Tag Archives: quiz-meme

8986- sun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finest Finery

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

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

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

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

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

snagged from all over-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is no 29, either.

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

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

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

33 disappeared, too!

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

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

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

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

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

39 went away as well

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

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

Dude, no 42 either

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

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

45. Who was the last person you called?
Larry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8978 – mon

Some more Enchanted forest pics –

DSCF0024
tiny purple boot in distance
showandflower
entrance to the forest
DSCF0044
Alt entrance, with petco
DSCF0043
Follow the king to FUN! Or Groceries… or pet supplies. He’s got a cool halo.
DSCF0025
0902071708b.jpg
0902071711.jpg

no doubt some more choice ones were available beyond the locked gate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

14780 unique people have taken this test.

Based on these unique user’s answers…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 years ago – evac to Danny’s

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

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

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

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

8967 – sat – BHK b’day!

A brief summary: BHK’s Birthday!

cake
birthday

I managed to butter her nose by sneaking caches of a dollop in the nightstand (on a plate), and then by instilling enough paranoia in her to make looking for it in there ridiculous. A year ago today, I proposed to her – more a gift to myself, or us both. I’m happy that she said yes.

We visited the bayfest from about 11:30 to 1:30… got home before we both spontaneously combusted. We quite enjoyed the fest, and it’s sort of a shame that it’ll be the last one. (Or at least, there are no plans for more in the immediate future, anyhow.)

Items consumed:

  • Funnel Cake.
  • Kettle Corn
  • Egg Rolls
  • Orangeade
  • Water, lots of Water.

Items of note – toothless man gumming a hot dog and beer

BHK bought me a classic 60’s style Spider-man lunch box for 50¢ – good find.

Very cute but brief parade of:

  • a fire truck
  • a local celebrity I don’t know
  • 7 men in fuzzy admiral’s hats
  • several little girls with pom-poms
  • several kids in gi uniforms, swinging shiny golden nun-chucks
  • a stilt-walker in a Frankenstein costume about 10 feet tall.

On the way home we stopped in at a storefront spa that recently surfaced – it might be a place for BHK to visit to redeem her birthday “beauty coupon” I put a hand made thing in there for whatever she wants to do at Scalped, but it’s totally transferable.

After we recovered from the heat (drank a lot of cold drinks once inside, we realized that there were no soft pretzels at the fair, but we did have some in the freezer, so we continued the fair-food experience in the comfort of our air conditioned living room by consuming pretzels and remaining kettle corn while watching Ace of Cakes… we didn’t have any energy to do much more than that, despite the highly event-filled weekend here. Due to the heat, we skipped the local B.I.G. book sale at the tobacco warehouse, the opening of the Ren-fest (not a problem, it runs for 9 weekends!), and totally forgot about the Greek fest until late in the evening. It was simply too effin’ hot.

Once the sun turned the heat back a notch, we headed over to the in-laws for Chinese Food, a little present-opening and viewing of one of BHK’s presents… Grease and Grease 2… the heat turned into storms, so we had to shut off the tube and a/c for a bit at their house, but aside from that, it was a pleasant evening… Louise made it over, too!

We headed back right before the end of Grease two – BHK and I were both tuckered out, and were fairly sleeping through the video.

Tomorrow, we have a birthday party at Tina’s place!

tarot test

8966 – Friday

A year ago today, I landed in Maryland. Life’s been pretty damn good ever since.

A lot of groundbreaking stuff has happened in the year between then and now.. most of it documented here, some not so much, as I’ve been really spending a lot of time enjoying life more than documenting it.

I’m married, living in a new state, a new job, a new everything, really…. I really officially started on that path a year ago. It’s been a mighty fine journey so far… I can hardly wait for the years ahead.

