I dig this tattoo.

Well, today was a day of surprises! Saw Robb online…and he’s still the swell guy I remember. He went into “incognito-mode” for a while, but looks to be back on track. (For those just tuning in, Robb was Newt’s first foster-father, way back when, for a brief period before I got him.) Robb’s got a girlfriend now, and sounds very happy. I’m so glad I got to talk to him again! I wonder if he’ll start using his LJ again…

Saw Spider-man with Jenjen… she’s doing well, lost a lot weight so that she can do the transplant thing for her father. I should really hook her up with Kevin… they’d make a cute couple, and I think that they’re well-suited for one another.

I was strangely prophetic with the Spider-man doodle-cartoon…no real spoilers, but the origin sequence was interesting. very loyal to the comics, save for how the web-shooters work, and even that was fine, really.

Planning a “Hawaiian Mother’s Day breakfast” with my brother… he’s making her a lei, and we’ll all wear Hawaiian shirts to IHOP for pancakes and such. His idea, and I think it’s a fun one…. I just have to wrangle a card before 10am tomorrow morning… I’ll swing by Mack’s first thing and get her one there, along with some regular flowers.

Despite really digging galactic battlegrounds and the operative, lately, I find myself really enjoying games like asteroids and bejeweled a lot, too. (I have a little age of kings craving, too.)

Did you know Microsoft was convicted of software piracy last year by a French court? Not many people do. The Commercial Court of Nanterre fined Microsoft 3 million francs because it illegally included another company’s proprietary source code in SoftImage 3D, a top-of-the-line animation package.
Whoa. How did we miss this? Freedom To Innovate Indeed.

Well, let’s see what’s in the fridge… applesauce and beer, and there’s precious little in the cupboard… Time to restock. I’ll do groceries tomorrow after breakfast. (best time to shop is when you’re full!)… so tonight I will have Chinese… Spicy Orange Tofu with Broccoli, and a side of hot green tea, please!

Laundry day, and then lunch, out with Spider-man…. defragging a 120 gig drive doesn’t take as long as I’d suspected… it’s new, yet, though.

more of an update later, dear journal… probably from the palm.

Don’t forget! Saturday 5/11 is the hunger food drive! Leave some non-perishable food out by the mailbox!

Do it now… step away from the computer, and go! The internet will still be here in five minutes.

I set out a nice little bag o’goodies… (all food I like, too… corn, sweet peas with little onions, string beans, a bag of rice, a jar of peanut butter, and vegetarian baked beans.)

hee… now I have to restock my pantry.

My sweetie is off with her muvva tonight, and I have a programming project to work on (a few, actually…) but before I go swimming in code, I think I’ll duke it out with mr Newt.

This sums up pretty well how my day’s been today. That’s a Yawwwn! Note the piece of kibble he’s saving to snack on post-yawnies.

but first, the friday five –

What flavor doughnut is your favorite?
chocolate honey-dipped, or bavarian cream

Are you wearing socks right this instant?
Nosiree-bob!

What’s the temperature where you are?
79f/29c

Pretend you’re eating a salad, what kind of dressing does it have?
Cranberry Vinaigrette… yum, yummy

White or wheat?
Wheat.. but I prefer Pumpernickel or Rye.

I pick up my MRI films today… if I can find a light table at work, I’ll take pictures, and post ’em.

NPR – something to tune into…

Speaking of which, a hearty *thankee thankee* goes out to juliabee for reintroducing me to CBS mystery theatre. It’s been my other source of groovy listening goodness for weeks now.

I’m wondering if my CD’s have made it to their respective landing points yet… little silver circles landing in Maryland, Texas, California, Washington and Massachusetts, launched from my starting point. Somehow, the physical nature of snail-mail is really incredible to me… I’d like to mail a gps to some friends in california, and have them mail it somewhere else, and so on, just to watch the path it travels. I’m a nut for tracing paths and seeing patterns. J-track has a great way to follow satellites, the 3d one is especially nifty.

I had a nice time gabbing with my sweetheart last night… she’s so amazing… smart, beautiful, artistic and loving… a real wonder.

and now, your moment of Zen.

At night, deep in the mountains,
I sit in meditation.
The affairs of the world
Never reach here;
Everything is quiet and empty,
All the incense has
Been swallowed up
By the endless night.
My robe has become a garment of dew.
Unable to sleep I
Walk out into the woods
Suddenly, above the highest peak,
The full moon appears.

– Ryokan (1758-1831)

Thank goodness for the internet… I had Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (freshly downloaded last night to CD)going in the background as I chew on my daily ration of programming hubbub.

I saw by peeking into my cam at home (on an available machine… still no local access.. bah!) that the people were by… and though I was told that they were only going to check to see if the appliances worked… they opened and went into my closet. There are *no outlets* there, and the only thing at all is a clothes-pole for hanging things. I’m pretty put out about that. Upside, it looks like Newt is hale and hearty. I’m sure I’ll hear nothing about the inspection at all unless I ask.

Did I mention that I really dislike having people I don’t really know at my house when I’m not there?

Ah, well, I’m home now, and decompressing, gabbing with my sweet pea. Life is good.

sharing via leftyrok

It’s not too early to plan for the National Association of Letter Carrier’s 10th Annual “Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.”

