And so, April comes to an end. Seeya next year, April! Wasn't too bad of one this year, all told. Some stresses, some solutions... it seems to have come and gone fairly rapidly.

Was I just doing taxes 2 weeks ago? It seems like months. I'm still getting the occasional treat at http://drop.io/scottobear , feel free to drop something off, or pick something up. I removed the m4ps, but the mp3 music is still out there.

Had the in-laws over - BHk made pseudo-beef stroganoff, baked zucchini and corn on the cob - a fine dinner which caused me to consume with gusto... and too much.

Back was doing pretty well until I hit the sack - laying straight caused some medium discomfort. I think I'll take my night meds a half hour before bed for maximum ease.

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Recent photos -

. . .

ATW man is just sitting on the roof.. waiting for the owner to come up with a new plan, I guess... Mother's Day is coming... maybe we'll get to see his mama!

Also shown, our dancing robots, captured in the wee hours of the morning. I think that the designers gave the girl a lot more personality, but I think that they're both very cute.

 Oh, I forgot one - speaking of robots - the Wall-E bench.

there's a heart on the seat - Wall-E + Eve

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A google search for scottobear homebrew gives about 86 results. So, BHK - I do use the term homebrew every here and there! neener neener. Funny thing is that BHK did a search independent of mine, and got a more valid result of about 31. She just thinks it's a funny word for me to use.

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A male orangutan, clinging precariously to overhanging branches, flails the water with a pole, trying desperately to spear a passing fish.

It is the first time one has been seen using a tool to hunt.

The extraordinary image, a world exclusive, was taken in Borneo on the island of Kaja, where apes are rehabilitated into the wild after being rescued from zoos, private homes or even butchers' shops.

"Orang hutan" means "forest man" in one of Indonesia's many languages and our long-armed cousins do indeed show a remarkable ability to mimic our behaviour.

This individual had seen locals fishing with spears on the Gohong River.

Although the method required too much skill for him to master, he was later able to improvise by using the pole to catch fish already trapped in the locals' fishing lines.

The image is part of a series taken for a new book, The Thinkers Of The Jungle, which also includes the first photograph of an orangutan swimming.

Thinkers Of The Jungle, by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, is published by Ullmann Publishing on May 5.

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1 year ago - TM sullen, gardening, ohio offer, heroes, rpg supers, free software

2 years ago - plazes, car accident, mustache finger tattoos, bibliochaise, rush arrested, barking kitty, orbit cam, Guten Drudennacht! Time for der Hexen-Orgie!, greathatsby

3 years ago - Hitchhiker's, Dr. Who, Dont Cry Kitty, torrents, ebay victory, front pages, walkies pix, key/class quiz

4 years ago - Drudennacht (Walpurgisnacht), email dopes, gmail auction, gamedevelopers, Mod a disposable cam into a stun-gun, Chickens like to eat scorpions, T2 espanol question

5 years ago - Where the hell meme, boobah, timetable entry, tripped and went to the hospital on my back, slow trip home

6 years ago - a day in the life doodle, Osbournes, Chupa/tia fight, Star Map (Awesome! I forgot about this!), give bro some DVD-fu, broken pic links I have to fix

7 years ago - music confession, bug farts, fiction, wrote a encryption toy for CEJ and me to chit chat, underwear poll, AL Amarjan Slang, McCafe, lederhosen,SOP - "you forgot the gravy"

Garage sale across the down today after shots... Our first blush on the way to the doctor wasn't that successful.. saw old clothes and lots of little bits of junk here and there. Quickie lunch at Mexico and then back to the town to shop. 

Our hope was to find some good furniture - nothing amazing really stood out. BHK asked what I'd want to see at my ideal yard sale... my response was a mummified monkey head, some old heathkit robots maybe, and maybe a retired super-scientist's collection of prototype death rays and forcefield belts. 

What we did was pick up a few dvds, more than a couple of "chick lit" books, wall art, a teaching chess set, two toy robots and A ROBOT MONKEY !

We didn't spend more than $20 total for the lot - The 'bots were the bulk of the cost, at $4.50 each. Puzzles were a quarter, dvds a buck a pop, and books were a big bundle for $3.

