scottobear

happy birthday. pyewacket!
 

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note to self - story for BHK's birthday (also, get petting zoo)

WEREWOLF - COLLOIDAL SILVER - SUBMARINE - END OF THE WORLD - population gone

Jeff the dirty Hippie werewolf given bad LSD by the govt to create perfect warrior. Werewolf in a rocket.
---
Made a little run to Rita's, the library and the gas station as a midday break. I have an appointment regarding a possible gig tomorrow - I'm looking forward to going there and checking it out.

Playing with stitching pics again for a moment - I'm easily amused.

Stitched pic of Annapolis - from Saturday



Duncan meld-pic - from Sunday



1 year ago - sicker, bhk thoughts, ac broken!

2 years ago - grown up survey, aardvark trip for games

3 years ago - lj people vs people in real life, Maya / Ole' Ole' weak food-wise but nice conversation-wise, the fixx mp3, voice post, very silly comments

4 years ago - 100 icons (now 143), mp call, scotto-pic, the bear, erasure, swf nav-bar, now and last quiz

5 years ago - Mxyzptlk, Hosting, Newt Pics, why a bear, Ebola playset

6 years ago - Newtcam, Monster name, D, Lj top 40, @home, vampire game

7 years ago - no more flash embedded in journals, cleaning house post fumes, June bugs coming, supa-leap Newt, global warming rant

8 years ago - Argus, moon cathedrals, monkey fishing (later shown false), smart tags (where'd those go?), reading comics, dj account

9  years ago -ADD, Webcam obtained, meme, mind tricks, kite flying with April and Danny

As always, Happy Birthday, Oneeyedcat! We Love you and yours!

We slept in this morning, after the late night out... Chris and Larry stopped by to check out the garden, and bring us some biscuits and bacon... (I focused on the former, BHK, the latter, of course.)

While folding laundry, We watched the first episode of Primeval: Season 3 . Looks like it's off to a good start.

Later, Chris and Larry came back over, and we grilled, as is our thing lately... meat burgers for the in-laws, veggie-burgs for BHK and me. Baked beans, cole slaw, some of the most awesome corn on the cob of the season, and tasty mac & cheese. It's hard to diet with this much good food nearby.

BHK made key lime pie for dessert, and we watched the end of The Last Templar - it started strong, but petered out - I can't recommend it. I do recommend BHK's key lime pie, though.



I spent a little time working on the computer - we're having connectivity issues- it seems like comcast has trouble after rainstorms, especially.

1 year ago - oneeyed's bday!, dance recital, bbq

2 years ago - Oneeyed b'day, cleaning up the tech area pics, sugar free cherry sno-cone.

3 years ago - day in moods, bears kill and eat monkeys, auto stitched clouds, new interfaces for flickr and yahoo, police music

4 years ago - Tracy Ullman, Hotcakes and Sausage, tummy owie, who to GP&K, bad hurricane season predicted, movies, work stuff, doctor beat up by a corpse, missing kid case foul up, ernie's, chicago crime, finish the sentence, triple homicide

5 years ago - Oneyed is 21!, Birthday Stars, warmer out, 2-point smart ones, company to php, yahoo mail to 100mb (now it's 1 gig), being left behind in CoH,gumball cards, boy with a bunker, silly amazon stuff, wireless broadcast test, sample memo, bro

6 years ago - trouble with downloads, friday 5, there-quest, publix direct

7 years ago - layout planning, link popularity, now dead cam-ring

8 years ago - jimmy johns, Adipocere, purity test meme, nice chitty chat, mushies, gated communities, super hero casting poll

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, Li'L BIT!

It freaks me out a little that I've been keeping a journal here since before she was a year old.

Fat flakes of Snow today! Turned to rain later on, but at least I got a little touch of white all over the landscape for an hour or so.

A World Without Chocolate? Without Conservation Efforts, Cacao Could One Day Be in Short Supply

Newt gets around for a sleepyhead.

Veggie-style frito pie for dinner tonight! Played scratch -offs - we got two $1 tickets, won a $1.

1 year ago - Li'l Bit 8, reading harry dresden, shots, lemongrass, best buy, xmas lights down, resting

2 years ago - tracks in the snow pic, ghost rider, synchronicity with GP and Kat.

3 years ago - compusa saga continues, C&C generals, Li'l Bit 6!, song meme, newtcam up,

4 years ago - Lil Bit #5!, basketball w/danny, netflix du jour, loonatics 2.0

5 years ago - There 2.0, stress

6 years ago - expected last day at FMM, web-subscribers, barbie sex, Nordis hoses me.

