Oh, yeah...
Looks like a civilian space port is being considered in California.
Monday, May 24, 2004
I am tired today.
I had to get up early to go get blood taken at the lab near the hospital so they can measure both the purines in my blood and to measure my cholesterol. Last time I had my cholesterol checked, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to eat before the test. Consequently, my blood indicated I was fine on two of my cholesterols and on my third, I was pretty much a goner. This may yet be the case, but you never know. In my defense, since that test I've been eating less Crisco straight out of the tub.
No doubt, I will report a Lipitor prescription in the near future.
I also found out on Friday (yes, even with Jamie in the hospital I went to my own doctor's appointment) that I have been taking my medication incorrectly and have been taking painkillers for the past several months believeing they were a necessary anti-inflammatory. Which they kind of are, but it's a "take as needed" kind of medication, not "twice a day with the other pill," as I believed (and how the bottle read).
As Denby would put it, I've essentially been "hopped up on goofballs." But not really.
I did wake up feeling achey this morning and was trying to figure out what that was all about, and near as I can figure, all my neurons and what not are properly firing again and telling me about every little ache I have for the first time since August. That went away within an hour, but now I just feel tired. Which is probably more to do with my exciting weekend. I also need better coffee.
I need to get a PMA (positive mental attitude) or today is going to stink.
I had to get up early to go get blood taken at the lab near the hospital so they can measure both the purines in my blood and to measure my cholesterol. Last time I had my cholesterol checked, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to eat before the test. Consequently, my blood indicated I was fine on two of my cholesterols and on my third, I was pretty much a goner. This may yet be the case, but you never know. In my defense, since that test I've been eating less Crisco straight out of the tub.
No doubt, I will report a Lipitor prescription in the near future.
I also found out on Friday (yes, even with Jamie in the hospital I went to my own doctor's appointment) that I have been taking my medication incorrectly and have been taking painkillers for the past several months believeing they were a necessary anti-inflammatory. Which they kind of are, but it's a "take as needed" kind of medication, not "twice a day with the other pill," as I believed (and how the bottle read).
As Denby would put it, I've essentially been "hopped up on goofballs." But not really.
I did wake up feeling achey this morning and was trying to figure out what that was all about, and near as I can figure, all my neurons and what not are properly firing again and telling me about every little ache I have for the first time since August. That went away within an hour, but now I just feel tired. Which is probably more to do with my exciting weekend. I also need better coffee.
I need to get a PMA (positive mental attitude) or today is going to stink.
I kind of want to go to the circus when it arrives in town in a few weeks, but I'm torn. I am aware that some circuses do not treat their animals terribly well, but Ringling Bros. goes way out of their way to make it clear that their animals are not trained through abuse, etc...
I have no idea if either side is actually correct. I assume the truth is somewhere in between, and Ringling Bros. isn't exactly some tent set up in Wal-Mart parking lot. They have a serious reputation to maintain.
But another strike against the circus is that I kind of don't like clowns. There's always that. I mean, I HATE mimes, but I just kind of dislike clowns. I think the mean clowns in Dumbo must have had a profound effect upon me as a child or something.
And then you read something like this, and all those death-defying stunts don't seem so death defying.
But I haven't been to the circus since I was in 7th grade, and I don't count Cirque du Soliel as a real circus. Until i see an elephant wearing a pink hat, it just ain't a circus. And let's face it, thanks to our entertainment-saturated society, the circus is a disappearing art form here in the US. I'd liek to go and see the circus again just to get a good idea of what it's all about again.
What to do... what to do...
I have no idea if either side is actually correct. I assume the truth is somewhere in between, and Ringling Bros. isn't exactly some tent set up in Wal-Mart parking lot. They have a serious reputation to maintain.
But another strike against the circus is that I kind of don't like clowns. There's always that. I mean, I HATE mimes, but I just kind of dislike clowns. I think the mean clowns in Dumbo must have had a profound effect upon me as a child or something.
And then you read something like this, and all those death-defying stunts don't seem so death defying.
But I haven't been to the circus since I was in 7th grade, and I don't count Cirque du Soliel as a real circus. Until i see an elephant wearing a pink hat, it just ain't a circus. And let's face it, thanks to our entertainment-saturated society, the circus is a disappearing art form here in the US. I'd liek to go and see the circus again just to get a good idea of what it's all about again.
What to do... what to do...
