I know this is wrong

To be blogging while in the mountains, but I've got three bars and I just have to let you know that we're pretty sure a mountain lion was trying to sneak up behind us while we were sitting at the campfire just now. At least, it was some sort of large critter with a white face and forward facing eyes... so between me and my friend else we've got three guns, an axe, and a big D-cell mag light... but we were in tents...

Photodump for yesterday: Grand Mesa

We had real good timing with this, last weekend was "Color Sunday," where everyone goes up on top of the Grand Mesa to look at the changing colors. Being just a few days behind was probably even better.

The top of the Mesa is above 10,000 feet; it was kinda freaking out my Montana friend that we were higher than the tallest peaks in Glacier NP but didn't feel like we were on top of a mountain (until you get to the edge and look down).

Today we're planning on hitting up the local museum in the morning and then hitting the road down to Ouray to go camping for a couple nights. So, just so I don't wind up like that moron from North Carolina who followed Aaron Ralston's lead, we're going to Ouray, and if you don't hear back from from me by, say, Monday, then it's time to start the search parties.

Photodump for yesterday: Colorado National Monument

Ute Canyon

The Coke Ovens

Kissing Couple

Independence Monument

Pretty neat place, a big hit with my Montana friend. My pass will work for a week so we may go back and hike some of the canyons.

Math--no longer absolute

If you ever thought that, perhaps, 2+2 doesn't equal "4," but actually equals "the social injustice of poor inner-city students who would excel if only they had someone who would stop trying to teach them math but who would be supportive and believe in them," then Prof. Mondo brings news of an exciting new development in math education!  Really, explore that link, and then tell me what planet we're on now, where this is even an issue.  I shared it with a friend of mine, the one I play minecraft with and who built his own 3-D printer, and who I really think is the smartest person I know, and he said:

"My brain hurts now. Someone is using logic that I can't even parse because they're assuming to be false what I had taken to be axiomatic. I can't even figure out where they're wrong because the totality is so contradictory.

No, wait. Yes I can.

IT'S MATH. IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG. NONE OF THIS SUBJECTIVE CRAP."

Can I get an amen?

Oh, look

A moron was impressed by another moron and went and impersonated him, nearly down to the last detail, only missing what limb he broke.

"I was so impressed with Aaron Ralston's story, the way he went into the desert and didn't tell anyone and nearly died. I'm going to do the same thing."

I would say that he could have gone one step further and amputated something important, but it appears he already amputated his brain prior to the hike.

My faith in humanity just died a little bit more.

I'm Back and I'm Going Again

Had a pretty good time in Denver over the weekend, despite it being Denver.  The traffic was atrocious and there were "medical" marijuana stores on every block, there were jillions of people everywhere, and I still don't understand the appeal.  However, my friends and I, being the wild and crazy guys that we are, visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Downtown Aquarium (I hope to get a few of my pictures up eventually), saw Captain America at the $2 theater, and watched half a season of Futurama.  What a birthday for my friend! 

But now I've got another friend coming down from Montana today, so I've got to get a good day of work in before I go and goof off for another week.  We're hoping to get a few good hikes in and maybe a few days of camping.  Posting may be light, but then again, it may not.  We'll see what happens.

Three Years Ago

Hey dad. I'm really glad you were mine. Looks like you got out of here in the nick of time.

See you again someday...

Into the belly of the beast

Today is my friend's birthday, so me and my friend the history major are going to go and visit him over the weekend.  The problem:  he lives in Denver, so that is where we must go.  A more wretched hive of scum and villainy has not been seen this far west until you hit Sunny CA, or this far east until Chicago. Seriously, it's the only place in CO with any semblance of a traditional gun ban.

Wish me luck. (And to keep up with the Star Wars references) "You're gonna need it."

Oh, and they have already had to close I-70 a bit because of accidents caused by ice (with which, I remind you, I have a proven history), so wish me luck there, as well.

