Raj KAJ
16 November 2009 @ 12:05 pm
Well, it's a little over a year since Obama has taken office.

I haven't looked for a while, but I looked at the Obameter just to see where he stands. Off the 500 promises being tracked.... see below.

Promise Kept 54
Compromise 14
Promise Broken 7
Stalled 17
In the Works 149
Not yet rated 274

Two of my touchpoints, the use of torture and closing guantanamo are both listed as "in the works", more detail at the links.

--

far too many pictures from yesterday's walkabout - lots of fun with Larry, Chris, and BHK on a lovely autumn hike. Did a bit of geocaching, too - dropped off the meagan and paris bugs.

We also met Aaron Greene at the Cypress Swamp... he's a very talented photographer!



--

1 year ago- decorative cabbage pic, moring walkies

2 years ago - la tolteca stinky, silly web page, q&A meme

3 years ago - more walkabout pics - vizcaya

4 years ago - frito bandito, monkey pic, dang hialeah, bk's bday, RI out of office, MM quits, shot patience, newt thought bubbles, doodle selfport

5 years ago - rain on glass, Afrocaribbean religions, postcard, heroclix, fosters home, edbook, wal-mart, ray romano, crackheads and thugs

6 years ago - Frankie the mooch timeline [MUCHO DRAMA FURIOSO!], 3-minute 4am phone post, Justice league, Spectre

7 years ago - Chevy Tahoe Commercial poem, Green Banana Moon, cool words, twilight

8 years ago - caption picture poll, turtle-butt breathing, big brain's 2nd incarnation

9 years ago - memories feature added, strip mall of sin, mall of the dead, hunter thompson returns to reportingGeotarget Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
 
 
Raj KAJ
22 January 2009 @ 09:46 pm
BHK brought the element in for an alignment at the dealer today. Mechanical issue, it turns out. Insurance should cover it, but it has to be looked over first.

The moon was orbiting pretty close tonight, I nearly banged my head on it. My gut is still out of whack - I may have to go to the doctor tomorrow if this keeps up. Cereal and Milk for dinner - that should soothe a bit.

Pye, birdwatching this morning, as we left the house.
pyeonnewtcam

Self-portrait taken at midday today, with a tiny self-portrait inside the phone.
I think I look odd here - overhead lights, I guess. I've lost a little weight, but still working on it.
Note the dueling scar just between cheekbone and beard.
0122091431.jpg

I have an irrational fear of post-getting a tattoo - I figure that as soon as I get one, I'll accidentally scar my body in a way as to make the design appear torn or crooked.

That said, I don't know what sort of tattoo I'd ever get.

--
President Obama retook the oath of office last night because of mistakes the first time around.

Also - PolitiFact has compiled about 500 promises that Barack Obama made during the campaign and is tracking their progress on our Obameter. We rate their status as No Action, In the Works or Stalled. Once we find action is completed, we rate them Promise Kept, Compromise or Promise Broken.
--

1 year ago - busy month, knees and backs, Bill O'Reilly doesn't know about homeless vets, hello kitty counterstrike, Q&A meme

2 years ago - newtcam live, snow pics, reh 101, spidey hits (what killed my youtube acct),

3 years ago - superhero drawing memes, CNY, Bro's situation improved briefly, lost, spidey video views, Sting

4 years ago - Worked late, EN's cable out, sad- sicky mel, busy phone, amber alert, great day to be alive theme

5 years ago - Year of the monkey!, new icons, act like a monkey, a fellow ljers house burns down

6 years ago - honey rant, healing hands, newt pic, cuss control, cold snap

7 years ago - spy ware killer, stab-dream, home school poll, animal noises around the world, sound

8 years ago - IMT stuff, be good, Model of the modern super-criminal, birthday wishGeotarget Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sick
Current Music: Jumper on TV. BHK liked it more than I did. I give it 3 of 5 stars.
 
 
Raj KAJ
21 January 2009 @ 10:24 pm
Back to Work -workworkwork - played catch-up for missing Monday. I was tired to begin with, and now, end of day, I'm dead tired.

Randy Rogers off to work with M.A.D.D. - good for him! I hope the rest of the crew get as good a break as he did.

I dreamt the other day that we adopted all the stray kitties in town, and BHK named the orange one with white feet "Bagel". The other cats didn't have names, but Bagel was extra naughty - knocking over anything that was knock-over-a-ble.

We loved him (her?) anyway. BHK hollered "BAYYYYYY-GULLLLLLL" every so often when he was acting up.

After work, we did the once a week night ritual of soda and scratch-offs -  no money was won, but we did locate ome tasty chips to go with dinner from subway.

BHK took the Element in to have the tires replaced, but there was trouble with aligning it - She's bringing it to the dealer tomorrow, to see what the situation is.

Watched a little Gordon Ramsay and Doctor Who, and now we're off to bed.

--
President Obama’s first official act was to suspend all prosecution of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

White House stops all pending Bush regulations for review

President Barack Obama's new administration ordered all federal agencies and departments on Tuesday to stop any pending regulations until they can be reviewed by incoming staff, halting last-minute Bush orders in their tracks.

