D'oh! I was told by yahoo that angry beavers was on at 2:30.. not CatDog!

razza-frazzin...

update --it was off by 30 min. Angry beavers at 3pm.

Well, holy cow.. this is the season for old pals catching up. I think that if I heard from Steve Jacoby, my collection would be complete. Sheri was a very kind and friendly co-worker of mine back in the late 90s... '97-'98, if memory serves, back when I was at AMS. She located me by visiting a Coos Bay, Oregon newspaper, found a link to a North Bend Blog in the Paper's Guest book, and then a comment of mine in that person's photo log. Pretty neat chain of events, from Fort Lauderdale, and back again. A Round trip, geographically of about 7000 miles or so. Net time to travel, I'm guessing perhaps a half-hour.

She's got her own candle business going on now, and I don't imagine she'd mind my mentioning her sites Wicks Works - Distinctive Handcrafted Candles and Mia Bella's Hand Poured Gourmet Soy Candles.

How neat that Friendly folks from the past are solidifying from their former more ghostly memory forms.

So far, I've recovered four folks from the way-back machine. I wonder how many more will find me as a result of my net-presence?

I don't know why I made this mini-movie.

I feel bad that there's no Linda Hamilton in the new Terminator movie... and Ed Furlong is replaced because of his drug problems. (Even after his horrid rendition of the Doors "People are Strange".


You excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which
is really good because who knows when you'll
run into that disgruntle troll or banshee going
through menopause.


Which Class at Hogwarts Would You Excel at?
brought to you by Quizilla

I want to hit the Morikami Museum soon. I was reminded, after seeing these cool fish prints (which make a few fine wallpapers, maybe after I cycle out of Ganesha again).

7/5/03

Somebody buy me "They Came From Hollywood" when it comes out? Screenshots and more info here. Or Maybe "I was an Atomic Mutant?"

Downloading the atomic mutant demo now.

update -

Well, the demo of "I was an atomic mutant" has whetted my appitite. nothing like being a giant radioactive lizard, destroying towns. I'm really craving to be a giant, disembodied brain. Looks worth $20. Not sure what the lasting gameplay is like, though... no multiplayer, and it's basically "rampage 3d".. smash down, move to next level.

On second thought, I'll hold out for They Came from Hollywood.. looks like more options and ideas.

Gigantic monster personality test Returned my answer as a big geek..Well, that's true. (I suspect the quiz doesn't have the giant plant as one of the answers.

Well, Newt didn't mind the fireworks too much, yesterday, though when someone right out back started firing them off, he peered through the window, and Mer'd at each explosion. Fortunately there weren’t too many. *Pop* Mer? *Pop* Mer! *Pop* Mer! He's been afraid of thunder when it's right on top of the house, though.

I was going to go out to breakfast this morning, but decided it was nicer to just relax a bit and have a cup of instant General Foods International Coffee, Orange Cappuccino. Yummy, though I'm partial to the Swiss Mocha. I'm overdue for Coffee with Sappho and Ihop with Kev.

My daily spam between my regular mail and my registration mail is rather high, in my opinion. ~90 mails daily in the junk mail account, and about 70 in my regular mail, too. Filters work ok, but some things still fritter through. My bulk mail folder is especially large and I use a disposable addy whenever there's a chance of it being harvested or traded. It's not gotten too bad yet, but I might not feel the same way a bit more down the line. I'm wondering if perhaps I should consolidate my addys, and redistribute? I'll concern myself more with it later on.

Danny spent a long time yesterday working on homework... he had to outline 4 chapters, and when I called him, he's spent 2 hours outlining a 30 page first chapter. That seems too long to me, but I have no idea what the chapter contained. I figure that it's a Danny-ism... making more work for himself than is needed. I'm amazed at his current Saturday Schedule... 8-hour cram class and then goes out with the wife for 3 hours dancing that night. He must be fried come Sunday. I'll give him a call midday tomorrow and see how he's surviving. He just had a pesky doctor's visit, too… that can't be helping matters.

Most of my nearest and dearest are needing repair in some way lately... Hip/back, hand, skin, legs... It seems most folks in my age group are starting to see the warrantee expire. Oh for a super-fixy bacta tank!



In other Star Wars nerdy News, while talking about bellybuttons, *someone* suggested mine was similar to a sarlacc, drawing in lint akin to Boba Fett with my yeti-hair acting as graspers. I’ll have the world know that my navel is generally lint-free.

Extra dork bonue - RPG stats for Sarlaac

Looks like weather station K4VAE was back online, but is down again. Bah.

7/4/03

Kazaa lite is amazing.. Pluck any music you want (within reason. it has to exist somewhere) and presto, you can draw it down rapidly...most times in less time than the playing length of the song.

7/4/03

I tend to agree with this. Zack Exley is calling for a new brand of American patriotism that doesn't involve jingoistic slogans, and asks that we live up to our responsibility to our fellow citizens.

America: Love It but Don't Leave It - By Zack Exley, AlterNet

Patriotism is love of country. But love comes in many forms: deep, permanent and unconditional, as well as superficial, fleeting and with strings attached. Too often in America, expressions of patriotism seem to flow from our perceived status as "#1” – in terms of military might, wealth, freedom, and democracy.

Our leaders remind us in nearly every speech they make that we live in the "greatest, freest, most just nation on Earth." They remind us so often, that one can't help but wonder if they really do believe it. That is a patriotism borne of fear, confusion and insecurity.

What if America wasn't – or isn't – number one? Would we still love our country then? Suggest American fallibility, and you may find yourself labeled a traitor. But how, then, are we to find our way to a better America, if this superficial, insecure patriotism prevents us from naming problems that need fixing and traits that need changing?

The solution is to reject false, jingoistic patriotism, and to embrace a patriotism based on the unconditional love of one's country. Note: that's unconditional love, not unconditional approval. Like a parent loves a child, or a child a parent, we love our country because it is our country. Period.

Beware: This type of patriotism brings with it much more responsibility than the kind based on superficial, conditional love. Once you accept responsibility for your country in the way that a parent does for a child – or a child for a parent – then you're really committed. When your country misbehaves, you can't just roll your eyes as if you had nothing to do with it.

Too many on the left have tried to absolve themselves of responsibility for their country by saying "that's my government, not me." Too many on the right have tried to erase the responsibility governments have to represent all the people by saying, "Love it or leave it!"

Perhaps as old political categories such as left and right lose their relevance, we can aim for a new political unity based on a new kind of patriotism. Let's leave behind the hollow patriotism which is based on disdain for and fear of others. Instead, let's define a new patriotism – one that expresses our unconditional love for America and lives up to our responsibility to our fellow Americans.

Mildly sore throat today, fell asleep without the CPAP on, and as a snoring result, my uvula is a bit swollen. Lovely sleepy time this morn.

I hope that the Mother got to talk with the Brother. I'll know by this evening.

Happy 227th birthday, USA! Happy Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Day!

I heartily recommend reading the Declaration of Independence. It's brief, and has a good vibe to it.


If that's not your thing, have a fart joke. (Personally, I like both!)


Classic Obstacles. (I will refrain from highlighting ones that apply to any places of work, current or former.)

When an enterprise refuses to start or run vigorously, the reason may be on this reminder list of common demons:

• Overemphasis on defense of position, class, or reputation.


• Too much love for the familiar or routine. Fear of discomfort


• Evaluating new information and ideas for form rather than content.


• Failure to create a climate of acceptance for new ideas.


• Inordinate concern with turf and title boundaries. Be interested in everything.


• Overspecialized education; insufficiently comprehensive view.


• Lack of deep dedication and commitment. Beware enthusiastic lip service.


• Unrealistic and incomplete job descriptions / titles; unclear lines of responsibility.


• Failure to provide responsible persons the authority they need to carry out their work.


• Failure to delegate authority in order to prevent work overload.


• Overdelegation authority; there must be a boss.


• Fear and avoidance of responsibility.


• Failure to personally follow through and support your ideas at all stages; including the dirty-hands work.


• Unneeded chain of command. Compartmentalization of people reduces accuracy and interrupts the flow of information.


• Permitting information bottlenecks to occur as a result of red tape and authorization procedures intended mostly to establish or maintain power.


• Bucking decisions up to the next level merely to cover ass.


• Failure to provide a (safe) means of criticizing superiors who may be wrong.


• Unwillingness to doubt conventional wisdom and respected sources.


