Tag Archives: chris

9416 – Sunday

August 31, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Slept much of the day, but we did get some good walkies in.

Harvested some apples and grapes (BHK made pie, and inlaws made jelly) – I just helped with long arm-reach.

Below are random shots from walkabout and the keys to the brown house. clicks embiggen, as usual.

We still have a few key-covers… just waiting to see what the next one will be.

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my house key. woogity woogity!

"I’m in Your Google Docs, Reading Your Spreadsheets" from New York Times Blog – psa

1 year ago – programming, freaky potato baby from the garden, true or not true, helpful coconuts, EST for autism?, mistress of spices

2 years ago – time flies, state plate icons, wedding plans, landscape, x365 project, newsdirectory, quiz thing

3 years ago – katrina good murder alibi, vampires in hurricanes, New Orleans issues, Warriors Urge, monkey squeeze, playmobil hellboy, gaming meme, interests meme, miami 3rd poorest city, condo vitals

4 years ago – Newt Blah-blah, note to M. Night Shyamalan, gmail as a file system, Critical Mass bicycle riders arrested, Hurricane Frances, 3 Musketeers, earache, FL. child-protection agency chief quits

5 years ago – Stubbed toe, bro & Danny, Hurricane Fabian, Newt Rejected as Governor of California, keywords

6 years ago – Lauper, new desk, Hot Wax Zombies On Wheels, mr fixit

7 years ago – mush, coterminous, newt-slob, vomit with dignity, barking, labor day

8 years ago – fun names/words, ufo, grumpy, underdog, africa, work, added by applelard

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9414 – Friday –

August 29, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Solid end to the work week – I was fortunate enough to have Chris pick me up at the office door, and take me straight on home.

BHK was there and we had red lentil soup and stuffed eggplant – it was really good, but I was feeling so well… needed a good lie down tonight. The in-laws could tell I wasn’t up to snuff, so they called it a night early.

Dinosaurs I particularly like, but in no particular order – stegosaurus, triceratops, plesiosaur (maybe Chessie ? (and mosasuar ), apatosaurus(or brontosaurus, as I first learned it), ankylosaurus,and utahraptor. If I had a paradox-free time machine, I’d love to visit, or at least view the Late Cretaceous.

I never think about how frickin’ huge the utahraptor was, compared to a human… I always figure it to be one of the tiny dinos… and it is tiny, compared to my other interests.

Well, my thoughts on a woman able to make it to the white house by having to be Republican may be gelling.

I search for a quick look at Ms. Palin’s stances, as I really didn’t know much about her before today. Aside from having some abuse of power issues. It seems that she’s very strongly anti-choice, pro big oil and big mining, supports the aerial hunting of wolves and bears, anti-environment, NRA positive, gay marriage unfriendly, favors teaching creationism in schools. Guess which stance I’m in agreement with, dear journal? (Hint: it’s the above the dividing line, and talks about dinosaurs being gigantic. I don’t agree with any of those policies she happens to have. )

I’m not really all that worried about it hitting the election’s results by much one way or the other – I suspect this will help perhaps a little bit for the dems, save for a fringe group of people that absolutely, positively have to see someone in office because her genitals are different than any other veep in history. (that we know of…. I’m talking to you, Elbridge Gerry and John C. Calhoun… I’ve had my suspicions.)

She just asked "What exactly does a vice president do?", on CNBC. A fair enough question I guess… but…

Joe Biden: "Governor Palin, I served with Dan Quayle; Dan Quayle was a friend of mine. Governor, you’re no Dan Quayle."

Neither VP lights my candle. Palin (a self-admitted creationist) nor Biden (a proponent of stronger police powers)

Well, no matter what happens this election, *something* new and unusual is going to happen. However, despite my issues with Obama – he is still the one I’ll vote for, given the available candidates. If it were John McCain of the 2000 election, I’d be more shaky, but given McCain’s recent right-wing pandering actions… AW *hail* NO. Defective Yeti agrees with my feeling there.

1 year ago – Discovered DC game night (still haven’t attended), TCEP14, rennfest, created feeds for icehouse and lab rabbit wiki

2 years ago – Ernesto not too bad, yoga, newt pic, Jon Benet dna

3 years ago – On the Waterfront, The Specials, gaming, once upon a time in the west, lisas, 20 facts, katrina a mess, PSA new orleans, newt pics, 10 most popular pics

4 years ago – Laundry blech, great quote, gutter-sniping, olive sings, Portugal

5 years ago – zombies, Tony Randall – Serial Killer, palm update, Newtcam pic

6 years ago – wetness out, protest, scotophobia, programming, doodling, cyndi lauper

7 years ago – codeburn, personal beliefs, pirate name, poetry, lj-poll, oversleep

8 years ago – Sleep study, personal vibe, my name, TERN

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9409 – Sunday

August 24, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Two years ago today I arrived in Maryland and was picked up at the airport by BHK. Pretty much a life-changing experience for me. Now, we’ve been married, I’ve been up here at the same gig for over a year, and most of the dust has settled in our home.

Despite a few stresses, I love it here, and would never want to be far from BHK’s side. Newton and Pye are pretty great pals, with no real signs of antagonism between them. Work has its difficult moments, but for the most part, it’s a very good gig. I can honestly say that BHK has been nothing but wonderful, supportive and loving the entire time.

At the moment, we’re browsing the idea of looking at houses… we may or may not stick with the one we’re in now. The possibilities are improvement, knock this one down and rebuild from the ground up, or hit a third location. All options seem equal right now.

BHK brings me so much joy and happiness… even when I’m feeling low or hurt, she pulls me up and keeps me going. The marriage proposal and response was certainly the best thing to happen in my life for a long, long time. I feel happy knowing that I’ll be spending the rest of my life with her, through thick and thin.

I am thankful to Allison for making my world a better place. Everything that I perceive is a bit more wonderful because of her presence.