--

1 year ago - MLK/R.E.Lee day, Back info about Disc, LOC flickr, TMBG, KFC

2 years ago - snowstorm ends, snowballs, eggplant and french toast.
Pictures - snow & love notes

3 years ago - compusa bah, acim gang out and about, float on, sacrifice & wrath, chastity belts for 21st century
pictures - ACIM gang

4 years ago - Strep, Jill is like 30, Greek Grotto, Weather, The woods, urinals, Mrs G team pic, Romanian Girl returns from the grave, poli-sci

5 years ago - Palm doodles, band names, sinister ducks, Cheddar Cheesus, water bus trip home, Orange Cat, walkies pics

6 years ago - zcardz (precursor to the pirates game), LL fooled with my bro, vanishing finn, meds

7 years ago - Dream, Walkies with fog, Worked MLK, ear pressure relief then a return, ordered my digicam, got a keeno book off my wish list, siege engines, lego cube solver.

8 years ago -Bro pic, garam masala, patty hearst pardoned, DNA police Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: BHK ironing to my left.
 
 
Raj KAJ
20 January 2009 @ 08:13 pm
Congrats, President Obama! We listened to coverage on CNN radio while I went to the MVA - ( I have to contact the state of Florida for more record info, before I can get my D/L here.  Strike two!)

Soledad O'Brien couldn't stop talking about "White House was built with slave labor" thing... once worked, thrice is two times too much. Message received, etc.

BHK made this nifty cake for Jay and Sean's Inauguration party -
0120091332.jpg

Pretty Keen - did a tick for each president prior, in red or blue for republican or democrat - tick marks are black for other (like Whigs or D-R's)

Says "Time for a Change" with clock hands, and the Obama Logo in the center.

Small gathering, but it was neat to celebrate the changing of the guard. There are going to be a lot of sleepy people in DC tomorrow after all the parties and etc.

1 year ago - BHK's super skateboard, looted BHK's old room, George of the Jungle, Wii games, Pizza, cookies, and Movies

2 years ago - newt lounging pics

3 years ago - big brain wait, college students illiterate, LN, little prince,

4 years ago - Sicky Mel, PSA, No new drama month, paypal button for charity, weather, Korean postal robots guards, MA lobster strike, Monkey king, fibs and truths answers, weather

5 years ago - crapulent, British WWII photo archive, Chick Tract, homeowners groups lacking

6 years ago - bawled out my bro, bashed up my hands.

7 years ago - walkies, coloring book fairy, waterlog ear, some dead links and some live ones, full moon birth, good dreams.

8 years ago - Iron Man, brain eating, thinking about my dad, smitten, First experience with a good LJ client, Fred the enema cat. Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: Tell me who I am - Sanjaya Malakar
 
 
Raj KAJ
22 December 2008 @ 07:00 pm
9557 - Monday

North Beach's High and Low today - 26° F | 14° F

Nearby Easton is 9°F, with a windchill of -7° F.. the Snakehead fish there are going to be under a layer of ice, I think.



That's about as chilly as it has gotten this season... well, that's not saying much - winter started.. what, Yesterday?
1222081713.jpg
40% chance of precipitation... maybe even a white Christmas! I'll take those odds.

BHK and I have been amused by a recent episode of Mr. Meaty - it's on the Tivo until it gets lame. Jesse Lumberpond! Sissy Death!... and See also


Making fiends is cute, and I hope Amy Winfrey is swimmingly successful with it. I really liked the web cartoons - I wonder how many changes she had to accept to get it on nickelodeon?

Additionally - A PURPLE SQUIRREL ! - via BHK



Starting today, you can purchase a commemorative Barack Obama inauguration SmarTrip card. The special cards, which cost $10 and come with no value preloaded onto them (or pay $20 upfront and get $10 in value on the card) can be purchased online or at Metro sales offices. The commemorative cards featuring Obama's face are not to be confused with the special $10 one-day Inauguration paper farecards, which also feature Obama's face. Those paper cards offer unlimited rides on Metro all day on Jan. 20, and are also available online or at Metro sales offices. The commemorative SmarTrip cards work just like regular SmarTrips, and do not offer any special fare discount or unlimited rides. (via DCist)



PSA- Dealnews has a list of 90 stores that you can still order from and have it arrive it time to make it under the tree before the 25th.


Current Music:




1 year ago - brief entry - mom and wilton arrive, tacarro, mama lucia's

2 years ago - eryx card!

3 years ago - newton is stealth-master, kev visit planned, mighty boosh, tundra, AHOl finds sticker, astrology misc, fork evolution

1 year ago - Mel's prezzies, Jill good / ADP sucks (both are long gone), tell me meme, No Godzilla, Bush / Scalia / Thomas

2 years ago - RotK w/Dan, 51 successes, gabbed with sedef, Atom feeds

3 years ago - cravings, adoration, sinanju

4 years ago - stray fugitive lotr thoughts, my fondness for orange/yellow foods, rejection letter, where there's a whip, there's a way

5 years ago - cards, filters added



 
 
Current Location: metro subway... off we go!
Current Mood: a wee mite chilly!
Current Music: Kraak & Smaak – Squeeze Me (Original Mix)
 
 
Raj KAJ
05 November 2008 @ 06:22 am
Let's see - what's new?

Well, Shaun W came over for supper with BHK and me - veggie/stuffed cabbage, mac & cheese, and a ton of snacks.

Played -

Monty Python Fluxx - Cute game, I like it! Shaun Won.

Early American Chrononauts - A classic - BHK won.

The a-MAZE-ing labyrinth - BHK won, yet again.

Me, I got a good dinner and some fun chitty-chat time with folks. I'm good :)

Oh yeah, and Obama swept the presidential election! Good on you, Big O! He's got a lot of work ahead of him - I hope he's up to the task!

We may make game night a semi-regular occurrence, but I can't do the past 11pm thing on a "school night". Staying up late for the election was a special circumstance, and I'm glad I did.

