I was reading a completely unrelated article and found out Theodore was cut from Shear Genius. Since he was my favorite guy, there's little reason to keep watching. I enjoy Tabitha but most of the contestants are insufferable bores. Wow, wasn't it just a week ago Theo was at the top of the class? One less show to tune in for.
I had forgotten all about Ugly Betty this week. I can tell my interest is minimal. It looks like the guy from accounting (and Jake 2.0) is in the episode however. I think I'll watch online.
Sanjaya says he's not gay although he said the girls around him treat him like their "gay best friend."
It's after 2pm now. I was just about to post an update when the browser window hung up on Blogger. Damn it. I hate the new Blogger. I switched to Firefox and am trying again.
I checked the mail last hour.
Meds came. Yay me.
Along with the mountain of store ads, I got two solicitations: one for phone service and another for auto insurance. I ripped those up.
Bastards. If I wanted their service, I'd contact them. Leave me alone!
Rounding out today's pile of mail were two bills. Life insurance was demanding its quarterly payment and I had a credit card bill.
I got the insurance premium paid online when I remembered the barely used username and password.
I also paid a credit card $10 balance (meds co-pay), checked to see if there's any indication the cable bill payment actually got processed this time (I can't tell--maybe next week), and decided to run away to a cold climate. Ok, maybe not so much of the last one.
I was going to check on the other bill's timeliness and accuracy but I'm tired. It isn't due for 10 days and there's no mail service until Monday anyway. It can sit on the desk and mock me until another day.
I'm going to crash for awhile.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
They Win
Ok, I got the utility bill online. They added the $107 to my bill. I paid it just to get it out of my face. Bastards. As it is, my useage was up. Could be too much TV or maybe just that fridge in the garage. I need to get that freezer emptied and unplug it.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Sneaky Bastards!
I just looked at the ingredients of the "Chocolate Chip" Dreyer's Slow Churn and what did I discover? The "Chocolate" is not quite chocolate. It's "chocolaty" instead!
INGREDIENTS: milk, skim milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, chocolaty chips (sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, cocoa, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor),whey protein, egg yolks, tapioca maltodextrin, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, natural flavor, guar gum, carrageenan, dextrose, vitamin A palmitate, annatto color
I mention this because earlier in the week I urged readers to comment to the FDA about their considering a redefinition of chocolate to include what is called chocolaty under existing rules. You can see above the Dreyer's is using coconut oil instead of cocoa butter. Damn it.
"Natural flavor" is probably vanillin. It's "natural" so it's probably taken from vanilla beans and not synthesized from wood as is typical today.
Sorry Mother, I should've looked at the label more carefully. Mother was a food chemist before she had children.
Compare the Haagan-Dazs "Chocolate Chip" ingredients to the list above: Ingredients: Cream, Skim Milk (Lactose Reduced), Sugar, Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla), Egg Yolks, Corn Syrup, Natural Vanilla, Salt.
I admit to being disappointed but this will be a worthy experiment in taste, texture and so forth. I could've got a gallon of Haagan Dazs vanilla. It was only $15.
I don't "treat" myself to ice cream often enough to really warrant going on the cheap quality-wise. I should stick to the HD but then were would I get the self-loathing fix of buyer's remorse other than on price?
INGREDIENTS: milk, skim milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, chocolaty chips (sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, cocoa, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor),whey protein, egg yolks, tapioca maltodextrin, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, natural flavor, guar gum, carrageenan, dextrose, vitamin A palmitate, annatto color
I mention this because earlier in the week I urged readers to comment to the FDA about their considering a redefinition of chocolate to include what is called chocolaty under existing rules. You can see above the Dreyer's is using coconut oil instead of cocoa butter. Damn it.
"Natural flavor" is probably vanillin. It's "natural" so it's probably taken from vanilla beans and not synthesized from wood as is typical today.
Sorry Mother, I should've looked at the label more carefully. Mother was a food chemist before she had children.
Compare the Haagan-Dazs "Chocolate Chip" ingredients to the list above: Ingredients: Cream, Skim Milk (Lactose Reduced), Sugar, Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla), Egg Yolks, Corn Syrup, Natural Vanilla, Salt.
I admit to being disappointed but this will be a worthy experiment in taste, texture and so forth. I could've got a gallon of Haagan Dazs vanilla. It was only $15.
I don't "treat" myself to ice cream often enough to really warrant going on the cheap quality-wise. I should stick to the HD but then were would I get the self-loathing fix of buyer's remorse other than on price?
Fried Friday
It's Friday. I ignored the "Idol Gives Back" show. I had Duckie tell me who lost and he dragged it out just like Secrest. I was nervous for Blake but I'm finding myself less and less committed to the shoe (Edit: show, not shoe; thanks duckie.)
Next week is supposed to be a rock music theme. I think Phil might be able to do it if he picked a "Southern Rocker" but with the others it's "Just a bit outside" their zone.
I see a lot of discontentment with the Top 6 to Top 4 thing this coming week. I kind of laugh only because I didn't wait through two hours of self-indulgent begging for bucks and filler for that. At this point an hour of Idol results is full of filler. Two hours should be a criminal act! Read a live blog recap at Ricky.org.
I missed "Shear Genius" this week. It'll be repeated a hundred times so it's not a big deal. I ordered more checks. I have one left after paying the May rent. No sign of my ordered meds yet. I might just hide in bed today. I should go up to the grocery but I just can't get into the mood for it. Nothing is particularly critical yet.
I'm not fond staying shut into the apartment for weeks at a time but being outside, milling around other people, I find even more discomforting.
The face of movie ratings for decades, Jack Valenti, has died at 85. He is in the famous photo of Johnson being sworn in aboard the airplane after JFK was assassinated. The "champions" of "free speech" party introduced the film ratings system.
My intestines are rebelling. It's what launched me from bed this morning in fact. I don't recall eating anything unusual yesterday so I doubt it's food-borne illness. Based on how I generally feel, I'd guess the meds are making my guts goofy again. Traditionally a bit germ phobic--I used to eat pizza with a fork--I wash my hands even after using protective gloves and rinse my dishes a second time before use.
Update, it's 11:30am. I'm back from the grocery.
I just wasn't feeling good and the sun was already beating down on me when I left around 9:30. I almost turned around about two blocks from here. Along the way I pondered returning an abandoned cart up to the grocery but decided it wasn't my problem. I was feeling bad enough without adding to my caravan. When I got to the elementary school there was another cart, this one was overturned and belonged to a private store. In the cart were six empty cigarette boxes. It was an odd sight. The skeptic in me wondered if they were individualized to sell to kids on the sly. It wouldn't surprise me.
The grocery was vacant. Not really a surprise. Like Mother, I don't know how it stays open. I suppose I can't complain, it's a half-mile closer than my next option. I feel like all the blood was sucking from my veins and refilled under high-pressure. I got the things the cat needed: water and litter. I got another tube of hair ball gel for her too. She had barfed at the food dish this morning. I pulled the tablecloth and added some clothing for a laundry load. I thought I had a bag of laundry to do only to discovery it was clean! I'd washed it at the house and this was the laundry I pulled from the dryer when we took it to the neighbor.
So the cat got water and litter, what did I get? I got toilet paper. I thought I was going to fall down in the isle. It isn't as if I hadn't eaten this morning and I had my meds so it was a surprise sensation. It passed as a grazed along in the store.
After decoding the sales, comparing ply and numbers of sheets I settled on Charmin. I have to admit, I didn't know the classic "Squeezably Soft" Charmin is 1-ply! The 2-ply was the same sale price. As I did my calculus to decide what the hell to buy a disturbing feeling came over me when I noticed there were about a year's worth of toilet paper in a single roll under the Sheryl Crow plan. Think about that the next time you load a roll.
Chili was on a good sale ($1.75 ea). They only had five left on a "4 for" sale. Isn't that always the case? I got a rain check. Yes, I eat a lot of chili these days. It's tasty, filling, legumes are good for you and it's relatively low fat. I picked up more ravioli and stocked up on a bit of frozen items. I was going to get Haagen Dazs but it wasn't on sale and so guilt set in. I couldn't justify it. I decided to get a gallon of"Dreyer's Slow Churned" for $3. I got the 1/2 fat, not the "no sugar added" because it uses Splenda like that putrid blueberry yogurt I had a couple weeks ago--blech!