Today, we got up a bit later – in-laws came over to hang out. Chris and BHK went through BHK’s jewelry box… she’s got a lot of funky stuff in there, all of which is pretty dang keen. BHK did her best to keep her mother from acting the magpie and stealing sparkles, but it looks like a few items have floated back over to the mama-nest. We’ll have to swing over there in a month to liberate some of them back. Meanwhile, Larry and I sat in the office area, and talked about his life on the farm, dogs, cats, hunting and so on. It was a nice bit of gab from Larry, who is normally very quiet… he everyone else first dibs on the conversation, usually.

We were going to do Korean BBQ for lunch, but that got ruled out in favor of another trip to the Selby Sub Shoppe. BHK and larry split a half pepperoni/half meatball pizza, Chris got a big ol’ burger, and I got a black bean burger sub… it was all delicious, as usual.

We took the scenic route back, and picked out bits of ragweed, marsh mallow, and assorted sea grasses while taking in all the houses out back between Annapolis and home – some are really magnificent.

First few games on audiosurf – a fun little game that uses your music (or streaming audio) to build a racecourse to place klax-dr mario sort of brick building. Website explains it better, or the wiki here – it was on sale for $5 today, so we snagged it after playing the demo.

		Inch Worm The Sandpipers
		Never Will I Marry Linda Ronstadt
		Punk Rock Girl The Dead Milkmen
		Happy Boys & Girls Aqua
		Shreveport Stomp Jelly Roll Morton

Unsurprisingly, I’m the #1 top scorer for Shereveport stomp. I’m also the only person to have used it in the game. We’ll see what happens if/when BHK tries with her own login. You can see what tracks I’ve played at my computer here. (at least the ones it can recognize)

An AP story about the thousands of voting machines gathering dust in warehouses across the country after states such as California, Ohio, and Florida have banned their use. Many of these machines cost $3.5K to $5K each. Local election boards are struggling to find ways to recover any of the cost of the machines, or even to recycle them. The picture in Ohio is the most confusing, as multiple court cases limit the state’s options and result in a situation in which the discredited machines will nevertheless be used in the presidential election coming up in November. The state’s new (Democratic) attorney general has just issued a rule banning the practice of election workers taking the machines home with them the night before elections.

1 year ago – visit anniversary, this will be our year, new everything, barking mad, grindhouse breakfast, friday 5

2 years ago – points north, liberty city, psp ebooks, palm entries begin for a bit

3 years ago – mending, green beans, saudi swimsuits, batman, zombie astronaut, robocop art, pat robertson can bite me, gaming group, nostalgia, who meme, newt pic, evil twin, katrina-storm

4 years ago – more travel pix, ice cream novelties, Black widow, newtcam, harlequin gallery, helpful phrases, bag lady

5 years ago – watching walnut & his mamma on cam, goofy snl, she spies

6 years ago – Wreck of the Medusa, Feral, Muso, my trading card, LJ meet, taught Dave Heroclix, misc pix, ft laud sunset

7 years ago – yellow bellies

8 years ago – questions

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9406 thursday

August 21, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Tasty dinner of stir-fried veggies on more naan bread, vegetarian meatloaf (mostly garden eggplant) topped with sauce saved from our selby pickup! Super good, and uber-filling.

Dessert was a treat of choco-chip cookies!

BHK’s birthday weekend starts tomorrow, though her birthday is on Monday – I took the day off for us to play! … I think we’ll have a grand time!

Pictures from Last weekend. Larry’s Birthday, tigger talking, and us all walking on the boardwalk. As ever, clicken to embiggen.

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Me with my standard popeye sun-reduction look, Tigger gabbing some more, and a BHK odd-shot

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Tigger talking, moon over the bay

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Pirate ship playhouse at the bay, bhk, me, and Chesapeake beach

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Laryy & Chris, Moonrise, Larry and Tigger

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Adam!

This last one isn’t by us, but by another local named “this and that” on flickr… you can see what a difference better resolution and composition can make!

Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals. It had been thought only four species of apes, bottlenose dolphins, and Asian elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror. But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies, a species with a brain structure very different from mammals, could also identify themselves. It had been thought that the neocortex brain area found in mammals was crucial to self-recognition. Yet birds, which last shared a common ancestor with mammals 300 million years ago, don’t have a neocortex, suggesting that higher cognitive skills can develop in other ways.

I had no idea that “the shocker” (description may be NSFW) had a name at all.. I always knew it as er…, um… “dos en el color de rosa, uno en el hedor”. (Pardon the terrible translation.) I’m more of a fan of the Moutza as a rude gesture.

1 year ago – saw a bird of prey, heavy work week, icehouse game java, Luke / tacos / in-laws, sleepy, chessboard serial killer

2 years ago – enthused, quizzies, cydonia vid, grab old comics

3 years ago – jenjen, rocko, more hee-haw, work-dream, indoor remote control flier, a little sick, cool song parts, religion facts

4 years ago – bro fade, there lives again, walkabout, spell of hoggoth

5 years ago – personality profile for work, seasonal pages, hippos and rhinos, lifesavers changes flavors, Pam Confirmation, guest map, vamp game, chat

6 years ago – grove scandal, togas, tulip head, haiku

7 years ago – Harvard classics, imprecation, Child’s Christmas in Wales, Love, great moment from Oz, Spoon

8 years ago – Put April on a bus for home, Gaming group with Josh Marquart and the Hunters, can you picture that

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Monday 9401

August 18, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Not much to say… just that there was a lot of scrambling be everyone at work today, and now that I’m home, there’s dinner from Selby’s waiting for me with the in-laws. Have some linkies, dear journal, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Here’s the latest reason I’m glad to be in Southern Maryland, rather than South Florida.

Every now and then, you may find yourself wondering: how many atoms of Jesus do you eat everyday?

In the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, the eucharist actually becomes the blood and body of Jesus Christ. […] Transubstantiation means that eventually the earth’s entire biomass will be made out of Jesus.

