Tag Archives: maryland

9214 – Friday!

Weekend looms ahead! Going to Alice’s party, celebrating her passing the bar… about a year ago. It’ll be nice to see her again – last time was at paper moon well over a year ago.

The Egg salad made from last Sunday’s hard-boiled Easter dye-jobs was especially good this week. BHK’s Mac & cheese is rocking my socks exceptionally well, too.

I can’t believe that tickets fro the Smothers brothers is $90 at the rams head. I want to go, but not so much at $200, 8pm on a weeknight. I still have half a mind to write in Pat Paulson for president, even though he passed away over a decade ago.

Presidential Campaign Slogan: “I’ve upped my standards. Now, up yours.”


50 things you’ve done meme continues at 44 – I…

44.’have done more than my share of critter killing and eating, despite my current feelings about doing so. If I was starving to death on an island covered with baby bunnies… well, baby bunny for dinner. I know how to kill and dress duck, boar, deer (all hands-on) and squirrel, alligator, rabbit (in theory, I saw my dad do it). I have lopped the heads off of chickens, and wrung their necks, too. I’d still rather do the slaughtering of a bird than do the cleaning.

I’m very happy to say that I haven’t wanted or had to do that for a *very* long time… but if I was lost in the wilderness, I feel that I could survive better than some, at least food-wise. The boar is something that I’d have to use high-powered rounds on… those guys are nasty. I wonder if I could do a pit trap for a pig? I suppose it’d work, not that I ever will need one.



Recent photos in phone or in archive –

My office desk (see notes here, for the OCD aspects of the journal),
with BHK memorabilia and a toy-train zoom-in

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I love my coasters – made from the label portion of old 33 1/3 records.
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Newt Yawing the other day – That’s how I was feeling, too.

newtyawn



Recently, Pye waited politely for Newton to finish eating – very chummy these days. I’m glad that they’re so much more buddy-buddy. All I ask is that nobody bugs anyone else while eating or pooping… not too hard! Newt actually gave ol’ pye a one-lick after pye’s bath yesterday… I imagine they’ll be grooming one another sometime around 2012. (or sooner!)



Added a doodle to the voice post… not sure if it’s worth 1000 words, though.



1 year ago – nice folks at the county, cherry blossoms, spring started – pear trees, BHK into reality tv, EPC a flop, adam & tennis, easter coming up.

2 years ago – code template, interest cloud, pda cam dies, p&B in german, song tapper, bus on fire doodle

3 years ago – easter manatee, complimented, server/servant, spliced people, germs

4 years ago – Lj then and now (I spend less time now), bro, ice cream cake, Smokey & the Bandit

5 years ago – bro got me some Godzilla movies at the gift store up the road.

6 years ago – minority report poll, breakfast with Danny, grabber rabbit meme spreads, Words describing animal traits, Ketchup packet bear, Klaatu’s speech, scary dream, link-to poll

7 years ago – babelizer, mushy-feelings, book-burningGeotarget




9195 – Saturday

Quite the journey today – We put the March in Ides of March!

We slept in, but got to the doc’s in time for my shots and BHK’s draw. After the requisite needle sticks, we launched ourselves toward the Eastern Shore once again – original intent of going to Baltimore for the Aquarium was sidelined for a day that maybe we can bring Adam along with us and I’ve got a non-cellphone camera.

Plan #2 was to go to St. Michael’s, now that season has started – check out the marine museum there, and have a spot of supper at the Crab Claw.

Those plans were stymied by a hand-stenciled sign marked “Flea Market Next Left”. With a quick mutual nodding of our heads, BHK and I changed course – we meandered through the building, fairly impressed. There was an oven cooking up hot dogs at the front door, along with plates of baked goods… mostly brownies and blueberry-muffin bars. Tools of all sorts, used books, some nifty antiques, too. BHK snapped up a phonebook-thick book of vegetarian recipes for $2, a keen jadeite set of salt and pepper shakers (not antique, but tres cool for $10, and I snagged a blueberry bar for a measly buck. (I almost got a blue-cobalt glass mr. peanut jar, but discretion worked for me. I really had no place to put it.) Fortunately the Salt-shaker guy took checks. (He said that he took credit cards too, but didn’t give ’em back.)

We left with our treasures, happy as a couple of proverbial clams, and continued toward St. Mike’s. Mid-journey, I realized that it was already nearly 3pm, and I remembered the museum closed at 4.. and we were pretty dang hungry – ready to eat now rather than later. – So, a second trip to general tanukis, then! Not as fantastic as the first time, sushi-wse, but still a fine place to land for lunch. Grilled Cheese was tasty, but the home made french fries would’ve been awesome if they weren’t quite so limp.

After a satisfying meal – we stretched our legs a bit. I got to visit the bunker, and picked up a couple of stickfassupervillain and spaceman. (marked at 20% off of $10 each) Armed with toys, I was ready for a little more shopping with BHK… we sniffed around a few boutiques, and at a place called La de da, she got a green hair band with and assortment of rhinestones in it – we though tit was $16, but rang up as $6 at the register… score! We continued through a yarn store with a cute yorkie working there as a greeter, a large pet shop, and then came upon crackerjacks toy store… that’s my kind of place. We got a few little wind-up critters – BHK got a tiki drummer (drums are a triceratops and tyrannosaur skulls), a pink hula-robot – and I got walking neon green monkey the plays the cymbals.

Happy in our purchases, we began our journey home… we were going to get together with the in-laws tonight to watch becoming Jane, but they weren’t in the mood – so we side-tracked into annapolis to see Be Kind, Rewind. It stopped playing there, so we caught In Bruges. I liked it more than BHK – she scored it slightly below average (a 4/10) while I skewed just the other side (6/10).

The corn is always the best part of movies at the bowtie theater… dialogue with the candy-counter gang was fun… you could see each stereotype pretty clearly. The blonde bubbly girl who likes chick flicks, the lumbering oaf guy that enjoyed hanging out with the girls, and the brounette chick who is the big fan of british stuff, black comedy, more pseudo-sullen than the others.

