BHK got some nerds jelly beans (sold as "giant chewy nerds") when we went to Aardvark last weekend.
The Orange were my Fave, Green were hers. (as is our usual) The crunch really added something - I liked them a lot more than standard jellybean fare, even though I like jelly belly soda-pop flavors quite a bit, too.
On the C7 bus this morning, we passed another bus (R3) with the front banner flashing "call 911 - emergency, call police" on the front. I alerted my driver, and she said that it's a common accident - the other guy likely pressed the alarm button by accident and doesn't know better. I suggested that she call the station just to be sure, and she stated that it wouldn't be needed... someone else is bound to do it.
That puzzled me... what if the guy were in actual trouble? I got off the bus and contacted to police to let them know... they haven't called me back. I wonder if they're even following up on it?
I figure it's better be safe than sorry... If I see a sign that says "HELP!!", I'm going to act on it - especially if it's as simple as dialing 3 numbers on my phone.
Fancast - free streaming TV, full episodes (or just a clip )
BHK came up to the office and joined me for a secret lunchtime nosh in the parking lot... nom nom nom. I love seeing her, and a visit in the middle of the day was wonderful.
Pesky that I'm a little behind on my "book bingo" - I keep reading authors whose name end in B, W, or S! Bradbury, Wilder and Stewart aren't helping!
50 things I've done (or, the meme that would not die... ) meme continues with item 31. I...
31.'have been hit in the face with a pool cue... got me in the jaw. It was pretty unexpected - I wasn't doing much of anything, except putting my face where a guy was swinging on someone else. This was when I was 24.
32.'shot 3 day old dunkin' donut munchkins from a wrist rocket slingshot at people, and connected at 20 yards. It stings! That's a powdered sugar version of paintball. Plus, if you're hungry, you can eat your ammo. (Preferably soaked in milk first to soften them up.) This was when I was 15.
1 year ago - D&G off to NY, emergency prep meeting, potato candy, missed 300 with lj folks, birdwatching, everything test
2 years ago - quizzes, secret ritual skeletons, crapulous, neverwinter nights
3 years ago - Open house follow up, pacific northwest tree octopus, lj badge, credit card scam, lois lane's mustache
4 years ago - walk piccies (sudsy fount), CS bombed as a tech, zombies, condos, legal poop, broken website
5 years ago - Newt in a tub, wandering walk photos
6 years ago - I'm Newt's bfast table, at the doc, parrots & cuban food, Asimov died of AIDS, Dave's birthday on the 14th, spiders, squids,Stichomancy, and a little zen, death to smoochy, gypsies
7 years ago - good day, accomplished much, new phone, akimbo, Super Newt, fun words, random plots
- Location:20714
- Mood:
curious - Music:something by the doobie brothers
I'm digging Little People- A tiny Street Art Project. Makes me want to keep my eyes extra open!
Watching the original (black and white, not the colorized fouling) Night of the Living Dead on the PSP while riding the train into work is rewarding... especially when the "hands in the windows" scene starts while you're in a tunnel, and the train stops.. and all the cabin's lights go out for about 10 seconds before starting back up again. Good timing. I'm just glad I didn't have Jacob's Ladder in there. Want to watch Night for free? It's in the public domain you can view it there or download it - or just see it in 30 seconds, reenacted by bunnies.
Other classics that are free and legal to download and/or view online - Last Man on Earth for horror, or Suddenly for a bit of Noir.
Back in August, the Skull-a-Day blog (a new skull, every day!) ran this papercraft skull with moving jaw -- including a downloadable PDF so you can print and assemble your own. Timely! Link (via Paperforest) More spooky paper toys here! (including a few games... like gravedigger , midnight banshees and phantoms vortex. Throw in some Halloween-themed paper dice!
I think my favorite character design in Nightmare Before Christmas is the little kid on the leash with his eyes sewn shut.
BHK may have a good idea for next year's Anniversary - Historic Hudson Valley - Great pumpkin blaze---over 4000 pumpkins on display!