Eventually = 4.91 billion years.

Note to self – Ghostbusters. see also

1 year ago – ATW man news item, gaming with bhk

2 years ago – bk’s bday, pink vs elo, telephone line, good stuff on the horizon, tony jay RIP, hushmail, Danny out, Britta, window box, peanuts meets peckinpah, reset xp admin password

3 years ago – spidey villains, jc vampire hunter, smog monster, 10 happy things, aurgasm, firefly, Robert Goulet

4 years ago – A little training trouble, lovely gifties, stormtrooper wedding.

5 years ago – Newtcam pic, me as a geisha, space pop, RIP Nick, ACIM interview, eats, tohru

6 years ago – Mac virus, got a play set, 25mm floorplans, Egyptian law, stickman down stairs, reparations

7 years ago – 51 things learned from playing champions (27 changed?), concinnity. Stuckey’s pecan log rolls, pac-man fevah

8 years ago – no thing

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Sunday – 9400

August 17, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Larry’s Birthday – He made pancakes for us all… Tigger nearly escaped the house, and is now no longer allowed on the porch.. purely an indoor kitty.

BHK made a lemon cake, an we gave him a lemon meringue pie and tickets to the bluegrass festival. (and the first three lethal weapon movies on dvd)

Adam brought a keen gift of fridge and microwave combo for his workshop… and stocked it with 5 cases of soda and water.

After the get-together, BHK and I headed home to get some rest… I think we fell asleep on the couch within moments of landing there. We were awakened by neighbor Daniel (10) at the door, wanting to visit and gab because he was bored. We talked a lot about social topics a 10 year old might have, like school, movies etc. – Buckaroo Banzai was on, mute dint the background, and was an interesting juxtaposition of listening to the little guy gab.

He eventually went home, and we had sloppy joes and garlic fries for supper – super yummy.

Danny and Mom phoned… or I phoned them, I forget which. I think I called Danny, the momster called me. Just general catching up, both are doing ok.

Autumn is coming… that’s when BHK gets her pumpkin eyes.

BHk’s doodle of my accusation re: her fondness for all things pumpkin-flavored, come the fall. Coffee, ice cream, bread… you name it!

quiz- bold ones that are true (snagged from peradouro) (I’ve added notes in Italics after, where applicable – not part of the quiz)

Appearance:
I am 5’4 or shorter.
I think I’m ugly sometimes.
I have many scars.
I tan easily.
I wish my hair was a different color.
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color.
I have a tattoo.
I am self-conscious about my appearance.
I have/I’ve had braces.
I wear glasses.
I’d get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free, scar-free.
I’ve been told I’m attractive by a complete stranger.
I have more than 2 piercings.
I have piercings in places besides my ears.
I have freckles.

Family/Home Life:
I’ve sworn at my parents.
I’ve been kicked out of the house. (no, but I left home pretty early – 17)
My biological parents are together.
I have a sibling less than one year old.
I want to have kids someday. (I’m on the fence on this one – ask again when I’m healthier)
I have children.
I’ve lost a child.

Embarrassment:
I’ve slipped out a “lol” in a spoken conversation. (Sorry, that type of slang sounds really feeble. “OH EM Gee, did you see her purse?”)
Disney movies still make me cry. (Dumbo’s Mom, especially)
I’ve snorted while laughing.
I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried.
I’ve glued my hand to something.
I’ve laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose.
I’ve had my pants rip in public.

Health:
I was born with a disease/impairment.
I’ve had stitches.
I’ve broken a bone.
I’ve had my tonsils removed.
I’ve sat in a doctor’s office with a friend.
I’ve had my wisdom teeth removed.
I had a serious surgery.
I’ve had chicken pox.

Traveling:
I’ve driven over 200 miles in one day.
I’ve been on a plane.
I’ve been to Canada.
I’ve been to Niagara Falls.
I’ve been to Japan.
I’ve Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
I’ve been to Europe.
I’ve been to Africa.
I’ve been to France.

Experiences:
I’ve been lost in my city. (Not since Maryland, but on walkabout, it happens.)
I’ve seen a shooting star.
I’ve wished on a shooting star.
I’ve seen a meteor shower.
I’ve gone out in public in my pajamas. (as a little kid)
I’ve pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
I’ve been to a casino.
I’ve been skydiving.
I’ve gone skinny dipping.
I’ve played spin the bottle.
I’ve been in a play.
I’ve met someone in person from the internet.
I’ve caught a snowflake on my tongue.
I’ve seen the Northern Lights.
I’ve sat on a roof top at night.
I’ve played chicken.
I’ve played a prank on someone.
I’ve ridden in a taxi.
I’ve seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
I’ve eaten Sushi.
I’ve been snowboarding.

Relationships:
I’m single.
I’m in a relationship.
I’m available.
I’m engaged.
I’m married.
I’ve gone on a blind date.
I’ve been the dumpee more than the dumper.
I miss someone right now.
I have a fear of abandonment.
I’ve been divorced.
I’ve had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.
I’ve told someone I loved them when I didn’t.
I’ve told someone I didn’t love them when I did.
I’ve kept something from a past relationship.

Sexuality:
I’ve had a crush on someone of the same gender.
I’ve kissed a member of the same gender. (not in a sexy way, though.)
I’ve had sex with someone of the opposite gender.
I’ve had sex with someone of the same gender.
I’ve had sex with more than one person at the same time.
I am a cuddler.
I’ve been kissed in the rain.
I’ve had sex outdoors.
I’ve hugged a stranger.
I have kissed a stranger.
I have had sex with a stranger.

Honesty/Crime:
I’ve done something I promised someone else I wouldn’t.
I’ve done something I promised myself I wouldn’t.
I have lied to my parents about where I am.
I am keeping a secret from the world. (oh, like anyone would tell?)
I’ve cheated while playing a game.
I’ve cheated on a test.
I’ve run a red light.
I’ve been suspended from school. (It’s been close, though.)
I’ve witnessed a crime.
I’ve been in a fist fight.
I’ve been arrested.
I’ve shoplifted.

