Random wibblings of an insane science fiction fan

 
Another Year Over (Well, Almost)

Man, parts of 2004 seemed to drag on interminably while they were happening, but now that it's almost over -- four more hours, in my time zone -- I can't think where it went. Suddenly, I want it back.
posted by Betty at 7:55 PM [0 comments]

 
Search Request Thursday: Brought to You, for Once, on an Actual Thursday!

Yep, here's the latest batch of wacky search requests:

who has really "ticklish armpits": I don't know, but based on the number of hits I get from people looking for "ticklish armpits" and variations thereof, he or she must be really popular.

can i become ticklish on my feet: Alas, this person only hopes to achieve popularity.

translation seussian: Translating Dr. Seuss is just... wrong. Like translating the Koran or something.

the Cat in the Hat used a total of only fifty distinct words: Yes. But, unlike Green Eggs and Ham, I don't think any of them had two syllables.

noranti christmas song: Ah, yes, there's nothing like a Farscape Christmas. Mangling carols and eating "cop porn..."

Artemis Fowl slash fanfiction: Eww. Though I say that mostly just because they were really crappy books.

"how to make a ukelele": It surprises me to discover that I ever actually discussed this topic here. But apparently I did.

henchperson uniform: You can fulfill all your henchperson outfitting needs right here.

walkman fanfiction scenes: People are writing fan fiction about consumer electronics now?

didi edgley: Is that Gigi Edgley's sister?

what clothes to take on an alaskan cruise: Well, if you're going this time of year, I'd recommend thermal underwear and a nice furry parka.

why do people in Albuquerque, NM make such stupid awful jokes about: What? What do they make stupid awful jokes about? And why have I not heard them?

Search going to a new years party and need some good hairstyles for medium hair: You also need some google skills, I'm afraid.

hidden side effect of cough drops: Wait a minute, what's this in the fine print? May cause leprosy?!

blooper headache decapitation: Well, I guess that'd cure your headache, but it seems like a heck of a blooper to me.

dvd player won: Uh, congratulations.

Huckleberry Finn slash fanfic: Well, at least that's a much better book than Artemis Fowl.

wearing layers of knickers: Living in the desert, I've always believed in the wisdom of dressing in layers, but I've never gone that far.

posted by Betty at 9:48 PM [0 comments]

 
Current Events Coverage

I've just been reading the Wikipedia's excellent and thorough article on the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. And, man, words like "horrifying" and "stunned" don't even really begin to cover it. When you see it all laid out like that, it's almost too damned much to take in. Recommended, if painful, reading.
posted by Betty at 10:08 PM [0 comments]

 
H2O Achieved!

I love my plumbers. I called 'em up around 9:00 and was told they had several emergencies to deal with today and they weren't sure when they could be by, but they showed up by 11:30, fixed the leak I knew about and one I didn't, re-insulated the pipes that froze, and were done in an hour. So I now have water again. Yay!

Mind you, I'm not sure whether it pleases or depresses me that the plumbers remember my name and know without looking it up where I live.

Anyway. Off for a shower!
posted by Betty at 1:26 PM [0 comments]

 
Peeping Round the Door to See What Parcels Are for Free in Curiosity

A brief summary of the materialistic side of my Christmas (er, in the "gimme stuff" sense, rather than the philosophical sense, of course).

What I Gave:

A set of Firefly DVDs and a copy of Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head to my sister and brother-in-law.

A toy mouse to their cat.

Two big tubs of Legos to my nephew.

A couple of packages of blank CDs and an assortment of downloaded country songs to my mother. (Yes, I have now introduced Mom to the joys of Napster.)

A Lord of the Rings calendar (artwork, not movie stills) and a gift subscription to New Mexico Magazine to my Dad and his wife. Also a decorative Santa plate which I got as a free gift from somewhere and which seemed much more like something they'd like than I would.

A selection of fudge to my grandmother.

What I Got:

A telephone. Which I badly needed, as my current one is dying painfully.

A light sweater blouse.

Candy.

Lavender bath salts.

A couple of old Pink Floyd CDs: A Saucerful of Secrets and Meddle, which puts me a step closer to my completist desire to have all of Floyd to put on the mp3 player.

