Dragon Con 2006 = Favorite costume(?)

OK - This one is definitely in the running. The Buddy Christ (originally from Kevin Smith's Dogma) was pretty cool, and pretty happy wandering around, spreading his message of "It's Alright." What really endeared me to him, though, happened last night, during a 4 hour card playing marathon in the lower level Marriott lobby. And that was the sight of Buddy Christ, crammed into one of the glass elevators facing the lobby, just riding up, and down, and up, and down, for about an hour. It was awesome.
Here's a couple of shots of him, in full regailia.(the one on the left is from last year's Con.)

Badpopcorn ? Firefly and Serenity Documentary

Above is the link to a site containing the torrent for a legal download of Done The Impossible. (That's that whole Firefly-got-canceled-but-they-made-a-movie-and-how documentary. Might be interesting to any geek readers out there.

So what has Seanner been up to?

Glad you asked!

Went to a party that LoudBobby was co-hosting, and saw some of his friends from his run club. One was a ringer for Molly Ringwald, and I remembered having met her the previous year. We chatted a while, until she had to return to her husband. There was also a lady lawyer there with a striking resemblence to Maggie Gyllenhaal, although with sparklier eyes, as well as another fetching lady lawyer who might even want to hire our company as expert witnesses. Add in the dozen or so Kiwi rugby players in town for a bachelor party to the normal crazy folks of the 'run club', and it was a memorable night. At least for me - not sure if all the others will remember it as clearly, however: too many libations .

Today, I went to a Southern cooking buffet for lunch near the house. (pretty good - I'll recommend it!) There was a 8-year-old scrawny boy getting his plate - reminded me of me at that age. EXCEPT> On his plate were about 10 brussel sprouts and 2 pieces of watermelon. Brussel Sprouts?? At his age?? Without Mom shoving them down his throat as he was having a temper tantrum?? No telling what the world is coming to.

Conan's a sell-out!

Reading Ragnar's blog, I discovered that they are selling Conan's throne on *eBay*, of all places. I suppose that I can't blame them, as it was really cool, and all. OK, OK - I may put in a bid. (I think I have room in the basement for it, and, although it would likely be uncomfortable to watch TV in, I think the laydeez would like it.

In prep for DragonCon next weekend, I thought I would post a photo of me sitting in said chair at LAST year's Con. So here it is.


PS - the 'laydeez' are from last year's Con photos, too. I'll try to upload more fun pics before next weekend.

Bershon - it's not just for breakfast anymore!

Although I had never heard the term "bershon" before today, i completely recognize the description, and will have to search my own photo archives for the same expression.

Mooommm.... take the PICTure.

Edit to add: Thanks to KayRay for both rocking and the link.

I've hit a new category in EHarmony!

So, I've been doing this eHarmony thing for about 4 months now, and it's interesting. I started in April, and I was 33. Now, however, I am 33 - completely different. No wait - that's the same age.

Something must have changed, though. Whereas as recently as 2 weeks ago, the Harm-stor Thinking Machine suggested that I look at people in the age rankings of 24-36, I must have passed over the invisible hump (which isn't as much fun as it sounds.) I am apparently now age appropriate for lay-deez between 30 & 42.

!

What happened? Did I miss the memo, where I got really mature all of a sudden? I still think that poots are funny, so that can't be it...

{grin}

I'm letting it lapse for a bit, more out of lack of energy than anything else. It does take a fair amount of time, even if I've met some great people thru it.

In other news - my trivia team came in first at the Ale House! (See, Hui - we didn't need you after all. We did have some new faces, though, and hope to see them back next week.

A meme, and a webcomic

Meme first:


Hooray! The only person I recognize on there is black, and hasn't made a good movie since "The Golden Child." But if I were a lady, I'd apparently be HAWT!

And now for the Gayest T-Shirt Ever

Reasons not to clean house

Did you ever pick something up for later? And then forget exactly what it was that you had picked up? And then, in a massive cleaning up (or at least straightening up,) start to go through all of your papers, and feel something with an unusual shape inside of another piece of paper? And, as you are only really straightening while watching TV (ah, my best friend, beautiful multi-tasking! What possible down-side could you have?), you lean in close to see exactly what you have stored away in a piece of paper? And then, not recognizing exactly what you have, you lean in closer, only to quickly remember exactly what it is, and that, after all, you really never did want it sitting right next to your face, for who exactly, after all, does want a dessicated and flattened turtle sitting right next to one's face? And then did you shriek like your imaginings of a tween girl who has experienced her first unexpected encounter with David Cassidy, or Prince Harry, or Michael Jackson, depending on what decade it was when she tweened? And then did you throw the hapless reptilian Frisbee(TM) into the air, only to have your friend (helping with the TV watching, not the straightening out, sadly) look quizzically at you? And then did you calmly pass it over to him, only to watch the exact same process repeat itself, with you as author/narrator, as opposed to unintentional victim?

What's that you say? No? Really? Oh. I thought that would be one of those universal experiences, like first love and hating algebra. My bad.

Hmm? Why, you ask, would one even consider picking up said 2-D terrapin? That is, I fear, a topic for another day. (perhaps at that time I'll upload a picture for you to see as well, gentle readers. )

One Trilogy to Rule Them All

Tres amusing. I promise.

Funny questions from company-wide work test survey

I'm pretty sure at least some of these are at least mildly not appropriate for work, however timely they may be:

1) Has the heat wave hit your city?
2) Should steroids be banned from all sports?
3) Do you take work/laptop with you on vacation?
4) Will you see Mel Gibson's next movie?

And the final question:
If you could have lunch/dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

What's *your* answer to this last one?

