Incomplete Imaginations
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Filk Daddy" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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08:42 pm
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Another Spectacular Sports Story...
...this time, from Texas high school girls' track and field.
Her name is Bonnie Richardson. She represents Rochelle High School in Texas, competing in the 1A track and field team championships.
That is, she is the team. And this past week, over the course of two 90-degree-plus days, here's what she did:
[O]n Friday ... she won the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches), placed second in the long jump (18-7) and was third in the discus (121-0).
On Saturday, she won the 200 meters in 25.03 seconds and nearly pulled off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second (12.19) to defending champion Kendra Coleman of Santa Anna. Richardson, a junior, earned a total of 42 team points to edge team runner-up Chilton (36).
It was a good thing the 1A events were split over two days because Richardson said the heat -- temperatures were in the high 90s both days -- might have knocked her down. She laughed off a suggestion that she could have won more if UIL rules didn't limit individual participation to five events.
More to the point, all of that activity won the team championship.
Solo.
It's been done before, but not since the 1970s, by Frank Pollard, who eventually played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL.
Congratulations to Ms. Richardson, on a spectacular achievement. Let's hope it leads to as much continued success for her as it did for her predecessor in the role.
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02:19 am
[Link] | Many of us have suspected this for a long time, but now we have proof:
Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens
On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.
"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.
It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.
In fairness, this was the result of procedural negativism, a continued attempt by the Republican minority to prevent any real work from being accomplished, so they can later accuse the Democratic majority of failing to stomp them hard enough get anything done, rather than being an actual vote against mothers. Rumor has it that at least half of the Republicans actually had mothers at one time, after all.
For all you mothers and children of mothers, Happy Mother's Day (even if you're not ina place that celebrates it)!
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02:15 pm
[Link] | Reports have the Knicks signing Mike D'Antoni, late of the Phoenix Suns, to be their new head coach.
BOO!
First, D'Antoni is an offensively minded coach. That's nice during the regular season, but a losing proposition during the playoffs. Granted, the Knicks aren't likely to get INTO the playoffs for a couple of years, but he's signed for four years.
Second, he precludes the signing of Mark Jackson. Although Jackson has no head coaching experience, he has two MAJOR pluses that D'Antoni doesn't. He's a New York Knick hero, and he was a successful point guard. Since the Knicks' greatest need, and their likeliest pick in this year's draft is a point guard (most mock drafts have them taking Jerryd Bayless if available, or OJ Mayo if he is), Jackson's presence could only have done them good. Now it's exceedingly unlikely that they'll bring him aboard, and if they do, how will he feel about being preempted by a last-minute Charlie entry into the coaching derby?
The move smacks of desperation, and a desire to fill the seats so that Cablevision, the owners, don't have to suffer another year of boos and financial losses.
Which really sucks, because I thought they were trying to build a winner when they changed their management.
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10:59 am
[Link] | Yep. He's getting too many votes. (via)
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11:04 pm
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How I Spent My Weekend by Me :-)
Friday: Recovering from work week. Specifically, asleep except for 90-minute windiow midday to pick up the children from school and swing by one optometrist to get a nosepad replaced. Productivity: naught.
Saturday: Swung by OTHER optometrist to have Z's glasses (which were broken, and then lost) replaced (where the HECK did he lose them; we wanted to snap the lenses into new frames, but they're disappeared). Late lunch, grocery shopping, and then worked on MiL's laptop, which I had reformatted for the second time until I figured out that the DHCP issues were with the router, not her machine. Dinner. Worked on her machine some more, except OHNOES! the video was flickering and cutting out. But showed when I applied pressure to the top of the screen -- probably a loose ribbon cable connector (I hoped). Except that meant opening the laptop, which scares the pee out of me, but I did it, and tightened the cable, and it seems (knock on cellulose of all sorts) to be working again. Collapse.
Sunday: Tired as heck in the morning. Got up late, wobbled back into bed feeling tummyish. Rinse, repeat several times. Probably have several hours to check mail and things now; must complete two items for Contata, and will have them out tonight or early tomorrow.
Can I get a mulligan, please?