Additional - looks like it's time for a new power supply for D1000y ( http://help-site.com/Hardware/Computers/Desktops/HP/Pavilion_d1000/Pavilion_d1000y/ ) . While I was dressing for work this morning, BHK called me over to have a whiff - the poor guy smells like burning christmas tree lights. I rather hope it's just the PSU - and nothing else major. Until a fix or replace, surfing from pyecam lappie, I guess!
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: BHK singing variations on Batman
 
 
Raj KAJ
04 November 2008 @ 12:56 pm

1104080856.jpg, originally uploaded by scottobear.

well, my part is done for now... lets see how it unfolds.

 
 
Raj KAJ
02 November 2008 @ 10:13 pm



Adventists Against Prop 8″ is an initiative started by a group of Adventist pastors, teachers and students in California who decided, out of their commitment to the historic Adventist principle of the separation of church and state, to voice their concerns about (1) the Seventh-day Adventist Church State Councils public support of California Proposition 8, the proposition that would amend the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, and (2) the imposition of a fundamentally religious definition of marriage that this Proposition represents. Hundreds of Adventists from a broad range of backgrounds have joined this cause and signed a public petition asking the Church State Council to rescind its support of the proposition.

Please share this video with friends and family members. Visit http://AdventistsAgainstProp8.org to learn more.

Hm. good for them.
 
 
Raj KAJ
02 October 2008 @ 09:55 pm


Where McCain and Obama have misled voters. A partial tally.



"A new study estimates that the AIDS virus, HIV, started to circulate in the human population between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908. This is much earlier than the previously-held estimate of 1930. 'The new result is "not a monumental shift, but it means the virus was circulating under our radar even longer than we knew," says Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, an author of the new work.' The article also speculates that HIV first began to spread in Kinshasa, Congo."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Carry

Passed away. Farewell to Lord Bowler / Dr. Butterfield. - How did I not hear about this?

 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: anxious
 
 
Raj KAJ
02 September 2008 @ 09:50 pm
So... a nice little reprieve from Gustav for New Orleans. I hope everyone (Louisiana, Florida, and everywhere else) continues to dodge Hanna, Ike and Josephine. Note 3 years ago today, below.

The DNC homepage makes no mention of John McCain. The RNC page has a ton of attacks on Obama and Biden. That's something. Not sure what, but it's something.

BHK put me on to Disaster Dioramas - I'm partial to the Hindenburg, but I suspect that she's more into the Titanic.

Tonight we went to Ledos, and got the greasiest white pizza ever. Tummy trouble is likely to follow. we didn't bother keeping half of it. I hate wasting money and food - I suspect it'll take a lot for us to return there. Got maggie moo's as a after yuck treat - I got mint chocolate chip with chocolate sprinkles and brownie bits - BHK got carrot cake ice cream with peanut butter sauce. It was pretty good, if odd. I've got a love-creeped out relationship with cake-batter flavored ice cream.

Added bonus was at the photography center next door - we saw an orange kitten (about 3 mos) named Charlie playing with his humans... it was very adorable, and we got to talk to the family a bit. BHK thinks it might be time to get a portrait with the lads... though I'm not sure how well-behaved Newton would be for sit-down pictures. Pye is mellow enough, but it is a strange and new environment.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday we went to Leonardtown - skipped witch rock this time, and instead visited a few nifty bookstores - including one made from an old bar. I can't remember the name but it was a nifty old-school mass of books just reaching back into the far back - also went back to White rabbit and got BHK a Raven Puppet to go with her Edgar Allan Poe, a yarn store (Crazy for Ewe ) with a hostess who was very nice and kept staring at BHK's lime-vanilla ice, a model train shop and the do-dah deli... later, we went to Aardvark to pick up Pentago - BHK beat me 5-2... a sound victory indeed.



1 year ago - gamerz, gamers, enchanted forest w / pictures, hot fuzz, night at the museum

2 years ago - iguana mob pics, saw Accepted, impersonating liberace, nice weather for ducks

3 years ago - holiday countdown, teensy manatees, npr podcasts, disney quiz, underdog, trammel , new orleans psa, "I Don't Wanna See Anybody Give Any More Goddamn Press Conferences"

4 years ago - hurricane frances, CoH, sweet revenge, strange brew, superhero costumes, sequels, Syncretism, retreat to Danny's, newtcam pic, second thoughts, twinkie sushi, evil genius, zim and gaimajin, DCL's bday.(HAPPY B'day!)

5 years ago - nostalgia central, general upkeep, nice chatty

6 years ago - John Walker Lindh, Old Maid, debian, red flags, my tarot card, underdog

7 years ago - Reading location poll, start page, bat-music, Amazon dreams, JH Noir

8 years ago - Empathy Rating, me, and the bionic woman Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: stressed
Current Music: Middleman TV theme! - though we haven't watched the finale yet.
 
 
Raj KAJ
30 August 2008 @ 09:13 pm
Went to go get shots - no serum, still. Annoying, but I was guessing that might happen.

After the doc bottomed out, BHK and I  pretty much just relaxed for the day. TV, rest, etc. Hung out a smidgen with the in-laws.

Overdone political item of the moment - I really think that it's already played out, but that the below was pretty comical. Click to enlarge if the text is tricky.




Hey - Red Dwarf is coming back for a one-hour special ? Really? I wonder how much older they'll all look?



