Friday, August 01, 2003

 
Dream elements... crushing a can of black cherry soda that was still full on a hike... I dump out the sugar-water and flatten the can like a hockey-puck and slip it into my pocket for safekeeping. I'm walking through a rainforest, and there are 3-foot tall mechanical geese everywhere. They're made of clear glass and when they sing exotic plant seeds and bulbs shoot from their mouths and burrow into whatever they land on ... dirt, trees, rocks, water... One faces me, and I catch some seeds on my chest and arms... the seeds penetrate into my skin, but don't bloom back afterwards. A huge flock of parrots flies over head and the sounds of their wings is almost deafening as they retreat from a gigantic inky-black cloud that is swirling behind them, slowly pincering in and engulfing them. The mechanical birds fly up and feed on the cloud, going from being transparent to a deep, opaque crow-black. It seems to make them heavier, as they stop flying, and instead glide slowly back to the ground, lined up in formation, no longer distributing plant life (or shooting me, either.) Rain starts falling from the now-clear sky, and the surrounding plants are growing so rapidly, it's almost like I'm shrinking, instead. The scent of ozone fills the air, and mixes with some sort of heady, sweet smell, like honeysuckle and oranges. I notice that though a great amount of water is falling, I'm not getting wet, even though there's no cover overhead...a drowsiness surrounds me and I wake up, pretty comfortable and refreshed.

Dang, this week just blew on by. I can hardly believe it's Friday again.

Fantastic Kate Bush resources via -

rare mp3s - http://www.norbry.net/kate-bush/mp3/
Kate photos as a little girl.. http://home.att.net/~james51453/index.htm

How to swear in 113 languages.

a year ago - istockphoto, dead links, Shitou Xiqian, smiled at, fortune cookie, walkerbot, Liver Eatin' Johnson

2 years ago - hungrybaby, New Apes move lame, wiseacre, Champions stats for the Shadow, Dwayne Dibley?, Poul Anderson passes away, LJ moves in space,

3 years ago - Everway character- wanders the storm path

Sakes... what a little celebrety gossip-mongering list this is. Newest stuff in blue...Like all gossip, I'm sure it's best taken with a grain of salt. Maybe a whole salt lick. (Orson Welles possibly the Black Dahlia Murderer?)

Omniglot: A Guide to Writing Systems -For fun stuff, see the alternative writing systems, including alphabets from Fantasy and Science Fiction. See your name in assorted systems.
posted by Scott von Berg 3:00:31 PM

 
7/31/03

Fooling around with colors and design on my website, primarily text and link colors. I get the feeling of "Better Like This...or Like This?" from the eye doctor. I buzzed my self back and forth that I'm not sure right now.

A lot of fun talk about santorum, owl pellets and today. I surely held onto my crown of crap. This afternoon was just delightful, and I really mean that.

Speaking of dung...

Monday's audience burst into laughter during the seduction scene, when J.Lo spreads her legs for Ben and says, "It's turkey time. Gobble-gobble."

You couldn't make stuff like that up. From the new Ben and J-Lo debacle "Gigli".

And now some non-dung-

ROTK trailer

Duct tape superheroes.

Stereo ani-gifs. Neat effect, not work safe for artistic nudes.

Cool commercial fonts. I'm especially fond of fruitopia and cherry coke.

Got a call from the bro at the emergency room.. I swear, he's the most accident-prone person I know. I guess he cut his finger and needed a few stiches...The connection was bad, and I'm wainting for him to call me back.

a year ago - broken links, spamdemic map, floppy poll, dinner sick, new semagic client

2 years ago - hinterland, kickshaw, I like cooking, planet of ??? poll, Champions Spectre, my gal wants to leave me for the asian prince, shaking hands (not a real issue these days), treat pack,

3 years ago - idiot, the good and bad of the day, Good chinese food, bad April.

the quest to find the web's favorite color, MMS (or email) a photo to pic@favcol.com to help. (right now, it's a mild green) all pictures sent to him will be averaged out to his page's background.

I'll be sending him this pic of Newt, both because he's a sweetie, and orange is wonderful!


Read carefully the next coupon you get. According to Snopes, the rumors that telemarketers are trying to circumvent the Do Not Call Registry by hiding a little "It's ok if this guy calls me" agreement in the fine print are true.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Inboxer Rebellion (Call Scam)

Want to see if your username is on the RIAA's list of Subpoenas? Mine isn't, but that'd make sense since I share public domain stuff. Helpful hints on How Not To Get Sued By The RIAA For File-Sharing (short of not sharing at all)

Last day of the month. Let's see what Keywords hit me...Looks like I got hit hardest by folks looking for Carnie wilson Nude, Heroclix, Lemmiwinks, and the John Belushi "little chocolate doughnuts" skit

Recurring themes every month are thermasilk commercials, giraffe penises, and swollen uvulas. I'm surprised that Netscape had as much as 10% of my hits this month... that new mozilla firebird must be skewing the stats. Normally, I max out at 4% total.

I've discovered that my journal has been syndicated at syndic8.com. Now I just have to work out how to let them know whats up regarding some info that's not filled in.

Other info -
Browser share -
66% IE6
21% IE5
02% IE4
09% NS5
01% NS4
01% NS3

Operating Systems
48% win2k
19% win98
16% winXP
06% MacPPC
04% WinNT4
02% Unknown
02% WinME
02% Win95
01% Linux

Organization Hits
29% COM
26% NET
25% only IP
04% UK
04% EDU
03% Canada
01% Slovakia
01% Saudi Arabia
01% ORG
01% Netherlands
01% Mexico
01% Italy
01% Germany
01% Chile
01% Australia
posted by Scott von Berg 3:00:11 PM

 
7/30/03
It's a lovely, bright morning, the sunlight slicing through blinds just a bit, drawing a yellow-orange set of thin lines on the opposite wall. I've got a brief morning meeting, and then in the afternoon I may be doing a little lunch with Danny, if all goes well.

I'm glad that I didn't have to call the law on Liberty Mutual, and I'm thankful for that. The only real downside of it now is that I don't get it directly deposited into my account.

Saw the last episode of Lovejoy, and I've got to say, I was rather disappointed. Everyone went different ways, and the manor is sold off. Very Sad, considering the rest of what I've seen of the show had some real humor and entertaining stories. The first episode begins tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get a chance to watch from the beginning. I wonder if my views on the characters will be colored by knowing where everyone ends up? From what I hear, the author of the books where the character comes from isn't terribly fond of the series, because the books have a much harder edge.

The honor of worst ending is still Blake's 7 (sort of an Anti-Star Trek)...where basically all the good guys die at the end. I prefer at least a glimmer of hope, not anything that bleak. Speaking of which. There's a Blake's 7 sequel series in the pipeline, set twenty-five years after the original series, and five years after the sequel they were planning three years ago.

From Tom Waits: "Never let the weeds get higher than the garden/Always keep a sapphire in your mind/Always keep a diamond in your mind." (From "Get Behind the Mule")

A bunch of other comic fonts more nifty than comic sans, from the aptly-named ban comic sans.

Random memory of going to Disney world, and getting "chocolate doubloons" in a bag of pseudo-suede with a skull and crossbones on it... later used to hold my gaming dice. From a spur of the moment trip with Pam in the mid-90s…We decided to go the day before. I wonder where that bag is now... if it got tossed out, or if it's paced up with gaming stuff in my closet.

The Geographical Directory of World Paper Money is worth browsing for the maps alone.

Find Sounds at findsounds.com... a good start is the examples page, or just "scream".

I wonder if it's too early to think about a Halloween costume.

I think the idea of a public gay high school is as bad an idea as a public fat school, or a public "can't afford nice clothes" school. People get beaten up and harassed for all sorts of reasons. I think that money would be better spent punishing and treating the thugs wanting to hurt the other students, rather than having people run away from the issue. Otherwise, you're just putting the violence off, not preventing it.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City is creating the nation's first public high school for gays, bisexuals and transgender students.

The Harvey Milk High School will enroll about 100 students and open in a newly renovated building in the fall. It is named after San Francisco's first openly gay city supervisor, who was assassinated in 1978.

"I think everybody feels that it's a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday. "It lets them get an education without having to worry."

The school is an expansion of a two-classroom public school program that began in 1984. A gay-rights youth advocacy group, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, has managed and financed the program since its inception.

The new school's principal, William Salzman, said the school will be academically challenging and will follow mandatory English and math programs. It also will specialize in computer technology, arts and culinary arts.

State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long criticized the creation of the school.

"Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong," Long said. "There's no reason these children should be treated separately."

The Hetrick-Martin Institute's Web site says the school will give its students "an opportunity to obtain a secondary education in a safe and supportive environment. ... We believe that success requires the ability to respect and value the diverse human community."

Random Scotto factoid- before my palmtop, I would almost always have a legal pad with me for note taking and scribbling.

Scott is the #32 most common male name.
0.546% of men in the US are named Scott.
Around 668850 US men are named Scott!
source namestatistics.com

Newton is the #966 most common male name.
0.005% of men in the US are named Newton.
Around 6125 US men are named Newton!
source namestatistics.com

von Berg is a very rare last name.
Very few last names in the US are von Berg.
Be proud of your unique last name!
source namestatistics.com

Ok, I'm getting ready for my meeting. Until later, dear journal.

a year ago - random voog glimpse, infrasound, dinner timeline, GRASP, hate group mapping, Jen plans on being wed, FMM steals paid time from me, mach 8 jets

2 years ago - animal traits poll, Museum of Black Superheroes, remonstrate, Pompano info, evil news, mental health day, rainbow newt poll, icq/lj tech trouble

3 years ago - April stress, New everway group review, Babel fish translations, green lantern, Jerrys Birthday bash, Discover marquee, Bev Preggers, Bro working at Amici's, We Like Pie, 29th Scroll, 6th Verse

Meeting went well, and I was flattered that Brett visited my site and noted my web log. The foot brace seems to dig in a bit to the sole on the left-hand side, so I’m going to have to have the doctor adjust it for me. I'm looking forward to polishing my skill and learning some lasso...from what I understand, it's pretty straightforward and if I got php, I'm already well there. I look forward to hearing from them soon. The receptionist was an outstanding, friendly lady, as is the big chief and other programmer I met. They seem to have a really good team.

Journey home through the haunted tunnel via palm-cam. I was going to animate it, but it would've tripled the size. Good ol' jpeg wins again. Minor commentary on hover.












Getting together with Danny after Lovejoy today [update- Lovejoy's pilot episode was quite good, much better earlier in the series.] Not sure what we'll do yet, but the day is young.

Well, I stand corrected. I saw Charlie's Angels 2 today with ol' Danny, and expected just boobies and explosions, but it was so over the top and goofy that I found it genuinely enjoyable and entertaining. I still think Cameron Diaz is boring and has the personality of a turnip, but everyone else really did a great job for a campy over the top sort of chop-socky movie. It was full of loopy stunts and fighting... and also nice to see Crispin Glover back as the Thin Man. I think it was as good as it was because it knew it was a cheeseball movie, and decided to run with it. Mighty fine soundtrack, too. B-52s, Beach Boys, Bowie, and to name a group not starting with B, Electric Six. Planet Claire in particular a great ambient song to shoot folks to. I didn't mind the flock of cameos, but am embarrassed to say that I recognized Pink. I'd say it was far superior to the first one, which I'd give a 5 as popcorn and forget movie. I'd boil it down to just a good American-made wire-fu flick with some funny bits. I still really dislike the promotional tour of being giggly-girly buddies... Though, since so much of it is action and eye candy I wonder how much of it I'll remember story wise in a few hours. I'm happy that the T&A was secondary to cool combat sequences and silly banter.

Basically the girls and the villains are supers... I could see it as a particularly wacky RPG session on a night when folks needed a break from "serious gaming". Viewed in that context, I'd give it a 7 or an 8 out of 10. I'm really pleasantly surprised that it was as a good time as it was.

Additional Bonus - All of the Previews were *actual movie previews* and not Car / Soda Pop / Misc-Other Adverts.

During the film, I had some of the freshest nachos with the crispest and tastiest jalapenos ever, and a reasonably tasty flagon/fish tank/keg of raspberry iced-tea.

Afterwards, we went for a beer, where he had a burger, and then we both desserted on some chocolate mousse cake. Yummy yum. (After cleansing palates with ice water.) We got some good talking in, too.

Prior to going to the movie, I got some prezzies. Spark charts for World History and HTML… Both quite handy and very entertaining, and a build your own wooden frog model.

Random History Year Factoids - Featuring Weapons Development.
c. 8000 BCE - Bow and arrow Invented
c. 300 BCE - Crossbow in China
850 - First Gunpowder in China
1200 - First Explosive Rockets in China
1250 - Gunpowder introduced in Europe
1270 - First firearms in China
1320 - First European use of Cannons
1515-1520 - First Rifles Developed
1621 - First Modern Army under Gustavus II of Sweden
1834- Samuel Colt Develops the Revolver
1862 - Gatling creates machine gun
1915 - Germans use poison gas in warfare
1939 - Germany Atomic Fission discovered by Otto Hahn.
1941 - Manhattan Project to build atomic bomb begins
1952 - US explodes first Hydrogen Bomb
1953 - USSR Explodes Hydrogen Bomb
1998 - India and Pakistan test nuclear bombs

The speed at which knowledge builds upon itself is amazing. 7700 years from bow and arrow to crossbow. 700 years to develop firearms. 3 years to create atomic bombs. What does that say?
posted by Scott von Berg 2:58:47 PM

 
7/29/03
I found strange pleasure in this article in the Miami Herald. It seems we have a lot of ignorant "tour guides" roaming around, dispensing bogus history and celebrity information to unwitting (and probably uncaring) touristas. To rectify this situation, the Miami-Dade County Commission is considering licensing guides, and requiring a five-day, thirty-hour course to get the certificate. Needless to say, the scam artists (and guide companies) are against the idea.

I took the simple quiz in the paper, and I only missed four out of ten, and I've never taken a class in local history. I guess some stuff just sticks via osmosis.

Why is Joe Leiberman a member of the Democratic party? He is pro-war, pro-censorship, and just about Republican in everything but name.

Kerry or Graham seems to be the best bets... I like Graham, because he's got a pretty solid record on Capitol Hill. He has potential and appeals to a wide range of people, but he'll have to start making an effort real soon. Kerry is the one most likely to win the nomination. A decorated war veteran, he has become very outspoken in criticizing Bush on everything from the war to the economy to his Medicare bill. (I've bookmarked 'em on realchange.org, because I want to see what dirt pops up over time.)

I'm rather surprised that not much political advertising has risen up yet... I'd think that they need to get cracking, even with the current administration lately coming under increasing criticism on its policies in Iraq. Bush's approval rating has dropped to the pre-war level of 55 per cent, according to new Time/CNN opinion poll on Friday. As there is an eight per cent drop in President Bush's rating in May, 50 per cent of the respondents said they are very or somewhat likely to vote for Bush in the next year's election.

The landlord is knocking on the neighbor's door... My feeling is that if a person doesn't come after five minutes of knocking, or call out, leave 'em alone. Don't keep on banging like you're building a new house starting with his door.

I'm a big Bollywood dork for wanting to see both Saathiya and Kaante.

When I first saw this on my news collector, I thought it was going to take me to The Onion or some other gag news site. Sadly, this is a legit story. Pentagon's Futures Market Plan Condemned.

The Pentagon is setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.

[Democratic Sen. Byron] Dorgan described it as useless, offensive and "unbelievably stupid."

"Can you imagine if another country set up a betting parlor so that people could go in ... and bet on the assassination of an American political figure, or the overthrow of this institution or that institution?" he said.

Ugh.. and I thought *I* had a ghoulish streak.


posted by Scott von Berg 2:57:40 PM

 
7/28/03
Behold the wooly panda. It is plump and round. The nearby sound of a throttling chainsaw frightens him. 'Eek eek' says the panda.

No word from my brother this weekend. Dan took my advice and did his school work at the library today, given that his A/C has been out since Thursday, and won't be repaired until Tuesday. I'd find that pretty intolerable, but he's dealing with it pretty well, all told.

Newt is an insane spazmo today. Running around with his motor going a mile a minute. He was doing the "run so fast that the back end outpaces the front" resulting in a sort of sideways arc in pursuit of paper wads, his tail fully outpoofed like a raccoons. Very talkative, too.

Bro's got himself set up in an apartment for at least a month, and it looks like he'll do ok with a strict budget, if he really decides to run with it. I hope he can make it.

I dreamt last night of marketing "mood scents" a smart perfume that'd smell differently according to how you were feeling... and contact lenses that would show dashed lines exactly wherever you’d look, like laser pointers. I know I'd buy 'em. Be neat to see a roomful of them at a club sometime, too... girls would know if a guy was looking at their chest or not, as a handy side effect.

Best anti-piracy video ever. Don't copy that floppy.

showed me this pretty little thing.. Play full screen and with speakers on for most fun effect. (It's interactive)

Fill out the survey by typing in the first word that comes to mind that starts with the given letter/prefix.