Moment of Lyric – Jason Falkner “This Will Be Our Year” (Zombies cover)

The warmth of your love
is like the warmth of the sun
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

don’t let go of my hand
now darkness has gone
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

and I won’t forget
the way you held me up when I was down
and I won’t forget the way you said,
“Darling I love you”
You gave me faith to go on

Now we’re there and we’ve only just begun
This will be our year
took a long time to come

The warmth of your smile
smile for me, little one
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

You don’t have to worry
all your worried days are gone
this will be our year
took a long time to come

and I won’t forget
the way you held me up when I was down
and I won’t forget the way you said,
“Darling I love you”
You gave me faith to go on

Now we’re there and we’ve only just begun
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

Yeah we only just begun
yeah this will be our year
took a long time to come


Note to self- check out some local gaming – 8/31-9/3 – http://barkingmad.org/Laurel’s about an hour’s drive… I think that perhaps it’s time to start our own gaming warren in North Beach. Granny at Yucata suggested as much last night. Alternately, the Games Club of Maryland looks promising. (Annapolis meets every other Saturday from 6-11pm, for example.)


via ectomo

I’m a French Toast man myself, but this week’s Photoshop Phriday theme is utter genius: Grindhouse Breakfast Cereals. I would start buying breakfast cereal if the boxes looked like this. My friend Stacey, an immortal bride of Count Chocula, is sure to be disappointed when she clicks the link though.

Grindhouse Breakfast Cereals @ Something Awful


Friday 5:

1. At the end of today, do you think you’ll feel spent or refreshed?
Probably pretty spent! Work, out with BHK, Tina and the In-laws at cheeburger^2 for dinner, some light shopping, and I’m wiped!

2. Do you like back rubs?
Who the devil doesn’t like a back rub?

3. When did you last mislead someone?
I’m not sure… probably tricking BHK about some aspect of her Birthday party tomorrow.

4. What color are your eyes?
Blue.

5. Friday fill-in:
Lastly, let me know how I’m doing, right or wrong.


1 year ago – points north, liberty city, psp ebooks, palm entries begin for a bit

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

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

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

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

6 years ago – yellow bellies

7 years ago – questions Geotarget

8948 – Saturday

Yesterday, I forgot to mention that I received Martian coasters, filler colors of icehouse stashes, and other ordered loot. I’m looking forward to playing them with BHK at our earliest convenience.

Awoke early – about 6:45 on a Saturday. EM was up at about 6:30, I think.

Read in bed:

  • Oliviaclassic. Olivia would be Eloise, if Eloise were a pig. She is good at singing 40 very loud songs and is very good at wearing people out. And scaring the living daylights out of her little brother, Ian, particularly when he copies her every move. She is also quite skilled at reproducing Jackson Pollock’s “Autumn Rhythm #30” on the walls at home. When her mother tucks her in at night and says, “You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway,” Olivia precociously pronounces, “I love you anyway too.”
  • Ain’t gonna Paint No more – pretty spiffy, good rhythm, color and song.
  • 93 in my family Now *that*’s a fun kids book. Reads well, stuff to look at on every page, terribly cute, and gives a message that’s neat, too. Plus, a carsick hamster named Ed. We need more like this one.
  • Where Have The Unicorns Gone? – Lovely Art, poorly written – it just doesn’t flow.

BHK was tuckered out, and fell back asleep about midway through Olivia, so Em and I got up after reading and made necklaces with wooden beads and string from Em’s kit – very pretty stuff.

Played some simple stacking and lining up games with dominoes and red & blue icehouse pyramids with Em while BHK slept – may have developed the seed of a new game! Stacking Pyramids on top of a domino board to collect points. Needs a little work, but if I can teach the basics to a 4-year-old and it’s challenging to me, there could be a fun concept waiting to burst out.

Once BHK woke up, we all got cleaned up and headed out to take care of TM’s kitties (see picture in yesterday’s post ).

