Tag Archives: pictures

9333 – Tuesday

Tomorrow I go to the doctor for a review and another epidural. Hopefully I’ll get a lead on something for my nagging cough.

Went to go see the Hulk movie (I’m sleeping in until 7:30 tomorrow, so I can pull it off) – It was a whole lot better than what I was expecting. BHK liked the movie more than Iron Man, and I am certainly more sympathetic to Banner – I feel that Iron Man was better acted and had better effects, but Hulk was more enjoyable overall – I didn’t mind the CGI Hulk and Abomination at all.

Watched the 2nd episode of Middleman, and it was a lot smoother than the pilot. I’m enjoying it so far.

Nasty thought, resulting from last weekend’s dining out – “Crab dip stuffed crust pizza”. I bet it would make a mint along the Chesapeake… sprinkle a little old bay seasoning on the pie, and I suspect that you’ve got Maryland gold…. and I’ve got a tummy ache just thinking about it.

Joke of the day –

Q.What’s Brown and rhymes with Snoop?

A: Dr. Dre.


Well, BHK thought it was funny, dear journal.

Forget about the joke and just gaze into the eyes of telekinetic monkey. Ooeeeooooeeeoo! I hope he uses his powers for good!




Got this in the mail at work – That’s pretty cool of the building to do for the critters.

The saying is something like: "Don't ever come between a Mother and her babies"
 
Well, here in Calverton, it's proving to be true.  There is a Mother 
Eastern Kingbird nesting in one of the trees in the back parking lot (*)
that has felt a little threatened by some of our staff members. She's
even attacked a few staff members. (thankfully, they are OK)
 
(*)She's in one of the trees at the right of the rear entrance in the
first island that is parallel with the building. Currently, 8:45 a.m,
there is a black truck parked near "her" tree.
 
PLEASE DO YOUR BEST TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT TREE AREA AND LET HER HATCH
HER BABIES.  WE DON'T WANT ANYONE HURT BY HER PROTECTIVE INSTINCT AND WE
DEFINITELY DON'T WANT HER TO ABANDON HER NEST.
 
Kate Flint did some research and found out some facts about Eastern
Kingbirds:
 
*   The Eastern Kingbird is highly aggressive toward nest predators
and larger birds. Hawks and crows are attacked regularly. A
kingbird was observed to knock a Blue Jay out of a tree and cause it to
hide under bush to escape the attack. 
 
*   During the summer the Eastern Kingbird eats mostly flying
insects and maintains a breeding territory that it defends vigorously
against all other kingbirds. In the winter along the Amazon, however, it
has a completely different lifestyle: it travels in flocks and eats
fruit. 
 
*   Parent Eastern Kingbirds feed their young for about seven weeks.
Because of this relatively long period of dependence, a pair generally
raises only one brood of young per nesting season.
 
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Eastern_Kingbird.html




1 year ago – voice post, pictures of Danny, BHK and me, sea shells and fountains and a truck

2 years ago – bus stop view in broward, peter gabriel, danny brief

3 years ago – sleep, mai-kai, danny, cleo2525, RJD2 – 1976, whale burgers, liverank, orange newt pic, entp

4 years ago – gmail bids low, my nightmare ’08 prez ticket, aventura mall w/danny (& pics)

5 years ago – graypumpkin / danny / rik update, blogpulse, vampire rank, gali, booth mgt sys, gaming memories

6 years ago – Scotto is…..(google), Francesco issues, Bed Sizes, Rate my kitten

7 years ago – evil news, game poll, fight poll… (One of my fave theoreticals), weather, crayon poll, a little mush, What’s in the kitchen?, shaving poll. (I must’ve just discovered the poll feature)

8 years ago – no-thangGeotarget

9332 – Monday

Good solid day of work today – getting a lot done and covered. Met the new VP, and he seems like a really nice guy who knows his stuff. I wish I could advise him more on commuting, but he’s a car guy, and not a train or bus sort.

After work, BHK and I went out to lemongrass for a little date – the food was excellent and the company wonderful. It was raining like gangbusters outside, so we stayed for dessert… the Thai doughnuts and fried ice cream were also great, but I tihnk I ate way too much. After the weather let up a bit, we went to petsmart to look at the critters, and saw an army gal with a haircut that made her look a bit like donald duck.

Went home, watched the pilot of middleman. I liked it – it was a little sticky, but forgivable in a pilot episode… There was a super-intelligent gorilla in a tracksuit, which was pretty cool, but I’d prefer that they not mention comics so much. I didn’t need a Grodd reference. He was more like the Mod Gorilla boss to me, anyhow. The “filthy paws / damn dirty ape” quote was expected, but really, that’s forgivable. I’ll be watching it again, and expect it’ll gain some momentum if all goes well.



In honor of Swarm of the Snakehead, I made my own proto – snakehead beastie (you can download him at the link) in Spore yesterday. BHK’s bitey monopod will be uploaded soon, too.

snakehead for spore



George Carlin passed away. I think that his routines in recent years got a little… I don’t know… Lame? Turned more from radical or wacky to just whiney “get off my lawn you kids” humor? I feel the same way about him the way I feel about a lot of folks I liked more when I was younger – maybe I outgrew him, like I did Harlan Ellison’s angry young guy shtick as it turned into an angry old guy bit. As I age, it gets harder to be entertained by that sort of thing. Maybe they both just ran out of whatever mojo kept them fresh and interesting to me. I still like the old stuff. Not as angry, not as bitter… things can have bite and not seem just sad. He was a great satirist during the bulk of his life, and I’m sure he will be missed.

