Scotto's Wall Scrawls

9273 - Friday!

2008-05-09T13:05:44Z

BHK is continuing to make great gastronomic strides with her "meatball" and bean soup. The veggie meatballs got a little crumbly, but they still added excellent texture and flavor to the spicy bean brew. Had more of the salad from yesterday as well, and it was a tasty counterpoint of cold crunchy to the hot and spicy.

Watched the first half of Rataouille (hey! got the spelling in one!) over our supper, and it looks very cute thus far.

Rainy outside... tornado warnings for Calvert and Prince Georges Counties.

Lunch today will be more fajitas and salad - tasty and very healthy.

CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police.

Per the always aware flying_blind - "I was surprised to see not only how many Betty Boop cartoons there are in the Internet Archive, but how much other stuff the Film Chest cartoon collection contains. 66 cartoons! That's like eight hours worth!"

The problem with bio-art is that it’s often made of living tissue — and sometimes living tissue gets out of control. That’s what happened late last week at a New York MoMA exhibit called “Design and the Elastic Mind,” where a tiny living jacket made out of stem cells had to be put to death for growing too fast and trying to burst out of its container.

The art piece was called “Victimless Leather,” and according to The Art Newspaper:

The artists, Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, say the work which was fed nutrients by tube, expanded too quickly and clogged its own incubation system just five weeks after the show opened . . . Paola Antonelli, head of MoMA’s architecture and design department and curator of the show, says she had to make the decision to turn off the life-support system for the work, basically “killing” it.

Ms Antonelli says the jacket “started growing, growing, growing until it became too big. And [the artists] were back in Australia, so I had to make the decision to kill it. And you know what? I felt I could not make that decision. I’ve always been pro-choice and all of a sudden I’m here not sleeping at night about killing a coat…That thing was never alive before it was grown.“

Link via seedmagazine.com, original story here.

1 year ago - Pictures: Steve the Caterpillar is missing, Lime vanilla Ice, Kitty hugs, and green leaves - also lasagna, not shown.

2 years ago - allergies, ultraman, money scans, feng-shui phone, map thingie

3 years ago - little scotto, work, spanish, bimini boatyard, hot dog water, missed free comic book day, Carnivale, rufus, tv, dan and kev scarce, blood donation factiods/excuses, sweater fashion, work form

4 years ago - MD, Nat'l Lampoon, RPG database mail (never came to fruition), Celestia, DIE DUCKS, added by kscare

5 years ago - owie sleeps, There Quest victory, telecommuting, clear channel hubbub, Hala finished Portalzilla, CitizenX closed down

6 years ago - cleanup, and milk crate shelf, did new code that's all over Ramada,playing with Newtie, real estate invaders. newt pics I need to locate and rehost

7 years ago - </b></a>menstrualhut grows rapidly, journal types, mp3s in rotation, illegal confessions (feel free to keep adding to it.)

9272 - Thursday-

2008-05-08T19:12:01Z

BHK made a fantastic and healthy supper of bean/spinach salad and spicy stir-fry tofu "beef" and broccoli. Delicious and nicely filling.

Chris and Larry are heading out of town this weekend... and they're taking Tigger with 'em. No real Mother's Day things happening this weekend after all - maybe a nice day of painting some pottery, instead?

The latest and greatest version of VZ Navigator (4.0), which tosses in traffic avoidance for 75 cities, along with 3D view plus some other nifty stuff is live right now. (Includes Baltimore and Washington dc!)

I'm looking forward to seeing how solid it is!

I'm still on the phrase "STEAMED CATFISH IN BANANA LEAVES!"

Sorry.

More info on ITALIAN SPIDER-MAN.

Not Sorry.

I'm alternately happy and sad that LJ has finally disabled this stalker feature - Users will only view the number of entries they are allowed to read in calendar views. (Source)

Volcanoes spewing lightning? Wizard war, more like.

Speaking of same... I forget if I've mentioned it or not, but save for a little too much fanboy junk, I pretty much dig the Dresden files books... but I can't seem to get into Jim Butcher's Codex Alera "Horse and Swords" fantasy stuff.

1 year ago - saltine bandit, rockin' sleestaks

2 years ago - mongolia head, sleep, black hat, hurricane info, battle of the beasts

3 years ago - Mother's Day, Bro, heath, hugs, a sticker, walkies pics - graffiti, mission field, vehicles, bernie dexter, hitler's ghost

4 years ago - Laser belt, mental health supporter, quiz of Doooooom, busy bee, nice night out, Disney tour, naked mole rap, duality issues, Newt pic

5 years ago - PT gig jkg, mr rogers asteroid, x2 good reviews, mh about half what it is today (997 vs 2196)

6 years ago - Neuro appt, my magnetic head theory, original thoughts, MRI

7 years ago - weird news, slow wake, old paranoia, bad food from my childhood, ljer herd poll

9271 - Wednesday

2008-05-07T20:34:02Z

Forgot to mention that I got a little TF2 in last night (about 45 min), while BHK checked her mail... My stats are still terrible, but I had a good time. I thought I'd gotten some achievements, but I'm not seeing 'em here... probably too few folks on the server for it to count.

My fave Classes are still the Engineer and the Scout, with medic going further back since folks are busy using him for all the unlockable stuff. Gold Rush is a great addition, too.

A new Portal map pack was just released from We Create Stuff. This map pack are actual Portal maps based off of the flash version of Portal, a 2D title that features 40 levels.

The pack places you in the role of a new test subject before the events of Portal. You can download the pack directly from this link, or visit the map pack page for a list of mirrors.

Substitute teacher does stage magic trick for middle school class, is fired for "practicing witchcraft"

Florida? Not Tennessee or Arkansas?

Hey!! Reboot is coming back? Possibly more info here, but who knows the rumor level.

The recipe - Steamed catfish in Banana Leaves sounds really tasty... but is even better as an expletive. Something Perry White might utter.

