Ren Fest

It's not what it used to be before the amusement park people bought it up. It is so crassly commercial now it bears little resemblance to the festival I went to for the first time 21 years ago while hugely pregnant with the prodigal son.

It was hot and humid, but I still enjoyed myself. There were people to stare at - whom I would dearly have liked to take snaps of as an object lesson of what not to wear in public - and lemonade and pretzels and having friends pop over for a surprise visit to help me celebrate my birthday. There was wine with the King's feast which I really shouldn't have drunk - especially not three glasses of - since I was driving home. There was a very lovely breeze through the pines and oaks every once in a while that cooled us down and made the air echo with the sound of leaves laughing at the wind.

The drive up was leisurely and relaxed. We joined a caravan of weekend warriors from several area motorcycle clubs out for a jaunt. I would guess there were 100 or more riders cruising along in their various club colors. The ride back was also leisurely but nothing as interesting as the bikers offered up any distraction.

And now, the pictures . . .

What I unaffectionately call the Roman Coliseum that now encompasses the jousting field . . .



The living statue . . .



The ATM huts that the best friend and I took to calling the Mexican outhouses . . .



The wedding chapel and the rose garden . . .



The children's carousel (and a pretzel vendor) . . .



The chain mail shop hawking its wares . . .



I have not a clue who these people were supposed to be, but the masks were beautiful . . .



Some jousting . . .



And lastly but very definitely not leastly, the friends who arranged for us all to attend the King's feast and who popped over to pay a surprise visit for my birthday, I present the best friend's brother and the best friend's brother's wife (and a guest appearance by the shade of birthday present in the first photo.)

In keeping with the day

Four from Epilogue:

Doctor A : Pumpkin King

bao pham : Halloween: Pumpkins

Terry Robinson : A Closer Look?

Maja Krzyzanowska : happy halloween

A quick peek

This is the best friend this morning before we wore ourselves out shopping.

This is a mural being painted on the side of a building that houses a theatre. One set of characters on the mural look like zombies to me.

A close up of the part of the mural that reminds me of zombies. I'm not sure who these people are supposed to be. The best friend guessed they might have been meant to be Dean Martin and possibly Frank Sinatra. Don't know. They just look like zombies to me.

And I've finally got a snap of the intersection of This Way and That Way. See, people, I wasn't kidding.

And lastly, just to round things out, a snap of moss in a tree. It looked really pretty in person.

Scarcity

I shall probably be very scarce until Monday or Tuesday. The best friend arrived last night to spend the weekend helping me celebrate my birthday. I expect to be on the move until I drop her off at the airport Monday morning for her flight back home.

Play nice while I'm gone!

Anything for $20

A woman was sitting at a bar enjoying an after work cocktail with her girlfriends when an exceptionally tall, handsome, extremely sexy middle-aged man entered.

He was so striking that the woman could not take her eyes off him.

The young-at-heart man noticed her overly attentive stare and walked directly toward her.

Before she could offer her apologies for so rudely staring, he leaned over and whispered to her, "I'll do anything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky, for $20.00......on one condition."

Flabbergasted, the woman asked what the condition was.

The man replied, "You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three words."

The woman considered his proposition for a moment, then slowly removed a $20 bill from her purse, which she pressed into the man's hand along with her address.

She looked deeply into his eyes, and slowly, and meaningfully said...





"Clean my house."

Domino Artwork

Wow.

Flickr: Photos tagged with eclipse

Here's a slew of eclipse photos people have posted. It really was a blood moon last night.

ScientificAmerican.com | Mini Human Species Unearthed

In what is being hailed as one of the most spectacular paleoanthropological finds of the past century, researchers have unearthed the remains of a dwarf human species that survived on the Indonesian island of Flores until just 13,000 years ago. The discovery significantly extends the known range of physical variation in our genus, Homo, and reveals that H. sapiens shared the planet with other humans much more recently than previously believed. -- read the rest.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Hobbit' joins human family tree

Scientists have discovered a new and tiny species of human that lived in Indonesia at the same time our own ancestors were colonising the world.

The three-foot (one-metre) tall species - dubbed "the Hobbit" - lived on Flores island until at least 12,000 years ago. -- read the rest.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Cats suffer stress, experts say

Cats can suffer from stress-related illness like humans, a study by animal experts suggests.

Rivalry with another cat is the biggest source of feline anxiety closely followed by moving home or the arrival of a new member of the owner's family. -- read the rest.

One last shot

The moon has risen above the clouds and I got one last shot of it. This photo was taken about 9:30 p.m. Doesn't much look like the moon and there is nothing else in the picture to use as a reference point. To the naked eye, the moon is kind of a reddy brown. It's times like this I wish I had a much better camera so I could take decent pictures.

Clouds have rolled in

And you can't see the eclipse anymore. I'll keep checking 'cause I'd like to see it, but who knows if the clouds will clear up.

The prodigal son

These are snaps I took of the prodigal son while he was talking to his sister on the phone.

The beginning of the eclipse

I took this photo at about 8:30 p.m. The lower left bit of the moon is starting to be eclipsed.

Itsy bitsy revision

I've made an itsy bitsy revision to the site. I've added a menu and a couple of pages of other stuff under the Library menu option.

Total lunar eclipse

I just found out the Houston area gets a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night. That should be neato to see. While I was reading the information on the eclipse, the prodigal son stuck his head into my room to ask if he could rent some video games. I told him about the eclipse tomorrow. He asked me where and I, with the straightest of faces, answered, "Outside."

Sometimes it's good to be a smart ass.

When life hands you lemons

I've stopped making lemonade. I've moved on to making room deodorizer instead.

