I did read a forwarded message today, though. The video was worth watching. A staff member watched over my shoulder and said that the speaker in the video had been to her church and that started a conversation. Here’s the video.

Semi-related posts:

1. Pop Quiz 11: Favorite Christmas Carol Spirit
2. Back to Fourth Grade
3. When I wasn’t shimmying up a ladder…

I predict either an arrest, a mental breakdown, or a suspension on my roster. Although, looking at how many of my guys have had recent injuries, I think we’ll see the Booyor team turn from detention center to care facility.

I shall use this template to prep my rants.

Semi-related posts:

1. Every year, without fail.
2. A Template for Sports Rants
3. Xiang Xiang Killed

We got the printer. It came with ink. (The new printer uses $30 ink.)

I’m really happy since it’s a wireless printer. But what’s really cool is that it’s a 3-in-1, with the scanner and memory card reader and all that also being wireless. Those reception bars are like art to me. The inaugural prints were of my dad with my oldest and then a map of Middle-Earth.

Yep. Sounds about right.

The inaugural scan?

This, for my nephew:

Click on it to zoom in.

Semi-related posts:

1. Why today was awesome
2. Pen-Toothed Dinosaur
3. Final New York Fantasy

I’m contemplating a bubble pipe.

Semi-related posts:

1. We moved up the experiment, sir.
2. Really Annoying Text Message Alert
3. The Department

No related posts.

Today a high school librarian e-mailed all of the secondary librarians in the district about how her principal was horrified learning what the junior high librarians were asking for.

I wanted to Reply All: “How horrified? Like ‘Holocaust’ horrified or ‘Jersey Shore’ horrified?”

I think it’s best that it remains an e-mail not sent. All I know is that the release date for Black Ops is too far away.

Semi-related posts:

1. District Policies Created Because of Me
2. Slap me, I’m samurai
3. Want us to mail you one?

1. Write a steampunk Western.
2. Read Mockingjay.
3. Make sure old people don’t steal my stuff.

and that’s about it. Now, back to Panem.

Semi-related posts:

1. 2008 Presidential Election
2. Naturmobil
3. Sports world deja vu

And let’s not think Halo is an original idea.

Semi-related posts:

1. John P. Harvard – The ‘P’ is for ‘Pwned’
2. Science 2.0 and Larry Lessig wants Geek Soldiers
3. High School Science Project Busts Fish Fraud

Semi-related posts:

1. Must Watch: Sitting Up and Bella
2. Picasso vs. Einstein: Who would win?
3. The next dancing baby?

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us
Oh! how He loves us
Oh! how He loves us
Oh! how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way

Semi-related posts:

1. At the risk of looking at my comments section…
2. Jesus Loves Me
3. Forgive

Semi-related posts:

1. My nerd humor catches up to my locale
2. It’s a Trap! Revisited
3. Star Wars Pop-Up Book Review

My youngest likes to solve problems through automatic weapons provided by Mike, the world’s nicest arms dealer. How should I repay the favor?

Semi-unrelated: We’ve been watching Ducktales on Netflix. It’s not quite how I remember it (thanks, Slade).

My oldest left me a note, though. “My dad is as cool as a break-dancing sun.” That’s the best way to be welcomed home.

Semi-related posts:

1. Netflix on the Wii
2. My daughter’s review
3. Yes, Mike gave my daughter a machine gun.

Semi-related posts:

1. Google Chrome
2. New Star Wars MMORPG in the making
3. Pivo 2

No:

No:

Yes:

Shadows of the Empire had this scene, but we never saw it in the movie.

Semi-related posts:

1. Best Songs in which to Stage a Fight Scene
2. What, are you brain-missing?
3. Characterization: Musical Instrument

…but in games decided by tenths of points, I think it should be lowered a bit, also instead of linear regressions, I think we should go parabolic to adjust for the standard distribution of NFL scoring. I offer the friendly amendment of instead of 24, 18, 12 , 6, 0, -2, -8, we go 18, 10, 5, 2, 0, -2, -6.

Semi-related posts:

1. Fantasy Football
2. Not that I’m making accusations…
3. Unintentional Irony

Here’s the original ad:

Here’s what they did after PETA got a hold of it:

Semi-related posts:

1. The next dancing baby?
2. Lion Hairball and my Run-in with a Spider Monkey
3. Monkey pants

The comic strip also provided her with a great vehicle to vent, she said.

“You can go bathing suit shopping and come home and … get back at the swimwear industry,” Guisewite said.

Cathy – You killed newspaper comics.

Semi-related posts:

1. Opus Pulled
2. 24 Hour Comics Day
3. Super Space Suit

Congrats to my brother on his second year progress, by the way.

Semi-related posts:

1. Worth It
2. Barack Hussein Obama’s The Audacity of Hope – Part 3
3. Pop Quiz 6 – Distinguished Sideburns

Semi-related posts:

1. Like High School Art Class – which I never took
2. Interesting news…
3. Buzz Aldrin Punches a Man in the Face

Semi-related posts:

1. Let’s just say it didn’t help his perception.
2. Keep in mind there’s a children’s festival right now…
3. Children of Chernobyl

Also, did you see that Yahoo finally is catching up to the bloggh in charting presidential gray hairs?