Proof that we've been working too hard, yet eating well - we're too tired for ice cream! We have 2 gallons in the fridge that have been untouched since at least Monday.

1 year ago - mortgage, lileks transfer, change, Altiris skills, Aardvark's Ice Cream, Adam's last HS sports, chat catch-up, good use of dead dibneys, dream, summer coming, kite flying pix

2 years ago - flickr issues, getting a trifle ill, security video feed, dawn of the dead, free streaming video, winamp tracks, star trek cribs

3 years ago - bro search, strongman stunts, blood, mark of beast=50 less, monsters inc, day in the life, fishstories born (long since made dormant), unique id, Chlamydia Outbreak Kills Penguins, tv cars, voice post

4 years ago - quorn, sunset, mean newt face, pet stroller, entertainment pondering, jail hubbub

5 years ago - There pirate quest (still no beards, but eye patches!), first PT, Being D's spokesmodel, orange cat fan club

6 years ago - Slept in, Star Wars Field trip, getting into php/MySQL, brush your cat's teeth, pix of me working on bro's computer, haiku, classic tv

7 years ago - embedding is verboten (back, now!), apartment desc, Mateo's Josie is born!, good stuff, all around

9270 - tuesday OH YEAH!

2008-05-07T12:20:24Z

Spent most of the day shuttling around, getting things in order, both at work and off-site. BHK and I made it home about 7:30, after supper at Ledo's at about 6. - I ended up famished right around 9pm.. .I guess the small veggie calzone didn't want to stick with me.... especially since I pretty much had been sans food all day.

Oh Yeah!

Thank you, cardboard graffiti artist, for making tuesday extra fun!

The thought was to go to the movies after my midday stuff, but neither BHK nor myself were really up to it - sort of fragged out and just wanted to get home.

Movies:

Despite all the reviews to the contrary, I suspect that I'll like Hancock more than Iron Man. More than either of those, I want to see Wall-E.

Indy 4 I don't have high hopes for, but I'm certainly going to see it if possible. I just want it to be better than National Treasure 2.

We still have netflix copies of Cloverfield and No Country for Old Men - Maybe next weekend for those.

Guys like this, *and* the people he sat in front of are two reasons I don't like going to movies on opening night. If you don't like what's going on, either tell the manager, or leave. Those kids had witnesses and there are cameras in most theaters... his behavior was good at least for an assault charge, maybe battery too. (I'll leave that to my wife's legal knowledge.) Add to that that he's far from a minor, and they were... way to lead by example.

Jailbreak 0.4 is out.. looking pretty sharp! I'll get to it after I finish the Orange Box and Bioshock. (got 'em both for xmas, but I'm having too much fun doing other stuff to goof single player on the 'pooter these days!

1 year ago - 5/6/7, walkabout greenery pics, Aardvark awesome, monsters menace america, moes & alan, freaky radio-spheres

2 years ago - ze sings, free comics, air show pics, compliment... sort of.

3 years ago - no bro, pervy on lj arrested, phillykat back!, local public service net-casts, users deleting, rainy 5/5, woman jailed for faking her death

4 years ago - RIP Rod Roddy, Black magic death, 4F, a friend suffers

5 years ago - poser5, South Florida vodou, python, song lyric

6 years ago - good smells, bro-doc, great books and classics, monsters, I wrote thepuppyfrog poem, long ol' survey from a while ago (the same one I did the other day), e-prime mentioned

7 years ago - movies, newt's middle name, Architect. hot air, lcd drops, writing exercise, quotes, newt-happies(tmi?)

9269 - Monday

2008-05-06T13:48:08Z

Happy Cinco de Mayo! see last year's entry for more info on the holiday. I hope we have Mexican food for supper! [edit - BHK made Fajitas!! delicious, but my gut wasn't happy after a suspect lunch.]

Unrelated to my feelings on Mexican food - After Saturday's little tummy trouble, BHK and I are considering a "best public potties in SOMD" site, unless something like that is already available. For the record - The Giant supermarket in Lusby has potties that are *very* clean and easy to access.

Hm, a quick google search brought up this. (with this being the Maryland section - no Lusby... I tried to add it and the page hung. I'll try again from a non-phone browser when I get home from my commute.)

Picture from said commute - It looks more monday-ish than it feels.

I prefer the doodle further below.

I can't believe I've been playing FPS games for over 20 years. My first multi-player LAN party experience was MIDI Maze at Sun Atari '87, where I gunned Tom Hudson down repeatedly as an orange smiley face. (remembrance due to Wolfenstein 3D being released 16 years ago today.)

First solo FPS on the PC for me was Rise of The Triad - given to me by Kevin, Christmas of '95, after playing the freeware beforehand, and we played Unreal Tournament in '99 as the first regularly played FPS LAN game for about a decade after MIDI Maze.

I still have trouble with the translocator, 9 years later.

Never say "hopeless". My prior back doctor could use a copy of this article. Thankfully, he will be retiring in the next year.

Well, officially back to the goatee - It does feel a lot less warm than the full beard. Last doodle made was on Saturday - I won't have to draw the jawline for a bit, I guess! playing with the idea of colors mixing through transparencies. I forgot to make the white background transparent for the doodle, though.

