Owlish Mutterings

Idiotrians

Ok, so what supernatural reasons will be put forward as a cause of Kartina?

1) Global Warming. [H/T: The Corner] Or the same thing from Britian. [The Corner]

2) Racist white supremacist American culture. H/T: Boi from Troi

3) The war in Iraq. H/T: DigitalWarfighter.

Foamy the Squirrel

Foamy says most of what I want to say about Hurricane Katrina, with more than a couple of 4 letter words.

H/T: FOC

Carnival of Liberty

This week's Carnival of Liberty is up.

Lots of interesting posts, including several that are religiously themed, which seems new. Check it out.

Carnival of Music

#13 is up at the Bookish Gardener.

It seems really eclectic this week, with a post comparing sports fans to opera fans, a post on the study of music with the dying, this post on singing in daily life, as well as other interesting posts.

I'm hosting next week, so send any possible posts. Thanks.

Hurricane Katrina, Take 4

A quick roundup.

Instapundit has a good list of possible groups you could contribute to, a list of various sites being used to help people get back together, and other news.

He praises the local mainstream media. On the other hand, I agree with Protein Wisdom:

The media, for all the good it does, is partially to blame for the mess—having sensationalized every storm for the last several years to the point where I’m all but certain that many of the people who stayed in the hardest hit areas simply did not believe media reports suggesting this storm was a really REALLY really big deal.

Rocket Jones's niece lived in a place hit by Katrina, and didn't evacuate. He doesn't know if her or her children are safe or even alive. He does know their house is gone. Send him your prayers.

And, we have no idea if the Louisiana Libertarian is alive.

Stay safe, everyone.

Existing items Predicted in SciFi

An interesting list of things here, with quite a few nods to Heinlin. [H/T: Fark].

Included, of course, are Star Trek's personal communicators.

Kids

Two fun stories of kids doing what kids do.

The first from Alien Loves Predator [scroll down]

True story from when I was in 6th grade. One English class, our assignment was to write our own limericks. Of course, I spent the whole period writing filthy, spanky, putrid ones (is there any other kind?) that got under Hillary Clinton's skin, before anyone ever knew who she was. Me and my buddy David snickered at 'em in the back the entire time. As we walked by Ms. Erickson's desk when we were dismissed, I pretended like I was about to hand in my paper, at which David hollered, "YOU'RE REALLY GONNA HAND THOSE IN? WITH ALL THOSE CURSES????" Ms. Erickson was, of course, now verrrry interested in what I'd written....

The second comes from Random Penses, in which his 4 1/2 year old daughter comes up with a lie so complex as to be almost believable. So, yup, when she's 13 he's doomed.

Hurricane Katrina, take 3

Looks like there's a chance New Orleans will get off relatively light, although there is some flooding. Vodkapundit points to some news blogs on the scene.

Update: Ok, I'm sick, I'm dogsitting, I'm bored out of my mind. Fox News had someone walking down Bourbon Street just a little while ago, some water on the road, some windows smashed, lots of roofs likely blown off, but nowhere near the "filling up the fishbowl" nightmare scenario it could have been.

Still lots of wind, going to cause a fair bit more destruction. The DOW is up, presumably because the market was betting New Orleans was going to have the crap beaten out of it.

Vampire:the Masquerade Quiz

You scored as Tremere. You belong to the Tremere bloodline, the sorcerors of the vampire underworld. The Tremere command a terrible power over the blood of others. Many Tremere could pop a human being like a pimple with a wave of their hand. For this reason, many other vampires are wary around these cold, remorseless kin. All their time spent studying, however, has left them severely lacking in the physical department Tremere 75% Brujah 71% Malkavian 67% Gangrel 58% Nosferatu 54% Ventrue 54% Toreador 38% What vampire clan do you belong to? created with QuizFarm.com

Animal Totem Quiz

You scored as Fox. You are the Fox. You are quite intelligent and use it to your advantage. You are a diplomatic person and use that to help your friends in times of crisis, not choosing sides. You are also very patient, waiting for what you want. Dog 92% Wolf 92% Fox 92% Eagle 83% Deer 83% Stag 75% Bear 67% Crow 67% Bull 58% Dragon 58% Salmon 58% Horse 50% Ram 50% Snake 42% Which animal totem best suits you? created with QuizFarm.com

Reformed Pastafarian?

We must improve our communion with the Great Flying Spaghetti Monster. A message has been given: it is lack of Vikings, not lack of pirates, that is responsible for global warming.

I still need a FSM Tshirt.

Firefly Quiz

I'm bored, can you tell?

You scored as Simon, the Doctor. Simon Tam, a former well-to-do young surgeon and bachelor extraordinaire. You gave up everything to help your sister, which I respect. However, you are also pompous and talk too much, which I also respect. Simon, the Doctor 81% First Mate Zoe 56% Captain Malcolm Reynolds 50% Inara, the "Companion" 44% Jayne Cobb, resident bad-ass 44% Wash, the Pilot 44% Shepherd Book 38% Kaylee, the Mechanic 31% RiVER 19% FiREFLY QUIZ created with QuizFarm.com

Xmen Quiz

You scored as Beast. Beast is an intelligent, politcal spokesman for the X-Men. He has a Ph.D in Genetics and is well versed in literature. He may look like a blue fuzzy monster, but deep down he's very benevolent and logical. Powers: Enhanced strength and agility Rogue 85% Beast 85% Wolverine 75% Jean Grey 65% Storm 60% Colossus 60% Iceman 60% Cyclops 60% Nightcrawler 55% Emma Frost 45% Gambit 40% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Random Piercings