Sunday, May 23, 2004
I am happy to say Jamie is home from the hospital and feeling fairly well. We had a little scare there. She was supposed to go in for a minor sort of thing (in our medical universe) and ended up spending the weekend fighting a nasty infection which she had prior to arriving but had gone under the radar. The initial prognosis was not a good one, but after a few tests we got all squared away and were able to get Jamie treated with some antibiotics and whatnot.
Anyway, we're home now and only slightly worse for wear. Thanks to those who sent e-mails and positive vibes.
Upon our arrival home, we got to watch our DVR'd copy of Smallville's Season Finale. Hurray! That ruled. I think they just introduced the Phantom Zone. If you don't know what that is, well, it's a sort of...zone... kind of on a phantom plane... that, uh... well, it's a good place to put dudes like Zod when they get out of hand.
Make sure your TiVo's etc... are ready. Next week is the finale of Justice League on Cartoon Network before it is relaunched as Justice League Unlimited. Look for it around 7:00 next Saturday evening. Given my hip lifestyle, no doubt I'll be home to watch it.
Anyway, we're home now and only slightly worse for wear. Thanks to those who sent e-mails and positive vibes.
Upon our arrival home, we got to watch our DVR'd copy of Smallville's Season Finale. Hurray! That ruled. I think they just introduced the Phantom Zone. If you don't know what that is, well, it's a sort of...zone... kind of on a phantom plane... that, uh... well, it's a good place to put dudes like Zod when they get out of hand.
Make sure your TiVo's etc... are ready. Next week is the finale of Justice League on Cartoon Network before it is relaunched as Justice League Unlimited. Look for it around 7:00 next Saturday evening. Given my hip lifestyle, no doubt I'll be home to watch it.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Sorry guys. I've been quiet as Jamie's been in the hospital yet again. She's doing much, much better and I hope to get her home by Saturday afternoon.
It's a grim story on this one, but suffice it to say, the really bad part is past and what we thought might be wrong wasn't the case. Which is a GOOD thing. Her mom is here. I'm trying to get work done from home before I go to the hospital.
Adios.
It's a grim story on this one, but suffice it to say, the really bad part is past and what we thought might be wrong wasn't the case. Which is a GOOD thing. Her mom is here. I'm trying to get work done from home before I go to the hospital.
Adios.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
as per a discussion we had here a few months ago... regarding why you don't want to post your picture online.
My health
My heatlh has been an issue of late as work stress increases and less and less time has been spent doing much in the way of physical activity.
At one point, in the not so distant past, I was an avid practitioner of TaeKwonDo. In these days I could spar (essentially fist fighting) for an hour at a time, getting moderately ehausted somewhere near the end. I was doing hundreds of push-ups every week (on my fingertips no less) and tons of crunches. About three years ago, that all went to hell and I just quit.
The reasons for quitting are varied, and not terribly interesting, but I basically was not ready to give up the rest of my life in order to meet the expectations of black belts within the TKD organization to which I belonged (essentially giivng up most weekends and evenings to teach, run tournaments, etc...).
As of two weeks ago, i joined a gym, and it's been revelation as to what three years of watching cartoons and B-movies will do to your physique and general health. I had a fitness assessment (of which I take some stock, but do not acept as Bible's truth for a few reasons) which suggested I had the relative phyciality of the average 38 year old. "With a few years work," the physical trainer guy told me, "You could be your own relative age." Essentially, if I totally bust ass, I stand a good chance of being 32 when I'm 32. Whoo-hoo.
Now I can only take the charts so seriously, mostly because I still recall the incident in high school health class in which I was actually off the height weight scale so far it suggested I was morbidly obese. And at this time, I was actually pretty damn skinny. I don't know if my bones are made out of concrete or what, but I've always weighed a ton for my actual physique. Getting pudgy has only made the issue amplified.
Nonetheless, I am taking the issue very seriously as I don't want to be dead. Not yet, anyway. Maybe at some point in the future, but not this year. The simple fact is that my family has a small history of heart disease, but a large one with diabetes. I need to start working on myself ASAP in order to avoid these two traps. So I am now working out as often as possible for as long as possible, and I've got a hell of alot of work to do. So bear with me as I occasionally post progress, etc...
My heatlh has been an issue of late as work stress increases and less and less time has been spent doing much in the way of physical activity.
At one point, in the not so distant past, I was an avid practitioner of TaeKwonDo. In these days I could spar (essentially fist fighting) for an hour at a time, getting moderately ehausted somewhere near the end. I was doing hundreds of push-ups every week (on my fingertips no less) and tons of crunches. About three years ago, that all went to hell and I just quit.
