Rambles

2003-12-10T04:14:00.000Z

EARTHQUAKE

Well, well. This afternoon, Virginia experienced something quite rare. We had an earthquake. It was fairly mild, only 4.5 of the Richter Scale, but still enough to attract attention. The epicenter was about 30 miles west of Richmond which puts it about 15 miles south of where I live. Joy, joy. I was home at the time and it was an interesting feeling to have the house shake like that.
California can keep them.

2003-11-18T20:53:00.000Z

Police Search Michael Jackson's Ranch

Michael Jackson just needs to sit down for a few decades with a very good therapist. The man needs help. Some say that he is messed up because he "had no childhood" by growing up in the entertainment industry. Maybe, maybe not. I really don't care. I do think that his time has passed, he should remove himself from the public and seek serious mental help.
Just my $0.02.

2003-10-31T04:29:00.000Z

Time to rant!!!!!

Right! I've been working in retail since I was 18 and this year I've seen the rudest and dumbest examples of humanity. I think I've mentioned on this blog before that I work in a party store. For us, Halloween is the big shopping season. It equates to Christmas for other retailers. Anyway, last Friday (October 24) was the last day for returns of Halloween products (costumes, decorations, etc ... ), since that time we can only do exchanges. Signs were posted throughout the store all during October, the bottom of the receipts printed up the Halloween policy; but did this stop people from trying returns? Yeah, right. I've heard so many variations of "I didn't know you didn't take returns after this date" or "Nobody told me." You know, if ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking laws, then being ignorant of stores return policies shouldn't be an excuse for violating them.
Tonight really tried my nerves. I had all the registers running with long lines in each. (Just like at Christmas, the night before the holiday is crowded with last minute shoppers). People doing exchanges were mixed in the lines, so I was bouncing from register to register to assist these customers. People were, for the most part, pleasant and understanding of the lines. Then came the bitch. This woman was such an ass that it really insults asses to compare her. It appears that she had purchased some string lights some time back and just know found that they didn't work (riiiiiiight), so she wants to exchange them. Well we've been out of these for a while so she says she wants to return them, but not tonight. She wants to return them after Halloween so she doesn't have to wait in the line. Sorry bitch, but once Halloween is over we're taking NADA back. I told her that she could do the exchange/return tonight and that was it. She dragged her kid off to the back of the line with the kid asking where they were going. I heard the woman say that they had to stand in line for a $2 return, and was it any wonder that she didn't shop with us. Well beeyaaaatch, just be glad I let you take the return, but I wasn't going to put you ahead of the fifty people who were waiting patiently in line to actually purchase something.
Its people like this woman who complain about the lack of customer service in retail businesses. I think that she should really step off. Its people like her that cause retail employees to give bad customer service. She came across as one of those people who think retail workers are there because they weren't smart enough to get any other job. Well let's see, I have a degree in business management, the other assistant manager also has a degree in business management and my boss has a degree in aeronautics, so get over that impression. No, as I was saying, if customers like this woman would realize that retail workiers are not to be trod upon, but to be treated with the respect they expect in return then maybe she would have better shopping experiences.

Enough rambling on that. Just thinking of this incident irritates me so that I can't type straight.

2003-10-31T04:08:00.000Z

I'm very happy, Robert Lamm has released his fourth solo album, subtlety & passion. All I can say is that it is one of his best pieces of work. Mr. Lamm is one of the four remaining orginal members of Chicago, and his solo albums allow him to create new music as the band has relegated itself to play its hits and not record new music. A very special treat on this album is the song "Intensity" which includes a guitar solo by fellow Chicago founder, the late Terry Kath. Terry's artistry is greatly missed and this little bit of lost inspiration proves just how hollow the world has been since his passing in 1978.

2003-10-30T03:09:00.000Z

Driving to work this morning I was two things that royally ticked me off, and one thing that brought a smile. A car ahead of me was driving slower than the posted speed, not to bad, but the potential for annoyance was there. I guess the line of cars behind was about half a mile long. Anyway, we got to a place that allowed passing and this picj-up truck started to pass, he actually passed six cars on this run, a little further on he passed another two. At the next area to pass, a sedan started to pass the line of cars. Now the thought that went through my head at this was along the lines of "you bastards, you're going to cause an accident and make me late for work. Then I'll be really pissed." The road bentto the left and I could see the pick-up turn into a parking lot. This ticked me off more, because it wasn't far from where he had passed the line. Then I saw the sedan pull in behind. When I passed the lot, I could see the nice little blue strobe in the sedan's dashboard. Dude in the pick-up has a nice little traffic ticket now. That brought the smile. After all the times I've seen idiots on the road and said "where's a cop when you need one?" its good to see that occasionally there is one.

2003-10-30T03:00:00.000Z

Fox nearly sued itself over 'Simpsons' parody

2003-10-28T02:19:00.000Z

A friend of mine turned me on to this site.
Its called eyeenvision.com and it is seriously wicked. Some really cool animation, the band videos are great. Check it out, you won't be sorry.

2003-10-26T05:35:00.000Z

Marillion in "Sound on Sound" magazine

Marillion is one of my absolute favourite bands. For the past few years they have entered into a relationship with their fans. In this relationship, they are being financed by their fans (details of this can be found at their website www.marillion.com. I have the first album that was fan financed, Anoraknophobia, and it is an amazing piece of music. I am looking forward to the next album, Marbles, due out in the spring. The article referenced above explains to the world the wonder and magic that is Marillion.

2003-10-25T05:36:00.000Z

Wal-Mart Knew of Illegals, Sources Say

Yet another reason why I hate Wal-Mart.

2003-10-23T02:01:00.000Z

Fred "Rerun" Berry Dead

I remember this guy and his show. One of those shows that you get sucked into watching even though its one of the biggest piles of shite on the air.

2003-10-20T02:02:00.000Z

This is going to be fun. It appears that I will soon be a Neilsen Family. When I got home from work today, there was a message on my answering machine from Neilsen. They are sending me a logbook to record my viewing habits over a seven day period. Should be interesting, with my work schedule I'm rarely home, and then when I am I watch very little broadcast TV. Still, I think I'm going to have fun with it. We shall see.

2003-09-24T01:50:00.000Z

Well now, the past weekend was loads of fun. For anybody who has been living under a rock, though around here that would be quite difficult, or on Mars, uhm, we had a bit of a hurricane roll through town. Her name was Isabel and she was a royal bitch.
She arrived on Thursday afternoon, after playing havoc with the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I had been working Thursday morning in the nice little discount party store. Out the front windows, I could watch the trees begin to whip around in the ever increasing wind. At one point the light poles began to rock back and forth. My boss was off, but he kept in contact by phone, he was somewhat concerned about our welfare. My district manager, however, called to ask if we were prepared for the hurricane then said we couldn't close early because of the weather, and it didn't matter if two managers were required to be in the store until the scheduled closing time. On his next call, I told my boss this and his response was that the DM could haul his ass into the store and run it, then he told me to be on the road home by 4pm, as I have an hour drive to work and I would be driving into the storm.
Then I heard rumours that other stores in the shopping center were closing early, so I went on a quest to find who was closing when. The sports closing store next to us was going to close as soon as Old Navy closed, and Old Navy was looking at 3pm. I left at 3 and was very glad I did.

I found that my power had gone out at about 3:15. This wasn't too much of a surprise, I mean there were 40+ mph winds blowing around, so something was bound to give. My brother lives next door and he has our generator which he used to cook with Thursday night. On Friday, he was off and used the time fix a way to power his house with the generator. Now, I know next to nothing about electricity, but he says that he was backfeeding the generator to give power. What this meant was that he had could run power to part of his house. He shut off the breakers to the rest of the house so that it wouldn't drain to much power. Now he, as well as I, are on wells, so without power there is no water. One of the things he made sure had power was the water pump, so there was running water, very cold as he didn't hook up the water heater, but running just the same.

