Wednesday, November 26, 2003

And I'm Off!

Well, this will probably be the last post you'll see from me for a few days, as I'm catching a plane first thing in the morning bound for Points East. Or, more specifically, for my aunt's place in Delaware, and my Dad's place in New Jersey.

We're not actually being terribly traditional about Thanksgiving this year... My mother couldn't get off work to fly in today, so we're all flying in tomorrow (which is cheaper, anyway) and doing the turkey thing on Friday.

My internet access over the next week is likely to be sporadic, at best, as I'll be reliant on the kindness of relatives for computer time while I'm gone. I have the feeling that, now that I'm acquainted with the joys of broadband, my withdrawal symptoms are likely to be particularly pronounced this time. Poor me...

Anyway, for those of you who celebrate the holiday, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! For those who don't, have a wonderful November 27th. And I'll be back in a week, if I don't see you before then. Ta-ta!
Search Request... Wednesday?

OK, I've got to get up at an insanely early hour tomorrow morning to catch a plane, and I still have a lot of packing and other stuff I've got to do, in addition to the fact that I keep suddenly thinking of just one more thing I want to do online. So there's not going to be any witty (or even lame) comments this time, but I figured I'd at least post the latest batch of interesting search requests before I go. You can have a competition among yourselves to give them amusing captions while I'm gone, if you like.

Anyway:

1st birthday invitation wording poetic script
aliens trilogy and literary references 'the company' 'nostromo'
answering machine clips spock unable to respond
babies having sex pictures
beatles and haroun and the sea of stories
"betty bad" cracked
betty page actually
boobs photo manipulation software
cheapest hong kong phooey videos
definition of Rocinante - nagging woman
ds9 transcripts episode blood clean did nothing cried woman
embarrassing nude moments
evil Thanksgiving Turkey pics
farscape rumors
granny stark's cookbook
knick knack drop shipper
kotex pictures
livejournal, self pics nude
NEMONE pics
pictures of my sister naked
"polo shirt" template .eps
professor frink shower wav
research's speech acts in comics
Rockne S. O'Bannon "red tape"
screencaps of nude male celebrities
SIMS SKINS BUSH
sims unleashed downloads without giving it my password
slash jude wilde
tamara and scotty porn
Thanksgiving limericks
tombstone limericks
toons porn forced
trineer stalker
vote nude
Which personality used the catch phrase "it never rains but it pours"
willow halloween costume screencaps
yar's revenge wav

Things I Wonder About, #962

Why does my mother feel the need to talk to me on the phone for an hour about inconsequentialities when she's only going to see me tomorrow?

Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Book Meme

Fred Coppersmith of Occasional Fish posts the following meme that I've seen floating around the net. Like him, I'm not completely sure what the point is, but then, I do a lot of stuff that seems pretty pointless...

So. The idea is that you take a list of authors from whoever you're snurching the meme from, remove the ones that aren't present on your bookshelves, and replace them with ones that are. So, here we go:

Fred's List:

Paul Auster
Ursula K. Le Guin
Michael Chabon
Neil Gaiman
William Faulkner
Philip Roth
George R.R. Martin
Octavia Butler
William Shakespeare
Neal Stephenson

My List:

Christopher Moore
Ursula K. Le Guin
Michael Chabon
Neil Gaiman
Mark Twain
Philip Pullman
George R.R. Martin
Octavia Butler
William Shakespeare
Neal Stephenson

There. Wasn't that exciting?

Monday, November 24, 2003

Heavy Lies the Tooth That Wears the Crown.

Well, I'm back from my latest encounter with the dentist... And it was in some ways more annoying, and in other ways less annoying than I'd anticipated. To begin with, they were really short-handed at the dentist's office, and I had to sit in the waiting room for over an hour after arriving on-time for my appointment. And the people working on me kept being interrupted to deal with other things. On the other hand, apparently all the major pain and suffering took place during the prep work and the fitting of the temporary crown, because they didn't even give me any Novocaine this time. Which, I admit, made me nervous, because I kept worrying that they were underestimating the amount of agony involved, or perhaps they'd simply forgotten they were supposed to numb me. But, while there was a little pain, it was minimal enough that even a complete weenie like me can't reasonably complain about it. On the other other hand, though, it seemed to take them forever to grind the thing down to the point where it kinda-sorta fit in my mouth, and even now it feels very wrong and strange. It's hard to tell if that's because there's something wrong with the crown or the way it's fitted, or whether it's simply just that I'm not used to having it. So they stuck it in with temporary glue and told me to come back in a couple of weeks, and if it's OK they'll glue it in permanently, and if it's not, they'll see about fixing it. Sigh. And there I thought I was finally going to be done with dentists for a while...
One of Those Days

I was messing around on the computer this morning, trying to do some stuff that you'd think ought to be very simple (mainly adding text to images) and having great difficulty getting it to come out the way I wanted it to. So I got up to take a break and went to use the bathroom. Whereupon the toilet promptly clogged up and flooded all over the place. After using damn near every towel in the bathroom to clean up the resultant mess, I went to stick them in the washing machine... Only to discover that the washing machine isn't working. I suspect the incoming water lines might have frozen in the night. (Yikes!)

And now I'm thinking that this would be a really, really good day to go back to bed, pull the covers up over my head, and hide from the world. Only I can't, because I've got yet another dentist appointment in a few hours, for them to finally put on my permanent crown. And now I'm feeling really, really nervous...

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Oh, Look. It's Winter.

It is really cold out today. Well, OK, it is by New Mexico standards, anyway. While I was driving around at about 11:30 this morning, the big temperature display at the bank said 36 degrees, and I don't think it warmed up much at all after that. And now the sun's going down, the skies are clear, and it's obviously going to be a cold, cold night.

I've got lots of stuff I probably ought to be doing, but somehow all I feel like is taking a nice hot bath and then crawling under the covers with a mug of cocoa and a book. This despite the fact that it's only five o'clock in the afternoon...
By the Way...

Happy 40th Anniversary, Doctor Who!

