BHK and I decided (after a little option juggling) to go on a little road trip to the Eastern Shore, visiting primarily Easton and St. Michael's.

St. Michael's is known as "the town that fooled the British" due to the clever action of early settlers. During the early morning hours of August 10th, 1813, British barges off the coast of St. Michael's planned an attack on the town and a harbor fort. The people of St. Michael's got word of the impending attack and hoisted lanterns high up onto the masts of their sailboats and into the tops of trees. The high lights caused the attacking British to overshoot the town. The rouse worked and only one house in St. Michael's was hit by cannon fire. That house still stands as a private residence and is known as the "Cannonball House." The cannon ball fell through the top of the roof and rolled down the stairs. The Cannonball House is located on Mulberry Street, adjacent to St. Mary's Square.

I acquired a George Washington (it's for the university, but just says George washington, with his face in a little cameo in the center) sweatshirt somehow - BHK got a giant one for her tiny mama, and it made it back to our house for laundry. It fits me, and I have since claimed it as my own.

I cannot tell a lie. I spilled some cherry pie on my George Washington sweatshirt. Irony? Or just me being a slob? Who says it can't be both?!

We roamed the mostly silent roads and sidewalks of St. Michael's... I'd say at least 2/3 of the shops were closed for the season, due to reopen in late march... but we did visit a few nifty spots that were open. A "Shabby Chic" sort of shop to get BHK a hair band and a tiny statue of liberty salt shaker, a wool store full of nifty yarn, a coffee shop that had mancala boards out (though we didn't pause long enough for a game. Just as well - she'd have trounced me soundly, no doubt) - swept by the radio-research base to look at all of the spinny-antenna stuff, and get photographed by the man.

My big purchase of the day was an assortment of hot sauces. 44 cloves garlic sauce sounds especially yummy. More in depth reviews to follow as we try them.

Some shots from today, more to follow tomorrow, as flickr uploader figures out what I want.

a closed but "to be revisited" action figure / gamer / skateboarding store called the Bunker, Delicious and Cheap Natty-Boh Beer, A cafe that looks fresh off of the Prisoner TV series

...

Cool Radio Tower / Research Lab

....

Geodesic Dome home! It was 4 or 5 stories tall.

....

Count Chocula's hideout, near the Marine Museum

...

Cool house, rules on ball-cap wearing next to betty boop, and decorative cabbage.

...

Peace graffiti, kitty sign, fisherman bear.

...

Iron Fence, more cool cabbage, headstones at the church

...

More of the cool church and graves.

...

...

...

Hey! More history! Frederick Douglass was a slave here! Thankfully, he moved on to other venues.

.

 

see also - some attempts (not all successful) at a new panoramic stitching technique.

..

 

We ended the day at general tanuki's - the bubba roll (coconut shrimp w/ avocado & peanut drizzle) and asparagus tempura rolls were especially good. we may end up taking larry there next time we get a sushi jones.. they do burgers (and some yummy looking specials), too! BHK and I split a Natty Boh and some spring rolls... it was a great end to a lovely day of walking around, getting some fresh air and just being together.

After we got back home, we watched the Prestige. I liked it, save for the ending. The buildup and interaction was good, but the closing was a little screwy. - I didn't like the Tesla device / tank element.

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Do Kev and Paul have to deal with Cthulhu at Guantanamo bay ?

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1 year ago - lj notifications broken, model train expo, George Takei on Tim Hardaway

2 years ago - newt herd pic, sleep, quiz-meme, lost a kid before we were even called

3 years ago - Sleepy, Paris Hacked, Gorilla Cover Gallery, adding insult to injury pic, mel out of comm for a week

4 years ago - Newt-beliefs, Police pay an unkind visit (DRAMA!)