Chocolate covered pretzels. Mmmm, my favorite!

A soft bathrobe with kitties on it.

A Lord of the Rings calendar (movie stills, not artwork).

All in all, not too bad, I'd say!

Also, in addition to various prezzies and random items of food -- oh, and a coffee mug she got from some promotional thing and apparently didn't have room for in her cabinet -- I also came back from Mom's with a couple of Michael Crichton novels. Timeline she finished, closed with a snap, handed to me, and said, "Here, I'm done with this. You can have it." And State of Fear she apparently bought twice by mistake. Oh, yeah. Apples and trees, folks. Apples and trees...
posted by Betty at 9:51 AM [0 comments]

 
Search Me

So, when I opened up my suitcase last night, there was a little note in it saying they'd hand-searched my luggage. That's the first time that's happened to me. It's a little odd, thinking about strangers going through my dirty underwear and stuff. And goodness only knows what they made of the giant box of Rice Chex I had in there because it's impossible to go to my mother's and not come back with weird random food items. (Typical conversation: "I had to write off six of these, and I'm not going to eat them all! Here! Take one!" "Umm... OK.") Amusingly, I think they may have repacked my stuff more neatly than I did.
posted by Betty at 8:40 AM [0 comments]

 
Down and Safe

I'm home. I'm tired. I've got a ton of e-mail and stuff waiting for me, and unpacking, and suchlike, so you're not going to get a huge, detailed report on anything out of me just at the moment.

The cats are alive, although they seemed reluctant to come out and welcome me home. Maybe they're mad at me. Oh, well, they'll get over it.

The big news is that I was greeted upon my immediate arrival by my next-door neighbors, who informed me that the pipe where my trailer connects to the park water valve was leaking and they'd shut off the water for me. I just checked it out and yup, it's leaking. Damn thing probably froze. I can tell it's been cold here, because a surprising amount of the snow that fell before I left is still on the ground, which is pretty amazing. Anyway, looks like I'll have to call a plumber in the morning. Sigh.
posted by Betty at 9:04 PM [0 comments]

 
No Comment

Hmm. My "number of comments" indicator isn't incrementing now when I get new comments, apparently. Why does this sort of thing always seem to happen when I'm away from my regular e-mail account and thus not getting notifications when I get new blog comments?
posted by Betty at 5:11 PM [0 comments]

 
An Extremely Brief Update

Turns out Death Valley is really quite pleasant in December.

Merry Christmas and such!
posted by Betty at 8:47 PM [0 comments]

 
I Have Landed

Mom's not up yet, so I figured I'd snurch some time on her machine to let you all know that I did not die in the snow. The roads weren't very bad at all, and it appears the storm was pretty localized, because by the time I got about 30 miles out of town, it was all gone.

Anyway, I got into California just fine (although my plane was an hour late; I think we spent longer sitting on the ground than we did in the air on the second leg of the flight).

Last night we mostly just sort of hung out and talked. I am coming to the disturbing realization, at the age of 33, that my mother's political opinions and my own are not, as I'd always believed, light-years apart, but in fact are mostly damned near identical. Considering that I've just been reading about how scientific research (to oversimplify grossly) suggests that we mostly tend to turn out like our parents regardless of what we do, I find that I can only shake my head, sigh, and give due credit to the power of genetics.

Anyway. Off to Death Valley soon.
posted by Betty at 7:49 AM [0 comments]

 
Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Well, I'm off soon to brave the scary snow, heading north for a while, and thence west by plane. I'll be at Mom's until Sunday. We're going to spend a couple of days at Death Valley, because, hey, this is the time of year to visit, then do the Christmas thing at her place. I may or may not find the time to update while I'm gone, so I'll just say Happy Holidays to all of you, and may none of you crash and die in the snow on the way to the airport.