I just got back from taking my car to the dealership to find out what that interesting noise is it makes when I press the accelerator. My something or other valve is kaput and the part will have to be ordered. It should be in "sometime next week". The something or other valve has to do with the fuel system and driving with it broken shouldn't cause any damage to the car, but I will get really rotten gas mileage until it is replaced.

Really rotten gas mileage? You mean the rotten gas mileage this particular model gets isn't really rotten to begin with? Gosh, who'd have thunk it?

Ha, I almost forgot the good news. The valve is covered under my extended warranty so it won't cost me an arm and two legs to replace. -- See, room deodorizer.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Mozart's relatives face DNA tests

Researchers in the Austrian city of Salzburg have dug up the bodies of relatives of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a search for DNA samples.

The scientists hope to find out if a skull currently held at Mozart's memorial foundation in the city is his. -- read the rest.

One from Epilogue

Rachel Anderson : Peter...

Rodomontade

from Dictionary.com:

rodomontade \rod-uh-muhn-TADE; roh-duh-; -TAHD\, noun:
Vain boasting; empty bluster; pretentious, bragging speech; rant.

Rodomontade comes from Italian rodomontada, from Rodomonte, a great yet boastful warrior king in Italian epics of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. At root the name means "roller-away of mountains," from the Italian dialect rodare, "to roll away" (from Latin rota, "wheel") + Italian monte, "mountain" (from Latin mons).

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Children, children!

(If the title link has gone out of date, click here for the saved image.)

Leafy Sea Dragons

Sea Dragons are arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean fish. Though close relatives of sea horses, sea dragons have larger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. Sea dragons feed on larval fishes and amphipods, such as and small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids ("sea lice"), sucking up their prey in their small mouths. Many of these amphipods feed on the red algae that thrives in the shade of the kelp forests where the sea dragons live. -- read the rest and see the pictures.

If I were the devil - version 2

If I were the devil . . .

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that a 3000-year-old collection of superstition and mythology called the 'Bible' was a more valid guide to the modern world than reason and science;

I would promote an attitude of valuing economic expansion and personal wealth over people and the environment, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe an entire population into placing the greatest tax burden on their poorest citizens;

I would convince people that image rather than achievement was the most important issue when it comes to leadership;

I would ensure that men maintained control over women's bodies and sexuality;

I would make it socially acceptable to deny terminally ill patients the right to end their own lives with dignity, and instead force them to spend their final days in continual pain and suffering;

I would promote the exploitation and suffering of animals as much as possible, so that business profits would be valued more than treating living things humanely;

I would coerce schoolchildren into worshiping my god and call it "freedom of religion";

I would get control of the government by stealing elections and leading the country into unnecessary wars, so that I could twist the laws of the nation to suit my agenda;

I would attack minorities, foreigners, women, homosexuals, and every other powerless group, the backbone of any nation;

I would force couples to remain in unworkable marriages. Unhappy people are easier to control;

I would suppress freedom of speech and expression, and I would call it protecting society;

I would convince the world that people choose to be homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be reviled and demonized;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few bigoted religious zealots who refer to their agenda as Christian;

I would persuade people that the Bible, a book that condones xenophobia, slavery, subordination of women, and stoning people to death, is a relevant guide to modern life;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

If I were the devil - version 1

If I were the devil . . .

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

If I haven't mentioned it before

I'd like to say that Microsoft's Internet Explorer is a worthless pile of bovine excrement. I've been trying to tweak this blog template to make it look the way I want and it works just fine in the newest versions of the Mozilla browsers, but it looks like crap in IE. I am so tired of trying to figure out what IE wants that nobody else does.

Fight for democracy

"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election." -- Bill vaughan

Aristotle and brain activity

"Aristotle was famous for knowing everything. He taught that the brain exists merely to cool the blood and is not involved in the process of thinking. This is true only of certain persons." -- Will Cuppy

Décor has been updated

OK. I've changed the décor again. This is just the first pass of this version. I'm still tweaking it. Let me know if anything looks bad or doesn't work right. I've tried testing it, but since I'm so close to it I'm sure I've overlooked something.

Two more from Epilogue

Selina Fenech : Moonlit Magic

Selina Fenech : Little Boy Blue

Little Suzie still running after all the updates

Well, I've been putting Little Suzie through her paces and she's held up like a champ. Other than a couple of annoying informational messages telling me I'm moving from a secured site to an unsecured site - or possibly vice versa - nothing I have installed on her seems to care I've upgraded to SP2 for XP Home.

While I was at it, I downloaded and installed the newest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, and the Mozilla suite. All three products are working as expected which makes me so very happy 'cause I really like my Thunderbird.

I'm tired again. The cats are all zonked out and my knees ache from sitting too low on the sofa to type on the computer. I think I'm going to go zonk out myself.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Unknown actor lands Superman role

Little-known US actor Brandon Routh has been cast as the man of steel in the new Superman film, due out in 2006. The 25-year-old from Iowa will fill the role famously played by Christopher Reeve, who died earlier this month. -- read the rest.

Ow!

I'm sitting at my desk at work with half my face numb. I just got back from the dentist. Despite the numb, my teeth hurt. Badly. If I could figure out how to drink something without drooling it all over myself, I'd take some Advil. And the numb isn't really numb numb - it tingles like when your foot falls asleep and then wakes up. Ugh!

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Updated Windows

I decided to take the plunge and update my laptop. It's running Windows XP Home - I prefer XP Pro but XP Home is what Little Suzie came with - and so far the plunge into SP2 appears to be painless though it was very time consuming. I spent about six hours updating the OS as well as a few other programs. So far there have been no hiccups or glitches, but I've only verified my Symantec Anti-virus is still working and that I can surf the 'net. Since it is already past my bedtime, doing a more thorough evaluation of the upgrade will have to wait until tomorrow.