(I went with my old standard: Mel Gibson & Jesus. You know… for laughs. )

WLJPOTD - August 2

Just a quick couple of strange links from the photo site, with my thoughts:

I just don't see this tattoo looking good in 30 years.

Is it a car, or a screaming face? *YOU* be the judge!

Chubbiest cheeks I think I have ever seen...

WLJPOD

or: Weird LiveJournal Photo of the Day. (to be updated frequently, I suppose)

For whatever reason, I think that Mel Gibson would blame this photo for his DUI.

YouTube - Snakes on a Plane: How Hollywood Really Works

Keeping with my new "All Snakes, All The Time" programming format...

Harry Potter Quiz

Thanks to EverBabe for the link below.

I don't know if I agree - but man, at least I'm not the big V.


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Testriffic | IQ Test Results

Go ahead and participate in this internet meme... (if you want to)

almostnormal33: Pirates.... arrr...

Minor "Pirates" spoiler... but the imagery is enjoyable.

Note to self:

Above link NOT to be used as inspiration for eHarmony...

The Middle East Buddy List. By Christopher Beam and Noam Rudnick

It's a pretty cool interactive chart if, like me, you got a little confused which one Hezbollah was a couple of weeks ago.

MapMyRun.com -- Mapping your running routes has never been easier!

This is a pretty cool site that hooks into Google Maps and allows you to trace your walking/running route along either the streets or the

Dug... or Ogre... or MNO... or Brian - heck, almost any of my friends and family should find this useful, or at least neat. Well, any of my friends except EverBabe or SuperMark.

Why did *I* hook it up? Well, I went to eat toda (Indian lunch buffet yesterday, Chinese today) and got a fortune cookie: "Tomorrow is a good day to try something new." The combination of my realization that (a) it's always tomorrow somewhere and (b) Everbabe was proud of me when I started my 12 hour diet led me to think that the only way for me to get going is to Simply. Get. Going.

Anyhoo. Home Depot is about a 1.5 round trip walk for me. Good to know.

Thanks to Red (via KayRay) for this site.

It's the one on the bottom right that is the most urgent.

(This is from EverBabe's 30 pic's link)

Ogre & EverBabe would disagree with this pic a little, though - $500 isn't nearly enough...

how to enjoy sushi - Google Video

Thanks to Ragnar Tornquist for this link. As he said:

I’m sure a lot of you have seen this video before - it’s been linked to by numerous blogs since the dawn of time (well, at least since earlier this year) - but I revisited it today, it made me giggle, and I loves to shares the giggles. So, dammit, here it is:

Konichiwa!

"Special Offers," Indeed

While looking to get termite protection, I stumbled across the above link.

You tell me exactly what you think the above lady is offering, especially.

(lemme know if the link is faulty.)

Chinese Buffet for dinner

Went to City Lite buffet for dinner tonight, and got a fortune cookie that said: "Success will be yours at home and in business in the next month."

Cha-CHING! Perhaps my wacky inventions are finally going to pay off!

How To Swing - The United States Patent Office explains it all?for you. By Timothy Noah

And the above link is the OTHER reason I love Slate. A complete listing of the patent issued a few years ago for swinging. On a swing. In the playground.

I need to talk to my niece, make sure she knows about this.

SOAP - Music video update

Someone tell Sam Jackson he's my bro

Strangely related - some mildly humorous bits

See This Shirt...it's made of snakes?

Wealthy and Wise - Warren Buffett's lesson to the rich. By Jacob Weisberg

I guess the fact that there is good news every once in a while means that the MSM doesn't necessarily *always* have to say bad things about Bush.

One line in particular I liked was the following:

There's a human and personal dimension to this as well: Buffett didn't want to cripple his own children by raising them to expect a free ride. As he pointed out in response to a question Monday, people at his country club who complain about the debilitating effects of welfare should recognize that they're creating a cycle of dependency by giving their own kids "a lifetime supply and beyond of food stamps."

Amen, Brother Buffett.

Photo from the past - "And a cookie!"

New Orleans - before Katrina.

The Dilbert Blog: 13-inch Tail

I think it was Scott's "Rule 472" that made me laugh the hardest.

The Knowledge For Thirst ? Freez Lemon

You've trusted me in the past, and not been let down, right?

I mean, these guys didn't let you down, right? So I followed a random link to this site and had a ball. Read on, and see if you agree:

The Lebanese beverage industry is not a sector of the global economy you hear an awful lot about these days. Is it even legal for me to be drinking something imported from Beirut, is basically my main question. If not then I guess consider this my protest against the current administration and their war on freedom, or whatever it is they currently don’t want everyone to have.
....
It actually hit me halfway through that this tastes very much like Smirnoff Triple Black Ice, and I had a mild freak-out. Holy moly please let me not be drinking an alcoholic beverage at 9 am, at work. The ingredients seem to check out, but who knows. I am not a man of science.

Funny funny.
Chinese fortune from lunch:
"You will prosper with your wacky inventions."
(I must say - that was completely unexpected.)

Post 350! And a car.

One advantage to being in the same office park as the North American headquarters of Porshe is the unexpected perks, such as major movie stars hanging around.

For example, the Porsche from movie "Cars" is outside in our traffic circle.



(note the handsome fella with Sally (the car's name.)



shame about his arms, though...

YouTube - Hope Is Emo: Chapter One "The Words Are Dying"

SuperMark - you asked me a while ago exactly what emo was. Well, this video by the guys at "Ask a Ninja" have the answer.

Hope is Emo.

Hear the loud, annoying, sound! Or not...

It's up to you if you would like to try to hear the noise. So far, about 50% of the folx here at work have heard it, including, most definitely, our high school intern.

And EverBabe, but not Ogre. Interesting... I guess 34 is the cut off point.