Oh, and since it's become sort of traditional to list the books I take with me on trips, this time it's: The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker (which I was kind of hoping to finish before I left but didn't quite manage), The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore (as previously mentioned), Claudius the God by Robert Graves, Dancing Barefoot by Wil Wheaton, and Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Which is doubtless overkill, but I have a deep fear of being stuck on an airplane with nothing to read.
posted by Betty at 9:38 AM [0 comments]

 
Mother Nature Is a Cold-Hearted Bitch

I think there is more snow on the ground than I've ever seen here. I'm not sure I can get out of my driveway, let alone to the airport. Aaaargh!
posted by Betty at 7:56 AM [0 comments]

 
Don't Let It Snow

It's raining outside. This worries me. Rain at these temperatures tends to turn into snow, and snow is bad for driving in and bad for flying in, both of which I am doing tomorrow.
posted by Betty at 8:53 PM [0 comments]

 
In Which I Contemplate Getting Off My Lazy Ass

Hmm. Considering that I'm leaving to go visit my Mom tomorrow morning, I guess I really should, like, go and pack soon.
posted by Betty at 4:52 PM [0 comments]

 
Some People Talking to Some Other People

Speaking of Jim Carrey -- well, I was a couple of days ago -- here's an interview with Carrey and a couple of other people about the Series of Unfortunate Events movie. I've really enjoyed the books, and most of the buzz I've heard about the movie has been pretty positive. I also really like the director's attitude as expressed here. I may have to get out to see this one.

While we're at it, here's another interview, this one with writer Christopher Moore. I love Moore's books. They're wild, wacky, wonderful fun. I'm planning on taking his newest, The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror with me when I go out to my mother's for Christmas. Hey, it's seasonal!
posted by Betty at 8:49 AM [0 comments]

 
No! Anything but That!

I'm not on dayshift anymore. In fact, I've been off work for several days. And yet I keep waking up at, like, seven o'clock in the morning. I'm not becoming a, a... a morning person, surely? *shudders at the thought*
posted by Betty at 8:14 AM [0 comments]

 
Betty's Nickel Movie Reviews

So, like I said earlier, I actually went out and rented some movies this weekend, something I do very infrequently these days, given that I'm so backed up on watching the stuff that I actually own. But, hey, sometimes it's good to just see something different.

So, yesterday I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Interesting movie, intriguing premise, some good cinematography... But, I dunno, maybe it was just a little too low-key, in that art-movie kind of way, or maybe it was over-hyped to me a little, because, while I thought it was pretty good, I didn't really enjoy it quite as much as I'd expected. It was really interesting to see Jim Carrey playing an emotionally subdued introvert, though. It's a performance that's light-years away from his usual comic mugging, enough so that I honestly didn't even recognize him until his name flashed up on the screen some ten minutes into the movie, and even then I had to stare at him for a while before I was really convinced it was him. And I just can't help but think, man, the guy really can act. Why on Earth does he waste himself on the stupid cartoony shit he's known for? And then I remember that he's made millions doing that, and I can't honestly say that if I were him I would have done things any differently. So, hey.

Today I watched Kill Bill, Pt. 1, and I'm honestly not sure what to say about it. Yeah, it really is basically an orgy of violence. And it's violence that's almost cartoonishly stylized one moment; eerily, balletically beautiful the next; and just plain horrible and disturbing the moment after that, until the three begin to blur together and it's difficult to tell which is which. I'm not sure there's any redeeming moral value to it, but fortunately I'm not the sort of person who believes movies have to have redeeming moral value, and artistically it's amazing. It's also strangely compelling. I'm half-tempted to go on to part 2 right now, but I think I'll probably save it for tomorrow.

posted by Betty at 5:09 PM [0 comments]

 
But I Wonder What Happened to Rudolph?

I was just driving home from the video store[*] when I passed Santa Claus -- flowing white beard, red suit, and all -- coming the other way on a big-ass motorcycle. He waved.

Amusingly, I think this has done more to put my grinchy self into a happy holiday spirit than pretty much anything else this year so far.


[*] Yes, that's right, I've been renting movies! Details to follow. Probably.
posted by Betty at 2:53 PM [0 comments]

 
Today's Complaint

I really wish my cats would stop hitting the "scan" button on my scanner.
posted by Betty at 8:35 PM [0 comments]

 
I've Been Called That Before...

You Are a Fruitcake!