You scored as Labret Piercing. You probably intimidate a whole lot of people without really meaning too. If people could just get past the many tattoos, piercings, and sideburns I'm sure they'd love you. Or still be scared, who knows. Labret Piercing 100% Nose Piercing 80% Cartilage Piercing 70% Earlobe Piercing 60% Dirty Piercings 60% Tongue Piercing 60% Belly Button Piercing 40% Nipples 40% Lip Piercing 30% What Piercing Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

RPGers

Via the AnarchAngel:

Hurricane Katrina, Take 2

Ok, so if this hurricane buries New Orleans [ie, the bowl of water effect comes into play, and even if the core of engineers is able to drain it in 6 months, it will never be the same city again] and wrecks untold destruction along the coastline, will there be other effects? Will people move away from the coast? Move to the west coast? Move to places like Galveston with some historic meaning, and on the coast, but slightly less vulnerable to a class 5 hurricane?

Will the media stop treating every tropical storm like the end of the world?

Will this be taken as a sign of impending doom, either by Greens on the left or by people believing in a coming rapture on the right?

Filing Cabinet

Via Not Exactly Rocket Science comes this quiz

I am: a file cabinet Reams and reams of information that just might need to be retrieved and looked up some day, stored in a convenient low-tech form that everybody can read or produce easily.

Hurricane Katrina

Terry Teachout has something of a roundup of hurricane info. H/T: Instapundit.

I've got some family in northern Lousiana, who should be ok. The brother of a friend lives in New Orleans, and he, his wife, and pets have evacuated to Dallas, where my friend lives.

Via Terry comes this 2002 summary of what would happen if a class 5 hurricane hit the city.

Truth Laid Bear

This is just random. I'm getting hits from the TLB topic of "breasts" due to a chicken breast recipe, and the topic of "motorcycles" for this post.

Plus I'm the top linker to a ChickenFriedLife, when I can't remember ever reading anything over there. Cool blog, though.

Which Dr Who

Via De Doc:

You are the First Doctor: Irascible, brusque, and
occasionally condescending and rude. You do not
suffer fools gladly, nor do you harbor any
false modesty about your capabilities. You have
a sharp tongue, though you're first-class
company when you're in a good mood.


Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Speak Like a Pirate Day

Ogre reminds us that September 19 is coming soon. That is, of course, Speak Like a Pirate Day. Aaargh!

In celebration of this fine event, everyone needs a pirate name. So go get one. Mine is:

My pirate name is:

Dirty John Bonney

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Since the text wasn't working with Netscape, here it is: You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

St Arnold's Pub Crawl Octoberfest

Quite a few hits for this today. So yes, there is a pub crawl tonight. Unfortunately, I'm sick enough that I'm not going.

Instructions:

6:00 We'll park in Shepherd Plaza and look for a place on Sandman to start. There is also parking on the roof of the Plaza. This is encouraged.
7:00 We'll walk across Shepherd Plaza to the west, jog down Greenbriar to Norfolk and go along Norfolk until we find someplace to quench our thirst.
8:00 Head north to Portsmouth, go east until we find another nice place for a pint. There should be two spots (one of which might face Richmond) from which to choose to quench your thirst.
9:00 Return to Shepherd Plaza for the final stop.

Sorry, I usually go with a couple of guys who know all the bars in Houston, I don't know which specific bars these are. It's usually fairly obvious though.

A Republican in Hollywood

A screenwriter has outed himself as a Republican. Read the article, see just how deep the disconnect is between Hollywood and the real world:

Further, I was lectured that I was anti-Islamic and my screenplay proved it because most of my Islamic characters were terrorists. I tried to calmly and rationally explain that it was Islamic terrorists who sawed off Daniel Pearl's head; Islamic terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers; Islamic terrorists who blew up the USS Cole; and Islamic terrorists who routinely butcher Israeli men, women and children.

H/T: GayPatriot.

Now I Understand

God's career retrospective.

H/T: LlamaButchers.

Life

Via Mean Ol Meany:

How You Life Your Life

You have a good sense of self control and hate to show weakness. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

Carnival of Recipes

CalTechGirl is hosting this week, got check it out.

I really hate chickpeas, but hummus can be good.

Chicken in peanut curry sauce. Sounds tasty.

Spaghetti squash with roma, sundried tomato pesto, and pine nuts. I'm not a vegetarian, so I'd want some meat with it as a main dish; maybe shrimp?

Worried about hurricanes? Not any more!

56 Questions

Via LDH, who got it from Chicken Little:

Unique
1. Nervous habits? Humming.
2. Are you double jointed? No
3. Can you roll your tongue? No
4. Can you raise one eyebrow at a time? Yes. Either one, left is easier.
5. Can you blow spit bubbles? No
6. Can you cross your eyes? Yes
7. Tattoos? Not yet.
8. Piercing? No
9. Do you make your bed daily? Yeah right. Nope

Clothes
10. Which shoe goes on first? Right
11. Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? No
12. On the average, how much money do you carry? For privacy reasons, I tend to pay cash. I probably average 40$, start thinking about finding an ATM at 15 or so.
13. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? Nothing. And ladies, wearing long dangly earrings to bed is just asking to have the pierce hole ripped open. Correcting that with plastic surgery is close to impossible.
14. Favorite piece of clothing? Generally, knit collarless shirts. Specifically, my black smooth elephant skin cowboy boots. Replaced the soles on them at least 3 times.