Came home, chilled out and enjoyed BHK's nom nom nommy thai cabbage soup. 

Forgot to mention that yesterday also heralded the arrival of our blue robot boy to pair up with our pink robot hula girl. The girl is cuter, but they make a fine little dancing pair.

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1 year ago - calvert coworkers, 6 months thoughts, palm doodles, mr mind, pollen

2 years ago - world history, folkvine, pocket charger, jw cordon

3 years ago - Egyptian origins, clown confession, big brown bear, trix returns to simplicity, hugs, fleet week, chitchat w myid8myego, kind entry, country bears movie, human gene in rice, funeral dance, FL gun law self defense, energy crisis, Cheney & Abadullah

4 years ago - Godchecker's Mythology Encyclopedia, Andy Griffith factoid, CS out, Cute Newt Pic

5 years ago - seafood fest, gift exchange

6 years ago - Foomy goes poof, nifty human tricks, Quick little story, full moon thoughts, Prof. Eben Norton Horsford.

7 years ago - bricolage, misc news, email tags, lj burp, uck, how to catch a polar bear, prezzies

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

Forgot to note the Transformer we saw at Mexico last night-



Full size shows the Autobot logo, and stenciled "interceptor"

Somebody remind me to take the camera proper when I go out!

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BHK made some awesome veggie pocket-pies and a sort of paella with rice, veg broth, broccoli, green pepper, peas and a smidge of garlic and onion powder... brand new, and tasted great!

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50 things I've done (or, the meme that would not die... ) meme continues with item 30. I...

30.' had surgery for my back a couple of times now - the first was over a decade ago when I was working for the library - the next was in October 2003 to deal with scar tissue built up from the first, and deal with other issues. Depending on what happens on wednesday, I may be getting another operation.... I'd like to hope that a simple shot of muscle relaxer will do, but I'm feeling that this is a serious issue, unfortunately.

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1 year ago - bhk takes a pic of Newt and I snoozin'

2 years ago - bday via eryx, monkeys and kitties, compusa fails me, quizzes, morrisey vs van halen

3 years ago - apheresis skip, cocktail party, banana man snippet, netflix queue,Ultima 4 Virtue Quiz, system tweaking, ethiopian skellie, dr. who shipping, health and family review, Broward slots, SCI

4 years ago - food, gator bus ride, Voting, business cards, spammed again, MONKEY POPS!

5 years ago - prepared to pee in a cup for TAG, after Nordis tried to toss mysalad... Painted minis in the haunted tunnel... Rockford Scientist

6 years ago - bro came by apt, multi-journal quiz, fear vs love, Fire and Ice, Pliny the Younger

7 years ago - brad Mentions adding a photo server and chat to live journal.... speed hasn't been a real priority on that dev. Meat-eating robots, top atrocities... and the return of a hero

I need a trim. Maybe a haircut this weekend, too? I feel more than a little shaggy.

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I found out today that ol’ RobbChar got engaged! I’m really glad to hear he’s got a partner and a happy life! I may be going to the wedding, in a year’s time or so.

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BHK made tasty Tacos / Taco salad… good eats! I've been spoiled this week food-wise!

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That silly letter meme:Guidelines for propagation: Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the preceding…they have to be actual places, names, things… nothing you fabricate! You must use a name other than your own for the boy and/or girl name prompt(s).What is your name? ScottoFirst word you think of -

4 letter word: Stop
Vehicle: Sputnik
TV Show: Six Million Dollar Man
City: SPARTA!!!
Boy Name: Steve
Girl Name: Sandy
Drink: Sprite
Occupation: Special Olympian (I thought of this before Spy? and Super-hero??)
Something you wear: Socks
Celebrity: Suzanne Somers
Food: Spuds
Something found in a bathroom: Soap (My second answer, actually… translate last answer to English for my first thought)
Reason for Being Late: Sniper (Hey, I do live in DelMarVa now.)
Cartoon Character: Spongebob Squarepants
Something You Shout: Scheisse!

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Abandoned laboratory of studying a human brain - Via Ectomo.