I saw him in “concert”, at FAU, ages ago with Jeremy Dawsey. I don’t remember where James was, or why he wasn’t along. We had a *fantastic* time, and it was likely the only time I’ve seen a comedian in the last 20 years that wasn’t “schticky”… fat guy telling fat jokes, lesbian telling lesbian jokes, black guy doing black jokes, prop comics… etc, etc, etc.

I’ll just choose to remember this:

Some people say the glass is half empty.
Others say the glass if half full.
I say the glass is too big.

–George Carlin



Illustrator Rafa Toro scanned in a set of monster trading cards and presents them in blog format: Monstruos Diabolicos. El Hombre Lobo! El Payaso Diobolico!or my fave… El Agusanado!



LOS ANGELES — Hollywood will enshrine an eclectic bunch in its famous curbside Walk of Fame next year, including Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley, The Village People and fictional Tinker Bell.


Recipients of the sidewalk stars also include Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Burton, Leslie Caron, Charles Durning, Ralph Fiennes, William Petersen, Kyra Sedgwick, John Stamos, Mark Burnett, Chuck Lorre, Kenny “Baby Face” Edmonds, Dave Koz, The Miracles, Doug Morris, Rush, Shakira, KFI radio personality Bill Handel and KCRW host Harry Shearer, who also provides voices for characters on “The Simpsons.”


Cheeta isn’t on the list. The animal actor, whose credits include the 1967 comedy “Doctor Dolittle” and the “Tarzan” movies, was trying for the seventh time to get a sidewalk star.


His handlers had launched an online petition to get supporters to urge the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to give him a star in 2009.


Guinness World Records has called the 76-year-old chimp the oldest living, non-human primate. Cheeta is retired and lives in Palm Springs.


The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame Committee chose the recipients, who were ratified by the board of directors Thursday.



Seriously? Tinkerbell got a star, instead of Cheeta? She didn’t speak, and has only starred in one film! Cheeta’s an actual being, not just a drawing. What’s next? The NBC Peacock?



1 year ago – wifi / magnetism allergy, carcassone, munchkin, witch trial, lj mindmap meme, Danny still visiting, heard about polarity

2 years ago – spinny video, can’t get behind that, danny bails, manatee journal, soulroom quiz

3 years ago – too much goin’ on, pyramids, bq weds, yawnies

4 years ago – Elin, Miami-cam, BBC broadcasting Mort, The Dead Case, TV Newscasters, Florida voter PSA

5 years ago – GP writes me after however many years, reader influx, bro behaving,insensitive online transgender Columbina gets snotty with D, lovey-newt.

6 years ago – a very well thought-out email about getting a journal code for japaneseblossom, 100 questions, Newt-acrobatics, beanbag sofas, rate kittens.

7 years ago – mephitic, sweetie-yodeling, quiet mood, sponge bob, bad science, sexy factoids

8 years ago – Nothing.. not updating regularly yetGeotarget

9331 – Sunday

Forgot to post this yesterday –

0621081520a.jpg
ATW man Crabbing.

First thing we did today was view Swarm of the Snakehead at 1 am, when BHK woke from her Pizza Hut induced torpor “nap”.

We weren’t disappointed. Swarm of the Snakehead was exactly what we were looking for (and didn’t get) when we went to see Grindhouse. A fun, cheesy, “bad in a good way” sort of horror flick. It’s most certainly more a comedy film than horror, despite the periodic moments of gore. I’d love to see this on a large screen somewhere, or better yet as a movie shown outside, on the beach… maybe projected on the side of a large white building.

Head and shoulders above any other made for Sci-fi channel stuff, ten pound would likely do quite well to shop the film to them, or a similar venue.

I may be a bit biased, because it was filmed right nearby, primarily in Easton and Oxford – a hoot picking out local spots.

I can’t believe that Gunnar Hansen was both Leatherface and the “Quint from Jaws”-style Fisherman! There’s range for you!

I think I’ll write up a much longer and nicer review of the movie soon – I want to get some input from BHK about her perspective on the film, too. I’d say it was the highlight of our weekend, though.

After the delightful midnight movie with BHK, we tucked back into bed, and snoozed… I’d say we got up and out of the house by 11ish.

Polished off the last of the croissants from the farmer’s market (I had chocolate, she had almond), BHK decided to venture forth to Aardvark and grab our waiting games. Mike and Tara were out, but the employees were swell to us.

The day was gorgeous and since we wer euntethered by any other family responsibilities (in-laws took tigger to Salem for a long weekend), we meandered around Southern Maryland, looking for a nice new spot to grab some lunch and just enjoy each other’s company.

After much tooling around of St. Mary’s, we eventually ended up at the Reluctant Navigator. After eating there, I understand his reluctance. The food was somewhere between meh and ok. Service, not bad – environment when we first walked in the door was “we’ve made a terrible mistake” but after getting past the foyer filled with old boat motors, chainsaws, and crab traps covered in dust, the clean dining area changed our tune to “oh, this is probably all right.” I’d put the food at medium-low quality. somewhere in the 3-5 out of 10 range. I seriously doubt that we’ll be back, unless something amazing causes us to return.

We continued on our journey, with food in our bellies – after putting some petrol in the tank, we wandered into Cecil’s Old Mill, a general store and post office – pictures to follow sometime after I upload ’em. Meanwhile, check out what somd online has to offer. When I saw the logs in place, I had two thoughts. first – that’s perfect for an old movie villian to strap a maiden to, and let the hero try to save her while he gets away. The second was the gravity gun usage in last night’s HL2.