The pic below was at one of the boutiques… the first meeting place for Maryland Freemasons, now selling frou-frou chic stuff to tourists.

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Archaeologists in Greece have discovered the 1800-year-old skull of a young woman who may have undergone primitive brain surgery. An alternate theory says she injured her skull when she suddenly realized she could have had a V-8. Whenever I see the word skull these days, I think Skrull.


Water: 2 Veg/Fruit: 0 Milk: 2
Points: 43.4 Adj: 0 Act: 2.5 Rem: -3.9
Bank: 15.0 Adj: 0

Vitamins: Yes

Breakfast: 2.0 points
2.0: oatmeal; blueberry

Lunch: 22.0 points
3.0: Sushi; California roll
7.5: Grilled Cheese 6″ Sub
11.5: French Fries; Large

Dinner: 12.8 points
1.1: Popcorn; oil-popped
1.1: Popcorn; oil-popped
3.3: Butter oil; anhydrous
3.3: Butter oil; anhydrous
4.0: Cheese Pizza; slice of large

Snack: 6.6 points
1.8: fat free milk 1 cup
1.8: fat free milk 1 cup
3.0: blueberry cake bar
0.0: Diet Coke; King

Activity Log: (Min:Int:Points Desc)
30:L:2.5 shopping


1 year ago – my chicken stalker pic, david and gil visit pics, shamrock shake

2 year ago – papa johns meat, almost a dinner party, mp3 zappa, 2nd life pics, irish quiz, grandparents quiz

3 years ago – free flow, dreams and fragments, night stalker, zombie test, batman newtimes, pete & pete, cadavers away!, wedgie, autodialer, magnetphrases, beheading, I used to believe…, adp off call, mootpoint praise

4 years ago – strip mall of sin pics, doug made it to Seattle

5 years ago – French toast origin… not invented by “Mr. French”, bus piccies, name game, movies with Dan, pelican poem

6 years ago – grand conversation, love quiz, a good Friday five, odd news, miss Cleo born in LA, of American parents, crossword stuff

7 years ago – first hint of the scooby movie, good vs bad stuff about the day, gnomes on snailbackGeotarget

9077 – Saturday

March Begins! David spent Friday night at his pal in DC’s place, but returned to us this morning… after my shots, we headed out to the Museum of Visionary art w/ BHK and David, and then to Edgar Allan Poe‘s burial site (and his 13 year old at wedding-time cousin-wife ) at Westminster (little known factoid, BHK was the tour guide to the Poe site, and has keys to the crypt there.)

Most of what was done and seen can be expressed in photos… sadly, you’re not supposed to take pics inside. ( I did sneak one with the camera phone , however.) clicking on items below will go to larger images. No ghosts captured at the graveyard, but I had fun doing some more stitching.

My favorite bit was probably the giant bird, nest and mirrored egg outside the museum. The egg glittered like an 8 foot tall disco ball in the setting sun.

To be honest, the interfaith art exhibit didn’t do a lot for me… I was more interested in the permanent items, including the kinetic sculptures art cars, and painted screens.

Guy in the green hoodie is David, BHK’s cousin – I think he had a nice time with us. BHK managed to dodge my best efforts at capturing her candidly.

S6301501S6301500S6301499S6301498S6301497S6301496S6301494S6301493S6301492S6301491Pano - S6301491 - 5091x2511 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301486S6301485S6301484S6301483S6301482S6301481Pano - S6301478 - 4870x3753 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301477S6301476S6301475S6301474S6301473S6301472S6301471S6301470S6301469S6301468Pano - S6301468 - 4842x2293 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301467S6301466S6301465Pano - S6301465 - 3857x2459 - SLIN - Blended Layer0301081608.jpgS6301464S6301463S6301462S6301461Pano - S6301460 - 3566x4291 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301459S6301457S6301456S6301455S6301454S6301453Pano - S6301451 - 5349x2396 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301450S6301449S6301448S6301447S6301446S6301445Pano - S6301445 - 5088x4462 - SLIN - Blended LayerS6301444S6301443S6301442

We caught up with Larry and Chris after sundown – stopped off at cheeburger cheeburger for frings and shakes! My back was tricking up, so I begged off the jam session- hitting the sack with a heating pad early tonight.


1 year ago – newt and pye’s distant relative – Kiddo – the transatlantic airship kitty, GP, tina, gaming, and 2003, transfusion song

2 years ago – memes & links, dino pic, windows live pigs in space mefi, hop sing, haha ray

3 years agotorn mime video awesome, zombie-like news story, book, idiopathic, Japanese Macaque, choicepoint data theft, duckie bath, yahoo video, kaleidoscope, mapper of doom, viva broward pictures

4 years ago – Blueberry Doughnuts, Meme, Factoid and so on

5 years ago – Dorky-Newt explanation, Vet Visit, AI 20 questions, TV schedule

6 years ago – Evil proggy struggle, baby critters, folks getting fired over weblogs, palm piccies

7 years agowhy wiccans suckGeotarget

9072 – Tuesday

Foggy day but it dissolved after dark, somehow. Crossing the bridge, we couldn’t even see the barges!

Dentist – got my last filling done, and all that’s left is a crown…. and maybe an extraction of a wisdom tooth.

R’s Americantina – All you can eat taco night? As the kids might say… “FAIL”. We made it there ok, but the food was greasy, poorly portioned, and generally subpar.

All items looked like food service, rather than homemade. Tortillas, and anything from the fryer were especially bad. Greasy, limp onion rings, store-bought tortillas and frozen / re-heated chicken strips. The hard taco shells were cold and greasy – salsa was a poor texture and mediocre flavor.

The diet coke was both flat and low on syrup, effectively brown soda water.

I think we’d have done better to have gone to Taco Bell, feedwise.

