Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Not quite as hot...
It is finally starting to cool down, but it was over 90 last week. The evenings are starting to be really nice -- cool temps, nice breezes. But we have turned the A/C back on several times because it still gets over 80 in the house in the afternoons. Crazy.
Monday, October 29, 2007
What were they thinking...
A site called “Who Represents” where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name - wait for it - is
www.whorepresents.com
Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com -- This seems to be strictly an ad website.
Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net Not a real website either. Juvenile penis humor.
Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com This one seems to be real. Huh. One would think that perhaps having the word rapist in a website designed to help people in mental distress is not the best idea ever.
Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:
www.speedofart.com Seems to be attached to a real company, but a worthless and annoying website if so.
(from easywebbers.com)
Still, not worse than watching a Care Bears movie with Mica...
Movie mistake: Families get horror film April 7, 2007 HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. --An audience expecting to watch a family film was stunned to get an glimpse of a horror movie, which left some parents shaken and the theater chain apologizing for the movie mix-up.
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Vampire slayer...
This is a video from treehugger.com, about how much phantom power is used in the average American home. The video is fun, and I am going to show it to the rat children to get them thinking about not leaving every dang thing plugged in all the time...
Really really necessary?
Yesterday I was making a right turn, and somebody from the other direction turned right behind me.
Then he sped up and got around me, in the short two blocks to the next stop light. I assumed he didn't want to be behind me on the long stretch into Tucson where you cannot pass. No biggie. Better than him riding my butt all the way...
So he whips around the corner, right ahead of me, then turns into the McDonald's parking lot. Um, what? You were jonesing for a Big Mac so seriously you had to race around in front of me?
Seriously, this idiot saved four seconds.
People are dumb.
Then he sped up and got around me, in the short two blocks to the next stop light. I assumed he didn't want to be behind me on the long stretch into Tucson where you cannot pass. No biggie. Better than him riding my butt all the way...
So he whips around the corner, right ahead of me, then turns into the McDonald's parking lot. Um, what? You were jonesing for a Big Mac so seriously you had to race around in front of me?
Seriously, this idiot saved four seconds.
People are dumb.
Halloween costume fun
I made a costume for Tess -- a medieval knight tunic. We still have to figure out pants and boots or shoes, but the tunic is done.
It's green with gold sleeves, with a yellow dragon outlined in red on the front, and has black "leather" cuffs. Turned out pretty cool.
It was a horrible thing to make, though. The instructions said to make the tunic and the lining and then sew the lining to the tunic at the hem and the neck. And then turn it right side out...except if you have sewn it top and bottom, there is no way to turn it right side out. So after probably half an hour or more of wrestling with it, I ripped out the hem and turned it right side out, then sewed the hem. What a big pain.
I also had big problems with the Wonder Under when I was trying to attach the dragon to the front. The first one I had to abandon because I could not get the paper backing off. I am Wonder Under impaired.
But I finally got it all worked out, and it turned out great. Tess chose the colors, and they are really terrific -- an olive drab green and gold sleeves. The gold with red dragon on the chest really finish it well.
I will post photos when I get them...
It's green with gold sleeves, with a yellow dragon outlined in red on the front, and has black "leather" cuffs. Turned out pretty cool.
It was a horrible thing to make, though. The instructions said to make the tunic and the lining and then sew the lining to the tunic at the hem and the neck. And then turn it right side out...except if you have sewn it top and bottom, there is no way to turn it right side out. So after probably half an hour or more of wrestling with it, I ripped out the hem and turned it right side out, then sewed the hem. What a big pain.
I also had big problems with the Wonder Under when I was trying to attach the dragon to the front. The first one I had to abandon because I could not get the paper backing off. I am Wonder Under impaired.
But I finally got it all worked out, and it turned out great. Tess chose the colors, and they are really terrific -- an olive drab green and gold sleeves. The gold with red dragon on the chest really finish it well.
I will post photos when I get them...
Friday, October 26, 2007
Gross but fascinating reading...
I have been reading The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson, about the outbreak of Cholera in London in 1854. It is very interesting, but horribly disgusting as well, because discussing cholera in the 1800's necessarily involves discussing human waste. And 2 million people living in a 30 mile radius created a real stinky mess.
The popular belief at the time was that disease was caused by miasma -- that the horrible stench of life in London -- all that human waste -- was behind all the diseases and sickness. So they built sewers that turned the Thames from a beautiful fishing grounds into a giant sewer. And because some companies used the Thames for the source of the water they pumped into people's homes, cholera was transmitted to more people.