1 year ago - Job interview, pneumatics checked
- photos taken- Baltimore /pneu test doodles (bhk's pics at my pneu-check here )
4 years ago - clock-synchs, Newt-soak, Shark-wrestling, Palm-cam Newt, email post,dropped a belt loop, I'm the most googlebotted on all of LJ (brought in bubbles3563)
5 years ago - newtcam, Mage Knight, Rolie poly olie, monkey!, feral camels, Dave & Cathi are mushrooms, Bro issues, NOtLD
6 years ago - SOP, Jeffersons on TV, journal poll, evil news, and she was, Goodbye mr. cooper
7 years ago - Jack Handey, Reciprocated crush. :D, user pictures link all no one page for the first time. (now here)
8 years ago- Newt's first trip to the vet. He weighed less than a can of soda-pop.(he gained weight fast.. added about 10% body mass a day that first week... He went from under 10 oz to over a 16 in about a week.
- Location:greenbelt station, wmata
- Mood:
chipper - Music:misting rain and walking people
ctober!Back the regular schedule - at work and chugging nicely - jaw still a bit sore from dentist, plus sore throat from allergies.
Dinner with the in-laws and adam - played a little destroy all humans after tasty chicken-egg noodle type-dish (hot dogs for larry). The canned veggie-chicken was cooked up to be really darn tasty, as was the mushroom gravy. The veggie gravy would be excellent on biscuits with a little black pepper, too, I suspect!
First day of new allergy meds, and my coughing is vastly reduced.
I can't believe that it's been 5 years since the beltway sniper. I certainly never thought that I'd live and work in this region back then. Between that, and Flight 77 six years ago - it's amazing how much people get back to business at hand and swarm all over the pentagon, the metro and so on.
1 year ago - 16 days to go, nostalgia for 7-11, x04, preggos on my list, identity, monsters in my pocket, girls back from QC,
4 years ago - programming, October questions, 3-fingered roy, rays, ricks, alexes, and gaming, bro gets a warrant, candy corn poll
5 years ago - dsl flicker, Lauper Photo, Kelly and Lexie meow and poop, Lincoln poll, House blessing
6 years ago - owies pass, odd news, took newt to work, werewolf (mafia) game, GPS factoid
7 years ago - Salty dog, slushies for lunch, CTD song, boycotts
Attention Christmas Decorations... BACK OFF! It's just barely October! Let me have pumpkins and harvest stuff for a while, why don't ya? Sakes. Lots of neighbors have purple and orange fairy lights out... pretty keen to be in a region with folks in the seasonal spirit.... a "haunted house" is being rigged up at two blocks over, and another at the local fire station... looking forward to that, too.
Speaking of which: I just remembered and trotted out the Halloween background for the website. I really need to work on that some more.
Got another set of fillings today. Front teeth look a lot better now, though the doc couldn't seem to numb one of them... I had a distinct Dustin Hoffman / Marathon Man vibe going for a about 15 minutes.
Is it safe?
Ow.
That said, he did a great job aside from the pain, and I'm very happy now that there are no open nerves with easy air access in my head.
On the way home, we visited "the man" at ATW - see prior entry for photo. He's Oktoberfesting!
Trying something out - not sure if it'll be a regular thing or not. Depending on what the subject is, I may get paid to do a post or two. Any items written about in this way will be clearly marked as such.
via dcist -
Ahh, rise and shine, Washington! It's another beautiful fall day, so stretch and breathe in deep ... but not too deep, unless you enjoy inhaling some of the worst air in the nation. Scientists are putting numbers on information our lungs already knew: the D.C. area "produces more carbon dioxide than several medium-size European countries," the Post reports. This is due primarily to Maryland's coal-burning power plants and our stand-still traffic, though the study notes that this doesn't include other greenhouse gases, like methane. Still, seems like investing in asthma inhalers isn't a bad bet.