1 year ago
- gorey's trouble with tribbles , 2 years I liked, cannibal, survey from wendy, I have lived through 105 of 158 things

2 years ago - wedding ring metals, psp stuff, circle/6 hand foot dilemma, BCT out, power out, funnel cloud pics, MD dog clinics need blood, backyard pic pre-ernesto, flickr color select

3 years ago - Katrina updates, firesign theater, PHC movie, a-z meme, cartoon themes, deerfield condo (obviously it worked out), movie plans - cgi a cartoon?, pee-powered battery, pippin

4 years ago - JLU, comparison shopping, bro drama, earache, presidential candidates

5 years ago - art fair, skippy, Danny's Sci-fi club, morning newt pics, snake oil watch, dali, reading hero 5, female gamers outnumber boys, N. Korea Nukes, kim possible

6 years ago - wonka, hypno powers, got my computer desk

7 years ago - stoic, codex seraphinianus, fruit poll

8 years ago - remembering a hard month, work, fl trim, no thai, scrabble Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: primeval theme on tv
 
 
Raj KAJ
29 August 2008 @ 09:51 pm
Solid end to the work week - I was fortunate enough to have Chris pick me up at the office door, and take me straight on home.

BHK was there and we had red lentil soup and stuffed eggplant - it was really good, but I was feeling so well... needed a good lie down tonight. The in-laws could tell I wasn't up to snuff, so they called it a night early.



Dinosaurs I particularly like, but in no particular order - stegosaurus, triceratops, plesiosaur (maybe Chessie ? (and mosasuar ), apatosaurus(or brontosaurus, as I first learned it), ankylosaurus,and utahraptor. If I had a paradox-free time machine, I'd love to visit, or at least view the Late Cretaceous.

I never think about how frickin' huge the utahraptor was, compared to a human... I always figure it to be one of the tiny dinos... and it is tiny, compared to my other interests.



Well, my thoughts on a woman able to make it to the white house by having to be Republican may be gelling.

I search for a quick look at Ms. Palin's stances, as I really didn't know much about her before today. Aside from having some abuse of power issues. It seems that she's very strongly anti-choice, pro big oil and big mining, supports the aerial hunting of wolves and bears, anti-environment, NRA positive, gay marriage unfriendly, favors teaching creationism in schools. Guess which stance I'm in agreement with, dear journal? (Hint: it's the above the dividing line, and talks about dinosaurs being gigantic. I don't agree with any of those policies she happens to have. )

I'm not really all that worried about it hitting the election's results by much one way or the other - I suspect this will help perhaps a little bit for the dems, save for a fringe group of people that absolutely, positively have to see someone in office because her genitals are different than any other veep in history. (that we know of.... I'm talking to you, Elbridge Gerry and John C. Calhoun... I've had my suspicions.)

She just asked "What exactly does a vice president do?", on CNBC. A fair enough question I guess... but...

Joe Biden: "Governor Palin, I served with Dan Quayle; Dan Quayle was a friend of mine. Governor, you're no Dan Quayle."

Neither VP lights my candle. Palin (a self-admitted creationist) nor Biden (a proponent of stronger police powers)

Well, no matter what happens this election, *something* new and unusual is going to happen. However, despite my issues with Obama - he is still the one I'll vote for, given the available candidates. If it were John McCain of the 2000 election, I'd be more shaky, but given McCain's recent right-wing pandering actions... AW *hail* NO. Defective Yeti agrees with my feeling there.



1 year ago
- Discovered DC game night (still haven't attended), TCEP14, rennfest, created feeds for icehouse and lab rabbit wiki

2 years ago - Ernesto not too bad, yoga, newt pic, Jon Benet dna

3 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

4 years ago - Laundry blech, great quote, gutter-sniping, olive sings, Portugal

5 years ago - zombies, Tony Randall - Serial Killer, palm update, Newtcam pic

6 years ago - wetness out, protest, scotophobia, programming, doodling, cyndi lauper

7 years ago - codeburn, personal beliefs, pirate name, poetry, lj-poll, oversleep

8 years ago - Sleep study, personal vibe, my name, TERN Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sick
Current Music: Pye scratching in the corner
 
 
Raj KAJ
26 August 2008 @ 10:26 pm
Work is getting back to paces - looks like we'll have a few very solid weeks of care to deal with up ahead. I'll take my replacement day off at that point.

Not too many people to socialize with out here, and when they are available I'm pretty busy. After this primary project has been done, I can get back to visitors and whatnot.

BHK made tasty sausage (tofurky italian sausage for me) and veggies on whole wheat spaghetti with garlic bread. Yummitty yum yum! More tomorrow for lunch, and that's fine by me!

Middleman tonight was fun - I don't blame the aliens at all for minding our intrusion, and it was nifty seeing inside Ida's noggin.



Joe Biden's pro-RIAA, pro-FBI tech voting record

By choosing Joe Biden as their vice presidential candidate, the Democrats have selected a politician with a mixed record on technology who has spent most of his Senate career allied with the FBI and copyright holders, who ranks toward the bottom of CNET's Technology Voters' Guide, and whose anti-privacy legislation was actually responsible for the creation of PGP.

That's probably okay with Barack Obama: Biden likely got the nod because of his foreign policy knowledge. The Delaware politician is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee who voted for the war in Iraq, and is reasonably well-known nationally after his presidential campaigns in 1988 and 2008.


read more here

or just for general skeleton closet stuff - http://www.realchange.org/biden.htm which mentions his plagiarism and less than stellar academic merits.


Sweden bans teaching of religion outside of religion classes in government-approved schools.