So gross. Interesting stuff, though. People drank beer because it was safer than water, and it was better to die of cirrhosis of the liver in your 40's than dysentery in your 20's.
Unfortunately I was reading it yesterday while I was getting my Remicade infusion...before I get the Remicade, I am given an intervenous dose of Benadryl. I get very sleepy when they shoot that Benadryl in, and so I may have to re-read the first part of the book to see what I missed in my Benadryl haze.
The popular belief at the time was that disease was caused by miasma -- that the horrible stench of life in London -- all that human waste -- was behind all the diseases and sickness. So they built sewers that turned the Thames from a beautiful fishing grounds into a giant sewer. And because some companies used the Thames for the source of the water they pumped into people's homes, cholera was transmitted to more people.
So gross. Interesting stuff, though. People drank beer because it was safer than water, and it was better to die of cirrhosis of the liver in your 40's than dysentery in your 20's.
Unfortunately I was reading it yesterday while I was getting my Remicade infusion...before I get the Remicade, I am given an intervenous dose of Benadryl. I get very sleepy when they shoot that Benadryl in, and so I may have to re-read the first part of the book to see what I missed in my Benadryl haze.
It's hot here again.
More like early September than late October. We had temps up in the 90's again. We had to turn the A/C back on, because it was in the low 80's in the house. Uck.
And it was windy -- the same time that SoCal was dealing with Santa Ana winds, we had very blustery days. They are just not the same without the great drifts of leaves blowing around. I really really am not a desert person.
The dogs have been antsy. We took the dog door out because there have been so many flies in the house, and they can get in around the edges of the dog door. Abe really doesn't like it when he can't go outside whenever he wants...He has been really good about not taking off when we go out to the Suburban, or when the front door is open.
Thor went on some sort of math quiz thing with his school today...I will try to pry more information about what it actually was out of him, but I am not holding my breath that I will really know what it was.
And it was windy -- the same time that SoCal was dealing with Santa Ana winds, we had very blustery days. They are just not the same without the great drifts of leaves blowing around. I really really am not a desert person.
The dogs have been antsy. We took the dog door out because there have been so many flies in the house, and they can get in around the edges of the dog door. Abe really doesn't like it when he can't go outside whenever he wants...He has been really good about not taking off when we go out to the Suburban, or when the front door is open.
Thor went on some sort of math quiz thing with his school today...I will try to pry more information about what it actually was out of him, but I am not holding my breath that I will really know what it was.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I haven't done any random photos lately...
Must remedy that immediately.
So here are three random images...The lion is a carving on Heidelberg Castle, one of my favorite places in Germany. The second is Zachary preparing to deal with muriatic acid while working on his Eagle Scout project. And Me, in my Mom and Dad's dining room. I really like my hair in this one, so I think I will attempt to have it cut like this again...
True Confessions...
The first time I saw one of the TV commercials with this mucus guy, I gagged a little bit...
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A 'fit' of panic is good when bad things happen
The military has given the English language two words that brilliantly articulate different types of crises: The first is snafu, an acronym for "situation normal, all f***ed up." The second is fubar, which stands for "f***ed up beyond all recognition." As we travel the bumpy road of life, we must prepare to deal with both. Go ahead and freak out
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Flaming kamikaze squirrel torches car
The flaming squirrel in my neighborhood on Fort Lewis just started a grass fire. It didn't blow up a car...
A New Jersey woman's Toyota Camry last week suffered a sciurine kamikaze attack during which a flaming squirrel fell onto the vehicle, slid into the engine compartment and provoked an explosion which destroyed the parked vehicle,
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Changes and stuff...
I discovered "Clipping" today -- I use ClipMarks to grab images and words from various websites and throw the stuff here. Cool.
That way I can add a couple of images from the Japanese fashion story so easy. And a clip from USA Today about the military advertising for recruits on a gay website, even though the fact that anyone comments or posts on that website makes them ineligible to join the military. (don't ask don't tell is stupid, by the way).
I also discovered that I have saved drafts of a couple posts, so I finished them, but they ended up in chronological order for when I started them. So you must scroll down to find the two I just posted...Or don't. Read everything, it wastes more time.
That way I can add a couple of images from the Japanese fashion story so easy. And a clip from USA Today about the military advertising for recruits on a gay website, even though the fact that anyone comments or posts on that website makes them ineligible to join the military. (don't ask don't tell is stupid, by the way).