• Accepting without question expert opinion (including yours) that "it can't be done."


• Succumbing to jealousies that divert and distort focus and energy.


• Overemphasis on competition both in and out of house.


• Overemphasis on cooperation both in and out of house.


• Fear of being seen as too aggressive.


• Fear of being seen as weak.


• Failure to address issues of low self-confidence and low self-esteem.


• Feeling apathetic and powerless.


• Fear of making mistakes or being thought a fool.


• Fear that your ideas will be stolen. Hiding can deflect needed information.


• Believing that you "can't understand it." If "they" can comprehend it, so can you. Don't mistake jargon use and cliquishness for superior intelligence.


• Failure to define the problem and its territory clearly.


• Failure to do your homework.


• Narrowing and defining the problem too soon. Take time to mull it over.


• Not making time to think things out deeply.


• Believing that fantasizing and dreaming are a waste of time.


• Failure to fish or cut bait; also known as "time to shoot the engineer" effect. Endless modifying and talk can prevent action.


• Failure to distinguish between cause and effect.


• Failure to distinguish between opinion and fact.


• Failure to investigate the obvious.


• Failure to search for and identify patterns.


• Mistaking "should" for "can" or "will". Beware unrealistic promises to and from.


• Inappropriate timing, especially in presenting ideas or products.


• Failure to develop the influence, PR, and money needed to boost your ideas.


• Failure to accept or nurture ideas that your work has inspired in others.


• Bumming out everyone including yourself, with depressing talk of failures and weaknesses. It helps to phrase your goals and requirements in positive language. "The assembly should be as light as possible" gets better results than "Excess weight should be avoided."

7/3/03

Groceries!

Restocked Freezer!

Grocery fun facts -

• Publix's Top Selling Snack - Pringles Original, 7oz.


• On average, there are eight peas in a pod.


• Olive oil is made only from green olives.


• The cashew is part of a fruit called a "cashew apple" that grows in tropical regions. After harvesting, the cashew apple keeps for only 24 hours before the soft fruit deteriorates. The cashew apple is not commercially important since it spoils quickly, but local people love the fruit. To harvest the nut, the ripe apple is allowed to fall to the ground where natives easily gather it. The apple and nut are separated.


• On the average, each American consumes 117 pounds of potatoes, 116 pounds of beef, 100 pounds of fresh vegetable, 80 pounds of fresh fruit, and 286 eggs per year.


• On the Italian Riviera in Viareggio, there is a culinary tradition that a good soup must always contain one stone from the sea. This stems from the days when an Italian fisherman's catch was scooped up in nets; fish and stones frequently ended up together in the same cooking pot.

Hmm.. The bakery didn't finish the key lime pie for delivery. Ah well... such is life. I'll get some next time.

Hotty-hot day today, clear skies. I hope that'll make fireworks that much nicer for the throngs of beachgoers tomorrow... though if recent history is any indicator, it'll rain.

Bloggers Gain Libel Protection

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.

Online free speech advocates praised the decision as a victory. The ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists. One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.

Story Tools

"One-way news publications have editors and fact-checkers, and they're not just selling information -- they're selling reliability," said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But on blogs or e-mail lists, people aren't necessarily selling anything, they're just engaging in speech. That freedom of speech wouldn't exist if you were held liable for every piece of information you cut, paste and forward."

The court based its decision on a section of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, or the CDA. That section states, "... no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Three cases since then -- Zeran v. AOL, Gentry v. eBay and Schneider v. Amazon -- have granted immunity to commercial online service providers.

Tuesday's court ruling clarifies the reach of the immunity granted by the CDA to cover noncommercial publishers like list-server operators and others who take a personal role in deleting or approving messages for online publication.

"Here, the court basically said that when it comes to Internet publication, you can edit, pick and choose, and still be protected," said Cohn.

The case traces back to a North Carolina town in 1999, where handyman Robert Smith was repairing a truck owned by attorney and art collector Ellen Batzel. Smith claimed to have overheard Batzel say she was related to Nazi Gestapo head Heinrich Himmler. He said he concluded that the European paintings he saw in her home must be stolen goods, and shared this in an e-mail he sent to the editor of the Museum Security Network, an organization that publishes information about stolen art.

Without telling Smith the e-mail would be published, Ton Cremers -- the sole operator of Amsterdam-based Museum Security Network –- made minor edits, then posted Smith's e-mail to a list of about 1,000 museum directors, journalists, auction houses, gallery owners and Interpol and FBI agents.

Three months later, Batzel learned of the post. She contacted Cremers to deny both the stolen art and Nazi ancestry allegations. She also said Smith's claims were motivated by financial disputes over contracting work.

Smith said he had no idea Cremers would publish a private e-mail on the list or on the Web.

Batzel sued Smith, Cremers and the Museum Security Network for defamation and won. Cremers appealed.

The appeals court questioned whether Cremers' minor edits to Smith's e-mail altered it so much that the post became a new piece of expression, and decided it had not. But because Smith claims he didn't know the e-mail would be published, the court also questioned whether the immunity provision of the Act applied, and passed the case back to the district court. The lower court will reconsider whether Cremers had reasonable belief that Smith's e-mail was intended for publication.

"Some weblogs are interesting mixes of original and forwarded content, so this issue may come up again in the courts," EFF's Cohn said. "Where that legal line is drawn may become a point of contention."

Ellen Batzel says the case changed her life.

"This was a small, North Carolina mountain town -- I talked to the (district attorney) and he said 'Get a dog, get a gun, get a security system or better yet get out of town.' I sold my house and moved. I've been hurt in my professional reputation and in my private life.

"I know what free speech is, and I support it, but this is about invasion of privacy and my civil liberty. Every time I meet someone now, I have to say, 'Hi, I'm not Himmler's granddaughter."

Attorney Howard Fredman, who represented Batzel in the case, said the next legal steps could include a rehearing before the appeals court, or petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court.

7/3/03

Phone died officially yesterday.. I need to pick up a midterm cheapie until my uber-phone comes in.

Doctor visit today, and we'll see how that goes.

I'm tired of hack comics relying on one-trick humor. Fat guys telling *only* fat jokes, Black guys telling *only* black jokes, Lesbians telling *only* lesbian jokes. Come back when you've got an assortment. Just because you can make fun of your personal diametric is no reason not to expand out a bit. Maybe add a little storytelling? It's getting so that I can flip past a stand-up and tell you any of the jokes a person might say, just by a glance. I think that for the most part there's some sort of heirachy too, in the event of "combo packs". I suspect sexuality dominates ethnicity, and ethnicity trumps overweight content (unless the comic in question is overwhelmingly obese). I wonder how big a business comedy clubs is anymore?

Mother's back from Sweden, going to the Bahamas this weekend... and moving into her new condo right after she returns. I'm guessing she's not hurting for funds too badly.

Neat! I got a friendly hello from one of my spawn in the vampire game, . (Between Hessite & 8th, and Horror & 9th)

Tree types

I think I'll underline the accurates, and bold the ones I find especially inaccurate.

Scotto

Strong
muscular
adaptable
takes what life has to give
happy content
optimistic
needs enough money and acknowledgment
hates loneliness
passionate lover which cannot be satisfied
faithful
quick-tempered
unruly
pedantic and careless.

Newton

Full of charm
cheerful
gifted
without egoism
likes to draw attention
loves life
motion
unrest and even complications is both dependent and independent
good taste
artistic
passionate
emotional
good company
does not forgive.

Ok, we're making progress. I’ve got a prescription for a foot brace to build up some strength there, and a MRI.

Let's hope Workman's Comp stays Johnny on the spot. I'd like that to be scheduled swiftly. I'll start pestering them on Monday.

I've picked up my new cheapskate phone, and it seems to do the job well enough. it'll make for a good spare when the new one arrives.

Had a nice day today, though there's a tiny headache seed in my noggin... hopefully it'll pass before taking bloom.

7/2/03

Dreams of a belly dancer came to me last night. *rawr*.

Net meeting today. Had a nice, solid hour-long dev-chat. good suggestions, pleased with where I've gone with both of the projects. We're going to have to schedule another one soon, for when I implement some of the requests. pending data coming?

multi-form for history and notes. item master - subsets of history -split data

batch processing concentrate

customer id job #

get the data into postal soft

xml import of Dbase, rather than CSV

smaller batches / 750 records at a time file-chop.