7 years ago - Newt wakies, proxo, palm entry, haiku/ D&D class alignment

8 years ago - SOP, Territorial, haiku combat

8:01 AM - Discovered the hard way that the commuter bus doesn’t take checks - thankfully the fast stop up the road has an ATM so I can pay in cash, and yoo hoo to sooth my nerves. The driver was kind enough to give me a free ride today so I am still 10 rides on the ol’ ticket. Not bad for $38.25 (normally $4.25 a lift)1 year ago - val's b-day, cadaver synod, jetpack brontosaurus, creepy gamers

2 years ago - local wildlife pic, ice storm coming, feeling better

3 years ago - chilly?, swollen uvula, nohari, bongos, GND moving (she's since married... as have I!), cookies?, auto stitched comic spread, super squid

4 years ago - ren-fest thoughts, bro-religion scam thoughts, lair, pretzel prefs, grocery store, lj-buddy collage, valentines zod, moris tepper, elektra barbie, unix cheatsheet, lj user a sexual predator

5 years ago - Ft13th, urban beasts, photo memes, workers screwing up, Joel Veitch (Elephants, Yeah!), Mage knight with Dave

6 years ago - bro mooching, gas prices , newt's Problem solving, Nice email, scabby palm pics, space giants, Walter adopted

7 years ago - Alton Brown, Melting pot month, ornj on the mend, talky newt, sleepy day, condiment museum

8 years ago - lost empires, pipe-smoking monkey sings Sanford and son

Happy 200th to Darwin and Lincoln! If they were alive today... they'd both be desperately clawing their way our of their coffins, I imagine. 
--


Santiago Meza Lopez, known as El Pozolero (the Stew Maker), says he stuffed bodies into barrels of lye for drug cartels.
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Had tasty subs for supper! lemon pepper pseudo-chicken, and got BHK some Peanut butter Girl scout cookies as a not yet valentine's day prezzie.

1 year ago - no call form bro, hellboy, snow, stamp increase, movies, RIP Gerber, cake and cats pix

2 years ago - vallies, no 24 with the lads, a little sick, tv watching, acim update from TD

3 year ago - vegan lunch box, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, American horror, ren-fest, crayons, movies, Neutral Good, colored t's, cowboy gorilla, Val's B'day, newtcam pix,

4 years ago - stretchy dream, journalist fired, cosmic muffin, star wars meme, C&H cartoon fave, baby tosser, don simpson's journal (since deleted?)

5 years ago - goodies from mimi, time out and about, comment time limit, kill the ducky

6 years ago - vallies, stinky outdoors, Drama deck poll

7 years ago - popular colors, nice walkies, cooked palm, Aunt Val's B'day, blessing reminder, I'm put off by nin (child abuse)

8 years ago - vagg, Aesop, Happy, Sleepy, good people in my life

Shots,

Larry & Chris all go to lunch at Grace's for Chris's pre-birthday

I do work on eee in the Giant Parking Lot

BHK and Chris shop at tuesday morning, we get  a green grapevine wreath, green laptop case

Daniel down the street is fundraising for school - got some cookie dough and a seed set for around the tree.

minor tummy trouble - dont' think the pad thai agreed with me

1 year ago - Year of the Rat, ravioli nummy, politics, david visiting, google terrain, "Absolute power" boring, steam, polar bear protest suit

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

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

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

5 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

6 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!

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

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

Got my Upper GI done - will know more in 24-48 hours. A shot of fizzy pop rocks with a Barium/chalk milkshake chaser to take pictures of my plumbing.

It's official, despite morning nausea, moodiness and dry heaves, I'm not pregnant.

This morning, when I got up - I saw my shadow, much like Punxy Phil.

After the doc, we went to have lunch at cheeburger cheeburger and then see Taken. Not bad for a fluffy "gimme back my daughter immediately or I'll kill everyone in my way and take her back" sort of flick. spoiler, they didn't give his daughter back immediately.

Pic of me squinting into the sun. Figured I should document my 40th b'day for posterity.


Tonight's Birthday cake - under the sea - Chocolate Lobsters and marshmallow jellyfish!


Lootwise - $100 from inlaws, $50 from Mom, In a pickle and eee pc from BHK, Superfriends DVD from Kev.

Lovely Cards from Danny, Cathy & Dave R, BHK, and the In-laws as well.

*MANY* wonderful well-wishes from LJ, myspace and Facebook.

Additional - BHK got me Macaroons again!! yum.

1 year ago - I'm 39, macaroons (I LOVE THAT TRADITION!), sicky, army-men cake, kev gets me cool dvds, Money from momster, Bart Simpson for Scientology, diet chocolate cherry dr pepper, saw my shadow

2 years ago - I'm 38, Feb 2 across the board, birthday cards / images received, no shadow, nose butter

3 years ago - I'm 37, dance monkeys dance, afterlife quiz, kind wishes, 40 faces, ID, Danny Sick

4 years ago - I'm 36, no shadow, cleaned Mel's system, under the bed, birthday type pics

5 years ago - I'm 35, Birthday factoids, walkies

6 years ago - I'm 34, the Museum F Art, Tinkle-pig, Newt, and other palm-cam pics, Groundhogs seek sex, not shadows

7 years ago - I'm 33, saw my shadow, blah day, daredevil, nice end of day

8 years ago - I'm 32, many holidays, nice ecards, saw my shadow, got my moonmama penguin pic

9 years ago - I'm 31

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2009 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye

On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators

Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper

And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,

Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time

And a bright sky above me

Showed my shadow beside me.

So 6 more weeks of winter it will be.
--

Also, Happy 40th Birthday to me!

Went to The Narrows with the in-laws and BHK for birthday lunch. Crab cake was great, possibly the best I've had - and the desserts were fantastic.

White chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate bag - Butterfly and raspberry sauce.


Bread pudding... seems awful fancy for a simple treat!


Also, taken yesterday - looks like the 80s are back in fashion, at least at Target.