Friday saw me checking at work to see if we were open. There was no power, but my boss said he was coming in and we would open as soon as power was restored. What we did was clean up where the water came in. After six hours, I came home. Saturday, we did open and every redneck in the Northern Neck came to Fredericksburg. Why a person would want party supplies the day after a bloody hurricane rolled through town is beyond me, but there they were.

Slowly, the days are returning to normal. My phone was knocked out on Thursday night, and I got it back on Sunday. On Monday morning my brother called the power company to get an idea of when the power would be restored. The response was anywhere from four to nind days. Not a fun prospect. He did tell them the three locations where trees were down on the lines. He called at 7am, and power came back on at 10am. I didn't know it at the time, because of the power rigging of my brother's, but I had to come to my house before I went to work on Monday (the cats needed to be fed) and the LED on my telephone/answering machine was blinking PF as it does when the power goes out.

So that's the basic idea of the fun this past weekend has been. If I never do it again, it will be too soon.

2003-08-20T02:04:00.000Z

Its been a while since I posted something here. Looks like I should start again.

2003-08-20T02:00:00.000Z

Greens, General asshats
Circle I Limbo

Scientologists, Bill Clinton
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

DMV Employees
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Rednecks, The New York Yankees
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

PETA Members
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Uday Hussein, Qusay Hussein
Circle VII Burning Sands

Saddam Hussein
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

Osama bin Laden
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

2003-03-24T03:17:00.000Z

Just got back from day 1, for me at least, of the second movie I've worked on. Trying to work around my my work schedule is "fun," and leaves me with just working every other Sunday of this film. Its pretty cool though, but not what most people would think. Today was a lot of standing around. The scenes were to have the bad guys ride up with a wagon and on horses and take a box (coffin) from the wagon, the good guys were to ride into the same spot and dismount. Then there were to be some wide shots of the good and bad guys riding across the country. That was the plan, at least.
What happened was one horse decided it didn't like its rider and kept trying to forcibly dismount him, at one point he had to grab a tree to keep from falling off. Another horse seemed to like to walk into the woods and kept doing so for every shot. Finally, the horses just didn't want to run straight. Part of this was from the inexperience of the riders and part was from the horses getting tired. We kept trying until the light failed. I'll be back in two weeks for more fun.

2003-03-21T18:08:00.000Z

OK, as I type this, it is 8:51 pm in Iraq and the "Shock and Awe" phase of Gulf War II has begun. Its all over the television, giving what's left of the Iraqi military time to prepare to be shocked and awed by what is coming. Of course back in the day, they would have been surprised in addition to being shocked and awed. Such is the advancement of television.

Yesterday, I heard a plan for how to "deal" with the Middle East problem. Now, I will preface this by saying that this is one of those plans that are usually created by people sitting around tables, drinking beers and shooting bull. That being said, its an interesting theory. Basically, erase all political boundaries in the Middle East and return that very large chunck of real estate to Turkey. Why? If you look at history, the Arab people worked better when someone else did the administrating (OK, when this was told me it was a little more cruel, speaking of boots on necks and such), and the Turks were very good at administrating the Arab lands. Basically, its a return to the Ottoman Empire, pre-World War I. Then you'd have to work out oil deal with Ankara, but all the major in-fighting would cease. The problems with this idea? Well, I don't think the kings and presidents of the region will want to give up their power. The big problem would be who would they get to be the new sultan, or course it would be out of the question for that new sultan to be the next Süleyman.

2003-03-10T03:48:00.000Z

Here's a great link. The stuff here remind me of the Saturday morning shows I used to watch as a kid. Some I'd forgotten about, some are just too classic and some were just plain sad. Check it out.

2003-03-10T03:45:00.000Z

I suck at pool. Last night my friends, Jason, Jeremy, Jason's girlfriend and another of Jason's friends shot some pool. Lets just say that the professional pool players of the world have nothing to fear from us. Of course the additional element of alcohol didn't help any.
The pool hall we were in just had regular billiards tables, I want to have a go at the other billiard game, snooker, but a) I don't know how to play and b) no one I know wants to try to learn, wimps.

2003-02-06T03:36:00.000Z

Nihilist Bear

Which Dysfunctional Care Bear Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

2003-02-02T05:38:00.000Z

On January 27, 1967 I wasn't born. On that day three brave souls died in the pursuit of science and exploration. On that day the Apollo 1 mission burned on the pad in Florida. A great tragedy that set the space program back months if not years. Fast forward 19 years later to January 28, 1986. On this day, I was a sophmore in high school when I was told by a classmate that Challenger had exploded minutes after takeoff. A tragedy for sure, but made all the more poignant by the inclusion of a civilian mission specialist in the person of Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. Again the tragedy set back the space program for months. Now after 17 years, another tragedy has occurred. Just 15 to 16 minutes before landing Columbia broke apart. The causes are unknown, or at least held very close within the NASA community, though speculation remains high for any type of cause.
At this time it is best to think of the families of those astronauts who were lost, they deserve the thoughs and prayers of the world. In their all to brief lives, they endeavoured to better the world.

2003-01-26T16:07:00.000Z

I live outsidea small town, and it is in the process of doing something amazing. Something I never thought I'd see, actually. The town is putting up its first traffic light. For a town that is only a couple of hundred people, its a sight. But the traffic flow through the town to the lake, Lake Anna that is, increases each year. The lake was built thirty years ago and the light is going in now, well, that's not too bad I guess. Its just odd to see a traffic light going up in this small little burg.

2003-01-06T00:16:00.000Z

I remember being a young child of 7 when Star Wars first hit the big screen. I remember that soon thereafter something new appearered on the toy store shelves, action figures. They were, and still are, cool. We as children got to play with them and "recreate" the movie for hours on end.
Last year, New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings, possibly one of the best movie series of all time. At the same time, Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Entertainment released the action figures. These are the coolest, most realistic looking figures around. The designers took full face molds of the main characters and transfered them to the 6" figures. Its beautiful work. In the past year, my mantel has become a menagerie for these figures and to date, I'm only missing two from The Fellowship of the Ring while I'm still picking up the figures for The Two Towers. Does this make me a geek? Damn skippy! Do I care? Not really. There are worse vices out there than collecting action figures.
Outside of The Lord of the Rings figures, I am a bit more selective. Most of the others are based upon DC Comics characters, Sandman (Golden Age and Neil Gaiman versions), Death, Green Lantern (Golden Age, Silver Age and Modern Age), Silver Age Legionnaires, I have a small group of "Spider-Men," two dragons, some figures based on the "Puppet Master" movie series, and a few others based on American McGee's Alice. I'm running out of room though and need to seriously consider making shelves for them to sit upon.

2003-01-02T04:22:00.000Z

Good Riddance to Bad Trash
before reading this, please refer to my post on December 25

To paraphrase the great Dame Agatha Christie, "And Then There Were Two." Kevin, the other assistant manager at work quit yesterday. This wasn't unexpected, jsut about everyone knew he was going. Hell, dude has acted like a short-timer for weeks now. So, he's gone. Its going to be a bit tight for Mike and me to cover shifts, but we did it before Kevin came in, and we can do it again. Now, a little background, Kevin dropped a "home gym" on his hand the Wednesday before Christmas. This got him out of work until after Christmas. However, the doctor kept pushing back Kevin's release to return to work. I'm guessing this was to allow the "breaks" to begin to knit. That's what I thought at the time, then I saw the work release. There were no broken bones, although I was told that the wrist was broken and the thumb was broken in two places, just a sever sprain to the right thumb. How does a thumb sprain justify a week away from work? Slacker. On top of this, he wanted to have the first full weekend off. That got nipped so fast it wasn't funny. I actually got that weekend and I didn't ask for it. Mike gave it to me for working the extra hours to cover dumbass' shifts. All of this, in additon to other events that I can't put out in a public forum, led to Kevin's departure. So, work is going to be much more demanding, and my feelings for the company are expressed elsewhere, but again, the job pays the bills and like it or not, I'm going to give it the best until something better arrives.

