cracked if desired
Boil, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in:
- One 10½-ounce package extra-firm tofu, pressed if desired, and cubed
Heat through for 2 to 3 minutes. Arrange on a serving platter:
- One 12-ounce package Chinese-style egg noodles, cooked
Spoon the tofu mixture over the noodles and garnish with:
- ¼ cup shredded peeled carrots
- 2 tablespoons sliced scallions
I go to work at noon tomorrow! I bet it'll be nice to be back on Scotto-schedule. Hopping in the bath for a few. until later, dear journal!
A day late... I forgot to synch my palm yesterday.More of my best wishes, Chris!!! XOXOXO
And a few Halloweenies visiting the party
10/14
Back home from work... network was extra bonus fubarred today, plus the profiles were all rewritten again. I hope that this is the last time... Poor Sappho came in early and was still harried by the general populace to "fixitfixitfixit". I left her alone today, as I had plenty of work to do myself.... Island Boy's work isn't hard, but it's certainly an addition to my current load. I'll be happier once I can return to my own projects and concerns.Going to make some english muffin pizzas for supper... easy and quick, plus, they're tasty!
I hope everyone had a nice birthday / unbirthday / indigenous people's day / Chinese discovery day / Leif Erickson Day / Columbus Day / Thanksgiving / Monday Mine was good, but busy. I barely tasted lunch, and I ate it at about 3:30. My Senses narrow when I'm focusing...a degree of tunnel vision.
Newt's certainly delighted that I'm home! He’s all nuzzy and purry. :)
According to the GPS... When I'm at "casual touring" speed, I bike at ~8.5 mph. when I'm in boogie-crank mode, I go at ~14.4... not much different... but I go about 4x my walking speed on wheels.
Know what? I'm glad they've never made a "Beetlejuice II" movie, Though I quite like the movie and Spun off Cartoon.
Hmm... Found a fun little time-sucker called I Used To Believe.com. It's a collection of all those childhood ideas we once thought were true. You can add your own. :) Looks like a lot of kids had boogie men in the potty.
Random Scotto Factoid - Something I believed as a child... right around 4th grade or so. I formed a theory on how we die... we're born with an exactly even balance of fortune... when the doctor smacks us into life. That’s a little bad luck to get us rolling... after that, good and bad stuff come in spurts, and we die when it's exactly even again. I tried to figure out what some balances were...losing your last pocket change in a soda machine balances vs. finding $.50 on the ground... the trick would be to find $.51... then you're ahead. The pendulum goes back and forth like that until the debt / credit balance is returned to zero. I no longer believe it, but still think it's a pretty nifty idea.
A point of interest for my sweetheart.... A new study suggests people with naturally red hair need about 20 percent more anesthesia than patients with other hair colors.
Dan and I were just talking on the phone, and composed a lovely entry into the moon pie contest.
Our collaboration was limited to only 100 words per entry, though... so our story had to cut out Rufus the albino green-eyed Asian boy, and his eventual end at the home for the incontinent and criminally insane after blessing the flotilla feast. Also Cut was Barney, and his forest-splitting staccato flatulence. I'll have to add them to a different, future entry.
It was a lot of fun though... we broke into laughter a few times.
They nestled safetly on top of Scott's backpack in the center of our boyscout canoe. We entered a calm, broad stretch of river. Dan decided this would be the perfect place for a moonpie feast.We tied our canoes together, forming a flotila. Hank did the blessing. Then we ate.
Those were the best-tasting, moon-piesiest moon pies ever.
Maybe it was our long journey that made them taste so good.
Or perhaps it was knowing there were no parents within forty miles.One day our sons will canoe down that river, and celebrate life with a moon pie river feast.
10/13
Still awake... couldn't sleep...restless. So I've tried a hot bath. After I dry more, I'll hit the sack again.Something weird about feeling the bathtub drain, and having gravity return to full.