Drugs/Alcohol:
I’ve consumed alcohol.
I smoke cigarettes.
I smoke pot. (not since my early 20s)
I regularly drink.
I’ve taken painkillers when I didn’t need them.
I’ve done hard drugs. (not since college-time though)
I’ve been addicted to an illegal substance.
I take cough meds when I’m not sick.
I can’t swallow pills.

Mental health:
I have been diagnosed with depression.
I shut others out when I’m depressed.
I take anti-depressants.
I have an eating disorder.
I’ve slept an entire day when I didn’t need it.
I’ve hurt myself on purpose.
I’m addicted to self harm.
I’ve woken up crying.

Death:
I’m afraid of dying. (I am, however afraid of losing those I love.)
I hate funerals.
I’ve seen someone dying.
I have attempted suicide.
Someone close to me has attempted suicide.
Someone close to me has committed suicide.

Random:
I can sing well.
I’ve stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant.
I open up to others too easily.
I watch the news.
I don’t kill bugs. (I try to catch and release. Sometimes I fail.)
I hate hearing songs that sacrifice meaning for sake of being able to rhyme.
I curse regularly. (Not as often as Chris or BHK, but sometimes, sure. I try not to do so with great frequency.)
I sing in the shower. (Sometimes)
I am a morning person.
I paid for my cell phone ring tone.
I’m a snob about grammar.
I am a sports fanatic.
I play with my hair.
I have/had “x”s in my screen name.
I love being neat.
I love Spam.
I’ve copied more than 30 CD’s in a day.
I bake well.
My favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, red or blue.
I don’t know how to shoot a gun.
I am in love with love. (Not sure what this means)
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
I laugh at my own jokes.
I eat fast food weekly.
I believe in ghosts.
I am online 24/7, even as an away message. (Newtcam!)
I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room.
I am really ticklish.
I love white chocolate.
I bite my nails.
I play video games.
I’m good at remembering faces.
I’m good at remembering names.
I’m good at remembering dates.
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life. (Does anyone?)
My answers are totally honest.

1 year ago – bad allergy fit, camera died, Larry B’day

2 years ago – hacking xp, gaming due to love of school supplies, airplay map, weird Maryland,

3 years ago – New Orleans Lisas, moon base mars, flash earth, ed wood directs, devo,blue beetle & lithium, bush 5 years and no “nos”, spidey-enema,SCOAI, word colors

4 years ago – missed oneeyed, bro scams mom, no donkey basketball, t-mobile good gesture, scale model of city, lenny kravitz warning, cemetery stroll urge, Bermuda Triangle, Saturn’s 33 moons, flash game tutorial

5 years ago – Newt vs measuring cup, astronaut jones, free router stuff

6 years ago – Saturday mornings, heroclix, band names, toad turmoil, recorder, fun gab

7 years ago – page pondering

8 years ago – bakery-dog, factoids-lieoids

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Saturday – 9399

August 16, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Yesterday’s Anniversary supper went well – Today after my shots, BHK and I pretty much hung out around the house and chilled out. I installed the new ram into my system, and it chugs nicely thus far.

Once it got cool enough outside, we went for a long walk – from out house down to the bay, along the boardwalk… and then we stumbled over the in-law’s BMG… so we gave ’em a ring to ask where they were. There was a classic car show at the “Worstlawn” Inn. Thankfully, the in-laws have the same opinion of the place as BHK and I do… so we went to Thursday’s for dinner up the road. We parted company – BHK and I walked back to our place and the in-laws tooled off home.

A few pictures from the day – They can’t capture how stunning a pink moon over the blue bay can be.

[I’ll insert flickr pics here- after they’re uploaded, and link back from a future entry.]

Some very interesting research out of the University of Washington that employs a method of using high quality photographs to enhance a video taken of the same subject. The project page gives a good overview of what they are doing and the video on the page gives some really nice examples of how their technology works. Hopefully someone can take the technology and run with it, but one thing’s for sure: this could make amateur video-making look even better than it does now.” And if adding mustaches would improve your opinion of the people in videos, check out the unwrap-mosaics technique from Microsoft Research.

via spence –

A great warrior wanted to test his manhood. Every opponent he faced fell before him. He heard of a fighting monk, an enlightened warrior who lived alone at the top of a mountain in a secret temple. He resigned himself to practice, perfect his skills, then find and face this monk in battle. It would be the ultimate validation of his mastery and abilities.

When it was time, he climbed the mountain and searched for the secret temple for seven days. All the while, he thought of the boldest, most offensive challenges that he would use to inspire the fiercest battle from the monk. On the last day, he came to a clearing and there he saw the steps of a small temple. On the steps sat a formidable man with the clothes of a holy man and a serene smile on his lips.

The warrior puffed up his chest and, with no introduction, began hurling insults upon the monk. The monk only smiled at him. The warrior redoubled his efforts, berating the monk for everything from his appearance to his mute stupidity. He questioned the virtue of his mother and heaped insults upon the sacred temple. All the while the monk sat smiling. After a time, the warrior became hoarse and enraged.

“Why do you just sit there like an idiot? Why do you smile when I insult you? If you were a real man and a worthy warrior, you would stand up to me!”, cried the warrior.

“May I ask you some questions?”, inquired the monk.

“Ask what you will.”, said the exasperated warrior, hoping that the monk’s sudden breaking of his silence was a route to engaging him and moving him to anger.

“If I give you a gift, and you refuse to take it, to whom does it belong?”

“It still belongs to you.”, replied the warrior.

The monk smiled, “To whom do the insults belong?”

