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Just some off-the-cuff observations, and whatnot. Welcome, and enjoy your stay.
Saturday, March 15, 2003
3/9/03
Went to laundry with bro this morning. we got to talk and hang out a bit which was nice.Newt, as always, loves the fresh clothes and warm play areas that they have become.
I'm thinking special thoughts for those I care about. I have a lot of love in my heart for them, though I've been more quiet abut it than usual.
Is it ghoulish of me to want to set up a "when the war starts" pool?
Justice in Guatemala Can Be Gasoline and a Match - a screaming mob of 2,000 people grabbed two pickpocket suspects, tied their hands, dragged them to the outskirts of town, drenched them in gasoline and burned them alive.
A little melancholy tonight. Sunday. Quiet. Peace and wistfulness are alternating a lot.
Thinking about a real lack of ethics I've seen lately. I guess there's little room for it in industries or people with very little interest beyond the next dollar coming in.. That makes me sort of unhappy, but I do understand that most places like that won't last too long if the folks with ethics are shown to be the stronger overall.
Something that brings me confused happiness is birds with arms.
Something on A&E about Mormon polygamy that confuses me. Why are all the husbands so far longhaired, bearded, heavy guys?
In order to lighten my mood...pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand
Must dance with red-furred Libra!
3/8/03
Pictures from today's travels.
Ok... Where's my web page... more to the point, Newtcam? It's been down since last night.
I can tell it's still down, because I don't have my delightful background installed on the LJ page.
Today shall be a day of rest, though I'm planning on spending 8 hours of it doing little chores here and around the place.
Not too interested in LJ lately.. my mind hasn't been one of journaling. My creative juices need a shot of B12.
I want to do something self-indulgent today.. eat fatty food, spend the day playing arcade games or the like... I doubt it'll happen to the degree I want, but it's entertaining for me to think about.
Maybe just writing about the history channel is enough self-indulgence?
oh, man.. apparently my scottobear.com email has been down since last night, as has my website. I honestly hope that if any email was sent to those addresses was lost that it can be restored... I've got about a gazillion resumes out there with that addy on it. It's supposed to be back up and fixed within the hour, though, so I'm going to hope for the best.
Stupid errors... bah.
scottobear.com email is back up. good thing, though I missed a couple of decent mails from last night I'd have preferred to have acted on then.
ah well, all better now.
3/7/03
Newt woke me at about 6am this morn... just as well, since I had my alarm set for 6:30. This way, I had time to play with the little boy in the morning before having to whirlwind out of the house for work. I'm so glad that Newtie's around to wake up to... I can't even be mad that I was awakened early. (I prefer a little roughhousing to get the morning started.)Went to Pinnacle... They wanted an original Social security card, a copy just would not do, despite my other identification papers on hand. Ok..it would've been nice to know that before coming all the way to Cypress Creek.
Ugh, a bug.
Sooo... off to the Social Security office I went... I'll have a new card (with my old number) in about two weeks, but in the meantime, I have piece of paper that tells folks that "Why Yes, this hairy beast is who he says he is!" on official-looking letterhead.
I go back to Pinnacle Monday, 10am.
Made it to work on time, surprisingly. Also a shock, Kev is here! I thought he was going to take a sick day today, but he's out of luck. Apparently, he's too needed here by the gimme-gimme chupacabra & co.
Finn gave me a lead to a possible new gig, at Countywide. Nice to get the assist, certainly.
Looks like there's going to be a LAN party at work after regular hours (or during my normal hours) on the 21st. Sappho, Riker, Kev, The Finn,The Clark-bar, and Maybe Island boy will be coming in at about 6pm to play some multi-player games.. looks like it'll be an assortment... shoot-'em up and racing, mostly. (Just as well... I don't know how well folks would deal with Civ2 or AOE... the games are fun, but take a while.) If I'm still there at the time, I'll play along, too.
"I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists!"
-Hedley Lamarr, Blazing Saddles, Recruitment Flyer
I think I could qualify as a desperado, or play the part of a thug.
(Why is it I can recite that from memory, but I can't remember what year my mom was born in unless I count on my fingers?)
3/6/03
When I woke up, the words to Bobby Pickett's "King Kong" (not the one by Abba), oddly melded with Alley Oop (by Gary Paxton).Can't seem to locate the Proper Kong Lyrics online.. Perhaps I'll break out the record and transcribe them to the Internet for posterity.