Food
15. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? Twirl. So at least 50% of the time I'll get at least a spot of spaghetti sauce on my shirt.
16. Have you ever eaten Spam? Yup. It makes a pretty good camping food, if you arn't doing the "carry only freeze dried stuff" camping experience.
17. Do you use extra salt on your food? Rarely
18. How many cereals in your cabinet? One
19. What's your favorite beverage? Non-alcoholic: IBC root beer. I rarely drink it though. I've been buying diet sodas for home consumption, usually either Diet Cherry Coke or Diet Mountain Dew. Alcoholic: Margarita. Alcoholic when I'm looking to tie one on: Wild Turkey and Coke.
20. What's your favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bell, unless General Joe's Chopstix counts.
21. Do you cook? Yes, sometimes.

Grooming
22. How often do you brush your teeth? Always in the AM, sometimes before bed.
23. Hair drying method. Air dry.
24. Have you ever colored/highlighted your hair? Never.

Manners
25. Do you swear? Sometimes.
26. Do you ever spit? Almost never.

Favorite
27. Animal. Owl, of course.
28. Food. Ice cream, preferably with lots of stuff inside. Like Blue Bell Fudge Brownie Nut, for example.
29. Month. December, probably.
30. Day. Saturday.
31. Cartoon. If allowing anime, Orphen. If not [and maybe even if] Invader Zim.
32. Shoe brand. Eh. No.
33. Subject in school. Hmm. In high school, the class I did best at was probably math; I probably enjoyed Shakespeare the most [I had a semester elective senior year]. College? Favorite? Probably Ethics.
34. Color. Earth tones.
35. Sport. The last sport I enjoyed watching was wrestling [ok, sports entertainment]. As a participant, archery.
36. TV shows. Sometimes Queer Eye, sometimes stuff on SciFi. Firefly rocks.
37. Thing to do in the spring. Dunno.
38. Thing to do in the summer. Eat lots of homegrown tomatos. Avoid the tourist hoard.
39. Thing to do in the autumn. Dunno.
40. Thing to do in the winter. Get ready for Christmas, then Mardi Gras.

In and around
41. In the CD player. John Mellencamp “The Best That I Can Do”
42. Person you talk most on the phone with. My parents.
43. Reading. Blood of Mystery, Mark Anthony.
44. Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows / mirrors? No
45. What color is your bedroom? White walls, wooden furniture.
46. Do you use an alarm clock? No
47. Window seat or aisle? Window, I like watching the takeoff and landing.

Dumb
48. What's your sleeping position? On either side, 2 pillows. Sometimes on my stomach, never on my back.
49. Even in hot weather do you use a blanket. No, are you nuts?
50. Do you snore? Yeah, not as much as before though.
51. Do you sleepwalk? No
52. Do you talk in your sleep? No
53. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? No
54. How about with the light on? No, some light comes through the window, though.
55. Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on? No
56. Last interesting person you met? My friend's friend.

My Lifelong Ambition

Well, not really. Via LDH:

You Are a Glam Rocker!

You put the "show" in rock show with your larger than life self. No doubt, you are all about making good music... But what really gets you going is having an over the top show. Glitter, costumes, and wild hair are your thing - with some rock thrown in!

100 Things

You know those lists of 100 things about yourself? This person made a list, taking one point from each weblog she came across. Interesting reading.

H/T: ArtsJournal

O.W.L.I.S.H.

Via LDH:

Donald Trump, Blogger

The Trump Blog. Part of Trump University, with the motto "We Teach Success."

Interesting, yet wacky. It may be just a corporate blog, aimed at improving the Trump brand. Or it may be something else, an attempt at teaching business skills through the net.

I've always thought Donald Trump was just a big blowhard, but reading this speech before a Subcommittee of Congress [my search is broken, will fix later] and watching his recent appearance on Queer Eye [one of the rejects from The Apprentice was the victim, er guest], makes me think he isn't a complete egomaniac.

H/T: Below the Beltway

Icon War

What happens on your computer while you're asleep.

H/T: Physics Geek

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls

Ingredients
2 whole, boneless chicken breasts [or 4 halves]
1/3 cup Ricotta cheese
2 T. Parmesan cheese
1 T. sliced green onion [scallion]
1/4 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/8 t. thyme
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t black pepper
15 oz spaghetti sauce
1 C. mozzarella cheese

Cut whole chicken breasts into halves. Pound each breast to 1/4 inch thickness, set aside. Combine ricotta, parmesan, onion, spices, salt. Spread 1/4 mixture down center of each chicken breast half. Fold in sides and roll up. Arrange seam-side down in 9" square dish. Pour sauce over chicken.

Cover with wax paper. Nuke 11-15 min at high, or till chicken is firm and no longer pink. Top with shredded moz. cheese, nuke it 2-4 min on medium or until cheese melts. Serve over pasta.

Those are the original instructions. I suspect baking could also work, but I have not tried yet.

No Huge Surprise

Via Antigravitas

Pure Nerd 52 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations!

Music Meme

From The Republic of T.

Go to musicoutfitters.com and search for 100 best 19whatever [meme uses high school graduation year]

Songs I like [currently] are bolded, songs I really like are bold and underlined, songs I hate are struck. Songs I have no freakin clue about have a ?.

