Scotto's Wall Scrawls

9370 - Thursday -

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:55:32 GMT

Veggie-protein meatloaf, green beans from the garden and a simple salad made for a great dinner tonight, compliments of BHK.

Middleman was excellent, again. I wonder how long it'll take them to run out of steam? Alien dictators and Boy Bands. So far, so good!

That's about it for me today... Have some cool links du jour from around the web, dear journal!

Om Nom Nom Nom. - pictures badly photoshopped in paint to look like monsters eating things. Ah, simple pleasures.

Atari 2600 Label Maker - produces authentic looking Atari 2600 Labels including the famous “Picture Label” using your own image and title.

WASP Injection Knife - This weapon injects a freezing cold ball of compressed gas, approximately the size of a basketball, at 800psi nearly instantly. The effects of this injection will drop many of the world’s largest land predators.

Metro Hack -

Thieves took a legitimate paper Farecard with $40 in value, sliced the card's magnetic strip into four lengthwise pieces, and then reattached one piece each to four separate defunct paper Farecards. The thieves then took the doctored Farecards to a Farecard machine and added fare, typically a nickel. By doing so, the doctored Farecard would go into the machine and a legitimate Farecard with the new value, $40.05, would come out.

1 year ago - karma, John Lovitz pummels Andy Dick, car moving nearly squishes BHK and Amy, new shoes, Hp movie, bhk's 4th grade yearbook and kid goodies, matt's summer mix

2 years ago - movies, writing, housebound, heifer.org, king kong song, monday meeting, planetary mass comparisons, I doubt fate/design, lego jesus, oh don piano!

3 years ago - visited with constance1010 and tarpo, book meme, fanfic folks angry with original Harry Potter Author, zefrank's sing-along, AIM email, bananaman

4 years ago - zombies, urine, veggies, pagerank test

5 years ago - celeb divorce, there-sales, batman movie, witch game, hulk's diary

6 years ago - palm doodle-strip, lost hosted photos, crank yankers 80% sucks. Fortean times, F-ing Mongorians!

7 years ago - important people, ne plus ultra, anile, evil news, more majestic, now defunct Newton ICQ-bot

8 years ago - junky food, prepped April for launch, budgeting, hung out with bro, me no like stinky

9369 - Wednesday

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:26:10 GMT

Chinese dinner tonight with BHK, and the In-laws. We watched Definitely, Maybe, and I thought it wasn't bad at all for a "chick flick." Good amount of schmaltz, not a bad vehicle for a slice of life info. I still think he's a swine, re: the book... he had postcards and whatnot.

Next on our netflix list - Machine Girl. Hopefully, BHK will enjoy that as much as I enjoyed tonight's feature.

Pointless Scotto trivia of the moment - animal crackers eaten today, roughly in the order consumed.

whole -

gorilla
hippo x 2
seal
monkey
tiger
polar bear x 3
horse
lion
rhino
zebra
koala 2
sheep 2
kangaroo
camel

partials -

3-legged tiger
tailless kangaroo
headless lion

amazing number of intact critters in my barnum box. (60g) Sadly, no elephants. I've been to the circus, and always seen ellies - can't say the same about koalas or polar bears, though they are both adorable and cool, too.

Come to think of it, I've never seen a hippo or rhino at the circus, either. Or a gorilla. (well, maybe a clown in a gorilla suit) What are they trying to pull??

4th of July ATW man - note his pop-eyes, manic grin, and huge firecracker.
seen on the way home after Journey 3-d last night

Today's harvest - Looks like beans for dinner tomorrow!

also shown, first tomato of the season, cukes, eggplant, and a sneaky, slimy okra.

1 year ago - cyn's house, ATW man pics as a pirate, (first mention of atw man), salmagundia, Mr. Tawky Tawny kills a man with a sitck, recently listened tracks, bierce, famous poems rewritten as limericks, amy arrives

2 years ago - this will be our year (it still makes me cry every time I hear it), ring wearing, flemish ( The TRUTH About "Belgium" - The New World Order's Belgian Conspiracy) , cat's got knees / I like your pants, rust monster, underground city, lake okeechobee, ninja turtles /zoom, good sleeps,

3 years ago - GrayP, Allergy results, Candice gives me her number, google hybrid, love song / mind control

4 years ago - I Robot, The Flo, LiveJournal Gallery, 1000 white cards revisited

5 years ago - Evil Fish, Bro, Brace, bazillion questions meme, crow tools, Elton Ock, LJ pings for you

6 years ago - Janet Reno, 1000 blank white cards, lost links, Dumpster Diving,singing kitty, palm sketches, snickitty-snackitty man, managing activism

7 years ago - melted heart, epizootic, hair bears, playing majestic

8 years ago - bedtime thoughts

9367 - Tuesday - Date night!

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:15:30 GMT

Let's reuse a graphic I've already posted this week!

Taking my pumpkin to a 3-d movie. (BHK's nickname is pumpkin, amongst others. Sorry, GP.)

Journey to the Center of the Earth We're hustling to see it... we're fearful it's going to leave the theater before we can catch it...We loves us some 3-d movies. Review later.. we won't be disappointed.. it can be Dr. Tongue's 3-d house of pancakes... if it's in 3-d, we're all for it.

Speaking of which - The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the folks behind such innovations as the color bar test pattern, want to codify a standard for watching 3-D content in home theaters. They're casting the net wide to include all possible sources and displays, from over-the-air broadcast to DVDs and Blu-ray. Ars points out that Hollywood is both excited to sell you their movies again, this time in glorious 3-D, and worried about potential lost revenues at 3-D theater screenings of, say, George Lucas's 3-D Star Wars remake. via Ars Technica

[edit] Back from the movie, and we had a lovely time. The kids in the audience enjoyed it, the giggles and screams and the "pop-up" parts added to the overall appeal. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn't call it a stinker at all, contrary to popular opinion. BHK feels that it's her fave movie of the year, thus far. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I liked it, too. Fave bits fpr me included pseudo-snakehead fish and aquatic dinosaurs, and lots of gratuitious "look! 3-d, in your face" bits.

