Free Cat Update

I went to the Police station and checked out a live trap.

It's set.... with tuna.

Here kitty... kitty... kitty....

Blogging and Soap Scum

The soap scum in our shower seems to build up really fast, and I haven't found an easy way to clean it yet. Today I thought I would look for ideas on the net so I googled soap scum. The third website (of 149,000) is a blog entry at Amidst a Tangled Web from September 6, 2002. As of right now, there are 117 comments on this post; the most recent was just about 5 hours ago. I'm left with a lot of interesting ideas of things to try, but also with the wonderment of seemingly neverending comments. I suppose as long as there are people googling soap scum there will be people commenting on his post. It left me thinking of the art of blogging. I was intrigued by the longetivity of his soap scum post, so I thought I would check out the home page. I was instantly entertained. Pac Man was cool. The sounds were right on. My favorite was the link to the webpage that scrolls what other people happen to be searching for at the moment. From "benchmark in intangibles" (whatever that means) to poa grass. I didn't see soap scum on the list, but I suppose if I watch long enough I will. Thanks for the entertainment, Dan. I really needed it today. Now if only I liked cleaning soap scum as much as I do researching it.

(Feel free to comment with any helpful hints here, too!)

Uncle Evan

Our trip to see Uncle Evan went well, considering. The girls were good the first two hours in the car, and then we picked up Mom, and they were very good. They don't see Mom very often -- she lives across the country in North Carolina -- but they adore her and she kept them entertained. When we got there I got to see several relatives that I haven't seen since Grandma's funeral over 15 years ago. It was wonderful to see everybody again. Uncle Evan had a terrible night the night before, and he had finally gotten to sleep right before we got there, so we were there several hours before we got to see him. When we did see him it was just for maybe two or three minutes before he got tired and needed more rest. It was still worth the trip. It meant a lot to Aunt Fran to have so many of us come. We were there from Iowa City, Des Moines, Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Vermont.

It's amazing how much life can change so quickly. His stomach began bothering him in January. The doctor tried the common treatments first and after nothing helped they scoped him earlier this month. They found a big tumor in his stomach and did a CAT scan. The CAT scan showed the cancer had spread to his abdominal cavity, vertabrae and pelvis. There is nothing they can do but try to keep him comfortable. Unfortunately some of the pain meds he has gotten have had bad digestive side effects. They are working hard to find the right combination of drugs to keep him comfortable without side effects, and without completly sedating him.

He seems to be at peace with God, and is mostly worried about Aunt Fran. It will be tough on her, but she has lots of support and I think she will make it through OK. I can't imagine that there is any hunting or trapping in heaven, but for Uncle Evan's sake, I hope there is something comparable.

Free Cat

Special Offer!!! Limited Time Only!!!

Call now to receive one gray tiger-style cat absolutely free.

That's right.... Free!

Yes... this is an amazing deal. As such, we receive many questions. I'll take a moment to answer a few of the more common ones.

Where did the cat come from? -- Good question. I'll explain. It seems that over the past week or so, a local stray cat has decided that the space beneath our mobile home is a nice place to live. It likes to hang out right under the bathroom where it claws at the insulation, meows, and makes thumping sounds on the pipes directly below the toilet.

Why are you getting rid of the cat? -- There is something quite disturbing about sitting on the toilet with a living creature banging around directly beneath you. You get the distinct feeling that at any moment it could rise from the depths of the toilet bowl with wet toilet paper clinging to its fur. --shudder--

How do I get my free cat? -- Your cat can be picked up locally. Or for an exorbitant fee, we'll tape it up in an old cardboard box, stab a couple of air holes in it and ship it via UPS.

Do you ship overseas? -- Sure. Why not?

Can I get a warranty? -- While we cannot offer an extended warranty... since we do not know how many lives this cat may have already used... we do offer a non-DOA guarantee. But remember... it is a free cat.

Other questions? -- Feel free to send us a message and we'll get back to you ASAP.


Still not sure a free cat is right for you?

