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.

---

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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.

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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.

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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

Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness You've got to dig proper arrow placement.

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Where did all the daffodils come from? One minute, it's all brown grass and stick trees, the next... *DAFFODIL CENTRAL* - and tons o' ducks. Geese before, but now there are mallards en masse.

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So, there's a new B-52s record out? Are they still called records, even on CDs and mp3 players? I guess they're all recordings. I'm looking forward to hearing it. They're going to be at the 930 club in April, and DAR in June... I'll have to see who the openers are... Cyndi Lauper is opening for 'em in June.

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Per Ze's Request in colorwars (i'm still teamorange!)

A picture of when I was a little Scotto - Age 9 -



I'm on the right, Bro on the left at about age 7. Even then, I didn't like to wear ties. To keep in that vein, I'll mention something about that age in the meme below.

More pictures below the cut.

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50 things you've done meme continues at 43 - I...

43.'was a sergeant in the safety patrol in elementary school. The big trip to Washington DC was no big whoop to me back then, as I was living in Richmond or Alexandria, VA at the time. I'm back in that boat now that I'm living in Maryland... but I don't have the cool reflective orange belt and shoulder sash with a badge anymore.. I had to turn it in at the end of the school year. My duties were to assist the crossing guard with kids in front of the school.. .holding the stop sign and making sure that everyone made it over OK. The guard was a soccer mom, and gave me my first taste of coffee that I liked. I think that she put 3x sugar and 3x cream in it. I got her a Santa coffee mug for Christmas that year, and she gave me some cupcakes with red and green sprinkles on 'em. I don't remember her name, but she had a cool van... all earth tones of brown and tan... could probably tote 12 people comfortably. I can proudly say that there were no accidents on my watch, despite some nutty drivers.

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MIAMI -- The Miami-Dade police department will begin experimenting with high-tech drones as law enforcement tools beginning next year.


I can easily see a well-placed weapon mount on that thing. My first thought was of those flying combine drones in HL2, taking your picture, and later attacking you with saw blades. See: Scanner / Manhack. The video link above is very cool... I'd be interested in seeing how long it would take to automate.

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1 year ago - back mending, bhk cold fading, mission impossible squirrel video, blogger death threats, larry and tigger vet trip picture

2 years ago - V movie, political ramble / revolution, boca/popular comics, pictures from walkabout, newt playing fetch pics

3 years ago - Easter, Deadbolt, Danny recap, K, piccies, personality test, heard from everway gamers, kitties video, walking octopus, waterbus

4 years ago - Procrastination, Henchman, search warrants/LA, booger eaters, vacuum cleaners, Brian Blessed, heroclix, zombie pinups

5 years ago - jkg, TAG, souls, Bahá'í, soul & body, leaving FMM

6 years ago - dream, dented the door with my mitt, sleepy and grumpy, how I sleep w/newt, small hands=rude, army men, Dan Bfast, lab grown meat, dali museum, secret fun spot, 2 dead celebs

7 years ago - lj bump, baby newt pic, one ring, mush, thebot, palm art, John Denver

Just realized that I never got a call from my bro on my birthday. I haven't heard from him at all since his phone was reconnected. I hope he's doing ok... I imagine that he is.

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Watched Hellboy: Sword of Souls over dinner of corn dogs and tater tots! nom nom nom. The movie was just ok.... I like good ol' Hellboy and Co, but it seemed too rushed and way too much time on the pyrokinetic's whining about "blah blah it'll overtake me blah". If they'd just kept it a bit lighter, I'd have liked it more... the scenes where he's fighting an assortment of bad guys got sort of old, too... not sure what I'd have done to make it better.

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We had just a teensy snootch of snow today. It was nice to see some falling flakes... they soon turned to light freezing rain. Not as lovely, but nice, too.

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The Postal Service says a first-class stamp will cost 42 cents as of May 12. [AP via USA]

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Hm, I was wondering how long it'd take for Leslie Nielson to appear in a superhero movie spoof. March 2008, it seems.

Movies I want to see (off the top of my head... I'm sure I'm forgetting some):

No Country for Old Men
Cloverfield
Sweeney Todd (is it still in theaters?)
Darjeeling Limited (Is it out on DVD yet?)
Spiderwick Chronicles
Indy 4
Jumper
Diary of the Dead
10,000 BC

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RIP, Steve Gerber. Thanks for Howard the Duck, and Thundarr the Barbarian. Steve's weblog.