We picked up my EEE at target too and upon finding it was the version with less memory and no camera, took it back today. I ordered the 904HA online (in black), due to arrive on or about 2/9 - the new one will have better battery life and the goodies I was hoping for.]

Was feeling pretty sick on the ride home - I went to bed at about 5 pm, woke up a little while ago, but will be going back to sleep soon.
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1 year ago - feeling better, Aimee Mann, rocket belt, Brazilian / Bush Joke

2 years ago - swim meet, sci-fi writer meme, dead valentiner link, misc sentence finish meme,

3 years ago - G0DLAND, Tchuby Tchuba, Bangles, Angel Eyes Newt, Unicorns LA, Bullfight Just Desserts, Ham the chimp / space monkeys

4 years ago - Newt and I relaxing pics, Scotto playlist, Lazytown, bro issues, how they did singin' in the rain remix

5 years ago - DVD burning, RenFairies, Prez-match, pop-up books, first touch of firefly (I still think Zoe is an overused name)

6 years ago - New moon, new year coming, Charles Dickens joke, skull sales, Job at FMM ends, Bday prezzies

7 years ago - Fiscal responsibility, Ghetto voices, online "privacy", Marine Park is a bad and disreputable online store, newt lovies

8 years ago - being mushy, schedule issues, The Invisible Men, flax seed

Happy Year of the OX! Happy B'day MissV!

Hectic day at work today - lots done, lots to do.

After work, BHK picked me up, and we stopped by Dream Wizards - unfortunatly closed, so we settled for MOM's got a few little sundries - beans, bread, veggie-chips

We went to the Vegetable Garden with Todd - he's in town for a couple of days, and we're happy to take advantage of having him local! It was nice visiting with him, and hopefully we can catch him again tomorrow before he high-tails it back to South Florida.

Quote of the night - "Should I take the shoe or the duck? ... Well, the Shoe comes with maple syrup!" Todd got the Duck, anyhow. I suspect the shoe was tastier.

Note -

GEN. WILMINGTON'S SHOE -Ingredients: Veggie sable (made of soy protein), red onion & white mushrooms wrapped & baked in puff pastry sheets.  Garnished with steamed snow peas & carrots.  Served with organic maple syrup.

Veggie-Duck w/Asparagus Ingredients: Yuba (Fresh Tofu Skins), Potatoes, Black Mushroom in Brown Sauce. Garnished with Yellow Squash, Asparagus and Carrots. 

1 year ago - newton and pye on the windowsill picture, lunch with blueberry pie, shopping with the in-laws, balls of fury

2 years ago - paradise weather, Adam and Larry guitar video, swim meet pix, ghost brides,

3 years ago - compusa hits comcast poor service level, gurps vs water, syndication links, handy freeware

4 years ago - fly doodle, GP praise, "cut" slang, B's lyrics, Day off the dead, ringo starr superhero, lifespan/season meme, flammable cables, bro issues

5 years ago - dream, bearded babies, touch graph

6 years ago - pirate stuff, Morikami, geourl, cool safeway prank, search keywords

7 years ago - missv's Bday!, To dos, day trips m&ms, Baby dexter-doggie!!, Newt in laundry

8 years ago - First shoo smiley - Ü, bounced Greg, Yahoo eats up egroups, love letter

Went out with Larry this morning to have the green truck looked at (no relation to the element issues) - It was a nice guy's morning out, even though we were stymied at every attempt to get the truck looked over by a mechanic. Same thing happened when we went to look for breakfast - Denny's and The Double T diner was jam packed, so we headed closer to home from Annapolis, and were lucky enough to see Selby's unofficially open - they were there baking the bread and goodies for later in the day. We got some scrambled eggs and toast - worked for us!

We stopped off at the blue house, and rotated the tires - we'll see if that fixed the humming in the long run - right now, the sound is good.

After doing truck-work, Larry applied another coat of laquer to the guitar - it's coming along nicely - my photos don't do the grain any justice whatsoever.


Got home, and was feeling pretty bad again in the ol' gizzard - BHK and I went to Calvert Kettle Corn to get Sean part of his birthday snack - we refilled his 2 gallon bucket, brought some ice cream, and BHK made him a lovely blue cake with cherry chips inside.

Spent a little time at the Masnpergers - good karaoke and birthday fun, but my gut was bugging me and we headed home. I had a few crackers for dinner, but basically took it easy.

New Dr. Who was pretty good - the last episode before the 08 finale - "turn left" - I don't know what was up with Rose's lisp, though.Hurt her teeth?

Sweet Dreams, dear journal.

1 year ago - tv, strange text message, sleepy

2 years ago - adam's swim meet, socialight newtcam, baby mummy, doomsday clock, pics

3 years ago - torrent tv, milky blue blood, eric mike and mojo, flickeur, broward costs, colorize

4 years ago - sick mel, jill training, edbook image gift, palm doodle, poll answers, interest list meme, wiki nifities

5 years ago - Dr Strangeglove, Indy TV memories, 6 degrees, colors, WWN

6 years ago - lockpicking, LoTR noir, Lingo, Chilly palm doodles

7 years ago - walkies by the Sample-McDougald House, blair witch site, some dead links, snooze button

8 years ago - Font Test, memory marker of 8th grade, age/date comparison, "Hello?"

Still pretty darned psyched about going to see Punxatawney Phil on my B'day. I am concerned a bit about the weather, though. Last year, it was 27 degrees, not horrid, but pretty dang cold.