Check out these testimonials from former free cat recipients just like you.

"My girlfriend had to go to Chicago on a business trip. She asked me to take care of her cat while she was gone. I forgot. UPS delivered my free cat this afternoon and my girlfriend is coming home tonight. Free cat.... I owe you big-time on this one."

"My wife was really bugging me. She hates cats. I got a cat. HAHA... vengeance is FREE!."

"Just the other day I was helping my daughters decorate their Barbie Ski-Chalet. We all agreed that it really needed a bear-skin rug in front of the fireplace. We looked at all the options and found a free cat to be the most realistic and economical option. Barbie now has a beautiful black cat-skin rug. It definitely completes the look."

"I've been wanting to let the cat out of the bag for quite some time.... and now with the help of a free cat... I finally can."

"Errr... did you know that catgut strings aren't really made out of cats? Oh well... at least it was a free cat."

"While writing my recent book Ten Ways to Kill Your Cat, I encountered unexpected problems. After documenting the first nine ways, my cat stopped responding. It just hung there... motionless... tail still stapled to the ceiling fan. Without a free cat I would not have been able to finish my book. Thanks free cat."

"My cat and I recently finished filming Evel Catievel - a mini-series loosely based on the biography of Evel Knievel. During rehearsal, it became apparent that a stunt-double would be required for some of the more difficult action sequences. A free cat was just what the doctor ordered."

What could YOU do with a free cat?

Don't let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass you by. Order NOW!

Redneck Haiku

Iowahawk has some great Redneck Haiku.

I've been pondering this one for days.

ENIGMA

Rusty Paradox
Half Camaro, half Trans-Am
Yet it does not run

Yes... that is an enigma.

Please pray...

I found out last week that my Uncle Evan is dying of metastatic cancer. He is in the hospital getting just pain meds and other pallitive care. We are going to see him today to say goodbye. Please pray for us.

Happy Easter!

Easter is my favorite holiday. As a kid I loved the choir processional (I was always in one of the choirs) to Jesus Christ is Risen Today. I loved singing Alleluia again. I loved the new dress, hat, purse and shoes. Today I love to just read the end of each gospel and contemplate what it must have been like, and what that sacrifice really meant. I still can't bring myself to see Mel's Passion of the Christ. First, because I don't like watching violence of any kind. I know it will be too hard for me to take. Second, because I don't want Mel to replace my imagination's interpretation of what happened. I imagine myself at the foot of the cross and making eye contact with Jesus. I can tell from the look in his eyes behind a battered face that he is choosing to stay up there and suffer so I won't have to suffer a worse fate in eternity. That may not be what really happened, but I'm keeping the image, because in a way, it really did.

Envision a headline from the future...

Florida Paramedics Fail to Treat Car Accident Victim
"His car clearly said DNR! You know... Do Not Resuscitate! How was I supposed to know that he worked for the Department of Natural Resources!"

Some thoughts

This comment from Speakout at Fox News raises a couple of interesting points.

“I am somewhat nervous about government intervention into this case; however, I am for life. I believe this woman has the right to live. Since nothing is in writing by Terri that says she would want to die, it was just casual talk between her and her husband and his family. I have made the same assertion about not wanting to stay alive if there was no hope for recovery. But when I finally made a Living Will, I found it very difficult to sign my name to the document. We all make rash statements that we would like to retract. I am for trying all avenues to recovery, whatever they may be.” — Jenny

First.... government intervention. Yeah. It makes me a little bit nervous too. I'd much rather stuff like this get resolved at the state level. But when a case comes along that smells pretty fishy... and it appears that the state judges are too busy smoking crack to think "Hey... someone's gonna die.... maybe we should take another look at that." then I think it's appropriate for the feds to step in and take another look.

For any of you who haven't noticed the fishy smell.... I'd suggest reading this post by Greg at What Attitude Problem. I'd also point you to Abstract Appeal. It has copies of a bunch of the court documents and some fairly unbiased analysis and explanation of the different rulings.