You taste like nothing else in this world. And get ready, you're about to get tossed!

posted by Betty at 7:55 PM [0 comments]

 
Search Request, Um... Saturday

Yeah, yeah, I know...

Here.

site:blogspot.com fly work peppermint: Who, I wonder, is doing work with flying peppermints and posting about it on Blogspot?

tattoos of marvin the martian: Merely gazing upon you will strike fear into the heart of those pitiful Earthlings!

who is the female snowboarder in the Campbell's Soup campaign 2004?: Damned if I know. I've pretty much entirely quit watching anything with commercials in it, and my quality of life has improved dramatically as a result.

"matchbox 20" unwell hypochondriac: Gee, I never quite thought of that song that way...

vinyl cleaning t-pol: I guess she's gotta clean that catsuit somehow.

moped keeps cutting out: Have you tried seeing a mechanic? (Or whatever you call somebody who services mopeds.)

human cannibalism pics: I was going to suggest that "human cannibalism" is redundant, but, on second thoughts, that's very species-centric of me, isn't it?

futurama relationshippers: Hermes/Zoidberg all the way, man!

unsecret Valentines Day: Well, of course Valentine's Day is unsecret. It'd be hard to sell so many damned cards and flowers if it were a secret, wouldn't it?

penis envy in one flew over the cuckoo's nest: I don't remember any of that, but, admittedly, it's been a while since I read the book.

aeryn sun slideshow: Aka John Crichton's holiday slides.

"Dr. Seuss socks": Mind have fish on them!

crewman cutler and trip's child: Trip had a child with Crewman Cutler? Man, stuff has been happening on Enterprise since I quit watching!

boobs "chocolate brands": Yes, it is important for the smart consumer to choose a brand of chocolate boobs very carefully.

Tenctonese religious beliefs: Uncle Moodri could tell you all about that. Aww, I miss Uncle Moodri. He was my favorite character. As I remarked to someone when I was watching through the series recently, I seem to have some kind of weird thing about crazy mystical alien ex-slaves. I'm not remotely sure what that means.

posted by Betty at 9:02 AM [0 comments]

 
Sure, That's Me.




Your World (Part One): What is your world made of? [girls]
brought to you by Quizilla

posted by Betty at 8:06 AM [0 comments]

 
Oh, The Places He Went!

I've been reading through a lovely omnibus volume of Dr. Seuss books I bought recently. (I tell myself that's because it'd be a great thing to have around for when the nephew comes to visit, but, honestly, that's a lie. I really bought it for myself.) And, wow... Is it just me, or is it not really making much of an overstatement to call the guy one of the greatest writers in the English language? I mean, the guy was frickin' brilliant. I thought so when I was six, and I find that I haven't really changed my opinion any.

By the way, I learned an interesting piece of Seussian trivia: Green Eggs and Ham used a total of only fifty distinct words, forty-nine of which were monosyllabic. For 100 points and my eternal respect, who can name the single multi-syllable word used in the book?

(D'oh! I originally wrote The Cat in the Hat, which is not what I meant. I am a dolt.)
posted by Betty at 7:56 PM [0 comments]

 
'Scuse Me While I Polish My Halo.

You Were Nice This Year!

You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list. You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year. Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good. Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?

posted by Betty at 6:02 PM [0 comments]

 
Because I'm As Crazy as Its Protagonist

I have come to the decidedly surreal realization that my life will not be complete until I own this album.
posted by Betty at 5:07 PM [0 comments]

 
Search Me

Just a note to let you know that this blog is now searchable, via the little toolbar at the top. Don't know why I didn't realize I could do that earlier...
posted by Betty at 8:38 PM [0 comments]

 
Unstuck in Time

Working a job where the hours and even the days of the work week are changeable and offset from the rest of the universe can be kind of surreal. As witness the conversation I had with a couple of my co-workers at about 8 o'clock this morning (which, please note, is a Monday):

Co-Worker #1 [roughly paraphrased]: "Hey, how's it going today?"
Co-Worker #2: "Eh. It's a Thursday."
Me: "It's Tuesday."
Co-worker #1: "It's Monday evening!" [pause] "Is this what Chicago meant when they said, 'Does anybody really know what time it is?'"
Me: "Does anybody really care?"

posted by Betty at 9:55 AM [0 comments]

 
USA! USA!