1. Careless Whisper, Wham!
2. Like A Virgin, Madonna
3. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham!
4. I Want To Know What Love Is, Foreigner
5. I Feel For You, Chaka Khan
6. Out Of Touch, Daryl Hall and John Oates
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Tears For Fears
8. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
9. Crazy For You, Madonna
10. Take On Me, A-Ha [Cool video]
11. Everytime You Go Away, Paul Young
12. Easy Lover, Phil Collins and Philip Bailey
13. Can't Fight This Feeling, REO Speedwagon
14. We Built This City, Starship
15. The Power Of Love, Huey Lewis and The News
16. Don't You (Forget About Me), Simple Minds
17. Cherish, Kool and The Gang
18. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion), John Parr
19. The Heat Is On, Glenn Frey
20. We Are The World, U.S.A. For Africa
21. Shout, Tears For Fears
22. Part-Time Lover, Stevie Wonder
23. Saving All My Love For You, Whitney Houston
24. Heaven, Bryan Adams
25. Everything She Wants, Wham!
26. Cool It Now, New Edition ?
27. Miami Vice Theme, Jan Hammer
28. Lover Boy, Billy Ocean
29. Lover Girl, Teena Marie
30. You Belong To The City, Glenn Frey
31. Oh Sheila, Ready For The World
32. Rhythm Of The Night, Debarge
33. One More Night, Phil Collins
34. Sea Of Love, Honeydrippers ?
35. A View To A Kill, Duran Duran
36. The Wild Boys, Duran Duran
37. You're The Inspiration, Chicago
38. Neutron Dance, Pointer Sisters ?
39. We Belong, Pat Benatar
40. Nightshift, Commodores ?
41. Things Can Only Get Better, Howard Jones
42. All I Need, Jack Wagner
43. Freeway Of Love, Aretha Franklin ?
44. Never Surrender, Corey Hart
45. Sussudio, Phil Collins
46. Strut, Sheena Easton
47. You Give Good Love, Whitney Houston ?
48. The Search Is Over, Survivor
49. Missing You, Diana Ross ?
50. Separate Lives, Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
51. Raspberry Beret, Prince and The Revolution
52. Suddenly, Billy Ocean
53. The Boys Of Summer, Don Henley
54. One Night In Bangkok, Murray Head
55. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, Sting
56. Obsession, Animotion
57. We Don't Need Another Hero, Tina Turner
58. Material Girl, Madonna
59. Better Be Good To Me, Tina Turner
60. Head Over Heels, Tears For Fears
61. Axel F, Harold Faltermeyer
62. Smooth Operator, Sade
63. In My House, Mary Jane Girls
64. Don't Lose My Number, Phil Collins
65. All Through The Night, Cyndi Lauper
66. Run To You, Bryan Adams
67. Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen
68. Voices Carry, 'Til Tuesday
69. Misled, Kool and The Gang ?
70. Would I Lie To You?, Eurythmics
71. Be Near Me, ABC ?
72. No More Lonely Nights, Paul McCartney
73. I Can't Hold Back, Survivor
74. Summer Of '69, Bryan Adams
75. Walking On Sunshine, Katrina and The Waves
76. Freedom, Wham!
77. Too Late For Goodbyes, Julian Lennon
78. Valotte, Julian Lennon
79. Some Like It Hot, Power Station ?
80. Solid, Ashford and Simpson ?
81. Angel, Madonna
82. I'm On Fire, Bruce Springsteen
83. Method Of Modern Love, Daryl Hall and John Oates
84. Lay Your Hands On Me, Thompson Twins
85. Who's Holding Donna Now, Debarge ?
86. Lonely Ol' Night, John Cougar Mellencamp
87. What About Love, Heart
88. California Girls, David Lee Roth
89. Fresh, Kool and The Gang
90. Do What You Do, Jermaine Jackson
91. Jungle Of Love, The Time
92. Born In The USA, Bruce Springsteen
93. Private Dancer, Tina Turner
94. Who's Zoomin' Who, Aretha Franklin ?
95. Fortress Around Your Heart, Sting
96. Penny Lover, Lionel Richie
97. All She Wants To Do Is Dance, Don Henley
98. Dress You Up, Madonna
99. Sentimental Street, Night Ranger
100. Sugar Walls, Sheena Easton ?

Fred Phelps

Puttering around, I found this post discussing the "beliefs" and "ministry" of the Westboro Baptist Church, which sounds even crazier than I would have suspected. Do they hate the military because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," or is it something else?

The Velvet Marauder

The action continues.

I really, really want to write a Queer Eye/ Velvet Marauder crossover.

Freud Lives

Ok, now I know I'm a psychiatrist, which means I will automatically link sex to anything else. But look at this drawing of the Pope, and tell me the nose isn't phallic.

White Trash, Condensed

I'm afraid this is sending subliminal messages. Dang, I need a cheap 12 pack and a Moon Pie.

H/T: Cold Fury.

Gay Marriage

Joe.My.God has two interesting posts, this one writing about his views on gay marriage in general, and this one doing some investigative reporting on marriage in Massachusettes.

The money 'graph from the first one:

But basically, I'm in the camp that believes that marriage is an ultimately false social construct, invented to own property and persons, and perpetuated to maintain social status. It rings false to me, personally, on so many levels.

The general data from the second one:

Preliminary number of marriage certificates issued and registered in Massachusetts from May 17 to December 31, 2004:

Male/Female: 27,045
Male/Male: 2,123
Female/Female: 3,871

While he does use "salty" language in his blog at times, these posts are relatively safe [unless the words dyke or fag offend].

Carnival of Liberty

The latest Carnival of Liberty is up.

Check it out.

Go Bob!

Bob the builder is secretly the Texas Chainsaw killer!

File this under "How to give nightmares to 3 year olds."

Carnival of Music

#12 is up.

It's interesting, it seems to have evolved into a much more professional based group than I'm used to finding in the blogosphere.

For example, this piece on the problems getting new classical music to orchestras.