I'm certainly not a legal scholar and maybe it's just the way the laws are in Florida, but some of the rulings by Judge Greer just don't make sense to me. For example... if the issue is about the feeding tube... why would he deny the request to give her food and water by mouth? Some will say "But... she can't swallow." Well maybe... but he also denied the request to have new swallowing tests performed. I don't know... it just smells fishy.

Second.... casual talk. The judge decided that she would not want to live based on some casual comments she made about other people's situations. Her desires were not in writing. She was not in the process of writing a living will. She was not pondering the end of her life. She was making off-the-cuff remarks. In the 2000 court case, three people said she'd want to die... two people said she wouldn't. The judge recognized that the husband's views might be biased so he discounted it. Two to two. The judge believed the two-for-death more than the two-for-life.... so he ruled death.

So it makes me start to think. Have I ever made any off-hand remarks that I might later regret? I watched a movie the other day (Freeze Frame) about a guy who was so paranoid that he was going to be framed for murder that he videotaped himself constantly... just so he'd have an alibi. I'm not advocating recording yourself 24/7 or anything, but it does make sense to think about what you before you say it. I mean... some people have no sense of humor. What if you make a bad joke about death and some idiot doesn't realize it's a joke? That could be one guy saying you want to die.

And what about all the people who said something along the lines of "I'd rather die than have Bush as my president!"? Do we get to round them all up and starve them? I don't think so... but where do we draw the line?

Third.... talk is cheap and people change their mind. In the quote above, Jenny talks about how it was easy to talk about what to do.... but when it came time to sign.... it wasn't so easy. People make rash decisions and then change their minds all the time. That's why we try to stop suicide victims. They get caught up in the moment and try to off themselves. But when stopped, a vast majority do not later go on to kill themselves. It would seem that they change their mind about killing themselves.

I realize that Terri Schiavo is not particularly in a position to change her mind. And even if she did come out and say that she wants to live, I find it highly unlikely that the court would recognize/honor that decision. I think her fate is pretty much set in stone.

One thing to consider, though, as you make out a living will or express your wishes to others.... "Is there a way out?" I mean... what if you say you don't want to receive medical treatment in a certain circumstance.... and then when placed in that circumstance... you change your mind? Will they honor your request at the time or go with what you said at a previous time? I don't know... but it's something to think about.

Florida

Iowan's 11-hour chat thwarts Florida woman's suicide plan

A Des Moines man's online chat with a video game partner turned into a desperate effort to save her life, authorities said. Jim Caraway, 21, kept a suicidal Florida woman online for 11 hours early Wednesday until rescuers could find her.

Marlene, a Florida woman Caraway first encountered while playing online video games two months ago, informed him that she intended to kill herself."

I didn't know what to do. She kept leaving the conversation and preparing things for when she'd be gone," Caraway said. "She told me she wrote out a will and talked to her ex-husband to make sure he'd take care of her dog."

...

By noon, he'd figured out the woman's city and ZIP code, then the Internet protocol computer code that led deputies to her home.

The search took four hours. Authorities took the 30-year-old woman, whose last name they would not disclose, into custody at her home in Homosassa Springs, north of Tampa. No one was hurt.

So... if you decide that your life sucks and that you'd rather just kill yourself and be done with it... they won't let you. The authorities will track you down and take you into custody to prevent you from harming yourself.

But... if a judge thinks you might not want to live anymore... he will order you to be starved and the authorities will arrest anyone who tries to bring you a glass of water.

Hmmm... looks like Florida needs to work on their right-to-die policies a bit.

Heh...heh...

Colo. Town Official Who Refused Pledge Recalled

ESTES PARK, Colo. — A town trustee who refused to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance during board meetings was voted out of office.

David Habecker lost the recall election Tuesday by a 3-2 margin, with 903 votes in favor of removing him from office to 605 in favor of keeping him.

Habecker is a 12-year member of the Estes Park governing board. The mountain community, located about 60 miles northwest of Denver, has about 5,500 residents.