"When water enters the cup, it becomes the cup! When water enters the bottle, it becomes the bottle! Now, water can flow, or it can crash.

Be the water."

Where's that from?

I'm so very happy for and her poet! Rock on, sis!



ElboRoom Cam

Sun-Sentinel.com Web Cam

Cape Canaveral

Lauderdale marina cams

all 4 Boat station cams

intracoastal dock
underwater
fuel dock
west entrance

Manatee cam 8-5 est gallery


Fort Lauderdale international airport.

Edison South Beach

Sloppy Joe's Key West

Key West Aquarium - in tank

Key West Aquarium - over tank

Mallory Square, billyfish, pier, and sunset cam

Hog's Breath Saloon

Oh, and of course,

Newtcam!



Random Big Trouble in Little China Quote in my head -

"What’s that?"

"Black blood of the earth."

"You mean oil, right?"

"No, I mean black blood of the Earth!"

Miss Keane has an orange cat named Valentino, which broke up Keane and the Professor.

Gray's Anatomy online. A fun surf. I'm pondering synching it to my palmtop.

The Bush Administration modified HIPAA. And not in a good way. What started as a privacy law has become a way for the government to catalogue your most intimate personal physical details. Welcome to the new Amerika and Happy 4th!

Logic Primer - a good introductory catalogue of logic and fallacy. If folks participating in the debate-style communities stuck to this sort rule set, I'd be more prone to participate in discussions there. Not that I'm not an atheist, but the logic remains.

I confess to being especially guilty of Cum hoc ergo propter hoc, Equivocation, Appeal to Nature attacks in debate.

Giant Sea Creature Baffles Chilean Scientists

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Chilean scientists were baffled on Tuesday by a huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on the southern Pacific coast and were seeking international help identifying the mystery specimen.

The dead creature was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported about a week ago, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.

"We'd never before seen such a strange specimen, We don't know if it might be a giant squid that is missing some of its parts or maybe it's a new species," said Elsa Cabrera, a marine biologist and director of the Center for Cetacean Conservation in Santiago.

Photographs showed a round leathery substance like a mammoth jelly fish, about as long as a school bus.

Giant squid live at a depth of 9,500 feet and only rise to the surface when they die. Specimens have been known to be as long as 60 feet.

There was speculation that the mass might be a whale skin, but Cabrera said it was too big and did not have the right texture or smell.

Cabrera said she was contacting Chilean and international organizations in the hope that they could help shed some light on the find.

The Chilean Navy first spotted the mystery specimen along with another large mass, but the other dead animal turned out to be a dead humpback whale.

7/1/03

Hm... Net meeting was supposed to start at 10am... but nobody seems to be around. I waited until 11, and then sent out an email to the bosses asking if there is a time that we can reschedule for. I have to be at physical therapy by 1:30. (Which I'd forgotten about until my pop-up reminder this morning.) I hope that they missed the meeting due to some groundbreaking discovery that'll make us all a gazillion dollars.

Golden grahams with marshmallow fudge are not the best breakfast, and it was so rich I could only eat about a 1/2 ounce of it with my cereal. Smores-y good. . I think that riblets will be supper tonight... a little high in sodium, but delicious and otherwise very healthy. Lunch, I don't know...maybe some green beans and enchiladas. Those things are yummo!

Users on the cartman cluster will be unable to update their journals as we work to repair it. You can find the cluster you are on here. Hm.. It think that's the first time in local memory that it wasn't the chef cluster (my cluster)

Talking to Ray, I hear that Austin is supposed to be some sort of Mecca of sanity in the Madness that is Texas. (A large University Town?) Maybe I can get Juliabee to elaborate.

My creepy neighbor commented on stuff that I throw in the dumpster. It's really none of his business that I like to eat much the same thing every week. Pretty weird that he noticed cans of peas and green beans.

6/30/03

Wow. Remember asking for a better vibe? It arrived. :)

A day of wonders and good cheer.

I can't even remotely say how happy I am about the day's events.

Talked to three cool people today; Danny at lunch, Ray after, and my sweetie after that. So nice!

Lunch with Danny was groovy... we had Thai (I had red curry tofu) , and a long rambling talk about assorted things.... my journal, his church, his 8-hour Saturday class, FAU's horrible record-keeping and baurocratic system, my brother, gaming, There... and lots more. Gave Danny a stamp to put on his good student's papers..."Double Happiness"



Ack, photos didn't come out from today very well. We went past a number of art galleries on Las Olas... some amazing sculptures in the windows there... sadly, the female forms made of chain and coins didn't come out an auction house with tons of ivory had this cool dragon boat in the window... all hand carved. I don't even want to know how much that much old ivory is costing.



We got some chocolate covered pretzels form Kilwins for dessert... (I got some rocky road fudge for later) Dan teased Bonnie, who was putting out chocolate coins, and she was reasonably cool with it. The smell was heavenly. Interesting woodcarvings of African animals, too.

Afterwards, I got home, managed to get some work happening, and got a nice phone call from Ray... it's been about 7 years since I spoke with him voice, and he sounds exactly the same. It was great fun catching up with him, even though work sort of interrupted a few times near the bottom. That’s the high price of telecommuting, I suppose. I look forward to more gabs in the future.

Nobody's business but mine what I gabbed to sweetie about, but suffice to say, she's spellbinding.

From an email tonight -

A line from Dan's textbook:"Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge" by Joseph D. Novak, 1998.

From chapter 1, page 7:

"If schooling as we know it now ranks a 2 or 3 on a scale of 10, . . . I predict we shall see improvements to a level of 7 or 8 in 20 years. Considering that almost no progress has been made in the past 40 years, I recognize how optimistic my prediction is."

Sakes. I can only hope!

6/30/03

Goofing around and made a new Icon... We'll see how long I keep it. I had a lot of trouble resting last night. I couldn't think straight and was generally anxious. I wish that I had been able to focus rather than just sit and stress. Ah well, today is a new day, and hopefully a better vibe will come.

Talked to Danny last night, and he didn't get me the Playboy, so I called the magazine up today, and they cancelled the subscription. Apparently it was an unpaid one and they don't keep phone numbers on file, so if the person made a mistake in writing out the address they're out of luck. I wonder if it was some sort of prank? If so, a free issue of playboy is a pretty good one! Apparently, they were going to bill the person here.

The Thorns is a new group comprised of Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins, and Matthew Sweet. They're making music with a focus on vocal harmony that brings back memories of Crosby, Stills, and Nash (some say The Beach Boys, but I don't feel the "surf vibe".) Give their song No Blue Sky a listen - it's one of my current favorites. (the lyrics) You can read this article if you want to know more about the band.

For folks that are too lazy to make hot dogs octopi-style on your own. I first learned about Octodogs in the Tick comic. Be sure and read "So How does it work?" $16.95? (or $23 with S&H) Simpler to cut the bottom twice, and poke eyes with a toothpick.

A wonderful Retrocrush look at King Kong, and his 60th birthday.

I still can't believe how much trouble it is finding a DVD version. I'd love to get that as a present for myself. (or put it on my wish list.) Something in copyright allows for UK, but not USA?

Random Scotto factoid - I've never had a black eye, but have probably received a couple dozen bloody noses. (it's never been broken)

Great King Kong site

The Illustrated Catalog of ACME products. Compiler, I salute you!

Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is out, and it fixes a ton of bugs Imagine that.

Danny just called, and we're going to have an impromptu lunch together. ...Until later, dear journal.

6/29/03

I still feel free use the term "fairer sex", because as a whole, I do find women to be more pleasing to the eye than men. If politically correct monkeys don't like it, they can lump it. On looking up fair maid, I think definition two is rather comical. I may yet use that in the future.

I'm looking forward to this... Apparently it's running trailer son Finding Nemo (when you can get there in a timely manner). The Incredibles - Pixar. Oh, you can bet I'm looking forward to it. Pixar supers! I notice that the music is like a slower version of OHMSS.

Also, Columbia Pictures has bought the rights to Marvel Comics' most famous black superhero, Luke Cage. Ben Ramsey (THE BIG HIT) will write the adaptation of the long-running character. Luke Cage is a former gang member from Harlem that is framed by his best friend and sent to federal prison on drug charges. While in prison, Cage volunteers for a medical experiment that ultimately gives him super strength and bulletproof skin. Using the new powers, Cage escapes and becomes Luke Cage: Hero for Hire. Avi Arad will produce for Marvel Studios. I wonder who could play him well? As long as it's not Will Smith, I'm cool. What about Iron Fist? Luke Wilson would be horrid, yet well cast, I think.