Now, it's off to Red Robin for supper, and then toddle on home!

A factoid I just came across: If not for the Beatles, we wouldn’t have CT scans, aka CAT scans, the advanced medical scanning technology.

1 year ago - Potterdämmerung, Jaspers with Cyn, terrible slang, honeymoon photos, Apocalypto, superdupergames, upcoming games

2 years ago - postcard, tiny Tarzan, MW network, golden age red tornado, Stevie wonder sesame street , comic book eras

3 years ago - Books added to palm, Australian link, Bus station security, Apollo Mission, HTML cleaner, Google lj friend map, geek quiz, looking forward, Friday fine

4 years ago - Mango, Spyware, Pi Approximation, Look out, Ghost tour

5 years ago - Sam Jack, Ghosts, MRI, filters

6 years ago - dreams, sounds, guns, action comics #1, hello kitty stress test, bike named, infinity

7 years ago - Cohort, fwap, morning speech quiz, coloring game, kitty cookies,sunflower bread, web indexes, English language, Olestra conspiracy

8 years ago - X-men with Dan, Robb's Radio, went to Hops, April reading my LJ

0722082029.jpg

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:32:08 GMT

0722082029.jpg, originally uploaded by scottobear.

wall-e gargantuan at annapolis mall

9365 - Monday -

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:39:45 GMT

Fresh harvested this morning for ratatouille tonight. delicious. Larry had hot dogs, as he's not a veggie guy, excepting corn... more ratatouille for Chris, BHK, and me!

The garden keeps tossing us more eggplant! ichiban, white and green. yum. note the sneaky, almost camouflaged placement of another okra. Hm.

Slow night tonight... just visiting and eating for the most part. Back tweaked up a little bit, but nothing to be concerned about.

Until later, dear journal.

Goodbye, Blue crab. I'm sorry you're so low on the survival priority totem pole.

1 year ago - Adam's 18th birthday with pics, cake info, Mr. Nelson (a teacher) bringing alcohol to minors, wrote to bro, all the lonely people

2 years ago - mixed bag day, newt pics-color filters, tp-roll shreds, outback with gg, toes poem, shiny superman pic,

3 years ago - RIP Scotty, bleeder likes my eyes, thumb drive apps, paper rocket, logo toy, taters, London transport

4 years ago - politics, monster poll, last time meme, job market

5 years ago - mah jongg, zombie movies

6 years ago - Visiting Danny, played Pokemon, orcs n the hood, reign of fire with Dave, beef recall

7 years ago - eremite, watched the sun come up, poll creation, why I trim, cooking poll

8 years ago - got the first LJ client, movie pondering

9364 - Sunday - Adam's Birthday!

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:24:23 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM!!

BHK managed to grease Adam's nose, with a minimum of struggle. total surprise. We watched The Seeker: The Dark is Rising -(not bad, but seemed more than a little "Mary Sue"-ish, even for a fantasy movie. Christopher Eccleston was totally misused in the film. I know he can act, I've seen it.) and re-watched National Treasure 2. (BHK and Adam really like the sequel... while I like the first, the second fell a bit flat for me.... I am looking forward to the next one.)

Chips and dip, Hot dogs and corn on the cob for all, with a confetti-birthday cake, yellow cake with whipped white icing and sprinkles. It was devoured before a photograph could be recorded. I fear we may soon grow weary of hot dogs, but I'm doing OK so far. In-laws left at about 6, and Adam at 7. We hit the sack pretty early again tonight.. need to recharge the batteries for tomorrow.

We gave Adam coupons for his birthday, as we couldn't find anything his size that was something special.

Coupons included:

1 use - Get out of being nagged by BHK Free. (He almost had to use it re: cigar smoking on special occasions.)
Hug from Pyewacket (renewable)
Headbutt from Newt (renewable)
1 full tank of gas (please to use before it gets higher than $10 a gallon, and no more than 18 gallons - (his car holds 12))
Girl advice from either a girl (BHK) or a Boy (me) or both - he is not obligated to take said advice.
free trip to the drive in
free pizza night!
emergency help, anytime he needs it.

via eavesdrop dc -

Guy to girl in Springfield Mall:

"I got a BMW. Bus. Metro. Walking."

1 year ago - rated r, simpsons doughnut tongue / t-rex arm picture, Harry Potter spoiler fear, Slow Mexico, Busy weekend plans, Andy Rooney quote, lollipop, mosquito-hunting dream, return to disney world, told Aardvark about Compleat Strategist, got Chez Goth, too much ice cream.

2 years ago - world jump day, world party, mom heading north, netflix wakes up, availabot, electric bill, stress and sleep

3 years ago - pics, singing fountain, atarax, google moon, charity paypal link, digg, hurricane emily, operation predators, fishstories, ID badge, random wifi

4 years ago - I Robot, working with wimmin, Operation Valkyrie, moon landing.

5 years ago - bro, monkey mummy, teen titans, moon landing hoaxes, animal sounds asring tones, hunting for bambi, newtcam, consumer reports condoms,awesome earth image, pancakes

6 years ago - bike name poll, palm doodles, planning to visit Danny with his busted leg

7 years ago - rough night, slake, ambisinister, voice activated tech, how far would you go poll

8 years ago - counting days, finished first Harry Potter, books I repeat read, abortive attempt to track intake

9363 - Saturday -

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:42:04 GMT

Well, the drive-in was really something.

BHK and I had a wonderful time! Let's see... We got there at about 6:50 pm, and left at about 3:45 am. We got home at just about 5:15 am, to hear my alarm clock going off. That underlined the fact that I'd been awake for just a smidgen over 24 hours. (I left with BHK for the movies right from work yesterday.)

We bought an outside food permit for the car, but still hit the snack bar really hard. So much for a healthy diet this weekend. Between BHK and I, consumed were a bunch of egg rolls, a mega-tub o' corn, corn dogs, cream cheese & jalapeno poppers, fried cheese sticks, a home made chipwich ice cream sammich (likely my fave item). We brought 2-liters of home-mixed Arnold Palmers (made with blueberry iced tea) and an additional 2-liter of diet cherry Pepsi. Neither bottle survived, given the salty food we ate... fortunately the day's heat dissipated as the sun set.