Design-wise, it’s a beautiful layout, nicely branded, with vibrant colors and nifty wall-hangings. It’s a shame about the place settings and worse, the food that is brought out.

We didn’t sample the bar… I’d hate to see what the bartender would do to a margarita if they can’t get a taco right.


Garfield Minus Garfield is awesome. Remove the cat, and Jon is scary, funny and surreal. Plus, there’s this one, which isn’t really any of those.


Anonymous coworker on the death industry (especially interesting to me, as AC is a Marylander) Some FAQ

Fairly Related – Writing a WillI need to update mine! And do my dang taxes, by gum!


1 year ago – BHK and I on a snowy drive video, bass guitar, kitties, joe magnolia, heroes meme

2 years ago – dan bailed, don knotts (Mr Limpet) RIP, what do you want poll, netjaxer, mk12, Darren MCGavin RIP (Kolchak), dipkiss

3 years ago – Splenda downside, Pinkerton’s Superman, Geourl back, text to speech test, palm doodles, hiring the a-team

4 years ago – I’m a radioactive zombie, monkey hate clown!, got a $13.86 check, land mine detection flower, action figure art, desires in life poll, barbie prowler

5 years ago – pipe snag, Jim Rockford, Newt Vet, Movie idea, Pravda Headlines, I’m awesome, palm doodles

6 years ago – Star Wars Pants, spy-cow, Reizan, Scientists cross pigs with spinach, 1979

7 years ago – lj comments burpy, Kitty love, monkey-news, Proposed Indian Names for Certain White People, Hatt-Baby, Twist Endings, ineffable, Bozo Matic, Callipygean, cool picture of a grasshopper, poetry is all in the format, In the Skin of the LionGeotarget

9069 – Sunday –

BHK and I decided (after a little option juggling) to go on a little road trip to the Eastern Shore, visiting primarily Easton and St. Michael’s.

St. Michael’s is known as “the town that fooled the British” due to the clever action of early settlers. During the early morning hours of August 10th, 1813, British barges off the coast of St. Michael’s planned an attack on the town and a harbor fort. The people of St. Michael’s got word of the impending attack and hoisted lanterns high up onto the masts of their sailboats and into the tops of trees. The high lights caused the attacking British to overshoot the town. The rouse worked and only one house in St. Michael’s was hit by cannon fire. That house still stands as a private residence and is known as the “Cannonball House.” The cannon ball fell through the top of the roof and rolled down the stairs. The Cannonball House is located on Mulberry Street, adjacent to St. Mary’s Square.

I acquired a George Washington (it’s for the university, but just says George washington, with his face in a little cameo in the center) sweatshirt somehow – BHK got a giant one for her tiny mama, and it made it back to our house for laundry. It fits me, and I have since claimed it as my own.

I cannot tell a lie. I spilled some cherry pie on my George Washington sweatshirt. Irony? Or just me being a slob? Who says it can’t be both?!

We roamed the mostly silent roads and sidewalks of St. Michael’s… I’d say at least 2/3 of the shops were closed for the season, due to reopen in late march… but we did visit a few nifty spots that were open. A “Shabby Chic” sort of shop to get BHK a hair band and a tiny statue of liberty salt shaker, a wool store full of nifty yarn, a coffee shop that had mancala boards out (though we didn’t pause long enough for a game. Just as well – she’d have trounced me soundly, no doubt) – swept by the radio-research base to look at all of the spinny-antenna stuff, and get photographed by the man.

My big purchase of the day was an assortment of hot sauces. 44 cloves garlic sauce sounds especially yummy. More in depth reviews to follow as we try them.

Some shots from today, more to follow tomorrow, as flickr uploader figures out what I want.

a closed but “to be revisited” action figure / gamer / skateboarding store called the Bunker, Delicious and Cheap Natty-Boh Beer, A cafe that looks fresh off of the Prisoner TV series

S6301438.S6301437.S6301418 - welcome to your village.


Cool Radio Tower / Research Lab

.S6301417.S6301416 - blam- bullethole.S6301414.

Geodesic Dome home! It was 4 or 5 stories tall.


S6301412 - dome home..S6301413 - geodesic dome.Pano - S6301412 - 7536x5232 - SLIN - Blended Layer.

Count Chocula’s hideout, near the Marine Museum

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Cool house, rules on ball-cap wearing next to betty boop, and decorative cabbage.


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Peace graffiti, kitty sign, fisherman bear.


S6301404 peace graffiti.S6301403.S6301402 fishing bear.

Iron Fence, more cool cabbage, headstones at the church


S6301401.S6301400 cabbage.S6301399.

More of the cool church and graves.


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S6301395.S6301394.S6301393.


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Hey! More history! Frederick Douglass was a slave here! Thankfully, he moved on to other venues.

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see also – some attempts (not all successful) at a new panoramic stitching technique.

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We ended the day at general tanuki’s – the bubba roll (coconut shrimp w/ avocado & peanut drizzle) and asparagus tempura rolls were especially good. we may end up taking larry there next time we get a sushi jones.. they do burgers (and some yummy looking specials), too! BHK and I split a Natty Boh and some spring rolls… it was a great end to a lovely day of walking around, getting some fresh air and just being together.

After we got back home, we watched the Prestige. I liked it, save for the ending. The buildup and interaction was good, but the closing was a little screwy. – I didn’t like the Tesla device / tank element.


Do Kev and Paul have to deal with Cthulhu at Guantanamo bay ?


1 year ago – lj notifications broken, model train expo, George Takei on Tim Hardaway

2 years ago – newt herd pic, sleep, quiz-meme, lost a kid before we were even called

3 years ago – Sleepy, Paris Hacked, Gorilla Cover Gallery, adding insult to injury pic, mel out of comm for a week

4 years ago – Newt-beliefs, Police pay an unkind visit (DRAMA!)