Sean's tired update

Just a brief update. No interesting dreams recently, but did go out for chinese last night with some friends in from out of town. (Fortune Cookie, if you must know... and it was DELICIOUS. Not my traditional standard of low price/high quantity. Also, EverBabe's absolute favorite Chinese place in the world.)

My fortune, however, read as follows: "Your luck will soon be at a high point." Say. No. More. (and wish me well, as I really hope that my luck is REALLY good soon, cause I am scared of the thought of a high point of luck that isn't that great. Unless it's just a local maximum.)

PS - I love that in one of the reviews above the reviewer used the word "envioronmence" and expected anyone to know what it meant.

Sean's Kah-RAAAAZY Dreams, Episode 1

The thing that is most crazy about my dreams is that I really don't remember them most of the time. (in this case, most is approximately 95% or more of the time.) So now, for the past 2 nights, I have remembered them, at least long enough to tell myself about them, and then maybe tell you guys. (EverBabe is my bestest dream teller-to, but she's been potentially asleep when I've awoken, and I didn't want to wake her. So: On with the dreams!

Dream 1 of night before last - I think it was vaguely "Omen" inspired. My family was trying to either kill or make sure that my brother and I died. (Family = I know it was a dream, and I know you weren't really trying to kill me. On the other hand, don't send me any apples via an old crone - they probably won't be accepted.) I had to convince him to pretend to be dead when they came upstairs to check on us. (I like to think of this as the "Romantic Comedy" of dreams... so yeah, like "The Omen")

Dream 2 of night before last - I was in Australia, or some other continent that was a big old sand dune. I parked somewhere in the southeast at the base of a big sand mountain. (no real roads here - drive where-ever you want.) They were doing a bunch of sand skiing (like snow skiing, but, you know - on sand?) I did that a lot, but then, at the end of the day, realized I didn't know where I was. More importantly, I couldn't find my car, cause - no roads = no cross-streets = no Goofy lot. So that sucked. (In keeping with the movie theme of the evening's dreams, this was a "Dude - Where's My Ishtar?" )

Dream 3 - last night. I really have the feeling that this was a continuation of an earlier dream. So let's call this dream 02.2 (02 for the second night, and 2 for the second dream of the night) In the first, barely remembered dream, I was more or less myself, and hanging out with a buncha hoodlum ne'er-do-wells. I think they were more slackers than actual 'biker punks', but either way, "COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM ANY OF MY CURRENT FRIENDS WHO ARE READING THIS." (Did they buy it? Good... back to the story.) In that one (02.1), I remember making the choice to grow up, and stop hanging out with those guys. I may have had help from someone else at that point, or we made the decision together - whatever. Either way, using dream logic, I escaped from that unproductive dream trap. Which leads to dream 02.2. I now switched perspective to one of the other slackers in the dream. It's interesting, but it seems that I was a Logan Echolls/Ryan Phillippe's character from "Cruel Intentions" kind of guy in this one: jaded, world-weary, and above all else - very 'me' centered. I ended up having a very strange night in which I decided to follow the path that the dream 02.1 'me' had left - it probably would have made a great 80's movie. Or originally was *in* a great 80's movie that I sublimated... whatever. Anyhoo. Started off in the college library where I was working on a project with some friends. In prime jerk mode, I wasn't being very helpful. (PG-13 allusion coming up soon, skip to next paragraph if you are uncomfortable with that from me:) Through the vagaries of dream logic, I then ended up with a Mrs Robinson type character, who, yes, was trying to seduce me. In my tux. (why did I have a tux? DREAM LOGIC.)
I then was walking home along the highway. Apparently this was after prom, because I ran into a nice couple of high-school seniors going home after not having fun at their prom. They were even better charicactures of 80's movie misfits than I. I was apparently close enough in age to them that they mistook me for one of their own. Now, in the dream world, graduation was happening the morning after prom, and they had decided to skip it. I, going through my magic transformation from Amoral Logan to Good Logan, was able to convince them that they would regret not going, and, as long as we were walking down the highway right in front of their school, why not run on in and grab their diploma? Which they did.
The graduation ceremony was very strange, however, as they were apparently breaking down the stage (and indeed the entire outdoor amphitheatre structure) as the ceremony was coming to an end. (Dream detail - there were tulip poplars there.) The girl was able to get her diploma, though - which was very neat to DreamMe. I decided to head outside (well, more outside) and leave, as I felt my work was finished. I had a notebook with me, and wrote down the events of my evening (looking, I imagine, much like this) and then, in my spare time, wrote up a brief article for submission to a magazine. I think the magazine article represented my maturing and excape from the group of ne'er-do-wells, cause I then teleported(!) back to where they were, slacking back at our house. I dropped a witty bon-mot along the lines of 'It is finished,' which they had completely ignored when I was other me in dream 02.1. Now they understood it to mean that I was out of the gang, as it were. They were bummed, but didn't really do anything about it, cause, you know... slackers? Yay! Personal growth!
I must have scored a cap and gown at the graduation, cause I had it on now. I decided to change out of my tux, and then *poof* teleported back to the graduation. With not much to wear. I decided it was OK, because these kids needed a story to tell, like 'hey - remember that guy who didn't have any clothes on under his robes?' {REAL LIFE ALERT - This would normally freak me out. Just wanted you to know.} I began to leave the scene (on foot, as my teleportation apparently only works when I didn't really want it to.)

So - those are my crazy dreams. J - still have that dream interpretation book?

YouTube - Ask A Ninja: Question 21 "Revolution Cubed"

Thanks to Ogre for this... *interesting* look into this strange mix of Will Ferrell, Ann Landers, and DEATH BY POISON NEEDLE!