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Long overdue pictures of Cake and Cats. As always, clicken to embiggen.

since getting the Kitty DVD for Christmas, Pyewacket has been a regular couch potato, watching the tube with us, even if it doesn't show chirping birds, fish, or rodent-type objects. Newton is a fan of the DVD, because that means his little brother is occupied while big brother can nap in peace upstairs, or use the litter box without having a little furry frined knocking on the door, asking if he can come out and play.

Watching the specialty cat video - fish portion - Taken while the tree and presents were still out... I've been very bad about unloading the camera.



Pye was also attentive watching the Super bowl. He rooted for the Patriots. They lost. It's ok.

.

He also likes to view psych upside down while having his tummy rubbed. Who wouldn't?


as part of the equal-ish time for orange kitties act of 1999 -

Newton Shamelessly diving into the dryer to be warm. We have to be ever vigilant not to put him on a fluff cycle.

.

My army man birthday cake. Delicious, and gory.

.....

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

2 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,

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

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

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

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

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

Bro released from the pokey... just in time for Thanksgiving. I wonder if he'll be in attendance with the Momster and Wilt? Right now he's in in Delray Beach, with plans to be heading for Sebastian soon. I wish him the absolute best of luck. My expectations are low, but hopes are high. 

[EDIT: via momster- Hi There! Derek looks great! He's got a good tan,body in good shape and clear headed.I gave him your cell for after 5pm.He is going around to get a phone, food stamps, medicare and go to Delray to see if he can get the $$.He said if he gets the cash he will head north,if not he will look for work here.I asked him to call me tonight about the day. I invited him to join us for dinner tomorrow (we will pay) but he said he would feel uncomfortable with Ana Richard and Don. I understood. Let you know what happens..really was good to see him well,hope it continues.]

So... Thanksgiving tomorrow... 4 day weekend! Hoody hoo!

Last night, we went to the Annapolis Mall for a lovely date night of Dinner and a Movie... I was feeling a bit like a teenager, as we went to the food court... I got Panda Express while BHK picked up some Chik-fil-a. The place is really starting to spin up for holiday shopping... I fear the crowds will be thick as chilled molasses once Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Beowulf. Entertaining in 3-d... I'm not sure how well it'd hold up in a 2-d theater. That said, I liked it for the most part. I had a few difficulties with the Thicker Dane Accents, especially in regards to Grendel and his mother. I didn't realise that Neil Gaiman was part of the writing process... that would explain some of the more comedic moments of the film, I suspect. The 3-d bits really made it work, additionally, the amount of eye trauma (or threat of same) made me enjoy it more than I thought. The benefit of expecting a total stinker helped, too. I wasn't expecting so much motion capture and the broad range of "fine human detail" to "Shrek" characters so easily mixed.

Almost better than the movie were previews for movies I want to see... some more than others.

Cloverfield - I like giant monster movies, but I'm worried that this one is jumping the shark or pulling snakes on a plane sort of maneuver.. .too much and too little released at the same time... It's not getting my interest so much as it's irritating me. Still... giant monster movie. I'll see it.

I am Legend based on the novel - (Basically The Omega Man... the mutated seem more interesting in this version, though.) From Warner Bros. - "Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- The Infected -- lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time"

Journey 3-D - based on another classic - Journey to the Center of the Earth - I'm a sucker for 3-d Movies, and if it has Dinosaurs and Xenobiology in it... so much the better.

A 3-d version of Gaiman's Coraline - Pretty nifty, and probably very well-suited for the screen. I suspect BHK will enjoy it quite a lot.

National Treasure 2 - I'm looking forward to this one.. especially given my current environs. Plus, Ben Gates must have quite a resource pool after the first movie. I thought for sure that I'd never see a sequel, and I'm glad I'm wrong. I suspect strongly that it won't be a stinker.

Golden Compass - Based on a book series that I've never read. Still... three words: Armored Polar Bears. Seriously, why not just call it "Scotto, come see this movie. We'll buy the corn for you and everything."

Sweeney Todd - We'll see it, but I suspect it won't shine a light as bright as our expectations. Cannibalism, insanity and revenge with a straight-razor on Burton sets should be pretty fun, regardless. We'll see how the singing side of things will go. It's a shame we didn't get to see the stage production back in July, but who knows? Hopefully it'll boost the play's popularity in more venues locally. We were pretty thrilled to see it as a stage play almost right after we'd seen the stage production on DVD.
Cool Standee at the theater - the Razor was about 7 feet long!

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1 year ago - pirate scotto pic

2 years ago - red lobster, class struggle, black friday, chubby checker

Pictures - 7942 posts!