The King's Feast

Got an email from the best friend last night. She's treating me to the King's Feast at Ren Fest as my birthday present. Woohoo!

Wired News: Fish Tales Solve Genetic Puzzles

A species of puffer fish has helped scientists identify 900 human genes that went previously unnoticed. -- read the rest.

Job Growth Record by President

President George W. Bush is on his way to one of the worst records for job growth for any president in more than half a century. Nearly 1.6 million private-sector jobs have been lost since Bush became president. -- see the graphic.

Thomas Jefferson once said

"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." -- Ronald Reagan

The Mother Muffin Affair

I just stumbled across an episode of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. starring Boris Karloff . . . in drag . . . with pink hair. I think this episode falls under the category of "Now I've seen everything!" I wish I'd stumbled across the episode at the beginning of it instead of half way through. It looked to be a hoot.

I can actually remember watching The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. as well as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. when I was knee high to a grasshopper, but I don't really remember anything specific about either show except that I had a crush on Mark Slate (the character Noel Harrison played in 'Girl') and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum in 'Man'). Even at that tender age I was a sucker for a man with an accent.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch uncover diary of Nazi camp

The diary of the dark days a Jewish teenager spent in a Nazi detention camp awaiting deportation has come to light in the Netherlands.

Helga Deen, 18, wrote the diary during the three months she spent in the camp in 1943 so her Dutch boyfriend could understand what she was experiencing. -- read the rest.

Living la vida bleh

I'm feeling particularly uninspired. After the incredible high of house cleaning last week, I've sunk into the doldrums of not wanting to do much of anything except sit in a corner and watch the paint on the wall age. I'm still plugging away at redoing my blog décor and I expect to have it done just in time to decide I don't like it after all. I have managed to finish one book, read a second, and start a third, but I don't really feel much like reading. I've gotten bored with crocheting so my curtain has been sitting untouched wherever it was I put it to keep it away from the kittens who don't play with my yarn while I'm crocheting but love to toss it around when I'm not.

I did watch the Farscape mini-series and that's left me depressed. I don't like the sense of impending finality it engendered. Oh, well. All good things must come to an end (mostly because shortsighted hacks obsessed with money can't see past the ends of their noses.)

I'm still looking forward to Ren Fest tho' that might change if the weather doesn't. I would rather it be a fair, breezy day than one of these muggy, heavy days we've been having. I don't do muggy very well and I always wind up miserable.

Oh, well. I've got about half hour of lunch left so I think I'll work on the new décor for a bit.

BBC NEWS | Health | Baby sex link to domestic status

The living arrangements of parents at the time a baby is conceived may play a role in determining its sex, research suggests. -- read the rest.

Hidden in a British Museum basement: the lost Ark looted by colonial raiders

On a shelf in a locked basement room underneath the British Museum, are kept 11 wooden tablets; they are covered in purple velvet. And no one among the museum's staff - including Neil MacGregor, the director - is permitted to enter the room.

The tablets - or tabots - are sacred objects in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the most important of the 500 or so priceless Magdala treasures, looted by Britain from Ethiopia in 1868 and now held in this country. For almost two decades, the only people allowed access have been Ethiopian church clergy; it is considered sacrilegious for anyone else to see them. -- read the rest.

Scotsman.com News - Top Stories - Blair runs out of support over Baghdad mission for Black Watch

TONY Blair was left isolated last night as his decision to send Black Watch soldiers into Iraq’s infamous Sunni Triangle to cover American troops was greeted with total opposition.

Even pro-war MPs refused to back the deal with the United States.-- read the rest.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Early problems hit Florida voting

Technical glitches and long queues took the sheen off the first day of early voting in the US state of Florida. -- read the rest.

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Teenagers!

(If the title link has gone out of date, click here for the saved image.)

Idealism

"Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows." -- David T. Wolf

The New York Times > National > The G.I.'s: Soldiers Saw Refusing Order as Their Last Stand

JACKSON, Miss., Oct. 17 - What does it take for a man like Staff Sgt. Michael Butler, a 24-year veteran of the Army and the Reserve who was a soldier in the first Persian Gulf war and a reserve called up to fight in the current war in Iraq, to risk everything by disobeying a direct order in wartime? -- read the rest.

Note: The New York Times requires a log in account to read articles. I strongly recommend getting either a dummy yahoo or hotmail account for these kind of sites.

The early bird gets the vote - The Daily Texan - Top Stories

Early voting began this morning in Travis County, and the University Democrats want to be the first in line to cast their ballots.

Starting Sunday night at 9:30 p.m., the University Democrats sponsored an all-night slumber party in front of the Undergraduate Library called Voterama. The UGL is one of many early voting locations. -- read the rest.

t r u t h o u t - GOP Faces 'Civil War' over Bush's Faith Based Rule

In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House's displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn't fully comprehend - but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency.

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality - judiciously, as you will - we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." -- read all of it.

Elmer L. Andersen: Why this Republican ex-governor will be voting for Kerry

Throughout my tenure and beyond as the 30th governor of this state, I have been steadfastly aligned -- and until recently, proudly so -- with the Minnesota Republican Party.

It dismays me, therefore, to have to publicly disagree with the national Republican agenda and the national Republican candidate but, this year, I must.

The two "Say No to Bush" signs in my yard say it all." -- read the rest.

Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised

Every once in a while, the prodigal son reminds me he can be a good kid as well as the pain in the ass he usually is. I've been telling him all week long that I'd like to clean house this weekend so what did he do today? He cleaned house. And mowed the yard. And washed a bunch of laundry. And he did all of this without a word from me. As a matter of fact, he started cleaning while I was playing on the computer this morning. I didn't start helping until about lunch time when I finally realized he was home and I only realized he was home because he got the vacuum cleaner out of my room where I was computing.

The living room is almost completely done. There are still three boxes left to unpack and two boxes filled with books I've promised a friend that I haven't delivered to her yet. And the floor where the rest of the boxes were stashed still needs to be vacuumed, but everything else has been cleaned and sorted and stashed or trashed.

The guest room still has boxes in it as well, but they've been neatly moved out of the way and the bookcases put against the wall so I can store the rest of my books there. The carpet has been vacuumed and all the guest sheets have been washed and the bed made.

The only rooms that didn't get touched today were the kitchen, the hallway, and my room. There's a stack of dirty laundry in the middle of the hallway and the floor needs washing, but the runner has been vacuumed. The kitchen is a complete mess and I'll probably tackle it tomorrow by myself because the prodigal son is under some sort of moral imperative to leave the kitchen a mess when it is one or to make it a mess when it isn't. And I won't even mention what kind of a mess my room is.

We done good today.

And it was a lovely day. There was a nice little breeze. I tuned the air conditioner off and opened the windows and let the house air out. The cats loved it. They took turns sitting in the open windows looking outside and napping. During the heat of the day it was a raging 76F in the house.

And now I'm tired. I actually fell asleep while trying to watch Enterprise but I woke up when I realized I was dreaming about being asleep. I will probably go to bed early. Or I may stay up late and read. Who knows? At any rate, I'm going to fix myself a nice tall glass of very cold water and curl up with my book on the couch.

Enjoying a cool breeze

Rainbow and Mouse sitting in the window enjoying a cool breeze on a very lovely autumn day.

An itch you can't scratch

I just got back from a trip to the dentist. Half my face is numb. I keep biting my tongue though I have no idea how badly I've bitten it because I can't feel anything. And I'm clenching my teeth because I can't feel half of them either. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is this itch on the numb part of my chin that won't go away because I can't feel myself scratching it. Why can I feel an itch when I can't feel anything else? That just isn't fair.

CNN.com - Transcript: Bush, Kerry debate domestic policies - Oct 14, 2004

SCHIEFFER: Gentleman, welcome to you both.

By coin toss, the first question goes to Sen. Kerry.

Senator, I want to set the stage for this discussion by asking the question that I think hangs over all of our politics today and is probably on the minds of many people watching this debate tonight.

And that is, will our children and grandchildren ever live in a world as safe and secure as the world in which we grew up?

And now for something completely mundane

The front came through, the temperature dropped, and the rain is here. We'll have a couple of cool days before the temperature goes back into the 80s.

I was going to watch the third presidential debate, but I got caught up in working on a new blog template and forgot all about it. I really don't expect that either of the candidates said anything new and I'm sure they bashed each other in the same old tired, boring ways so I probably didn't miss much. I'll read all the pundits tomorrow to catch up.

Yep, I'm working on another template redesign. This one is going to take me a while longer to do because this one isn't just a modification of my existing template. I'm trying to get intimately familiar with CSS and I can tell you honestly that I'm not loving it.

I unpacked two more boxes tonight. Big ones this time. At the rate of two boxes a night, I should have the boxes in the living room unpacked in seven days. These boxes didn't hold knickknacks. They were full of miscellaneous stuff like documents that need filing and leftover Christmas cards and old notebooks. I actually sorted through everything and I managed to half fill a tall kitchen garbage can with clutter I didn't need to keep. I done good!

Camera case my eye teeth!

It's a frelling overnight bag. It's big enough I can put in a change of clothes, the entire contents of my purse, my cell phone, my camera, and a sandwich for lunch. It's huge! The camera fits into one of the compartments in the small, detachable outside pocket. Gagh! This case is going to be a pain to drag around at the Ren Fest.

(But it will be nice for when I go visiting because I can take my docking station with me so I can recharge my batteries and transfer photos to my computer which also goes visiting with me.)

NASA - Great Observatories May Unravel 400-Year-Old Supernova Mystery

"Four hundred years ago, sky watchers, including the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler, best known as the discoverer of the laws of planetary motion, were startled by the sudden appearance of a "new star" in the western sky, rivaling the brilliance of the nearby planets." - read the rest.

Speaking of endless mindless prattle

Guess what I did tonight? I unpacked two small boxes of 'stuff' and put all the 'stuff' out for display on my bookcases. I've been in the house a little over a year and I still have boxes and boxes and boxes of 'stuff' I haven't unpacked yet. The cats had a field day with the boxes and the bubble wrap. I didn't have the camera handy and I was very inspired - don't ask me why - to put all my 'stuff' up, so I didn't catch any snaps of the little furry monsters having fun.

And guess what else? I have a family of raccoons living in my attic. The prodigal son took a peek this evening because we kept hearing scrabbling noises coming from over our heads. I get to spend tomorrow trying to find someone to come evict my unwanted tenants and then I have to figure out how they got in so that I can keep them out. I also have to get someone up in the attic to figure out what kind of damage they've done to the insulation and duct work and wiring and whatever else is up there. Jeez!

And while I'm prattling on like this, you know what really, really, really irritates the dickens out of me? Misuse of the pronoun "I". Drives me nuts. I just want to smack people when I hear it done or see it written. Argh! The rule is really simple. "I" comes before the verb and "me" comes after the verb or preposition.

"John gave me some candy."

"John gave Gloria and me some candy."