Windows Live Local

Mr Softy's answer to Google Maps - Best improvement is the Bird's Eye view, which is a pretty neat tool to look at aerial photos and see the side of your house.

Thanks to KayRay for the link!

YouTube - Darth Vader: The Musical

I know that new viewers may be seeing this blog for the first time, and I really should be editing it better.

But darned if I don't have a love affair with both early Lucas and Lloyd Webber.

YouTube - Phone With Crime Deterrent

Thanks to MNO for the idea to this link.

cool new fatboy slim video - now with more juggling!

I don't think you have to be a member of myspace to see this SPECTACULAR example of either juggling-on-demand, video postprocessing, and/or ILM graphics wizardry.

Day 1 at the network upfronts. By Troy?Patterson

I have always been a fan of network TV, with all that that entails. This is a link to a Slate article that describes NBC's hard sell of next year's shows. Supermark would especially like this show, I think: Day 1 at the network upfronts. By Troy?Patterson: "Heroes, with its moody assemblage of Benetton models discovering their new superpowers, was unquestionably born as a handy high-concept formula, X-Men meets Lost. On the one hand, its young cast was not at all convincing in describing its charms. On the other, one of its central themes is blowing up New York, which is timeless, the action equivalent of a simple strand of pearls."

The Dilbert Blog: Predicting the Next President

Scott Adams has his prediction of who our likely next president is. I liked this quote, though:

Usually it’s obvious who is going to be the next president of the United States. First, the media decides for us who will be the nominees for each party. Then the voters elect the one who makes the most outrageous promises. That’s called leadership, and we like it.

The BBC's latest star - a baffled cabbie | the Mail on Sunday

A computer expert has described his astonishment at seeing the BBC's 24-hour news channel interview a taxi driver - in the mistaken belief it was him.

Thanks to Ogre for the link of this poor guy doing a yeoman's effort at answering some detailed computer and law questions.

YouTube - Evolution of Dance

Ariel hooked me up with this... awesome look at a guy with too much dancing in him to be entirely straight.

(Ariel - you are also known as TwoPairs to my family)

(edited to actually make the first sentence a sentence.)

Sean's brush with celebrities at lunch, part 2

Since my last brush was with Weezie, you might be forgiven for forgetting about part 1. (that one was a lot less exciting than this one, as it merely involved sitting near her at Houlihan's during a large group lunch.) However, this one was VERY exciting to me, as it is my best example of local girl makes big (at least related to me.)

I've talked before about Jennifer Nettles, her two local bands (Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band,) and my brush with destiny. She's been more successful recently, even making a video with Jon Bon Jovi and being a leadsinger for Sugarland.

SO: while at lunch with EverBabe and SeanJrJr, I saw her. What did I do? Why, I acted perfectly cool and collected, of course, and treated her like someone who I went to high school with:

Me: "Jennifer?" (my standard trick for confirming I know someone's name)
She: {understandably confused} "...yes?"
Me: "Just wanted to say that I've known you since Soul Miner's Daughter days, and am very excited that things are going well for you."
She: "...Thank you?" (gesturing at the sleeping infant) "Is this your baby?"
Me: "No, just borrowing him for a bit."
She: {flee}

Dur dur durrrr.

In order to not appear like a COMPLETE idiot and stalker, I then spent the rest of the meal pointedly not looking at her. (yes, i recognize i still *am* a complete idiot - just didn't want to look like one.) Which brings us to another thing EB and I were talking about at lunch (pre-idiot, thank you.) Back to the Scott Adams blog:

A large part of being a big-time cartoonist involves live interviews on camera,
and giving speeches to large crowds. Those activities terrify people that have a
normal fear of embarrassment. Not me. If I’m going to embarrass myself, I want
witnesses, and lots of them. The entertainment value seems wasted if only one
person notices.

I couldn't agree more. Hence this post. (PS - this is what she looked like at lunch. )

Random photo dump - so you can play along at home!

Thought I would share my eHarmony photos with you guys, so you could:
A) Laugh, and shake your head in pity
B) Laugh, and shake your head in anger
C) Say - Hey, *that's* not what you look like
D) Say - Hey, *I* want to go out with you.
E) All of the above.

As blogger is treating me badly right now, I'll leave you with this one image. More to come soon.



"Me and Mom in Central Park, Thanksgiving 2001. (up there for the parade after 9/11)"

'Not Quite Perfect' McDonald's Opens In Illinois Outlet Mall | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

you know that i would be there, if they opened one in the ATL.

PRODUCT: Control Issues T-Shirt

Thanks to EverBabe for the gift of this lovely T-Shirt.

However, I do *not* think that I have control issues. As long as I have complete control, everything goes very well. Perfectly, some say.

"..And Stephen Colbert was never heard from again."

Don't know if you have been paying attention to this stuff recently, but as political satire while actually standing in the lion's mouth goes, this is top grade stuff.

Thanks to Slate for the video link, and thanks to Troy for lines like the following:

"In the immediate wake of Colbert's most brutal line ("I stand by this man. I
stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands
on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city
squares."), the president of the United States wore, on his peeved lips, an
expression that you usually see only in the instant before a bar fight. "

You'll see what he means in the video. One caveat - It is long, but could just be listened to. It slows down at about the 15 minute mark, too, but the bit with Helen Thomas was more amusing than the press corps would have you believe.

Chinese Fortune Cookie - Dinner with Mom

"You have an iron will, which helps you succeed in everything."

thanks for dinner, Mom.

Donuts and sewers - Thanks, Slate!

Two quick little stories, one for my life as an engineer, and the other for my life as a commercial watcher.

A visit to the sewers of London - (please dispose of your oil in the trash, not down the drain!)