I also discovered that I have saved drafts of a couple posts, so I finished them, but they ended up in chronological order for when I started them. So you must scroll down to find the two I just posted...Or don't. Read everything, it wastes more time.
Japanese fire-hydrant with kid legs?
Nope. It's a backpack that transforms to hide the kid, thus fooling Japanese criminals, who apparently are not too bright and must have terrible eyesight.
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Big Oops...
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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
I want Ali to go to Japan
because I want one of those manhole cover purses and a schoolchild's fire hydrant backpack!
Japan's "fear of crime" fashions...
Even though the crime rate is going down in Japan, they are more growing more fearful of crime. A clothing designer has created a line of clothes and accessories that are urban camouflage...a skirt that unfolds to a full size image of a pop machine, a manhole cover purse that you stick your wallet into and then drop to the street -- the criminals won't realize it's a fake, and thus will run right past it.
The backpack unfolds to look like a Japanese fire hydrant...
but it has legs...Hmmm.
***the Japanese are crazy*****
And here's a website -- costumes for your cat -- the Japanese to English translations are most humorous.
More good humor, here -- Weight Watchers recipe cards from the 70's...What were they thinking? Marcy's "Enchilada" is interesting, but the Liver Pate en Masque is just scary.
The good thing? Suddenly my psuedo-shepherd's pie doesn't look quite so...um...pathetic.
edited to add that the blue writing are links to the web pages...just click on them and it should take you to them...
Japan's "fear of crime" fashions...
Even though the crime rate is going down in Japan, they are more growing more fearful of crime. A clothing designer has created a line of clothes and accessories that are urban camouflage...a skirt that unfolds to a full size image of a pop machine, a manhole cover purse that you stick your wallet into and then drop to the street -- the criminals won't realize it's a fake, and thus will run right past it.
The backpack unfolds to look like a Japanese fire hydrant...
but it has legs...Hmmm.
***the Japanese are crazy*****
And here's a website -- costumes for your cat -- the Japanese to English translations are most humorous.
This is a dear frog transformation set. It is made from bright green felt cloth, and the big eye of a frog is attached. Even if it takes, it is finished to the pop impression. Please observe the leg fin wound around a head. Since it can equip also with a hat and head volume on a piece of Velcro, attachment and detachment are easy!******and now for something completely different*****
More good humor, here -- Weight Watchers recipe cards from the 70's...What were they thinking? Marcy's "Enchilada" is interesting, but the Liver Pate en Masque is just scary.
The good thing? Suddenly my psuedo-shepherd's pie doesn't look quite so...um...pathetic.
edited to add that the blue writing are links to the web pages...just click on them and it should take you to them...
Dumbledore's gay...
And the world explodes. I read a comment somewhere -- the commenter was reading the books with her son, and if she had known ahead of time she never would have picked them up...She has read all but the last 100 pages of the 7th book, was never bothered by the pesky idea that Dumbledore was gay, but now that she knows, she will never be able to read them again.
What an idiot. The fact that one of the characters is gay, but you don't even know it until the author mentions that she always thought he was... if that can ruin a book for you, I suggest you stick to Christian lit. It's badly written, boring as sin, but hey! there won't be any of those pesky gay characters to disturb your sad little mind. (Okay, I know not all Christian lit is boring and badly written, but you better stick to the safest stuff to make sure you aren't damaged by being exposed to any ideas that are so offensive to you...and safe is boring.)
I really should avoid reading comments by people who are so completely different from myself...
What an idiot. The fact that one of the characters is gay, but you don't even know it until the author mentions that she always thought he was... if that can ruin a book for you, I suggest you stick to Christian lit. It's badly written, boring as sin, but hey! there won't be any of those pesky gay characters to disturb your sad little mind. (Okay, I know not all Christian lit is boring and badly written, but you better stick to the safest stuff to make sure you aren't damaged by being exposed to any ideas that are so offensive to you...and safe is boring.)
I really should avoid reading comments by people who are so completely different from myself...
Monday, October 22, 2007
Mojo guilt.
The dogs eat out on the patio now, since they drool incessantly when they hear the words "food" or "hungry"...I always put Mojo's food in his dish first, then Abe's, because Abe does the whole submissive thing and won't eat or take a treat or even sniff food until Mo has his share.
