Oh no, I never made a mistake. Typed every single character perfectly. Every time

Cload.

And presenting....

Dungeons Of Daggorath !!

At least for this part, these are still those days. Though better tools for finding the stupidest of typos exist.

So, when you refurb a room in your basement as an exercise room, guess what! You now have no valid excuse not to exercise.

Who knew.

Exercise equipment in the house is like living next door to the Eiffel Tower. A perpetual state of "I don't need to do this now because I could do it any time." And then you die having never been to the Eiffel Tower.

Not true.



Code is much longer than 8 pages these days.

If any woman could make me go straight, it would be Felicia Day. She is a Nerd Goddess!

If you're gonna cross the street, cos play is a good start

Safe for work, but it is a sexier shot, so I played it safe

I like Felicia Day as a place in the pop culture cosmos. But sadly I don't think she's a very good actor (though obviously a pretty good businessman) so I swing back and forth on following her endeavors because I want her to succeed but I feel bad not really caring for much she personally is in.

I followed her a bit on Google+ when it suggested we should be friends, but I found she posted to much, and her fans posted too much more without any mitigating naked posts. I find Dita Von Tease a far better fake Internet friend.

On the Bonus Round on today's Wheel of Fortune, the puzzle was "Precious Cargo." The winner's name was Precious.

OMG, have you seen the interview of Maurice Sendak by Stephen Colbert? Comedy gold! (I had no idea Sendak was gay....)

Both parts can be found here.

In email "Reply All" is the greatest peril. The second greatest peril is pre-defined distribution lists with similar names.

A coworker just sent an email to the wrong distribution list that is so embarrassing that I want to book a flight to Delaware and give her a hug. And I don't hug people.

Fortunately it wasn't personal but she kind of just shot apart months of delicate enterprise wide (and that's pretty darn wide around here) negotiations on how to complete a project.

There's the saying that in politics a gaffe is unintentionally speaking the truth. She made that kind of gaffe, hopefully she doesn't get in any real trouble beyond the embarrassment since she didn't say anything wrong (or call anybody names).

It's weird when a family member dies that you are friends with on Facebook. At the most random time, their Facebook photo shows up in other places not on facebook (such as suggesting Pinterest to friends) and suddenly you're sitting there crying without warning.

I'm not going to unfriend her. I'm not the person who would memorialize her account and I'm not sure if the person that would do that would want to anyway.

I see her friends and wonder if they know or if some of them are internet friends and have no idea. The old photos and old status updates make it seem so unreal.

This is why I plan to write down all of my online info, so that my family can get into my accounts and let all of my online friends know of my passing, then close my accounts (that can be closed).

I died back in November. No one has noticed yet.

I've been managing the accounts of my deceased parents, using it as a way to share family photos and memories. I also periodically leave messages for people who have passed - which I suppose is the electronic equivalent of talking to people at their grave sites. The Internet just makes the exchange more convenient. I write dead people.

I hadn't thought of that aspect of it. Kind of like it.

I just assumed that was your usual smell.

Bad Website Names
All safe to enter

WhorePresents.com
(Who Represents)

PenisLand.net
(Pen Island)

SpeedoFart.com
(Speed of Art)

HollandSh¡tFestival.nl
(Holland's Hit Festival)

ChoosesPain.com
(Choose Spain)

LesboCages.com
(Les Bocages - A French trees surgeon)

ILoveBiGals.com
(Big Als - a bowling alley)

Well, we have that problem right here (check Urban Dictionary, I'm not going to explain it):

LoUngeOfTomorrow.com

If it is what I think it is for all you know it could have been intentional.

I don't remember, who named this place? If it was Fej, I wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional as an Easter Egg. But I don't know if CP has a dirty enough mind if she came up with the name.

It was Lisa - she's a total horn dog

Heh, wonder if that's real or a joke profile.

?? I've searched urban dictionary and found nothing.

I came up with the name. I had no such thoughts in my head, but if it's something dirty I wouldn't put it past myself to have done it sub-consciously.

I don't know why I wrote this up but here it is.

GD also came up with "An Adventure Thru Inner Swank" and helped largely with the color scheme. He of course did and still does a lot of the tech heavy lifting.

I named the Open Mic forum. I cleaned all the little buttons and icons to look good in a darker background. I still see imperfections and wince. I made the custom icons (bongos, keyboard, and other ideas that never got implemented). I used my Cadaverous Pallor email address to invite everyone. Innerspaceman did a lot of the writing on that and I helped a bit. (It took me a while to get into the beat-speak we used so much then.)

The logo was blueerica and Flubber. Flubber also did a lot of beat-speak writing for the FAQs, rules, etc. We all helped with both the conceptualizing and the writing itself, though the big idea man there was €. Most of the forum names were €'s idea too.

FEJ and zapppop made the smileys. (FEJ and Stan4dSteph were not present for the LoT design party but were virtual helpers.)

Not Afraid helped with all aspects, especially keeping everyone on task, which was more important than anything.

All of these are as I remember it and I know I have some wrong and left lots of things uncredited.

What do you think it is? (If there is to be no explanation from Alex, I'll need one from somebody.) This is a joke I've no hope of getting, but if it's dirty, I want to know.

The only "unge" I saw was something about soaking up gravy with bread. No lewd second meaning about substances with similar consistency was suggested. So, I, too, remain in the dark. Perhaps blissfully.

Inquiring (dirty) minds want to know!

So, last night Rusty asked her magician friend if he had anything he could do on the spur of the moment. (One hundred plus dancers were waiting for performers to do a costume change before their next number and we needed distraction.) He casually pulled out his wallet and starting looking through it and then it suddenly burst into flames. Best thing ever.:snap:

Sorry guys, I was just being nonsensical. Then when BTD said "if it is what I think" I figured I'd just roll with it and see if anything good came to light.

I was afraid of that. But, at least I have the horrid possibilities suggested by Strangler Lewis' post to keep me squickily amused.

You forgot to mention my complete lack of input

...And I was in charge of creating the sense of Internationalism.

I don't remember doing virtually nothing, but I did make soup. knowing me, I probably just coordinated the whole thing and made people work. Oh, and I insisted on the cat.

I can't seem to replicate what I found but I did come up with a couple results that were sexual. Now I'm bummed I didn't link them.

I recall you writing a lot of copy, helping compose the welcome message and such.

You also nailed the orange accent color.

Recently I finished building a castle floating 3500 meters over my property in Second Life. I put it that high up so that I couldn't see any crappy builds from it.

I discovered this evening that someone has built an ugly a$$ house at the same height and right on the border between our properties. I asked him politely if he would consider moving his house down a couple hundred meters. He responded in a very dickish manner. So, I surrounded the castle with an enormous sphere; textured on the inside to look like the sky. On the outside, I put the most horrifying image I could think of on a repeating pattern.

He now has gigantic 75 meter Justin Biebers looming over his house.

Yes, I have Teh Evil and I know how to use it!

:snap: :snap: :snap: :D :snap: :snap: :snap:

You better hope there are no 3500 meter tall kids with sidewalk chalk lurking around.

That IS cool. I love magic like that.

A good magician is always prepaired, which is cool. Until he sits down and his wallet explodes catching his pants on fire. :eek:

Oh, wait. That would still be cool! ;)

There's a similar trick where you light your business card on fire, blow it out, and it's completely unburnt.

That's what I said!

Yes!

Likewise, you can treat paper cash similarly. I tried to do so once back in High School, when I fancied myself a magician. I wound up burning real money, and scorching a section of the kitchen floor tile. My mom strongly encouraged me to find a new hobby.