I looked for chocolate covered almonds on the candy isle. My favorite HD is called "Vanilla Swiss Almond," a vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered almonds mixed throughout. To my amazement I found three kinds of chocolate covered almonds on the isle. Dove had both milk and dark chocolate covered styles. Brachs only had milk style. I got one bag of Brachs and one of the Dove dark. I might've been able to get three pints of HD for what the two bags of almonds and gallon of Dreyer's cost but with eight pints to a gallon, I'm coming out ahead.
Mother and I used to indulge on Dove dark pieces from time to time. I *know* I like it.
I may have complained about the supermarket corn flakes in another entry but if I hadn't, let me say I'm convinced they are grown in a test tube. They tasted exactly like the bulk version that I'd been getting. I got a box of the bulk ones today because they were on sale. Although I definitely prefer another kind, at a different store, I wasn't going to pass up 48 oz of corn flakes for $3. Besides, I wasn't seriously going to walk to another store just for corn flakes. I'm not too disappointed. I've kind of made a deal with the devil when it comes to these alien flakes. I'mchea... frugal and a little sugar and enough milk and I can ignore their otherwise funky texture and faux corn taste. That last reference was a cheap shot. The box claims it's real germ-free corn.
I wore my boots to the grocery. I thought it would help keep my ankles for aching. On the positive side, it helped. Unfortunately, my achilles kept rubbing until it tore the skin. (Yes duckie, I took pix.)
The cat was hiding in the corner behind her bedroom chair when I brought the groceries up. She's moved to her living room chair for an afternoon nap. No meds in the mail today, only more ads. Grrr.
Next week is supposed to be a rock music theme. I think Phil might be able to do it if he picked a "Southern Rocker" but with the others it's "Just a bit outside" their zone.
I see a lot of discontentment with the Top 6 to Top 4 thing this coming week. I kind of laugh only because I didn't wait through two hours of self-indulgent begging for bucks and filler for that. At this point an hour of Idol results is full of filler. Two hours should be a criminal act! Read a live blog recap at Ricky.org.
I missed "Shear Genius" this week. It'll be repeated a hundred times so it's not a big deal. I ordered more checks. I have one left after paying the May rent. No sign of my ordered meds yet. I might just hide in bed today. I should go up to the grocery but I just can't get into the mood for it. Nothing is particularly critical yet.
I'm not fond staying shut into the apartment for weeks at a time but being outside, milling around other people, I find even more discomforting.
The face of movie ratings for decades, Jack Valenti, has died at 85. He is in the famous photo of Johnson being sworn in aboard the airplane after JFK was assassinated. The "champions" of "free speech" party introduced the film ratings system.
My intestines are rebelling. It's what launched me from bed this morning in fact. I don't recall eating anything unusual yesterday so I doubt it's food-borne illness. Based on how I generally feel, I'd guess the meds are making my guts goofy again. Traditionally a bit germ phobic--I used to eat pizza with a fork--I wash my hands even after using protective gloves and rinse my dishes a second time before use.
Update, it's 11:30am. I'm back from the grocery.
I just wasn't feeling good and the sun was already beating down on me when I left around 9:30. I almost turned around about two blocks from here. Along the way I pondered returning an abandoned cart up to the grocery but decided it wasn't my problem. I was feeling bad enough without adding to my caravan. When I got to the elementary school there was another cart, this one was overturned and belonged to a private store. In the cart were six empty cigarette boxes. It was an odd sight. The skeptic in me wondered if they were individualized to sell to kids on the sly. It wouldn't surprise me.
The grocery was vacant. Not really a surprise. Like Mother, I don't know how it stays open. I suppose I can't complain, it's a half-mile closer than my next option. I feel like all the blood was sucking from my veins and refilled under high-pressure. I got the things the cat needed: water and litter. I got another tube of hair ball gel for her too. She had barfed at the food dish this morning. I pulled the tablecloth and added some clothing for a laundry load. I thought I had a bag of laundry to do only to discovery it was clean! I'd washed it at the house and this was the laundry I pulled from the dryer when we took it to the neighbor.
So the cat got water and litter, what did I get? I got toilet paper. I thought I was going to fall down in the isle. It isn't as if I hadn't eaten this morning and I had my meds so it was a surprise sensation. It passed as a grazed along in the store.
After decoding the sales, comparing ply and numbers of sheets I settled on Charmin. I have to admit, I didn't know the classic "Squeezably Soft" Charmin is 1-ply! The 2-ply was the same sale price. As I did my calculus to decide what the hell to buy a disturbing feeling came over me when I noticed there were about a year's worth of toilet paper in a single roll under the Sheryl Crow plan. Think about that the next time you load a roll.
Chili was on a good sale ($1.75 ea). They only had five left on a "4 for" sale. Isn't that always the case? I got a rain check. Yes, I eat a lot of chili these days. It's tasty, filling, legumes are good for you and it's relatively low fat. I picked up more ravioli and stocked up on a bit of frozen items. I was going to get Haagen Dazs but it wasn't on sale and so guilt set in. I couldn't justify it. I decided to get a gallon of"Dreyer's Slow Churned" for $3. I got the 1/2 fat, not the "no sugar added" because it uses Splenda like that putrid blueberry yogurt I had a couple weeks ago--blech!
I looked for chocolate covered almonds on the candy isle. My favorite HD is called "Vanilla Swiss Almond," a vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered almonds mixed throughout. To my amazement I found three kinds of chocolate covered almonds on the isle. Dove had both milk and dark chocolate covered styles. Brachs only had milk style. I got one bag of Brachs and one of the Dove dark. I might've been able to get three pints of HD for what the two bags of almonds and gallon of Dreyer's cost but with eight pints to a gallon, I'm coming out ahead.
Mother and I used to indulge on Dove dark pieces from time to time. I *know* I like it.
I may have complained about the supermarket corn flakes in another entry but if I hadn't, let me say I'm convinced they are grown in a test tube. They tasted exactly like the bulk version that I'd been getting. I got a box of the bulk ones today because they were on sale. Although I definitely prefer another kind, at a different store, I wasn't going to pass up 48 oz of corn flakes for $3. Besides, I wasn't seriously going to walk to another store just for corn flakes. I'm not too disappointed. I've kind of made a deal with the devil when it comes to these alien flakes. I'm
I wore my boots to the grocery. I thought it would help keep my ankles for aching. On the positive side, it helped. Unfortunately, my achilles kept rubbing until it tore the skin. (Yes duckie, I took pix.)
The cat was hiding in the corner behind her bedroom chair when I brought the groceries up. She's moved to her living room chair for an afternoon nap. No meds in the mail today, only more ads. Grrr.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Kill The Pain
So my head is more aching than in pain thanks to some exercise, food, and pain meds. Ok, it's probably the pain meds more than anything. My head still feels as though the eyes were scooped out like ice cream and the head itself was torn off the spin and placed on a pike in front of Duckie's doorway.
The mail was of moderate interest. I had two bills and something from a food company. I haven't opened it. One bill was cable which was already paid... well, I attempted to pay it a few times already. I better check on that. The other was health care. They didn't get a payment. I'm in no position to argue. How I might've missed that I haven't a clue. Oh wait a second, the fog is clearing in my empty head. They had my new address wrong and the bill went God knows where. Now I remember. I called them to get the mailing address of the billing center. They are probably still trying to figure out how to process my check without the statement slip. No matter. It's paid up as soon as they get their mail.
Hey! It's my poisoned peanut butter refund. I'm rich and powerful now. I can buy some tainted pet food. Or something equally grand.
The mail was of moderate interest. I had two bills and something from a food company. I haven't opened it. One bill was cable which was already paid... well, I attempted to pay it a few times already. I better check on that. The other was health care. They didn't get a payment. I'm in no position to argue. How I might've missed that I haven't a clue. Oh wait a second, the fog is clearing in my empty head. They had my new address wrong and the bill went God knows where. Now I remember. I called them to get the mailing address of the billing center. They are probably still trying to figure out how to process my check without the statement slip. No matter. It's paid up as soon as they get their mail.
Hey! It's my poisoned peanut butter refund. I'm rich and powerful now. I can buy some tainted pet food. Or something equally grand.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
TV Zzz
I was a TV whore tonight. Lots of flipping tells me interest just wasn't there. Bits of SVU, CI, Idol, House, Shield, Dancing with the Stars...
I listened to the Idol performances online. Wow was it dreary. I tuned in anyway.