Of course, there's always my favorite Bert Convy Tune...
We were out of school
With nothing to do
So we jumped in my car
And we went to the zoo
Having lots of fun
Just a-walkin’ around
Looking in the cages
When I heard a funny sound
Somebody yelled
And one began to shout
I turned around
And my eyes bugged outHe’s out of his cage
He’s on a rampage
Swingin’ his arms all over the place
Fiery red eyes and a big ugly face
Chip-chip-chip-chip-chip-chip-chip
Go-ril-laHe climbed on a bus
And he rode downtown
Stopping all the traffic
For miles around
He heard some music coming
From a record shop
Jumped off the bus
And he started to bopHe’s out of his cage
He’s on a rampage
Swingin’ his arms all over the place
Dancin’ rock ‘n’ roll with a grin on his face
Chip-chip-chip-chip-chip-chip-chip
Go-ril-laHe heard some music coming
From a record shop
He jumped off the bus
And he started to bop
He stopped his dancing
And looked up in the sky
A flying purple people eater
Was flying by
He reached up and grabbed him
And he ate him wholeA gorilla!
(Echoed out like the end of Tequila)
current mood: "'Twas Beauty that Killed the Beast at Last" I heard Bob Armstrong say
current music: King Kong, King Kong, the white man done you wrong...
3/5/03
ViaThe Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years, 1953-2002 (according to Sci Fi Book Club) I've put a 0 to 4 Star rating beside the ones I've read, according to the amount of enjoyment I got from them. One star is worth an eyeball, anything with 2 stars is good, 3 very good, and four is "What? You haven't read it? Hop to it!" I imagine many folks will disagree with me on a few of my feelings, so I'm going to stress that it's simply my opinion.
Your Mileage may vary... as might mine in current time. (I've not read some of them in over two decades.)
1 The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien ****
2 The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov **
3 Dune, Frank Herbert 0
4 Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein **
5 A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin ****
6 Neuromancer, William Gibson 0
7 Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke *
8 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick ** (Blade Runner, the movie, was far better.)
9 The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley *
10 Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury **** (Bradbury can do no wrong, as far as I've seen)
11 The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe 0
12 A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. ***
13 The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov **
14 Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15 Cities in Flight, James Blish
16 The Color of Magic, Terry Pratchett **
17 Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison **
18 Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison ***
19 The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester **
20 Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany *
21 Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey *
22 Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card ***
23 The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson * (very nearly a 0)
24 The Forever War, Joe Haldeman **
25 Gateway, Frederik Pohl 0
26 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling ***
27 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams ****
28 I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29 Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice **
30 The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin *** (redundant with the earthsea above, though)
31 Little, Big, John Crowley
32 Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny **
33 The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick ***
34 Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement **** (The short story)
35 More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon **
36 The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith (a real mix and match. a bunch of short stories, some good, some not so much. No rating.)
37 On the Beach, Nevil Shute ***
38 Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke ***
39 Ringworld, Larry Niven 0 (So much potential... great author, idea, horrid book.)
40 Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41 The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien * (I know... sacrilege. Full of great stuff, but it's very slow going)
42 Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut **
43 Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson **
44 Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45 The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46 Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein ***
47 Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock **
48 The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks 0
49 Timescape, Gregory Benford *
50 To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer ****And to play the meme card, and complete the SF dork entry, (in all honesty, I was borderline 10/11 on all the answers. I suspect more questions might be needed to get a better reading)
Star Trek Personality Test --
Myers-Briggs would say that you are an ENFP (Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeler, Perceiver). In Star Trek language, you share a basic personality configuration with James Kirk and Julian Bashir.
People like you are generally great problem-solvers. You're highly innovative, creative and unique. You're optimistic by nature, which may make others believe you're naive, but actually you're full of energy, very clever, and determined not to be stopped. You're outgoing, curious, and extremely playful. Others are sometimes taken aback by your enthusiasm, but it keeps you going after others have dropped.You're deeply caring, sensitive and gentle, which, combined with your need to solve problems, may make you a little too eager to give others advice. You also process information very quickly, which may make others believe you're not listening to them. Before you share your feelings, you have to have time to process them.