1 year ago - Cinco de mayo - extended description

2 years ago - fleet week, cinco de mayo, network neutrality, kitten & rooster, mega m&ms, options, friday 5, dr who, prisoner, lj drama

3 years ago - 555, fishbone & dose pics, reference librarian scotto, oops-i did it again (30's style), questions asked

4 years ago - not loving the phone, porno bob cut ? (it took until last month), amy's diary, iconners, cookies, Florida state rock

5 years ago - ortho, There-folks giving me cool virtual clothes, WMD, star wars kid

6 years ago - I'm a sexy cusser, pop vs soda, digger mole, puppyfrog, maps, bad show, verisign, a date with destiny that was doomedCinco de Mayo, panda killer, Man Imprisoned 30 Years for Crime FBI knew he Didn't Commit, other evil news, what's your sign poll (Gemini won again!), C&I nightmare, smart sweater

7 years ago - Cinco de Mayo, panda killer, Man Imprisoned 30 Years for Crime FBI knew he Didn't Commit, other evil news, what's your sign poll (Gemini won again!), C&I nightmare, smart sweater

9268 - Sunday -

2008-05-05T13:05:33Z

Bagel, cream cheese, strawberries and pineapple for breakfast - BHK and I slowly worked our way into the morning today.

In-laws came over to do some gardening with BHK- all of it clothed, thanks. Tilled the area, replanted our "volunteers", potatoes, zucchini, cabbage and carrots that came back after last year's planting. I'm really looking forward to seeing what sprouts first!

I was feeling pretty out of it today - rested from 1pm to 5, and off to bed now at 10. I hope I've got my brains back together for tomorrow... I imagine that I will.

Better link for Oshi - I could easily turn it into a 2house game... perhaps call it Martian Push or even code it for online play, if copyright issues didn't exist.

I know I've linked here before but I really want a secret door from these guys. Perhaps in a dresser leading to the crawlspace under the stairs?

Microsoft's not only delaying Windows XP SP3 temporarily, but they're also pulling off Windows Vista SP1—which has already been pushed out to automatic software update—because of potential incompatibilities. Most of us don't need to worry about it since this is just an issue with MS's SQL Servers that affect Microsoft Dynamics Retail management systems. Unless you're running a SQL database at home to track the chore distribution for your family, you can go ahead and manually fetch the update and install it yourself.

1 year ago - 2 fun days coming up, super sleepy, ace of cakes, blood donation, cath engaged (now married!), first journey to Aardvark, car heartbeat sensor useless vs undead, sliders pic

2 years ago - pizza hut pondering, inc. PamM, Brent Ashland, and Steve Jacoby, carrageenan, southerner, wayward son, pictures of golden morning, sniffy newt

3 years ago - enzyte, fishbone, newton at kittenwar, bro lesson, interview meme

4 years ago - crazy-face pic, rainy-day pictures, jb finds me a local house on ebay (only 3.8 Mil!)

5 years ago - Mayah talk, D&C 2 months into another kidlet, icepacks, thinking about 5/5

6 years ago - Kazaa lite, passing osbournes along, gamelan music

7 years ago - mushy, ullage, purple cow, backdating implemented

9265 - Saturday

2008-05-05T12:29:34Z

Got my shots early - we had time to visit an awesome church yard sale / flea market. I got a webcam for $5 (retails for $40, minimum) - Coming soon now there'll be a Pyecam featuring Newt as well as a Newtcam Featuring Pye!

Additionally, BHK got some cute crafty hair-clips, I got my grubby mitts on assorted baked goods. (A cupcake, a brownie and half of a chocolate nut cookie)

Additionally, we obtained a few boardgames and a card game - all in well-loved boxes, medieval or ancient Greece themes, and with all the pieces. Reviews to follow.

After the sale, we hit Free Comic Book Day. Did we get lots of loot there? Why, yes, dear journal! The only thing we didn't get was the Gumby comic... I eased that wound with a new game - Oshi. We also got a pair of Iron Man movie heroclix and two bounty hunters from the star wars miniatures game. We beat the Aardvark staff to the store by about 10 minutes. (They open at noon.)

That reminds me, I need to send a Larry the zombie to Kat and GP.

After Aardvark - we hit Maerten's to pick up BHK's silver bean necklace and box chain; then off to Cheeseburger in Paradise to play hangman and have some lunchies.

It didn't agree much with BHK and my guts... maybe a bit more greasy than we're used to.

More new arrivals at drop.io/scottobear. Thanks!

I could go for some banana bread, or a blueberry muffin.

Hey! It's World Naked Gardening Day!(nsfw) (via flying-blind, via an unknown quantity.)

I won't be participating - I'm sure my neighbors would thank me.

totally unrelated:

Dolphin dies in mid-air collision

A DOLPHIN was killed when it collided with another dolphin while performing a mid-air trick at a Florida marine park.

1 year ago - Bro arrested, 40 lb cat, freecol

2 years ago - lj bumps, free legal streaming shows, mail form ilene and bubbles, superman returns, ad-free lyrics, wooden pc case mods,

3 years ago - no goat butter, hotmail down, mongolian deathworm, mzk pimps maressa, music quiz, snl conspiracy theory rock, orlando hooker mugshots, religio-quiz, Kamandi song

4 years ago - teacher appreciation week, rockfish, locals, time travel, discworld 15, Rainy day, clues, silly photos

5 years ago - words, artificial hippocampus, scavenger hunt, stupid cheese, word ties

6 years ago - entry loss, how newtie was adopted, bus and such

7 years ago - diastema, baba yaga, lamprey eel brain in a robot, clue-by-four, pococurante, deadly sin poll

0503081453.jpg

2008-05-03T18:55:28Z

0503081453.jpg, originally uploaded by scottobear.

bhk wearing her bean and her flower

0503081451.jpg

2008-05-03T18:53:21Z

0503081451.jpg, originally uploaded by scottobear.

out and about

9264 - Friday

2008-05-02T12:37:04Z

Gentle evening last night - watched 27 dresses with BHK and Chris over supper - gigantic bean salad, with left over zucchini and Thai curry soup. Delicious.

The movie wasn't bad as far as chick flicks go... The most curious thing to me was that there were no minorities, elderly or babies in the film of note. With the exception of the Girl's dad, everyone was a white 20-something...and I think of New York being pretty diverse.

I'm going to go from full beard back down to goatee... it's getting warmer now. Monday will be a fresh week!