The reasons for quitting are varied, and not terribly interesting, but I basically was not ready to give up the rest of my life in order to meet the expectations of black belts within the TKD organization to which I belonged (essentially giivng up most weekends and evenings to teach, run tournaments, etc...).
As of two weeks ago, i joined a gym, and it's been revelation as to what three years of watching cartoons and B-movies will do to your physique and general health. I had a fitness assessment (of which I take some stock, but do not acept as Bible's truth for a few reasons) which suggested I had the relative phyciality of the average 38 year old. "With a few years work," the physical trainer guy told me, "You could be your own relative age." Essentially, if I totally bust ass, I stand a good chance of being 32 when I'm 32. Whoo-hoo.
Now I can only take the charts so seriously, mostly because I still recall the incident in high school health class in which I was actually off the height weight scale so far it suggested I was morbidly obese. And at this time, I was actually pretty damn skinny. I don't know if my bones are made out of concrete or what, but I've always weighed a ton for my actual physique. Getting pudgy has only made the issue amplified.
Nonetheless, I am taking the issue very seriously as I don't want to be dead. Not yet, anyway. Maybe at some point in the future, but not this year. The simple fact is that my family has a small history of heart disease, but a large one with diabetes. I need to start working on myself ASAP in order to avoid these two traps. So I am now working out as often as possible for as long as possible, and I've got a hell of alot of work to do. So bear with me as I occasionally post progress, etc...
Rationator Mirus points to an interesting story on the first "succesful" civilian space flight. Check it out.
Congratulations to Jeffrey Alan "Peabo" Peek. My pal just got hitched up on Saturday to Adriana, a girl whose standards in selecting a husband must be astonishingly low.
Jeff and I met up in 4th grade when I first moved to Austin. He was in my class and he lived down the street from me. Our buddyship was largely based around Jeff coming up with dangerous ideas and me trying to talk him down (like trying to catch rattlesnakes using my shirt for a net...).
We lived together for a year in college, went our separate roommate ways, but have always kept in touch. Jeff went off to law school in San Antonio, and has been practicing on and off in the greater Austin area (aside froma 6 month stint in Mexico). His job brought him into Adriana's realm about a year ago, and the two of them must have really hit it off as they became like peanut butter and jelly overnight.
Peabo got married on Saturday down in Old Mexico. Due to a number of limiting factors, I was unable to attend. However, Jeff's pop (PK Peek) sent along some digital photos, one of which I share below.
Congratulations, Peabo and Mrs. Peabo. Up, up and away.
Jeff and I met up in 4th grade when I first moved to Austin. He was in my class and he lived down the street from me. Our buddyship was largely based around Jeff coming up with dangerous ideas and me trying to talk him down (like trying to catch rattlesnakes using my shirt for a net...).
We lived together for a year in college, went our separate roommate ways, but have always kept in touch. Jeff went off to law school in San Antonio, and has been practicing on and off in the greater Austin area (aside froma 6 month stint in Mexico). His job brought him into Adriana's realm about a year ago, and the two of them must have really hit it off as they became like peanut butter and jelly overnight.
Peabo got married on Saturday down in Old Mexico. Due to a number of limiting factors, I was unable to attend. However, Jeff's pop (PK Peek) sent along some digital photos, one of which I share below.
Congratulations, Peabo and Mrs. Peabo. Up, up and away.
Monday, May 17, 2004
I know this opinion isn't going to be popular, but can't we take a vote on euthanizing Courtney Love?
Does anybody really need Courtney Love? Isn't she really the world's most famous junkie? Has anybody ever bought a Hole record? Aren't you kind of ashamed you did? And there's that whole possibility that she maybe might have killed her husband to ensure eternal fame and fortune. And there's the very real possibility she should not be allowed within a kilometer of her own child.
Anyway, just an idea. Discuss.
Does anybody really need Courtney Love? Isn't she really the world's most famous junkie? Has anybody ever bought a Hole record? Aren't you kind of ashamed you did? And there's that whole possibility that she maybe might have killed her husband to ensure eternal fame and fortune. And there's the very real possibility she should not be allowed within a kilometer of her own child.
Anyway, just an idea. Discuss.
Will anyone listen to The League? Probably not.
But for your viewing pleasure, PBS is airing it's own reality programming in the form of "Colonial House".
Like Manor House, Frontier House, 1900 House, 1940's House and, I think, a few before it... Colonial House is an experiment to see how a mix of modern folks do when placed into a recreation of past ways of living. Training is provided, and the participants are not asked to pretend that they're actually in the preceeding time-frame. They are asked to dress, eat, and work as if they were in the sampled time frame.