Semi-related posts:

1. The New Star Trek Movie Better Be Awesome
2. 19 km long superweapon launched at Australia
3. Look Older in only Four Years!

Semi-related posts:

1. John P. Harvard – The ‘P’ is for ‘Pwned’
2. Halo Killer
3. Miis can be used in Guitar Hero World Tour

Semi-related posts:

1. @-@ Walker
2. Heroism Shirt
3. Let’s just say it didn’t help his perception.

It was the Starspeeder 3000 that had the RX droid:

I’m guessing the 1000 is the older model. Nerd trivia: the real-life promo merchandising stuff for the 3000 said it had a decent warp drive.
“Wars!”

(This link’s for my wife.)

There’s also a Last Tour to Endor party on August 14 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s times like these when I wish I was Ridley Pearson.

Semi-related posts:

1. Star Trek vs. Star Wars
2. Why Star Wars is better than Star Trek
3. Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry – First Impressions

In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles [Williams] is dead, I shall never again see Ronald’s [Tolkien's] reaction to a specifically Charles joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald…In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each of us has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah 6:3). The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall have.

– C. S. Lewis

Semi-related posts:

1. Forgive
2. Update from World Vision
3. Holy Order of the Lion

I love hearing the calm voice trying to remind people of order.

Semi-related posts:

1. Thank you, PAX, for what you’ve done to The Conduit
2. While on hold
3. Waking the Souls of Suburbia

Police at the Mexico City airport, who detained a man with a suspicious bulge under his T-shirt Monday, found 18 small endangered monkeys concealed under his clothing in a girdle.

Roberto Cabrera, 38, traveled to Mexico City aboard a commercial flight Friday from Lima, Peru, and was searched when he began behaving “nervously,” police said in a statement.

Behaving nervously? The guy had 18 monkeys stuffed in his clothes -did none make a sound?

Last year, an American woman was convicted for smuggling a rhesus macaque from Thailand to Spokane, Washington.

Gypsy Lawson, 28, pretended to be pregnant in order to smuggle the monkey into the U.S. She received 60 days in jail.

Semi-related posts:

1. I’ll skip the obvious jokes about how addicting Wii Sports is.
2. Monkey Mind Control
3. Lion Hairball and my Run-in with a Spider Monkey

Semi-related posts:

1. Garfield without Garfield
2. Uglies: The Movie
3. Simpsons Movie

Semi-related posts:

1. Not so much a post, but a discussion
2. Infinite Improbability
3. Unexpected Party Guest

Semi-related posts:

1. An Experiment: The Squish Time Machine
2. About Espresso Press and Starring in a Book
3. Concrete Pathways – A New Blog

If I told you anything else, I’d ruin the plot.

The only complaint I have is that it didn’t have enough monkeys.

Semi-related posts:

1. Another Futile Ohm Favorite – as a Haiku
2. Jai, Kisah, and Worf
3. Deathly Hallows

The questions:

• What do you love?
• What do you fear?
• What makes you laugh?
• What’s in your pocket? Is there a story behind any of the objects?

I am so filming Star Wars night from the MacBook.

I set up a CoverIt Live event as an experiment. If we have Internet, I’ll post some updates. Even if we don’t have a wi-fi signal, I set it up to read Twitter updates from people’s Twitter timeline and add it into the conversation. If you want to join the fun, add the hashtag #starwarsnight or #swn to your Twitter update to be added to the timeline.

Oh, the Interwebs. More fun than hitting myself in the head with empty milk jugs.

Semi-related posts:

1. Mandalorian Cheese Zone – Star Wars Live Action Rumors
2. Star Wars Pop-Up Book Review
3. Nerd Public Service Announcement – New Star Wars Book

To say that Westboro Baptist is not a “seeker-friendly” church is an understatement, based simply on their church’s URL. I guess they even have a picket line spreadsheet.

You don’t pick on a large group of nerds.

Vizzini would add that to his simple truths, like not engaging in a land war in Asia. Throughout their younger years the nerds may have been singled out for what they liked/believed.

Even when I was just out of college and waited in line for Episode II, I got spit on and someone yelled, “Get a job, you freaks.” Little did they know I was teaching Juniors in high school at the time and apprenticing another wave of nerddom. Currently, the students in my library don’t know what to make of me. The sports kids can talk to me about football and basketball and if Shaq is done or not. But then I can jump into another conversation about why I’d rather be Wash than Mal.

But when you go to a convention, a gathering where the law of averages says there will be more than a few sarcastic people, you gotta expect a counter-protest.

Maybe publicity is what Fred Phelps, leader of Westboro, is seeking. Temporary glory.

For me to start pointing fingers walks dangerously close to that same self-righteousness, though. I’ll share what God has been challenging me on this summer: life in his Spirit versus Adam-descendant flesh.