1 year ago - several pictures from MD, ponytail damage in shipping
3 years ago - weekend working, sketch-a-move toy, brain transport, y'all, VS and I debate hooters girls training, Andy-coma, skin-theft dream
4 years ago - prop2 losing cred, I'm going to be in Popular Science, Deep thought, hand shadows, lj-drama, lj-gender
5 years ago - MH maint, flatworm sex, missv engaged, Pacifists to head for Baghdad, work drama, palm doodles, coworkers in the box
6 years ago - dishabille, Kipling, writing freeflow, SA poll, lj-bounce, moving out poll, love
7 years ago - cpap, bumper sticker, cybersitter filtration, people think I'm DT
- Location:20714
- Mood:
calm - Music:"Real Women Have Curves" on DVD
Little Hoff Doll! How cute! How Evil! Clever... wish I'd have thought of it. I think I'm a little more partial to little mr t, however.
Speaking of goodies... One year wedding anniversary is in October... one year is paper for gifts, right? Maybe Zombie Fluxx is part of it this year? It looks like it'll be released before our date on the 25th.
Why is it that whenever someone has a list to choose a favorite color, orange is often left off?
Yesterday, on the ride home, Chris asked if I was always such a serious person. Does she know me at all? I'm pretty confident that I've been a goof in her presence more than a few times... in fact, I thought that my serious discussion had pretty darn goofy undertones.
Two useful sites discovered recently on FF list -
http://www.seeqpod.com/ a quite nice playable music search, and podcrawler.
http://www.traffic.com/Washington-DC-Tra
1 year ago - Illuminati perfection, venture brothers, aerial photos Miami, voting, heifer.org charity, America's Most (And Least) Efficient Charities, Affie Jones, stand on your own head for a change
2 years ago - stream of thought, arcade games, newt, tolerance, comics, Danny elfman, tv, newtcam pic, rome, gaming, sheep don't you know the road, fema issues, bob denver RIP
3 years ago - hurricane home movie, happy to be home, pentagon crash snopes
4 years ago - annoying LL, death, IRC pix, gender genie, toys, sunset, rainy day
5 years ago - Crash Bonsai, sticky song poll
6 years ago - Hammer-Wheel, Beijing, Stephen Foster, Mystery men Hiring, soap hair
7 years ago - Suzy goes to the Clink
- Location:20714
- Mood:
drained - Music:lower case n in my head
Anyone that developed vegan Cupcakes of Catan is ok in my book.
Of course, there's the Rennfest, too.
Good grief! So many possibilities.
Maybe I'll work a bit on Guitar / Uke skills while BHK is off with TM whenever they decide to head out. I guess that there's a tentative thought about them going to Delaware. What's to do in Delaware?
Editing the icehousegames.org wiki and the lab rabbit wiki has introduced me to an interesting assortment of people... some seem very laid back, others aggressive to the point of being interpreted as hostile. There are some impatient and controlling types in every bunch... sometimes that's what it takes to get things done, I suppose. Not my style, but I can see where it would be a winning tactic on a wiki. Both are pretty solid resources.
(I've even gone so far as to create a lj-feed of recent changes on the rabbit site so that I can track it on my lj, rather than having to log in and sniff around somewhere else. I've just now done the same to the icehousegames wiki too)
1 year ago - Ernesto not too bad, yoga, newt pic, JonBenet dna
2 years ago - On the Waterfront, The Specials, gaming, once upon a time in the west, lisas, 20 facts, katrina a mess, PSA new orleans, newt pics, 10 most popular pics
3 years ago - Laundry blech, great quote, gutter-sniping, olive sings, Portugal
4 years ago - zombies, Tony Randall - Serial Killer, palm update, Newtcam pic
5 years ago - wetness out, protest, scotophobia, programming, doodling, cyndi lauper
6 years ago - codeburn, personal beliefs, pirate name, poetry, lj-poll, oversleep
7 years ago - Sleep study, personal vibe, my name, TERN
- Location:20714
- Music:Pyewacket nomnoming on treats
Current health issues - getting corrected a little at a time
- Allergies - need to get blood work done in top of October for shots
- Teeth - Bridge for broken tooth, and 2 fillings. Floss, kids!
