Happy Halloween! ARRRRRR!!!!!!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Draw a pig personality test
Now I have 'Zuckerman's Famous Pig' stuck in my head. and I don't know all the words!
"Pig, pig, wonderful pig, Zuckerman's famous pig! la, la, lalala la . . . "
Now I have 'Zuckerman's Famous Pig' stuck in my head. and I don't know all the words!
"Pig, pig, wonderful pig, Zuckerman's famous pig! la, la, lalala la . . . "
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire
Yet another well done web comic. Small wonder I don't read the comics in the papers anymore.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Not sure how long this will be up, but it made me laugh.
"One does not simply walk into Mortor . . . "
"It's Mordor."
"What?"
"With a D."
". . ."
"One does not simply walk into Mortor . . . "
"It's Mordor."
"What?"
"With a D."
". . ."
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
We had the carpeting replaced in the house today. Living Room, Dining Room, stairs and hall. It smells like fresh carpet. Ick! But, after 23 some odd years of everyday wear and tear, it was time.
The company that did it was very thorough. They sealed wood in several places where moisture had gotten through, and, as far as I can tell, fixed squeaks.
Our floors are full of squeaks. You can tell where someone is in the house just by the squeak you hear. The stairs were no exception. Erin and I used to have a game, trying to get down the stairs without making any noise. We knew which steps were the ones to avoid. In recent years, EVERY step made a noise of some sort, so there was no sneaking in late.
The squeaks are gone.
I just spent a good several minutes, running up and down the stairs, trying to get them to make some kind of sound. Nothing but perhaps a gentle creak.
Maybe dad can get some noise out of them?
The company that did it was very thorough. They sealed wood in several places where moisture had gotten through, and, as far as I can tell, fixed squeaks.
Our floors are full of squeaks. You can tell where someone is in the house just by the squeak you hear. The stairs were no exception. Erin and I used to have a game, trying to get down the stairs without making any noise. We knew which steps were the ones to avoid. In recent years, EVERY step made a noise of some sort, so there was no sneaking in late.
The squeaks are gone.
I just spent a good several minutes, running up and down the stairs, trying to get them to make some kind of sound. Nothing but perhaps a gentle creak.
Maybe dad can get some noise out of them?
gridgame.swf (Flash game)
I've been playing this for a good two hours. Somebody please stop me.
Max Score: 2511
I've been playing this for a good two hours. Somebody please stop me.
Max Score: 2511
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Amazon.com: Battle Songs of the Toucan Pirates: Music
Cute. I'm surprised Shanty Raidio hasn't played any of these . . .
Cute. I'm surprised Shanty Raidio hasn't played any of these . . .
Saturday, October 22, 2005
My dad's not a big holiday person. Sure, he'll take a great deal of pride in turkey baking in the winter, but other than that, he's just not interested. Remember this.
My mother, however, loves holidays. It really doesn't matter WHAT holiday it is. I'm surprised she hasn't invited a few for August yet. She plans things a month in advance, and decorates the entire house according to tradition. Now, I'm pretty certain my dad is aware of this. He knows she buys Christmas presents all year round, and usually helps her look for them on the 26th when she realizes they weren't under the tree. How could he have failed to realize that she'd start buying Halloween candy in September and squirrel it away, a bag at a time, in hard to reach places so she won't be tempted to eat them?
Dad, for some reason known only to him, came home with a HUGE bag of wrapped chocolate bars from Costco.
Mom has declared he's no longer allowed to shop there by himself.
Stop by our house on Halloween. We've got enough chocolate to be declared an embassy of Heaven.
My mother, however, loves holidays. It really doesn't matter WHAT holiday it is. I'm surprised she hasn't invited a few for August yet. She plans things a month in advance, and decorates the entire house according to tradition. Now, I'm pretty certain my dad is aware of this. He knows she buys Christmas presents all year round, and usually helps her look for them on the 26th when she realizes they weren't under the tree. How could he have failed to realize that she'd start buying Halloween candy in September and squirrel it away, a bag at a time, in hard to reach places so she won't be tempted to eat them?
Dad, for some reason known only to him, came home with a HUGE bag of wrapped chocolate bars from Costco.
Mom has declared he's no longer allowed to shop there by himself.