Next time, I suspect we'll bring dagwoods, and just grab corn and ice cream at the snack bar... a little bit healthier, at least.

We waited until sundown for the movie to start - that was about 8:45 or so. The playground was cleared out once the movies started rolling.

Opened with the national anthem, and a promo to "Attend your house of worship regularly". First thoughts, the projectionist / owner really likes to gab and play with the audience. He went over the rules and regulations about turning off running lights, etc.... a real homey and comfortable family atmosphere.

Warner Brothers Cartoon - "Beanstalk Bunny" A classic, to be sure. This and all of the shorts had awesome cartoon elements, all featured things you can't show on TV anymore... smoking, violence on women and children, etc.

First feature - Kung Fu Panda. I enjoyed it, though the celebrity voices seemed pretty under-utilized. When it looked like the movie was winding down, I went to grab our popcorn... it was a good thing that I left when I did, as it took about 20 minutes in line to get corn and bring it back. I returned to the end credits, where folks were invited to flash headlights to the kung-fu fighting theme at the end. I liked the extra little movie-bit after the credits, too.

Then - Kit for Kat - Sylvester and Kitten stuck out in the cold, with Elmer taking them in. Not as great as Beanstalk bunny, but it was pretty dang funny, regardless.

There was no Watchmen Trailer on Batman! but we did get to see trailers for Ice Castles with (I can't remember the last time I heard the name Lynn-Holly Johnson - For Your Eyes Only, maybe?), a pause for a marriage proposal, and a preview of Mr. Quilp (a musical version of The Old Curiosity Shop ).

So... The Dark Knight. I liked it, but *really* didn't think it lived up to the hype. I feel that the movie was good, but maybe a 30-45 minutes too long. I think the ol' Two-face element was excellent, and would've worked better in a more developed movie of its own. The Joker was good, but certainly not an Oscar-worthy performance in my opinion... however.. I didn't much care for "No Country for Old Men" at all, and that won two Oscars last year. Heath Ledger did a good job, but he really isn't my idea of the Joker - I think more in terms of bright, surreal colors amongst the dark and gritty Gotham backdrop. This version was a good villain, and genuinely creepy... but not what I think of when I think "Joker". Bale's Batman was... more like scenery than an actor. He portrayed Bruce Wayne well enough, but his "bat-voice" grated on my nerves more than the one he used in the first movie. I liked the newer costume, and the motorcycle... the tech-sonar bit was OK, but it didn't jazz me like it did some. I certainly don't think it's my favorite Superhero movie... or even in my top 5. Probably my top 10, but then, how many good superhero movies are there?

After the Big BM passed... more intermission commercials for food... the snack bar closed at 1:30am, so it was pretty much a 10-minute warning.

Freaky Bic Shaver sponsored movie ad. very surreal.. "we're all disposable here" - I remembered seeing it at the midnight movie express, back when I went to the town center mall in Palm Beach. Very Nostalgic for me, and I wish I could find a copy of the video on the web, but it was about the same time as this one. also shown were all sorts of lobby animations for snacks.

Then - Three bears in "Bee-Deviled Bruin." I've always loved the 3 bears... the sawed-off runt of a father being a loudmouth and violent guy... but you can understand why, given his family life.

Last movie of the evening, starting at 1:30ish - Get Smart. Cute movie.. and loyal enough to the source material. I liked Hymie's cameo, but wasn't crazy about Smart's back story - however, it was good to seem him as semi-competent, as opposed to a complete bumbler.

All in all, I think that both BHK and I had a great time. We're going to try and lure the in-laws and Adam (and a date, if he wants to bring one) to the next show. I'm hoping it's the Wanted / Hellboy / Mummy 3 combo that was hinted at - I'll know on Wednesday, when they announce the lineup.

Anyhow - after we slept for about 4 hours, 9am came, and it was time to go get my shots - did and done, then headed to Trott's for corn... Adam's Birthday is tomorrow, and we've got to have the corn!

Vegged out and rested much of the day - The new Monk was sad to me, as it's a memorial episode... the mystery itself was no great shakes, but they gave the actor a nice mention and some due. Psych was maybe a bit too family-dramatic and less zany as usual, but I expect it'll be back on par come next week.

Last but not least, we finally caught Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - I liked it more than the 2nd one, which suffered a bit from "back to the future-bridge story" syndrome.

That Taco salad was mega-tasty... I 'm not sure why we did cheese crackers for dinner with that good stuff in the fridge... I'm too worn out to use the microwave, I suspect. Hitting the bricks early tonight... until later, dear journal.

1 year ago - Alan's Rug, NF upgrade, being a mobile landmark, friends base, panel van dream, clothes shopping, chore wars, lj counts

2 years ago - day moving fast, stop motion video, minimum wage variances, pumpernickel, 2-word meme, a-z meme, dvd decrypter, World Party - Ship Of Fools,

3 years ago - danny, bro, top40, riverwalk autostitched, farcry, sneak peak at Pirates of the Carib2: Davy Jones

4 years ago - Pictures, Newtcam, flipper, Miami population, picasa, alligator as weapon, flash, TMBG, Franco-Prussian war, TU, amber alert/web, php rant, meat hooking, ADP uppity

5 years ago - freeflow, dream, Superman, heart in hand, bear attacks sub

6 years ago - caving dreams, piracy, anagram server, no-longer newt-time icon, irrational deodorant mixing fear, fun hidden camera show, monopoly variants, true porn clerk stories, phobias, paperback cover gallery, 100 years of jell-o ads, missing scary link pic

7 years ago - carom, evil news, fave monopoly token poll, rude awakening, OTR, impressed with flash, and feelin' romantic

8 years ago - zoe's bday and loverlips adds

9362 - Friday

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:09:38 GMT

Drive-in date night! We arrived early - The place opens at 6:30, we got there at 6:50, after stopping off to fill the cooler with ice and getting fresh batteries for our radio. (You can listen on the car radio, but we're going to spend most of our time on lawn chairs in front of the element, I think. For funzies while we wait, brought catan dice, rook, canasta caliente. Other Drive-in supplies: bug-off, pen for scoring the games, blankets to sit on / warm under come the cool of late night, tablecloth to keep things neat, a ton of throw pillows. We'll see how much we need.