You're adaptive and resourceful, but sometimes highly disorganized. You dream of having the perfect assistant. You respond best to people who encourage your unique viewpoints and insights, help you maintain harmony, and want to play and explore with you. You don't respond well when you're overwhelmed with details or when you're in a rigid situation.
Your primary goal in life is freedom to see possibilities, make connections, and be with a variety of people. Your reward is having spontaneous adventures.
Good careers for your type include being an advertising account executive, starship captain, career counselor, developer of educational software, actor, graphics designer, corporate team trainer, psychologist, inventor, medical pioneer, and child welfare counselor.
Pick up line for Island boy to use next route out- "Does my tongue taste funny?"
Discovered this morning that I do a really good rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" when singing in the shower.
Speaking of love, here’s some doodles drawn thinking about my sweetheart:
Swinging by Pinnacle Friday morning at 9am. We'll see what they have to offer. Upside, they're on Cypress Creek, about a half-mile south of Kev and the gang, which means visits and lunches and stuff might be possible.
Only a week or two behind on this one...
Prof. Dave Farber sent an e-mail to his Interesting People list about how under Code Orange it is, apparently, illegal to take photos of transit facilities. http://www.interesting-people.org/ At a faculty meeting at Bryn Mawr College, the attendees were informed that a student from Haverford College was arrested for taking photographs of trains in Philadelphia. The student was detained and questioned for a few hours and eventually released. http://lists.elistx.com/archives/interesting-people/200302/msg00118.html
This struck a chord with me, as I like taking little travel pictures, many of which might take place in a bus, or at the station. I'm especially prone to take shots with my palmtop "spycam", though the pictures from that are weak, at best.
Fortunately, Farber also posted an item from a Portland, Ore. attorney who has posted a briefing paper about what your rights are as a photographer. http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf
3/4/03
DNA pioneer James Watson says that stupidity is a genetic disease that can -- and should -- be cured.The New Scientist has the story.
Personally, I really doubt if that's the case, but it's an interesting idea. I'd wonder what traits (if any) would be suppressed at the cost of intelligence.
I find myself craving a potpie for lunch. I can't recall the last time that I had one... Boston Market had some really tasty veggie potpies that smelled far more palatable thank their chicken. By the way... Regarding their creamed spinach... Just say no. The Parmesan creamed spinach is one of the worst vegetable side dishes ever seen. It's got two-thirds of a day's fat. You'd have to eat an order of meatloaf & gravy plus an order of ham and cinnamon apples to do as much damage to your heart. I don't foresee myself ever having even a veggie potpie again, knowing how evil they are, nutritionally. If I ever go to the big BM again.... (I can't get enough of food places that sound like taking a poop or a disease) I'll get the dill new potatoes and herbed sweet corn, with a side of BBq Beans, just for the confirmation of BM. With some cornbread. Yum, good ol' cornbread.
P U L P - I T: modernized pulp fiction art - a most excellent website! Original and brilliant. I'm adding this to my daily round.
Hmm.. I lost a large entry last night, due to a spontaneous reboot. Well, if the fates don't want me to post my deep insights about McMillan and Wife vs. Columbo, then so be it.
Ah well... it's about that time of day again, Dear Journal. I'll see you on the flipside. Don't take any candy from strangers.
Home again, Home again... and all that jiggety jazz.
Too tired to make leeks, though I took a leak as soon as I got in. It's going to be a Nuke yourself somethin' from the freezer night. Veggie riblets look pretty good to me. They seem remarkably similar to the ol' McRib that came out a while back. Gotta admire any info about them that mentions that they're Bone free (As free as the wind blows)
Kev is as sick as the proverbial dog, and will be staying home tomorrow. Chupa caused him no end of pointless stress over 40 miserable faulty records, stopping him from making any sort of escape today. Tomorrow, while the boss is away, the Scotto will play, actively seeking work, and deciding on what the final way to go is. Nordis-man just is invisible to me... No answers to my voice or e-mails. I wonder if he's out sick or something, as Tuan even says that he can't get through to him. (That's reassuring, as I would not want to think that he's just dodging me.) Either way, I'm not going to be where I am now in 2 weeks... that much is assured. Taught Sappho how to knife-fight, should she need to. The Flick/slash/stab maneuver. handy handy.
Know what makes my day? Getting Maryland state quarters in my change. Makes me smile, it does.