It's very comforting to have Newt follow me from bedroom to bath, with nary a complaint. He hangs out while I talk to him about the day's events, or make up little stories for him, as he bats at my fingertips or mouth.
Brown is Green. A dung-fueled power station in the UK has won an environmental award from the Euro Solar educational charity. The £7M plant produces power for the national grid, and is capable of generating 1.4 megawatts of power at full tilt. Located in Devon, it runs on approximately 1.6 million tons of waste produced by local farmers. Apparently, this trend is pretty big in Germany and Denmark: both countries already have about 20 large-scale poo-poo-powered plants.
The First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra uses vegetable-based instruments to perform classical compositions (listen). Where necessary, additional kitchen utensils such as knives or mixers are employed.
Ok. Dry now. Night night.
An insanely cute collection of costumes for babies.... speaking of which, Mayah was in good form last night... she can push Cathi on the little kid scooter by putting weight into her toddles. Pretty good for a munchkin under a year old! Supper last night was veggie burger, salad and brownies for dessert. I fell asleep just about 5ish am, I estimate... and woke at about 9. I'll probably take a midday nap to crank my juice back up a little. My sleep was a sound one... of the sort where it was an eye blink, and four hours had gone by. Took Luna and the baby for a walk, before dessert... Jack the evil dog was out there. I got to use my sonic boom authority voice on him.. "*GO HOME*"... he went to his yard and barked from there, after a few stern yells. I wonder where his owners were?
Went for a little bike ride with the bro this morn, and checked out a local yard sale. a couple of good items... a nice pup tent, bed rolls, an ancient laptop, lots of unusual tools... hatchet, crowbar, pickaxe... and a couple of books all looked good, but I abstained on all but two tomes... Chronicles of Robin Hood, and Great American Ghost Stories. I rather like yard sales, just because you get to look at all the loot... form a mental snapshot of the person selling the stuff. Did they get a new tent? Did the family member that liked to camp pass away? Was this stuff found left behind in the house?
I'd like to have psychometry. As long as I could turn it on or off at will. The last thing I need is to get readings off of my clothes and sheets' last trip in the washing machine, let alone the scene of a violent crime or other off-putting act.
The history channel's doing a documentary on Bigfoot and Other Monsters -
The mermaid, Abominable Snowman, giant squid, and dragons are all parts of myths and mysteries. But are some real? The Komodo Dragon was merely the stuff of local legend--until the dinosaur-like, very real giant reptile with an orange tongue and a fierce disposition was tracked down. Giant squids, measuring as long as 100 feet, have been found to really exist. We'll explore every possible explanation for these and other legendary creatures and find out if some might really exist. TV GCurrent Flavor - Chupacabra!... a personal fave.ok... this laser printer paper for temporary tattoos is very cool. Not for inkjet printers.
Oh, the things you could do...
10/12
Okie dokie... got up at 8:30 and got my primary chores done. Laundry, bathroom and kitchen are clean. I can take the rest of the day slow and easy.I plan on chilling out most of the day... no thoughts of work past this one typed line. Newt's behaving well... staying close and snuggly. He was digging the hanging "spider web" yarn earlier... I think he tuckered himself out batting and tugging earlier.
Dave just called, and invited me over for dinner and some mage knight. I think I'll take him up on that... It'll be fun to play a little toy soldiers over veggie burgers and chicken... see the baby and Cathi, too. I think I'll play orcs & trolls this go 'round... and maybe we'll set up a 500 point game, just to see how things work on the seige level
Latest wacky cat animation... Elbow - Independent Woman Play that Xylophone, Newt!!
pointed me to the link to that one. Dad-gum it! Monday is Columbus Day... no postal delivery... fricka-fracka! Hmm.. some shipped on 10/9, and others shipped today....I wonder if at least batch 1 will make it there today?
10/11
pb&j otter on TV this morning... I'm singing the Noodle dance to Newt as I dress for work.New-new-new-newt-oh! the Newt-o dance!