Quote of the Insult

What with all the gunbloggers contracting out and selling their services in the artistic spectrum, I wonder if there is a demand for colorful, yet [relatively] clean insults?  Because I'm pretty sure Borepatch could make a living with quality like this:

Progressives are a bunch of thieving, hypocritical  bastards that couldn't tell their asses from a hole in the ground because they're so blinded by their Moloch ideology that they will prostitute their body and soul for a cheap tumble in the sack with any old pretty Progressive face, as long as he flatters their sense of Moral Righteousness™.

They're so slutty and easy.

I like a good insult, where your opponent, in all likelihood, has to look up what you are referring to.

And while I'm at it, you really ought to read what it is that caused all this ranting. Chilling stuff.  Evil exists, and when it is state sponsored... well, do you know where your line is drawn?

Another Air Show Disaster

The pilot at low level had no control over his aircraft. It narrowly missed the crowd
gathered for the air show and slammed into four buildings. One can only imagine the horror of the occupants inside those buildings.

The following photo of the accident in progress may be something that those of the weak of heart look away for:

(Oh the humanity!)

(From an email I got.  I'm not above stealing those things, you know. )

Speaking of awesomesauce...

Sriracha on cole slaw. Thank me later.

What 5 gallons of tomatoes looks like when condensed down into awesomesauce

My uncle has what is known in "The Biz" as a "metric crap ton" of tomato plants (maybe a quarter acre or so), and he recently "gifted" us (or more like "assaulted" us) with a five gallon bucket of tomatoes. Does he know that we have our own garden? Yes. Does he care that we have our own garden? No.

But, as the old saying goes, when life gives you a surplus of tomatoes, you cook 'em down into condensed awesomesauce!

That's 5 jars of homemade ketchup, or catsup, I suppose ('sup, cat?) and 5 jars of homemade barbeque sauce. All canned up proper and ready to sustain us in case the zombie uprising happens this winter!

Awwwwww yeahhhhhhh!

Stealing from work

Well, OK, "stealing" is probably a little harsh. What I'm actually doing is dumpster diving from work.

This is what I found:

No idea if it works or not; I'd guess not as it was out in the rain and such. But it ought to have all sorts of gears and motors and such on the inside, and be fun to take apart...

Another Mantis

This one was inside, and I have no idea how it got there. I put it out on the trumpet vine I'm trying to start:

Hopefully it will make it out to the garden somewhere and eat lots of bad bugs.

Good Quote

"...freedom is a delicate and subtle gift, easily perverted and often squandered."

From Eugene Peterson's introduction to Galatians in his Message paraphrase.

Books of 2011: Dragaera

You probably thought that I've given up reading, haven't you? Actually, I've just been waiting for an opportune moment! to strike! This one was important to me.

...

Let me ask you: can you tell a who is a Steven Brust fanboi by looking at this picture?

With Vlad Taltos:

Included in The Book of Jhereg: Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla
Included in The Book of Taltos: Taltos and Phoenix
Included in The Book of Athyra: Athyra and Orca
Dragon
Issola
Dzur
Jhegaala
Iorich
Tiassa (the only one not in the picture, as I got it from the library and don't own it yet)

The Khaavren Romances:

The Phoenix Guards
Five Hundred Years After
The Viscount of Adrilankha, which includes The Paths of the Dead, The Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode

And The Brokedown Palace standalone

...

What do I say about some universe that I own nearly all of the books of? How do I sum up something that I enjoy so much and try to make you interested in it? Well, here goes nothing...

Dragaera is a world with two main races, humans, who are actually humans, but called easterners by the dragaerans (because they come from the east), and dragaerans, who call themselves humans, but who the humans call elves (and who come from The Empire. say it with the capital letters). Oh, and one more thing, dragaerans live several thousand years, while easterners are just regular humans. Did any of that make sense? Anyway, as a swashbuckler fantasy, there are swords and magic and Halls of the Gods and much buckle swashing. That's the setting.

