Perfect Memorial

After all the half-sunny weekends and rainy weeks, it looks like we are going to have the perfect Memorial Day weekend here in sedate, casual Richmond VA.

Mine has already started with a patriotic free lunch compete with military vets, red, white and blue balloons, and a beautiful woman singing a ballad. And, they let us go early. So, here I am!

My plan is to have a lot of unstructured time when I can do what I wish. So far I've done some weeding and sat in the sun reading junk mail. I have a lot of options and, as usual, more to do than time to do it in. Isn't it lovely!

Well, I'm going back to unstructured time to maybe play with my SL dolly and have tea with friends ... or not.

Current Fads
Listening. Peculiaroso, Leo Kottke and Sixty-six Steps, Leo Kottke; humm of lawn mowers
Watching. The Fifth Element (1997)
Activity. living la vida loca
Gadget. Palm Zire 31
News Source. Google News
Reading. The Highly Sensitive Person's Workbook - Elaine Aron; Living in the Heart - Drunvalo Melchizedek; The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien; Wicca - Vivianne Crowley; junk mail (Yes, I really am reading them all right now—I'm a reading addict. What can I say?)

My Name on the Moon

Yep! My name is going to be on the moon! Woo hoo! And so can yours! Sign up now! It's FREE!

What color is your idea?

Here's mine—inspired, of course, by my favorite place. Pick yours and post the link. Dreaming in color not required ... or maybe it is.

My Second Life

My Second Life

Second Life is a game that simulates a virtual world. In Second Life (SL) you can do everything you can do in Real Life (RL) and more. Actually, you don't do it - your avatar does. An avatar can be everything from a human to an abstract notion, although most are barbies and he-men. Anyone can create a seductive pole dancer or hulking macho biker guy.

SL is wonderland laid out like an ancient map (here there be dragons) on a grid. The place names are whimsical (Delphi Vistano), realistic (Frankfurt Nord), esoteric (Gourdnak) and commercial (Freebie Heaven). You can wander down a re-creation of The Beatles era Liverpool and drop into the Cavern Club. Visit NASA and wander through a historical exhibition of space vehicles. Browse art created by a RL geisha in training. Some universities have SL-based courses. Yep. Go to college. Play a game. Get graded. Graduate. You can attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous or participate in a guided imagery circle meditation. You are limited only by your imagination, server lag and the amount of time you can keep your keister in a chair.

Flying is my favorite thing to do (much like in a dream except you don't have to put your arms out like superman or do that heavy air swimming thing). And then there's the dancing. I'm happy teleporting around playing the free game and doing free stuff (there's plenty of it). Others run their own sims (locations), have private islands and do and wear the best that money can buy. This interactive simulation is always on. At any given time there are around 47,000 participants. Over a million users have signed up. You can meet players from all over the world.

There are tons of interest groups (you're only allowed to join 25). There is an active community creating blogs and sites that focus on SL while linking it to RL. So, you can be offline while online. You can try something in SL you wouldn't dream of doing in RL. Musicians have gotten started this way. Some perform only in SL.

What else you find in SL? Eternal life, as in no one ever dies. Drink all you want and never get drunk. There are money trees where you can pluck free Lindens (the SL currency named after SL's founders). And, yes, free sex, heavy armory and animals that will eat you (if you like that sort of thing).

The catch is that you need a high end computer and high speed internet access to play. Really. That's it. Go play.

My Chemical Romance

American Chemical Society: home of Molecule of the Week. This week: Cryptoxanthin with structure "identical to that of β-carotene except that it has a hydroxyl group" (but of course you knew that). I wish they had a little widget for my blog.

Check out the lead story: "Relax with a Radical." Just what I need. The site is available in 7 languages (including English). Wow! I love hanging out with chemists. I don't want to be one, just hang out and sort of listen over their shoulder. I'm looking for a graphic design and/or writing gig with a chemical company. Let me know if you hear of anything. I am, basically, interested in working with any scientific research-based company. I just love those freaky scientists. They do the most interesting things and are so creative.

