Talked to Dave, and apparently Cathi is 2 months or so along with baby #2!

Wow. Makes sense. Mayah is able to say “Hi Scotto” on the phone. 🙂 I’m so happy for them!! I’m sorry that I ‘m so horked over that I can’t go with Dave to See X2 today, though.

Spending a lot of time in There this weekend, scavenger hunt and wonderful folks…found an incredible lost temple area under a canopy which might make an outstanding new place to live.

Regarding my back, Icepacks are my friend.

I hear the Air show again… not as rambunctious or active as yesterday.

Tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo… will that affect city traffic in Ft Lauderdale?

Another scavenger hunt in There
Continue reading hunt update →

So before you begin a career as an Illuminated Seer, start by seeing how everything is related. Go to Lexical FreeNet and use their connected thesaurus to find all manner of disturbing, amusing, or just plain unexpected ties between words, phrases, and their myriad uses. There may be a test later.

Tyhmä juusto = stupid cheese in Finnish.

Consume Memories on a chip. Won’t the ghouls be happy! The world’s first brain prosthesis – an artificial hippocampus – is about to be tested in California. Unlike devices like cochlear implants, which merely stimulate brain activity, this silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing.

Air and sea show is having practice today, and being as close to the beach, it’s loudy-loud. I think it’s the Thunderbirds.

Scavenger hunt is *tricky* but not really hard. I think that with my sis and the pgm crew as a resource, the answers will come together well enough. D got me a swell pirate buggy last night, too, and its helping to sell the pirate outfits as well as making me look quite the dashing avatar.

whole brain article for archival purposes

Rate my kitten! Ratings as of 5/2/03

Crosspossted to

Name, #of votes, Rating

Newton1, 300, 7.44
Newton2, 302, 7.99
Newton3, 293, 8.07
Newton4, 301, 5.42 (personally, this is my fave)
Newton5, 325, 8.03

Was on There last night a bit, played 20q with Dan, too. We added armpit, a cat whisker and space junk to the database. It’s a fun thing.

I didn’t get to chat much There because of numerous social interruptions… but I got some good time in, and a new pirate costume. 🙂

my three vampire spawn are doing well… I’m surprised that I don’t know more LJers that play it.

I shall pass along a good pop-up blocker for those that need it. Even if you don’t play online games, it’s a nice helper for anyone who surfs much online.

misc News stories of Scotto interest

http://www.sjgames.com/ill/archives.html?m=May&y=2003#68

Oh, come on. You knew we were going to say it . . .

After an absence of almost 20 years, Highlander Badgers have returned, kicking off the re-release of the Off The Wall Armies line of bizarre fantasy miniatures. Sculpted in 28mm scale, each army features anthropomorphic animal figures with weapons and gear from different historical periods. These figures are the delightfully strange creations of Richard Kerr, who sculpted all the figures and developed the bizarre universe they come from.

The Highlander Badgers are based on the North American badger (Taxidea taxus), with a culture from the 16th- thru 18th-century Scottish Highlands. Currently available are the Sergeant, the Longbowman, the Humbly (Commoner) with Axe, the Bagpiper, and the Chieftain. Future releases for this group will include the Highlander Cavalry and claymore-wielding warriors.

The Highlander Badgers are brought to you by Gray Cat Studios and Steve Jackson Games, and are available exclusively through Warehouse 23.

The entire Off The Wall Armies line will eventually be available again, and Kerr is busy sculpting another generation of great new figures. Armies will be released approximately every other month. The Otterman Empire is due out next, followed by the Semi-Colonials, Something Fishy, the Snakes of Wrath, and Kat-anas.

*** End press release (slightly edited for opening links in new windows)

Woohoo! Mind you, it’s a little misleading. You have to paint ’em yourself (I think that they should show an unpainted model sample too.), but I think they’re very cool, if a real challenge, paint wise. They look like a load of fun, and close enough in scale to mage knight to mount on a combat dial.

Examples of unpainted vs. painted from the monsters miniatures page

Also cute are the Pokethulhu miniatures. Who can help laughing and then shrieking in terror at scuttle or jigglypolyp?