I saw Ray (not Colina, but Gaming Locksmith Ray) on the way to work this morning. I smiled and waved, after he caught my attention with his horn. (I was cycling to the terminal). He's looking pretty good. It's probably terrible of me to say this, but I'm glad that he's not married to Heather anymore. He surely deserves better than to have her in his life. I've got very little bad to say about Ray... he's a friendly goofus, who delights in a little creative storytelling now and then. I wonder if he and Rose are still going out? She seemed to be a good cohort for him.
Current fun toy... RISK clone for the palmtop... called "Worldwar" very addictive, and quite challenging. My skill is at me vs three medium, one hard opponent... I'll win about half the time. one more easy opponent thrown in as a wildcard will cause me to win more often, as I leave him to the sharks players.
Work was thick today... I managed to get through it, though Island boy didn't check his documentation as thoroughly as he might've before going on a trip. No sweat, I got through the roughest patch, but a couple hours of my time were wasted relearning and adjusting to how things worked, rather than how they were (or were not) written down.
Monday and Tuesday will be better, unless some other goofy curveball comes my way. I hope not. My poor sweetheart has been trapped in a work vortex lately too... I hope we both pull out of 'em soon!
I want a magic pebble to wash all of my clothes, and clean my apartment for me. I'm too shucky-darn tired to do it tonight and I'm not going to want to do it tomorrow, either. (but I will... gots to have the clean clothes.)
Also, sort of old, but worth putting in here...for posterity.
Latest custom...A quickie easy one after how tricky my sweetheart was.
Sort of hard to see Dan's signature black shoes, but I like how he came out. I think he'll be tweaked to have longer pants, though. More Danny's style. I'm glad he's got a grape knee-brace, instead of a blue one. blue'd be tough to contrast vs. jeans.
Ah, wonderful. A scalding hot shower makes everything feel all right. Everything clarifies... the nose clears, my eyes are open wider afterwards, and it's like some sort of thermal-energy transfer has recharged me. I think my shoulders are still steaming. Newton complained when I took him off of the windowsill, and waited in the sink for me to take care of the act of being clean. (He took the easy way out, and did the same with his sandpaper tongue on his paws as I dried off.
Onko has your best interests at heart - which, by extension, means your brains. Zombie Alert is guaranteed to warn of impending zombie attacks. The statistics Onko presents are frightening, but the company has a million-dollar guarantee on its products. Protect your family today, or just get a head start on them.
Dictionary of beekeeping terms, in four languages. Think of the global beekeeping troubles that this will cure! I think it's pretty cool that the Italian word for ant is formica. (I suppose that's from formic acid, and such... not the hi-tech countertop material) Also... I think "American foul brood" is a great name for a street gang, or a band.
10/10
Frightening dreams last night. Newton (as he was as a kitten... no more than three pounds, tops) was running around the house (not any one I've ever lived in) and there was some sort of party going on... lots of food being prepared. Newt's bouncing around, being generally nosy, and he touches an oven surface burner-coil with his paw. He's okay, so I sweep him up, take him to another room and make him stay there, because I don’t want a potentially dangerous repeat performance. Somehow or another, he gets out, goes back to the oven, and gets electrocuted...I don't know why, but he turns into a stack of steaming multicolored post-it notes. This doesn't seem absurd in the dream... I'm stricken with grief until I wake up, and Newt's there, snuggled close. Strange mixed feelings in that split second, of relief and confusion.... I feel good now, because I know he's safe, sound, and not an electrocuted stack of lightly-glued paper.Is it wrong of me to delight in a Zombie Abe Lincoln shredding the inside of his crypt... clawing his way free, in search of brains to devour? I bet my sweetie'd be quite adept at kicking zombie booty...The shotgun would take a zombie head right off. Minimum fuss.
Rustboy looks wonderful. I really dig low-budget cool-as-heck animation stuff like that.
The weather has become quite a bit cooler, overnight. Low of 73F... nice! Looks like my connection dropped at about 1am this morning. I hope my beloved remembered her jacket today!