For whatever reason I dumped Abe's food in his dish first, and this apparently threw the dogs off completely. (How the dogs think I have a routine is beyond me, but it seems I am consistent in giving Mo food first). Mojo started eating Abe's food, and when I yelled at him to stop it, he had the first big mouth full of food...so he just spit it back out. Actually he pushed it back out with his tongue. He looked pretty funny, like he was trying to pretend he didn't have a mouthful of Abe's food. Just standing there, looking all innocent, like he wasn't trying to eat Abe's food.
For whatever reason I dumped Abe's food in his dish first, and this apparently threw the dogs off completely. (How the dogs think I have a routine is beyond me, but it seems I am consistent in giving Mo food first). Mojo started eating Abe's food, and when I yelled at him to stop it, he had the first big mouth full of food...so he just spit it back out. Actually he pushed it back out with his tongue. He looked pretty funny, like he was trying to pretend he didn't have a mouthful of Abe's food. Just standing there, looking all innocent, like he wasn't trying to eat Abe's food.
Breathing easier now...
I heard from Mark. "bed with mattress, great food, hot weather, decent gym, lots of bottled water."
He covered the basics, anyway, I know he's okay. And I have an email address for him. Makes me breathe a little easier.
Zach got his braces off today! He is very happy, and looks weird and oddly young...I do not understand why he looks younger, and he apparently has no upper lip (okay, he has an upper lip, but it no longer is pushed out because of the braces). And he has the straight upper lip smile, like Jack Nicholson and Dennis Quaid, very lady-killer.
They sang a song and gave him a bag (there in his lap with the balloons) with all the stuff he wasn't allowed or supposed to eat when he had braces...He said his teeth felt slimy, and was kinda giddy all day...
Friday, October 19, 2007
Gilmore Girls...
Tess started watching Gilmore Girls during her fall break -- we have six seasons on DVD, and Tess is impatiently waiting for the last season to come out.
I think she finally finished the episode of the last season this week. She sucked Thor and I in, so now I am working on the fifth season -- although I realized last night I must have missed a couple of episodes or parts of them, because suddenly one of the characters was gone -- she had run off to France. Oh, well. It'll make sense next time.
This is why we buy some TV series on DVD. We watch them when we get them, we watch them again when a new season is coming out, we watch them again when the mood strikes.
Plus they chop up the shows when they go into syndication. They cut out parts of the show and replace them with commercials...I saw part of an episode of friends that was so chopped up it didn't make sense -- they cut out major plot points to sell more cheeseburgers.
I think she finally finished the episode of the last season this week. She sucked Thor and I in, so now I am working on the fifth season -- although I realized last night I must have missed a couple of episodes or parts of them, because suddenly one of the characters was gone -- she had run off to France. Oh, well. It'll make sense next time.
This is why we buy some TV series on DVD. We watch them when we get them, we watch them again when a new season is coming out, we watch them again when the mood strikes.
Plus they chop up the shows when they go into syndication. They cut out parts of the show and replace them with commercials...I saw part of an episode of friends that was so chopped up it didn't make sense -- they cut out major plot points to sell more cheeseburgers.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Movies for $200, Alex
Mass media consumed lately...
BallyKissAngel -- still netflixing it...I think the last disc of the last season is on it's way to me. There is a major change in the series at the end of the third season, and the fourth and fifth are still fun (although there are some major cast changes). The sixth and last season, though, so far is not so good. It is disjointed and confusing. They introduced new characters very clumsily, they are trying to cram too much into each episode.
One of the original characters had a cancer scare, and it felt like an afterthought -- like they realized they hadn't given this character any storylines lately, so crammed this one in.
Feh.
Haven't gone to any movies lately, got 1408 from NetFlix but haven't watched it yet. (A Stephen King novel turned into a movie with John Cusack).
Gilmore Girls -- but I posted separately about that.
Dancing with the Stars -- I seem to miss the shows with the dancing and only see the results shows. So not that interesting.
Beauty and the Geek -- this season they have a male beauty/female geek pair. It's the classic train wreck. You can't help but look...They went to a Comic-Con, a comic book convention. One of the geeks got teary-eyed about going. The beauties had to create a comic book character -- one of the girls complained about all those balloons in comic books and how you don't know which one to read first. Apparently she missed the "start at the top left and read to the right and down" in school...the same concept applies whether it's Shakespeare or Superman...Then the geeks had to create costumes. Really sad and hard to watch.
BallyKissAngel -- still netflixing it...I think the last disc of the last season is on it's way to me. There is a major change in the series at the end of the third season, and the fourth and fifth are still fun (although there are some major cast changes). The sixth and last season, though, so far is not so good. It is disjointed and confusing. They introduced new characters very clumsily, they are trying to cram too much into each episode.