Not sure if I like the new icon... I may look a bit too serious here. I wonder how much the tone of my journal has changed?

Has technology made us ruder? Put your stupid phone down for one second and read this to see.

I likely have at *least* twice the mass of most other bodies.

The formula for force: force = mass x acceleration
The formula for momentum: momentum = mass x velocity
The formula for impulse: average force x time

I suspect that I have only about 1/2 the acceleration though, so it likely balances out, force-wise.

1 year ago - freeciv / freecol, lj posts turned to audio posts, annmarie garden

2 years ago - 8333, palm diet, catagoriz, meanface, bro drama, stupid math tricks, tales to astonish

3 years ago - Cyberman cameo, all caps, bush mashup, best way to fight a vampire, Spanish frog, near-noggin hit, bus-cam pics, pulp book covers, zombie raccoon pic, geek/travel, interview meme

4 years ago - nuptials, 5/5, bad dream, vanishment poll, quizzes

5 years ago - highlander badgers, 20q, misc news stories, Newton at Rate my kitten, CJ issues

6 years ago - lovey day, PBJ time, remote rats, plant caregiving

7 years ago - misc news, sleep station with newt, TCUP

waiting at the bus stop

2008-05-01T23:34:49Z

waiting at the bus stop, originally uploaded by scottobear.

sent 5/1/08 5:32 pm
-sitting tight in my personal space, my world fades to fewer colors, but
brighter ones, usually.

sent via palmtop

waiting at the bus stop

2008-05-01T23:34:47Z

waiting at the bus stop, originally uploaded by scottobear.

sent 5/1/08 5:32 pm
-sitting tight in my personal space, my world fades to fewer colors, but
brighter ones, usually.

sent via palmtop

9261 - Thursday - May Day!

2008-05-01T12:39:20Z

Went to Supper at Mama Lucias with BHK and the in-laws... food was good and it was nice to sit around the table and make small talk. BHK and I split gnocci with marinara and eggplant parm.

No ghosts seen or dealt with last night, despite Walpurgisnacht.

New month - Things to do today - pay mortgage, check doctor's appointments and meds, and finish making out my will. (no particular reason, dear journal, just that it's out of date.)

Modular robot reassembles when kicked apart

One step closer to crawling hands and unstoppable robot zombies, I say. About time.

Nerdy thought of the moment.

Self-comparison to Owlbear: Scottobear

Frequency: Unique
No. appearing: 1
Armor Class: 8 (7)
Move: 6" (bad back/leg- if repaired, 12")
Hit Dice: 2
% in lair:50%
Treasure type: K, W in lair
(if you know how to use a credit card or a checkbook)
No of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By weapon type (usually 2-8, I think)
Special Attacks: Hug
Special Defenses:nil
Magic Resistance:Standard
Intelligence:Very
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Size: L (6'6" tall, Broad)
Psionic Ability:Nil
Attack/Defense Modes:Nil

This intelligent, but docile creature will flee an attack if possible, but if cornered or if his home or family are threatened, will fight fiercely. His habitat is a cottage near the bay, with his mate and two cats. His hide is worth between 500 to 2000 gold pieces if sold to the right collector.

Both of us have hugs as special attacks.

She's just bein' Miley is stuck in my head... thanks, BHK!

I want to go with BHK to DC's month long multi-media event, ARTOMATIC. (www.artomatic.org ). At last count, over 1000 artists are participating, and it's totally free to attend - it looks fantastic. (Plus, Britishink will be there, doing tattoos, so we can give Cyn her b'day prezzie!)

Britishink will be be recreating a working Victorian Tattoo Parlour, complete with a display of the history of tattooing, machines, art, and tattoo related photography. If you want to be part of the art, they can accommodate you and tattoo you there. (Cyn's portfolio is here and more stuff here - take a gander, she does keen stuff - our wedding present from her was a drawn (not inked on us) love knot that was gorgeous.)

Capitol Plaza I
1200 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Metro: Red Line, New York Ave., M St exit

ARTOMATIC opens on Friday, May 9th. Days and hours are:
Wednesday: 5pm-10pm
Thursday: 5pm-10pm
Friday: Noon - 2am (yes, you read that correctly)
Saturday: Noon - 2am
Sunday: Noon - 10pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
The last day is June 15th

Cute overload has tempted me too far. Must go see the baby elephant in baltimore.

Wikipedia has more to say about May Day than I might, this year. North Beach has a Maypole by the bay... I wonder when it'll be danced beneath?

I think it's neat that most maypoles are made of maple. I have no idea of the origin of the word maple, but somehow I doubt it's due to the holiday.

Random factoid - "Mayday" is the internationally recognized voice radio signal for ships and people in serious trouble at sea. Made official in 1948, it is an anglicizing of the French m'aidez, "help me".

1 year ago - May day thoughts, newt and pye sharing, my zombie eyes, chimney cleaners, Walpurgisnacht

2 years ago - charmed and dr who, bob ross, 20% , houses and kitties, tummy ache, lennon quote, i like monkeys, may day

3 years ago - family factoids, mail forwarding booboo, skipped air show, costcocremation urns, Classic Cheesy Comics, Minneapolis Beggars Guild?,Burrito Weapon

4 years ago - rough night on call, may day, Spanish channel family feud answers,budget assist, air and sea, Dan's students put up a site, Newt-parrot,mum issue, memories, cam pics

5 years ago - There, mayday, top40 drop, ortho, on Workmans comp

6 years ago - free scoop, invaders, stuff meme

7 years ago - buck rogers, geography and climate, nightclub, trundle, lj-cut ponder, misc evil news, organ donor poll, wild party

Writer's Block: A Favorite Poem

2008-04-30T15:11:54Z

some days are easier than others.

today was not one of them.

What is one of your favorite poems?