After many kitty snuggles, we all went to the marine museum to see the otters and the stingrays – it was also a Cradle of the Invasion day – folks dressed in garb of 1812, WWII, and modern style, showing how Marines in wartime lived and worked in the area. pretty neat. Apparently, in the 30s-40s, Tropical chocolate was mixed with paraffin wax so it wouldn’t melt… the K rations had basically a chocolate candle to eat along with government supplied cigarettes. Lots of items about amphibious warfare that didn’t interest Em too much, but I’d like to go back next time and spend a little while talking to the folks and getting some perspectives on things. My Grandfather on my mom’s side was a Marine during WWII, and he never really talked too much about it, short of taking me to the VFW and hanging out with other vets. (That’s where I got my first Shirley Temple.)

[edit – I forgot that we went to the amish market, and saw ducks and geese and chickens and goats and puppies and horses, and amish folks, and bought gingerbread and blueberry jam, and lemon meringue pie for Larry, and shoo-fly pie for us, and peppers to stuff with yum! – Sakes, we were busy]

Getting close to Lunch, so we headed off to Burt’s [Edit – dang, why do I always call it Fred’s?] for veggie burgers (em got popcorn shrimp) – good stuff, but I suspect the kids meal had more food than our veggie burger platter! We got puzzle place mats and crayons so we could color while we waited for our food.

Went to Aardvarks to pick up Early American Chrononauts (and ice cream – Play-doh is still my favorite… vanilla ice cream dyed bright yellow with red and blue chunks of sugar cookie dough mixed in. ) I suspect that I like Early American more than standard Chrononauts.

Chris and Larry’s for Dinner – Hot Dogs on the Grill, beans, slaw, and all sorts of yum. BHK had to duck out and tend to Tina’s Kitties again while Chris, Larry, Em and I hung out and chitty-chatted. Emily was very well behaved, and barely persnickety or bossy at all. She played very nicely with Tigger for hours.

Quote of the night was by Em – “I would never hurt beautiful Uncle Scott!”

Full and happy we all came home and crashed out.


Before I bail: a meme from Tarpo –

THE RULES:

1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random.
Whatever you like.

2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.

3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.

4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.

5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.

Mine were –

1) Where did you meet your girl? Livejournal, actually – Sixish years ago, at least, when I was dating someone else. I think that I traded up nicely.

2) Is Newt still a vicious man-eater? He can be pretty aggressive to some folks, and a love to others. He hasn’t seen any Newfs lately, but he still attacks most smokers with great vigor.

3) Recommend 3 fairly cheap 2 player, easy to learn, fun games that are outside the normal Milton Bradley/Hasbro line. Well, you already know about Fluxx and Carcassone, so I’ll toss out Treehouse at about $10, you can’t go too far wrong (see links above) (which is a gateway drug to other fun games, too) and Chrononauts, also linked above, a little bit more pricey at $20, (with both games the more the merrier, but two can play handily.)

4) Without sounding offensive and I hope you don’t take this in the wrong way at all.. Has anyone ever mentioned that there is more than a slight resemblance between my Ex Wife and your Current Wife? Short of this question, nobody has… From what I can recall of her face, I don’t really see the resemblance! Eyes, nose, facial shape, hair and skin all seem pretty different to me!

5) Suggest something for a future DoWhatIDo
How about a picture of a favorite item, like a toy or book?


1 year ago – thread tracking, mallah/brain, sistine ceiling full view, 330 mpg car under $20k, hardest geometry problem in the world,

2 years ago – Delirium box, laundry good deed, matches, chain reaction game, Friday 5, autostitch pic, 200 e Broward pic

3 years ago – hr tag abandonment,Doug / tony memory trick, factoids about me, elevator breaks

4 years ago – Neverwhere, childhood memories circa ’74-75ish – lunch and Tonka toys,linked to hulk’s blog, bro stuff, Elvis & his prosthetic limb factory

5 years ago – Spanish TV, broken links, new he-man cartoon, mark quits FMM before he’s caught stealing, puppy pictures and palm doodles.