5 years ago - fairy tales, country bears, lj poop, palm doodle, A Reading Rainbow of Prophesies, misc news

6 years ago - Tulpa-thoughts, L&B have the baby

7 years ago - one of my favorite bear piccies, hoogerbrugge, Haiku arena is founded, rough translations

Gung Hei Ft Choi! Happy Year of the Rat! (From a loving Earth Monkey)

BHK  made a fantastic ravioli dinner in cream sauce with peas and broccoli... nom nom nom

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Nice video on the difference between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama: from Lessig on choosing candidates - well put. (via wickenden's twitter ) Transcript here. (Unrelated, but cool, he put me onto the sandy reminder service, too)

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Chest issues are clearing up nicely after visiting the doc, also queried about a few other items pending on the health checklist.

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Confirming times for David's visit at the end of the month. I think that we'll have fun hanging out - He's got some pals to visit in DC, too.

Say.. when'd they add terrain to google maps? I just noticed the button, looking at what drive he migh thave to do.

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Read the graphic novel Superman/Batman : Absolute Power. It did nothing for me.

Synopsis: Three time travelers eliminate members of the Justice League, except for young Superman and Batman, whom they raise as their own children. Batman and Superman are raised to be dictators of the world, eliminating all opposition and killing people who would otherwise be their friends. During a fight with the Freedom Fighters the timeline is thrown into chaos, and the two men travel through alternate time lines. Darkseid makes a deal with them in one reality to send them back through time to stop the super-villains who raised them from altering history. Superman and Batman restore history, but the murders they committed haunt them.

Nah. Not for me. Even with Hex showing up and the Legion... it still didn't inspire, impress, or provoke any thought. Picked it up on impulse at the library while waiting on my prescription. I hope the Marvel Westerns book is more to my liking.

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To whom it may concern - If you play CounterStrike, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life: Death match or other online type fps games, I'm scottobear on Steam. Add me to your buddy list, and I'll happily play a game with you sometime. I'd rather play with folks I know, or at least Internet-know than total strangers... more fun to put a personality to the people I'm shooting alongside or at.

Of course, if you don't like me, add me anyway, and you can either shoot me in the face in game, for maximum catharsis. No legal ramifications for killing a little avatar!

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This is my kind of protest. Not violent, just a guy in a polar bear suit in a little paddle boat. Of course, sans permit, he was arrested... but not before getting a basic point across.

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1 year ago - SNZ / Firecracker Jazz, critters in our yard

2 years ago - compusa sucks, Sun Ra and The Blues Project Do Batman and Robin (MP3s),

3 years ago - piccies, superbowl, flying daggers, robert did it, cemetery pics, immersive gaming, newt smooch, mel and I break up

4 years ago - spam poll, Gabby newt while I'm sick (I seem to frequently catch colds the week after my birthday.), screening journal spam, Batman's Moon Patrol(most links dead now), true & fake smiles

5 years ago - Wooden ships and iron men (online!), tiny things made large, snapple factoids, LXG movie, craving falafel, b-day note from bro, palm-campics monkey cam!

6 years ago - she has a crush on me, when furries go bad, total net lock down at work

7 years ago - Pirates!, create your own cereal mix (now gone), pondering my future lj, old school yahoo, kruss goes poof, boot to the head

Baby Polar bear homepage! When does he get his armor, and star in a crappy movie? (I set google to auto-translate from german) He was born on Just about 4 weeks ago.

Aww.. I love him. Maybe BHK will let me have one, if we get a duck and a llama.

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Variant route to work this morning - left a little late, got off at fort trotten, and took r2 in... got to work by 8:15, well before my preferred deadline of 8:30.

Came home, had subway subs and watched The Ex, and the finaled of Spidey 3. Spidey wasn't as bad as  I'd heard, the third time around.. the Ex was pretty formula, and didn't do a lot for me, but it was nice getting together with family and hanging out.

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Friday 5 via eryx_uk -

1. Where do you like to walk?

Anywhere! I like people-watching, architecture and nature-watching.. I prefer a reasonably hazard-free surface in a comfy climate. The woods, cityscape and boardwalk are all great.