A-lphabet
B-oloney
C-owabunga
D-ude (I have no idea why those appeared.)
E-ducation
F-lood
G-enghis
H-ayati
I-nformation
J-J Walker
K-mart
L-lama
M-ermaid
N-ewton
O-range
P-ollen
Q-uestion
R-odent
S-corch
T-itan
U-ncanny
V-olcano
W-ebbing
X-factor
Y-ellow
Z-enith
Anti-American
Bi-polar
Con-densation
Di-lithium
Euth-anasia (I don't think I use any other words that start with it at all?)
For-tean times
Gui-do
Homo-sapiens
Ill-uminati
Ja-son and the Argonauts
Kil-roy
Lu-xembourg
Min-erals
Ne-on
Or-der
Psy-chometry
Qu-enya
Re-ad
Sim-ulate
Tele-commute
Ur-anus
Va-lue
Wo-mbat
Xe-nomorph
Ye-ti
Ze-bra


Note. Orange Zinger Tea and strawberry pop tarts do not a healthy lunch make. Must preapre something extra tasty and healthy for din din.

Ok.. I need to do my shower/workout/shower. Until later, dear journal!

a year ago - Peter Gabriel bald, change the flavor of your sexual secretions, a bunch of broken picture links, worh1000 coolness - Persian elephant

2 years ago - chores, Tron 2.0, tick quote

three years ago got invited to an everway group, palindromes, food, translations.

Finally, no more waiting for a movie where Bruce Campbell is as brilliant as he was in ARMY OF DARKNESS. BUBBA HO-TEP

The Visible Embryo project is truly amazing. When I think about how many times I've heard ridiculous "facts" thrown around by both pro-abortion and anti-abortion people, I'm amazed sometimes to simply step back and marvel at how the whole thing works.

Wow.

A few notable deaths.... Bob Hope, of course, but also Matt Jefferies, Designer of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and Jane Barbe, famous phone voice.

Barbe was the queen of telephone recordings, whose voice was heard an estimated 40 million times a day in the 1980s and early 1990s on everything from automated time and weather messages to hotel wake-up calls.

She was heard on 90 percent of "intercept messages" - the recording played when something is wrong with a phone number - and 60 percent of automated time and temperature calling programs.

During her unusual 40-year career she articulated immortal lines, including, "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service" and "Please press 1 for more options."

Some people that undeniably touched everyone's lives in one way or another.

Okie doke... reunified my homepage, graphically. It was long overdue, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the linked journal page there yet. I dig that I can toss my blogrolling links below others on that page. My old one was looking sort of "1999", and has been long overdue for a makeover. Right now it's simple, but I can tweak and twiddle it. I think I might go with the gold and green text links rather than the white and gray.

Up next is reworking some of the text, revising my gallery, with maybe thumbs, and building a toy box.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:56:22 PM

 
7/27/03


The power went out at 11:54 this morning, and I called up FPL's good ol' 1-800-4-outage and was told by a pleasant machine voice that it detected my area by my phone number, knew of the problem, mentioned that it was affecting 1182 homes in the area, and would be fixed by 1:45. The system then offered to telephone me with updates on how things are going at different steps along the way. I accepted, but power came back up about 10 minutes later, so I guess it wasn't a big issue. The system called me about 20 minutes after that, assuring me that the power should be on, and to call them back if it's not the case. I think it's pretty groovy when automated stuff works so well.

Stuff Drawn on the palm, just fooling around this morning-



I've added All Consuming... It is an aggregation website that will let you know what the web log community is reading. learn more I'm impressed.. it went through and scanned for other book titles, as well as the one I entered into favorites. Yet another thing that uses livejournal's auto ping to weblogs.com, and helps to collect data.

Transforming Journey - covering the events in Pakistan. Using the power of burqas to get the job done, and (via ) I wonder how much of this is propaganda itself, or if she does suffer from Stockholm syndrome, or if she was just *really lucky*.

American Technology Corporation is on the cutting edge of audio developments. They make woofers and speakers... and, oh yeah, sonic bullets.


Sound and Fury
Sonic Bullets to Be Acoustic Weapon of the Future

By Judy Muller

Anyone who has seen Tom Cruise fire his state-of-the-art sound wave gun at his pursuers in Minority Report no doubt assumes it is a weapon from the arsenal of science fiction. But such a weapon, or at least a less-glamorous version, is scientific fact.

Woody Norris, the CEO of American Technology Corporation and a pioneer in ultrasound technology, has developed a non-lethal acoustic weapon that stops people in their tracks.
"[For] most people," said Norris, "even if they plug their ears, it will produce the equivalent of an instant migraine. Some people, it will knock them on their knees."

The device emits so-called "sonic bullets" along a narrow, intense beam up to 145 decibels, 50 times the human threshold of pain. It usually doesn't take that much to stop someone, as we learned in a demonstration in the company parking lot. The acoustic "weapon," in the demonstration model, looks like a huge stereo speaker, except this one sports urban camouflage.

The operator chooses one of many annoying sounds in the computer — in this case, the high pitched wail of a baby, played backwards — and aims it at us. At 110 decibels, we were forced to walk out of the beam's path, our ears ringing. Had we stayed longer, Norris said our skulls would literally start to vibrate.

Police departments and the Pentagon are flocking to Norris' headquarters in San Diego to see this revolutionary technology for themselves. The problem with past attempts to make an acoustic weapon is that sound traveled in every direction, affecting the operator, as well. Norris' narrow ultrasound beam takes care of that problem, meaning police could use it to subdue suspects or quell riots, without hurting bystanders or the operator, because the sound is directional.

"Tear gas lingers long after you've fired off the canisters," said Norris. "This, you switch it off and it's gone. And the damage is only temporary."

Army to Use as Sonic Cannons

The U.S. Army has already ordered its own prototype of the non-lethal acoustic weapon. It will be packaged in a camouflaged cylinder and either be handheld or mounted on an armored car.

Two security experts who were at the company on behalf of the Defense Department said it would be terrific for repelling suicide bombers and for rousting terrorists from their hideouts. Because the sound ricochets in tight, enclosed areas, said retired Marine Col. Peter Dotto, it would make it very uncomfortable for al Qaeda terrorists to stay in Afghan caves.

"They would have to come out," said Dotto, "and they probably would come out with their hands over their ears so they would be very easy to subdue at that point."

Practical Uses, Too

Not all the applications of this new technology are pain-inducing. Norris has invented a related acoustic device called the Hypersonic Sound System. Only when he turns the speaker in your direction, do you hear the message. For instance, liquid being poured over ice was the sound requested by a soda company to inspire people within earshot of a vending machine to quench their thirst.

Norris tried out the acoustic beam at a mall near his office and passers-by all stopped to listen when the sound was aimed at them. "That is absolutely amazing," said one woman, "it sounds like the sound is inside your head."

There are dozens of potential commercial uses, from shooing away pesky birds (geese off of golf courses, for example) to directing television sound so it doesn't disturb a sleeping spouse.

Whether friend or "friendly fire," this new technology is likely to affect almost every aspect of our lives, in ways we can only begin to imagine.

a year ago - some day tripping, cool squirrel, Belgium is a myth, tongue-trimming, lj hot-or-not

two years ago - overtired & grumpy, cockaigne, evil news, flash, evil news

three years ago - wanting to go on a group outing, discover marquee
posted by Scott von Berg 2:55:32 PM

 
7/26/03
Had to swap out my weather.com magnet on my user info page as it was expiring, and they only offer Javascript for it now.. since LJ hates any external scripting for security reasons, I had to go with wunderground. (I would've used weather pixie, but it's down half the time.)

Slow starting this morning...I think the body caught up on the slumber it lost the other night. It looks like a couple of my vampire children from the game have gone dormant. Interesting little location, a graveyard southeast of Larch and 50th. "One fresh grave particularly stands out. Here Lies Pazuzu. Brother We Hardly Knew Ye."

I like to play fishy, too. (hint, download it, so you can play it while off the net.)

Still no word from Brother regarding a trip to the movies. Dan's not in the best of moods, not feeling sociable.. I'll hear back from him in a little while, but I'm guessing not much is going to happen with him today.

Ok, the hunting for bambi guy admitted it's a hoax, at last.

LAS VEGAS - A promoter who offered to take men on "Hunting for Bambi" safaris in which they could hunt down naked young women with paintball guns admitted that it was a hoax designed to sell videos, the mayor says.

Michael Burdick found himself in the crosshairs of women's groups after he told a Las Vegas TV station that he was selling reservations to men willing to pay $5,000 to $10,000 for the safari experience.


Las Vegas officials investigated and found that the purported safaris were nothing but a hoax to promote the "Hunting for Bambi" videos that Burdick sells. The videos show nude women being hunted by men.

The footage in the videos "was all staged," Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday. "There were actors and actresses and there wasn't even the real shooting of paint balls."

Burdick did not immediately respond Friday to messages from The Associated Press, but he had previously insisted that the hunts were real.

John Redlein, an assistant city attorney, said Burdick offered the hunts at high prices to discourage bookings, and told investigators his Internet site could not even accept credit card charges in the amount necessary to reserve a hunt.

"He's told us in great detail ... that it's a scam to sell videotapes," Redlein said.

A report on Burdick's "Hunting for Bambi" first aired July 10 on KLAS. Burdick staged a paintball hunt for the station's camera crew, city officials said.

want to create your own freedom rock album?

Disc 1:
1. the byrds-turn, turn (to everything there is a season)
2. ten years after-I’d love to change the world
3. jethro tull-locomotive breath
4. joan boez-the night they drove old dixie down
5. edwin starr
6. santana-black magic woman
7. nilsson-jump into the fire
8. deep purple-smoke on the water
9. the brotherhood of man-united we stand
10. coven-one tin soldier (the legend of billy jack)
11. joe cocker-feelin’ alright
12. canned hear-going up the country
13. friend and lover-reach out of the darkness
14. america-a horse with no name
15. lynard skynard-free bird
16. the allman brothers-ramblin’ man
17. the guess who-share the land
18. elton john-friends
19. ocean-put your hand in the hand
20. three dog night-black & white

Disc 2:
1. derek and the dominos-layla
2. the moody blues-the story in your eyes
3. five man electrical band-signs
4. jonathan edwards-sunshine
5. the o’jays-love train
6. cream-white room
7. the guess who-no time
8. judy collins-both sides now
9. seals & croft-we may never pass this way again
10. zager & evans-in the year 2525
11. alice cooper-eighteen
12. deep purple-hush
13. the youngbloods-get together
14. sonny & cher-the beat goes on
15. dion-abraham, martin and john
16. melanie-lay down
17. spirit-I got a line on you
18. james taylor-fire and rain
19. lobo-me and you & a dog named sue
20. otis redding-(sittin’ on) the dock of the bay

I'm gonna sing the Doom song now.

a year ago - some missing pictures, wondering about my eyes, watching TV, evil news, some palm pics, Newt pics

2 years ago - senescence, thegosis, arrival as a pod, loving thoughts

3 years ago Buds for lunch (I'll miss that rare treat), dealing ok with winding down.

Soft rains coming down, not so heavy that it stopped folks from being outside, but heavy enough that I can hear water on the glass. Still no word back from the crew, so it's looking like not much is going to happen today. Looks like a good day to curl up with a book.

Earlier, I heard what I thought was my neighbor out front screeching in anger, but turned out to be a visiting boy who hasn't had his glands drop yet. He must've been 10 or so, but sounded for the life of me like a young woman.

Something about LJ that amazes me is the national diversity of folks on my list here. Off the top of my head, there's Canada, UK, Korea, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, not to mention folks all over the USA.

Just for fun...


I dig that they brought out Dr. Light for teen titans, though Trigon isn't my fave. Interesting that the Fearsome Five have all been given "youth potions" and renamed hive. gizmo, mammoth and jinx, now Dr. Light (still older). You can really see where Marv Wolfman's influence is poking through.

Just too a mental leap from Hive's Gizmo, to Invader Zim's Spider pack, to Doctor Octopus. I wonder if there were any other mainstream folks that hang from a backpack by four extensor-tentacles?

If they decide to do "Spider-man Three, in 3-D" (a la Jaws, Friday the 13th and Spy Kids), they'd better use Mysterio. (That'll keep with them using dead villains that dress in green and purple as the main foil, too.) Optical illusions, Psychedelic gas, freaky costume with eyes as a cloak holder and opaque head-dome.


posted by Scott von Berg 2:55:08 PM

 
7/25/03
Woo! The Hulk liked the word search graphic I made for him, and he linked to my journal!
posted by Scott von Berg 2:54:28 PM

 
7/25/03

scottobear is a Giant Ant that spins Vast Webs, is Highly Flammable, and has a single Horn on its Forehead and a Massively Swollen Skull. Strength: 6 Agility: 4 Intelligence: 12 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat scottobear, enter your name and choose an attack: fights scottobear using Strength Agility Intelligence

newton is a Giant Lizard that spins Vast Webs, is Undead, and has X-Ray Vision. Strength: 10 Agility: 4 Intelligence: 3 To see if your Giant Battle Monster can defeat newton, enter your name and choose an attack: fights newton using Strength Agility Intelligence

The above is a very cool meme.. I like it even better than battle monkeys or battle imps.

Ah, a lovely morning and afternoon, culminated by a super-scaldy shower o' doom after my stretching workout.

I was up and about at about 10:30 (fell asleep at about 6:30... already heard from the brother (he seems to be doing well) and from a contractor for workman's comp... giving me guff about traveling again. I've sent an email off to my HR person, and hope that she can straighten out Liberty, before I'm obliged to trot out the attorney. I've got no problem blasting the insurance if I'm in the right and they don't want to do their job properly. I'm one step from getting tough. (HR/WC was the only crappy part of my day)

Ideally, I'll be going to see a movie with the brother or Danny tomorrow (maybe both? they don't mix really)... we were thinking maybe sinbad or T3, depending on the mood. I'd like to catch whale rider if the time is right. It’ll be a brief excursion, just a movie and maybe a nibble. Speaking of nibbles, groceries came today, and the "lite key lime pie" yogurt is *REALLY GOOD*. yum.

I just heard about the guy who setup key-stroke capture software in multiple Kinko’s stores in New York City.
Don't let it happen to you.

NEW YORK - For more than a year, unbeknownst to people who used Internet terminals at Kinko's stores in New York, Juju Jiang was recording what they typed, paying particular attention to their passwords.
Jiang had secretly installed, in at least 14 Kinko's stores, software that logs individual keystrokes. He captured more than 450 passwords and user names, using them to access and even open bank accounts online.

The case, which led to a guilty plea earlier this month after Jiang was caught, highlights the dangers of using public Internet terminals at cybercafes, libraries, airports and other establishments.

"Use common sense when using any public terminal,'' said Neel Mehta, research engineer at Internet Security Systems Inc. "For most day-to- day stuff like surfing the Web, you're probably all right, but for anything sensitive you should think twice.''

Jiang was caught when, according to court records, he used one of the stolen passwords to access a computer with GoToMyPC software, which lets individuals remotely access their own computers from elsewhere.

The GoToMyPC subscriber was home at the time and suddenly saw the cursor on his computer move around the screen and files open as if by themselves. He then saw an account being opened in his name at an online payment transfer service.

Jiang, who is awaiting sentencing, admitted installing Invisible KeyLogger Stealth software at Kinko's as early as Feb. 14, 2001.

Mehta said that although millions of individuals use public terminals without trouble, they should be cautious.

"When you sit down at an Internet cafe, ask the owner or operator about the security measures in place,'' he said. "If they don't know or don't have anything in place, you could consider going somewhere else.''

Encrypting e-mail and Web sessions does nothing to combat keystroke loggers, which capture data before the scrambling occurs.

Data cookies also contribute to the risk of identity theft. Cookies are files that help Web sites remember who you are so you won't have to keep logging on to a site. But unless you remember to log out, these files could let the next person using the public terminal to surf the Web as you.

Furthermore, browsers typically record recent Web sites visited so users won't have to retype addresses. But such addresses often have user names and other sensitive information embedded.

Secure public terminals should by default have provisions for automatically flushing cookies and Web addresses when a customer leaves, Internet security experts say.

Kinko spokeswoman Maggie Thill said the company has "succeeded in making a similar attack extremely difficult in the future.'' She would not provide details, saying that to do so could make systems less secure.

Nonetheless, Thill said customers have a responsibility to "protect their information as they would a credit card slip.'' She said the company is trying to educate them through signs and other warnings.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:54:01 PM

 
7/25/03
Can't sleep... just sort of occupying myself. I treated myself to General Tso's Tofu, white rice and broccoli.

I highly recommend China Panda Take Out & Delivery
112 Davie Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
Phone: (954) 765-1080

Awesome food at a reasonable price. They do custom orders and are really amazingly friendly.

My fortune -

Your heart is pure, your mind clear, and soul devout.
Lucky Numbers 17, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30

Mom came by and brought me a present form her trip to Sweden... a little crazy-looking eye-patched Viking guy figurine (Odin?) with a huge beard and wielding a dagger. I'm going to have to take a picture of him to do it justice. I love getting loot from Sweden... probably my favorite knickknacks have come from there.

I have mixed feelings about the coming changes. Mage Knight is adding more rules for magic items, terrain, and domain. Downside is that since I'm only trading into it, I may never see any of those nifty features. Maybe I can parlay some of the unique items into other loot, but that's just me being over interested in a game I really haven't played in months.


WIZKIDS ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW MAGE KNIGHT
The Game That Started It All Revamps Miniatures Gaming All Over Again

July 25, 2003 (SEATTLE) — The game that started the hottest trend in the gaming world is set to once again twist tabletop recreation in a whole new direction.

WizKids, LLC, inventors of the collectable miniatures game (CMG) category, today announced a massive redesign of the world’s first CMG, Mage Knight™.