I just love it when "free-thinking" politician-types get smacked down by the people they supposedly represent. It might be over a seemingly minor thing. But still... it's fun to see the people win sometimes.

A couple of great quotes

"If you want to get together with a celebrity, Brad Pitt won't answer your letters, but Scott Peterson might well," she said.

"They especially like wife-killers," he said. "It adds to the thrill."

Here's the story.

Cheap Thrills

Looking for some cheap entertainment this spring break?

Crank up the Adventures of the O.C. Supertones. Then grab your kazoo (you do have a kazoo... don't you?) and pretend you're in the brass section.

But I must warn you... it can be highly addictive.

Coke with Lime

I bought some at the store last night.... and it's good.

Spittin' Mad

Today my 2 year old daughter decided she wasn't going to take a nap after church. That works for a while, but eventually she gets too sleepy to be civilized. After peacefully playing on the couch while mom napped, she decided she was going to kick everything and everyone.

Intervention time.

I wrestled her coat on to her and took her out for a drive in the car. Lots of screaming. "NOOOO!" "MAAA-MAAAAA!" "NOO!" "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" And then she made this "PHHLEEWWWW!" sound and drool came spraying out of her mouth. (I had to laugh.)

I guess she was "spittin' mad."

Those Baptists and their Accordians

Heh..... this is particularly funny to me.

Especially considering that, as a Baptist kid, the accordion was the instrument my parents encouraged me to play. So... it would appear that any hard feelings between Baptists and accordians were resolved by the mid-70's.

I still remember the people at The Professional Music Center asking me what instrument I would like to play. I can't remember if I said drums or guitar.... but I know it wasn't accordian. Then the old guy who looked like he just stepped off The Lawrence Welk Show told me that I could play those later..... but I needed to learn to play the accordian first. Hmmm. Smelled fishy then... and it still does. (BTW -- I play bass now.)

Go check out the rest of The Gallery of Dubious Photojournalism. There's a lot of funny stuff in there.

My Politopia

From Politopia: The Land of Custom-Made Government



NW-You would feel most at home in the Northwest region. You advocate a large degree of economic and personal freedom. Your neighbors include folks like Ayn Rand, Jesse Ventura, Milton Friedman, and Drew Carey, and may refer to themselves as "classical liberals," "libertarians," "market liberals," "old whigs," "objectivists," "propertarians," "agorists," or "anarcho-capitalist."

This kid's gotta be confused

Fourth-Grader Switches Genders Over Winter Break

METHUEN, Mass. (AP) — A fourth-grader who was attending a Massachusetts elementary school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy.

The parents of the 9-year-old child said the youngster was born with the body of a girl, but the brain of a boy.

They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request. The parents have even changed the child's name.

The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune that the family made the decision after consulting with medical professionals. She said the child is still biologically a girl.

I have to say that this just sounds stupid and I have a really hard time believing it will be beneficial to the kid. The more I think about the real-life school situations this kid is going to have to live through..... the less sense it makes.

It sounds kinda like some sort of weird social experiment and makes me wonder how these "medical professionals" determined that her brain is male. I'll bet at least one of them is writing a paper on their cutting-edge research techniques.

What is it with the Strawberry Shortcake DVD's?

I mean... it's sort of a given that when you rent DVD's they're going to have smudges and fingerprints and stuff. That's to be expected. And yeah... you get the occasional one that looks like someone sneezed on it and tried to wipe it clean with a bent paperclip.

The there's the Strawberry Shortcake ones... don't know why... but they almost always require soap and water. The worst was the very first one we rented. I naively popped it out of the case and stuck it right into the player. The DVD player complained. When I removed it I realized it was covered with sticky fingerprints and mysterious pink chunks. Yick!

It seems that every one since has needed a good scrubbing, too. And then there's always that one nagging question. "Is the case supposed to smell like strawberries.... or is that just a residual odor from a previous renter?"