The old post office was my favorite, though. Lots of memorabilia everywhere.

We bought a pair of homemade brownies and a diet pepsi, and toddled on home, to water our plants right before a huge, thunder-filled rainstorm.

We had tasty sammiches for dinner, and watched our last tivo’ed Monk – where he reunites with his pop. Not a bad character dev show, but a lousy mystery solution. “We found the tie!”

Now, bedtime. Gnitght, dear journal. Have some lovely linkies.



Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds Barbie Doll


Just so you know that your family isn’t so bad, dear journal –

‘Cannibal relatives ate boy alive’

A seven-year-old boy was kept chained in a closet as relatives hacked off pieces of his flesh to eat, a court has heard.

In a case with echoes of the Fritzl family horror in Austria, Ondrej Mauerova was partially skinned in the closet in a cellar at his home in Kurim near Brno, in the Czech Republic, according to reports.

The abuse – involving members of a religious cult – was uncovered by chance last May when a neighbour’s television baby monitor picked up graphic pictures of what was happening next door.

Ondrej and his nine-year-old brother Jakub were locked and chained in the cellar for months by their mother Klara, 31 – a member of a group called the Grail Movement.

He was caged, beaten and gagged to stop him screaming, according to reports.

Mauerova had the monitor installed so that she could watch the abuse from her kitchen but the images were picked up by a neighbour who used an identical system to monitor a newborn baby, the regional court in Brno has heard.

Police were called and the two boys as well as what appeared to be a 13-year-old girl were freed.

But the girl later turned out to have been one of the alleged abusers, 34-year-old Barbora Skrlova.

She subsequently fled to Norway before being brought back to the Czech Republic earlier this year.

Mauerova has admitted abusing her children but she said she had been manipulated by Skrlova and her own sister Katerina.

The accused are Klara Mauerova, her sister Katerina, 34; Barbora Skrlova, 33; her brother Jan Skrla and a friend Jan Turek.




1 year ago – testing twitter embedding

2 years ago – cereal mix, no bro, planning excursions, house of fun, puppy assault, question meme, poo coffee

3 years ago – playing with highlighting, Cruise vs Oprah, Jedi Squirrels, JLU, Bibleman (vs ElectraWoman and DynaGirl!), portable rotary phone, Homeless shelter stops serving bear meat, skeeters, America’s most unwired cities, call, gamer has been given a suspended death sentence for killing a fellow gamer, I predict a riot, power outage, bro’s trespassing

4 years ago – spidey in a dhoti, rain-sleep, bad arizona tea, cheater dream, amber cancellation, hollywood screws up, new 404 page

5 years ago – bro, ren & stimpy, dan’s palm doodles

6 years ago – scooby doo, packing, checklist

7 years ago – plica, smarterchild, bloviate, orange cheese, how are you poll, pirate name, wildlife stickers!

8 years ago – unmarked, turmoilGeotarget


9330 – Saturday

It’s officially a change of seasons, no matter where you live, now. Summer, here. Spring seemed to be far more brief than Winter. Happy Longest day of the year, Northern Hemisphere!



Could someone explain to me how Obama not taking public campaign funds “ruins his credibility”?



Let’s see— today –

Shots! Quick and Easy.

Didn’t get to Aardvark for replacement for Catan Dice, and pick up Illuminati: Crime Lords – probably tomorrow.

Went to Annapolis to go see Zohan – I didn’t realize he was going to be some sort of superhero – more fun than I’d thought- had the requisite Sandler dumbness, but it was pretty cute. A few running gags ran overlong, but it was better than I’d expected. The beginning sort of put me in the mood to see Hancock.

I’m rather saddened to hear that Get Smart is poorly rated (almost as bad as the love guru? Seriously? That bad? I haven’t seen, but can only assume the words fro Guru.) – I hope that Wall-E and Hancock bring something more fun to this summer’s movies. I haven’t seen Indy 4 yet either, but I hope it’s better than the reviews make it out to be.

Pizza at the New Pizza Hut by ATW man – not the best – I think it made BHK sick.

Picked up the mail, and noticed our screener of Swarm of the Snakehead came in! (official site)

BHK and I went down for a nap, she is sleeping heavily. (Still wasn’t feeling well) – I got up after an hour, and did some work on the computer for about an hour, and then played video games for about 3 hours – (Portal, HL2, and some game modsPirates, Vikings and Knights II and Zombie Panic.) Tossed a little Bioshock in for good measure.




not for the easily dizzy –

cooking in 3 D

camera 3 D

sail boat in 3D

tunnel dudes

old Dude 3D


More of these: Cursivebuildings




1 year ago – Dan arrives, seaports and port authorities, trains and such, dense reading, metric system

2 years ago – tasty bean salad, Brando in superman movie, battle tubas, subway perspective art, mentos and coke, online pente, druid pocketwatch

3 years ago – GP & Batman, magic waffle pixies, yubnub, Google maps, Lore, grasshoppers, awesomedome, journal scraped

4 years ago – Summertime, silliness, doodle board, rage icon (since added), extreme heat warning, wifi bike, earbags, pudding pop poll

5 years ago – newt pic, dialects, sacred texts, monkfish, fold up robots, William Marshall RIP

6 years ago – Tope/taupe, cookie puss rap, Francesco ups the rent due to tile, bigbrother time clock installed at FMM, bird pee, random 5, lj virus

7 years ago – Bateman’s smoking cat, communion with dip, W’s approval rating (pre 9/11) & quiz, languor, evil news, mushy thoughts

8 years ago – time poemGeotarget

9328 – friday

Just a note to mention how much I love BHK. beyond quantification. Lots. and Lots. She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.