View other answers

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole;
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced, nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance,
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade;
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll:
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

9259 - Wednesday

2008-04-30T12:35:21Z

And so, April comes to an end. Seeya next year, April! Wasn't too bad of one this year, all told. Some stresses, some solutions... it seems to have come and gone fairly rapidly.

Was I just doing taxes 2 weeks ago? It seems like months. I'm still getting the occasional treat at http://drop.io/scottobear , feel free to drop something off, or pick something up. I removed the m4ps, but the mp3 music is still out there.

Had the in-laws over - BHk made pseudo-beef stroganoff, baked zucchini and corn on the cob - a fine dinner which caused me to consume with gusto... and too much.

Back was doing pretty well until I hit the sack - laying straight caused some medium discomfort. I think I'll take my night meds a half hour before bed for maximum ease.

Recent photos -

. . .

ATW man is just sitting on the roof.. waiting for the owner to come up with a new plan, I guess... Mother's Day is coming... maybe we'll get to see his mama!

Also shown, our dancing robots, captured in the wee hours of the morning. I think that the designers gave the girl a lot more personality, but I think that they're both very cute.

Oh, I forgot one - speaking of robots - the Wall-E bench.

there's a heart on the seat - Wall-E + Eve

A google search for scottobear homebrew gives about 86 results. So, BHK - I do use the term homebrew every here and there! neener neener. Funny thing is that BHK did a search independent of mine, and got a more valid result of about 31. She just thinks it's a funny word for me to use.

A male orangutan, clinging precariously to overhanging branches, flails the water with a pole, trying desperately to spear a passing fish.

It is the first time one has been seen using a tool to hunt.

The extraordinary image, a world exclusive, was taken in Borneo on the island of Kaja, where apes are rehabilitated into the wild after being rescued from zoos, private homes or even butchers' shops.

"Orang hutan" means "forest man" in one of Indonesia's many languages and our long-armed cousins do indeed show a remarkable ability to mimic our behaviour.

This individual had seen locals fishing with spears on the Gohong River.

Although the method required too much skill for him to master, he was later able to improvise by using the pole to catch fish already trapped in the locals' fishing lines.

The image is part of a series taken for a new book, The Thinkers Of The Jungle, which also includes the first photograph of an orangutan swimming.

Thinkers Of The Jungle, by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, is published by Ullmann Publishing on May 5.

1 year ago - TM sullen, gardening, ohio offer, heroes, rpg supers, free software

2 years ago - plazes, car accident, mustache finger tattoos, bibliochaise, rush arrested, barking kitty, orbit cam, Guten Drudennacht! Time for der Hexen-Orgie!, greathatsby

3 years ago - Hitchhiker's, Dr. Who, Dont Cry Kitty, torrents, ebay victory, front pages, walkies pix, key/class quiz

4 years ago - Drudennacht (Walpurgisnacht), email dopes, gmail auction, gamedevelopers, Mod a disposable cam into a stun-gun, Chickens like to eat scorpions, T2 espanol question

5 years ago - Where the hell meme, boobah, timetable entry, tripped and went to the hospital on my back, slow trip home

6 years ago - a day in the life doodle, Osbournes, Chupa/tia fight, Star Map (Awesome! I forgot about this!), give bro some DVD-fu, broken pic links I have to fix

7 years ago - music confession, bug farts, fiction, wrote a encryption toy for CEJ and me to chit chat, underwear poll, AL Amarjan Slang, McCafe, lederhosen,SOP - "you forgot the gravy"

9258 - Tuesday

2008-04-29T14:46:11Z

Back is feeling much better today. Not great, but only a low-level ache and tightness at the moment. The pills best used before bed as they make me sleepy and thus not suitable for work or any sharp thought-based activity during the day.

Still haven't heard from brother since he was released from jail. I imagine that no news is good news.... I think I'll call him tonight, though.

Yesterday afternoon while I was taking care of some issues, BHK ran to the nursery and picked up some veggies for us - Flowers : Ranunculus (look mostly like the Heart of Gold ), Some Red Cat Tails, a dozen ears of corn, and a big bag of zucchini. Local food for supper the next few days!

Also after work, BHK and I went to see The Forbidden Kingdom. I'd say that we both liked it - the settings and fight choreography were lovely, but I would really have loved to see what they'd have done in the 80's, when they were both at physical prime. It was also a bit too... American, I guess. The bookends of "bullies chase kid with no 'fu", to "kid, now trained, defeats bullies" weakened the picture a bit. Overall, I was more than pleased, but it wasn't as fantastic as I'd have hoped. Not in the same league as othe rcurrent wire fu flicks, but seeing Li and Chan together was pretty nifty... Plus, The Monkey King!

After the movie's popcorn, we were ready for some serious supper time, and headed to Red Robin... we were seated between an old man who had a fragrance of tomato soup in a baby diaper and an adorable down's syndrome baby.

That was ok, save for the distracting scent... but after waiting for about 10 minutes without seeing a server, I took it as a sign of possible things to come, and we left.

We made a beeline for Cheeburger² and were seated immediately... placed our order, and chitty-chatted. The Trivial Pursuit cards at the table were ones we'd already done before, but that's the risk we take by going there so often. Our server was seemingly inexperienced at her job... a little while after we placed our order, she came back to tell us that they were all out of veggie burgers. Apparently, neither BHK or I were slotted for the meal we were looking for tonight. We got ready to go, and the girl pleaded with us to stay - free milkshakes were offered. (Reasonable, since they were already made, waiting for our non-present main course to come to us.) We said that it was ok, but she begged us to stick around while she got her boss to make things right. Bogdan was there, acting as manager... we really can't say no to him. He's been our burger buddy since I first moved here, and BHK has known him longer than that. He gave us some other options, which worked out fine. I got a grilled portobello sammich and BHK did a cow-burger, both had the same toppings and treatment we wanted on the veggie-burgers.