Stop by our house on Halloween. We've got enough chocolate to be declared an embassy of Heaven.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Movie Review: Serenity
I never saw Firefly, and the show is apparently already cancelled, but has quite a cult following. The characters were pretty well developed, but the storyline just felt a bit rushed. There was this alliance, see (and we all know, in sci-fi, Alliances are bad) that was experimenting with people, and the heroes naturally had to try and stop them, or at least tell the rest of the galaxy what was going on.
There were many of the classic characters. There was freaky special talents girl, amiable pilot, loving navigator wife, stressed out captain, serene hot doctor, quirky female mechanic, angry crewman Bob, supersmart egomaniacal techy-boy, one-track-mind tracker, the spiritual guru, the cute little boy, and so forth.
The heroes in the movie were NOT righteous do-gooders. They did things I didn't expect them to do. They didn't rescue the random guy begging for help. They didn't respectfully bury the remains of the dead found in their haven. They argued a lot. It was kind of interesting to see this change. Sometimes you can get too repetitive, y'know?
I never saw Firefly, and the show is apparently already cancelled, but has quite a cult following. The characters were pretty well developed, but the storyline just felt a bit rushed. There was this alliance, see (and we all know, in sci-fi, Alliances are bad) that was experimenting with people, and the heroes naturally had to try and stop them, or at least tell the rest of the galaxy what was going on.
There were many of the classic characters. There was freaky special talents girl, amiable pilot, loving navigator wife, stressed out captain, serene hot doctor, quirky female mechanic, angry crewman Bob, supersmart egomaniacal techy-boy, one-track-mind tracker, the spiritual guru, the cute little boy, and so forth.
The heroes in the movie were NOT righteous do-gooders. They did things I didn't expect them to do. They didn't rescue the random guy begging for help. They didn't respectfully bury the remains of the dead found in their haven. They argued a lot. It was kind of interesting to see this change. Sometimes you can get too repetitive, y'know?
Monday, October 17, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
Crazy, crazy Friday.
Woke up, the phone rang, I answered, Erin says "Hi, tell mom we made it to the hospital, and I'll call back in a few minutes when Mom's home." I said, "What?!"
Turns out Andrew was on his way home from work when a lady pulled out right in front of him. He swerved to miss hitting her, and naturally, being in a Mustang on a wet road, kept swerving til a tree stopped him. They had to cut him out of the car, the poor old thing's totalled. He managed to get out with a few seatbelt bruises and a badly broken wrist. They put in a temporary pin and wrapped him up in huge bandages and finally sent him home. Meanwhile we're waiting running around town, waiting for updates, and mostly waiting in line at Sherwin Williams for paint. (we're repainting the entire downstairs - pink!)
So quite a long day, made slightly longer by dad trying to get a head start on painting the living room about 8 pm. At the rate he's going he'll be finished by morning, but quite frankly, I think it's better to paint in daylight, so you can see what you've missed. *sigh*
Woke up, the phone rang, I answered, Erin says "Hi, tell mom we made it to the hospital, and I'll call back in a few minutes when Mom's home." I said, "What?!"
Turns out Andrew was on his way home from work when a lady pulled out right in front of him. He swerved to miss hitting her, and naturally, being in a Mustang on a wet road, kept swerving til a tree stopped him. They had to cut him out of the car, the poor old thing's totalled. He managed to get out with a few seatbelt bruises and a badly broken wrist. They put in a temporary pin and wrapped him up in huge bandages and finally sent him home. Meanwhile we're waiting running around town, waiting for updates, and mostly waiting in line at Sherwin Williams for paint. (we're repainting the entire downstairs - pink!)
So quite a long day, made slightly longer by dad trying to get a head start on painting the living room about 8 pm. At the rate he's going he'll be finished by morning, but quite frankly, I think it's better to paint in daylight, so you can see what you've missed. *sigh*
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Monday, October 10, 2005
When You Absolutely, Positively Have to Get Off the Phone: SorryGottaGo.com - Helps End Unending Phone Conversations
heh. heh. heh.
Or, you could just say, hey, sorry, gotta go . . . *click*
heh. heh. heh.
Or, you could just say, hey, sorry, gotta go . . . *click*
Saturday, October 08, 2005
My aunt (who still hasn't caught on that email forwards can be annoying) sent me an email that said it contained photos of St Maarten Airport. I wondered why (hoping perhaps she was planning to go) and opened the email.