2003-01-02T04:09:00.000Z

Another day, another week, another month, another year.

Time Flies

2002-12-28T02:19:00.000Z

You know, I really dislike the place I work. Its a store that sells party supplies and I've never been a "party" person. While I do enjoy spending time with friends and family, I prefer it to be more informal and off the cuff. Anyway, that's not why I like this place. No, the reason is that doesn't allow its stores to operate with any sort of autonomy. While I do know and understand that the corporate offices send out direction for the stores to follow, having the corporte office micromanage the day to day operations is a bit much.
I've been looking for a replacement job, though I am keeping my feelings toward the company to myself. Well, aside from writing about it here. Working there does pay the bills, and that's the important part. I spent the better part of the past two years living off my savings and, well, that's not something I'd rather do again.

2002-12-25T16:37:00.000Z

I just found this, its hilarious. Check it out.

2002-12-25T15:36:00.000Z

I actually have a day off!!!!!! Woo Hoo.
The past two weeks have been absolute hell. Its the last stretch before Christmas and all the idiots come out to shop. While the place I work is not the top of the list of stips for shoppers, we still get our share of dunderheads. It constantly amazes me that so called intelligent people loose their sense when they come into a store. I've lost count of the number of times I'm asked "Where are your Christmas pattern plates." I just want to say, "Open your eyes, and look at the damn shelves and you'll see your damn plates on the next set of shelves." Actually the people who are blind to what the contents of shelves doesn't really bother me, its just the way they phrase their questions. What really annoys me are the customers who can't read. We have sale signs up that say this brand and this size only are on sale and the dunderheads pick up either the wrong size or the wrong brand. Then they say that they didn't know there was a difference. The life of retail.
These last two weeks have been extra fun in that I was basically the only manager the entire time. My boss was on vacation, though he did come in for a couple of days. That was fine, I knew ahead of time that he would be gone and the other assistant manager and I could hold the fort for a week. So last Tuesday, the 17th, my boss (Mike) said that one of the aisles needed a lot of work before Friday. Well I had Wednesday and Thursday off, but said I could come in on Wednesday morning to work on the aisle. No real biggy, although I had planned to see the Two Towers that morning. So I called some friends to see if they could score a ticket for me to see it with them.
Wednessday morning, I dead to the world, coming in on four hours of sleep. Get stuff done, Mike would leave around noon, I'd probably peal out around 3 and wait for my friends to get off work then go see The Two Towers. That all crashed while I was at the bank making the daily deposit. Kevin, the other assistant manager, called to say that he was on his way to the emergency room. Seems that he was attempting to lift a box containing some sort of home gym, this is the story as I heard it, and promptly dropped it on his hand. This resulted in a break on his wrist and two on his thumb. Needless to say, he couldn't work. Mike and I then had to plan out the rest of the week, because the doctor wouldn't let Kevin back until the 21st. Mike left, he had a previous committment with his wife and kid in the afternoon, but would be back later. (Remember he's on vacation while this is happening and I'm working on my day off). He comes back and we know one of us has to close. I don't want to, because I've got a ticket to the The Two Towers with my friends. Of course I start to waffle, because as much of a masterpiece this is, I still realize that it is just a film. We also have to cover Thursday. Mike was going out of town on Thursday, so we decided that he, much to his wife's displeasure, would close on Wednesday and I would cover Thursday and Friday. Kevin would be back on Saturday and I'd open and get out fairly early before coming back on Sunday. Life's good, we got a plan. Then came the phone call.
Kevin called saying that the doctor would release him to work until the 23rd. OK, this just opened a whole new can of worms. How was I gonna open and close the store on the Saturday before Christmas, with a tight schedule of employees and no approved overtime? I called my district manager, to let him know. He said get one of the front end supervisors to come in. Fine, that puts her into overtime, which I reminded him, and he said it had to be done. Then I called Mike on his cell. His wife answered, she wasn't happy. I got through Saturday, and Mike came back on Sunday and Monday to help begin the transition to New Year's. I actually came in late on Monday taking advantage of Mike's offer so I could get some sleep. One thing we had discussed on Sunday was that if Kevin came in on the 23rd, then I would have the 24th to the 26th off, the 24th being Kevin's normal day off. I got in and no Kevin, he had called and the doctor had extended his absense again, now it was the 26th. I'm a real happy camper by now.
Tuesday, Christmas Eve. I come into work and feel like crap. I'm tired and get worse as the day wears on. I get a few things done, but mainly its just keep the store looking fairly straight. I've been working straight through for 13 days and I just want the day to end.
So now its over, I've got today off. Of course almost everyone has Christmas Day off. I also have tomorrow off. Now I'm gonna be a complete vegetable. Throw some dishes in the dishwasher, watch some DVDs, read some of Robert McCammon's comeback novel, Speaks the Nightbird. Tomorrow is laundry day and a chance to see The Two Towers again.
Right now, as I'm typing this I'm grooving along to Ryo Okumoto's new solo disc. Ryo is the keyboardist to the neo-Prog band, Spock's Beard. Its a nice little collection of instrumentals and vocal pieces with guest singers. You should be able to get a copy from Radiant Records.

I think that's enough for now.

2002-12-09T02:34:00.000Z

I was bored and searching around and found this site

2002-11-26T05:03:00.000Z

Some things are just beyond description.

2002-11-26T04:29:00.000Z

I want one of these.

I found these great new website for all things bizarre and strange. Check out Dribble Glass.

2002-11-01T06:23:00.000Z

I fear the future!!!!!

No, it has nothing to do with terrorists or government plots. It all boils down the stupidity of kids today. (Oh, man I'm starting to sound like my father). If you will read the post from the 28th, you will see that the pump in my well broke leaving me without water. That's it for backstory. The other day (Tuesday I believe), one of the teenagers I work with asked me if it was still going to be raining on Halloween (like I could tell the future or something). I said I didn't know, but I hoped it would. She was a bit upset about that because it would disrupt her trick or treating. I said something that we need the water because of the drought, and I mentioned that I lost my well last week. Now this is where my fear of the future comes into play. When I mentioned my well, she looks at me and says (this is an exact quote), "What's a well?" OK, how can someone NOT know what a well is? Whether you're on a water main or not, you should know what they are.
Its late, and I'm beginning to reamble incoherently, so I'll leave.

2002-10-28T06:07:00.000Z

This has been a rough week. My post on the 21st detailed my lack of water. I got that taken care of on Tuesday morning (the 22nd). The company that came to replace the pump is the same that drilled the well and installed the original pump 26 years ago. Given that most submersible water pumps only last 10 years, one that lasts 26 is a good value. My well is actually 137 feet deep, the pump is at 126 feet. The problem is that the pump was hanging on galvanized steel pipe, too heavy to be lifted without a boom. Replacement was $1000. The new pump is hanging on poly pipe, something easier to work with.
Because of the recent sniper activity near where I work, our business has dropped. So I was "drafted" to transfer merchandise from our store to two others on Wednesday. I left the store around 11 heading for Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Got back to the store around 7 and helped box up merchandise for a longer trip on Thursday. I left the store Thursday morning at 9 heading for Pittsburgh, PA. Got to the first store in Pittsburgh at 4 and unloaded. Got directions to the second store and left. Was told that with rush hour starting, it would take about 50 minutes to get to the second store. Turned out the directions I had were wrong, they told me to turn right when I should have turned left. Once I got back on the correct path, finding the store was easy. However, when I pulled into the parking lot, I found that this store was extremely busy. Threading the U-Haul truck through the lot was interesting and the loading door was in the worst location ever concieved. As I tried to position the truck to facilitate unlaiding, I clipped a parked car. The wheel well caught the back bumper and scuffed the paint, punched a hole in the light, and dented the bumper itself. Once that got straightened out, I started the drive back to VIrginia, leaving Pittsburgh around 9. I got back at 3 and then drove home. The problem is that I live an hour from where I work, so I still had a long drive. I was about 30 miles from home when I was pulled by a sheriff's deputy for weaving across the road. Luckily, he only gave me a warning to be more careful and to pull over if I caught myself nodding off.
Insureance is covering the fender bender, no one was hurt, but the week just seemed to be one crisis, one extra bit of work after another. This coming week is sheping up to be a rough one as well, however it shouldn't be as draining.