One of the original characters had a cancer scare, and it felt like an afterthought -- like they realized they hadn't given this character any storylines lately, so crammed this one in.
Feh.
Haven't gone to any movies lately, got 1408 from NetFlix but haven't watched it yet. (A Stephen King novel turned into a movie with John Cusack).
Gilmore Girls -- but I posted separately about that.
Dancing with the Stars -- I seem to miss the shows with the dancing and only see the results shows. So not that interesting.
Beauty and the Geek -- this season they have a male beauty/female geek pair. It's the classic train wreck. You can't help but look...They went to a Comic-Con, a comic book convention. One of the geeks got teary-eyed about going. The beauties had to create a comic book character -- one of the girls complained about all those balloons in comic books and how you don't know which one to read first. Apparently she missed the "start at the top left and read to the right and down" in school...the same concept applies whether it's Shakespeare or Superman...Then the geeks had to create costumes. Really sad and hard to watch.
Pseudo Shepherd's Pie...
Zachary requested Shepherd's Pie, something I have never made. I was running late one night last week and decided to whip up "shepherd's pie" -- having only the vaguest idea that this was some sort of meat and vegetables in gravy with a mashed potato "lid"...
I fried up some hamburger and threw in some corn (I was not in the mood to make two pies, and I did not feel like watching Thor pick the peas out...). I didn't have any jars of gravy, and nothing to make gravy with, so I used a cream of potato soup for the gravy. I then threw that mess into a casserole and topped it with instant mashed potatoes. Then tossed it into the oven for a while. It turned out okay -- the kids liked it.
Next time, I am thinking I will use a roast or I could use the pressure cooker and cook up some round steak for the meat, and make mashed potato from scratch. If the kids liked the fake shepherd's pie, they should really like it made with real food...
I also love the jars of pasta sauce because that way I can make the pasta tossed with olive oil and various peppers and vegetables for Mark and I, and the kids can either eat the good pasta or have some plain pasta with the stuff from a jar.
I fried up some hamburger and threw in some corn (I was not in the mood to make two pies, and I did not feel like watching Thor pick the peas out...). I didn't have any jars of gravy, and nothing to make gravy with, so I used a cream of potato soup for the gravy. I then threw that mess into a casserole and topped it with instant mashed potatoes. Then tossed it into the oven for a while. It turned out okay -- the kids liked it.
Next time, I am thinking I will use a roast or I could use the pressure cooker and cook up some round steak for the meat, and make mashed potato from scratch. If the kids liked the fake shepherd's pie, they should really like it made with real food...
I also love the jars of pasta sauce because that way I can make the pasta tossed with olive oil and various peppers and vegetables for Mark and I, and the kids can either eat the good pasta or have some plain pasta with the stuff from a jar.
Monday, October 15, 2007
meetings...
Yesterday I was at a congregational meeting at my church...we are consolidating two failing congregations into one, and not everyone is happy to give up their church and create a new one. Understandable.
And the other church -- the congregation we were not members of -- is old. Average age has got to be 60. Meetings are extra fun and exciting when a third of the people present are cranky and mostly deaf.
And we had some fun, boy howdy did we have fun. Once we got through approving the constitution and voting for the council members -- which took an hour and ten minutes -- somebody moved we adjourn, even though we hadn't approved a mission statement and a budget and picked a name...they decided we need to pick a name before we adjourn (and this part took fifteen minutes of discussion -- we could have finished the meeting in the time we spent discussing adjourning.)
So they decided to vote on a name (paper ballot, took no time at all) and then postpone the rest of the business. When almost everyone voted in favor of that, somebody realized we did not approve the financial plan/budget, so that really we could spend no money at all -- not pay any bills, not pay the pastors' salaries, nada -- until the next meeting, which won't be for at least three weeks.
So. We had to vote to approve voting to approve the budget, and then, as soon as somebody moved and seconded that we approve the budget -- another person called the question. And everybody voted in favor of that. Which meant we had to vote right then on the budget, without having ANY discussion of that budget. Not a genius plan, since the budget for the next three months has a shortfall of $2500...
And we have to have another meeting next month, because we did not finish the business at this one. I love meetings.
And the other church -- the congregation we were not members of -- is old. Average age has got to be 60. Meetings are extra fun and exciting when a third of the people present are cranky and mostly deaf.