The show is run by historians and other experts, and it appears this series will take the same format as "Frontier House" and place three households into the mix.
Nobody can win. This is not a competition against each other, but rather a competition against modern expectations versus past expectations.
If the previous series are any indication, it should be well worth tuning in for. Tonight's episode is 2 hours, so it might be worth recording.
But for your viewing pleasure, PBS is airing it's own reality programming in the form of "Colonial House".
Like Manor House, Frontier House, 1900 House, 1940's House and, I think, a few before it... Colonial House is an experiment to see how a mix of modern folks do when placed into a recreation of past ways of living. Training is provided, and the participants are not asked to pretend that they're actually in the preceeding time-frame. They are asked to dress, eat, and work as if they were in the sampled time frame.
The show is run by historians and other experts, and it appears this series will take the same format as "Frontier House" and place three households into the mix.
Nobody can win. This is not a competition against each other, but rather a competition against modern expectations versus past expectations.
If the previous series are any indication, it should be well worth tuning in for. Tonight's episode is 2 hours, so it might be worth recording.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
This weekend the marketing media blitz began for Shrek 2 (the movie) as well as all of the Shrek cross-promotional tie-ins. From video games to soap to Sierra Mist to who know's what else, Shrek is busily hawking a multitude of products using either the real voices of the actors or some very qualified sound-alikes (this is done quite a bit. In fact, Tom Hanks' brother makes some money as Tom's sound alike for things like Toy STory video games, etc...).
I wasn't a huge fan of the original Shrek. We saw it late in the game (maybe a month after it came out), and NOTHING could have lived up to the media hype and the word of mouth hype we went through before seeing the movie. I'm not saying the movie was bad... I just wasn't as blown away as the rest of the world wanted me to be.
Well, there's nothing like whoring yourself to ensure a profit, and it's something much easier to do in the animated world than actually getting, say, DeNiro to sell potato chips. At any rate, given I'm seeing actual commercials for the movie and ads for the cross-promotion once a commercial break EVERY commercial break, I have already been overly saturated in Shrekness. Which is okay. It could have been Garfield.
I wasn't a huge fan of the original Shrek. We saw it late in the game (maybe a month after it came out), and NOTHING could have lived up to the media hype and the word of mouth hype we went through before seeing the movie. I'm not saying the movie was bad... I just wasn't as blown away as the rest of the world wanted me to be.
Well, there's nothing like whoring yourself to ensure a profit, and it's something much easier to do in the animated world than actually getting, say, DeNiro to sell potato chips. At any rate, given I'm seeing actual commercials for the movie and ads for the cross-promotion once a commercial break EVERY commercial break, I have already been overly saturated in Shrekness. Which is okay. It could have been Garfield.
Friday, May 14, 2004
I have a question regarding our situation in Iraq... and it's not politically charged... I just want to know:
Where are the Iraqis getting all of those guns?
Seriously.
In all of these pictures, the Iraqis are armed, and not just with little hunting rifles and pistols. These guys have RPG's and shoulder mounted rocket launchers and other things you can't even find in Texas. And if these guys always had these weapons, why didn't they use them before to shoot at Saddam?
What's the story?
If anyone has any answers, please fill me in.
Where are the Iraqis getting all of those guns?
Seriously.
In all of these pictures, the Iraqis are armed, and not just with little hunting rifles and pistols. These guys have RPG's and shoulder mounted rocket launchers and other things you can't even find in Texas. And if these guys always had these weapons, why didn't they use them before to shoot at Saddam?
What's the story?
If anyone has any answers, please fill me in.
I now know nobody reads this blog. Or at least the folks who read it can't do math any better than people who write it.
600/12 = 50. Not 5.
So caught up in proving Van Helsing was a stupid movie was I, that my math was off by a factor of 10. Yes, I have two college degrees. Shut up.
At any rate:
1 victim per month
12 months in a year
12 victims per year
5 years
60 victims in 5 years
or, as they said, 1 or 2 people
1.5 victims per month
12 months per year
18 victims per year
5 years
90 victims in 5 years
that's still a hell of a lot of people, especially if my actual estimate of the number of residents (150) is closer than the number I suggested it might be. Enough to make me begin considering listing my house with Century 21.
"Selling the house, are you, Ivan?"
"Yeah, me and Dolores put her up yesterday."
"Gettin' a wee bit scared of the vampires?"
"No... no... just part of the charm of your cold, frigid valley with no visible means of support."
"You like the castles?"