So then in the Vlad Taltos series, we follow an easterner named Vlad Talos, who through a series of foolish moves by his father, is also a citizen of The Empire and a member of one of the Dragaeran houses, of which there are 17, and which are all named after some animal of Dragaera. Specifically, though, Vlad is a member of the only house that cares more about money than appearances, House Jhereg, which is sort of the organized crime syndicate of The Empire. As an easterner, Vlad has learned how to use "witchcraft," and has a familiar named Loiosh, who is a smartass Jhereg (which are small flying scavenger lizards, not dragons) and as a citizen of The Empire is also able to use dragaeran "sorcery" which is more of the traditional fatasy magic. Vlad is a small time boss in the organization, and on the side is a pretty good assassin. Much hijinks and witty dialogue ensue, etc, etc.

In the Khaavren Romances, we follow a character who is only briefly mentioned  in the Vlad novels, Lord Khaavren, who at the time of the Vlad novels is the Empress's head of the Guard.  The Khaavren Romances, however, written in the verbose form of Alexandre Dumas, take place somewhere around 1000 years in the past from Vlad, and follow Khaavren's rise to fame through the fall and rebirth of The Empire during its 17th Phoenix cycle (it's complicated).  I know that the wordy style can be an acquired taste, but I find it really funny.  These are very swashbuckly, and it's fun to see some ot the characters you've gotten used to from the Vlad series written in a completely different style.

The Brokedown Palace is completely separate story, set in the East during a time of change for the Kingdom of Fenario.  It is really hard to explain.  Just be sure that you read this one after you've got some of the other ones under your belt, or else you will miss about a thousand foreshadowings and references.  Many theories abound at when it takes place in relation to the Vlad stories, and how certain other characters are related to Vlad and his acquaintances.

And that brings me right in to one of the best things about Steven Brust's Dragaera stories.  Everything--and I mean EVERYTHING--is connected and related.  Vlad starts to explain a story in book and decides not to finish, and you wonder what happened, and then three books later he finishes it.  Or a small object mentioned in passing becomes a major plot item many years down the story line.  And it's all the more amazing considering that the first novel was first published in 1983!  I have no idea how Mr. Brust keeps all the details straight in his head, or even how he keeps them in his head.  And it's even more amazing on top of that that the stories are written all out of order.

So there you have it, one of my absolute favorites.  I highly recommend that you go out and search them down.

Self Preservation Society

I watched The Italian Job over the weekend. This song has been stuck in my head ever since.

Cross your fingers

I'm going to attempt to make bread again.

Here's hoping it doesn't involve blisters this time.

You learn something new every day

Did you know that you can use a regular old crock pot to melt down the sulfur capping compound used to test compressive strength of concrete cylinders? We've got three out there just bubbling away in a brimstone flavored haze (ok, not really a haze, but it sounds cooler than "it stinks"). I keep wanting to go out there with a witch's hat and start reciting Shakespeare...

1 year ago

One year ago on the 20th of September I first held in my hand a little card that gave me permission from the overlords that I could carry a loaded handgun whilst going about my life. I think there have only been 5 or 6 days since that I haven't taken advantage of it at some point during the day (I couldn't bring a gun to school or any restaurant that served alcohol while I was in MT, and I couldn't bring a gun with me when I flew to WY for a job interview--thanks overlords for your random and capricious rules).

In the past year I have not murdered anyone over a parking space, forced a waiter to bring me more drinks, or threatened a professor to give me good grades. And that's even with the disadvantage that as of this writing I am 23 years old and apparently can't show sound judgement because my brain isn't fully developed yet.

I make Sarah Brady and Collin Goddard cry just by breathing. And, though I do not need a reason to want to exercise my God-given rights, when someone asks me why I carry, isn't that enough?

This is what happens when your engineer divides by zero

You flush a lake down a 14-inch hole:



As Red Green always says "That's what we call a setback."

(note: due to a misunderstanding with the internet gnomes, this post first went up yesterday. I didn't want it to go up yesterday, so I had to have some harsh words with them. I assure you that the problem gnome has been dealt with, and the management would like you to know that today's prices are 50% off as an apology.)

What I learned today

I learned that attempting to write like a pirate is harder than it looks. And according to Sean there's a bunch of "rules" that people don't follow, such as "Avast means stop." As in "Avast ye clueless landlubbers, always talkin' like a pirate incorrectly!"