Sweet Christmas!

There's a weakness in my heart for zombie movies...I hope 28 days later is good. I've heard some positive things already.

Scottobear’s Weekly Fotolog Stats/Reminder

* Your Fotolog has been viewed 88 times.
* You uploaded 5 photos in the past week.
(They've been viewed 93 times in the past week.)

Spreading a meme from who knows where

COMFORT TV OR COMFORT BOOKS?

Comfort books, unless I'm too tired to even read, but unable to get to sleep. (Which happens a lot when I'm in need of comfort.) Cartoon Network, Discovery, and History Channel work wonders.

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIRT?

My current favorite shirt is a black white and red Tie-dyed "Pirates of the Caribbean" shirt I got from Disney world back in 2000. It's comfy, has hippy and pirate context, and reminds me of a lovely little vacation.

DO YOU WRITE? IF SO, WHAT DO YOU OVERUSE?

I write, and probably rely too much on detail of the area rather than cutting to the point of the story. Too much scenery. (It's the first thing I start trimming.)

BAND YOU HATE MOST?

Any that's playing too loud outside my bedroom window. I really like all sorts of music.

PUNK IN DRUBLIC?

Nah, I don't even drink all that much in private.

DUDE, I CAN'T *BELIEVE* PEOPLE...
Worry so much about the opinions of strangers with no apparent knowledge about what they're talking about. I'm concerned with opinions of folks that matter to me, and professionals in the field...not Joe Blow off the street. (Even most professionals don't matter to me, either, honestly.) The opinion of someone I know and respect however is very valuable.

FIRST BOOK I REMEMBER READING ALL BY MYSELF.
I can't recall much of my very young childhood, but an issue of Spidey Super Stories (a kids comic cross-promoted on The Electric Company television show.) Sometime in the early 70s. Easy Reader was in it, and Spidey was fighting the Lizard, while Spidey teamed up with Easy Reader to fight the Vanisher. (Edit) In fact, after a little googling, I just found a picture. April 1975 issue (so I was about 6 years old), picked up at the grocery store. I'm sure there were books before that, but that one stands out in my mind because I bought it with my own money and made a point of reading it on my own. There was a teenage-girl named "Thumper" who likes to dress like Napoleon Bonaparte and uses a boxing glove she hides in her vest to whack people in the back of their head when they're not looking. Her origin? "When the Thumper didn't get a Yellow Pony for her birthday... she got very angry and turned to crime. Dressed as the great French Hero Napoleon, the Thumper looks for someone to Thump." It was something very close to along those lines.

Hmm. You know, I hear that's the exact same origin Mysterio originally had. Except replace the line about 'someone to Thump' with 'someone to try desperately to frighten with rubber bats'.

I've come to a conclusion. Morgan Freeman must reprise his role as Easy Reader in the next Spidey movie.

I need to go to a comic book store and pick up a copy of this just to have again. Three Villains, Lizard, Thumper, and Vanisher. Pretty good for a kid's comic. 35¢ well spent.



FAVORITE ANIMAL?

I love a lot of animals... very difficult to choose one, but I suspect that my true favorite animals are Chimps..Or Giant Squid. No.. Gorillas. Gorillas. It's Gorillas. Unless they mean favorite animal in particular, and then it’s Newt, hands down.



STUPIDEST THING YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST WEEK?

Overwriting a practically final draft of a project with one that was only maybe three feet into the journey of a thousand miles. 'doh!

SMARTEST THING YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST WEEK?

built a SQL database cleanup and transmission system in under an hour.

THING FROM THE PAST MONTH YOU'RE MOST THANKFUL FOR?

Spending time with D. It's so nice to have someone there that knows and follows along a trail of weirdness, good vibes, nostalgia and friendship. I’m also very glad that Ray decided to reopen lines of communication, along similar terms.

6/29/03

Check out the deadliest computer peripheral to hit the market since the Microsoft Natural Keyboard:



Metal Storm's new VLe electronic handgun.

That's right, no moving parts, all electronic. Metal Storm makes all kinds of all-electronic weapon goodies that they're trying to peddle to the U.S. government, including a 36-barrel minigun that fires at a rate of over a million rounds a minute. That's a lot. Here's the article at CNN.

BRISBANE, Australia (CNN) -- Imagine a gun that fires a million rounds a minute -- enough to shred a target in a blink of an eye, or throw up a defensive wall against an incoming missile.

This is Metal Storm, a weapons system that forsakes old-style mechanics for the speed of electronics.

Its inventor is Mike O'Dwyer, a one-time grocer in the Australian city of Brisbane. He's spent 30 years and much of his own money to develop the technology.

Now, finally, the doors are opening for him at the Pentagon, the U.S. Defense Department's headquarters.

O'Dwyer says that the real value comes from Metal Storm's electronic capability to deliver rates of fire and different types of projectiles very precisely.

The weapons range from a handgun that can only be operated by an authorized user to a grenade launcher that can fire either lethal or non-lethal ammunition.

While much of the technology is a closely guarded secret, the firing mechanism has no moving parts. Instead, it uses electronic ballistics technology. Unlike other guns, the only parts which move are the bullets.

The Metal Storm handgun employs electronic locking, which can limit firing access and stop unauthorized use. It can even be programmed not to fire within, say, the grounds of a school.

Its grenade launcher can give the same defensive security as a minefield, but without physically putting any explosives in the area being guarded. Instead, sensors can alert an operator to any intrusion. The operator can then decide whether to use lethal or non-lethal grenades to warn off -- or destroy -- the intruder.

O'Dwyer is a passionate advocate of applying technology to modern warfare and the rise of networking in defense thinking.

"Where network-centric warfare is going is moving the principal systems of weapons from the big, heavy, slow stuff to the small, light, fast, inexpensive (weapons), many of (which) -- and here's the important part -- is very smart."

It's this promise of speed and flexibility that has got the American and Australian military to commit $60 million in research and development funding for O'Dwyer's array of weapons.

Metal Storm started in a small Brisbane workshop, where all the prototypes have been built.

Increasingly, the project looks to the United States, where most of its staff are now based and where it hopes to clinch sales to defense agencies and police forces next year.

Going global has been in O'Dwyer's sights for many years. It's a target that gets a little larger and a little closer every day.

• Forget the million-round super gun. Here are a few cool things about the VLe handgun (and I know guns are bad):


• gun can only fire in the owner's hand


• you can upload info -- like when the gun's been fired -- to a laptop


• it can talk, and says things like "safety on" and "lethal". Why do all handguns have female voices? The company thinks this will encourage criminals to give in. "Hey, the gun says it's lethal. We'd better surrender, boys."


• it can fire bullets ... or bean bags

Watch the video, in RealMedia format.

Once they get the VLe compatible with PalmOS, you'll be able to sync to keep track of whom you've killed. Neato.

My favorite part? It has four barrels, quite possibly making it niftier looking than Deckard's gun in Blade Runner:




You're The MP5!
Legendary Performance.
H&Ks Project 64 was the codename for the weapons
development effort that eventually spawned you
a solid, robust performer, a close-quarters 9mm
submachine gun in ubiquitous service with SWAT
teams and Counter-Terrorist forces worldwide.


What HK Weapons System Are You
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Random Scotto Factoid - I can juggle up to 3 beanbags.... badly.

6/28/03

This week's topic - Angles



Weird... somebody subscribed me to Playboy magazine. (Well, my address, the name on the bag it comes in was "Elad Rozman". Elad... Dale?

I wonder if the numbers got mixed up on the address box. I'll have to ask Danny if he subscribed me as a weird sort of present or something. If it's not a secret goodie, I'll call up the magazine offices on Monday, and let 'em know that I didn't order it.

Meanwhile, free playboy. (Following links may contain nudity)

Carnie Wilson Nude... wearing a corset to cover up her gastric bypass scars, I'm guessing. Her face has an odd characteristic to it...seems long or something. It looks like she got a doctor to help trim the sag that must've been bound to happen after losing that much weight that fast. She looks ok.. I hope her health is better as a result of the operation.

Some airbrushed Girls from Survivor, I thought the way it worked was you were in playboy first, and then ended up on a crappy TV show? For what it's worth the ladies are appealing, and even though I don't normally gravitate to blondes, she has a nice look. I could not gather through a perusal of the article which name went with which girl, so that seems to be an oversight.

a very bland, generic centerfold. She's a very typical airbrushed girl.