Misc doodles done recently on the palm – the medical stats are from my last epidural, both before and after. The fish or carrot eating firebutt and frank oz (with hair) guy are from the avectra meeting break. I was surprised, because I was the only one there wearing a tie… Frank Oz guy was hypnotic in his tone of voice.

Other stuff is from the bus ride – still congested, doc’s appt, and a random blue ghost with newtcam. the little gray slug is something pye was chasing that night.

meeting . stats051508 .
6_17_08


If gamers read cookbooksThanks, Lore!


A Jura F90 Coffee Machine can be hacked remotely over the Internet.

via peradouro – knitted food!


1 year ago – work stuff – trains and code

2 years ago – toys r us with danny, thai food, videos, sleestak, healing monkey man

3 years ago – Dr Who finale review, goateed, I’m a bad sci-fi tv fan / rpg guy, book prefs, tony the tiger, poop-chute, monkey steals the peach, moonmama passes away, blurty-spam, vanity search, bk wants to spam blogs,

4 years ago – atlfanghost (turns out the creator go his own website, too), ft laud guerrilla art, CoH, Mr Chan’s Chinatown Almond Cookies (still the only hit), recent search terms

5 years ago – Island boy quits (he returns about a month or so later), Orrin hatch pirate, power spike, rainy day

6 years ago – apt hunting, tiling my current apt, NexGen Money, planning Breakfast, remembering jsw vs freakshow

7 years ago – ogee, waxing mushy, sambo white in some ads, either-or poll, house of leaves

8 years ago – blank

Geotarget


9326 – thursday

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Joss – maybe I can take BHK on a little date there to celebrate the felling of the trees this weekend. Barring that, maybe the trolley will happen. I’m not sure why I’m so gung-ho about riding it.

BHK made fajitas tonight – tasty and super healthy!



via tiffany bridge

The Smithsonian has joined The Commons on Flickr, which started as a pilot between the Library of Congress and Flickr to increase access to publicly-held photo collections and allow the public to contribute knowledge and information (such as tags) to those collections.

The Smithsonian’s photostream contains some fantastic gems, including portraits of scientists, cyanotypes cataloging the Smithsonian’s other collections, and cool photos from past Folklife festivals.




the ethics of stealing Wi-Fi. Many of us been guilty of the same crime at one point or another — according to the article, 53% of us at least. But how guilty do we really feel? As it is officially a crime to steal wi-fi (Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which covers anybody who ‘intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access’).


When two plastics (polymers TTF and TCNQ) are placed atop one another, a thin strip forms that conducts electricity “as well as a metal”.

The TTF-TCNQ interface conducts electricity much better than standard semiconductors. “The electron concentration there is an order of magnitude higher,” Mannhart says. “That has the power to create new effects, from magnetism to superconductivity.”


GeotargetVisitor Map1 year ago – pogontrophy, shoes, agnostic’s prayer, work- day 2, outside pics

2 years ago – bdays!, doing ok about dad, weaver dies, choco-dice, walking on air, monday meetings

3 years ago – pictures(motorcycle and newt), tut, lj interests, jbee b-day, gp dream, severe thunder, ft laud evacuation info for hurricanes, UFO tv losses

4 years ago – palm vnc, Newt Chroma key, paypal spoof warning

5 years ago – doctor’s appointment, time-traveler micronaut, lizard!, clear sky clock, baby dolphin beached

6 years ago – packing, location thoughts, bicycle, brushing newt-teeth

7 years ago – evil news, Jb’s bday, gadabout, lj-topology, time for timer, crown of crap, sambo’s

8 years ago – roadworkGeotargetVisitor Map

9324 – Wednesday

Watched the quiz boy episode of Venture brothers last night… mostly character filler and “spot the reference”. This season hasn’t been as good as last, so far – I hope it catches speed soon. Speaking of TV – I haven’t viewed middleman yet, but I keep hearing good things. It should be on our tivo – need to check and see if it was snagged.

I’ve been at my gig for a year today – hard to believe. In some ways it seems like I’ve been there a lot longer… in others, only a few months.

Looks like DV has moved on from my old gig as head of MIS at ACIM … and Tiff is gone, too. They just can’t hang on to folks there. I noticed that Obama earmarked $300k from his state to support the ACIM service – I wonder how much of that actually went to help Illinois?

Nice light dinner of sammiches over some silly reality TV. BHK was disappointed when the guy on Farmer takes a wife snuffed out the one she (and I) thought would take it. I still think the whole thing is more scripted than ugly betty, but I’m a reality show cynic.


Why you should never agree to be interviewed by the police – per a law professor and a policeman. (5th amendment – youtube)




newton and pye sleepin!


a year ago, they’d never have slept this close together.




Being woken in the dead of night by noisy neighbors blasting out music could soon be a thing of the past. Scientists have shown off the blueprint for an “acoustic cloak”, which could make objects impervious to sound waves.