Galatians 5 makes a distinction, that you live either in the Spirit or in the flesh. It’s not a merging. Each action, each choice, each thought, is either one or the other.

Here’s how you can tell if you’re living in flesh:

• sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery
• idolatry and witchcraft
• hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy
• drunkenness, orgies, and the like

Life in the Spirit looks like:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

This fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit is the sign that God’s Spirit lives in you. You know what song was in my head this morning? One from these guys. I hang out with kids all day.

So before you choose to make a sign professionally instead of feeding some hungry kids, see if your actions line up with one side or the other. Unfortunately, Westboro calls their pickets Love Crusades. In the current novel I’m writing, I’m looking at making each character believable, including the antagonist. Everyone is pursuing their own wants and no one thinks that they’re truly doing the wrong thing.

Everyone’s a hero in their own mind.

Semi-related posts:

1. What I do at a resort
2. Children of Chernobyl
3. Turing Test

Semi-related posts:

1. Nerd Public Service Announcement – New Star Wars Book
2. My Hot Picture was featured on MySpace
3. New Movie Trailers and Deathly Hallows

Semi-related posts:

1. Can you guess what we’re doing?
2. So I guess I’m in Empire Strikes Back
3. I guess LEGO minifigs are big believers in nondisclosure agreements

Semi-related posts:

1. Sci Fi Dream Come True
2. Hard Core Nerdery
3. The True Hollywood Stories of Hand-worn Felt

Semi-related posts:

1. Finally, the debate is resolved.
2. Hack the Debate
3. In lieu of a Presidential debate…

1. He does concerts for charities.
2. He does those concerts dressed as the main character from Final Fantasy VIII.
3. He does his own arrangements.
4. He puts the sheet music for those arrangements online for free.

Go check out his site here.

Semi-related posts:

1. Moby and his Free License music for indie film makers
2. Ratsbane
3. Aradhna

Tomorrow I’m going to send off to Analog magazine.

Semi-related posts:

1. Short Story Help
2. Let the fun illustrating begin!
3. Fun day with Dad: Figure out who is the traitor on your crew.

I had a gut feeling from the first e-mail. No one starts out with “Good day.” Not in my state, pardner.

He asked if it was in good condition, I said yes, and here was the response:

Hello,
Thanks for your prompt reply.Well, i must say you’ve got a nice item and as a matter of fact, In a transaction like this, i will appreciate it if we can put trust first so that the transaction can go smoothly.
I would have love to come by with cash and pick it up but at the moment am a kinda of too busy to come over,so i think i can send you a cashier check via Fedex Or UPS overnight and my shipping company could come pick it up once payment is cleared.The Check will be excess and all you what will need to do is to just send the remaining balance to my Shipper for pick up after deducting your money,if you are ok with this pls do get back to me with your full name,address and phone number so i can proceed with the payment and pls do keep this item for me and inform other interested party that its been sold..ok

Regards,
Paul

Spoiler Alert: It’s a spammer.

Semi-related posts:

1. SPAM or CHOLERA?
2. And I thought just plain SPAM was rude
3. I’m a dealer.

Where people are more open to new authors is magazines. I have a few in mind and I have a story to send off. If you’d like to read it, leave a comment and I’ll e-mail it to you. I know that people who read check out this bloggh (it’s funny to think of non-readers checking a blog, but whatever) and might appreciate the weirdness that is Hiccup.

Semi-related posts:

1. Devin Starts a Big Rumor and a Guide for E-mailing People’s Phones as an SMS
2. The Story – Chapter 1
3. Story update

I think you may see an EB Lane blog post about our proud state’s infernal sunshine sometime in the near future. I’m intrigued by what people want to see melted in the sun. Leave a comment with additions to the list of things to melt:

• Edward Cullen/Jacob Nakedguy doll – you could have a whole, “Whose team do you want to melt?” competition to find out who really sparkles – vampire/sunlight irony
• a copy of Fahrenheit 451
• quesadilla
• @algore‘s hopes and dreams
• pop corn kernels
• Peep
• Gummi Bear
• Barbie with kerosene
• Barney VHS
• rubber soles of old shoes
• army man under Death Star magnifying glass (make your own solar death ray with instructions from here)
• M&M’s – melt in your mouth, not in your hand?
• Old Spice – eliminate the advertising competition – not being able to watch the funny videos would be a hefty cost, though
• ice cream
• cheap steak
• pancakes
• crayons
• popsicles
• dry ice
• milk shake
• eggs
• bacon
• crayons
• snooty candles
• tapered candle
• JELL-O

Thanks to @kennokishi, @jesseisme, @fierypinkgirl, and @billando for the ideas. You can also message @ElScorpio, the Madman, (get it? play on the advertising thing…wakka wakka) with ideas.

This feels a bit like MythBusters.