The back row of the lot is already nicely filled, but the front left is open, and likely the best remaining parking for a vehicle our size.

The playground under the screen is ample - folks playing bocce, riding the swing sets and slides - just having a good time. Our neighbors on the right are nice folks - The husband (whose name I've forgotten already...) has been coming to Bengies since he was a little boy. He's 53, now.

The snack bar is in full swing - Heading there now. More of a review tomorrow, dear journal!

First Pumpkin from our garden. It may be the last, as it's choking out the zucchini... but I hope we can keep at least a few vines and fruit for halloween.

Today was a "Code Red" air quality day. What a Code Red forecast means: Children, the elderly and people with heart or respiratory ailments, emphysema, asthma or chronic bronchitis should reduce outdoor activities. Healthy people should limit strenuous outdoor work or exercise.

The upside of that is that the buses ran for free today - a response to get people to take mass transit rather than pollute the air more, especially during peak hours. they don't seem to publicise that very well, as no more or fewer folks were on the roads or on my bus today than any other.

1 year ago - rusty thing, the soup, dan's rocks, walking score, compleat strategist replies to criticism, tin foil hats fail (in comments)

2 years ago - morning breaks doodle, sleepy, heat of the moment, training a tech, sailboat doodle, stop motion space invaders, voice pdf files, deaths

3 years ago - bro court, auto-stitch of an alley no longer there, graffiti pics, harry potter, zombie game, bards tale ends, mimicked, Reverse Polish Notation, top40

4 years ago - manatee trip pictures, Miami travel shots

5 years ago - Aol gives up on netscape, random poster form the past, I get fan mail from desert butterfly, reading list retreat

6 years ago - princess sultanas circle, hug meme, joy machine, angry corn ghosts burn police cars, hydrogen fuel cars, got tested for diabetes (none here!),baseball bat poll, Bush & Women's rights, spooky patent office logo

7 years ago - evil news, arriviste, clochard & myopic, gilligan's lessons,contraception myths, Leisa's 2 months pregnant, zeppelins, tuck in thoughts

8 years ago - xanadu, sleep study prep, name meaning

9361 - thursday

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:56:32 GMT

Made plans this morning before work to take BHK on a date to The Bengies Drive-in tomorrow night. Triple feature of Kung-fu Panda, Dark Knight and Get Smart.

From the site -

Warner Brothers has graciously agreed to send us a LARGE FORMAT print for our 52 by 120 foot screen (the Biggest in the USA) so we do not have to worry about the run coinciding with the full moon that occurs on that opening night.

It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun - I hope it cools down a bit after dark - projected to be 94F tomorrow during the day. I'm going to have to make sure that I change out of my work duds and into some comfy play clothes for our date! Unfortunately, cameras are forbidden, due to movie paranoia about piracy, but maybe I can click off a few pics of the place via cellphone.

Lots of Veggie options at the snack bar... Hey, if we're going to be there for 6+ hours after work, I'll be eating something for supper. I'm already earmarking a meatless egg roll and a pretzel with mustard for me! BHK will no doubt grab herself a corn dog. They sell "food permits" to bring your won stuff in, too... I just might do that, but the snack bar is pretty reasonably priced, and I'd like to support the theater. Back when I was Managing the Cobb 23 theater at Sawgrass Mills (Now a Regal, it seems) that was where *all* the money came from. The cost to lease the movies was more than we made in admissions.

That was during a period when I was either homeless or mooching Danny's guest room.

Speaking of the snack bar (they sell mosquito repellent) Looks like the Mosquito addition to Hive will be coming in next month to Aardvark ! (I was thinking about making homemade ones... and may still do something like it for other custom critters... we need a dragonfly, lightning bug and a ladybug, I think.)

Come to think of it, we could brig hive, or a card game to play if we wanted to to the drive in!

I wonder if they can do current format 3-d movies at the drive in? I imagine it'd be tough to implement non-color based 3-d.. and on the 3-d note - 2 current games that pop in 3d thay I'd like to try before I buy - Pipeline and Aapep.

Anyhow, long story short, date night at the the drive in tomorrow!! Hoody-hoo!

more info on bro - he got 2 years probation on the drug charges before being arrested on the grand theft charge. He plead no contest to the drug charges.

1 year ago - tasty garden foods picture, family tree math, too much soda-pop, fox news hates mr rogers, human-sized penguins

2 years ago - defective materials, algo march 2, control freak, McCain on Lieberman, Michigan fairy doors, random flickr

3 years ago - Kev day, pictures of train station/toys/etc, mr moonlight

4 years ago - mind flayer doodle, travel plans, blue ink, Warriors...., phone posts

5 years ago - odd dreams, Gary hart, pizza box solar oven, hunting for Bambi hoax, walnut walks with a belly dancer

6 years ago - CHiPs, Spreading rumors

7 years ago - Music Mystery Solved, exegesis, evil news, Earhart's wreck perhaps found, I discover Google image search, sea creature poll, why poop is brown

8 years ago - Scheduled Departure time set in stone, something at Archie McPhee no longer there, sitcom nudity-logic

9360 - Wednesday -

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:21:17 GMT

So, midweek again, is it, dear journal?

Not much to talk about, save for a tasty thai-style currey cabbage soup courtesy of BHK. Very, very tasty!

Wha? Belgium's government collapsed yesterday, and I didn't hear anything about it? I don't know why it strikes me as so bizarre - you hear about Russian and African nations going under all the time. Belgium seemed so.. I don't know... stable? I wonder how long before the Hercule Perot jokes start rolling by... or more likely, How Budwiser beer becoming Belgian took down the whole country.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Belgium's government collapsed Tuesday, unable to resolve an enduring divide over more self-rule for the country's Dutch and French-speakers. The gap was so wide the premier suggested the end of Belgium as a country was looming.