- Back-leg ortho workup.
Monday night after our appointments, BHK, Chris, Larry and I all met at the Lebanese Taverna for Half-price Mondays... yum on the falafel!
I also got a new shirt for work at good ol' Value City - White with blue pinstripes.
Tonight after work there was a big traffic slowdown...Suitland was a parking lot, and all of i-4 was shut by police and helicopters. A cursory search online mentioned no specifics, and the traffic radio was of little detail as well. I wonder what was up? Chris speculated terrorist stuff, but there was really no hint as to what it might be at all. I made it to Tina's about 30 minutes later than usual. When I realized I wasn't going to be there by 7:15, I called and they ate ahead of me.. I got there in time to watch the last half of Gilmore Girls - BHK and Tina set tentative plans for a girls trip sometime in the near future.
This weekend, BHK and I will be taking a little day trip somewhere... maybe West Virginia to see the mountains, maybe Outpost Games, possibly both on different days.
We still haven't been back to the Compleat Strategist... I want to give 'em a second chance, but it might be a while... too many other places to go and see.
Graffiti seen when we went to the movies last weekend -
Robot of love - says hate
(he cannot be fully erased!)
Boy says bait?
That rhymes!
1 year ago - pom, apples and limeade, GP ahooga, close to the edit, burrito/screech butt, god lj, more ernesto a-comin'!
2 years ago - katrina track, toyota safe vs falling knives, brothers grimm, eco footprint, The Outbursts of Everett True , caffeinated death quiz, cat toy, superheroes and goats, office has no juice
3 years ago - on call all weekend, cej packet returned, super hero movies, charities, spectral analysis
4 years ago - begging for freebies, cases, frankie, wifi, paper toys
5 years ago - comic book ads, genetic ID card, lifegems, happy tree friends, Bheesh got a vette, free fonts, and Pynchon paper dolls
6 years ago - sci-fi dorkness (pity enterprise is so bad), red headed wildcat, bacchanalia, ultima Thule, stinky cab driver, lj "post limit hububb"
7 years ago - zoo day, de-compartmentalized some pals, Brown, turtle
- Location:20714
- Mood: full
- Music:Brains/Looks lets make lots of money in my head.
METEORS THIS SUNDAY! Can't Forget!
The Red Line has resumed normal service after a suspicious package closed the Dupont Circle, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park stations for several hours.
Metro Transit Police bomb technicians X-rayed the box, then safely disrupted it with a water cannon. The box contained paper and cardboard. The train was taken to a nearby rail yard for further investigation.
Sad to hear that Dresden Files was canned - I was digging it. It didn't look like it was too expensive to produce, but who knows what was going on under the hood.
Ah, well... The nice thing about one less good tv show is that it's one less tv show, period. More time for me to focus on other things.
Found this on the Icehouse list -
A new video of SLorpedo: The Mixed Reality Game OfMixing Icehouse and Second Life? I'm lucky that I've got BHK and the lads to intervene or I'd be wasting hours fiddling with that. (If it were 2 years or so ago, I'd probably be in there right now, working on the code and looking at what was what.) I haven't tried Regular ol' Torpedo yet, but it looks like fun.
Naval Warfare is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWw0_X7b79Y
SLorpedo is a mixed reality version of the icehouse
game torpedo played in both real life and Second Life.
The new video shows real life footage of the
installation, a video of SLorpedo footage captured in
Second Life is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd-MoN9d_Nw
Speaking of Doodles (last entry) and Pyramids, here are some more random doodles drawn on the bus. I'm fiddling wit hthe idea of a multi-tiered gameboard - some standard chase-game variant like monopoly or sorry, with different abilities or events on each level. also thinking about a Rock/Paper/Scissors element to the nests/trees, as far as landing and capture are concerned - big beats middle, middle beats little, little beats big. I'd like to finish it in time for this year's Ice Game Design Competition, but I doubt I'll make it. Maybe next year!