In what could possibly be a major blow to a scientific consensus that has held for decades, recent research suggests that the traditional conception of Neanderthals being "stupider" than Homo sapiens may in fact be misleading. As articles about the research findings state, 'early stone tool technologies developed by our species, Homo sapiens, were no more efficient than those used by Neanderthals.' The data used in the study is available on-line along with a visual description of the process used.



1 year ago
- simpsons movie, bhk cake pic, hot out!, atw man missing tv pic, tina party & loot, danny back to school

2 years ago - back from an all too brief visit, nose buttering, bunny suicides, events of the day, liberty city psp homebrew hack, jojo the cannibal kid, maple cookies, folks, met Adam / Future In-laws

3 years ago - power out phone post, hurricane katrina aftermath pictures (and Newt), Bro out, Techs unavailable

4 years ago - BK heads north, random visit to a 2001 entry, behavior variances, quiet-please

5 years ago - sleep schedule, zombie game (poor thing aborted), monkey helpers, first lost child.

6 years ago - Deer Hunter, Apache, Equality/freedom Poll, Emerson, flying saucer, heroclix 200 point armies, McD hot dogs, wpoison

7 years ago - that piercing woman , lj vibe change, many links (not all work anymore)

8 years ago - Godzilla, quizzes, </b>[info]leftyrok added me (Thanks, photoc!, IMT threatens to move all operations north to Tampa, dean martin Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: all I need is the air that I breathe....
 
 
Raj KAJ
11 August 2008 @ 09:56 pm
Dan sent us a pile of stuff after cleaning out his guest room. A boatload of books, a few dvd's:Batman Begins, King Kong - the newest one, Quest for Fire, Razor's Edge, Life aquatic - and a copy of Valley of the Mammoths - looks to be a good game, but he couldn't play it at the school's game/SciFi club due to some of the caroon cavemen having visible genitalia. (He offered to draw clothes on them with a sharpie, but the students prefer Catan and Aquarius anyway.

His loss is our gain!

To me, tabletop games are a form of entertainment; I play to play, not play to win. I prefer light games that are amusing in and of themselves, games that are pleasing to play and offer something besides the chance to earn victory. Sometimes I'm in the mood to sit back and watch math at work, sometimes I just want to push pawns around and chuck some dice, and sometimes I want to claw my way to the top of the heap. Abstracts, beer-and-pretzels, RPG, wargames... I'm not picky, so long as it's a fun ride.

I just found out that x1650 is the bare minimum of game cards for the next generation of goodies coming out this year. I gout rid of the x1600 just in the nick of time, it seems! I don't want anything to make it hard to run spore or fallout 3. (Or ghostbusters, when it someday comes out. )

Random Scotto factoid - I can chug soda or beer at an alarming rate. That is part of why I don't drink beer with any regularity.. it takes more than one to even begin to quench my thirst.



I sorta-kinda want to live in a styrofoam dome home. (at least as a little place or cabin out in the wilderness somewhere as a second home.)



Singer Isaac Hayes has died at age 65. He will be laid in his grave as soon as they find someone who can dig it. *badoom-ching*



John McCain: Enthusiastic supporter of spam.



1 year ago - Martian coasters, kids books read with Em, Icehouse and dominoes, marine museum, Cradle of invasion Day, Amish Market, Burt's, Early American Chrononauts, hot dogs and in-laws, 5q meme

2 years ago - thread tracking, mallah/brain, sistine ceiling full view, 330 mpg car under $20k, hardest geometry problem in the world,

3 years ago - Delirium box, laundry good deed, matches, chain reaction game, Friday 5, autostitch pic, 200 e Broward pic

4 years ago - hr tag abandonment,Doug / tony memory trick, factoids about me, elevator breaks

5 years ago - Neverwhere, childhood memories circa '74-75ish - lunch and Tonka toys,linked to hulk's blog, bro stuff, Elvis & his prosthetic limb factory

6 years ago - Spanish TV, broken links, new he-man cartoon, mark quits FMM before he's caught stealing, puppy pictures and palm doodles.

7 years ago - Soylent Green Tea Ice Cream at the Frieze in Miami, after seeing Kiss of the Dragon with my bro, cavort, first exp w/ Samurai Jack, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

8 years ago - saw the hollow man, and played Everway, day before sleep study Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: worlds best sandwiches tv show ending
 
 
Raj KAJ
30 July 2008 @ 10:18 pm
scotto and chae, he-man styleOh My Goff! -Emmy award winner Angie Goff profiled me, the kitties and Alan & JC's pup Chae on her blog entry today ! (Picture here from the entry... eek and awesome. BHK is going to tease me mercilessly - She'd better watch it, or she'll get She-Ra'ed.) The WUSA9 team all have blogs it seems, and the bulk of them are very entertaining!



Called Dr. Wolfe - cracked my back tooth, the one with the composite filling. I'm taking antibiotics starting tonight, and I'll be seeing him in a week for a fix-up. It only hurt a wee bit yesterday, but has progressed to headache level annoyance now. I wonder if the tooth will come out of my noggin before thursday... it feels a bit loose.



noot2pyecam. squinkypyecam. squikypyecam2. squinkynootpyecam.
recent Pyecam captures of Newton in the "treehouse" - as always, click to embiggen them!

We need to get pye in the light like that, so he doesn't look like the phantom blot !