Covering a Clapton song, Chris sounded out of tune to me but he got ample praise while Blake was criticized although praised for sincerity on "Imagine." Blake had a voice 'squeak' on the first falsetto point but he looked great and sounded sincere in a way he didn't on "Love Song" or even "Somewhere Only We Know." I thought it well done although I thought him seated on a high chair next to the piano looked odd.
That said, I think Blake is at great risk for elimination. I'm not sure what was more dreary tonight, the songs or the Secrest-as-poverty pimp. LaKisha got dissed for yelling on Fantasia's first single "Believe." The show was pre-taped on Monday.
At this point I've lost interested in who wins Idol. When Blake leaves, so will I, and even he's not doing a lot to excite me.
House was even more dreary with the patient actually dying because of a simple infection because of a misdiagnosis. I guess it reminded me of Mother on some level.
The Shield did nothing for me tonight. I'm hoping Vick is killed in the line of duty. Next week it looks like Shane admits to what he did but who is he telling?
I got my meds called in. They still have my old phone number on file so I had to call more than once to deal with the automated system. My headache is getting fierce. I don't know if it's a lack of calories or eye strain. Aussies had a holiday today. Duckie refused to admit he misses work. :D
I listened to the Idol performances online. Wow was it dreary. I tuned in anyway.
Covering a Clapton song, Chris sounded out of tune to me but he got ample praise while Blake was criticized although praised for sincerity on "Imagine." Blake had a voice 'squeak' on the first falsetto point but he looked great and sounded sincere in a way he didn't on "Love Song" or even "Somewhere Only We Know." I thought it well done although I thought him seated on a high chair next to the piano looked odd.
That said, I think Blake is at great risk for elimination. I'm not sure what was more dreary tonight, the songs or the Secrest-as-poverty pimp. LaKisha got dissed for yelling on Fantasia's first single "Believe." The show was pre-taped on Monday.
At this point I've lost interested in who wins Idol. When Blake leaves, so will I, and even he's not doing a lot to excite me.
House was even more dreary with the patient actually dying because of a simple infection because of a misdiagnosis. I guess it reminded me of Mother on some level.
The Shield did nothing for me tonight. I'm hoping Vick is killed in the line of duty. Next week it looks like Shane admits to what he did but who is he telling?
I got my meds called in. They still have my old phone number on file so I had to call more than once to deal with the automated system. My headache is getting fierce. I don't know if it's a lack of calories or eye strain. Aussies had a holiday today. Duckie refused to admit he misses work. :D
Save Chocolate From The FDA
It seems the FDA is asking for public comment (ends tomorrow, April 25!) about a proposed change to what can be called "chocolate" in the U.S. Big business wants to be able to substitute for veg oil for cocoa butter and whey protein for whole milk.
Chocolate-maker Guittard is not happy. There's more at the Candyblog including a link to send comment to the FDA.
Chocolate-maker Guittard is not happy. There's more at the Candyblog including a link to send comment to the FDA.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Get Off My Butt!
On the 19th in Springfield, TN, Sheryl Crow said, "I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting... I think we are an industrious enough people that we can make it work with only one square per restroom visit..."WA Post
Just... NO. UGH. I clean my butt with a wire brush if it needs it!
In related news, Doctors want Pap smears for gay men. (SF Chronicle)
Just... NO. UGH. I clean my butt with a wire brush if it needs it!
In related news, Doctors want Pap smears for gay men. (SF Chronicle)
It's Monday!
I survived another weekend. Kitty was sick again. I gave her a bit more hair-ball gel and changed her water. She seems OK otherwise. It rained again. Score one for Weatherbug.
"Heroes" is back from reruns tonight. I don't know yet if I care. I watched "Ugly Betty" on streaming video yesterday. I hadn't missed anything. I felt even the Vanessa Williams character was having an off night. With Daniel fooling around in fountains, can shark jumping be far behind?
Did they have to cast Leslie Jordan imbd profile as the gossip writer? I'm still recovering from his time on "Boston Legal."
I tuned into "Desp. Housewives" live and was disappointed this week: no Andrew. Gabby, however, had perhaps her best scene in a year. Every time she ignores her husband and does her own thing Lynnette reminds me of the SIL.
Ryan Carnes who played Andrew's lover two seasons ago was in a "Dr. Who" in pig-faced latex makeup recently. He's getting more work. Good on him. (Nathan writes to tell me it wasn't Ryan under the makeup. :/)
Reading a web board I saw the holy grail reason to update to CS3 (Creative Suite 3). No, it isn't because it has Universal apps native on Intel-based Macs. When you (accidentally) click on the logos at the top of the toolbox the damned software doesn't launch a browser to advertise Adobe products anymore! Fantastic! Now all I need is to rob a bank.
CS3 retails for $1799.99.
Forget it. The Mac is PowerPC anyway.
I'm tired of wankers on tech sites complaining, claiming a virtual apocalypse with their system(s) and offering scant detail. Slashdot has a "story" about Quicktime causing Windows Vista to blue-screen (BSOD) but only when playing .MOV files from a local hard disk on a particular Toshiba Tablet PC. It's 2007. Even on Microsoft's products, the only thing that should do that is a hardware or hardware driver problem, not a userland program.
Given the infamous problems with the early shipping NVidia graphics drivers for Vista (and perhaps other brands too), I wouldn't look at Quicktime as the culprit. Fascinatingly, on Windows in "Quicktime Preferences" Apple includes an "Advanced" tab which lets you alter how video is played back by the system: using GDI only (in a kind of Quicktime "Safe mode") or with various Direct X accelerations. Since Windows 95, Microsoft has included the ability to turn off different acceleration features to troubleshoot. Bah.
"Heroes" is back from reruns tonight. I don't know yet if I care. I watched "Ugly Betty" on streaming video yesterday. I hadn't missed anything. I felt even the Vanessa Williams character was having an off night. With Daniel fooling around in fountains, can shark jumping be far behind?
Did they have to cast Leslie Jordan imbd profile as the gossip writer? I'm still recovering from his time on "Boston Legal."
I tuned into "Desp. Housewives" live and was disappointed this week: no Andrew. Gabby, however, had perhaps her best scene in a year. Every time she ignores her husband and does her own thing Lynnette reminds me of the SIL.
Ryan Carnes who played Andrew's lover two seasons ago was in a "Dr. Who" in pig-faced latex makeup recently. He's getting more work. Good on him. (Nathan writes to tell me it wasn't Ryan under the makeup. :/)
Reading a web board I saw the holy grail reason to update to CS3 (Creative Suite 3). No, it isn't because it has Universal apps native on Intel-based Macs. When you (accidentally) click on the logos at the top of the toolbox the damned software doesn't launch a browser to advertise Adobe products anymore! Fantastic! Now all I need is to rob a bank.
CS3 retails for $1799.99.
Forget it. The Mac is PowerPC anyway.
I'm tired of wankers on tech sites complaining, claiming a virtual apocalypse with their system(s) and offering scant detail. Slashdot has a "story" about Quicktime causing Windows Vista to blue-screen (BSOD) but only when playing .MOV files from a local hard disk on a particular Toshiba Tablet PC. It's 2007. Even on Microsoft's products, the only thing that should do that is a hardware or hardware driver problem, not a userland program.
Given the infamous problems with the early shipping NVidia graphics drivers for Vista (and perhaps other brands too), I wouldn't look at Quicktime as the culprit. Fascinatingly, on Windows in "Quicktime Preferences" Apple includes an "Advanced" tab which lets you alter how video is played back by the system: using GDI only (in a kind of Quicktime "Safe mode") or with various Direct X accelerations. Since Windows 95, Microsoft has included the ability to turn off different acceleration features to troubleshoot. Bah.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A Piece Of History?
The infamous Goatse.cx domain is up for sale. If Duckie was awake I could see if he wanted to bid. I'll have to email him, bidding is already at $15K.
Read about using the goatse.cx image to get 200,000 Myspace users to stop linking to a pirate image on one guy's site.
In personal news I got my cable bill alert, went to their pay site and find to my horror my payment last month was not successful. I had made two payments in equal amounts online. Only one cleared. The other says "Eftrevrsl." I checked my bank balance and it wasn't a problem nor did it indicate a second payment was attempted. I paid the bill by plastic this time.
Duckie may have a point in just billing to a credit card and paying that card off each month. There might be less trouble than direct payments from the bank, troubles I've seen before. I also noticed the bank has taken $11 in "monthly fees" out.