Dear God in Heaven! I nearly had a panic attack just LOOKING at them! I do admit to anxiety issues when planes fly low over the house. (It didn't start after 9/11 - it started when I witnessed a plane chase involving some F16s and a wayward pilot.) The planes fly RIGHT OVER the beach. With people sitting on it. (and I thought it was creepy the way we flew over the road at the Fort Lauderdale airport.) I couldn't sit there. I just SO could not sit on that beach with big huge noisy tons of metal attempting to land a few yards behind me. No way.
I don't feel like uploading the pics, so you can get a general idea from here.
st maarten airport - Google Image Search
And now . . . I need to email my aunt some creepy crawly bug pics or something in revenge. . .
Dear God in Heaven! I nearly had a panic attack just LOOKING at them! I do admit to anxiety issues when planes fly low over the house. (It didn't start after 9/11 - it started when I witnessed a plane chase involving some F16s and a wayward pilot.) The planes fly RIGHT OVER the beach. With people sitting on it. (and I thought it was creepy the way we flew over the road at the Fort Lauderdale airport.) I couldn't sit there. I just SO could not sit on that beach with big huge noisy tons of metal attempting to land a few yards behind me. No way.
I don't feel like uploading the pics, so you can get a general idea from here.
st maarten airport - Google Image Search
And now . . . I need to email my aunt some creepy crawly bug pics or something in revenge. . .
Friday, October 07, 2005
Kimono, Kimono Fabric, Yukata and Japanese Clothing
This looked very interesting and informative. Check it out!
This looked very interesting and informative. Check it out!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
I found my ballet shoes!
Mom, in some sort of cleaning frenzy (which had to do with getting rid of the freezer) began going through piles of old stuff stored in the basement. Mostly bags of toys and really old stuff that had been shoved to the back corners through years of non-use. I had NO idea we had so many stuffed animals. I went over to help - or at least toss my stuff. In one bag, I came across a denim drawstring bag that immediately put thoughts of a barn and wooden floors and barres and mirrors and horses and the smell of rosin. Ballet shoes! I thought. I opened the bag. Ballet shoes! Four pairs - two of slippers, two of pointe. Pink. Grungy. Smelled of rosin. Of course, I stuffed so much padding in there with my feet that they never had a chance to smell like anything else. I didn't dare try them on. I know my ballet muscles are gone, and my ankles are probably weaker, too. It was nice to see them again.
So apparently things DO come back from the black hole. I have a list. There's a book missing. And two 1970's jointed dolls - my first purchase from eBay - AWOL.
I won't miss them as much at this point. I've found a new jointed doll - the Obitsu 1/6 scale dolls. 28 points of articulation. 4 head choices - or more, you can use almost ANY doll head with the body. 3 breast sizes - small, large, and OW! Dear God, isn't it dangerous to carry helium in your body? 3 hand options. Feet with strong magnets embedded in the sole - so they'll stand on their own. Two flesh tones.
the posability of these dolls is amazing. I'm so impressed! Very realistic bends, and they hold the pose you put them in (although I need to figure out the problem with her floppy head). The dolls are Barbie sized, and apparently are able to wear their clothing. All of the patterns I have are for 1/12th scale, but a quick session with the scanner allowed me to double their size. I'm nearly finished with an Edwardian style walking suit. Yes, I'm such a geek. Most of the dolls I came across online are modern or goth. Such a nice change from the Victorian ballgowns of miniature scale! I have so many ideas for clothes - it must be the tiny bit of seamstress in me coming out.
Of course, I still have to wig and paint a face on this doll. But clothes are more fun!
Mom, in some sort of cleaning frenzy (which had to do with getting rid of the freezer) began going through piles of old stuff stored in the basement. Mostly bags of toys and really old stuff that had been shoved to the back corners through years of non-use. I had NO idea we had so many stuffed animals. I went over to help - or at least toss my stuff. In one bag, I came across a denim drawstring bag that immediately put thoughts of a barn and wooden floors and barres and mirrors and horses and the smell of rosin. Ballet shoes! I thought. I opened the bag. Ballet shoes! Four pairs - two of slippers, two of pointe. Pink. Grungy. Smelled of rosin. Of course, I stuffed so much padding in there with my feet that they never had a chance to smell like anything else. I didn't dare try them on. I know my ballet muscles are gone, and my ankles are probably weaker, too. It was nice to see them again.
So apparently things DO come back from the black hole. I have a list. There's a book missing. And two 1970's jointed dolls - my first purchase from eBay - AWOL.