A very interesting graph of the estimated ideological positions of US voters, senators, and representatives shows that members of Congress are much more liberal and conservative than are US voters, who fall somewhere in the middle. (via 3qd)



Maryland Renaissance Fest is coming up. I figure we'll go again, probably for one weekend, this time to just people watch, if nothing else. Scottish Weekend might be fun.



Got a postcard from the bro. He sounds better when he's sobered up. I'll be writing him sometime between tomorrow night and this weekend. It breaks my heart every time I think of him... I thought I was mostly over it, but I'm really still fairly tender about it at times. If luck enters the picture, maybe he'll get some good, solid treatment, but I won't get my hopes up.

His arraignment was supposed to have been on Monday - I wonder how long before public records will give me follow-up info? He's got a calendar call on 9/2/08 - I guess I'll know more then.



Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet

"I tried to warn them, but the Elders of this planet would not listen," said Gore, who in 2000 was nearly banished to a featureless realm of nonexistence for promoting his unpopular message. "They called me foolish and laughed at my predictions. Yet even now, the Midwest is flooded, the ice caps are melting, and the cities are rocked with tremors, just as I foretold. Fools! Why didn't they heed me before it was too late?"


1 year ago - payday, mas90, chalupacabra, Ultimate Blade Runner set, Amy on her way home, All Star Superman, Harry Potter, Metatron

2 years ago - first pente loss to bhk, newt and squirrel pic, dice wars, proximity, nobility, vista speech off, clip art movie, hotspot hacks, gamelan,

3 years ago - entry loss, sky high good, Danny wins prizes, calls while not on-call, 10k superballs, Newtcam Law and Order, meme stuff, pics of lisas, and autostitch garage

4 years ago - museum pics, slippery, Loveless

5 years ago - tv shows, comic fonts, paper money, sound resource, gay high, starmark, CA2, tunnel walkies pix, Dan visit, toys

6 years ago - random voog glimpse, infrasound, dinner timeline, GRASP, hate group mapping, Jen plans on being wed, FMM steals paid time from me, mach 8 jets

7 years ago - animal traits poll, Museum of Black Superheroes, remonstrate, Pompano info, evil news, mental health day, rainbow newt poll, icq/lj tech trouble

8 years ago - April stress, New everway group review, Babel fish translations, green lantern, Jerry's Birthday bash, Discover marquee, Bev Preggers, Bro working at Amici's, We Like Pie, 29th Scroll, 6th Verse Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: sore
Current Music: seems to me - rory gallagher - in my head
 
 
Raj KAJ
16 July 2008 @ 09:21 pm
So, midweek again, is it, dear journal?

Not much to talk about, save for a tasty thai-style currey cabbage soup courtesy of BHK. Very, very tasty!



Wha? Belgium's government collapsed yesterday, and I didn't hear anything about it? I don't know why it strikes me as so bizarre - you hear about Russian and African nations going under all the time. Belgium seemed so.. I don't know... stable? I wonder how long before the Hercule Perot jokes start rolling by... or more likely, How Budwiser beer becoming Belgian took down the whole country.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Belgium's government collapsed Tuesday, unable to resolve an enduring divide over more self-rule for the country's Dutch and French-speakers. The gap was so wide the premier suggested the end of Belgium as a country was looming.


King Albert II immediately began political discussions with lawmakers to try to resolve the situation, talks expected to take several days. He did not formally accept the resignation of government offered by Premier Yves Leterme late Monday, so Leterme's government stays on in a caretaker capacity for now.


In an unusual declaration, the premier said Belgium's constitutional crisis stems from the fact that "consensus politics" across Belgium's widening linguistic divide no longer works.





io9 nicely sums up why I like middleman.




Another one of those quiz / memes those kids are all doing these days.




1 year ago - pickle salad for dinner, Newt and pye cuteness, Runaways, casein

2 years ago - furniture, will, smith on superman, windows on flash drive, pictures of floating things, fin fang foom, algorhithm march, knock down ginger

3 years ago - broward and fed autostitch, visited kev, walkabout pictures with rastas and shirtless, tell-tale heart in street signs, overheard

4 years ago - spidey, weather, let them sing it for you, freddy vs gb

5 years ago - remembering the keys, overtime psa, comic books, workman's comp, prostate cancer

6 years ago - newt in sink, bro gets viper fins sponsor, pesky security, badly drawn images on a bumpy road, punquin finds my 125 item list

7 years ago - Evil News, bad joke, crux, random journals, nice thing poll, designer'slament, laptop space bar weird, hatt-baby, email plain text

8 years ago - Enjoyed the X-men movie, 1974 memory visiting Florida, reprint of Scooby & the occult, insomniaGeotarget Geotarget

 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: !!! soda gestures in my head.
 
 
Raj KAJ
11 July 2008 @ 10:50 pm
Another week draws to a close. I forgot to mention yesterday that we went to the Octagon on the way home from work to pick up an egg roll for bhk (and spring rolls for non-pork me) - I don't know why folks are so leery of the place - it's as clean as anywhere else - much better than mall chinese food.

I do like that it's a "Fried Chicken / Chinese Food / Liquor Store". (note to self- add it to yelp)

Sometimes I catch myself, looking at some folks I've tripped over on the internet, and want to tell 'em to stop being creeps. But for them, that's why there is an internet... because if they acted like that in the flesh, they'd be in an ICU somewhere, or worse.



Creative editing is a fine thing. Beeping out the word count makes for a very different seeming song. Sesame Street's The Count sings about how he loves to BLEEP



Bush leaving a G8 meeting:
"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely.