6 years ago – Soylent Green Tea Ice Cream at the Frieze in Miami, after seeing Kiss of the Dragon with my bro, cavort, first exp w/ Samurai Jack, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

7 years ago – saw the hollow man, and played Everway, day before sleep study Geotarget

8911 – Wednesday the 11th.

Current hot brain temp – 107.17 “on fire” stats out of 0-120

logic – 120
math – 120
memory – 91.49
language – 120
concentration – 84.39

Concentration and Memory. A pair of enemies I’ve had to combat more than a few times in my life.

I’ve sometimes wondered if DMAE would help with those weaker areas of my brain… but I don’t think I want the trade off. I do feel that both memory and concentration can be worked and built up over time… part of the reason I’m enjoying hot brain is some possible side effect of improved function in that area.

I played with mercury when I was in high school, and sometimes wonder if it cost me some IQ points. What about drinking? That kills brain cells. A few fights where I had a little jarring head trauma. What if instead of just being pretty dang smart, that I were brilliant?

I’d probably be less sympathetic, more evil, and give in to temptation to herd pathetic sheeple, bend them to my will and then just laugh, laugh, laugh would be too great.

Um, did I just write that?

Oops.

Part of the reason I’m better at playing it by ear, I guess.. .a reflex of having to dance around memory?

Cyn pointed me in the direction of Yelp! – I’ve already added two reviews.. one for someplace I love to eat… the other place, not so much.

Doodle of the moment – Sailboat blur
sunset doodle

Recent Newt Pic. Slacking while I’m at work, I see.

newtcam-071107

A moment before the radiation got us all.

kitty-tower1


Slurpee Day 2007
– Just a reminder to all: July 11th is once again Slurpee day – a wonderful day to celebrate the creation of the Slurpee. This year, as in the years before, 7-Eleven stores will be handing out free 7.11oz Slurpees from 7am until 11pm (or until supplies last). Or are they free Squishies, with the Simpsons Promotion?

Sicko actually has the undivided attention of Blue Cross, Blue Shield. Cool. It also offended Hillary. She would have made more points staying put and facing the music. My big problem with Sicko was that I thought it was more “preaching to the choir”. If someone’s actually paying attention, so much the better. Additionally, Bush says the sorry state of health care is all the American people’s fault.

Still unsure if I’m going to Salem with BHK for the weekend. I’ll be mostly useless there for whatever projects they have in mind, but I can bring the laptop and work on whatever else in the meantime, if I can get online. Maybe take in a little walk or two when the sun goes down and the lightning bugs are will-o-wisps.

Reading old travel books or novels set in faraway places, spinning globes, unfolding maps, playing world music, eating in ethnic restaurants, meeting friends in cafes whose walls hold the soul-talk of decades- all these things are part of never-ending travel practice, not unlike doing scales on a piano, shooting free throws, or meditating. They are exercises that help lure the longing out of the soul and honor the brooding-over of unhatched ideas for journeys.

But the oldest practice is still the best. Take your soul for a stroll. Long walks, short walks, morning walks, evening walks- whatever form or length it takes. Walking is the best way to get out of your head. Recall the invocation of the philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, who said, “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts.” As if in his footsteps, Friedrich Nietzsche also remarked, “Never trust a thought that didn’t come by walking.”

The Art Of Pilgrimage by Phil Cosineau. ISBN 1-56731-351-5 Published in 1998 by MJF Books. The quote comes from page 25.

My Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom is:
Hermione goes on a hot date with Draco Malfoy in the dining room, with the candlestick
Get your Harry Potter Spoiler of Doom

Hm. That sounds rather naughty.