1 year ago – went to ER / pic

2 years ago – 1 week until I go north to BHK, fine for misuse of wifi , Doug and Gamer babies, password bypass, secret life of walter kitty, why the middle east isn’t really about terrorism

3 years ago – german link issues, hillbilly Kung-Fu zombie movie, Magda, free wifi, Abednego, bro release coming

4 years ago – Alabama Opens, local eats, fortune cookie, free fonts, how to build a universe, Florida weather/FEMA, Hurricane Disney prep, Oriental, Indian Circus-folk, lj-stats

5 years ago – Sleepy newtpic, I hate the diamond industry, Idi “VD” Amin dead, Crocodile men form the congo

6 years ago – day in chunks, Arnold sells some crazy Japanese thing, twee

7 years ago – pet/work poll, epenthesis

8 years ago – ebooks, hungry

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Friday 9398 –

August 15, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

I neglected to mention that the love cube (our Honda element) is now repaired… they replaced the whole hood – BHK think that it may be from a different model, and she might be right. I haven’t seen any good photos of 2006 vs other element hoods online yet, but we’ll get to the bottom of it, if it requires us to go to a car lot somewhere and look in person.

Last night at about 5:30ish, there was a storm that knocked out power to both Chesapeake Beach and North Beach… not to mention the surrounding towns, too. No juice means no oven, and since I was still dressed from work, I figured it’d be nice to take BHK out to dinner, seeing as she’s been craving meatballs all day. We tried Ledos, Asia Cafe and Mama Lucia’s north to no avail.. apparently everyone else had the same idea about eating out… even mexico was too mobbed, so we continued onwards to Mama Lucia’s south – The service was a bit on the weak side until BHK politely asked the waitress (while I was washing my hands in the men’s room) . Service improved after that…. we got home and both towns were still dark, save for places with generators.

I used the flashlight on my key chain to get us inside, and we lit a few rechargeable candle-style lamps for some ambient light. We have access to a lot of battery-powered light – cell phones, pda, laptops, flashlights… I think we could go days without running totally out of lamp-juice. That said – I want to recharge the candle-lights, since we hadn’t done them fully beforehand.The emergency flashlight and radio lit up the bathroom area nicely as a night lite – we opened the bedroom windows and went to bed, hoping that the heat wouldn’t be too bad… it wasn’t… but poor BHK didn’t sleep very well… I was snoring big time, as the CPAP runs on juice, too. Next time, I’ll bring the UPS from the computer room in to run it.

So, power was restored at about 2am this morning, and we were all able to get an hour or two’s rest before it was time for me to get up and get rolling to work. I hope to catch a little nap sometime tomorrow in order to try and catch up.

See also – BHK’s version of what happened –

Today is Chris and Larry’s 33rd wedding anniversary, and plans are to hit Selby Sub Shop for a nice little nosh. We’ve got to pick up a lemon meringue pie and sneakily get it past the parental guards.

The longest service disruption in Netflix history has apparently been resolved, with normal service resuming today. The company will compensate affected customers by adding a 15% credit automatically to their next bill. via Physorg

Random pictures from the pyecam archive. of particular interest to me are the leaping/motion ones. No special preference is being given to Newt – he just goes on cam more.

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The above are all shots of the boys leaping to the top tier of the cat tower.

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Stetchy / yawny shots

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Sleepy Shots

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Bath shots.

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Ears.

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peeky stuffs

1 year ago – train issues, farewell to R & P, tasty supper, covenant

2 years ago – raccoons, giant ants, moldy bread and freemasons make me smile, movies, geocaching, lj on venture brothers, gentle morning off, quotes meme

3 years ago – greasemap, foreign ducktales, apricot scarves… Tony Randall and vanity, Jean Charles de Menezes, bckev’s keeno covers, kayla/susie drama, hugs, top 20 pics, elvis the robo-cat, newton nibble pic, tubby newt pic

4 years ago – AvP movie. bus schedules switch, walkabout pics, Punta Gorda – Yikes

5 years ago – last skeletor and gang, insect macro photos, apartments made from text,hello kitty warhammer, human/rabbit chimera, scotto is a fuzzy monkey,frankie knocks, wondering about crusaders planting vinyards, drunkensailor quiz, complete sherlock holmes, some detective work, pursecontents, fun with google calc

6 years ago – both machines upgraded and cleaned up, fun linkies, MRE talks about writing his junk, signage systems

7 years ago – eye dialect, latitudinarian, weird dream poll, set up alternates to LJ, Newt comes to work, cool news, freaky dream

8 years ago – loony, first hints suzy using, foodies

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9395 – Tuesday

August 12, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Had the in-laws over for hot dogs and maybe the last good corn of the summer. Larry and Chris came over – Larry did corn while I worked the grill. BHK made a tasty chocolate-cheesecake mousse pie for dessert! good stuffs.

Thankfully, my tooth isn’t being as bothersome as it was last week – the trip to Dr. Wolf seems ot have done the temporary trick – I go in for a temp crown the top of september, and two weeks after that, I get a permanent one.

Freecreditreport.com is NOT actually free, nor is it related to Annualcreditreport.com, the free credit report that you are entitled to under federal law. So why are people still being tricked into signing up for a credit monitoring service in order to get something that they are entitled to under federal-freaking-law? Because the credit bureaus are linking them to the website and most consumers don’t believe that a major credit bureau would try to trick them. Always read the fine print! more here

always print your gas pump receipt as proof of purchase.

1 year ago – monkey em pic, belgian waffles, fossil hunting, we discover r and p(BHK, DO NOT LOOK), meteor shower

2 years ago – giraffe graffiti, giganta, danny talks to doug, I talk to GP, green wifi, Bob Ross feeds a Squirrel, starshine

3 years ago – Lesbian movie scenes, student aid, the goon & pie, lisas go to TX, Harry Potter, everything can change, wirehog

4 years ago – Bro’s sentencing, EN makes a good impression (other guy fizzed out), Daredevil question, Koko wants a dentist, Tropical Storm

5 years ago – muttonhead, rain, flash, dan at school, voodoo 4, lychee yum, walking stick self defense, ati multi monitor life, noisy neighbors

6 years ago – spiders on drugs, Uzumaki, me and newt’s custom HC dials, goodies for Kev’s sis, bear teeth, a moment of Zen

7 years ago – utility kilt, uncle bill, intrepid

8 years ago – first online radio(broken), food out with Danny, made the “decaf espresso=kissing your sister” joke, Hollow man

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9383 – Friday

August 1, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

8/1 – Lughnasadh, the holy day of Lludd, Samhain, next! My next birthday is 6 months from now – and the last is six months in the past, give or take a few hours.