So yes, I'll stop now.

Ahoy! Here there be knife memes

Cap'n Weer'd Beard brings news of an exciting meme, one that cuts deep near me black heart. "What is it" ask ye? It be "Whip out whatever pocket knife be in yer pantaloon pockets!" How could I resist such a meme?

What ye see here be me wee Kershaw--as fine a folder as ye ever did see. This item I looted from a sporting goods store in the cold land of Montana back when I was but a wet behind the ears lowly college crewman. It has served me well in the past five years, as faithful a servant as can be found! What be in yer pocket?

Destruction in the High 'Dobe

Ahoy, me hearties! I been thinkin' of me firearms experience from yesterday, and decided to show ye all some photos of a scurvy tin can that looked at me wrong!

Between this fine selection o' dealers o' death and destruction, the menace was swiftly dealt with!

Yarrr! Let that be a lesson to ye! Cap'n bluesun's justice be swiftly dealt!

Yarrrr!

Avast! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Arrr, in case ye scurvy sea dogs cannot figure it out, I be repostin' this instructional video:



To all ye sea dogs and scurvy wenches out there on the seven seas of the internet, I be expectin' compliance! There be no slackers on this here weblog!

A random song for no reason

I guess there is a reason. "I like it."



And really, if you don't like Johnny Cash, no matter what your normal musical preferences are, something's not right in your head.

Owie Update

Remember my burned fingers last week?  Well, apparently I haven't had enough Gin because the blister on my index finger still looks like this:

Not bad, eh?

And here I am contemplating making more bread...

Hungarian Ammo?

Just wondering if anyone out in the wide wide world of the interwebs had any experience with this Hungarian ammo--branded  MFS.  Cabela's was running a sale and the .38 special was kinda ridiculously cheap (about half as expensive as the next one up), so I bought a few boxes just to have.  Their (rather poorly translated) website is here, which seems like any other (rather poorly translated) foreign ammo manufacturer website. 

And, by the way, at the bottom of that link--what the heck is an "Alarm Cartridge"? Like a blank, or what? "Stop, criminal, or else I will make a very large noise that will alarm the neighborhood to your nefarious purposes!"

A Bit of the Hip Hop for Borepatch

My longtime viewer(s?) (and old pal Googlebot!) may be aware that one of my favorite musicians out there is John Reuben Zappin (good grief, I ought to have a devoted label) (and does anyone else think that maybe these parenthetical notes are getting a little bit out of hand?). Yesterday Borepatch had a rap song up that was somewhat Shakespearean, so I thought I'd share a John Reuben song whose scenes are taken from the pages of scripture:



We've got Daniel, Sampson, and Elisha (complete with a killer bear!) (there's another one--sheesh).

What fun!

Dear Robo Opinion Poll

When you redial right away and won't go away when I hang up on you, I will answer and then leave you sitting on the counter while I go into another room and do something I want to do.  How likely am I to vote in the upcoming elections?  YOU. WILL. NEVER. KNOW.  And because of your attitude, now I am mocking you on the internet!  Googlebot will never be your friend now!

MUAHAHAHAHA!

Free money?

Prof. Mondo reports a rather insulting (to me, anyway) petition he's seen going around "calling for the government to forgive all outstanding student loan debt."

I wonder, if some ivy-league libtard brainwashed student who is in debt, say, $200,000 and who can only get a job at Micky-D's, gets their loan forgiven, does that mean that I can get my roughly $9,000 in student loans forgiven and a check for $191,000?  I mean, it's only fair, right? No?

So my American Dream is to pay for your silver platter huh? Morons. YOU MADE YOUR BED, NOW GO THE HELL TO SLEEP.  Or better yet, think about ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOUR OWN FOOLISH LIFE CHOICES.

As the good Professor says, higher education right now is a bubble, and bubbles will pop.  You can either take it like a man, or take it like a... Greek man.

Might as well just report me to attackwatch.com

 

I wonder if the different watch lists I'm probably on cancel each other out?

