Tag Archives: games

9001 – Monday

Hm… Archie McPhee has some nifty zombie toys. I wonder how they’d look on my desk at work? I wonder what other folks would think?

Tigger gaining weight – put her on diet kitty food… I wonder if she thinks that she needs to stock up, in case of being on her own again? She’s not as svelte as she used to be. I think Newt and Pye need to visit her, and give her a running around the house partner or two.

I was creaky this weekend, but am feeling better this evening. A severe case of stumble-thumbosis overcame me this weekend, possibly due to poor sleep on Saturday? Well rested today, and things seem much more in control.

We opened up the pickles ! While a trifle mushy, they aren’t nearly as over-spicy as I’d feared. I wonder how Miz Pix is doing, speaking of pickles?

Final counts on the 2007 summer Icehouse game competition are in – Pylon , Subdivision and Zamboni Wars won the challenge. I’m surprised that Penguin Soccer didn’t do better. All the victors have valid games, but PS just had a fun theme and a reasonable set of rules, especially the 2-player option. I think that it seemed a little skewed, given that they didn’t penalise missing entries.

More pictures of yesterday’s shenanigans – A Corn Cop, Bunnies, and a pumpkin patch.

S6300312 . S6300325 . S6300324 . S6300322 .

S6300321 . S6300320 . S6300319 . S6300319 .

S6300318 . S6300317 . S6300316 . S6300315 .

. S6300309 . S6300307.S6300306

And an eye-eating monster.

sccchhmmerm

1 year ago – Zombies, Acronyms, RSP, eudcedit, Roddy w/silly string,

2 years ago – bro rehab issues, fun in 2nd life, riverwalk, 404 fun, spidey song, pinwheels / world peace day pics, reggae

3 years ago – MM issues, water, C-Mon & Kypski’s – Shittybum, Ookla, picture meme. 4 years ago – IHOP with Kev & Bheesh, Rose, Zombie Pinups, Space Art in Kids books, Title caps.

5 years ago – mental fog, Finn & Chupa aren’t loved, sculpey, eraser clay

6 years ago – Fussing sans A/C, Word association poll, KFC Japan

7 years ago – The Laundry event, Newt, Cherry Coke, Quit the Everway Group Geotarget

9000 – Sun

First day of Autumn! As Lileks put it: The trees have started to tip; the quotient of green diminishes daily. I wonder if we’d love fall less if the colors were ugly; do we like the colors simply because we’re used to them? If everything turned turquoise and pink one year we’d be horrified (well, maybe not BHK) , but if they’d been turning those shades all our lives we’d see nothing wrong. It makes you wonder how much of our fall routines are owed to long-buried instinct. Perhaps we wear brown because there’s an ancient piece of brain-code telling us we should blend in, because there might be tigers about.

To celebrate, we got iced pumpkin coffee drinks and muffins, went to a school supply store to buy cool dice. (Got some for me to game design with, and a few as gift ideas.) Included in the loot were triple dice,(I picked ones with three different colors inside – a red, white, and blue) double dice, foam dice and blank dice (just white cubes you can draw things on), not to mention a few gel pens, index card pads, and other school-supply type goodies.

Went on a tour of a corn-maze, got a pumpkin right out of the patch, petted some goats / sheep / bunnies and pigs, rode a tractor!

2007 Bowles Farms Corn Maze Picture

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1827365720428539203&hl=en

Irrigation guns look like doomsday devices to me.

S6300326 . S6300304 . S6300299 . S6300298 .
S6300297 . S6300296 . S6300295 . S6300294 .
S6300292 . S6300291 . S6300290 . S6300287 .
S6300286 . S6300284 .
Also went to Aardvarks, and almost bought Apples to Apples (BHK will probably get that with one of our target gift cards this week), Stonehenge and / or Blokus, but instead picked up Carcassone: Discovery and Pre-ordered Zombie Fluxx.

1 year ago -cathead theatre – hamlet, hard sleeps, catsitter, trirail wifi, steve irwin, whipa, elephants

2 years ago – tech stuff, lj adds schools, where’s george, batman macaron chacarron, life poll, cute animals, comfort eagle

3 years ago – doodle of eyeball-yoink!, Egyptian soul-view, farting dog, comfort eagle, libras.(librans?)

4 years ago – monkey-pops/injustice, free movies, more on Ohio case, Nosy coworkers, lovely chat

5 years ago – Peace Corps dream, Conan O’Brien smells bad, palm doodles

6 years ago – fisher King, Flag treatment, cyborg roaches, bring back art nouveau

7 years ago – lots of private thoughts and writing, dispatch Geotarget

8997 – Thurs

Overslept – quick post while BHK gets ready. I feel bad – I wasn’t ready when my ride came to get me to the train.

Yummy, simple meals lately. Stir-fry broccoli w/tofu and carrot over brown rice day before yesterday and garden burgers with fried potatoes last night. Good stick to your ribs type stuff.

Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares – USA is a bit different than the UK version. I anticipate a physical fight in one of these, given our continent’s “Wild West” proclivities. You just can’t bawl some people out like he does.

Good synopsis here.


Game ideas developing in my head – Giants and Dwarfs, Pumpkin, and Rabbit, Fox, Bear (Brier Patch) – all are in the most germ-like beginnings.

Giants and Dwarfs is an “ants vs elephant” or Ogre “Big tank(s) vs many infantry” type theme.

Pumpkin is a multi-player maze game through a pumpkin patch. Possibly Team oriented, or every man for himself. (or both.) I like the idea of using eeore’s chessboard wedges for each player. Complexity seems to go up per increment/player.

RFB is a variation on King’s Table. (Hunter vs hunted) – Added theme of a Brier patch, and Uncle Remus.


Fun Quiz… I’m especially partial to the program that assembles the blueprint parts together!

Your home is a

Gamer’s Hideout

Your kitchen is stocked with chips, dips, and assorted caffeinated beverages. There’s a pantry with emergency backup caffeinated beverages. You also have some breakfast cereals in there, but you haven’t had breakfast since last Spring. Your master bedroom has blankets printed with images of Mario and Link. Your study includes unread copies of various gamer magazines, each purchased for the free demo CDs.

Your home also includes a roost for griffons. You’ve never actually seen a griffon, but you keep the roost ready anyway. Your guests enjoy your collection of every console and associated game ever made. Except the Intellivision — those controllers drive them NUTS. Outside is the moat that protects your home from goblin invaders and extended family.

Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Find YOUR Dream Home!

We do have a moat, actually – and our pantry is similar.


1 year ago – Hump-day, shh-pirates,

2 years ago – rita – schools closed, buses don’t run, caramel creams, hamster ball gun, cork soakers, political test, poopdeck, hurricane news, browardnoaa, beauty products made from executed chinese prisoners, lj interests meme, big bunny

3 years ago – sema photo, Prisoner / Columbo, Brazil / slavery, mirrors, sneaky work pic

4 years ago – Button Men, Cully, on the bridge, jeb, weight loss, scampi, ready for ‘ween

5 years ago – mst, ipod, hubzilla, cancer research, newton screen saver, cool paper models, riker vs riaa, palm doodle

6 years ago – annus mirabilis, phoons, nice weather, burger king, WHAT IS GRIMACE poll

7 years ago – UAS, Hodey-ohten-doten-day, 7 deadly sins, other employees burnout at acim, registered sex offender counts Geotarget

8995 tues

Discussions last night include a few oddball words and definitions.