Man, it's hard to believe that it's been 15 years since "Silver Nemesis..."
DVD Update

My (probably doomed) attempt not to fall as far behind on my DVD-watching as on my book-reading continues... This weekend, I've been watching Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman's surrealistic little tale of a strange, magical version of London which co-exists invisibly with the mundane version inhabited by most people.

I have to say, it took me a little while to get into this, despite having quite enjoyed the book version. Or, perhaps in part, because I enjoyed the book version. Many of the characters were sufficiently different on the screen to how I imagined them in my head to take me aback slightly. (Which is a little odd, really, since the book was written after the miniseries, doubtless with the TV actors actually in mind.) It was also hampered, rather unfortunately, by low production values. Or, no, one particular "low production value," really, since the sets and costumes and everything looked just fine. The problem is that the whole thing was shot on videotape. And, worse still, according to Gaiman, it was supposed to have undergone some processing afterward to make it look more like film, so they lit it for film. And then whatever it was that was supposed to be done to it never got done. The result is that the visuals, which desperately need to make us believe that these strange places are real, instead feel very flat and fake. A damned shame, really. Still, by about episode two or three, I was so used to the video quality that I scarcely even noticed it any more. And the on-screen portrayals of the characters had become so firmly entrenched in my head that it'd become difficult to imagine any other possibilities for most of them at all. At which point I was able to just settle down and really start enjoying the thing.

Neverwhere does feature some truly great characters. I'm particularly enamored of the Marquis de Carabas. And the guy playing him has the coolest smile, absolutely perfect for the character. Then there's misters Croup and Vandemar, the two most entertainingly disturbing characters you're ever likely to meet. Their respective actors handle them quite beautifully, too. It would have been very easy to ruin those particular characters with overacting, but they manage to achieve exactly the right balance of comedy and creepiness.

So, it's good stuff, overall, even if it did take me a little while to come to that conclusion. I'm glad I decided to pick it up. I am a little disappointed by the relative lack of extras on the discs, though. There's a very good interview will Gaiman, but aside from the commentary track, that's about it. As for the commentary itself, well, I've only listened to the first couple of episodes of that, but I haven't found it terribly exciting. Neil Gaiman is a fascinating guy, and I always find it interesting to hear what he has to say about his work. But he's apparently watching the show for the first time in years as he's recording the commentary, and he seems to find it a bit difficult thinking of things to say about a lot of it. Ah, well. It's not like I bought it for the commentary track, anyway, right?
Still More Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Concert:: Hall
  2. Sydney:: Australia
  3. Shower:: Bathtub
  4. Patterns:: Ripples
  5. Market:: Place
  6. Chair:: Comfy
  7. London:: England (didn't we have this one before?)
  8. Reception:: Static
  9. Republican:: Party
  10. Cough:: Drop

Hmm, sorry. I think those were kind of boring this time...

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Courtesy of a Loyal Reader...

What happens when I casually mention that I haven't seen a particular internet quiz which somebody googled in here looking for? Somebody goes and points one out to me, of course, because heavens forbid that I should miss a stupid quiz. Thank you, Loyal Reader Nico!

Interestingly, it turns out that I am:

HASH(0x879b6f0)
You are Turanga Leela.
Very reasonable and down-to-earth.


Futurama Personality Test
brought to you by Quizilla


Not a result that I would have expected, but given the alternatives, I'll take it!

Friday, November 21, 2003

Friday Five

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year. Hmm. I've got a couple of writing projects I'd like to get finished. I need to get my Christmas shopping done, obviously. I'd kind of like to clean up and organize all the junk in the computer room, but I kind of doubt that's going to happen. I'd like to manage not to get any farther behind on my DVD-watching, though with everything that's coming out before the end of the year, that's probably not very likely, either. Is that five things?

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again. Well, I'm not going to name names, but let's see... There's a couple of people from college who qualify, one of whom I've been in sporadic communication with since, and one of whom I haven't. I suppose there's a person or two from high school I'd be pleasantly surprised to get an e-mail from. And some part of me is suggesting adding my ex to the list, if only because I sometimes wonder how he's doing, but it's probably just as well if I ignore that thought...

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do. Web programming. Taking screen captures from my computer's DVD drive (although I think I'd need extra software for that). Editing video on the computer. Umm... You know, I can't think of any more. At least, not anything particularly realistic, or that I'd enjoy learning how to do, rather than just miraculously knowing how to do and being good at it. I guess I'm just not very ambitious.

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit). Quit my job. Ditch the crappy trailer I'm living in and get a decent house. With a library. Go on a spending spree at Amazon and buy several thousand dollars worth of DVDs and CDs. Go to science fiction conventions in England. A week or two ago, I probably would have said, "Give several million dollars to the Henson company to help them make more Farscape," but they seem to have that covered now.

5. List five things you do that help you relax. Take a hot bath. Read a good book. Drink tea (preferably peppermint). Listen to Pachelbel's Canon in D (aka the only classical tune I'll actually cross the street to listen to). Pet a purring cat.

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Search Request Thursday

Back by popular demand, this week's installment once again features my own irrelevant, smart-assed, or just plain stupid comments on the various search request phrases that have brought people here to this blog. Although why on Earth you people want me to keep doing this, I'll surely never know...

Anyway, here's the latest (and rather large) batch:

  • film apollo 13 fact from fiction: Actually, while it was, of course, a dramatization, I think that movie in general was remarkably historically accurate.

  • catastrophic size boobs and pics: Wow. I wonder how big they have to be to qualify as "catastrophic?"

  • comic verbosity: Well, I do at least try to amuse...

  • false tooth joke: I don't think I've heard that one.

  • cartoony pics of solar system: Hmm, there's a joke to be made here about Pluto, I just know there is...

  • Conner Trineer childhood: I seem to be getting a lot of hits involving this guy, and I couldn't figure out why, until it suddenly hit me: at some point, I spelled his name wrong. And now everybody who can't spell "Connor" is ending up here.