2002-10-21T21:18:00.000Z

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
So I get home from work yesterday morning. I was more than half asleep, but it seemed that I had water in the house, then I didn't. I had had a problem last year, but could patch it by throwing the breaker and reseting the water pump. This didn't work. So I called the pump man who replaced the pump switch last year. He came by today to see what could be done. Result, I have no water. My well is full, at 190' it should be. Its either the pump or a wire, and the tech recommends replacing the pump anyway, its 26 years. However, the pump is at the bottom of the well on 190' of galvanized steel pipe, just a bit heavy. His equipment can't pull the pipe, so I'm going to have to get someone with a boom truck to pull the pump. Gonna be expensive, and I am not happy.

2002-10-07T17:42:00.000Z

Back when I was working for the theatre company last year, a catalogue came in for blades, specifically swords. A former props tech had ordered a sword to use as a model to create a sword for a production and as such the theatre was still on the mailing list. I took the catalogue and purchased a Japanese katana, in a fake red lacquer scabarb. The blade is very real, could be sharper I suppose, but it is in its display stand.
So, yesterday, I was heading through my basement to the laundry room when I saw a shadow on the floor. A shadow that shouldn't have been there. I walked back and turned the light on a got a bit of a better look, and I didn't like what I saw. I went back upstairs and got my sword and a flashlight to get a real close look. I came back, the shadow hadn't moved. As I got a bit closer, it drew up into an "S" shape and I could see its tongue flicker. Then it started to get away. However it met my sword then. I cut it in half then cut its head off.
Yes, I know it sounds gross and cruel, but it was a copperhead, one of the three poisonous snakes in Virginia. Now, I don't really care for snakes, but if they stay outside then I'll let them be. Once they come in the house, then all bets are off. I know the snake was just reacting to my proximity, I mean I did almost step on it when I first saw it. And it did try to escape instead of attack. But like I said, if its outside, I'll let it be.

2002-10-04T01:08:00.000Z

I just found a list of the guests for this year's Baltimore Comic Con and I'm pissed. Not at who is going to be there, but at the fact that I will have to work that weekend and will not be able to attend. The creator of one of my favorite comic characters will be there and he is one of the few Golden Age writers still alive and active. Martin Nodell created the original Green Lantern back in 1940, a cool character and Mr. Nodell is one of the nicest people I've ever met. I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1993 when he was doing a signing at my local comic store and I had him autograph a lithograph of the cover of Green Lantern #1.
There are other good writeres and artists at this con, but to actually meet a man who helped create the genre is always nice. The other person i would want to meet at this con is Julie (Julius) Schwartz, a man who made DC Comics a powerhouse in the industry.

2002-10-03T23:43:00.000Z

There was an article in today's paper about this guy who deep fries Twinkies. He is a Brit who lives in Brooklyn and has this fish and chip shop and on the menu are fried Twinkies, Twix, Snickers. Sounds like some strange stuff, but people seem to like these things. Check out the menu at Chip Shop.

Now if you want to check out strange experiments on Twinkies, go here.

2002-09-26T03:12:00.000Z

Because of the drought, I have been a bit slack on keeping my lawn mown. It takes me three hours to mow the damn thing, and I really didn't want to be out there in 100 degree heat. Anyway the grass went dormant in the heat, and I didn't want to kill the grass by continuously mowing. In addition, my work schedule of late has not been the most accomidating to yard work.
In the past couple of weeks, there has been some rain and some cooler temperatures. As a result, the grass has grown. It grew very fast and very tall. So today, I bit the bullet and cut it, it took 3 and half hours and the last bit I didn't even use the lawn mower. The grass was so tall, I had to get my four wheel drive garden tractor out, attach the bushhog, not an actual product made by Bush Hog, but a similar pull behind mower. This is a mower that is made to cut very tough, very tall grass and it almost choked out in spots in the back yard.
Sad, I know. But I've come close to heat stroke before and if I have to cut the yard with a pull behind field mower then so be it.

2002-09-22T04:34:00.000Z

My alma mater is now 4 and 0 in this college foorball season. Three of those four teams were in the AP top 25 and they went down. No matter what happens now, the toughest game will be the last when my boyz in maroon and orange face the Hurricanes of Miami. That is gonna be a messy game.
Overall, I'm a happy camper about this season. If the Hokies keep winning, I will still be happy. Now if they totally screw up and lose to either Rutgers of Temple, then I will be pissed and no longer a happy camper.

yeah that last line really didn't make any sense, but then are you gonna come here to critique my writing? I don't think so.

2002-09-22T04:30:00.000Z

Wow, its been a while since I wrote anything here. Some catch-up then. I've been working, six day weeks, averaging 11 hour days. I hate it, I don't like the company I work for, I think that it is way too anal and not very efficient. OOPS, I really shouldn't have written that, but you know, I really don't care. I've been looking for something to replace this job with, and as soon as something turns up, I shall be leaving post haste. However, I need to pay my bills, so I'm kinda stuck for now.

2002-08-28T14:11:00.000Z

Its raining. Its been raining since around midnight. Its now 10:00 AM and my rain gauge shows 4 inches!! This is much needed given the local drought. Ponds around here are almost empty, Lake Anna is down. Actually this is how far the Lake has fallen, near one of the marinas there is an island about 20 to 40 feet off shore. Because of the drought and the falling levels of the lake, there is now a completely dry land bridge between the shore and the island.
This rain is much needed and appreciated. Now it just needs to keep a regular schedule to bring the water levels back to the norm.

2002-08-26T02:09:00.000Z

All right, I'm a happy camper now. I missed the game because I had to work, but I saw the highlights when I got home. If the rest of the season is anything like this game, then we're gonna be a force to be watched in college football. Check out the box scores here.

2002-08-21T19:11:00.000Z

R2-D2 rules. Coming in September/October, just in time for my 32nd birthday, is this fully automated R2-D2. Check out Hasbro's page on him.

2002-08-21T19:04:00.000Z

It seems that the hookers in Canada are bringing suit against Hollywood production companies for loss of business. They even have their own civic organization backing their suit. The group is looking to have hookers compensated for lost "wages" when streets are closed for filming, they are also looking to have homeless and other transients likewise compensated for being relocated from location sets.
The Vancouver Sun is backing the suit stating that "unorthodox entrepenuers" should be treated the same as any other business establishment affected by a Hollywood production.

Read the story here.

2002-08-19T02:25:00.000Z

I would like to say that this sucks. One of the lagest theatre companies in Virginia is going dark for the short term. Its not the theatre I used to work for, but when the loss of any theatre is a loss to everyone. They do have a performance scheduled for the spring, but will not be offeringa full season until 2007 at the earliest. The spring performance has just cast a friend of mine, so I will be attending a performance to show my support for TheatreVirginia and for my friend.

2002-08-16T00:08:00.000Z

These were bad back in the day, but so what. They do explain how screwed up thirtysomethings are.

2002-08-15T14:59:00.000Z

This is a great idea. How do we contribute?