In the 90s I had a brief temp job at ICI at the research facility in New Jersey where they fool around with foam. The lab manager actually took me on a private tour to show me what they do and I got to meet the top researcher. He was a pleasant loner who often hung out at the lunch table with the technicians. He showed me a bit of what he was doing. Such a nice guy. I often saw him walking around campus clutching a sheaf of papers and smoking a pipe. One of the technicians told me he had no idea why this researcher hung out at his table because they just talked about basic chemistry stuff. (They also laughed a lot.) Reminded me of Einstein's comment that he got some of his best ideas talking to children.

When I told my onsite ICI manager that I was interested in research, she transferred me to a physics lab with a spare computer where I did whatever it was I was doing at the time (not physics, I can tell you that). However, I was too shy to ask what all the machines were for. I settled for sneaking looks at the operators and wondering what the heck they were doing. It looked so cool. Every now and then someone would bring in rigid foam samples and the team would do things to them with the machines. All just like in high school science class with notebooks and everything. Talk about applied knowledge!

Perhaps that's what I love so much about science. It's where creativity meets applied knowledge.

Remember now! If you hear of any artist/writer jobs at a science company, hook me up!

Virginia is for Dogs

While checking out Boom Your Brand (long load time) I found this hilarious ad. Nothing like a good laugh first thing in the morning. Worth a visit if you have the time. Very sixties. They also share some interesting opinions about boomers (mostly why you need to sell them stuff).

Channeling the Big Bands

Here's A Taste of Nate doing a low key cool impression of Louis Armstrong although the band prefers Duke Ellington and I can see that, too. Go back to the lush 40s and hear what it was all about with the 40s Oldies Channel on AOL Radio. Why be chronologically challenged?

Season of the Pumpkin

Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween although that's one of their more enjoyable uses. Well, pumpkin pies are tasty, too. One year I actually went to the trouble of saving the carved out pumpkin and making pies with it. Another year I tried to make my own roasted pumpkin seeds. It was an interesting experiment but I highly recommend you buy them instead. Another year I got the little pie pumpkins. It's all the same. Pumpkin is pumpkin and it's all good.

Recycling is important with left over pumpkins. Don't let them sit on your front porch collapsing into gooey masses and attracting flies. Colorado and Ireland are particularly interested in seeing you properly recycle them. Just be sure you remove the seeds before you throw them on the compost heap or you'll have a boat load of vines next summer. The vines are quite attractive, especially as they cover up the rotting compost. However, you'll find yourself opening a pumpkin stand if you're not careful!

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without a pumpkin pie. I love it. I could eat it all year round. On my journeys around the world I discovered that there's nothing as American as pumpkin pie, even though here in the US of A the saying is "apple pie." Apple pie is actually not an American preserve. It's a self deception we live with every day. In Lebanon they make some tasty pumpkin items (for St. Barbara's Day if I remember correctly) but only in American do we make the pies. Or maybe it should be "There's nothing as American as sweet potato pie." But that's another story.

overheard at lunch

"You can definitely backspace in life." Young man to young woman while "renegotiating" their relationship. So that's what they call it now. What about rebooting?

I am Spock!

Yet another silly quiz.

The Amazing Googly Ball and other toys

Today I spent just over $3.99 (on sale!) for a Googly ball. It's a lot of fun. It warms up to body temperature and is about the size of a toy dog – lap dog without the dog! You can blow it up and googly doesn't mind. Happy little googly! I'm so attached to it already. I'm thinking of naming it Googly Bear (Mike Wazowski!). Such a lovely tactile experience. Very soothing for nervous fingers. It comes in other glowing colors but I decided to go all out and get the most obnoxious color there.

Other Toys
At the beginning of the summer I found this solar pool ball in some cheap store. I keep it on the deck in a notch of the stairs. It's comforting to have it out there. Sort of reminds me of Daisy's pier in The Great Gatsby. Not that I'm Daisy or have a pier or even that anyone except maybe the guy who lives across the alleyway can see it. Oh! And that atrocious dog-hating fellow next door. Anyway – I enjoy glancing outside and seeing it glowing. I'm wondering how long it will last and how it will look in the snow.