Supposedly I was going to avoid that by signing up for their online banking. Obviously not. I need to get that sorted before they come around for May's "monthly fee." With a 0.2% APR on their saving account, do you realize how much I'd have to have in the account to earn back their fee each month? It's something like $132,000, isn't it? Not a chance in hell of that happening. If I had that kind of money to bank, I'd be a fool to take that kind of yield!
Read about using the goatse.cx image to get 200,000 Myspace users to stop linking to a pirate image on one guy's site.
In personal news I got my cable bill alert, went to their pay site and find to my horror my payment last month was not successful. I had made two payments in equal amounts online. Only one cleared. The other says "Eftrevrsl." I checked my bank balance and it wasn't a problem nor did it indicate a second payment was attempted. I paid the bill by plastic this time.
Duckie may have a point in just billing to a credit card and paying that card off each month. There might be less trouble than direct payments from the bank, troubles I've seen before. I also noticed the bank has taken $11 in "monthly fees" out.
Supposedly I was going to avoid that by signing up for their online banking. Obviously not. I need to get that sorted before they come around for May's "monthly fee." With a 0.2% APR on their saving account, do you realize how much I'd have to have in the account to earn back their fee each month? It's something like $132,000, isn't it? Not a chance in hell of that happening. If I had that kind of money to bank, I'd be a fool to take that kind of yield!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
From The WTF? File...
So I see this headline today and read the article: Transgender Student Runs for Prom King That's when I notice this detail: She has no current plans, however, to permanently alter her gender through hormones or surgery.
She sometimes goes by Tony and usually by Cinthia.
Is it really right to call her transgender?
She sometimes goes by Tony and usually by Cinthia.
Is it really right to call her transgender?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Odd and The Annoying
Doctors remove woman’s gallbladder through vagina.
I got a second letter from the utility company telling me they were going to add the balance due on the house account to my account here at the apt. So much for having cleared this up by the phone last week. Grrr.
I'm not bothering with "Ugly Betty" tonight.
Dreams are really making sleep tiresome. The latest scene was back at uni, involved a soldier-boy's missing hat that I was trying to return, discussing my grades and slow progress with Mother and a full-size new white pickup being replaced with a blue one at the house. The white pickup had been damaged in the cargo bed. Father never owned a white truck. Many of these scenes were influenced by news, things I watched or thought about. The truck, for example, probably comes from a segment on a man who ran his truck into a gate. The steal bar ran thought the grill, engine compartment and the man, destroying part of his small intestine. He lived.
In the prior segment, they showed the student who had scissors thrown and stuck in his arm. You've probably see the video on YouTube or elsewhere. He's now a Marine and was due to serve in Iraq. The friend who through the scissors was expelled from the school when the video leaked online.
I got a second letter from the utility company telling me they were going to add the balance due on the house account to my account here at the apt. So much for having cleared this up by the phone last week. Grrr.
I'm not bothering with "Ugly Betty" tonight.
Dreams are really making sleep tiresome. The latest scene was back at uni, involved a soldier-boy's missing hat that I was trying to return, discussing my grades and slow progress with Mother and a full-size new white pickup being replaced with a blue one at the house. The white pickup had been damaged in the cargo bed. Father never owned a white truck. Many of these scenes were influenced by news, things I watched or thought about. The truck, for example, probably comes from a segment on a man who ran his truck into a gate. The steal bar ran thought the grill, engine compartment and the man, destroying part of his small intestine. He lived.
In the prior segment, they showed the student who had scissors thrown and stuck in his arm. You've probably see the video on YouTube or elsewhere. He's now a Marine and was due to serve in Iraq. The friend who through the scissors was expelled from the school when the video leaked online.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
401!
This is my 401st post on this blog. Who knew? Ok, on to Idol. Two groups as expected: Sanjaya, Lakisha, Blake and Phil, Chris, Jordin with Melinda asked to pick which group she was in. Like Bo, she declined to choose and stayed in the middle.
They do this because it's meant to be a "surprise" which tells us that Phil, et al. are safe and they are. Blake makes his first appearance in the bottom three but is immediately safe and so is Lakisha. We're finally rid of the bizarre Sanjaya!
I'm not quite sure what to make of the groups. I suppose there's more play week-to-week in the rankings than I had anticipated.
It's Wednesday which means Criminal Minds (a repeat) and Shear Genius are on. I'm not really up for TV so I think I'll take a pass. With The Black Donnelly's viewable by streaming online only now I don't know I can be bothered to watch.
I need to eat in hopes of improving a sour mood after a very rough sleep. Sleep has been anything but restful by playing very vivid dreams about Mother, moving, housing--even old gammaneighbor and her gaggle made an appearance last night! Kitty joined me on the bed at some point and decided my hair needed shaping. That could account for why she barfed a few minutes ago.
They do this because it's meant to be a "surprise" which tells us that Phil, et al. are safe and they are. Blake makes his first appearance in the bottom three but is immediately safe and so is Lakisha. We're finally rid of the bizarre Sanjaya!
I'm not quite sure what to make of the groups. I suppose there's more play week-to-week in the rankings than I had anticipated.
It's Wednesday which means Criminal Minds (a repeat) and Shear Genius are on. I'm not really up for TV so I think I'll take a pass. With The Black Donnelly's viewable by streaming online only now I don't know I can be bothered to watch.
I need to eat in hopes of improving a sour mood after a very rough sleep. Sleep has been anything but restful by playing very vivid dreams about Mother, moving, housing--even old gammaneighbor and her gaggle made an appearance last night! Kitty joined me on the bed at some point and decided my hair needed shaping. That could account for why she barfed a few minutes ago.
TV Tuesday
Starting late, I caught five of the Idol performances on country night. Sanjaya was bad enough to make me sound good. It was his turn when I put the show on.
Blake got the "pimp spot" at the end of the show. It wasn't fantastic *but* he "raised his game" (gotta use those cliches!) on his vocal power. Good work on that, Blake. I've seen some say online he was off pitch but I really didn't take note of that. I was looking at other things in her performance. I suspect he'll be back next week.
Chris may have stepped in it. He talked back to Simon when he was criticized as being "nasally" he defended it as being a style of singing. While that kind of interaction with the judges is usually bad he pulled the Virginia Tech sympathy card out so it might be a wash. Still, I won't be surprised to see him in the bottom 3 with Phil but who will be the third? Could it be Blake or will we finally get rid of Sanjaya?
Melinda had a nice performance. I hated the outfit. It looked like an old curtain worn as a bath towel. Inexplicably Simon thought she looked better than last week. I'm overjoyed to see he called her out on the tiresome "surprise" at getting praise from the judges. She was probably best of the five I saw. Lakisha left me cold and judges agreed.
It'll probably one of those result shows where they split the seven into two groups of three and the middle person has to decide with which group to stand. Two years ago a shrewd Bo Bice refused to budge.
The Shield was a good episode but it did not leave my jaw on the floor this week. I was a little disappointed in the Abu Ghraib overtones of Vic's interrogation of Eduardo. For me the new House was only note worthy for what he did to his friend Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard).
I did plenty of flipping and caught bits of Cold Case, SVU, Pussy Cat Dolls, CSI: Miami, Criminal Intent and a Mythbusters which showed it's possible to put a fire out with sound. Lance Bass was cheering Joey Fatone on again on "Dancing with the Stars." He seems to be a permanent fixture with nothing better to do or he's hot for one of the dancers.
Blake got the "pimp spot" at the end of the show. It wasn't fantastic *but* he "raised his game" (gotta use those cliches!) on his vocal power. Good work on that, Blake. I've seen some say online he was off pitch but I really didn't take note of that. I was looking at other things in her performance. I suspect he'll be back next week.
Chris may have stepped in it. He talked back to Simon when he was criticized as being "nasally" he defended it as being a style of singing. While that kind of interaction with the judges is usually bad he pulled the Virginia Tech sympathy card out so it might be a wash. Still, I won't be surprised to see him in the bottom 3 with Phil but who will be the third? Could it be Blake or will we finally get rid of Sanjaya?
Melinda had a nice performance. I hated the outfit. It looked like an old curtain worn as a bath towel. Inexplicably Simon thought she looked better than last week. I'm overjoyed to see he called her out on the tiresome "surprise" at getting praise from the judges. She was probably best of the five I saw. Lakisha left me cold and judges agreed.
It'll probably one of those result shows where they split the seven into two groups of three and the middle person has to decide with which group to stand. Two years ago a shrewd Bo Bice refused to budge.
The Shield was a good episode but it did not leave my jaw on the floor this week. I was a little disappointed in the Abu Ghraib overtones of Vic's interrogation of Eduardo. For me the new House was only note worthy for what he did to his friend Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard).