"Well, yes, but only that incredibly good looking girl in the tight trousers lives there, and nobody else ever gets to go in."
"Ah, well, we'll miss you digging for turnips with us."
"Best of luck."
"Yeah, well, plant some garlic, too, for God's sake."
"Oh, right... good idea."
At any rate, those aren't good numbers either way. Especially when you figure it's 19th century Eastern-Europe where life expectancy was probably around 40 or so.
Maybe the Transylvanians just breed like rabbits.
600/12 = 50. Not 5.
So caught up in proving Van Helsing was a stupid movie was I, that my math was off by a factor of 10. Yes, I have two college degrees. Shut up.
At any rate:
1 victim per month
12 months in a year
12 victims per year
5 years
60 victims in 5 years
or, as they said, 1 or 2 people
1.5 victims per month
12 months per year
18 victims per year
5 years
90 victims in 5 years
that's still a hell of a lot of people, especially if my actual estimate of the number of residents (150) is closer than the number I suggested it might be. Enough to make me begin considering listing my house with Century 21.
"Selling the house, are you, Ivan?"
"Yeah, me and Dolores put her up yesterday."
"Gettin' a wee bit scared of the vampires?"
"No... no... just part of the charm of your cold, frigid valley with no visible means of support."
"You like the castles?"
"Well, yes, but only that incredibly good looking girl in the tight trousers lives there, and nobody else ever gets to go in."
"Ah, well, we'll miss you digging for turnips with us."
"Best of luck."
"Yeah, well, plant some garlic, too, for God's sake."
"Oh, right... good idea."
At any rate, those aren't good numbers either way. Especially when you figure it's 19th century Eastern-Europe where life expectancy was probably around 40 or so.
Maybe the Transylvanians just breed like rabbits.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
I forgot the biggest dumb thing about Van Helsing.
I was going to say it's a spoiler, but it's not.
Van Helsing is more or less there to save a village of people from being plagued by Dracula. Okay, maybe not exactly (you can judge for yourself for a mere $5.50 at matinee), but if he kills Dracula, that's it, right? The people can be happy again...
Except these incredibly stupid people live in a narrow valley tucked between mountains which is prone to attacks by Vampires. Flying vampires.
So, okay... you don't want to leave your homeland even after 400+ years of vampire attacks (I think I could learn to be flexible and go somewhere with just, say, El Chubacabra). Even in Transylvania, you can still move to a more advantageous position, like, up on a hill. Or underground. Or build, say, a roof over the town. I'm not positive, but I am betting that you would start dreaming up anti-vampire defenses pretty quickly.
Keep in mind, not a clove of garlic or a crucifix is ever really seen in this town.
And the population of the town appeared to be maybe 600 people on the outside. And I think I'm being nice here, because, really, it looked liek the village had maybe 150 extras in it... tops. The villagers state that Dracula and his ladies pluck off 1 or 2 people a month, and that's acceptable. People, I know I'm no PhD in math, but those are NOT good numbers. Your village would be wiped out in 5 years with 600 people at one a month.
And who the hell wants to be the last dude standing around as the target?
Anyway, not necessarily a plot point, but it kind of was... and it made the movie all the dumber.
I was going to say it's a spoiler, but it's not.
Van Helsing is more or less there to save a village of people from being plagued by Dracula. Okay, maybe not exactly (you can judge for yourself for a mere $5.50 at matinee), but if he kills Dracula, that's it, right? The people can be happy again...
Except these incredibly stupid people live in a narrow valley tucked between mountains which is prone to attacks by Vampires. Flying vampires.
So, okay... you don't want to leave your homeland even after 400+ years of vampire attacks (I think I could learn to be flexible and go somewhere with just, say, El Chubacabra). Even in Transylvania, you can still move to a more advantageous position, like, up on a hill. Or underground. Or build, say, a roof over the town. I'm not positive, but I am betting that you would start dreaming up anti-vampire defenses pretty quickly.
Keep in mind, not a clove of garlic or a crucifix is ever really seen in this town.
And the population of the town appeared to be maybe 600 people on the outside. And I think I'm being nice here, because, really, it looked liek the village had maybe 150 extras in it... tops. The villagers state that Dracula and his ladies pluck off 1 or 2 people a month, and that's acceptable. People, I know I'm no PhD in math, but those are NOT good numbers. Your village would be wiped out in 5 years with 600 people at one a month.
And who the hell wants to be the last dude standing around as the target?
Anyway, not necessarily a plot point, but it kind of was... and it made the movie all the dumber.
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