Macerated (person meant lacerated, I think)
bob’s your uncle (Person used “your aunt’s your uncle”)
how’s your father (Person outright disbelieved the slang usage, and I was surprised to find out it was more than just a “rub”)

BHK likes Siouxie and the Banshees, and mocks Devo. I like ’em both, but I reverse the charges just to be contrary.

We opted out of Yo-yo girl cop… didn’t hold us for 30 min, not worth continuing. Instead, we went with Ramsey’s Kitchen nightmares.


Forgot to mention yesterday that La Fiesta is dropping in our estimation (save for the yummy mole’) and Mexico restaurant is becoming a clear winner.

Maggie Moo’s Caramel ice cream mixes well with the chocolate fudge.

I eat chips and salsa poorly with a numbed upper lip.


Capitol City Carnival… Maybe I’ll see if BHK and I can swing by. I do like me some Fishbone.


ATW man has returned! apparently, Aliens had abducted him.

0917071813.jpg
Like I was telling Kat – I smell a rat… and I suspect a pod-person duplicate!
He doesn’t have the teeth the old one had, nor the bondo-like skin.


on-demand, social manufacturing; design, share, and buy laser-cut products from a variety of materials

Lots of gameboard ideas going on, especially volcano. I’m thinking about variants of color, size and shape could be a lot of fun. A custom volcano board with a green top and frosted clear bottom would be great fun for under-lighting, and perfect for me.. especially if I can build the whole thing to spec.

Also thinking about custom etching designs on the surface… there’s a lot of potential here.

Vector drawing is key – I should ask Sammy how he’s progressing in that arena. Heck, I should just say hi to him, anyhow! Maybe Cyn would have an interest in this, too. She’s got some keen illustration skills. (Though my crude palm doodles might look sort of nifty etched on stuff, too.)
caveart
Speaking of laser cut stuff, I love this guy’s custom skateboards.


1 year ago – seminole casino, georgia aquarium, whale shark, ludwig ii, simple spectrometer

2 years ago – calvin-faced kid, GROW, hung out w/ Dan, icons, net vibes, power dresser, newt pics, he-man’s cover of what’s up

3 years ago – 50 first dates, Ghost in the shell 2, King Kong, ape man

4 years ago – on call wakeup, misc work, talk like a pirate day coming up, MOND – (Modified Newtonian Dynamics)

5 years ago – Isidore, nearby hobby store, swapped a bunch of old MtG for MK, speed of light broken, Carpe Vultus, freeflow work and slack, palm doodles, riaa/piracy hits work

6 years ago – carby dindin, veggie shepherds pie recipe in comments, boonga boonga, p-funk lj, NIMDA PSA, who would buy that?, FART KNOCKER, mush

7 years ago – fool on the hill, meemee makes a googly eyed icon for me, Monday slowpoke, stun-yell, I opt out of papahood, movies with hippies Geotarget

8994 – mon

Relaxing nighttime plans for BHK and me the coming week or so ahead:

Yo-yo Girl Cop, The Number 23, and a few rousing games of Penguin Soccer, Martian Chess and Zamboni Wars over popcorn should set us right. Tucking into bed early so we can be up for tomorrow’s Bluegrass Festival.

BHK has been excelling at boardgames lately, especially territory types like Othello(Reversi), Ponte del Diavolo , Just 4 Fun and as always, Pente(we both seem to prefer the 2 or 3-capture variant Keryo-Pente). I still am partial to Hexxagon, Hey-That’s my Fish, and Carcassone H&G (She also is superb at those) – I’m really beginning to dig War of the Roses, which I wouldn’t mind tweaking a bit into an Icehouse/treehouse game.

Speaking of games… Talisman is back? I wonder if they fixed some of the unbalancing aspects, or if they’re remaining true to the original.


Virtually no homeless issues in North Beach… mainly because there’s no support system here… however, I’ve noticed that there are many, many tent cities under the bridges in DC, especially near to the subway track zones. I had my first experience with a guy coming onto the subway, and doing the “may I have your attention, would someone please give me 25 cents so I can get a bus at the next stop?” – I hadn’t seen that since riding the bus in Broward / Dade.


Trip to the doc implies some work to be done. Dentally, I need a mouthful of fillings. Elsewhere, I need to work on my weight, my allergies, my back and leg.

All things in time – Got a few fillings yesterday I need to do 2 or 3 more visits. the bridge and cracked tooth will be dealt with in January.


Random find. A solar-powered bible. Perfect for the Christian Castaway, I guess!


Oh, come on… now the smeller is blamed rather than the smelly? Stinky is in the nose of the sniffer? I’ll leave out the almost obligatory sci-fi / gaming convention comment.

Continue reading 8994 – mon

8986- sun

They set up the hay-bale spider at the pumpkin patch!!

Slept in until about 10, and then we toddled off to the Renfaire. Highlights of the day were Johnny Fox, Hack & Slash, Swami Yohmahmi, Horsemen, Bear-baiting and Witch Trial, and time at the Kadon games building again. BHK and I swapped off on taking pictures with the new camera – viewable here.

Green CanopyRenFest treesAs You Like It by Wm. ShakespeareS6300066Orc in a Cumberbund

Orc with a MohawkFOOD COURT!Kicking up some dust!Bright Colors Shiny Metal

S6300122S6300121Nail from Swami's noseSwami lies on broken glass with a man standing on him!

Swami Yomahmi Nails a nail into his head.Swami Yo walks on Glass with a piggybackerWitch trial!!Swami Yomahmi walks on GlassPink Cottage of Jewels

The ol' whipping the cigarette out of the mouth trick.Green man on the treeKing Henry and his entourageKing and GamesmistressWhip Trick with Unsuspecting Audience Victim

Henry's guys..colorful packHack and Slash as Charlie's AngelsKing Henry the 8th charms the ladies.Underwear TrickTense Moment before he lies on Bed of Nails

Ladder Climbing with Underwear around his anklesSlide Down the HillProud of his Scale MailPeeking SunNut Boy and Pretzel Dude Aggravate Sweet Nut Gal

Finest Finery

BHK got pulled into participation on two shows, as well – As Hack’s Mom in the Cruel and Unusual Show, and face-spike examiner (she got to keep the spike – eww) at the Swami’s. Also obtained was a Swami Yo sticker.

We looked at quite a few boardgames, but none grabbed us hard enough for an immediate purchase. I was a little disappointed in Y, (it seemed a bit limited) but Star may have some longer-term potential – maybe a bit too much like go, though. I’d say that my favorite of the wooden games so far is still Quintillions– I’m tempted to make my own set as well as purchase the original from the source. The Kadon people have some nifty plastic art/ game boards… I wouldn’t mind commissioning a custom 8×8 volcano-type one with a frosted transparent bottom for playing sleestak/pylon icehouse games.