I've been confettied! It jumped into the keyboard but I'm pretty sure I got it all out. I even accidentally ate some when it got into my lunch. And my home smells like a head shop thanks to stanky KISS incense. Then there's the nice hogmother and child postcard and almost totally useless back issues of Fortune magazine. When my daughter changed her address, Fortune were the only people who thought she meant me and she hasn't lived with me for nearly two years! It took a month for us to figure out that my magazines were going to her. She was not amused when I inquired into the details of how she filled in the form. Mea culpa. I am a wretched Mom after all. It's my job. So, here's the care package from Kathleen with all the goods.

Moms just wanna have fuh-un!

be a part of the art

Anyone can participate. I'm especially drawn by assignment #63 make an encouraging banner and #52 write the phone call you wish you could have. Twice I've decided I'll stop in at CVS to pick up some construction paper (for #63) and have not done it. Third time's the charm, right? I'm also writing #52 in my head. It's a bit embarassing but I like it.

Current Fads
Listening. Echo Echo, Carbon Leaf and When Things Fall Apart Pema Chodron; crickets
Watching. Death in Paradise (2006)
Activity. not editing my novel and relaxing
Gadget. iPod Shuffle 2nd Gen
News Source. the news feeds in Safari
Reading. Stone Cold - Robert B. Parker; A Wish Can Change Your LIfe - Gahl Sasson and Steve Weinstein; The Schwarzbein Principle: II - Diana Schwarzbein; Mediaweek; Mensa Bulletin (Yes, I really am reading them all right now—I'm a reading addict. What can I say?)

My iTunes Purchases

Wow! This is a great widget! Forgot to mention you can choose from three sizes and five color schemes. Love this one. I hope you will, too!

If I had to define my taste, I'd say "eclectic." And you?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - some spoilers

I finished reading the book around 2 pm on Sunday. Wow! I waited until 4 pm to call my daughter so I could be relatively sure she had finished, too. Surprise! She had finished at 2 am, being still able to stay up all night. A thing I could no longer do at the tender age of 22.

Today at work I mentioned I had spent the weekend reading the final HP book and my manager asked me who died. She really wanted to know. She doesn't read the books but she wanted to know. So I told her, hoping she wouldn't spoil it for those who do read the books. As I was listing the dead, I noticed that at least one member of each genetic group died: politically correct dying (or killing). Also, it's not possible to get a sense of the books just from knowing who died. One character doesn't totally die. You kind of have to be there.

You can't really get a sense of the stories when I mention that the books have witches, wizards, werewolves, ghosts, elves, goblins and humans because the definition of each group isn't what you would expect. Neither is the application of the cultures. The list also leaves out Rowlings' fabulous plot twists, gadget inventions and original games. And you don't get to know her intriguing and entertaining characters.

So, READ THE BOOKS!! heh heh

Reading Book 7 - no spoilers

My book was delivered by a delightful postman at around 11:00 am this morning. I was still finishing off book 6 (for the second time) and cursorily finished it hitting only the bits I couldn't really remember. So I actually started reading around, oh, 11:45? I am now on page 388 (Chapter 20) and appear to be half-way through. Damn book must be nearly 900 pages long!!! I have irrational fears of spoilers jumping out at me and a likewise irrational urge to run to the grocery store (where the book is on sale) or the corner convenience store (where it is not). I'm reading mostly inside but it's such a heavenly day I read outside for about 2 hours.

Back to the shadows ...

rat•a•too•eeeeeeee!

What a fun show! And what great blogger swag. A personal video player!

Have you seen it yet? I saw it with closed captioning. I didn't even know they did that.

If I were a kid, I'd definitely be getting my Mom to buy the Little Chef outfit for me and wearing it until way after Halloween.

25% Zombie Proof!

25%

I'm just too nice and I'm not into guns and quite possibly I should shoot first and ask questions later. And, come to think of it, I have absolutely no zombie experience what so ever.

My Favorite Men

For those of you keen on knowing which actors and other famous men I would consider dating, here's the list. Now, not saying I'm ready to do more than have a first date, mind you. There is no regard for marital status. Here they are in no particular order.