2. What does your hair look like?

Currently cut short, brown, with bits of red, gray, black and blonde tossed in for good measure. Thinning some on top, more gray being tossed in daily - plentiful enough on arms, legs and etc.

3. What are you jealous of?

I'm not a very jealous person these days.

4. What kind of promises do you make?

The kind I plan on keeping... I rarely promise anything.

5. What makes you stare?

When my mind drifts, I tend to lock onto a location in space and stare at it... I'm prone to gaze deeply at anything that would attract a magpie or a monkey. Shiny stuff, moving trees in the wind, an unusual color amongst the grays.

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Sinister TV-b-gone mischief at the CES by gizmodo.

Mean, in some instances (Motorola), but cool to see a whole video wall go off.

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1 year ago - newt and pye pics / video, off to marion

2 years ago - hijinks, top 10 questions, hieroglyphic names, system still out for repair, doodling

3 years ago - turtle thought, dinero, illumination, tv torrents, vampire hunting with a stand up bass, metasearch, mucho folks fired for keeping online journals, iraqi abuse cheerleaders, server location, flying_blind introduces me to the term blague which is a perfect alternate to blog.

4 years ago - drama flakes, bad taste, Dentsu, Tintin, Sandalwood and walkabout

5 years ago - LotR, Nipple scarves, vax-d, UBER-PEA!, Newt piccies

6 years ago - Colostomy bag thief, D&D stats, monkey god baby

7 years ago - looking to the future, all the words

It's Danny's B-day! My internal schedule set in the 90s tells me that Kat and Pam's aren't too far off. I still picture all of them about a decade ago in my mind, even though I've only seen Danny with any frequency. (Kat once in person and in rare photos, Pam - not at all.)

Only a month until my own Birthday. I'm not feeling too bummed about it being the last year I start with a 3. (at least until I turn 300, I guess!) 39 seems a lot older to me than it feels. Maybe it's due to me being creaky and having back problems going back decades... but I'm not really feeling my age. I see lines around my eyes here and there... I look in the mirror when I brush my teeth and shave, but I don't see an old guy looking back at me. However... I don't see a kid, either. I certainly look a lot older now than when I started this journal in 2000. (and certainly more than in 1996, about 11 years ago here and my face squished against a scanner in '96, too, for that matter. ) Heck, if I have to rewind much more, I may as well link to a non-bearded pic of me from circa 1994, for that matter. Added bonus, Doug Wu and a clean-shaven Danny. Speaking of which - I've started growing a full beard out again, and it stuns me how much salt and pepper is in what was once a brownish-red jaw. I kind of dig it, not from a vanity perspective, but it feels right at this time of year to be a bit more furry.

When is a mid-life crisis supposed to hit? Ah, got it. 46, or thereabouts. Things are really quite good for me these days... Hopefully I won't suffer the same sort of psychological shakeup that some folks have at that time. On the agenda for this year is a more serious focus on health.

Of course, Newton has aged the most since I've started my LJ - First day I had him, back in the day... October of '99 , and About the same time in 07. He's still terribly dapper, and can put on a kitten-face easily when he wants.

BHK and Pye both are babyfaces across the board. I think BHK will be carded for booze when she turns 73.

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I would love to make or just have this Beast (Henry McCoy) Sock Monkey. Very Keen!

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Of the millions of webcomics out there, I've really only found about 3 that are funny, interesting, or well-drawn. Short of some clever stick figures and more well-rounded stick figures, not much about them thrill me.

I'm wondering when that cottage industry will have a culling period? I suspect never, and that's pretty great. Something for everyone, even if it's just the creator. Something that many critics forget is that they can choose not to read something that they find to be distasteful - or worse, boring. Same goes for podcasts, videos and journals, for that matter.

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I didn't do the polar bear swim this year... just didn't seem like much of an event, given how unseasonably warm it was. Of course, today, it's snow weather... Perversely, I'd have done it if the weather was like this yesterday.

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Time for a Meme, already? sure, why not? I got 23 out of 37 possible.