2002-08-13T04:02:00.000Z

This little blurb is directed at my friend Jason. In a recent post over at his site, he menitoned moving to Whoville (Charlottesville for the unintiated). Jason's response to a comment about that post was a dig at Virginia Tech. Now, Jason, that is just unacceptable. You can make fun of Tech all you want, just drop the "castrated turkey" comments. Hokies have more balls that your average Wahoo. Actually thats how UVA got its nickname, from the sound the Cavaliers make as they are themselves castrated. Maybe that's the reason they can't play football worth a damn.
Seriously, for the liberal arts, I'll admit that UVA is an awesome school, but for the sciences, Tech rules, particularly in engineering. In addition, Tech leads in agricultural research. The university is constantly establishing innovations in agriculture to feed our ever growing population. It also has the only veterinary college in the state, the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi!
Tech, Tech, VPI
Sol-a-rex, Sol-a-rah
Poly Tech Vir-gin-ia
Ray rah VPI
Team! Team! Team!

2002-08-10T03:46:00.000Z

For the movie fan

2002-08-10T03:13:00.000Z

Oh man, an article in today's paper referenced several sites on the web. This one is very funny. You've got to check out the 5L guys.

2002-08-10T03:00:00.000Z

Big Brother is watching
Under the American Driver's License Identification Information Act (ADLIIA - enacted on July 9, 2000), every state in the union is required to make available to the public a digitized copy of each and every valid driver's license, in their respective state. The National Driver's License Records Bureau has been established to create the country's only centralized database of driver's licenses, on the more than 220 million licensed drivers, in the United States.

2002-08-07T15:44:00.000Z

I work for a company called Party City, a retail company that, as its name states, sells party goods. Yesterday, a customer said something that I found to be a little disturbing. She was looking for "red, white, and blue" items for a parade float. I showed her what we had, but as July 4th has passed, most of the items are gone. (We are in the middle of building up for the Halloween rush). I told the lady that with the 4th passed, we were working to bring Halloween in and she replied that 9/11 is coming up and we should get more stuff in for that. This is what I found disturbing.
Last year thousands of people were killed or injured when fanatics rammed two fully fueled airplanes into the World Trade Center, hundreds of people were injured and killed when more fanantics dropped another plane onto the Pentagon and dozens of people were killed when the final plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside. Now we have people looking to have parties on the anniversary. She said people are going to be putting out a lot of red, white and blue on 9/11 and we should get behind that. Yes, the events of 11 September, 2001 were horrific. Yes, the United States was caught unaware (or not, depending on the prevailing theory du jour). Yes, many people lost their lives, many more people were injured, and yet more lost loved ones. Should they be remembered? Absolutely! Should it be a huge decked out party atmosphere? Hell no!! To do so would dilute the power of the events. Do you see people getting out the trappings to celebrate the attack of Pearl Harbor every December 7, do you see people getting out the trappings in February to celebrate the first bombing of the World Trade Center, do you see people putting on celebrations in April to honor the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building being destroyed? No to all. In fact the only one that has any type of memorial is a period of silence to remember the dead when the Alfred P. Murrah Building blew up. The best way to honor the victims of the events of 11 September, 2001 is to continue, not turn it into yet another meaningless "holiday." We as a country have made enough changes as a result of the terrorist attacks that we need no more.

2002-08-03T05:14:00.000Z

I am so there. Let's see, 160 pounds for the reservation, between $600 - $800 for round trip tickets to Heathrow, whatever extra hotel and travel expenses come up. So $1000 for the weekend, then maybe another grand or so for the rest of the trip. And doesn't begin to cover souvenirs. But you know what, its gonna happen.
Oh, and guys, the tag-board requests were a joke.

2002-07-31T04:31:00.000Z

The world is getting more disposable. CNN.com is reporting a story about new disposable cell phones. Could be a success, just look at the disposable camera. However, it could make the Edsel look like a success, time will tell. Suppossedly, there are 30 companies trying to negotiate gettign their logos on versions of this phone to sell as marketing gimmicks.

2002-07-30T21:49:00.000Z

Number 2 has died. Last week, Leo McKern passed away at the age of 82. Who was Leo McKern? Well, he was best known for his role as Rumpole on the long running series. For those who follow cult television, Leo McKern was Number 2, one of the rotating "leaders" of the Village in the television series, The Prisoner. Indeed, while the character of Number 2 changed with each episode, Leo McKern was one ot two actors to make more than one appearance as Number 2, he actually appeared in three episodes. I'd write more about his role as Rumpole, but I haven't caught episodes yet, emphasis on yet.

2002-07-30T21:31:00.000Z

Bugs rules

2002-07-28T22:35:00.000Z

They are the stuff of legend. They are the stuff of literary masterpieces. They are the stuff of nightmares. From the days of Polidori and Byron to Bram Stoker to the juvenile writings of Anne Rice to the otherworldly Brian Lumley, humans have had a love affair with the Vampyr. So much so that some of the earliest film adaptations starting with Nosferatu and continuing to today. In 1998 ABC (Britain) produced a six part miniseries called Ultraviolet. Set in London during the end of the 20th Century, a government agency works covertly to stop carriers of a new blood born pathogen. The carriers are called Code V's, nowhere in the entire run of the show do the words vampire, vampyr, or undead appear. It follows a "cops and robbers" style of hunt and chase, or more accurately it follows a spy thriller, "us vs them." Its not the same old cliches of the vampire. Its hip, its modern, its cool, its a gas.
If you can find it on DVD, pick it up.

2002-07-25T04:56:00.000Z

THE SKY IS FALLING
CNN is reporting that a recently discovered asteroid will possibly strike the Earth on February 1, 2019. So we're supposed to do what? Get Billy Bob Thornton to recruit a group of experts in demolitions and send them to this asteroid and blow it up? Or, do we set up a big industrial laser, you know the ones that can burn through steel, and fire it at the center of mass and split the asteroid in two? Or, do we bend over backwards and kiss our asses goodbye? Personally, I think that while is admirable to release to let the world know that there is a possibility that this asteroid will hit the Earth, I also think that it is equally irresponsible to release this information. As a result there are going to some fringe elements, i.e. lunatics, can men, Do, will try to sway people on all kinds of cracked ideas that will "save" their lives.
However, if further research does bear out the initial findings that place this asteroid as a positive potential impact event, then forewarned is forearmed and maybe someone will devise a practical repsonse.
In the end, you've got to realize that there is a big ass rock heading this way. Guess what there are a lot of big ass rocks heading this way. Remember that just 93,000,000 miles away is a very big object that pulls things towards it. Occasionally, things get in the way. Witness the craters on the surface of Mercury, Luna, Mars, the Jovian satellites. For that matter, there is the crater in Arizona, there is the crater under the Yucatan Peninsula (that killed the dinosaurs), there is the crater under the Chesapeake Bay (opened the Chesapeake Bay), there is the Tanguska event of 1908. Little rocks continue to hit this slightly bigger rock on a daily basis. On occasion, the rocks hitting this one get bigger. Its happened before, it'll happen again. Deal with it.

I'm exhausted, and am really beginning to rambe. So I'll end this here, and come back later and realise that all of this is PUC (Pure Unaddulturated Crap). At that point, I will either edit, or delete and retype.

2002-07-25T04:26:00.000Z

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of one of my cats, Smokie to be exact. Anyway, I may have to severly discipline her. Why? The six inch scar on my foot is a good place to start. And no, I didn't do anything malicious to warrant such an act. Really, I can't even discipline the cat, it was my fault, but I don't have a clue what caused her to attack my foot. All I know is that I was sleeping and sometime around 2 in the morning, I felt claws and teeth on my foot. Rudely awakened but only halfway there I yelled at Smokie and went back to sleep. The next morning, I saw the the scar started just above my ankle and stretched six inches toward my toes. Smokie does like to sleep at the foot of my bed, so I can only guess that I kicked her in my sleep and she took exception to that. For a cat who has never been in a real fight in her entire life, she tagged me real good. Now I have to fight with her as I trim her claws, always a fun project.