• Viggo Mortensen Artist and poet, good looking, enjoys horses but he smokes. Still I would give him a shot. Especially if the date involved listening to him read his poetry. His acting surprises me. He's unpredictable and very private. Somehow I feel like only I have the key. Intriguing. Ah, sweet mystery!
• Paul McCartney You know I've always had it for The Beatles. And this one is available now, isn't he? A bit too much of a showman for me. I'm afraid I'd never know his secrets. Still, it just one date and I bet it would be fabulous. Especially if he showed me round his studio and played a bunch of instruments. I'd love to talk music.
• Harrison Ford Kind, considerate, collaborative, creative, handsome - what's not to like? I've enjoyed every role he's ever played. My favorites are Indiana Jones and Deckard. This man is deep but open.
• Pierce Brosnan This one had me from "Hello." One look on the small screen was all it took. He was robbed of his full Bond turn - too little, too late. And they hid his greatest asset, his smile.
• Bernard Hill Such rugged good looks and so healthy in an outdoors way. Here's a guy who means what he says and is firm but understanding - a rock. Also, great with horses. Just watch the documentary showing him "getting used to" his horse for LOTR. No doubt who and who's horse was in charge there.
• Nicolas Cage The word "fey" was invented for this man. It was "Moonstruck" that did it for me. Looks good in "National Treasure", too. His voice has such a wide range of expression. Being with him would be quite the ride.
• Hugh Grant This one is on the young end. However, having seen him in "Music and Lyrics" I can see he has the level of maturity I require. It's the posh voice, you know. Also, he must be a real nice guy when he can throw baked beans and everyone thinks its justified.
• Hugh Jackman Just a date. That's all. Nothing serious. He's a bit young but he might do. I think I would just sit and drool. A talented actor who can play some really strong quirky characters very well. I'd like to hear him talk about his acting career.
• Val Kilmer I couldn't take my eyes off of him in "Willow." Didn't recognize him in the next show I saw. Again, just a date. Just to have a conversation. I have a feeling I wouldn't be able to keep up but I would learn a lot.
• Arnold Schwartzenegger Married, I know. But I'm so attracted to Germans. Okay, I know he's Swiss. Same thing. Sort of. Gentle giant. Forget the politics.
• Jeff Bridges A guy who will keep secrets. Sensitive. Lovely voice. Knocked me out in "Starman." He's so comfortable with feelings and very deep.
• Bruce Willis It was "Die Hard" and "The Fifth Element" and then he showed his sensitive side in "The Sixth Sense." And I lived in New Jersey for a year. Somehow that makes us neighbors. Yeah, I guess he is sort of the guy next door, the one that drinks beer and has all the guys over for football.

Back in the saddle again ...

 out where everyone's your friend, and the vegetables are so green you can ... oh, sorry. I am after proving yet again that I am totally daft. NaNoWriMo wasn't enough. I am now an instant screenwriter. As I write this, I am up to 1366 words. I was out earlier getting inspiration. Do you know that most of the alternative art galleries in Richmond are closed on Sundays? I ended up at Art Works. Not bad but I would have prefered something a tad more professional. Always gets me going.

Once again I am finding that having a clear goal really focuses my mind. All sorts of things are easier to do, like clean the windows and blog. I also get real eager to socialize. At least I'm writing in between. It is so nice to feel virtuous doing research watching movies and reading scripts. heh heh

That list of mature male movie stars I would like to date and the review of my new water heater will just have to wait.

Why I Love Bing

No, not Bing Crosby, Stanley Bing. That man with the best bull sh** job in the universe. He is a brand and a product. How much better could it be?

Here's just one example of why I love Bing. And, the chart shows why Bing is needed most of all on Friday afternoons.

Another is the sanctity he bestows on all bloggers. I'm ready for that huge book advance ...

funny bunnies

Go on! Look! You know you want to ...

iPod Puzzle Box

I got my new iPod shuffle. This, together with my recent G4 CPU upgrade to 1 GHz, is bringing me slowly but surely into the 21st century. Hey! Can't just jump in all at once. Mainly because it will take me about 10 years to figure out how to open the boxes.

I've seen pictures of the shuffle. Thought I knew how small it is. Well, the pod comes in a box about the size of a pack of cigarettes or a card game. Small. And the shuffle is smaller than that. I had mine engraved. I need a magnifying glass (almost!) to read the engraving.