The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

According to the creators, this is an activity "designed to help the participants gain awareness of the vast range of social class that exists within themselves and others". It was originally done with college students but I think it makes for a very interesting tool that helps me put my own experiences into perspective.

If you post this in your journal, please leave a comment on this post. To participate in this blog game, copy and paste the above list into your blog, and bold the items that are true for you. If you don't have a blog, feel free to post your responses in the comments.

When you were in college:

If your father went to college, take a step forward.
If your father finished college
If your mother went to college
If your mother finished college
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
If you were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
If you had a computer at home
If you had your own computer at home
If you had more than 50 books at home
If you had more than 500 books at home
If were read children's books by a parent
If you ever had lessons of any kind
If you had more than two kinds of lessons
If the people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
If you had a credit card with your name on it
If you have less than $5000 in student loans
If you have no student loans
If you went to a private high school
If you went to summer camp
If you had a private tutor
If you have been to Europe
If your family vacations involved staying at hotels
If all of your clothing has been new and bought at the mall
If your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
If there was original art in your house
If you had a phone in your room
If you lived in a single family house
If your parent own their own house or apartment
If you had your own room
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
If you had your own cell phone in High School
If you had your own TV in your room in High School
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.

Here is what folks did in a live version, stepping forward for each bolded item :

Now everyone recognize that you are at the same place academically.
Everyone turn around.
Everyone has permission to talk.
No one has permission to accuse any one or any group of anything.
Everyone must use “I” statements.
Note that the people on one end of the room had to work harder to be here today than the people at the other end of the room. Some of you had lives of more privilege than others. There is no one to blame, it is just the way it is. Some have privilege and some don’t.
(this can be said now or later, I don’t know where it will be appropriate)

Discussion:
What were the feelings that you had during this experience? Who was angry?
(Anger will be a primary emotion at this point.)
What, specifically, makes you angry?
Who are you angry at?

Who was happy?

Summary Statement
This experience was about creating awareness of privilege. What it is, what it does, and what it means. Having privilege does not mean that you worked less hard. All it means is that you had a head start, so maybe it does mean you didn’t have to work as hard . . . .

Homework
During the next week notice how your high school years helped or didn’t help your experience in school/at work . . . .

Explanations and Notes:
All of the step taking was about things not requiring effort on the students’ part, that were things done by others.

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1 year ago - polar bear swim review, polar bears in general

2 years ago - prisoner commentary on my lack of things to say, linkies to cams, mugshots, thumbs up, tiny & affordable computers, ultimate showdown, windows security hole psa

3 years ago - Mel's Gram moves in, Dan doesn't meet her, on call, A&E, smallware, a resolution I fairly succeeded at, curry on the brain

4 years ago - dropload, shoot around corners, I first hear about how capital punishment is a far more expensive system than one whose maximum penalty is life in prison, Urban Exploration Florida

5 years ago - bro/taxi trouble, conquer the world, smoking gun mug shots

6 years ago - Random Name Generator, gunplay dream, family channel, Scotto's head,2001 review, Japanese space shuttle, Afghan sports, pee color

7 years ago - words within words, I disagree with Georgia O'Keeffe, LJ bumpy

I made it quite easily through the polar bear swim yesterday, though the bay was brisk - (between 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit, and most certainly colder than the air temp) it was misty and rainy, so some of the photos have a rather gray cast to 'em. BHK, Chris, Larry and Tina were all kind enough to come out to cheer me on, however, none went into the drink with me... I was hoping Adam might, but he was wiped out due to being the taxi driver for assorted lushes.

Pictures beneath the "brr!" - be warned, I'm a furry creature.