I did plenty of flipping and caught bits of Cold Case, SVU, Pussy Cat Dolls, CSI: Miami, Criminal Intent and a Mythbusters which showed it's possible to put a fire out with sound. Lance Bass was cheering Joey Fatone on again on "Dancing with the Stars." He seems to be a permanent fixture with nothing better to do or he's hot for one of the dancers.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Programming Notes
A country music theme brings Martina McBride as guest "coach" on Idol. I can't stand McBride after an insufferable overplay of "Independence Day."
Next week is the vomit-inducing "Idol Gives Back" show. The contestant's theme will be "life anthems."
That Wednesday is a two hour telethon results show featuring Gwen Stefani, Pink, Annie Lennox, Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson and Il Divo. We're "raising awareness" of starving children in Africa. How very 1980's!
The first image from "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," a Fox tv pilot has appeared online. The show stars Lena Headey as Sarah and Thomas Dekker as John.
Dekker played the controversialgay character Zack in "Heroes."
Next week is the vomit-inducing "Idol Gives Back" show. The contestant's theme will be "life anthems."
That Wednesday is a two hour telethon results show featuring Gwen Stefani, Pink, Annie Lennox, Michael Buble, Kelly Clarkson and Il Divo. We're "raising awareness" of starving children in Africa. How very 1980's!
The first image from "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," a Fox tv pilot has appeared online. The show stars Lena Headey as Sarah and Thomas Dekker as John.
Dekker played the controversial
Lou Pearlman
I know at least a few of those reading know his name. He was the money-man behind Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, O-Town and Aaron Carter's careers. He's on the run after apparently stealing hundreds of millions in dollars.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Today's Random Links
JC Chasez has a new song on previewing on AOL. It is called “You Ruined Me.” (I couldn’t get AOL’s site to play it for me.)
Women may be able to produce their own sperm soon. Read about this technology.
British PM Tony Blair blames murders on black culture
Women may be able to produce their own sperm soon. Read about this technology.
British PM Tony Blair blames murders on black culture
Mac Disappointment
It was announced today the next release of Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard, would not ship in spring after all. That is, it won’t ship in spring of the northern hemisphere. Instead Apple will release a “feature complete” beta to developers in June and release Leopard to customers in October. This delay is supposedly caused by need of key Leopard QA and developers on the iPhone. On the upside of this delay it gives some added hope there might really be those “secret” features as yet unrevealed.
I don’t care about the iPhone. I hate phones. It makes a neat demo and Apple has to get it right on the launch. They can’t afford to have the negative reaction that came with Sony’s release of the PS3.
Rumors say the new developer release of Leopard has no use of “brushed metal” and instead uses the dreary iTunes 7 look in its place. Yuck. I use Aqua4iTunes to change the iTunes 7 appearance to something less sullen on the Mac.
I don’t care about the iPhone. I hate phones. It makes a neat demo and Apple has to get it right on the launch. They can’t afford to have the negative reaction that came with Sony’s release of the PS3.
Rumors say the new developer release of Leopard has no use of “brushed metal” and instead uses the dreary iTunes 7 look in its place. Yuck. I use Aqua4iTunes to change the iTunes 7 appearance to something less sullen on the Mac.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mostly Right On Idol.
Yesterday I said, "I'll guess Chris, Phil, Haley are the bottom 3 and Phil goes home." and tonight they were the bottom three. Yay me.
Chris was safe. Who went home?
It wasn't Phil. Yay Phil. I scored on the bottom three guess. I've seen rumors of next week's theme being country music. One word: YUCK.
I watched the finale of Top Design on BRAVO. Congrats to Matt. See the lofts he and Carisa did here. I wasn't sure Matt was going to win. His loft's initial impression told me corporate lobby. It was not somewhere I'd want to live. I like 'master' the bedroom and his bathroom wasn't as frightful as his competitor's. Considering they had around $150,000 (most of that as pieces to be memoed from the Pacific Design Center), and two months for design, I was left rather unimpressed.
"Shear Genius" debuted after "Top Design" and with Jacklyn Smith hosting I naturally stayed tuned-in. The show really hasn't sold me on itself. I will probably check in next week if I think of it. I like Theodore and Tabitha. The best part of the show, other than looking at Jacklyn Smith, was the guts they had to actually kick off the most obnoxious character, Paul Jean, right off.
I'm a little curious about "Dr Boogie" who affects a gay stereotypical nelly character and said he was not gay when saying he couldn't take is eyes off the show's male "mentor."
Here's a look at arrogant little Paul Jean's losing "Final Cut"
Chris was safe. Who went home?
It wasn't Phil. Yay Phil. I scored on the bottom three guess. I've seen rumors of next week's theme being country music. One word: YUCK.
I watched the finale of Top Design on BRAVO. Congrats to Matt. See the lofts he and Carisa did here. I wasn't sure Matt was going to win. His loft's initial impression told me corporate lobby. It was not somewhere I'd want to live. I like 'master' the bedroom and his bathroom wasn't as frightful as his competitor's. Considering they had around $150,000 (most of that as pieces to be memoed from the Pacific Design Center), and two months for design, I was left rather unimpressed.
"Shear Genius" debuted after "Top Design" and with Jacklyn Smith hosting I naturally stayed tuned-in. The show really hasn't sold me on itself. I will probably check in next week if I think of it. I like Theodore and Tabitha. The best part of the show, other than looking at Jacklyn Smith, was the guts they had to actually kick off the most obnoxious character, Paul Jean, right off.
I'm a little curious about "Dr Boogie" who affects a gay stereotypical nelly character and said he was not gay when saying he couldn't take is eyes off the show's male "mentor."
Here's a look at arrogant little Paul Jean's losing "Final Cut"
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Fishes Out Of Water On Idol
Updated Top eight brings us latin sounds with guest coach JLo trying to save her new (bombing) album.
When I can say Sanjaya performing "Bésame Mucho" was probably top 3--he got the show-closing "pimp spot"--you know the show had a bad night. Most of the performers sounded horribly uncomfortable in the genre.
Melinda's rendition of "Sway" reminded me of Ella Fitzgerald performing "Girl from Ipanema." Apparently Simon didn't like it. I haven't watched the show yet, only heard the performances. I have watched now and Simon thought she didn't look like she was having fun and seemed too old. I can agree but liked it.
The other "divas" seemed to have no idea what they were doing.
Lakisha butchered "Conga." It sounded to me like she wasn't "listen[ing] to the rhythm" as the lyric advises but fighting it, trying to make it R&B. Even Paula was unhappy so I'm curious how it'll play.
Jordin who I had good things to say about last week tried another Gloria Estefan hit "Rhythm is Gonna Get Ya" and she sounded amateurish at best. It was like she was trying to immitate Kelly Clarkson's first-season takes on Aretha songs. Unfortunately for Jordin this was Latin night. JLo praised the injection of soul/R&B stylings. Jordin looked better performing than it sounded which would puts her in a better position.
Batting 7th for the night, Blake actually seemed to get the theme in his performance of "I Need To Know" and although his vocal didn't sound perfect, overall it may have been the strongest performance of the night since he's usually very good on stage. We'll see how that goes. Simon said he was best of the night. I wasn't thrilled with the camera work. JLo actually called Blake in to help Haley by beat-boxing during her coaching session. I was flabbergasted.
There was a piano which and a piano like a drum is a percussion instrument. I wonder why that wouldn't be sufficient to provide the beat for Haley to practice singing with.
Speaking of her, Haley appears to be all about her legs again but she seemed to be trying to embrace the genre but didn't have the vocal prowess to do it. Unfortunately she took a swing at Gloria's hit "Turn the Beat Around." I see a pattern in tonight's failures for the girls: Gloria Estefan is a better singer than you might expect ladies. They didn't learn this lesson from past seasons. Tisk, tisk.
I don't know what to say about Chris and Phil. Chris was nasal, with too much R&B styling attempted on "Smooth"--JLo complimented it during the coaching. The judges were carrying Chris' water. They clearly want to keep him around awhile. Phil sucked a bit of life out of "Maria, Maria" but at least he was fairly in tune. I didn't like the R&B vocal flavoring. If Phil looked like Chris he'd be safe.
Who goes home? With so many clunkers, I don't know. I suspect Melinda, Blake and Sanjaya are safe for another week. Phil probably should be back based on his vocal performance but he isn't very popular.