Anyway, back to the box. I had to put my glasses on to figure out how to open the clear case. After trying various opening strategies (pushing, pulling, sliding, looking for the hinged side) and trying to find the tape (there was none), I noticed this very pale gray circular arrow, like the kind that might signify "replay." I saw that it was actually on a clear piece of plastic. Pulling on the plastic (in the direction of the arrow, of course) freed one end of the box completely. After that, it was a simple pull to get the cover to swing back. Okay.

Next step. Figure out how to get the pod out of the box. After finishing a rather lengthy marvel (which had started from the moment I saw the pod through the case), I noticed clear tabs apparently holding the pod down to a false bottom. After gently trying to extricate the tabs I finally gave a frustrated yank and the whole thing, pod, tabs, and a false bottom, came out of the case. Then it was easy to turn over the white cardboard false bottom and remove the tabs. Pod freed!!

The rest of the puzzle was easily solved by opening two white cardboard doors to the rest of the case. Inside was all the paraphernalia. Knowing how nifty new Apple stuff is I eagerly turned on the pod and saw the light come on. According to the booklet it was fully charged. So I plugged in the earphones and hit >. I was hoping for a nice message from Steve, like "Welcome to your new iPod and thanks for choosing Apple." or some such thing. After all, when you buy a new Apple computer you get a snazzy welcome screen and usually a short movie the first time you turn it on. No such luck with the iPod. Rats.

I have to say I have missed a lot in the music I've listened to using my home stereo speakers or the car stereo. Even listening from the computer with headphones, I have lost a lot of detail (high notes, subtle sounds) that I can now hear with my pod. And that's a lot.

Side Note: There is no help topic, either on my computer or the Apple site, that tells you how to open the case. I must be the only with issues. My iPod was FedExed directly from China. It's a little weird but fun to see it being shipped to me the night before I ordered it. The engraving apparently doesn't actually take 24-48 hours. Must be the mini-writing.

Totally Off Topic: I'm really glad to see that Mr. Mortensen has actually signed his entire name to a post on "In Other Words." Way to go VM! Also, I had no idea this anti-war thing was so massive. I wrote a bit about it in my other blog.

p.s. - You try typing iPod 15 times and see how many times you abbreviate it!
p.p.s. - This pod holds 240 songs! That's about 24 albums. In the four years I've been buying iTunes music I've only purchased 355 songs. Basically, removing the TV shows, videos, electronic booklets, etc. I could put everything I've bought on the iPod shuffle. I've no idea what I would do with a larger pod. Listen by album I suppose. ...

3 Happy Things (catch up post)

Last Friday started off as an ordinary day, albeit a Friday. But then I found 3 happy things.

The first happy thing was finding that Google has fun, easy and useful tools that are sort of like Dashboard on the Mac. The best is Reader. Back in the day when everyone was all hepped up about news aggregators I got bored. I don't need more "who killed who recently" stuff in my head, thank you. But when you tell me I can now put all the interesting stuff I like to keep up with into one place and not have to search it out anymore and it will automatically show up. Well, that's a whole other ball game. Not only that, but if I think of some topic or event I'd like to track, I can type it into a search field and a list of very likely players shows up. Then it's just a click to add it to my reading list. Woo hoo!

The second happy thing was finding Nestea Diet Peach Flavored Green Tea. In my perennial search for liquids that taste good but aren't boring I've tried a lot of "interesting" fluids. Nestea's Green Tea is actually good and doesn't have a surfeit of mysterious ingredients so I can feel pretty good about drinking it. To celebrate I looked up the Nestea site. It's refreshing, lovely and gratifying to find a site that not only works but is everything a site should be. Do you like tea? Here are recipes with tea (including one I intend to try out soon), downloads, an easy-to-navigate listing of products and a way to tell friends without launching an email package.

Which brought me to my third happy thing. While making a Nestea download my desktop art, I discovered that all those nifty colors that I personally mix trying to get my desktop color just right can be saved so I can use them again! This is great news for anyone like me who's favorite color can change daily (albeit from a limited palette). See those little blank squares under the color sliders? You drag the color you've made in the big rectangle to one of the tiny squares and the color is saved so you can use it again. I love Apple!

Gosh. I should have run right out and got a lottery ticket. Maybe today.

