Sometimes You Have To Jump

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt


When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. - Chinese proverb


"To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else."
- Bernadette Devlin



And ironically tomorrow is Plan Your Epitaph Day.





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Jack O' The Lantern

In case any of you didn't already know this...

The story I know about how this whole pumpkin carving thing came about involves a nasty tempered, drunken Irishman named Jack. When the Devil was about to take him below, he tricked the Devil into leaving him alone forever. So when he finally died, he couldn't get into Heaven and the Devil refused to take him in Hell since he'd promised to leave him be forever. So Jack ends up wandering the earth as a spirit with a coal inside a hollowed out turnip for his only light. People would carve turnips or potatoes and light them in a window to keep Jack from their doors.

When the Irish immigrated to America during the famine, they found the pumpkin was a plentiful, easy carving, substitute and used those instead.

Hence the name, Jack O' the Lantern.

Or today, Jack O' Lantern, for short.


So, there you go.

DST

Did all of you who were supposed to set you clocks remember to? Did those of you who didn't have to remember to leave them alone? :-)
I think the whole thing is kind of stupid.

I'm not alone.


"I don't really care how time is reckoned so long as there is some agreement about it, but I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind. I even object to the implication that I am wasting something valuable if I stay in bed after the sun has risen. As an admirer of moonlight I resent the bossy insistence of those who want to reduce my time for enjoying it. At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy and wise in spite of themselves."
-Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks, 1947, XIX, Sunday.


And this year, the government pased a law making it start earlier and end later. They left in a provision to revert to the previous version if they want. Why don't we just leave our clocks that way all freakin' year?

Sometimes our government passes stuff just to look busy.

Quiz Thing and UR

Which SF author are you?

You are William Gibson - dark, baroque, a little flashy and self-involved. You are all about conspiracy theories, power play and the street.


5 other people got this result!
This quiz has been taken 301 times.
9% of people had this result.

I would have linked to the quiz, but they have broken code, so screw 'em.



----------------------------------------
Unrelated Rant.

Have you ever been to one of those websites that think they're keeping you from stealing their pictures by disabling the right click features when all they're really doing in hindering our ability to navigate if we're using tabs?

And let's be honest, their NOT keeping us from scavenging their precious pics, it actually makes me want to take them even more just to prove how juvenile the whole thing is.

I don't. I just leave and never come back.


Oh, and tomorrow is Hermit Day.

WTF?

What's wrong with people today?
I was just reading the comments on website about a thing (doesn't matter, really), and these folks started in with the "Look at the picture, it's fake", "No, look at the picture its real", "Is", "
Isn't", "Is", "Isn't", "Is", "Isn't", "Is", "Isn't", "Is", "
Isn't", crap. Somebody else chimed in with a link to a video proving the thing really exists, but nobody even noticed and they just went on arguing. I got tired of reading it after a while and just skimmed to the end.
Oh, and there were the usual handful of people with the obligatory "I'd like to have sex/pee/crap/etcetera there".
Thanks for the visuals.

What's wrong with these people? Suppose we could take up a collection and buy them lives?


Sheesh.

Our President Speaks

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." —Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." —Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002




He pretty much says it all by himself.





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Who Wants One?

It has:
* A W-16 engine that can produce 1,001 horsepower
* A top speed of 250+ mph (400+ kph)
* A zero-to-60 time of three seconds
* A zero-to-180 time of 14 seconds
* A price tag somewhere in the $1.2 million range.

It's basically a street legal Indy car.
Go learn more!

Anniversaries Today

1415 Battle of Agincourt

1854 The Light Brigade charges (Battle of Balaklava) (Crimean War)

1945 Japanese surrender Taiwan to Gen Chiang Kai-shek

1971 Roy Disney dedicates Walt Disney World

1975 USSR's Venera 10 makes day-side Venus landing

1983 US invades Grenada, a country 1/2,000 its population (US Wins!)



And tommorrow is Punk For A Day day.




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Let's Talk Geek

Two of these are pictures of things I made by hand and the other is my old AD&D books. (Yes, I have newer ones too.) Anybody know the vintage (Rach?) of the books? :-)


Why is it I post comments on blogs and I get impossible garbage for the word verification and the next one that comes up is almost (or contains) a word? Am I going to have to start double commenting just to get a good one?
Sorry for the whine, but it doesn't seem quite fair.
:-)

Googlebot Crawled My Blog

I know that sounds kind of obscene, but it's not.

Tommorrow is National Mole Day. I assume that refers to the animal, not spys.

I found THIS pretty funny and plan to add it to my links eventually.