Semi-related posts:

1. Please list in order of most awesome to least awesome. Thank you
2. A List of Why I Showered Last Night
3. DJ Battle of Epic Proportions

Semi-related posts:

1. Faster, Higher, Stronger, Aimier
2. In which I lament missed opportunities, as represented by cotton tees
3. Our priorities are straight, thank you!

Semi-related posts:

1. New Star Wars at the Movies
2. Star Wars: The Force Restrained
3. Mandalorian Cheese Zone – Star Wars Live Action Rumors

Yesterday we sent an e-mail to a number of consumers who wrote to us in recent days expressing their concern with respect to Blizzard’s Real ID program. Given the large number of messages we received, we decided to respond with a mass e-mail so those who’d written us would receive our response as quickly as possible – rather than responding to each message individually, as is our usual practice.

Through an unfortunate error by one of our employees, some recipients were able to see the e-mail addresses of others who wrote on the same issue. Needless to say, it was never our intention to reveal this information and for that we are genuinely sorry. Those who write to ESRB to express their views expect and deserve to have their contact and personal information protected. In this case, we failed to do so and are doing everything we can to ensure it will not happen again in the future.

The fact that our message addressed individuals’ concerns with respect to their privacy underscores how truly disappointing a mistake this was on our part. We work with companies to ensure they are handling people’s private information with confidentiality, care and respect. It is only right that we set a good example and do no less ourselves.

We sincerely apologize to those who were affected by this error and appreciate their understanding.

Sincerely,

Entertainment Software Rating Board

Semi-related posts:

1. My Hot Picture was featured on MySpace
2. Devin Starts a Big Rumor and a Guide for E-mailing People’s Phones as an SMS
3. More than just checking out books

For part of the morning we played with Duplo. I’m pretty good at making battlemechs using only square pieces, but I decided to experiment and bust out the LEGOs that I’ve accrued over the years.

I also wrote a lot today. One short story I’m actually going to send off to Asimov’s magazine. More details shortly (hopefully). (The agent for my novel asked for 8 weeks to read the first 50 pages. He reads as quickly as my 8th graders.)

Today’s mini-adventure involves the plucky crew of a landcruiser. Your job is to figure out who will betray them midseason on the TV show.

Who will betray our fine team?

Ace, the brash driver

Crossbownes, the sidekick picked up in the pilot episode
Mac, the navigator

Aero, the touring stunt pilot
Maggie, the violent, yet feminine, gunner

Chief, the battle-worn quartermaster

Murray, their agent

Leave your guesses in the comments.

Semi-related posts:

1. Heroes Predictions
2. Circulate the fun!
3. Reporter jailed for making fun of dumplings

The new species is incredibly tasty but can only stop crime if it happens underwater, a genetic flaw found in nature commonly known as “Complexicus Aquamanicus”.

Krypto has not returned any communications at the time of this writing.

Semi-related posts:

1. Never before have I been so nervous clicking on a ‘Submit’ button
2. What the new iPhone won’t do
3. Oceanic 815 Hotline

I tossed around a few ideas of how to celebrate. I could pass on a funny link from J about classic movies being remade by Zac Effron, show you fan films of Star Wars and Firefly (thanks, Devin), or give a pop quiz about which Harrison Ford character would win in a street fight (oh, don’t fret. We’ll see how Rick Deckard does soon enough).

I even tried recording a video blog (remember when people tried to call them vlogs? I’m so glad we put a stop to that. Now if we could just remove the word ‘tweet’ from the Internet, it would be so double rainbow.). The video web log started out okay until I realized I have a beard made for radio.

Then I tucked my oldest in and reflected about the past five years (cue ‘Sunrise, Sunset’). When I first started posting stuff online, it was to get extra practice for Masters degree homework. I still remember feeding her in her high chair while I coded HTML, wrote an essay, and had A New Hope playing in a window for her.

Tonight she told me that if she got scared, she would read a book on courage by Frank Peretti and that she would read a book on helping others in the morning so that she would start the day out right and build up the Body of Christ. She reads her sister’s Bible to her because “it’s the only important thing.”

So, with that, I say thank you for reading the bloggh for five years and one day I hope to be as cool as my daughters.

Semi-related posts:

1. Four years!
2. Just finished “Sunrise over Fallujah”
3. We’re Home, A Thank You, and A Bloggh Project

No words to express, I guess.

An added section of the story from our visit to the zoo: when my youngest saw the raccoon reaching his hand through the fence

she yelled out, “Swiper! No swiping! Oh, man!!”

I can see it.

Semi-related posts:

1. Double Dragon for the Wii
2. Like High School Art Class – which I never took
3. New Sight

Semi-related posts:

1. A beautiful Sunday morning picture from the cousins in Montana

Instead of the $15 to get in that we’re used to, the Willow Park Zoo has a little canister that asks for $1 donations on an honor system. Granted, they’ve got animals that are relatively easy to feed. The biggest cat is a bobcat, so no need for giant chunks of meat, and coyotes will eat anything.

Begin the random photo stream:





The eagles were injured in the wild, losing the ability to fly away.