2002-07-23T01:20:00.000Z

On March 1, I left the work force due to a budgetary layoff. So, I've spent the time since searching for another job. In the current economy, job searches are a royal pain and I was getting a bit frustrated. That all changed last week when I was offered a job with Party City as assistant manager of the store in Fredericksburg. Today was my first day. It was like any other first day. Kind of slow, kind of nervous, trying to get acclimated to the policies and procedures of a new company. I spent most of the day on the register, to get used to their system. Tomorrow will be more register and beginning to learn the merchandise and store layout. I'm happy, I just need to get past the learning stages and then ...

2002-07-21T16:21:00.000Z

I've been attempting to teach myself to play the bass. I bought a cheap four string years ago, but didn't put a lot of effort into it. In the past year, I've picked up a few replacements, a four string electric by Alvarez, a five string electric by Washburn, and a four string acoustic/electric by Fender. Now I have no aspirtations of being a professional musician, this is just something I want to do for myself. I just really need to make myself practice.

My Alvarez

This would be my Washburn if it was a black starburst.

My Fender

2002-07-21T15:13:00.000Z

I finally broke down and bought the special edition of Jin-Roh. Now I wonder what took me so long to decide to pick up this most excellent anime.
The story takes place sometime between World War II and "now," in an alternate Earth where a Special Police Force is established in Japan to combat anti-government unrest. Set against this backdrop of anti-government policy, there is a plot of corruption and power grabbing within the Capitol Police. [SPOILER ALERT] Added to this is another element of a Japanese love romance that would be equally at home in a James Bond film, a classic honey trap. Overall, a great piece of film. Unlike a lot of anime, this story could easily be transfered to live action and not suffer, similarly Perfect Blue and Wings of Honneamise.
Really, check this flick out. Oshii Mamoru has given us a great story, and is not overburdened by a lot of technology/mecha that stereotype anime. Oshii san is a past master of anime, producing Patlabor and Ghost in the Shell. With this original story, Oshii san adapts the world he created for his Hellhounds: Panzer Cops manga. The director, Okiura Hiroyuki, would only accept the project if the story had been original and not just an adaptation of previously produced work. Okiura san had previously worked with Oshii san on Ghost in the Shell and had been a key animator on, what is arguably the best anime, Akira. Again check Jin-Roh out, its a got a good pedigree and lives up to that pedigree.

2002-07-19T04:34:00.000Z

Regarding the guy in Kansas City who put a kitten on a grill. He really needs to be punished for that. Serious fine and jail. I heard tonight that his bail/bond has been increased because of outstanding warrants or some such. This guy needs help and if he's off the streets then he can get that help.
I also heard that a soldier from Fort Benning has been charged with the same crime of putting a kitten on a hot grill. This kitten did survive, although the injuries were quite severe.
I just wonder how they would like it if they were placed on a bed of hot coals?

2002-07-19T04:28:00.000Z

So what's up with this guy Moussaoui? He's representing himself, fine. He doesn't trust the judge, fine. He doesn't trust his court appointed attorneys, fine. He thinks everyone is trying to execute him, well he has been accused of being involved with the events of September 11. (I am not going to comment on his guilt or innocence of those events, as I don't have all the facts. I am only basing this on what has been stated in news reports.) So here's a guy who is facing a charge that carries the death penalty and he wants to plead guilty to save his life. To me, that seems a little whacked.
CNN's story

2002-07-17T16:14:00.000Z

Thars big doins up near mah howse this weekend. From awl over tha country people will be showin up to lisen to some oltimey music. If'n this is what you like then come on up to the park and lisen fer a spell.

I live here, I can make fun of it. Am I going, no, bluegrass isn't my cup of tea. However, it does bring revenue into the town and county and that is a good thing. Now if the organizers would get smart and move the event from Walton Park to a place that is much easier to get to then it could really blossom. Indeed combining this event with the Cristopher Run event from June could lead to Louisa County hosting a festival on par with the Galax convention. Of course the chances of that happening here are slim to none and Slim left town.

2002-07-17T04:27:00.000Z

I've been job hunting, a prospect that can be quite frustrating. You search and search to find a job posting, either in the paper or on the web, then craft a cover letter to accompany the resume. Once this is done the search continues as the waiting game begins. Will the company respond to you to schedule an interview or will you get the postcard/letter that says "we have received your resume, it will be evaluated to determine if it fits our needs. If it does not, it will be kept on file for X number of months." Basically, thanks but no thanks. That is, if you get a reply at all. Then there is the phone call follow up to a submission and the pat answer is that the review process is still proceeding and "we'll be in touch." This has been going on since March and yes it is frustrating. I was beginning to question my mental health.
Last week, I had two interviews. Yayyyyy. The first was with a hardware store in Culpeper. The manager was a prick. Most aggressive SOB I've ever interviewed with. It was almost as if he didn't want an assistant manager. The next day I submitted two resumes, one to Party City in Fredericksburg and the other to the Washington Redskins one of their new retail stores. I got a call from Party City an hour after I submitted my resume. The recruiter and I chatted for a bit and scheduled an interview with the district mangager the next day (Thursday). It seemed to go well, he said I should hear something in a few days. On Friday, I got a call from the Redskins. This lead to an interview today (Tuesday). Which was cool, I had planned to head to NOVA today anyway. That interview also seemed to go well, though I am not the best judge of interviews. I've had what I thought were bad interviews and gotten the job and had good interviews and been left hanging. So when I finally got home, my answering machine was beeping, a good sign. It was Party City. They were extending an offer to work for them. YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! I still need to call to get all the details, but Monday I return to the world of the gainfully employed.

2002-07-16T13:57:00.000Z

Act now, once in a lifetime opportunity. Own the Brooklyn Bridge. This is no joke, the bridge is for sale, and at a bargain price. The only downside is that you the buyer have to foot the bill to move the bridge.

2002-07-16T01:34:00.000Z

For those of you who know me, do I look like a hunter? Do I act like a hunter? I don't think so, its not part of my self image. In fact in my entire 31 years on this rock, I have only killed twice. Both times it was a groundhog I had in my sights. The first was in the summer of 1999 and there was a groundhog destroying our garden. Now, there are several groundhogs in the fields around my house, they are welcome to live there, when the eat my garden then all bets are off. This groundhog I caught sitting on the edge of his hole, which lead to a burrow under one of our barns, and thats where I shot him. In 2000, I found one sitting on my back steps. This one concerned me more, because of the potential for rabies (one of my cats is outdoors most of the time). This one was trapped in the outside stairwell to my basement when I shot it. That's the extent of my hunting, I don't do it for sport; basically, I don't want them too close to the house with Pig (my cat) wandering around.
So why am I relating my "hunt?" In the mail today I received a membership card for the North American Hunt Club. They bought my name and address from telemarkering firm I'm sure. As part of the introductory package, they included a card, a pack of seeds for clover and alfalfa to attrack deer, a small note pad, and some return address labels with pictures of wildlife. All I have to do is return the acknowledgment card. The advantages to this membership: become a field tester for gear. By gear they mean the following: scents (to attract prey), knives, ammo and guns. The bonus is that you get to keep the gear. Then there are the membership giveaways, which include gear & guns, targets, whatever.
All in all, I got a great laugh out of all of this. I'm putting the notepad in my truck, never know when it'll come in handy, the address labels are always good, and I'll scatter the seeds to give the wildlife something to munch on. The rest is going in the trash.
It was a great counterbalance to the monthly reminder that the bank owns my soul until 2006.

