scottobear: Lordy, why is the monchichi song in my head? (via Twitter / scottobear)

Nice simple, rustic dinner tonight – Deviled eggs and salad (both egg salad and salad-salad). yum.

Speaking of simple and Rustic – Watched “The F word” with Gordon Ramsey… it’s out of rotation… just isn’t compelling at all. Kitchen Nightmares UK is the best of his lot so far, I think.

Happy Birthday, Pac-Man!

A bare trickle of rain tonight… cool weather tomorrow?

Washington DC’s Pedestrian Master Plan – good thing, given about 700 pedestrians a year are hit by cars in the District, which factors out to about two a day.

Book meme – Don’t hold these to me too tightly – “favorite” is a tough word regarding something as vast as literature.

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why?
Paperback – portability… I’d even prefer e-book format over that, if the reader is comfortable.

2. If I were to own a book shop I would call it…
Salmagundi or Argosy

3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is…

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury –

It was this then, the mystery of man seizing from the land and the land seizing back, year after year, that drew Douglas, knowing the towns never really won, they merely existed in calm peril, fully accoutered with lawn mower, bug spray and hedge shears, swimming steadily as long as civilization said to swim, but each house ready to sink in green tides, buried forever, when the last man ceased and his trowels and mowers shattered to cereal flakes of rust.

4. The author (alive or diseased) I would love to have lunch with would be…
Ray Bradbury… about 35 years ago.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except from the SAS survival guide, it would be…
Some sort of large compilation volume, if I were to go against the spirit of the question. Just one? Robinson Crusoe might be a too ironic choice. Actually, I think I’d prefer to take a blank book, and as many writing implements as I could.

6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that…
Had a decently sized screen and was comfortably portable.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of…
back wen I worked a the library… hiding spots among the deep stacks in the 780s.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be…
I’ll have to lead with Doug in Dandelion Wine, again.

9. The most overestimated book of all times is…
Joyce’s Ulysses would be high on that list, at least for me.

10. I hate it when a book…
holds its own just fine, and then the author (or worse, some other author) writes a really terrible sequel… or series of sequels. see: Ender’s Game or Pern Series for example.

1 year ago – BHK back, Danny plans, bro invisible, google bought youtube, elephant crackup (long article), sure ‘nuff yes I do, YOP!

2 years ago – leeches, reclusive, aoe3, bear-cave, W&G thoughts, halloween movies, scotto needs/wants, red hot riding hood, faking depth of field in photoshop, tom cruise – corinthian, things about me list, yahoo podcast search, shy street penguin
3 years ago – long bets, ‘ween, dark victoria, Frederik Ruysch body part dioramas, google translator

4 years ago – Newt bips me, penis snatcher beaten up, hulk closes for a while, and a nice chat. palm drawing

5 years ago – scary dreams, palm drawings, I’m 2 degrees from Kevin Bacon, moon pies 100 years old, starry night, From Beyond

6 years ago – egg recipe, dorkgirl sends me treats, recherche / chichi, evil news, me no likey xp, birding talk with hala

7 years ago – doc trip, duck echoes, Rhino crackheads, sea chantey, memes, shel silverstein

(via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)

Starting to feel a bit like ctober!

Back the regular schedule – at work and chugging nicely – jaw still a bit sore from dentist, plus sore throat from allergies.

Dinner with the in-laws and adam – played a little destroy all humans after tasty chicken-egg noodle type-dish (hot dogs for larry). The canned veggie-chicken was cooked up to be really darn tasty, as was the mushroom gravy. The veggie gravy would be excellent on biscuits with a little black pepper, too, I suspect!

First day of new allergy meds, and my coughing is vastly reduced.

I can’t believe that it’s been 5 years since the beltway sniper. I certainly never thought that I’d live and work in this region back then. Between that, and Flight 77 six years ago – it’s amazing how much people get back to business at hand and swarm all over the pentagon, the metro and so on.