1 year ago – father’s day stuff, der singleringen!, first day at IANA, (office and server room views via cameraphone), lightning bug hitches a ride

2 years ago – Newt grumps at tina, tiki idea, mango fest, Danny movies, flash pages bad, miami pic, baby gorilla news

3 years ago – hobo sign icons, Goodyear blimp crash, pictures, Guide to Hobo / ’30s slang

4 years ago – slow email, drunken sailor song, testing remote palm broadcast, running away, nice letter of thanks

5 years ago – creaky knee, infrared zoo (Graypumpkin’s first visit?), remote cpu destruction of file-sharers, tiny robots, ghetto fries

6 years ago – tiling my old place, chocolate doughnuts, happy pill, instinct of awareness, how to make a smoke bomb

7 years ago – Evil News, blimpies heroin story, poop-poll

8 years ago – nuffinGeotargetVisitor Map

9321 – Monday

Storm knocked a huge limb out of one of our trees – it bounced on the high power lines and then landed on the Element’s hood with a resounding thump. Dented the hood and front end in a few places and spider-webbed the windshield with cracks. I’m just glad nobody was hurt – Larry was fairly nearby. I’ll be interested to see how fast insurance turnaround will be on this. Homeowners should cover it with a minimal deductible.

I’m sort of disappointed that we didn’t get to hit artomatic – the last two weekends got nailed with Father’s day and general germy-ness. Hopefully it did well enough for Cyn to go back next year. It sounded like a hoot!

I want to ride the trolley, before it stops running, too. (I figure it’ll be in commission for at least 18 months more, before it stops working out for the city… but it looks like a good cheap way for BHK and I to tool around town for $0.25 a ride. With gas prices, you can’t get much better than that.

I mentioned this briefly on Saturday – the bakelite tiles in Hive are chunky (maybe 1/2 inch thick, and about 1 and 1/2 inch diameter) – much larger than I’d thought they would be. It’s even mose satisfying to play now, as a result. I’ve gotten so used to tiny counters and maybe things of “checker” size, that the bigger pieces are a real treat. Still waiting on Mosquito‘s arrival – not a huge deal, as BHK and I haven’t really gotten bored of the basic rules at all.

BHK and I played two games last night – If Wishes Were Fishes and Labyrinth. (I won both.) I suspect the dynaminc of Wishes will change if / when we introduce third, fourth and fifth players.

Sex and Indiana Jones?, originally uploaded by kubacheck.

Whoops! Wrong theater!





SF Signal has a run-down of the top 10 giant movie monsters, which is inexplicably not safe for work – Also courtesy of SF Signal, check out these anatomical cross-sections of Gamera and Godzilla.



1 year ago – Bugah and Neil Arrive, summertime fun, godzilla cheats, newtcam pics, courthouse artist,

2 years ago – website gig, writing, newtcam, sleestak sounds,

3 years ago – Sleepy, lj tags, couscous w/Danny, high voltage, questions

4 years ago – audio blog test, bluetooth virus, Sue Dibney Croaks, Dreams of the old gang, Bloomsday, When the zombies take over, how long until the electricity fails?

5 years ago – paranoid dream (has since come true at least once), silly RP in There, sleepy newt pic, Abbie the Cat Blog

6 years ago – Navajo Talkers, Barbie collectors, I learn about this apartment, palm doodles

7 years ago – IMT becomes FMM, paying by the word, slaver, funeral-cast.com, photo poll

8 years ago – Taco bell folding & WhitesnakeGeotargetVisitor Map

9318 – Sunday – Father’s day!

Happy Father’s Day! Beware the Ides of June!

Had a lovely breakfast at the in-laws. Got Larry a pair of nice cards, and a Micheal Buble’ album. He seemed to dig ’em!

Lar made pancakes on the grill’s skillet – they were fantastic… and the weather in the morning wasn’t super hot… quite nice, actually. We sat on the deck and watched the birds of prey go fishing in the bay – one took off with a giant meal afte ronly a quick glance and dive. Post breakfast, we went into the house and listened to his new CD – it was OK – but I had been feeling rather ragged and zonked out on the recliner until BHK noted we had to go and grab groceries for the cookout later on.

I slept in the car as BHK shopped – we had to turn around at one point, as we’d thought that Adam and Joey weren’t coming – we had to grab more dogs, buns, chips and soda-pop to keep the teens fed and happy.

I napped more at home, while BHK made Larry a blueberry/blackberry pie (and one for us at the house, too!)

Everyone showed up at about 7, I grilled meat for the team, Chris brought baked beans and slaw, BHK set everything up, and we ate like we’d just gotten the first meal in days. The folding chairs are going to get a lot of use this summer, I think.

It went well, and as the sun went down, the gang headed out and the sights and sounds of the evening began to rise up… frogs ribbiting, mosquitoes buzzing and nibbling, and fireflies lighting up the garden like dozens of will-o-wisps. we went inside, as the frogs were too busy singing to eat up all of the mosquitoes – the biters didn’t stop other folks outside from lighting off roman candles and other fireworks. Maybe the smoke acts as a repellent?

Things seen yesterday and today –

0614081043.jpg

we went to the bitter end – What’s the asterisk mean?

.0614081217.jpg.0614081216.jpg.
saw some graffiti – cycloptic dinosaur and a bleeding heart inscribed with “never”.

0614081223.jpg

geese in bikinis

newtcam (20080615.2108)
Tonight, someone was shooting off fireworks, and some got caught on newtcam. In North Beach, any holiday is a good excuse for pyrotechnics.

Arbor day? Sure! National Pen-pal day? Heck, Why not?

I am feeling better a bit now that the day is about done – I think the nap may’ve stiffened my back more than help. Next time, perhaps just a sitting rather than a flat-out snooze will be best. I didn’t dwell much on my own father today…just as well, really.



