| Happy Festivus Everyone! |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|07:42 pm] |
"And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, 'Happy Festivus to All! And to all a Good Nighte!'" -- CC Moore |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|02:24 pm] |
"The Twelve Days of Pirate Christmas" by Brian Bella by way of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) wilwheaton , yes, THAT Wil Wheaton
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... 12 ships to plunder, 11 cannons firing, 10 crewmen leaping, 9 sharks a' swimming, 8 rum-filled bottles, 7 lusty wenches, 6 jolly rogers, 5 gold doubloons, 4 eyepatches, 3 earrings, 2 wooden legs, and a parrot for my shoulder - Arrr!
I could have used this two weeks ago. I was at a Pirate-themed SCA Yule party. -- Dagonell
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| That Was The Weekend That Was |
[Dec. 22nd, 2009|06:52 pm] |
The Easterm storm completely missed us. We got Christmas Card dusting Monday morning.
Saturday was the usual errand running. A few weekends back, I cleared most of the furniture out of the old Buffalo house. This weekend, I moved three large bookcases upstairs to the east wing of the library. Yes, the upstairs of our Victorian era farmhouse is nearly wall to wall, floor to ceiling books. Also got a chance to do some candle work. Finished off one novelty candle, and created two custom candles for our feast gear basket. Due to 4 dentist visits and 2 vet visits and city hall dunning us for work we didn't ask for, we were a little short of cash this week, so we didn't go grocery shopping. We'll just have to survive off what we have in the freezer and pantry. Broiled steaks, mediterranean veggie medley and cold beer... we'll manage.
Sunday was the Winter Celebration services at my UU church. We covered Christmas, Hannukah, and Soltice. I brought the dog so he could join everyone in the hall after services, but there were too many people, he was getting too excited and not listening to my commands, so I cut his visit short and he sat it out in the car. Got more work done on the puppet stage, it's coming along nicely.
Monday A few weeks back, someone broke into our old house in Buffalo. There's nothing left there to steal. Our idiot neighbor thought she would help us out and called City Hall to board up the door. They charged us $120 for 3 sheets of plywood. Payable this week or they foreclose on the house... Christmas week. And a Merry Christmas to you too, Ebenezer! We decided to close out the credit union account of a place I worked at ten years ago. I came into Buffalo early, went to the old company, and got recognized as soon as I walked in the door. Who remembers former employees from ten years back?!?! Withdrew the cash, closed the account and headed for City Hall. It's easy to give money to the government, right? I didn't have the original bill and I got sent all over the place trying to get a copy to pay it. I thought I saw someone I recognized working there, then suddenly realized that I had attended her funeral three years ago, it couldn't be her, but my ghod did it look like her! To work ontime. Didn't pay.
Tuesday. Christmas cards finally finished. Found the original bill. Spent all of 17 minutes in City Hall taking care of it. Stopped by the library for a pair of graphic novels that came recommended. We're getting 15-20 min between callers today. Finished both books before lunch. I'm stocking my desk drawer, Thursday is going to be utterly utterly dead around here. |
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| Happy Holidays |
[Dec. 22nd, 2009|10:44 am] |
A belated Happy Solstice to all!
I heard this song on NHPR's Folk Show the other day and thought I would share. Before the song, John McCutcheon talked about how he was touring in Europe (it must have been the late eighties at the time). He said that for quite a few shows, there would be a small group of old German men who would attend the concert, then leave immediately after the show. One night, he caught up with them and asked what was going on. They said that they were here for this song. Because they were there and people thought they were crazy when they told the story of what happened that night. But his song proved that it really did occur.
Christmas in the Trenches
More on the story and lyrics.