The shakes were tasty, though not as thick, since they had time to melt while we waited... I got a chocolate mint (not as good as chocolate cherry), and BHK had a standard ol' fashioned chocolate malt.

We made it home at about 9ish, BHK checked her email while I played a little TF2 (polishing my Heavy and Demoman skills) and Counterstrike.

Naughty Newt wouldn't let BHK's water alone... first he stuck his face close to it, and sneezed into the surface.... insuring that BHK wouldn't be drinking any. With that, he lapped the contents until he wasn't comfortable sticking his face inside the cup... so he put a paw in and pulled it over to drink from the puddle. BHK didn't know that he's fond of that little procedure. I guess she knows now. We went to bed shortly thereafter... reading turned swiftly to sleep.

Explicit name, originally uploaded by louistib.

Best thing about Gordon Ramsay is his insult factor. calling someone a doughnut, a pelican and a donkey.

I'm surely going to call someone a "silly pelican" sometime soon.

This morning, I remember a dream of disease outbreak - lots of panic - BHK and I were separated, don't know where the cats went.

I was put on a bus to Schenectady (why Schenectady?), with one small carry-on bag. I was forbidden to bring any money, books, cell phone / electronics or shoes, with the understanding that I'd be subject to robbery and worse if I did so. I don't remember what I did pack.. clothes and toiletries of some sort. I specifically recall bringing a roll of toilet paper and some pens and pencils. There was considerable fear and panic on the bus, but it wasn't overcrowded. I had my own seat, and behind me was the skinny guy from The Big Bang Theory.

The skinny guy and I talked for a bit... more like he spoke and I tossed in a comment here and there in support of what he was saying. I don't recall the exact nature of the conversation but there were certainly aspects of survival involved - something about safe water and how to make a solar oven was part of it. I was thirsty, and did not pack any water - there was a screeching or whooshing of air in my ears as we drove to our destination. Actor guy moved from the chair behind to sit next to me as there were two other fellows on his bench, pushing and shoving each other aggressively.

After our talk, skinny guy showed me that he was wearing an earring shaped like two horseshoes that were open, but closed enough that the second didn't fall from the first. the beads were black. He took it out and stuck it in my ear, piercing it when he did... and put in another one back in his own ear... the only difference was that his now had gray beads instead. He said that it was protection for the area ahead, and also gave me a compass and a powerful magnet (that didn't affect the compass, somehow) as a way to thank me because I wasn't annoying. The men behind us had been listening wanted thier own, but he refused. "Sorry - you were annoying me. Anyway, I don't have any more." and then was killed - I couldn't help him because I was back on the bus again, and he was in the parking lot, left far behind, shrieking as the two men tore him to pieces. I guess one of the men got the earring he had.

We stopped in Montana (must've been the long way, since we were going to NY from MD), where men in gas masks and carrying clipboards came on and took us outside one by one. We were lined up, and then everyone n the bus was killed except for me - deemed contagious, I suppose.

I was given food and water, and then told to walk from there. A broad expanse of grassy hills and green trees were ahead of me, with no path to be seen... but I walked, a deep sense of sadness hitting me with every step. I noted that the land was stunning, but empty without BHK and the boys with me... I began to wonder if I'd ever see them again- if somehow I'd been tricked and that this was a way of putting me in isolation.

I pulled a walking stick from a nearby branch and hit each tree, hoping to knock unseen fruit and to let nearby wildlife know I was coming... for whatever reason, I thought there were mountain lions in the woods.

Then I woke up to the alarm clock playing BHK's IPOD, and I was snuggled in with her, the boys on the bed as well. So that's a happy ending, anyhow.

1 year ago - garden work / computer work, one word meme, shorpy

2 year ago - rough day, socialist apes

3 years ago - droopy dan, mlm scam, petroglyphs, wifi via airship, science fiction, local graffiti pics, newt on kittenbreak and kittenwar

4 years ago - Team Laser Explosion Secret Fan club, Eels, ADP sassmouth, php nuke is el-sucko

5 years ago - Travel plans, work, finn's karma, Saw Murray

6 years ago - May Day Coming, Snuggles Newt, Super power, Chupa Blabs

7 years ago- web poll, dj poll, bit o' fiction, My pet Skeleton, naughty news - lots of breasts, a bunghole, creed and a mime, mum.org letter for </b></a>menstrualhut

Writer's Block: Ghost Story

2008-04-28T14:37:13Z

Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever seen one?

View other answers

I'm skeptical, to say the least.

I do believe that there are things just outside of our perception that we know little to nothing about... but find it doubtful that ghosts (at least in the most commonly believed sense) exist - I feel pretty confident that most orb photography is dust motes or water droplets reflecting, and that all of the "ghost photos" I've seen were either occlusions on film or frauds.

That said - who knows what's out in the dark? Since I have severe doubts about the existence of a soul and spirit that continues after death, what else might it be?

I believe that people have powerful wills, strong subconscious fears and imaginations - that's probably where the bulk of most "ghosts" come from. I've seen things moving in the dark, been spoken to in my sleep, seen light switches flick on and off of their own accord and been sure of an unseen hand on my shoulder. All of which spooked me, none of which seem to actually contain substance outside of my noggin after looking at things in a more rational manner.

Rather than sentient beings roaming the earth, trying in vain to talk to us, I rather fancy the idea of a place or an object being psychically charged as a result of a particularly exciting and death-related event, like a war (civil war ghosts are all the rage in Maryland, it seems), murder, suicide or a mother losing her child... an imprint that replays a scene or vision over and over on a fixed location or item... or family. I feel that it's simply fanciful thinking, no more true or likely than my having a yeti spirit guide that helps me to make the better decisions in life.

I love the idea of the ghost story, but feel in my mind and my heart that no phantoms exist outside of the minds of the living. I fear dangerous living things far more than a hand reaching out from beyond the grave to exact communication or misguided vengeance upon me or mine.