"John gave the candy to me."

"John gave the candy to Gloria and me."

OK, I'm done being a grammar Nazi. You have my permission to go back to your regularly scheduled life.

Glitch be gone!

Whatever the glitch was that kept me from posting until tonight apparently went away all by its lonesome some time around four this afternoon. I received an email from blogger support with a 4:07 p.m. time stamp that basically said whatever the problem was, it had resolved itself. I got home around six-ish and the first thing I did after getting the support email was attempt to post. It worked.

Oh, well. Things are working again so you're no longer being spared my endless mindless prattle.

Ren Fest and birthdays

(I was going to post this last night about 10 p.m. or so but blogger stopped working again just as mysteriously as it started working after the first time it mysteriously stopped working. I still don't know whose problem this is.)

OK, Everwood is over and I'm back to burble.

I'm a Hallowe'en baby and my best friend is coming up the Thursday before my birthday to annoy me. (I know you're reading this so . . . ! ) I'm going to drag her to the Texas Renaissance Festival. The prodigal son and his girlfriend may or may not come along. It depends on whether and when the girlfriend can talk her family into going. If they don't go, then the son and the girlfriend will come with us.

I'm dragging my camera along so I can snap pictures. The last few times I've gone, I didn't have a camera so I have no pictures. But this year is different. I've even ordered a nice little camera bag (today as a matter of fact) for the camera. The bag is supposed to have all sorts of little pockets which means I can stuff my money and ID in the bag so I don't have to drag my purse around as well.

I'm rather looking forward to going. I'm looking forward to snapping some shots during the joust and of the performers and of the people in costume who just wander about. Having this new camera has gotten my shutterbug juices flowing again.

Well . . .

I've spent the last the hour or so trying to publish an entry to my blog and all I kept getting was an error - "001 java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused" - which just disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

Anyhoosits, I was going to burble excitedly about going to the Ren Fest for my birthday at the end of the month with my best friend but silly blogger ate up so much time I'll have to save my burbling for later because Everwood is about to start and I still have to feed the cats and get my TV watching munchies in order.

Two from Epilogue

Michele-lee Phelan : Fierce Fae No. 3 - Dragon Kin

Michele-lee Phelan : Fierce Fae No. 4 - Dryad

A little bit of hope has left the world

USATODAY.com - 'Superman' star Christopher Reeve dies at age 52

What kind of girl are you?

Stumbled across this while I was cruising. I love these silly little test things. The site had two version, one to take yourself and one to take to find out about someone you know. I took both to see if I would come out different. I did, kind of . . .

I am Progressive Girl Click on the picture below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

She is a hybrid of: Academic Girl Progressive Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Is She?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Blissfully unproductive

I've had a blissfully unproductive day. I've read and played games and listened to music. I've yet to turn the television on, but I'm about to go do that. I'll probably continue to be unproductive for a few more hours before I go to bed.

I feel so relaxed. I wish I could bottle this feeling and send free samples to everyone.

Queen of Wands

Cats!

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Men!

(If the title link has gone out of date, click here for the saved image.)

Heru Eyes

Shark Tank: Sometimes the quickest solution is the best one

This pilot fish is the lone IT person at a small manufacturing company. So when the music-on-hold system stops working, you know who has to deal with it.

"The music-on-hold player continuously replayed a CD and fed into the simple phone system we were using," fish says. "Eventually the player broke. Since I had a spare PC in my office, I wired the audio jack on the PC to the phone system, ripped the CD and set the media player to continuous replay.

"I gave myself a pat on the back for coming up with an immediate solution and made a mental note to order a new player the next time I made an equipment purchase."

A few days later, a buddy from another department drops by fish's office so they can spend lunchtime blasting each other in a multiplayer computer game.

"He used the spare PC in my office and I used my workstation," says fish. "We were well into destroying each other when the CEO's secretary frantically burst into my office, scared, panicking.

"She explained in horror that our music on hold had turned into death screams and hellish demonic noises!"

Fish knows instantly what the problem is -- the game's audio was playing on the music-on-hold system -- and he takes instant action. He leaps up, tears the old music-on-hold player from the wall, throws it to the floor and stomps on it.

Meanwhile, his friend quits out of the game on the spare PC, and the music-on-hold system goes silent.

"They bought a new player that day," fish says. "And for a long time, you could still hear them talk about the possessed music-on-hold player."

Hussein Used Oil to Dilute Sanctions (washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Post requires a log in account to view the articles so I have excerpted parts:

"Several American companies on the list, compiled from 13 documents kept by Hussein's vice president and oil minister, were given vouchers to purchase billions of dollars of oil at discounted prices. The U.S. companies are not named in the report because of privacy laws, U.S. officials said."

And:

Hussein survived the most comprehensive embargo ever imposed by subverting the very U.N. program introduced in 1996 to help the Iraqi people survive it. Hussein's government made an estimated $1.7 billion between 1996 and 2003 by shrewdly but secretly manipulating the U.N. oil-for-food program, the report says.

The humanitarian program was backed by the United States as a means of controlling Hussein's oil revenue, which had to be channeled through the United Nations. The world body then had to approve the spending of profits on basic necessities for the Iraqi people. But the former Iraqi leader ordered his regime to come up with an array of plans to sell oil under the table so he could spend the money as he saw fit.

The number of countries and companies involved in the schemes to undermine or challenge U.N. sanctions increased dramatically from the time the oil-for-food program was introduced until Hussein's removal from power last year, the report added.

The Duelfer report concludes that Baghdad exploited the program "to give individuals and countries an economic stake in ending sanctions." Hussein introduced a system of rewards for illegally dealing with Baghdad, while also playing on international sympathy and "successfully arguing its case that the sanctions were harming the innocent."