My Fortune Cookie told me:
You will pay for your sins. If you have already paid, please disregard this message.
Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

1 year ago – he’s a whore, key west stuff, travel photos (mostly graffiti), barrel of monkeys,

2 years ago – Magda time, ff flick reviews in, supernatural crime, free Slurpee, angels with attitude *shudder*, Wilde on the red rose, insanity, bottles on string, math symbol uses, had to htaccess, pagenation, Melissa Gilbert, 911 google, Florida mafia

3 years ago – Newt says Mao, travel pondering, manatee, Dan alters color scheme, good eats

4 years ago – Zwan, I snuff griefer #5, movies, Elvis tooth, bad baby names, net radio, flipped off by the universe

5 years ago – reflecting on old work, log issues, Newt attack, recalling palm animations

6 years ago – fetial, solecism, pockets poll, purse poll, evil news, pie poll, tuck-ins

7 years ago – words, bro moving to town Geotarget

8910 – Tuesday –

The Blogalyser reveals…

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 15.
This suggests that your writing style is conventional

(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).
Your blog has 38 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by verbosity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male malefemale female
self oneselfgroupworld world
past pastpresentfuture future


Your text shows characteristics which are 56% male and 44% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then the world in general and finally your social circle. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.

Find out what your blogging style is like!

First time using mass transit to get *to* work. Not bad, but it seems harder to arrive than it is to depart, contrary to the toilet roll hypothesis. Rode in to the station with mom-in-law, and aside from the lack of knee room in some of the seats, I’ve got no gripes. It means getting up a little bit earlier, but I think that this will save us a ton of wear on the love cube and even more fuel. Total round-trip cost for a day is under $10. (just). Of course, my trip home threatened to rain on me at the bus stop – only one place I have to wait under cover is right as I leave the office. I think that if I leave about 10 minutes earlier, I can get into the office about 30 minutes quicker. We’ll see.

0710072142.jpg

BHK made Louise an awesome birthday cake… 4 layers! (see above – Neopolitain style, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – with a milk chocolate frosting.) also barely-seen are some cupcakes spelling out her name, too. (I took the S cupcake to work today. 🙂 ) The cake is more of a silo than a disc, but that’s aok with me. Initially, it was to be a ckae for both Doug and Louise, but Doug broke it off with TM – moved out of the townhouse, and gathered up his belongings. I hope it’s what is best for the both of ’em… they’re both pretty nice folks from what I’ve seen. I imagine he’s back on the base now, and will be going back overseas shortly. Kind of a bummer way to enjoy leave. Louise, however made out like a bandit. We got her a nice purse, TM got her some really pretty earrings, and the inlaws hooked her up with outback gift certs. I’m not sure what will become of Doug’s presents… I imagine they’ll be recycled or reprocessed. (I suspect father-in-law is going to get a Bass Pro shops gift card fairly soon for his B-day in August, and Adam may reap the TM rewards.)

via boingboing – The OpenMoko is a $300, Linux-based open smartphone. Unlike the iPhone, it doesn’t come locked to any provider (and certainly not to the crooks at AT&T), it doesn’t come with DRM, and it allows you to install any third party app you like, even if Steve Jobs worries that it might spoil your experience. It’s still in “developer preview,” but this might just be my next phone. The current version of the Neo1973 has built-in GPS too, and the mass-market unit that will ship in October will have wifi and accelerated graphics.

The Neo 1973 boasts the following hardware specifications

* 2.8″ VGA TFT color display
* Touchscreen, usable with stylus or fingers
* 266MHz Samsung System on a Chip (SOC)
* USB 1.1, switchable between Client and Host (unpowered)
* Integrated AGPS
* 2.5G GSM – quad band, voice, CSD, GPRS
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Micro SD slot
* High Quality audio codec

In the year 2000… (probably my favorite Conan O’Brian skit music) : Predictions of the Year 2000 – from The Ladies Home Journal of December 1900

1 year ago – wiggle chicken / keys trip / ripley’s pix, one night in bangkok, scotto-dungeon game

2 years ago – diggers, sky high/ff, career personality, dr zaius, ugly dog, choosing wrong, 12.5% inked, bike thief, presidential medical histories, people like slinkies

3 years ago – thermo-issues, helping cockeyed find spammers

4 years ago – bro, health, monkey, sun-sentinel cam, clown lovin’.