Of Course... Walpurgisnacht (Freinacht or Drudennacht) is coming, and who am I to say if the veil between our world and another won't be made thinner at that time?

1 year ago - celtic fest w/ pics, social contract

2 years ago - poem from mm, audio books, business meeting, hand pics for BHK, sketch up, earth-friendly grenades, questions meme

3 years ago - Met the centale folks, tiki night, Laos Zombies, Country Fried Hot Rod, Nazi Monkeys, balance, courthouse disco-effect

4 years ago - playing with virtual post-its, andy back in jail

5 years ago - Free sticker, timeline post, first day at jkg, back tweak

6 years ago - newt bips a skeleton, bali music, milkshake flavors, going to the grove, Charles Bronson thoughts, breasticle nectar satisfies for only about 2 hours, going back to bus from taxi, SOP

7 years ago - Lexie is so cute!, schedule change last minute, missing her, birthday toys, Blow

9256 - sunday

2008-04-28T13:04:39Z

In considerable pain today, the ol' back is acting up, and meds are making me sleepy, but not soothing much... possible making me more irritable, as well. I'm glad tomorrow at work will have the bulk of senior staff off site, depending on my mood. I suspect some of the fresh pain might be due to the changing weather... lots of rain tonight and last.

BHK took great care of me today - we watched Sweeney Todd over leftover cabbage soup and toasted cheese bagels (bhk opted for leftover Mexican food), prior to that, we did a little pre-planting of our garden - seeds of broccoli, bell pepper, zucchini and pumpkin are in small covered racks under our bench in the living room... hopefully away from prying kitty paws.

Last night's episode of SNL noted some pretty glaring aspects of Greased Lightning (click link at own risk) - look up the lyrics to it, if you're wondering why so few schools perform it.

BHK is making some surprise supper... smells good, but I have no idea what it is yet. [Update - it was veggie brats, kraut and green peppers! victory is mine!]

Closed the night watching a special on Pixar - how they got started, Disney issues, etc... pretty good! I knew the bulk of the tale, but it was interesting to see clips of the animations and add faces to the names I knew. BHK pointed out that Brad Bird does look a lot like the bad guy in the Incredibles - I doubt that was a coincidence.

We missed Maryland day on Saturday... so much for one of 50,000 cupcakes ! I bet Adam had a grand time, though.

Random silver spring pictures from the pda - I should've used this on the get-together!

. . .

1 year ago - silver surfer pics, hot fuzz good, cheeseburger cheeseburger, wtf psp, highland festival, fabfeaux,

2 years ago - mother's day turtles, 2nd life, weeki watchee, newtcam advert, fox on a trampoline, 4 things, poem for me, (8324)

3 years ago - time machine desires, sun and moon, shatner video, famous last words,cute icon, Rosie O'Donnell & Andie MacDowell together in a TV show(urk), I talk to Kenny Rogers, palm doodle, tattered flag, dreadlocktopknot, bus pics, brain meme, Lake City was the Promised Land, (7334)

4 years ago - vanity, knotts kids, memory meme (6625)

5 years ago - free ice cream, X-men promotion, new nickel, Tron 2.0, corpse teeth in new dentures, juliabee research tree

6 years ago - cracking corn, cannibal science, subliminal ads don't work, Russians doing laundry, seafood fest, mall of the dead origin photo, be a superhero, bottomless pit, learning through disagreement, Grand Funk Railroad

7 years ago - big bug, Freedom city story chunks, acknowledgment of an R-rating, net issues, car meme

9255 - Saturday

2008-04-27T22:46:03Z

Garage sale across the down today after shots... Our first blush on the way to the doctor wasn't that successful.. saw old clothes and lots of little bits of junk here and there. Quickie lunch at Mexico and then back to the town to shop.

Our hope was to find some good furniture - nothing amazing really stood out. BHK asked what I'd want to see at my ideal yard sale... my response was a mummified monkey head, some old heathkit robots maybe, and maybe a retired super-scientist's collection of prototype death rays and forcefield belts.

What we did was pick up a few dvds, more than a couple of "chick lit" books, wall art, a teaching chess set, two toy robots and A ROBOT MONKEY !

We didn't spend more than $20 total for the lot - The 'bots were the bulk of the cost, at $4.50 each. Puzzles were a quarter, dvds a buck a pop, and books were a big bundle for $3.

Came home, chilled out and enjoyed BHK's nom nom nommy thai cabbage soup.

Forgot to mention that yesterday also heralded the arrival of our blue robot boy to pair up with our pink robot hula girl. The girl is cuter, but they make a fine little dancing pair.

1 year ago - calvert coworkers, 6 months thoughts, palm doodles, mr mind, pollen

2 years ago - world history, folkvine, pocket charger, jw cordon

3 years ago - Egyptian origins, clown confession, big brown bear, trix returns to simplicity, hugs, fleet week, chitchat w myid8myego, kind entry, country bears movie, human gene in rice, funeral dance, FL gun law self defense, energy crisis, Cheney & Abadullah

4 years ago - Godchecker's Mythology Encyclopedia, Andy Griffith factoid, CS out, Cute Newt Pic

5 years ago - seafood fest, gift exchange

6 years ago - Foomy goes poof, nifty human tricks, Quick little story, full moon thoughts, Prof. Eben Norton Horsford.

7 years ago - bricolage, misc news, email tags, lj burp, uck, how to catch a polar bear, prezzies

9254 - Friday -

2008-04-27T16:31:22Z

18 month anniversary today. After work, BHK and I headed out to Silver Spring to meet up with Sirenity, Leagle_beagle555 and Chrishaas. Friendly folks and meeting was long overdue.

I forgot my camera, so I'm depending on Sirenity for picture documentation later on. We had a nice time and conversation over supper - more to follow as I think of it.