Queer Eye Quiz

Kyan: Grooming Guru


Which Member from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is your type?
brought to you by Quizilla

SkyBlue72

I've seen them a couple of times during Mardi Gras in Galveston. Pretty good. They usually seem to be playing GLBT clubs, so I gotta wonder, but I don't know and I really don't care.

Anyway, they have space on myspace now.

Random Survey

From The Daily Brief:

[ ] I’ve run away from home.
[ ] I listen to political music.
[x] I collect comic books. (Haven't bought any recently, have several boxes full)
[ ] I shut others out when I’m sad.
[x] I open up to others easily. (Depends on circumstances, as part of my training)
[x] I am keeping a secret from the world.
[ ] I watch the news.
[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.
[ ] I own an I-Pod.
[ ] I own something from Hot Topic.
[X] I love Disney movies.
[ ] I am a sucker for hair/eyes.
[ ] I don’t kill bugs.
[ ] I curse regularly.
[ ] I paid for that cell phone ringtone.
[ ] I have “x”s in my screen name.
[ ] I’ve slipped out a “lol” in a real conversation.
[ ] I love Spam.
[x] I bake well. (Relatively; I'm not opening a bakery any time soon)
[ ] I would wear pajamas to school.
[ ] I own something from Abercrombie
[ ] I have a job.
[ ] I love Martha Stewart.
[ ] I am in love with someone.
[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[X] I am self conscious.
[X] I like to laugh.
[ ] I smoke a pack a day.
[ ] I loved Go Ask Alice.
[ ] I have cough drops when I’m not sick.
[ ] I can’t swallow pills.
[ ] I have many scars.
[x] I’ve been out of this country.
[ ] I believe in ghosts. (Maybe)
[ ] I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room.
[x] I am really ticklish.
[x] I see/have seen a therapist.
[x] I love chocolate.
[x] I bite my nails.
[ ] I am comfortable with being me. (Eh)
[X] I play computer games/video games when i’m bored.
[X] Gotten lost in your city.
[X] Saw a shooting star.
[ ] Gone out in public in your pajamas.
[X] I have kissed a stranger.
[X] Hugged a stranger.
[ ] Been in a fight with the same sex.
[ ] Been arrested.
[X] Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
[X] Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
[ ] Made out in an elevator.
[X] Swore at your parents.
[ ] Kicked a guy where it hurts.
[ ] Been skydiving.
[ ] Been bungee jumping.
[ ] Broken a bone.
[ ] Played spin the bottle.
[X] Gotten stitches.
[ ] Drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.
[ ] Bitten someone.
[x] Been to Niagara Falls.
[x] Gotten the chicken pox.
[ ] Crashed into a friend’s car.
[ ] Been to Japan.
[X] Ridden in a taxi.
[ ] Shoplifted.
[ ] Been fired.
[X] Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.
[ ] Stole something from your job.
[ ] Gone on a blind date.
[X] Lied to a friend.
[ ] Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
[ ] Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
[X] Been to Europe.
[ ] Slept with a co-worker.
[ ] Been married.
[ ] Gotten divorced.
[X] Saw someone dying.
[X] Driven over 400 miles in one day.
[ ] Been to Canada.
[X] Been on a plane.
[X] Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
[ ] Thrown up in a bar.
[X] Eaten Sushi.
[ ] Been snowboarding.
[X] Been skiing.
[X] Been ice skating.
[X] Met someone in person from the internet.
[ ] Been to a motorcross show.
[X] Gone/Going to college.
[ ] Done hard drugs
[X] Taken painkillers.
[ ] Cheated on someone else
[X] Were so bored you took this survey.
[ ] Have a tattoo (Considering one)

Name That M:tG Card

Via Hubert Humphrey High,

You are Chaos Orb. Humorous and adventuresome, but
not all there, and not too dependable.


Which Magic the Gathering card are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

More Weird Searches

All right! I'm the top listing for "cornbread makes me hiccup" on google.

That's so random.

Hmm. Turns out there's a St Arnold's pub crawl this Friday. Could be fun.

"outrageous testicles"?

Who Brought the Matches?

Two interesting posts, both from Instapundit, both dealing with the state of the union pre-9/11, one from an intelligence point of view, one from a military point of view.

In Neil Gaiman's The Sandman there are a couple of stories involving Prez, a young man who becomes the essence of the American Dream. He meets a person from our world, and upon hearing our sequence of Presidents says something like "Oh, you're from one of those worlds." At this point, I think that's a lot truer than it was when the book was published.

So, if this is a story that makes both the Republicans and Democrats look bad, is the internet powerful enough as a meme driver to get the story into the wider world?

If I Were President

Something of a meme going around:

By some bizarre set of circumstances, you are the president as of now. Name the first 5 things you’d do. Level of difficulty: it must actually be stuff the president is constitutionally allowed to do.

Say Uncle has his answers here [lots o comments], Eric Grumbles his answers here, Dangerous Liberty here, Rhymes with Right here.

Assuming these are within my power [I am not a lawyer]:

1) As Eric puts it in the comments, with regard to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, "You can ... direct your DoD leadership not to pursue such cases." Works for me.
2) Ending the War on Drugs seems very popular. Works for me also. You can't make smoking marijuana legal, but if everyone convicted of possession of small amounts of marijuana automatically gets a presidential pardon, I suspect things will change.
3) Stop the FDA's mission creep. They will only certify that a substance is relatively safe in humans [ie, current stage one trials].
4) Stolen from Eric: require all departments of the executive branch to immediately reduce staff by 10%, based on performance. Oh yeah.
5) Hirings and firings: I have several extremely intelligent friends, who have nothing to do with politics on the grand scale. I suspect they would be much better than lifelong politicians. JohnL for Supreme Court Justice.