Here's an amusing exercise to test your knowledge of US Geography: Place the State. Drag & drop the states onto a US map. I managed to get 42 perfect out of 50 turns, for a score of 84% and an average error of 28 miles. Which is considerably better than I would have expected to do, being as those squarish states in the middle have an occasional tendency to confuse me.
posted by Betty at 9:08 PM [0 comments]

 
Well, No Surprise There.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

posted by Betty at 3:25 PM [0 comments]

 
That Monthly Meme Thing

As with the last couple of "Search Request Thursday"s, I'm kind of late with this, too. But I'm sure nobody but me actually cares. Hell, I'm not sure I care. But, anyway, here it is.

Current clothes: Blue jeans. A blue denim button-down shirt with the NRAO logo above the breast pocket. White crew socks. Black sneakers.

Current mood: Rather upbeat, actually.

Current music: I was doing the random shuffle thing on the mp3 player again. Let's see, looks like I last heard some Queen and some U2, and then stopped as it was about to serve me up some Jimmy Buffett.

Current annoyance: I'm feeling much less annoyed at the moment about all the things I was annoyed about last week, even though theoretically much of that stuff is still annoying.

Current thing: I've become horribly addicted to Scrabble Rack Attack. I think I need a 12-step program.

Current desktop picture: This picture of colliding spiral galaxies.

Current song in head: Gonzo singing "I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day" from The Muppet Movie. I love Gonzo.

Current book: I Sing the Body Electric! by Ray Bradbury. I'm sure I read this once, way back in the dim and distant past of my high school years, but Bradbury is generally worth revisiting. I must say, though, that with a few notable exceptions, I don't think this particular collection really represents his best work.

Current video in player: Most recently, a tape with part 2 of Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars.

Current DVD in player: The slowly-dying DVD player which has been relegated to the bedroom has Disc 2 of The Simpsons season 4. The other one most recently had the last disc of Farscape season 1, because, yes, I'm still making copies. I also just very recently finished Babylon 5 season 3, for the record.

Current refreshment: I just finished some green tea. Come to think of it, I might have some more in a minute. That was good.

Current worry: A friend of mine gave me a key to his house in case he needed me to come by some time while he was gone to feed his cat, and I suddenly realized a couple of days ago that I have no earthly idea what I did with it. I am now mildly worried that he is going to call me up and ask me to feed his cat.

Current thought: I have to use the bathroom. And then I really should make some more green tea. Ah, the cycle of life continues...

Labels: currently

posted by Betty at 2:16 PM [0 comments]

 
'Tis The Season, And All That Stuff.

All my Christmas presents are now bought, wrapped, packaged, and ready to mail out. Go, me!
posted by Betty at 3:31 PM [0 comments]

 
Almost None of This Is True.


You are instant coffee gulped on a bus.

You are better than nothing. You are well-meaning,
but ersatz. You sing along with Muzak in
elevators. You cannot remember your original
hair color, and your artificial nails could be
used to slice a zucchini. You forget small
details such as your telephone number and the
names of your children. You believe in
astrology, numerology, and satinism (the cult
of shiny fabrics).


What kind of coffee are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

posted by Betty at 8:01 PM [0 comments]

 
Also...

My e-mail is now working again. Yay! Well, it was always working, it's just that I couldn't get in to see it. Somehow, my password appears to have gotten changed. I have no idea how or why, because I sure didn't change it. But, anyway, they've now changed it back.

Total number of e-mails downloaded when I finally got back into my account: 156. It's going to take me a while to get caught up, I'm afraid...
posted by Betty at 7:51 PM [0 comments]

 
My Day: Auto Mechanics, Wally-World, Zombies

Just got back from Albuquerque. I got my car door adjusted (finally!), and went back to bloody Wal-Mart to pick up all the stuff I forgot to get the last time I was there. And, while I was up there, I figured I'd do something I do all too seldom these days and catch a movie. Disturbingly, it was actually kind of hard to find something I was interested in seeing. I considered Alexander, but the buzz I've heard so far on it hasn't been all that positive, and I wasn't really feeling ready for a three-hour commitment. I gave serious thought to Saw, which looks absolutely fascinating, but which, based on the reviews I've read, appears to contain very high levels of gore of precisely the kind that really gets to me. (I barely made it through Seven, for instance, and that only because I was watching it at a friend's house and didn't have the option of turning it off.) I figure maybe that's better viewed on the small screen, where it's easier to look away. In any case, it wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for.