Things that give me a perverse sense of joy

Passing the white-haired hippies in the Toyota Prius Mk I with the back plastered in "Make peace, not war" bumper-stickers in my much larger pickup truck with the "Peace through superior firepower" sticker.

I take whatever that is awesome you have seen today and raise it by the power of LEGO

Proud winner of today's "T-T-T-ToooOOO Much! Time On My HaaaAAAnds!" award:



43280 parts. 180 pounds. Made entirely out of LEGO's, no superglue no internal frame.\

Wow. Just, wow.

Because Graphics Matter

Graphics are a quick and easy way to see how different numbers relate to each other. And because good ones deserve to be as widespread as possible, from Linoge at Walls of the City (do you see that link? Some people apparently find that too hard to do. Really, it's easy. It's so easy that I can do it again here. Or even a third time! Really, a good fair use policy can be summed up as "DON'T BE A DOUCHE" but even that appears to be difficult for some) comes this lovely little chart:

Because I'm lazy, here also are the conclusions Linoge comes to:

1. The hypothesis of "more guns = more deaths" is demonstrably false over the past 28 years of documented American history. The number of firearms in civilian circulation have been steadily increasing over that time period, and the number of firearm-related fatalities has not been equivalently increasing. However, again, since there seems to be some confusion on the concept, proving "more guns = more deaths" to be false does not prove "more guns = fewer deaths" to be true. Doing so would require accounting for far more variables than I did, and involve far more interesting math than I employed, and require controlling for far more variables than I care to.
2. When comparing raw numbers, there is a weak, negative correlation between the number of firearms in America and the number of firearm-related fatalities, and that correlation seems to become more negative with additional data.
3. When comparing rates, there is a strong, negative correlation between the number of firearms per person in America and the number of firearm-related fatalities per person, and that correlation seems to become more negative with additional data.

"More guns" causes "more gun deaths"?  That's what the lying liars at the Brady Campaign keep saying.  But when you consider what an idiotic and insensitive concept "Gun Death" is to begin with (why is a woman killed by her ex-boyfriend with a gun more important than if he killed her with his bare hands?), and how often it is that what Anti-rights cultists paint as a "good boy who just snapped" is actually a repeat offender with a long list of felonies to his name, who is out on the street (again) as a plea bargain when he should be locked up for life, you have to wonder why those who push for more gun control are trying to take away my rights.

Come and get them.  I dare ya'.

Blast from the 90's

Do you remember this song?



And this next statement will, statistically speaking, make you feel older when I say it: I was 9 years old when it first hit the airwaves. My best friend sang a parody of this song at our (I think it was) 4th grade talent show.

I am on a roll

Caught another squirrel! Apparently eggplant and peanut butter works just as good as old baked beans. You learn something new every day.

Now it's time to go and swath and bale the lawn (yes, it is that bad). Woohoo!

Added: oh yeah, that brings up the Dead Varmint Count to 5 skunks, 5 coons, and 3 squirrels.

A random photo of a dog

We had just emptied a bag of dog food, and it was sitting at the back door to go out to the trash. You turn around, and then suddenly the dog is in the bag licking out the very dregs:

He really likes to eat, much more than the other one.

An old favorite

About faulty memories and random TMBG lyrics cleverness.



How many 60's culture references can you catch?

Squirrel Attack!

Well, a bunch of squirrels have set up shop in the neighborhood, and at least one of them has been gnawing on random produce in the garden and digging under the foundations of the sheds out back. This of course meant... TIME TO SET UP THE TRAP!

The trap was tripped yesterday, but nothing was caught, so I reset it, this time baiting it with leftover backed beans, which must have been just what the Dr. ordered because there was a dead squirrel waiting for me when I got home from work. They must go into a panic attack and give themselves a heart attack when they're trapped. Which is nice from my end of things, don't have to find a gun or anything.

So now the Dead Varmint Count for the summer stands at 5 skunks, 5 raccoons, and 2 squirrels.

Added: I was just going out the door, and I saw another one! Why o why don't I carry my 10/22 around with me?