A friend of mine pulls the 'burning wallet' trick every once in a while on unsuspecting noobs.

But do you remember doing virtually everything?What cat?

So many posts, so little time anymore. Oy!

I haven't even gotten past the second or third chapter of the first Tarbell book, so I know the pyro stuff is beyond me right now. Would LOVE to do the burning card trick though!

:p
;)

So, that was just about the most boring close Super Bowl ever. I think I only ended up actively paying attention to about a quarter and a half and kept drifting away to do actual work.

*sigh* A girl who knows Tarbell

This is an event that I could probably train for:

Krispy Kreme Challenge - It is a 5 K run that you stop half way through and eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts.

Since it was today, I guess I have a whole year to get ready for the next one.

a dozen? I can barely get through one!

It's thge "Run, Scarf, & Barf Triathalon"!

It wasn't boring; that was Niners malaise hanging over the game.

They're going to have to stop calling Belichick a defensive genius. That's two Super Bowls in a row, plus the Ravens game where he couldn't get a stop when needed it to save a win.

So far, 2012 is MUCH better than 2011.

AGREED.

2011 kicked all kinds of ass, but yeah, 2012 is really cool so far.

Not for me

Kevy's plumbing not withstanding.....

Unless I get another 7 week vacation in Europe, 2011 is going to be better than 2012.

One of my kitties likes to knock things off shelves or other surfaces. I have a hope chest in the bedroom that he frequently knocks things off of. Not everything though - just whatever it is that he doesn't want up there. Spiral notebook. Perfume bottle. Charging cell phone. Socks. It's a good thing he's so darn cute when he does it.

Damn dog! Hope your knee feels better.

Jack & Sally Wedding Cake

Copy and paste the following into Google.

sqrt(cos(x))*cos(300x)+sqrt(abs(x))-0.7)*(4-x*x)^0.01, sqrt(6-x^2), -sqrt(6-x^2) from -4.5 to 4.5

Happy Valentine's Day!

VCMM

So, I just threw out a big box of my parents' old home movies, early 1950's to 1970's when video cameras came in. It has taken me almost 13 years to do this.

Movies/Photos? Wow. That's about the last thing I'd ever toss.

The Batman equation is more topical.

Yeah, a little home movies and photos go a long, long way for me. When our kids were little, we took almost no video of them and we've never had regrets about that. Still photos are good but I need only a few.

On the flip side, due to a bad family situation that caused all my sh*t to be thrown out when I was 17, I have very little from my childhood, except what scraps random family members might find. I always wish I had more from my own childhood, but take what I can get.

Incidentally, I really have to remind myself to do more photo and video because it doesn't really come naturally for me to snap everything up like that.

What's funny to me (I also have almost nothing, just two photos of me from before grad school and one of those is my PADI scuba diving ID) is that it almost never occurs to me to photograph the people around me. I can go to a party, take dozens of photos and when I get home four will have people in them.

Love the second-to-bottom layer!

Wow!

Cool!;)

Rob, you're not supposed to hit Enter.....

So, you've read The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal? Let's sigh together in deep happiness for the joy of uncovering, layer by layer, the story of his family and their collection of netsuke.

I have no idea what to read next.

I demand that the universe deliver me one of these. It will make me patient while waiting for my pygmy giraffe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete....html?ITO=1490

Cool - they look like just like our Chameleons when they were babies

FTFY

I'm always surprised by people who find that title confusing. Is it because many people have no sense of how long a league is? If he'd called it 69,024 Miles Under the Sea would it be less confusing?

I think it's a combination of an unfamiliar unit of measure and the choice of phrasing. In general when someone says, "X units of distance under the seas", people's first thought is depth. That title probably the ONLY instance I've ever heard of using "under the sea" to mean "lateral distance traveled while under the sea."

If it were "70,000 Miles Under the Sea" I still think there'd be confusion. It would be as persistent but it would be of the form, "Huh? That doesn't make sense the sea isn't that deep...oh, wait, does he mean 70,000 Miles WHILE under the Sea?"

Which reminds me of this blog. My favorite is Mo' Bunnies Mo' Problems (a.k.a. Peter Rabbit.

Alex is a fan of Crime and Punishment. Me, not so much. Get a job!

We are listening to our cat snore. It's cute.

Now see, I always thought it was the distance under the sea myself. Thank you for letting me know!

Me, too!

Was it just me, or did Jean Dujardin drop the f-bomb when he accepted his award?

The first time it sounded like he said Formidable but then it sounded like he said F##k when he stepped back towards the mic.

They have that episode on Hulu Plus.

Ah. One day we'll quit cable and get that.

VW's newest transport

I'm at the hospital ER. Headliner was injured at school today and they are checking her out for a concussion.

Oh no! I hope all turns out well Moonie.

Eep! Hope it's just precautionary...

Crap. Hope she's OK. What happened?

She is on stage crew, they had a teardown today. Some one dropped a table on the back of her head.

Ouch. Here's hoping she gets sent home with a couple of Tylenols.

Hope she's ok Moonie.

Oh, I love kitty snoring. Tango snores quite loudly sometimes.

Heh, not called headliner for nothing, I guess.

I hope everything works out, no concussion and instead lots of ice cream as a reward.

Eh, she'll be fine. I've had a couple of concussions and look how I turned out.

Hmm... that may not set Moonie at ease.

Oh no! Sorry to hear about headliner's accident. Head injuries aren't any fun.

Oh no! Hoping Headliner is ok.

Yikes. Hope she is OK!

Unless the tests come back negative, in which case it's all kinds of fun to slip nonsense words and things into sentences, just to screw with her.

My daughter got a concussion at school a couple of weeks ago. Diagnosis was based on symptoms, which suggested a mild one and no need for scanning. We just had to wait for the symptoms to go away, which they seem to have.

Info aside, hope all goes well with her.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Looks like everything will be fine. She had the CT scan and it came back negative so the docs are sending us home. Looks like the worst will be a bad headache for the next day or two.

So a scan of brain activity came back negative? Uhoh.






See, FUN!


ETA: Yes, i know a CT-scan doesn't measure brain activity...but you gotta work with what you're given


Also, HOORAY for negative!

So glad to hear it! :)

Thank The Mouse! Poor kid, hope she's better soon.

I'm so sorry to hear that but glad it's not serious. I hope this doesn't impact your trip.

So, did anyone have pancakes today?

Okay, I give. Why would we have pancakes today?

National pancake day
http://www.ihoppancakeday.com/

Had some green onion pancakes at a chinese restaurant. Does that count?

Did you like them?

I did.

Green Onion pancakes with bacon syrup? :eek:

Only if you add blue cheese crumbles on top.....

:cakes: Did not have them. Now would like some.

Maybe I'll just fry up some bacon to go with the sweet potato I'm about to eat. Yam? Who can tell?

We're doing a fundraiser at work. Pay $5 a week and get to wear jeans every Wednesday. It starts next week. Guess who is wearing jeans today. Oops.

It was almost certainly a sweet potato. Yams are much bigger then sweet potatoes.
click for more than you care to know

Why did I think that the link would bring me to a page about Karen Finley?

:-)

Huh. The more you know.

AND, the more you know!

You learn something new everyday. I don't really eat them but now I know the truth.....my Mom's candied yams were really sweet potatoes in disguise!

Did I tell you this one before? I forget. ;)

So, I went to Target and asked at the electronics section for a tape recorder.