1 year ago – 16 days to go, nostalgia for 7-11, x04, preggos on my list, identity, monsters in my pocket, girls back from QC,

2 years ago – autostitch picture, with us / against us, hukilau, hp returns
3 years ago – Doom3 + Newt = Scotto Heart Attack, Bro drama, walkies pictures (graffiti/latin broward/newt), odd todd tv show sacked

4 years ago – programming, October questions, 3-fingered roy, rays, ricks, alexes, and gaming, bro gets a warrant, candy corn poll

5 years ago – dsl flicker, Lauper Photo, Kelly and Lexie meow and poop, Lincoln poll, House blessing

6 years ago – owies pass, odd news, took newt to work, werewolf (mafia) game, GPS factoid

7 years ago – Salty dog, slushies for lunch, CTD song, boycotts

(via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)

Woke up with a sore throat – I was a little panicked that my infection had come back post-antibiotics. Not a big deal, I only had to visit a zillion doctors today.

Pretty much a 50,000 mile warranty checkup –

I got the following done:

Visited Allergist
– got ‘scrip for a new inhaler, one that should stop the need for the old one. a puff before bed.
– Going back on shots once a week. Saturdays, I suspect, due to me working and all.
– trying a new med for my “stigmata”. rash on wrists and ankles.
– Doctor was pretty amusing. “Any animals at home, aside from your wife?”
– I’ve lost about 16 lbs since the start of September.
– I’m allergic to red meat! good thing I don’t eat the stuff anymore. So much for me being a zombie, werewolf, ghoul or other carni-beasite, though.
– Once on my shots, I should be doing a lot better, especially with Newt and Pye in the house.

Got a Flu Shot
– Didn’t feel a thing. The Nurse at the Allergist is *good*. Note to self – get my next one there, too.

Picked up the mail, and saw TM and Matt hanging out on the boardwalk. They seem to be getting along pretty well, thus far! I’m happy that

Went to Cheeburger Cheeburger, but my throat was too sore to gulp down a veggie burger… (Lunch tomorrow!), but the Milkshake and diet pepsi soothed nicely.

Went to Michaels, to look for fun game-making supplies and Halloween crafts. BHK found a lot of fun items, but my fave was the LED candles… we can finally have some luminaries / candle effects without flame to hurt kitties, or smoke to choke Scotto. I didn’t see anything that I had to have right away.. maybe further into development.

Went to Dentist for a few more fillings. No numbness issues this time, but he was pretty rough. The right side of my jaw is fairly sore, due to him dinging a nerve with the anesthetic needle. I also chewed my tongue a bit, due to my not feeling it. On the upside, the fillings feel great and I’m about done. BHK got her mouth guard, thanks to a cancellation on the bridge at the last minute… saves her from having to come back later this week!

ATW man is still in Oktoberfest mode.

Other things that Happened recently – Went to Target – got a few “game tins” for $1 each. I now own tiny versions of Chess, Snakes and Ladders, and another game that I can’t remember the name of, but looks like Sorry.

BHK makes awesome Lasagna, which is even better the next day.

The autumn colors are really starting to pop!

1 year ago – more about BHK in VT, congestion issues, quick photoshop colorize, canspidersfart.com, Halloween meme, pride quiz, first computer

2 years ago – newt pic, random one liners, newtcam time lapse, crazy man Michael, palm post, wallace and gromit, aventura pics
3 years ago – Kiwanis bust, shirt pocket shotgun, bus observations

4 years ago – went article submission crazy at sa.com, linkies, and hairball dinosaur

5 years ago – Frankenstein, Manchurian Candidate, MD sniper, walk at about 3mph

6 years ago – distance poll, evil news, cecity

7 years ago – troll, Saw Psycho Beach party with the bro, Pinky Tuscadero violates probation

(via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)

Went to Game night yesterday at the Clampets – met some nice folks and chitty chatted… didn’t do a lot of gaming.

A pair of CPAs, Clare- a Teacher of chemistry at the Naval academy, a network cable guy (Eric) in addition to Brent (travel agent), Alison (Pampered Chef Home sales), Nick (not sure what he does) A pretty fascinating study in “nice people who don’t share any of my opinions on things”. A pretty conservative, heavily church-going bunch, but very kind and tolerant. I think that Amy would like Nick, and that Kev would really dig Clare, if I was of a match-making bent. The game we played was a “get to know you” sort of thing, where you have cards, and try to figure out what a person say if asked questions like “Where’d you last get groceries” / “How often do you Vacuum a month” / “How many Piercings do you Have” / “Favorite Politician”.