Everbabe - TMBG do the mu-sak for the commercial. Read the review here.

EDIT - apparently blogger double posted... sorry.)

YouTube - Titanic: The Sequel

It's a couple of minutes, but done very well. Very, VERY well.

You'll thank me?

Mom & Emmadelle at MNO's for Easter.

EHarmony - Trick Question?

So: doing EHarmony - here's a sample question.

When you think about what you want in a relationship, how important are the following items? Please use the scale of 1 = strongly agree, 7 = strongly disagree, to select your answers:

Question: Knowing that my spouse is usually to blame when things go wrong.

(I wonder what I am supposed to write here....)

Sean's CRAAAAAAA-ZY neighbors

Dear Diary -

I'm sorry that I've been away so long. It's not you, it's me. Or rather, it's a combination of waaaay too much work and ummm... other things?

Anyhoo - things going well for me, for the most part. Wanted to give you a seasonal update of my life. You may remember me moving last spring? Well - it was Easter two weeks or so after I moved in, and my family came to visit. Imagine my Mom's reaction when she saw the dinosaur down the street.

"What dinosaur," you rightfully ask. "This one," I respond.


"Oooooooh... and all dolled up for Easter, too!" (for whatever reason his ears are on crooked. But I do love the basket. Last year it was filled with eggs.) I have wanted to stop by and tell them that I love their chutzpah - but haven't done it yet. maybe next year? Closer look below.

Kids say the darnedest things - part deux

Please allow me to point you at an article written by SuperMark - (apparently SeanJr needs glasses...)

2-Ton Cannon Is Fodder for Ongoing Rivalry Between Caltech and MIT - Los Angeles Times

Talk to their lawyers, Dewie, Cheatem, and Howe … The LAT notices that some fine students at MIT visited rival Caltech and quietly pilfered Caltech's famed 130-year-old Fleming Cannon, fired annually during commencement day and now sitting peacefully in Cambridge. The MIT students simply presented Caltech guards with work orders from their new business: "Howe & Ser Moving Company."

Thanks to Slate for the above link.

Alternate Lost Credits

Over a year ago, when Lost first came on the scene, Everbabe said: "Sean, you *have* to see this show. It is really cool, and has the weirdest credits that I think I have ever seen." Well, I went over, plopped down in front of Tivo, and, rubbing my hands together in anticipation, started to watch.

And sat back, bemused. As the only credits I saw was the word "Lost" in white zooming in from a black background.

Apparently, EverBabe isn't a watcher of credits, or she has a *really* low bar. {grin}

Anyhoo - The link above is, I think, what she was talking about. (Salon might make you watch an ad, but it's worth it.)

The Order of the Stick - by Rich Burlew

A sad, but touching, reminder of the mortality of all of us.

Let's hear it for The Dilbert Blog

*Three* Scott Adams (Dilbert author) blog entries, each for different people. The first is for A. (more specifically, A.'s Dad, a big tennis fan.) It's an interesting (to me) story about a tennis player. Link to tennis story

Second entry - Yesterday, he asked people to submit questions about his opinions on a range of stuff. I wrote a question, and this morning he answered it. My question:

Q. What about using public funds in the rebuilding of New Orleans, specifically the areas we *know* will flood again.
A. I think the country should help disaster victims. The specific method should be an economic question where you apply a concept called “expected value.” Compare the cost of rebuilding and (especially) fortifying the levees to the cost of relocating people. Real estate in the flood zone is relatively cheap. If you can get the risk of levee failure down to say 1%, rebuilding is the best solution. I’ll spare you the math, but rebuilding in a flood zone could, under some assumptions, be the best course.

Hmmm... not exactly what I thought he'd say - but still a thoughtful answer that I can agree with. The sad thing is that no one WILL perform the "expected value" calculation in this case. (attached is a Slate article that looks at the economic aspect as well.)
Last Dilbert blog entry - Amusing look at the poor choices made by the brother of a professional athlete:

Did you hear about the guy who decided to watch his brother play in the Super Bowl instead of reporting to prison as scheduled? His sentence was increased from 6 months to 5 years for reporting late.
That’s not the funny part. The funny part is that he says it was worth it to see his brother play in the Super Bowl. Plus he got to party with Snoop Dog. I’ve heard good things about Snoop’s parties. That alone was probably worth a few months of sodomy.

YouTube - Crazy Dog

Last one today -

but DAMN - that dog is WACK.

YouTube - Real Life Simpsons Intro

"Someone went through a lot of trouble to very accurately depict the Simpsons intro with real life actors. " - Comment on YouTube

A LOT of trouble.

Wow.

write it like disaster: how to win trials and influence people

You may have been following the Moussaui case in the news, and noticed the thing about the government lawyer getting kicked off the case for going against the judges orders and giving the witnesses printed talking points. This guy got a copy of the talking points... let's peek in, shall we?

TIP SHEET FOR PROSECUTION WITNESSES
(PLEASE KEEP CONFIDENTIAL)

Use specifics whenever possible. Details help paint a story and create (or, we should hope, uphold) the image of truth. For instance, which of the two sounds more convincing to you? 1) "I seem to recall that he may have been up to something with those guys." 2) "I remember him saying, 'I plan to hijack an airplane and fly it into a building along with my co-conspirators.'" If you said the second, you're right -- note that it is filled with details, such as an actual quote, or the helpful phrase "co-conspirators" which is more specific than "those guys."

mightybear: Food for Thought

Fun little vignette about SeanJr:

If an adult ate the same meal Connor typically does (but scaled up), they'd have: 8 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, 4 bananas, 4 nutrigrain fruit bars and sometimes 4 adult sized cups of yogurt with fruit for dessert.