Something I'd have done as a kid...(who am I kidding... or I'd do now) JC Penney is marketing a modified Barbie Dream House as a GI Joe "Forward Command Post." Little boys can play house, so long as the house in question is part of an overall street-by-street urban combat scenario. (from boing boing)
More doodles...
Random Scotto factoid - My Dad hung out with Marvelous Marvin Hagler, sparred with him frequently at the local YMCA, and got Doughnuts and Coffee in the morning at the nearby place that would eventually become a Mister Donut. Somewhere lost in time and space there are photos of Hagler and me together. I'm about a year old. (Side question... Why are all the freakin' Mister Donut Sites on google for the Japanese or Franchises?
Ah, I've found the solution.. in 1990.. Dunkin' Donuts acquired it. I still like the Mr. Donut face logo better.
Let's see, Marvin Hagler Hosted SNL, as did Kevin Bacon. So I'm two degrees. Anyone who knows me is three degrees removed.
Another random Scotto factoid - I don't know what the big whoop about Krispy Kreme is. They're neither fecal nor ambrosia to me. Just messy little doughnuts.
What 80's idol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
What Eyes Do You Have?
brought to you by QuizillaOh, man. I had a nightmare this morning about Newtie dying... and then read all about a bunch of humans and animals dying today. Three LJ entries, another person in Maryland shot...
I feel for anyone who loses a loved one or neighbor, regardless of how many legs they walk on. I had a giant taste of grief waking up this morning, and though it left quickly, it's a thing that's easily recalled.
I know that this sort of thing happens every day...but I don't think about it daily. Who could, and be sensitive and thoughtful about the whole thing?
I only hope that when those that I love depart, they go knowing that they're loved and will be remembered with good thoughts.
Tell someone that you care for how you feel today. Even if they know, I'm sure they won't mind being reminded. I tell my sweetheart, my brother and Newt that I love them as often as I can.
Ok, tomorrow through Tuesday, I do the 9-5 gig, covering for Dale. I had to today, too... because he had to swing by the school and pick up his son for medical reasons... I don't know how serious it is yet.
I'm going to be a busy little bee, doing my own gig and his, but it's certainly not breaking rocks at Leavenworth. It's good that we have redundant skill sets at work, or nobody could ever take a break.
I've finished part C of my sweetie's birthday present.... I think she'll like 'em.
Lazy Man supper tonight... junky comfort food. Irradiated bean and cheese burritos, with a gentle sprinkling of tobasco...just like the kind I ate back in college.
Hey,
! Moon Pies are 100 years old! To celebrate, they're having a Moon Pies memory contest, and the grand prize is a three day / 2 night trip to Chattanooga, TN, $1000 cash, and a tour of the factory...Heck, I'd just be happy to get a T-shirt. 100 words or less... maybe I'll enter a couple of times, with different memories. I wonder how fanciful we can get? "The Year was 1908, and this is how my Grandma said that she used moon pies to get women the vote." or maybe "I am Zarkon, a humble and simple time-traveler. My Memory of Moon Pies takes place four hundred years in your future, from which I have just arrived. Without your magnificent confection, the world would not exist as I know it."
10/9
Strange... for some reason, right at about 5am I lose my DSL connection. This is the second day in a row that it's happened. I wonder if there's some sort of burp, that's happening, or if it's just a coincidence... annoying to get up and see that my downloads stopped for a bit.Dan's not interested in playing heroclix the next time we get together (probably Halloween day, or the Day after)... he prefers that we go out somewhere. Works for me! He's been wanting to go someplace fun for a while, where he can decompress. Maybe it's time for another journey to Dave and Busters.
Very cool welding helmets. - link compliments of Dynagirl
I missed Bush's speech last night... I wonder how many rebuttals of whatever was said will come rushing into my box today? I've already gotten this one
Kelly and Lexie's voices are so cute! Her Meow is adorable...and you get to hear say "POOP!"