It was a little shocking to me to hear otherwise similar to myself types say that they thought George Bush was their favorite politician, without a shred of sarcasm or irony. I’ll do better to pretend I’m in bizarro-world next time I make my guesses.

Picked up lots of goodies for Bugah and Em for the co-birthday celebration next weekend – Em got Moon Sand, Aqua Dots and a little robot-kitten – Bugah got a Wave-style skateboard, and a 4-up Nerf rocket launcher. I think that they’ll be pleased. Plus, I want to play with the Moon Sand and Nerf Gun. BHK picked up some glow in the dark filler Aqua Dots too, so I imagine she’ll be “helping” Em make some neat designs as well.

Tonight, we did a more game-oriented game night (One long game of Apples to Apples, and a quick game of Aquarius – Chris won both!) with the in-laws and Louise, after Pizza and watching When Harry Met Sally and a Carol Burnett show blooper reel/retrospective. Strange that there was no mention of Lyle Waggoner.

1 year ago – haircut reviews, felix woos whoopee, BHK off to VT with TM, JLU good, the hoff says KITT was gay / how to woo hoff, motorcycle bear, pictures

2 years ago – HBO/Rome torrent issues, lj portal, medical Friday 5, local graffiti pics Dose

 3 years ago – met some VIPs, mooks, pente, Kiwanis, free stuff, Everything you can think of is true

4 years ago – land art, land shark, MOND, vamp hint, Nice weather, pesky people, squids, space, sea and starburst fruit chews.

5 years ago – gps, Cheney scary face, bro bawl out, star wars gangsta rap

6 years ago – hubris, birfdaze, AOE2-Con, religious words as verbs, on working local outwards

7 years ago – Ray Ig & Robbo, Salty dog pub (via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)

Rest in Peace, Dani.

We’ll play Big Rock Candy Mountain for you here. She first popped into my journal just shy of 7 years back. She was one of the good ones – I’ll miss her.

An example of why.

News article about her – Hemet driver killed when car rolls over

A 27-year-old Hemet woman was killed when the car she was driving on Gilman Springs Road left the roadway and rolled over, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The crash caused massive head injuries and was ejected, said CHP spokesman Chris Blondon.

Several farmworkers discovered the wrecked 1999 Ford Taurus just before 10 a.m. Thursday in a field about 190 feet off Gilman Springs Road, just east of Bridge Street, Blondon said. It appears the accident occurred the night before, Blondon said, but the wreckage could not be seen from the roadway.

The name of the driver is being withheld until her relatives are notified.

Blondon said it appears the woman was traveling east on Gilman and lost control of the car as she tried to negotiate a curve. The vehicle smashed through a chain-link fence and rolled over. Blondon said the driver was partially ejected and sustained massive head injuries as the car rolled again. The woman was ejected from the vehicle as it continued to roll over, Blondon said.

She was not wearing a seat belt, Blondon said.

1 year ago

– fund raiser, ra maguire, hillbilly hare, iguana vs squirrel, Ralphie, journal meme

2 years ago

– deerfield test, autumn, d&D, tarrasque, nightstalker, wu-stuff, frigg, batman dolphins, Liz issues

3 years ago

– John Edwards looks rather like Jack Tripper. cocktail party, condo poop

4 years ago – snail-men attack, visiting the doc, palm doodle, Wet memories, German festivals kept quiet, site down, Admin tools.

5 years ago – mickey one,*many* palm doodles, mush, cpap, newt pics, cupboard, dead phone dream, bookstore, mk army idea, bro debt

6 years ago – Spider-man, fixing the A/C at my old place, hussites, season opener for prairie home companion, a day for love.

7 years ago – Plunging pirates off the empire state, small, and “warchilds death”, a troll visits
(via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)

Happy 8th Birthday, Newt! Feel free to peek in on him and say howdy!

He’s really helped to make it an amazing near-decade. Now he’s got a little brother and a mamma to help!

A zillion pics of him here. He’s come a long way from this !