And we had some fun, boy howdy did we have fun. Once we got through approving the constitution and voting for the council members -- which took an hour and ten minutes -- somebody moved we adjourn, even though we hadn't approved a mission statement and a budget and picked a name...they decided we need to pick a name before we adjourn (and this part took fifteen minutes of discussion -- we could have finished the meeting in the time we spent discussing adjourning.)
So they decided to vote on a name (paper ballot, took no time at all) and then postpone the rest of the business. When almost everyone voted in favor of that, somebody realized we did not approve the financial plan/budget, so that really we could spend no money at all -- not pay any bills, not pay the pastors' salaries, nada -- until the next meeting, which won't be for at least three weeks.
So. We had to vote to approve voting to approve the budget, and then, as soon as somebody moved and seconded that we approve the budget -- another person called the question. And everybody voted in favor of that. Which meant we had to vote right then on the budget, without having ANY discussion of that budget. Not a genius plan, since the budget for the next three months has a shortfall of $2500...
And we have to have another meeting next month, because we did not finish the business at this one. I love meetings.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Oh, my gosh...THOR IS 15!!!
Thor is 15 today. That is slightly freaking me out...he could get his driver's permit in 7 months if we were staying here. (I don't know what the rules are in Alaska, so dunno when he is going to get his license...) That really freaks me out. This is the same child who seems to pride himself on his inability to find milk in the refrigerator...or his ass with both hands and a map.
However, he also gets himself up (sorta -- I just have to usually do one "hey Thor" to get him motating) for school, and he does his homework, he takes his school ID with him (since his high school is in an industrial park, he has to have his ID around his neck at all times).
But. He does most things with a book in one hand, and can be completely oblivious to everything around him. Driving with Thor will be more fraught than it was with Zeke..
However, he also gets himself up (sorta -- I just have to usually do one "hey Thor" to get him motating) for school, and he does his homework, he takes his school ID with him (since his high school is in an industrial park, he has to have his ID around his neck at all times).
But. He does most things with a book in one hand, and can be completely oblivious to everything around him. Driving with Thor will be more fraught than it was with Zeke..
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ways that September sucked...
Mark moved to Alaska.
It was still in the 90's all month.
I had a slight accident. I haven't had an accident since 1984, when I backed my mom's station wagon into a car in the 3M parking lot on the way in to work. This time, I pulled the suburban into a parking spot at Target, but the car in the facing spot was over the line and my Burb would be sticking too far out, so I started to back out...the Suburban was crooked, and I scraped the side view mirror along the edge of a brand new off the lot for less than 24 hours Tahoe. White. Big black streak. We got the phone call, since I left my name and number...her husband was out finding out what they could do...apparently they were able to do something -- buff it out or something -- because they never called back...
Maybe September wasn't that bad...
It was still in the 90's all month.
I had a slight accident. I haven't had an accident since 1984, when I backed my mom's station wagon into a car in the 3M parking lot on the way in to work. This time, I pulled the suburban into a parking spot at Target, but the car in the facing spot was over the line and my Burb would be sticking too far out, so I started to back out...the Suburban was crooked, and I scraped the side view mirror along the edge of a brand new off the lot for less than 24 hours Tahoe. White. Big black streak. We got the phone call, since I left my name and number...her husband was out finding out what they could do...apparently they were able to do something -- buff it out or something -- because they never called back...
Maybe September wasn't that bad...
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Reading lately...
I started the Wheel of Time series, which Zach has been bugging me to read for several years. I have read the first three -- only 8 more published, plus the twelve, which isn't published yet...but Robert Jordan died recently, before he could finish it (this is according to my kids. I have done zero independent verification.). Apparently he had finished part of the book and left notes for to finish the story...my boys and nephew were very disappointed.
I have also re-read some Anne McCaffrey -- The Powers That Be trilogy. Except that I have only read two of the three because I have misplaced the third volume...
Other than that...some marshmallow fluff type reading. Books that take almost no effort at all to read. And Frankenstein, which is not marshmallow fluff, but instead gothic and very preoccupied with emotions...Unfortunately I also misplaced that one, so have only read half of it...Kenneth Braunnaugh's version of Frankenstein, with Robert DeNiro as the monster, has a great scene where the monster punches through the chest wall of a woman and pulls out her heart and hands it to somebody...Gruesome, yes, but cool, also.
...to be continued...
I have also re-read some Anne McCaffrey -- The Powers That Be trilogy. Except that I have only read two of the three because I have misplaced the third volume...