I'm admiring the development of the HL2 mod - Decadence, The settings at the moment look especially nice. I'm not sure how keen I am on a strict 2v2 player environment, but that could change too.. the tactics seem sound.



1 year ago
- umbrella scabbard voice post, hot brain, sailboat doodle, yelp, DMAE, mercury poisoning?, Newtie and Pye pics, Sicko, slurpee day, silly spoilers

2 years ago - he's a whore, key west stuff, travel photos (mostly graffiti), barrel of monkeys,

3 years ago - Magda time, ff flick reviews in, supernatural crime, free Slurpee, angels with attitude *shudder*, Wilde on the red rose, insanity, bottles on string, math symbol uses, had to htaccess, pagenation, Melissa Gilbert, 911 google, Florida mafia

4 years ago - Newt says Mao, travel pondering, manatee, Dan alters color scheme, good eats

5 years ago - Zwan, I snuff griefer #5, movies, Elvis tooth, bad baby names, net radio, flipped off by the universe

6 years ago - reflecting on old work, log issues, Newt attack, recalling palm animations

7 years ago - fetial, solecism, pockets poll, purse poll, evil news, pie poll, tuck-ins

8 years ago - words, bro moving to town Geotarget
 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: mamma mia - thanks, bhk.
 
 
Raj KAJ
10 July 2008 @ 10:50 pm
It seems that now that Obama has the nomination from the Left, he can pretty much as Right as he wants, as long as he's not quite as far Right as McCain.

I read this blog post, and I think it sums things up. Also, I just read that Obama voted in favor of a wiretapping bill.

Say what I may about Hillary, but at least she stood up for our civil liberties in that vote. Barack Obama did not, after promising us that he would. I am very disappointed in him right now.

Seeya, 4th amendment.. it's like I hardly knew ye.

The odd thing to me is that McCain abstained from voting on it at all. I wonder why he didn't go one way or the other?

So, do I want kind-of right wing, or full-bore? As always, I don't want any of the candidates.



Watched Be Kind Rewind tonight. It was a little ragged around the edges, but we both really liked it a lot. It reminded me a bit of the old movies that Steve Jacoby, Brent Ashland, Kevin Albury, Kevin Cummins, etc. and I made with Brent's video camera... Raiders of the Lost Sock, the Arthurian Project, and so on.

We have so many leftovers in the fridge that it is potluck night in Casa de von Berg. I opted for a blend of baked ziti and veggie lasagna, while BHK had sausage and veggies. There was much nom nom nom'ing.


Rob Richards has made a great site where he restores old animation backgrounds.


Sneakily added by bhk:


In other news my wife has chewed most of the blue gumballs in my Easter candy jar on my desk and started on the jellybeans. I take full blame---I shouldn't have opened it I should have taken it to work!! How could I have so thoughtlessly put that delectable candy goodness on my desk to tempt her! I think I'm just jealous because she has almost no cavities (only one small tiny cavity that she just got recently---probably from kissing my sugary mouth)---I'll make her a rot-mouth yet! MWHAHAHAHHAA!


Impersonating her husband in his own journal... for shame!



1 year ago - blogalyser analysis, commute, toilet roll hypothesis, bhk's birthday cake for louise - pictures!, openmoko, lhj 1900 looks to 2000

2 years ago - wiggle chicken / keys trip / ripley's pix, one night in bangkok, scotto-dungeon game

3 years ago - diggers, sky high/ff, career personality, dr zaius, ugly dog, choosing wrong, 12.5% inked, bike thief, presidential medical histories, people like slinkies

4 years ago - thermo-issues, helping cockeyed find spammers

5 years ago - bro, health, monkey, sun-sentinel cam, clown lovin'.

6 years ago - hard rain, dream thoughts, tests, IM spam

7 years ago - evil news, louche, fill in the blank, gush, insane beautiful people journal nonsense (he's now suspended)

8 years ago - Mr. Rogers, April hassles, H is pregnant with B's kid, inevitable slippery, </b></a>[info]mootpoint adds me to his reading list Geotarget

 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Music: Jaws theme in my head. dun dun dun dun dun
 
 
Raj KAJ
08 July 2008 @ 10:18 pm
Okra harvest!

Okra has come in with the first zucchini - vile, slimy okra. We'll see if BHK can win me over to this veggie, like she did with Zucchini.


John R Cambron (who lives in North Beach!) has an excellent track map showing the layout of all switches, yards and platforms in the Metrorail system. Now, he's expanded that map based on the Metro 2030 vision to create a potential 2030 track layout. - via



In the first case to review the government’s secret evidence for holding a detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, a federal appeals court found that accusations against a Muslim from western China held for more than six years were based on bare and unverifiable claims. The unclassified parts of the decision were released on Monday.

With some derision for the Bush administration’s arguments, a three-judge panel said the government contended that its accusations against the detainee should be accepted as true because they had been repeated in at least three secret documents.


The court compared that to the absurd declaration of a character in the Lewis Carroll poem “The Hunting of the Snark”: “I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.”


more here at the NY times



So, how many human rights advocates are going to boycott all of the sponsors of the 2008 Summer olympics in Beijing ?


Numerous human rights violations have taken place in China because of the Olympics, according to an Amnesty International report. In 2006, Beijing implemented a detention without trial scheme called "Re-education Through Labor" which targets people who have committed minor offenses and are forced to work long hours and can be detained for 4 years. Concerns over the games also include the potential for boycotts from pro-Tibetan organizations such as Students for a Free Tibet as well as from organizations such as Amnesty International upset with China's involvement in the crisis in Darfur.