3 years ago - pirates, giraffes, incredibles, bro

4 years ago - Marvel Family, Countdown meme, garden pictures

5 years ago - Free audio books, hubcap monsters, discover empanadas nearby, GIMP

6 years ago - cloture, pocketlj, single card tarot spreads, meeting lj folks confirmed

7 years ago - air cools, Young Frankenstein poetry, sleepyhead, country bear jamboree

8 years ago - very basic Newt stats

chilly morning - waiting at the train station for my shuttle to arrive saw me trying to blow smoke rings with just hot breath. I couldn't do it - not sure if it can be done... but it is fun watching steam flow slowly from your nostrils. You can pretend to be Fin Fang Foom, spraying acidic mist at imaginary foes.

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Dinner was nice, but I had very little appetite - wrote my brother a letter, gently asking him not to stay in Broward county, but instead to try starting his life fresh in points north - maybe Tampa. A toxic "support system" awaits if he returns to Hollywood and its environs.

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BHK pointed out to me that you can buy mp3 songs on Amazon now - with no itunes restrictions, for $.10 less per song than iTunes. It's about time, and I'm all for non-proprietary formats or RIAA controls.

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for later ref - http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/

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hmm.. lore on portal. The game sounds shorter than I thought, but still highly entertaining.

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100 portable apps for USB drive (windows and Mac)

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1 year ago - nice time with dan, pictures, photochroms, RS not carpooling over

2 years ago - things the same, invisible man pic, work gt

3 years ago - conspiracy rotary, sweet rain, Scotto q&A, handwriting analysis

4 years ago - noise with Sam and Frankie, big brain surgery plan, Riverworld, weird pics, execution map, speakeasies, tiki art, windows in bios, spoilers

5 years ago - 9-5 ends, rocket belts, palm doodles, Cej b'day, Szechuan Spiced Tofu recipe

6 years ago - dreams of my ex, sex, and giant ants in the old west, nipguards, random aims.

7 years ago - spirals, tom jones, crazy drunk link, newt's crinkle flea, dr t and the women, and a cool, dream-comic strip

OK, enough of this mess - I've gone to the doctor - the muscle aches have mercifully abated, but it's even harder to constrict my throat than before... head is pounding, and I've been laying down so much that my back was starting to really hurt. Now I'm on Amoxicillin 500mg 3x a day for a week... that should slap this bug on the butt.

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BHK picked up our pottery! Her mug is amazing... I must put pictures up of how it turned out - the green and purple tones are perfect. I'm also very pleased at how well my little volcano board / icehouse stash box turned out, too! The colors got a lot more vivid, post-firing.

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On the way home, spied a new neighborhood kitten - maybe 2-3 weeks old... the mama was right around the side of the house, but it took all my might (in my already weakened state) to say no to a pickup of a little black and white tuxedo before we spotted her.

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Today is my Brother's 35th birthday. We're sending him a copy of Fluke, which I think that he'll enjoy quite a bit. I wanted to send him some pin-up type goodies too, but that may or may not get his whole shipment confiscated.

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Watched the season Premieres of My Name is Earl, Ugly Betty and The Office. Also watcher the mockumentary Werner Herzog - Incident at Loch Ness... not so great.

Also saw the Bionic Woman... I have a long-time fondness for the old one, and this new one by comparison was pretty weak.

Personal Biases against -

• I don't like nanobots as a plot device. Boring.
  
• Too much pseudo-Matrix type combat
• Terrible dialogue
• inclusion of obligatory hacker-character
• "Pleasantly goofy" factor is gone

Possible Pluses -

• I like the "Prototype Bionic Loon" part
• Maybe Bigfoot? Unlikely.
• No Lee Majors Crossovers. Probably. Though I'd be for it if he wore a red track suit and a cheesy 70s moustache.

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I'm pretty impressed with LJ's new snapshot link (Third part of this entry ) - it works especially well with wikipedia links. Interesting that you can see "similar searches" ... not sure where current hurricane conditions in the Atlantic have to do with hello kitty, but who can say why a person clicks somewhere? It works especially well with art/scan communities that post links for dial-up folks... just hover and peek - spares a lot of lj-cut effort.