It's been snowing there all this week, and it's only going to get chillier!

We should stock up the love cube with some hot cocoa, cider, and plenty of blankets, too. Oh, and plenty of Polka Music for the 5 hour drive. :)


Best? I'll just go with first that comes to mind. Maybe I'll come back and fill in more detail - maybe not.

Allison - my love.
Barefoot
Creaky - Back, hip, jaw... a little work around the joints would be nice.
Determined - not much of a quitter here.
Eyesight - one of my better physical traits, at least as far as viewing the surface of things. No x-ray vision, sadly.
Food - When food is prepared to my liking, I get a sense of comfort. BHK is an amazing cook. MD has far better food than FL, too.
Goofy
Helpful
Intelligent
Journal-y
Kind
Large. (I'm fairly close to Bluto's not as mean Twin - tall and overweight both)
Monkeys!
Newton
Orcs
Pyewacket
Queries (both SQL, and everyday life)
Reading
Sleepy 
Telephone-hater
Ubuntu
Vegetarian - (Not too severe - I'll do eggs/diary, and the occasional sea creature with more than 4 legs)
Wombat
Xorn. Why? Because I have a soft spot in my heart for tripod creatures... the mouth-on-top eating precious metals and gems is a bonus. What was I going to say? X-ray? Xylophone? I nearly went with XXXL, but I figure it's covered at L.
Yeti
Zombies (though they are getting a trifle passe')



1 year ago - discombobulated, capsule tv reviews, tigger love

2 years ago - newt and pye pix, saw night at the museum

3 years ago - 2 week delay on big brain, skipper chuck, cool for Florida, movie meme

4 years ago - Bonded bro, lj 6a, comment spam from south of the border

5 years ago - enjoying 2-monitors, PT working

6 years ago - bad day, the ice cube defense, SOP, sexual predator data

7 years ago - Telefutura, game show network, newt shenanigans, my first recorded post on the Usenet, meemee deleted, wonka

8 years ago - Pix quit, Victorian love, spongebob, angry beavers, sweetalyssm's art, Chinese zodiac, Cold Mountain (Everyone I've talked to about it has loved the book, but hated the ending.), peanut butter and nanner sammiches, mother goose

Back to Work! Didn't kill the beard for now, but it's still pretty close to the face. Not quite the "wild man from borneo"

I think I bit my lip while sleeping the other night - probably the ear thing again. Pain is mostly gone now, just a little irritant here and again.

Looks like snow outside - very gray day.



My jaw still looks a little out of whack and swollen... but it's a lot better than before.

After work, BHK and I had Chinese food with In-laws, and discussed birthday plans for me - BHK has an idea for us to go to Puxatawney, PA for Groundhog's day -

a few links for me to peruse before the trip - http://www.punxsutawney.com/calendar/ and http://www.groundhog.org

It'll be the 123rd anniversary of the event - and my first time there, though I've wanted to go for some time.

Item of note - Phil's Birthday Celebration, Punxsutawney Community Center, Peterson Room, Come and celebrate your February 2^nd birthday Phil's way. Cake and punch served. Free gift with proof of birth date.

Zonking out early .. poor BHK has had too much holiday excitement, I tihnk!

G'nite, dear journal.

1 year ago - political views quiz, armored polar bears and zeppelins disappoint, babysitting tigger

2 years ago - visiting the "News" in VA, BCK on ape equality

3 years ago - National Bird Day, Religio-founder quiz, Mr. Potato Head, open camera streams, I helped to recover Tabitha lively, newt picture with my feet,

4 years ago - 12th night, Mel stuff, job hunting helps, 6 apart/lj rumor, lj optout, geek meme, Eisner dies, latest memo, tried tracking LSW.

5 years ago - 4 gamers best, gaming memories Mars Exploration, I'm an Earth Monkey

6 years ago - Internet born, origami cameras, ouch!

7 years ago - SOP, insomniac theme, My Lady by J. G. Whittier, tech trouble, newt in nightshirt, stupidfly abuse, dead image and flash links, deleted journals actually get deleted

8 years ago - vagg (dead link), internal server error (not much)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BHK!!

Allison's B'day! I buttered her nose while she was distracted by playing audiosurf. (Got it for $5 this last weekend.) I was a little disappointed that my mp3 of Christopher Walken reciting Poe's "The Raven" was so linear.

As a gift / party-favor to all for BHK's day - A GAZILLION Free to print and play games.

Oh BGG, how I thank the Internets you're there.

If you're not into free games, (or even if you are, dear journal) here's a stop-motion zombie movie called Chainsaw Maid. Best zombie film this year. (from the same people who did Bloody Date )

No Lebanese Taverna Tonight - Falafel time must wait - instead we hit Gallo's Deli - food is still pretty good. Not as superior as Selby, but only a block or two from the house. BHK opened the remainder for her loot tonight.

I got her an assortment of little trinket-treats - My faves were earring-studs in the style of mexican sugar skulls and a bottlecap pin with a pirate inside saying ARG in letter beads.... but I'm partial to things skully. I need to take a picture of BHK's loot pile - other items were a lovey charm, a ouija board pin, and a horde of coupons to do / get things, from getting me in a good mood to a movie night with no snarky comments. (2 nights, if neither are Jane Austen-related).

