Linde is beat up and understandably upset, but doing well. I'm sure she'd appreciate hearing from people.

Graphic photos warning.

Photos taken right after she was discharged (showing the results of the airbags).

Labels: family, linde

The recent 60- and 70-degree weather in Omaha has apparently left me oblivious to the fact that my place of origin has been experiencing ice, snow and tornadoes for the last few weeks. I learned of it today when Linde e-mailed me to say she'd slid off the road into a guard rail and had just been discharged from the emergency room. I got her voicemail when I called, but I called around and finally found my father, who was preparing to run a spare vehicle up to her. He confirmed she's fine; she has some burns on her face and stomach from the airbags and a cut from the seatbelt and an assortment of bruises, but nothing more serious than that. The vehicle lost its windshield and deployed both airbags, but apparently its repairable. She's already out and back to work, shook up but okay (which is the only really important factor).

My dad said he passed two multiple car (or in this case semi-truck) pileups on his way home from Wyoming yesterday, one of which left them stranded on the Interstate for about 2 hours. And apparently they had a half-mile wide tornado a few days ago. Wow.

Labels: family, linde

On my way home a few nights ago I noticed an odd-but-familiar shape on the side of Dodge Street at 49th. My initial impression, in the streetlights, was that it was an R2 unit, sitting all by itself along the street. I briefly thought it might be a prank or graffiti, and then I convinced myself I imagined the entire thing.

Today I found out that I really did see an R2 unit along Dodge Street when Jennifer sent me a link to the new United States Postal Service promotion. At work I found an article about the Star Wars stamps (conveniently released to make yet another postage increase more palatable) and the contest to pick the best of the set for later re-release.

It's all very cool. But I still think my R2 unit is better. ;)

Labels: "star wars", amusement

Thanks to Canon's new "FutureShot" technology, I can now download and view pictures I'm going to take in the future. Take this shot of my brother from the year 2023, for example.

I haven't had the heart to tell him about the picture I took in 2029 of the constitutional amendment that banned hunting yet.

Labels: amusement, family, jeff

No man is an island, entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were,
as well as if a manor of thy friend's
or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind;
and therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee.

John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

Labels: introspection

To Tim, who is getting close to the "get off my lawn you damn kids!" age. ;) Of course, given that the gap in our chronological ages (not necessarily our emotional ages) is fixed, he gets to perpetually call me "the old man." Damn numbers.

Labels: birthdays

My left eyebrow has been twitching randomly (a few times a day) for a couple of weeks now. Two people have assumed I'm winking at them. Yay for vague body signals.

"Don't You Forget About Me" Calls Sent to Cris ("DYFAMCSCs"): 2

I unloaded my old washer and dryer. I've discovered that apparently the key word on Craig's List is "free." Even after I listed all the problems I've had with the set, I still had three responses within 5 hours and one of them picked up the set on Tuesday evening. I'm happy. It's better than putting them in a landfill.

Over the four days from Saturday to Tuesday I finished hooking up my washer and dryer, ran an entirely new dryer vent line, sealed the window the vent line uses, sealed off the old dryer vent line inside and out, unloaded my old washer and dryer, patched a hole in my roof, patched a hole in my gutter, installed an illuminated address plaque above my garage door, unpacked and put away my Christmas presents, cleaned the basement, swept the garage and went for a couple of walks. It would appear that escaping reality is good for my productivity.

I'm amused that Carrie Underwood currently has two music videos in Yahoo! Music's Top 100, "Before He Cheats" (a song about graphically defacing a cheating boyfriend's car during a vengeful rage) and "Jesus, Take the Wheel." There seems to be a disconnect there, but perhaps I simply lack an understanding of modern country music.

Labels: cris, house, miscellany

I noticed last week that this billboard is now gone (replaced with an ad for a jewelry store). I assumed the run for the series of boards was done. But last night I saw another one (with a different message) that was still up. I don't know if they have an offset schedule or if this one was taken down because it's really creepy, but I have a suspicion it's the latter.