Got bored, wondered who invented the fork. Found this place: The History of Eating Utensils. Kitchen Forks go back to the time of the Greeks, and had two times to help the cutting and serving of meat. Spoons have been used as eating utensils since Paleolithic times. It is most likely that prehistoric peoples used shells or chips of wood as spoons. Knives are totally old school. Prehistoric. Chopsticks were developed about 5,000 years ago in China. It is likely that people cooked their food in large pots which held heat for a long time, and hasty eaters then broke twigs off trees to retrieve the food. Travel Cutlery History of the Spork is quite dubious at best...a descendant of the runcible spoon.
Know what I like about trees? They're bigger than me, and they listen without interrupting.
The BBQ sauce is really good, and the entree texture is perfect.
I am going to buy these suckers frequently. A little heavy on the sodium...(30% per) but the rest is very healthy, too. Price was right... it was $2.50 for a package, and it gives two decent sized slabs of sauced-up yumminess.
Next go-round, instead of on the plate, it's going on a kaiser.
Man, that was good.
Newt is totally uninterested in the plate with the food on it. He is however enjoying my hair-tie. To each their own, I suppose.
I ate it with a fork, for those keeping score.
3/3/03
Is it morning again? I'm still snoozy even after the hot shower 'o doom.Crispin Glover as Willard.... Well, there's a perfect creepy fit, as far as I'm concerned.
Hey, Neat! Someone else has subscribed to my site using bloglet! :) I'm now ranked #889 on the system there. :)
Via Astronomy Picture of the Day - The Term that Cracks me up is "Mysterious Repulsive Energy". That's an easy one... He works in the laser department. I haven't given him a nickname yet, but I shall, now. MRE. (or Just Murray for Ease of Use)
I was up quite late reading and relaxing... took me a while to unwind, and just enjoy the day.
Yikes... where does the time go? 11... must fly. Until later, dear journal.
3/2/03
Newt seems to be feeling much better. Hooray!Noticing "Mass Action" functions for comments, now. Very interesting.
I'm digging the LJ toolbar (no scrolling friends ticker option) see more info at
, here.
The only book which doesn't take place in Narnia at all, per se, you're the story of a voyage to find the end of the world and hopefully the Seven Lost Lords (remember Rhoop!). You contain some of the most unique people and places and beautiful descriptions of the whole series.
Find out which Chronicles of Narnia book you are.Added 4 elements to the http://q20.net database. A superhero, a Minotaur, birkenstock sandals, noise pollution
A legitimate new virus out and about - Lovegate I recommend that you take a peek at the Snopes or Symantec site for more information before opening any attachments.
From the site -
There is a new Computer Virus out called "Lovgate.c". It affects users running Outlook, Outlook Express, and the following operating systems: Windows '95, '98, 'NT Windows '2000, Windows ME, and Windows XP. It is a mass mailing virus which comes packaged in your e-mail with the subject "I'll try to reply as soon as possible. Take a look to the attachment and send me your opinion!". DO NOT OPEN THIS MESSAGE! PLEASE DELETE IT!.In addition to it's mass-mailing functionality, Lovgate spreads through Windows shares and can steal users' passwords. This virus copies itself to your Hard Drive (C:) and Shares in folders and sub-folders - if they are password protected the virus will try a combination of usernames and passwords to gain access.
CNN reports that Pioneer 10, the first space craft to venture out of our solar system and the one that sent back all of the wonderful photos of Jupiter, has sent its last signal. It is more than 7.6 billion miles from Earth and its 21-month mission has continued for almost 31 years.
I guess the next time we'll see it is in Star Trek V, being blown up by Captain Klaa for target practice.
That's the shape I think of when I envision a satellite, not the little ball sputnik
Balloon v1.0. Jim Meehan built and launched a high altitude balloon running Linux with wireless (packet radio) connectivity, GPS, and a digital camera. The Tech info is great, and the aerial photos are pretty keeno, too.
So which LOTR Man are you? Hmm??
made by Michelle at EmptySpace.
So which hobbit are you? Hmm??
made by Michelle at EmptySpace.
So which LOTR Villain are you? Hmm??
made by Michelle at EmptySpace.
So which LOTR woman are you? Hmm??
made by Michelle at EmptySpace.Coolest Motorcycle Helmets, ever. I think the Hell's Angels should get some. I'm especially fond of the Prince Model.
Want to see what it's like to break a water balloon in low / no gravity?