( Brrr! )

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Speaking of which - Polar bears may get endangered species status

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act and initiating a comprehensive scientific review to assess the current status and future of the species. ( Read more... )

From U.S. Department of the Interior

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1 year ago - prisoner commentary on my lack of things to say, linkies to cams, mugshots, thumbs up, tiny & affordable computers, ultimate showdown, windows security hole psa

2 years ago - Mel's Gram moves in, Dan doesn't meet her, on call, A&E, smallware, a resolution I fairly succeeded at, curry on the brain

3 years ago - dropload, shoot around corners, I first hear about how capital punishment is a far more expensive system than one whose maximum penalty is life in prison, Urban Exploration Florida

4 years ago - bro/taxi trouble, conquer the world, smoking gun mug shots

5 years ago - Random Name Generator, gunplay dream, family channel, Scotto's head,2001 review, Japanese space shuttle, Afghan sports, pee color

6 years ago - words within words, I disagree with Georgia O'Keeffe, LJ bumpy

Wiped out again last night - it seems like everyone at the office has some sort of assorted yuck, from flu to worse. I think GG and LD are the only ones showing some form of immunity. I look forward to a solid night's rest this weekend.

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A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman who posted messages on the Internet accusing her of being a "crook," a "con artist" and a "fraud."

Legal analysts say the Sept. 19 award by a jury in Broward County, Fla. — first reported Friday by the Daily Business Review — represents the largest such judgment over postings on an Internet blog or message board. Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida law professor who specializes in free-speech issues, calls the award "astonishing."

( Read more... )

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DAMASCUS, Syria - Hunters stalked giant camels as tall as some modern-day elephants in the Syrian desert tens of thousands of years ago and archaeologists behind the find are wondering where the camels came from and what caused them to die off.

The enormous beasts existed about 100,000 years ago and more of the bones, first discovered last year, have been found this year in the sands about 150 miles north of the capital, Damascus.

( Read more... )

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Free HP Lovecraft Audio books!

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Everybody does it. Adults don't like to talk about it. But it fascinates kids.

You guessed it: poop.

An exhibit about the science of what humans and animals leave behind -- 'The Scoop on Poop' -- opens at Miami Metrozoo's Dr. Wilde's World on Friday.

( Read more... )

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It was the moment the fans had been waiting for: headliners John Mayer and Sheryl Crow briefly sharing the Sound Advice Amphitheatre stage together near the beginning of Crow's set. The two jammed out to Crow's My Favorite Mistake, standing back-to-back as Mayer wailed out a funk riff. It was hot.

Of course, Mayer was wearing a bear costume, complete with a big goofy amusement park bear head. But it was still hot, and that's saying something.



( Read more... )

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1 year ago - supercar, monkeytown usa, pi song, obey the bunny, nazi?,

2 years ago - h-bot, walkabout pics, sammich girls, mockery troopers, living tissuejacket, ff2, dan dog, bro evicted, Eau de humanity, templars

3 years ago - nightmare, tri-bloc embalming, bra sizes, angry kid, sex resource guide, sweetalyssm's bday, alien abduction tags

4 years ago - restless, newt, poo-fuel, baby costumes, bike ride w/bro, chupacabra,laser jet temp tats, honest opinion, kung fu channel, quizzes

5 years ago - hector, ap bday, sleepies, landlord issues

6 years ago - kingdomality, jobs, ghost dog-bears

Listen to this article

Fatima likes the haircut... the response so far has been unanimously positive. Nobody has had anything even remotely negative to say about it.

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Felix woos Whoopee - Felix the Cat has fun at a party at the Whoopee Club until the early hours of the morning. At home, his wife paces the floor while carrying a rolling pin. When Felix finally leaves at 3:30 a.m., he is so drunk that he sees the buildings sway with the music, and lamp posts and cars turn into strange creatures. When he gets home, Mrs. Cat has a surprise for him.

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My sweetie's on a road trip with her buddy this weekend... I keep forgetting how small the northeast is compared to Florida... driving from DC to NJ to VT is doable quick as a wink, compared to just going from Miami to Tallahassee. It sounds like they're having a grand time - I look forward to the pictures they bring back.

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I'm impressed at how well the last season of JLU was done... That's how a show should end... strong and solid, not wheezing out the last dregs of its life. Good job on the Hawkman edge and Legion of Doom stuff.