King Albert II immediately began political discussions with lawmakers to try to resolve the situation, talks expected to take several days. He did not formally accept the resignation of government offered by Premier Yves Leterme late Monday, so Leterme's government stays on in a caretaker capacity for now.

In an unusual declaration, the premier said Belgium's constitutional crisis stems from the fact that "consensus politics" across Belgium's widening linguistic divide no longer works.

io9 nicely sums up why I like middleman.

Another one of those quiz / memes those kids are all doing these days.

1) In five words, explain what ended your last friendship?
stress and poor diplomacy skills

2) How was your prom night?
Skipped it - hung out with friends elsewhere, instead. I was pretty anti-establishment paired with shy.

3) Do you have any famous relatives?
We all do, if you go far enough back! Seriously... I'm from assorted Bavarian and Russian stock. Maybe the most famous and immediate living relative is Peter von Berg. Ever hear of him, dear journal? Thought not. He's been in in lots of stuff, though I've never met him in person. See yesterday's entry about more distant relatives of fame. I guess it's not really fame if you've never heard of the guy.

4) Have you taken out loans to pay for college?
Nope. I did it "the hard way". However, I have no student loans of my own to pay off now.

5) What did you receive last in the mail?
Part of BHK's birthday present!

6) What beverages have you drank today?
Iced Tea, Water, diet cherry pepsi, lemonade/iced tea mixed

7) Do you leave nasty messages on people's answering machines?
Not as a rule, no. I often don't bother leaving a message, though - most of my friends are bad about voicemail checks, and prefer to call me back without listening to it, anyhow.

8) What's the most painful surgical procedure you've had done?
Back surgery was probably the most extended and painful, though it helped more than my back hurt prior.

9) What is out your back door?
Our back yard, garden, possibly a turtle, lots of frogs, maybe a little tuxedo kitty wandering around, assorted finches, cardinals, and jays and fence-gate leading to the world beyond.

My initial answer was smart-alec-y and inspired by CCR:

There's a giant doing cartwheels, a statue wearin' high heels - look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn!
A dinosaur Victrola list'ning to Buck Owens, tambourines and elephants are playing in the band.
A flyin' spoon and a wond'rous apparition provided by magician.

10) Do you usually go out on the weekends?
It seems that we at least visit family one of the days. Staying in happens, too. We generally get a little air on Saturday mornings, at least.

11) Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
I don't really worry about it either way... if it knotted it in cornrows or shaved it all off, I'd be more concerned.

12) Have you ever visited a planetarium or do you even know what one is?
Many times... I like them when they have comfy seats and good a/c on a summer day.

13) What is your favorite flavor of pudding?
I'm pretty much a chocolate fan. I don't know if there's a commercially available pudding flaver that I dislike. Pistachio, Butterscotch, Banana and vanilla are all fine by me.

14) Describe your keychains:
outside of keys and rings, there's a piton, an assortment of barcode fobs for store discounts (hair cuttery, Calvery county library, casual male, winn dixie, cvs, giant and ace hardware), a mini flashlight, a usb drive, a tiny maryland snow globe, remote of the locks on the element, and a universal tv remote.

15) Where do you keep your change?
In my left front pocket, or in a big plastic utz pretzel jar by my desk.

16) When was the last time you got up and spoke in front of a large crowd?
How large is large? About 25 people at the last employee meeting - maybe a week ago?

17) What kind of winter coat do you have?
double coat... a heavy outer one with a polyfill inner quilted.. one can be zipped into the other on very cold days.

18) What was the weather like on your graduation day?
Sunny and mild. I did not attend my graduation. I got my diploma and moved on. (see prom, #2 above)

19) Do you sleep with the door to your bedroom open or closed?
Open - Newton and Pye like to roam the house unhindered.

20) Is there anything purple within 20 feet of you?
A plum-colored chair is to my rear left, about 5 feet from me.

21) What is the strangest thing you've put in the microwave?
Grapes, or marhmallows.. grapes are more interesting.

22) Can you speak any Japanese?
I know some words, but nothing serious. Some foods, greetings and such.

23) Do you look good in the color yellow?
I do ok... I prefer cooler colors- blues, greens, etc.

24) Do you spit or smoke?
Nope and nope. also, yuck, and yuck.

25) What is your favorite color(s)?
Rust / Orange - Forest Green

26) Ever played an instrument?
Baritone, Tuba, Sousaphone, Recorder, a smidgen of Alto Sax - Learning the Bass Guitar and Uke when I'm not procrastinating.

27) Do you believe in Bigfoot, or Sasquatch?
I suspect the Yeti and suck xeno-kin are unlikely, but remotely possible. If you would like to hire me to pursue him, I'd be happy to be a bigfoot hunter for the rest of my life, or until I find one, whichever comes first.

28) Ever been to a palm reader?
Not professionally. I've had readings from hippie friends and such.

29) Did they tell you the truth about your future?
I don't know! My future hasn't happened yet! Nothing they forcast has occured yet, to my knowledge.

30) What are you thinking about at this very moment?
I was feeling a little out of sorts today. I wonder why? Sort of a free-floating malaise. I started feeling better this evening than I did this morning and last night, then got worse, and now I'm better again. I'd really like to pop the hood of my brain and see what's in there without all the subconscious stuff clouding issues. I feel sorry for any mentalist rummaging around in my briain - the mind is organized but a lot of clutter in there, too.

31) Have you ever received a black eye?
Yup - from fists and inanimate objects.

32) What is your biggest current disappointment?
That there are only 24 hours in a day... lots of stuff to do, but for fun and for life improvement.

33) What are some of your favorite drinks?
Sun tea, Arnold Palmer (lemonade mixed with iced tea), diet cream soda, diet cherry vanilla dr pepper / diet cherry pepsi

34) Do you have anything that hurts on your body at this time?
Let's see.. a quick mental spot check for pain. In varying but low levels - left ankle, left knee, middle back, right hip, base of neck, behind left eye. Most of the pain is very minor at the moment, like a muscle ache or nerve pinch. No agony.