Food Sampled at the Fair by BHK and/or me –

Mac & Cheese on a stick.
BBQ Turkey on a bun (BHK only)
Deep-fried Oreos (I wonder how many days-worth of calories *that* was?)
Broccoli Cheese Soup in a bread bowl
[edit: Chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick!]
A ton of water / diet pepsi

Went right from the Rennfest to the in-laws for supper… like we could eat anything after all of that stuff… still, I managed a plate, sans seconds.

snagged from all over-

1. Whats something thats heavily weighing on your mind?
Solidification of current programming tasks overseas. taking time, doing it right.

2. Whats one thing you’ve learned from a good friendship gone bad?
Communication is key.

3. Whats one thing you’ve learned lately from love?
There’s a time to lead, and a time to follow… mostly though, it’s a time to walk side by side.

4. Is there anyone special in your life in general at the moment?
Dern tootin’!

5. Whats a happy time you’ve had in the past week?
I’ve had quite a few! Review the last 7 days in the journal for more info. Overall, I just love being with BHK.

6. Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again?
I don’t want one of those weird time-travel paradox things to break my current existance, which is pretty dang keen. a simulation viewer, sure, I wouldn’t mind seeing a few revisions on key events in school, socialization, and so on.

7. Who do/did you like to spend your nights with?
BHK, Newt, Pye.

8. Are you an emotional person?
I certainly can be.

9. Are you self conscious?
I can be shy at times, or concerned about “bull in a china shop” syndrome.

10. Do you think of others before yourself?
Generally so, but I have lapses.

11. What’s something that can always make you feel better?
BHK hugs, Newt Headbutts, Pye flurfies.

THERE IS NO NUMBER 12. Why do people remove questions?!?!

13. Where do you see yourself this time next year?
Pretty much the same, only more stable financially and physically.

14. Do you tend to make relationships complicated?
I try to simplify them.

15. Who do you feel the most comfortable around?
BHK

16. Is there something that you’re waiting for?
I tend to take things as they come – But I’m looking forward to October.

17. One thing you’re not looking forward to?
Getting my fillings next week. I am looking forward to *after* getting them, though.

18. How do you feel about change?
It can be good, it can be bad. Take ’em both and there you have… the facts of life.

19. What are you most looking forward to?
The rest of my life.

20. What are your plans for your next birthday?
That’s in February… I don’t know just yet, but I imagine it’ll involve family, cake and a buttered nose.

21. Do you even care about your birthday?
Not really… I like the social gathering, cake and presents, though!!

22. Do you think anyone in general out there loves you?
I feel certain that it’s so.

23. When do you think the world will end?
My world, humanity as a whole, or planet earth? I think that Earth will be a round a long time, Man, not as long. Me, not as long as that. I suspect that the end of mankind will be the result of either a terrible disease or accident beyond our control. I fear no zombies, aliens or plastics.

24. Whats the most expensive piece of clothing you own?
One of my business suits, I think. A single piece? A jacket, I guess. Not too expensive.

25. Why do you drive the car you have right now?
Our car was a gift to BHK for graduation Law school… and/or a wedding present, depending on who you ask/time of day.

26. Do you still talk to the person you LAST kissed?
Well, yes.

27. Have you ever seen your best friend cry?
Yes.

28. What kind of vitamins did you take as a kid?
Variable – we didn’t take ’em regularly, but Flintstones, and generic kids stuff from the GNC.

There is no 29, either.

30. Did you get any compliments today?
Yes, BHK was very complimentary to me all day today.

31. Are you friends with your neighbors?
We’re friendly, but not friends. Most are nice folks, I’d like to get to know ’em better.

32. What were you just thinking about?
How to develop a lightbox board for multiple game use – fun to play in the dark!

33 disappeared, too!

34. When was the last time you drove more than 15 minutes?
Drove? A long time. Rode? The In-laws from the renfest

35. Have you ever had a crush your on your sister’s/brother’s friend?
Nah, too broad a age difference.

36. What’s your favorite smell?
Tough call. I like baking bread, pine (natural, not synthetic), BHK and Newt. Pye when he’s been in the sun.

37. Have you ever been on a roller coaster?
Yes, many… but not for ages.

38. Do you care what others think about you?
As a whole, not really. Some others are more important than other others.

39 went away as well

40. What do you do all the time in a car?
play punchbuggy with BHK

41. Do you trust people easily?
Not really. I like people easily, though.

Dude, no 42 either

43. Do you think you’ll be married in 10 months?
I hope so, since I am now!

44. What do you look forward to in the next 3 months?
Christmastime, cool weather.

45. Who was the last person you called?
Larry

46. What happened at 10:00 am today?
A shower.

47. What’s your ring tone?
The loudest, most annoying ring in the deault set. (I almost always set it to vibe only, however)

48. Do you have any pets?
Newton (cat), Pyewacket (cat), and any assorted outdoor nature we can feed.

49. What were you doing at 9 pm last night?
Playing Fluxx with the Annapolis Chapter of GCoM.

50. Are your parents married/divorced/separated?
Divorced. Mother remarried over a decade ago.

1 year ago – october plans for in-laws meetup, geotagged photos, comedy show, go game

2 years ago – confirmed Deerfield condo, iguanas, wonder woman, pb&h, 2nd life, songs meme, quizzies

3 years ago -future life, fly-eating bot, living in Broward, Maroon, tracking Ivan,Danny’s students read my lj, on call all weekend, HIP/Bag lady

4 years ago – Run, Trism-Gollum, Run, robot zoo, dirty-sounding words, palm-day atwork, lifetime membership in there, time marks the beginning of the end for prop2

5 years ago – oatmeal, remembrance rant, touch screen voting, flash CAD thingie.

6 years ago – hardscrabble, Daily Life in Chaucer’s England, (and other daily life books), good things

7 years ago – saw a black tip shark, conch fritters, everway Geotarget

8985 – sat

Slow day at home this morning/ early afternoon.. I was tired/ headachy and BHK still allergy-ridden, so we took it easy and napped / rested until the sun dropped lower in the sky. We hung out, watched a few episodes of League of Gentlemen – I was tired and grumpy, and still quite enjoyed the casual ly surreal evil of it all.

Headed off to annapolis and grabbed a snack at The Fix deli – good potato knishes, and BHK’s Turkey Sammich looked tasty. (some new people working got the order a little out of whack, but it was minor stuff like leaving off condiments and not toasting bread.. easily fixed.)

Right about 5ish, we headed out to hit the Annapolis games club – BHK, Brent, Alison, Paul, Neil, James, Brien and I played many rounds of apples to apples, Fluxx, Aquarius, and Chrononauts (Early American history version) – surprisingly, Aquarius beat Fluxx as the popular new game of the night. I think the matching and quick launch rules were just a little bit faster to run with, due to no body text on any of the cards. Brien seemed to really dig Fluxx, however – He brought a lot of Rio Grande games and Big M – I really wanted to investigate Power Grid and Manila. I suspect that we’ll be playing more of the German-style games next go-round at the main club. Brent and Alison invited us to thier regualr game night at home, too – about 5-20 people show up at any given session, and it should be fun. I liked the group – everyone was interested in learning new things, playing fair and being good sports. We all ordered chinese food at about 7, and I think we called it a night at just about 11:30ish.