Hope everybody had a good weekend!

Yesterday's Post

I managed to comment on a couple blogs before Blogger had an aneurysm last night. Apologies to anybody I missed (or got garbage). I'll try to poke around catch up.
Also, Blogger doesn't seem to be able to do email lately, so I'm missing things that way too.
Maybe they've fixed it?




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Say What?

Remember when I asked if anybody knew who Shinmen Musashi No Kami Fujiwara No Genshin was? He wrote a book called 'Go Rin No Sho' in 1645. Why did I know this? I'm kind of a nerd sometimes. :-)

And tomorrow is my day, Babbling Day!

And what's going on with the guy who made the 700 pound rosary out of old bowling balls?

EE&V

Eyes
A dark tunnel with dim light at only one end.
Ears
Dripping water and scurrying small feet.
Voice
"I can't let you go that way, even if it means forever."

"It does."

Mostly Questions

Ladies, what does it mean when a woman (a friend) says she'll call you, even gives a time frame, then doesn't? What does it mean if she does this a lot?

I like that we get to have elections, but I loathe the lying, bullshit circus they've turned into. I want a reset button. Fire them all and start fresh.

Does anybody remember Oingo Boingo?

Does anybody (besides me) listen to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy?

Anybody else know who Shinmen Musashi No Kami Fujiwara No Genshin was? (I'd be stunned.)

Okay, turn in your worksheets to be graded. :-)




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It's Almost Time...

It's that time of year again. Look around this guy's site, if you're not too scared...


And the 19th is Evaluate Your Life Day.
It doesn't say you have to do anything about it, just evaluate. I can manage that (I think).

Warp Nine Mister Sulu!

Finally have the new machine up and running. Soooo much faster than the old one. Changing machines always involves losing some things no matter how thorough you are. What was that password? Is it POP or IMAP? I think I've got most of it, though astute readers out there may notice that I forgot to tell KDE to turn on the NUM LOCK. (IQ of 20?)

The new screen resolution may take a while to get used to.

Today is Dictionary Day.

The End Of The Innocence

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When happily ever after fails
And weve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
Well sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence



-----------
Don Henley

Can I Buy A Clue?

I'm not any kind of lean, mean, dating machine, but I'm not stupid (usually). I can see the obvious as well as the next guy. I can tell when women are trying to get noticed. So what's going on?
Girls who are not in my dating pool (and vice versa) do the 'look at me thing' in the strangest places. There isn't anybody behind me, I'm the only one around. I get the feeling they wouldn't do it if people were around.
The only thing that comes to mind is some kind of power thing, like holding raw meat out to a pitbull to see if he'll snap at it. If it's something else, somebody clue me in. If it is something like that, do these girls not realize what kind of game they're playing? Can they not know how dangerous that is? Get the wrong guy just once....

I don't imagine they'd listen to a well intentioned warning either. Heck, none of the women I *know* ever listened to them.


Anyway.







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Le Bel Age

There comes a time, when you should see things clear
Free from my innocence, there is no circumstance too severe
Only the need for us, for us to believe again
There is a time, temptation's on the run
Dreamer you've had your way
Soldier you've had your day, in the sun
Now it's time, for us to begin again


Le Bel Age
Only our love will remain
Le Bel Age
Close to the truth once again

There comes a time (there comes a time)
When you must find your way
Begger has made his bed
Wrapped in a silhoutte, of gold and gray
Now it's time, yes it's time, for us to begin again


Standing so close to me, the possibility
To change our destiny, I see it perfectly, moving so naturally
Nothing can stand in our way


Le Bel Age
Only our love will remain (only)
Le Bel Age (only our love, only our love)
Close to the truth once again



Le Bel Age (Le Bel Age)
Le Bel Age


--------------
Pat Benetar

Too Many Lately

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which had been opend for us." - Helen Keller


Kind, warm thoughts to all of you who can use them.

Teasers

"I'm just trying to get up to speed and find out what I can before I go stumbling off and get a metal spike in my brain. That doesn't sound like much fun.”
--Detective Carter

"See, maybe that's why I'm still alive."
--Mister Rand

"Am I going to be in the middle of a war zone or something?"
--Sascha Olenek

"I need to see the girl."
--Silver

"Fucking urban ops. I hate not having a clear fire zone around this place. Which building did we lose?"
--Colonel Maxim

"Tell me why I let you live."
--Choo



--------------------------------------

Oh, and tomorrow is It's My Party Day.