On less happy ground, my grandfather is not doing well. He may not make it to Christmas, though after losing his wife almost two years ago, he has told us that he is ready to go and not to grieve for him. He's also 99 years old. Please send any good thoughts or prayers his way today. |
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| Da Magic of Da Movies and Telebisshen |
[Dec. 18th, 2009|04:26 pm] |
Last month, Buffalo was 'host' to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The police were paid $63K in overtime to secure a 3-block radius and keep away people who didn't belong on the set... like the folks who actually live and work in the neighborhood. The episode will be aired January 24th. When it airs, don't ask yourself "I wonder if they really enjoy their home." Ask yourself, "I wonder where they live now." There's a for sale sign on the front lawn. Good luck selling it. It's an 'op-art' version of all the homes around it. I think it's ugly. It's also much more expensive than the homes around it. Anyone who can pay those taxes, isn't going to want to live in that neighborhood. This is, apparently, a not uncommon problem. The house is re-assessed for a much higher tax rate which the owners cannot afford (If they're not struggling, they're not eligible for the show). So these folks come in, disrupt a neighborhood, leave an already struggling family homeless, and move on. They're not responsible for the consequences of their actions, they "meant well". Two words that can trigger me to rage. A demand that people not be held responsible for their actions. It's "The End Justifies the Means", only they didn't pull off what they were attempting. Arrogance AND incompetance.
Apparently, we still haven't learned the lesson here. Keanu Reeves is in Buffalo to film "Henry's Crime" a man wanted for a crime he did not commit (while trailing a one-armed man, building chicken cannons and containing the creature within) So, that the few remaining Buffaloians that still have jobs don't inconvienence Mister Movie Star, they shut down all the streets and all public transportation in Buffalo for three days!
We were discussing new movies at work. I asked what Avatar was about and got a long-winded answer from one of our movie buffs which my supervisor neatly summed up; "So, it's Last of the Mohicans with smurfs instead of Indians!" |
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| Fantasy Supreme Court |
[Dec. 17th, 2009|09:39 pm] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) liamstliam for the link!
It's the Fantasy Supreme Court game.
League Rules
NB. Because this is the inaugural season of FantasySCOTUS.net, the rules may be subject to change. But as avid followers of the Supreme Court, you should have no problem with rules that are modified frequently.
Here are the basic rules. For each case the Supreme Court grants Cert, you will predict
* The Outcome: Affirm or Reverse the lower Court. You will receive 1 point for predicting the outcome correctly.
* The Split: 5/4, 6/3, 7/2, 8/1, 9/0, or 4-1-4 , or Fragmented (no discernible majority opinion). You will receive 3 points for predicting the split.
* Which Justices are in the Majority and which are in the Minority. You will receive 1 point for each Justice correctly guessed. No points for recusals.
For example, in in the mock case of Bosh v. Gure, you predict
* Affirm the lower Court
* 5/4 Split
* Majority- Roberts, Alito, Kennedy, Thomas, and Scalia
* Minority- Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer,and Sotomayor
The Court resolves the case as follows:
* Affirm the lower Court (You get 1 Point)
* 5/4 Split (You get 3 Points)
* Majority- Roberts, Alito, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor (You only get 2 points, 1 point each for correctly guessing Roberts and Alito)
* Minority- Stevens, Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia (You only get 1 point for correctly guessing Stevens would dissent)
Total of 7 points.
At the end of the Term, you will be ranked against your fellow Associate Justices, and the winner will receive the venerable title of the Chief Justice of Fantasy SCOTUS. With this title comes some to-be-determined prize, The Golden Gavel Trophy, and a feature on JoshBlogs that you can brag about to all your friends. |
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| Epic menorah is epic. |
[Dec. 16th, 2009|08:38 pm] |
From http://www.evilmadscientist.com:
Joyce and Kaufman sent in this truly fantastic Star Trek Pez LED menorah that they made. Joyce made it last year to hold candles, and this year Kaufman brought it right into the 24th 21st century by mind-melding modding it with one of our Deluxe LED Menorah kits. |
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| That Was The Weekend That Was |
[Dec. 15th, 2009|05:00 pm] |
Last Monday: I used a vacation day, see previous TWTWTW entry for details.
Last Tuesday: Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was 15 min late for work. The first time I've been late since I got hired.
Wednesday: The weather was so bad, I begged my supervisor to let me go early. He let me go at 9PM instead of 10:30PM. The closer I got to home, the worse the weather got. I got home by 10:30. By 11:15 it was total whiteout.