The revamp incorporates more than three years’ worth of worldwide tournament and play experience acquired by the company since the game’s release in 2000. While the mechanics of play remain the same, nearly everything else about Mage Knight has been updated. There are new game pieces, new rules, new victory conditions, and a new combat dial. In addition, Unique-level figures can be custom-equipped for every battle. The entire redesign has been accomplished while still retaining the playability of the more than 40 million Mage Knight figures already sold, as all figures from previous versions of Mage Knight will be 100% playable in the new game.

“Now Mage Knight is more exciting, more action-packed and more fun than ever,” said Jordan Weisman, founder and CEO of WizKids, LLC. “We’ve learned a lot in the past three years, from players and from our other games, and we’ve incorporated all our learning into the Mage Knight redesign.”

Three new elements in the game add to the level of strategic depth available to players. “Relics” are armor, books of magic and powerful weapons that players add to Unique-level figures to customize and further enhance their ability in combat. “Terrain” can be assembled to create landscape features that change the battleground. The set also includes “domains” that add battlefield variables such as weather, and help determine battle conditions. The new pieces will be randomly inserted into Mage Knight Starter Sets and booster boxes, giving players more game, and collectors more excitement, in every purchase.

Another thing Mage Knight fans will notice about the game is the new combat dial, which adds more depth to play by giving game figures attack and defense values that are more in line with their character’s individual strengths and abilities. Instead of the L-shaped stat slot that fans of WizKids’ CMGs have come to know and love, the new Mage Knight combat dial features a more pie-shaped window that adds a new dimension to game play. A new “ability nexus” can modify a figure’s speed, attack, defense or damage value to reflect his or her special abilities as they change in combat.

The Mage Knight rules changes also allow for bigger armies without a dramatic increase in game time, so players get more action into every game. There are also new victory conditions that focus on gaining and holding battlefield objectives, keeping action at an exciting pace right up to the end of the game.

“We listened to our fans and we think they’ll be very pleased by the new game. At the same time, there’s a lot more in Mage Knight to capture the attention of new players,” said Weisman. “This means there’s more to play, more to trade, and more to collect. This is a very good day for everyone who enjoys games and fantasy.”

Recently acquired by Topps Corporation, WizKids manufactures and distributes collectable miniatures games. The company invented the category in 2000, and its games are now played in more than 56 countries worldwide. To date, WizKids has sold more than 100 million miniature figures under the Mage Knight, MechWarrior® and HeroClix™ game brands, making it one of the fastest-growing game companies in the United States. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.

Well, I guess I'll try hitting the sack, before it's time for me to get up. Until later, dear journal.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:53:46 PM

 
7/24/03
The Hulk's Diary is Great. Finally, a glimpse into ol' Green-eyes' thoughts.

Bonsai Potato! Containing the answer to the eternal question: "How can I maintain aesthetic balance in a multi-variety arrangement dominated by a mono-planar asymmetrical alternating branch stalk?"

The Black Food Dish Project. (Kitties/Blair Witch), this cracked me up.

Well, I sold my first blue flame oxford last night, 19 to go. (or 2 to go to make the auction pay for itself.)

Brother is in a hotel rather than a hostel right now, and it looks like he'll be packing into an apartment shortly. Also in the works is a cell phone, so he can get back into his regular boat detail. It seems like he had folks over last night, but hopefully it was just a celebration that he's out and about now, and not going to become a habit. He's taking my advice and going to see a financial counselor to help him with how he handles his dough. Hopefully it'll sink in and he doesn't just scatter his funds to the 4 winds. Upside of him getting a settlement is that he'll be giving me a portion of the funds he's borrowed from me over the last couple of years. I'll consider that found money if I get it.

I had some wonderful thoughts and dreams of my sweetheart last night / this morning... She can warm my heart so easily. I really am amazingly fortunate and happy that she's in my life.

That Batman film is available online now. I'm not sure which is funnier about this film... the fact that Batman is played by "America's Most Trusted Fitness Professional" or the fact that Joker is played by Growing Pains' very own "Boner" the son of Star Trek's Chekov or the fact that the director has directed a Japanese commercial for Pocari Sweat, the most disgustingly named drink ever. Sadly, I can't get it to play on my system... some missing QuickTime elements. I'll try to download a newer version later tonight.

A note on Monty Python: Pie Iesu domine/Dona eis requiem *whap*--It's from the Dies Irae, and (roughly) translates: Merciful lord Jesus/Grant them rest

Play a little witch that likes to catch kids, and put 'em in a cauldron!

Skits from The State available for viewing. I think it's the whole series. Eating Muppets was one of my faves.

a year ago - palm doodle-strip, lost hosted photos, crank yankers 80% sucks. Fortean times, F-ing Mongorians!

2 years ago - important people, ne plus ultra, anile, evil news, more majestic, now defunct Newton ICQ-bot

3 years ago - junky food, prepped April for launch, budgeting, hung out with bro, me no like stinky!
posted by Scott von Berg 2:52:42 PM

 
7/23/03
I never did take myself out for a bit to eat. Maybe tomorrow after getting my brace fitted.

Brother came by at the wee hours and broke me out of a sound sleep in order to get a clean shirt for the meeting with the lawyer this morning... hopefully, he'll get the money from his settlement, and be well on his way to a more comfortable living arrangement. (And to a place that he can store all of his stuff, too. It's been underfoot for a long time now.) I'll be really happy when he's back on his feet in a place of his own with a phone, and ready to start rolling in the workforce again.

This fish just looks hostile to me. You know it's thinking bad things. He's got the evil eye. I think he's more sinister than the monkfish.

Just wait until it finishes his breathing apparatus and robo-legs. Then we'll all be sorry. Click here and see.



For me, this bizarre fish (the size of a tennis ball) is one of the most fascinating creatures in the deep sea. It has it all, it's black, has big savage teeth, little nasty pin eyes, a big flabby stomach ready to fit in anything it can catch (irrelevant of size) and a rod lure off the top of its head with a glowing tip to coax in stupid prey. It doesn’t stop there: its flesh is watery, its bones are very light (barely coated by a thin layer of calcium carbonate) and it can barely swim (there’s not much of a tail). This animal just hangs mid-water waving its little lure and waiting to chomp. And this is only what the female looks like! The male is completely different. He's very small and looks like a black jellybean with fins. He has no lure, has big eyes, huge nostrils and a fairly small mouth with curved hooked teeth. His body is made of strong red muscle for swimming long distances. Why the difference? She's looking for food, he's looking for her. She releases anglerfish-type perfumes into the water and he spends all his time swimming around looking and smelling for her. When he eventually finds her (in the dark), he latches on to her side (with his hooked teeth) and drinks her food-rich blood in return for producing the sperm she needs when it comes time to release her eggs.

The perfect couple. Man, those things are scarier to me than sharks.

Cool seimens commercial. -A futuristic society with a ban on dancing meets a dedicated rebel fighting for his rights to free expression.

Note, opinion/belief questions could change at any time.

YOUR NAME
The singular boring question: What is your name?
.:. Scott
If you had been born a member of the opposite sex, what would your name have been?
.:.I'm guessing I'd be named Jean, but I'm not sure.
Would you name a child of yours after you?
.:. Sure, it's a bit of a tradition, but I'd be just as happy to not to.
If you had to switch first names with a friend of yours, who would you switch with?
.:. Scott. (Is that Cheating? If so, Benjamin)
What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
.:. Todd, Scout, John, Gus (?!) ...don't get me started on my last name
If you were to become famous, would you drop your last name (like Madonna, Cher, Roseanne)?
.:. Doubtful, I'm proud of my last name... I'd probably opt to be known as Scotto than Scott
DEEP THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS
Do you believe in the traditional view of Heaven and Hell?
.:. No. I really feel we can't quantify that stuff with the measuring equipment we have.
Do you think God has a gender?
.:. No, I don't imagine a creative force of nature having a mate in a sexual sense. (But what do I know?)
Do you think science counteracts religion?
.:. Not when either is done right. Science is a method of asking questions. Religion is a way of seeking guidance.
Do you believe in organized religion?
.:. I believe it exists, and works for some people. It's not my thing.
Where do you think we go when we die?
.:. I have no idea. I'd like to know.
Do you feel a little funny thinking about the questions in this section?
.:. Nah. I do think they're pretty unanswerable, though.

HUMOR
How easy is it to make you laugh?
.:. If I like you, *really easy*.
What person you know makes you laugh the most?
.:. Oh, man, my sweetheart cracks me up nearly every time we talk.
Do you laugh at jokes you know you shouldn't?
.:. Yup.
Do you tell jokes you know you shouldn't?
.:. In mixed company, no. To People I know that can take it, yup.
What words instantly make you laugh or at least smile?
.:. Kumquat. Shiznit. Victrola. Many many more.
What do you think is the funniest thing you've ever said or written?
.:. I have no idea. I can be really funny sometimes, and other times, incredibly lame. It's a question of timing and position.

MUSIC
Do you ever dance to music when nobody's watching?
.:. Sure.. I more often sing along.
What is/are the worst song(s) you have ever heard?
.:. Your Body Is A Wonderland-John Mayer comes to mind but I'm sure there are worse.
What song(s) do you wish you could understand a little better?
.:. A lot.. any that are well written but poorly articulated... Bob Dylan / Stevie Nicks are wonderful, but sort of slurry.
What song(s) are constantly in your head?
.:. Oh, it mixes up, Boogie Man, Assorted Dean Martin, TV Themes all pop up at different times.
What song(s) do you think describe your personality best?
.:. varies, but right now... The Ancient Egyptians by Poi Dog Pondering
If you were to serenade the object of your affections, which song(s) would you use?
.:. #36, DMB... it depends on the style of mood happening
If the object of your affections were to serenade you, what song(s) would you hope he or she used?
.:. I'd just be delighted to be serenaded. She has a wonderful voice and well-suited to it.

MOVIES
What movie(s) do you love that nobody else seems to?
.:. The Monkees- Head, Robin Williams - Popeye, Sean Connery - Zardoz all stand out in my mind.
Do you agree with the idea that sequels are always worse than the original?
.:. Usually, but not always. (see Star Trek, Aliens, and Star Wars.)
Who's your favorite Star Wars character?
.:. Han Solo / Chewie (they're a single unit.)
What kind of movie do you think there should be more of?
.:. Well written "non-formula" flicks.
What movie(s) do you simply not understand the appeal of?
.:. None... they all have a crowd that likes 'em.

FOOD
When eating, are you more concerned with taste or healthiness?
.:. I'm bad, and prefer flavor to health but try to balance the two when I can.
What's your favorite kind of cheese?
.:. Cheddar, but I like many varieties
What do you think your answer to the previous question reveals about your personality?
.:. More live for the moment than for the future?
If you knew exactly what went into Chinese food, hamburger meat, etc., would you still eat it?
.:. I still eat Chinese food, and make it at home, so I guess so.
Do you ever feel guilty eating meat?
.:. No.

COMPUTERS
Mac or PC?
.:. Whatever can get the job done... usually that means PC
How much do you actually care about the inner workings of your computer, as long as it works?
.:. If it works, it's not a problem.. but computers can be constantly tweaked, and made to work better.
Do you ever begin preferring IMs to other forms of conversation?
.:. Depends who I'm talking to.
Do you find you're different talking through IMs than face-to-face or on the telephone?
.:. Not really.
Have you ever ended bid on something on eBay and regretted it later?
.:. not yet, but I imagine that day'll come.

THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
Have you ever wished you could experience being the other gender?
.:. Some elements, but certainly not all, and certainly not permanently.
What do you love most about the other gender?
.:. How they complete the "other half of the puzzle" and make us a whole people. The way they can carry different emotional and physical weights than men
What do you dislike most about the other gender?
.:. When they live up to the negative stereotypes. (same as my own, really)
What do you understand least about the other gender?
.:. Again, the big stereotypes.

CELEBRITIES
Do you sometimes see a movie or watch a show just because a good-looking celebrity is in it?
.:. Nah.
What celebrity's autograph do you want most?
.:. William Shakespeare, if only to sell it.
Have people ever said you looked like a celebrity, and if so, who?
.:. A few.. Kevin Smith, Greg Allman, Grizzly Adams, Travis Tritt, Mick Foley, any burly, bearded dude with long hair.
If there was to be a movie about you, who do you think should play you (in personality, looks or both)?
.:. John Goodman
Does it ever annoy you when you know someone is a celebrity but you can't remember why?
.:. Not sure what's meant by that.. I don't think I've had that happen
If you could enter any celebrity's mind like in "Being John Malkovich", whose would you enter?
.:. Arnold Schwarzenegger (He has political elements and a lot of information available to him)
Do you want to be John Malkovich?
.:. Sure, I'd try it.

NUMBERS
Do you laugh when you hear or read the number 69?
.:. not generally, but if feeling juvie, yeah. maybe if I was playing at being Bill or Ted
Were you lying about your answer to the previous question?
.:. Nope
Do you actually know your Social Security Number?
.:. sure do
Do you actually know your IP address?
.:. it's dynamic. I could find out quickly, though
Do you know what an IP address is?
.:. Yes
Do you know the four-character extension on your ZIP code?
.:. Yep
Ever thought there were too many numbers floating around in our lives?
.:. Only too many if you need to know them. Many can be ignored. Rather, not generally.
Does your head begin to hurt when you think of infinity, imaginary numbers, irrational numbers, etc.?
.:. No, it's just a useful data construct.
What do you think of pi?
.:. It was a nifty black and white movie with a neat sound track.

LOVE, SEX AND ALL THAT
Did you get a little frightened or uncomfortable seeing this as a section title?
.:. No
If someone you had no interest in dating expressed interest in dating you, how would you feel?
.:. Depends on who they are. Generally flattered.
Do you prefer getting to know someone first before dating them or going in "blind"?
.:. Known, preferably
Could you carry on a relationship with someone with the same first name as a family member?
.:. Yes, but I'd probably use a nickname
Have you ever wished it was more "socially acceptable" for a girl to ask a guy out?
.:. Only if it'd benefit me.
What's your opinion on sex without emotional commitment?
.:. I think commitment is far better.
Have you ever been romantically attracted to someone physically unattractive?
.:. yes, though my mind paints people I like as more attractive, and people I dislike as less so.
Do you think the opposite sex finds you good-looking?
.:. Some do, some don't.
Would you be willing to give up sex in exchange for an emotional commitment you knew would last?
.:. Yes, but I prefer having both.


POSSESSIONS
What is your favorite possession?
.:. If Newt counts as a possession,(he does, according to the law, I think) Newt. Inanimate? my box of memories in my top drawer.
What physical, tangible possession do you want most?
.:. Hmm... My own house, with a library.
How badly do you want it?
.:. I'd like to have it one day. I won't kill for it or anything.
Have you ever seen 'The Exorcist'?
.:. Yes
How long did it take you to understand why the last question is in this section?
.:. immediately

HOLIDAYS
Does Christmas music too far away from Christmas annoy you?
.:. nope, as long as it's not the same tune repeated over and over
How old do you think you will be before you stop liking getting older?
.:. Heck, I think I'll always prefer that to the alternative.
What was the best Halloween costume you ever had?
.:. I make a mighty fine pirate, if I do say so myself.
What was the worst Halloween costume you ever had?
.:. ghost/sheet, with skull-mask
What holiday do you think has still managed to retain its original meaning?
.:. New Year's seems to have.
There are currently no federal holidays during August -- what should be put there?
.:. Women's Equality day, August 26 Celebrate the day they were given the vote.

MEMORIES
How good is your short-term memory?
.:. Wildly variable. Sometimes superb. sometimes non-existent.
How good is your long-term memory?
.:. Very good.
What is your earliest memory?
.:. Going to the Zoo with Michelle, My mom, and Vera. I think.
What is your happiest memory?
.:. Hard to say.. I've got a lot. Finding love and finding it reciprocated is certainly in there.
What is your strangest memory?
.:. A lot of strong dreams as a kid...so vivid that that seemed real, but so surreal that they couldn't be.
What song, movie, etc. do you wish you could memorize?
.:. hmm.. I think you can learn anything like that with enough repetition.

TEARS
What movie makes/made you cry?
.:. Oh, I can be a big sap at times. Any good mush can do that, if the setting is right. Charlotte's Web is a good example.
What book makes/made you cry?
.:. See above, ex would be Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury in parts.
What song makes/made you cry?
.:. see above.. but an ex. would be Little Twelvetoes - Schoolhouse Rock
What makes/made you laugh so hard you cried?
.:. Oh, good friends can get me on a laughing jag, if the mood sets it. I know that my sweetheart, bro, Dan, Doug, Ray, Dave, Kev, Island Boy, and I think maybe Sappho have all done it at one point or another.

A captive female crow, confronted with a task that required a curved tool, spontaneously bent a piece of straight wire into a hooked shape -- and then repeated the behavior in nine out of ten subsequent trials. Though these crows are known to employ tools in the wild using natural materials, this bird had no prior training with the use of pliant materials such as wire -- a fact that makes its apparently spontaneous, highly specific problem-solving all the more interesting, and raises intriguing questions about the evolutionary preconditions for complex cognition. Video available.

a year ago - Janet Reno, 1000 blank white cards, lost links, Dumpster Diving, singing kitty, palm sketches, snickitty-snackitty man, managing activism

two years ago - melted heart, epizootic ,hair bears, playing majestic

three years ago - bedtime thoughts

Well, since lj is now (finally, after some months of it trying to work) sending auto-updates to weblogs.com (if you checked "yes" to send it) journals can appear on utilities like blogrolls or technocrati now. In addition, if you geocode your journal, you can have your entries automatically pop up on a world map as you update. (within 3 minutes at the most.)