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1 year ago - BHK Bday, (buttered via nightstand dollop), lots of bayfest food and heat, parade, spidey lunchbox, tarot test

2 years ago - robo-post while I'm on vaykay with BHK, dragonfly-kitty pic

3 years ago - google talk, web-surfing, Katrina, Robertson apologizes, v05-blueberry, medieval career, book meme, palm doodle, weather, power-out phone post

4 years ago - bag lady update, Twilight Zone: Planet of the Apes

5 years ago - got bro a Ganesh, (but I skipped the digeridoo), law and order coloring book, first day at new gig as good server king of the south, gabbed with mi Hala re: jhumkas and moonstones, and happy thoughts of working with her, Shal'weez.

6 years ago - heroclix improvised weapons, deadly toys, poemtag

7 years ago - pirate joke, selectivity, amor, warning label poll

8 years ago - aliens operate on my body, rhymes, colors, stevie

120 years ago - A plant grows in Mexteca, Mexico, which the natives call the "herb of prophecy." A dose of it produces sleep similar in all respects to the hypnotic state. The subject answers with closed eyes all questions that are put to him, and is completely insensible. The pathologic state brings with it a kind of prophetic gift and doublesight. Furthermore he loses his will and is completely under the control of another. On returning to himself he remembers nothing of what he has done. -Excelsior Cottager, August 25, 1888.

Two years ago today I arrived in Maryland and was picked up at the airport by BHK. Pretty much a life-changing experience for me. Now, we've been married, I've been up here at the same gig for over a year, and most of the dust has settled in our home.

Despite a few stresses, I love it here, and would never want to be far from BHK's side. Newton and Pye are pretty great pals, with no real signs of antagonism between them. Work has its difficult moments, but for the most part, it's a very good gig. I can honestly say that BHK has been nothing but wonderful, supportive and loving the entire time.

At the moment, we're browsing the idea of looking at houses... we may or may not stick with the one we're in now. The possibilities are improvement, knock this one down and rebuild from the ground up, or hit a third location. All options seem equal right now.

BHK brings me so much joy and happiness... even when I'm feeling low or hurt, she pulls me up and keeps me going. The marriage proposal and response was certainly the best thing to happen in my life for a long, long time. I feel happy knowing that I'll be spending the rest of my life with her, through thick and thin.

I am thankful to Allison for making my world a better place. Everything that I perceive is a bit more wonderful because of her presence.

---

Today, we got up a bit later - in-laws came over to hang out. Chris and BHK went through BHK's jewelry box... she's got a lot of funky stuff in there, all of which is pretty dang keen. BHK did her best to keep her mother from acting the magpie and stealing sparkles, but it looks like a few items have floated back over to the mama-nest. We'll have to swing over there in a month to liberate some of them back. Meanwhile, Larry and I sat in the office area, and talked about his life on the farm, dogs, cats, hunting and so on. It was a nice bit of gab from Larry, who is normally very quiet... he everyone else first dibs on the conversation, usually.

We were going to do Korean BBQ for lunch, but that got ruled out in favor of another trip to the Selby Sub Shoppe. BHK and larry split a half pepperoni/half meatball pizza, Chris got a big ol' burger, and I got a black bean burger sub... it was all delicious, as usual.

We took the scenic route back, and picked out bits of ragweed, marsh mallow, and assorted sea grasses while taking in all the houses out back between Annapolis and home - some are really magnificent.

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First few games on audiosurf - a fun little game that uses your music (or streaming audio) to build a racecourse to place klax-dr mario sort of brick building. Website explains it better, or the wiki here - it was on sale for $5 today, so we snagged it after playing the demo.

		Inch Worm The Sandpipers
		Never Will I Marry Linda Ronstadt
		Punk Rock Girl The Dead Milkmen
		Happy Boys & Girls Aqua
		Shreveport Stomp Jelly Roll Morton

Unsurprisingly, I'm the #1 top scorer for Shereveport stomp. I'm also the only person to have used it in the game. We'll see what happens if/when BHK tries with her own login. You can see what tracks I've played at my computer here. (at least the ones it can recognize)

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An AP story about the thousands of voting machines gathering dust in warehouses across the country after states such as California, Ohio, and Florida have banned their use. Many of these machines cost $3.5K to $5K each. Local election boards are struggling to find ways to recover any of the cost of the machines, or even to recycle them. The picture in Ohio is the most confusing, as multiple court cases limit the state's options and result in a situation in which the discredited machines will nevertheless be used in the presidential election coming up in November. The state's new (Democratic) attorney general has just issued a rule banning the practice of election workers taking the machines home with them the night before elections.

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1 year ago - visit anniversary, this will be our year, new everything, barking mad, grindhouse breakfast, friday 5

2 years ago - points north, liberty city, psp ebooks, palm entries begin for a bit

3 years ago - mending, green beans, saudi swimsuits, batman, zombie astronaut, robocop art, pat robertson can bite me, gaming group, nostalgia, who meme, newt pic, evil twin, katrina-storm

4 years ago - more travel pix, ice cream novelties, Black widow, newtcam, harlequin gallery, helpful phrases, bag lady

5 years ago - watching walnut & his mamma on cam, goofy snl, she spies

6 years ago - Wreck of the Medusa, Feral, Muso, my trading card, LJ meet, taught Dave Heroclix, misc pix, ft laud sunset

7 years ago - yellow bellies

8 years ago - questions

Beautiful day out this morning - we went for a nice 8am constitutional to check out the bay fest pre-opening. Lots of seagulls on the beach waiting in advance for folks dropping bits of funnel cake and corn dog, no doubt!