5 years ago – hard rain, dream thoughts, tests, IM spam

6 years ago – evil news, louche, fill in the blank, gush, insane beautiful people journal nonsense (he’s now suspended)

7 years ago – Mr. Rogers, April hassles, H is pregnant with B’s kid, inevitable slippery, mootpoint adds me to his reading list Geotarget

8909 – Monday the 9th

High: 98°F Real Feel®: 101°F – Partly sunny, very hot and humid

Phew. Heat. Sun hot heat. Hot sun hot heat hot heat hot. Last night, I fretted a bit, because I thought the thermostat was going. fortunately, it kicked in, but for how long, nobody knows.

Triple digits is one too many. I’m designed for cooler climes. How many iced coffees is too many iced coffees? I had three today, and right about 5:30, I was cracked out. (My standard coffee of choice is one cup hazelnut coffee and one cup of hot cocoa, mix and add ice. no additional sugar or milk needed… mocha-liscious)

Steve introduced me to cacls. Why did I not know about this before? That’s just too dang handy. I wonder if Novell has an equivalent?

current music – Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! … Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput

Plans to see Thomas Dolby and / or Johnathan Coulton at the Ram’s Head in the near future, possibly for BHK’s birthday?

Here are my AD&D stats.

str: 16
int:17
wis:15
dex:10
con:9
cha:15

Oh, for the days when my CON was above a 13.

To complete my nerd hat-trick, I want to see the Transformers movie on an IMAX screen. Sadly, it seems the local Smithsonian IMAX theaters aren’t doing it. The Baltimore Science Center is, but that’s a bit of a haul.

Stolen wholesale from Matt (his summer jukebox is fantastic, too, by the way)- The mafia wants your ass, so you’ve gotta hide out in a shady hotel on the wrong side of the tracks for the next two nights. You’ve got a backpack. What’s inside? This should cover your food, drink, entertainment and protection. (feel free to answer in the comments) Alternately, if you think that the mafia is imaginary, pretend there are Zombies outside instead – you expect the infection to go dormant / be rescued in 2 days.

Took the train home – not too bad! c7 bus to greenbelt, get off at Suitland, and then rode with bhk home. (I can take the Suitland bus to about 6 blocks from home too, if need be.)

0709071722.jpg
view of my office from the first bus stop.

dc metro in motion
then the metro.
(taken on another walkabout, but the scenery is the same)

DSCN5372
and then the front porch… looking up. home!


1 year ago – phone post from keys… riding the bus is about all I did that day.

2 years ago – power outage, cool magicians, my eyes are blue, klaxons, past life/ice cream/coffee, stem cell steaks

3 years ago – pizza with dan, adp screws up, paid users get lj-priority, making fiends, Fiona apple mp3, Miami Travel Piccies, condo

4 years ago – trolls, naughty hulk, wonder woman movie

5 years ago – Wave of Husband killings, apple nipple monkey, star trek chairs auctioned, Ashcroft afraid of kitties

6 years ago – brackish , some broken links, dancing poll, tried mcD’s yogurt &fruit, Le Petomane, band name poll, bid farewell to some junk

7 years ago – angry beavers, scary movie, don’t look behind you Geotarget

8904 – cinco de julio!

Free Online Dating

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

  • sex (2x)
  • poop (1x)


At last, a memory erasing drug that doesn’t have a proof rating.

There’s a page over at MySpace that features what they’re cloyingly calling “minisodes,” which are episodes of television shows edited down to six to eight minutes. Having watched an episode of The Facts of Life and one of Silver Spoons, I really wonder what they did with the other eighteen minutes. (via lore )

Was going to the Kwik-E-Mart after work, see also , but instead got a fresh haircut (as did BHK) at Scalped.(we love Margaret and Ami)  Perhaps tomorrow?

Thinking about getting into letter-boxing in addition to geocaching… it seems more quaint and less commercial than what geocaching has become. BHK is more about the hikes than the technology, and I think we both would enjoy just getting out and wandering around a bit.