The success of Hussein's regime in circumventing the U.N. embargo is "grossly obvious," the report says. "It is also grossly obvious how the sanctions perverted not just the [Iraqi] national system of finance and economics, but to some extent the international markets and organizations."

The Bush administration sought yesterday to highlight this aspect of the Duelfer report to counter the finding that Hussein probably had produced no new weapons of mass destruction since 1991, after the U.S.-led coalition forced Iraq to retreat from Kuwait.

CIA Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

CIA Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

He said, he said

CBS News | Text Of Cheney-Edwards Debate | October 6, 2004 05:32:20

TheStar.com - Truth first casualty of Cheney debate style

Who do they remind me of?

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq war debate fuelled by report

Key findings in the report:

"The ISG has not found evidence that Saddam possessed WMD stocks in 2003, but [there is] the possibility that some weapons existed in Iraq, although not of a militarily significant capability."

"There is an extensive, yet fragmentary and circumstantial body of evidence suggesting that Saddam pursued a strategy to maintain a capability to return to WMD after sanctions were lifted... "

"The problem of discerning WMD in Iraq is highlighted by the pre-war misapprehensions of weapons which were not there. Distant technical analysts mistakenly identified evidence and drew incorrect conclusions."

The ISG also published a list of people and groups to whom Saddam Hussein allegedly offered cheap oil in return for their support in trying to get UN sanctions lifted.

Many on the list - drawn from official Iraqi documents - are from Russia, France and China - countries which opposed the war in Iraq.

FoxTrot by Bill Amend

Monkey's rule!

(If the title link has gone out of date, click here for the saved image.)

Whatever happened to fact checking

MSNBC - Ethics panel rebukes DeLay second time

"DeLay, 57, elected in 1984 to a district representing the Dallas suburb of Sugarland, began his ascent after Republicans captured the House in 1994 successfully running for the No. 3 position as majority whip."

Unless Dallas has managed to take over the eastern third of the state of Texas, I'm pretty sure that Sugarland is a suburb of Houston. DeLay, without any approval or support from me, is one of my representatives.

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

I always seem to stumble across the really interesting things just the tiniest bit too late; however, this is one thing I'm not going to let slip past. As part of the Banned Book Week protest (if I can use so strong a word) which ran from September 24 through October 1, bloggers were posting the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 and highlighting those books each had read. Following is the list of books with the ones I have read highlighted:

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Dieby Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

I've only read 15 books/sets on the list. I didn't include the Goosebumps books because I'd only read one to see whether the series was appropriate for my then 10 year old son to read. It was and he did read quite a few of them. I also didn't include Catcher in the Rye because I never finished it. I only read a few chapters before I grew bored with it and put it aside. I also didn't include the Earth's Children series by Auel because I'd only read the first book and none of the others.

Of the books/sets I did read, the only one I had a problem with was the Sleeping Beauty Trilogy written by Anne Rice pseudonymously as A.N. Roquelaure. Those books were basically well written pornography of the S & M variety. As much as I wouldn't recommend anyone read those books, I'm certainly not going to tell anyone they can't read them if they're so inclined. After all, one person's S & M porn might be another person's . . . well . . . S & M porn.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

I wore a pair of the new off-brand, off-style jeans I bought over the weekend. They have these ridiculously bouffant pant legs. I tried to take a picture of them, but, well, someone needed loving . . .

Way back in June we had a really powerful set of thunderstorms hit us. Lighting struck in the neighborhood several times, downing power lines and blowing at least one transformer. As a result of one of these lightning strikes, some of the brick in my front walkway exploded and put a couple of good gouges into my front door . . .

And just because she was sleeping so pretty, here's the Muggle Monster on her favorite afghan . . .

Survey results

"USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." -- David Letterman

BBC NEWS | Health | Medieval surgeons were advanced

Surgeons were carrying out complicated skull operations in medieval times, the remains of a body found at an archaeological dig show.

A skull belonging to a 40-year-old peasant man, who lived between 960 and 1100AD, is the firmest evidence yet of cranial surgery, say its discoverers.

The remains, found in Yorkshire, show the man survived an otherwise fatal blow to the head thanks to surgery.

And today is . . .

October 2 is Name Your Car Day

October 3 is Virus Appreciation Day

October 6 is German-American Day and Come and Take It Day

October 9 is Moldy Cheese Day

October 12 is International Moment Of Frustration Scream Day

October 14 is Be Bald and Free Day and National Dessert Day

October 18 is No Beard Day

October 21 is Babbling Day

October 25 is Punk For A Day Day

October 28 is Plush Animal Lover's Day

October 29 is Hermit Day

Jupiter's Strange Swirls

Many pictures of Jupiter reveal its cloud bands, the Great Red Spot, and other large weather features. But nearer to its poles, the gas giant planet takes on a different and inexplicable look.

The Pizza Moon

This is one of the many images of Jupiter's Moon Io made by the Galileo spacecraft. Io is the most volcanically dynamic object in the solar system, with some three dozen active volcanoes. Some are nearly twice as tall as Mt. Everest, the highest point on Earth.

Dying Stars in the Tarantula Nebula

Images from the Hubble Space Telescope can provide astronomers a wealth of new information. Some of them allow for groundbreaking discoveries. Many, like this one, are not so dramatic science-wise, but the world seems a better place just for having them to look at.

How Far These Stars?

The brilliant stars seen in this image are members of a cluster of about 1,000 stars known as the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. The brightest of the stars are visible to the naked eye on dark nights from Earth and together make a popular target for backyard astronomers.