Church Outreach

Sometimes churches have the strangest ideas of how to reach out to people in their communities. Gary over at Science Fiction Twin got me thinking about this with his open letter to a church in his area. He is responding to their outreach method of tossing a rolled up flyer into his yard.

I can't imagine what they were thinking when they came up with that one. Well.... unfortunately I can imagine.... but anyway.... it's ridiculous. I don't like picking trash up in my yard.... so why would anyone else want to pick up trash in their yard? Uggggh. That's definitely showing love to your neighbor, huh?


It reminds me of when we lived in Santa Fe and one of the local churches descended upon the mall in full-on witnessing mode. There was a guy standing up on a table in the food court preaching hell-fire and brimstone and there were a bunch of people aggressively witnessing to people in the rest of the mall.

One of them caught me while I was sitting on a bench. He started in on me with the heathen-gonna-burn-in-hell spiel. I explained I was already a believer, in a Church, Sunday school teacher, etc. He didn't care. He just condescendingly started in on his designated sin-hit-list or something.

Do you drink?

No

Do drugs?

No

Do you fornicate?

Do I what?

Do you... you know... have sex?

Uhhh... well, I'm married and I have sex with my wife.... so I guess if you call that fornicating... then...

Oh... no.... that's okay.

(ignores me while he converses with one of his buddies)

Well... you need to get right with God.

(turns and walks away with his buddy)

Yeah.... that's definitely the way to make a good impression on people. I mean... I was already a Christian and they offended me. I know the guy in the food court got hauled out by security and I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the others got the crap beaten out of them.


And one more curious outreach method. I recently received a "to resident" letter that contained a "prayer rug." A paper prayer rug to be more specific. When opened up it's about the size of a placemat. On one side is a strange picture of Jesus with a flowery border and fringe on the ends. Yes... it looks kinda like a rug.... but it's paper. It even says "Church Prayer Rug" right under the picture of Jesus. On the back it says:

"This Prayer Rug is soaked with the Power of Prayer for you. Use it immediately, then please return it with your Prayer Needs Checked on our letter to you."
It must be mailed to a second home that needs a blessing after you use it. Prayer works. Expect God's blessing.

It's particularly funny when you start reading the enclosed letter.

Dear...Someone Connected with This Address,

People just like you are writing to this 54-year-old church, telling us of all types of blessings since this church started praying with them

...

Now, we must talk to you about something we see, in the Holy Spirit, concerning you and your family's needs.

God's Holy Blessing Power is in the enclosed anointed Prayer Rug we are loaning you to use!!!

We must give you this opportunity first...Then it must go to the home of another dear friend who needs a blessing... You, or someone connected with this address, and another dear family are about to be blessed through this unusual, Bible Faith, Church, Prayer Rug, which we are placing in your care for these next 24 important hours.

It then gives detailed instructions. How it is best to kneel, but you can lay it across you lap as long as both knees are touching the Church Prayer Rug. It also gives suggestions of what to pray for: joy, peace, health, money, a new car, a new house, etc. Then it continues:

These next 24 important hours are crucial to you. Timing is important to God. After you kneel on this Church Prayer Rug, or place it over your knees, place it in a Bible, on Philippians 4:19. (If you don't have a Bible, it's okay - just slide it under your side of the bed, for tonight, if you can. If you can't do this, it is okay.) Leave It There No Longer Than Tonight Only! God sees.

Then, in the morning it is a must that you get this unusual blessing Church Prayer Rug out of this house and back to us, here at the church's chapel prayer room, in faith.

I've never seen anything like it. A paper Faith Church Prayer Rug that is anointed with God's Holy Blessing Power. And it is imperative that it gets used within 24 hours and sent back.... so they can send it to someone else.

Personally, I'd never seen a paper prayer rug before and I certainly didn't realize that they were in such high demand that they needed to be re-used.

The Village

I rented The Village based on a recommendation from a friend. I remember seeing the previews and thinking.... "nope, don't want to see it."