Heck, have a recent Newtcam pic, too, dear journal!
Allez-oop! He was playing while BHK and Pye napped.
1 year ago - looking forward to Autumn, man who knew too much, pumpkins, que sera sera, florida health inspection resource,
2 years ago - teacher memories, bro, shogun warriors (including great mazinga), 1970s Spanish Adult Movie Posters, Pic of Danny and I as heroclix fight an oncoming zombie and lobster-man menace.
3 years ago - Alabama, chatty-newt, spiky moods, war ellies, world audit, hijabs, olympic torrents, fake beheading.
4 years ago - vampire monkey dream, programming, puzzle pirates, nicotini, quizzes and kama sutra safe sex, blunt truth, mehndi designs
5 years ago - istockphoto, emergency day at work early-arrive (I wonder what'd happen if Sappho and Kev were out at the same time, now?), escape from alcatraz w/bro, misc meter quizzes, looking for cave/sea piccies
6 years ago - scud, agon, evil news, Wally out of the loop (he's still awaiting trial for some of his crimes), Thai din din, colon contents, just finding out about bubba-Ho tep
7 years ago - geophagy
- Location:20714
- Mood: recumbent
- Music:dryer tumbling
- Location:20714
- Mood:
sick - Music:Saturday, in the park - in my mind
BHK talked to PG county's Sheriff's Internal Affairs about the car chase a little while back. I'll be interested to see what comes of it - I only wish I would've been home with her at the time.
Treat from BHK! Yum. Tastes great,
looks far too brown for human consumption.
Found out yesterday that someone I used to know very well is very deep in debt. I wonder what happened? I probably really don't want to know.
We haven't seen Louise for a month... I wonder where she's been?
Flying_blind has a better entry about the ljopoly board and a lot of the recent drama - than I would make, so here's a link.
I'm backing up my LJ pretty much once a week, just so I have a copy for when either inclination or necessity require me to put my stuff either on my own website, or transfer it to a different one. I suspect that neither will happen too soon, but it's probably going to take place eventually.
Cruel 2 B Kind is a game of benevolent assassination.
At the beginning of the game, you and a partner-in-crime are assigned a secret weapon. To onlookers, it will seem like a random act of kindness. But to a select group of other players, the seemingly benevolent gesture is a deadly maneuver that will bring them to their knees.
Some players will be slain by a serenade. Others will be killed by a compliment. You and your partner might be taken down by an innocent group cheer.
You will be given no information about your targets. No name, no photo, nothing but the guarantee that they will remain within the outdoor game boundaries during the designated playing time. Anyone you encounter could be your target. The only way to find out is to attack them with your secret weapon.
Watch out: The hunter is also the hunted. At the beginning of the game, you and your partner will also be assigned your own secret weakness. Other pairs of players have been given your secret weakness as their secret weapon, and they're coming to get you. Anything out of the ordinary you do to assassinate YOUR targets may reveal your own secret identity to the other players who want you dead.
1 year ago - finished pride & pred / monkey politics, Newt pic, kid rolling ajoint on the bus, solar powered sun bricks, firkin, 8500, flying model plane in miami, flight plans to maryland
2 years ago - deepest sender, jumping pictures, walkabout autostitch, mangrove tunnels
3 years ago - tmbg thoughts, sugar water vid, space issues, Rick James dead, Burpin' at Newt, Magical Trevor, cocktail demons, nifty charts, Newt Videos, CoH Pix
4 years ago - Zombies, Army Men, mean cannibal pudding, time travel spam, vampire game, celeb phone calls, cej chat, bro request
5 years ago - Earth and Beyond Playtest, Kev & Bailey, fat parrots, french fry girl palm doodle
6 years ago - harried, inculpate, plane lands just down the road on andrews as a makeshift runway and kits my regular bus, wondering about lj's image server (still not ready!), happy thoughts, magic can of soda
7 years ago - grumping, Space cowboys shows old man butts
- Location:20714
- Mood: tired
- Music:Cruel to be kind - in my head
Saw Fantastic Four - Silver Surfer after work with BHK, and it was a fun little bit of entertainment.