  • "Blake's seven" "andromeda" Alas, Andromeda started out promisingly Blake's 7-y, but it just didn't last.

  • avon campaign #2 + friends DVDs: Speaking of Blake's 7... I just can't see Avon being a fan of Friends. Heh.

  • lady porn sex mov mpg: Not sure any chicks you're likely to turn up that way really qualify as "ladies..."

  • fox family scares places on earth tv: Next week: Fox Family scares the Grand Canyon!

  • farscape background tiles: Ooh, I want some Farscape tiles for my kitchen floor!

  • pictures of all sesame street characters: Apropos of nothing, I just wish to mention here that my own personal favorite Sesame Street character was Oscar the Grouch.

  • "able to do the math" students science: Personally, I always found I had an easier time understanding math when I was actually applying it in a science class, rather than trying to learn it on its own in a math class. Not that you asked.

  • star trek porn troi cartoon: I always thought there was something slightly cartoonish about Troi.

  • vanishing point next airing on pacific time: I dunno. As they say, "Check your local listings."

  • guy sucks carrie ann moss toes: Well, here's hoping she washed her feet first...

  • pasttime porn pics: Hey, there are worse pastimes than looking at porn pics, I guess.

  • Why Don Quixote, was in favor of the war in the movie "Miguel de Cervantes" I wasn't aware that he was.

  • Futurama personality quiz: Hey, in all my compulsive quiz-taking, I haven't seen one of those! Probably just as well. I'd be hoping for the Professor and would doubtless end up as Fry.

  • buffy clips caleb: Hey, she did a lot more than clip him. Heh.

  • pics of celebrities in bathtubs: Is it just me, or has the tabloid mentality gone way too far?

  • How to teach hygine to young child by pictures: Because none of us can spell well enough to do it using words.

  • shy loner goths: Me, I was a shy loner nerd.

  • illuminati deluxe cards stats post office: I could tell you, but then I'd have to have you eliminated.

  • Simpsons Transcripts Election Treehouse: "Don't blame me! I voted for Kodos!"

  • farscape cartoon porn: Ah, the unpublicized missing scenes from "Revenging Angel"...

  • chiana goth: Just because she's all monochromatic doesn't make her a goth.

  • Harveys casino bomb: Are we still talking about Farscape characters? Harvey says he's never bombed a casino in his life, although he is a bit proud of his help with [spoiler deleted].

  • big bird thanksgiving cartoon I already make a joke about Big Bird and Thanksgiving turkeys last time I did this, didn't I?

  • Thanksgiving trivia questions: Coming soon: the all-new Trivial Pursuit Thanksgiving Edition! (Hey, at the rate they're going, it wouldn't surprise me. Have you seen some of the weird-ass Trivial Pursuit games they've got out now?)

  • "evil shouldn't look this good" shirt: Oh, yeah, I remember suggesting that one for Servalan. Not that she'd wear it.

  • pics of balsa tower: Better snap those fast, before a good stiff wind comes along.

  • Harry Potter and relgious concerns: Hmm, "relgious" does sound like the kind of word they'd use in a spell in the Potter books, doesn't it?

  • dalek ornament: Deck the halls with Dalek plungers, exterminate, la, la, la, la!

  • Buffy "Nick Knight" crossover: No, don't do that! She'd stick a stake in him, and he's far too pretty too die!

  • Who was financed on the voyage: Not me. Which is a pity. I could use a little travel money.

  • funny thanksgiving turkey pilgrim pictures: Damn. I'm running out of Thanksgiving jokes to make.

  • "Jimmy Buffet" "look over my shoulder": *Peers over Jimmy's shoulder* "Watcha doin', Jimmy? Makin' margaritas? Can I help?"

  • children's teenage putdown joke: You know, most kids I've met haven't really been notable for the witty quality of their putdowns.

  • brodie childers naked: I've never even heard of this person, much less seen him naked.

  • Arwen All Nude Pics: Well, it makes a change from all those hits I used to get from people looking for nude pics of Legolas.

  • video game based screen themes: Because even when you're not playing video games on your computer, it should feel like you are!

  • jekyll critters expansion: Do they turn into Hyde critters when you expand them?

  • bunioned feet army: We are the Army of Bunioned Feet! We'd stomp you to death, but it would hurt too much.

  • maps of chinas deltas: Sorry. I've got a map of Albuquerque in my car, but that's about it.

  • Italy/leaning tower facts: It's a tower. It's leaning. HTH.

  • gallifrey recipes: Somehow, I just don't see the Time Lords as being very good cooks. Probably because, as aliens go, they're just far too British.

  • nude picture of guys: Big guys, little guys, short guys, ugly guys! We don't care! As long as they're guys!

  • WEAR A NUN: That sounds uncomfortable. And not just for the nun.

  • new buffy spinoff "2004": Hmm, I haven't heard anything about this. Anybody?

  • Describe your personalities in 3 adjectives: Is that one adjective for each of my three personalities, or three adjectives each?

  • "karen shaw" farscape: Heh. I did talk about how, on my first viewing of that particular episode, I had to hit the pause button at that point and spend several minutes going, "Oh, dear god, no!", right?

  • bunions feet blog: I've heard of keeping blogs for your pets, but keeping a blog for your bunions seems to me to be going a little too far.

  • "i got nothing" george seinfeld soul: George has nothing for a soul? Poor George. (I know, this is doubtless some well-known Seinfeld quote I'm not recognizing, because my viewing of that show was sporadic and not at all recent.)

  • "cleverest plot twists": I'm tempted to make up a Top Ten list for these, but I won't.

  • sims skins philip pullman: I suppose they mean sims skins for his characters?

  • calvin hobbes quote "laugh" "scary though": Hmm, I have a complete collection of Calvin & Hobbes comics, but, I must admit, I fail at identifying that quote, whatever it might be. No trivia points for me.

  • carrie ann moss vomit: Eww. That's much worse than the thing with the toes.

  • cocaine pics: It really isn't all that impressive looking. Or so television tells me.