The Cat's Eye

The Hubble Space Telescope has cast its eye on a fuzzy patch of emissions in space known as the Cat's Eye Nebula, revealing a series of concentric rings in new detail.

Trivial bits

from Dungeon, Fire, & Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades by John J. Robinson

The Crusaders and Knights Templar gave to Europe:

• candy which was made from boiled sugar lumps called al-Kandiq


• muslin which came from Mosul


• gauze which came from Gaza


• Morris Dancers which was an attempt to train peasant soldiers to fight as a unit instead of a mob because the Crusaders believed the Moors could fight so well because they danced together

I got an invite

Woohoo! I got a gmail invite from the New Guy at work so now I (as in my alter ego I) can be reached at gmail (dot) com as well as yahoo (dot) com and hotmail (dot) com. Give me a couple more days and I will own the Internet!

abulia

from Dictionary.com

abulia, also aboulia \uh-BOO-lee-uh; uh-BYOO-\, noun:
Loss or impairment of the ability to act or to make decisions.

Abulia derives from Greek a-, "without" + boule, "will." The adjective form is abulic.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Son of Spam

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

THIS IS A PERSONAL EMAIL T0 YOU ONLY. I AM THE SON OF SPAM SPADE, THE FORMER LOAN OFFICER OF NIGERIA, WHO WAS KILLED BY A RUSSIAN LADY WHO WANTS TO MEET YOU. HIS MORTGAGE RATES WERE SUPERB, BUT HIS PENIS WAS TOO SHORT, SO HE ORDERED 60,000,000 VIAGRA PILLS AND BEFORE HE COULD TAKE THEM HE WAS ASSASINATED BY 5 MILLION EMAIL ADDRESSES AT NO COST TO YOU. NOW I HAVE THESE 60 MILLION VIAGRA PILLS AND SEEK YOUR HELP IN TRANSFERING THEM TO YOUR ACCOUNT.

I AM USING THIS MEDIUM T0 REACH YOU. HOWEVER I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE AND THIS IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL, YOUR CO-OPERATION IS NECESSARY. YOUR RESUME WAS SELECTED AS BEING HIGHLY QUALIFIED, BUT THIS IS NOT SPAM! THIS IS FREEDOM FROM DEBT - CUT YOUR MORTGAGE IN HALF WITH OUR AMAZING REMOTE-CONTROL PASTA POT. THIS OFFER IS FREE. YOU HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO DELETE IT AT ANY TIME.

Y0UR PILLS ARE BEING HELD IN AN INEXPENSIVE DIGITAL CABLE DESCRAMBLER BOX GUARDED BY TEENY TITS CARRYING EXPLOSIVE LOADS. THE LOWEST RATES ARE LOCKED IN, ALONG WITH YOUR FREE GIFT. THESE PILLS MUST BE TRANSFERED TO YOUR ACCOUNT USING A HAND-HELD ORGANIZER WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED FROM A FREE GOVERNMENT-AUCTION WEB SITE. BY VIEWING PHOTOS OF SINGLES IN YOUR AREA, INCLUDING HORNY WIVES, YOU CAN LOOK YOUNGER, LOSE WEIGHT, AND INCREASE YOUR STAMINA WHILE DRIVING PRE-QUALIFIED CUSTOMERS TO YOUR MULTILEVEL PROGRAM AND MAKE OVER $4000 PER MONTH GUARANTEED. THESE PILLS WILL NOT ONLY MAKE YOU LOOK 3" LONGER, THEY WILL GET RID OF YOUR FLEAS AND TICKS FOR GOOD! SIMPLY COPY ANY DVD TO YOUR FREE INTERNET DOMAIN AND BEGIN YOUR ANTI-AGING PROGRAM TODAY.

THE PLAN IS SIMPLE. Y0U WILL USE NORTON SYSTEMWORKS (A $300 VALUE FOR ONLY $38.95) TO PURCHASE 37 MILLION SHARES OF TONER CORP STOCK. THEN YOU WILL MEET ME AT THE WORLD'S SMALLEST DIGITAL CAMERA WITH $30,000 IN CORAL CALCIUM. WARNING: DO NOT TAKE ANY HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE OR YOU WILL NOT QUALIFY FOR YOUR FREE GIFT. ONCE YOU RECONNECT WITH YOUR HIGH-SCHOOL FRIENDS, YOUR FREE CREDIT REPORT WILL BE SENT. WITH THIS REPORT, YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN ONLINE CASINO. ONCE INSIDE THE CASINO, YOU WILL SUBSCRIBE TO KARA'S FREE FAN CLUB, WHERE YOU WILL BE ENTERED IN A DRAWING TO PROTECT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. DO NOT FAIL TO DO THIS, OR I WILL REDUCE THE SIZE OF YOUR PENIS BY THREE INCHES! KARA'S WEB SITE WILL POP UP 6,000 PAGES, ALL OF WHICH YOU WILL HAVE TO CLOSE BY CLICKING THEM. FOR EACH ONE YOU CLICK, TWO MORE WILL APPEAR. AFTER YOU COMPLETE YOUR ONLINE DEGREE (IN 8 MONTHS OR LESS), I WILL SEND YOU A HOT AMATEUR MP3 THAT WILL CONSOLIDATE YOUR DEBT USING ONLINE AUCTIONS. NOT EVEN CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, OR OPRAH WILL KNOW OUR SECRET!