Cool! The DC Train maps are now on google!(via dcist)
We're not going to Salem this weekend. Instead, I think we're just going to cool our collective jets, and regroup a bit.
I've been watching season 6 of The Shield on my commute to and from work lately... and the writing is still quite good. I think the child molester subplot was a bit transparent, but aside from that, it has been interesting seeing what's going on with Vic's crew. It sounds like they're already wrapping up season seven, now, even though the sixth was supposed to be the final one.
After I whittle that one down my travel show is going to be The Riches, I think. Never did catch up with that on the Tivo upstairs, and BHK seems to have lost interest.
Positive thing about summer. Local corn. The best I've ever had, anywhere. Seriously, it's amazing.
I'm really loving the local corn crop.
By the way, to my anonymous commenter: Not everyone in the world is racist. Not everyone in the world is sexist. "All [insert skin color / gender / geographic point of origin / religious belief / sexual preference / whatever here] stick together" is untrue. Sure, there are a lot of 'em, but humans lack cooperation on that level. Not to say that *a lot* might. Special interest groups, Armies, and the like. If you could get *any* group of people of that size to really work together, the world would be a different place - and probably a scary one, since I don't tend to agree with any one group's agenda.
Atheists can cuss by taking someone else's lord's name in vain. It's not like snarling "Random Chance!" or "Darwin!" is nearly as good as Jesus Christ come to think of it... blurting "Vishnu", "Zeus" or "Zoroaster" is sort of dorky sounding too. David and Abraham are in too much usage to be any good, either. Solomon?
Maybe I'll just stick to Comic Book / Cartoon Exclamations... Merciful Rao! Sufferin' Sappho/Succotash! Leapin' Lizards! Sweet Christmas! Good Grief! Great Hera! By Crom!
I am guilty of saying "My Stars" - not due to Henry McCoy, but Samantha Stevens.
By the Vishanti is too cumbersome. Imperious Rex is just dopey. Dumber than saying Spoooon! in fact.
I do like to say Zoroaster, though. It's a fun name. Zoroaster. Say it with me, dear journal. Zoroaster. Zarathustra, in the native.
If we were to ever get a gray kitten, I'd like to name him Zoroaster. (That is not to say that we're getting a gray kitten any time soon.)
Regarding this article about faith and democratic candidates ... I can't get the phrase "Pillory Hillary" out of my head.
1 year ago - pirate quiz, pirates w/Dan, 61 questions, walkabout pics, bus stop self portrait, newtcam silly pic
2 years ago - bro visit, good exp games, Karl Rove a rat, mood settings, big ol' Locust
3 years ago - perspective via work, kitty-bot, rain, diseases
4 years ago - Movies w/ danny, LED-suit, Lupin quiz, dinosaur haiku, new tv, LXG, html tests, ghoulishness
5 years ago - Ian McCracken, zork 404, branleur, got my bike
6 years ago - evil news, longueur, spoliation, space fungus, superstition poll, fri-13 reasoning, I'm Neutral Good
7 years ago - Traditional trolls, Catholics handy in a pinch
- Location:20714
- Mood:
hungry - Music:paperback writer - in my head
This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:
- sex (2x)
- poop (1x)
At last, a memory erasing drug that doesn't have a proof rating.
There’s a page over at MySpace that features what they’re cloyingly calling “minisodes,” which are episodes of television shows edited down to six to eight minutes. Having watched an episode of The Facts of Life and one of Silver Spoons, I really wonder what they did with the other eighteen minutes. (via lore )
Was going to the Kwik-E-Mart after work, see also , but instead got a fresh haircut (as did BHK) at Scalped.(we love Margaret and Ami) Perhaps tomorrow?