Ultraportable / subnotebook comparisons

New back drugs are - Lyrica, Cyclobenzaprine and Nabumetone. I want to do a bit more research on 'em before I take them. Nabumetone in particular had a lot of nasty, scary warnings in the information text.

I am glad that they're not habit-forming, and have a lot of pretty decent write-ups so far.

Dell will be offering Windows XP pre-installed on their computers past the June 30 cut-off date. Computers purchased with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate past June 30 will come with a copy of XP Pro. Dell plans to simply install that copy upon request to save users a step. Perhaps this will help Microsoft officials make up their minds about another extension.

According to F-Secure, over 500,000 webservers across the world, including some from the United Nations and UK government, have been victims of a SQL injection. The attack uses an SQL injection to reroute clients to a malicious javascript at nmidahena.com, aspder.com or nihaorr1.com, which use another set of exploits to install a Trojan on the client's computer. As per usual, Firefox users with NoScript should be safe from the client exploit, but server admins should be alert for the server-side injection. Brian Krebs has a decent writeup on his Washington Post Security Blog, Dynamoo has a list of some of the high-profile sites that has been hacked, and for fun you can watch some of the IIS admins run around in circles at one of the many IIS forums on the 'net.

I need to remember that free comic book day is coming May 3... next weekend! Will I forget? Probably. But it's exciting to not write it down anywhere else and then rediscover. I wonder what loot Aardvark will have for us? I hope issues of Gumby and Hellboy (and maybe an Iron Man heroclix figure?) will be left.

I should scope out umbrella academy - probably my fave freebie book from last time - I could go for a trade paperback, if available.

Just so you know - I have never, ever pistol-whipped anyone, dear journal. Please don't make me change that situation.

more question memealeemadingdongs

1. What is your real first name? Gregory

2. If you could choose your name what would it be? The one I have.

3. If you could choose your appearance what would it be like? Like me, only in better shape. Maybe a working prehensile tail that's easily hidden, too.

4. Have you ever permanently altered your physical features on purpose? Nope... lots of times by accident, though.

5. If you could be any animal what would you choose? as long as I could turn back, I would dig being some sort of bird of prey - a barn owl, perhaps.

6. What is the first thing you think of when someone says the word snow? 'snow business like show business, like no business I know.

7. Do you find the holiday season annoying or fun and festive? Yes! Primarily festive, however.

8. Have you ever spent more than half a paycheck's worth on a pair of shoes? No. Well, maybe when I was working for the library in high school, and only bringing in $100 a week or so.

9. What cartoon character do you identify with the most? Marc Anthony, the bulldog that cares for Pussyfoot the kitten. (see cartoon here or here for info)

10. If someone was trying to "sell" you, what words would be in your commercial? Monkeys! Robots! Free! Eco-friendly! Exclamation points denoting enthusiasm!

Not asked, but also use art like this -

11. What is the best present you ever got? I've gotten lots of good loot over the years. I think I'll go with mushy, and say my wife and kitty-family, though.

12. Do you think plain ol' water has a flavor? Certainly. Distilled tastes different than mineral or tap.

13. Do you like the way beer tastes? Some - I like a nice, simple Harp or Killian's Red just fine.

14. What is your favorite thing to do when you're bored at work? Maintenance. Makes time fly, and needs to get done.

15. If you could get away with it scot-free, would you kill the president? No. I'm no murderer... though he might be considered one.

16. Do you like it when people give you compliments? Depends on the person and the compliment! Generally, yes.

17. Do you like to give people compliments? When someone is doing a good job or doing something well, I do.

18. What is the best thing about summer? Fireflies and enjoying nice evenings outside.

19. What is the worst thing about summer? Heat and humidity. *pant pant*

20. Have you ever pretended to be someone you're not (outside of theater and childhood make-believe)? I've got several different email aliases, for catching spam.

21. Is there a song or type of music that begins to define you? I'm pretty eclectic. Horns and brass work sometimes, other times, soft incidental music.

22. Do you have a "happy place?" Behind the threshold of my home, with BHK, Newt & Pye.

23. Can you name three things you need, but don't want? Nope. Everything that I can think of that are needed are also wanted. I can think of lots of things that I want, but don't need, though!

24. Do you still get excited when you hear the ice cream truck? I get a little happy vibe, sure. Hearkens back to a simpler time... plus, they have ice cream!

25. How often do you stop to just look at the stars, or smell the flowers? quite often. However - BHK sniffs more flowers, I gaze at more stars.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.

Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.

Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.

Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.

"You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you. We've had a number of attempted lynchings. ... You see them covered in marks after being beaten," Kinshasa's police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Police arrested the accused sorcerers and their victims in an effort to avoid the sort of bloodshed seen in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 suspected penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs. The 27 men have since been released.

"I'm tempted to say it's one huge joke," Oleko said.

"But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said.

Some Kinshasa residents accuse a separatist sect from nearby Bas-Congo province of being behind the witchcraft in revenge for a recent government crackdown on its members.

"It's real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny," said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station.

1 year ago - concert recap, license plate seen, wendy's, lj-spam, highland fest promo / tree pics

2 years ago - camo man, free cone, gorillaz, dictator octopus

3 years ago - Commercial, Dr Who poot episode, hair-neck-man, good weather, pope palpatine, Tomi voice, Newt sleepies, Dave at Poorhouse, Condoms to saris, ashcroft not scared of calicos, King Tut Coming (it ends this week), kind words from mootpoint

4 years ago - RHL, dumb laws, Rubezahl

5 years ago - doctor and drugs, grasshoppers and micropet, letter to bro, distractions (anagrams, phone spellings, etc)

6 years ago - SOP, copyright, scarecrows in the herb garden, Tunguska, kisses, wind dreams

7 years ago - BJ's Bday, hobbledehoy, ages of sexual consent around the world, sleep-station pictures, hungry, more rights gone, character / gaming memories,xfl=pos, teeny tiny farm animals and milk ring from Kellie