Of course, that's for folks that want to be seen on the web... kind of pointless if you have all private/friends-only posts.



While I'm on the subject of Lj… it seems that they've run out of South park names for the assorted clusters. Recently the "Green" cluster was having trouble, and that's the first I've heard it mentioned. I guess they shuffled some folks around again, though I'm still on the Chef cluster.

If you'd like to know which one you're on, you can click here. (It may be different than the last time)

On a totally unrelated note -

Doctor Octopus...

...gave up evil to pursue a career as a musician.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:48:07 PM

 
7/22/03
Perhaps the best ever episode of Samauri Jack last night.. a really good treatment of a exciting and yet spooky posessed house story. Speaking of which - Real-life ghost stories. I don't know if any of them are real, but I like to pretend they are, and then proceed to scare the tar out of myself. After about twenty or thirty minutes of them, sitting in your room with the lights off, you start to hear things; start to imagine what might be outside the window right now, waiting for you.

The MRI company screwed up, and thought that my appointment is today rather than wednesday.. so I had call to reschedule cancel my appointment for the foot piece. I'm sure the MRI has priority. I've left a message, and hopefully they canfit me in wednesday about the time of my last appt.

Semi-cheated and added more feeds to my friend's list. I don't feel too guilty, because there's no huge text, just comics and pictures of the day. I made a filter that will allow viewing of feeds that are primarily "pictures" I don't know if it'll work for folks that aren't me, though. (warning, some of the photos can be bandwidth suckers)

I would also like a swimming pool to work in, and a Jacuzzi to soften up before, and relax in after. While I'm making wishes, I haven't had takeout in forever, and the last time I've eaten out was with Dan at Subway the other week. I'm in the mood for some delicious, not-made-by-me, fresh food. There's an assortment of things I'd really enjoy, but I would really like some Thai or Indian food especially, but I could go for just about anything that didn't come out of the freezer or cupboard. I suspect the latter is more of an immediate possibility.

I noticed that the userpic page is now 2-up, rather than one long strip of icons. I'm not sure which style I prefer.

Three words as reasons to see The Pirates of the Carribean movie: Zombie. Pirate. Monkey.

Microsoft chosen as exclusive Homeland Security contractor +
Microsoft admits critical flaw in nearly all Windows software =
Terror Alert raised to Blue Screen Of Death

Former Ugandan leader Idi Amin - whose 1971 to 1979 regime was one of the bloodiest in African history - reportedly remains in a coma after three days on a life support machine.

Random Scotto factoid - As a boy my parents would slip me a lifesaver before taking communion, because I didn't like the taste of the bread or wine served as host at my church. (preferably butterscotch, rather than a mint... mint just made it worse)

a year ago - dreams, sounds, guns, action comics #1, hello kitty stress test, bike named, infinity

2 years ago - Cohort, fwap, morning speech quiz, coloring game, kitty cookies, sunflower bread, web indexes, english language, Olestra conspiracy

3 years ago - X-men with Dan, Robb's Radio, went to Hops, April reading my LJ

pythoness (PIE-thuh-nis) noun

1. A woman with the power of divination.

2. The priestess of Apollo at Delphi in Greek mythology.

[Ultimately from Greek puthon (python).]

"The coffee finds nothing else in the sack, and so it attacks these
delicate and voluptuous linings; it acts like a food and demands
digestive juices; it wrings and twists the stomach for these juices,
appealing as a pythoness appeals to her god ..."
Honore de Balzac; The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee; 1830s.
(translated from the French by Robert Onopa)

Dear scam lotteries,

You'd be at least a *little* more likely to trick me if the reply address didn't go back to yahoo, hotmail or Netscape. If you’re going to give me $500,000, you could afford your own domain. megalottery@hotmail.com and standardtrust@netscape.net make me assume that you're just a big ol' fibber. (In addition to my not using the mail address you sent to register anything, especially on-line lotteries or quizzes.)

Sincerely,
Scott-you-no-fool-me-O’Bear.

Ugh... my doctor is going on a 3 1/2 week vacation. Even though I got a MRI this morning, I won't get to see him until 8/25 9am, at the very earliest to review it. I am glad that he straightened out worker’s comp before launching. (I've not heard hide nor hair from them since I talked to the doctor.)

Overall the MRI went very well, and I got to talk to the guy who took the best care of me in the Delray hospital when I first was hurt. The only downsides were that due to a loose cable, I had to be rescanned twice, and it got pretty uncomfortable in my sarcophagus, and the "scanning dye" injection went in without feeling a thing... but when I removed the band-aid, it took a good bit of hair with it, as well as a surface layer of skin. My blood pressure was decent at, 116/76.

The Likely Story posits that George W. Bush may have epilepsy, and that the disease or its medication may be responsible for several otherwise hard-to-explain Bush moments, including "the Pretzel Incident." There's some anecdotal evidence to support it, and Bush has never released his full medical records. Most people thought that was perhaps to hide his younger drug abuse, but maybe not... I do feel that medical records are a public interest piece, and that if he does have something along those lines, it should be brought to the public's attention, if only to raise awareness of the disease.

secondhand bad breath causes spontaneous human combustion.

Sometimes it feels like...

Random Scotto factoid - When I think of 80's songs appropriate to Halloween (As I just was), I think of Rockwell's "Somebody's watching me"


I'm just an average guy with an average life
I work from nine to five, hey hell I pay the price
But I want is to be left alone in my average home
But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone

*I always feel that somebody's watchin' me
And I have no privacy
I always feel that somebody's watchin' me
Is it just a dream?

When I come home at night
I bolt the door real tight
People call me on the phone
I'm trying to avoid
Well, can the people on TV see me or am
I just paranoid

Chorus

When I'm in the shower, I'm afraid to wash my hair
I might open my eyes and find someone standing there
People say I'm crazy, just a little touched
But maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much
That's why...

I always feel like somebody's watching me
Who's playing tricks on me
I always feel like somebody's watching me
Tell me it can't be

I don't know anymore
Are the neighbors watching me
Well is the mailman watching me
And I don't feel safe anymore, oh what a mess
I wonder who's watching me now?
Who? The IRS?

I always feel like somebody's watching me
Who's playing tricks on me
I always feel like somebody's watching me
I can't enjoy my tea!
posted by Scott von Berg 2:47:07 PM

 
7/21/03
I slept long and hard last night. I think I got 10 hours.. the best night's sleep in an age.. and after a 2 hour nap yesterday. I can only hope it's an element of solid healing.I've had the devil NingPo MahJong introduced to me this weekend.. probably one of the best versions I've seen. (I probably have 8 versions between my palmtop, and public domain game disks.) I could just leave the music playing in the background all day.

UNDEAD: The Movie.... very promising (not much at the imdb entry yet.) (warning, images are typical zombie monster beasites.. may not be suitable for squeamish or work places) The Trailer in Quicktime...think Night of The Living Dead meets Peter Jackson's Braindead (aka Dead/Alive)

I haven't done a word of the day in a while, but this one showed up and I had to include it.

beestings (BEE-stingz) noun, also beastings, biestings

First milk produced by a mammal, especially a cow, after giving birth.
Also known as colostrum or foremilk.

[From Middle English bestynge, from Old English bysting.]

"Two thriving calves she suckles twice a day,
And twice besides her beestings never fail
To store the dairy with a brimming pail."
Publius Vergilius Maro (translated by John Dryden); The Works of Virgil.

Careful of google image search. The dangers of searching for something as simple as "peasant blouse" can result in a naked woman nibbling a banana as the first result if you have safesearch turned off. (and you have to, if you want to find most of the useful art)

A peek at doc ock from spidey 2, electric boogaloo, via the Gray Pumpkin. I don't mind this look over chubby guy in the green jumpsuit / moe haircut. he's got the dark glasses and a look of general menace, so it's cool by me. Hopefully he'll still smoke cigars. I wonder if he'll have his "spidey signal" next movie? I also wonder if they'll explore the romance between him and Aunt May (since he seems much younger now.) I hear he's dead in the current comics. Also a nifty Batman Movie.. looks more comic booky, less "latexy". (text is fan-written so there may be some potty-language there.)

1 year ago - Vistiing Danny, played pokemon, orcs n the hood, reign of fire with Dave, beef recall

2 years ago - eremite, watched the sun come up, poll creation, why I trim, cooking poll

3 years ago - got the first LJ client, movie pondering


posted by Scott von Berg 2:46:16 PM

 
7/20/03
Saw my brother yesterday, briefly. It seems that he will be getting his long-awaited settlement some time next week if all goes well. He says that he'll give me a healthy chunk of it, to go towards the money he owes me, and put the rest toward getting a regular monthly apartment and activate his cell-phone in order to get on track (rather than his current hostel/ floor space/ day labor situation. I want him to get some council on how to handle money, and I may help him to open an account, if only to keep him form pissing it away as soon as he gets it. We'll see where it goes.

I've been drinking a *lot* of water / iced tea these days. I keep a few liters nearby at almost all times. Freeze half a bottle the night before, and fill the rest to keep it cool all day long.

A 3,500-4,000-year old mummified monkey is seen on display in the Egyptian Museum's new section for ancient mummified pets July 6, 2003. Ancient Egyptians loved their pets so much they even wanted to take them into the after life. REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby

I'm enjoying playing with these weird Asian monkey mazes

Teen Titans last night wasn't bad, but I was braced for the anime nods and it skewing to a younger crowd. I'm not sure why it's on at 9pm... Perhaps 7 or so is a better slot. I think that they got the vibe right for the core characters, and the music was very appropriate. The Hive kids were good basic villains, too.

Happy 34th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and moon landing!

On researching with Google, I get so many crank sites that feel the landing was a hoax. NASA has a site to refute those claims. Badastronomy.com has a nice list, too.

Noises from the world's largest archive of animal sounds are being made available for use as ring tones for cell phone users, the British Library said yesterday.

Cell phone ring tones will soon go ape

London: Noises from the world's largest archive of animal sounds are being made available for use as ring tones for cell phone users, the British Library said here yesterday.

Among the sounds available are the thuds of the male gorilla beating its chest to impress females and scare off competitors, the grunting of various species of pig and raucous bird calls from the Amazon jungle.

The library claims to have the world's largest animal sound archive and is now making its 100 000 recordings available to two companies that will in turn put some of them on the internet by the end of the week.

Users can allocate different calls to different callers - perhaps the gentle cooing of a dove for calls from a girl- or boyfriend, the grunting of a pig from the bank manager and an outraged squawk from the wife or husband.

The global market in downloading ring tones is put at $4 billion a year.

Richard Ranft, the curator of the wildlife section at the British Library Sound Archive, is pushing British birdsong.

"Many bird sounds are proven to be relaxing - we provide a lot of doctors' surgeries with bird calls for their waiting rooms for exactly that reason," he said.

"They can also be very evocative: the fiery-necked nightjar song is tremendously beautiful and serene."

Not to be outdone, the Royal Opera House is making some of its recorded music available for the same purpose, and the National Gallery is making its paintings available for picture messaging. - Sapa-dpa

1 year ago - bike name poll, palm doodles, planning to visit Danny with his busted leg

2 years ago - rough night, slake, ambisinister, voice activated tech, how far would you go poll

3 years ago - counting days, finished first Harry Potter, books I repeat read, abortive attempt to track intake

His knowing brown eyes held her gaze for a seeming eternity, his powerful arms clasped her slim body in an irresistible embrace, and from his broad, hairy chest a primal smell of "male" tantalized her nostrils; "Looks like another long night in the ape house" thought veterinarian Abigail Brown as she gingerly reached for the constipated gorilla's suppository.

Ok, Snopes has revised the "Undecided" on Hunting for Bambi to a False. I'm very happy that it turned out to be a hoax, but I would like to see some accountability held to folks both failing to properly check facts and reporting outright lies to the news.

Wow... I must've needed a nap desperately, earlier. I nodded my head for a moment, and woke up like 2 hours later. It was like I had a total system shutdown. Newt woke me up with a couple of swabs and a desire to chase paper wads. There's something to be said to being awakened by a little furball that wants to just play.

Skimming around assorted communities and discovered consumer reports review on condoms.

This spectacular “blue marble” image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date. Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet. These images are freely available to educators, scientists, museums, and the public.

The hungry tiger gave me a recipe for sort of a mock uttapam (Indian style pancakes).. Designed primarily as a method to get curry from your plate into your mouth. Claims are that they are "chewy, flavorful, plentiful, and excellent for transporting curry from plate to mouth. They would make a nice snack on their own, too, and I think they would even do well made ahead of time and reheated, so don't be afraid of leftovers."

The proportions below make about 10 pancakes if you make the batter on the thin side and the pancakes about the size of a saucer.

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch sugar
A teaspoon powdered buttermilk (optional)
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
Generous pinch ground fenugreek

Mix the yeast, warm water and sugar in a large mixing bowl and let rest for five minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, and buttermilk powder (if you have some around -- or you could substitute buttermilk for some of the water) until just mixed. Let rest 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the mustard seeds and fenugreek in the oil until the seeds begin to pop. I find it convenient to use a metal ladle for this purpose. The oil and spices go in the bowl of the ladle, and then I swirl them gently as they heat, holding them about two inches above the surface of my gas burner. Dump the hot oil and seeds into the batter, and stir in, being sure to stir up from the bottom of the bowl.

Let the batter sit another 15 minutes. Turn the oven to some low temperature, just enough to keep things warm, and put a plate inside. Heat a nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron griddle over medium-high heat, and then make the pancakes: Drop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle (which you can brush with oil first, if you like, and if you want crisper pancakes) and use the bottom of your ladle to spread it out thin, in a quick spiraling motion. You can thin the batter with more water if you want the pancakes to be more cakelike. When the entire top of the pancake has lost its wet sheen, turn it over. Cook, turning a couple of times, until both sides are speckled reddish brown. Transfer to the plate in the oven, and repeat until the batter is all gone.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:45:45 PM

 
7/19/03
From here
During the ICEX 2003 naval exercises near the North Pole, the American submarine Connecticut (SSN 22) poked its sail and rudder through the ice. The sub surfaced in an area of polar ice between Alaska and the North Pole Subs in the arctic have long ago learned to look out for polar bears, especially if some of the crew are allowed out on the ice. In this case, a large (700-800) pound polar bear was seen approaching the sub. For about 40 minutes, the bear loitered around the subs rear rudder. It took a bite out of the rudder and, finding it inedible, stayed around the area of broken ice around the rudder for a while, apparently thinking a seal (the bears favorite food) might use it as an air hole. The bear finally left when he heard the noise of an approaching helicopter. When an officer first looked around outside via the periscope, he noted that his sub was being stalked by a hostile polar bear. The periscope cam was turned on, and these photos of a polar bear chewing on the subs rear rudder resulted. The damage was said to be minor. The SSN 22 is a Seawolf class boat, one of the navy's newest submarines. It wasn't designed as a polar bear snack, but that's how life is sometimes.







There are over 20,000 polar bears living in Arctic waters (although some live in Hudson's bay and down the Pacific coast of Alaska.) The bears normally live on pack ice or ice flows and prey on seals. Some come ashore during July and August, when offshore ice melts. There they live off their fat, or dead sea life that washes ashore. Some have been seen as far north as the North Pole, but there's little food for them up there.

American submarines have been operating under the Arctic ice for over half a century. In August, 1958, the American nuclear submarine USS Nautilus, passed under the ice at the North Pole for the first time. In the Summer of 1962, two U.S. nuclear subs surfaced at the north pole. All of this arctic activity was to prove that nuclear subs could operate up there, and that ballistic missile subs could launch their missiles there as well. American, and Russian, subs have been operating up there ever since. They have also used their sonar to measure the ice thickness and report that the ice has lost 40 percent of its thickness in the last 20 years. This has caused problems for the polar bears, who feed on seals that surface near offshore ice flows or through breathing holes in pack ice. Some bears are forced to come ashore earlier because of the longer warm season. This is caused by a combination of global warming and the normal fluctuation of Arctic ice thickness.

Submariners have seen polar bears in the past, but this is one of the few times that the bear saw the sub first, and apparently mistook it for the world's largest chunk of bear food.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:44:52 PM

 
7/19/03
Directly from waking to notepad... elements escaped my brain even as I typed it.


I dreamt that I was back home at the house in Boynton Beach. I was in the guest bathroom, seated on the john (well, on the top of the lid), and was pressing different tiles in sequence, like a typewriter. As a result, a paper came out with a bunch of medical history, mentioning that my brain and spine had been transplanted into another baby when I was just born. No reason was given, but it did make mention of refastening the new skull with care "using baby-blue, strength 4x." This angered me a little, as I wondered why nobody had told me, and was concerned as to what had happened to my host-baby's previous brain and cord. Were they swapped out? Discarded? I hit another set of tile-keys and spun the paper-roll, and the medical report was plucked from my hands and returned to wherever bathroom medical reports filing systems took it. I went to the living room to confront my family, and it turned out that my mother was cutting my brother's hair in the back yard, and had left the screen door open. Newt had just gotten out and I walked over there and swept him up into my arms, while I proceeded to berate those outside for leaving the door open and letting him escape into a cruel and car-filled outdoors. They were fairly apathetic about the whole thing, saying basically "He's yours, it's your responsibility to keep an eye on him, no matter what stupid things we do to endanger his life." Too disgusted to even ask about my transplant at that point, I headed back to my bedroom, while I overhear my sweetheart talking on the phone trying to raise money. I knock on the door of the room where she's on the phone; she hangs up and starts playing with Newtie while I ask her what's wrong and if she would like a loan. Though she sounded a little upset, she said that it was nothing and not to worry about it... I showed her a small stash of cash on the bookshelf, and mentioned that she could have all of it if needed, but she turned it down, and scolded me for keeping large sums of cash outside of a bank. I agreed and we hopped in her car to do deposit the bulk of it someplace.