Thinking about getting into letter-boxing in addition to geocaching... it seems more quaint and less commercial than what geocaching has become. BHK is more about the hikes than the technology, and I think we both would enjoy just getting out and wandering around a bit.
The Hippie Trail LbNA #: 26192
| Placement date: Oct 8 2006 |
| State: Maryland |
| County: Calvert |
| Nearest city: Huntingtown |
| Number of boxes: 2 |
Clues
King's Landing Park, King's Landing Road (off Huntingtown Rd).Enter King's Landing Park, and go the parking by the fence on the far side of the pool. Across the fence you can see the sign that says "Explore your Chesapeake". Go to the path to the right of the sign, and take the right fork to the straight path. Almost immediately on the right, you'll see a little sign by the woods that says "Trail" and a large sign with a roof that talks about Orienteering. Veer off the path and enter the woods by the Trail sign. You might want to grab a walking stick for the Flower Box.
Smiley Box- THIS HAS BEEN MOVED
At the start of the first board walk, look to your right. 24 paces away will be a fallen tree with its roots sticking up in the air. Right underneath the roots is the Smiley Box.
Flower Power Box
Continue to follow the path towards the wetlands. Where the path splits left towards the water and a sign that says "A Marsh for All Seasons" go right, away from the water. About 25 paces, look on the left and see 3 very large trees that grew out of one bottom, immediately off the path. Walk up the hill behind it, and see another smaller light colored tree that is about 4 paces behind it, then a large tree about 5 paces behind it at the top of the hill. Flower Power is hidden in the tree at the bottom back side under leaves in a notch in the tree.
- Location:20714
- Mood: good
Download (20263) | Play (28541) 
Download (9616) | Play (15158) ) WTF, mate? I'm not a rat... nor do I have cronies that can get me off the hook; maybe she thought that Scooter is too beautiful to go to jail? Perhaps they should have sentenced him to death by lethal injection; Bush seems to have no problem with that being too "excessive."Half day at work today - Good thing, because there's so much to take care of before the fireworks tonight. BHK will be making some of her classic "mexican-bake-lasagna-thingie" of which I am a huge fan. Yes I am.
Got a kindly warning driving into work - 51 in a 40, a big traffic stop grabbing everyone who goes around a major turn. Police in Maryland are more polite to BHK than they are in Florida.
Also seen on the way in was a sickly-looking fox that got a "go home kitty!" and then "Kitty doesn't look so good" before we realised what the animal actually was. I hope it wasn't sick... odd to see a fox out in the city sidewalks.
Alerted yesterday by Jon at the DC Traveler that the mighty Titan Arum has begun blooming at the US Botanic Garden. He was, no doubt, tipped off by the oh-so-lovely smell of rotting corpse wafting through his window, which the flower uses to attract meat-loving (at least, meat-stench-loving) bugs to pollinate it. The giant, odorous plant seems to be falling into habit, blooming every two years since 2003 -- before that it hadn't bloomed in 12 years, and the species is usually known to bloom unpredictably.
Not only does the "Corpse Plant" feature the mouth-watering fragrance of dead rats, but it grows to fairly enormous heights, with some wild-growing plants (they're native to Indonesia) reaching 12 feet tall, though most average a still impressive five feet. If you're interested in seeing the purpley-crimson color that reveals itself as the petals open up, you must act quickly. The Titan Arum slowly began budding in June, but reached full bloom and began emitting its zombie-licious fragrance the day before yesterday, so you've only got perhaps today and maybe tomorrow to catch this unusual sight. At least for a couple of years.
Fireworks were quite lovely tonight; I didn't expect a show of that magnitude from a small town... pretty close to the Miami show in volume... twin barges full of mortars just went to town at about 9:30pm. [attach flickr pictures here]
- Location:20714
- Mood: drained
I look at the commute to work with planner's eyes lately... which I find funny, due to suspicions that much of Maryland's growth has gone far outside any of her initial city / county-wide designs. The way a tiny village can swell to a small town and even a huge city like Baltimore is a fascinating evolution.