We stayed too late to bounce from there to the Cheeky Monkey Sideshow, but we’ll probably catch Swami Yohmahmi tomorrow at the renfest.


100 Reasons to Get Rid of It I’m not a big MS fan, but these are good.

1. 1.4 million Americans suffer from chronic hoarding & clutter.
2. People burn 55 minutes a day looking for things.
3. 80 percent of what we own we never use.
4. 1800GotJunk.com
Pay someone else to take out the (big, cumbersome) trash.
5. Publicstorage.com
Lock it up in more than 2,100 locations around the U.S.

6. redshield.org
Schedule a pickup with your local Salvation Army.
7. earth911.org
Find local recycling and reuse programs for all kinds of household items.

Because It’s Fun
8. 127sale.com
Set up shop at the World’s Longest Yard Sale, August 2-5, along 450 miles of Highway 127 in the southeastern U.S.
9. Or peddle your wares in your own front yard on National Garage Sale Day, August 10.
10. Swaporamarama.org
Attend nationwide clothing exchanges and do-it-yourself alteration workshops.
11. Wildzipper.com
Watch as a pile of your favorite old T-shirts is converted into a quilt.

Because Someone Else Needs It
Cell Phones
12. Verizonwireless.com
Put a refurbished phone (of any brand) into the hands of a domestic violence victim.
13. Eco-cell.com
Or let its sale benefit an environmental charity.
14. Care.org
Send a phone to the field staff of a poverty-fighting mission.

Digital Cameras
15. Operationhomefront.net
Help keep service members in touch with their families.

All Technology
16. Rethink.Ebay.com
Work with charities to find homes for consumer electronics.
17. youthfortechnology.org
Put scanners, computers, and cameras in the hands of deserving, impoverished kids around the world.

Air Miles
18. Redcross.org
For Red Cross staff and volunteers
19. Heromiles.com
For deployed soldiers
20. Marrow.org
For transplant patients
21. Childrenscancerassociation.org
For terminally ill kids

Furniture & Appliances
22. excessaccess.org
Match your household items with a local non-profit’s wish list.
23. help1up.org
Furnish homes for disaster victims.
24. dressforsuccess.org
Give interview and work clothing to disadvantaged women.
25. makingmemories.org
Donate a wedding gown to benefit breast-cancer patients.
26. www.operationfairydust.org
Send formal wear to teenage girls who need help getting to the prom.
27. onewarmcoat.org
A free coat to anyone who needs one.
28. boulderrunning.com
Ship shoes and sportswear to struggling athletes around the world.

29. Suitcasesforkids.org
Supply children in foster care with luggage.
30. Uniteforsight.org & givethegiftofsight.org
Send eyewear to men and women in underdeveloped countries.
31. Savethechildren.org
Convert American Express credit card points to cash donations.
32. Cartalk.com
Donate a used vehicle to support your local public radio station.
33. Booksforafrica.org
Give everything from storybooks to encyclopedias.
34. Cap4pets.org
Send towels and newspapers to animal shelters.
35. Goodwill.org
Fund job training programs and social services.
36. Freecycle.org
Post donations for charities (and regular folks) to claim.
37. Habitat.org
Donate leftover building supplies to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores.

Computers
38. Cristina.org
Technology and training for the disabled and disadvantaged.
39. Sharetechnology.org
Connecting donations with charities across the U.S.
40. Worldcomputerexchange.org
Send computers to more than 50 developing countries.

41. Nikereuseashoe.com
Recycled footwear materials become sports and playground surfaces.
42. Patagonia.com
Donated Capilene base layers become polyester fibers for new Capilene garments.
43. Pangea organics’ packaging becomes an herb garden when planted in soil.
44. Cargo cosmetics’ PlantLove lipstick tubes come in plantable boxes that sprout wildflowers.
45. Pencilthings.com
Old newspapers become colored pencils.
46. Vivaterra.com
Rubber tires become sleek purses…
47. Passchal.com
…or rugged iPod covers.
48. Gaiam.com
Plastic soda bottles become durable hammocks.
49. Recycline.com
Yogurt containers become colorful plates, flatware, toothbrushes, and razors.
50. Getting rid of clutter will reduce housework by 40 percent.
51. Erase a $10K credit card debt (with an average interest rate) 65 percent faster — and pay 75 percent less total interest — when you pay double the typical minimum monthly payment.
52. Download security software like Stopzilla to keep a lid on computer pop-ups.
53. Around 23 percent of people pay late fees on bills they cannot find.
54. Return six MAC Cosmetics containers to any MAC store and receive a free lipstick.
55. Trade in an old iPod and receive a 10 percent discount on a new one.
56. Coinstar.com
Easily convert spare change into “real” money.
57. Craigslist.org
Sell it to your neighbors.
58. ebay.com
Sell it to anyone.
59. giftcardbuyback.com.
Get cash for gift cards you’ll never use.
60 Paperbackswap.com
Trade the books you have for the ones you want.
61. Peerflix.com
Trade the DVDs you’ve seen for the ones you haven’t.
62. Spun.com
Clear off your CD shelves, and make money in the process.
63. Titletrader.com
The great entertainment exchange: books, music, movies, and games, all swapped in one place.
64. energystar.gov
Replacing old appliances with new, energy-efficient ones saves money and fuel.
65. Running shoes should be retired after 300 to 500 miles in order to prevent injuries.
66. Deep-six your toothbrush every three to four months.
67. Swap your pitcher’s water filter every two months (or as directed).
68. Change out disposable air conditioner filters once a month during cooling season.
69 Replace the batteries in your smoke detector at least once a year.
70. foodsafety.gov
Find the USDA’s recommended storage limits for refrigerated and frozen food.
71. Throw out mascara and moisturizer after three months.
72. Discard foundation and sunscreen after six months to a year.
73. Keep concealer, lipstick, eye- and lip liners, fragrances, powders, blushes, and shadows for only a year and a half to two years.
74.-76. Say goodbye to the dried-out remnants of your favorite no-longer-available lipstick, and check out threecustom.com, T.J.Maxx stores, or Lancome’s beauty bye-bye program for replacements or duplicates of discontinued cosmetics.
77. And these five tunes are among the most persistent: Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs” jingle, “We Will Rock You,” the “Mission Impossible” theme, “YMCA,” and “It’s a Small World After All.” (Tip: Try drowning them out with classical music, which is less likely to haunt you after it’s turned off.)
78. File your taxes through an authorized IRS e-file provider.
79. Eliminate paper statements by banking and paying bills online.
80. Call 1-888-567-8688 to stop unwanted credit card solicitations.
81. Opt out of mailing and telemarketing lists by logging on to dmaconsumers.org.

82. Search for phone numbers online instead of storing bulky Yellow and White Pages volumes.
83. Lose the road maps and get a GPS system to download up-to-date travel guides.
84. Read “Dating Up: Dump the Schlump and Find a Quality Man,” by J. Courtney Sullivan (Warner Books, $14, 2007).

85. Miss Havisham in “Great Expectations”
86. Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale in “Grey Gardens”
87. Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple”
88. The family in the documentary “Packrat” (packratthemovie.com)
89. The Bronx, New York, man who, in 2003, was trapped in his home under an avalanche of books and newspapers for two days before being rescued.

90. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” -Leonardo da Vinci
91. “Less is more.” -Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
92. “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris
93. “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.” -Johnny Mercer
94. “The joy of giving is indeed a pleasure, especially when you get rid of something you don’t want.” -Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, “Going My Way”

95. It has no value, sentimental or monetary.
96. It hasn’t been used in over a year.
97. There is no logical place to keep it.
98. It doesn’t work.
99. An ex gave it to you.
100. And what’s the worst that can happen if you throw it out?


1 year ago – land lobster, argenti’s lets me down, tired, heart walk, nairobi trio,

2 years ago – vtm quiz, hole digging, checking out the condo, fake red cross, voice of vince, teachers, lost and found poll, 65 questions

3 years ago – Work power out, disco-hitler, Ivan, WoW, Chocolate 3-d printer, making fiends, America’s army, Giant strip-miner of dooom

4 years ago – Meredith moves out, Frankie mooch’s wank machine, saw Ray-I, Dubai-mail, some cool links

5 years ago – Got dave into mage knight, Saw Mark Archilla, 12 dragons smells of cat pee, I got some perfect pre-dyed sheets.

6 years ago – If I were, nice night, purple monkey dishwasher

7 years ago – rant and UB-X Geotarget

8984 – fri

Tasty Falafel last night, despite BHK not feeling well.

Took her out tonight, glad that she’s up to it… maybe a little cheeburger cheeburger and a road time will jump start her to feeling better for the weekend!

After a tasty garden-cheeburger, frings and cherry chocolate shake, we swung by the store and got her some new jeans, before making a very brief visit to eyeball Comics and Games and Stuff. (Courtesy of The Looney Labs store finder )

Dropped 12 for 3 very inexpensive games – Change! , Cosmic Coasters, and The Very Clever Pipe Game. All of which should be wonderful additions to our games closet, and are pretty small and portable, should we decide to take ’em with us somewhere.

Speaking of new, portable games, Eryx wrote us and mentioned that he’s sending us a copy of EcoFluxx as a wedding present! Thanks Eryx! We need to steal him from the UK and have him visit sometime. 🙂

Also the Labs have recently produced Twin Win, an Icehouse game suitable for use while waiting in line.


Glass and a Half Full Productions – fun ad by cadbury (via ze) What can I say? I like apes.


3,000-year-old beehives unearthed in Israel

Archaeologists digging in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of ancient honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest intact beehives ever found.

My immediate living area’s population has doubled by a person and a cat since a little over a year ago. I like it much better that way, as I adore them.


If want to make myself angry, I picture a pregnant woman smoking.


Author Madeleine L’Engle died last night in Connecticut, at the age of 89. Best known for her 1963 Newbery Award winner A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, L’Engle was the author of more than 60 books for adults and young readers.


Stolen Catalytic Converter from one of our accountant’s truck from our company’s parking lot.. . certainly not an isolated issue – seems to be happening all over MD and VA

Thieves are targeting fleet vehicles parked overnight in secluded parking lots. Their target? Catalytic converters.
The theft of catalytic converters is a growing crime trend happening throughout the country. For instance, on May 30, Comcast discovered seven catalytic converters stolen from work trucks parked outside its office in Gambrills, Md. This wasn’t the first time. Earlier, on July 18, the same Comcast location reported the theft of 18 catalytic converters. On May 28, Adscom reported 16 catalytic converters stolen from new Chevrolet and GMC cargo vans parked behind its building in Glen Burnie, Md.

These crimes are not restricted to just large fleets. Smaller fleets are just as vulnerable. Dreisbach Florists in Cincinnati reported to the police that catalytic converters were sawed off three of its vans. Nor is this a problem restricted to the U.S. The BBC reports an increase in catalytic converter thefts in the U.K.


Precious Metals Inside
Police first began noticing catalytic converter thefts about eight months ago. Thieves aren’t interested in the catalytic converters themselves; they’re interested in the precious metals inside, which are easily recycled. The average catalytic converter contains one to two grams of three precious metals – platinum, palladium, and rhodium. That equals about 0.07 of an ounce, meaning 14 or 15 converters are needed to equal one ounce of the metals. However, the commodity rates for these metals have skyrocketed in the past two years.

For criminals, catalytic converters are as good as gold. Actually, better. In comparison, gold prices reached $670 per ounce in June 2007. According to online commodities Web site www.kitco.com, the price of rhodium has shot up in the past five years from $900 to almost $6,000 per ounce in June. Palladium rose from about $189 per ounce two years ago to a high of $371 in June. Between June 1, 2005 and June 1, 2007, the price of platinum rose 67 percent, from $870 per ounce to $1,295.

A quick perusal of the Internet reveals that hundreds of recyclers across the country are buying catalytic converters for the precious metals. Catalytic converters need to be sent to a recycler that has the equipment to perform the chemical process necessary to extract the metals. Metal recycling companies will pay anywhere from $25 to $150 apiece for catalytic converters. A search of the Web reveals a wide range of catalytic converter buying and selling activity across the United States and overseas. There are Web sites that describe how to collect and sell catalytic converters to the right buyer. One site includes photos of the tools to use, such as electric saws, hydraulic jacks, and portable generators.

High Clearance Vehicles at Greater Risk
The catalytic converters are usually stolen from high-clearance vehicles. Most thefts occur at night. A thief can slip under a vehicle and, with a battery-operated saw and metal-cutting blade, make two quick cuts and remove the catalytic converter. Some vehicles have catalytic converters that are bolted on, which are the easiest to remove. The theft can take as little as five to 10 minutes. With some models, thieves use a reciprocal saw to cut the catalytic converter from the exhaust systems underneath the vehicle. Other models require thieves to use an acetylene torch to remove the catalytic converter. Recovering stolen catalytic converters is virtually impossible since they are not inscribed with serial numbers that can be used to identify them.

Often, catalytic converter theft is by drug addicts. Many of those arrested for stealing catalytic converters are heroin addicts. It’s a quick crime for a drug addict to get cash. There are also more sophisticated thieves who know exactly what they were doing and already have buyers lined up for the stolen catalytic converters. Many are shipped to recycling companies in Poland, Canada, China, and Latvia, where they undergo a carbochlorination process that extracts the precious metals.

Securing Vehicles After Work Hours
Fleets victimized by this crime must spend anywhere from $600 to $1,400 to install a replacement catalytic converter. The theft results in immediate downtime for the vehicle since it is illegal to drive without a catalytic converter. It is also extremely dangerous, since the hot exhaust blowing from sawed-open exhaust pipes could heat the nearby fuel tank to the point of exploding, if driven long enough.


Doodles… I think that I like flat lines more than pseudo-airbrush textures. .

A Dragon, The Little Prince , and a flurfy tree

The Little Prince reminds me of things I sometimes forget –

“On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur, l’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux”
(It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye).

dragon. prince.tree


um, yikes. I’m surprised… not by New Orleans or Detroit… but by the fact that there’s no New York or Miami on there. I wonder how many murders go unreported?