Happy Birthday to Me (yesterday)

For those of you too shy to enter your birthday in those online profiles, you might want to reconsider. I put my birthday right in those fill-in forms with reckless abandon. Because of that I got online birthday cards from my insurance agent (animated) and Pepsi (flash with music and the option to run it again with another character or to mail to a friend). I got an email greeting from Mensa and a free 11-card Tarot reading from Tarot.com. Woo hoo!

Back From the Sun

Had a lovely vacation in sunny Orlando. You will note that the city advertises as sunny Orlando not warm Orlando. It was 57 one day but eventually reached 77 by the end of the week. Today it's back to 57. Apparently it's colder than usual but not less sunny. I feel much less frantic about the arrival of spring now. I've been there and it's lovely.

Best of 2006

Here they are in the order (mostly) that I thought of them.
Searching: Google Still.
New Find: What to Rent If this site were a man I'd be married. Never have I known a stranger to understand my moods so well. Of course, it helps that I know my moods. Using this tool has made them bigger than life. I see more clearly what is me and what isn't me. Great service. The down side is finding the movies. But I'm surviving some how.
Best Way to Waste Time: 43things Who doesn't like sharing their preferences? I got lost in this web for 4 hours one day before I realized what I was doing. It's endless.
Advice: Tarot They nailed last year. I'm giving them another shot.
Place to Watch a TV Show: abc
Personal Service With Purchase: Perceval Press Viggo I'll never forget you.
Movie Site: Over the Hedge Stamps and games and posters, oh my!
Site That Changed My Life: NaNoWriMo Going from a wanna be to a be is a life-changing event. Kinda like the year I trained my first dog. It makes everything else more possible and me happier. What it's all about isn't it?
Innovative Site: Zeit Genossen (time enjoyed) Totally fresh. Check it out.
Answers: wikipedia Best revolution, also. Wiki wiki wiki. I don't care about the behind the scenes stuff. I think encyclopedias have always been that way.
News: The Beeb (BBC) Not just news. Background info, great related sites, photos, video, explanatory drawings. Unbelievable.
Best Way to Learn German: Tagesschau Video Podcast You even get the weather.
Podcast: Wait! Wait! Don't tell me! Makes time at work just fly by.
Lamest Thingy: Avatars on Yahoo! Okay. Okay. I'm just upset because they don't offer mature images. And I mean that age-wise. I was young. It was nice. I'm over it.

Current Fads
Listening. my iMix/Playlist My Favorite Love Songs From the Library (unpublished) 45 songs, 2.9 hours, 266 MB; whooshing of central heating
Watching. High Fidelity (2000)
Activity. sleeping and waking up
Gadget. thumb drive
News Source. BBC News Widget
Reading. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist –M. C. Beaton; The Art of Fiction –John Gardner; The Erotic Spirit: An Anthology of Poems of Sensuality, Love and Longing –Sam Hamill (editor); A Wish Can Change Your Life –Gail Sasson and Steve Weinstein; The Wisdom of No Escape –Pema Chodron; 1001 Pearls of Wisdom –David Ross; Wired; MacWorld; Fortune (Yes, I really am reading them all right now—I'm a reading addict. What can I say?)

breaking out with movies

Wow. I'm ready to order up that radical hair cut. All because of a movie.

I went to what to rent and decided to put a little excitement into my head. The first selections they offered me were too tame (and I had seen one of them) so I went back to the mood meter, reselected "a lot different from my normal taste" and then slid the bar farther away from "... won't impact you deeply" and about one third of the way to "... the movie may be incredibly depressing." What I got was The Rock. I agreed to watch it and was it ever exciting. This reminds me of the time I learned how to ride coasters. I started with the Scooby Doo coaster and graduated (slowly) to the most scary ride in the park, in front with my hands up. I'm thinking if I keep this up I'll be able to watch movies that are "totally opposite of my normal taste" and "challenging film festival ... incredibly depressing."

Wait. Does this mean that the point is to do that? Am I the only one who sees it as a challenge to select the far end of the scale? To boldly go into the land of opposites?

Interesting is that this movie is the type my last ex loved to watch. So, perhaps it might be a good pre-marital test to select movies based on the what-to-rent algorithm. Find out something about your intended and yourself. You may think renting a movie is not a good indicator, but wait until you've been together 14 years and it's winter and you're broke and you've got nothing to do. It's a little different then isn't it?