*Blank stare from young clerk.* Then a medium-length discussion with me about why I wanted a tape recorder.

"I just want a voice recorder," I said. "It does not have to have tape. I don't care if it has tape. It's like saying record when I mean cd, okay?"

By this time, the clerk was convinced I needed big buttons and big letterson the voice recorder screen because, of course, I am an old person using old-person words like tape recorder.

Did he also direct you to the Metamucil section?

Yeah, that's a reference that helps on this issue.

VALEXM and V3894M

Snort!

tee hee hee

Please meet my next wife, Elena Nev. Amazing that she can move the way she does, but does it while keeping Hula Hoops going!

(BTW, it is safe for work; it is a Cirque du Soleil performance.)

Hey Kevy - how about this one? She looks like she could keep you amused.... (also safe for work)

Just an fyi Kevy, ever since she's your next, her name is Elena Lev. She is an amazing performer.

Just went out to take a look at Mars.

Today, Pat Schroeder asked me to run for office. (Because no democrat wants to these days.)

Today, I got to tell PZ Myers about my visit to Holy Land theme park with Ken Russell.

Today, I got to talk to Daniel Dennett about playing Santa Claus.

All true. I spent the day at a secular humanist conference put on by the Center For Inquiry. Peak day, I gotta say.

Next time you're there can you ask them to stop mailing me stuff?

If you do, I'll vote for you !

Re: center for inquiry.... Me too, Alex. Why do I get so much? I don't even remember signing up. (Not that I don't find SH interesting.)

I know why I get it, because I have, at various times, subscribed to Skeptical Inquirer. I just wish they'd send me the magazine and not all the other solicitations and stuff.

I got it from the Steve Allen Theater - I guess there's a connection between the two now - but I unsubscribed using the link in the email and it seems that actually worked

I don't get any email from them. I get lots of catalogs and stuff in the actual mail.

I guess I better prepare myself for the deluge, then.

Maybe you should pray for it not to come.

Sooooo.....

I had a dream last night. Chris and Lisa and I were guiding a group of Russian tourists around downtown LA. Somehow, I got separated from the group. I had no way of getting home, so I went to call Bill to come pick me up. I then discovered that I had accidently switched cell phones with one of the Russians. Russian cell phones (at least in the dream) are powered with raw eggs. Having no eggs, I tried to find a payphone. Just then, a boat pulled up to the curb. It was being driven by a former friend who I have not spoken with in 8 years. He offered to take me home, so I climbed aboard. As we headed down the street I realized that all the roads had turned into canals. He took me to my old apartment in Fullerton. I told him I don’t live there anymore, and that I live in Long Beach now. He told me that I was still living in Fullerton last time we talked, and therefore, it was still my home. I thanked him and got out of the boat. When I turned back towards the apartment, it had turned into my current home. The end.

Sounds like the makings of an Oscar-winning short film!

So, I am currently at one with the Cadbury's milk chocolate mini-eggs, the ones with the crispy shell.

I'm sorry, I'm sure treatment is available.

I read "I'm IN one of the Cadbury......." and pictured a scene from James and the Giant Peach staring 3894 and a Cadbury Egg.

Eating my way out of a chocolate egg. I like it, Not Afraid.

So, a high of 46 degrees today, no precip. Big snow melt, flooded streets.

The current discussion in a dance blog I follow is the ABG - Accidental Boob Grab.

Thought you'd all like to know.

Is there a thread for the Deliberate Boob Grab?

Soooooo.....being really rich has its benefits.

O rly?

;)

I saw this from my front porch tonight.

Nice rock off your front porch. Did Rose get you that for your birthday?

Hope you saw it before you bumped your head on it!

Practitioners of the DBG are shunned.

Yeah; sorry about that. Can I come back yet?

:cool:

Ya kinda left out an important word: NAZI Germany

Wow.

I recently read in teh Garden of Beasts, which is about the American ambassadors stint in Germany during the early years of Hitler's leadership.

One of the tidbits was about how government officials were officially told to stop using some name when spelling out words (you know, when saying "A as in apple, T as in Thomas, etc.). I can't remember the name you weren't supposed to use any more, but it was determined to be too semitic.

VCMM!

Kevy: quite an eye-opener, isn't it?

C is for Katz?

J is for juice?

H is for Hitlersmamawearsarmyboots

Ok, I went and looked it up (full text search wins the day).

It was "D as in David" and "S as in Samuel."

It was a rule from the Ministry of Posts.

My grandfather's name was Samuel. If that was supposed to make the Nazis forget about him, it didn't work.

Thank you. Because I was about to do a search for this in the book. I knew it was a name. I is for Isaac or A os for Abraham came to mind.

Interesting book, BTW.

I just finished a day and a half of jury duty. This is the case I was not chosen for (obviously).

I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be kept on the panel because of the last time I was on jury duty. That time I was the first juror called and after asking me the usual information I was ignored while they spent a couple of days talking to everyone else. I figured I was on that panel but then late in the process I was dismissed and I realized the defense attorney was keeping me "in reserve" while he worked to get to the jurors he wanted. The defendant was Hispanic and they probably thought this middle-aged white woman would be scared of him or something while to me he looked like someone from my neighborhood.

The same thing happened today. I wasn't really ignored, the defense attorney asked me a few questions which probably just proved I was intent on following the instructions from the judge. But it felt like he was really talking to the other jurors instead of to me. And when it got down to the final choices I was dismissed as I expected.

Of course the important case was taking place a few blocks away. There were vans from every local news channel along with CNN parked in front of the court across from the Music Center. I think they were there for the Nicolette Sheridan "Desperate Housewives" case which had just gone to the jury. Glad the media have their priorities straight.

Amusing in light of the recent conversation on Nazis and jazz music... I was researching the address of the house Walt bought for Flora and Elias (where Flora died), and look what I found

The house looks like it's been heavily McMansionized. Pity.

Good Monday morning laugh! Thanks.

How on earth do you find this stuff ? :D

It's called the Internet.

BTW Lashie; how is Tuesday looking? Anything I should prepare for?

bit of rain, but nothing too drastic, Oh, and today is an auspicious day for travel, love, money, friendships, creativity, and Pugs. Your licky colour is Chartreuse and your lucky song is "little things mean a lot"

I usually think my licky color is pink.

Better than brown, I suppose.

So the other night I came up with a concept for a rather fun drawing project: Edwardian Disney Princesses. Tonight I started drawing. Turning out pretty interesting so far.

In other news, I either need to start drawing in pencil, or get better at matching the size of faces to heads and heads to bodies, because good lord... I draw a cool dress and then can't show it to anyone because the heads look like Trader Sam got to them.

Awesome, next can do them in Victorian style so we can compare and contrast the two styles?

OK, so I had a touch of the NA's about me. In support of all those who manage to make unintentional funnies even WITHOUT the help of autocorrect, I shall leave the original as is. (and mine's pink too...)
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...................... .............

I HATE Vegemite Icecream. :p


Show! Show! Two shrunken dresses for one of yours !

VMM!

Morrigoon got me googling and I came across this.

Also - Jazz equals a flaunting of authority. Swing Kids was a pretty good movie.

Height of the head should be between 1/7 and 1/8 the height of the body. A little larger proportion on children.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo not motivated at the office today.

I totally understand as I am soooooooooo trying to get going this morning too.

Snowflake and Promo-Man,
I recommend you both read the Soooooo.... thread in its entirety to help motivate you.

Meanwhile, I should be studying my lines for a play that opens Thursday. But I'm Soooooo having fun on the netz.

All kidding aside... yes.