2002-07-11T13:14:00.000Z

The House of Representatives have done something incredibly stupid. They have approved a bill to allow commercial airline pilots to be armed. The bill still needs to pass the Senate before it heads to the President to be signed into law or vetoed. This bill is stupid, putting guns on airplanes is stupid. Why? Its not that the pilots shouldn't have a way to defend themselves and their plane should the need arise, its just that in a pressurized environment, you really don't want projectiles flying around. Look at this scenario, a highjacker breaks into the cockpit. The pilot and co-pilot turn to engage the highjacker, guns come out and a shot is fired. It misses the highjacker and goes through the wall of the airplane. Instant depressurization, the plane is now out of control, because niether the pilot nor the co-pilot were at the controls. In addition, they are now in a rarified atmoshpere and are not near the oxygen masks, so they pass out. Because of a stray bullet, you now have a multiton falling "rock" full of people and fuel.
Instead of pistols, pilots should have a less lethal weapon, along the lines of tasers. In addition, refitting the planes with stronger doors should be fast tracked. Anything is better than having lead fly at 30,000 feet.

Read the story.

2002-07-10T13:58:00.000Z

Benjamin Jacob Grimm is Jewish. It has taken 41 years for this fact to be acknowledged. That is a shame, but it is also a sign of the time in which Ben Grimm was created. Who is Ben Grimm? Well, to thousands of fans around the world he is the "ever loving Thing," strong man for the Fantastic Four. He's a fictional character in a comic book, created in 1961 by Stanley Lieber and Jacob Kurtberg (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). It does show a growth in our society that fictional characters are more inclusive of the society that embraces them. I'm sorry that it has taken this long, and there is still a long way to go. Here's the strange aspect of the early days of comics, you could have aliens, ghosts, social rejects, rich playboys become 'superheroes,' but the weren't Jewish, African-American, or homosexual. Off the top of my head I can only think of four Jewish heroes (Thing, Shadowcat, Sabra all from Marvel Comics and Atom Smasher from DC). There should be more and there very well may be, I jsut can't think of any others. The African-American heroes have a better representation though the early characters where a bit stereotyped, in addition they were the "second string" heroes for a while, particularly in the early 70s. The gay community has almost no representation. I remember 10 years ago when Marvel "outed" Northstar. There was an uproar from certain areas that the corruption of children was well underway. Recently, Marvel had two female characters kiss and it is receiving flak for that. Maybe in another 41 years, the fictional world will finally be as diverse as reality. Will there still be controversy? Yes. Humans live to find fault with things. However, by then we will be wise enough (one can hope) to realise that whats makes us different from each other on an individual basis, is what makes us strong as a whole society.

In the end, thank you Stan, thank you Jack for giving us some great characters. Thank you Joe, Jerry, Bob for laying the ground work. Thank you to all the writers/artists/editors who have, in the past 60+ years explored the human condition from the Depression through World War II through the social unrest of the 60s to the shrinking world view of the 80s and 90s to the current state of tension caused by the events of September 11. What will the future bring?

2002-07-07T13:48:00.000Z

some fun for you Click on the black field

2002-07-07T03:06:00.000Z

Censors submit to porn "We are not Americans." says one actress oppossed to the news. I don't see an agency of the American government setting up shop to screen porn, that's what the "red-light" disctricts are for. But, hey, if the Indian government wants to get it on, more power to 'em. Maybe it will help with their relationship with Pakistan. You never know.

2002-07-07T02:40:00.000Z

I am so going to this. In April of this year, one of my favourite bands, Marillion, hosted a weekend convention for their fans. It was a success and fans have already started asking when the next will occur. The answer to that is next March. Now, all I need it to get this interview to pan out, get the job that is offered and start making plans for crossing the pond next spring.
Its a weekend long party in a resort, how can you go wrong with that. I couldn't make it to the one this year, but barring the unforeseen, I will be in attendance at Butlins, Minehead 14 March to 17 March 2003.

2002-07-04T22:33:00.000Z

RUN!!!!
The Chub Chubs are coming.
an animated short subject preceding the presentation of Men in Black II

2002-07-02T01:59:00.000Z

Democracy at its best

2002-07-02T01:56:00.000Z

What is with these people? First there was the accused Forest Service employee in Colorado, now there is this. Are these people so starved for attention that they must go to these extremes? Like I said earlier, if this guy is found guilty, he should be made to reseed the burnt acreage and assist in the rebuilding of destroyed homes. All of this while paying the sentenced restitutions and serving the prescribed jail term.

2002-06-29T03:22:00.000Z

I've been offering a helping hand to this guy making a low budget film up in Waynesboro. Its a horror film of the this guy battling evil forces trying to steal his son. In April we filmed the scenes where the guy sees visions of his son cut to pieces sitting in a bathtub writing on the wall in blood. As the scene plays out, the vision of the boy turns into a banshee. We filmed that tonight. Basically, we put this half naked woman in the bathtub and had her scream while spewing fake blook from her mouth. My job was to prep the tub, write in fake blood on the wall, get the water ready mixed with milk to be nice and murkey. As we were shooting, I was the lighting stand and the light filter. I had the light in one hand and blue tissue paper in the other to create the correct effect. I said it was low budget. There is one more day of shooting, that will be sometime next weekend.

2002-06-29T03:14:00.000Z

Darwin nominees

2002-06-28T15:26:00.000Z

Both sides are feeding the flames in the Middle East. Palestinians light off a bomb, Israelies invade territory, Palestinians retaliate with more bombs and round and round it goes. Now a picture come from the region of a child, a toddler actually, dressed as a suicide bomber. The Israelies are taking at face value and the Palestinians are saying its a fake. The story on Headline News says that the family says the picture is from a party. Who's telling the truth? At this stage, it really doesn't matter. Both sides are seeking to incense the other, to such an extent that there can be no end to the hostilities.
One of them, it doesn't matter who, but one of them needs to back off. Just step away and say "No! This has gone on long enough and must stop now." Will this happen, not in the near future, but it does need to happen. If that means new leadership for both sides, fine. If that means creating a new Palestinian state, so be it. If that means Israel drawing back to the 1967 borders, do it. There must some give and take for the region to see an introduction of peace, something that really hasn't been there before.

2002-06-28T14:36:00.000Z

Being politically correct is again going too far. A theatre company in England is changing the name of a touring productionso as not to offend. So from now on The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be know as The BELLRINGER of Notre Dame. One person who applauds the change says that she was embarrassed by the original title. That I find hard to believe as the orginal title was Notre Dame de Paris, the "hunchback" was added only after translation from French to English.
In regard to the adaptation, the company says that it hasn't changed the story, but did they change all references of Quasimodo within the story from "hunchback" to "bellringer?"

Being PC is all a crock. If you personally don't like something, deal with it on your own level. Don't impose your value system on me, because chances are I don't like yours.

2002-06-28T00:58:00.000Z

A moment of silence, please, for the genius who was John Entwhistle.

2002-06-28T00:10:00.000Z

As anyone from Central Virginia will tell you it gets very hot around here, particularly in August and September. This summer has already started out hotter than usual, or at least it seems that way. Here are some techniques to remain cool during the Virginia summers.

2002-06-27T20:45:00.000Z

This is a nice chunk of coal 179 carats, valued at $1 million. It is a perfect diamond, that took 15 years to bring to its polish it cut and polish it down to its current size from its original 380 carats.

2002-06-27T19:52:00.000Z

Cat fight In the left corner from Albermarle, VA: Katie Couric!!!!!! And in the right corner: Ann Coulter. Now I want a clean fight: claws and hair pulling is allowed.

2002-06-27T19:31:00.000Z

Its all in the pork fat
The pay off

2002-06-27T19:24:00.000Z

Panda porn? What?!?!?!?

2002-06-27T13:07:00.000Z

Scottish UFOs
You know if you really think about it: why would ETs be interested in Earth? With the constant of lightspeed, other planets haven't had time to receive, much less interpret, radio signals from Earth. And when they do receive them, the signals will be rudimentary as they left here in 1920. Factor in the time to interprest, turn around time for transit, time of transit, and you realize that aliens from another planet cannot have visited. Without the artificial signals of radio, and later television, why would an ET be interested in this lump of rock?
Of course if the Scotts want to use UFOs to bring tourists, knock yourself out. It worked for Roswell.