Thursday: Blizzard. I90 closed. Whiteout conditions. I called in, used a sick day. Spent the day straightening the spare bedroom. It's been months since we had a overnight guest, and we've been using the bed as just another storage shelf. :) There's an old joke, that you can't die until you finish all the projects you started, the average SCAdian will live forever. I'm no exception. :) Also spent some time straightening my puppet storage area. There's a small cubbyhole under one set of stairs where I keep my puppet supplies. When I had one box of puppets and a take down stage there was plenty of room. A dozen rod puppet plays, two marionettes, a large bag of glove puppets and multiple boxes of parts, props and materials later, it's starting to get a bit tight. :)
Friday: More blizzard. The I90 is open, but I can't get to it. The skyway is closed. Not a good sign. Used another sick day. Delftwood posted that their Yule was going to be Pirates and Gaming. For me, this is like chocolate and peanut butter, two great things that go great together. I desperately (des-pirate-ly? :D) wanted to go. I had hoped to drive on Friday to my MIL, crash on the couch and then attend the event on Sat. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men, my MIL was coming home from Hawaii that weekend. My BIL decided it was a great idea to drop her off at my house Friday night and I could drive her home on Sat before going to the event. He is either crazier or braver than I am, he drove thru the blizzard to drop her off at our house late Friday night. Dinner was roast beef slow roasted with carrots, onion, potatoes and a full bottle of honey mustard salad dressing. My BIL said it was the best roast he ever had. We only had one guest room, so he drove on to Buffalo (in the blizzard!) to crash at his son's house. This is the shortest workweek I've ever had at this job; Mon off for vacation, Tues 15 min late, Wed left 1.5 hours early, Thurs & Fri, call in sick due to weather; a total of 14.25 hours worked.
Saturday: It's decent driving weather. We discover Mom left her purse in BIL's car, we have to make arrangements to meet him before he leaves for Pittsburgh. Since we're spending the weekend in Syracuse, we have to take the dog. So I have to get myself, my wife, my MIL, the dog, my MIL's hawaiian luggage in a compact car. If I want to take something to the event like, feast gear or garb, hey, the glove compartment is still empty. I didn't have room to take mead for the brewing contest, or any of the games I wanted to bring, or much of anything else. By the time I got my MIL and my wife dropped off, and made it to the event, it was 5PM. Troll was closed, I changed, and walked into the main hall just in time to hear the gamesmaster being called into court to announce the winners of the gaming. I missed all the nautical classes as well. :( It was time to set up for feast. I found an empty seat next to Solveig. Feast was wildly inconsistent. Dishes were either Yum or Yuck! Da menu: First Volley: Cream of Asparagus soup (yuck), Roast Pork with Apple/Leek sauce (Yum), Cheese & Mushroom Tart (Yum), Orange Sorbetto (so-so); Second Volley: Rice Soup (Yuck, warm watery rice pudding), Chicken with Fruit (Yum), Eggplant (Yuck), Cinnamon Clove Tart (Yuck, brunt black crust), Macarons (Yum), Candied Fruit Peels (Yum). I performed Pirate Alphabet after several gentles had already done several pirate songs. There were exactly four people there whom I could address by name, I swear half the hall knew who I was.
Sunday: A long visit with MIL and a leisurely drive home. Spent the afternoon in a hot bath, soaking the cold out of my bones. It rained, there's no sign of all the snow that hammered us for two days. We had leftover roast and leftover lentil stew, so we diced up the roast, dumped it all into a large pot, added a few more fridge leftovers. It looked ugly, but it was good, hot and filling.
Monday: Up far too early because our cat has a vet appointment. Naturally, he escapes to the attic. Did I mention I live in a 140 year old Victorian farm-house? Do you know how many hiding places there are? We call to cancel the appointment. Quick shopping trip after work to stock up on cat and dog food.
Tuesday: This time we caught him! Good news, paw is healing, he's putting some weight on it. Wound is less than pinkie finger nail in width. Bad news: it should have completely healed by now. If it's not completely healed by next week, it's going to need an X-ray to make sure there's nothing in there. Refills on his antibiotics and pain meds. |
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