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Wednesday, October 31
Happy Halloween!
"Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business as the day Would quake to look on." [Hamlet, Act III, Scene ii] Hope everyone had a safe and scary Halloween. :) Labels: holiday
Posted at 3:28:00 AM. |
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Tuesday, October 30
Once, Upon a Midnight Dreary
My first Halloween party actually came to fruition this year. After a day of decorating and baking (spiderwebs and jack-o-lanterns and skull-shaped candles, oh my!), we started the party a little after 7 p.m. A total of six guests were entreated to my performance of "The Raven" (complete with a little raven decoration), which I'd spent the drives to and from work for the last month or so memorizing, and then we played the "Death of a Vampire" murder mystery, which, unfortunately, was a little lacking (the game was far too short, the clues too vague and the amount of participation per character too little). Everyone had a "wait, that's it?" expression when I announced it was time (40 minutes in to what was supposed to be an hour-and-a-half game) to guess the killer, and the "every character has motive; just guess" situation led to no one guessing the right killer. In the future I may have to look at different game publishers, or find one that is more in-depth. Jamie wins the "Most Into Her Character" award for being the only player to maintain accent and roleplaying throughout the entire game (go Jamie!). We spent the remaining hour I'd assumed the game would take just chatting and enjoying the snacks my mother and sister had made. Everyone laughed when I announced that my overzealousness with the dry ice (in retrospect, two pounds in a punch bowl might be too much) led to the punch freezing solid (whoops). We also did an impromptu tour of the house improvements I've done in the last few weeks. I think everyone had a good time. I guess the real trick will be to see who volunteers the next time I host one. ;) Labels: friends, holiday
Posted at 10:44:00 PM. |
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Sunday, October 28
Prelude to an Onslaught
I have photo updates and descriptions for an assortment of events (almost like a variety pack of instant oatmeal flavors), including house updates, my Halloween party and the visit to the pumpkin patch today. Unfortunately, I've also had a little too much sun and not quite enough sleep, so they'll have to wait. Just as a friendly reminder, Daylight Savings does not start until *next* weekend, regardless of what XP tells you. Labels: miscellany
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Wednesday, October 24
Insularity
The Catholic League today called for a boycott of the upcoming release of " The Golden Compass," citing it as a pro-atheist, anti-religious movie ("It's selling the virtues of atheism," as the president of the league put it). Their fear, as I understand it, is that children will see the movie and then, *gasp*, want to read the trilogy. Two brief comments. First, there's a certain sense of irony in this, since the books portray (and are openly critical of) a ruling religious order demanding conformity and suppressing independent thought in the fictional worlds the plot inhabits. Life imitates art, no? Second, the League's main concern is that children *not even be exposed* to the concepts of the books (which, by the way, have won multiple awards in the children's literature categories from various independent and prestigious groups, so we're not talking about an "out-of-nowhere" source here), which, if reversed (say, an atheist group calling for a boycott of "Veggie Tales" or even "The Chronicles of Narnia" in order to "protect children"), would be quickly labeled intolerant. More importantly, though, I have to wonder how solid a religion's base is if the leaders feel they must shield their charges from other points of view in order to keep them in the flock. I have little respect for any meme (whether theological, cultural, political or social) that can't sway people on its own merits and resorts to censoring outside influence and isolating its membership. Labels: religion and atheism
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Tuesday, October 23
Atlantean Architecture
Someone needs to buy this for me, please and thank you. :) Labels: miscellany
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Monday, October 22
The Beat Goes On
I'm still alive. Just preoccupied. I'm back to the office and trying to finish the projects I started in the wee hours after, hopefully in time for my Halloween party this Saturday. I have confirmed guests, including my sister who is making the drive all the way from western Nebraska to attend. If plans hold as they are, my mother will be visiting this weekend as well (something about not wanting Linde to drive that far alone, despite having no qualms about asking me to drive it alone twice a year . . .). The basement bathroom is not yet complete (inasmuch as bare concrete floors are a problem), but the kitchen projects are finally done (sealed grout and all). Pictures soon. My apologies to everyone who thinks I'm ignoring him/her. Take heart in my offered explanation of project juggling. :) As a peace offering, I present a "nude font" generator (which, as the name implies, contains nudity; be warned). Hope everyone is well. Labels: miscellany
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Wednesday, October 17
Yeah, So, Not Dead
But being frustrated with the house. Today was better than yesterday. Tomorrow is still a toss-up. Any project that involves actually mixing and pouring new concrete in the basement is likely to have some degree of frustration built in. I'll have house pictures and updates as soon as the projects are finished (which will not be today). Hope everyone is well. Labels: house, miscellany
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Saturday, October 13
Blah!