I'll guess Chris, Phil, Haley are the bottom 3 and Phil goes home. I don't agree with JLo or the judges who liked the R&B bits tossed into the Latin songs. It sounded ridiculously out of place. From Simon's comments I'm a fuddy-duddy for liking Melinda but not Chris or Lakisha tonight. I disagree. Blake once again showed you could modernize without breaking the song. I still wish his voice was stronger than it is.
When I can say Sanjaya performing "Bésame Mucho" was probably top 3--he got the show-closing "pimp spot"--you know the show had a bad night. Most of the performers sounded horribly uncomfortable in the genre.
Melinda's rendition of "Sway" reminded me of Ella Fitzgerald performing "Girl from Ipanema." Apparently Simon didn't like it. I haven't watched the show yet, only heard the performances. I have watched now and Simon thought she didn't look like she was having fun and seemed too old. I can agree but liked it.
The other "divas" seemed to have no idea what they were doing.
Lakisha butchered "Conga." It sounded to me like she wasn't "listen[ing] to the rhythm" as the lyric advises but fighting it, trying to make it R&B. Even Paula was unhappy so I'm curious how it'll play.
Jordin who I had good things to say about last week tried another Gloria Estefan hit "Rhythm is Gonna Get Ya" and she sounded amateurish at best. It was like she was trying to immitate Kelly Clarkson's first-season takes on Aretha songs. Unfortunately for Jordin this was Latin night. JLo praised the injection of soul/R&B stylings. Jordin looked better performing than it sounded which would puts her in a better position.
Batting 7th for the night, Blake actually seemed to get the theme in his performance of "I Need To Know" and although his vocal didn't sound perfect, overall it may have been the strongest performance of the night since he's usually very good on stage. We'll see how that goes. Simon said he was best of the night. I wasn't thrilled with the camera work. JLo actually called Blake in to help Haley by beat-boxing during her coaching session. I was flabbergasted.
There was a piano which and a piano like a drum is a percussion instrument. I wonder why that wouldn't be sufficient to provide the beat for Haley to practice singing with.
Speaking of her, Haley appears to be all about her legs again but she seemed to be trying to embrace the genre but didn't have the vocal prowess to do it. Unfortunately she took a swing at Gloria's hit "Turn the Beat Around." I see a pattern in tonight's failures for the girls: Gloria Estefan is a better singer than you might expect ladies. They didn't learn this lesson from past seasons. Tisk, tisk.
I don't know what to say about Chris and Phil. Chris was nasal, with too much R&B styling attempted on "Smooth"--JLo complimented it during the coaching. The judges were carrying Chris' water. They clearly want to keep him around awhile. Phil sucked a bit of life out of "Maria, Maria" but at least he was fairly in tune. I didn't like the R&B vocal flavoring. If Phil looked like Chris he'd be safe.
Who goes home? With so many clunkers, I don't know. I suspect Melinda, Blake and Sanjaya are safe for another week. Phil probably should be back based on his vocal performance but he isn't very popular.
I'll guess Chris, Phil, Haley are the bottom 3 and Phil goes home. I don't agree with JLo or the judges who liked the R&B bits tossed into the Latin songs. It sounded ridiculously out of place. From Simon's comments I'm a fuddy-duddy for liking Melinda but not Chris or Lakisha tonight. I disagree. Blake once again showed you could modernize without breaking the song. I still wish his voice was stronger than it is.
At The Margins
It was obviously coming; NBC has axed "The Black Donnellys" which is just too mature for network TV. It would really be a better fit on a cable channel like FX which hosts "The Shield."
I tried to tune in tonight with kitty and there was a moronic unscripted improv show "Oh My God! I'm Glad You're Here!" I check a TBD fan site and discovered this week's episode would be streamed online.
NBC's streaming is poor quality. I had to start it twice to get audio to generally sync with the picture. ABC has the best episode streaming of the networks in my experience.
Easter was just me with the cat, no email or call from the Brother & the herd. I asked Duckie if I should be annoyed and he suggested I look at it as a blessing for not having to put up with their craziness. That's a nice way to paper over things.
Well I just spent an hour or so digging through the garage looking for something. I found it! Yay me! It was not just the last place I looked but the only place I'd skipped over before. I'd all but decided I had a false memory of it being in the garage when I checked that other box.
What is it? It's facial/body scrubber. I'd guess it's 20 years old although I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's even older. Was it Mother's? Grandmother's? No, somehow I recall it was for we boys to use for facials to help with acne. I don't remember it getting used much at all but when it was, it was usually on my skin.
I brought it up to the apartment and it died out. Wondering if I could fix it, I fetched my toolkit and pulled it apart. It's a simple mechanism, just a small motor and two gears. I could hear Mother harping about buying another one, are you sure you can fix it, do you know how it goes together. I got it working. Yay me.
I cleaned toilet, washed mirrors, did laundry, took out trash today too.
More later.
I tried to tune in tonight with kitty and there was a moronic unscripted improv show "Oh My God! I'm Glad You're Here!" I check a TBD fan site and discovered this week's episode would be streamed online.
NBC's streaming is poor quality. I had to start it twice to get audio to generally sync with the picture. ABC has the best episode streaming of the networks in my experience.
Easter was just me with the cat, no email or call from the Brother & the herd. I asked Duckie if I should be annoyed and he suggested I look at it as a blessing for not having to put up with their craziness. That's a nice way to paper over things.
Well I just spent an hour or so digging through the garage looking for something. I found it! Yay me! It was not just the last place I looked but the only place I'd skipped over before. I'd all but decided I had a false memory of it being in the garage when I checked that other box.
What is it? It's facial/body scrubber. I'd guess it's 20 years old although I wouldn't be surprised to learn it's even older. Was it Mother's? Grandmother's? No, somehow I recall it was for we boys to use for facials to help with acne. I don't remember it getting used much at all but when it was, it was usually on my skin.
I brought it up to the apartment and it died out. Wondering if I could fix it, I fetched my toolkit and pulled it apart. It's a simple mechanism, just a small motor and two gears. I could hear Mother harping about buying another one, are you sure you can fix it, do you know how it goes together. I got it working. Yay me.
I cleaned toilet, washed mirrors, did laundry, took out trash today too.
More later.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Happy Easter?
I saw this pun online and couldn't resist sharing.
We gave RL & A candy crosses, which don't normally include the "Prince of Peeps," for their first Easter with us.
If you laughed, you'll burn in Hell too. :)
More and more I think Hell is memories you can't escape. You know the ones, they stalk you, club you with guilt or anxiety...
Update: Johnny Hart of the sometimes controversial B.C. comic strip (B.C. at Creator's Syndicate) has passed of a stroke at 76. It wasn't my favorite by far but I often read it when I was taking the local paper. I was stunned he'd been working on B.C. for 49 years. He also worked on the Wizard of Id. (at Creator's Syndicate)
We gave RL & A candy crosses, which don't normally include the "Prince of Peeps," for their first Easter with us.
If you laughed, you'll burn in Hell too. :)
More and more I think Hell is memories you can't escape. You know the ones, they stalk you, club you with guilt or anxiety...
Update: Johnny Hart of the sometimes controversial B.C. comic strip (B.C. at Creator's Syndicate) has passed of a stroke at 76. It wasn't my favorite by far but I often read it when I was taking the local paper. I was stunned he'd been working on B.C. for 49 years. He also worked on the Wizard of Id. (at Creator's Syndicate)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Update Missing?
No new post today. There was one up for a few hours but I decided to pull it and keep it as a draft for now.
Not feeling great today. Liquid/soft diet time. Grrr.
Not feeling great today. Liquid/soft diet time. Grrr.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Mailing Morons and TV
We got mail today. There's a bill, not necessarily unusual. It isn't mine, not necessarily unusual either. It was originally addressed to the SIL.
The post office put the forwarding address sticker for her on the envelope then put another, this time for me, on top of that one. I pulled one sticker off and dropped it back in the mail. We'll see what happens. I could've been "nice" and walked it up (2 mile round trip) but I'm a lazy bastard who wants to avoid the crabby SIL.
From the forwarding sticker, it could be her fault anyway. It only lists family name, not a first name. Either she didn't do one for each of her and Brother or someone at the post office was especially lazy. Who really knows anymore?
I had a very hard time sleeping. There's nothing in particular bothering me. I did binge eat yesterday. It wasn't that I over-indulged across the whole day just that I compacted more food into a shorted time period. Clearly a part of me wanted to feel physically bad and bloated for over-eating. This is annoying to be sure.