We had to rearrange the carpool. There were some complications:

Semi-related posts:

1. Jai, Kisah, and Worf
2. Teacher in Space
3. Nokia 5310 First Thoughts

Semi-related posts:

1. Things of Beauty, Nerdly and Otherwise
2. What is beauty?

The fireworks were Friday night. Cruise-In was Saturday night. Today is the 4th of July. I think a picnic may be in order. To satisfy your curiosity until then, here are the photos from The World’s Largest Car Parade in Utah.

To set the mood, you could listen to “Ain’t that America/Little Pink Houses“. That’s the song that played through my head the whole time.

If that doesn’t work, you could watch Alex Wong’s amazing dance number from SYTYCD.

Little known fact: the Declaration of Independence was also signed by a guy in a gorilla suit:

Photos taken from the Walgreens parking lot. Be about it!

Yes, you did see a Tonka truck. There was also a Delorean – if you remember another 4th of July parade we saw, it makes sense. Can’t have Independence Day without time travel.
I guess Logan used to have a Delorean parts factory.

This video of the Cruise-in parade should bring you right into the thick of the action:

I didn’t get a photo of the motorcycle gang that carried a giant Confederate flag. I think they wanted their militia bear (complete with a Civil War hat and rifle) to be cute, but I was a little disturbed.

I’ve noticed there are some mergings between church and state here:

My daughter was wondering what people were pointing at:

By the looks of their faces, my guess is bear:

And this random photo is for Devin:

Is this the place?

Semi-related posts:

1. Lessons Learned in Big Sky Country (not to be confused with NAU)
2. Freedom From
3. Turkey Photos

We made the Logan Run in 14 hours. We’re going to go watch the fireworks right now. Tomorrow is the car show and Sunday is Sunday, so the 4th of July got bumped to tonight…at 10pm.

Semi-related posts:

1. Teacher Appreciation Banquet Swordfight
2. Freedom, explosions, and a car alarm
3. I think I’ve become one of those teacher-type people.

Some of you may have seen the Wonder Pets:

“If you stare at the duck long enough, the duck stares back at you.”
- Nietzsche (paraphrased)

The best way to survive Wonder Pets is to not watch them.

But if your toddler has found them on Netflix and frankly you have to do dishes, here’s the solution:
Change the lyrics of the songs to match classic sci-fi.

The episode featured a chimp in space. A meteor was coming dangerously close.

Captain Guinea Pig: Mr. Ming Ming, take evasive maneuvers!
The Duck: The shield / the shield is failing
The shield / the shield is down
The Turtle: I’m givin’ ‘er / all she’s got sir!
The Duck: This is sewious!

Makes the show more palatable.

Much like a stay in Arkham, singing will help you keep your sanity.

See? He’s a happy fellow!

Semi-related posts:

1. Forbes Fictional 15
2. These guys can survive in space without a suit.
3. It begins

How do we know? The #votekishi site tells us, that’s how.

So, click on the link or the picture and find out what this candidate has to offer. These are campaign promises I can endorse. Also, make sure to use the hashtag #votekishi on Twitter. Doesn’t matter if it makes sense. Just do it – that’s how politics works.

If you haven’t caught any World Cup action yet, you might appreciate John Cleese’s help explaining the difference between football and soccer. Soccer doesn’t have as many commercials. I know that much.

I think if there was scoring for each player contact in the game, then it would catch on. We’re bummed when an NBA final score is in the 60′s. But football and baseball games score low…Maybe it’s because there are so many opportunities to score in those sports, even though the scores are generally lower. In soccer they miss once and a lot of times the ball is booted to the other end of the field.

Unrelated (as if things here have a set coherence):
If you run a WordPress site and have seen an increase in Spam comments the past two weeks (I have on both of mine), Akismet comes free with WordPress. It requires an API key, but the Aksimet site gives you a free API code if you’re just a hobbyist. Check out the plugins section of your settings panel.

Semi-related posts:

1. #votekishi
2. And a Browncoat shirt
3. API

After the math department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations.

I’ve been overtaxed by difficult math calculations before.

What shouldn’t be a surprise is that the 11 million computers (not all at U of T) were found faulty. They had a Dell label on them, right? Oh, zing!

Semi-related posts:

1. Yes, I am a nerd.
2. pi
3. Phillip Morris and the Chocobo or Magical Mystery Mist Tour?

Some have asked me about the animated short.

The Day and Night short featured a speech from Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Fear of the unknown.

They are afraid of new ideas.

They are loaded with prejudices, not based upon anything in reality, but based on… if something is new, I reject it immediately because it’s frightening to me. What they do instead is just stay with the familiar.

The last part that Dyer says actually originated with Einstein:

You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe are the most mysterious.

Semi-related posts:

1. A Friday night with my brother, the counter-terrorist
2. Combining your nerd toys
3. “For every day, there is a night…”

E3 looked great, and of the many games that are coming out I’d say I’m looking forward to “The Old Republic” the most, as well as “GoldenEye” which is coming out on the Nintendo Wii. I remember several days where I’d be up all hours of the night playing with a neighbor of mine while growing up. The moment this game gets to pre-order status I’m jumping on it.