Then I woke up.

The end.

I should note that I woke up from the aforementioned dream with no anger, tension or general confusion, but the thick, wispy strands of the brain-movie were quite memorable. I're *really* glad I don't live at my mother's house anymore, and I didn't get Newt until well over a decade of being out on my own.

This came up yesterday, talking to Ray about the Bottle city of Kandor, and the Superman Emergency Squad.

Archives of "The Parking Lot is Full" from the UA mailing list.

Read Classic cheesy Superman Comics online (along with a spiffy encyclopedia of supes articles, too)

1 year ago - caving dreams, piracy, anagram server, no-longer newt-time icon, irrational deodorant mixing fear, fun hidden camera show, monopoly variants, true porn clerk stories, phobias, paperback cover gallery, 100 years of jell-o ads, missing scary link pic

2 years ago - carom, evil news, fave monopoly token poll, rude awakening, OTR, impressed with flash, and feelin' romantic

Home is where the heart is.

Twelve-year-old Shane Bowman plays with his old heart in Edmonton, Canada on Friday, July 11, 2003. Bowman had a heart transplant and got a chance to see his old heart to have some closure on his illness. Bowman had dialated cardiomyopathy, a condition caused by a virus, and his heart was enlarged to about 555 grams. A normal heart is about 200 grams. (AP Photo/CP/Edmonton Sun, Perry Mah)

If I had something like that, I'd fairly demand that I be allowed to keep it in a jar. How fantastic would it be to have someone ask "Where'd you get that?" "I was born with it."
posted by Scott von Berg 2:44:35 PM

 
7/18/03
Giddy Up Oom Poppa Oom Poppa Mow Mow

I'm not sure I remember the last time this song came on my mp3 sequence, but I do get a silly kick out of it whenever I do hear it.

Well, Netscape has long been behind and non-compliant, and AOL is giving up development on it. It's sad, because I liked the competition it gave IE in the 90s, but it's only been a thorn in the side of developers in recent years. Perhaps the folks at Mozilla will do a better job of keeping up.

Jump Through Hoops: New Presidential Email System

Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to President Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.

The White House says the new e-mail system, at www.whitehouse.gov/webmail, is an effort to be more responsive to the public and offer the administration "real time" access to citizen comments.

Completing a message to the president also requires choosing a subject from the provided list, then entering a full name, organization, address and e-mail address. Once the message is sent, the writer must wait for an automated response to the e-mail address listed, asking whether the addressee intended to send the message. The message is delivered to the White House only after the person using that e-mail address confirms it.

Jimmy Orr, a White House spokesman, described the system as an "enhancement" intended to improve communications. He called it a "work in progress," and advised members of the public who had sensitive or personal matters to bring up with President Bush to use traditional methods of communications, like a letter on paper, a fax or a phone call

Someone from a chicago dial-up posted to an older entry of mine, one from september 2000. I'm wondering which index drew them to the "lower-case n" song. It's pretty cool that folks can mine those past elements.

I used my holy water on a guy that robbed me in the vampire game today (Want to play?), and the guy shrugged it off like it was dandruff! Blast and tarnation!

1 year ago - princess sultanas circle, hug meme, joy machine, angry corn ghosts burn police cars, hydrogen fuel cars, got tested for diabetes (none here!), baseball bat poll, Bush & Women's rights, spooky patent office logo

2 years ago - evil news, arriviste, clochard & myopic, gilligan's lessons, contraception myths, Leisa's 2 months pregnant, zeppelins, tuckin thoughts

3 years ago xanadu, sleep study prep, name meaning

Someone who removed me from their reading list apparently was really worried I'd be mad at them because they weren't reading me anymore. I really don't mind when folks come and go...I'm really callous about it.. if I'm not into what I'm reading (or if I get a signal that they just up and abandoned the log), I remove 'em. I figure they'll understand that's what's going on. If I look in and see that they're posting stuff I want to read later on, I'll add 'em back.

When I add someone, I don't expect them to add me back as a matter of course. The same goes when they delete me... I won't drop them, unless it's a totally privatized journal that I can't read anyhow.

going down my list, it looks like that of the 19 invite codes that I've passed out, 8 have been deleted or abandoned. Not a bad ratio, I think.

This announcement brought to you by...Pepsodent!

My teeth aren't new, but my toothpaste is.
The new Pepsodent, get with it, kids!
New package! New flavor! New formula too!
Means brighter smile for me and you!

You'll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!

Man, it's a shame animated gifs are so size-crazy. maybe one day, when we all have super-duper-uber bandwidth, it'll be better.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:43:38 PM

 
7/17/03
I dreamt that I was shot in the stomach this morning, and that I had to take the bullet out with a pair of salad tongs, and Newt could stick to the ceiling like spider-man. I may go back to bed to see if it picks up where it left off. Some element of it woke me up at 5am when I really should've had another hour or two of sleep. Newt's doing his lawnmower purring-best to lure me in for a nap.

You know who I don't miss? Clive Barker. Wherever he went, I'm glad he's not in my face all the time anymore. I didn't mind him much, but there was a phase where I couldn't turn around without catching some reference or another.

Know what I'm a dork for wanting to see? Spy Kids 3-D.

Disney is Auctioning off props from Pirates of the Caribbean.

I saw Gary Hart on the news today, oh boy.(A lucky man, who's made the grade?) He looked older than Charlton Heston. (of course I'm mentally comparing him to that picture of him with a girl in his lap. I looked him up online, and he has a blog I'm very impressed with the composition of his website. The site is very informal, but complete and well broken down. It's also sort of fun to see his resume and other info there... I'm often impressed when celeb-types turn out to be so human (and not in that "I made an error, I'm only human" way) He is very well spoken, but now has a face best for radio. He seems quite accessible,


Post-It For Pasties

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) -- If you're a stripper who wears pasties the makers of Post-It sticky notes may need your input on a new product.

3M, which makes Post-It notes, has recently produced a revamped version of their sticky paper with a stronger adhesive so the Post-Its stick to plastics, wood, metal and mirrors.

A spokeswoman for the company says the new Post-It Super Sticky Notes were tested in damp conditions, but that did not include the sweaty body of a stripper.

However, she says if any stripper uses them as pasties, the company would be interested in hearing feedback to see how they worked.

The new notes will stick to fabric and Post-It researchers claim they make good "kick me" signs.

How to make a solar oven out of a pizza box.


Nifty navigator to webcams around the world. The map search... It helped me to find the port everglades cam, which is live and usually pretty active. Nifty that you can control the position of the camera, too.

solar system navigator. View with some fun perspectives. I've been looking at the moon on significant dates.

1 year back - CHiPs, Spreading rumors

2 years back - Music Mystery Solved, exegesis, evil news, Earhart's wreck perhaps found, I discover Google image search, sea creature poll, why poop is brown

3 years back - Scheduled Departure time set in stone, something at Archie Mcphee no longer there, sitcom nudity-logic

A hoax? It's fooled a lot of News services, but so did I-loo

hunting for bambi

A business near Las Vegas called "Hunting for Bambi" is offering men the opportunity to "hunt" for naked women.

Our CNN sister station KLAS in Las Vegas is reporting that men pay anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to shoot women they call "Bambis" with paint ball guns. They take home a video of their experience. Many of the men reportedly return for multiple hunting trips.

The women wear no protective gear and no clothing, only tennis shoes.

Paint balls hit at about 200 mph, and can draw blood when they hit bare skin.

The women get paid $2,500 if they avoid being hit and $1,000 if a paint ball hits them. They admit it hurts.

Some experts and critics are wondering if the bambi hunts are actually the acting out of sexual aggression that could lead to more violent behavior.

google news - hunting for bambi

or visit the vulgar, not safe for work website - http://huntingforbambi.com/

snopes.com is undecided as of this writing as to the hoax factor
"We still don't see any convincing evidence that Hunting for Bambi has actually conducted any genuine hunts for paying customers."
posted by Scott von Berg 2:42:53 PM

 
7/16/03
PSA- Act now to voice your opposition to changes in federal overtime rules, which could deny overtime pay to at least 8 million people by sending a message to your U.S. senators with a copy to your representative and President Bush. Please add your own words to the letter linked to explaining why overtime is so important.

stream of thought at the crack of waking -
I woke up remembering the trailer on Marathon Key. We'd go down to Bahia Honda and camp there during the winter, before we moved to Florida for good. The white, sandy beach at loggerhead was a long, shallow sandbar just a couple of feet offshore, and there was a place to have a campfire circle, with talks or ghost stories at night. The water was glass-smooth, unfit for surfing, but wonderful for wading and plain swimming. I remember the talks actually being pretty neat; about local history...I still recall some of the bits about Henry Flagler, and the Railroad Empire he was trying to build. Federal Highway was the remainder of his last rail attempt that was wiped out by a hurricane, back in the 30s. We stayed at Buttonwood most often with tents (and a popup camper for the parents.) It wasn't totally roughing it, they had hot showers there. I remember my dad saying that we were going to get tropical fish out there, but I didn't see many, and caught none. I think the barracuda ate well, though. It was there that I learned how to play a conch horn, and it's to my parents' credit that it wasn't taken away 2.5 seconds after playing the annoying thing. It must've been some party or something, because a great number of people (at least a dozen) each had them, and it was being blasted over and over. You could hear it really well out over the water... If I ever own a big patch of land, I think it'd be a fun way to call the kids in for supper. It must've been when I was about 10 years old, so my brother was 6. /stream

We need more Giant-Size comics in doctor's offices. There really aren't enough cool comics in the doctor's office waiting rooms. I've got half a mind to drop a 20, and play Johnny Appleseed, albeit comic book style. (Of course, I'll have to read them over first, to make sure they're suitable.)

Newt's curious about squirrels. He doesn't look at them like prey, or a playmate, but as a curiosity.


Wanna see my Giant-Size Man-Thing?



Speaking of that issue, Gorko was a typo... Note he calls himself Garko. The man known only as Garko sat on a fourth floor window ledge of an apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He sat there for days (at least), staring at a funny jar containing the Juice. Sometimes he would shout out "I'm gonna conquer the world! You hear me?" Anyway, Garko debated whether to drink the Juice and conquer the world, primarily because he wasn't sure if he wanted to conquer it. Finally he decided it would be worth it to be able to get rid of his enemies.

So, Garko drank the Juice, and transformed into the Man-Frog. He rampaged briefly (very briefly), before encountering Howard the Duck, who whacked him with a board with a nail in it. About that time, the effects of the Juice kicked into overdrive, and Garko went from the Man-Frog to just plain frog. Howard was mistaken for the rampaging humanoid animal that had been reported, and arrested by the cops, who unwittingly ran over Garko the frog with their car...SPLAT.

For , (especially this post) I tried to think of all the cartoon characters in bow ties I could in 60 seconds or less. These are who I thought of.

















1 year ago - newt in sink, bro gets viper fins sponsor, pesky security, badly drawn images on a bumpy road, punquin finds my 125 item list.

2 years ago - Evil News, bad joke, crux, random journals, nice thing poll, designer's lament, laptop space bar weird, hatt-baby, email plain text

3 years ago - Enjoyed the X-men movie, 1974 memory visiting Florida, reprint of Scooby & the occult, insomnia

Comic Books Digests I'll probably get, over time.(These things aren't being released until October.)

SGT. ROCK, along with the third ANIMAL MAN trade DEUS EX MACHINA...Not to mention Ennis and Dillon's final HELLBLAZER arc


Watchmen the Movie info
IGN FilmForce recently caught up with Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life producer, Lloyd Levin, again, but this time we asked him about his plans to bring a much anticipated comic book adaptation to the big screen: Alan Moore's Watchmen. And we're pleased to report that Watchmen is moving toward production and will be in front of the cameras, as Levin says, "The sooner the better."

IGNFF: The League of Extraordinary Gentleman has just opened, and you're currently working on another big project based on work by Alan Moore, Watchmen. How carefully will you be watching what has been done with LXG in terms of adapting Alan Moore's work? Because the biggest decision with that film is that they dumbed-down a comic book to make a movie, and Watchmen is one of the seminal comic book works, ever.

LLOYD LEVIN: I think that with something like [Watchmen], if I've learned one thing, it's just to approach whatever you do with as much seriousness as possible and give it as much dignity as it deserves. So as soon as you start to dumb something down you're doing the opposite.

IGNFF: Terry Gilliam has been involved and he couldn't crack it because he wanted to do something like a 12-hour version. But now David Hayter is on board writing a new script. Is it completed?

LEVIN: We have a script. And we have a great adaptation by David Hayter that absolutely celebrates the book. It's a great adaptation of it. It's very faithful.

IGNFF: With the script completed, who are you thinking about for directing the film?

LEVIN: We're talking to David about directing the film.

IGNFF: Do you have a timeline that you'd like to go with? You know, a general idea as to when you'd start casting and, hopefully, principal photography.

LEVIN: I can't say right now, but hopefully, as a fan, the sooner the better.

While looking for Exta auditions for the Coming Man-Thing Movie I found that, Saturday from 1-4 pm at the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa, they're casting the extras for the movie "Punisher." Bring a snapshot of yourself.

I'd be tempted -- I mean, sure, it's cheesy, but why not? Unfortunately, I'm not up for the travel, but I think that maybe my Bro, tarpo, twinstar, drakainai, mskaren911, eschient, mimi, or sophiegoodchild might be near enough to the region to do it.

Worker's comp is being very problematic... they seem to be faxing "leading" questionnaires back and forth to my doctor, asking about stuff, and not mentioning some other elements, in order to get me to report back in to work. I've got a call in for my doctor to call me back tomorrow afternoon, so he and I can discuss this in a rational manner, since WC seems less interested in my health care, and more concerned with sitting me down behind a desk despite my healing not being as complete as it should be.

I'm beginning to think that it's time to call in the attorney.

I'll wait and see what happens with the doc tomorrow, and take it from there.

In more health news,

Masturbating Lowers Prostate Cancer Risk - Study

LONDON (Reuters) - Frequent masturbation, particularly in the 20s, helps prevent prostate cancer later in life, according to new research.
Australian scientists have shown that the more men masturbate between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to develop the disease that kills more than half a million men each year.

They suspect that frequent ejaculation has a protective effect against the cancer because it prevents dangerous carcinogens from building up in the gland.

"The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them," Graham Giles, of the Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne, told New Scientist magazine on Wednesday.

In a survey of 1,079 prostate cancer patients and 1,259 healthy men, Giles and his team discovered that men who ejaculated more than five times a week in their 20s were a third less likely to develop an aggressive form of the disease.

The findings contradict previous studies which suggested that having a variety of partners or frequent sexual activity could increase the risk of prostate cancer by 40 percent.

But Giles said the earlier research concentrated on intercourse, whereas his study focused on masturbation. Infections caused by sexual activity could account for the different findings.

"Men have many ways of using their prostate which don't involve women or other men," he added.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:33:52 PM

 
7/15/03
I was put in a plaster cast today (only briefly, it was sawed off after drying) to measure for a foot-brace. I should fit inside of a sneaker... I go back in another week to have it finished and fitted. The "fiberglass cutter" thingy looked dangerous in the wrong hands. I'm really glad have never needed to wear a cast for weeks.. I can see where it'd bug the heck out of me.

zombie pumpkins must be destroyed by catapulted farm implements

Insanity script is back! Whee...return of the cut ups! thanks to

Enter your username here and click the button:

Username:

I was very fluid, had more. Wipe them name
poll nuclear waste of this. I suspect the Horror?
Black and shops In a real TV priced low.
Bro phone I he and leads me too in
prison on crutches is a picture of his thumb.

Min. That's in The eye of good old sea
Creature Baffles Chilean Scientists archived
another reason in my block; years I bet I'm
still waiting to work out that! A nice, day of the
soft Mother got the past are you can't be
horrid yet, to sleep, an infant born with The design,
but Don't care about the government,
plans to the Crosby, Stills, and trip to
schedule my count is not sure How cute!
Net time I love her to focus on to be Play mule
and easy: to WC to give data the Intruder and
the Fountainhead who for lunch at the music
with solid hour of a newt photo log has right,
black guys telling only hope that they also be
pulled off, with it shine. Sounds like to it: or
something in record time this is that night and
redistribute?

-- scottobear

a year ago - dream about Ray at the paint store, little people, domed 3d displays, great ape project, 28 things quiz, sue the teacher trend, mental comfort

two years ago cool mini or not, vatic, cool things about moving, smoothies, misc news, age poll, counter testing, chocolate bees, Victorian Sex Cry Generator, what's for supper, coloring book concept germ

three years ago - Newtcam's own page posted.

"Yes, hello, dreadfully sorry to bother you, but the workman's comp situation is rather disappointing. Now be a good chap and send me some suitable communication before I come over there and shove French fries up your nose."


You're a PIRATE FROM MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND. A far
cry from the real Treasure Island, you're the
cute side of pirating. Not that there really IS
a soft side to pirating, you just kinda made it
up, but as long as you can sing upbeat calypso
tunes and you enjoy working with muppets,
there's nothing wrong with being a fun-loving
pirate who wouldn't hurt a fly... no matter how
much you talk.