Lore found this listing of sources for D&D… I remember when the books listed were in the back of the old DM guide. The detail makes a fun trivia read.

example –

A lychgate is an entrance to a churchyard where a body rests before burial–”lych” means person or dead body (From German “Leiche”, meaning “dead body, cadaver, corpse”). The D&D lich is very similar to a character from Taran Wanderer, by Lloyd Alexander, a magician with an unnaturally-extended life who can only die if the item he has stored his soul in is broken (in this case, a bone from his little finger); however, the term “lich” is never used in the book. The origin of both the D&D lich and Alexander’s character is probably the Russian folkloric character “Kotshchey the Deathless”, also an unnaturally long-lived magician (or demon) who was almost impossible to kill.

125 things about scottobear, continued –

047. Brent, Steve and I really liked to go to Passport pizza in front of the Boynton Beach mall – specialized in “regional-style” pies. German was sausage and kraut, with caraway seeds… Mexican was spicy beef, cheese and onions… first time I’d ever had a Hawaiian pizza – green pepper, pineapple and ham. I did a quick google search, and there’s still one in Boca raton… I wonder if it’s the same people?

048. The was an Ice Cream shop right next door to Congress Middle School – run by some really nice guys, and it was a good stopping off point to play a game of gold bug (a dig dug knockoff), or work on D&D characters while eating a rocky road scoop on a sugar cone.

049. first job with an actual paycheck was at a Taco Viva in the same Boynton Beach Mall, where I poured beer at age 16, and left latex gloves for food prep filled with el scorcho sauce in the freezer. Layout of the old Taco Viva and a Sample storefront. both are identical to the one I worked at.

050. While the mall was being built (1984 or so) – Steve, Brent, and I explored it constantly. A great spot to play laser tag. Imagine a whole set of mall-walls, sand and cover available to 15 year olds! layout is here, but you can’t see all the hidden back alleys and service points that made it wonderfully fun and probably quite dangerous to play in. I think the biggest game we had out there was maybe 10 men to a side.

051. hates deadlines. yucko.

052. is very thankful for his life and family in the here and now.

053. is a terrible chess player, though he loves games (too busy being social to focus, I think)

Grumm the Screamer is a free downloadable papercraft robot from Matthijs Kamstra – and you can get him decorated or blank. The download is Creative Commons licensed, and Kamstra wants photos of your own coloring jobs. Link (via Paper Forest)

current music – Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

Friday 5 –

1. What’s your favorite cereal?

Variable… I’m digging Cinnamon Life right now, though.

2. What is too gross to eat in the morning?

Well… human eyeballs are too gross to eat at anytime… but first thing in the morning is pretty ok… I could eat a boca burger and a beer if I was hungry enough. I don’t really have a set time for certain foods.

3. What time do you go to bed?

Usually about 11pm

4. Where do you put your keys?

Front left pocket, or on a neck lanyard.

5. What vegetables do you love?

I like the starchy-yummy ones, like potatoes, sweet peas, and corn. Also dig broccoli, green beans and spinach more than a bit.

1 year ago – Free Tri-rail rides, Ultimate Avengers, Libertarians, Cough, top 10 lies told to artists and designers,

2 years ago – lake webster, newt six, blackmail boxes, CCR, I find out Doug Wu’s sired a child.
3 years ago – American date, zoomquilt, prowlies at the river, tiny plaid ninjas,pompano condo, WiT gender mislead, 3 things, penis tragedy, Newt 5

4 years ago – Newt pics (4!), Avengers adult-themed?, 400-million year old spider genitals, factoids, laundry, displacer beast, rick sanchez, tiger attack, tree octopus, DC atlas, Marvel directory, identity theft of asex pred, under water vehicle, jack johnson, mouse taxidermy

5 years ago – cpap broke, newt 3, chattie colors, dumbass Falwell, Harper Lee,condiments, blonds not fading out, Chirac witchcraft, verisign sucks

6 years ago – Newt 2, epicene, robot meme, religion, disney poop, Lilly passes away, pet quiz, motto quiz, age of kings, perl and quilting

7 years ago – newt 1, pee-bags, cats guarding the dead, autistic taters, hunters get flooded, movies and walkies

8 years ago – Newt’s born

(via Scotto’s Wall Scrawls)