My favorite elements were Toyman yo-yo vs Killer Frost (or Toyman Nerf vs Parademons, for that matter) , Grodd - "Why speak ill of the dead?" and a use of the New Gods that are actually worth something. (I was never really a fan of that Kirby-crew, despite my fondness for Kirby-tech like Mother Boxes and Boom Tubes)

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David Hasselhoff Says "Knight Rider" Car Was Gay

( Read more... )

The rules to winning Hoff's heart

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A bear rides a motorcycle on a high-wire while carrying a stunt woman below during a show at the Animal Games in a wildlife park in Nanjing, in eastern China's Jiangsu province Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006. The show was one of many events held to attract visitors to the park during the week-long National Day holiday.

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Random Shots from yesterday - A little orange girl-kitten and a manatee warning sign. no manatees at a good angle to photograph... next time. at the Dania beach boat club, near boomers. The kit was one of three stowaways from key west.. the dock master raised 'em up like I did with Newt, bottle fed until they could chow down more seriously. They're still a little skinny, but very active and playful.

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1 year ago - HBO/Rome torrent issues, lj portal, medical Friday 5, local graffiti pics Dose,

2 years ago - met some VIPs, mooks, pente, Kiwanis, free stuff, Everything you can think of is true

3 years ago - land art, land shark, MOND, vamp hint, Nice weather, pesky people, squids, space, sea and starburst fruit chews.

4 years ago - gps, Cherey scary face, bro bawl out, star wars gangsta rap

5 years ago - hubris, birfdaze, AOE2-Con, religious words as verbs, on working local outwards

6 years ago - Ray Ig & Robbo, Salty dog pub

Listen to this article

Friday. Payday. Right before a 4-day weekend. Good thoughts for July... June fairly stunk, with a few nice exceptions. June seems to often be a bad month for me.. I'm glad it's passed for another year.

Rather rushed this morning, more to follow tonight, or from the bus ride, no doubt.

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Moment of Lyric - mp3

All alone in this world am I
Not a care for this world have I
Only you keep my eyes open wide
Yes it's true
I live for you

Not a thing in this world do I own
Only sadness from all that is grown
In this darkness I wait for the day
Yes it's true
I live for you

For many years I wait
For many tears I wait

All this time my thoughts return to you
Give my love, that is all I can do
Wait in line till I feel you inside
Yes it's true
I live for you

For many years I wait
For many tears I wait

All this time my thoughts return to you
Give my love, that is all I can do
Wait in line till I feel you inside
Yes it's true
I live for you

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A Japanese company called Sunamiya has developed a gun-shaped party cracker that shoots out a teddy bear. The teddy bear would then parachute down.

Developers hit on the idea after noticing that it had become a trend for people to throw teddy bears into the air instead of bouquets at wedding receptions.

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1 year ago - Missing the good ol' days- Sam and Max, a9 maps, Chee-chee gone, pumpkins are berries, flickr-google earth hack, movie plans, maps

2 years ago - planning a trip, big rock candy mountain, getting journal-spam

3 years ago - Heroclix Icon, Playboy Mystery, The Thorns, Octopus hot dogs, KingKong, Acme Illustrated Catalog, Newtcam pic (see the day prior for oneof his gut sticking out), Lunch with Danny, Las Olas Walkies, awonderful surprise chat.

4 years ago - settling in, south beach remote cam, Newt-lassie comparisons, power puff/marley

5 years ago - Rookie Bodine, good thoughts, crash test dummy plot seeds, redolent, the power of cheese, Ornj goes camping

6 years ago - shotgun

Last night was one of pleasant conversation. I was hardly on the web at all

Tomi called me from Finland on skype... it works surprisingly well. Sound was really clean, and it was nice catching up with him, though it was weird, given that he was about 8 hours ahead of me.

Topics: Good ol' Days, Traveling to the Arctic Circle to see buddies, "the 'Vette", Kitties, Cigarettes & Cap'n Kangaroo and Kev re:Gitmo

Had another delightful million-year gab with Tina, too. She's certainly got a gift for gab. I hope that she's feeling better today... when she first called, she sounded like a 12 year old with vapor lock, but eventually, the bulk of her nasal-yuck cleared out, and the lungs sounded more loose and open.