My only real complaint about future games is that I think there needs to be a “Left 4 Dead” on the PS3. If you’re looking for a game to freak you out while you play it at night this is it. I had gone over to a friend’s house to play the original Left 4 Dead with him on his XBox 360 and it was unbelievably terrifying as we played it in a pitch-black room with surround sound hooked up in full theater-style. All I will say is I’ve never been terrified like I was in that moment. FEAR 3 is another game that is coming out that will provide some pretty freaky stuff for the player.

The future of gaming is looking very bright in my opinion, and I hope it continues to progress.

Semi-related posts:

1. Guitar Hero News
2. Yes, it is “ah crazy” – New Super Mario Bros. Wii
3. I am too old to play video games.

Check out this one from the Church of Diamonds. In order for Pastor Godfrey O’ Dette (the rebels use names that sound like Bart Simpson calling Moe’s Tavern) to donate to the scammer, the recipient of the money had to prove that he had been initiated into the Church of Diamonds. Not only did he waste the scammer’s time (and draw focus away from people who might actually fall for the scam) but he made the guy send an awesome photo:

The new initiate

There’s more to the story, so check it out. The 419eaters usually get out of trouble by Photoshopping their own death:

Semi-related posts:

1. Subject: Email trimis de pe pagina de contact a site-ului Romanian Retail Forum
2. The Lifehouse Skit
3. High School Science Project Busts Fish Fraud

We took our share of responsibility for the condition of education in the state and country and asked the question, “What now?” I was surrounded by people who matched my enthusiasm and challenged me to grow as a professional. I realized just how much influence I have on my campus. Part of that needs to be divvied up – it’s not sustainable if it falls apart when I get hit by a meteor (most likely scenario). But I was reminded to be a steward (my words, not theirs) of the network of professionals I’m in. There are so many kids depending on us taking our jobs seriously that we can’t let policy keep us (no matter how much it tries, at times) from equipping students for success in life.

For more ranting, check the professional site. I think it’s all the McDonald’s I’ve consumed.

Semi-related posts:

1. Series-type Posts
2. Devin Starts a Big Rumor and a Guide for E-mailing People’s Phones as an SMS
3. Disco King and 70s Movie Quiz – Teacher Appreciation

These photos, though, should tell more of my experiences in the resort:

Towels in the shower

Phone where it shouldn’t be

Everybody Loves Raymond…even above the sink.

And it’s when I look at my Pictures folder and find this:

that I get homesick.

Semi-related posts:

1. Shop at Ultra Bath!
2. We’re Here…In Bison Country
3. 1 Mathematical Ode to My Day

Semi-related posts:

1. Wii Sports Resort First Impressions
2. Wii Sports Resort Samurai Fight – as a Mac vs. PC Ad
3. Like waiting for Wii Fit

Semi-related posts:

1. Thomas Leavitt – Pre Vis Modeling
2. Dwight’s Dad (and the Elephant, Pre-schooler, or Famous Artist Quiz)
3. From the Eyes of the Couch

You may have noticed some changes to the site (unless you’re reading this three weeks later when Facebook imports it)(or you’re a Russian feed stealer. To you I say a hearty, “Nyet!”).

There are certain causalities (and sometimes casualties) to blogghing:

• I always upgrade to the newest WordPress.
• When I do, I want to try out new things and load a new theme.
• Upon loading a new theme, I browse through older stuff that wasn’t as prominent in the older theme.

So, to celebrate the new WordPress and the new theme (and an agent who liked my query letter and first five pages so wants to read the next 50), I present to you:

The Birthday Game

Plucked from the depths of The BLOGgh, help the Super Saiyan fight off hordes of nerdery’s deadliest monsters (or at least the Clip Art I could find online). Who cares about score – can you make it past Phil Collins to hear Sephiroth’s song? (Yet another phrase never typed in Internet history.)

Semi-related posts:

1. I love maps
2. WordPress Plugins, eh?
3. A New Look

Manute played from 1985-1995 and helped start the Ring True Foundation, although you might not hear the specific purpose of the organization in the news this week. Ring True raises money and awareness for Christian persecution and death in the Sudan. From 1999-2001 his travel was restricted by the Sudanese government in suspicion of supporting the Dinka rebels (his dad is a Dinka tribal leader). He wasn’t allowed to leave the country. The government wanted a bribe. He sold his furniture and had friends in Connecticut send additional funds. The U.S. government wouldn’t let him bring his family with him until he filed for refugee status. He did and they were able to make it back to the U.S.

Manute wasn’t a perfect guy, by any means, but he is someone to read more about. In YMCA basketball my teammates used to call me ‘Manute’. (My dad thought they were chanting ‘Lute’ because they were huge U of A fans.)

Semi-related posts:

1. Update on the Wii
2. The AWW league
3. Legacy of K

Coverit Live was used very effectively by IGN during the E3 press conferences and by ESPN during game seven of the finals.