1 year ago – jojo again, Chase is a creep, acim scuttlebutt (RS came back and left since then),

2 years ago – First notice of SNAKES ON A PLANE, smokin’ with Newt and Firpo, morning pre-work report, interdictor shenanigans, ADP and RI duke it out, second life free

3 years ago – Broward PSA, hurricane doodles, freeware

4 years ago – Harvest moon, auto-cashiers, acim two-level split, lynching, cluster move, gender genie, newt-bounce

5 years ago – Sleestaks and Oatmeal, Sculpey and Fimo, Bewitched, cave photo, bad prefixes, dog snoods

6 years ago – lj drama regarding cheaters,lovely long chat where blackie burped, thescents of rose, lavender, gardenia, violette, and muguet (burts bees),Skeletor, Back in 1997, there was an exorcism performed on MotherTeresa, saints.

7 years ago – poopy day, Suzy, Walt Whitman, American Cannibals, Mush, interests, overheard, jail visits Geotarget

8983- thurs

My office furniture arrived, so I moved into my new office in the “west wing” today. The new office is a little bit smaller and more oddly-shaped than the old one, but placement is good. Two doors from the prez, one from development, and one from the small conference room.


Little Hoff Doll! How cute! How Evil! Clever… wish I’d have thought of it. I think I’m a little more partial to little mr t, however.


Speaking of goodies… One year wedding anniversary is in October… one year is paper for gifts, right? Maybe Zombie Fluxx is part of it this year? It looks like it’ll be released before our date on the 25th.


Why is it that whenever someone has a list to choose a favorite color, orange is often left off?


Yesterday, on the ride home, Chris asked if I was always such a serious person. Does she know me at all? I’m pretty confident that I’ve been a goof in her presence more than a few times… in fact, I thought that my serious discussion had pretty darn goofy undertones.


Two useful sites discovered recently on FF list –

http://www.seeqpod.com/ a quite nice playable music search, and podcrawler.

http://www.traffic.com/Washington-DC-Traffic/Washington-DC-Traffic-Map.htmlnifty traffic source.. works for other cities, too.


1 year ago – Illuminati perfection, venture brothers, aerial photos Miami, voting, heifer.org charity, America’s Most (And Least) Efficient Charities, Affie Jones, stand on your own head for a change

2 years ago – stream of thought, arcade games, newt, tolerance, comics, Danny elfman, tv, newtcam pic, rome, gaming, sheep don’t you know the road, fema issues, bob denver RIP

3 years ago – hurricane home movie, happy to be home, pentagon crash snopes

4 years ago – annoying LL, death, IRC pix, gender genie, toys, sunset, rainy day

5 years ago – Crash Bonsai, sticky song poll

6 years ago – Hammer-Wheel, Beijing, Stephen Foster, Mystery men Hiring, soap hair

7 years ago – Suzy goes to the Clink Geotarget

8980 – Weds

It feels like it should be Thursday. Ah well, it will be, soon enough.

I keep getting demoted to craftsman…ah well, not a bad level to be at, yucata wise.

Went to Mexico restaurant, with BHK and Mother in-law for dinner – BHK still a bit under the weather, but I think that she liked getting out of the house. We talked for a long time with the owner after our meal… he’s a nice guy, and his family owns 10 restaurants across VA-MD. Apparently he grew up not too far from where BHK did, displaced by about 7 years or so. MIL Is surprisingly naive about some things while pretty dang about others… She’s got an odd mix of Metro awareness and old-school unawareness regarding stuff about low income regions and behaviors that make me worry a little bit that she’s working in DC.


Possible plans for Saturday (formatting direct from the email)- Maybe we can drag a few friends along, too. (Maybe right after going to GCOM Annapolis ?)

This Saturday, September 8th, Cheeky Monkey Sideshow returns to the Arlington Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse for a night of one-of-a-kind entertainment.
~GLASS WALKING and ESCAPES brought to you by MAB!
~MAGIC and MENTALISM with MYSTERION (Mr. Eon)!
~COMEDIC SELF-ABUSE by SWAMI YOMAHMI!
~Sophisticated BURLESQUE artistry by SPECIAL GUEST, KITTY VICTORIAN!
Cheeky Monkey Sideshow is a breath-taking yet beautiful cavalcade of the bizarre, the shocking, the grotesque, and the strange. Every show is different, every act unique.
A unique form of entertainment that few will ever experience, but none will ever forget.
Tickets are only $10 at the door or online.
Arlington Cinema ‘n’ Drafthouse
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington VA
Doors open @ 11:45, Show starts @ 11:55 pm
CHEEKY MONKEY SIDESHOW ~YOU’LL BE AMAZED. YOU’LL BE AMUSED. YOU’LL BE JUST A LITTLE GROSSED OUT.

Other thoughts for the weekend include 3:10 to Yuma and / or Shoot ’em up I suspect the former will be weighted more than the latter for us. I’m probably planning way too much for the weekend.


Per the Blue room

http://www.chick. com/reading/ tracts/1038/ 1038_01.asp

In Jack Chick’s latest, he tells us what happened to the dragons.

The resulting tale plays with the fossil record in approximately the same way an episode of Xena plays with history, but without Renee O’Connor. Alas.

It’s mesmerizing, in its way.


1 year ago – our house, tiny tent pictures, newt and Danny pix, watching WW, personality quiz thingum, interests collage

2 years ago – helping hand, on call, flickr letters, marine patrol, state of usa, iron scorch, fortune cookie, four rooms, bro, Jake Walk Blues, Brownie’s heck of a job, immersive learning theological worldview, baby jellyfish, library mofo

3 years ago – Weathering Frances, Popular interests, Medicare hike, walkies, RLP, power out, storm journals, Broward, Ivan coming

4 years ago – photo Friday, lj tweaks, FMM turnover, Dubai postcard, old palm pix, optical illusions, horror, band-aids

5 years ago – custom clix concepts, ford bails on electric cars, onelook, recycled bottle paradise, rainy day=unbreakable, poop

6 years ago – That crazy Anne Heche interview, and pygmies are real!

7 years ago – silly answering machine message, happy music, Frank Sinatra Geotarget

8978 – mon

Some more Enchanted forest pics –

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tiny purple boot in distance
showandflower
entrance to the forest
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Alt entrance, with petco
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Follow the king to FUN! Or Groceries… or pet supplies. He’s got a cool halo.
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no doubt some more choice ones were available beyond the locked gate.

Opted out of the game convention, as we were slow to rise, and it was shutting down at 2pm. If it had been going until 6 or later, maybe we’d have tagged it. One Car wars game does not a journey validate!

BHK got a new camera, as her old one has pretty much bought the farm. Not bad, $99 Samsung – if it works well for us, I’ll pick up another for myself. I’m just delighted that you can get 2 gig SP cards for about $17, too. about 1200 pictures if taken at 6 mega-pixels… more than enough for casual snaps and fun photos.

Had lunch at Mexico, but we opted out of the road trip to WV… both of us were feeling sort of out of it. Instead, we went to the in-laws for a bit, to review the recently jellied grapes, and just say hi.