5 years ago – fairy tales, country bears, lj poop, palm doodle, A Reading Rainbow of Prophesies, misc news

6 years ago – Tulpa-thoughts, L&B have the baby

7 years ago – one of my favorite bear piccies, hoogerbrugge, Haiku arena is founded, rough translationsGeotarget

9066 – Thursday

Lunar Eclipse last night was lovely… clear skies, snowy ground and crisp air. A good time to be outside and looking at the sky, if just for a moment.

Somebody made a sacrifice somewhere, and the moon came back. Next time, the gods won’t be so kind!

Warnings about ice tomorrow… I may get a long weekend… (if my internet and power goes out… or I may get to work form home!) Then again, I may get to go into the office that’s mostly empty, and get a lot of work done there, too. I suspect any or all will be win.

Lovely leftover dinner tonight… last of the mexican bake while BHK and I watch The Last Legion. I think that she liked it more than I did… How’d they get Mr. Darcy, Ghandi and the Mistress of the spices together to make this flick? Apparently the Goths were vikings with scottish accents.


Six unused cases of recalled beef will be thrown away by schools in Maryland and Virginia. Said a school spokesperson, “Now that we know what it is, we can no longer call it mystery meat.”


Pictures of Awakening’s Move


So… Bush’s Approval rating is now 19%. Sweet Christmas.

(To break it down further 1100 people asked – Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 45% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 50% disapprove. Among Democrats (43% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 1% approve and 99% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job. Among independents (28% of adults registered to vote in the survey), 17% approve and 75% disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job as president.)


This is Newton and Pyewacket, almost to a T.

I’ve neglected to mention that we watched the pilot for the new Knight Rider series.

It was only worth it for the Hoff cameo, and even that was pretty weak. Thank goodness for tivo and fast forward.

Psych was a little too scooby-doo for me last night… but watching the outtake of them singing “Somebody’s Watching Me” made it more than worth it. I also saw the graduation episode of Kim Possible. Nice that Drakken has some utility after all.


BHK was blessed with a double-kitty snuggle last night… I was too fidgety for the kitty love, apparently.


HD DVD is officially dead. Well, I’m glad we didn’t get Larry that DVD player for Xmas!


Giant fossilized frog named for the devil.

A giant frog that hopped around Madagascar 65–70 million years ago has been discovered.

Fossil fragments show that the frog, called Beelzebufo ampinga, could have measured 20 centimetres across its squat head, and probably more than 40 centimetres from snout to tail. The researchers nicknamed the monstrous beast ‘the frog from hell’; the official name comes from one of the many names for the devil (Beelzebub) and the Latin for ‘toad’ (bufo).


This college grad decided to live on the streets with just $25 and a gym bag to see if he could make it without any of the trappings of his upbringing, privileges, or contacts. After 10 months, he was moving into an apartment, bought a pickup truck, and had a savings of around $5,000. The point of the story is supposed to be that people are poor because they have bad attitudes. Which is technically true, but maybe he should do an experiment to see what being born poor will do for your “positive outlook.” – via consumerist.

Add a few more elements, like mental / physical health plus his gender, age and skin tone into the mix, and I’d be interested to see how much harder it’d be to get by if you changed variables around. I don’t like the implication that “anyone could do it”.

I also wonder who was left out of the shelter he stayed in for the first few months of his experiment? Did they go hungry as a result? Sleep on the street?

The more I think about it, the more I’d like to see him actually in the circumstances of hopelessness and fear being homeless can bring. I feel that knowing the safety net is there will give a false sense of confidence and comfort, too.

Anyone can go camping when they know full well that they could fix things with a phone call… how’s that song go?

You’ll never live like common people,
you’ll never do what common people do,
you’ll never fail like common people,
you’ll never watch your life slide out of view,
and dance and drink and screw,
because there’s nothing else to do.

He got to bail due to a personal tragedy at home… who else is allowed that? It’s a lousy experiment when you can change the variables and conditions at whim.


1 year ago – sunset and duck pics, naked gun, phone hearing w/florida, cyn’s new (now old) space!

2 years ago – 2nd life, frankenbox windows issue, modified newtcam subdomain, Samuel, I’m a nine

3 years ago – Atlantic shores hosp, motherboards, jokers utility belt, 2-headed baby, paris hilton hacked, jlu, angry beavers, comic essentials, danny teaches school about graphic novels, six-gun gorilla, ash, icon origin

4 years ago – Wishing for Dr. Feng Shui, Quit FFXI, Time out with Danny and his wife

5 years ago – DDoS on LJ, Friday five, Nordis is full of crap, parking spots pictures, The Groovenians = blah

6 years ago – robo-triffid, daily pictures, back hurting

7 years ago – Chariots of the Gods, reminders, Geocities stops hot links, my nesting instinctGeotarget

9065 – Wednesday, early in the morning, waiting for his ride.

Coughing… but poor BHK is feeling more sick than me. It’s certainly chilly this morning, and is expected to be snowy midday today. Quite a change from Monday’s balminess.


If anyone out there wants to send me a dvd of swarm of the snakehead, please do! BHK and I have been giggling like goobers for the past week about snakehead fish. If push comes to shove, we may fork over the $17 for the DVD, but I wonder if it’ll kill the pure goofiness of the previews. Maybe I can learn to sew, and make a knit snakehead ?

All silliness aside, the snakehead is a serious matter. I can’t help it if it’s a borderline chupacabra / area 51 / bigfoot sensation here, too.


Handwriting meme – (Forgive Scotto’s Messy hand, and blurry-ish cameraphone!)

Answer the following questions in your own handwriting:

1) Name/username.
2) Left or right handed?
3) Favorite letters to write.
4) Least favorite characters to write.
5) Write “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
6) Tag 5 people.

0219081530.jpg


Random Scotto factoid. When I see a symmetrical “heart shape” I pick out the two semi-circles on top and bottom triangle piece before I see the whole image. That’s why I like to draw mine unbalanced, or off-center. I don’t know what that means.


BHK and I went to Barnes and Noble last Friday and didn’t buy anything despite having a $50 gift card in my pocket. How did that happen?