What Kind of Pirate are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Vampire game hint- The barman says "The closest shop to here is Scrolls 'n' Stuff, right by Duck and 5th. I do wish those damn magic shops would stay still for a while."
posted by Scott von Berg 2:32:55 PM

 
7/14/03
Hmmm.... I get a rush job, I fire back a request for specs, and the person is having me wait. Nice to know that it's the CSR that's in a rush, and not the client. I can't give data unless they tell me the format and processes that they want done.

Does it bother anyone else that the little girl in The Ring is the voice of Lilo?

Update- good ol' Bret got the specs and ran with it. Kudos!

update mkii - Finally heard back from the Bro.. he's hanging in there, and getting by. he was at WF1, and tracking dwon gigs. More power to him, I say.

For the vampire computer game - Holy water is still at about Teasel and 4th

java Aquarius (from the makers of Fluxx) I'd really like to see multiplayer Fluxx online. I remember discussing doing something like that with A before finding out that he and H were fooling around on their associated spouses backs. I wonder how R is doing these days? Especially now that H & B have a baby that is probably about 2-3ish by now.

random scotto factoid - I drink a lot of orange juice.

a year ago - Newt's Tarot Reading, worked out Dan-route, How close are you to a nuclear waste hauling route?, wackies, big little books

two years ago - juxtaposition , news, audio mystey, assorted video tapes.

three years ago - imood, zircon added, hours change

current music: sesame street pinball song remix. Whee!
current mood: vegetarian breakfast sammich

Argh.. my dsl modem went down.. and I realize how spoiled I am... hitting my work PC at dial-up speeds is just awful. I'm just glad it took place at lunchtime, so odds were slimmest that I'd be needed on the phone and online at the same time. Dang... I just realised that I missed Lovejoy today, but I suspect Danny did too.

I'm still not sure why the modem needed to be reset, but c'est la vie. It's all better now.

Another reason in a series as to why I love her -




Black and White cookies and strong coffee. Yum is the word.



Though, to the geek in me, they invariably remind me of the black and whites on that old star trek episode.


Find where and when Star trek is playing in your area. (My personal prefs are old series, some next gen and DS9)

Eleven years ago a container of thousands of bathroom toys... rubber ducks, turtles, frogs, etc., fell off a cargo ship going from China to Seattle. Oceanographers have been tracking the swarm of toys, and learning about ocean currents. The flock of 29,000 toys has traveled around the Arctic, and they should soon be beaching themselves on New England shores.

Thousands of rubber ducks and other bath-time toys are due to become the unlikely allies of oceanographers 11 years after they were cast overboard from a container ship en route from China to Seattle.
The floating flock of 29,000 ducks and their companions - turtles, beavers and frogs - is heading for the New England coast, bleached and battered after a journey around the Arctic. Oceanographers say the trip has taught them valuable lessons about the ocean's currents.

The toys were cast adrift as the container ship carrying them encountered a storm in the Pacific Ocean. They floated along the Alaska coast and reached the Bering Strait by 1995, and Iceland five years later. By 2001 they had floated to the area in the north Atlantic where the Titanic sank.

"Some kept going, some turned and headed to Europe," says Curtis Ebbesmeyer of Seattle, a retired oceanographer who's been tracking their progress. "By now, hundreds should be dispersed along the New England coast."

Dr Ebbesmeyer has been able to track the toys that have washed ashore. He said they have been a useful tool in teaching oceanography, and have shed light on the way surface currents behave.

They are also a sobering reminder that about 10,000 containers fall off ships each year.

Dr Ebbesmeyer has also tracked 3 million pieces of Lego, 34,000 hockey gloves; and 50,000 Nike trainers that were spilled in 1999.

Fred Felleman, of the environmental group Ocean Advocates, said container ships carry 95% of the world's goods and are stacked higher and wider than ever before.

"Some 30% have hazardous materials in them. They're not just spilling Nikes," he said.

posted by Scott von Berg 2:32:09 PM

 
7/13/03
got my new TV (priced low... $219)... and a good working universal remote. Fortunately, I had Danny to play mule to lug it into the house. To reward him for his kindness, I treated for lunch and a movie (The least I coud do, he drove from Davie...) We were spotted by Cathi, Dave and Mayah... the little girl is getting so big! It looks like they are going to get the corner house for fixing up and moving in. We chitty-chatted for a bit before we had to bold due to timetables. I want to get together with them soon and just goof off a bit.. it looks like they just picked up a new DVD player.

Following the dropping of the TV off at the house, we went to go out to lunch at Subway, where I discovered that I didn't get my debit card back. Fortunately, we were still near the store, and I was able to retrieve it with a minimum of fuss... (it was still in the imprinter, and I had to ask the guy twice to look in it before he could bother to lift up the device. I am really kicking myself over leaving it behind... a really retarded moment. Well, no harm done, and now I'll know to keep a closer eye on it.

Afterwards, we saw LXG, and despite my back acting up, it was a good show. I think it was a little too much activity, out and about though. I'm home now, happy to have my legs elevated. I do know that this confirms that I couldn't handle a commute or an 8-hour day ina boca office where I have to get up and chase people around yet.


I went into The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with mixed emotions. The graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill managed the nearly impossible task of being a ripping adventure yarn and biting social satire, and it was a safe bet the second half of that equation would be wiped out. But I had hoped they would manage to keep at least the odd feel of the story intact, along with the vaguely "steampunk" sensibility. Beyond that I tend to view a summer film like lunch at Taco Bell: it'll do until dinner comes along, and I hope I don't get ill.

I left with mixed emotions, too.

The film is about the formation of a Victorian-era "superhero" team, comprised of characters from popular fiction of the day. They are brought together in the service of Her Majesty's Government to defend the world from a criminal mastermind, the Fantom. Beyond that it's your standard action movie/superhero format, but with funny clothes.

This doesn't mean it's a bad movie, however. As light summer fare goes, it's a hoot. Sean Connery chews the scenery well, and the set designs are generally quite good, which in a movie that substitutes style for substance is very important indeed. And of course the special effects are good, which is pretty much a given in any major film these days.

My quibbles with the film are fairly petty, given my low expectations. Not only is the plot thin, it's got some significant holes in it, and manages to get a bit knotted-up without accomplishing anything. While I like some of the designs, the "auto-mobile" left me cold... I seldom cared about the characters, which is surprising given their pulp-fiction beginnings. As far as the characters go? I was impressed with how they worked with many, though Mina wasn't nearly as sexy as she could've been, for a victorian vampire-chick. She struck me as terribly bland overall, in fact. There are some surprising continuity problems, too, but nothing really glaring. And lastly, it quickly turns into non-stop action, and I mean non-stop. By the end of the film I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the (seemingly) hour-long fight scene.

There was a fair amount of good stuff, too. Like I said, the set design was pretty good, and the use of the League's special abilities was handled well. There was witty dialogue in places, and a couple of noticeably good lines sprinkled here and there. It is different than most of the crap we're handed each summer, and that's worth some support, just by itself.

So can I recommend the film? If you like action/adventure films, and want to try something with a slightly different flavor, give LXG a shot. If you have read the graphic novel, and are demanding that level of subtlety and nuance, save your $10 and re-read the books. For me, it's a 7/10, for most, probably will rate a little lower.

Here's a little tidbit about the Disney-owned Stepford called Celebration, Florida. It seems that during the end of year holidays they make it snow. (And they use paper leaves to create a false autumn, too.) (warning, link has a little potty-mouth action)

This is a test.

hover over the word test, above.

Can I insert text formatting here? Why, yes!

unrelated -

Malaysian man severs, cooks and eats own penis
Sun Jul 13, 1:11 AM ET Add Offbeat - AFP to My Yahoo!

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - A 34-year-old Malaysian man, believed to have been high on drugs, severed, cooked and ate his own penis, local media reported.

The man, who was previously diagnosed as mentally unstable, is said to have done so after having taken drugs and awoke in the middle of the night hearing voices telling him to do so.

"The man then wrapped his penis in a piece of cloth, burnt and ate it," a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

He said the man realised something was wrong when he saw blood flowing profusely from his severed private part.

The man woke up his mother and was then rushed to hospital for treatment.

"The man is said to be in stable condition, but was facing problems urinating as the urinary tract has been severed," he said.

Meanwhile, the mother said her son had been "mentally disturbed" since returning from a drug rehabilitation centre recently.

"My son took hallucinatory pills before the incident. He once tried to commit suicide by using a pair of scissors to stab his head, but was saved," she was quoted as saying.

"He also often keeps to himself in his room," said the woman, who declined to be identified.

posted by Scott von Berg 2:30:58 PM

 
7/13/03
Slept well last night, storms drew me in... The white noise and weary body knocked me out within moments of hitting the pillow. While I prepared to sleep, an old episode of SNL was on hosted by Dana Carvey, and George Bush Sr. did a host element at the beginning for him. I had forgotten what a great public speaker and intelligent-seeming man he is. Jr. could take a lot of speech lessons from his old man. Sr was very fluid, had a good sense of humor and seemed aware of what he was talking about.

Shooting for LXG with Danny today, barring any unforeseen screw-ups. It'll be a brief meeting, because he's got a cookout with the Mrs. tonight... a new weekend ritual that he seems to enjoy. Much of his weekend is ritualized, now.. I think he should reschedule the Saturday night dancing to another night, at least during the summer when he's taking an 8-hoour class beforehand. Ah, update... there he is, We'll be leaving shortly.

When I'm a superhero (supervillain) I'm going to have a LED-suit. The others are a hoot, too. (via )


You are Jigen. Your sense of humor is flawless,
and so is your marksmanship. You are very
loyal to your friends, and would risk your life
for them.


Which Lupin the 3rd character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla



one year ago - Ian McCracken, zork 404, branleur, got my bike

two years ago - evil news, longueur, spoliation, space fungus, superstition poll, fri-13 reasoning, I'm Neutral Good

three years ago - Traditional trolls, Catholics handy in a pinch.

Current music:
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Mata ah-oo hima de
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Himitsu wo shiri tai....

Dinosaur Haiku

Tyrannosaurus
Heterodontosaurus
Carythosaurs

Velociraptor
Pacycephalosaurus
Edmontosaurus

posted by Scott von Berg 2:30:31 PM

 
7/12/03
3X2[9YZ]4A

Trouble sleepin', so I'll ramble here a bit until I get my drowsiness in order. I'm still waiting to hear back for my MRI appointment....I should know more on Monday. Going into that device got me to thinking of the 5-level decontamination sequence in the Andromeda Strain. This involves a series of physical examinations, automatic showers and powderings, and question and answer sessions. The hostility of these events is heightened by the pervasive lack of humanity -- all discussions are held with the computer's disembodied voice, and the environment is cold and unforgiving. I don't think I'd like living in wildfire, and especially would get sick of all the keys involved. The upside of a bad back is that it doesn't kill by coagulation like an alien life form. Downside... I don't get a color-coded jumpsuit to match the floor levels every time I go to the doctor's office. Hopefully, I'll fit in this machine ok.. some MRI's aren't designed for a gargantuan being.

4-legged man! Can the rest of the civic-minded five be soon to follow?

An infant born with four legs, three hands, three kidneys and an abnormal liver to a rural Zambian woman two weeks ago, is pictured in Lusaka, July 2, 2003. Doctors at Zambia's main Lusaka University Teaching Hospital said July 3, 2003 the babies deformities were caused by incomplete growth of another fetus and multiplication of cells. They said the baby, whose is yet to be named, would be operated upon and is likely to lead a normal life. --REUTERS/Salim Henry

a year ago - lovey talk, Roanoke, dreams after steams, possum-fanged besos del dulce, mother goose, some dead links, bookcrossing

two years ago - evil news, riposte, dream fragment, if I were a, time, gravity set on full, I go back in time to warn Cortez about the saucermen, guest map, aura colors, personality disorder test, the louvre

three years ago - April nearly rips me off, first supers quiz?

Z25Y[2AB]6

Ugh, system crash, and it cost me a long entry that I was composing over the course of my waking day. When I went to restore, it went back to my earlier entry's draft. Bah. My only other weird error that's cropping up is "speed disk designed to run with windows 2000 and Nt 4.0, it will not run on 3.51" I'm using good ol' win2k, so I'm not sure what confused Norton. It defragged just fine on 6/9/03 at 4am. (update- service pack four is what polished it off.. bah!)

No word from my brother in about 4 days.

I got the new drivers for the speed touch usb modem, and hopefully that'll prevent the alcan5wn.sys errors I've been getting.

Stalin vs. Hitler - Stalin vs. Hitler The Authorized Annotated Comic Book Translation

Newt and thoughts of my beloved helped me to sleep last night... it took me focusing on the good stuff to bypass the fidgets. I slept about 4 hours, woke up, and then got another 2 nap wise. There's something in the atmosphere/ water/ collective unconscious that's sort of weird today, and maybe last night. I'm doing what I can to solidify, and send peaceful ripples out on the pond where I swim, and hopefully there'll be a chain reaction there. Speaking of swimming, I've got pool-dwelling on my mind. I've been mentally swimming and wading in cool water all day.

I have never been a fan of Pat Robertson, but since September 11th, my opinion of him has decreased. Now it has pretty much hit rock bottom. For him to defend Charles Taylor is just too much. The relationship between the United States and Liberia is unique and worth preserving. A breakdown of what Charles Taylor is about.

also learning about title tags, and seeing how they look in a journal entry. hover overr the links for something akin to "alt-tags"


My head has a pounding ache. I want to just take a hot shower and go to bed.

I think some time away from the PC and just reading some good plain-paper bookage.

posted by Scott von Berg 2:30:07 PM

 
7/11/03
notice to folks playing the vampire game - potion Shoppe at tapir and 4th selling holy water.

Maybe they're bored. Maybe they're drunk. To be fair, it's tough to give a child an identity when names are either too common or too esoteric, but some parents don't even come close. If you're having a child or know someone who is, don't let them name the kid without a trip to Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing. The dignity you save may be your own.

Want to listen to my radio station for a bit? see if you can see me here

The Universe does not like being watched...from the Gray Pumpkin -

and here is the proof ...

Looks like trees don't care for it either.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:29:07 PM

 
7/11/03
Why didn't anyone turn me on to zwan sooner? What an awesome band! You can't go wrong with Billy Corgan vocals and Paz Lenchantin on bass. Basically, it's a lighter, smoother Smashing pumpkins for folks that didn't like SP's gothy mopecrap. The album is pretty upbeat, and really great. I'm certainly buying it next time I hit a place that has it. Less rage, more mellow... more my speed. Corgan's got a distinctive voice, and it makes for great music.

Sort of funny... they also covered Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast."

Brushing Newtie's teeth this morning was amazingly easy. he was all for a little cleanup, and was frisky enough to play and be happy right after.

This Sunday marks the start of hurricane season. Is it perverse for me to like storms so much?

I can add another griefer's scalp to my belt. The troll I mentioned earlier is now suspended. I think my count is now an even 5. (4 if you count the same person returning twice)

There are a boatload of movies I want to see. LXG, 28 days later, Pirates of the Caribbean in particular. I fear Danny will want to see Charlie's angels, but I think I can tempt him with LXG.

this is everywhere, but it's too cool not to link to it. "Gravity Defying" Game of Ping-Pong

NEWS - Elvis Tooth Up For Auction

An Elvis Presley tooth is being auctioned off on eBay.com, along with a lock of hair from his army haircut and a commemorative 24-karat-gold record of "Love Me Tender." The items belong to a private collector and have been on display since 1992 in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at the Yellow Strawberry hair salon. The opening bid for the memorabilia on Tuesday (July 8) was $100,000, and by the end of the day was approaching a half million dollars. The auction ends next Tuesday (July 15).

The tooth--a molar--was once owned by Elvis' former fiancee, Linda Thompson. She donated it to the Elvis Presley Museum, which later sold it.

A European company wanted to extract DNA from the tooth to reportedly clone Elvis, but the seller was not interested.

The lock of hair was cut when Elvis joined the U.S. Army and he gave it to talk show host Joe Franklin as a present.

A spokesperson for Elvis Presley Enterprises, which manages Presley's estate, says it cannot authenticate the tooth and lock of hair but says it's possible that both items could be genuine.

Meanwhile, record collectors have pointed out a discrepancy in the auction of the gold disc. The record's picture sleeve shown on the web auction page is not the original because it lists "Loving You" as a flip side of the single. The original flip side of 1956's "Love Me Tender" was "Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)."

This is not the first time Elvis Presley's hair has been sold on the internet. A large clump of his hair, the size of a small ball, sold at auction last November for more than $115,000.

The seller also plans to auction off locks of hair from John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Baron "The Red Baron" von Richtoffen and King George III.



Harriet the tortoise... 172 years old. Amazing that a living thing from 1830 is still thriving and active.
Darwin's Dinner Plate

Harriet is one of two Galapagos Land Tortoises in Australia. Click to see Harriet in slides.

By Maila Jill Koskitalo

At first the animal pen seems empty. A strip of grass, a few shady trees and a small pool with a large boulder in the center offer no clues as to what animal makes the enclosure its home. It isn't until a zookeeper steps onto the grass that the "boulder" lifts her head from the water. With deliberate steps, what appeared to be a large rock instead slowly reveals herself as a giant tortoise.
Meet Harriet, a Galapagos Land Tortoise (Geochelone elephantus porteri). At first glance, the casual observer might not think there's anything too exciting about this particular reptile. Sure she's big, weighing in around 150 kilograms with a shell that measures about a square meter. But with her sluggish steps and tendency to spend the days snoozing in her pond, Harriet isn't the most visually exciting attraction at this small zoo on Australia's east coast. Visitors who dig a little deeper however, will find there's far more to this particular tortoise than meets the eye.