Other than that...some marshmallow fluff type reading. Books that take almost no effort at all to read. And Frankenstein, which is not marshmallow fluff, but instead gothic and very preoccupied with emotions...Unfortunately I also misplaced that one, so have only read half of it...Kenneth Braunnaugh's version of Frankenstein, with Robert DeNiro as the monster, has a great scene where the monster punches through the chest wall of a woman and pulls out her heart and hands it to somebody...Gruesome, yes, but cool, also.
...to be continued...
Monday, October 08, 2007
Random Photos
Tess took this picture of Thor...It turned out really strange. I don't know why he looks like he has a giant sucker for his mouth...She also took some photos of her soldiers all set up and battling.
The Walker Art Center's outdoor sculpture garden in Minneapolis in April. I had seen pictures of this giant spoon but had never seen it until this April...
Friday, October 05, 2007
My comments for today...
Huh.
The dogs just wandered into my room so I will talk about them...
Mojo, about once a week, goes absolutely bananas. He's tears around the backyard at full speed...he kicks gravel up so high it lands on the patio roof, and he smashes head or side first into the house wall, because he can't exactly turn on a dime.
Abe, when Mojo does this, runs around the yard avoiding Mo. He mostly just runs back and forth on the patio, I think because he wants to play with Mo, but Mo is just scary when he's going nuts like this...
Yesterday Zach and I concluded that Abe, if he could talk, would be saying, "oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh!" Because it must just be scary to have 95 pounds of muscle roaring toward you...
Abe and Mojo both have battle scars...both of them have scratches and scars on their bellies and elsewhere. And Abe's left ear flops over because they somehow destroyed the cartilage in there...
Right now Mojo is pulling dominance because he doesn't feel like chewing on the plastic pop bottle they got today (they shred toys so fast we go for the cheap or free), but he doesn't want Abe to have it either...so he is laying there grumbling low in his throat at Abe...
The dogs just wandered into my room so I will talk about them...
Mojo, about once a week, goes absolutely bananas. He's tears around the backyard at full speed...he kicks gravel up so high it lands on the patio roof, and he smashes head or side first into the house wall, because he can't exactly turn on a dime.
Abe, when Mojo does this, runs around the yard avoiding Mo. He mostly just runs back and forth on the patio, I think because he wants to play with Mo, but Mo is just scary when he's going nuts like this...
Yesterday Zach and I concluded that Abe, if he could talk, would be saying, "oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh!" Because it must just be scary to have 95 pounds of muscle roaring toward you...
Abe and Mojo both have battle scars...both of them have scratches and scars on their bellies and elsewhere. And Abe's left ear flops over because they somehow destroyed the cartilage in there...
Right now Mojo is pulling dominance because he doesn't feel like chewing on the plastic pop bottle they got today (they shred toys so fast we go for the cheap or free), but he doesn't want Abe to have it either...so he is laying there grumbling low in his throat at Abe...
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Last night...
I downloaded a big-headed paper doll, and somehow, in playing around with that image (on paper, even), I drew a spaceman from the shoulders up...and since I was watching Ballykissangel (a BBC series set in Ireland) I named him Casey (Suddenly I am not sure Casey is an Irish name, and there are no characters named Casey on Ballykissangel, but that's beside the point.)
In the first one, he suddenly realizes he never wanted to be an astronaut.
The link to his blog is on the sidebar....
In the first one, he suddenly realizes he never wanted to be an astronaut.
The link to his blog is on the sidebar....
Zeke's Alaska Photos.
Glacier near Whittier...Mount Chugach, with Anchorage in the background.
Moose on Fort Richardson. Do not pet.
The Spine on UAA campus.
Padre on Chugach Mountains.
Drawing some weirdness.
Casey Spaceman plus a photo of my new workspace...and, quite shockingly, it's not a complete mess. Okay, well, I have a foot square clear space to work on...
Tess's refinished shelf...
This is the little crenelated shelf I got from Ikea. It was originally a flat boring pale gray. I covered it with parchment paper painted with sienna paint, and maps that have also been aged, some scrapbook papers, and then covered the whole thing with several coats of Mod Podge.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Blogger Play
There is a link in the sidebar...
BLogger play-- I am becoming addicted to this site. It's just a black frame that has a continuously running slide show, of photos that are being uploaded onto blogspot.com blogs.
I noticed it yesterday, and have seen some amazing photos (plus a whole bunch that only a mother could love)...I have found several photographer blogs, plus a couple of craft sites. It can be on the frustrating side, since some of the best and most intriguing photos are on sites that are not in English...