Victardian.

I want to see an Immodium Princess.

Take a whole box, stand in front of a mirror, and soon you'll see one! ;)

It's the One More Disney Day that keeps on giving! :D

That would be one crazy coronation...

Hopefully a more productive day at the office today. I think I'm suffering from a classic case of spring fever. I'd also rather spend time working on research.

Ah well, must earn dough to be able to research

so....I suspect I have a completely inaccurate view of typical DC seasonal weather patterns. So far, however, spring is awesome! We're terracing a small hill in the backyard and getting ready to plant veggies and things.

I woke up to 6 inches of snow this morning and it just keeps coming.

I thought it was Spring?!

Sorry, you lost me after "I woke up to 6 inches" because my mind took the offramp into Horny Town.

Well then how about 10 inches now :D

:D

I'd guess it's hard to take that much snow all at once.

Yeah, it seems like that would be real stretch. And possibly run up against the back wall of the resources.





Penis.

Come now, people!

This discussion is getting awfully hard to take.

Speak for yourself honey, it's only 10 inches.

I was nagging Madz about homework and she was getting pissy but its done. Cause it's due Friday and I though today was Thursday. Oops.

She's going to YTF Global concert. Apparently some youtubers who perform in person or something. No idea but she's been crazy happy about going. Then, OMG, one of them tweeted something and she replied and he replied back, twice. You'd think Leif Garret phoned or something.

I don't know what it is (well, probably that I was listening to them in my impressionable adolescent years) about B52s songs where the vocals are mostly or all Kate and Cindy, but they are some of the sexiest songs ever. There's something just so laid back and sultry about them. I always picture them on a porch in Atlanta, on a southern day that's just too hot to move, cold drink in hand...

Dirty Back Road

My favorite Kate and Cindy tune:
Cake

It's from Mesopotamia, my favorite B52s album. Not so laid back, but fun - and the spoken section in the middle still make me giddy.

If the Characters in Downton Abbey Were Portrayed by Dogs
Here are a couple samples:

huh, I always just picture them naked

/shrug

The Downton/Dogs thing didn't work for be until I got to Edith. :)

You're right. Only Edith and Bates really work for me. Dowager Countess should've been a Dachshund. Although the Bedlington terrier wasn't bad either.

Downton Abbey Season I was all about the wrongness of the Upstairs clothes, IMO. Take your money and your corseted English rumps to Deauville! Get Chanel to make you something actually chic. On your way home, stop off in Paris and see a man named Paul Poiret about some dresses.

This became so distracting to me that I stopped caring about the characters.

I know these words are English, but put together in this order they make no sense to me.

Oh, and you spelled "Downtown" wrong.

First level of the backyard terrace is mostly done! Berry twigs (that we hope will grow into bushes) have been planted! Next Sunday we tackle the second level of the terrace. Our neighbors apparently approve greatly and are really excited that, for the first time, someone is taking an interest in the landcaping of this property.

Back ourselves from a week in Philadelphia (first prize) with a day's side trip to New York. I learned that that sumbitch Morimoto sure can cook. And stuff about history.

In New York, I also learned that a gigantic construction site is not a contemplative place. We did get to see the water flowing in one of the memorial footprints as we were being diverted by security half way through Brooklyn and back. If the purpose of the rebuilding is to get New Yorkers to hate what happened on 9/11, it is surely doing the trick.

I need a cocktail...

As in a drink or a story?

Drink.

Step on up and I'll make us both one or two!

If you lived in my time zone, you could already be drinking.

She is annoyong and I never understood why she is " famous"!

Apparently you weren't a teenaged boy in the last years before readily available internet porn.

There's a lot of discussion among T1 parents about vaccines acting as the trigger for the onset of T1. There's absolutely no proof of this but some parents are sure it's real. I think they just want a reason.

The only vaccine I'm not so keen on is the chicken pox one. It doesn't last forever so at some point you're going to have a lot of adults coming down with it which is supposedly a worse time in your life to get it. Luckily Maddie actually got chicken pox the week before she was supposed to get the shot. Her Pediatrician at the time told me that medically chicken pox don't really pose a problem. But it's the millions of man hours lost by parents who have to stay home with sick kids is what caused the push for a vaccine.

All the ducks were asleep at the lake today.

I got some good pics of the cormorants and coots, though.

Mega Millions jackpot is up to half a billion dollars

Yes I know the odds of winning are less then being struck by lightning, this is merely a comment of the size of the jackpot.

And if one of you lucky ass SoCal'ers wins it all you would get ~$33,000,000 more than I would. Damn state tax on lottery winnings.

You could run for office with that kind of money.

Two words.

LoT Commune*

















*Not a binding contract

That's called, "You have several months to redeem your ticket so move to Nevada or Texas* first"

(no state income tax, they nail you on property tax instead)

Wouldn't it be easier to just buy the person already in the office?

I don't believe that would work as the state in which the money was earned (where the ticket was bought) gets to tax it first. So unless you have the foresight to go buy your tickets in the state with the friendliest tax laws, and then move there before claiming the money (and I'm not sure even that would get you off the hook in your original state of residence) you'd still end up paying Washington, D.C. taxes if that is where the ticket was bought.

Who cares? The gov't takes half. California takes another half when I demand it all at once, instead of their worthless IOU's for 20 years. That's still a cool 125 million dollars. I still be happy when I win Friday night. For all you others playing, thanks for contributing to my jackpot. :D Let me know who you are, and I'll see that you get double your contribution returned!!! Yes, that's how generous a winner I will be!

In line behind me. ;)

I have to hand it to you for finding that.

Yeah, it's really gripping.

I give it a Thumbs up. I'm not Opposable to art.

I heard a man-on-the-street interviews about this today. It went something like this:

Q: If you win what will you do with the money?
A: Pay off my bills!

With over $300,000,000 take home? Who are you Bernie Madoff?

So what, you wouldn't pay off your bills?



Actually, the real irony in that statement is that having that amount of wealth will (if you're smart) more than likely net you MORE bills. While it may be tempting to go out and drop a load of cash for a new house or new car, in reality it makes a lot more sense to get a loan at the ridiculously low rates available to people of extreme wealth, then take the money you would have paid for the house and invest somewhere that beats the interest rate on the loan. And voila, your house is paying for itself and then some. With that model, you'll be piling up loans in no time.

Please keep little John Robie in your thoughts tomorrow. He's going to have exploratory surgery to see if there's an obstruction causing him to not eat. If there is not obstruction (which they didn't see anything during the barium test today) he will be biopsied for FIP and Lymphoma. FIP is still a strong possibility and it is a fatal disease - and fast. He's not even 2 and still a baby. I can't imagine losing him.

Oh no!!! *hugs*

I 80% suspect that if I won $500 million in the lottery I'd probably end up just dumping it in a checking account never getting around to doing anything with the money.

Then the bank would fold and I'd get to keep $250,000 of it.

Poor John Robie :( Hope for the best.

If they handed me that kind of money, I could afford to sit around and look at trippy images on the internet all day... oh wait. :)

This post made my heart sink.:( After going through what we did with Boris, Haggis and then Samwise (who is doing well, but even now is not the same as he was before he got sick), any time I hear of a sick kitteh or puppeh my heart just hurts for them and their family. I hope John Robie will be okay- he's still a baby, and deserves to live a long, happy life with his family.

I will keep your little one in my thoughts. I hope they can figure out what's wrong.

Oh no! Poor kitty kitty meow. I will keep him in my thoughts.