It got pretty hot by the time we got back - I left in a fairly creaky condition, but was ok, but tired once we arrived home. BHK and I lounged for an hour or two, and then I got a message that boiled down to my going into work on Monday. Too many issues with the project - can't in good conscience take the day off, under the circumstances. I think that I was more disappointed about not getting BHK's birthday off to treat her more than she.

After wrestling with that for a bit, we headed back to bay fest for some junk food, people-watching and a bit more exercise. While at the Bayfest I saw Kathy Bauer! I worked with her at Calvert county a little over a year ago, and she recognized me immediately. That crew was the kindest and most fun group of people I've ever worked with... a shame that it just wasn't affordable to work there. We didn't stay long, but got a couple of veggie egg rolls and some limeade and orangeade which really hit the spot. Between the 'fest and home, we took another A/c break at Coffee, Tea and Whimsey and ended up purchasing a bottle of wine for the evening's birthday celebration, some awesome horseradish/garlic dip, some goofy rubber monster key-toppers, and a keen Buddha eye-glasses holder for BHK's nightstand. Pictures of those... and the 'fest to follow.

More resting and just goofing around until six came... bhk and I were watching primeval and just soaking up some snooze-vibes with the kitties. I waited for BHK to hit deeper sleep, and went to sneak off to do some wrapping, but it wasn't stealthy enough - but she relented to nap while I wrapped.

We went to the in-laws for dinner - BHK got her desired Chik-fil-a strips and nuggets, and Chris made her a cake, too. She managed not to be buttered, but Larry psyched her out a few times. Aside from the tasty dinner (I had eggplant, zucchini, and the best corn on the cob of the summer), a little room was saved for the cake.. it was a reduced sugar yellow with chocolate icing... pretty yummy!

Loot BHK got was - card 1 from me - made her cry, but they were happy tears, cards from her grandparents on Larry's side - in-laws gave her a cat encyclopedia, a ruby and diamond heart necklace w/matching earring-studs, and $100 toward a sewing machine.... very, very generous and appreciated!

The cake - pre-ignition. Don't worry - BHK will be butter-nosed, yet, dear journal!

Day ended with us lounging at the in-laws living room - Hallmark channel vs the Rock.

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Over at Gamasutra, Steve Fulton has published a massive 23,000-word history of Atari from 1978 to 1981, encompassing '... some of the most exciting developments the company ever saw in its history: the rise of the 2600, the development of some of the company's most enduringly popular games (Centipede, Asteroids) and the development and release of its first home computing platforms.' Best quote in there for Slashdot readers, perhaps: 'Atari had contracted with a young programmer named Bill Gates to modify a BASIC compiler that he had for another system to be used on the 800. After that project stalled for over a year Al was called upon to replace him with another developer. So ... Al is the only person I know ever to have fired Bill Gates.

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1 year ago - sql programming, chicken doodle, Calypso and coconut shrimp, chittering

2 years ago - won psp, happiness, It's hot in Topeka, mental jasmine

3 years ago - </b></a>graypumpkin lj-ing, google desktop, gutter sniping the net, Whiums and sammy-talk, music meme mark II, paper toys, medicines to fight the sickies, carrot top bulks up, bill shatner, billy batson

4 years ago - more travel pix, Coconut Curry Tofu, coulrophagy, scream stolen, updated on JTD, pic of my workplace

5 years ago - broken photoshop friday, wanting to put a transmitter on bro, tidemarker, comic art, yawns, women in spacesuits

6 years ago - moonlight movies, a li'l grumpy

7 years ago - vertiginous, steganography, word association poll

8 years ago - smelly BK, political mailings cost the same

Hell of a long day at work, but BHK and I started to make her Birthday weekend roll with dinner out at Saigon Palace for dinner. We'd never been there before, so it was a bit of an adventure... Our traveler's luck served us well this time:

.

The place was pretty empty for a Friday night... food was delicious and our servers very attentive and friendly. I'll happily go back there again and again - lots of veggie goodies to try, and the Pho will be super come colder months ahead. (I got the bird's nest, bhk got the lemon tofu. I think she won, but mine was mighty tasty, too!)

Hopefully this puts us on a solid roll toward Birthday goodness!

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Ray Bradbury is 88! Happy birthday, one time great writer, now crotchety old guy! Dandelion Wine is still my one of my all-time faves. Thanks for that... I wouldn't have a lime-vanilla ice, otherwise.

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In an online survey, 42 percent of Internet users admitted to logging into other people's email and social networking accounts without their knowledge. The poll doesn't ask if passwords were found, granted, or stolen — which would make for further interesting results. The write-up summarizing the results defines the respondents as part of an "educated tech-readership" and questions the ethics of logging onto someone else's account, and whether those differ depending on the person and relationship."