Flickr user brandonwu got up bright and early to get this image on Monday morning. Lots of “Awakening” images were in the DCist Pool this past long weekend, as it’s to be dug up on Wednesday and moved to Prince George’s County. EXIF here. – via DCist

I hope to visit it after it was moved… I went there once as a young boy, when I lived in Alexandria.

That reminds me –

Nightmare Playgrounds – most seem to be from Russia and Prague… I wouldn’t mind visiting!

These creepy masterpieces of sculpture and landscaping can be found in playgrounds not only in Russia (even though this is where the majority of photos come from) but also in China, East European Countries, and even in the US – anywhere the grass-roots creativity goes bad and the bad taste gets promoted, often unintentionally.

Awesome. More Awesome.


1 year ago – Visited the Department of Homeland Security, DC pix.

2 years ago – rainbow pigeons, dr who, sirenity, hibernation, workplace closures?, Lost- dream, quiz-meme, questionnaire

3 years ago – ren-fest thoughts, river with a fear of heights, kid-style web layout?, soylent green, glass tile graffiti, danigolden+ham steak+jelly+scott baio=a good morning for me, puppet dj, uss jimmy carter

4 years ago – Danny takes his club to the Ren-fest, 5-year-old marries a puppy, evil eye, palm entry-bus, looking back to my earliest memories

5 years ago – Spending a lot, cute newt, hot showers, green onion cornbread

6 years ago – Lewis-y, Muppetty, limericks, a cute pair of boobies, speedy bus, ninja cow eludes police

7 years ago – valentines, online books, recommitted to walkies, Belief, Myth and FolkloreGeotarget

9059 – Thursday

Happy Valentines Day!

Got a lovely Kermit the frog card from BHK. Words can’t even begin to describe how much love I have for her. I hold her dearly in my heart. She makes every day a valentiney sort of day. Hard to get too worked up about a day that’s all about love and affection when I’m immersed in it all the time.

That’s a good thing!

As ol’ Bill Shakespeare put it,

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Tonight, we exchanged chocolates, and BHK made tasty mexican bake for me and the in-laws. (well, Chris… Larry had Hot dogs.) Dessert was 3-chocolate ice cream and orange cake with milk chocolate icing. nom nom nom.  More fun din  din news to follow, I’m sure.


The most awesome collection of superhero toys in one blister pack.

Movie Spidey 3 with a baseball bat!
Superman with a crossbow and terrible chest logo, riding a roaring dinosaur!
Bare-booty Hulk!
Pretty Decent Design Batman!

I would so totally pay three dollars for that. (But then again, I’d dig a Han Solo in Carbonite mini-fridge, too)


Metro says there were 84 assaults against Metrobus drivers in 2007, an increase of more than 50 from 2002. Now they’re talking about putting protective shields in for the drivers…. what about the other passengers? via WTOP


Two new dinos identified – Two previously unknown types of meat-eating dinosaur have been identified from fossils unearthed in the Sahara desert.


via Scheiner – Offshore oil rig evacuated after someone dreamed of a bomb.


I heard waterboarding referred to as a “mild form of torture” today.

The words torture and mild don’t go together in my book – not a gray area, as far as I’m concerned. Like “slightly excruciating”.


I just discovered SourceTV – pretty keen for game spectators. Not a bad way to develop strategy, either. (Learned about it per the huge Team Fortress 2 update – including a map with a train! – Nice of them to give gamers with no significant other something to do on valentine’s day.)


List of Famous (and kinda-sorta famous, maybe) Scientologists. I still can’t believe I missed hearing about Jason Lee.


1 year ago – stayed in for ice storm smashes our fence, ice pictures

2 years ago – Sand dollar, interjection poll, Miami cloud art, bro drama, Bang!

3 years ago – dream, war tuning, slacker, torrent tv, gm-ginger kitties, questions meme, christo, newt stalking pic, zefrank’s st. val history, whims-cute card, work peeve

4 years ago – V-day, hippie visit results, Nefertiti documentary mostly drama – not much document, cheese doodle sculpture, anonymous reviewer bug amazon

5 years ago – got the nordis gig, palm pics

6 years ago – n V-day poetry, JB figures out about SA & Me, wandering pics

7 years ago – How Do I Love Thee?, I resemble Dan Conner, Men cause the mutations, tea room & old TV, TMBG lyricGeotarget

9036 – weds

Humpday! Midweek, and it feels it. I was happy to rediscover that we get President’s day off next month… Three-day weekends are a wonderful thing. Added bonus is that my b-day falls on a weekend this year, so that Saturday is mine, all mine!

BHK and Cathy got together today to do more straightening and space management at the house. One recent change is the move of the love seat from the office to the living room… newtcam archives show that Pye doesn’t seem to mind the change of pace. 

pyecam

Maybe we’ll have room for some bookcases under the North-face windows, with the tops clear for kitty-climbing and general sunning.

Poor Pye must be a little chilly in that picture – he’s all fluffed out. Cold, or resting off a horsing around match with Newt.


“After eight years and some $65 million, the state of Maryland is taking its first steps to return to an accountable, paper-ballot based voting system. Governor Martin O’Malley has announced an initial outlay of $6.5 million towards the $20 million cost of an optical system which will scan and tally the votes while the paper ballots are retained as a backup. The new (or old) system is expected to be in place by 2010 — or four years before the state finishes paying off the bill for the touch-screen system.”


Had a bit of a nightmare about using the walker last night. Forgive my recycling of old doodles. Dreamt of being poked and prodded, cut open and stapled shut.

I’ve already had two surgeries.. one in 1994, and another in 2003.

Makes me twitchy, just thinking about it. After being cut up, I had to go shopping for tennis balls to put under the walker’s feet.

walker

Now I’ve got the phrase / title Walker, Texas Ranger stuck in my head.


Random Self-portrait of the moment taken in the loo at work – Beard has bypassed the goatee stage for winter.

0123081213.jpg


I still remember the sting of asphalt embedded into my palms after the trip and fall 5 years back.