I wouldn't automatically veto everything, you'd only piss off Congress, who could probably get the votes together to override. On the other hand, I wouldn't pull a W and never veto anything.

Birthdays Wrapup

Let's see. Spent about half a day making a chocolate cheesecake [needed a little longer than the 70 minutes noted in the recipe, and it dripped a yellowish fluid that smelled of vanilla while cooling; found a package of oreo cookie crumbs which worked well, used about 2 cups, 3 probably would have been better]. Found a birthday present after going to 3 different shops. Was going to pick up dinner, but ended up someone else did. Made about half the gift bags. Blew up around 25 beach balls of different sizes and one wading pool, with a reversed vacuum cleaner. Baked 3 box cakes one at a time, iced, decorated into a sand castle. [that took most of Friday]. Picked up landfill liner [didn't take long, but my help was vital]. Set up decorations.

The birthday party itself went well - the kids had a good time, the parents had a good time. I still have nothing in common with these people. The official endtime was 5:30, the final guests left around 6:45 or so. Then I distracted the kid and assembled a hot wheels set while the parents cleaned. Then drove back home.

At one point I was ready to throw in the towel and leave. Didn't because it would have been childish and the kid would never have understood. Now, I'm glad I didn't.

Never did see the newborn niece. Left a message with 2 cousins, never heard from them. Oh well, maybe next week, maybe not.

Crap

From Not Exactly Rocket Science, comes this: [a decent word for today]

Your word is CRAP. You come across as sweet and
innocent, yet underneath it all there is a
quite nasty streak. Gossiping and being
critical of others comes a bit too naturally to
you. And people will begin to see through the
sickly sweet exterior soon.


Which Swear (Curse) Word Are You?
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Interesting Thought

Instapundit links to a post on Semi-Random Ramblings, noting a movement towards building individual living cells.

The really interesting part is in the postscript:

The thing I've always found attractive about bioengineering versus other transformative technologies like nanotech is that much of the work is already done for us; understanding how to bioengineer things we want is mostly a data processing/modelling problem, and the growth of those capabilities has been governed by Moore's law. While nanotech still has immense materials science and engineering problems to overcome, the evolution of life on Earth has provided billions of examples of tiny biological factories that (obviously) already work in real life.

That links well with this article on TechCentralStation, noting where future predictions have succeeded or failed.

Birthdays

So, a friend's birthday was yesterday, and my godson's birthday party is Saturday. And a niece was born yesterday [by c-section, 7 pounds, baby and mother are fine, apparently]. So things are a little busy [I ended up doing all sorts of stuff for the celebration yesterday, and more is on the way. Were my birthday parties growing up this meticulous and grandiose?]

Anyway, posting may be light.

Why Casey Died

Kid Various has a long post on freedom, and why we're trying to avoid a nuke in NYC.

Good stuff.

Summer Ride

Via the LlamaButchers, [who are back!]:

Your Summer Ride is a Mustang Convertible

You're out to experience the very best of summer. From the best beaches to the best tan, you want it all!

Carnival of Liberty

Number 7 is up.

Tasty bits include this post on space exploration, this report on Basra, and Eric's discussion on his Right to Property.

Russ Mitchell's Tattoos

For whoever did the search for Russ Mitchell's tattoos, apparently Greg James did them.

Wondering who the heck Russell Mitchell is? He's been on Discovery's Biker Build Off, he's got a shop, is described as a "aesthetic minimalist," has some fairly impressive sleeve tattoos.

Ok, now we know.

LoTR/QaF Crossover

Ok, I thought the Angel/QaF crossover was a little strange [well writen, though]. But a Lord of the Rings/Queer as Folk? [so far, maybe PG-13, although other stories on the page go further].

Then there's a Firefly/X-Files/QaF/Angel/Lex Luthur [not really, just the characters sitting together, talking]

Black Hawk Down/QaF?

Velvet Goldmine?/QaF

Highlander/QaF

Random Slash

This Angel/ Queer Eye crossover is pretty good. From this page.

[Cut to “QE” logo, then final series of “Hip Tip” segments, cutting to each speaker in turn.]

TED: If you’re making dinner for your favorite vampire, keep in mind that they often like very spicy food. So try making two batches: one you make for yourself, and one you dump a can of hot spice into. And if you’re serving steak? Tartare, of course.

JAI: Ladies, don’t put too many romantic expectations on your special vampire. Remember, underneath that hunky exterior lies a creature of evil. Demons and dating don’t always mix.

KYAN: Your friends come to visit and notice an odor. They ask you “what died in here?” Bad news, my vamp friend. YOU did! Body odor is even more of a concern for the dead than it is for the living. Showering regularly with scented soaps, and using cologne can go a long way toward keeping you smelling as good as the day you died.

THOM: Can’t have windows? Use landscape posters! Can’t use mirrors? Use video cameras! Mount a camera and monitor where your bathroom mirror would be. And connect a camera to your living room TV set to use as a full length mirror!

CARSON: Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean your clothes have to announce it. Stick with natural fibers: there’s no excuse for polyester no matter HOW long ago you lived. And you can still be evil in colors other than black. Your victims’ deaths will be more pleasant if their last thoughts are “at least I’m being killed by a vampire who dresses well.”

[Roll closing credits. End.]

The War on Drugs for Dummies

Want to condemn a particular drug, but don't know how? The perfect list.

Examples:

can be made readily in your home country: oh shit, it's turning our kids into drug manufacturers!

must be imported from a different climate: oh shit, look at all these evil foreigners who are profiting from our misery and boredom!