Added added: Trap reset with peanut butter on eggplant. Maybe I can get 2 in one day!

Mainstream Gadsden

Seen at local Big Box Store O' Doom in the auto section:

Last Mag Zombie Songs

Who am I to dispute any sort of internet meme involving music?  This one, first seen from Tam, is "As you load your last mag into your chosen weapon, what song comes up your MP3 player/IPOD?"

So "Epic Comeback After Moral Dilemma From Killing Zombies Who Were People You Knew" (oddly specific? not in a zombie movie) song would probably be Back in the Saddle from Aerosmith:


And "They're All Dead, Dave. They're All Dead. You're The Only Human Left" song would be the choral version of Barber's Adagio For Strings:

(film going in slow motion, of course) (not to change the subject but Homeworld is the BEST GAME EVARH)

For all other purposes, you can't go wrong with Take Me Away from BÖC:

(General purpose Epic Music!)

And if you want a most interesting variety of music, from the hardcore to the ridiculous, you really should go to that link and read the comments. There are some very strange people out there--but you already knew that if you are reading this blog.

Oh how far the mighty have fallen

I saw a bumper sticker on a little truck as I came home from work today.  It said: "I am pro-choice for... lightbulbs" and had a CFL on one side and a regular incandescent on the other.

That one bumper sticker summed up so much of what's wrong right now.

Owie

I was attempting to make some bread yesterday, in the style New Jovian Thunderbolt showed via a video here, but with my sourdough starter instead of the instant yeast. All seemed to be going well, until I proved that it is possible to be dumber than you look and went and grabbed the lid of the hot dutch oven with my bare fingers.

5 seconds of 500 degrees and you have some fine fingér du bluesun steamed in it's own juices:

That's my clicking finger, no less. Here's for a painful week at work!

Then, to add insult to injury, I lost track of the bread and burnt it, too. It was still really good... if you scraped off all the blackened parts. I think I'm finally approaching a recipe that is what I want, but the execution is... lacking.

Quote of the day

I fear my government more than I do any goat humping terrorist. I’d fear the terrorist more if he were here to help me instead.
--Robb Allen

Amen.  The greatest threat to our traditional liberties and way of life over the past 10 years was our own government.  And if you don't believe me, I've got some radioactive farmland for sale on Barrayar for sale.

Latest Pandora Find

Band called "Waldeck"



It's simple and ominous, and I like it.

September 11, 2008

They put my dad on the vent.  Never came off of it.

This is a really sucky date.

Ten Years Gone

So much has changed, so much has been lost.

So little has it changed, so little has been gained.

Mantis

It was perched up high on the side of the (white) garage; not an ideal place to pretend at being a stick. I put it down in the tomato plants, maybe it can get some of bugs in there for us.

...9-10-11

Oh no, make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

If it has a tune, and makes me laugh, it goes into a blog post

Rotate. Your. Owl.

Solve the Inflation Issue!

Thus the dread and powerful Czar of Muscovy used his powers to discover what Little Timmy Geitner and his Funhouse Pals are thinking up to reduce our monetary supply! 

I particularly applaud the ingenuity of these two:

Have a contest on the White House lawn, and see which kid can tear up the most hundred dollar bills in two hours. Invite like a million kids, and intentionally forget to set the timer.

(fun for the whole family!)

and

Announce that you’re paying for a wedding. Nobody knows where the hell all that money goes, but it seems to totally disappear.

(just coming off of attending two weddings a few weeks back, this one seemed particularly effective!)

All hail the Czar, and may he always use his powers for awesome!

Marketing FAIL

A lady just came in the door of the office trying to sell something.  She then saw the view...

...and said, slightly peevishly, "I'm guessing you don't have any need for janitorial services?" Then she walked out the door.

Some people.

It was bound to happen eventually

Some hippies' "medical" drugs were stolen by masked thugs armed with "AK47's".

If you want to deal with this stuff, you'd better have the resources to defend yourself against people with a long vested interest in it.

You Can't Win

Last night I went to bed an hour earlier than usual. This morning I woke up two hours earlier than usual. I just got to work 15 minutes earlier than usual.