I won't miss them as much at this point. I've found a new jointed doll - the Obitsu 1/6 scale dolls. 28 points of articulation. 4 head choices - or more, you can use almost ANY doll head with the body. 3 breast sizes - small, large, and OW! Dear God, isn't it dangerous to carry helium in your body? 3 hand options. Feet with strong magnets embedded in the sole - so they'll stand on their own. Two flesh tones.
the posability of these dolls is amazing. I'm so impressed! Very realistic bends, and they hold the pose you put them in (although I need to figure out the problem with her floppy head). The dolls are Barbie sized, and apparently are able to wear their clothing. All of the patterns I have are for 1/12th scale, but a quick session with the scanner allowed me to double their size. I'm nearly finished with an Edwardian style walking suit. Yes, I'm such a geek. Most of the dolls I came across online are modern or goth. Such a nice change from the Victorian ballgowns of miniature scale! I have so many ideas for clothes - it must be the tiny bit of seamstress in me coming out.
Of course, I still have to wig and paint a face on this doll. But clothes are more fun!
Monday, October 03, 2005
The Morning News - How to Write a Thank-You Note, by Leslie Harpold
This . . . is beautiful.
Thank you.
This . . . is beautiful.
Thank you.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
*sweet marble*
Possibly the best artist for painting faces I have seen. As I can't read Japanese, I'm not sure what size these dolls are. They're 1/6 scale or larger. I love articulated dolls, and adding these beautiful expressive eyes - wow!
Possibly the best artist for painting faces I have seen. As I can't read Japanese, I'm not sure what size these dolls are. They're 1/6 scale or larger. I love articulated dolls, and adding these beautiful expressive eyes - wow!
Movie Review: The Corpse Bride
Classic Tim Burton. I enjoyed it, it was very sweet. People hear "Corpse" and go, eww! why do you want to see that? The plot went pretty much as I expected it to go. The merchandising should be interesting - and just in time for the Halloween season! I think it's great to be able to go see a Halloween type movie that isn't scary or have blood, gore and people running around killing each other. Well, actually . . . ok, but it wasn't the entire plot of the whole movie! I don't understand why people have such a horror of death. I mean, c'mon, it happens! There's nothing we can do about it! We sit here and try to pretend it doesn't, and make every attempt to hide every sign of growing older, because apparently growing older leads to death. And then, when it DOES happen, we're horrified! We make excuses, we make promises, we make plans. We study deseases, we find cures, we take our vitamins, we wear helmets. (At the rate we're going, the only thing that will cause death in the future will be other people.) I admire Tim Burton for his taking traditionally "scary" elements and using them to tell non-scary stories.
Back to the movie. I thought the music was great, too. Victor sits down at a piano (not much sexier than watching a man play the piano!) and begins to pick out a tune that I thought for SURE was going to be Moonlight Sonata. (that song follows me, remember?) It wasn't! Very similar, though! I tracked down some sheet music for it, will have to try it out tomorrow. Pity it appears to break off sharply at the end. They could have written out the whole thing!
Victor's Piano Solo (PDF format)
Classic Tim Burton. I enjoyed it, it was very sweet. People hear "Corpse" and go, eww! why do you want to see that? The plot went pretty much as I expected it to go. The merchandising should be interesting - and just in time for the Halloween season! I think it's great to be able to go see a Halloween type movie that isn't scary or have blood, gore and people running around killing each other. Well, actually . . . ok, but it wasn't the entire plot of the whole movie! I don't understand why people have such a horror of death. I mean, c'mon, it happens! There's nothing we can do about it! We sit here and try to pretend it doesn't, and make every attempt to hide every sign of growing older, because apparently growing older leads to death. And then, when it DOES happen, we're horrified! We make excuses, we make promises, we make plans. We study deseases, we find cures, we take our vitamins, we wear helmets. (At the rate we're going, the only thing that will cause death in the future will be other people.) I admire Tim Burton for his taking traditionally "scary" elements and using them to tell non-scary stories.
Back to the movie. I thought the music was great, too. Victor sits down at a piano (not much sexier than watching a man play the piano!) and begins to pick out a tune that I thought for SURE was going to be Moonlight Sonata. (that song follows me, remember?) It wasn't! Very similar, though! I tracked down some sheet music for it, will have to try it out tomorrow. Pity it appears to break off sharply at the end. They could have written out the whole thing!
Victor's Piano Solo (PDF format)