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1 year ago - local pictures of a local house coming down and Larry on his riding mower, stuffed peppers, Mrs. Pollifax - Spy, Quotes, Tired

2 years ago - tweaking web page, radioactive volcanoes?, wooley imbibe, venture bros, voice post burgers

3 years ago - forgotten nightmares, laughing puppets, sickies, gov rss feeds, paycheck to paycheck, audio hidden, i loves me some waffles, music, otr, 25 food hacks, smarts

4 years ago - no dwarf dice, swap shop instead, I live in a pulp universe, walkabout pictures, froggies, gorillas in comics, email post - image host

5 years ago - ACIM invites me back, new sound card, "don't go there" is gone, DSA, keywords, gil gerard ages, commanding my minions, publix cancels home delivery

6 years ago - run tel dat, newt playing, gaming, cow teeth, trivia cookies!

7 years ago - ichnology, phantom blot, no-so-evil news

8 years ago - Newtcam, replicating interests

Tasty dinner of stir-fried veggies on more naan bread, vegetarian meatloaf (mostly garden eggplant) topped with sauce saved from our selby pickup! Super good, and uber-filling.

Dessert was a treat of choco-chip cookies!

BHK's birthday weekend starts tomorrow, though her birthday is on Monday - I took the day off for us to play! ... I think we'll have a grand time!

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Pictures from Last weekend. Larry's Birthday, tigger talking, and us all walking on the boardwalk. As ever, clicken to embiggen.

. . . .
Me with my standard popeye sun-reduction look, Tigger gabbing some more, and a BHK odd-shot

. . . .
Tigger talking, moon over the bay
. . . .
Pirate ship playhouse at the bay, bhk, me, and Chesapeake beach
. . . .
Laryy & Chris, Moonrise, Larry and Tigger
.
Adam!

This last one isn't by us, but by another local named "this and that" on flickr... you can see what a difference better resolution and composition can make!

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Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals. It had been thought only four species of apes, bottlenose dolphins, and Asian elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror. But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies, a species with a brain structure very different from mammals, could also identify themselves. It had been thought that the neocortex brain area found in mammals was crucial to self-recognition. Yet birds, which last shared a common ancestor with mammals 300 million years ago, don't have a neocortex, suggesting that higher cognitive skills can develop in other ways.

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I had no idea that "the shocker" (description may be NSFW) had a name at all.. I always knew it as er..., um...  "dos en el color de rosa, uno en el hedor". (Pardon the terrible translation.) I'm more of a fan of the Moutza as a rude gesture.

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1 year ago - saw a bird of prey, heavy work week, icehouse game java, Luke / tacos / in-laws, sleepy, chessboard serial killer

2 years ago - enthused, quizzies, cydonia vid, grab old comics

3 years ago - jenjen, rocko, more hee-haw, work-dream, indoor remote control flier, a little sick, cool song parts, religion facts

4 years ago - bro fade, there lives again, walkabout, spell of hoggoth

5 years ago - personality profile for work, seasonal pages, hippos and rhinos, lifesavers changes flavors, Pam Confirmation, guest map, vamp game, chat

6 years ago - grove scandal, togas, tulip head, haiku

7 years ago - Harvard classics, imprecation, Child's Christmas in Wales, Love, great moment from Oz, Spoon

8 years ago - Put April on a bus for home, Gaming group with Josh Marquart and the Hunters, can you picture that

Larry's Birthday - He made pancakes for us all... Tigger nearly escaped the house, and is now no longer allowed on the porch.. purely an indoor kitty.

BHK made a lemon cake, an we gave him a lemon meringue pie and tickets to the bluegrass festival. (and the first three lethal weapon movies on dvd)

Adam brought a keen gift of fridge and microwave combo for his workshop... and stocked it with 5 cases of soda and water.

After the get-together, BHK and I headed home to get some rest... I think we fell asleep on the couch within moments of landing there. We were awakened by neighbor Daniel (10) at the door, wanting to visit and gab because he was bored. We talked a lot about social topics a 10 year old might have, like school, movies etc. - Buckaroo Banzai was on, mute dint the background, and was an interesting juxtaposition of listening to the little guy gab.

He eventually went home, and we had sloppy joes and garlic fries for supper - super yummy.

Danny and Mom phoned... or I phoned them, I forget which. I think I called Danny, the momster called me. Just general catching up, both are doing ok.

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Autumn is coming... that's when BHK gets her pumpkin eyes.



BHk's doodle of my accusation re: her fondness for all things pumpkin-flavored, come the fall. Coffee, ice cream, bread... you name it!

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quiz- bold ones that are true (snagged from peradouro) (I've added notes in Italics after, where applicable - not part of the quiz)

Appearance:
I am 5'4 or shorter.
I think I'm ugly sometimes.
I have many scars.
I tan easily.
I wish my hair was a different color.
I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color.
I have a tattoo.
I am self-conscious about my appearance.
I have/I've had braces.
I wear glasses.
I'd get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free, scar-free.
I've been told I'm attractive by a complete stranger.
I have more than 2 piercings.
I have piercings in places besides my ears.
I have freckles.

Family/Home Life:
I've sworn at my parents.
I've been kicked out of the house. (no, but I left home pretty early - 17)
My biological parents are together.
I have a sibling less than one year old.
I want to have kids someday. (I'm on the fence on this one - ask again when I'm healthier)
I have children.
I've lost a child.

Embarrassment:
I've slipped out a "lol" in a spoken conversation. (Sorry, that type of slang sounds really feeble. "OH EM Gee, did you see her purse?")
Disney movies still make me cry. (Dumbo's Mom, especially)
I've snorted while laughing.
I've laughed so hard I've cried.
I've glued my hand to something.
I've laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose.
I've had my pants rip in public.