And he's not really that big - just really big for 2.25 years old.

Drinking While Intoxicated By William?Saletan

Wha whaaaa?

Texas is busting people for "public intoxication" in bars. Undercover agents have "infiltrated" 36 bars and arrested 30 drinkers. Explanations from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission:

1) We're doing it to stop drinkers before they get in a car.

2) Even if they're not going to get in a car, maybe they'll "walk out into traffic and get run over."

3) Or maybe they'll "jump off of balconies trying to reach a swimming pool and miss."

4) Anyway, bars aren't exempt from laws against public intoxication.

Thanks to slate for the link.

Kids Say The Darndest Things, Episode I

So, over at EverBabe's house tonight. SeanJr is being TERRIBLY cute, with his premiere two-year-old vocabulary. I suggest you check out his blog, to read his Mom's story of his word recognition (good for 27 months, really)

But towards the end of the evening, as he was giving his good night kisses (Daddy was in the other room):

1-> He kissed mommy (on the cheek)
2-> He kissed me on the cheek
3-> He looked away, and sloooowly said "hyoooomoooooooooe"

We're both pretty sure it was just an accidential confluence of consonants and vowels, but seriously; sometimes it's harder than it should be not to laugh when you are around toddler homophobia.

PartiallyClips - Motorcyclists

Two Words:

Ouch.

Curleygirl Days: Viva Las Vegas!

EverBabe -

You might like this blog, as it contains two things important to you: traveling with toddlers, and Vegas, baby, Vegas!

Couple of amusing mispelings.

1-> Resume crossed my desk today. It said:

Adittionally, my technical writing skills are a major asset...

(oh no she di'int....)

2-> From an Ebay listing for a device that usually runs in the multiple thousands of dollars.

Su Good Eats ? Chinese New Year Bash: Roast Pork Buns

Scroll about halfway down, look at the roasted pork, and realize that I will be making this recipe very soon.


EverBabe - you are invited, of course. Anyone else, please RSVP. ;-)

Cooking 101: Add 1 Cup of Simplicity

Cute story about cooking lack of know-how. I believe in substitution & not being a slave to recipes, but seriously:

"described the kind of e-mails and calls (General Mills) gets asking for cooking advice: the person who didn't have any eggs for baking and asked if a peach would do instead, for example; and the man who railed about the fire that resulted when he thought he was following instructions to grease the bottom of the pan -- the outside of the pan."

Draw a pig personality test

Thanks, SuperMark...

{psigh} I was being so good, today, too...)

Video - Can't drive 55?

From KayRay:

"I just missed it on world news in wed night, but thanks to google video:"

part of the AJC article:

Drive 55, try to stay alive Students tempt the fates, get it on film, and
make big news

By ARIEL HART

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 03/03/06
They knew it was dangerous.
"We could have really been hurt," said one of the Atlanta college students after their
experiment. "I was pretty sure that I was doing something stupid," said
another. That may be true. But, young and brash, they had a plan.
They wanted to go the speed limit on I-285.
In four cars, on all four lanes, the students from Georgia State University and other local colleges paced the entire midmorning flow of Perimeter traffic behind them at 55 mph for half an hour. They call it "an act of civil obedience."
"I get a lot of tickets," said Andy Medlin, 20, the Georgia State student who came up with the idea. "The best way to expose the flaws in the system is by following it."
Thankfully, they survived unharmed, though much maligned. The eight students captured it all on video for a student film competition, and the five-minute piece has fired up the country this week on blogs, talk radio, and national news broadcasts.
"NPR was the first biter," said Jordan Streiff, 21, the group's experienced filmmaker
and an Asian Studies major at Georgia State. "Initially, we were going to be on
ABC's cable network and Web site, but overnight the traffic to the video spiked
so they put it on World News Tonight."

Sort of a real life "Waterboy"

follow this link

You ever have that feeling...

.. you know, that one where you just said something, and were literally trying to reel it back into your mouth as you were saying it, all the while thinking "omigodyouaren'treallysayingthatareyou?wtf!shutupshutupshutup" Like the time you realize that you shouldn't *really* have talked bad about one of your bosses' mother. Or, like, you accidentally reply-to-all for a global email, and everyone then knows how you really feel about whatever the subject matter was.

Or, like, you are filling out an automatic report online, and get an confirmation email that includes the name of the legal counsel for your company, and, in sending a worried email to your co-worker about how uncomfortable you are making yourself known to the upper level management of your company, you accidentally CC: the wrong person.

You CC: the CEO. Of your 1,300 person company.

The text of your (or, let's be honest here, *my*) message? "Well, at least the CEO wasn't included." Oh, bitter, bitter irony....

In other news: happy 300th post, Sean.

New Seannibal Feature (?)

What the hey: I like Chinese. For now, (when I remember,) I'll let you guys know my most recent fortunes.
Last Saturday, I went to dinner with Ogre and his wife, and got one. It said: 'Pure love is a willingness to give withough a thought of receiving anything in return." You know what I read? "Blah blah pure love blah blah." Boo-ring.

Thursday week, it said, simply: "You will be successful at everything."

Wow. Not even everything that I try- apparently I'll succeed at the things I don't try too. I may be succeeding RIGHT NOW, and not even realize it. How awesome is THAT?

Locus Online: Robin Hobb interview excerpts

The above link is for Everbabe, Nicole, and anyone else who has read and enjoyed Robin Hobb.

(I don't know why I was surprised to find it was a pseudonym... all the good authors do it, and it really just gives me a chance to read some earlier stuff. Still - interesting snippets from the interview.)

Uncle Sean II

Photo of me and SeanJr Jr when he was a wee 4 hours old.