So I took the next 5 days off to scrape, prime and repaint my gutters. And the forecast is for cold rain the entire week. Silly weather. Labels: annoyance
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Thursday, October 11
Day of Links
- My baby sister's campus is on lock-down after the get-away vehicle from an armed robbery at a casino was discovered in the vicinity. Scary stuff, but it's good to see the campus is taking it seriously in the wake of other recent campus incidents. - There is a real decommissioned Titan missile base for sale on eBay. Perfect for an Evil Mastermind Lair(tm), a zombie-apocalypse retreat or a do-it-yourself Stargate facility. If only I had $1.5 million (plus another several million to renovate it, since it was "stripped for scrap" in the 60s). We could pool our money for anyone interested. - As amusing as this video is on its own, it's compounded by the fact that the "blonde" second-from-left is one of my uncles. I'm glad to see he makes an even less attractive woman than I do. - Although not a cup of tea palatable to everyone (both musically and politically), I found the song " Empty Walls" (even if the video quality on the official site is somewhat lacking) a sad-but-moving entry. For those trying to place the voice, this is the lead singer of "System of a Down" on his first solo outing. Labels: amusement, haley, miscellany, music
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Tuesday, October 9
Winning Bids
eBay should have waited until the last moment and sniped this purchase instead of using the Buy It Now feature. Sheesh, you'd think they know this. On a similar note . . . ;) Labels: amusement
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Scheduling
Courtesy of Lisa (as an inside joke that a few of you will get). Labels: funny
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Weekend Update
Although the term "weekend" is at times vague, encompassing, on those rare, happy occasions, as many as three days (and not always those beginning with an "S"), I'm using it in a looser context here, referring to a time period stretching closer to five days. It seems an overabundance of accrued leave is a bad thing in the modern work world, and thus my house received (and will continue to receive in sporadic chunks throughout this month) extra attention beginning last Wednesday. I'm continually amused at my vast underestimation of the time investments required for projects I've never undertaken before. I accomplished but a fraction of what I had expected, leading me to believe that either my expectations are unrealistic or I'm simply lazy. I did, however, sand, prime and repaint my garage door, put a layer of fibered aluminum roof coating on the garage roof (which has still not completely fixed the target leak, to my consternation), reorganize a few of my kitchen cupboards and paint the registers and socket covers on the main floor. I took some time out to fraternize to greater and lesser extents, meeting one new person, consoling another friend through a difficult time and going on safari with the twins. I also rented "1408," which was not nearly as scary as promised. I will at some undisclosed point in the future have "before and after" photos of the house, preferably when I've accomplished enough for the changes to be more noticeable. For those who follow the adventurous exploits of the Wonder Twins, Kyle's new catchphrase is a very gravity-laden rendition of "it's very dark!", applied on a regular basis to everything from the space beneath her crib to holes in the backyard to the inside of the "cave" we made from blankets and furniture. The admonition is given more as a statement of fact rather than any hint of concern, and is at times accompanied with a smile. The twins have also developed a love affair with sidewalk chalk, going so far as to carry it around the backyard even when no concrete is in sight, and Alec in particular has a similar crush now on crayons, which she has secreted away all over the house to challenge the inevitable moments when Lisa relieves her of her current implements. Lane's family interaction has been somewhat curtailed by her constant hyperventilation over the distant-yet-concrete release of Spore. As a token of humor to reward those of you who slog through my writings, I also present a (very) rare glimpse of me with facial hair (of a sort; that's almost a week's worth of not shaving, which on most men would be something more than stubble . . .). Labels: house, me, miscellany, twins
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Wednesday, October 3
A Penney Saved
JC Penney is amusing me this week. Such a simple statement deserves greater scrutiny, and a breakdown of the complex emotion I've conveniently labeled "amusing" would, in this case, reveal a smattering of "annoyance" and a healthy dose of "you've got to be kidding." Such are the limitations of language. Due to a scarcity of counter space (compounded by cabinets that hang far too low, making what counter space I do have difficult to use), and owing to the acquisition of an awesomely monstrous mixer that has to go somewhere, I've decided I want one of these kitchen carts. It seems to be of decent construction (compared to the toy-like offerings at Wal-Mart), and I think we all know my affinity for copper. It would be nice to be able to roll out dough directly under the track lighting (illumination is a good thing). Here begins the amusement. The stores do not carry furniture so I'm obviously going to be subject to shipping costs (I'm also, as Lisa enlightened me yesterday, going to be subject to sales tax despite it being an Internet order because they have a physical store in Nebraska . . . a store that doesn't carry this item). Calculating the basket on their Web site, however, gave me something of a shock. For $113 in shipping, I'm assuming it's arriving in an armored car surrounded by armed Hum-Vee escorts, driven by men in dark suits with little radios in their ears communicating their exact location to a command bunker via satellite every five minutes. Or "next-minute shipping" via their new teleportation service. My god, people. Recalculating to deliver it to the nearest JC Penney store (the one that told me they don't carry furniture) drops the shipping costs drastically, so that appears to be the way to go. It *also* drops the taxes, which means they're charging taxes on the shipping. Harumph. I also noted today, with those amused shakes of the head, that the main page of their site is dominated by the promo for their 105th Anniversary Sale, with a promotional discount code. The ad and the savings summaries are in large and colorful print. Hovering beneath, however, in nondescript grey text, are the inevitable exclusions, which include (*deep breath*): cookware, cutlery, cosmetics, electronics, furniture, housewares, mattresses, small appliances, sporting goods, toys and video games, along with a lengthy list of specific brands (as well as Santa suits, which seems oddly specific), leaving me to wonder just what exactly qualifies. Considering the maximum savings is $20, their exclusion list seems ridiculously complex. Apparently the kitchen cart is considered furniture, as the discount code curled up and died somewhere between pages 2 and 3 of the checkout process. Labels: amusement
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Monday, October 1
Ninjas Are Everywhere
Even robbing stores. On an unrelated note (as much as Lane would like to be a ninja), the two of us finally unlocked Mirror Mode in MarioKart. And promptly got our asses kicked in our first forays into playing the races backwards (we tied for last place after the first four races . . .). Go us. Labels: amusement, lane
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