Health:
I was born with a disease/impairment.
I've had stitches.
I've broken a bone.
I've had my tonsils removed.
I've sat in a doctor's office with a friend.
I've had my wisdom teeth removed.
I had a serious surgery.
I've had chicken pox.

Traveling:
I've driven over 200 miles in one day.
I've been on a plane.
I've been to Canada.
I've been to Niagara Falls.
I've been to Japan.
I've Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
I've been to Europe.
I've been to Africa.
I've been to France.

Experiences:
I've been lost in my city. (Not since Maryland, but on walkabout, it happens.)
I've seen a shooting star.
I've wished on a shooting star.
I've seen a meteor shower.
I've gone out in public in my pajamas. (as a little kid)
I've pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
I've been to a casino.
I've been skydiving.
I've gone skinny dipping.
I've played spin the bottle.
I've been in a play.
I've met someone in person from the internet.
I've caught a snowflake on my tongue.
I've seen the Northern Lights.
I've sat on a roof top at night.
I've played chicken.
I've played a prank on someone.
I've ridden in a taxi.
I've seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
I've eaten Sushi.
I've been snowboarding.

Relationships:
I'm single.
I'm in a relationship.
I'm available.
I'm engaged.
I'm married.
I've gone on a blind date.
I've been the dumpee more than the dumper.
I miss someone right now.
I have a fear of abandonment.
I've been divorced.
I've had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
I've told someone I loved them when I didn't.
I've told someone I didn't love them when I did.
I've kept something from a past relationship.

Sexuality:
I've had a crush on someone of the same gender.
I've kissed a member of the same gender. (not in a sexy way, though.)
I've had sex with someone of the opposite gender.
I've had sex with someone of the same gender.
I've had sex with more than one person at the same time.
I am a cuddler.
I've been kissed in the rain.
I've had sex outdoors.
I've hugged a stranger.
I have kissed a stranger.
I have had sex with a stranger.

Honesty/Crime:
I've done something I promised someone else I wouldn't.
I've done something I promised myself I wouldn't.
I have lied to my parents about where I am.
I am keeping a secret from the world. (oh, like anyone would tell?)
I've cheated while playing a game.
I've cheated on a test.
I've run a red light.
I've been suspended from school. (It's been close, though.)
I've witnessed a crime.
I've been in a fist fight.
I've been arrested.
I've shoplifted.

Drugs/Alcohol:
I've consumed alcohol.
I smoke cigarettes.
I smoke pot. (not since my early 20s)
I regularly drink.
I've taken painkillers when I didn't need them.
I've done hard drugs. (not since college-time though)
I've been addicted to an illegal substance.
I take cough meds when I'm not sick.
I can't swallow pills.

Mental health:
I have been diagnosed with depression.
I shut others out when I'm depressed.
I take anti-depressants.
I have an eating disorder.
I've slept an entire day when I didn't need it.
I've hurt myself on purpose.
I'm addicted to self harm.
I've woken up crying.

Death:
I'm afraid of dying. (I am, however afraid of losing those I love.)
I hate funerals.
I've seen someone dying.
I have attempted suicide.
Someone close to me has attempted suicide.
Someone close to me has committed suicide.

Random:
I can sing well.
I've stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant.
I open up to others too easily.
I watch the news.
I don't kill bugs. (I try to catch and release. Sometimes I fail.)
I hate hearing songs that sacrifice meaning for sake of being able to rhyme.
I curse regularly. (Not as often as Chris or BHK, but sometimes, sure. I try not to do so with great frequency.)
I sing in the shower. (Sometimes)
I am a morning person.
I paid for my cell phone ring tone.
I'm a snob about grammar.
I am a sports fanatic.
I play with my hair.
I have/had "x"s in my screen name.
I love being neat.
I love Spam.
I've copied more than 30 CD's in a day.
I bake well.
My favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, red or blue.
I don't know how to shoot a gun.
I am in love with love. (Not sure what this means)
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
I laugh at my own jokes.
I eat fast food weekly.
I believe in ghosts.
I am online 24/7, even as an away message. (Newtcam!)
I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room.
I am really ticklish.
I love white chocolate.
I bite my nails.
I play video games.
I'm good at remembering faces.
I'm good at remembering names.
I'm good at remembering dates.
I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life. (Does anyone?)
My answers are totally honest.

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1 year ago - bad allergy fit, camera died, Larry B'day

2 years ago - hacking xp, gaming due to love of school supplies, airplay map, weird Maryland,

3 years ago - New Orleans Lisas, moon base mars, flash earth, ed wood directs, devo,blue beetle & lithium, bush 5 years and no "nos", spidey-enema,SCOAI, word colors

4 years ago - missed oneeyed, bro scams mom, no donkey basketball, t-mobile good gesture, scale model of city, lenny kravitz warning, cemetery stroll urge, Bermuda Triangle, Saturn's 33 moons, flash game tutorial

5 years ago - Newt vs measuring cup, astronaut jones, free router stuff

6 years ago - Saturday mornings, heroclix, band names, toad turmoil, recorder, fun gab

7 years ago - page pondering

8 years ago - bakery-dog, factoids-lieoids