After our stop off at the in-laws, to look at jelly, we returned home to eat leftovers from the week (italian, mexican, chinese) and watch The Host. It was a good movie, but not what either of us was expecting. There was certainly a strong amount of allegory there. The CGI was very impressive for the most part, and I liked the basic story, even without the deeper-level tale reflected throughout. I’m pretty impressed with the beastie’s design and acrobatic-style feats. furthermore, I really dug that there was no direct setup for a sequel… it was a self-contained tale, and nothing more has to be done with it… that said, I’m sure that since it’s been so successful that a sequel or two will be made. I wonder that if so, will there be more political type stuf fin the wash, or will it give way to a plain monster movie?

The director, Bong Joon-ho, commented on the issue: “It’s a stretch to simplify The Host as an anti-American film, but there is certainly a metaphor and political commentary about the U.S.”

NerdTests.com User Test: The Godzilla Awareness Test.
NerdTests.com says I'm a Dorky Nerd God.  What are you?  Click here!

14780 unique people have taken this test.

Based on these unique user’s answers…

63.1% of test takers are gals,
34.4% are guys,
…the rest are confused.

16.8% of test takers get aroused by “iPhone,” while
39.2% get utterly ill.

41.2% of all test takers would choose the Internet over sex, and
32.5% of married test takers prefer the Internet over sex.

_____ Average “dork percentile” for ______
Mac lovers: 51%
Windows users: 63%
*NIX lovers: 51%

bhk got – NerdTests.com says I'm an Uber Cool Light-Weight Nerd.  What are you?  Click here!

1 year ago – yub nub, Manger scenes with skittles, Godzilla and baby-llama Jesus on the brain, old time radio, silly quizzes,

2 years ago – had to take call, dan and I gabbed, missing kids, color/citizen test, suzy bday, walkabout map plan, wetlands commercial well before hurricane

3 years ago – evac to Danny’s

4 years ago – bad toon rising, international supers, Turkish accidents

5 years ago – flock of seagulls, speed racer custom cars, newt steals sabretooth, Plato, custom clix

6 years ago – location quiz, feelings, dead picture links

7 years ago – Norman and the walnut, old school observational junk Geotarget

8977 sun

Still in a Rennie sort of mood, we plopped Gamerz into the DVD player, and started with a movie. I think the film was good, but the shadowplay gaming sequences and the fact that they all had actual Scottish accents probably raised it up from three and a half to four stars out of five. I think that they fairly pegged a few of the internal workings of a game group pretty darn well – Perhaps more like EMAGE [the group with AP, RI, HI, BG, and RobbC more than the 90’s group with GP, Kat, PM or alternates DougW, KathyW & DanC – with short termers of Kelly, DonM, Ed, RikL, RickC and Tony.]

HI (or now HG, I guess since she divorced RI married BG after becoming preggo with BG’s kid *DRaaaahmaaaah*) –

The elf chick in the movie was a pretty entertaining blend of the more negative sides of H’s flittery “look at me, I’m full of BS” and KathyW’s “Look at my Character! It’s me! I’m full of insanity” personality-wise. I could draw pretty solid connective lines to the others in that group, too, including myself.

Went on a fun drive hither and yon today… Went no place in particular, but discovered some new lands North and West of Baltimore. Nice time tooling around the Enchanted forest, where we took some photos (to follow later ) and I got a haircut at the Enchanted forest haircuttery… followed by a grilled cheese and pancakes for BHK and me at the Enchanted forest diner. Interesting place… I look forward to our follow up road trip to Elioak Farm, to see the refurbished elements. The food was good, but I suspect the grill hadn’t been scraped since opening in 1957.


If you look carefully, you can see the sugar-cone cottage deep in the middle of kudzu forest.

0902071701.jpg

We forgot to hit the DC game night – And they were playing Apples to Apples, Lunch Money and Zendo! I would really like to go to the next one, if it fits into our work / play schedule. It’s a bit of a journey… Maybe 90 minutes or so – But for a Saturday of games and meeting a few new folks, it could be good!

I still need to swing by and check out the Maryland Gamers Annapolis location, too.

Swung by the in-laws and watched Hot Fuzz, and started Night at the Museum .. Bhk and I lost steam about 20 minutes into it, and headed home.

1 year ago – iguana mob pics, saw Accepted, impersonating liberace, nice weather for ducks

2 years ago – holiday countdown, teensy manatees, npr podcasts, disney quiz, underdog, trammel , new orleans psa, “I Don’t Wanna See Anybody Give Any More Goddamn Press Conferences”

3 years ago – hurricane frances, CoH, sweet revenge, strange brew, superhero costumes, sequels, Syncretism, retreat to Danny’s, newtcam pic, second thoughts, twinkie sushi, evil genius, zim and gaimajin, DCL’s bday.(HAPPY B’day!)

4 years ago – nostalgia central, general upkeep, nice chatty

5 years ago – John Walker Lindh, Old Maid, debian, red flags, my tarot card, underdog

6 years ago – Reading location poll, start page, bat-music, Amazon dreams, JH Noir

7 years ago – Empathy Rating, me, and the bionic woman Geotarget

8976 – sat

Rennfest was a hoot! Much larger venue than South Florida’s, and more professionally done.

Highlights –

  • Kadon’s Game Tent (I lost two games of Quint, and BHK picked up a deck of Fluxx 3.0) – they’re the guys that make Volcano boards!
  • Hack & Slash – I got a long-sleeved Action Hero t-shirt, autographed by the guys.
  • (Good fellows and funny as all get out – They’ll be there all weekends except 10/20-21)
  • Swami Yohmahmi
  • Museum of Unnatural History
  • Coin Mashing Stand… Thinking of a Hare and a Bear for either side of one.

Not to mention soft pretzels, saw assorted foods on a stick (but only ate aforementioned pretzel and a lot of water) and a beautiful wooded location.

I think I especially liked it because it was just BHK and me, having fun. No herding cats, no phone calls, nothing… just grabbed a bagel and go!

After, we hit Susquido’s for white pizza, extra garlic with a Caesar salad and fried Zucchini. Yum. (Zukes were not nearly as good as BHK’s homemade recipe)

assorted recent kitty cuteness

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Renfest pics – taken with BHK’s rapidly expiring camera.

Most from Hack & Slash
note beat rennie behind BHK and me on the bench.

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DSCF0035DSCF0023DSCF0024
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1 year ago – the tick / pajama police, Zoom, car projections

2 years ago – Got fresh paid links, July 2002 Lumbee Entry (Active just 2 days ago!), Palm doodles, head photos and newt, foamy, Mind controlling death parasites, help Katrina critter

3 years ago – dream cartoon linker, The Forgotten, sample email from a stranger,Mountain Dew: Pitch Black, First Grade, Reiger resigning as chief of DCF, Stream of thought alphabet

4 years ago – Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, Red Haired Barbarians, Aunt Jemima, $100K fart, esteem meme, dynamite magazine, Newt pic, flex points, cookie puss, annoying or not, bro stuff, blogshares, earthquakes, toontown, Frankie bugs me

5 years ago – heroclix, art fair, jellybath, skyscrapers (here’s Maryland), Ambient Findability, web hits, bike in the meter room

6 years ago – adultery, lj, rollercoaster

7 years ago – playing with html, long day at work, September b’days, Sacrifice to the Horned Goat, pesky work poop, coffee, bearded sadness, road trip, headache Geotarget

8971 – tues

Extra-Random very rough draft entry. Read at own risk, dear journal.