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1 year ago - 2 nights/28 days, Legion, CW merger of WB and CBS?, cracking walnuts, Gilmore girls, FL/MD walkabouts, Citgo Venezuelan

2 years ago - bro 33 skipout, condo, newspaper poll, 3 irritations, 3 pleasures, $-boost

3 years ago - Post Jeanne patio-pix, leftover reptile-ness, free-flow, Greek/roman souls, more Rice rant, Warhammer PC game, 3 week power outages

4 years ago - flyme & prop2 on the way out, planet-eating star, Levi-Strauss no longer in the US, wedding spite, metamorphosis

5 years ago - gravity / electromagnetism effects, dial tones, headlines, PG freaky looking, Seattle whores, fires and ladders, brain as symbiotic parasite, Issues with the Finn, dead net, friday 5, WC, cloud and rain,The Gnome

6 years ago - Velveteen Rabbit, neoteric , lighthouse walkies, WS-41st sonnet, dream, warning myself

7 years ago - squids!, work, last meals, hidden post, bro 28

BHK and I skipped on movie and dinner at Friendly's - too much fair food and activity made it simpler to just head on home after work.

Rough day, but worth having. I got pretty upset and discombobulated about my brother's situation, as I am prone to be - especially with his birthday coming up and talking to the momster on the phone. I've got to remember to put on better armor before picking up the phone at this time of year. It really wore me out, and I'm glad that I got to flush my system a little bit.

Future 2007 events in a nutshell. Some stressful, some wonderful, some just a reminder to myself to shoot a card or friendly howdy out.

• Bro's Birthday in about 2 weeks.
• Wedding anniversary and Halloween at the end of October. Trip? Party?
• Graypumpkin's Birthday
• Eryx's Birthday
• Mom's Birthday
• Bro will be out and about mid-November, but will not be in our vicinity.
• Thanksgiving.
• Mom and Wilt will be visiting my family up here for Christmas week.

1 year ago - slacker day, criminal into shoes, the Shield, light shirts, scottish superstition, foil helmet effectiveness,

2 years ago - schwag bag, tall scotto shadow pic, finished fdle year, weezle talk, burning life with hp, preference poll

3 years ago - Bag Lady, EN passes, Diarists more prone to illness, WoW pics, Hurricane Ivan, "because he said so", Puppy shoots man, KSC storm

4 years ago - RPC issue, Badger badger, baboon nose suitcase, RIAA sues a 12 year old, RI's birthday, new opus strip.

5 years ago - Newt Play, vote day, traded some magic cards for heroclix/mage knight, lem-doodles, wobbly

6 years ago - got a lovely poem, found old family letters, cadmean victory, stayed home, assorted news, Anne Heche's wacky interview, 'mat event, observations

7 years ago - embarrassing fight club reference, ramen rant, everway, Chat 'toon review

We spent most of the day out and about, Geocaching with the Newsoms. They're really into it, with a little over 100 finds in recent memory. It was fun tooling around a bit and seeing what's what. I also dropped off tinkle pig in a cache... time for her to see the world. I retrieved a toy soldier cast from civil war bullets, who will ride with Bruce Moose and Gaytor until a suitable resting ground is found for him. The cemetary caches are almost always my fave - the woods were a hoot too, but ticks are a real fear for the kids, especially since Em was out sick just recently. (Heck, nobody wants lyme disease.)

A brief synopsis of Cache visits-

	placed Hula Wyvern (Travel Bug Dog Tag) in Little Southern Maryland School	[visit log]
	placed "Wajima, Japan" Unite for Diabetes Travel Bug (Unite for Diabetes Travel Bug) in Little Southern Maryland School	[visit log]
	found Little Southern Maryland School (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Parkkin Cache (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Flashover (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Can you see the ghost?! Again! (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Relaxation for Redlights (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Book Worm (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]
	found Time is the key (Traditional Cache)	[visit log]

Aftwerwards, we took a quick pitstop at Aardvarks, had an ice cream and picked up kanoodle for BHK (I'm sure I'll be playing it too.)

Spent a little more time puttering around Solomon's Island, went to Stoneys for dinner. (their treat! yum!)

On the road between points, I got a call from my Mom, and it turns out that Bro isn't in a work crew, but just a rehabilitation center. Taking classes, etc. Hopefully some of the lessons will stick, but if not, at least he's out of circulation for a while.

After that, we paused at the Barker's to water the Mom-in-Law's plants, and to do a little dock-walking. I paused for a breather upstairs, but before I could get my nap on, Adam and Kendall showed up to say hi and to drop off some fireworks.

Man pummels vampire peacock

NEW YORK (AP) -- A peacock that roamed into the parking lot of a Burger King in New York City was beaten by a man who insisted it was a vampire.

Animal control officials in Staten Island say the bird was beaten so fiercely that most of its tail feathers fell out and it had to be euthanized.