Right state, wrong city. Someone purchased a winning ticket in Baltimore Maryland. I was thissss closessss.. But I did hit the powerball! Which means I recouped 40% of expenditure. Not bad for the Lottery.

As part of entering a sweepstakes, I had to write a poem inspired by chocolate. I went with a somewhat biting haiku:

Chocolate candy
Cocoa butter is removed
Not real chocolate

It took me only 10 minutes to get to work this morning when it usually takes half an hour! There where very few cars on the road. WTF?!

Rapture

Good Friday would be my guess but I like the idea above me better!

Praying Mantis Rides a Bicycle

I've found the rebel bass!Possibly a more appropriate post for the Horrible bad tasteless jokes thread...

So, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy kicked off its tour in my neck of the woods last Thursday. They are in very fine form!

I finally got to see them at the Food & Wine Festival in November. Great (mini) show!

That is my son, truly.

Sooo.... my talented niece, who has been attending Idyllwild arts academy as a high school senior, is coming to the end of her year there.

She had a show that displayed some of her work. Here's a link to her show: http://www.sidneymorganblog.com/?p=2682

While I've seen some of her photos that I liked better, I love the concept of the photos - What are you most afraid of?

(I'm not as fond of the black and white look she does compared to some of her other color that doesn't seem to flat - but that's the style she's into.)

Awesome photography!

There are some wonderful portraits there. :snap: Thanks for sharing the link, she's a really good photographer!

Excellent photographs.

Two tweets which I found amusing:

from @NickadooLA
"I've seen my uncle's penis." - the subtext of every American Apparel advertisement

from @CandyWarhole
HD porn is so clear that you can actually see how disappointed their parents are.

Our electric just flickered here. Just enough to reboot my computer, but not reset the clocks.

Do we have a gardening thread? So, here are the first flowers in our new garden. We put it up after the "windstorm of the century" downed many trees.

I like!:snap:

Pretty tulips!

We should have a gardening thread. We're going to landscape our front yard in the next few months. We've only lived here 12 years. :rolleyes:

Love the bricking too!

For CP -

OMG that's awesome!


------------
Camelbak has phenomenal customer service. The nozzle thing on the Better Bottle lid broke on two different bottles. I hate buying more bottles when I only have one lid so I called to find out where to just buy the lid. They said they'd just send me a new one.

WOO

We've had a couple of those in the past few days, in particular, the home theatre (the TiVo takes FOREVER to reboot). I may look into a UPS.

My office was buzzed by a space shuttle this morning. How cool is that?

Watched a few minutes of that this morning. Awesome to see, but kinda bummed me out all over again.

Very cool!

Here is the best photo I was able to snap of the shuttle fly-by today using my cell phone.....

Spoiled for size.

Dammnit, I knew that if we let Ralph Reed near our science and engineering he'd turn everything into church.

Moonie, that is fabulous! Pru had a sighting and my old boss and a co-worker got shots of it over the White House.

I can't wait to see Endeavour going through the streets of L.A.- that's way cooler than seeing her on an airplane.

Love it! :D

For the next Swank Camp.



and, yes, I'm sorry there likely will be no more swank camps :(

Why? I know it has only been two months since the last one but...oh...never mind.

Hot. I am.

God I hate summer. Guess the season of being able to take lunchtime walks is over.

How long does one of those take to broil a person in summer?

Lashbear, I suggest you and I repair to the nearest air-conditioned resort for a Patrick Swayze film spree and one of those chocolate fountain thingies.

Dessert Porn
 

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar (includes recipe)

Rose and I rode Transformers again today. 7 full rides plus 2 glitch rides (although one of the glitch rides gave us a BEAUTIFUL view of some of the technology behind the ride) for Rose (she rode one more time than me while I chatted with a bigwig from the park).

There were a LOT of littler kids riding today, and LOVING it - the height requirement after all is 40". It'll be interesting to see what the dressed up slot car track in Anaheim has to offer.

You're on !!

Why do you tempt me so !?

Fortunately chocolate just isn't that big of a draw for me. Now if something similar were made with bananas, peanut butter and crunch from Nutter Butter cookies....

Already removed from Craig's list.

That is awsomness defined! :snap: :snap: :snap:

I think what they'll have to offer is Cars Land.

That's right, the attraction not being near as good as Transformers is not the deal-breaker. Disney has fallen behind in attraction technology and design for long, long years now. But they are still masters of the themed-environment, and that's what's going to make any attraction in Cars Land a hit - - from the dressed-up slot car track to the total operational failure tire floating ride.

Meanwhile, though I'm eager to ride the ride of a movie series you'd have to drag my dead carcass to see ... I'm 90% sure I won't experience Transformers until Horror Nights in October. And that's because I find Universal a completely dull place to be. It's even more thematically vapid than DCA, and that's saying a lot. So, really, once every 5 years or so has usually been plenty of Universal for me ... but since Horror Nights are so much fun, once-a-year is MORE than enough Universal.

So I'm really looking forward to Cars Land and Buena Vista Street and Ghiradelli (yum) in a park I really don't care much for. But I'll experience them all in late June or maybe July ... while I can easily wait till October for the best Southern California theme park attraction in 20 years. Neither the tire ride that will take six months of cumulative waiting in line to master enough skill for enjoyment, nor the slot car ride based on the Epcot attraction I've heard nothing but complaints about for the last 15 years will detract from my desire to experience new Disney themed environments ... and ice cream sundaes!

I'm curious, have you been to Universal's Potter themed section yet? Based on what I saw there, I'd say Disney needs to step up their game in the themed-environment department if they want to compete with Universal.

I went on Transformers on Saturday. It was sort of like being in a chase sequence from one of the Bourne movies, lots of crap flying around with very little sense of who's doing what to whom. Universal crams you full of background on the characters in the queue, but, as I never watched the cartoon, and maybe saw ONE of the movies, I was going in as ignorant as a guest could be.

So, this All-Spark thingie is apparently very important. Check. Spelling errors in the subtitles of the pre-show videos? Must be some sort of code. 3D glasses! Ok! Get in the claustrophobic vehicle! (I was up against one of the side walls) Shake-a, shake-a, shake-a! Blur, blur, blur! Gratuitous Universal Bukkake moment! Oh! The vehicle I'm IN is a Transformer? Mmmkay. Exit into the incredibly unattractive Universal lower lot. Take the hideous five mile long escalator ride back up the hill. Dream of Buena Vista Street and Cars Land. Done for the summer!

Backstory question: Why is the NEST insignia sometimes a Transformers head and sometimes a skull?

Also, I don't think it's insignificant that I spent the earlier half of the day watching Tranvestites play charity softball. Spooooky.

DUDE! SPOILER ALERT for the ride :(

Huh? Isn't that basically the same info you tweeted me? Confused.

Mods, spoilerize my previous post, please.

You are the first person out of hundreds that I've heard mention anything about blurriness on Transformers... and MOST people that I've heard who like the ride, like it because they DON'T know the movies at all.

I've never seen the movies, and there's virtually nothing (other than the names of 4 characters) from the old cartoons in there.

As for the vehicle you're in being a Transformer - that's only repeated about 9000 times BEFORE you even get to the load area.

The blurriness hasn't anything to do with the film quality. I'm talking about the visual blur of too much digital shakey-cam. And, yes, a LOT of information gets repeated about 9000 times before you get on the ride. These aren't really complaints, just my experience. I won't feel compelled to spend much of my summer hiking down to the lower lot to ride Transformers, but I suspect I WILL be compelled to spend as much time off as I can hanging out in Radiator Springs. I'm just not getting the hyperbole that's being attached to this ride, even Al gushed! It's no dressed up slot car track, for sure. It's more like a, oh, I don't know, dressed up Spiderman ride.