  • halloween and boobs: Because every search request gets more interesting when you gratuitously add the word "boobs!"

  • Rocinante definition: That was Don Quixote's horse, wasn't it? Do I get trivia points for that?

  • Wednesday, November 19, 2003

    African and European

    Estimating the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.

    (Link via Occasional Fish.)
    This Is Such an Interesting Place to Live.

    I got the following in my work e-mail tonight:
    THINGS THAT GO BOOM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

    SOCORRO - If you happen to hear a boom in the middle of the night, don't be alarmed: It's only New Mexico Tech's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) conducting some special tests for the U.S. Government.

    Ordnance personnel at EMRTC will be setting off four relatively small (less than 500 pounds) explosives tests behind Socorro Peak (M Mountain), from shortly after midnight until 2 a.m. on Wednesday, November 19.

    The tests are being conducted in the early morning hours in order to record and analyze data on the amount of light that explosive charges typically give off during dark nighttime conditions.

    They've been pretty big booms, too...
    Excitement and Frustration

    Damn. I wish it wasn't the middle of the night, and I wasn't at work. I want to call people on the phone and yell "Farscape!" at them.

    Tuesday, November 18, 2003

    Frell Me Dead!

    Look at this, guys. It's real. 4-hour. Miniseries.

    *Does spastic happy dance, hugs random strangers, runs through streets with arms flung out shouting "Faaaarrrrrscaaaaaapppe!"*

    Because It's Been a While Since I've Complained About My Messed-Up Shift-Worker Sleep Schedule

    Three hours of sleep today. Three frickin' hours.

    Here's how it's been. Yesterday morning, I went to bed a little after 9 AM, woke up briefly around 3:30, rolled over and went back to sleep, and didn't wake up again until after 9 PM. This morning, I want to bed a little after 9 and woke up a little after noon, wide awake, if not necessarily alert. I suppose if you take my two-day average, I'm getting approximately enough sleep, but somehow I don't think it works that way.

    Oh, night shift tonight is gonna be fun...
    Yes, I Know About the Problem.

    Before I get half a dozen comment posts complaining about it (which seems to be what usually happens, since nobody can tell that everybody else has already done so), let me be the first to point out that there appears to be a problem with the comments showing up again. Usually, if you hit refresh a couple of times, they'll show up eventually. I've just popped over and looked at enetation's website, and they've already been informed about the problem, as other people seem to be having it, too. Hopefully, it'll get straightened out before too long.
    Still More Quizzage

    gnome
    You have very gnomish leanings. You have an eye
    for detail and are likely fond of technical
    things, but you also have an irrepressible
    sense of humor and enjoy a good joke. Some may
    think you peculiar or even obsessive about
    certain things, but most will gladly tell you
    things are more fun (and interesting) with you
    around. You enjoy watching people as well, and
    consider just about every moment of the day a
    time to learn something new. Ever curious, you
    enjoy learning, mastering, and then improving
    new skills. You may forever be considered the
    rather nerdish or geeky member of your group,
    but you also make friends easily and are likely
    to be included in all their plans. So, embrace
    your inner gnome, dust off that old, half
    forgotten project and get to work!


    What D&D Race Would You Be? (Images)
    brought to you by Quizilla


    I found myself answering this one more based on the personalities of the kinds of characters I tend to play in RPGs than on my own personality... So it's actually a reasonably good description of some kind of amalgam of all the PCs I've ever played (except, possibly, for the sense of humor, which a great many of them were noticeably lacking in). Interestingly, though, the few times I've played D&D (a game of which I've never been especially fond), I've always played human characters. In fact, I don't think I've ever even seen anyone play a gnome...

    Monday, November 17, 2003

    Another TV Series Whose Revival I Am Excited About

    A friend of mine in New Zealand passes along this interesting local newspaper article about Doctor Who. Man, they clearly have very cool newspapers in NZ, because I can't imagine a newspaper article here waxing this downright poetic about a TV show...
    I Can't Stand Much More of This Suspense!

    The Farscape rumors continue to fly fast and furious. Now tvguide.com is saying "miniseries." Savefarscape.com is still saying "no comment." Somebody who attended the convention in Burbank last weekend reports that: "[Series creator] Rockne [O'Bannon] appeared on the stage with a piece of red tape covering his mouth, and after taking it off, he said that 'I talked with Brian [Henson], and there are some I's that not yet dotted and some T's that need to be crossed, so, I just can't say anything'." Which certainly makes it sound to me like there's something to say, but I wish they could just frellin' tell us what, so I know what it is to get excited about! After all, news sources have reported things before that turned out not to be accurate, and that remark about the lack of i's and t's makes me wary that the whole thing, whatever it is, might yet fall through.

    Man, it's hard to type with my fingers crossed like this...

    Sunday, November 16, 2003

    Unconscious Mutterings

    1. Plan B:: "...From Outer Space." Oh, wait, that was Plan 9. Well, after that the next thing I think of is the Farscape episode "Liars, Guns, and Money," and Stark going, "It's all part of the plan, you see!" Man, I love that episode.
    2. Seattle:: Washington
    3. The lady wore:: Red
    4. Upsetting:: Emotional
    5. Tampon:: Kotex
    6. Celebrity:: Event
    7. Baja:: California
    8. 64:: Bottles of beer on the wall
    9. RGB:: Roy G. Biv
    10. Milkshake:: Chocolate

    Those were weird...
    I Protest! I Am Much Weirder Than This!


    Saturday, November 15, 2003

    Must. Not. Get. Overexcited.

    But the Farscape rumors are flying...
    Coolest Photoshop Contest Ever!

    Go check out the results of Fark's mate-a-movie photoshop contest! Some of these are truly, truly inspired. Personally, I think I'd quite like to see Dirty Harry Potter. Or Leelo and Shaft. Or Big Trouble in Middle Earth. Just for starters...

    Friday, November 14, 2003

    More Quizzage!


    Post-Hypnotized Peter


    What Office Space character are you?
    brought to you by Quizilla


    Would you believe I only just saw this movie for the first time a few months ago?
    Quizzage!