Labels: religion and atheism, social commentary

Art comes in my forms. I write stories and take pictures. My baby sister makes pottery. She's been encouraging me to post pictures of my Christmas presents since, well, Christmas. ;)

Labels: haley

I've been out of circulation for a couple of days. One might even call it an exercise in reclusivity (which all the dictionaries I have consulted inform me is not a word, but the morphology seems completely sound to me so I'm using it anyway and Webster be damned). While anyone with nominal counting skills will recognize that "stress" is not a four-letter word, I think a general consensus can be reached that it's bad anyway, and thus I have put my black belt in compartmentalization to good use.

The world moves on, however, and the marshmallows in the Lucky Charms of life continue to provide some sense of flavor:

- I hear through venting that one of my extended family members took it upon himself to call one of my siblings at home and inform her that her decision to move in with her boyfriend will result in a black mark in God's book that will forever ruin her chances at a happy marriage due to active divine disapproval. Oddly, I remember no such admonition when my brother's girlfriend moved in with him, and to date my dismissal of said deity as mythological has likewise earned no personal correspondence. My Spider-Sense detects a double standard of some sort, although whether based on gender, geographical distance, social intersection or the perceived likelihood of success is beyond the scope of its powers. I told my sister that I consulted with Buddha and Ahura Mazda and they're okay with it, which makes two to one.

- I spent the better part of the weekend working on my house. My washer and dryer are hooked up and functioning and an entirely new dryer vent line is installed through what used to be a pane in a window (house post to come later). Likewise, the small hole in my roof and the hole in my gutter have been patched (we'll just ignore the fact that I made both of them in the first place . . .). I also have all the parts to install my new illuminated address plaque, but a lack of daylight impeded its completion.

- I watched all 26 episodes of the anime Blue Gender over three late nights. I enjoyed it, although the ending was moderately disjointed.

- Although I feel largely fine, my cough has yet to dissipate. What fun.

- The new commercial for lavender-scented laundry detergent lies. My flannel sheets do not smell like lavender. In fact, they smell the same as they do when washed in my regular detergent.

- And finally:

Labels: miscellany

This entry marks my one-thousandth post. In the words of Kyle, "go me." To celebrate, I'm making it an "open comment" entry. If you read this, post a comment (even you lurkers who never post). ;)

Labels: amusement, internet, introspection

For those of you unaware, Cris has had an unofficial campaign for many, many years to permanently link himself with the Simple Minds song "Don't You Forget About Me" in his friends' synapses.

It's worked.

When I heard it on the radio today, I decided that, to participate in the campaign, I'm going to start calling him whenever I hear the song and leave him a voicemail by holding the phone up to the speakers. ;) (Yes, I was parked.)

Ah, the silly things friends do.

Labels: cris, friends

I'm now the proud owner of two washers and two dryers. Of the four, only one is currently hooked up and functioning correctly, despite 4 hours of curse-punctuated work today. The hot water valve to the washer is completely stuck, so I skipped switching it out today (it still works, so it's less important than the dryer). The dryer has been a disaster. First the electrical plugs didn't match, so I had to call my dad for advice on how to rewire a dryer to fit an older 220v plug, then I spent almost 45 minutes trying to retrieve the wiring terminal screws that fell down inside the body of the dryer, and then when all of that was finally complete the dryer vent pipe came apart *inside the wall* the previous owner built around it, right where I can't get to it without tearing the wall apart. I finally gave it a rest for the day, but next weekend I think I'm just going to run a new vent pipe straight up and through the window above the dryer (I'll have to replace the glass with plywood and then run the vent through that). In the grand scheme I understand this is all very trivial and once it's running I won't care anymore, but blah anyway. What a day.

Labels: annoyance

Overheard in the elevator today:

Middle-aged woman: "I don't understand it. They covered all but $60 of the last root canal, but not this time. Bastards. So I'm selling stuff again. Marie, she's like 'Oooo, anything good this time?' and I'm like "Marie, only you would see me getting kicked out of my apartment and having all of my stuff in trash bags in the hallway and think 'Wow, I hope I get some good deals out of this.'"