I certainly want to see Universal do well, and create attractions and environments I want to experience. I buy passes to USH and Disneyland, so, you know, I want to get my money's worth. I don't get the "Universal's gonna kick Disney's ass with this one!" sort of thinking, and why does Disney need to create a "Potter killer?" They're both getting my money!

I've NEVER seen one Transformers movie nor the cartoons and yet this ride BLOWS anything Disney has done. Yes I am serious. As a female I went into the ride thinking I would seriously hate yes HATE anything like robots fighting eachother etc. yet I emerged from this ride in complete awe. I can't travel to Orlando to ride Spiderman so this is as close in my own backyard that I can get.

There is NOTHING blurry on the ride UNLESS you take off your 3D glasses and look at the screen (yes I did this when on my first ride it broke down). The cars are a bit claustrophobic but so is a lot of ride vehicles. I really feel Universal is going to give Disney a run for their money this summer. KIDS and I mean little kids maybe 5 years old if they are 40 inches were riding this ride and LOVING it.

Sorry but my expectations are very LOW for Radiator Springs only because it is like Test Track and it is definitely another clone ride. I'm not sure I will be able to go on opening day for Cars Land and I really don't care if I don't (it depends if I'm transfers to another store and my days I work) once Harry Potter is built Universal will definitely be a theme park contender.

I can tell you that plenty of Imagineers have ridden Transformers and they consider it a superior ride to even Forbidden Journey. Disney has built a pretty area with Radiator Springs, but in an industry where they used to be trailblazers, they've been stagnant for years now. UC is full of ex-Imagineers who got fed up with that.They're now designing Harry Potter West (along with an expansion to the Orlando Original)
The themed entertainment realm is full of companies started by ex Disney employees, and if they keep this up, Imagineering is gonna end up in the dust.

I tweeted you the backstory. Not ride details. Even if the ride is a movie about shiny robots blowing stuff up in the name of the allspark it's a different move than the movies that were already released. And the ride vehicle :( now I just have to wait until I forget before I go.

I don't see why one park has to be better than the other. I would kill for EITHER nearby. Be happy, people.

I really am sorry for posting anything that spoilered the ride for you, really. I would hate it if someone spoilered something I was looking forward to experiencing.

I'm happy that there are new things in both parks but when someone just out right gives a horrible review on an attraction that everyone else has been raving about including little kids. I just feel like unless it's Disney Universal seems to get a bad rap. The park itself is beautiful more clean than Disneyland even when busy.

I can see Transformers having extra long lines this summer and for Halloween Horror Nights this fall, I would recommend riding it before Horror Nights u less you have a Gate A front of line pass. Because I can see people not being ale to do everything especially the Halloween stuff.

Ok back on topic Rob I agree with you there. But when I OVERHEARD ex imaginers talk about this ride it's like wow.

If it is like Spider Man then I predict I'd find it boring (not that it isn't technologically amazing, it is just not the kind of thing that appeals to me).

But I suspect I'll never find out for sure since Universal Studios never climbs very high on our list of places to go.

Congrats if they've hit a home run for most people and don't take it personally that it isn't 100% adored.

I predict I will never ride Transformers.

I'm probably one of about 25 people who thought Spiderman was cool as ride system, but hate Spiderman the character.

Here's an interview with the creators of that ad.

Just as a last note from me, I'm sad I didn't get to ride the Transformers ride at Universal Singapore. If only they'd accepted American Express Travellers Cheques for admission entry (which they didn't... WTF?)

Don't worry Lash, Singapore's version uses older non-HD projection, and from contractors I know, you wouldn't really want to spend a lot of time on the rides there.

By the way, I'm just curious... why is Radiator Springs Racers considered a copycat ride? I'm far more interested in the dark ride sort of stuff we'll get to see inside, than I am in the ride functionality. Maybe that's just me.

Because of it's similarity to Epcot's Test Track.

I don't think RSR is a copycat ride, but it's not gonna be something that pushes the state of the art in themed attractions.

I'm going in with low expectations, because it's been 17 years since Disney's done anything stateside that made me really feel "wow, this is gonna change things", and that was with Indiana Jones and the EMV ride system- I couldn't wait to see what other adventures they'd use that for - unfortunately, they used it for "Dinosaur" (which was at least a little bit better when it opened as "Countdown to Extinction").

From what I've read, I believe it is the same ride chassis.

Yeah, I know it has similar functionality to Test Track. But I really wouldn't call it a copycat.

Here's where some things differ from person to person. I couldn't give a blind rat's sweet bippy about state-of-the-art. I care about detail, theme and storytelling. I'd be a happy woman if some talented imagineer could come up with another Pirates or Mansion ride - even if it was the exact same chassis - if it had compelling storytelling.

I don't have crazy high expectations, and I don't have a company bias (having seen Potter in Orlando, I know it's probably better than anything Disney is doing.)

But I'm to understand that this ride has dark ride elements. And I'm a dark ride girl. This ride has characters and story -- it's not just about, you know, taking a test car for a spin. THAT is what makes a ride for me - when there's a story (however vague or broken, in the case of Mansion/Pirates) that compels me.

And, you know what? Cars gets badmouthed, but I won't lie. The first one really did made me cry, and the second one really did make me laugh.

[Side note. WHAT AM I DOING TALKING ABOUT THEME PARKS? I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE.]

The neighbor's little boy is having an epic tantrum. It sounds like he's pounding on the walls.

Is he watching the Kings game?

Let's go Blues! ;)

I'd be happy if the Blues continued to play the rest of the series the way they played today.

This job, while a great experience over all, has really opened my eyes to the variations in quality within the legal profession.

Who wants a s'more?
That page is work safe, but the rest of the site most definitely is NOT!

There's a band called the Ellis Island Boys that has been playing at the Paradise Garden Stage in DCA, usually Friday through Sunday afternoons (they stop at 7:00). I finally got to see them a couple of weeks ago after hearing great things and they're very good. They play what I would call old-timey jazz, fast music that would be great to dance to if there was a dance floor. I was happy to see Jim Zeigler from various local swing bands playing trumpet for them. And apparently the bass player from the Brian Setzer Orchestra (don't remember his name, just his hair) was playing with them all day last Saturday. Check them out sometime.

Oo YAY SM! I was wondering where that image came from!

Soooo... I learned, first hand, just how obnoxious one of my kids friends is. Unfortunately, it's the person my daughter sang with last night at the Farmer's Market. We would both rather she sings by herself or with someone else next time around - which was the plan all along. However, that wasn't really relayed to this friend beforehand so it's going to be a little sticky if Amy goes and sings again next week.

Sounds like good inspiration for a new song.

I don't want to hurt her feelings - but I'm not going to hear her comments about me and my kids including her exasperated "we're old enough to take care of ourselves" when I told them I was leaving and would be back in an hour. Or her lack of attention performing some songs. (even if you aren't singing, if you're "on stage" you should be sitting nicely, not on your ipad or phone texting or talking to someone. Or her pouring a full cup of soda into large empty cup in the back seat of my car while driving while telling Amy what a great car it would be to take on a road trip. (NO! not in my car!) She's exceptionally friendly and talkative.

I realize she's not malicious or mean, but I wonder if she's not picking up on some social cues? I get the feeling that some of the kids in school may feel similarly (in that she's obnoxious and it takes some patience to hang out with her).