This coming Saturday, May 11th, letter carriers will collect non-perishable food items along their routes. Just leave the items in a bag near your mailbox for Saturday’s pickup – take it out Friday night if you have an early delivery time. Last year, they collected over 70 million pounds of food. It doesn’t have to be a lot per household to make a big difference. Postcards should arrive in the mail before Saturday announcing the food drive.

You can find more info on this here.

Thanks for helping! It applies to all places that use the United States Postal Service.

Slacking and taking things slow this morning. Not as peeved about being invaded. Newt’s playing milk-ring fetch, and that always makes me smile… broadly. I’m not sure what instinct or set of events caused him to learn that game, but it’s *great* for giving me warm fuzzies… between that, and sweet dreams of my beloved last night, I’m downright jovial!

Thanks, Jason for the following –

Like Google, Yahoo! has a question/answer service and a free one at that. Today’s most popular question is “What gender is Winnie-the-Pooh?” (He’s a he, of course… I didn’t know there was that much debate?) Will my reign as trivia king end, as anyone can find any answer on the net?

Well, I’d best hop in the shower and get moving… until later, dear journal. I leave you with some Newtcam Pics. The cam driver for win2k is pretty nice!

a couple more pics

This place is Cle-ee-an.

I still spit like a camel about the fact that my landlord, a realtor, and a potential buyer will be walking through here tomorrow *WHEN I’M NOT HOME*… fortunately, I trust the LL to not let Newt out, and to keep a careful eye on my little boy.

I channelled my angsty energy regarding that into a frenzied tornado of cleansing… you could eat off of any surface in the house, even the rear top of the fridge and behind the potty, two of my least favorite places to reach.

Newt’s really digging all the fresh surfaces to hang out, though… I assembled a silly milk-crate shelf that I’d had in the closet since I moved in… but the cardboard boxes are still there, should he wish to have someplace familiar to play. I think I’ll leave Newtcam on tomorrow, and check the archives to see when they came in. They’re supposed to be by about 2pm, and I’d be here if there wasn’t a time-restricted launch happening at work.

I got in late to work…the Neurologist sent me off to get an MRI.

Not for the claustrophobic, at all, at all. They strapped me into position, across the shoulders, waist and thighs. I was feeling like Hannibal Lechter or Frankenstein by the time I was done… once strapped in, they injected me with some tracking dye, too.. Lots of interesting interior photography taken, though. I’m going to try and get a copy for myself next trip to the doc’s.

The MRI tech was nice, but the neurologist was a foul-tempered little Indian man. Picture Apu from the Simpsons berating me for not remembering certain parts of my medical history… (I reply “not to my knowledge” verbally on things I’m not sure of, but think are no… like “Allergies to drugX?” He preferred yes or no, instead.

Had a nice gab today during work with my beloved, *and* got quite a lot done…Now I must clean house for the visitors that are coming by tomorrow at 2pm… when I’m at work. Grrr.

Off to my own Neurologist appointment this morning at 10. Hopefully he’ll show me some options I didn’t have before. The back is fine right now, but I’d like some more preventative medicine in case of the inevitable future problem.

Remembering a scientific discovery I made as a child… I’ve probably written about it here before, but it’s been a while since I’ve thought about it.

It occurred to me that given two known ideas can produce a third, new, unknown concept, and that while there may not be anything new under the sun… applied knowledge can put a new twist on things, anyhow.

Here’s the thing –

1. The human brain transmits electrical impulses from neuron to neuron, for information retrieval and storage, in the form of current.

2. An electromagnet derives its abilities as a magnet from electrical current all travelling in the same direction along a conductor.

So, it’d follow that if you thought the right collection of memories, you could magnetize your head. Maybe holding the thought of your third birthday, while sniffing a rose and scratching your bellybutton would do it.

I was a kid when I first thought of this, but I’d never met anyone that’d heard of that application of two concepts before, and that sort of made me feel special. It still does, honestly…sometimes I’ve wondered if I’d ever had any thoughts that *nobody* had before. I wonder how many and what other original ideas have been lost just in my lifetime because a person didn’t get a chance to share them with anyone else.

What applications could be made to take advantage of that discovery? Heck, I don’t know, could be anything. As a kid, I used to envision a *super* magnet-head… being able to pull myself up into the sky by focusing on a passing airplane, or fend off lightning bolts walking in thunderstorms. Now, I wonder if the brain produces enough voltage to change a compass needle or perhaps erase a floppy disk pressed to the forehead…. both would be neat tricks.

Looking for the Spider-man opening credits, I found retromedia tv. (realplayer and a good, speedy net connect is recommended.)

This stuff added folds and wrinkles to my young, malleable mind. Who Needs drugs? Watch about 4 hours of tv from that period and you’ll be tripping harder than Timothy Leary at a Grateful Dead concert. Maybe they’ll add the Maude opening sometime.

Especially notable –

Keep America Beautiful, go bowling, just about everything on this page, and the partridge family. (I’ve *always* wanted that bus).

how I feel about a few lj’s I’ve seen out there… none I read regularly, but some I trip over here and again.

Well, on a nostalgic note, I go nigh nigh. Happy sleeps, dear journal.

Just heading out the door…. a reminder to brush your cat’s teeth! Newtie likes it!

pics of me woking on my brother’s computer last saturday… no biggie.