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09:13 am
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Ooh ooh child, what’d you think the cold winter’s gonna last forever?
For those celebrating, a blessed Beltane.
Or, a wonderful May Day -- or if you are celebrating it in a truly Soviet manner, a safe and unharmed May Day.
(Title of the entry, if you don't recognize it -- and why don't you? -- is from Jonathan Coulton's song First of May (NSFW for biological usage of the F word) (download a 192 kbps MP3), which makes explicit the first blessing.
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10:48 am
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Cool Things, Hot Things
Fitting the bill two different ways: today is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry's. Get 'em from noon to 8pm. (Find a location near you)
This video, via ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) akshuman, is hot.
One of the greatest acts of sportsmanship ever: Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. She's five-foot-two, was only 3-for-34 on the season, and was playing in the second game of a doubleheader when she hit a three-run homer.
Or rather, what would have been a homer, had she not missed first base. She could have gone back and touched the base -- except that she injured her right knee (they think it's a torn ACL, which is really bad) and was lying in the basepaths, unable to move. The umpires were about to call it a two-run single when Central Washington fist baseman Mallory Holtman, who holds just about every hitting record at her own school, asked if she and her teammates could carry Tucholsky around the bases (it was illegal for the coaches or trainers to do so). She and Central Washington shortstop Liz Wallace carried her around, being sure that she touched all the bases, so that she could have her home run.
How cool is that?
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10:54 am
[Link] | Earlier, filkertom pointed out one of the stories that's been big on the radio here this weekend: some yutz slipped into a work crew building the new Yankee Stadium and buried a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey in the concrete there; the Yankees dug it out later.
I was amused at this; after all, superstition is superstition (unless it's one's own beliefs). Still, the guy screwed up badly. First, he was open about it; if he wanted to ensure it stayed there, he'd have waited until the stadium opens in 2009 before mentioning it. Second, he got it in the wrong place: he meant for it to be below the visitors' clubhouse, and instead it was where a restaurant/club is supposed to be.
Finally, while I understand the Yankees digging it up for PR reasons (they don't want anyone thinking they're hexed), I could as easily have seen them turning the meme on its head and thanking the guy for helping them to ensure that they bury their rivals (the Red Sox) once they move.
( More thoughts, disrespectful of religion )
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06:01 pm
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*What* Picture?
So there I was, peacefully websurfing and stuff, when suddenly the monitor goes black at the bottom, flares slightly, and goes dark. On further testing, I turned it off and then on, and got a picture for about a second before it went dark again, repeatedly.
Some queries via the laptop later, a flashlight pointing at the screen (which still shows the picture it had at the time it went dark, just not visibly without a backlight) and it appears that the inverter for the backlight is out. Pack up the troops and take them and the monitor to Best Buy (whence it came), and although I couldn't find my paperwork, the monitor is found to be still under manufacturer's warranty. They've taken it to send back for repair; I expect it back anywhere from 15-21 days (and pessimistically, as much as a month).
Also fortunately, I still had this teeny (by comparison; it's 17" where the LCD is 22" widescreen) CRT still in the closet. So not totally dependent on the laptop for the next month.
That is all.
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06:02 pm
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Current Personal Soundtrack and Irony
( May your dreams be realized )
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01:33 pm
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Open-Face Cheese Tart, With*
Half Political:
"The threat of difference" by David Neiwert
"The presidency is no place to resolve the emotional baggage of your youth" by Jill
Elizabeth Edwards Responds: Why Are People Like Me Left Out Of Your Health Care Proposal, Sen. McCain?
Half Secular:
Lego Baseball Stadiums
Deep Value by Abi Sutherland at Making Light
A Malaysian man's wives decide to divorce him simultaneously
* That would be "pizza with sausage", of course**
** I copped the phrase "open-face cheese tart" from Julian May; don't ask me which book.
This entry has been brought to you by Brain-Dead Communications in lieu of real content. Here, have an IOU for something meaningful or otherwise entertaining sometime Real Soon Now, when I've caught up on sleep and am not screaming at the idiot the NY Knicks just hired.
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06:41 am
[Link] | Okay. Time to go auction virtual baseball players. As usual, it's in the wilds of central NJ, so up at the crack of dawn.