Current health issues – getting corrected a little at a time

  • Allergies – need to get blood work done in top of October for shots
  • Teeth – Bridge for broken tooth, and 2 fillings. Floss, kids!
  • Back-leg ortho workup.

Monday night after our appointments, BHK, Chris, Larry and I all met at the Lebanese Taverna for Half-price Mondays… yum on the falafel!

I also got a new shirt for work at good ol’ Value City – White with blue pinstripes.

Tonight after work there was a big traffic slowdown…Suitland was a parking lot, and all of i-4 was shut by police and helicopters. A cursory search online mentioned no specifics, and the traffic radio was of little detail as well. I wonder what was up? Chris speculated terrorist stuff, but there was really no hint as to what it might be at all. I made it to Tina’s about 30 minutes later than usual. When I realized I wasn’t going to be there by 7:15, I called and they ate ahead of me.. I got there in time to watch the last half of Gilmore Girls – BHK and Tina set tentative plans for a girls trip sometime in the near future.

This weekend, BHK and I will be taking a little day trip somewhere… maybe West Virginia to see the mountains, maybe Outpost Games, possibly both on different days.

We still haven’t been back to the Compleat Strategist… I want to give ’em a second chance, but it might be a while… too many other places to go and see.


Graffiti seen when we went to the movies last weekend –

Robot of love – says hate
(he cannot be fully erased!)

0826071340.jpg - hate robot
Boy says bait?
0826071342.jpg = Bait?

That rhymes!


1 year ago – pom, apples and limeade, GP ahooga, close to the edit, burrito/screech butt, god lj, more ernesto a-comin’!

2 years ago – katrina track, toyota safe vs falling knives, brothers grimm, eco footprint, The Outbursts of Everett True , caffeinated death quiz, cat toy, superheroes and goats, office has no juice

3 years ago – on call all weekend, cej packet returned, super hero movies, charities, spectral analysis

4 years ago – begging for freebies, cases, frankie, wifi, paper toys

5 years ago – comic book ads, genetic ID card, lifegems, happy tree friends, Bheesh got a vette, free fonts, and Pynchon paper dolls

6 years ago – sci-fi dorkness (pity enterprise is so bad), red headed wildcat, bacchanalia, ultima Thule, stinky cab driver, lj “post limit hububb”

7 years ago – zoo day, de-compartmentalized some pals, Brown, turtle Geotarget

8968 – sunday funday!

Still too hot to do much of anything out and about in the Crisco soup-like atmosphere, so we opted to take in lunch at the Sbarro’s in the Annapolis Mall and then hit a movie. Who knows why we woke up at 7:30 on a Sunday, but it gave us a solid head start.

We finally caught the Simpsons Movie on the big screen… I was surprised – it was a lot better than I was expecting… pretty solid TV episode from back when it was funny. We only saw 3 bits that would make it warrant a PG-13 rating – an instance of nudity, a curse word (or two) and some drinking / drug use. I could see them showing all of it after 10pm on network tv unedited, or without those three instances any time at all.

On the way home, we noticed that ATW has changed the sign again, as the search for “the man” continues. (atw is now a tag just for my ease of searching the story thread and pictures, now.)

Click to view larger
0826071649.jpg atw tv
ATW NEWSROOM
‘THE MAN’
BOOT RECOVERED
FINGERS POINTED
Police say ‘NO Statement – NO case’
Meanwhile, Man Sightings run rampant
Psychic to be called.

It was a good thing we caught an early show as the later part of the day was comprised of –

BHK Birthday Part II: Electric boogaloo!
allisonbdaycake

Party at Tina’s place… Mexican food! Both Meat and veggie protein varieties – Tina’s not a big carnivore, either. Matt (her new boy) seems like a nice enough fellow and I hope they have maximum fun / minimum glum together. He’s certainly more social and generally conversational than DR or W. Dessert was yellow birthday cake with chocolate icing, compared favorably to yesterday’s lemon cake with lemon icing. Added bonus, BHK’s mom didn’t absent-mindedly start slurping the frosting off of the removed candles like last night, rather than giving them to the b’day girl to taste.

Aside from Tina and Matt, Adam, Jimmy, Louise, Chris and Larry all made it to celebrate. We fit pretty comfortably at Tina’s townhouse… I wasn’t sure if we’d all be able to manage, but it worked out quite well.

BHK’s Loot received:

from Louise : Necklace and bracelet of multi-colored pearls.
from Tina : A pair of Peridot Earrings / Hello Kitty purse (which looks like ms. kitty is making a gesture I’m sure wasn’t intentional)
from Larry & Chris – Red Coral necklace and Earrings / and some lovely crockery
from Danny – A swell looking green-stoned ring in gold. (and he got Tina some yellow-stoned earrings, too!)
from my Mom and Wilt – Turquoise and silver necklace, Halloween Snow globe, a little cornucopia and a really lovely card.
from me – a lot of knickknacks – Grease & Grease 2, a pair of pink pseudo-crocks, some stripy socks that mismatch/match, a pink headband with little jolly rogers, bath scrubbie, black cat bowl, a green wire basket, some fuzzy slippers and a gift cert to scalped.

I’m the only person that didn’t get her any jewelry… she told me specifically *not* to get her any. Now, I understand why.

May’ve recruited Adam and Jimmy into a parlor game night. Who knows, maybe they’ll lure Kendall and Amanda into it, too, and we’ll have a big night of it sometime!

I don’t know if Matt is into parlor games… I do know he digs the Redskins and is willing to put up with chick flicks. come to think of it, I don’t know for sure if Tina is interested in boardgames or not… I suspect that she, like the in-laws aren’t really into abstract games. Louise is a good candidate, but is harder to reel in to a date or time than the teens. The last time we saw her was her birthday, about 6 weeks ago.

Poor Danny has students in his classes now – he’s back to running the Sci-fi club, and is incorporating Pirates into the after school program. I should send him a bucket of heroclix or mage knight commons/doubles as a donation. He really liked the Superhero stamps and Lord of the Rings Risk game we shot off to him a little while back.

1 year ago – back from an all too brief visit, nose buttering, bunny suicides, events of the day, liberty city psp homebrew hack, jojo the cannibal kid, maple cookies, folks, met Adam / Future In-laws

2 years ago – power out phone post, hurricane katrina aftermath pictures (and Newt), Bro out, Techs unavailable

3 years ago – BK heads north, random visit to a 2001 entry, behavior variances, quiet-please

4 years ago – sleep schedule, zombie game (poor thing aborted), monkey helpers, first lost child.

5 years ago – Deer Hunter, Apache, Equality/freedom Poll, Emerson, flying saucer, heroclix 200 point armies, McD hot dogs, wpoison

6 years ago – that piercing woman , lj vibe change, many links (not all work anymore)

7 years ago – Godzilla, quizzes, leftyrok added me, IMT threatens to move all operations north to Tampa, dean martin Geotarget