Guilty pleasure of the morning. I made myself PB&J for lunch today, early... and ate it for breakfast about 9am. (an hour later)
Well, I'm off to work. Adios, dear journal!
Another day gone by at work... more tech up, and only a little interference from the rubes. (It helps that Finn and Santie are out this week.) I work the Day shift on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday...Island Boy is off, doing sound work with his brother's company for Flaming Spear, and a few other venues. Upside... I get home early for the weekend. Downside...I may have to stay late, if the monkeys at Ramada are over slow and dimwitted.
very cool house blessing/ghostbusting
Zombie factoid of the day... Night of the living dead was originally rated X.
p.s. *STAY AWAY FROM THE 30th ANNIVERSARRY EDITION* get the millennium edition. Far superior.
10/8
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Entire book, online.If you've never read the book, it's a good deal more than a zombie with a flat top haircut and neck bolts. (Though I do like the misunderstood monster / mad scientist version, too).
The difference that shocked me the most as a kid, upon first reading it? No Igor.There's no castle on the hill.
No angry villagers to burn it down.
The old blind man played a guitar, not a violin.
The monster *saved* the little girl from drowning.... but did kill a few people in the course of the book.
The monster is very intelligent, thought has no control over his passions.
He learned language, and how to read. (to the point where he could absorb Milton's Paradise Lost and the like.)
A much better tale than Bram Stoker's Dracula., in my opinion.
With that, I approach my bed-chamber... for 'tis time to read from my New/old book.
Happy Dreams, Dear journal.
Disembodied this morning... Beautiful song on my winamp. Call me a fuddy-duddy if you want, but I really like Dean Martin. (As opposed to Sinatra, who I think is a little bit of a creep....though I really dig the movie The Manchurian Candidate.
Random movie factoid - The Manchurian Candidate was the Senator, running for president.
What Is Your True Aura Color?
brought to you by QuizillaI'm delighted that some of the new palmtops out there are $99. The Zire actually looks pretty darn cool. If they put a flash reader in it, I think it'd be the ideal. I prefer the square form factor to the m-series. When my visor goes belly-up (No signs of doing so yet, and I've had it for a couple of years now...) I know that the new one I get will have all the features I use now for very little cost.
I'm hoping with that they catch that guy with the gun in Maryland before he strikes again. I'm wishing that my loved ones in the area were able to stay in today, even though the chances of them being in any danger are quite small. Thing is that I don't like them in *any* danger... but there's no sense in borrowing trouble. Projecting good thoughts and love can only help matters.
Well, according to the gps, I walk 2.7 mph when walking my normal pace, or 3.3 if I'm doing a brisk walk. Not much of a difference.
Lovely shower...comfy, and soothing after the walk home.
I'm going to have a little early recumbence. Nighters, dear journal.
10/7
hmm... brother got a GPS from a shady character he knows for $20. (I really think that it's $20 he should've saved for other things, but the gizmo is neat.)I'm going to set it up for him... put some rechargeable batteries in there, set up some maps. looks like a fun toy to take on trips... maybe I can get him into geocaching. I think he'd enjoy that.
These are the ones that are local to us... maybe we can plan a little expedition for some weekend.
The general rule of thumb is, "take an item, leave an item, write in the logbook." Some caches are themed, so make sure to read the description before going on a hunt.
this is the place I want to hit. a local park.
Off to work for now. See you later, Dear journal.
Busy day at work... but nice. No distractions or annoying pests. I'd say I'm 3/4 done with the website.... just a matter of taking a couple of pictures with the digicam, and getting a little copy from sales.
This week is random employee vanishment week... Finn and Santie will be gone until Thursday, the island boy is taking off Friday through the following Wednesday. Sappho and Riker have postponed the Peace River trip until November, though, because the water's risen recently. I'm still planning on taking Halloween and 11/1 off, just for the halibut.
My brother bawled out some of his friends big time, right before I got home for ditching him at 7-11. he called and left a message apologizing, in case I heard him. Sakes... he must've been outraged.