Back later. Have a good day and play nice.
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12:42 am
[Link] | Sports Illustrated (also known as cnnsi.com online) has opened their vaults, reprinting every article SI has ever published.
I used to read the magazine; I don't, anymore, except online. They still do mostly good work.
( And this is my all-time favorite article of theirs, which should surprise nobody who knows me. )
Current Music: "Centerfield" - John Fogerty
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08:28 pm
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Some Updates
Health: Saw the doctor. She told me I'd treated the leg well, that it probably wasn't an infection but she wanted to be doubly sure, so gave me another antibiotic to take for a week. It's clearing up, even the remaining red, and is apparently fine.
Dental: Finally got the bridges. There are two spots where they're rubbing me sore, and so I'll call on Monday for a further fitting in advance of the actual scheduled followup on Thursday. But they're otherwise great; I find I need to take far smaller bites, and hope they'll help further with food discipline. But it's good to have a smile again.
Computer: (1) Need to do lots of work still this weekend; meant to handle four laptops worth of updates; I may yet get them done, but three is more likely. (2) Finally got around to uninstalling McAfee and installing Kaspersky. So far, so good, despite the always nervous moments with such a critical change. Kaspersky is still learning, so I'm discounting the necessary annoyance of it asking me about net access for things as they come up, or registry changes, or all the other things it needs to learn. And this way, I can see what it needs to learn, so that when I install it on the other two machines to which this license entitles me, I won't be irked or startled.
Family: My kids have been driving me nuts today. It's been a big day for cleanup, or would have been had they actually been capable of doing it without constand prodding, and without talking back. There were more than a few blowups, and right now, walking on eggshells around here. (Which is good. We need eggshells to dye tomorrow.)
No, I wasn't striking. I just had nothing to say.
That is all.
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06:13 pm
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RIP
via filkerdave, Arthur C. Clarke is dead at age 90. He's not one of my favorite authors - I sometimes described him as writing cardboard game piece characters that he pushed around to make his plots work - but some of his works stand out as classics, and some are, indeed, great. His passing continues to mark the end of the Golden Age of SF; he will be missed.
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03:56 pm
[Link] | Today, something that I've danced around a great deal in the past coalesced as I was commenting elsewhere.
Creationism is my litmus test for a teacher. No matter how competent one is, if a teacher wants to teach creationism as literal truth, or anything other than poetry, s/he has no business influencing young minds.
Period.
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06:48 pm
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Health Update
Thanks for all of your concern and good wishes. I do believe it makes a difference.
( Good news and less good news: )
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06:35 pm
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Aha!
For many years, the Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization has been banned from marching in the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade. For many years they've appealed to the mayor not to march, in solidarity. And for many years, he has marched.
This year, no mayor.
Not that he finally concurred. Rather, he was in Albany, at the inauguration of new Governor Paterson.
At last, one unadulterated bit of goodness from Eliot Spitzer's indiscretion!
[Disclaimer: I am, as folks who know me are aware, no fan of the man history calls St. Patrick. Whether his feat of "driving the snakes from Ireland" refers to genocide, mass conversions, or forced exile for nonconverts, it certainly is one of the most complete religious persecutions in history, at least on par with the Spanish Inquisition. I hope those of you celebrating have had good days, and safe ones, but please include me out. Thank you.]
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03:46 pm
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Sick
I hadn't been feeling well the past couple of days, but went in to work Thursday night anyway. Made it through the night somehow, came home, and get the kids to school. Dozed in the office chair until it was time to pick up, and as soon as we got in the door, I get to bed, where the fever that had been brewing came to a head. I'm told it was fortunate that my body heat didn't ignite the bedding.
Less fever now, though still some. Tired, still. And not focusing well. So much for daytripping to Lunacon.
Aside: mscongeniality, I have your files, and will try to upload them later, after another nap to uncross my eyes. Sorry for the delay.
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04:42 pm
[Link] | A thought that occrred to me earlier, answering a question at ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) ask_me_anything:
The hole in the ozone layer == God's goatse.
So who's going to make the necessary change in the cosmic domain registrars?
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