What to rent claims they know what they're doing with the LaBarrie theory. But I think they're only finding out what sorts of moods and personalities they can accurately prescribe for. Of the 11 movies they've recommended for me so far, I've watched three. I liked two and hated one. Not bad for the three I've watched so far and they claim they get better with feedback. Yeah. Time will tell.

Whoa! Next thing you know I'm reading up about algorithms!

A Letter To Santa Claus

Dear Santa Claus,

It has been brought to my attention by one of our operatives that you have secured for yourself, and your interests, a very lucrative position in the toy and game industry. Normally, my associates and I would not involve ourselves in child-exploitation schemes such as yours. However, it is quite clear to us that you have over-stepped your bounds and are coming into my family’s territories. That I cannot let you do.

Mr. Claus, we’ve known each other for many years, and we have no problem with your operations in the North Pole. But, uh, Consuela tells me that you have expanded your deliveries to the entire south side, most of the north side, and everywhere but the Jewish neighborhoods.

I understand, Mr. Kringle, that you and I share many interests. We both make lists. We both know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice. Have I mentioned, that, uh, red is also my favorite color? This year when you make your rounds, I hope you’ll take time stop by the house for a cup of coffee and some cookies, so that, uh, we can discuss an offer I know you can’t refuse. I know how much you like cookies. I am sure you will do this thing I ask out of respect, but I would be remiss if I did not remind you of the tragic demise of our mutual friend and confidant, Frosty T. Snowman. I regret that it was necessary to teach Frosty a lesson.

Sincerely, and with warmest wishes for you and the lovely Mrs. Claus,

Don

P.S. It would be most unfortunate for you to wake up one morning to find the heads of eight tiny reindeers in bed with you. I am sure you are a reasonable man, and that this will not be necessary.

on the air down the pipes

This is why I am the alien drifter. I was forced to download Firefox so that I could get video suggestions from "What to Rent." The first movie they recommended didn't work for me although from the outset it seemed like it would. They ask weird questions which they claim is a better way to find out my mood. Mood apparently is the basis for movie choices. They also claim that people watch movies as if they were watching real people. Are we going back to Aristotle? I'm really not interested in all my entertainment being a catharsis. Sometimes I just like to have fun.

Anyway, I've discovered Firefox. It works great. It fakes Internet Exploder better than Safari and it does things that my old G4 can only dream about. Basically it takes the best of IE and Safari and combines them in a very good way. I'm wondering why Firefox can do this on my old G4 with OS 10.3 when Safari needs a new Mac and updated version of Safari. I also wonder why iTunes is keeping up with new developments that let my G4 pretend it's a new iMac. Not that I'm complaining. Okay. I guess all development can't be equal. I'm a mom. I understand you can't treat all your children equally.

Speaking of fun (and the reason for the title of this entry) you can now have more of what I'm looking for, TV on demand, through Firefox. My limited system is very good at letting the commercials through. (Commercials always work. Has anyone noticed that?) Firefox lets it all through. Some smart people are making Firefox. Thank you! I love TV on demand. There's nothing more annoying than to sit down in front of the tube and discover the tail end of a good show.

Downloading Firefox was fast, easy and nearly effortless. I had to drag and drop it into my Applications folder. After launching, it found all my Safari personlizations and brought them all over correctly. There were a few preferences I had to tweak (like to open with a blank window instead of my home page) and that was it. Firefox does a great job with Verizon. So take that and stuff it in your electrons, Verizon! You do support Mac!

Current Fads
Listening. Bob Rivers and Twisted Radio, I Am Santa Claus; the hum of electronics
Watching. Galaxy Quest (1999)
Activity. editing my latest novel
Gadget. none
News Source. the news feeds in Firefox
Reading. D is for Deadbeat - Sue Grafton; TheWisdom of No Escape - Pema Chodron; Fortune; assorted Mensa group newsletters.

clothing or entertainment?

Looking for truly original gifts? Need a diversion? Try this. I love the peel on bra, the XXX-rated thongs and the death metal hoodies. Oh, and the tattoo sleeves. Definitely must haves. And to the "My other ride has t**s" shirt I say "My other ride has a d**k." gawd. It's just too early in the morning to be sensible.