However, singing together once does not make a ongoing duo.

I'm hoping they get the entire Glee Club together next week and go sing and that would alleviate the odd transition (since it seems as though she's expecting them to sing together all the time now from the car ride comments home.)

Hi

FEJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason, I picture you saying that like Ralphie when the lug nuts went flying...

*falls off chair* OMG, it's Fej!

Hey.:cool:

Oh, hey FEJ. Soooooo......what are you doing right now?

How do we know it's really FEJ and not an impostor?

The smell

Which answers my second question.

So today I ran 13.1 miles for no good reason and then jumped in a silty river.

No bicycling?

House.

sniffle.

I'm going with a misguide. Though knowing that show it will go out dark.

Please: if you are going to discuss House, please spoiler. We are on the TiVo Time Shift.

Nothing has been said so far; I'm just requesting beforehand!

No, no. I wouldn't spoil it. Unless you are 3 seasons delayed. Then that's your own fault.

It was all Bob Newhart's dream.

Nope, just an episode or two.

Hurry up!

Wait, does this mean you've not seen where House adopts that child so she won't have to die fatherless? That was touching.

I like this photo (spoilered for size)

That's a great shot!

So looking forward to the day they bring one out here.

Holy carp... someone caught the image of the plane with shuttle right before the terrorists crashed it into the Statue of Liberty!

They went!






Away

Man that's a beautiful picture. It would have been even without the shuttle plane, but that just makes it even better!

Lady Liberty is about to cop a shuttle suppository.

So, today I opened the mail to discover a thick envelope from the IRS.

That's not generally good.

Anyway, inside is a letter suggesting I might want to give them $33,000+ at my earliest convenience.

Fortunately, I am very confident that I do not actually owe them this money and that the issue will be rather straightforward to resolve. And I can't even get angry at the IRS for it since now that I see what has happened I can see why they would be under the impression that we have a large amount of unreported income. The issue is really with Lani's employer and how they handle stock options.

But let me just say that those first 30 minutes before I was confident in the situation were quite exciting.

Hey! We can do it but we won't tolerate any foreigners making light of our national symbols! Apologize right now before we have to invade Tasmania or whatever your **** is called down there!

Been there done that with the wacky way they report stock options. Had a heart attack when I opened the envelope but it was indeed easily resolved.

So the Disney Dancers Facebook page is blowing up as we speak. One person already announced this morning that we're all awful and she's taking her toys and going home (since I only lurk I'm certainly not one of the awful ones). Now the administrator is threatening to close the group entirely because of all the negativity. No one has called anyone else a Nazi so far so I think she's being premature.

All this seems to be because Disney has temporarily changed the location for Saturday night dances and IT'S NOT THE SAME. The discussion has been active and heated but no one has been personally attacked so I don't quite understand the problem. It will be interesting when I go on May 19th (I only show up for Stompy Jones). There could be bloodshed. Or maybe just dancing. Who knows.

Nothing is supposed to change at Disneyland, ever.

What would Walt say?

Well, he would first want to know why it is so dark where he is.

And so very very cold.....

This is where you guys have a dance off right? That's the only way to settle it.

VBettyM :snap:

A tiny little life moment that I observed just now at the gas station/convenience store. A woman and her son were leaving the store. He looked about six or seven years old. I heard him ask his mother,"Does Dad work at Home Depot?" His mom rolled her eyes and answered "Yeah," with a disinterested tone bordering on contempt. But the little boys eyes got wider, and a smile blossomed on his face as he said, Oh" in an impressed whisper.

So, an itty-bitty slice of dialogue, but the playwright in me loved this moment for its economy of storytelling. Mom was expecting and hoping for so much more from the off-stage Dad, but he has climbed in esteem to his son almost as much as if Mom had told him that he's actually Iron Man.

Now, this richly loaded moment, scripted out verbatim, looks like this:

SON: Does Dad work at Home Depot?

MOM: Yeah.

SON: Oh.

And yet, I've read that its wrong and bad for playwrights to instruct emotional cues in a script. It's up to the actors and director to find those beats on their own. But really, who would know to look for them in such a mundane verbal exchange. So, is it really wrong to script a scene thusly:

SON: Does Dad work at Home Depot?

Mom: (Dully, rolling eyes) Yeah.

SON: (Awed, beaming) Oh.

From what you are saying, it sounds like this is not the opening of the drama but somewhere more in the middle. If from prior scenes we know of the mom's exasperation, and the boys infatuation then I'd say no. You would not need to spell it out. It should be as you say left for them to find. However I'm not sure how well that rule would apply to children actors. They may need more prompting.

Well, first question I'd ask is why is that scene in the play? By itself it is indeed completely meaningless, but how does it fit into the entirety, presumably one of those two readings wouldn't really make sense.

(Note: Absolutely no scriptwriting experience so questions may be lame.)

I'm not saying I would actually put this specific conversation into a play. But I do admire the economy with which this real life moment told more story than so much expository stage dialogue does. I'd be a better playwright if I could achieve similar economy, but I suspect I would need to indicate tone and subtext every now and then. I'd rather do that than have to lard the script with "telling, not showing" exposition.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen even good actors and directors miss really obvious context and give missed-opportunity readings to dialogue that should have revealed subtext. So, I'm often inclined to spell it out. As an actor, I don't mind seeing such clues in a script. But it seems to be frowned upon in, at least in some of the literature on the subject.

My first impression was that Dad stood out with the day laborers in front of Home Depot

No character anywhere for any purpose should ever roll his or her eyes. Unless either 1) your play is going to be a zany tween piece for the Disney Family channel; or 2) Mom is rolling her eyes not out of disappointment with dad or the fact that her son hasn't been paying attention to anything around him but because she has the hyperexaggerated gestures of the crack addict.

Duly noted. No images/smilies/roll.gif .

Perhaps a dialogue isn't the right medium. Maybe a monologue retelling of you original post in mechanized monotone like a Laurie Anderson piece.

Or a Joe Frank work in progress.

Wonderful! What a great show. I miss it.

Those are the facts!

Add Bubbles To Any Booze Without Watering It Down!

My nephew just finished his first year of college. I feel old. I remember when he was born and it wasn't that long ago.

It would take years to set the ground rules for that. Everyone has their own favorite version of swing.:rolleyes:

And all the others are wrong.

I thought one side dressed as jocks and the other as greasers? I guess that wasn't swing dancing... though it could still be fun. :p

Oh, man! I just might need to work on a Margarita Fiz!

I have a great lime tree and orange tree that I make a great Margarita with now, and this could be an interesting twist! Not that I'll pay $200 for this, but it gave me the idea of how to use club soda (I make a concentrate with fresh juice, mixed with a simple syrup infused with the zest of the limes and oranges that need to be diluted any way). While I prefer the "frozen Margarita" blended in the blender to resemble a slushie, on the rocks is nice as well because of it's ease. The next question is.....do I try egg white foam as in the traditional Gin Fiz recipe (or in this case like the Orange Fiz)? Or would that be too much?

Do you use the Cook's Illustrated recipe? I highly recommend it.