    Bulldog
    What Common Breed of Dog Are You?

    brought to you by Quizilla


    Hmm. Except for the "stud" thing, that's not entirely inaccurate...
    For the (Dirty-Minded) Comics Fans

    I'm delighted to note that "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex," Larry Niven's hilarious and frighteningly well-thought-out treatise on Superman's sex life, is now available on the web. Almost makes you feel kind of sorry for the poor guy...

    (Link via Boing Boing.)
    Friday Five

    1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space. Crappy.

    2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer. Scientific. Underfunded.

    3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime. Fannish. Creative. Nerdy.

    4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day. Online. Caffeinated. Uneventful. Late.

    5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life. Unemployed. Well-off. Independent. Fannish. Satisfying.

    OK. That was a stupid exercise.
    Gratuitous Post About the Weather

    I can tell I've been in New Mexico too long when the fact that it's both chilly and damp has the capacity to really freak me out.

    Thursday, November 13, 2003

    Search Request Thursday (New and, Uh, Improved? Version)

    Every week for quite a while (and on an irregular basis for quite a while before that), I've been collecting a list of the more interesting search requests that have brought people here to Maximum Verbosity, complete with silly/pedantic/smartass comments about each of them. Well, the truth is, the number of search requests coming in has been growing steadily over time, and my ability to generate smartass remarks is no longer adequate to keep up. So, I hereby present the latest batch... without comment. You may now either mourn the end of an era or rejoice and no longer having to sit through my stupid commentary, whichever you prefer.

    This week's list:

    Allusion vs. Reality Catcher in the Rye
    Arcturus Rpg Gravity download
    "bill maher" "you go girl" "the rules"
    "billy boyd" "naked pictures"
    Buffy and Willow in D&D terms
    cartoon pictures of lavatory signs
    cartoon pictures of tombstones
    connor trineer naked porn
    country women photos hunter wellies
    creepy monolog download
    critical analysis of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
    cultural hygine beliefs
    definition of cultural stereotype
    Everett's guide on etiquette
    farscape landscape screencaps
    felching armageddon wav file
    funny holiday invitation wording
    galadriel nude
    Garcia "one of these days", literary elements
    hot thai babes
    joan cusak nude pictures
    keroauc quiz for blog
    killing strays in the sims
    k-pax characters analysis
    lexx porno pics
    lite brite sagan
    look like betty page
    new mexico lyrics k-pax
    nude cartoon love pics
    nude cliff
    poetry generator creepy blogspot
    pooh quotes, smallish
    robert taylor ned fanfic
    "Self-test for literature abuse" hoax
    spaceship tattoo
    star trek tranquilizer sounds
    strange food package pictures
    "The Three Stooges" "computer game" download old
    troi benjamin
    ubervamp pics
    verbosity band
    VOLVO FE-7 TRANSMISSION
    wish fufillment in dreams
    Up With the Machines!

    So, I did go and see the new Matrix movie today, being, as previously established, a glutton for punishment. And... Yeah, well, what can I say? It was about what I expected.

    Actually, the first 45 minutes or so weren't too bad at all. There was a fair amount of the not-nearly-as-profound-as-they-want-you-to-think philosophical speechifying that really annoyed me in the last movie, but I only felt the urge to look at my watch once or twice, and not terribly strongly, at that. Then we got to the interminable combat sequence, and I found myself longing nostalgically for the pretentious philosophy speeches.

    I think a large part of the problem -- not the whole problem, mind, but a large part of it -- was that I really had no reason whatsoever to care whether Zion survived or not, ugly, boring place that it is. Indeed, fairly early on, I pretty much made the decision to root for the bad guys. I mean, come on, admit it. Agent Smith is really, really cool. And Neo is... well, Keanu Reeves.

    Speaking of rooting for the bad guys, there's something that occurred to me while I was watching said interminable combat sequence. I'm sure this isn't remotely an original observation, but it strikes me as interesting and rather ironic that the humans' technology all feels very clunky and mechanical; whereas the Machines themselves have a much more organic kind of design. And it seems to me that there's something of a metaphor there for the movie as a whole. Truth is, almost without exception, the AIs we meet in this film have more character, more emotion, more life in them than the humans do. It's just a pity that they didn't also get more screen time.

    Wednesday, November 12, 2003

    For the Scientifically Inclined

    I thought I'd pass on this interesting press release about gamma ray bursts from NRAO's website. Hey, there's nothing quite as exciting as a really big cosmic kaboom, is there?
    Update (Or, Rather, Lack Thereof)

    OK, the latest news blurb over at the Save Farscape website is that Henson's now saying that "...any press conference has been postponed indefinitely and that they have no further information on the situation."

    Grr. Now I'm feeling frustrated. Guess I didn't entirely succeed in not getting my hopes up, after all.
    Dare I Hope?

    OK, I am not getting my hopes up too high. I'm not. Because rumors on this sort of thing are a dime a dozen (and, goodness knows, I've reported enough of them here!). But... here's what TV Guide had to say today:
    FAR OUT!: Hey, 'Scapers — this is the news you've been waiting for! The Jim Henson Company is holding a press conference Thursday to "announce an exciting new development in the campaign to continue Farscape." Among those participating in the media pow-wow: Series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon and exec producers Brian Henson and David Kemper. They better not be unveiling the 2003 Farscape Christmas ornament.

    And here's another article on the subject, from Cinescape.

    Oh, god, I wish I was going to be at the convention in Burbank this weekend...
    Why Do I Do These Things to Myself?

    Why do I keep reading Star Trek novels? With very rare exceptions, even the ones that have decent plots and passable characterization aren't exactly what you'd call well written. I've read enough of the damned things to know this, but, for some reason, I feel compelled to pick one up every so often, anyway.

    I'm either an incurable optimist or a glutton for punishment.