Topics: Too Numerous to count (I think I may've found someone that can topic-jump more rapidly than I can) But included family, social Darwinism / social quirks, critters (cats, dogs and boars), economy, books primarily popcorn books), tasty food including an eggs and cheese ditty, not-so-tasty food, some very refreshing honesty, and an exceptionally foul-mouthed nun.

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Speaking of Foul-mouthed: Listened to a Redd Foxx album recently, and man... I don't mind blue comedians, but he was just awful. A bunch of weak one-liners. No craft to his work at all. At least Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor build a story that has some profanity - not just a quick "zinger" with a rude ending. Probably, I'm just a different audience - I like Bill Cosby's albums and Steve Martin's stuff.

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Found a link to a gazillion mp3s of Stars on 45. Pop hits medley-ed out on disco hand-claps. Tossed me right back into the middle of 1981, quick like a magic trick.

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Jack the cat chases black bear up tree



WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong New Jersey yard for a jaunt earlier this week, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange-and-white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, chasing small animals when he can, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," cat owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's newspapers.

Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey home's back yard on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat.

After about 15 minutes peering down at the cat from the tree, the bear descended and tried to run away, only to have Jack chase it up another tree.

At this point Dickey, who feared for her cat, called Jack back home and the bear scurried back to the woods.

"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said.

Bear sightings are not unusual in West Milford, which experts consider one of the state's most bear-populated areas.

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via missv - David Hasselhoff - Secret Agent Man (youtube video)

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( tropical weather outlook )

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1 year ago - sleepies, bro on upswing, free lunch, tropical storm Arlene, ice cream truck music, newt, bus stop and pics, Coprology, hurricane, I spy,

2 years ago - hungry-boy, Shambhala, lawn chair boat, Alan Yu vs. the invisible shrinking psi-agents.


3 years ago - good ol' days, There-stuff, mummy locator

4 years ago - wonder twins movie optioned, Baiso, Rose Red, Bunko Shenanigans

5 years ago - Uddercream, Eugene Mirman, evil news, lit-quiz, chachi and opium

6 years ago - bubble, simple

Ugly day at work yesterday, punctuated by warm flashes of light and comfort from points outside. Those flashes resolved into a soft, soothing ambient light after I got home, and spent time with those I truly care for. Sooth from beings four-footed and two. One work call came in, but aside from that, the night was calm and most reasonable.

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Moment of Lyric - mp3

( ... )

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

( ... )

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( picture ) AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday. In the incident Sunday at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, several Sloth bears chased the Barbary macaque into an electric fence, where it was stunned.

It recovered and fled onto a wooden structure, where one bear pursued and mauled it to death.

The park confirmed the killing in a statement, saying: "In an area where Sloth bears, great apes and Barbary macaques have coexisted peacefully for a long time, the harmony was temporarily disturbed during opening hours on Sunday."

"Of course the habitats here in the safari park are arranged in such a way that one animal almost never kills another, but they are and remain wild animals," it said.

Witness Marco Berelds posted a detailed report on the incident, including photos, on a Dutch Web site. He said one Sloth bear tried unsuccessfully to shake the monkey loose after it took refuge on the structure, built of crossing horizontal and vertical poles.

Ignoring attempts by keepers to distract it, the bear climbed onto a horizontal pole, and, standing stretched on two legs, "used its sharp canines to pull the macaque, which was shrieking and resisting, from its perch."

The bear then brought the animal to a concrete den, where three bears ate it.

The zoo said it "usually wasn't possible" for keepers to intervene when an animal killed another.

The park plans now to move the Barbary macaques — which are large monkeys but often inaccurately called "Barbary Apes" — to another part of the park, it said.

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I sort of dig the new Flickr interface. Not sure how much I like the new Yahoo one.

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