Dick Cheney has a scary face all the time. He needs to learn to smile for the cameras more often.
Dave showed me the Star Wars Gangsta Rap.
I'm sending positive and happy thoughts to my sweetheart tonight and tomorrow. (As always!) I got to talk to her for a while today... she's being worked pretty hard too. I think that Wednesday will mark a comfort point for her, though, if she can squeak through tomorrow with a minimum of stress or annoyance.
Random Scotto factoid - I have a few free email addresses I never use, except to register my name in drawings or to fight Spam. If you want to send me a letter I may well never see, scotto@evildeadclowns.com is one of them. My yahoo addy is really the only one I check with any regularity.
Sunday, October 06, 2002
if you have a aim name... (or more than one...) you've got 20 megs of hosty-data available to you. it's at http://mywebpage.netscape.com/Example from my biglug account
I still think the browser is stinky and behind the times.... but this is a nice offering from aol. I prefer it to the landfill of CD's they send me.
Not bad... twenty megs an alias, and you can create aliases quick as a wink.
Sometime mid-afternoon, I'm going out with my brother to pick up a little RCA to microphone converter, so that we can put those speakers on his PS2.... also going to hook him up with his playstation again. He's got the itch to play, and I really won't miss it. Maybe make the trip to Target so he can exchange a birthday gift for something more suited to him.
I need to adjust the CPAP straps a little.. a wee bit to tight.. leaves quickly fading pressure marks on my face, akin to pillow creases. I'm sure I'll have it feeling right tonight.
Looking in my cupboard this morning... the day after getting groceries. There's a secure feeling that comes over me, knowing that I won't have to forage for a time. I'm very pleased at the almost comedy of wealth there.
I dreamt last night that I was told not to have any telephone communication with the dead. I got a notice on my bill for extended calls into the afterlife and that I was allowed only one hour a month to talk to the deceased. I couldn't remember talking to any dead folks on the phone, but I paid the bill, uncontested... because I didn't want to offend anyone dead that I'd forgotten about. I remember that he bill didn't seem any more expensive than usual.
Nightcrawler from X2
Two years ago today - Plunging pirates off the empire state, small, and "warchilds death".
Looks like the bro is going to take care of some business today... We'll get together some other time. I'm going to head over to the bookstore in a few, and just browse for a little while. see what leaps out and grabs my eyes.
The bookstore had a couple of really nice deals... I dashed away from there with a bag of ten, purchased for about $20. I picked up a nice collection of Edgar Allen Poe… an old one, so it's extra neat and pre-creepified, for midnight readings of The Raven and Murders in the Rue Morgue ... good to read aloud.
It was a nice enough day, though I bussed the distance rather than cycling (Mainly because I didn't know what sort of massive book load I might be bringing home.)
Riding on the bus means... more doodles. Mousing over 'em may give you some insight as to where each drawing came from.
Also, the coolest T-shirt I've seen lately-
Saturday, October 05, 2002
I never noticed before, but each major chattie has it's own color. Yellow aim, green icq, blue msn, red yahoo. The new version of trillian has little colored circles rather than logos for each active. Pretty neat to me, for some reason. My connection to all of them comes on like a little drag-racer pole position light up... "Prepare to qualify".Jerry Falwell -- yes, he's flapping his yap again -- has concluded from "reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers" that Muhammad was a terrorist. Which is kind of interesting, because from reading interviews with Jerry Falwell a lot of people have concluded that Jesus was a redneck, right-wing bigot. Holy men: Great ideas, bad PR representation. Why do the dumbasses seem to often get the loudest voices?