The Hippie Trail LbNA #: 26192

Placement date: Oct 8 2006
State: Maryland
County: Calvert
Nearest city: Huntingtown
Number of boxes: 2

Clues

King’s Landing Park, King’s Landing Road (off Huntingtown Rd).
Enter King’s Landing Park, and go the parking by the fence on the far side of the pool. Across the fence you can see the sign that says “Explore your Chesapeake”. Go to the path to the right of the sign, and take the right fork to the straight path. Almost immediately on the right, you’ll see a little sign by the woods that says “Trail” and a large sign with a roof that talks about Orienteering. Veer off the path and enter the woods by the Trail sign. You might want to grab a walking stick for the Flower Box.

Smiley Box- THIS HAS BEEN MOVED
At the start of the first board walk, look to your right. 24 paces away will be a fallen tree with its roots sticking up in the air. Right underneath the roots is the Smiley Box.

Flower Power Box
Continue to follow the path towards the wetlands. Where the path splits left towards the water and a sign that says “A Marsh for All Seasons” go right, away from the water. About 25 paces, look on the left and see 3 very large trees that grew out of one bottom, immediately off the path. Walk up the hill behind it, and see another smaller light colored tree that is about 4 paces behind it, then a large tree about 5 paces behind it at the top of the hill. Flower Power is hidden in the tree at the bottom back side under leaves in a notch in the tree.
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8878 – taxes and memes and comics, oh my!

Google may digitize Michigan State University’s Comics and Pulp Library. (via beaucoup kevin )

With more than 150,000 items, the Russel B. Nye Popular Culture Collection is a major scholarly resource for the study of popular culture from the 19th century to the present. The initial emphasis was on American popular culture, but materials from other countries are now collected as well. While not the largest of its kind in the nation, MSU’s popular culture collection is one of the most usable because of its early adoption of coherent planning that focuses efforts on a limited number of areas. Prominent in those plans are comic art; popular fiction including dime novels, story magazines, pulps, juvenile series books, detective fiction, mystery fiction, science fiction, western fiction and women’s/romance fiction; popular information materials including almanacs and etiquette manuals; and print materials relating to the popular performing arts. Collection parameters evolve to follow trends in popular fiction, recently expanding to include gay and lesbian pulp fiction. Noteworthy elements of the collection include a nearly complete set of Deadwood Dick dime novels and substantial numbers of Tom Swift and Horatio Alger books. In addition, the Comic Art Collection is a research collection of more than 200,000 pieces serving national and international scholars. The strengths of the comic art collection are U.S. comic books, European comic books, U.S. newspaper strips and works on the history and criticism of comics. Less extensive collections are maintained for African, Asian and Latin American comics; fotonovelas; animation; cartooning; Big Little Books; and comics tie-ins. Materials held include the Yellow Kid beginning in 1895 and the Famous Funnies No. l comic book from 1934. The emphasis is on graphic storytelling in the newspaper comics or newsstand comic book tradition to present a complete picture of what American comics’ readership has seen, especially since the middle of the 20th century.


Why don’t poor people save more money? Because they’re better off not to! At least according to a new study from the National Center for Policy Analysis. The LA Times reports :

Low-income households face “astronomical” penalties for saving, according to the report by the National Center for Policy Analysis. For example, each $1 saved by a single mother earning $15,000 a year could cost her $2.60 in higher taxes and lost government benefits.


I escaped from Starbase Scottobear!