Then I realized that Shaun of the Dead was playing at the discount theater. Score! Because that was a very nice way to spend an afternoon. Very cool film. The tagline is "A romantic comedy. With zombies." And, by Jove, that is exactly what it delivers. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, more that you need in a movie. It's frequently laugh-out-loud funny without ever going over the top, and it manages to balance the humor, drama, and horror elements amazingly well. Definitely recommended.
posted by Betty at 7:33 PM [0 comments]

 
Yes, I Know, I Should Just Start Calling This "Search Request Friday."

What can I say? I never could get the hang of Thursdays. Anyway, here you go:

alien nation SIKES translation: I'm not sure if they ever actually said what the guy's name translated into, but from the way the aliens tended to giggle when he introduced himself, I'd say it was something like "shit."

"november" blog date fashion show nmsu: NMSU has fashion shows? Hee. My little Techie heart, conditioned to regard liberal arts colleges as not being "serious schools," is rolling its eyes and snickering. Um, not that hearts have eyes. Never mind.

blog "me nude": Well, I just typed those words into my blog, so I guess you got your wish.

"real gilligan's island" naked nude: Yes, when they adapted Gilligan's true story for television, the censors felt it necessary that they make a few changes, so the fact that the real-life castaways were all practicing nudists was never mentioned.

judith ticklish armpits: I'll keep that in mind if I ever meet Judith and want to make her laugh.

earthsea personality tests: Based on Jungian principles, no doubt!

dobby sock fetishist: Heh. The little guy did have a bizarre thing about socks, didn't he?

"my glasses" "ideal boyfriend": Presumably those glasses are rose-colored.

caffeine "peppermint tea" machismo: I suppose adding caffeine to peppermint tea might make it more acceptable to those worried about maintaining their macho images. Though somehow I kind of doubt it.

legolas pregnant fanfic: Shoot me now. Please. Arrow, right through the heart. Just don't make me read that.

ender's game anticlimax hive queen: You know, it's been long enough since I've read that book that I don't remember whether I considered the ending an anticlimax or not. I might have, a little, but it was a darned good book in any case.

i hate tickling armpit armpits: Judith? Is that you?

"the flood" spoilers "doctor who": Hmm, there's no Who episode by that name. Maybe it's a book. I'm so far behind on reading the Who books it's pathetic. Mind you, it's not made any easier by the fact that I've been waiting for several months for Amazon to send me the next one I haven't read.

skullduggery elvish translator: I'm not sure the word "skullduggery" does translate into Elvish...

posted by Betty at 9:25 AM [0 comments]

 
So, I Had My Alignment Checked...

You scored as Lawful Good. A lawful good person acts as a good person is expected or required to act. They are dedicated to upholding both what is right and what is set down in law. Lawful Good 75% Neutral Good 65% True Neutral 65% Chaotic Neutral 50% Chaotic Good 50% Lawful Neutral 45% Lawful Evil 35% Neutral Evil 25% Chaotic Evil 20% What is your Alignment? created with QuizFarm.com

Apparently I'm just a goody two-shoes. Sigh.
posted by Betty at 1:35 PM [0 comments]

 
As a Counterpoint to the Last Post...

Things which have made me feel good today:

We might actually have a lead on what's causing a software problem that's been plaguing my life at work lately. At the very least, somebody's actually looking into it now, which I wasn't sure anybody was ever going to do.

A co-worker told me she liked my sweater, which is new, and which I also very much like. Another co-worker told me I looked really good lately and asked me if I'd been losing weight. (Why, yes. Yes, I have.) For all that I claim not to give a fig about externals, it really is quite an ego-lift when somebody compliments your physical appearance, isn't it?
posted by Betty at 9:29 AM [0 comments]

 
And It's Not Even 9 AM!

