Monday, April 30, 2007

Blessing of the Fleet

Biloxi Blessing of the FleetBiloxi's annual blessing of the (shrimp) fleet is January 2d and 3d.

pretty motorcycle helmet

I like this Arai helmet!

Arai Profile U.K. flag helmet

Friday, April 20, 2007

opening the Holy Doors

Which is a more impressive door-opening sight? This one?

Pope John Paul II opens Holy DoorsOr this one?

George Bush tries to open A door

Tater

I think my cat Tater might be dying. She's been hiding out for a week or more, and I doubt she's eaten much in that time. She's had an ear infection for awhile, one that doesn't seem to be going away. Tater's probably about 17, so I wouldn't doubt if it was getting close to time for her to go. Gomer (her son) and Sue died of cancer, so it wouldn't be a surprise to hear that that was her fate as well.

Tater the catTater in the sun

I'm waiting now to hear from Jerry, who's at the vet with Tater now.

Dana-Farber nurses

Full time nurses at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, with 15 years of experience, will make $67.78 an hour by 2009, which is about $141,000 per year.

Wow!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

cat brain

Amen to all of this!

Why?

grandma in bikini

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

souped-up search engines

SearchMash.com
MsDewey.com
AlltheWeb.com
AskX.com

how to get rid of pesky smells

from Real Simple:

In the refrigerator, foods frozen for too long can "make your pie crust smell like a substance from another planet." Wipe down the freezer with a cotton pad dipped in vanilla extract. Wipe down refrigerators with a 50-50 mix of vinegar and water.

In the sink,
vegetable refuse often gets trapped in the garbage disposal. So "give the disposal something nicer to chew on." Dropping in the peels of a lemon, orange, lime, or grapefruit, while the hot water runs, "should do the trick."

In a dank basement, subterranean smells can be difficult to dispel. Try cutting an onion in half and leaving it on a plate. "Once the initial salad-bar aroma dissipates, you'll have fresh (non-oniony) air."

For Tupperware,
soak containers overnight in warm water and baking soda. For glass jars, bathe them in a mix of 1 teaspoon powdered mustard to 1 quart warm water.

Monday, April 16, 2007

my favorite shampoo

Discontinued in the 80s at some point. I still have one bottle, though!

Dimension shampoo/conditioner

Monday, April 09, 2007

Spring wildlife

From Newsweek's Karen Springen: Spring is birthing season for baby animals. What should you do when you come across newborn squirrels, raccoons, and skunks under your deck or in your attic? It's likely that their moms moved there to find a private spot to give birth.

If you can, wait until the babies are 6 to 8 weeks old. Then, rather than move the animals yourself, make their moms want to relocate by blasting rock and roll and keeping lights on, says Laura Simon, field director of urban wildlife for the Humane Society of the United States (wildneighbors.org).

Don't assume solo babies are orphans. Mothers of bunnies and deer visit their little ones only a couple of times a day. "People will take a wild animal away from its mother without meaning to," says Simon. Don't feed them anything. They can't digest cows' milk and lettuce.

If you're sure the babies are motherless, call your local nature center or an animal shelter to find a "wildlife rehabilitator"--a volunteer licensed by the state fish and game agency to take in injured and orphaned wild animals.

GOOD place to eat!

Please come to Boston...please, please, please (they're in the Chicago area only right now).

Pockets

one of the best drummers in the world...

Alex Duthart, unfortunately now deceased.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

signature

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Friday, April 06, 2007

seppuku

自殺

good quote

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams."

  • Actor John Barrymore, quoted in the Portland, Maine, Press Herald

Winkie?

I'd never heard the Wicked Witch of the West's guards called "Winkie" before.

Winkie guardAn original Wicked Witch of the West Winkie guard costume from the 1939 film 'The Wizard of Oz' is shown in this publicity photo provided to Reuters March 30, 2007.

"two new flavors...one survives...you decide"

Doritos' Wild White Nacho flavor versus Smoky Cheddar BBQ flavor:

snackstrongproductions.com

I would never usually go for anything with a cheese flavor in it (I hate cheese and onion chips, for example), but the "smoky" and the "BBQ" work out well. I don't even know what the Wild White Nacho is supposed to be. So I vote for Smoky Cheddar BBQ.

25 memorable quotes

From USAToday:

Many things are said, and quoted, in 25 years. Some become catchphrases. Others we'd like to forget. And some words capture the essence of a news event, a phenomenom, or a time. USA TODAY reporters and editors came up with this list of our Top 25 most memorable quotes of the last 25 years.

1.
"Let's roll."