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Three pictures from recent walkabout. Click to embiggen


Two homeless guys from the other day - The PG station on the green line is a pretty sad place. these two had enough resources to stagger on and shamble to a seat…. both were massively out of it, due to disabilities either ingrained or added with outside substances. Possibly both. The next sop, a policeman came aboard and lurked next to them for the bulk of the trip… as soon as he left, they began slap-fist fighting. Nothing serious, but I’m glad I got off at the following stop… it’s just sort of depressing to see folks like that.

Ham-A-Rama! - First sighting of Hickory Farms product…. and it’s called HAM-A-RAMA… contains “cheese food” called Chub, “Beef Stick”, and those little strawberry candies in addition to the aforementioned Ham (with water added).

Flyball - When we went to visit with Amy, I snagged a quick snap of the pooches running… there are some pretty speedy critters that like to play fetch! It was good to see her and her family, however briefly.

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I hate it when Ty is right about stuff like this. I’m pretty sure I’d throw in with robot overlords, too. (Also, Zod in 2008 might work.)From his entry -

We’re already giving up our freedoms — our right to privacy, gone. Warrant-less arrest, gone. Right to have your vote counted is super-gone depending on the state you live in, right to stand trial, gone — we have torture. We already have all the downsides of a supposed robotic takeover, but we’re being cheated of the upside! I say, if this is the world we’re gonna live in anyway, at least let the robot overlords have their shot. World peace, technological utopia — and no crime! The robot overlords’ crime control is swift and merciless.

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1 year ago - little hellcat via ltms, walkabout pics

2 years ago - linen suit, hospital-b’day, no hurricane wilma pay, king kong marketing, olympic mascots, carl douglas, bebop, bus lady pics
pictures taken - bus lady

3 years ago - sleepy, book fair, mcD toys, Mr’s 5 & 11, $ meme, mozilla, NH child sacrifice

4 years ago - GP mails me about glued things, National hits, vampire duck of death, reverse dictionary, top 10 scientific hoaxes.

5 years ago - Judge Newt-pic, average debt, boo-bees, elephant veggie burgers

6 years ago - Mongo, EOWM, frugivore, folivore

7 years ago - bare feet, clowns, in your eyes, DB swipes laptop from IMT

BHK made some lovely lunch for herself and Cathy - stir fried veggies over brown rice. I snarfed that down for supper as soon as I got home - she opted instead to have leftover hot dogs grilled yesterday.

I wonder if Gorbachev would have gone through with Glasnost if he knew it'd lead to this:( ... )

After wrapping up an online conference last Thursday, Putin took a few minutes to answer several of the most-popular questions sent in by Russian Internet users ( ... )

when reporters asked him after the conference whether Russia planned to use “gigantic, humanoid war robots” to defend itself.

Asked to elaborate about what he meant, Putin said: “These are unmanned aerial vehicles. And maybe the time will come for gigantic robots. ( ... )

Asked about the possible awakening of the giant mythical octopus Cthulhu, the fourth-most popular question among the more than 150,000 sent to Putin, he said that he believed something more serious was behind the question. Cthulhu was invented by novelist H.P. Lovecraft and was said to be sleeping beneath the Pacific Ocean.

Putin said he viewed mysterious forces with suspicion and advised those who took them seriously to read the Bible, Koran or other religious books.( ... )



Yesterday jwz posted a link to an article about how plastics are choking the oceans. It talks about the North Pacific subtropical gyre, a swirling mass of water between California and Hawaii that's slowly been collecting various plastics for years. This mass of plastic is now twice the size of the state of Texas and just sort of hanging out, slowly swirling around like a giant toilet bowl.

The most disturbing thing (other than a picture of a turtle whose shell has been deformed by a ring of plastic) is that these plastics are breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces in our water supply.Scientists are still studying the impact ingesting these plastics is having, but some speculate it may be one of the causes of the rising obesity and diabetes rates in first world countries.

Also found via jwz, good news about tinfoil hats. They prevent cancer. Researchers have used low-intensity, intermediate-frequency electric fields to combat an aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The strategy pinpoints tumors without invasive brain surgery and has more than doubled survival time in preliminary studies.