The voice of my first grade teacher is a strong memory, too.

Also those commercials for free catalogs….

Free Catalog
Pueblo, Colorado, 81009.

Is the only reason I know a zip code in Pueblo.

Hey…they have a website now.

I wonder if I’d have the guts to punch a Tyrannosaurus in the face.


Milton Blahyi, a former feared rebel commander in Liberia’s brutal civil war, has admitted to taking part in human sacrifices as part of traditional ceremonies intended to ensure victory in battle.

He said the sacrifices “included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat.”

There had been numerous rumours of human sacrifices during the 1979-93 conflict but this is the first time anyone has admitted publicly to the practice.

Mr Blahyi, 37, is better known in Liberia as “General Butt Naked” because he went into combat with no clothes on, to scare the enemy.

He is now an Evangelist preacher, who prefers to use the name Joshua.


1 year ago – zombie astronaut, gun runner dream, paper moon pix,

2 years ago – missing cj, superhero dream, youtube b&B, fat bat cat, herm patient, pug in lucha mask, endless forest, birthday counter.

3 years ago – Chilly, doodle, facial morphs (monkey scotto is still my fave), food, height comparisons, a/b meme, warning labels, toybox mooch, scythes

4 years ago – happy Newt, nipples off, palm post – bus stop, tummy ache. penguin poop, giant nostril

5 years ago – Tests, truth, rumor, links and history, lj spam, Kev in court

6 years ago – I got my camera, Alvin gets fired from work for stealing overtime, unsolved mysteries, snap club, mcd’s employees, nifty moon site.

7 years ago – Reflections on the old regime, The Litter Box Song *snerk*, Cow Saliva, “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme”, rehiring some of the fire-eesGeotarget Geotarget

9102 – friday

Mostly linkies… went to see national treasure tonight with Adam and BHK. It was pretty good, not nearly as well done as the first, but still fun. Cage looked like a freaky manikin with fake hair, skin and teeth in the opening.


Fear the Turtle! – Most of the pictures in this set are of sculptures that were created for the 150th anniversary of UMD. They went around and got all the ones on campus (at least the ones that were installed), but have yet to get the rest.


I really have to get around to visiting the Mutter Museum in 2008.


Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs.



1 year ago
– more xmas lights, newt and pye in the same house

2 years ago – mighty boosh, 3 ships, hard candy christmas, poohsticks, nestled newt,

3 years ago – Mel, swan, count & contessa, bk holiday song, abandoned hospital, scared of santa, octo vs mcd’s, net-perv sting

4 years ago – geourl syndication, desperado with monkeys, narnia

5 years ago – surreal gourmet, amazon links, a/c dies

6 years ago – last minute shopping, blah day

7 years ago – crushing, slowness Geotarget

9094 – Thursday

Tomorrow is the Christmas party at work. I wonder what the following week before vacation is going to be like? I suspect it’ll mostly be business as usual.

Got BHK David DeBoy‘s Crabs for Christmas CD… gave it to her early… as a cd of christmas music on christmas day has a very limited shelf-life. (At least until next year) She was more than delighted – it really is pretty much “Our” holiday song, after all.

The other songs on the CD are pretty groovy, too. I was a little worried it might be a lot of filler, but the tunes are a lot of fun – especially if you’re a Marylander.

Found out how to add everyone on my lj friends page to an rss reader directly... That’s pretty dang handy.

Also, drawings of Bears in Ill-fitting hats.


via dcwmata –

“By an overwhelming majority Metro board members approved today the largest increases in subway fares and parking fees in the agency’s history after months of contentious debate among directors…

“The board members essentially approved a plan offered in recent days by Maryland members that lessens the impact on suburban and long-distance riders. That plan followed a public hearing that drew more than 400 comments from riders, many of whom said that proposed fare and fee hikes were too high and not merited by metro’s unreliable service.”


Glow-kitties fight disease! – Scientists have genetically modified three kittens so they appear fluorescent under ultra-violet light in a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases.


2007 year q&A meme from Eryx –

1)Was 2007 a good year for you?
Pretty great! New Life in MD, Happily Married, New Job… looking good!

2) What was your favourite moment of the year?
Hard to say… lots of bits and pieces. I love spending time with BHK, so there are many.

3) What was your least favourite moment of the year?
Dealing with the ignorance and foolishness of people who ought to know better.

4) Where were you when 2007 began?
Swimming in the Chesapeake Bay! Nice Brisk Beginning! (Rang out 2006 with Adam, in-laws, Louise, Tina, and BHK)

5) Who were you with?
BHK and the in-laws were on the coast.

6) Where will you be when 2007 ends?
probably enjoying the new year’s eve celebration at windward key.

7) Who will you be with when 2007 ends?
Likely with the in-laws and BHK..

8) Did you keep your new years resolution of 2007?
I don’t think I made any!

9) Do you have a new years resolution for 2008?
Nope… just be good is my basic rule right now.

10) Did you fall in love in 2007?
More in love, yes!

11) If yes, with who?
BHK!

12) If yes, do they know?
I certainly hope so!

13) Are you still in love with them?
BY all means!

14) Do you regret it?
Not one whit!

15) Did you breakup with anyone in 2007?
Nope… I’ve been in this relationship since before 2007!

16) Did you make any new friends in 2007?
A few new acquaintances.

17) Who are your favourite new friends?
I like hanging out with Cyn, Cathy and Dave a lot… it’s a rare but fun treat. (cheating a little, I met ’em all in 2006)

18) What was your favourite month of 2007?
June was pretty good! new gig, things started to roll.

19) Did you travel outside of your country of residence in 2007?
Nope… I stuck to the USA

20) How many different states did you travel to in 2007?
Virginia, Washington DC (if that counts), Maryland – Thought about WV and PA, but we didn’t get to it.

21) Did you lose anybody close to you in 2007?
Thankfully, no.

22) Did you miss anybody in the past year?
Sure… I miss my brother and father here and again.