Dagwood night with the in-laws and BHK! Tooth was bugging me a bit, so I didn’t consume too much.

Watched more of Black Magic with Raymond burr and Orson Welles. Not a terribly excellent film. A lot of scenery chewing, and a good excues to cuddle on the couch.

Quote of the moment – “Everything you think affects your spirit, your mood, and your ability to contribute to others.”

I think of a home ready to be robbed when it’s August and I see a Christmas Wreath on the door… or one that’s open to squatters.

Water on Mars: confirmed.

Laboratory tests aboard NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander’s robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

The lander itself added, on Twitter, “FTW!” (I imagine and hope that’s “for the win”, not the other one… “f*** the world”.)

I want a robostool. (No, not robot poop, dear journal.) See also:“Take a seat” is a robotic chair that follows you around

Yeah, so I want a pet chair.

Sam Raimi plans to do a superhero series with Disney called The Transplants.

PSA of the moment –

ANGIE GOFF IS RUNNING THE:

for Charity Group

FINISH FOR KIDS

VISIT HER RACE PAGE BY CLICKING HERE

It’s a great cause (The Carefree Foundation and Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children), and her first marathon… if you can spare it, help the kids out by pledging some funds on her race page.

“Technology Review has up an article about Shapeways, a new online rapid-prototyping service that allows users to upload digital designs which are then printed on 3-D printers and shipped back. A spinoff from Philips Research, the service gives small businesses, designers, artists, and hobbyists access to prototyping tools that were once available only to the largest corporations. The fee for a typical printed object is $50-$150. Their video shows the steps behind the process.”

Oh boy… custom stuff never had it so good.

1 year ago – Pepper pic form the garden, upcoming events, Emily reminds me of Wendy and monkey shenanigans, picture taken from subway ride to work, games, turning heat into electricity using sound, all optical magnetic recording, Kat tells BHK and me to get a room (in comments)

2 years ago – sharks don’t have knees, boiled eggs, yoga, map issues, Dave nose-operation, 4-sec frenzy, Theoi project, FOLEDs, grammar rock, man tosses a car, hungry ghost month, TS Chris

3 years ago – peaceful Sunday, Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, PB-J time, Grizzly Golf Attack is true, “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.”

4 years ago – Rob Shea Quote, appropriate for E-journals everywhere, I played with mercury, JL meme, music, Dave, Rain, Social entity, first hints at Mike-drama, search shortcuts, albinos of the 19th century, echolocation alarms

5 years ago – crazy dreams, Kate Bush, starmark poops but new gig, writing systems, non-castaways on gilligan’s isle

6 years ago – istockphoto, dead links, Shitou Xiqian, smiled at, fortune cookie, walkerbot, Liver Eatin’ Johnson

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

8 years ago – Everway character- wanders the storm path

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9373 – Sunday

July 27, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Woke up slowly, played a bit with Garry’s Mod, which I find to be hilarious, went over to the in-laws for hanging out listening to the Eagles and O.A.R. with Adam and the gang, and then we had hot dogs, quick pickles, chips and etc for tasty happy fun time.

The quick pickles were from our garden –

The cukes were a little stubby, but BHK’s mandolin made short work of slicing them.

BHK and Larry took the Element up to the mechanic for repairs – It’ll be out of service for 10 days, getting the windshield fixed and the hood / bumper dents removed. The trees still haven’t been removed form our yard yet, but the time is approaching to do so. We’ve got the green ford as a loaner until the element comes back.

Planning for 3 big events coming up next month – BHK birthday, Larry’s Birthday, and Larry & Chris’s wedding anniversary. (not in that order.)

Larry’s a tricky one – I suspect that a trip to see Good Deale Bluegrass (though Chris doesn’t want to go) would be the best gift for him. New Neil Diamond album out, too. There’s the Christmas Show at the Ram’s Head… but that’s usually reserved as a Christmas Present. Maybe at the Bluegrass show in Deale.

Larry and Chris is easy – a card and food.

I’m not going to spill any beans about BHK’s b’day, as she reads this… and I want it to be a surprise. I’ll let you know what happens later, dear journal.

BHK got back comfortably – we watched an episode of Fawlty Towers, and one of Burn Notice – now it’s time for bed!

Until later, dear journal!

1 year ago – Williamsburg dream, BHK, Amy & I dine at the in-laws, more gaming, start my BGG account

2 years ago – Japan’s underground photography, free wifi attractive nuisance, 2nd life updates, tough times in the congo, fishbone, ape-o-naut doodle / gays in space

3 years ago – A/c unhappy, Lisa/Lisa plans, Jacques the Monkey, Candice fickle, shots, Tom Waits, Abandoned amusement and theme parks, grumping, “shut it”, mallah and the brain

4 years ago – monkey doodle, palm pictures from the bus, lavender-newt, notes from the road, atm jam, CoH, lj-flower, monkey yawn

5 years ago – palm doodles, power-outage, all consuming, power of burqas, sonic bullets

6 years ago – some day tripping, cool squirrel, Belgium is a myth, tongue-trimming, lj hot-or-not, Life imitates Real Genius!!!

7 years ago – overtired & grumpy, cockaigne, evil news, flash, evil news

8 years ago – wanting to go on a group outing, discover marquee

Uncategorized

9369 – Wednesday

July 23, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Chinese dinner tonight with BHK, and the In-laws. We watched Definitely, Maybe, and I thought it wasn’t bad at all for a “chick flick.” Good amount of schmaltz, not a bad vehicle for a slice of life info. I still think he’s a swine, re: the book… he had postcards and whatnot.