When did Playboy start with "sexy letters"? I though that was a penthouse/more hardcore thing.

A nifty article about crime scenes, and a lot of very standard Playboy panel cartoons, another article unread as yet about undercover cops, cool electronics, Interview with Tobey Maguire. Could be good, The Blameless society is especially nifty, about pointing fingers.

Not a bad mag for $5.99 on the street.

My registration @ do not call came back tome about 36 hours later. that's a slow turnaround for an automated system. This registration will be effective until 6/29/2008.

6/28/03

Aww!! Giant plushie microbes! How cute are they? (via ...Athlete's foot and the common cold are both so cute!

Broccoli Wokly can be purchased at Piggly Wiggly.



Sig Sauer P226. Greatest gun ever! Feel special.
Beautiful and reliable but can still scare the
living bejesus outta anyone.


What handgun are you?
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Saw the girls from Charlie’s Angels 2 interviewed. They were coming across as *really* (not just generic actor) airhead dumb. It surprised me, and leads me to wonder if they're *acting* really dumb (given that TV interviews are canned and totally non-spontaneous) or actually total vacuum-heads. Either way, it begs the question... Does it make them more attractive to the public at large, or was it a horrible mistake to let them go on a promotional tour?



I got to talking with Ray via email about the great old USA TV show "Night Flight" . There is very little of value about the show online, though. Lots of weird, goofy rock videos, movie clips and cult films. (It was later renamed or replaced by "Up all Night" and it just wasn't as good with a host, even if it was Gilbert Gottfried.) Ticking off things that wake back up... music videos by The Residents, Dynaman (the Japanese version of Power rangers) Episodes, SubGenius "Bob" films, Starewicz films and if I remember right, the first time I saw Porky pig say "Son of a b-b-b-b-b... gun. I bet you thought I was going to say Son of A bitch, didn't ya?" as he hammered his thumb. I'm wondering if I have any episodes on tape in my "box of unmarked random TV" collection along with old episodes of the real Ghostbusters, max headroom and misc MTV. If so, hopefully I'll be able to get Kev to burn them to a DVD for me. I'd really like to view The Intruder and Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge again.

I wonder if Tony is still part of Amway? The allure of that company is very strong, and the conditioning is not unlike certain cult tactics of peer pressure and indoctrination. Speaking of indoctrination, someone scanned in a Scientology promotional book from the 70s. Even if you don't care about the cult, the production values and the styles are well worth it. Every single page is a riot.

I was also reminded of Kelly... whom I had a massive crush on. I thought it was a great match... she was cute, personable, a gamer, from Massachusetts, and the only other person in our group that was single. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... I think I tried too hard. Kelly was part of our old gaming group one summer, compliments of the Wu's and SFSFS. That and meeting Danny via Tropicon are two of the best influxes of folks into my social circle thanks to the society. Downside... I think Elaine was obtained through there as a result, too. I've attended quite a few Tropicons, though three of them resulted in an early exit and trip around town instead. Highlights include Kathleen and I assisting Ray as GMs, and a Zombie killer game... Meeting Neil Gaiman, and talking about the CBLDF, sweeping the casino, and having my choice of all prizes one year, winning a grab bag of all Shadowrun items available that year. Sneaking in to just browse the dealer’s room before bolting off with Danny for lunch elsewhere, after getting fun loot to send to people and keep for myself. Other Kelly Memories are going to See Men In Tights and peanut butter M&Ms, 60s DC universe game.

6/27/03

Went in for Physical Therapy check over. Only on one crutch now. If spending this many weeks on crutches is any indication of what life on one is like, I have no idea why Freddy Freeman ever bothered switching back (save to slip Cap'n Marv Sr. his fragment of strength back). Of course, if I were Boston Brand I'd probably find some guy in good shape about to be pulled off of life support, and take control of that body, as my secret identity.

In more *good news* regarding out current government - (bolding added by me)

370,000 Sign Up for Anti-Telemarketing List

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One thousand people per second signed up Friday to get on a free "do not call" list that will prevent telemarketers from bothering them at home, swamping telephone lines and a Web site set up to handle demand.

Eager Americans rushed to place their home phone numbers on the Federal Trade Commission's list shortly after President Bush (news - web sites) launched the measure in a White House ceremony.

By noon the list had grown to 370,000 and was increasing by 1,000 per second, the FTC said.

The do-not-call list should help Americans enjoy their private time without unwanted interruptions, Bush said a few hours after the list was opened up for registration.

"When Americans are sitting down to dinner or a parent is reading to his or her child, the last thing they need is a call from a stranger with a sales pitch," Bush said in a White House Rose Garden ceremony.

Telemarketers who call numbers on the list after Oct. 1 will face penalties of up to $11,000 per call, as well as possible consumer lawsuits.

Consumers can sign up for the list by logging on to (http://donotcall.gov), while those living west of the Mississippi river can also register by calling 1-888-382-1222.

Consumers will not have to pay to get on the list, as telemarketers will fund it.

Plunging long-distance rates and computerized dialers have led to a five-fold increase in telemarketing calls over the past decade, prompting a deluge of consumer complaints.

The FTC announced plans for the list last year, and Congress approved it shortly afterward. The list will also include mobile phone numbers.

Do-not-call lists have proven popular in the roughly 25 states that have set them up. In Minnesota, for example, roughly half of the state's 2.2 million residential lines have subscribed.

FTC officials ultimately expect 60 million households to sign up for the national list, prompting the agency to delay telephone-based registration until July 7 for those living east of the Mississippi in an effort to handle demand.

Individuals across the country said they had trouble getting on to the Web site Friday morning, or were kicked off once they started the registration process.

FTC spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said consumers don't need to rush as they have all summer to sign up, and will not see a drop-off in telemarketing calls until Oct. 1.

Consumers will also be able to sign up for the list after the summer.

The list does not cover all callers. Nonprofit and political callers will be free to ignore it, but will have to honor consumer requests not to be called back. Businesses will be free to call customers for 18 months after making a sale, but they too will have to honor opt-out requests.

Telemarketing groups have sued to scratch the effort, arguing that it abridges free-speech rights, and say it could decimate an industry that employs 2 million.

Privacy advocate Jason Catlett, who has pushed for a national list for years, said he has little sympathy for their plight.

"Free speech doesn't give you the right to pester people in their homes when they don't want to be pestered," said Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp., which helps clients avoid unwanted commercial pitches.

1000 people per second. Wow! Someone might think people don't like being sold things over the phone during dinner or something... http://donotcall.gov was open just now when I registered, but I've not gotten my confirmation email yet.

Hearing the telemarketing shill on the News complaining that this would ruin their business, got me thinking: These are all people that don't want to be bothered. how many folks like this would buy anything anyway?

Can't get this song out of my head.
"Monkey mate in the jungle, robot replicate in factory. They both love their mother, why must they both hate each other?"

The Howard the Duck mini is up for a Stoker Award! - Look under "Illustrated Narrative."

Horror? Oprah. Dr. Phil. New Age-ism. Backstreet Boys. Girl Scouts workin' for The Man. The horror seems apparent to me.




What rating is your journal?
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6/26/03

Supreme Court wisely rules that you can't legislate morality and that privacy between consenting adults is a-ok as the Texas sodomy law (that applies to homosexuals only) is struck down. Ruling invalidates other remaining sodomy laws on the books.

Well! Florida will now legally allow noncoital sex! Strictly, onanism counts, but that common usage was dropped not too long after St. Peter Damain coined the term in the 11th century. I know that oral does as well as the more commonly recognized anal. (I've heard it used to describe bestiality, though I doubt that's legal.) I'm not gay, but those laws applied to me too, given that I'm happy to have nerve endings.

See more legalese, here

Beta version 2.0 of the Google toolbar is out, including blogging tools, an auto-form filler, and a pop up stopper.

My daily photo log has been added to my bio page...I'm not sure for how long. If I use it 3 or 4 more times I'll start contributing the registration fee to it.

Scroogle community apparently didn't read my bio page when it added me along with about 700 other uses. A minor pain in the ass. I've unsubscribed myself, and sent a little text message to the listed phone. The down side is that I might've enjoyed reading it if I hadn't been spam-added. To his credit, he IMed me back right away and apologized, and was nice enough about it. He claimed to have added my page because he liked the design, but that's most likely a load of crap. if he'd taken any interest and read the first thing that comes up on my bio page, he'd have known proper procedure.