    Either way, it's probably the same impulse that now has me on the point of deciding that I'm going to go and see the new Matrix movie tomorrow, even though Part 2 bored me to tears, and, from everything I've heard, Part 3 is even worse. (I'd tell myself that, really, I'm just curious to see whether there are any actors from Farscape in this one, but that just makes me sound even lamer, so I won't.)

    Tuesday, November 11, 2003

    Hot Enough For Ya?

    I work in a room full of computer equipment, all of which generates copious quantities of heat. The windows in this room do not open.

    These facts have extreme relevance to me tonight, because the air conditioning system isn't working. It's the middle of the night, in the middle of November, and it's 88 freakin' degrees in here.

    Unfortunately, the big ol' computer that it's my job to babysit has its own special cooling system, which is currently managing to keep it a few degrees below its emergency shutoff point, even without the help of the building's main AC. I say "unfortunately," because if the damn thing were actually overheating I could shut it down and go home. Instead, I'm doomed to sit here and swelter.

    Sigh. Good thing I didn't wear a long-sleeved shirt today...

    Monday, November 10, 2003

    Why Do I Have This Sudden Craving for Curry?

    Lister
    You are Lister! Content to be the slobbiest entity
    in the universe, you're a laid-back kind of guy
    with no worries.


    What Red Dwarf Character Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla

    Just What I Need. Stupid Internet Tools to Make You Feel Old.

    According to this ever-so-handy device for calculating the Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age, Alexander the Great had conquered almost the entire known world by the time he'd reached my not-so-advanced-as-all-that years. Well, good for him. But, hey, I cleaned the bathroom today, so nobody can tell me I haven't accomplished something!

    (Link via Uncertain Principles, the author of which, I suspect, has also accomplished much more than I at exactly the same age.)

    Sunday, November 09, 2003

    What the Hell, Have Some More Unconscious Mutterings

    1. Leapfrog:: Jump
    2. Co-workers:: Annoyance at having to have people around me when I'm at work
    3. Mustang:: Car
    4. Waffer:: Thin!
    5. Nicotine:: Patch
    6. Fast food:: McDonald's
    7. Suffocate:: Choke
    8. Myth:: Legend
    9. Lane:: "Life in the Fast..."
    10. Unexpected:: Bonus

    Saturday, November 08, 2003

    This Again!

    Current clothes: Well, right now I'm lounging around in a pair of gray plaid pajama bottoms, a hugely oversized t-shirt, and a pair of thick white socks with pictures of polar bears on them. The t-shirt features Eeyore of Winnie-the-Pooh fame. On the front, he's smiling a bit, and there's a cute little bird sitting on his head. It says, "It's been one of THOSE days..." On the back, Eeyore's looking morose, his tail has come off, and a whole bunch of cute little birds are pulling the hair on his mane. The words continue, "...All WEEK!"

    Current mood: OK, in an it's-still-too-early kind of way.

    Current music: Let's see. In the stereo right now are Radio Sunnydale, Jonny Lang's Wander This World and Warren Zevon's My Ride's Here. In the walkman is the new Sting album.

    Current hair: It kinda looks like it hasn't been touched since I slept on it last. Which, oddly enough, is precisely the case.

    Current annoyance: Having to have all this damned dental work done. It took two days for the swelling to go down after they put the temporary crown on, and I'm not looking forward to going through it again for the permanent one.

    Current thing: Doing a bit of writing of various kinds.

    Current desktop picture: This very cool image of Avon from Blake's 7.

    Current song in head: Nothing seems to be playing right now. When I woke up this morning, it was Steeleye Span's rendition of "Gentleman Soldier." Oh, wait. Now it's back.

    Current book: A volume called The Divine Comedies, which contains two novels by Tom Holt: Here Comes the Sun and Odds and Gods. I just finished the first one, haven't started the second yet.

    Current video in player: A tape with some space-related shows a friend recorded for me off the History Channel a while back. I was watching one about "The Search for Life on Mars" the other day. Currently in the DVD player is a disc of Alien Nation episodes.

    Current refreshment: Coffee.

    Current worry: That I'm going to have great difficulty this week switching myself over onto night shift. I've been waking up at ridiculously early hours lately.

    Current thought: I should really finish up this last cup of coffee and go take a shower.

    Friday, November 07, 2003

    Yet Another Quiz

    mRNA
    You are mRNA. You're brilliant, full of important,
    interesting information and you're a great
    friend to the people you care about. You may
    have sides to you that no one understands. But
    while you understand more than most people,
    you're only half-there most of the time.

    Which Biological Molecule Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla


    OK, I really liked this one. (And, yes, for those who've been bitching about such things, it actually does ask you personality-relevant questions, the results of which are not obvious. Happy?)

    Plus that result is... apt enough to be amusing. Heh.
    Time for the Dragon to Eat the Moon Again!

    Just a reminder for those who are interested in such things: there will be a total lunar eclipse tomorrow. The eclipse will start at 6:32 Eastern Time (which, for those of us in the Mountain Time Zone and points west, means that the moon will be rising already partially in eclipse) and will reach totality at 8:06 EST, with the darkest point arriving at 8:18 EST.
    An Idiosyncratic Friday Five

    1. What food do you like that most people hate? I like lima beans, which is odd, because I'm not fond of vegetables in general, and don't like any other green vegetables at all. I also love black jelly beans. Those seem to be a love-it-or-hate-it kind of food item, and I'd say the majority of people I know are on the "hate it" side. But I like anything licorice-flavored, really.

    2. What food do you hate that most people love? Mayonnaise (or, for that matter, Miracle Whip). I'm not very fond of condiments, generally, and prefer to eat my burgers and sandwiches dry when offered a choice. But I really can't stand mayo.

    3. What famous person, whom many people may find attractive, is most unappealing to you? I'm blanking on any actual names and faces, though I'm sure that if one were to start going through lists of the usual Hollywood pretty-boys there'd be quite a few of them that qualify.

    4. What famous person, whom many people may find unappealing, do you find
    attractive?
    I don't know. I haven't really done a survey as to who people find or don't find appealing. I do vaguely remember getting into a debate with somebody once over whether Nicolas Cage was attractive or not -- I was firmly on the pro side -- but as I recall, the other participant in that discussion was a heterosexual male, and thus perhaps not properly equipped to judge.