Where did all that other time go?

Edumacational

You want to know why only 40% of kids in the school district here were above proficient in, well, anything?

Back to school savings in VIDEO GAMES? 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Oh, and I clicked on it, just to see if they were all educational games or something marginally related to school.  We had such intellectually stimulating items as "Modern Warfare 2," "Sims 3 Deluxe," and "LEGO Harry Potter."

I give up.  All you old farts are going to die and I'm going to have to deal with these kids some day.  It's going to be like herding cats... who have ADD... and are strung out on pharmaceutical stimulants...  and who think that a full day of work consists of 5 hours on facebook and 3 hours playing little games on the internet that consist of clicking on shiny shiny flashing lights.  I might as well dig a bunker and seal myself in for 50 years right the hell now, and come out after everyone's Miranda-ed themselves. 

What a joke.  I don't want to know the punchline.

My favorite Daft Punk video

I seem to have waken up rather early today, so what else to do but go in search of a creepy music video for you?



I think the Chucky doll is even scarier without its skin.

Tonight's agenda

Off to one of the brew pubs (beer battered fish and chips again, or a steak?) then off to see the US Navy band at the old theater downtown. Should be a good time!

September 8th--a permit is born

Something else that happened on September the 8th--a little plastic CHP card was printed with my name on it, though it didn't reach me in MT until the 20th (they really stretched the "90 days or more" on their time frame with me). I'll probably say something more in depth then, but I just wanted to let my five readers and googlebot know.

Happy Birthday Star Trek!

The original master of the technobabble turns 45 today!

Something else to put on the list to dream about

I know, I know, the whole bullpup concept is kinda ridiculous, but the J Bunting Machine Ruger 10/22 bullpup stock is pretty much the coolest thing ever. I really like the angular industrial look of it, rather than the swoopy look that most bullpups have--the swoopiness just seems like it's trying too hard. I'd like to know how the trigger feels to this thing, as that is the complaint most people have with bullpups. So many guns on the list, so little disposable income...

First seen at The Firearm Blog.

Overheard on the Radio

An advertisement on ye local solar powered community radio station--I can't remember the specifics but I think you'll understand why it stood out: "...the Annual Happy Valley Pagan Festival to be held at Suchandsuch Park; admission is a non-perishable canned food item which will be donated to Catholic Outreach Homeless Soup Kitchen..."

Huh?  That one made me giggle a little bit.

Arachnaphobia, I hope you don't have it

Right out the back door, on top of the swamp cooler:

This picture was taken a couple days ago; the spider has since caught at least one more bug this size, and its abdomen is probably about twice that diameter now.

Can spiders pop?

This one goes out to BobG

Who said that he likes all music except disco and rap.



I'm not a very nice person.

What is it?

Hint: look at the labels.

Added:  Ok, here it is from the top

It's a Black Krim.  It looks almost like it's rotten, or under ripe on the outside and over ripe on the inside, but when you cut it open, the dark red, almost purple interior has very few seeds, is tender, meaty, and juicy, and tastes wonderful.  A great conversation piece, and a great heirloom tomato.

L-A-A-A-A-M-E

Sales tax in Colorado for online orders from REI.com. Lame...

Musics

Weer'd had a post up last night about electronic music, which got me thinking about my music and why I like it (short answer--"I don't know why"). But then I decided to look up what had the most plays in Windows Media Player right now--these are my top 5 bands, and the links go to a video of one of their songs that I've posted in the past:

Infected Mushroom (some weird Israeli subgenre of trance)
Chumbawamba (anarcho-punk)
Project 86 (christian metal)
Bonobo (like, downtempo jazz techno, or something)
Muse (paranoid brit-pop/rock)

Keep in mind this is only through WMP--if I could put in the CD's I listen to Massive Attack would probably be in there, as well as Jimmy Buffett and Gaelic Storm.  And I'm not sure if you can wear out an MP3 file, but I was up to 50-60 plays of Family Force 5 on my old old computer before I gave it to my brother.  If we were to go far back to my childhood, Yes and They Might Be Giants would be the only thing on the list.  For a real variety of randomnosity, just click though my music label for a little while.  You'll be amazed, horrified, and/or delighted!