Labels: amusement, overheard

To Lisa, best friend extraordinaire. :) Everyone wish her well.

Labels: birthdays

Yahoo carried an article on a medical study that documented three people in Australia who trigger their epileptic seizures through the repetitive motion of brushing their teeth, which illustrates that the condition is more complex and varied than most people think. Most people are familiar with the concept of seizures being triggered by flashing lights; in much the same way, damage to the motor control area of the brain in these people can trigger a seizure if the right motor conditions are reproduced. (For the record, I have neither the photo-sensitive form nor any other obvious triggers; mine are random.) All in all, it's an interesting report.

What annoyed me about Yahoo's coverage of it, however, was the blatant "Can brushing your teeth cause epileptic seizures?" title on their front page. All that was missing was the ominous music and the "Tune in at 7 to find out!" lead out to make it fit right in with all the scare-tactic local news shows (you know the ones; "Are your medicines contaminated with nuclear waste? Tune in at 7 to see our action team investigate!" or "Are your kids at risk to be abducted by the state governor? We looked into the threat, tonight at 7!"). No, brushing your teeth *can't* cause seizures (the repetitive motion can *if* you're prone to it, which isn't the same), and raising fears about oral hygiene is just bad for all of us. Really.

Labels: epilepsy

A quick update for those of you monitoring my condition. I'm still sick. Less sick than yesterday, but still sick. :P The body chills have gone away and the sinus headache comes and goes, but the sore throat and stuffy nose are still here (and I keep having violent coughing fits until I hack up that icky green stuff that coats the inside of your throat when you're sick - that's *always* pleasant).

I spent all day Saturday on the couch, minus the time I spent shoveling my sidewalks. I actually showered and went out today, but only long enough to do grocery shopping. And discover yet another Taco Bell that irritated me enough to preclude my future patronage (that's four in Omaha now, one of which messed up my order on three consecutive attempts). When I placed my order tonight, rather than bring it up on the electronic screen under the menu the woman simply said "Um, I'll figure it up at the window." When I pulled up to the window, she asked me to repeat my order and she yelled corrections into the back as I repeated it. Two minutes later another (obviously irritated) employee brought my order and then, to my disbelief, *chastised* me for "making changes" to my order after they'd already made it. "Next time we'd appreciate it if you'd finalize your order at the menu so we don't have to remake things." Etc. I was, erm, "displeased" would be a good word, and being sick didn't improve my social tact. When I rather humorlessly interrupted her to tell her that I did, in fact, order exactly what I wanted at the menu, she had the nerve to say "Oh, well, nevermind then. Have a good evening." and closed the window before I could say anything else. It annoyed me enough that I used their Web site to register a complaint (a first for me).

I managed to watch about 6 minutes of a History Channel special on Nostradamus, enough to remind me that the History Channel is full of crap about half the time. They let Nostradamus conspiracy theorists explain all the silly "meanings" they've tortured out of his quatrains (including the ridiculous explanation that "Mabus," a cryptic figure he mentions, is a sneaky way of saying "OsaMA/BUSh" and a verse about a "new city" burning "at 45 degrees" was obviously referencing the 9/11 attacks, despite the fact that New York is below the 41 degree mark), while the skeptics got a couple of seconds to try to explain how you can always find meaning in "prophecies" *after* the fact but none of the quatrains have yet been able to predict an event *before* it happened. The lopsidedness was appalling.

I also saw a rather disturbing commercial for a Barbie that comes with a dog that you "feed" and then it "poops" the things you feed it back out (and Barbie, of course, comes with a pet scooper). I think the Amazon description sums it best: "Tanner, Barbie's dog, eats and ejects waste from her body. At this point, Barbie can pick it up with her scooper, and then Tanner will eat it again-- just like your real dog!"

Did I mention I tend to be more critical when I'm not feeling well? Hopefully it will pass soon.

Labels: miscellany

Wow, it's just been a week for those wacky Immortals.

Labels: immortals