On the Edge of the Holidays

Richmond is just a great place to live. I've decided yet again. I started out the evening at Stony Point Fashion Park drinking a $4 cup of Starbucks Peppermint Mocha while watching the children ice skate on the temporary rink. It's not really ice. It's some kind of board painted white that they spray with something. Looks good though. And the kids loved it.

I wandered past and into the shops, most having their doors open. I observed who went into which shops. Men loved the gadget shops, the kitchen shop and the outdoor shops. I listened to them trying to decide what to buy and watched them try out gadgets. The Build-A-Bear shop was really busy, full of children and parents. The bath shops and Victoria's Secret attracted women.

At seven o'clock the magic snow appeared. Quite a crowd gathered. If you go, find a place five minutes before the start and stand under Foot Locker. They have the best snow. Snow glistened on my coat making me smile. As did the families with small children, and there were many. Not to mention a few grandparents. All of the restaurants were full so I decided to return to my neighborhood and visit a favorite Mexican place, Cielto Lindo. I was glad the snow was only magical.

Cielto Lindo has excellent service and surprisingly good food, considering how small it is. The personal service is what makes it special. I tried the sangria, which was very tasty.

Then back home to put together the first fire of the season. Thanks to Isabel I still have tons of wood. As a final touch, iTunes shuffled my varied collection of holiday songs. Lovely.

Does this sound like an ideal evening to you? Let me know. Maybe we can do something like this together.

Song of the Evening:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

single for the holidays

Who says it's bad? When you're single the holiday's just need a little extra planning. Single people don't need the "relax, organize, say no" sort of advice non-singles need. Which is why match.com's happen article is excellent (link above).

I've been meaning for some time to write a tiny treatise on Free Entertainment for Singletons, but I've only got as far as eating alone. Yes. Eating alone. Take along a book or grab a copy of the free newspaper in the cafe. Then sit down next to a table where a conversation is already in progress. Be sure to occasionally flip the pages of whatever you're reading and don't laugh at the jokes you overhear!

Best Entertainment (in decreasing order):

1. Four or more 30-something women (pick up dating tips, who's doing who, etc.)
2. Three or more 25-35 year-old-men (lawyers talk their heads off!)
3. Groups of mixed ages containing both sexes (hear great office gossip and best restaurant reviews)

Worst Entertainment Potential

1. Two businessmen without jackets (serious stuff happening there - they will eye you with great suspicion)
2. Two middle-aged women (ditto)
3. A couple sitting across from each other and leaning forward as they eat (argghh! If only! no amount of page turning will convince them you're not listening)

So, there you have it. Go out. Get free entertainment! And start asking about New Year's Eve parties now!

Your know you are from the Maritimes ...

Good list. Reminds me of Maine, especially the four seasons bit.

Time well spent

Here's a great site that's definitely like nothing you've ever seen before, at least on the web. You may need to wait a few seconds for things to totally load but check it out! Have fun!

and in other news

I've been messing around with Daz 3-D software. I have bought my fair share of extras, including eyes. Yes. Eyes! Here's a sample of artwork made with Daz.

Things to Note: See how the woman, Victoria, is all beautified? She has great luminescent skin and sparkly eyes. The man, Michael, on the other hand has pasty skin and comes with eyes you wouldn't put in an action figure. So I had to buy him eyes and clothes. Maybe you'll notice there are no shoes on his feet, Victoria's costumes come with shoes, Michael's don't. Why is that? I've tweaked Michael's skin, including making a custom skin bump map, and he still looks pasty. And the eyes don't sparkle even though I paid for them. Well, they sparkle in some lights. (Click on the image to zoom in.)

I also bought special morphs for Michael so he can be something besides an extreme male model. However, the morphs mostly make him freaky or old so I'm messing around with those. Victoria is also very Barbie but you can change her a lot more and make her frumpy quite easily.

Daz offers lots of skimpy and exciting clothes for Victoria. Not much for Michael. Hair is pretty hard to get, too. That's why my Michael's hair looks so weird. I did buy what I thought was hair but it turned out to be hair options. I still need to buy the hair. :::sigh:::::