35) Have you ever ridden in a taxi?
Many times. I prefer the water taxi to any on land.

36) What is the last alcoholic drink you had?
A pair of raspberry ciders last weekend, with the dagwood sammich Yummy!

37) Did you do anything special last night?
Spent time home alone with BHK at dinner and watched Middleman... doesn't get much better than that!

38) What is your very favorite food?
Heck if I know! I'm currently in the mood for Joss sushi, just because I've not had it in a long while. I lean towards Americanised "Fusion" versions of Mexican, Thai Curry or Japanese food. If I had my druthers, I'd go for a tempura veggie roll with some peanut sauce tossed on right now.

1 year ago - pickle salad for dinner, Newt and pye cuteness, Runaways, casein

2 years ago - furniture, will, smith on superman, windows on flash drive, pictures of floating things, fin fang foom, algorhithm march, knock down ginger

3 years ago - broward and fed autostitch, visited kev, walkabout pictures with rastas and shirtless, tell-tale heart in street signs, overheard

4 years ago - spidey, weather, let them sing it for you, freddy vs gb

5 years ago - remembering the keys, overtime psa, comic books, workman's comp, prostate cancer

6 years ago - newt in sink, bro gets viper fins sponsor, pesky security, badly drawn images on a bumpy road, punquin finds my 125 item list

7 years ago - Evil News, bad joke, crux, random journals, nice thing poll, designer'slament, laptop space bar weird, hatt-baby, email plain text

8 years ago - Enjoyed the X-men movie, 1974 memory visiting Florida, reprint of Scooby & the occult, insomnia

9358 - Tuesday, the ides of July.

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:02:10 GMT

Big salad and fried zucchini chips tonight. BHK made some fried okra, but ate it all up save for one tiny morsel which I tried, and really didn't taste any "okra-ness".

Middleman continues to entertain - Zombie-venom bite snakehead-type fish and a cola scheme for "!!!" soda.

Random Scotto and BHK factoids. I am fairly distantly related to Ludwig II, and on a pretty solid connection to the original Frankensteins and (not the Fictional Scientist, but the family that built the castle.) I'd settle for having a time-share at Linferhof Palace. All told, I'm just glad I don't have to go through the same stuff Benita Falkenheyn did.

BHK is more "American" as a fairly direct descendant of Davy Crockett, and has more than a little native American in her bloodline as well. (great grandma) - Not to mention Ma & Pa Barker. (And a little French Huguenot according do Mother-in-Law.)

*SOME*body is rearranging netflix queues so that girly movies arrive before scary monster flicks. I wonder who it could be?

BHK is sneaking in and adding to my journal again! Her latest:

"S'ok cause I really love girly movies----don't tell anyone dear journal but I squealed like a giddy school-girl while watching Bridget Jones' Diary!!"

Bleah and Bah, I say to that.

More crops from the garden.. it seems limitless!

Cukes, Zukes, squash.. and a .. green pepper? BHK also gave away lal our green beans to the neighbor - he thought that they were offered and took 'em -BHK didn't have the heart to take 'em back.

1 year ago - creaky, smoothie reparations, Compleat Strategist a bomb, gaming, Alan at the piano, Lebanese Butcher, art talk

2 years ago - furniture, kevin smith & superman, pocket windows (note- add to new flash drive), coral square mall pictures, fin fang foom, algorithm march w/ninjas, girls on walls

3 years ago - broward and fed autostitch, visited kev, walkabout pictures with rastas and shirtless, tell-tale heart in street signs, overheard

4 years ago - spidey, weather, let them sing it for you, freddy vs gb

5 years ago - remembering the keys, overtime psa, comic books, workman's comp, prostate cancer

6 years ago - newt in sink, bro gets viper fins sponsor, pesky security, badly drawn images on a bumpy road, punquin finds my 125 item list

7 years ago - Evil News, bad joke, crux, random journals, nice thing poll, designer's lament, laptop space bar weird, hatt-baby, email plain text

8 years ago - Enjoyed the X-men movie, 1974 memory visiting Florida, reprint of Scooby & the occult, insomnia

Writer's Block: Lame jobs (9358-predated)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:46:25 GMT

What's the worst job you've ever had?

View other answers

I've had a lot of jobs that had rough aspects to 'em.

Hardest physical work - Roofing. Back-breaking gig of spreading sticky tar with a mop over a flat, reflective roof in Florida's summer sun was probably the most difficult physical labor in my life. I surely couldn't do it these days. Additionally, half of the crew I worked with was drunk, half were surly and half didn't speak English to me. (those halves were not exclusive of one another, math nerds.). Who the heck drinks alcohol all day in the sun? Why be mean to people that are trying to get by? I can understand not speaking the language - but working with someone that doesn't have a common tongue can be a challenge for me - I like conversation, at least every here and there.

But... I don't think that was my worst job.

I've had a couple of jobs where my boss was abusive. The chief of one marketing company I worked at had some very serious mental problems. Off the top of my head, he - threw a mug at the head of his pregnant daughter-in-law, bullied his employees - including, but not limited to: yelling at the top of his lungs / threats of physical violence / calling the sheriff on folks that he hired as cheap labor - who were illegal aliens. (that's how he got out of paying them any benefits).

That said, before I left that workplace - it was comical to see people stand up to him. He was such a classic and stereotypical bully that he didn't know how to react when someone didn't react in a cowed fashion.

He called a dock worker out to fight, and the dock worker agreed... asked him to step outside. Bad boss responded by calling the police, claiming that the dock worker threatened him. When the big boss asked for witnesses, the entire staff refused to bear witness for him - told the truth, in that he'd called the guy out. The cops still escorted the worker off the property, but it made the big boss look like a complete feeb - and it crushed his bully-boy spirit for a few days.

Later on, he was tried, and for the most part, found guilty for all sorts of charges hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe into the millions owed to clients, employees and the irs - for details there's good ol' public records

for both palm beach county see here - (see especially tax evasion) - and broward county (contract indebtedness for the most part.)