I enjoyed it quite a bit.... but I never would have seen it based on the previews. Actually, I think if you went to see it based solely on the preview, you would probably leave disappointed. I can see why they advertised it the way they did.... but it doesn't really give a very good depiction of the movie as a whole.

Anyway.... if you like Twilight Zone type movies.... I'd suggest renting it.

Need For Speed

I was at Best Buy the other day and I picked up Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for $8.99 in the budget software section. So for the past few days I've been driving all sorts of virtual exotic cars at extremely high speeds through windy, twisting roads.

It certainly accentuates the somewhat-less-than-satisfying driving experience that goes along with a real-life Plymouth mini-van.

SoulFire

Last night we went to a SoulFire concert. Our friend Kris has been playing keyboard with them for a while now and we've been looking for an opportunity to go see a show. Well, it all worked out last night. The kids went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a slumber party.... and they actually slept. That's bordering on miraculous. Usually one of them ends up pulling an all-nighter with the Grandma in tow.

This time we made Grandma raise her right hand and pledge to call us if the girls wouldn't sleep. We also made her promise that there would be no "midnight movies" this time. For some strange reason, when a kid wakes up at 3 a.m. she says, "Do you want to watch a movie?" instead of "Go back to sleep." Not sure why that is..... except that she's possibly going nuts.

Anyway... back to the concert. We had a blast. The music was great and the crowd was fun. It consisted almost entirely of church youth groups.... lots of young people with lots of energy. We may have stood out a little... but hey... it's kinda fun to see kids with that "check out the old folks dancing" expression on their faces. I didn't quite know what to think when they started raising their cell phones like lighters, though. I've obviously been out of the loop.

After the show, we went to Subway for a sandwich and then came home to a nice quiet house. No whining. No fussing. No kids. Aaaaahh.

Overall, we had a great time. We got to do something fun without the kids and we got to see Kris play. But that's not all. The best part is that we got to see a friend we haven't seen in several months. While we were waiting for the show to start, she came up behind us and put her arms around us. That definitely made my day.

Oh yeah.... and if you ever happen to find yourself in Norwalk on a Sunday night.... go see SoulFire. They rock.

do do dododo

I was glad to see that I'm not the only adult who loves this song. It is a favorite from my childhood. I know all of the lyrics by heart (hehe) and will sing it spontaneously from time to time. What a thrill to see the video again! It's been years! Thanks to Steve from EMERGENCY!

LOTS of time wasters

Check out zefrank's website... Lots of fun toys to play with. I spent way too much time with build yer own. Anyone that can make my noncreative self create pretty things can have a spot in my favorites. Kris, you might like snm -- a little different than the keyboard you are used to playing.

Thanks to present simple for the link.

The International Male

And as long as we're (sorta) on the subject.....

The International Male: Masters of Electro Booty Bass Rock

Booty Rock: a new genre, a new attitude, a new way to move. Enter The International Male: The pioneers of Booty Rock, a dash of Devo, two spoonfuls of David Hasselhoff, a sprinkle of the Misfits, and a whole lot of noise. What would Debbie Gibson's music sound like if she had been born as two handsome twin boys from a short but very hot romance between Brigitte Bardot and Lorenzo Lllamas ? Now you know.

I bet they shop at International Male.

International Male

Here's some pics from an International Male catalog I found while cleaning house yesterday. Oh... and feel free to add your own captions in the comments.


For the aspiring mafia king-pin..... on a budget.

Pimp Gear

"You've got to be kidding...... right?"

"I like clapping.... clapping is fun.... all together now. --clap-- Yea! That was fun. Can we do it again?"

"Yes..... I am sexy in purple."

"Hey baby.... I just asked my doctor about Levitra."

"Man I hope my girlfriend doesn't see me like this."

"Hi. I'm running for public office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts"

Cleaning Bug

I had a cleaning bug today. You know... that strange urge to make order out of chaos. I'm not sure why I got it today... but I decided I might as well make the best of it. The whole idea of daddy being motivated to clean house sorta threw the kids for a loop, though.