The Shield started up again last night. I haven't finished watching season 5 so I'm a bit behind, however a channel has been running a pair of shows a night so I'll be caught up to the new season quickly. I noted these syndicated episodes are only rated TV-14, not TV-MA. Since I haven't seen them before, I don't know if these are edited for content vs. their originally aired version. Why would cable channel which claims to be "television for men" need to edit a show for content?
Top Design is the final three tonight. I hope the right royal country cow gets eliminated. She has some skill, sure, but her attitude is out of control. Of the other two, I'm not sure whose work I prefer.
I'm hungry. I wish the cat would cook for me. Tisk.
It's now Thursday. Top Design cut the architect. When I saw her room I knew she was in trouble. It wasn't finished enough. Unfortunately the pain in the butt is in the finals. I'm not surprised because it gives the final showdown a sharp contrast. At least I'm not alone in loathing her, the viewer "vote" wanted to send her home something like 69%. Gay, straight or... oops, wrong show, Matt better win this thing. Starting after the Top Design final is a new show. I might watch this hair stylist challenge but only because Jacklyn Smith is the hostess. I'll tune in for the premier.
I saw the last few shows of the Shield season 5 last night. Wow. Unfortunately it backs up my sense the show may have jumped the shark. I don't believe there's any way Kavenaugh would be getting so many shots at taking down Vick & co. in the real world.
The post office put the forwarding address sticker for her on the envelope then put another, this time for me, on top of that one. I pulled one sticker off and dropped it back in the mail. We'll see what happens. I could've been "nice" and walked it up (2 mile round trip) but I'm a lazy bastard who wants to avoid the crabby SIL.
From the forwarding sticker, it could be her fault anyway. It only lists family name, not a first name. Either she didn't do one for each of her and Brother or someone at the post office was especially lazy. Who really knows anymore?
I had a very hard time sleeping. There's nothing in particular bothering me. I did binge eat yesterday. It wasn't that I over-indulged across the whole day just that I compacted more food into a shorted time period. Clearly a part of me wanted to feel physically bad and bloated for over-eating. This is annoying to be sure.
The Shield started up again last night. I haven't finished watching season 5 so I'm a bit behind, however a channel has been running a pair of shows a night so I'll be caught up to the new season quickly. I noted these syndicated episodes are only rated TV-14, not TV-MA. Since I haven't seen them before, I don't know if these are edited for content vs. their originally aired version. Why would cable channel which claims to be "television for men" need to edit a show for content?
Top Design is the final three tonight. I hope the right royal country cow gets eliminated. She has some skill, sure, but her attitude is out of control. Of the other two, I'm not sure whose work I prefer.
I'm hungry. I wish the cat would cook for me. Tisk.
It's now Thursday. Top Design cut the architect. When I saw her room I knew she was in trouble. It wasn't finished enough. Unfortunately the pain in the butt is in the finals. I'm not surprised because it gives the final showdown a sharp contrast. At least I'm not alone in loathing her, the viewer "vote" wanted to send her home something like 69%. Gay, straight or... oops, wrong show, Matt better win this thing. Starting after the Top Design final is a new show. I might watch this hair stylist challenge but only because Jacklyn Smith is the hostess. I'll tune in for the premier.
I saw the last few shows of the Shield season 5 last night. Wow. Unfortunately it backs up my sense the show may have jumped the shark. I don't believe there's any way Kavenaugh would be getting so many shots at taking down Vick & co. in the real world.
No Surprises On Idol
The result isn't a surprise. Gina had a bad week and wasn't going to win.
Phil's problem isn't his voice but his look. If he looked like Chris or Blake he'd make Top 4. It's a shame. Simon was right that Phil's performance seems dark in tone. That's something he could work on performance-wise but he might be too late in the competition to change perception.
Two weeks in a row Blake's bored me. I know Bennett told him to slow the tempo down on the song but I think that was bad advice for Blake. I've always kind of figured he might peak at Top 4 but now I'm not sure he'll hold on. He's good on stage, a top 3 performer, but his voice just isn't pulling it off enough. Fortunately, he is pretty good at song choice but he'll ultimately be at the mercy of the theme. I'm not seeing much of Blake's own charm. I thought the judges were wrong about Diana Ross week, adding the beat to the song was just what Blake can do well.
I'm disappointed in the "top 3." Another set of "Divas" like season 3? Melinda is the most polished but the first part of the song was boring. She coasted a bit this week. Lakisha is OK, not on Melinda's level, but not so consistent.
For the first time I recognized how Jordin is a big threat and I'm glad. I'd rather see her in the finals than either of the other pair. There's a bit of natural charisma the others are lacking. Melinda usually makes up for it in experience as a performer. On Melinda I have to say her humility shtick (genuine or not) is tiresome.
Sanjaya is this season's "around too long" contestant like the "goat girl" in season 2, "miss constipation" in season 3, "the red head" in season 4, and so on. The over-focus on him is harming Blake and maybe some of the others who would benefit from genuine buzz.
Chris's voice is often irritating. Some of the gymnastics he attempts aren't well suited to his skills. He doesn't seem self-possessed on stage as much as putting on a performance. I keep seeing Timberlake when I see and hear him and I have an ongoing revulsion to "Mistuh" JT.
I think Jordin could win it.
Phil's problem isn't his voice but his look. If he looked like Chris or Blake he'd make Top 4. It's a shame. Simon was right that Phil's performance seems dark in tone. That's something he could work on performance-wise but he might be too late in the competition to change perception.
Two weeks in a row Blake's bored me. I know Bennett told him to slow the tempo down on the song but I think that was bad advice for Blake. I've always kind of figured he might peak at Top 4 but now I'm not sure he'll hold on. He's good on stage, a top 3 performer, but his voice just isn't pulling it off enough. Fortunately, he is pretty good at song choice but he'll ultimately be at the mercy of the theme. I'm not seeing much of Blake's own charm. I thought the judges were wrong about Diana Ross week, adding the beat to the song was just what Blake can do well.
I'm disappointed in the "top 3." Another set of "Divas" like season 3? Melinda is the most polished but the first part of the song was boring. She coasted a bit this week. Lakisha is OK, not on Melinda's level, but not so consistent.
For the first time I recognized how Jordin is a big threat and I'm glad. I'd rather see her in the finals than either of the other pair. There's a bit of natural charisma the others are lacking. Melinda usually makes up for it in experience as a performer. On Melinda I have to say her humility shtick (genuine or not) is tiresome.
Sanjaya is this season's "around too long" contestant like the "goat girl" in season 2, "miss constipation" in season 3, "the red head" in season 4, and so on. The over-focus on him is harming Blake and maybe some of the others who would benefit from genuine buzz.
Chris's voice is often irritating. Some of the gymnastics he attempts aren't well suited to his skills. He doesn't seem self-possessed on stage as much as putting on a performance. I keep seeing Timberlake when I see and hear him and I have an ongoing revulsion to "Mistuh" JT.
I think Jordin could win it.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Do Stylists Hate Their Clients?
I'm thinking whoever styles Jesse McCartney hates him. The suit makes me itch by looking at it. The off-kilter trucker hat needs to be burnt! He was performing at the Nick Kid's Choice Awards:
Update: Clay Aiken has a new look. F*cking hell.
Update: Clay Aiken has a new look. F*cking hell.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
April Fools
I can't stand this date. All the faux "news stories" really ruin attempts to enjoy my routine. Since there's so damned little I enjoy now, it's doubly irritating. Bah.
Back to yesterday's visit to the house. The SIL was up-tight which was one reason Brother came down with the fridge. He remarked he wished he had a lawyer on speed-dial and advised me to stay single. He told me our uncle had a license plate holder on his orange van: "Happiness is being single." Even into his third marriage he kept the holder. I remember the van, even attending that wedding (that marriage stuck) but was too young to have taken note of the holder. I reassured Brother staying single wouldn't be a problem. Besides, Duckie wouldn't elope to Canada.
What else? I saw the kids. A and RL were still in their baseball uniforms. Although I noticed what they were wearing, I completely overlooked asking them about their games. Mother would've remembered.