I'm getting more Harry potter Spam in my email filter now, and fewer Mortgage or Penis enlargement.

New meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning for the XML import upgrade and Tradeshow database. It'll be good to get Mark, Tom and myself all on the same page... I imagine that they'll come up with some options and usability features that I've not thought of including so far. The xml is really, at its heart just a set of user macros that automates the existing procedure, and takes care of some of the more common errors.

New Ren & Stimpy Episodes on TNN tonight at 10:pm, then some annoying sounding other cartoons, and Then, more ren & stimpy at 11:30. Tricky going against Family guy, and adult swim on the cartoon network. Weirdly, it seems that by looking at it, all TNN has right now is Real TV from 9am to 6:30 pm, then some misc junk, then ren & stimpy. They need to buff out the roster some. I wonder why it's going under its third incarnation. The "star trek and duke boys" channel didn't work out? I know Nickelodeon owns it, too… maybe slap a few more cartoons in there?

6/26/03

I call the cat Tiny, because he's my Newt.

I slept really poorly last night, despite hitting the sack early. (or is it because?) I'm feeling very "heavy in the face"... puffy, I guess? I was quite groggy for about 10 minutes after getting up, and really didn't get wakeful until after my shower.

Harrison Ford finger-pointy gallery.

A parody on the ending of every 80s movie ever made. 6 min.

via ben peek-


it looks like there is a ghostly procession of mourners, forever showing their devotion. (Mark Twain in the box)

"CASTRILLO DE MURCIA, Spain - A man dressed as the devil leaped over babies lying on mattresses on Sunday as the small Spanish town of Castrillo de Murcia held its traditional Corpus Christi celebrations.

While many people across Spain celebrate the Catholic festival with processions and mystery plays, this northern Spanish town has for centuries chosen to protect its young from evil spirits with this unusual ritual.

Dressed in a red and yellow costume, the man representing the devil was pursued around the town by a Catholic priest -- leaping over the babies in his flight while the anxious parents stood nearby.

In all, he vaulted over around 20 mattresses each holding four or five babies.

It is believed that the devil, known as El Colacho, draws all the evil from the children and leaves them cleansed. Parents bring their children from all across the northern region of Burgos to participate in the ritual."

They show close ups of the sausage people at the site. The Hot Dog shark reminds me of Turbo and Drunko, twin brother robots who fight alongside the bikini eating bees.

via seebelow - Steve Ditko's Objectivist Comic Books

And like a real life Howard Roark from Rand's The Fountainhead; who chose to work in a quarry rather than compromise his vision, Ditko simply walked away from Marvel.

So, um, does that mean Stan Lee is Peter Keating?

6/25/03

It's such a pleasant surprise to see a rational, human response to the screw-up yesterday. I'm really glad that it was received as well as it was.

Just noticed a cool name subscribed to my journal... Sernya. (it's a pair of golden fish, Symbolizing resurrection of eternal life, rebirth etc. The pair signifies the ability to swim with ease without obstruction in the ocean of this world. They may also be taken to symbolize the eye of perception as fish can see through muddy water. The fish couple suggests mutual aid and indispensability between male and female material life.) I wonder who they are, and if I know them?

I hear Hagrid is sort of a second-string character in the latest HP. That's sort of a bummer, he's my fave. I wonder if having such a huge franchise is allowing her to write stuff that's an 870 page children's book. Sounds like an editor is needed.

Groceries coming by between 1:10-2:10, Dan's Coming by today sometime midday...after he registers at FAU. Hooray for key lime pie and Danny!

I don't watch Smallville, but I hear that they got Terence Stamp (General Zod) to Play Jor-El recently. How keen is that to a Fanboy?


LONDON (Reuters) - Move over Spider-Man -- mere mortals may soon be coming to a ceiling near you.

Researchers at the University of Manchester say they have cracked the secret of one of the reptile world's greatest climbers, the gecko, and produced a sticky tape that can mimic the lizard's gravity-defying abilities.

Soon, people could walk on walls like comic-book superhero Spider-Man, the university said.

"The new adhesive -- gecko tape -- contains billions of tiny plastic fibers which are similar to natural hairs covering the soles of geckos' feet," the University said in a statement.

"The research team believes it won't be long before Spider-Man gloves become a reality."

Bob Full, a biology professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the United States, who was also involved, said the technology could be used for handling computer chips and could have applications in medicine.

Plans are under way to produce larger pads and to improve the tape's durability, said the journal Nature Materials, which published the paper. It added that humans could hang from the ceiling by covering just one palm with the tape.

But Manchester University said cost was currently prohibitive.

"We have considered producing a large amount of gecko tape, sufficient amounts to enable a student to hang out of the window of a tall building," it said. "However it would cost too much money, and would not benefit us scientifically."


Thanks to Matt for pointing out that Hi-C's Orange Lavaburst is the same Flavor as the old Ecto Cooler.


Some very cool comic book action figures. I wish they had a pic of the Golden age Green Lantern. The plushie version is pretty cool. I'm tempted to get Doug Deadman. I lean to Crypozoology ones, for myself. Hooray for Bigfoot action figures!

I just got to play super-database wunderkind for work, so I think that my street cred is up another few notches again. They had two totally demolished excel files, and I was able to write a quick bit of SQL that put the thing together again, resized fields and prepped the data for import into the xml system. Hooray for MySQL! I can't recommend it enough to anyone who does any sort of database programming. Did I mention that it's FREE under the GNU General Public License (GPL)?

Oh, I'd say that's the best ever. Now, if you want tech support, and can't be bothered to read the documentation (which is very complete and easy to follow) they're happy to charge you for that, and for certification.

Doug's getting into No One Lives forever... Dan got it for me a birthday or three ago, and I still have to say it's my favorite fps/spy game in a long time.

I joined fotolog, after seeing 's online. You can upload one image of up to 2 Megs a day. I took a quick snap of Dan & Myself (as Mage knight) fighting zombies on a bridge. I'm a little disappointed that it auto resized it... but I like the effect. More like a bad TV image than a woodcut now. If anyone else adds the log, let me know, so I can see your stuff!

I don't think it's good to remotely link the images to here, look like they kill the bandwidth.

New guy delivering groceries... he was about 45 min late. Nice fellow though, and I didn't mind.. not like I was waiting to go to a concert or something.

6/24/03

Pleasantly surprised yesterday! I heard from Ray out of the blue. Strange, in that Danny and I were just talking about Man of Iron & the rest the other day. I've already written him back, and look forward to rekindling the friendship that was once there. We've both agreed to let whatever happened be water under the bridge. It was a nice event, and I hope the goodwill continues. I was quite happy to hear that Dart is still kicking and Kooky as ever. Dart's part of the reason I was willing to Foster Newt.

Superhero special on History Channel tonight was good, but like most history channel fare, there are too many commercials. A very complete overview. Hooray for Jim Steranko! Will Eisner looks very good for his age, surprisingly so. I wonder if his interview was done a few years back?

Dan asked for Ray's email address, too. With Ray's permission I'll give it. Perhaps they can get back in communication, too. It'd be nice to see folks all back together. I gave Dan’s addy to Ray... I hope I remembered the proper spelling.

Rick is moving North, as his Wife has a new gig with universal. He's got a comic out, and is in the works for big promotions coming soon.

I got a citation on Blogpulse? pretty neat... I wonder how they found me. I'll have to research it more.

Pondering Raleigh NC in about a year. And a vacation trip to Orlando in the nearer future. Both make me smile.

my vampire rank just hit count at 2504 pints.

It's funny to me that Danny got a gift certificate form Xanadu hair design. He's gotten a manicure, a pedicure and a facial so far, and sounds like he really enjoyed it. :)

I also heard back from Gali which is so nice... my first there-buddy. (Out for months with Computer and life issues).
Tomorrow morning is the net meeting with the big boys at the office re: the booth management system. I think they'll be pleased with the result, though I have some work left to polish it up and make it shine.

[edit] Well, crap. I was synchronizing it to the main server (I thought) and it turns out that I've downloaded a much older version over my new one. It looks like I've lost like a week or two's worth of work, though it should be much faster to reconstruct rather than redesign. I sent an email off to Mark, and I hope he understands. Crap. That'll teach me not to save with version numbers, and not to make extra backups elsewhere on my system.