Okay. You girls need to pick up your toys.

Why?

Because it's messy in here.

But..... why are we picking up?

Because I said so. Now get to it.

Awwww.... --grumble--grumble--

They like to listen to "pick-up music" while they're putting toys away. Today it was Thousand Foot Krutch. They did a pretty good job of picking their stuff up. I only had to threaten to throw stuff away a couple times. I did pull a trash bag out once..... just to hear the screams. Heh, heh.

After preschool, I shipped the girls off the Grandma and Grandpa's house so I could fully exploit my cleaning bug. I sorted through a bunch of papers, stapled, punched holes, filed stuff away, took stuff to the garage, sorted through junk mail, and fed way too many credit card applications into the shredder.... and then.... the bug was gone. Oh well, maybe it'll come back around in a month or two.

Movies

We've been watching quite a few movies lately. Mostly because we signed up for the Hollywood Video MVP plan. It's one of those plans where you pay them 10 or 15 bucks a month and you get to rent pretty much whatever you want. You generally have to wait a few weeks for the new releases. But hey.... when you've already waited a few months for it to be released on DVD.... what's a couple more weeks?

We've sort of settled into the routine of getting 3 movies twice a week. Two kid movies and one daddy movie... or one kid movie, one daddy movie, and one mommy movie... or two daddy movies and one movie that mommy might tolerate.... it just depends on who's running errands on any given day. Sometimes we watch them... sometimes we don't.

Currently showing:

Secret Window -- daddy movie -- I like Johnny Depp but the story was lame. It started out well.... but then it just died. I guess I was hoping for a John Grisham ending and I got the Stephen King ending.

Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper -- kid movie -- Ack! Ack! The singing Barbie just returned.... and now we have to watch the movie too?

Terminal -- mommy movie -- Haven't watched it yet, but I'm skeptical. It is a chick-flick after all.... and my mom liked it. Two strikes.

Flame Warriors

"the netizen's guide to Flame Warriors."

A buddy of mine over at DFI-Street forum posted a link to this. It's fun to look through and see how many of the personalities you recognize.

Liquid Stone

I've always liked concrete. I like concrete building. I like the look of stained concrete floors. I even considered making my kitchen countertop out of concrete. Most people thought I was nuts for mentioning the idea. Maybe I was.... I don't know. We ended up going with tile instead.... and it turned out nice. The rest of the kitchen is still in utter disarray because I haven't finished the rest of the "re-model." But... the countertop is great.

Anyway... I found a pretty cool exhibit with a bunch of concrete architectural projects. Many seem to be an attempt to "push the boundaries" of concrete construction. Some of them are built, some are being built, and it appears some were commissioned solely for this project.... and I'm guessing will never be built.

It's an annoying flash site, so you have to wander around a bit to see all the stuff.... but I found it interesteing. If architecture as art/sculpture interests you... go check it out

Liquid Stone: New Architecture in Concrete



Auditorio de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

This is one of the projects in the exhibit. You can also see pictures of this project here.

Ugggh...

The singing Barbie has been found.

"When you live your dreams you'll find destiny is written in your heart."

"I'm just like you. You're just like me. It's something anyone can see. Blah-blah blah-blah-blah blaaah-blaaah-blaaaahhh. Yes, IIIII am a girl like yoooou."

Over.... and over.... and over.... and over.... and over....

--sigh--

Kid Art

Being a stay-at-home dad, I receive MANY pieces of art. Here is a "series" of drawings I received from my 5 year old daugter. They were hand-delivered in 5 minute intervals one morning while I was taking a shower and getting dressed. (which is why I assume they are meant to be a series)


"Our Family" -- I'm the one with the pants.

"Our House"

"Our House at Sunset"

"Our House at Midnight"

"Twenty Hearts" -- As best I can tell, there are actually only 19 hearts. But hey... when you're the artist you can call it whatever you want to. It's certainly better than calling it "Untitled with Crayons" or something like that.