Todd Beamer, Sept. 11, 2001, just before he and other passengers attacked terrorists controlling United Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The White House may have been the target.

2. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

President Reagan, June 12, 1987, appealing to the Soviet leader to remove the Berlin Wall that divided East and West German sectors. It fell in 1989.

3. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, Sept. 27, 1995, arguing that a glove used as murder evidence in the O.J. Simpson trial was too small.

4. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

President Clinton, Jan. 26, 1998, at a White House news conference.

5. "You've got mail!"

America Online, 1989. The voice, which still greets users, is El Edwards, the husband of an AOL customer service representative.

6. "Read my lips: no new taxes."

George H.W. Bush, Aug. 18, 1988, accepting the GOP presidential nomination in New Orleans. A tax hike later in his presidency was a factor in his loss for re-election.

7. "Obviously a major malfunction."

Steve Nesbitt, NASA public affairs officer, Jan. 28, 1986, shortly after the space shuttle Challenger exploded.

8. "How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?"

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Dec. 5, 1996, interpreted as a warning that stocks were too high. Markets plunged briefly the next morning

9. "You can't handle the truth!"

Actor Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup in the 1992 film A Few Good Men.

10. "I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, debating Republican Dan Quayle in Omaha on Oct. 5, 1988.

11. "Just say no."

Nancy Reagan's anti-drug campaign slogan, 1983.

12. "I want to focus on my salad."

Martha Stewart, June 25, 2002, on CBS' The Early Show, when questioned about the probe into her stock dealings.

13. "Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?"

Former Labor secretary Raymond Donovan, May 25, 1987, after being acquitted of fraud charges.

14. "Keep hope alive."

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, July 19, 1988, in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

15. "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."

President Bush, Sept. 14, 2001, addressing police, firefighters and rescue workers at Ground Zero.

16. "My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

Vice President Cheney, March 16, 2003, on NBC's Meet the Press, describing how Iraqis will react when U.S. troops topple Saddam Hussein.

17. "One more thing."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, 1999. He uses the phrase before unveiling products such as the iMac and iPod at computer shows.

18. "Don't give up. Don't ever give up. "

Former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano, March 4, 1993, accepting an ESPY Award shortly before he died of cancer.

19. "It takes a village to raise a child."

Hillary Rodham Clinton in her 1996 book, borrowing from an African proverb.

20. "I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl."

Russ Grimm, 1984, a Washington Redskin who ended his career as a player with three Super Bowl rings.

21. "You gotta fight for your right to party. "

The Beastie Boys, 1986, in the song Fight For Your Right.

22. "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"

Rodney King, May 1, 1992, after the acquittal of Los Angeles police in his beating trial sparked widespread rioting.

23. "Where's the beef?"

Wendy's TV commercial, 1984, later used by Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale to ridicule opponent Gary Hart.

24. "I can't deny the fact that you like me! Right now, you like me!"

Sally Field, March 25, 1985,. accepting the Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart.

25. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Jerry Seinfeld, Feb. 11, 1993, in the episode The Outing, later used whenever a gay character was discussed on the show.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

pet food recall

A real mess. For more info...

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

old college pic

This is USM's snare line in 1987, I think. Snare drummers left to right are:

Joe Sullivan, Carroll Hardin (me), Derrick Cole, Ricky Hamilton, Jay Kerrick, Robbie Johnson, Walter Walker

Johnny Carson on "Late Night"

Larry "Bud" Melman and Phil Collins

hot towels at the bus station

courtesy of Larry "Bud" Melman!

Staples Copy Cat

Hilarimous!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Andrea Bocelli

Why do people think he's an opera singer? I can sing opera, but that doesn't make me an opera singer.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Supertrapp slip-ons

They sound nice...real low and rumbly! Here's a picture:

Supertrapp slip-on exhaust

ITIL certification

I passed it, though by not as much as I thought I had...I think I ended up basically with a grade of C...29/40. Blah, but at least it's over with!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

R.I.P., Larry Bud!

From Time magazine:

"Not long after David Letterman discovered him in a student film, Calvert DeForest, reinvented as Larry (Bud) Melman, introduced the comic's first-ever late-night show on NBC in 1982. The earnest ex-file clerk went on to become Dave's fumbling, inadvertently hilarious lucky charm. Before retiring in 2003, he covered the 1994 Olympics in Norway, mock hawked products like Toast on a Stick, and greeted tourists with hot towlels in New York City's seedy Port Authority bus terminal. He was 85."

profound cartoon

By one of my favorite cartoonists, Roz Chast:

I've looked at obituaries and thought about how close in age so many who've died are to my parents' ages.