H/T: Instapundit.

Oblivious

Got a random question for the few people actually reading this: how oblivious does someone have to be not to understand that a discharge through Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not a honorable discharge?

Cause a friend didn't understand that, and I wonder if she's like 98% of the rest of the nation, or if she's really clueless.

Update: I was rather confused, and typed dishonorable rather than honorable, which is what I meant. Basically: my friend's friend was in the navy, is gay and I suspect knew he was gay then, and we were wondering but didn't ask if he had been kicked out due to DADT. I was under the mistaken impression that a discharge because of DADT would be a dishonorable discharge, as well as the mistaken impression that the Uniform Code of Justice was under the control of the Commander in Chief, not Congress. Basically, I had no clue. I've got a couple of friends in the military, but no close family members [well, my grandfather was in the navy in WWII, and a not-particularly-close-cousin was in the Marines].

So, thanks go to Eric for helping me out of this maze of confusion.

Blogging about Blogging

Found this meme over at Scott-O-Rama.

1. What was the first blog you ever saw/found?
Lilek's Bleat.

2. How did you find it?
I was reading the other stuff on his site, then wandered over there.

3. What were the next few blogs you saw/found?
At one point Lilek's linked to 4 blogs, including Instapundit, the USS Clueless, VodkaPundit, and Little Green Footballs. At that point I was doomed.

4. How many blogs do you read per day?
Probably at least 15-20, sometimes a lot more. Especially when I'm going down the LLP or Munuvia lists, looking for interesting posts.

5. Have you met a blogger in real life? Who? (You don’t have to list them all if you’re a blog whore.)
I've met the writers of A Perfectly Cromulent Blog, Off the Kuff, Brains and Eggs. And of course, TexasBestGrok.

6. Which very far-away bloggers do you think you would like to meet if you lived in the same city?
Pretty much anyone I read often, I'd be interested in meeting. If I'm ever in New York, I'll have to schedule it to see Joe.My.God's reading.

7. Who is the most introspective blogger?
Not sure, probably Lileks

8. Who cracks you up?
Protein Wisdom and his dancing armadillo.

9. Who is hot? (Or who do you think sounds hot if there is no picture?)
Geek Slut.

10. Which blog is the latest on your link list? Or who did you just discover?
I think I added The Anti-Idiotrian Rotweiller and Cold Fury at the same time. I was in the mood for some harsh invective.

11. Who needs to update more often?
Lance Arthur

12. Do you have a favorite entry of your own?
Not really, although my cucumber salad recipe gets by far the most searches.

13. What’s your favorite song on the radio right now? (OK, that’s not about blogging, but this is my meme.)
I don't listen much to Top 40. I was really rockin out to Foreigner's Jukebox Hero a couple of days ago.

Sick, Twisted: I Love It

My Little Golden Book about Zogg.

H/T: Scott-O-Rama.

125 Things You Can't Do in the Army

A darn funny list.

H/T: Life...

Just Wrong

Now aren't you just a ray of sunshine? You're inner
supernatural is a FAIRY! You're happy and
innocent, but watch out! Not everyone is so
darn cheery as you.


What is Your Inner Supernatural?
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No Clue

Okay. Somehow, you involve Hyde in a Harry Potter
getup sans glasses, Ken overdosing on pills,
Tetsu and a few clones on a rotating couch,
then a few Ken clones, then Matrix Sakura and
some of HIS clones, and then... ??????? I don't
know what you're on, but maybe I should try
some. At least that's one cool-lookin' house
you got there.


Which L'arc~en~ciel Music Video Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Kinda Strange

You are a sad dream


What kind of dream are you?
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Really Strange

You are Once in Lifetime By Wolfsheim!
People think you're about breaking up or
something, but you're really about some chick
dying! Awesome! You are super-overplayed.


What_Overplayed_Goth_Night_Song_Are_You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Fairly Strange

Via mHm...Quizzes:

	In the future, I see adventure and excitement ......just not for you

The Mind Boggles

A Yoda puppet singing "Just a Gigalo." What could be better?

H/T: Ghost of a Flea.

Dragons Discovered

Well, probably not, but it made a good title anyway.

H/T: MovieMonkey.

Another Picture Quiz

Via Pole Dancing in the Dark:

You are sexy, powerful, and bold. You're full of passion and energy... Sometimes this passion has a dark side. You feel most alive when you're seducing someone. You never fail to get someone's attention. Quick minded, you're also quick to lose your temper!

Carnival of Recipes, Year One

The Carnival of Recipes has been going for a full year, in meatspace time. Impressive.

A tasty recipe for breakfast burritos, with homemade tortillas.

An interesting recipe for shrimp stew.

Gullyborg has a recipe for Steak and eggs that will make any red blooded carnivore drool.

Swordfish with Orange Sauce.

Coconut Catfish? My Texas blood may revolt, but I think I've got to try it.

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp tarragon crumbled
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon margarine
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tab. [vegetable] oil
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup black olives quartered
1/4 cup chopped red pepper
2 tab. mayo
2 tab. sour cream

Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 t tarragon, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper [or just wing it]. Melt margarine with oil and cook chicken covered 2 min. Turn and cook 3 min more. Let it cool, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Combine all ingredients, refrigerate.

Another recipe from my friend, given to her by her mother.

Corrected because I still can't spell. Blonde Sagacity suggests serving on an open roll, which would certainly work. I prefer chicken salad over salad greens, though. Or maybe a little more exotic with spagetti squash? All suggestions welcome.

More Fun Searches

Ok, to the person who found my blog searching for "why to play with testicles:"

Why not?