    5. What popular trend baffles you? Most of them.

    Thursday, November 06, 2003

    Search Request Thursday

    Here we go again:

  • Kraft Macaroni and Cheese 1930's: Um, definitely time to throw that box out, I think.

  • flash stephen hawking dalek: Oh, god help me, I actually have seen the flash thing they're looking for. It's here. And it will scar you for life. I mean that. Seriously.

  • frink "halloween costume": Cool! I wanna be Professor Frink for Halloween next year. Glavin!

  • tranquilizer dart cookbook: Featuring such delectable dishes as Tranquilizer Dart Casserole, and Tranquilizer Dart Brownies. Mmm-mmm!

  • simpsons voices excellent: Yeah, they are pretty great, aren't they?

  • birthday sigh: I hear ya. I ain't gettin' any younger, either.

  • female doctor costumes: What's the difference between male and female doctor costumes? Either way, all you need is a lab coat and a stethoscope, right?

  • Douglas Coupland's Periodic Table: Does he use an entirely different periodic table than the rest of us? (Ah. A quick follow-up google informs me that he does. Cool.)

  • juggling a funny Anecdote story thingy: Uh... Maybe you want to work on your verbal skill thingies before attempting any anecdotes.

  • betty miniskirt: Sorry. Never worn one in my life and don't intend to start now.

  • hairball wav: You mean somebody actually wants to listen to a cat coughing up a hairball? Man, it really does take all kinds.

  • count the number of T's: In that search request? Three.

  • carrie fisher nuns habit & veil two movies: Hmm, that sounds like a good trivia question. In what two movies did Carrie Fisher wear a nun's habit and veil? Answer: I have no idea.

  • miniskirt watching: Somehow, I don't figure that's really very much like bird-watching, is it?

  • cartoon pics nude OR naked OR sex "justice league": Hey, Comic Book Guy visited my blog!

  • cardboard turkey project 1st grade: Oh, I remember that one! You splay your fingers out and trace around your hand, then you draw a turkey head on the thumb and color in the fingers for tailfeathers, and then you cut it out of the cardboard and hang it on the classroom wall, and the adults pretend to admire it.

  • identifying tortises: I've never been entirely sure what the difference actually is between a turtle, a tortoise, and a terrapin. And I have no idea what a "tortise" is, even though I apparently typed the word at some point.

  • WAV DENTIST DRILLING: Eeeeee! Bad sound! Bad sound!

  • BUZZ LIGHTYEAR PARTY INVITATION WORDING: Um, I dunno... Word it as a directive from Space Command. That's probably what I would do if I were having a Buzz Lightyear Party.

  • "poor chiana": Yeah, she did get harshed on pretty badly in that last season, didn't she? But then, so did everybody else, really.

  • crais forgotten man arcs: Well, I've certainly never forgotten Crais. Or his arc. Who knew in the first season that he would turn out to be such a cool character?

  • "Dave's blog" "about girls": Hmm, wonder what Dave has to say about girls?

  • Antibiotics that are effective against microbes: OK, all antibiotics are effective against bacteria (except for bacteria that have become resistant to them). I think that's pretty much the definition of antibiotic, actually. Antibiotics do not, however, work on viruses. So you really have to be able to define "microbe" to get a reasonable answer to that one, I'd say.

  • What kind of clothes do astronauts wear? Depends on whether they're inside or outside the spaceship. It'd be pretty disastrous if you went for a spacewalk in your street clothes, after all.

  • nude simpsons characters: You know, I honestly cannot think of a single Simpsons character I would want to see nude. Even if they weren't cartoon characters.

  • meaning of song "someone out there" by cowboy junkies: I think it's something along the lines of "God is a bastard."

  • charmin toilet paper quicktime: Ooh, pass the popcorn! The toilet paper movie is playing!

  • what if farscape characters designed by berman: *shudder* Now, there's a truly frightening thought! But if you really want to know, you can find the answer here.

  • who tried to stop the holiday Day of the dead in Mexico: I wasn't aware anybody had. But then, it's not like I watch the news.

  • Dalek fetishes: Thank you. I now have images involving Dalek appendages that I really do not want in my head.
  • Blake's 7, Fans 0.

    Just read this interview with the folks behind the new Blake's 7 project, which apparently is still going forward, despite the absence of Paul Darrow. And, you know... The purpose behind giving the interview seems to be to mollify the fans and to "clear up the misconceptions," but all it's done in my case is to make me feel worse and worse about the directions this thing seems to be going in, and less and less well-disposed to the people who are taking it there.

    The big news is that they're going to be re-casting Avon. And, I'm sorry, but for anybody who's at all familiar with the original series, there is absolutely, categorically, no way in hell that that is going to work. Avon is one of those iconic characters who is in large measure defined by the appearance, speech, and mannerisms of the actor who played him. I have some problems with Darrow's attitudes towards the series, and I was far from thrilled at the idea of him having creative input into the script, but as far as acting goes, Darrow is utterly indispensable. The man is Avon, or no one is. (They're also going to be re-designing Orac, and may or may not be getting Peter Tuddenham back to do his voice, but that seems almost trivial by comparison.)

    There were a number of other things they had to say that really kind of pissed me off, too, but I'm going to forbear ranting about them here. All I can say is, I started out thinking that, even if it probably wasn't going to be a worthy successor to the original, the new version might well be entertaining or at least amusing to watch. In a way, I was actually kind of looking forward to it. Increasingly, though -- and certainly every time I hear something new about it -- I find myself slipping more into what seems to be the mainstream fannish reaction of wanting to screw my eyes shut, stick my fingers in my ears, and chant, "It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. Please, god, it's not going to happen."

    Sigh.

    Wednesday, November 05, 2003

    OK, We All Know It's True, But Who Ever Thought They'd Admit It?