Who is blue fish?

A few interesting facts provided by Googlism.com:

blue fish is known to attack its prey even when it is not hungry
blue fish is also available private parties
blue fish is very similar to the dumbo the flying elephant ride at the magic
blue fish is no stranger to controversy
blue fish is known as red empress
blue fish is an extremely voracious and cannibalistic saltwater fish
blue fish is more than a humorous tale about a school of aquatic creatures
blue fish is still cheaper therapy than going to a psychiatrist
blue fish is an exceptional complement to our existing fitness apparel line
blue fish is rated for 125hp
blue fish is at the bottom of the toilet basin and only closer inspection will show it is in fact a myth
blue fish is an excellent bait
blue fish is a poem made up and recited by our band's singer
blue fish is the bringer of death even when it too is dead
blue fish is king
Full blue fish Googlism

Artificial Intelligence Experiment

Twenty Questions

20Q.net is an experiment in artificial intelligence. The program is very simple but its behavior is complex. Everything that it knows and all questions that it asks were entered by people playing this game. 20Q.net is a learning system; the more it is played, the smarter it gets.

Somebody posted this link at a forum where I hang out. Check it out.

Perusing J-Walk

Home-Made Gadgets

The desperation of the post war years, the cheapness and shoddiness of those times, is captured forever in the pages of this strange little publication.

My mom grew up in a small town in Alabama. As a girl, she and her aunt (who is almost her same age) would collect discarded cigarette packages. When it got close to Christmas, they would take the packages they'd been collecting all year and soak them in water to remove the paper from the foil backing. They would then cut the foil to make tinsel for the Christmas tree.

I'm obviously from a different generation or mindset or something.... because I can't imagine putting that much time and effort into tinsel for a tree. I mean, I'm too lazy to buy the 2-for-a-buck tinsel packs at Wal-Mart.


PC Support

It's a blow-by-blow account of a phone call that lasted from 4:02 through 6:10. In the end, the support rep said that there was really no choice but to pay $69.95 for the support call -- for a product that costs $69.95.

This just fuels my belief that the people at Symantec are a bunch of bumbling idiots.

Our church has a Gateway laptop that came with Norton Anti-Virus pre-installed. I didn't mess with it (because the laptop was rarely on-line) and it didn't mess with me. We sorta had a live and let live thing going.... until the day I installed some video editing software. Apparently that upset Norton and he decided that the laptop should no longer shut down when instructed to do so. Instead... Windows would just start to shut down and then become completely unresponsive. Nice.

So I went to uninstall Norton. It wouldn't uninstall. Curious.... anti-virus software that you can't remove from your system. I googled a bit and found a special program to remove Norton when the normal Norton uninstaller won't work. Hmmm... so I'm not the only one. It worked.... but it was kinda funny because it had a bunch of warnings. Only use as a last resort.... Try the other installer again.... This program may not completely remove Norton from your system.

Now... isn't the anti-virus software business supposed to be about avoiding and getting rid of unwanted and/or unknown software? The fact that they can't completely remove their own software from my computer sure doesn't give me much faith in their ability to handle the unknowns.


The Cross In Space

The cross will be over You personally! The Cross will be over every Nation on earth! Over Afghanistan! Saudi Arabia! Jerusalem! America! The cross in Space Satellite will be in a Polar orbit from pole to pole. As the earth turns it will pass over every inch of the earth like peeling an apple. The cross will circle the earth every one and a half hours. After launch we can tell you on our site when it will be over you and your nation. We have carried the cross in Every nation. Now we will, God willing have it flying above Every nation! We wave the cross in the face of Satan and proclaim that Jesus is Lord over All the Earth. All glory to God.

Is it just me... or are these people nuts?

"Then the Sign of the Son of Man will appear in the Sky!Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory"

Jesus(Matthew 24:30)

And... do they somehow think that they are fulfilling a prophesy and "sparking" the second coming of Christ... by launching a 2 inch cross into space?