Kelly Jackson giving the aged tortoise some TLC. (All photos courtesy M.J. Koskitalo)

At 171 years of age, Harriet is the oldest known living creature on earth.

"It's amazing, the second you tell people Harriet's age they just fall in love with her. Everyone wants to give her a pat," says keeper Kelly Jackson.

Ms. Jackson is an education officer at the Australia Zoo just outside of Brisbane in Queensland, where Harriet has lived for the past fifteen years. She says it's unsurprising so many people want to make contact with Harriet.

"When you look at Harriet, you're looking at history."

Famous Beginnings
Harriet's story begins more than 165 years ago on one of the larger islands in the Galapagos chain, off the coast of Ecuador. Likely born in 1830 on Isla Santa Cruz, Harriet was around five years old and about the size of a dinner plate when she attracted the attention of a certain naturalist of note. Sir Charles Darwin landed in the Galapagos in 1835 and took Harriet and two other tortoises back to England for scientific studies. In 1842 John Wickham, one of Darwin's colleagues, brought Harriet to Australia aboard a whaling ship and the land down under has been her home ever since.

Ms. Jackson says the secret to Harriet's longevity is simple.

"I always tell people it's because Harriet has never been with a man." With a grin, Ms. Jackson explains that while Harriet still lays eggs each year, she has never mated and therefore none of the eggs ever hatch.

There appear to be several reasons Harriet has never produced offspring. Not the least of which is for more than 100 years Harriet was known as "Harry."

Brought to the Brisbane Botanical and Zoological Gardens in 1842, "Harry" was also the only tortoise of "his" kind in Australia. Over the next century, "Harry" became a favorite of Gardens' visitors. Children used to be given rides on his back and even today there are still many residents of Brisbane that remember "Harry" from the Gardens.

When the zoological part of the Gardens closed in 1952, "Harry" was moved to a wildlife sanctuary on Australia's Gold Coast. It wasn't until the 1960's that it was discovered "Harry" was in fact, Harriet, explaining why previous attempts to mate her had been unsuccessful.

In 1988 Harriet was moved to her current home at the Australia Zoo. The zoo has gained fame as the home base of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. And while the crocodile feedings a few hundred meters away can be a bit boisterous, for the most part Harriet is enjoying a quiet retirement.

"She's certainly earned some down time and we recently expanded her enclosure," says Richard Jackson, Kelly's husband, and head reptile keeper at the zoo.

Mr. Jackson says after her many years in the Botanical Gardens, Harriet has earned a chance to relax.

"When she was in the Gardens, she had to put up with people riding her.. You can still see the scars on her shell where people used to engrave their names on her back. I think she was even painted a couple of times by soldiers returning home from various wars."

Harriet does have feeling in her shell. The top part or carapace and bottom part or plastron are actually an extension of her ribs. Unusually affectionate for a reptile, Harriet enjoys a good scratch along her shell and under her legs. These days, the scratching is done by keepers and volunteers, rather than untrained visitors to the zoo. By offering Harriet a relatively undisturbed environment, Mr. Jackson says zoo officials expect Harriet will still be going strong for at least another couple of decades.

"We figure she should probably reach at least 200 years old... there's really not much of a precedent for such long-living reptiles. We're basing our estimate on the fact that she really shows no signs of slowing down."

Headed for the record books
While Harriet is currently the oldest living being on the planet, she isn't the oldest living animal ever recorded. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, that honor belongs to a Madagascar radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) named Tui Malila. Presented to the Tongan royal family by Captain James Cook in the late 1700's, the tortoise was either 188 or 192 years old at its death in 1965.

However, Mr. Jackson is confident Harriet will easily surpass that record.

"We feed her a diet of eggplant, zucchini, squash, beans and parsley. It's much more varied than anything she could get in the wild... We're taking good care of her. We even built her a special cave with a heating pad inside so she could stay warm on cooler days." Mr. Jackson pauses to smile. "Of course, she never uses the cave. She just decided to sleep outside. That's our Harriet."

Harriet eats only plants: leaves, flowers, fruit -- the whole thing.

Munching thoughtfully on a hibiscus flower, which Mr. Jackson says is one of Harriet's favorite foods, the tortoise seems unconcerned with her age. However her claim to fame is one that others would like to share.

"There are some zoos out there, especially in America, that claim they have or have had tortoises that are older than Harriet. But they don't have records like we do."

While flooding in Brisbane destroyed a number of city records - including those involving Harriet from 1842 to 1893, Mr. Jackson says it's clear that this tortoise is the same one brought to Australia by Whickham.

"Back 165 years ago there just weren't any tortoises like Harriet in Australia. There are no other animals she can get mixed up with. Charles Darwin himself recorded taking tortoises back to England with him."

Harriet's varied diet should help her live long into the future.

Even today, Mr. Jackson says there's only one other tortoise of Harriet's subspecies in the entire country. Her lack of company is a sad reflection of the threat facing her species. Like so many other animals, the numbers of porteri and other tortoise subspecies in the wild are declining at a frightening rate. During the 19th and 20th centuries, hundreds of thousands of tortoises were killed by fishermen who used the reptiles' ability to go long periods of time without food and to store large quantities of water in their bladder as a "maintenance free" source of food and water. Today the tortoise is threatened both by fishing and by encroaching human populations into its natural habitat. The introduction of non-indigenous species, such as goats and rats, to the Galapagos has proved disastrous for tortoises. Goats eat the vegetation tortoises rely on for food and rats eat their soft eggs. Several subspecies are already extinct and Harriet is thought to be one of only about a dozen porteri left in the world.

While the zoo has no plans to attempt to breed Harriet, Mr. Jackson hopes the continuing public education campaign at the zoo will inspire visitors to become more involved in conservation in the Galapagos.

"I think it's just the coolest thing," he says of Harriet's presence at the zoo. "You have to think about it, I mean 165 years ago she was on a boat traveling back to England, way before cars or T.V. or telephones. The stuff she must have seen. She just leaves human beings in the dust."

Random Bear/Yeti connection - One German mountaineer says the Tibetan moon bear (better known as the Asiatic black bear) is the creature behind the Abominable Snowman myth. After a close encounter with a 'Yeti' in Tibet in 1986, Reinhold Messner began devoting all of his time researching the myths and realities behind this legendary creature. He's decided this mythical, fur-covered monster is not a humanoid ape, but a plain old bear and says there are about 1,000 of them prowling the slopes of Tibet and Nepal.

a year ago - reflecting on old work, log issues (I wonder if they use them regularly yet, or if they gave up?), Newt attack, recalling palm animations

two year ago - fetial, solecism, pockets poll, purse poll, evil news, pie poll, tuck-ins

three years ago - words, bro moving to town
posted by Scott von Berg 2:28:26 PM

 
Does it look like the building on the left is leaning to the right? That's the sun-sentinel cam- From left to right, you are seeing: The edge of a new condo under construction; the Travel Guard building, which is one of the oldest buildings in downtown; Las Olas Boulevard, which is the curving road, and the Museum of Art, the structure on the far right. In the background, you see the Las Olas Riverfront area and the white building in the far distance at the center is the Museum of Discovery and Science. In the immediate foreground is the sales center for the condominium tower under construction.



Called workman’s comp, and the said approval was given, and the doctor should've called.

I called the doctor, and they claim workman's comp should've called.

I say it's passing the buck, and I'm glad that I was willing to sit through a lot of nonsense to talk to these people. I'm on hold right now to set up an appointment.

Update - Ok, since it was up to WC to make an appointment for the MRI, and they didn't call, I've got the doctor's office doing it for me now. I have assurances that I will be called back today with the appointment. I hope that the foot brace is available somewhere nearby. (and that it will accommodate my giant body parts.... size 15 shoes are hard enough to find.. I hope that the brace is more available.)

I'm pretty disappointed with liberty mutual's treatment of workman’s comp stuff.


posted by Scott von Berg 2:27:57 PM

 
7/10/03
Haven't heard from my brother in a few days.. I'm getting a little worried about him. I really don't like when he doesn't have an accessible telephone. I've already put in an hour of code this morn... Tracy is really putting me to good use.

I need to call workman’s comp and find out about my foot brace and MRI. They've had more than ample time to contact me. They've got until noon to put things right.

Great that you can type keyword into Google news and get stories directly. "Electrocuted monkey" returns -

"About 40 monkeys went on the rampage in a western Bangladeshi village after one of their young was accidentally electrocuted.

The large monkeys, known as hanumans in Bangladesh, were eating nuts given by the residents of the remote Keshabpur village in Jessore district on Saturday, but ran off when a stone was thrown at them, the Bengali-language Sangbad Daily said, quoting residents.

A baby monkey was electrocuted after being caught in a live wire as they fled, sparking the animals to use sticks to attack several homes and shops in the village, the newspaper said.

They later left, taking the baby monkey's body."


"In the past year, a task force of council staffers and New Orleans Police Department personnel contacted more than 100 companies before they found one equipped to deliver a bullet-resistant substance that was distortion-free, durable, reusable and reasonably priced.

Making the grade was Labock Technologies Inc. of Weston, Fla., which recently dispatched company representatives to New Orleans to demonstrate its invention for local officials.

In addition to the "one-way glass" that blocks bullets from entering a vehicle from the outside, task force members were wowed by "an unexpected phenomenal feature" that allows officers "to return fire from the inside," according to a report submitted to the council last week.

"The return fire can move through the glass from the officer, and the glass will reseal itself," said Wilson Howard, the council's assistant research director who headed up the task force study. "

More info can be found on the company's website

On the protective side, as a bullet strikes the acrylic (brittle, but very strong when compressed) outer layer, the acrylic is compressed, strengthens, and absorbs/distributes the bullet's energy. Simultaneously, the polycarbonate layer, which has flexible characteristics, stretches as it dissipates all the remaining bullet energy, and there is no full penetration. There is some "spider webbing" on the impact side, but the inside of the glass remains smooth and undamaged.

On the One Way side, the reverse occurs - The polycarbonate is compressed, and the acrylic is stretched. The bullet easily passes through the soft polycarbonate layer, and into the acrylic layer, which becomes weak as it is stretched. The bullet shatters the acrylic and continues onward, with negligible loss of velocity, and practically no deflection.

I cannot even imagine the culture shock this guy is going through. Almost 2 decades gone. So much has changed in the last two decades. Just look at the advancements made in computers. Not to make light of the situation but I can just see him asking who the President is and they tell him its GW, he probably thought hey, I haven't been out that long.

Man Wakes, Speaks After 19 Years in Coma

By DAVID HAMMER, Associated Press Writer

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ark. - The last time Terry Wallis was conscious of the world around him, Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) was president, Bill Clinton (news - web sites) was the governor, the Soviet Union was the enemy and the World Trade Center still stood.

Thrown into a stupor after an auto accident in 1984, he recently spoke his first words in 19 years: "Mom. Pepsi. Milk."

Only in the last two weeks has the 39-year-old Wallis realized that Reagan no longer is president, answering "I don't know" when asked who is in office now. He thought the Arkansas governor was still Clinton.

"He's beginning to realize he's in a different place now," said his physician, Dr. James Zini. "We never thought he'd regain this kind of cognitive level."

Wallis and a friend were in a car on July 13, 1984, when it ran off the road. Both men were found beneath a bridge the next day. The friend died; Wallis was left a quadriplegic and fell into a coma for three months.

He soon emerged partially from the coma. But for 18 years, he could communicate only by blinking his eyes or grunting.

Then, on June 13, he called out "Mom" to his mother and later asked for a Pepsi. While home from the hospital for a weekend, he said he wanted milk with his breakfast. Since then, he has steadily increased his vocabulary, and he is considered fully emerged from his stupor.

A speech therapist works with Wallis three days a week, and his doctor wants to give him more intensive physical therapy now that he can better comply with instructions. Nurses have been told to ask Wallis open-ended questions to help him develop answers beyond just "Yes" and "No."

Wallis has re-entered a world where so much was different. The World Trade Center, Pentagon (news - web sites) and the Oklahoma City federal building were all attacked by terrorists. The Berlin Wall is gone, as is the Soviet Union.

The Internet in 1984 was a loose affiliation of computers of interest only to academics. National League and American League baseball teams never played each other until the World Series (news - web sites). Roger Maris was still the home run king.

Wallis' daughter, Amber, was 6 weeks old at the time of the accident. Wallis said it is his goal to walk for her. During a visit with her last month, he was able to tell her, "You're pretty" and "I love you."

His long-term memory is keen. He remembered the telephone number of a long-dead grandmother and recalled driving a car whose transmission had failed, forcing him to drive in reverse.

Over the past 19 years, the Wallis family would pick him up at the Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and take him home or to family functions.

Zini said that probably aided in a gradual recovery that began with him reacting to a six-figure doctor's bill.

Eighteen years ago, Wallis shook his head violently when a doctor told the family that medical bills were running about $125,000 — as if to say the price was not acceptable, said his father, Jerry Wallis.

Later on, Wallis would react to Chevrolet TV commercials.

"He wouldn't drive a Chevrolet and when the commercials would come on the TV he'd have a fit. He'd shake his head from one side to the other and give some kind of hollering," Jerry Wallis said.

Very moving story on so many levels.

Random Scotto factoid - About a decade or so ago, I had a huge crush on Alyson Court, Loonette on the "Big Comfy Couch." Alas, the high price of babysitting. It's still amazing to me that the twins must now be 18 or so now.

one year ago - hard rain, dream thoughts, tests, IM spam

two years ago - evil news, louche, fill in the blank, gush, insane beautiful people journal nonsense (he's now suspended)

three years ago - Mr. Rogers, April hassles, H is pregnant with B's kid, inevitable slippery
posted by Scott von Berg 2:27:23 PM

 
7/9/03

Ugh... trolls. Don't they realize that they serve no purpose, and are always rubbed out in the end?


"Wipe them out... All of them."

I really wonder sometimes what causes people to lash out, online. Immaturity and some sort of bully complex are probably the biggest reasons. You have to wonder who wasted an authorization code for them, and if it can be tracked back.


There was a great deal of little nit-noids and niggling speedy-code this morning and yesterday... I'm glad, though, because it mixed things up a bit for me, and gave me a chance to cleanse my palate before returning to Niggling code, work reason? I wonder what's bringing the onrush in, lately? New Clients? CSRs testing to see what they can get? Either way, I've done a good job and in record time.

Oh dear... Naughty hulk! (Probably work safe, unless your boss doesn’t like stuffed animals with a little extra felt where it counts.) The expression on Leah's face is priceless.

At a park in Ohio, all you need to hunt for fossils is a bucket and a willingness to get dirty. Here's the CNN story. Man, and I thought the peace river was fossil-rich! I want a trilobite!

http://www.wonderwoman-themovie.com/

a year ago - Wave of Husband killings, apple nipple monkey, star trek chairs auctioned, Ashcroft afraid of kitties

two years ago - brackish , some broken links, dancing poll, tried mcD's yogurt & fruit, Le Petomane, band name poll, bid farewell to some junk,

three years ago - angry beavers, scary movie, don't look behind you.
posted by Scott von Berg 2:27:01 PM

 
7/8/03
*60 activates call block. I'd been getting annoyance calls from a "disconnected number", so I did the smart thing, and added that number to my block list. Simple, elegant solution. Speaking of calls, I spoke with my doctor's office, and had to phone up workman's comp in order to schedule my MRI and get my leg brace... waiting for a call back. They're supposed to recall by end of day today.

Oddly, I got another call after activating it.

My new phone came today... much nicer than the $6 phone I was using as a temp. That will be relegated to the tech-box in case of emergencies. My only complaint is that the new phone takes 3 C batteries... and my charger seems to only handle AA and AAA as well as 9v clips. I will concern myself with it more as the batteries grow weak.

This is my kind of "running of the bulls". Thanks, ! I think the horns were attached a la Steve Martin's Arrow through the head method. See also Ralph's screen test.

For Ray, who was right...
Batroc the Leaper is a French Citizen (George Batroc) A French citizen, he was a member of the French Foreign Legion, until he perfected his savate (kick-fighting skill) to such a point that it became more profitable to become a mercenary.
Batroc the Leaper - Real Name: George Batroc

Class: costumed athlete

Occupation: mercenary

Affiliations: Captain America villain, leader of Batroc's Brigade, former member of the French Foreign Legion

Scale of Operations: France, worldwide

Powers: Batroc has no superhuman powers, but is supremely agile and the world's expert at savate, the French form of kickboxing.

History: Batroc trained himself in savate while in the French Foreign Legion, and later became a costumed mercenary. Although originally working alone, he began and continues to often recruit fellow rogues and criminals when a job may require it. His mercenary adventures often led him into criminal activities, and thus he has clashed and continues to clash with many superheroes and costumed crime fighters, notably Captain America. Batroc, while not inherently villainous, is an egotist and often caricature of a romantic ideal of a "thief."

More recently, Batroc fought a then-dying Captain America, and, moved by the Captain's sense of "honor," declared that he would concede defeat and grant Cap's desire. Cap wished that just one of his former enemies would turn away from his life of crime. Genuinely moved, Batroc declared he would do this. However, Batroc soon returned to his mercenary/criminal activities.

Batroc's Brigade is the name of various bands of mercenaries, martial artists, and assassins organized by George Batroc.