Interesting look at author Harper Lee ("To Kill A Mockingbird")
My brother just came by looking for good condiments. Yikes... I didn't know I was running so low! No Soy sauce, no mustard? I'm out of garlic powder and cocoanut milk, too... dang. I'm going to have to go back to the store sometime this week. (Maybe tomorrow morning, along with a bookstore run.) Also shared with me good news...He's being offered $7,500 to settle out of court. He's now debating holding out for more, taking it to court, or taking the money now and being happy with it. I hope he takes the money offered to him... but I don't blame him for squeezing as much as he can out of the police department for letting that officer punk around the way he did. What I'd like to see is that officer officially reprimanded, suspended for a week, and his story given to a local free newspaper for distribution... as well as paying my bro's doctor bills and lost wages during the time he was out.
It's pretty funny that last week's stories about the looming extinction of blondes from the human race -- ostensibly due to recessive traits and societal preferences -- turns out to be a big hoax. Doesn't anyone at news agencies hire fact-checkers anymore?
Jacques Chirac used witchcraft to win the French presidential election: "The book – La Sorcellerie au coeur de la République – suggests that President Chirac used Senegalese sorcerers to charm the France team to their World Cup victory in 1998. Mr Chirac chose not to pay out again this year, because he had already used French and African witches to win re-election."
Time for some faux-chicken patties on toasted honey-wheat bread, with a side of green beans and carrots. To drink? Arizona diet green tea with ginseng. Yumma.
Random Scotto factoid -I've hung out with a professionally tossed dwarf. He was a nice guy, too, named Jeff... We took Psychology together in '92, and were part of a group project on biofeedback. He had nothing against the practice when I knew him (I imagine he still doesn't) and made a decent living (as well as free drinks at the rathskeller) while in school.
Only two states in the union have dwarf-tossing bans, now, Florida and New York.
Palm Shadow I know what hubbub I'll be synching soon. Of course, the real treasure trove (and only an isilo conversion away is here. of course, since it's text, anyone can read it, not just palmers)Dorkiest looking Dinosaur ever.
I think he's cute. I can see him laughing, and blushing. That Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk, sort.
Shaved off all but the goat. It was fun playing Kevin smith for a while, though.
The face of Tutankhamen, the Egyptian king, has been reconstructed by special effects artists. A pretty good-looking guy. A little like RuPaul, I think.
A promo still (pre-production) of me and my sweetheart in the web cam remake of "Night of the Living Dead..."
Some cropping, removed color and a little film grain tossed in for effect. Here's the original. (update - whoops... looks like I killed the color version)
The Original -It *is* loving and romantic to put your loved one in a toy-figure based movie about brain-eating zombies, isn't it? We can snuggle together in the abandoned farmhouse, nailing planks over the doors, fending off the reanimated dead with flame from the fireplace, scraps of curtain-cloth, and our bottle of wine.
In answer to mskaren911's trivia challenge - from A Brief History of Wedding TraditionsSaving the Top Tier
The tradition is to save the top tier of your cake to eat on your first anniversary. This custom dates back to olden days in England when all wedding cakes were fruitcakes and the cake was saved for the christening of the couple's first child. Clearly, a butter-based cake is not intended to last in a home freezer for a year. I don't recommend it but if you're determined to save your cake, here's how to do it. Freeze the cake until solid, wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap then a couple layers of heavy-duty foil. Put in the back of your freezer or a deep freeze and hope for no power failures. And don’t expect much on your first anniversary (at least when it comes to the year old cake).I like the Bridesmaids legend, myself... Not only do they wear ugly (in comparison to the bride) outfits, but they're demon bait!
Fruitcake for wedding cake? Bleh. I wonder how my sweetie feels about ice-cream cake? :)
Is it wrong to draw post-mortem images of people at work you're less than fond of?
I don't think Morty and Chupa have much time left.. I give 'em each twenty years or less between the two of 'em. Heart attacks, high stress, panic attacks, and personalities that inspire being stabbed with a screwdriver by a passing stranger.
Finn... I think she's got longer for this mortal world... unless she ticks off the wrong person. Hard to charm your way out of a blunt head trauma. She has a few physical ailments, but nothing life shortening... bad teeth, bad back, severe pms (really. I'm not saying that just because she's a beeyotch.) I suspect she'll annoy the wrong someone before her body gives up the ghost naturally.