In Bavaria May 1 is an especially important day for it is “Unsere Liebe Frau als Schutzfrau Bayerns” (Our Dear Lady as Patron Saint of Bavaria) also called the “Fest Patrona Bavariae”. Festivals there have a special Bavarian flavor.

In Bavarian villages, it has been the custom for centuries to cut a tall and straight tree, a day or two before May 1, place it in the middle of the village and decorate it with a wreath of spring flowers and colorful ribbons. One of the traditions is to attempt to steal the Maypole of the neighboring village on the night before, and to hold it for ransom, usually a couple kegs of beer. At the same time villagers had to make sure that their neighbors did not steal their maypole.

Another Bavarian tradition is the Maibaumkraxeln (Maypole climbing) contest. In many parts of Bavaria guys battle to see who can climb up the shaven and polished tree trunk the fastest, a task made even tougher by soaping down the Maypole, so that climbers only have a good shot if they smear ashes, tree sap or pitch on their hands. The goal is to win the Brezeln und Würste (pretzels and sausages) that hang atop the pole, and to impress the girls down in the crowd. Beginners climb carefully, gradually and in spurts. Veterans will grab a hold of the tree between hands and feet and climb right up. These trees are about 45 feet high, without branches or bark, and slick as a grease pan!

Maiwein (May Wine) is a German drink, dedicated to springtime and flavored with fresh Waldmeister (sweet woodruff). Maiwein, a white wine, imported from Germany, can be found in stores. Waldmeister is an old-world herb, a small plant with white blossoms. In Germany it grows in the forests. However, the variety that grows wild here is not usable for flavoring. This decorative plant may be grown in a shady corner of an herb garden. It should be used for flavoring only in May when the new leaves are tender. Cut up and soaked in the wine it will produce the distinctive May Wine taste.

You can make your own Maiwein by using a good white wine and flavoring it with woodruff. For a Maibowle (May punch) you can add carbonated water or champagne. The following recipe is from “Joy of Cooking” by Rombauer and Becker

Place in a bowl:
12 sprigs young waldmeister
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 bottle Moselle or other dry white wine
(1 cup brandy)

Cover the mixture for 30 minutes, no longer. Remove the waldmeister. Stir contents of bowl thoroughly and pour over a block of ice in a punch bowl. Add:
3 bottles Moselle
1 quart carbonated water or champagne
Thinly sliced oranges, sticks of pineapple and, most appropriately, sprigs of waldmeister, may be used to decorate the “Maitrank.”

Also –

I dropped in rank! I’m now no longer in the top 20 LJs. (I am in the top 21)

Another scavenger hunt in There
Continue reading →

Additional casualties of today’s fall down. I’m missing my left shoe and sock, and the ambulance guys had to cut up my left pant leg. I’m glad I’m wearing boxers.

The Dante’s Inferno Test has banished you to the First Level of Hell – Limbo!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Take the Dante’s Inferno Hell Test

I am Ned Flanders!
Which Simpsons Character are YOU?

The boobah zone. – Mucho fun, if you’re on some form of medication.

Don’t forget! Wednesday is free Ice cream day at participating Baskin Robbins!

Make sure one is participating!

Saw MRE on the train this morning.. he seemed the same. His news was that he thinks that the Finn will quit soon, because she hates it there. I was surprised to see him talking smack about the Finn, though.

I doubt that’ll happen… I think odds of Chupa quitting to go to work for the main office are better. I should start a pool.

MRE hated it that I pointed out if Kev quit tomorrow, they’d sink, no questions asked. He replied “well, if me and Riker both quit…” He didn’t get the point that he was redundant. Kevin is really the only thing holding OPs together… Sappho and Island boy would just leave if any real nonsense caused Kev to stop coming in.

I’m hitting the sack. Early rising again. Night, dear journal.

Gossip: The Finn took her Lexus in for service and got a rental. Sometime yesterday someone drove through the parking lot and bashed in the back passenger window to steal a purse she had back there. The purse was empty so she lost nothing. I can’t believe someone could do that in broad daylight. They completely shattered the window and no one saw them. She was lucky it was a rental and not her car.

Karma, Karma, Karma.