Nice looking baby, if I do say so myself.

(and I know that his parents agree)

In the spirit of full disclosure -

If memory serves, we've talked in the past about my affinity for holidays. A lot of the what seemed at the time to be major life love-ish events have been holiday-driven (or at least holiday-adjacent.) So: I plan on going to trivia tomorrow night, and hopefully will run into PYT there, for some more flirting. I mean trivia. More trivia. So: tomorrow night is Valentine's Day.

That's all I'm saying.

In other news: on Christmas, I got an "Merry Christmas" IM on my phone from a number I didn't recognize. Being the carefree dude I am, I responded with well wishes of my own, and decided that I would return the favor on New Year's. Which I did. And then on MLK. I'm going to IM this mysterious stranger on major (and minor) holidays from now on, I think. Male? Female? I don't know. For now, I call this person (i'm *pretty* sure it's a person) 'HolidayIM'. So, HolidayIM, if you're out there - Happy Valentine's Day!

In other *other* news: I know that pictures of other people's kids can get a little old - however, there is a video of SeanJr that I recommend, and he's not even my kid. He's dancing along with his animatronic friend. Tres cute.

AOL Music: Full CD Listening Party -- hear the latest albums, track by track, before you buy them

Complete. Free. Streaming. CD's.

Great for those with broadband connections.

Random Thoughts, Post Trivia Edition

--> Got back from seeing SeanJr Jr. He's the cutest little squished face giant baby I've ever seen. At least that I've ever seen on day 0 of his outbound life. I think that all of us will once again believe in the giant babies we see on TV trying to pass as newborns now. Mom was in great shape (apparently, the epidural is the way to go - who knew?) and Dad was sweet enough to get me an "I'm an Uncle" pin that I'll be wearing all week. Although I definitely think of *myself* as Uncle Sean, it's nice that SuperMark thought of me that way (or at least got me the pin.) It probably doesn't hurt him to be magnaminous, though, as he has, once again, ended up with not only a clone of himself, but indeed, a clone of SeanJr. I'll have to be sure be the uncle that gets them the absolutely matching sweaters, as *someone* has to traumatize them.

--> When I moved into my house approximately one year ago, I needed the standard necessities. That, combined with my love affair with all things Costco, led to the following purchases (remember, these are all Costco sized):

2 large boxes of dishwashing detergent
1 large box of laundry detergent
12 giant rolls of paper towels
36 rolls of toilet paper
18 bars of soap
6 tubes of toothpaste

And finally a Dollar store bottle of shampoo

At the time, I offered odds as to which of these I would run out of first. KayRay mentioned that a friend of hers in a similar situation *thought* the TP would go first - but mercy's name if the soap didn't bite the dust. (it could have been a combo of the fact that said friend was a guy that lowered consumption of one and raised consumption of the other... but I digress.) As it happens, I haven't gone through one CU (Costco Unit) of anything *yet*, but this reminded me of something else. Since Halloween I've been shaving my head semi-regularly. This has forced me to buy my first can of shaving cream in over 15 years. Which leads me to the following, o so different question: "What substance mentioned above does it suck the WORST if it get's into your eyes?" Will answer in a later post - prize to those who guess right.

--> At trivia tonight at the Ale House, Team Derek left after the first quarter. I stuck around, and met a pretty young thing (massage therapist, apparently has Chakras.) I tried to tell her about the international sign for 'rub my back' (As Red knows, it involves shrugging your shoulders and looking plaintive; try it at work!). So, we may have someone else to keep you semi-informed about. Or not. Either way - we'll be back at Trivia next Tues.

SeanJr Jr is on the way

Long time readers of this blog will be happy to learn that the arrival of EverBabe's kid two (or, as I like to call him, SeanJr Jr) is imminent. Congrats to EverBabe and SuperMark!

(will give you more info when it arrives)

LATER THAT DAY:
Big Baby SeanJr Jr born at 2:10 PM - at 9 lbs 4 oz. And, interestingly, they went ahead with the chaSE ANderson name. I mean, seriously - now i will owe them *my* firstborn's name Ajo Dyson K., or Jamar Kelly K, etc, etc.

YouTube - Brokeback to the Future

Last one tonight - promise.

As Ryan from Dinosaur Comics said, "I am a big fan of this short, which recuts the BTTF trilogy into a M/M romance. Gold!"

Soup Special

People that know me know that I love me some good bad mistranslations. I've known about this site for a while, containing photos of mistranslated signs, really no different than you might get out of BabelFish. Examples include "Engine room is serious place" or an offbrand Superman(TM) shirt that they forgot to add the "U" to. In revisiting the site today, however, I found one that really made me laugh.

Katie Holmes is the queen of fashion

EverBabe - I'm glad that you aren't getting dressed by the same people who dress Katie Holmes.

"Katie Holmes got some coffee yesterday sporting what can only be described as a fishnet leotard tucked into her crotch."

MADHOUSE Takes On City Hall

Funny (if a bit sophomoric) letters to municipal authorities in the frozen north. Reminescent of Ted Nancy, really. Here's a sample.

To: James Plitz (Plan Examiner)
Subject: Plans
From: Pat Wisking

I have a plan I would like examined, and being that I am a resident of Kanata, and you are a plan examiner for the city of Kanata, I thought you the logical contact.

Anyways, here's the plan:

First, I would need to get my hands on maybe a ladder, or a large trampoline. The trampoline might be a little unwieldy, but heck... it's a trampoline, man!

Good stuff.

Tripod perform at a Comedy Festival - Google Video

Thanks to Mark H. for hooking me up with a music video for what I would like to call the "Modern Wives Lament."

(I think that we've all been there - in the mood, late at night, snuggling up to that special someone...)