Things which have annoyed me today:

My e-mail still wasn't working this morning. I greatly fear withdrawals.

It is beginning to seem as if my usual routes to and from work consist more of potholes than they do of asphalt. This entire town is like some kind of depressing advertisement for entropy.

I went to turn on the light in my bathroom this morning, and the light bulb threw off some interesting sparks, made a loud popping sound, and died. Now the light fixture won't work at all, even when I put a perfectly good light bulb in it.

I was just looking through the current flyer from one of my book clubs and saw that they are offering a set of "science" books which includes a book on mathematical proofs, one on human anatomy... and one on "the practical art of dowsing." Gaah. It's no bloody wonder people can't tell science from pseudoscience!

I keep waking up before my alarm goes off, but not early enough that it makes any sense for me to go back to sleep, no matter how much I want to.

I forgot my mp3 player at home, which means I have no music to listen to while I am hanging tapes. I also somehow managed to forget my watch, which I always wear and without which I feel slightly naked.

Oh, yes, and, last but not least, there's this article, which makes me weep for my country. Ah, multiculturalism and tolerance were such nice ideas while they lasted, weren't they?
posted by Betty at 8:52 AM [0 comments]

 
Perhaps the Matrix Caught a Virus.

My ISP keeps rejecting my attempts to log in (which means no e-mail, waaah!). No explanation, no nothing. I just might as well no longer have an account (although my web access still works). I went to take out the garbage just now, and the dumpster appears to have mysteriously vanished. And, at work, we've been scratching our heads trying to find data that ought to be in our database but just isn't there. I'm beginning to worry about the possibility that random bits of the universe have begun disappearing.
posted by Betty at 6:24 PM [0 comments]

 
Movie News

This is the sort of thing that just leaves me rolling my eyes: "God Cut from Dark Materials film." Yes, that's right, the film version of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, an (in my opinion interesting but over-rated) series of books about an earthly revolt against a outmoded Supreme Being and his corrupt church, will, uh, not involve a Supreme Being or a church. The studio has "expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity," says the director. Which leaves me wondering why the hell you'd commission a movie adaptation of a religiously controversial work if you can't stand the idea of stirring up religious controversy. Oh, yeah, wait, never mind. I know the reason. The books were bestsellers, and if you buy the rights to them, you get the kind of name recognition that sells movie tickets, even if the movie has nothing in common with the books but the name. Yeesh.

On a more pleasant note, here's an interview with Nathan Fillion about the upcoming Firefly film, Serenity. "We all signed for a trilogy," he says, "so if this first one does well, we're going to do two more." Yee-ha!
posted by Betty at 9:53 AM [0 comments]

 
Snow Going

It was snowing fairly hard when I came in to work today, and there were several inches on the ground before lunchtime. Most of it has now melted.

There are things I do really like about living in New Mexico.
posted by Betty at 2:27 PM [0 comments]

 
Blah

I am feeling extremely cranky today. I woke up at 4 AM for no apparent reason and could not get back to sleep. I am currently stuck at work, after a less-than-one-day weekend. I'm feeling a little achy, and the effects of all the caffeine I've been consuming appear to have long since plateaued out.

Fortunately, looking at pictures of baby animals always makes me feel better.
posted by Betty at 3:28 PM [0 comments]

 
I Guess The Calendar Doesn't Lie...

Whoa. How can it possibly be this close to Christmas?
posted by Betty at 11:12 AM [0 comments]

 
Search Request Thur-- Uh, Friday

Yeah, I didn't do it yesterday. Whatever.

"star trek" spanish dub: Ah, Viaje a las Estrellas! Great show!

"joke recipes" cooking turkey: Because who doesn't like a good joke on Thanksgiving!

casting de misters teen 2003: There's more than one "Mister Teen 2003?" Hmm, I wonder what dey are casting dem for.

science projects how to make lava from kitchen pantry: Oh, please. The old "erupting volcano science project" is so passe.

dates of observing Thanksgiving: Um, it's always on the last Thursday of November, isn't it? Except in Canada, of course, where it's something else.

nude turkeys: Well, you hardly want to cook them with the feathers on.