1 year ago – last day of county gig, hot brain, DC living costs, hero machine sponsored, neil and bugah coming for sleepover, danny visit upcoming, iana gig on monday

2 years ago – payday, mango fest, Phoenix uncomfy, Nonja the rude ape, elvis costello green shirt, chess piece poll,

3 years ago – David Sutherland RIP, trunk turtles, Easter walkies, chimp pics, paper toys, gCensus, Mothra Song, superhero TV themes, vet mixup, menstrual superstitions, 250 questions

4 years ago – Queequeg, Lizard (a knight anole) pictures, fixed calamity’s icon,Mycoprotein, Sammy doodle, sites for positive change, yahoo goes fromsix meg to 100meg (now at 1 gig vs gmail’s 2+gig)

5 years ago – Father’s Day, vampire game, wondering about a world free of psychoactive drugs

6 years ago – lovely long talk, South Park Scotto, Tea room, Replacement parts, star trek breast insignia

7 years ago – Predators of man, Apt seeking, Nothing sacred, sql/ado. pet quiz, pizza parlor, writing urge, Big Guy and rusty.

8 years ago – Nothing in particularGeotargetVisitor Map

9317 – Saturday

Ah… Shots and then free as a bird.

Ice cream at Solomon’s cone island – I got a soft serve mix chocolate and vanilla w/ chocolate jimmies (erm, sprinkles), and BHK got a small vanilla soft serve cone, dipped in a cherry shell. both were yummy.

Checked out bikes… it’s going to be simpler to buy one than ship mine up from Florida, I think.

Hit Aardvark and picked up a few goodies – that place is habit-forming. We headed home to play our newly aquired treats.

got Hive – pieces bigger than expected (BHK won one, I won one)
got Kahuna – We’ve been playing this on Yucata.de for ages, and discovered there was a comfy form-factor – (BHK won)
got Katan Dice – missing pad, already sent for replacement. We’ll play it next week.

Also picked up Archie in the 80’s for BHK, and the umbrella academy trade for myself.

played If Wishes were Fishes finally – cute game, maybe a little clunky, but could be better once learned or with more players. (I won)

Arkham Horror is a lot more complex out of the box – we weren’t looking to play a 2-4 hour game, so we saved that for another night. The other games could be picked up in 5 minutes played in 20 or so. Kahuna maybe twice that.

Next games for us to play from the game pile are canasta caliente, rook, killer bunnies, gloom, marriage material, and grave robbers from outer space

Went to Selby Sub Shoppe with in-laws – I got a veggie sub w/ seasoned fries, bhk got a chicken parm w/ smiley face potatoes, Larry a burger with crinkle cut fries, Chris a garlic white pizza.

Things seen on Thursday – a toy blimp at nice & fleasy antiques

0612081952.jpg

.

BHK also saw some cute stuff at the library, including a mosquito wearing an I pod.

<FW>.<FW>.


and a cootie catcher.

<FW>

She’s caught cooties! I knew it!



Sporepedia is already publicly accessible. This is the online field guide to all the creatures people have created with Spore, and the source from which the game will eventually populate the planets you play in with AI-controlled versions of the races people have made.

The incredible thing about Sporepedia is that those thumbnail images you see are the creature files. Drag that image right from your browser to the game window, and it loads that creature in all its scampering glory. The creature’s DNA is actually coded into the metadata of a 25 kilobyte PNG image. (via James )



KINDERTRAUMA is about the movies, books, and toys that scared you when you were a kid. It’s also about kids in scary movies, both as heroes and villains. And everything else that’s traumatic to a tyke!










City of Shadows, long exposure shots of crowds in St. Petersburg, Russia by Alexey Titarenko.


1 year ago – digitized comic library, better off not saving?, starbase scottobear, interactive paper

2 years ago – dr who, good lyric stuff, aim cleanup, magic ringtone audible

3 years ago – 32 questions, dead fridge, cartoons, schedules, journal liability guide,

4 years ago – OTR, Black Eye guy, showers good, legion, corps more wealthy thangov’ts, DPD, purple turtle post-its, how to make, I get groovy sandals

5 years ago – Coco’s, “If I were” meme, Danny and I get together, Bro goes to ER over hand, playstation supercomputer.

6 years ago – Newtie love, Masai Cow donation

7 years ago – lovely chats full of (LODD , evil news, eye patches, little red munkee

8 years ago – Ben Franklin, Fight Club DVD capGeotarget

9316 – Friday the 13th

Happy Birthday to Ldy, my littler big sis! she’s …what, 5 again this year?

I *still* have “froggy went a-coutrin’, he did ride” in my head.

I must’ve done something dreadfully bad to deserve this. Great… now I have pet shop boys in my head.

“What have I done? What have I done? What have I done to deserve this?”

Looking forward to a weekend without feeling too ill.

Artomatic. Book Sale. Father’s Day. Hive. Music by the beach? Gardening? Relaxing? A ride on the Trolley, maybe?

Am I forgetting something?

Maybe our Swarm of the Snakehead screener will arrive in time for a weekend viewing! (Writer Seth Hurwitz spotted my mention of it in my journal, and was kind enough to shoot us a review copy!)

BHK made a big salad from stuff at the farmers market – lots of yummy breads and other goodies, too. (Blueberry sun tea, some onion spread for the bread… it’s just all very delicious) – our neighbor went early, and brought her some corn and strawberries, too.

Tons of fireflies out tonight! That made it feel especially summery.

After supper, we watched “I now pronounce you chuck and larry” – it was what I expected, cute.