23) What was your favourite movie that you saw in 2007?
Not sure… hot fuzz, maybe?

24) What was your favourite song from 2007?
Crabs for Christmas!

25) What was your favourite album from 2007?
albums? I listen to singles, mostly… see above as a default

26) How many concerts did you see in 2007?
hmm.. Loreena McKennitt, SNZ, Firecracker Jazz, the bluegrass fest… I’m not sure. More than 5, less than 10.

27) Did you have a favourite concert in 2007?
I suspect that firecracker was the most pleasant surprise, but Loreena McKennitt was the most nifty.

28) Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2007
Not really. I’d guess my usual amount. No hard liquor that I can recall, maybe 6 beers and 6 ciders across 12 months.

29) Did you do a lot of drugs in 2007?
I used my inhaler a lot in the first part… no recreational drugs for me. asmanex seems to be alleviating the regular inhaler, too.

30) How many people did you sleep with in 2007?
Just my wife, if you’re talking euphemism for sex. if you just mean snoozed with, you can toss the kitties in the mix, too.

31) Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?
told bhk that I’d made a phone call that I didn’t.

32) What was the biggest lie you told in 2007?
see 31, above.

33) What was the worst lie someone told you in 2007?
see 31, above.

34) Did you treat somebody badly in 2007?
well, telling a lie is pretty bad. I’ve been grumpy here and there.

35) Did somebody treat you badly in 2007?
I wouldn’t say so.

36) How much money did you spend in 2007?
Most of what we had… but we’re slowly rebuilding our bank.

Errr… what happened to question 37?

38) What was your most embarrassing moment of 2007?
again, 31.

39) If you could go back in time to any moment of 2007 and change it, what would it be?
again, 31.

40) What are your plans for 2008?
Play fair and be nice… do a good job at home and at work. Be loving and kind.

1 year ago – Peter Boyle RIP, Grey Gardens, Holiday hubbub, new comic store, Tina’s wedding present to us,

2 years ago – sam and max, Atari 2600, favorite things

3 years ago – I discover that Romanian pop tune (OZONE – Dragoste din tei) before the weirdo kid cam sings it around the world, Oceans 11, pollo tropical makes me sick

4 years agothe secret message, Bro & Danny visit, lizards in the tummy, truck surfing, riddle, some reference

5 years ago – nightmare, balloon hats, fudge and dinosaurs, Danny and I win a Tomato Recipe contest!

6 years ago – nice dreams, flesh eating robots, wacky day, SOP

7 years ago – coffee, hello kitty murders, village blacksmith, books to read, I get a Sigmund and the sea monsters tape!Geotarget

9091 – Monday

It started with a foggy Monday morning. (sakes, that’s even weaker than “It was a dark and stormy night.”) Sleepy start, but a little nap on the train into work gave me a little jump start. Warmer lately… upper 40s, with very little wind.

Work progressed evenly, though there is plenty to do. The holiday cookie competition was launched in the break room – 4 entries this year. A white chocolate / cranberry drop, pecan bar with milk chocolate, an oatmeal-type square, and a rum ball sort of cookie…. I’m torn, because they’re all good stuff. I think that I’ll end up voting for #2 or #3… another sampling tomorrow will help me to decide. 😉

Lunch was leftover ziti and veggies from last night’s din-din… it was yummy – garlic is a wonderful thing.

Heading home was a bit pokey, due to a delay on the green line… a person was hit by a train at Fort Meade, home of the NSA. My imagination makes me wonder if it’s a spy or dark ops guy running away from the men in black. Some mastermind making off with the keyword list from ECHELON, no doubt. We have a couple of those radomes in North Beach/Chesapeake Beach, come to think of it.

Why yes, I did run a little program on the above for wiki-links. That’s sort of distracting… I doubt that I’ll do that as regularly again. I’m a little goggle-eyed just looking at all of the possible snap link-bubbles there.

Got home, and snacked on Cheese crackers while watching Gossip Girl with BHK. I’m not sure when the episode was made, but it sure has a writer’s strike feel to it… Dixie from Brisco County has aged a lot better than Bruce Campbell. Then again, he’s ten years older than her. Speaking of which… I really dug Burn Notice – Fresher to me than House… presses all the right buttons for me.

After a snack, we finally got to see Transformers, despite all the warnings against it. I tend to agree, that it was really cornball and kind of dumb, but it had a couple of fun bits. I wouldn’t have walked out of the theater, but I might have complained about paying $10 to see it. Good for a no-brainer netflix night. Not worth seeing more than once. Speaking of flicks, I’m looking forward to seeing Machine Girl (note, blood-spray violence in the trailer – flying guillotine, drill bra, machine gun arm, and tempura / sushi trauma.)

BHK brought home two more game rentals… tried out one, Geometry Wars. Fun, but tough… very retro feel due to the vector graphics and asteroids / omega race vibe. Not a lot to it, but the controls are pretty nifty, and multi-player has some real bite to it.

Overall, we had a relaxing night – still no lights on the tree, but that’s where we were last year, too. Tomorrow, I think that there’s a strong possibility of putting a few more items up… our little outdoor teak tree has some all-weather lights on, and it looks terribly cute. Photos are going to have to follow soon.

As it is, I’m up too late! A quick link, and I’m off to bedski.


via flying_blind – (also responsible for pointing me to this keen transit site back a bit ago)

Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. It’s goatloads of old Edison cylinder recordings, some downloadable, plus a selection of them can be streamed while your browse. And yes, they have “Yes We Have No Bananas”, as recorded in 1923 by the Green Bros. Novelty Band. What more could one ask of any website?”


1 year ago – Tony vs Paul (still pretty dang awesome), newtcam, Annapolis cam, Xmas tree up, but undecorated.

2 years ago – complex life, sex roles, Narnia, big brain repair issues

3 years ago – Newt stretch, Mels’ place, grumpy workers, lost good, many random Scotto factoids, best chitty-chitty bang bang line

4 years ago – movie clapper poll, hakarl, RI not nice, Rudolph: Behind the scenes.