    Honestly, I am not making this news article up:

    The top networks are suffering through a lackluster fall season partly because "some of the programming just sucked," NBC's entertainment chief said on Tuesday.

    NBC's Jeff Zucker, who has already canned two high-profile new series, said while networks question some of Nielsen Media Research's numbers this year, TV executives need also look in the mirror.

    "Our programming is not that good and the Nielsen sample is bad. End of story," said Zucker, speaking to the International Radio & Television Society Foundation.

    You gotta love that kind of honesty!

    Mind you, he then goes on to say that what they need to do is put on more programming that appeals to young men, so that's pretty much business as usual, anyway.

    (Link via Transterrestrial Musings.)

    Tuesday, November 04, 2003

    Update

    Novocaine has worn off. Mouth hurts like frell. Have consumed large quantity of ibuprofen. May resort to narcotics later.

    Ow.
    Ooh, a Buffy Quiz!


    You are Restless!


    Which Buffy Episode Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla


    I like cheese. Also sleeping. And "Restless" is a very cool episode.
    This Is Starting to Get Old.

    Just got back from yet another dentist appointment. This time, I walked out with a shiny new temporary crown and a face that feels like it's at least twice its usual size. And, yippee, I get to go back and do it all over again in a week or two when the permanent crown's ready.

    The best part? When the dentist looked at me solemnly afterward, said, "You're probably going to need some pain medication," and handed me a prescription. Ah, yes, that's always exactly what I want to hear. Not that it surprised me, since they had me look in a mirror so I could match the color for the crown to my own tooth color (Coffee Stain #3) before they stuck the temporary on, and I could see quite clearly that my gums were bleeding. Well, that won't be a problem for several hours, at least, since I swear that at the moment damn near half of my head is completely numb.

    Ah, human teeth. Still more proof that evolution simply does not build things to last...

    Monday, November 03, 2003

    More Random Stuff You Never Wanted to Know About My Life

    The door to my computer room is broken. Well, I call it the computer room because, uh, it's the room where the computer is. That being far and away its most important feature. But it's also partially a library (because the only room in my house that isn't partially a library is the bathroom), and partially a storage space. Anyway, the door seems to have swollen or gotten out of alignment or something, because it won't latch unless you pound it into place, and if you do pound it into place, it becomes very difficult to get it open again. Indeed, when I tried it, I managed to pull the round doorknob part of the doorknob clean off, and had to pound it back on with a hammer.

    This would not be a problem, except that if the door doesn't latch, the cats can open it. And if the cats can open it, they can come in. And if they come in, they can pull all the cables out of the computer and knock all the books off the shelves and get into the big haphazardly stacked piles of junk in which there are all kinds of opportunities for them to get trapped or squished. Of course, what I'm really afraid of is them ordering hundreds of dollars worth of cat toys on the internet.

    Sunday, November 02, 2003

    So, Is That a Yes, or a No?


    Are you damned?
    Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

    You're coming back! And if you are a Hindu you are going to have very specific characteristics:

    "The slayer of a woman and the destroyer of embryos becomes a savage full of diseases; who commits illicit intercourse, a eunuch; who goes with his teacher’s wife, disease-skinned. The eater of flesh becomes very red; the drinker of intoxicants, one with discolored teeth...." (Garuda Purana)
    DVD Update

    Just finished watching the live action version of The Tick on DVD. Fun show, and it was nice to pick it up on disc, because I missed a lot of the episodes the first time around. It's kind of sad, though... The quality was a bit uneven at first, but by about episode five, it was clear that they were really hitting their stride. Then by episode nine, they were off the air. Sigh.

    What I'd really like, though, is to see the animated series released on DVD. I remember enjoying the heck out of that back when it was on, and I'd love the chance to see it again.
    Good Grief!

    OK, maybe it's a little late, but I found this "review" of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown to be immensely amusing, even two days after Halloween. (Warning: contains adult content and is definitely not aimed at children.)

    Here's a sample:
    As a kid I always wondered what the Great Pumpkin would've looked like, but the best I could ever come up with was this huge pumpkin with alien eyes popping out of it on stalks. Since I was young, the envisionment scared the fuck out of me and I ended up boycotting pumpkins for a few years out of fear that real eyes would pop out of the carved-out fake eyes. I still hold a small grudge against Linus for this, but all is forgiven since we have the same blanket and brothas gotta stick togetha.

    I actually watched The Great Pumpkin on Halloween this year, myself, for the first time since I was a kid, and I was mainly struck by two thoughts:

    1) Snoopy is, was, and ever shall be, the coolest. Go, WW1 Flying Ace!

    2) Linus scares me. I fully expect him to grow up to be the leader of some kind of Apocalyptic Pumpkin Cult or something. He's showing all the classic signs of the wacky cult mentality already.

    (Link via Pop Culture Junk Mail.)
    Have We Plumbed the Depths of My Psyche Yet? (Still More Unconscious Mutterings.)

    1. Taboo:: Don't talk about it.
    2. Poison:: Ivy.
    3. 1983:: I was 12.
    4. Tim:: Tiny Tim.
    5. Groovy:: "Groovy, man!"
    6. Italy:: Leaning Tower of Pisa
    7. Think:: A sign hanging at IBM. (I think it was IBM.)
    8. Penthouse:: Forum
    9. Shelter:: Bomb shelter
    10. Twinkie:: Preservatives

    Saturday, November 01, 2003

    Random Thought #322

    I'm glad it's finally November. I was getting really tired of looking at that ugly-ass orc on my Lord of the Rings calendar.
    I'm Not Exactly Proud of This...



    Information Overload

    Here's another interesting article, this one on the huge and growing amount of data being generated by us Information Age humans:
    Growing net, computer and phone use is driving a huge rise in the amount of information people generate and use.

    US researchers estimate that every year 800MB of information is produced for every person on the planet.

    Their study found that information stored on paper, film, magnetic and optical disks has doubled since 1999.

    Paper is still proving popular though. The amount of information stored in books, journals and other documents has grown 43% in three years.

    No wonder I've been feeling like I can't keep up...