Random Newtcam / Pyecam archive shots – (They shoudl really be called Officecam and loftcam, since both boys go on both cams all the time.)

note the windows – most ~ at 10pm, but lightning kept striking nearby.

additional kitty pictures added for archival purposes. first is another leap shot.

pyecamleep

.pyecam (11.45 PM Jun 02, 2008).pyecam (06.16 PM Jun 02, 2008) pyecam (09.26 AM Jun 07, 2008).pyecam (04.44 AM Jun 03, 2008).pyecam (05.55 PM Jun 05, 2008).
pyecam (03.37 PM Jun 07, 2008).pyecam (10.36 AM Jun 06, 2008).pyecam (12.34 PM Jun 07, 2008).pyecam (10.11 PM Jun 06, 2008).pyecam (03.08 PM Jun 07, 2008)
.pyecam (04.39 AM Jun 03, 2008).pyecam (10.08 PM Jun 04, 2008) pyecam (10.19 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (10.00 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (11.05 PM Jun 04, 2008)

.pyecam (09.38 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (09.40 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (09.30 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (09.34 PM Jun 04, 2008).pyecam (09.23 PM Jun 04, 2008).
.pyecam (09.27 PM Jun 04, 2008).Fw: cute cam pics..


Mini-steamroller. We’re that much closer to having Killdozer / Soylent green havesting technology, I tells ya.


Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) spent 4 hours reading into the Congressional Record 35 articles of impeachment against George W. Bush.


1 year ago – If I could change one tihng about law books, $25 ticket, BHK went to the Newsomes, how the presidents stack up

2 years ago – draggy meeting, sofla mass transit planner, stress reliever ape, waiting, got vista beta, body heat, possum man, free comics, manatees

3 years ago – Lovies for ldy and sedef, tunnel vision, hukilau, danny, bro, speed racer for geico, cvs ood by the lb, dr who, impact font, pink floyd reuniting

4 years ago – Newt Treats, police, sleepies, DIY-WiFi, Horrid teacher name, loud car alarm, RI, Harry Lime

5 years ago – Cartoon Pope blesses ldy, white/brown eggs, fibber island lyrics

6 years ago – Intruders, Out for Thai & sushi, Rent-bump.

7 years ago – perorate, Poi Dog Pondering, Thinking of using share point for journaling, smart tags, considering a piercing / blood donation, Wolbachia / Kamikaze Sperm, evil news

8 years ago – April refusing to go to the doc, bronchitis, half-light, new palsGeotargetVisitor Map

9315 – Thursday

Was a bit sicker in the am, but was feeling better by midday. It seems that mornings are the most difficult now, post sleep and shower. One day until Friday!

BHK and I went out to Thursday’s for supper with Chris and Larry – took a walk on the boardwalk afterward. Nice night, only a couple of mosquitoes.

Today is Buddy’s Wake – Adam’s grandfather didn’t make it, sadly.



<FW>

More fruit from the blueberry plant! Had a little nibble on them with lunch today, in yogurt.

We also have eggplant blossoms, two peppers coming in nicely and tons of squash, bean and potato blossoms!



scribbls – a fun little doodle/game thing. (most faved is worth a peek) – I suspect that Kat will dig it, with that tablet!



Robert Downey Jr. says he gave up drugs
after Burger King served him “a cheeseburger so disgusting that it forced him to reassess his entire life.” The burger was so nasty that he suddenly felt like something terrible was going to happen to him, so he threw all his drugs into the ocean and has been clean ever since.



1 year ago – carcassonne, blink, masonic temple pic, moonbase blackhellkat (in comments)

2 years ago – bangs!, 70s nostalgia, net neutrality, heifer.org, zombie powered car, blondie, smothers brothers, hurricane, tv openings, far out space nuts, 3’s company, tomi’s vette, electrawoman and dynagirl

3 years ago – Going postal, free pie, Global Frequency, Who, Kim Possible, writing, JC & fish sammiches, mouse update, UN food force, Hav, Work Sanity, fridge cleanup, Chloe-pup, sweet farm girl mp3, Hunter-Newt face pics (vs. a paper strip)

4 years ago – Astronauts, Hound Dogs, doodles, $0.21, CoH rough, Camels vs Tigers, Hustler Store on its way

5 years ago – there-music, vampires, Bollywood posters, billy the kid

6 years ago – wondering about hover cars and jetpacks, mad shark, bad tattoos,rainbow in every teardrop, kid at work day, wondering about my own,Freedom force supers, misc bro & Danny get togethers

7 years ago – irenic & potatory, recovering from yuck, idea12, waving, coffee flavored cereals, evil news, html brad hoax, plucking out a worm, l-struck

8 years ago – fooling myself, Superman is JC, site poetry via cmdrtacoGeotargetVisitor Map

9312 – Monday

Called in sick to work – in a cough-funk, but still available on cell phone to meeting – I barely moved from bed… haven’t had anything solid since Sunday midday.

a/c still broken – repair crew coming on Wednesday – apparently the tornado has affected a lot of folks.

not much to say, and I need some sleep – have some garden pics, dear journal – I’ll see you tomorrow!

0608081123a.jpg

0608081123a.jpg


0608081123.jpg: garden june 7&#160;08

0608081123.jpg: garden June 7 08



A little flooded out, but it’s still coming along.



quote of the day: (via shoebox)

“If I had to lose one of my senses, I’d want it to be my sense of impending doom.”
-Russ



1 year ago – full Saturday of book / yard sales – fab brew not so fab, dc divas, random survey

2 years ago – cut my foot, Danny wants to go to Vegas, re: tv hospitals and my dad, rubber soul mp3, dr smith, quizzles

3 years ago – bro bailout, monkeys and popsicles, demolition, Shatner Se7en, zombies from chaplain, lj friends quiz, hubbub

4 years ago – Rydia.net, bills, walk piccies, park urge, chimps, #478

5 years ago – D and depression, Dale moves, addictive cheese, kraft pack, Newt on a ledge

6 years ago – picked up freedom force, shopped for my current bike

7 years ago – sunset quiz, Seuss on the brain, the never fulfilled Stacy cpu, wild child.