5 years ago – Rubber monsters, the four humors, feculence, Jane Goodall believes in Bigfoot, prezzies

6 years ago – autochthonous, Nobel prize, Cetus, BEAR WINS; SUIT LOSES

7 years ago – nifty links, Fidel Castro’s John Lennon statue, and life’s perfectly swell, KMFDM Geotarget

9087 – thursday

A study from Mental Health America ranks the most depressed states in America. Here they are, ranked from happiest to saddest. (via fallentoad)

The study ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on rates of depression and suicide. Researchers found that states with easier access to mental health resources had lower suicide rates. (see also – Smaller babies grow up to be sadder adults / Study links low birth rate to depression, anxiety later in life)

Highlighted below are places I’ve spent the majority of my formative years, plus my current setting of Maryland.

1. South Dakota

2. Hawaii

3. New Jersey

4. Iowa

5. Maryland

 

6. Minnesota

7. Louisiana

8. Illinois

9. North Dakota

10. Texas

11. Georgia

12. Vermont

13. Nebraska

14. Florida

15. California

16. Massachusetts

17. Pennsylvania

18. Virginia

19. New York

20. New Hampshire

 

21. Alaska

22. Michigan

23. District of Columbia

24. Delaware

25. Arizona

26. Alabama

27. North Carolina

28. South Carolina

29. Kansas

30. Wisconsin

31. Tennessee

32. Montana

33. Mississippi

34. Colorado

35. Washington

36. New Mexico

37. Oregon

38. Connecticut

39. Indiana

40. Arkansas

41. Maine

42. Wyoming

43. Ohio

44. Missouri

45. Idaho

46. Oklahoma

Lowest

 

47. Nevada

48. Rhode Island

49. Kentucky

50. West Virginia

51. Utah

We’re number 5!

I know I’m a lot happier in Maryland than I was in Florida, but that environment could travel with me anywhere, and I’d feel better…. just as long as I have BHK, Pye and Newt along for the ride.

Depression is a serious medical illness that comes in many forms with a variety of symptoms.
If you have any of the following symptoms for a prolonged period, it may be time to seek help.

  1. Persistent sad or anxious mood
  2. Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
  3. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
  4. Loss of interest in hobbies or activities
  5. Fatigue or decreased energy
  6. Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
  7. Insomnia or oversleeping
  8. Changes in appetite or weight
  9. Thoughts of death or suicide
  10. Restlessness or irritability
  11. Headaches or chronic pain

Of the above, I tend meet the qualifications from number 6 (not so much), 10 and 11, though I don’t think that I suffer from depression, rather, physical issues are causing them.

Speaking of which, I went to the doc for a reviewing of the back situation. Aside from the standard “eat better, exercise more” bit, there wasn’t much else to report just yet. I make an appointment for an MRI tomorrow.


First (publicly posted) Sentences of the month in 2007 –

  1. Jan – Something I post at the top of every new year, and I appreciate the words more with every additional trip around the sun.
  2. Feb – Gentle day, all told – Went out to Jerry’s for lunch, shopped for party food, got a haircut ( short, but I think it looks good.)
  3. Mar – Chatted a bit with graypumpkin online about gaming, road trips and whatnot while I was doing online research about gigs and following up on resumes (not to mention found info about MCSE server 2003).
  4. Apr – Rode with Tina and BHK to urgent care over chest congestion – seems like sinus infections related to allergies is the rule of the day.
  5. May – BHK and I might do something special for May Day.
  6. Jun – They offered me the gig!
  7. Jul – We spent most of the day out and about, Geocaching with the Newsoms.
  8. Aug – So, it’s August… only a couple of weeks until BHK’s birthday, Father in-laws birthday, and we’re looking to have Emily over in a weekend – and then the all of the Newsoms over perhaps two weeks after that.
  9. Sep – Rennfest was a hoot! Much larger venue than South Florida’s, and more professionally done.
  10. Oct – Cathy and Dave over tonight for Lasagna, conversation (they’re moving to Colorado once the house is sold) and a couple of games of apples to apples.
  11. Nov – Skipped the jacket on the commute to and from work today – 55-65F isn’t too bad with a long sleeved shirt.
  12. Dec – Nice morning, until I got out of bed and pulled my back.


An assortment of recent keywords locating my site – Surprisingly, Melons isn’t there!

hero machine
mothra
beatnik
freaky
boners
freaky gif
prettygirl
_31337157
a ding don dandy christmas three suns download
batgirl
bill cosby picture pages mortimer ichabod marker
bittorrent chaos nipple removal
chlorophyll man
french chef.wav
godzilla vs destroyer downloads
healthy%20poo
hydroevacuator
james demedicis
kitty hawk
freaky pictures
keen
prison stripes
newtcam
jail uniforms
weiners

Added bonus tonight – went with in-laws to Ledo’s, and BHK finally got to hear crabs for christmas this season!


1 year ago – chinese at in-laws (some things haven’t changed much!), first sentences, potential snow, hannibal review, krampus, ir refer to home as North Bay, not North Beach.
Pictures taken – undercover newton

2 years ago – uggs, xmas trees, gp surgery, backlogged email notes
pictures taken – foggy morning

3 years ago – Movie with Mel goes poop, nice night out anyway, metro freefi, zombie song, fire butter coats Minnesota town, Freudian inventory, $$$ issue

4 years ago – Rainy-day wakeup, old LL passes the torch, aces & eights, oldest penis, trampled shopper

5 years ago – Danny and I send dopey “Sven” emails to companies for no good reason, bro brings me eggnog, I scare the living tar out of a lippy kid

6 years ago – gestapo gives c’s pal grief about aiming, reptile people, lj bump, world tour, Toliken Movie desire

7 years ago – Sims, accused of being an alien, dead milkmen, cannibal the musical lyrics, I’m a warmerGeotarget