Bro and I got a postcard from Mom in Sweden today, and I need to get that to the bro for his collection. He's been very good about calling and checking in with me lately, so I know he's got work and a place to stay.

Earlier, Ray reminded me of my first big superhero character, Trism. Abducted by aliens at Grover’s mill, he was experimented on as a way for humans to develop "true movement" or teleportation. Mental blank, returned in the 90's (unaged) with only the haziest memories of the event. Got to play the "1940's sensibility, 60 years later" He wasn't a racist or ignorant though. He was the "Good old days" sort… sanitized like a cartoon character could be.

I can't seem to remember many of Pam's characters... she cycled through them fairly rapidly, if memory serves... testing out different disads and etc. I vaguely remember a shadow controller and a mute (I don't think that they were one in the same, but it's possible.). There seems to be an echo of witty banter in the back of my mind, but it’s a haze. The other, more regular characters are stronger in my mind... Like Magneta's multiple personalities, (some stored on a chip... I do remember liking the one on the chip rather than the vigilante's actual mind), the giant powerhouse with his bomb on the roof,

Kyoko was nifty... the proto-ghost. She could make parts of her body desolid, and just do martial arts with solid hands and feet. (That didn't work well when caught in an area effect blast, mind you.) Leroy, the one-handed Danny Glover sidekick was something, as was the New-age store proprietor Mandy, who was quickly glommed onto as a romantic interest.

After doing a quick search on my journal for Trism, I pulled up an entry from about a year back, regarding the Colinas and my fandom of same, as well as the rest of that gang. I fairly gushed about them a year ago. I'm glad I'm getting a chance to be friends again.

6/23/03

Your heart is a muscle the size of a fist. Keep loving. Keep fighting.

Five people added me yesterday, the biggest influx in a long time. I wonder what brought you in? Welcome!

It's amazing to me how some people can make *consistently* thoughtless, mean-spirited, and bitter comments. Then I remind myself that there's one in every crowd. (Hopefully only one!) I'd gotten spoiled by hanging out with thoughtful, friendly people. Talking with Bluehair really was caustic and thoughtless, and just really upset D.... put my teeth on edge, too. I've been feeling more annoyed with the person, but rather than lash out (like I'd like) I'm going to try to help that person be nicer to others. It's possible C doesn't realize what a dink he's being, but I'm going to start pulling him aside and making a point of informing him of what he's doing.

Bro did well today, got work, was able to take care of his own bills, and just called to be nice today. That's always a plus!

Newt's being a little doll today, just content to snuggle close. I can't get enough of him! I'm so glad that there are so many nice folks in my life right now. :)

6/22/03

There's some stuff about the new Ren & Stimpy cartoon up at the TNN website:

If the video clips are any indication - especially the first one - it looks like TNN/Viacom have kept their promise to John K regarding no censorship. I was worried after seeing a couple of episodes of The Ripping Friends that he had lost it, but this looks like it's going to be pretty good.

Guest artist, Danny on my palmtop yesterday.

Dodecahedron

Mermaid

6/21/03

Back from seeing the Hulk... It wasn't too bad, but could've been Edited a bit, and the paternal issues reworked. The Fights with the army were well done, Actors a little flat with a few exceptions. (I Never thought that I'd take General Ross's POV). the "super night fights" were a little too dark, and there were a lot of wacky scene changes. I'd give it a 5/10. it could've been edited and cleaned to a 7 I think.

Before the Hulk, Danny and I had a little lunch at Boston Market, and Chitty chatted about nothing in particular. I'm glad that he brought me a few boxes to pack goodies into.

Brother just called me up and said he needed to talk to me... and looking at my call waiting, he's been calling me hourly. He's supposed to be coming over so we can discuss whatever is bothering him. My hindbrain cynically suspects it's just a beg for money. My forebrain fearfully hopes that's the only problem he has. Meanwhile.. I get to sweat it out a bit and worry while I wait for his arrival.

Apparently, bro got picked up in his bosses' truck, and the boss had outstanding warrants. So, bro doesn't have pay for today, or money to stay at the hostel tonight. To add insult to injury, his pack was in the car when it was impounded, and his pack taken (when he was asked...he said nothing in the car was his, because he thought the office was referring to the beer in the car, and didn't want to go back on what's he said for fear of pissing off the cop. Now, if he wants to get the bag with his phone charger, toiletries, and 4 sets of clothes, he has to go to the jail, fill out forms, get his boss to sign it, and get it notarized.

Meanwhile he came by here to get fresh clothes from his stores, and chat for a bit. I gave him enough money for another night at the hostel. I feel that he was telling me the truth. If it were for something illicit, he'd have asked for more money.


So. That trouble is over with, for now.

6/21/03

For Photo Friday



I love having conversations with folks that know what I'm talking about. Communal thoughts involving "Kneel before Zod" and the like. Lucky for me I know some... Lunch with Danny this afternoon, and maybe a viewing of the Hulk.

Dialect survey maps - I rather like the "What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?" Um... The devil is beating his wife? What? Liquid sun is a cool term, though. Also - What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage?

Internet Sacred Text Archive - This site is a freely available non-profit archive of electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics. Texts are presented in English translation and, in some cases, in the original language. This site has no particular agenda other than promoting religious tolerance and scholarship.

Random factoid - A coffin is coffin-shaped, tapered roughly like a flat faceted mummy case; a casket is essentially a regular rectangular box.

Little fold-up robots!

From my monkfish search spider - Fish You May Want to Avoid

Just over 100 years ago Victorians imagined what the future would be like, anticipating marvelous inventions like personal buoyancy balloons (to allow us to walk on water), trains able to move several buildings at once, and a weather control machine, among others. Cards illustrating these splendors were printed by a German chocolate company, and now they're online. Victorian Visions of the Year 2000 is a most interesting browse.

Dr. Daystrom / Blacula / King of Cartoons passed away this week. So many cool roles. Thanks for contributing so much to pop culture, Mr. Marshall.

Updated: Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2003 - 9:16 AM EDT.

Kristi King, WTOP Radio
WASHINGTON - As you contemplate what type of fish to have for dinner, conservation groups are urging people not to eat certain fish because their numbers are getting dangerously low.

"The science is not in question. The science is strong that our oceans are under tremendous threat," says Ocean Conservancy President Roger Rufe, Jr.

Rufe says many fish populations are at risk from over fishing and destructive fishing practices.

On the Conservancy's suggested list of fish to avoid eating are orange roughy, imported king crab, Atlantic swordfish. Chilean sea bass and Icelandic and Atlantic cod. Beluga caviar, monkfish, rockfish, sharks, imported shrimp, wild sturgeon and bluefin tuna are also on the list.

On the list of best choices are farm-raised seafood, including clams, oysters, and mussels. Farm raised abakine, catfish, rainbow trout and striped bass.

Rufe is a member of the Pew Oceans Commission which just gave its recommendations to Congress. A Presidential Commission report is expected soon.

"This is the opportunity for President Bush to do for our oceans what Teddy Roosevelt a hundred years ago did for our land," he says.

related link, Seafood watch - Choices for healthy oceans.

No Danny today, but probably Lunch on Saturday. Project #2 is coming to a close for me... a large Net-meeting with bigwigs first thing Wednesday morning to go over what I've cooked up for them so far. I'm hoping that they'll be pleased.

Today's Island Boy's last day at my old gig... If corporate HR had been a little more responsive about his raise, they'd probably still have him. Ah well, I hope he's happier at his new gig with Tuan. Saturday is Erica's B'day.

Dan's talking to a Mortgage broker about getting a new deal on his place, and his wife's feeling the stresses of starting her own business. (I dare not mention the rule of "don't expect a profit for at least 2 years" to her, or even Danny. It might dash their hopes even more.)

Back from PT. Looks like I had a power outage. All of my non-autorun files are closed. I'm glad that my developer's environment auto saves every 10 minutes now.

I got lucky... I thought my appointment was at noon, but it was really at 11... I must've gotten my schedules mixed up somehow. Fortunately, they had a cancellation... good thing, too… because although it's just across the way, rain is coming down in big, thick, heavy drops. Walking with a Crutch on one hand, and an umbrella in the other is no easy feat. It's been coming down hard for a little while now... drainage is becoming an issue. The flowerboxes around my south and east windows are totally flooded, as is the side walkway and rear alley. I hope all of the lizards from yesterday are safely in the trees. Biggest problem about crossing the street was the gutters full of overrun. Puddles about ankle deep and three feet across at the narrows... and I'm not in a condition to go stomping or pole-vaulting over them.