The thing was.. if you removed that crooked and cruel boss-guy from the equation, it was a really good gig. My immediate leader was a good friend, and despite his being the nephew of the owner, was about as good a head honcho as I've ever seen. Strong work ethic, good with people, and able to take care of business. He's now working in Guantanamo Bay... and I suspect that he's a heck of a lot happier!

Either way, I have long since moved to greener pastures, and I know I'm better off as a result.

9357 - Monday

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:33:50 GMT

Random Thought - My niece (via Momster's younger sis Diane & ) Inger is 17.... I can remember when she was born, and wore the candle headdress at age 4! How the heck did 13 years skip on by that fast?

We watched the most thinly-veiled possible telephone ad / infomercial on the tube last night.. Picture This. Poor Kevin Pollak. Ah well, I was happy just to relax on the couch and veg for a little while. Note - It is not a "hilarious coming of age teen comedy."

Today's Harvest - Okra and three kinds of eggplant!

recent listens -

Bjork - odd duck and Grinspoon - gone tomorrow

Mamihlapinatapai:considered the hardest word to translate.

It describes a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start. This could perhaps be translated more succinctly as "eye-contact implying 'after you...'". A more literal approximation is "ending up mutually at a loss as to what to do about each other".

at the suggestion of MGK - I've added Zero Effect to my netflix.

1 year ago - college park - drove by looney labs, got chrononauts, nasty smoothie king, collector's crypt, liberty books

2 years ago - rip webmonkey, skipping dragon*con, personal growth post recap, newt on porch pic

3 years ago - mp, kev, $, Rs, the love god mp3, update info about me, tag cloud, allergy

4 years ago - construction webbing, fonts, celebs, web cam fights crime

5 years ago - braced, zombie pumpkin fights, insanity script, insurance stupidity

6 years ago - dream about graypumpkin at the paint store, little people, domed 3d displays,great ape project, 28 things quiz, sue the teacher trend, mental comfort

7 years ago - cool mini or not, vatic, cool things about moving, smoothies, misc news, age poll, counter testing, chocolate bees, Victorian Sex Cry Generator, what's for supper, coloring book concept germ

8 years ago - Newtcam's own page posted

9356 - Sunday.

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:55:35 GMT

Opened the morning with Pancakes at the in-laws. I helped Larry remove the awning from the upstairs bedroom, to make room for french doors. I suspect the awning will be relocated to the bottom floor.

We all hung out and gabbed most of the day - I scoped out Larry's 30-30 and .22 pistol, and the model of the U.S.S. Constitution. I think that I'd like to head toward Baltimore sometime for a walking tour of the actual ship. (Hm, I may have to wait until 2010 for an underway demonstration with the restoration taking place, but walking tours are still good.)

Came home to rest and relax together for a bit - got a call from Danny - Janet has a gig! Working there for 2 weeks now, doing graphic design for an advertising company that produces campground maps (surrounded by business-card style adverts). I'm glad she found something, and hope that it's profitable, challenging and fun for her.

He liked Get Smart and Evan Almighty - Both of which he saw this weekend though he's not a bit Steven Carrell fan. I suspect that Get Smart will be something I enjoy - he does the "idiot in charge" role well... but I don't imagine I'll bother with Evan Almighty, unless something comes along to further interest me about it. He really liked Wall-E, too, but I imagine that goes without saying fro me.

BHK and I watched Cloverfield today. I'll say it from the get go.... it wasn't my thing. The shaky-cam didn't bother me at all, but the movie itself was pretty stinky, in my opinion. I'm glad I waited for netflix, and didn't bother catching it in the theater. The synopsis of the film reads better than the movie played out.

The viral marketing of Cloverfield was excellent - but I just wasn't engaged by the film. The characters bored me, and the monster seemed unimpressive both in design and implementation, even for a "giant beast". It made 78% on rotten tomatoes, or 5.8 out of 10 on metacritic, which makes me think that I must be in the minority for disliking it so much. It seems that the movie critics liked it more than the bulk of "civilian" viewers.

In my opinion, if you want a good, fun horror movie with monsters and a sense of fun - Skip Cloverfield, and get your hands on Swarm of the Snakehead, instead. If you want a cool *giant* monster movie, try The Host. Cloverfield just didn't have what it takes to impress me.

In other movie news - Hancock is rated 35% at rottentomatoes. I wonder what's killing it for most folks - I haven't seen it yet. That's less than Get Smart and Harold & Kumar, which I'd figure were worse.

Flicks out now that I want to see:

Wall-E (wins over any other item showing right now.)

In no particular order - (except that of my memory)

Hellboy 2
Take Out
Dark Knight (ok, I'm tired of making links - cut and paste as needed, dear journal.)
Mongol
Space Chimps
Indiana Jones 4
Wanted
The Fall - (has it gone out of theaters yet?)
Gonzo - (Hunter Thompson pic, not the muppet)
Visitor (has that left?)

Is there something I missed? I imagine BHK wants to see the Sex in the City and The American Girl flicks, both of which are ok by me too.

We had Dagwoods at home for dinner with the in-laws...sat around and watched Oxford Blues, which really did nothing for me. I avoided seeing it in my high school years, so I guess a 25 year reprieve is about the most I could ask for. The sammiches were delicious - I made a stack of zucchini and cheese on fresh bread that was fantastic. sweet bread and butter pickles, some honey mustard, and lettuce from the garden made for a monster sammich, but the corn was the clear winner. Certainly the freshest and most tasty of the year thus far. I went through 3 ears.

The local neighbor (the one that was looking for $11 a week or so ago) came by again, looking for garlic to make chicken alfredo, but we didn't have any for her.

Abba will ‘never’ perform again - Swedish supergroup Abba will “never” perform on stage again, two of the band’s members have said.

Random thought - If I were invulnerable and professional superhero, I'd never wear shoes unless I was someplace that they were required by law.