Perhaps it's due to my new job and playing Sim City / Carcassone-type games, but looking at residential areas, how roads, rivers and rail act as amazing connection between homes, churches, businesses, farms, graveyards and whatnot. There are many relationships between people and terrain. I love how almost every church here has an attached bone yard, and how broad the space can appear be between the towns. Sometimes, it's only one road into and out of town, which gives a huge sense of isolation, but also one of knowing that it is connected to *somewhere* else. The fact that I can wander around and see so much history (granted, the majority from the 18th century onward) fascinates me to no end. Sometimes when I look at places in Calvert County, I can mentally see what it was like before older structures weathered so much and the newer structures were put in between (or added onto the elder ones). Still-operating horse drawn buggies driven by the Amish frequently help with the visualization.
There are old bridge pilings without the road-sections across the top near 95 that look like ancient ruins; the new on-ramp doesn't really match the travel route of the old path. I wonder how many abandoned roads and paths were lost once asphalt and gasoline-powered vehicles became the standard?
Sometimes it seems like each little town is made from the same (or at least very similar) parts from the one just before it, up the road a ways. That church was on the other side of the road, and the tobacco barn was brown, not gold... and about a half-mile to the northeast. The whole place was at the foot of the hill, not the top. Sometimes it seems as if the people are slightly interchangeable, as well. Soccer mom with stroller and dog. Old geezer picking up trash on the side of the road. High school kids futzing around.
The Suburbs are different than the Commuter Towns of Bowie and Waldorf... I prefer North Beach to either of those locations.
Don't get me started on the DC roads. I don't blame L'Enfant's great design, as so many others came and revised the plans, but I'll always prefer a two-way travel grid-type situation over curves for major city roads. One-way streets that curve up onto themselves and don't simply run N/S or E/W is just asking for trouble. That said, it is a beautiful place to see.
Tonight's supper of zucchini and squash parm with cheese tortellini and salad was fantastic. The soy flour really holds onto the veggies better than wheat. BHK really did a fantastic job! There's a nice feeling when 80% of what's on the dinner table is grown in your back yard - The only things bought were the salad dressing, cheese tortellini, flour, and drinks. I'm really looking forward to our potatoes and peas coming in soon... I'm also contemplating soybeans and a beehive for next year. And maybe a pair of overalls and a wide-brimmed straw hat. ;)
- Location:20714
- Mood: full
At the Masonic House of Temple of the Scottish Rite in Washington DC.
1 year ago - bangs!, 70s nostalgia, net neutrality, heifer.org, zombie powered car, blondie, smothers brothers, hurricane, tv openings, far out space nuts, 3's company, tomi's vette, electrawoman and dynagirl
2 years ago - Going postal, free pie, Global Frequency, Who, Kim Possible, writing, JC & fish sammiches, mouse update, UN food force, Hav, Work Sanity, fridge cleanup, Chloe-pup, sweet farm girl mp3, Hunter-Newt face pics (vs. a paper strip)
3 years ago - Astronauts, Hound Dogs, doodles, $0.21, CoH rough, Camels vs Tigers, Hustler Store on its way
4 years ago - there-music, vampires, Bollywood posters, billy the kid
5 years ago - wondering about hover cars and jetpacks, mad shark, bad tattoos,rainbow in every teardrop, kid at work day, wondering about my own,Freedom force supers, misc bro & Danny get togethers
6 years ago - irenic & potatory, recovering from yuck, idea12, waving, coffee flavored cereals, evil news, html brad hoax, plucking out a worm, l-struck
7 years ago - fooling myself, Superman is JC, site poetry via cmdrtaco
- Location:washington, dc
- Mood: impressed
- Music:something creepy on the pipe organ.
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scottobear- Raj KAJ
- The Scotto Grotto