I killed Ambassador Jennylee, Ldy the Dalek, Christin the space pirate, Applelard the awful green thing, Uberbastard the medibot, Inkygypsy the tribble, Suigeneris 56 the awful green thing, Za Pick the psychic agent, Za Distro the tribble, Za Links the cargobot, Hulk Smashy the cargobot and Ambassador Kevin Church.
I salvaged an Evandorkinian artefact, an Acoolsecretaryian artefact, the Log of the USS Creepcake, an FUZZYBUMBLEBEE-160 phaser, an ILLUMINATION-30 plasma rifle, a HERBS-8800 supercomputer, Myid8myego’s commbadge, an MNEWSOM-70 phaser, an FALLENTOAD-60 phaser, an Edbookian deathblade, a Chandraian raygun, a Sedefendendo screwdriver, an Intrepidite screwdriver, a PARKS-9200 supercomputer, Kat78731’s commbadge, the Log of the USS Za Moon, the Log of the USS Fivefootmayhem, a fantasygoatlithium crystal, the Log of the USS Sebab and 331 galacticredits.

Score: 1071

Explore Starbase Scottobear and try to beat this score,
or enter your username to generate and explore your own space adventure…


I’m kind of digging this interactive paper concept.GeotargetVisitor Map

8872 pretty full saturday

Woke up bright and early to hit the book sale, but we were waylaid enroute by 2 yard sales – one benefitting local kids charities, and one for the cancer cure walk for life.

At the first yard sale, We obtained a copy of pride and predudice on dvd for $1, and about seven ps2 games (Pac-Man fever is the only one played thus far, but it’s my sort of thing… a bunch of cute mini-games played on a monopoly-style board) for a buck a throw as well. Also obtained were bake sale choco-chip cookies, and an old star trek game for the pc.

2nd yard sale – got still-shrinkwrapped copies of rook, snap, and a wooden gameboard for 7 in one (actually 6-in-one, as there are no chess pieces) – Checkers, Chinese Checkers, solitaire pegs, mancala, backgammon, tic-tac-toe. again for a buck apiece. Bhk got a complete works of EAPoe for a buck, too.

3rd yard Sale – I score a ti-85 calculator, bhk gets some sharp nail polish

Book sale, we snag a big ol bag of stuff, including vegetarian cookbooks, some jim bucher / ray bradbury stuff, and some still-usable technology sourcebooks for about $25. That’s less than $0.35 a lb, give or take.

We swung by Fabulous brew for medocre coffee and slow service, but the pancakes and home fries were yummy. BHK’s Bagel looked pretty tough… it was gnawed rather than chewed by her.

Returned home to dust our loot and peruse more closely – Found out that we were going to miss jimmy’s B-day and Grad party due to a schedule conflict. I feel guilty about that – I hope that we can take him out to lunch and goof with him sometime soon to make up for it. Fobbed off those test doritos on Adam – made with lard, so I don’t want ’em. I suspect the secret flavor is “double cheeseburger” or the like.

Later, we went to see the DC Divas women’s football team crush Boston Rampage – 70 to zero. Had fun shooting the Breeze with TM and her crew. Pictures on flickr, will add to here later. Highlights include cheese thrown into the audience during the 3rd quarter.

yet another random survey Continue reading 8872 pretty full saturday

8869 – that 150 question wanna do / been done meme thing.

via eryx_uk – 


Here’s how you work it. Copy it without the bold and italics. Bold everything that you’ve done. Italic the stuff that you want to do.

 

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

2. Swam with dolphins

3. Climbed a mountain (Well, walked up the side)

4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive.

5. Been inside the Great Pyramid

6. Held a tarantula

7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

8. Said “I love you” and meant it

9. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (I’d prefer a zeppelin or blimp, though)

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced

42. Had an amazing friend

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched wild whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow.

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Posed nude in front of strangers

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theater

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo (maybe)

81. Rafted the Snake River

82. Been on television news programs as an expert

83. Got flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)

89. Had a one-night stand

90. Gone to Thailand

91. Bought a house

92. Been in a combat zone

93. Buried one/both of your parents

94. Been on a cruise ship

95. Spoken more than one language fluently

96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show

97. Raised children (well, helped extensively)

98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (well, that’s where my wife was!)

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking

103. Had plastic surgery (lip repaired)

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Petted a stingray

110. Broken someone’s heart

111. Ridden a bike

112. Won money on a T.V. game show

113 Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Petted a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life

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