Storing on my alternate host account. I'll probably relocate 'em when msn is repaired. Scribbles form the last couple of days. Definite themes appear.
Tiny, So I didn't bother with an lj-cut. If it's too much, feel free to tell me.
Misc drawings from today...
Scotto-pics
Travel
Halloween!
Sakes... Newtie is talkative tonight... I wonder what's got him going?
My CPAP mask finally broke for good last night, right as I put it on to go to bed. There wasn't anything I could do about it, so I tucked in and went without. This morning, I have the good ol' swollen uvula, but it's not as bad as it might be, because I made a point of sleeping mostly on my side.I need to see if Sur-Med is open today, and swing by to pick up a replacement...not in the mood to aggravate the situation any more.
In better news-
*Happy 3rd Birthday, Newt!*
I love my little orange boy!
my MSN piccies are back! Only took a week or two... I wonder what the die-lemma was?
Well, off to get my mask, and a spare in case it happens again. Then to return and play Newtie-party games. Until later, dear journal!
Ah, back, and ready for the weekend.
Groceries, including lots of goodies for Newt and comfort food for me.
New mask, more comfortable than the old mask.. price was reasonable, $84. I'll submit the bill to my insurance company (har-dee-har- har) and see if I can get any compensation for it. Even if I don't, it's well worth it.
Playing paper wad fetch with the birthday boy... he loves his presents. Paper wads galore, and two fresh cardboard crates for him to play in, and gnaw on. He likes the stinky tuna treats, too. a happy boy indeed... he's also quite digging the Publix bags. Where does he get all of his energy?
why does this auction for hair dye have a picture of a lonesome waffle in winter?
Friday 5 -
1. What size shoe do you wear? 15... Don't call me yeti fer nothin'.
2. How many pairs of shoes do you own? 3, four if you count my Godzilla slippers
3. What type of shoes do you prefer? off, and in my closet. If I must, sandals. Hiking boots if doing anything challenging.
4. Describe your favorite pair of shoes. My brown birks. Worn to death, and I've cherished every step in 'em.
5. What’s the most you have ever spent on a pair of shoes? $250ish... Custom Shoes for giant-feet can be a pain when getting dressy stuff.
Random Scotto factoid... I like the old cartoon cliché of capturing mischievous ghosts with vacuum cleaners.
There's more to Florida tourist traps other than Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens, and Sea World... there's a boatload of lost and little known second-string tourist attractions. Man... I'm about thirty years too late for pirates world., right around the corner from me... along with Pioneer City.
I dreamt that I fought off two dogs chasing me on my bike to work. I did this by getting off of my bike, and using it lion-tamer style to keep them at bay while I tied ropes around them. I have no idea where the ropes came from.
From Matrix-
So a gasoline tanker falls off an elevated ramp in Miami and lands by the women's jail, bursting into very big flames, but the weirder part is that firefighters have to dodge bullets while they fight the fire because it engulfed a bunch of jail guards' cars that contained ammunition. Eeek.It's October... time to start defaulting to the Zombie!
My sweetie made it for me last Halloween...
Before
AfterThe ride home last night was odd...It was an hour later than normal, and everything was just about four degrees off. Different regulars on the bus...the bus was from a different part of the fleet. The lights were only on in the back, and the fluorescent color was more blue than yellowish. I got a mildly paranoid feeling for a moment that I was on the wrong route, but the moment passed quickly.
Rain's coming down hard at the moment... I'm going to do pure bus again today. (I need to pick up a new slicker)
Spirited Away is open in theatres.. maybe I'll check it out this weekend as a treat. Or maybe I'll just download it... The English Sub is out there right now.
Coolio Electric car - found on /.
A vanity search on Scottobear yields about 2,250 returns. Sakes... I think Poemtag and LiveJournal were what really got that off and spinning. Thanks to sweetalyssm for the idea!
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