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I Will Remember You

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin’ in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I’m so tired but I can’t sleep
Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep
It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I’m so afraid to love you, but more afraid to lose
Clinging to a past that doesn’t let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories



Sarah McLachlan

Packrat

Ever have one of those momentary scent memories that sparks a certain craving hunger, but you're not sure what for? It's right out there just out of reach but you can't quite place it?
Oh, and you don't seem to have any food in the place that smells anything like that. It's annoying.
I'll figure out what it was next time I'm *not* hungry. :-(

:-)


I mentioned before I have some new computer parts, and in preparation for the switch over (soon) I realize that I have the strangest crap in and around my keyboard tray.
-2 right angle and 1 Y adapter for 1/8" audio cable.
-4 center screw feet off some long dead electronic thing.
-1 40 caliber pistol bullet (lead, no case), never loaded or fired.
-2 sets of ear plugs.
-1 half size six sided Alumacolor engineer's scale.
-2 caligraphy dip pens.
-4 small glass marbles.
-2 neodiemium iron boron magnets.
-1 needle (as in thread).
-1 security screw from a TNI box.
-2 paper clips.
-11 assorted sizes and shapes of dice.

That's just a random selection. Maybe I need to think about what, how, and where I store things.
:-)

Superhero

If you could have powers like a comic book Superhero, would you?
Which powers would you want?
Who would you tell?
What would you do first?



Just wondering.

Kiss The Rain

Hello...
Can you hear me
Am I getting through to you

Hello...
Is it late there
Is there laughter on the line
Are you sure youre there alone
Cuz im
Trying to explain
Somethings wrong
You just don't sound the same

Why don't you
Why don't you
Go outside
Go outside

Kiss the rain
Whenever you need me
Kiss the rain
Whenever I'm gone too long
If your lips feel lonely and thirsty
Kiss the rain
And wait for the dawn
Keep in mind
We're under the same sky
And the nights
As empty for me as for you
If you feel
You can't wait till morning
Kiss the rain
Kiss the rain
Kiss the rain

Hello...
Do you miss me
I hear you say you do
But not the way I'm missing you

What's new
How's the weather
Is it stormy where you are
You sound so close but it feels like you're so far
Oh would it mean anything
If you knew
What I'm left imagining
In my mind
My mind
Would you go
Would you go

Kiss the rain

As you fall
Over me
Think of me
Think of me
Think of me
Only me
Kiss the rain
Whenever you need me
Kiss the rain
Whenever I'm gone too long
If your lips
Feel hungry and tempted
Kiss the rain
And wait for the dawn
Keep in mind
We're under the same sky
And the nights
As empty for me as for you
If you feel you can't wait till morning
Kiss the rain
Kiss the rain
Kiss the rain
Kiss the rain

(kiss the rain)
(kiss the rain)
(kiss the rain)

Hello...
Can you hear me
Can you hear me
Can you hear me


---------------

Billie Myers

Stumble, Stumble, Fall

Yesterday, my local ISP lost their primary connection to the internet. I tried to make it here, but after watching the data stream sputter and trickle for twenty or thirty minutes each time without ever actually finishing a page, I decided to wait. Today, service is back.


I love it when my friends upgrade their computers because I get hand-me-downs. As soon as I finish with the electronic surgery and rehab, I'll be on a much better machine. I might even do the dual head monitor thing. I guess I better clean the desk. :-)

Blank Space?

So I'm a geek. I thought I'd put some text here in the same color as the background and see who finds it. It may actually be the lamest thing to do when you can't come up with anything of real value to blather on about. It's a little like talking to yourself in public. :-)








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The Sounds of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whisperd in the sounds of silence.

--Paul Simon

New Month

October is National Clock Month, among other things.

The 7th is National Frappe Day
The 9th is Moldy Cheese Day (Why?)
The 12th is International Moment Of Frustration Scream Day
The 17th is Gaudy Day (Does that mean the day is gaudy or we should be?)
The 21st is Babbling Day (Isn't every day is babbling day?)
The 22nd is National Nut Day (Could this be redundant? And why don't we have a National Redundant Day?)

Just wondering.

Bar Girls

When the bars close down, please go home. By yourself, with someone, I don't care, but don't stand around in the streets making traffic watch out for you and possibly causing an accident or injuries.
And when I say home, I don't mean go to the few stores that are still open. Your natural habitat (the bar) is dark and smoggy. No one there can see that you've done things with your make up that might be appropriate on Halloween. And no one there can tell that you've *bathed* in perfume that's so strong the rest of can smell the assaulting waves six or seven feet away.

I understand that you may not have much repsect for yourselves, but if you keep at it nobody else will either.

(end rant)