Batroc first organized his Brigade with the Living Laser and the original Swordsman in order to locate a "seismo-bomb" for a foreign power, but was defeated by the hero Captain America. Later, Batroc formed a new Brigade to carry out the villainous Red Skull's orders to kill Captain America, but even the combined might of himself, Porcupine, and Whirlwind was not enough. After this unsuccessful attempt, Batroc began to simply hire dozens of muscle men and martial artists. At one point, Batroc was hired by industrialist Obadiah Stane to steal Captain America's shield, and Batroc contacted Zaran the Weapons Master and Machete. Although the assignment ultimately failed, the three mercenaries have continued to work together for nearly all of the Brigade's later missions.

Machete (Ferdinand Lopez)
A native of the Central American country San Diablo, Machete sees himself as its liberator. He is working as a mercenary to raise the money to fund a successful revolution.

Machete has no superhuman powers, but is a superb athlete and has a high proficiency with throwing and fighting with knives and blades.

Some bright people at MIT have figured out that if the U.S. government plans to increase intelligence-gathering operations on its own citizens, there's no reason at all that U.S. citizens shouldn't be gathering intelligence on the government. And so they are.

Flashback cartoon, trippy video and a nifty set of samples in flash. Light and sound spirographics, via metafilter... note that both have sound, for any office workers.

Addictive lure of data (oh, I recognize some of the warning signs.)

The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive?
By MATT RICHTEL

THIS is Charles Lax's brain on speed.

Mr. Lax, a 44-year-old venture capitalist, is sitting in a conference for telecommunications executives at a hotel near Los Angeles, but he is not all here. Out of one ear, he listens to a live presentation about cable television technology; simultaneously, he surfs the Net on a laptop with a wireless connection, while occasionally checking his mobile device — part phone, part pager and part Internet gadget — for e-mail.

Mr. Lax flew from Boston and paid $2,000 to attend the conference, called Vortex. But he cannot unwire himself long enough to give the presenters his complete focus. If he did, he would face a fate worse than lack of productivity: he would become bored.

"It's hard to concentrate on one thing," he said, adding: "I think I have a condition."

The ubiquity of technology in the lives of executives, other businesspeople and consumers has created a subculture of the Always On — and a brewing tension between productivity and freneticism. For all the efficiency gains that it seemingly provides, the constant stream of data can interrupt not just dinner and family time, but also meetings and creative time, and it can prove very tough to turn off.

Some people who are persistently wired say it is not uncommon for them to be sitting in a meeting and using a hand-held device to exchange instant messages surreptitiously — with someone in the same meeting. Others may be sitting at a desk and engaging in conversation on two phones, one at each ear. At social events, or in the grandstand at their children's soccer games, they read news feeds on mobile devices instead of chatting with actual human beings.

These speed demons say they will fall behind if they disconnect, but they also acknowledge feeling something much more powerful: they are compulsively drawn to the constant stimulation provided by incoming data. Call it O.C.D. — online compulsive disorder.

"It's magnetic," said Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatry instructor at Harvard. "It's like a tar baby: the more you touch it, the more you have to."

Dr. Hallowell and John Ratey, an associate professor at Harvard and a psychiatrist with an expertise in attention deficit disorder, are among a growing number of physicians and sociologists who are assessing how technology affects attention span, creativity and focus. Though many people regard multitasking as a social annoyance, these two and others are asking whether it is counterproductive, and even addicting.

The pair have their own term for this condition: pseudo-attention deficit disorder. Its sufferers do not have actual A.D.D., but, influenced by technology and the pace of modern life, have developed shorter attention spans. They become frustrated with long-term projects, thrive on the stress of constant fixes of information, and physically crave the bursts of stimulation from checking e-mail or voice mail or answering the phone.

"It's like a dopamine squirt to be connected," said Dr. Ratey, who compares the sensations created by constantly being wired to those of narcotics — a hit of pleasure, stimulation and escape. "It takes the same pathway as our drugs of abuse and pleasure."

"It's an addiction," he said, adding that some people cannot deal with down time or quiet moments. "Without it, we are in withdrawal."


ACCORDING to research compiled by David E. Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, multitaskers actually hinder their productivity by trying to accomplish two things at once. Mr. Meyer has found that people who switch back and forth between two tasks, like exchanging e-mail and writing a report, may spend 50 percent more time on those tasks than if they work on them separately, completing one before starting the other.

As a result, Mr. Meyer said, businesspeople who multitask "are making themselves worse businesspeople."

He says little research has been done into why some people are compulsively drawn to multitasking. But he theorizes that the allure has several layers. Multitasking offers a guise of productivity, a "macho" show of accomplishment, and similarities to a quick amphetamine rush.

"It's related to what happens to skydivers or jet pilots," he said. "They put themselves in situations where, if they don't perform at peak efficiency, they'll crash and burn. In the aftermath there is a rush of chemicals."

Patrick P. Gelsinger, the chief technology officer at Intel, says it is clear that the overall time spent in front of screens — whether desktop computers or hand-held devices — is rising. "Time spent watching television is down," he said. "But over all you see a discretionary increase in the amount of time people are connected to technology."

The presence of such devices, as well as their power, will only grow. Networks that provide wireless Internet access are in their early stages. Intel has put the full force of its science and marketing effort behind wireless devices and the superfast miniature microprocessors that power them.

Intel portrays computers as pushing productivity, and Mr. Gelsinger scoffs at the idea that digital devices have a compulsive or physically addictive draw. "We don't make drugs," he said. "We make technology building blocks that move the world forward in all ways."

But he concedes that there can be a point at which the constant accessibility of information is hard to escape.

In one meeting at Intel, Mr. Gelsinger said he found himself sending an instant message to his boss across the room — a potential distraction, though he argued that by doing so, he did not have to engage in "disruptive whispering." At other times, Mr. Gelsinger has had to remind himself not to use e-mail on his laptop during a meeting because it can send the message that he is not paying full attention.


SOMETIMES, discipline must be imposed from the outside. At a recent technology conference organized by The Wall Street Journal and attended by industry heavyweights like Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple Computer and Stephen M. Case of AOL Time Warner, people were discouraged from using their wireless Internet access during presentations.

Bucking the recent tradition at trade shows and technology conferences, the organizers decided not to provide wireless Internet access inside the conference.

"We wanted people to absorb what the speakers were saying," said Walt Mossberg, a technology columnist at The Journal.

"We decided that if you have Wi-Fi, it would be destructive," he added. "If you have the Internet, it will win out. People imagine they can multitask, but sometimes people overestimate the extent to which they can do it."

If multitasking creates a problem for people, the cause is not the gadget makers themselves, said Jeff Hallock, the senior director for consumer products at Sprint PCS, the mobile telephone carrier. The company has been selling the manna of multitasking: phones that can also take digital pictures, send e-mail and instant messages and download music. But Mr. Hallock says those functions help people stay organized, not make them frenetic.

"We're enhancing people's lives so they can have more control of the flurry of activity that's seemingly coming in," he said.

"You don't have to check your voice mail," he added. "We're giving you the chance to do so."

The notion that using all these devices creates a harmful addiction is absurd to Bruce P. Mehlman, assistant commerce secretary for technology policy and a former executive at Cisco Systems. Mr. Mehlman said the presence of many gadgets in people's lives created not a cacophony, but harmony and balance.

Mobile phones, wireless Internet devices and laptops have liberated executives, he said, allowing them to leave the office and to spend more time at home. The users of these technologies are constantly wired, he said, but to a very positive goal.

"Ten years ago, you had to be in the office 12 hours," said Mr. Mehlman, who said he now spent 10 hours a day at work, giving him more time with his wife and three children, while also making use of his wireless-enabled laptop, BlackBerry and mobile phone.

"I get to help my kids get dressed, feed them breakfast, give them a bath and read them stories at night," he said. He can also have Lego air fights — a game in which he and his 5-year-old son have imaginary dogfights with Lego airplanes.

Both love the game, and it has an added benefit for Dad: he can play with one hand while using the other to talk on the phone or check e-mail. The multitasking maneuver occasionally requires a trick: although Mr. Mehlman usually lets his son win the Lego air battles, he sometimes allows himself to win, which forces his son to spend a few minutes putting his plane back together.

"While he rebuilds his plane, I check my e-mail on the BlackBerry," Mr. Mehlman explained.

Mr. Lax, too, cannot pass up the chance to use every bit of technology that comes his way. A graduate of Boston University who lives outside Boston, he is managing general partner at GrandBanks Capital, a venture investment firm. He serves on the boards of three companies, working to turn them into successful ventures. "I build companies one customer at a time," he said, adding that his investments are up against other well-financed competitors. "It's a race against time."

Mr. Lax uses technology to keep up. He is, by his own admission, "Always On."

On his office desk is a landline telephone, a mobile phone, a laptop computer connected to several printers, and a television, often tuned to CNN or CNBC. At his side is the aptly named Sidekick, a mobile device that serves as camera, calendar, address book, instant-messaging gadget and fallback phone. It can browse the Internet and receive e-mail. He has been known to pick it up whenever it chirps at him — and he acknowledges having used it to check e-mail while in the men's restroom.

There is no down time in the car, either. "I talk on the phone, but I have a headset," Mr. Lax said. Does he do anything else, like using his Sidekick to read e-mail? "I won't be quoted as saying what else I do because it could get me arrested," he said, laughing.

Mr. Lax said he loved the constant stimulation. "It's instant gratification," he said, and it staves off boredom. "I use it when I'm in a waiting situation — if I'm standing in line, waiting to be served for lunch, or getting takeout coffee at Starbucks. And, my God, at the airport it's disastrous to have to wait there.

"Being able to send an e-mail in real time is just — " Mr. Lax paused. "Can you hold for a second? My other line is ringing."

When he returned, he said he shared this way of working with many venture capitalists. "We all suffer a kind of A.D.D," he said. "It's a bit of a joke, but it's true. We are easily bored. We have lots of things going on at the same time."

The technology gives him a way to direct his excess energy. "It is a kind of Ritalin," he said, referring to the drug commonly taken by people with attention deficit disorder.


BUT he said technology dependence could have its down side. "I'm in meetings all the time with people who are focused on what they're doing on their computers, not on the presentation," he said.

During the Vortex telecommunications conference, held in May in Dana Point, Calif., he and dozens of others were using wireless Internet access. He said that he was paying attention to the speaker, using his Internet connection to look up information about the cable industry.

"I was supporting the effort of the speaker by figuring the elements he was talking about," Mr. Lax said. He paused. "I was also doing e-mail so I guess I wasn't giving 100 percent," he added. "I was 40 percent supporting the effort, and 60 percent doing other things."

Indeed, he said, the technology can be a bit distracting. "But it's not a problem," he said. "Being able to process lots of data allows me to be more efficient and productive."

"It allows me to accelerate success."

a year ago - oz/floyd connection, pimps at sea, rss feeds start, cat dreams

two years ago - sweetheart returns, unpacking videos, 1992 tax info, the challenge, corn chowder, kubrick quiz

three years ago - Rowlf sings, April actually kicks back a few bucks, pondering a new recorder
posted by Scott von Berg 2:26:43 PM

 


Welcome to Baby Ink, where we believe that it's never to early to start expressing your unique personality through professional, high quality body art. Baby Ink locations are non-threatening, family friendly places where people of all ages can feel calm and at ease. Although we are the ORIGINAL body art chain to cater to toddlers and children, our experienced, talented staff is glad to work on people of all ages. So whether you're 8 months or 88 years old, if you're ready for a tattoo or a body piercing-the clear choice is Baby Ink.

(update, it's a confirmed fraud, but an impressive gag.)
posted by Scott von Berg 2:26:01 PM

 
New Noontime ritual in the works, watching Lovejoy, for later discussion with Danny. A fun show, they break the 4th wall a lot for narrative purposes.

It looks like the interests page has been cleaned up, as well as the user info page... at the end of the interests list, there's a little blurb that allows you to modify yours. -Via

Insurance called, and apparently misunderstood about my being able to work form home. I honestly cannot take the bus and train for literally hours every day. Going back and forth to physical therapy is torment enough, thank you. I wish that they'd just talk to the doctor about these things, and get a straight answer rather than just assuming "can continue to work from home" means, "can work at work, if accommodated". It’s not nearly the same, as much as I'd like it to be so.

Ray Stevens - Mr Businessman

Itemize the things you covet
As you squander through your life
Bigger cars, bigger houses
Term insurance for your wife
Tuesday evenings with your harlot
And on Wednesdays it's your charlatan
analyst, he's high upon your list

You've got air conditioned sinuses
And dark disturbing doubts about religion
And you keep those cards and letters going out
While your secretary's tempting you
Your morals are exempting you from guilt and shame
Heaven knows you're not to blame

(CHORUS:)
You better, Take care of business Mr. Businessman
What's your plan?
Get down to business Mr. Businessman if you can
(Before it's too late and you throw your life away) 1st time

Did you see your children growing up today
And did you hear the music of their laughter
As they set about to play
Did you catch the fragrance of those roses in your garden
Did the morning sunlight warm your soul,
Brighten up your day
Do you qualify to be alive
or is the limit of your senses so as only to survive
Hey yeah.....

Spending counterfeit incentive
Wasting precious time and health
Placing value on the worthless
Disregarding priceless wealth
You can wheel and deal the best of them
And steal it from the rest of them
You know the score, their ethics are a bore

Eighty-six anesthetic crutches prop you to the top
Where the smiles are all synthetic
And the ulcers never stop
When they take that final inventory,
Yours will be the same sad story everywhere
No one will really care, no one more lonely than
This rich important man, let's have your autograph
Endorse your epitaph

(CHORUS)

posted by Scott von Berg 2:16:13 PM

 
7/7/03
Frankie, the creepy neighbor came by last night at midnight, purportedly to give me a spinach roll from work (he keeps mentioning that he'll bring me a pizza or something from work for letting him use the phone... I thank him, and he asks to use the phone again... calling a friend of his up to come take him somewhere. After he'd left, I notice that the spinach roll is still warm. I unwrap it, and there's a bite out of the end. Ugh. He could have at least cut that portion off. Between that, and the generally creepy vibe the guy throws off, I opted not to eat it, even if it's a waste of food. Color me paranoid, but I don't think I want to consume any gifts from him.

A unique library of medieval manuscripts, devastated by fire during World War II and considered lost by scholars, could be restored using technology developed to study the surface of planets.

The medieval library at Chartres, France, was destroyed in an allied bombing raid on the evening of 26 May, 1944.

The collection, then housed in an annexe of Chartres town hall, comprised around 2,000 medieval books and parchments, many of which dated to the 12th Century.

The library was considered a national treasure and a good proportion of the works were unpublished.

After the fire was quelled, volunteers moved in to save what they could from the smouldering ruins. Although thousands of texts were recovered, the fierce inferno carbonised the majority, rendering them unreadable.

But digital technology called multispectral imaging may now be able to reveal text on even the most badly burned manuscripts, allowing scholars to study them again.

Non-invasive technique

A key member of the team using multispectral imaging to decipher burned scrolls from the Roman town of Herculaneum, which was buried by the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in AD 79, says the technique could be ideal for reading the damaged Chartres manuscripts.

"The beauty of [multispectral imaging] is that it is not invasive," Professor Richard Janko of the University of Michigan, US, told BBC News Online.

"It's worth a trial [on the Chartres texts]. It could do a lot for the study of medieval literature," he added.

"The library at Chartres was possibly the greatest medieval library," said associate professor Constant Mews, an expert in medieval literature at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.

Multispectral imaging is widely used on satellites that produce detailed images of the Earth. But it is now gaining ground as a technique in archaeological restoration.

Researchers take several images of a manuscript with a special multispectral camera.

The photos are then passed through different filters to produce a set of images viewed at different wavelengths of light.

These wavelengths range from colours in the visible spectrum to infrared and ultraviolet light - which are invisible to the naked eye.

This image set is then processed to show up subtle features on the page, revealing text previously concealed from human vision.

Like the manuscripts from Chartres, the Herculaneum scrolls were carbonised by intense heat.

But manuscripts from Chartres were also dowsed in water from fire hoses, which has had a particularly damaging effect on the rolled-up parchments.

"The action of water after the fire vitrified the parchments, making them like glass. They are also very breakable," said Dominique Poirel, a research engineer at the Institut de Recherche et d'Histoire des Textes in Paris, France.

It is not known whether this will pose any obstacle to reading the parchments with multispectral imaging.

Fateful raid

There are two alternative accounts of the events that led to the destruction of the library.

Some contemporary newspaper reports say a British plane, hit by German fire, dropped its bombs on the library as it fell from the sky.

But another version of the story maintains that a German pilot released his bombs over Chartres by accident, prompting other pilots in his formation to do the same. One of these bombs hit the library, causing the fire.

At the beginning of hostilities in 1939, the precious manuscripts were moved to Chateau de Villebon, a country house about 20 kilometres outside Chartres and deemed a safe location.

But in 1940, an official in the town's new German administration ordered the texts be returned to the library premises.

Ironically, this was a propaganda move designed to reassure the town's inhabitants that they had nothing to fear from Nazi occupation.

The centrepiece of the collection was the Heptateuchon, a treatise on the arts by the 12th Century philosopher Thierry de Chartres.

Mr Poirel said that while some pages of the Heptateuchon were still intact, much of it had been damaged by fire.

Mr Poirel said he had not yet looked into the possibility of using multispectral imaging to decipher texts from the medieval library but added: "If there were some reason to [request funding] we would."
posted by Scott von Berg 2:15:54 PM