It's really mesmerizing...a glimpse at what the world is thinking (many blogspot.com blogs are not American or even in English...). It would be a great thing to have running when I am not on the computer...Like a screensaver only much better.
BLogger play-- I am becoming addicted to this site. It's just a black frame that has a continuously running slide show, of photos that are being uploaded onto blogspot.com blogs.
I noticed it yesterday, and have seen some amazing photos (plus a whole bunch that only a mother could love)...I have found several photographer blogs, plus a couple of craft sites. It can be on the frustrating side, since some of the best and most intriguing photos are on sites that are not in English...
It's really mesmerizing...a glimpse at what the world is thinking (many blogspot.com blogs are not American or even in English...). It would be a great thing to have running when I am not on the computer...Like a screensaver only much better.
Random Photos for today.
The first one is Abe, slightly freaked out by snow, and SNOW in Arizona, so he is rightly freaked. Snow in Tucson (I know other parts of AZ get snow...) is freaky. But the kids had to go to school anyway. They were annoyed because only a quarter of the kids showed up at Zeke's high school, 1/2 the kids showed up at Thor's middle school, and 3/4 of the kids showed up at Tess's elementary school. It builds character...
The second photo is Zeke above Anchorage last week. He really likes it there, and is thinking he's pretty sure that's where he wants to start college, at least.
The last photo is the view from Mark's apartment (on the eighth floor). Pretty decent view, and slightly reassuring, since there is sunshine the last week of September....I can take the gray when you get a little sunshine now and then.
Why the name...
We all mix up words -- Mica's classics: "quack, quack, quack, fist, fist, fist" instead of quick and fast and "beedfirder" instead of birdfeeder...Marilyn's infamous "fussy, picky" slip up which resulted in a bad word, and which I can say just fine, by the way, Marilyn...
And when we are in the grocery store and the kids ask for something truly awful, like PopTarts or Twinkies, I tell them "it causes rats in laboratory cancer," because I got bored with telling them it causes cancer in lab rats.
And when we are in the grocery store and the kids ask for something truly awful, like PopTarts or Twinkies, I tell them "it causes rats in laboratory cancer," because I got bored with telling them it causes cancer in lab rats.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Zeke's braces come off in twenty days!!!
And, yeah, he's a little bit happy about it. We will be dancing in the streets on October 22. It's been about two years and he is so ready to be done with them...Plus we haven't gotten his picture taken for his senior yearbook yet, so now we will have to wait until after the 22nd to get it done...
I am gonna start throwing random photos up, for no particular reason...So here's a random photo of Zeke, plus a couple of Este being Este, and the boys together on the beach at Pacific Beach...
I am gonna start throwing random photos up, for no particular reason...So here's a random photo of Zeke, plus a couple of Este being Este, and the boys together on the beach at Pacific Beach...
Monday, October 01, 2007
Okay, I know it's kinda mean...
But the pictures in the evil camera online album (linky goodness to the right) are pretty humorous. And in my own defense, a bunch of those pictures are of me...and me on predisone, when I was the amazing beach ball head.
The Blink! series is quite nice. And the way our children smile (grimace) when anyone points a camera in their direction -- that is so very lovely.
The Blink! series is quite nice. And the way our children smile (grimace) when anyone points a camera in their direction -- that is so very lovely.
I got nothing
I am trying to write something here every day, but today I got nothing to say.
Life is very unscheduled these days, since Mark is gone and the kids are on fall break. On the plus side I have been sleeping until 9 or 10, so I am possibly catching up on some of my sleep. But Zeke is also not getting up til 10 or 11, so he may be having some trouble next week when he goes back to school.
And why are the cable news channels devoting so much time to Britney Spears? Am I supposed to care that she lost custody of her children today? And that Federline will now get lots and lots of child support (how the hell is $40,000 a month reasonable child support? What could two toddler boys need that costs $40,000 a month?)
Life is very unscheduled these days, since Mark is gone and the kids are on fall break. On the plus side I have been sleeping until 9 or 10, so I am possibly catching up on some of my sleep. But Zeke is also not getting up til 10 or 11, so he may be having some trouble next week when he goes back to school.
And why are the cable news channels devoting so much time to Britney Spears? Am I supposed to care that she lost custody of her children today? And that Federline will now get lots and lots of child support (how the hell is $40,000 a month reasonable child support? What could two toddler boys need that costs $40,000 a month?)
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