The new approach exploits a cog in the cell-division pathway. When cells divide, a molecular motor called the microtubule spindle helps segregate chromosomes into the resulting daughter cells. Resembling a set of strings, the spindle is made of electrically polar macromolecules that are sensitive to electric fields. Previous work has shown that if a 200-kHz field is applied to these macromolecules, the spindle can't form properly. As a result, cells stop dividing and eventually die.

The device is ideal for those with GBM because it only acts on the brain and lacks chemotherapy's systemic side effects, says Eric Wong, a neuro-oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston , Massachusetts . Because tumor cells in the brain frequently divide, normal brain cells would remain unaffected by the electric fields.



They took JD to the hospital – he’s been very sick, and can’t get his fever any lower than 101 (it’s right at 103 now) - I hope he's ok by now.





Lasse Klein has designed the coolest lamp ever. I would like one, please.



( pie chart meme )



1 year ago - monday, random words, africa, hudson hawk, wireless router config can be tricky, agape, bumper sticker

2 years ago - Blinky arrives and is celebrated, on my path, MP pictures, google thing meme, swingset, sockamagee, Shaq, writing group slacking, SMART BOY..."Jones" CLEANS EVERYTHING BUT THE.."Baby", MI:3 rumors and Scientology powers, meetro, rainy

3 years ago - Laundry done, moribund, hungries, celeb-alikes, mindmap, google-search journal, work issue, radio.blog, pain-ray, newt-yawn pics

4 years ago - bollywood, gay days/ Disney, marketing spongebob cereal

5 years ago - Moscow Tunnel system, fumigation

6 years ago - Paterfamilias , living on bread alone / scurvy, hobos, secret Scotto factoid re:barbershops

7 years ago - nuffin, muffin

here's the full fansubbed first episode of the spiderman tv show - I've hosted it on youtube for ease of viewing and bandwidth issues. (The fans have taken a lot of liberties with the translation, but it's all for fun.)

My gift to GrayPumpkin, Kat, and BeauCoupKev.

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Silly quizzes ( Read more... )

Transferred phones over to MP in Fort Worth, Texas, so the office can be officially closed for the weather while we run missing calls 24/7. Given the wind situation, I expect power to at least flick off and on during the next couple of hours. My big hope is that I can keep electricity throughout the passage of the storm and beyond. Last major event had power out in some areas for up to 3-5 days.

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Somebody buy me this Animatronic Monkey-head. I would love to have this in my office. (it would drive Newt bonkers at home, so it'd have to live at work.)

DEMON ROBOT CHIMP!

The Alive Chimpanzee has 4 distinct moods: curious, fearful, angry and happy. The moods can be changed through user interaction. If he's feeling curious he may blink, frown and raise his eyebrows making for one inquisitive primate. Just don't make him angry as he will snarl, growl and scream. He can be calmed down by stroking or patting his head; but use caution when touching his ears or the back of his head, for that might make for one ferocious creature. If the chimpanzee is feeling fearful he will whimper or whine, and he might shake and close his eyes shut tightly.

Only $149.

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Dangerous time-waster... not pr0n.. I guess this was a well -kept secret from me, since there's a lj community for help (but not spoilers) notpron. It's a pretty fun puzzle, so far, I'm at 10.

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San Fran in Jello. (not to mention these super non-jello train sets... nice detail!)

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Moment of Lyric: mp3

Instrumental, so have some visual interpretations by the Disney gang from Fantasia. Nice for the Halloween Season, and the storm outside.

( Hooray for Chernabog! )

The Wiki entry about the musical piece, natch.

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10 things you should do to every Windows PC at the very least, put in cleartype and set up backup points.

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1 year ago - walkabout, considering a tablet, nostalgia, "A SUV with an American flag on it is like a whore wearing a rosary.", Ashlee Simpson snl, Top-Earning Fictional Characters, nuptial ghost,

2 years ago - big booty nurse says no, hospital pictures, Flesh-Eating Infection hits fishermen

3 years ago - sniper is caught, Dreamt I was a professional shopper, Picture of Hala & I work on a battle tank, chocolate frosted apple-filled doughnut, Salem PD, Scarecrows

4 years ago - created my palm sync icon, pneumonia, cooking with Bigfoot, Library Dream, scroll lock

5 years ago - Toy Story 2 recall, Utburds