According to - Weather conditions at N4HHP-1

Last report received 10 minutes 25 seconds ago

Wind from 138 degrees @ 5 MPH
Temp 82 Humidity 72% Rain last 24 hours 41.01 inches

41 inches in 24 hours! Gadzooks!



courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel webcam

6/19/03


Got my times mixed up for Doctor today... I swung by there at 10:45 for my 11am appointment, and it turns out it was at 1pm. MY physical therapy is at 1:30p, so I went downstairs to PT, and the woman there was enthusiastic about having me work right then, as she had a cancellation, and wanted to head out today by 2pm if she could (taking her daughter to the orthodontist). I didn't do traction today, but the workout with heat and stim worked nicely.

It seems my original PT guy quit to go work in Brazil for a private individual. My mind stereotypes, and wonder if it's a big crime leader or something.

Went to the doctor, and I've got to stay on physical therapy, and may end up going to get another epidural done. Two weeks and time will tell.

In the office a kid was playing with *MICRONAUTS* today... the time-traveler one. My gosh, they're so small! Either they re-released them with different, smaller molds, or I really have gotten a lot bigger since I was 8. (The latter is more likely.) Only about 3 1/2 inches tall. On the way home I noticed the lizards are out in force... I had one hop on my crutch and ride across the street with me, a brown anole with a red throat and a really pretty speckled back in browns and yellows.. Many small ones were out and about, so I suspect a hatching season has kicked in. My rider was bigger, and pretty well fed...I made sure that he got off before entering the Newton-Zone, however.


I plan on spending some time with Danny tomorrow; both to get some quality time in, and to get some boxes so I can start packing stuff up.

A new GeoURL has popped up, 0 miles form my apartment, the Fort Lauderdale Clear Sky Clock, so I won't have to bother referencing with Heavens Abovefor my sky info anymore, as I can reference it from the Clock. Sadly, Due to light pollution in the cite, it takes a little doing to get somewhere with good stargazing light. I've added the small thumbnail to my ever-growing bio page, right underneath the Sun-sentinel cam.

A baby dolphin beached yesterday.. Tiny (3-feet long, 50 lbs), maybe a week old. The report yesterday called it a whale, because of witnesses to the event not knowing the difference. (Risso's Dolphins have a blunt head and no beak, like Bottlenose "Flipper" Dolphins)


Officials: Stranded baby dolphin will never be released

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

NORTH MIAMI -- A newborn dolphin rescued after she washed ashore on a Fort Lauderdale beach will never return to the ocean because she doesn't have the skills to survive, such as catching fish, officials said Tuesday.

Rescuers said the female Risso's dolphin was in critical condition Tuesday, a day after her rescue. The baby is recovering in a 22-foot diameter tank at Florida International University's campus in North Miami. Volunteers are feeding her Pedialyte, a solution for infants to prevent dehydration and replace electrolytes, and a gruel made of calcium, vitamins and other supplements.

"If (she) does beat the odds and (she) makes it, we would find a home for (her) in a captive care facility," said Blair Mase of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The dolphin is about a week old, said Sarah Gomez, a rehabilitation supervisor with the Marine Animal Rescue Society. She said the dolphin, nicknamed Nemo, might have beached itself because her mother died, there were problems during her birth, or because she is sick.

"She really needs to sleep and fatten up," Gomez said. The 3-foot dolphin weighs 46 pounds.

Veterinarians took blood samples, a blow whole culture and a fecal sample, Gomez said. They hope to determine whether the baby nursed from its mother, which would give it essential antibiotics to develop a healthy immune system.

Risso's dolphins are usually seen only in warm, deep oceans or seas. They have a blunt head and no beak, a curved dorsal fin and a dark gray to white body. They can grow to 12 1/2 feet long and up to 1,100 pounds.

After the baby washed ashore Monday, lifeguards took it to shallow water about 100 feet offshore until state wildlife officers and special rescue workers arrived.

Volunteers dubbed the dolphin Nemo after the character in the new Walt Disney movie, "Finding Nemo," the story of a boy fish stolen from his home and his father's search for him.

The Marine Animal Rescue Society is an all-volunteer network. Volunteers and donations are needed to care for Nemo, Gomez said.

6/18/03

Does anything marketed today worry about Tropical oils anymore?

My Knee got creaky last night...I hope it's not more damaged than I first thought. It was giving easily. (Though, maybe I'm working it hard than I was before, too)... Newt woke me extra early with his morning paw swabbing, and the Knee is still not the sturdiest. I'm a little concerned how that'll be when I move to a new apartment, and may opt to stay here another month as a result. Now that I'm up and about, He's sleeping on the bathroom windowsill. If I were a vengeful sort, I'd poke him until he had to get up, in reciprocation... but being the softie that I am, I won't tell him to move until I need to take a shower... and even then I'll cut him some slack, until I feel dingy to the point of saying Enough is enough.

The infrared Zoo - Infrared light shows us the heat radiated by the world around us. By viewing animals with a thermal infrared camera, we can actually "see" the differences between warm and cold-blooded animals. Infrared also allows us to study how well feathers, fur and blubber insulate animals. As you tour this "Infrared Zoo", see what new information you can gather about the animals here that you would not get from a visible light picture. Enjoy your tour!

Oprah + Sex = heehee. An entertaining explanation of oral sex from the Oxygen Network. Not likely work safe, unless you work at a sex-counseling center.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to *remotely destroy* the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.

The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.

Hatch Takes Aim at Illegal Downloading

By TED BRIDIS
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 17, 2003; 5:22 PM


WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet.

The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads.

During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws.

"No one is interested in destroying anyone's computer," replied Randy Saaf of MediaDefender Inc., a secretive Los Angeles company that builds technology to disrupt music downloads. One technique deliberately downloads pirated material very slowly so other users can't.

"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."

The senator acknowledged Congress would have to enact an exemption for copyright owners from liability for damaging computers. He endorsed technology that would twice warn a computer user about illegal online behavior, "then destroy their computer."

"If we can find some way to do this without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that," Hatch said. "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize" the seriousness of their actions, he said.

"There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws," Hatch said.

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., who has been active in copyright debates in Washington, urged Hatch to reconsider. Boucher described Hatch's role as chairman of the Judiciary Committee as "a very important position, so when Senator Hatch indicates his views with regard to a particular subject, we all take those views very seriously."

Some legal experts suggested Hatch's provocative remarks were more likely intended to compel technology and music executives to work faster toward ways to protect copyrights online than to signal forthcoming legislation.

"It's just the frustration of those who are looking at enforcing laws that are proving very hard to enforce," said Orin Kerr, a former Justice Department cybercrimes prosecutor and associate professor at George Washington University law school.

The entertainment industry has gradually escalated its fight against Internet file-traders, targeting the most egregious pirates with civil lawsuits. The Recording Industry Association of America recently won a federal court decision making it significantly easier to identify and track consumers - even those hiding behind aliases - using popular Internet file-sharing software.

Kerr predicted it was "extremely unlikely" for Congress to approve a hacking exemption for copyright owners, partly because of risks of collateral damage when innocent users might be wrongly targeted.

"It wouldn't work," Kerr said. "There's no way of limiting the damage."

Last year, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., ignited a firestorm across the Internet over a proposal to give the entertainment industry new powers to disrupt downloads of pirated music and movies. It would have lifted civil and criminal penalties against entertainment companies for disabling, diverting or blocking the trading of pirated songs and movies on the Internet.

But Berman, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary panel on the Internet and intellectual property, always has maintained that his proposal wouldn't permit hacker-style attacks by the industry on Internet users.

---

On the Net: Sen. Hatch: http://hatch.senate.gov


It's already worked out with Microsoft, as part of their DRM system.

Their plan is to put these chips in everyone's computers, that are made with bits of rocks from Stonehenge, and when they play pirated music, a laser beam shoots out at the music pirate, and makes bugs come out of their mouth. It will be awesome.

And then a ninja comes and totally cuts the pirate's head off.

Tiny robots! - It's small enough to "turn on a dime and park on a nickel."



Best Baby name ever.

Worst Dolls Ever. They will give you nightmares. Really. Don't say I didn't warn you. They are seriously disturbing things.