8 years ago – Found Heather’s other journal, Touch, contemplating the transient nature of computer palsGeotarget

9310 – Saturday

Bugah’s baseball game is today – didn’t drive out to VA to see him – both BHK and I love that kid to death, but we’re both too sick to go up there and spread our germs to the little ones – that said, we did go to the doc for a shot.

Got shots, we played Yahtzee on the pda three times while I waited for clearance to leave, bhk does better than me in general, but I got her 2/3 games this time.

Hit the yard sale in front of the firehouse on the way home – BHK got a pair of books, something by Moning [edit – it was Darkfever ] (Highlander something) and The 13th Tale.

After a bit of rest, we decided to head to Aardvark, and picked up Arkham Horror, Grave Robbers From Outer Space and Marriage Material (as well as vol 2 of Irredeemable Ant-man, and Vol 2 of New Frontier.)

I started feeling much more poorly Saturday night – BHK is sick, and I have a severe cough, a fluid-filled chest, muscle aches, and back pain.

We started to do a puzzle, but I couldn’t even stay seated at the table…. so I flopped in front fo the TV and half-watched until we tucked in, at about 9 pm.

On a lighter note – we got our first nibs and nabs from the garden!

Blueberry … first eats produced this season by our plants… picture taken with cell phone.

0606080643.jpg - just in time to be part of breakfast


Who was part of breakfast that day… but his brothers and sisters later became part of this –

0606082112a.jpg


Blueberry Pie! BHK’s first, and it was delicious!



1 year ago – garden pepper pic

2 years ago – LOTR online beta, valleyschwag, Newt defends me during a pirate game, yawny-poll, mermaids- traditional and feegee, monkey chow diaries, abc mp3, stealth-wing parachute, router hack, bro case update, of mice & men, freaturing superman and bizarro

3 years ago – teensy work text, human hamster balls, google-found webcams, old gi joe comics, jogging for jesus, Florida judges are tossing out DUI cases when defendants ask to see the source code for the breathalysers that busted them, Ex-deputy gets life for molesting boys, bro picked up for trespassing

4 years ago – zombie quiz, metamorpho with GP, Square-boy, Walken sings, Chainsaw owies, ST emulator, Bulldozer rampage, I go to a new host.

5 years ago – bro, pub-crawling with Danny, flowerpop clones my interests and flies off.

6 years ago – hero costume poll, sogyo poetry, fumigation finished, scopes sea monkey trial

7 years ago – baby helmet, deep sleep, grogginess, wag, folks sick all over LJ, shoe size poll, adaptation of science, spark words.

8 years ago – My life unapproved by the Comic’s Code Authority
Geotarget


9308 – Friday –

I haven’t been recalling my dreams lately. Less fitful sleep, but I wake up with a cough and some nausea most mornings. BHK made some yummy soup last night, but I wasn’t up to much eating for one reason or another. Maybe I’m getting a little cold or something?

Watched the last two episodes of house… the finale was pretty sad stuff… but I dn’t know how much I go in for the pseudo-surreal hypnoscapes and memory retrieval elements… and the fact that nobody checked out the jane doe was a pretty weak plot point, given the other in-depth review of the case.

Put an order in for Hive and the Mosquito expansion at Aardvark – it should be in by June 12 (a little under a week)! A little expensive, but the bakelite pieces will endure a long time.

Maybe I’ll make some out of glow in the dark fimo… or do variant pieces with other bugs. How would a ladybug move… or what might a lightning bug be able to do to switch up the game?

I already fear BHK will toast me at the game… she’s got a good mind for some of these logic puzzle hex territory things.. like hazienda.

Playing it online is fun, but I love the feedback of face to face and handling the game pieces. Plus, if the power goes out, you’re still set. (With the exception of pente and go I prefer most all games offline.) I first coded a version of pente for my good ol’ atari ST back in the day… the AI was weak, but not terrible. I think that I’ve learned a few more strategies since then, but there is no lack of humans to play with… and there are better AIs out there, too.



These free paper foldables are pretty keen. The cat in the vet collar is particularly inspired.



Bambi II: Oh yes… there will be blood. (thank [info]theweaselking)





L. Ron Hubbard’s 5 Most Impressive Lies (Besides Scientology)



1 year ago – 150 questions meme


2 years ago – tuesday like buddy holly, poetry, long phone talk, csi project, under cold blue stars, 3 girl rhumba,


3 years ago – Org of American States, South America, Local Journals, burlesque, rain to sun, icons, journey to the center of the earth, I don’t much like Cap’n Jack, PO CHU-I, florida slave labor, rose garden, the Way-Outs, Spanish mixup at work.

4 years ago – D-Day / Normandy, Cold Reading, plague cookies, shockwave, meme, chill out, first appearance of [info]eryx_uk in my comments.

5 years ago – Hobbit Pub w/danny pics, DARPA

6 years ago – Troublesome evacuation issues for fumigation

7 years ago – evil news, laconic, hobbit names, aimbot, hungry, lj DDos, glow text abuse, misc wacky html, Scotto quirk, COPS, long chat with CEJ, Rudy-fibber, poo-health chart.

8 years ago – no-thangGeotarget