I may actually try this out at a conference I’m going to next week. Could prove interesting.

Semi-related posts:

1. Sports world deja vu
2. Lakers defeat Spurs 4-1
3. HopeKids, We Know Mom, and the White House’s Live Stream

“Voosh! I have a lightsaber! Give me my money!”

That quote’s from my youngest. Having gone through the car accident and the dog bite, she has realized the harsh reality of the world.

Before she sunk too far into her jaded toddler self, she was able to play the spoons and have a jig party to Irish folk songs (“Rocky Road to Dublin”, a family favorite) with a cousin and everything was better.

Here’s the video for you Facebook people for when Facebook decides to import this post a week later.

Semi-related posts:

1. Creating the perfect bloggh post
2. This can mean only one thing. Cuteness invasion.
3. Airships: Save on gas if you can handle cranky guys named Cid

Today was Nintendo’s E3 press conference. I got to watch it live (via streaming) and go crazy right alongside the people in the audience. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword looks great, as anticipated. The controls were a little off and the demo guy told the audience to turn off all wireless devices, making fun of the trouble Steve Jobs had connecting to the Internet during the iPhone reveal.

Kirby: Epic Yarn has an amazing style. Every character is made from a piece of string.

EA Sports Active 2.0 looks cool. It’s completely wireless and one of the controllers is a heart-rate monitor, checking more accurately how efficient your workout is. It also has the ability to coordinate data online like the Nike+iPod system.

The big reveal for me, though, was GoldenEye. I remember my residents at NAU playing this for hours on end in the days of the Nintendo 64. It retained the split-screen multiplayer but now includes 16 online types of matches. I’ll be curious to see if FORZO (or whatever Slade calls himself now) and I can play online versus the world.

Oh. And the portable game system that can take 3D photos and play 3D movies and games.

Sunday we had our birthday celebration. Yeah, some things have happened in the past few months. During one of the conversations, J’s youngest brother agreed to a spontaneous haircut.

He went from Tired Aquatic Mad Scientist to In a Similar Manner to Lincoln Brewster. I think we should have gone more David Crowder.

Semi-related posts:

1. The youngest’s haircut and Brennan Manning’s insight on Luke 18
2. Madden 08 Internet Problems
3. DJ Battle of Epic Proportions

This trailer captures the epic feel of Star Wars. It is a completely new one, so I think it’s worth a watch.

Semi-related posts:

1. New Star Wars Trailer
2. The Old Republic, or, Slade Will Be Excited
3. The Transformers Trailer

My character in last night’s Star Wars night did that to a Sith…guy. (I know he was high level but I don’t know what rank. He was, like, Sither but not Sithiest.) I would think that being severed from the Force would drive a character to madness. (He did use a train car as an improvised weapon. Is that a symptom?)

If you need a graphical representation of what that type of madness would look like, stare at this picture:

Semi-related posts:

1. Why I’m glad Force Unleashed is not 1:1 motion sensitive
2. House Rules: Star Wars Saga Edition – Force Grip
3. Force Unleashed – The LucasArts Mess-Ups

But what do you do when you upgrade/renew a contract and you have an extra cell?

This is for Gary and Jason:

Sites that I would check out are CellForCash, FlipSwap (with free shipping), Gazelle, NextWorth, and YouRenew.

To see if you have the plan that best fits your use, check out BillShrink.

If you have an iPhone, you’re kinda stuck with Expensive or More Expensive.

Semi-related posts:

1. Stem Cell Breakthrough
2. Tricks of the Trade
3. As seen in N.Y. Penn Station

Thoughts?

Semi-related posts:

1. Celebrity DnD Stats and New Audio Compression
2. Don’t PANC
3. The Fourth Wall

Click on the thumbnail to see the full picture.

Mine – Double Cheeseburger Amana Robot

My oldest – FoodMaker Robot

My youngest – “Ha Ha! Robot!”

The unbroken crayon selection is quite girly in our house. I need to get my own set or Darth Vader will be sporting hot pink Sith alchemy.

Semi-related posts:

1. Learn to Read with Booyor
2. Crayon Physics
3. Like High School Art Class – which I never took

Things the new iPhone won’t do:

1. Take pictures unaided underwater.
2. Stop the BP leak. [oooh! how timely! I'm like Dennis Miller over here.]
3. Shoot phasers.
4. Get me to stop watching literal versions of music videos.
5. Cheer up Keanu Reeves.
6. Get me to stop laughing at this.
7. Make driving a minivan give me more swagger.
8. Help this Scottish guy love Iceland.
9. It will do anything for love, but it won’t do that.

For these reasons I’ll have to wait.

Semi-related posts:

1. iPhone: A Transformers Haiku Review
2. iPhone revisited
3. My jury story and Spore on the iPhone

Star Wars™ Cantina 2010 / adidas Originals from Dominic Prevost on Vimeo.