2002-06-27T12:41:00.000Z

I missed the perfect opportunity yesterday. My usual tactic in dealing with telemarketers is to hang up on them. Yesterday, I got a call from a MCI telemarketer. As soon as he said he was with MCI, I hung up, then realized theat I should have stayed on hte line and just ripped him a new one. Why would I want to change my long distance service to a company, WorldCom (MCI's parent company), that is following Enron down the road to self destruction. It would have been fun to make a telemarketer squirm a bit. Missed opportunity, damn, damn,damn.

2002-06-23T14:59:00.000Z

Ann Landers has died at the age of 83 from multiple myeloma. This actually hits kind of close to home. Not that I was a fan of Ann Landers, or her sister Dear Abby, but that the disease she died from is what my father had.
Dad passed away in December 2000, he had been diagnosed with non-malignant myeloma in 1997. At one point, early in the disease, the doctor told me to drive Dad to the hospital as quickly as I could. The doctor didn't think Dad would survive the weekend. Let's just say that scared the living hell out of me. That was the fall fo '97.
Dad started treatment then. To keep his blood cells active, he was given EPO to help bolster his red blood cell production. He had gotten to the point where he only saw his oncologist once a year, which was a relief for both him and me. However, the myeloma had caused damage to his kidneys. He started dialysis three days a week and continued for about a year. He stopped going when he found that there was a way for him to have his dialysis treatments at home. This was exciting to him, because the other treatments left him so tired and weak. The at-home treatment allowed him to undergo dialysis while he slept at night, and once he started this, his strength returned. The machine used was invented by Dean Kamen, who is now making headlines with his Segway.
In the end Dad developed an infection, which caused him to go back the other form of dialysis briefly. This form weakened him further, more than I realized until after the fact. He had just been cleared to resume his at-home treatments when he died. I did as much as I could for him those, last few years and I still think I could have done more.

2002-06-22T20:58:00.000Z

The drug trade is bad enough, but this, this is just plain sick, cruel, inhuman. What was done to these animals, should be done to the criminals.

2002-06-22T00:44:00.000Z

I spent a couple of hours today watching Minority Report. I haven't had a chance to read the original Philip K. Dick short story, but I'm sure that it bears little resemblance to the film. That being said, the film is a pretty good sci-fi mystery. Tom Cruise is fair as the chief cop of the Pre-Crime Division of the D.C. Police Department. I won't go into details, if you want see it, go or not. What I do want to say is that Speilberg seems to becoming too stylized. The look of this film is too slick, almost over produced. Gone are the rough edges that marked Raiders, Jaws, Close Encounters, even E.T. Now by rough edges I mean that those older films were more organic and, while all were in the realm of the fantastic, were realistic, human if you will. This film seemed too sterile, like I said, too slick. What I'm saying is from a visual point of view. The story itself is pretty good, the plot moves well.

The trailers, well some good, some not so good, one that both scares and excites me. This one is a remake of a classic film from 1971. A film that ranks 26th on the list of all time science fiction films, a much deserved ranking at that. Indeed, this film has been compared most favorably to 2001. The film is called Solaris based upon the novel of the same name by Stanislaw Lem. The original film starred Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk and was directed by the great Russian director, Andrei Tarkovsky. Now to the remake, point for: It is based upon a classic of science fiction. Point against: It stars George Clooney Point against: It is produced by James Cameron. Point for: It is directed by Steven Soderbergh. Solaris is not the slick Star Trek type of science fiction, it operates on a more cerebral level. I just hope that Cameron's shot 'em up past doesn't get in the way. Solaris movie site

2002-06-21T13:56:00.000Z

Retailer dumping VHS Circuit City is officially the first retailer to stop selling VHS in its stores, though they will still be available on their website. DVD hit the market just a few short years ago and is now a dominating force even though the majority of the public don't own a player. (I'm on my second DVD player now and only use my VCR to run sound through the stereo [my TV doesn't have an audio output]).

My theory for why DVD has taken over so fast is that when VCRs, both Beta and VHS, were released to the public some twenty odd years ago, no one really knew what to expect from the medium. Now you have a whole generation who have been raised on the video medium so when the new format of DVD came out, they knew what to expect and demanded more. I feel cheated when I get a DVD that doesn't have extras beyond the trailer. I want content, if I want just the film, I'll stick with VHS. Actually this is why I ahven't converted most of my VHS titles to DVD. Would that make me a geek? Yes. Do I care? No. Indeed, I've already started to upgrade my DVDs, those that when first released didn't have extras and have since been rereleased, examples include Mad Max, Notorious, Highlander, Usual Suspects.
bbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

2002-06-21T02:45:00.000Z

Forbes has released its list of the most powerful celebrities (both entertainers and sports figures). Britney Spears is ranked number 1. Why?
the list

2002-06-21T02:25:00.000Z

Cosby disses Ozzy Even Dan Quayle has good things to say about The Osbournes

2002-06-21T02:16:00.000Z

Excuse me, your tooth is ringing

I say, its bit chilly out today These guys are much better equipped than Shackleton's crew back in 1914. The icebreaker and supply ship should arrive before the end of the month.

2002-06-21T02:14:00.000Z

Rare mammal found in Africa Discoveries still to be made in the animal kingdom. Here's a creature that has only been speculated about. Indeed, the only previous evidence was its pelt. So what else is scratching out an existence in the bush?

2002-06-21T02:07:00.000Z

The Sky is Falling!!!!!
So maybe Chicken Little was right after all

2002-06-20T23:47:00.000Z

I Hate NASCAR

2002-06-20T22:36:00.000Z

I thought this was funny. I have two cats, Smokie and Pig, that have lived together since 1997 when I brought Pig home. Smokie still doesn't recognize him when he sits in the window to come in, but doesn't bother him when he's in the house. Similarly, Pig doesn't really bother Smokie. Until today. Smokie, who spends most of her time sleeping in the house, wanted to go outside. So, I let her out. She rolled around in the driveway, she munched on some grass, basically enjoying the outside. Pig rolled around a bit, but he's used to being out all the time. While Smokie was exploring, I tried to pet Pig and he started to fight. Very unusual, he doesn't fight much anymore. Then he pounced on Smokie. In the five years they have been together, they have never lifted a paw to fight. Today Pig rolled Smokie across the yard and kept fighting. Smokie, who has never been in a fight, gave as good as she got. Once the broke apart, I put Smokie back in the house and as I type this Pig is still out. I don't want round two starting this evening, but I figure if it does, I'll pit the winner against Dude and Pantera.

2002-06-20T15:02:00.000Z

Last night a pilot from Massachusettes flew over the White House violating the restricted airspace over D.C. The plane, a Cessna, was escorted to Richmond International Airport, where the pilot and passenger were questioned by the FBI. The story wasn't too big in the local paper, yet, as it happened in the evening. I expect to see a more indepth article tomorrow.
However, I was thinking last night, why did the military direct the plane to land a a civilian airport, why not direct it back to Andrews AFB or down to Langley AFB? Had the plane been a terrorist wouldn't landing it at a commercial airport put the passenger, both those on planes and in the terminal, in danger? Though I guess, they were thinking that since RIC is the home to the Virginia Air National Guard and Richmond is home to a FBI field office, it would be an acceptable place to hold the pilot for questioning.

Of course, the pilot should have known better than to fly so low over D.C. Basically, unless there was a mechanical problem that caused him to broach the restricted airspace, I think that his pilots license should be reexamined. He should have known to check for any restrictions along his flight path, he should have been in contact with air traffic controllers around the D.C. All in all, he's lucky someone didn't have a hair trigger.

2002-06-20T14:09:00.000Z

Click on the Spam.