Biggest tricks for me to avoid would be be -

Johnson and Johnson - very big company - not sure if we could dodge every tendril. I can rattle off at least 5 of those items in our home right now.

GE - everywhere, also owns a ton of stuff - (including TiVo, Universal Studios, and USA network, home of Psych)

Coca-cola - everywhere, but avoidable if you take note of what you're drinking, including water.

Visa - well, that's my bank's debit card, and almost every place on the planet takes it... so, unless I want to live and trade with cash-only businesses, that's a deal breaker. Too big to defeat.


Items of little to no difficulty -

McDonalds - not hard for me to miss out on - we only ever go for shamrock shakes or pumpkin at halloween. Easily avoided.

Samsung / Panasonic - easy peasy. I get 99% of my electronics from other sources, though our tv is a samsung right now.

VW? Awww... you guys let me down. Would I have to boycott playing punch-buggy?

Adidas - no problem missing out on them.

UPS - I do use them on occasion, but there are alternatives.

Snickers, Tsingtao, and Budwiser - I can do without all of those.

Kodak - plenty of other options there, too, but they're in a lot of places. depending on the extremism, some might want to forego any book that used kodak photography or processes. Movies, etc.They are teamed with Motorola and Lexar, for that matter.

Who can say? I won't be that extreme, but sometimes I feel that I should.



‘Zero’ chance lottery tickets stun some players - Through a request filed under the Freedom of Information Act, Fishwick’s firm was able to obtain records that showed the Virginia State Lottery sold $85 million in tickets for which no top prize was available.


1 year ago - hot brain, hot pixel, night of the comet, the frighteners, Louise and in-laws at supper, dinner pix, shag and klondike bar

2 years ago - nearly naked neighbors, gray day, mob supply pic, newt pics

3 years ago - talked to Arnie's Sec, newt and graffiti pix, autostitch, wifi theft arrest, reality show premises, j-walk on podcasts, programmer joke, google maps goodies, flightgear, wifi hotspot backpack, my messy office, bear-knocking, sex pred info pages

4 years ago
- combos/snausages , wisdom, serving sizes, ramen, Rockford Files, Planetarium pictures, weather, sock thief

5 years ago
- call block, snapple, intelligence gathering, Batroc, flashback cartoon, addictive data

6 years ago
- oz/floyd connection, pimps at sea, rss feeds start, cat dreams

7 years ago
- cej returns, unpacking videos, 1992 tax info, the challenge, corn chowder, kubrick quiz

8 years ago
- Rowlf sings, April actually kicks back a few bucks, pondering a new recorder Geotarget



 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: hell's kitchen finale - not petrozza!
 
 
Raj KAJ
02 July 2008 @ 10:46 pm
I added a new video card to my amazon wish list - my old one is just that... getting old.

I still don't know what to get BHK for her Birthday next month. Tricky when we've already got the bulk of our hubbub out of the way now - she doesn't really want for furniture or jewelry or books.... I suspect I'll have to take a slightly different tactic.

Folks in the lunchroom today were making claims that "USA torture isn't as bad as foreign torture" - Isn't that splitting hairs? Drowning to get info someone isn't torture?

Light supper tonight - tube and cool dinner on the love couch. Some pre-emptive fireworks being launched by the neighbors.



DevilPlay.de is a free German online gaming site that features a handful of solitaire, arcade-style games as well as three multiplayer games. While two of those titles are Vier Gewinnt (Connect Four) and Revello (Othello), the other one is Ingo Althöfer’s fascinating EinStein würfelt nicht!.

Bonus mini-review – The goal of the basic two-player game is simple: Get one of your stones to the opposite corner or eliminate all of your opponent’s stones by landing on them. Your six stones are numbered 1-6, and on a turn you roll a six-sided die and move the stone with that number or the stone closest to that number. Movement is always toward the opponent’s goal.


It amazes me how many people don't go to non-english websites. (google will translate it for you. )



More news from my neck of the woods -

PRINCE FREDERICK, MD - In the middle of the afternoon on Sunday, Police were called to the Rite Aid in Prince Frederick for a theft. According to a press release, at 3:45 p.m. an employee of the store called police to report that an unknown suspect stole more than $1100 worth of electric toothbrushes from the store.
The employee described the thief as a medium build white male. The reports states that the man filled two baskets with the items and then fled the store. His getaway was achieved with a green Ford Thunderbird, however, the store's surveillance video was able to record the suspect during the broad daylight theft.
Deputy Seth Mitchell is continuing the investigation.



1 year ago
- office fire drill - picture, tough sleep, newsom visit, lonesome george the turtle, openads, s'mores and viedo games

2 years ago - newtcam pic from fl, bhk news, pirate game with danny, talking heads - flowers

3 year ago - work interference, flickr sparkler pics, wet tech support and onions, tag cloud, latex vader gal, pirate radio, Andy in clink, newt pic

4 years ago - bulk silly putty, this day in sky-history, smoke & mirrors, Lizard update, classic elo, newt pic, mr fixit, palm update

5 years ago - dreams, cams, logic, anatomy, giant sea creatures, hipaa, talk with gray pumpkin, cej chat

6 years ago - trepanation, Cap'n Feathersword, bed arrives, naked clothes, father in my cough

7 years ago - Pest callers, eagles nest tea room, stress relief poll, grumbles, beach

8 years ago - Choice Quotes, Nixon and Coca-ColaGeotarget



 
 
Current Location: 20714
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: tv playing in the background inaudibly