Next on our netflix list – Machine Girl. Hopefully, BHK will enjoy that as much as I enjoyed tonight’s feature.

Pointless Scotto trivia of the moment – animal crackers eaten today, roughly in the order consumed.

whole –

gorilla
hippo x 2
seal
monkey
tiger
polar bear x 3
horse
lion
rhino
zebra
koala 2
sheep 2
kangaroo
camel

partials –

3-legged tiger
tailless kangaroo
headless lion

amazing number of intact critters in my barnum box. (60g) Sadly, no elephants. I’ve been to the circus, and always seen ellies – can’t say the same about koalas or polar bears, though they are both adorable and cool, too.

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a hippo or rhino at the circus, either. Or a gorilla. (well, maybe a clown in a gorilla suit) What are they trying to pull??

4th of July ATW man – note his pop-eyes, manic grin, and huge firecracker.
seen on the way home after Journey 3-d last night

Today’s harvest – Looks like beans for dinner tomorrow!

also shown, first tomato of the season, cukes, eggplant, and a sneaky, slimy okra.

1 year ago – cyn’s house, ATW man pics as a pirate, (first mention of atw man), salmagundia, Mr. Tawky Tawny kills a man with a sitck, recently listened tracks, bierce, famous poems rewritten as limericks, amy arrives

2 years ago – this will be our year (it still makes me cry every time I hear it), ring wearing, flemish ( The TRUTH About “Belgium” – The New World Order’s Belgian Conspiracy) , cat’s got knees / I like your pants, rust monster, underground city, lake okeechobee, ninja turtles /zoom, good sleeps,

3 years ago – GrayP, Allergy results, Candice gives me her number, google hybrid, love song / mind control

4 years ago – I Robot, The Flo, LiveJournal Gallery, 1000 white cards revisited

5 years ago – Evil Fish, Bro, Brace, bazillion questions meme, crow tools, Elton Ock, LJ pings for you

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

7 years ago – melted heart, epizootic, hair bears, playing majestic

8 years ago – bedtime thoughts

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9365 – Monday –

July 21, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Fresh harvested this morning for ratatouille tonight. delicious. Larry had hot dogs, as he’s not a veggie guy, excepting corn… more ratatouille for Chris, BHK, and me!

The garden keeps tossing us more eggplant! ichiban, white and green. yum. note the sneaky, almost camouflaged placement of another okra. Hm.

Slow night tonight… just visiting and eating for the most part. Back tweaked up a little bit, but nothing to be concerned about.

Until later, dear journal.

Goodbye, Blue crab. I’m sorry you’re so low on the survival priority totem pole.

1 year ago – Adam’s 18th birthday with pics, cake info, Mr. Nelson (a teacher) bringing alcohol to minors, wrote to bro, all the lonely people

2 years ago – mixed bag day, newt pics-color filters, tp-roll shreds, outback with gg, toes poem, shiny superman pic,

3 years ago – RIP Scotty, bleeder likes my eyes, thumb drive apps, paper rocket, logo toy, taters, London transport

4 years ago – politics, monster poll, last time meme, job market

5 years ago – mah jongg, zombie movies

6 years ago – Visiting Danny, played Pokemon, orcs n the hood, reign of fire with Dave, beef recall

7 years ago – eremite, watched the sun come up, poll creation, why I trim, cooking poll

8 years ago – got the first LJ client, movie pondering

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9356 – Sunday.

July 13, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

Opened the morning with Pancakes at the in-laws. I helped Larry remove the awning from the upstairs bedroom, to make room for french doors. I suspect the awning will be relocated to the bottom floor.

We all hung out and gabbed most of the day – I scoped out Larry’s 30-30 and .22 pistol, and the model of the U.S.S. Constitution. I think that I’d like to head toward Baltimore sometime for a walking tour of the actual ship. (Hm, I may have to wait until 2010 for an underway demonstration with the restoration taking place, but walking tours are still good.)

Came home to rest and relax together for a bit – got a call from Danny – Janet has a gig! Working there for 2 weeks now, doing graphic design for an advertising company that produces campground maps (surrounded by business-card style adverts). I’m glad she found something, and hope that it’s profitable, challenging and fun for her.

He liked Get Smart and Evan Almighty – Both of which he saw this weekend though he’s not a bit Steven Carrell fan. I suspect that Get Smart will be something I enjoy – he does the “idiot in charge” role well… but I don’t imagine I’ll bother with Evan Almighty, unless something comes along to further interest me about it. He really liked Wall-E, too, but I imagine that goes without saying fro me.

BHK and I watched Cloverfield today. I’ll say it from the get go…. it wasn’t my thing. The shaky-cam didn’t bother me at all, but the movie itself was pretty stinky, in my opinion. I’m glad I waited for netflix, and didn’t bother catching it in the theater. The synopsis of the film reads better than the movie played out.

The viral marketing of Cloverfield was excellent – but I just wasn’t engaged by the film. The characters bored me, and the monster seemed unimpressive both in design and implementation, even for a “giant beast”. It made 78% on rotten tomatoes, or 5.8 out of 10 on metacritic, which makes me think that I must be in the minority for disliking it so much. It seems that the movie critics liked it more than the bulk of “civilian” viewers.

In my opinion, if you want a good, fun horror movie with monsters and a sense of fun – Skip Cloverfield, and get your hands on Swarm of the Snakehead, instead. If you want a cool *giant* monster movie, try The Host. Cloverfield just didn’t have what it takes to impress me.

In other movie news – Hancock is rated 35% at rottentomatoes. I wonder what’s killing it for most folks – I haven’t seen it yet. That’s less than Get Smart and Harold & Kumar, which I’d figure were worse.

Flicks out now that I want to see:

Wall-E (wins over any other item showing right now.)