Music, to me, is like comfort food.  You might like all sorts of different flavors, and even listen to them quite a bit.  But when it comes right down to it, there's a few good meals that you could probably eat every day and not get tired of humming along (mixing my metaphors pretty thick, there).

So now I want to ask you, the viewer, both what are your favorite bands and genres, and what do you listen to the most?

Must be Autumn

We haven't had to turn on the swamp cooler till the afternoon for the past few days, and at night I actually appreciate having my wool blanket on my bed.  The corn in the garden is turning yellow and drying up, the tomatoes are coming on like a storm, and if it's not fall then it's getting close.  Probably be able to wear shorts for another month and a half, but it will probably be time to put away the sandals sooner than that. 

It's weird, though, this past summer we only had three days where we broke 100 (usually we get strings of weeks at a time), and it seemed to never dry out all that much.  It was actually kinda nice... do I have to thank Algor for it, or just take it as a fluke?

A Dark and Stormy Night

Dark N' Stormy, that is.

I got some more Gosling's Black Seal, in case you were wondering.

Cool

Got the new monitor.

I've never had a screen wider than a full size keyboard before--I think I'm going to get lost trying to find everything.

I'm tempted to hook up the 15" CRT as a second monitor, just for the 15-year juxtaposition of technology...

Your Morning Nuttery

A V-8 Powered Barstool:



What would your boss say if you drove up to work on that?

In other news, "Labor" day is gone and now it's back to work. Another full day of tracing contour lines in a CAD program, I expect.

Creepy

Things that are creepy: a restaurant in town here called "The Feedlot."

Things that are creepier: they're advertising something they call "mystery meat special."

Let me suggest you stick to the salad?

Woohoo!

I just saved about 150 bucks by looking through the back of a closet!

I wonder what else is back there?

Tomatoes

Going in the dehydrator. We're going to have a lot of dried tomatoes this year...

A new Pandora discovery

I made a Yello Pandora station and this band, that I really have no idea why it was selected by the Pandora faeries, was showing up in the music rotation. I give you Gotan Project, of the genre of Tango Techno (Tangchno?):

Dagum Skunks

A big one this morning.

My Dead Varmint Count is now up to 5 skunks, 5 raccoons, and 1 squirrel.

Morning

The Cat Came Back

In honor of the pure time wastage that was yesterday:



Must... resist... urge... to post Poptart Cat again!

Oh, and it may be interesting to note that this little video was made with the National Film Board of Canada, just like this (very creepy) one that Prof. Mondo posted yesterday. I swear I didn't plan that.

Math Geek Alert

This is pretty funny. Volumeless Klein Bottles, for real!  Well, 3D representations of them, anyway.  Seriously, if anyone wants to get me a present...

Crazy

Is "Banana Phone" a suitable replacement for Poptart Cat?

Oh, and here it is without the weirdos:

AAAHH!

Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan! Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan!

Oh no.

Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan...

Curse you endless Poptart Cat! Even when you are turned of you stay in my head!

24 Hours of Poptart Cat

Lord have mercy on you; you apparently aren't getting any from me.



Dare ya to take it all the way home!

On the Counter

Civic Duty Fulfilled

It was a criminal trial, with a jury of 12. I didn't get selected; I didn't even get to go up to be questioned.  Out of 70-some-odd people, only about 14 of us didn't get to go up--they were burning through their options! It seemed like most of the people up there were intelligent, informed Americans, from all sorts of backgrounds, and it made me happy to hear, even though I still had to sit around all day and listen to everything.  I found the whole experience very interesting--even if for just being able to see a lawyer in the wild (they seemed to be as advertised by thousands of jokes).  And I got through half of my book.

It still seemed wrong that I had to be completely englandized (stripped of guns, knives, and tools) to participate in something that I am obligated to do as a civic duty.  As Quizikle said in the comments yesterday:  "Criminals have rights.  You don't."

I'm sorry, but I just find this video very funny