Memoirs (wha?) Memoirs of a Geisha

Alrighty, many of you hypothetical readers have asked for an update to my dating situation. "Hey," you may be saying, "what ever happened to those three. fatal. errors? How'd that work out for you?" Well, imaginary friend, I'm happy to let you know that I was able to parlay that mistake-ridden evening into another date, and, post-holidays, a third. As I received a fair amount of guff from the peanut gallery (you know who I am talking to here!) about choosing Ikea for our first night out, I decided date 3 should be more traditional: dinner & the above mentioned movie.
I decided that this time, I'd put my best foot forward. I got the car washed in the garage at the office. I figured hey, we work in the same building as the North American headquarters for Porshe, maybe some overpriced luxury sportcar mojo would rub off. Turns out that maybe I shouldn't have gotten the carpets shampooed, for instead what seems to have rubbed off is wet dog smell. Was this an omen? If so, I ignored it.
Ah well, at least the OUTSIDE of the car looks good. (Amazingly good, to tell the truth - I didn't know the old girl had it in her.) Well - *looked* good. It's hard to say exactly what changed to make me less impressed with the shine. Maybe it was the suicidal dove(!) who flew into my windshield on the way to dinner. Hmm - I'm beginning to see a pattern.
Dinner went well, and we headed to the movie. Good thing that happened there: we got free passes! Bad thing: The reason WHY we got the free passes was because the movie actually melted, right in a good part. {side note - i think that is the first time i have actually ever seen that before in real life. I've seen it on TV and in movies (if memory serves, Rocky Horror) Any of you ever have a movie melting experience?)
On the other omeny hand - she has pet rabbits, and I did see the wild rabbit that lives outside when I got home. Another omen? or just coincidence? Only time will tell.

Runoff storage, back home

This is a rare work related article. Ogre - note the proposed Publix near Paige's Thieves Market.

Chinese Search Engines

EverBabe has been reading Scott Adams blog
recently, and turned me on to it. In style, it's similar to Dave Barry in that it makes you think while you smile, but better in that it is free, updated daily, and wanders a bit more. Where good Barry columns are like good Seinfeld episodes, with 4-5 different topics weaving together for one big exciting conclusion, Scott's tend to focus on one issue, with a few really 'gotcha' moments.

In today's, he talked about the news that Google will be blocking some search terms from Chinese web surfers (you know, like 'democracy' and 'booty call') One sentence caught my eye:

The Chinese citizens are missing a lot of good stuff. Most of my favorite web sites would blind a Chinese potato farmer. I just Googled the word “sex” and got 243,000,000 results.

I thought that he was being facetious, but when I searched from work (where I am, because I am retarded), when *I* Googled the word "sex", I only got 202,000,000. Which although PHENOMONAL, (I mean, seriously - 30+ pages for every man, woman and child?) is 40 BILLION less than his. Why are my search results different from his? It's the same Google, right?
If you don't mind, search and post your results. Maybe it's location specific?

For the gamer in your life

XBOX 360 Tracker - Find Xbox 360 In Stock Online

This is really here just to make it easier for me to grab a ecks box three sitty - but you are also welcome to check, as well.

Who Is Benjamin Stove?

Interesting little site. Probably an attempt at viral marketing for a game of some sort - but still - makes you think...

USATODAY.com - Man solves Rubik's Cube in 11.13 seconds

Sorry SuperMark - your 60 second solve looks so... plebian now.

For his victory, Makisumi won a Rubik's Snake puzzle, one of several variations on the basic cube model which has sold more than 100 million worldwide, according to the manufacturer.

I Thank You - New York Times

Thanks Slate for the following:

In the NYT's Book Review, author Henry Alford (maybe as an ode to awards season?) recognized gems that often exist in the "acknowledgments" section of books and combined unique ones to form some unexpected combinations.

Michael Knight - Pop Superstar

While you may have been aware of David's success amd superstardom overseas, it might be interesting to actually see it in action. It's a fun song, and I might just add it to my Kareoke list. Make sure you have some sound on, otherwise the music video(!) will lose a little.

This is some interesting synchronicity in DH timing. While I was in Florida for my cousin's New Year's Party (great party, by the way, Princess!) I got to catch up on some Broadway musicals. I've had the music for Jeckyl and Hyde for about a year, but it was hard to envision what was happening without having seen it before. Sadly, the version I got to see had Herr Hassellholf in the lead - bit of an overactor, believe it or not. Other than that, however, things went well.

Thanks to TheSuperficial for the pointer.

Time Cube

Thanks to Big_D for the above link. SuperMark, do you find the webpage design familiar?

(I'm not certain how D found it - but there is a Georgia Tech connection - play along at home and see if you can find it!)

FOUND Magazine | Poo Bear

Thanks to KayRay for the above link. As she points out: "It came from an operator at a wastewater treatment plant in LA... that's cool, non?" And then she twirled around in a little French dance.

Thanks to EverBabe for photo documentation of what exactly happens when boys are able to pick out their own clothes. (Note - any photoshopping I did was purely to add to comedic effect)
(modified to update picture)

The Ultimate Showdown

The Ultimate Showdown is a Flash video of, well... you can probably figure it out. Sound helps a lot.

In other news - Funny quote I just read: "had a scare at barnes and nobles when i saw "Supuku for dummies"...but it turned out to be sodoku" Heh. Thanks, NGnerd!

Hedonistica: Pleasure Yourself

I really am working today- but Conan O'Brien's year in review was pretty good.

(thanks to TheSuperficial for this link)

Naming Convention for Sean JrJr

EverBabe & SuperMark - it's just a suggestion, if Chase Anderson doesn't sit well...