1 year ago - I love local corn pic, beautiful foggy out, FF2 with BHK, DC train maps on google, skipped salem, the shield, note to anonymous commenter, atheists taking the lord's name in vain, Zoroaster the Kitten, faith and democratic candidates

2 years ago - pirate quiz, pirates w/Dan, 61 questions, walkabout pics, bus stop self portrait, newtcam silly pic

3 years ago - bro visit, good exp games, Karl Rove a rat, mood settings, big ol' Locust

4 years ago - perspective via work, kitty-bot, rain, diseases

5 years ago - Movies w/ danny, LED-suit, Lupin quiz, dinosaur haiku, new tv, LXG, html tests, ghoulishness

6 years ago - Ian McCracken, zork 404, branleur, got my bike

7 years ago - evil news, longueur, spoliation, space fungus, superstition poll, fri-13 reasoning, I'm Neutral Good

8 years ago - Traditional trolls, Catholics handy in a pinch

9355 - Saturday-

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:43:08 GMT

This week seemed to go more swiftly than imagined, and today was pretty dang full of stuff.

Shots, then swung by Trott's farmers market for corn, zucchini (we need zucchini?!?) and eggplant (we need eggplant?!?)

BHK is veggie-crazed, and wants more of the tasty stuff than our victory garden is producing. Mystery veggie is pumpkins after all - we'll have some gourds to carve for Halloween! (they sprung from the seeds of the rotting pumpkins we tossed into the garden area last November.)

We picked up the in-laws, and hit the Selby Sub Shoppe - white pizza for Chris, Hamburger for Larry, Chicken Parm for BHK, and a black bean for me. They make their own bread, and it was all really tasty!

Came home, cooled our heels a bit and then went to go see the US Navy band play a free concert on the boardwalk by the bay. The bluegrass band went into more mainstream country and southern rock - they were quite skilled, though still had a little newbie edges on 'em. The singer was 2 days into the band, and his voice was excellent. I wonder what the difference between "Musician, 1st Class" and "Chief Musician" is in rank and pay grade for the Navy? The Banjo guy was my fave of the lot.

Mother in law, reading the local news while we were at the free concert on the bay.

Note the vital sombrero placement in the picture.

We all came home, and had ice cream while watching Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. (I hadn't seen it since the theater.)

The folks left, and now BHK is asleep, leaning on me while I watch and old Episode of Star Trek - The Cloud Minders - I don't even remember this one, and it seems for good reason... the writing and acting were of a lower par than usual.

mp3 link to current music (no relation to the band we just saw) - - mp3 -jersey-walk

MIT scientists just figured out how to make solar energy forty times more efficient in a manner that allows one to upgrade old solar cells too!

Ray Gun Puts Voices Inside Your Head - The Sierra Nevada Corporation claimed this week that it is ready to begin production on the MEDUSA, a damned scary ray gun that uses the ‘microwave audio effect’ to implant sounds and perhaps even specific messages inside people’s heads.

1 year ago - factoids about folks I know, armed car chase through the neighborhood, Perseid shower reminder, brits start to ditch wigs in court

2 years ago - venture bros good, lj ugly nav bar, bye bye black rhino, angel / shovel / burrito, simulated lost case-630am, Arvis book in comments!

3 years ago - Last Day w/Magda, invisi-bro, chrono-lifting, breakfast foods, zombies invade sca event, crab, autostitch bus, minor drama, commendation

4 years ago - KoL, Bollywood, Patriot Act, Felix the Cat

5 years ago - sleep troubles, Andromeda Strain, 4-legged man , system crash - modem drivers (Service pack 4 for win2k caused Norton trouble) , Stalin vs Hitler comic, newtcam pic, discovered title-tags, strickland a/c die-lemma

6 years ago - more swell chatties, Roanoke (including odd reply from Boughman), Dreams of Lake Conoy with zombie mist, sweet possum sugar, mother goose

7 years ago - Evil news, riposte, dream of the jungle, If I were... meme, time, sleepy, Dumbass Tenochtitlan Saucermen,chat, aura colors, personality disorder test, Louvre

8 years ago - Bad things with April, super power question

9354 - Friday!

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:50:16 GMT

Another week draws to a close. I forgot to mention yesterday that we went to the Octagon on the way home from work to pick up an egg roll for bhk (and spring rolls for non-pork me) - I don't know why folks are so leery of the place - it's as clean as anywhere else - much better than mall chinese food.

I do like that it's a "Fried Chicken / Chinese Food / Liquor Store". (note to self- add it to yelp)

Sometimes I catch myself, looking at some folks I've tripped over on the internet, and want to tell 'em to stop being creeps. But for them, that's why there is an internet... because if they acted like that in the flesh, they'd be in an ICU somewhere, or worse.

Creative editing is a fine thing. Beeping out the word count makes for a very different seeming song. Sesame Street's The Count sings about how he loves to BLEEP

Bush leaving a G8 meeting:

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely.

I'm admiring the development of the HL2 mod - Decadence, The settings at the moment look especially nice. I'm not sure how keen I am on a strict 2v2 player environment, but that could change too.. the tactics seem sound.

1 year ago - umbrella scabbard voice post, hot brain, sailboat doodle, yelp, DMAE, mercury poisoning?, Newtie and Pye pics, Sicko, slurpee day, silly spoilers

2 years ago - he's a whore, key west stuff, travel photos (mostly graffiti), barrel of monkeys,

3 years ago - Magda time, ff flick reviews in, supernatural crime, free Slurpee, angels with attitude *shudder*, Wilde on the red rose, insanity, bottles on string, math symbol uses, had to htaccess, pagenation, Melissa Gilbert, 911 google, Florida mafia

4 years ago - Newt says Mao, travel pondering, manatee, Dan alters color scheme, good eats

5 years ago - Zwan, I snuff griefer #5, movies, Elvis tooth, bad baby names, net radio, flipped off by the universe

6 years ago - reflecting on old work, log issues, Newt attack, recalling palm animations

7 years ago - fetial, solecism, pockets poll, purse poll, evil news, pie poll, tuck-ins

8 years ago - words, bro moving to town