In no particular order – (except that of my memory)

Hellboy 2
Take Out
Dark Knight (ok, I’m tired of making links – cut and paste as needed, dear journal.)
Mongol
Space Chimps
Indiana Jones 4
Wanted
The Fall – (has it gone out of theaters yet?)
Gonzo – (Hunter Thompson pic, not the muppet)
Visitor (has that left?)

Is there something I missed? I imagine BHK wants to see the Sex in the City and The American Girl flicks, both of which are ok by me too.

We had Dagwoods at home for dinner with the in-laws…sat around and watched Oxford Blues, which really did nothing for me. I avoided seeing it in my high school years, so I guess a 25 year reprieve is about the most I could ask for. The sammiches were delicious – I made a stack of zucchini and cheese on fresh bread that was fantastic. sweet bread and butter pickles, some honey mustard, and lettuce from the garden made for a monster sammich, but the corn was the clear winner. Certainly the freshest and most tasty of the year thus far. I went through 3 ears.

The local neighbor (the one that was looking for $11 a week or so ago) came by again, looking for garlic to make chicken alfredo, but we didn’t have any for her.

Abba will ‘never’ perform again – Swedish supergroup Abba will “never” perform on stage again, two of the band’s members have said.

Random thought – If I were invulnerable and professional superhero, I’d never wear shoes unless I was someplace that they were required by law.

1 year ago – I love local corn pic, beautiful foggy out, FF2 with BHK, DC train maps on google, skipped salem, the shield, note to anonymous commenter, atheists taking the lord’s name in vain, Zoroaster the Kitten, faith and democratic candidates

2 years ago – pirate quiz, pirates w/Dan, 61 questions, walkabout pics, bus stop self portrait, newtcam silly pic

3 years ago – bro visit, good exp games, Karl Rove a rat, mood settings, big ol’ Locust

4 years ago – perspective via work, kitty-bot, rain, diseases

5 years ago – Movies w/ danny, LED-suit, Lupin quiz, dinosaur haiku, new tv, LXG, html tests, ghoulishness

6 years ago – Ian McCracken, zork 404, branleur, got my bike

7 years ago – evil news, longueur, spoliation, space fungus, superstition poll, fri-13 reasoning, I’m Neutral Good

8 years ago – Traditional trolls, Catholics handy in a pinch

Uncategorized

9355 – Saturday-

July 12, 2008 scottobear Leave a comment

This week seemed to go more swiftly than imagined, and today was pretty dang full of stuff.

Shots, then swung by Trott’s farmers market for corn, zucchini (we need zucchini?!?) and eggplant (we need eggplant?!?)

BHK is veggie-crazed, and wants more of the tasty stuff than our victory garden is producing. Mystery veggie is pumpkins after all – we’ll have some gourds to carve for Halloween! (they sprung from the seeds of the rotting pumpkins we tossed into the garden area last November.)

We picked up the in-laws, and hit the Selby Sub Shoppe – white pizza for Chris, Hamburger for Larry, Chicken Parm for BHK, and a black bean for me. They make their own bread, and it was all really tasty!

Came home, cooled our heels a bit and then went to go see the US Navy band play a free concert on the boardwalk by the bay. The bluegrass band went into more mainstream country and southern rock – they were quite skilled, though still had a little newbie edges on ’em. The singer was 2 days into the band, and his voice was excellent. I wonder what the difference between “Musician, 1st Class” and “Chief Musician” is in rank and pay grade for the Navy? The Banjo guy was my fave of the lot.

Mother in law, reading the local news while we were at the free concert on the bay.

Note the vital sombrero placement in the picture.

We all came home, and had ice cream while watching Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. (I hadn’t seen it since the theater.)

The folks left, and now BHK is asleep, leaning on me while I watch and old Episode of Star Trek – The Cloud Minders – I don’t even remember this one, and it seems for good reason… the writing and acting were of a lower par than usual.

mp3 link to current music (no relation to the band we just saw) – – mp3 -jersey-walk

MIT scientists just figured out how to make solar energy forty times more efficient in a manner that allows one to upgrade old solar cells too!

Ray Gun Puts Voices Inside Your Head – The Sierra Nevada Corporation claimed this week that it is ready to begin production on the MEDUSA, a damned scary ray gun that uses the ‘microwave audio effect’ to implant sounds and perhaps even specific messages inside people’s heads.

1 year ago – factoids about folks I know, armed car chase through the neighborhood, Perseid shower reminder, brits start to ditch wigs in court

2 years ago – venture bros good, lj ugly nav bar, bye bye black rhino, angel / shovel / burrito, simulated lost case-630am, Arvis book in comments!

3 years ago – Last Day w/Magda, invisi-bro, chrono-lifting, breakfast foods, zombies invade sca event, crab, autostitch bus, minor drama, commendation

4 years ago – KoL, Bollywood, Patriot Act, Felix the Cat

5 years ago – sleep troubles, Andromeda Strain, 4-legged man , system crash – modem drivers (Service pack 4 for win2k caused Norton trouble) , Stalin vs Hitler comic, newtcam pic, discovered title-tags, strickland a/c die-lemma

6 years ago – more swell chatties, Roanoke (including odd reply from Boughman), Dreams of Lake Conoy with zombie mist, sweet possum sugar, mother goose

7 years ago – Evil news, riposte, dream of the jungle, If I were… meme, time, sleepy, Dumbass Tenochtitlan Saucermen,chat, aura colors, personality disorder test, Louvre

8 years ago – Bad things with April, super power question

The Scotto Grotto (org)

Tag Archives: chris

9416 – Sunday

9414 – Friday –

9409 – Sunday

9406 thursday

Monday 9401

Sunday – 9400

Saturday – 9399

Friday 9398 –

9395 – Tuesday

9383 – Friday

9373 – Sunday

9369 – Wednesday

9365 – Monday –

9356 – Sunday.

9355 – Saturday-

Welcome to my wall scrawls.