Three Rules

A few days ago, JohnL, inspired by VodkaPundit, wrote about three subjects to avoid at all costs: evolution, abortion, gun control.

I wrote briefly on Ambient Irony's post on evolution, science, and ID, and it spawned another post and more comments. See also Slate's article. [H/T: Catallarchy]

There's another hot button issue: homosexuality. And Dan Savage did a great post on the kinds of things I've been thinking:

Look, I’m all for free speech, I’m all for persuasion. If Pat Robertson can talk me out of being gay then, by God, I’ll give it up tomorrow. If a “Choose Life” billboard convinces a woman not to have an abortion, that’s great. The problem with Pat is that he wants to compel me to give up being gay, or, failing that, he seeks to deprive me of my civil rights because I’m gay. The problem with the anti-choice movement is that they want the law to impose their beliefs about abortion.

Why, I often wonder, can’t the religious right extend gay and lesbian Americans the same courtesy they extend to, say, adulterers? Or shrimp lovers? Yes, the gays are going to hell—it says so right there in the bible somewhere. It says we should be put to death along with the adulterers and shrimp eaters. But the adulterers and shrimp eaters don’t come in for the same degree of persecution.

Go read the rest.

More Quizzes

The Unrepentant Individual thinks I take too many quizzes. He may be right, at least for completely meaningless ones like this:

Take the quiz: "Which Holy Grail Character Are You?"

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog
That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!

Via TexasBestGrok

I Give Up

Puttering around, I come across this post at ArklahomBoy, then this post at Angry in the Great White North [I can take the post being somewhat tongue in cheek, but the comment

Homosexual couples invariably ape heterosexual couples with one of them playing the dominant "husband" and the other the submissive "wife".

So there'll be no confusion about which is which in the mind of the unfortunate kid who lives with such a couple.

takes the cake.

I give up. Time for karaoke at the gay bar again.

Individualist vs Collectivist

Let me try to summarize some stuff, knowing I'll be leaving out lots of details. Eric points to a post and comments happening at Libertopia, and has a comment I really like and one I disagree with, sort of:

Sorry, I flat out and vehemently disagree with the idea that something is moral just because the majority of the citizens think it's okay.
I Strongly Agree.
I won't speak for Robert, but I'll answer your question. Government appears to be an evil (yes, I consider coercive monopolies, which is what government is, to be evil) that most humans wish to foist on themselves. That doesn't mean that they are good things.
Not so much.

He then expands a little on his own blog, with this statement:

Here's the problem. Groups can't be moral, or immoral, nor can nations. Morality, and moral choice, is always an individual position. No matter what we are talking about, every choice, every decision, is always made by an individual.

Every decision may be made by an individual, but sometimes the decision is "I will follow the legal orders of my group." Or even without the "legal" part. This is part of all militaries, as far as I know. This is, to a lesser extent, part of fraternities. And, to some extent, is part of a government.

I like groups. 100 men, acting as a group, can do things that 100 men acting as individuals can't do. [yeah, this is a debatable statement, but I still believe it.] The problem comes when the group is hijacked, and starts doing things that individuals want rather than what the group was formed to do. Then people start questioning the goals of the group, and either leave or try to use the group for their own ends.

That's why things like sexual misconduct in the military are such a big deal. The military has a purpose: defend the US [my best guess]. When you join the military, you agree to this goal, and to follow orders. That's why there's a hell of a lot of difference between this guy getting orders to kill people, and doing it, and a mass murderer. Therefore, orders used to coerce sex, for instance, get the victim thinking about whether s/he should follow orders, and the system breaks.

That's also why I hate collectivist thinking. Essentially (1) you have to join the group (2) only a few people set the agenda for the group (3) any dissension against the goals of the individuals is taken as disloyalty against the group. So yeah, it turns into a coercive monopoly.

So, am I saying I want coercive non-monopolies? That would be better, but I don't know how much of an improvement it would be. Non-coercive monopolies? To so extent, that was early America, but we really can't go back there without a huge frontier. Do I want all governments to collapse? Not really, I think our technological improvements would be curtailed by total anarchy. Maybe capitalist anarchy or something else would be better, but I haven't seen it work in action, so I don't know.

Do I want us all to ascend into forms of coherent energy, freed from the bonds of mortal existence? Yeah, that would be cool. Failing that, does anyone have any ideas?

I'll Never Tell

H/T: The Love Lemming

How close is this test?

Moved to extended, since it's huge.

August 09, 2005

August 08, 2005

Neutral

Via the Fluffy GOO,

How evil are you?

Posted by Owlish at 01:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Past Life

This one's just strange.

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Charming Viking. Where You Lived: France. How You Died: Hung for treason.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Posted by Owlish at 01:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Pizza

Not too sure about this result.

Meatball Pizza

Unusual and uncompromising. You're usually the first to discover a new trend. You appreciate a good meal and good company. You're an interesting blend of traditional and modern.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

Via LDH again.

Posted by Owlish at 01:49 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Language

I pretty much suck at languages, so:

You Should Learn Japanese

You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture. From Engrish to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!

What Language Should You Learn?

Via LDH

Posted by Owlish at 01:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 07, 2005

August 06, 2005

August 05, 2005

August 03, 2005

Life Rating

Yup, we need to kick this up a notch.
Via the Cake Eater Chronicles.

My life is rated PG-13.
What is your life rated?

Hmm, I'm in between the LlamaButchers. How does a married adult male get a G rating, anyway?

Double hmm, Pixy's got a PG rating.

Posted by Owlish at 12:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 02, 2005

August 01, 2005