N0W Y0U WILL BE READY TO RECEIVE THE PILLS. YOU WILL USE THE AUCTION SITE TO FIRE YOUR BOSS AND CLAIM YOUR PORTABLE DVD PLAYER FROM THE SECRET ANTI-WRINKLE AGENT. NEXT, BOOST YOUR CELLULAR RECEPTION AND DRIVE OUR TEENY LOLITAS WILD WITH HUMAN PHEROMONES MADE FROM PRE-OWNED INKJET CARTRIDGES. YOU WILL TRADE THE PHEROMONES FOR A SINGLE GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL FILLED WITH A FREE THIRTY-DAY SUPPLY, WHICH WILL ENLARGE YOUR PACKAGE EVEN FURTHER. THE HERBAL INGREDIENTS IN THIS PACKAGE WILL INCREASE YOUR REVENUE PROJECTIONS BY 3" AND CLEAN THE INNER WALLS OF YOUR INTESTINES. REMEMBER, THIS IS NOT A SLEEP REMEDY, THIS AMAZING PRODUCT TARGETS THE BACTERIA THAT ACTUALLY CAUSE SNORING!

0UR PSYCHICS ARE STANDING BY TO TAKE YOUR ORDER. GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND WAIT FOR THE BEEP. YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE ULTIMATE SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH AND A FREE CREDIT CHECK. DEPOSIT THIS CHECK IN A PRE-APPROVED ACCOUNT, AND YOU WILL TAKE HOME 40% OF THE PILLS.

THIS IS A VERY SIMPLE TRANSACTION. THE RESULTS ARE GUARANTEED. THIS IS A COMPLETELY SECURE INVESTMENT. I HOPE YOU WILL HELP ME AND MY FAMILY AS WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED. PLEASE REPLY ASAP.

SINCERELY,

S0N OF SPAM

P.S., IF YOU WANT TO BE REMOVED FROM THIS MAILING LIST, SIMPLY GO TO WWW.UNSUBSCRIBE.COM.

The Great Cat Nap of '04

Stalking the elusive Mouse

That was a day off?

Yesterday was my Friday off.

I woke up at 7-ish. Fed the cats. Did the computer thing. Got dressed. Went out for breakfast which was a lovely leisurely meal coupled with reading several pages of the Robb book.

Came back home and did the computer thing again until it was time to take Heru to the vet for his second of four booster shot visits. The prodigal son drove while I held Heru since we opted not to put him in the carrier this time. He did fairly well. The little stinker put on almost 2 pounds since his first visit to the vet four weeks ago. He is now a svelte but healthy 5 pound kitten. In the month we've had him, he's gone from being very small to being the same size as Rainbow and Mouse. Yikes! Maybe those paws aren't fibbing about the size he'll be.

The son and I dropped Heru off at home so we could get the son a haircut. He went back to his old style, but he did have the very nice woman who cut his hair save his little ponytail so he could give it to his girlfriend. She even put the lock on one of those Baby's First Haircut cards for him. I meant to take pictures of his ponytail and haircut, but I just forgot about it by the time we got home.

Anyway, haircut done, we headed off to the DVM to change the address on the prodigal son's license and to fill out a new voter registration card for him. The DVM was surprisingly empty for the middle of the day. There was no one ahead of us so we were in and out in a flash.

Next stop was the post office to pick up the mail and then on to the shoe store to find a new pair of loafers for me since mine are only being held together by spit and a prayer. Picked up some black loafers for me (I would rather have had brown but there were no brown loafers to be had) and a pair of grey trainers for the prodigal son as well as a pair of Homer Simpson slippers for him. He's been wanting some novelty slippers for the longest time and he was just so excited they had the Homer Simpson's in his size. It's moments like these where I see me in him.

After the shoes, I went next door to the fat lady store while the prodigal son went to puff (yes, he smokes despite constant hassling from me, the entire family, and his girlfriend). I picked up four pair of jeans to replace the ones I'm on the cusp of wearing out. I could only find one pair in my size of the brand and style I prefer so I had to settle for three pair in a brand and style I don't usually wear. Let's face it, when you've worn your jeans so much that the seams are frayed and little tears appear in a new place every time you put them on, it's time to replace them even if you can't quite get what you want.

The prodigal son dropped me off at the mall entrance while he dropped the car off at Jiffy Lube to get a much needed and deserved oil change. He joined me in the mall and we went looking for something he wanted for his XBox. Found it and then walked back to Jiffy Lube to wait for the car. Not only did the good little car get an oil change, she also got a new air filter and the light bulb over the license plate replaced. She was a very happy little car when we left.

Went to McDonald's to pick up something for the son to eat and a soda for me to drink since he was starved (he didn't go to breakfast with me) and I was parched.

Got home and I did the computer thing in my room for a bit while the son went to eat and do the XBox thing in his room. Only the XBox decided it was done doing its thing and made some sizzling noises while it sparked and gave off a very unpleasant ozone smell. The son asked me if he could call tech support and find out what it would take to get the unit fixed - somewhere between $40 and $80. After talking about it for a bit, I decided it would be simpler to buy a new one so off we went to WalMart to get a new unit. They didn't have any so off we went to Target who did have one. The prodigal son got the XBox and I picked up a couple of pretzels for myself.

Got home this time and the son did the XBox thing while I plopped on the sofa to watch Andromeda followed by Joan of Arcadia. Some time after Joan was over, not sure exactly when, the son left to hang with his friends and I fell asleep on the sofa. I woke up about 11-ish when the son and his friends invaded the house. I watched something on TV though I haven't a clue what. I finally went to bed at midnight.

And that was my day off.

And in this corner...

Kerry Wins Debate

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | The secrets of Bush and Kerry's body language

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Key points: Kerry-Bush debate

CBS News | Text Of Bush-Kerry Debate | October 1, 2004 5:20:36

BBC NEWS | Americas | Kerry, Bush clash over Iraq war