The seven-year-old male peacock wandered into the restaurant parking lot and perched on a car hood last week. Charmed employees had been feeding it bread when the man appeared.

A restaurant worker says the man grabbed the bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started stomping it. She says when he was asked what he was doing, he responded, "'I'm killing a vampire!"'

Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.

BHK got 7 right, but it's a pretty variable thing.. most answers depend on what time of day it is for me.

Mom just received a call from Bro. He is doing as well as can be expected, sounded positive and focusing on the future. He asked how I am and wants me to write. He has mentioned that almost every time he calls. He thinks he is getting transferred tomorrow and that they may forward mail to him.

I think that I'll make a point of sending him a note this week.

Rest in Peace, Charles Nelson Reilly.

My Favorite of his many, varied works.



Regarding Nine Million Bicycles... see the end of this video regarding skeptics, via fallentoad

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1 year ago - johnny dollar, Alex toth RIP, JQ scotto factoid, on call hurts my social life, lj as a graph, old time radio, I'm Elmo?!?, movie guest stars, Juice newton, newtcam back online, ex-boss smells of skimming

2 years ago - weekend plans, green acres in french, rob zombie, to the devil a daughter, mandarin orange salad, haiku, fridge magnet message

3 years ago - random comments, emperors, popes, livestock, Doc Hastor, Buddha finger, jail complaints

4 years ago - rain, bro, bubba ho-tep, expressions I use, MONKFISH, hipster, nasty letter to Danny, compatibility meme

5 years ago - bday, razor, rain, sleeping late with cat, 10 ways to sneak fabric into the house, gollum cabdriver, victrola

6 years ago - I see you, obstreperous, Memorial Day, william gedney, launch, linux,Harmony review, Hank Scorpio, burgundy, Vegan Worcestershire Sauce,freakies

7 years ago - nuffin

Ides of may. I miss my pop today – This is the anniversary of his death, but I’m not feeling as melancholy as I have in the past. It has been many years now since he passed away – 18 years, I think – just about half a lifetime ago.

Mom got a call from bro last night – he went before the judge and has 6 months at a work camp. He doesn’t know when he’ll be transferred, but he won’t have probation after that. I’m not sure if he’s getting off easy or hard.

Most of my challenges these days are physical or financial – those can bleed over into the mental, emotional and spiritual sides, but for the most part I’m doing quite well. I really like my new life here – I can understand why so many Florida expatriates have such little desire to return. There are some things that I miss, like the water taxi and a few of my more well-beaten paths around Broward & Dade, but they don’t hold a candle to the new stuff that I’ve been enjoying and looking forward to. Crime concerns are greatly diminished, not counting Baltimore or DC – and the people here have a small-town sort of feel. A lot of very polite and kind folks that are good about making me feel welcome can do wonders for any atmosphere, though the bay is beautiful in and of itself.

BHK and I are watching the dust slowly settle around the house – the blue house is pretty much empty save for a trunk and some light misc. I still have a few things in Florida storage, but aside from my bike, I don’t miss much of anything there. Most of what I miss about Florida is no longer in Florida . I miss gaming with Ray and Kat, but they’re in Texas , now. I miss goofing with Kev, but he’s in Gitmo. I miss hanging with Steve and Brent, but Brent died, and Steve is in Seattle . Doug is in Seattle , too. My Bro is pretty much lost to me.

Danny’s still in Florida , and I miss doing stuff with him. He should be heading out to us this summer during vacation.

BHK got me a Blueberry Vanilla Ice for after work - it was a welcome closure to the work day. Got a haircut in prep for tomorrow's thing.

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1 year ago - bird flu / monkey pox, walkabout, podcasts, newtcam pics, jack lemmon, hoot, saucermen, exploding pants, bus ride poll, hail,

2 years ago - MP gift, pabst t, won rum, don lapre's vitamin, personality defect, walkabout pics, monkey at large/safety in numbers, vampire sugar fuel cell, florida medicine is stupid, I smell good

3 years ago - first palm doodle on new palm, wireless sync, pics from houstons (hypno-orb), Library of Alexandria Discovered, Bones Found In Bag At Florida Cemetery

4 years ago - palm doodles, dreams / reflections on the old crew, chicken hawk cards,mailbox mystery, lunar eclipse, first use of publix grocery deliveries,Teen Girl Squad #3

5 years ago - saw waking life, dream thoughts, prep for star wars expedition

6 years ago - evil news, tumor thoughts, astley gives me defective hardware, humors,hunger-poll, Tsarist Russia photos in color, Paid users get fasterservers, Florida Joke