Published July 1, 2000.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The best margarita recipe would produce a drink with a balanced blend of fresh citrus flavors and tequila. We discovered the correct proportions (equal parts juice, orange liqueur, and tequila) for the best balance. The right alcohol (Triple Sec and a resposado tequila, made from 100 percent blue agave) gave our margarita recipe a mellow, delicate flavor. And the best citrus mix (lemon and lime zest steeped in their juices) gave it a deep, refreshing citrus flavor.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART, SERVING 4 TO 6
The longer the zest and juice mixture is allowed to steep, the more developed the citrus flavors in the finished margaritas. We recommend steeping for the full 24 hours, although the margaritas will still be great if the mixture is steeped only for the minimum 4 hours. If you're in a rush and need to serve margaritas immediately, omit the zest and skip the steeping process altogether.
INGREDIENTS
4teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2cup lime juice from 2 to 3 medium limes
4teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2cup lemon juice from 2 to 3 medium lemons
1/4cup superfine sugar
pinch table salt
2cups crushed ice
1cup 100 percent agave tequila, preferably Reposado
1cup Triple Sec
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine lime zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt in large liquid measuring cup; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors meld, 4 to 24 hours.
2. Divide 1 cup crushed ice between 4 or 6 margarita or double old-fashioned glasses. Strain juice mixture into 1-quart pitcher or cocktail shaker. Add tequila, Triple Sec, and remaining crushed ice; stir or shake until thoroughly combined and chilled, 20 to 60 seconds. Strain into ice-filled glasses; serve immediately.

Wanna talk about feeling old? One of my nephews just had a daughter graduate from college!

My daughter graduated with her BA last year, and will be getting married on the 26th of this month! I don't have the gray hair, but I'm feeling a bit like Steve Martin in Father of the Bride!

I came up with my own recipe, but it is pretty similar.
I prefer lime and orange, mostly because I have the fruit in my back yard.
The beer is optional, but adds a light effervescence and complexity. I omit it when making it on the rocks.

¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 cup Tequilla (Reposado is best)
½ cup Triple Sec
1 Tbl Agave Syrup
½ cup Lime-Orange simple syrup ( recipe below)
Ice
Cold water
1/3 Bottle beer, (Mexican lager like Carona is best)

Add the first 6 ingredients into the blender. Add half of the remaining space with crushed ice, the other half with cold water. Blend well until smooth. Add the 1/3 beer and mix just a moment and serve.

Lime-Orange Simple Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Zest of one lime
Zest of ½ orange

In a saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Turn off heat, and add the zests. Let steep for 5 minutes, then strain. Refrigerate until ready to use.

I'll bet orange and lime is delish (she said eyeing the blood oranges from the farmer's market...and wondering who is going to go get limes and tequila). :D

Someone has a hidden agenda! :D

My wife is in the hospital after having deydration, kidnyes shutting down and C02 Acidosis. She is intubated right now, and under general anastesia so she is asleep. She is responding to treatment, her kidney function more slowly than the rest, but as expected. They feel she won't need dialysis at this point. She's in ICU right now, but stable and improving.

After loosing my brother two weeks ago, I don't need this. :(

I just hope she gets better and can attend our daughter's wedding on the 26th.

Oh no - Thinking of you and your wife, sending all the positive mojo I can your way.

Yuck. Sending healing vibes you and your family's way.

Oh no. Good wishes for a speedy and complete recovery!

I'm so sorry to hear that! Hope recovery is speedy.

Healthy mojo from the East coast! Please keep us posted.

Thanks guys! I will keep you posted.

Oh my goodness! I'm glad to hear she's stable and improving.

I'm sorry I don't recall - is your wife ill (I mean other than this?) What causes this sort of thing to happen?

She has had 4 back surgeries, has type 1 diabeties and hypertension which are well under control, and anxiety. But nothing that would cause this. She is on xanax for anxiety, morphine for pain, high blood preasure meds, antidepresants, and diabetes meds.

She got a real bad bout of diarrhea and stomach cramping (possibly from a stomach bug) for 5 days. She couldn't eat or drink much, and got extremely dehydrated. This caused her kidneys to begin to shut down. As they did (because we didn't know it was happening), she continued to take her regular doses of medication, which the kidneys couldn't process completely causing an unsafe level of meds in her system (over doseing if you will). The metformin for her diabetes in particular is hard on failing kidneys, and she became toxic. Her breathing became shallow and caused her C02 levels to rise and O2 levels to drop. And the dehydration caused her blood preasure to go down, and with the increase blood levels of her blood preasure meds forced it down further. Her brain wasn't getting enough blood, and couldn't function properly.

Wishing for a speedy recovery.

Scary scary!

Best wishes for quick recovery! Yikes!

Oh my, more recovery vibes from this quarter!

I am so sorry she is so sick, sending healing vibes her way. Take care of yourself too.

RStar!! I hope her recovery is fast, though I know that the kidneys can often be the last thing to rebound from such a thing... Intubated... /sigh... This is rough, you'll have to try and do what you can to keep your spirits up right now.

Lots of love and light to you two right now. Stay strong.

I'm usually quite strong. But I have to say that I have never been so scared in my life as I am right now. The next couple of days will be the determining factor.

Thank you all for your support. It really helps.

Very scary, indeed, RStar- toes and fingers crossed, all viable mojos and vibes have been activated. A quick ((((hug)))), and they are on their way!

My thoughts are with you RStar - I hope things keep positive

Thank you all!

Teresa's tests show improvement every day. It takes longer to get one off the ventilator than I realized, but she did well yesterday. They want the person to breath on their own for a full day, and she only started at 4 pm yesterday. So turned it back on last night, and they will put the machine back on test mode again today, and if she does well they will remove the tubes tonight. The test mode is where she breathes on her own, but if she stops breathing for 30 seconds the machine gives her a breath to remind her. Durring the test mode they keep track of all her vitals including O2 to make sure her breathing is effective. Her tests were perfect yesterday, her O2 averaged 98% and the machine didn't need to remind her to breathe, so I think she'll do fine today when taking her off again. I just hope she rebounds mentally, she isn't showing good signs of that yet.

Most excellent, RStar!

Has she required any sedation - does she seem aware?

Scary and happy at the same time.... My best to the both of you.

Yeah for positive progress!

She was on Profinol, but they took her off of it yesterday. She still isn't aware yet, but when she starts to wake she panics & chokes and then she goes back to sleep. She was so out of it when she went into the hospital that I think she has no idea what happened to her. So they give her something to relax. The doc says that she was so toxic that it will take quite a few days to get it all out of her system so her brain can function well. They want her awake more before taking her off of the ventilator completely, but she has done well on the tests yesterday and today, so they may take her off tomorrow (Thursday).

The good news is that the kidney specialist signed her off, she has 100% kidney function again!

Good news!

RStar, sending you both a lot of love and light!

Good thoughts to the Star family coming at you from Wisconsin.

Glad there's some positive progress. More positive thoughts and wishes your way.

I am so glad you are getting good test results back, that is very encouraging. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

Amazing about the kidney recovery! Huzzah!

Let the blood clear and let the brain come on back! May she remain calm as she awakens and may this all go smoothly. :)

this made me chuckle (probably NSFW)

I donated blood platelets today, to enter a raffle for Game 4 Kings playoff tickets.

I donated platelets once and it made me feel so horrible. I don't think I could do it again. Good for you Matt!

I don't think I'd me smiling like that if someone was roasting my weiner over an open fire. Or my chestnuts for that matter!

Just got back from the hospital. They pulled wifey's tubes out, but her throat was so swollen that she had difficulty breathing, so they had to put them back in (re-intubate her). They are giving her steroids to reduce the swelling and will try again in a day or two. When I took her to the ER on mother's day, I had no idea it would be a week long ordeal!

At least it better not be much more than a week. I told them they are on a deadline. She must be on her feet by the 26th to attend our daughter's wedding. If she misses it, she will not recover. Period.