"trailer trash" newark bars: I have never been in any bars in Newark, but I imagine it's quite possible to pick up "trailer trash" in them if you make an effort.

pentagram of wax porn: You lay out your wax porn in a pentagram, say the proper incantations, and it summons you up a wax demon who... You know what? Let's just stop there, shall we?

"he's sneezing" cowboy: Well, hand the poor guy a kleenex or something!

bound tickling therapy: Why does that somehow not sound very therapeutic to me?

monastary bondage: Well, I guess some monks, historically, have practiced flagellation and other kinky-sounding stuff...

"burned" "beachboard": You haven't been burned lately, have you Deborah?

midshipman fish wav: Don't be silly. There are no midshipman fish. What do fish need with boats?

scorpius action figure "crackers don't matter": Technically, that's Harvey.

shopping habit of Chiana consumer: She shops until she runs out of money, then she steals things.

corridan company frog: Every company should have a company frog!

porno not picked up by censors: You know, you can slip a lot of things past censors, but somehow I think out-and-out porno is something they'd tend to notice.

buzz lightyear, sneakers: I thought he wore cool space boots?

cute teacher "book embosser": I wonder if it's the teacher or the embosser that's supposed to be cute.

last ned star trek demos: Who is Ned and what Trekkish stuff was he demo-ing?

huckleberry finn garbage trash racist: It is not.

beaker feelings movie muppets download: Ah, it's nice to know someone cares about Beaker's feelings! Dr. Honeydew always seemed a bit callous on the subject, to be honest.

garak bashir fuck naked: Uh, good for them, I guess. It's probably more comfortable that way.

figures of speech in coldplay the scientist: Well, I think they used a lot of metaphors...

flooby haircut: I assume this is what Tamara has.

blog earwax: Yes, I have blogged about earwax. Hey, it was a major issue for me at the time, all right?

STUFF SHAPED LIKE A TELEPHONE: Well, for starters, how about, um... a telephone?

hail damage or sun blisters: I don't know about you, but what I have is definitely hail damage.

science project 7UP test: Well, that sounds a little more creative than the exploding volcano, I guess.

met him in a swamp down in Degobah lyrics: "...where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda/S-O-D-A, soda/I saw the little runt sitting there on a log..." and, oh, dear gods, I can sing the whole thing from memory.

maximum stretch pussy: You'd be amazed. Sometimes my cats can stretch out so that they seem to be taking up the entire sofa.

posted by Betty at 1:28 PM [0 comments]

 
Teased

Ooh! There is now a teaser for the new Doctor Who series online! OK, it's a very brief teaser. Barely anything at all, really. But it's got me feeling all excited.
posted by Betty at 1:04 PM [0 comments]

 
Gimme Some Credit!

So, those of us living in the Western states apparently now have the legal right to request a free copy of our credit report from each of the major credit-reporting companies once a year. (Those of you in the rest of the US may have to wait a few months.) To be honest, I'd never actually bothered checking my credit report before, but I figured, hey, it's free, what the heck. So I took a look at mine, and, man, do I have shiny, shiny credit! Which I pretty much knew, but it's good to know that Equifax agrees with me.
posted by Betty at 12:39 PM [0 comments]

 
Urge to Kill... Rising...

When I am ruler of the world, people who believe in bass technology but not in muffler technology and who proceed to demonstrate this at length outside their neighbor's bedroom window at 7:30 AM will be rounded up and shot. Preferably very early in the morning, with very noisy guns. Gaaaah.
posted by Betty at 7:56 AM [0 comments]

 
I'm a Colorful Character! Possibly Orange.

You scored as alternative. You're partially respected for being an individual in a conformist world yet others take you as a radical. You have no place in society because you choose not to belong there - you're the luckiest of them all, even if your parents are completely ashamed of you. Just don't take drugs ok? alternative 58% Middle Class 42% Upper middle Class 33% Luxurious Upper Class 25% Lower Class 17% What Social Status are you? created with QuizFarm.com

posted by Betty at 1:30 PM [0 comments]