MD was hobbling around all grins while A was trying to put things in a bookcase. The carpet cleaner is finally returned. I can't even remember how long ago it was borrowed. I still don't have the vacuum. It's lost somewhere in the cardboard jungle. The SIL couldn't figure out where to start on things. The new pantry looks OK with things in it and isn't full at this time but I have to say the quality was no where near what I'd expect of myself for free much less at $60/hr. The flaws of the new wallboard, put up where Brother and I pulled down old paneling, makes my skin cry out in horror. I did keep my mouth shut and complimented the fact there were actually walls to be seen rather than the paneling. After 30+ years it was a drastic thing and about 30 years overdo. Brother later told me he had it done because of Mother and even that she's dead she deserved to finally be rid of the damned paneling. Of course, there's still a wall with paneling but it's unobtrusive.
I wish my mood was better. It's been rather morbid over the past couple of weeks, more so than before. A downturn isn't usual for me this time of year but it's more aggressive than I remember.
I tried a couple Mac software products that let you scan barcodes to catalog books and films with your Firewire/iLink/IEEE-1394 video cam. "Delicious Library" seems to work pretty well. It reads the codes with reliability. Pulling information off of Amazon is a bit slow and sometimes the process falls short. Of the random selection of DVDs I tried, it couldn't find the governor's "Jingle All The Way" and didn't bring down the cover-art for "True Lies." The competitor I won't mention. None of the DVDs scanned and it took a half-hour to get it to recognize a hand-full of book barcodes. They need to do more work on fundamental scanning reliability. As nifty as having such an inventory might be, it seems a little pointless for me unless I want to divest myself of films. When Mother was around, it might've been fun to use although I kept track of our DVD purchases with a simple, manually entered list of titles. There are other things I'd like to track though. Food purchases, for example, so I could profile my activities. For years I've kept a photo log of toys and educational things I buy for the niece and nephews to avoid duplicates. Before gift-giving events come up, I'd send off photos to get approval or confirmation it wasn't a duplicate otherwise purchased. Since no one else was buying the educational stuff, it was fairly easy on us.
Rent is paid, health coverage is paid (although my bill was sent to the wrong address). I got a credit card bill for $0.00. I wish I was happier. Forget happy, just less self-loathing would be a turn. My hard drive cable has arrived in CA so it could actually arrive tomorrow as expected. I'm not sure I saved anything by ordering online for about $10 less. Maybe I did. I ordered the cable for the "old" desktop VAIO. One of the hard disks reported failure and after backing it up for a last time, I pulled the cable and the cable itself tore away from the plug which stuck in the drive. In 20 years I've never had that happen to a ribbon cable before.
Speaking of SONY products, the SIL got her HDTV, a 40" Bravia. I didn't note if it's 720p or 1080p.
Back to yesterday's visit to the house. The SIL was up-tight which was one reason Brother came down with the fridge. He remarked he wished he had a lawyer on speed-dial and advised me to stay single. He told me our uncle had a license plate holder on his orange van: "Happiness is being single." Even into his third marriage he kept the holder. I remember the van, even attending that wedding (that marriage stuck) but was too young to have taken note of the holder. I reassured Brother staying single wouldn't be a problem. Besides, Duckie wouldn't elope to Canada.
What else? I saw the kids. A and RL were still in their baseball uniforms. Although I noticed what they were wearing, I completely overlooked asking them about their games. Mother would've remembered.
MD was hobbling around all grins while A was trying to put things in a bookcase. The carpet cleaner is finally returned. I can't even remember how long ago it was borrowed. I still don't have the vacuum. It's lost somewhere in the cardboard jungle. The SIL couldn't figure out where to start on things. The new pantry looks OK with things in it and isn't full at this time but I have to say the quality was no where near what I'd expect of myself for free much less at $60/hr. The flaws of the new wallboard, put up where Brother and I pulled down old paneling, makes my skin cry out in horror. I did keep my mouth shut and complimented the fact there were actually walls to be seen rather than the paneling. After 30+ years it was a drastic thing and about 30 years overdo. Brother later told me he had it done because of Mother and even that she's dead she deserved to finally be rid of the damned paneling. Of course, there's still a wall with paneling but it's unobtrusive.
I wish my mood was better. It's been rather morbid over the past couple of weeks, more so than before. A downturn isn't usual for me this time of year but it's more aggressive than I remember.
I tried a couple Mac software products that let you scan barcodes to catalog books and films with your Firewire/iLink/IEEE-1394 video cam. "Delicious Library" seems to work pretty well. It reads the codes with reliability. Pulling information off of Amazon is a bit slow and sometimes the process falls short. Of the random selection of DVDs I tried, it couldn't find the governor's "Jingle All The Way" and didn't bring down the cover-art for "True Lies." The competitor I won't mention. None of the DVDs scanned and it took a half-hour to get it to recognize a hand-full of book barcodes. They need to do more work on fundamental scanning reliability. As nifty as having such an inventory might be, it seems a little pointless for me unless I want to divest myself of films. When Mother was around, it might've been fun to use although I kept track of our DVD purchases with a simple, manually entered list of titles. There are other things I'd like to track though. Food purchases, for example, so I could profile my activities. For years I've kept a photo log of toys and educational things I buy for the niece and nephews to avoid duplicates. Before gift-giving events come up, I'd send off photos to get approval or confirmation it wasn't a duplicate otherwise purchased. Since no one else was buying the educational stuff, it was fairly easy on us.
Rent is paid, health coverage is paid (although my bill was sent to the wrong address). I got a credit card bill for $0.00. I wish I was happier. Forget happy, just less self-loathing would be a turn. My hard drive cable has arrived in CA so it could actually arrive tomorrow as expected. I'm not sure I saved anything by ordering online for about $10 less. Maybe I did. I ordered the cable for the "old" desktop VAIO. One of the hard disks reported failure and after backing it up for a last time, I pulled the cable and the cable itself tore away from the plug which stuck in the drive. In 20 years I've never had that happen to a ribbon cable before.
Speaking of SONY products, the SIL got her HDTV, a 40" Bravia. I didn't note if it's 720p or 1080p.
Cynical Much?
I was reading a celebrity gossip site (not Perez) to pass the time and saw a story about Shane West. I don't watch ER but I remember Shane from his days as Eli on "Once and Again." Supposedly he was seen at a party for GQ kissing an occasional actor on "Boston Legal." No, he wasn't kissing William Shatner's butt. Sorry.
The claim got the gay gossip chirping and the expected PR flack denials flew.
It just happens Shane and Ashton Holmes are playing gay in an upcoming film. Am I just too cynical assuming this story only happened as a viral marketing ploy for the film?
I was up to the house a bit. I didn't walk up there. Brother called about delivering the fridge. The garage is packed. The kid's playroom is filled. I cynically chuckle since the SIL had complained about there being so much junk in the house when it was still Mother's. We had nothing on the warehouse going on now!
I hate the new lounge sofas. They're amorphous "leather" blobs. Out of proportion to the room, it's like looking at the super-obese. I'm talking those 700 lbs waves and folds of flesh. Yuck.
The dining floor is down and there's some tile left over. I wish Mother'd been able to see the tile extend throughout the dining room.
We had wanted to do it but she decided it would have been too much for me to do and, maybe more so, we didn't have enough tile to do the bedrooms and dining both.
There's more to write about the house but I just can't be bothered right now. I had ravioli and find it wasn't enough to satisfy my food craving. Maybe I'll do some crackers or something.
A $6000 poll later and it seems Californians would rather have gay marriage than legalize ferrets as pets. In the USA, only CA and Hawaii ban pet ferrets.
Happy 31.
The claim got the gay gossip chirping and the expected PR flack denials flew.
It just happens Shane and Ashton Holmes are playing gay in an upcoming film. Am I just too cynical assuming this story only happened as a viral marketing ploy for the film?
I was up to the house a bit. I didn't walk up there. Brother called about delivering the fridge. The garage is packed. The kid's playroom is filled. I cynically chuckle since the SIL had complained about there being so much junk in the house when it was still Mother's. We had nothing on the warehouse going on now!
I hate the new lounge sofas. They're amorphous "leather" blobs. Out of proportion to the room, it's like looking at the super-obese. I'm talking those 700 lbs waves and folds of flesh. Yuck.
The dining floor is down and there's some tile left over. I wish Mother'd been able to see the tile extend throughout the dining room.
We had wanted to do it but she decided it would have been too much for me to do and, maybe more so, we didn't have enough tile to do the bedrooms and dining both.
There's more to write about the house but I just can't be bothered right now. I had ravioli and find it wasn't enough to satisfy my food craving. Maybe I'll do some crackers or something.
A $6000 poll later and it seems Californians would rather have gay marriage than legalize ferrets as pets. In the USA, only CA and Hawaii ban pet ferrets.
Happy 31.
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