Semi-related posts:

1. Star Wars Pop-Up Book Review
2. A podcast is up, a call for co-op, and some Star Wars stuff I didn’t know (shocking)
3. Star Trek vs. Star Wars

Next: Star Wars voices. Tom Tom Devices.

The line that’s missing from this video? “I’ve altered the route. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

Many buttons died to bring us this GPS…

Finally: WordPress 3.0

Semi-related posts:

1. I hope Vega enjoys tonight’s programming.
2. Nerd Public Service Announcement – New Star Wars Book
3. It’s a Trap! Revisited

Here’s the plan. I’ll post a copy of it and you vote for whether it’s SPAM or not by leaving a comment. (You know, if you’re already an approved commenter and all that. SPAMmers, you get no vote.)

The original comment is as follows:

I’m not SPAM, I’m Cholera. CHOLERA!

I came to the Valley Of the Surface Of The Sun 31 years ago waving the prog – rock flag.

Then I got tired of listening to commercials with music thrown in as filler.

Then the jazz station that hit he up for money sent me a revised schedule chock full of notjazz (KJZZ still has a great blues show at 6pm Sunday nights)

Then the computer came and assimilated me.

Then PANDORA.

end of line

Though I’m really curious how mt “Thievery Corporation Radio” , chosen for its preoccupation with trip – hop, morphed into DJ Tiesto on the jackhammer every sixth cut. -, that ‘s annoying. Get off my lawn!

SPAM or not? You make the call. It’s a game I like to call “Are You Smarter than a SPAMmer?”

Semi-related posts:

1. And I thought just plain SPAM was rude
2. Spam Fix
3. Tamara Beaman/Beeman – A Lesson in Con Artistry and the Phone Spam

1. If you are inventorying, do not Thumbs Up “Hotel California“. When the Eagles say, “You can check out, but you can never leave” – you’ll start to believe them and the voices will call from far away.
2. Billy Idol is best suited for affixing barcodes. His discography does not line up with book spine repair.
3. Create a Glee Cast station. Trust me.

Semi-related posts:

1. AppleScript: Watching your computer do your work for you
2. Pandora
3. Could Pandora be shutting down?

Check out his album here. Here’s a preview:

If you’re going to be in the Valley, check out Freedom at FCOV at 7pm. (I’m playing bass.)

Either choice will garner my approval.

Semi-related posts:

1. A VOICE
2. You have my permission.
3. Slade Goes Psycho

Broadway:The American Musical
and
Planet B-Boy (and that’s about it).

I could watch Con-Air or Rocky IV, but for some reason I’m totally into documentaries right now.

Weird.

Semi-related posts:

1. The Lifehouse Skit
2. Some Joss Whedon news
3. Dragon Ball

The end of school is kinda busy. We’re done, so I’ve moved a night of sleep to the top of my queue. My sore neck does not help matters. It’s a pain that starts at the back of my neck and shoots up my nose into my brain. The last time I felt like this, it was the ’08 Presidential debates.

I woke up this morning to see 49 unread text messages. Two were ominous (more so than usual, but they were from a GM…paranoia is a given) and one was a command.

Mike, I did check my e-mail.

What the heck? Next you’ll tell me that the Suns lost. That’s as believable as an albino Wookiee.

I added up the damage done to my guy. Crazy Old Man (those not familiar with our campaign: that’s my Jedi hermit’s name)(yes, I’m a dork) started out with 103 hit points. He now has 34. I am so glad that when we switched to the new skill system I modified my guy’s toughness.

Be forewarned: if my character dies, I will follow through with my promise to write up a jaded Gungan soldier-for-hire.

Semi-related posts:

1. Blue Man Group
2. Why I love my principal
3. Old Man Kung Fu

Semi-related posts:

1. LOOK GUYS THE FORCE IS FOR REALZ$#@%!!!
2. Prepare for Awesomeness
3. Pop Quiz 2 – Star Destroyer Name

But where’s my hoverboard? Are we any closer?

While I wait I’ll have to be content with a robot moon station and the crazy balancing scooter chair.

Semi-related posts:

1. Hypermiling – Increasing fuel efficiency
2. Pivo 2
3. A beard, a wave, and a sign.

The next few days involve us trying to track down the parents of those shoes.

Yeah, it’s as exciting as it seems.

But whatever does not get claimed I’m taking to Street Light to help the people mentioned in a previous article on this site.

What I noticed when contacting Street Light today is that they’ve set up a Target gift registry to supply their safe house. Very smart thinking! You’ll notice that I put a link in my sidebar for the registry for if you ever want to donate at a later time. What’s great is that it’s not just anonymous money – it’s actual items that you know will help girls who have been freed from the sex trade in our area.

Semi-related posts:

1. My Friend’s Wishlist
2. Console Log
3. How We Die

I’m always a fan of information (you may say that I make a living out of it), so flightaware.com intrigues me. You can track specific flights or, if you lean more to the stalker side of the spectrum, all flights connected to a specific airport.

For some reason I find Anchorage’s airport code hilarious (versus this airport’s benevolent nature).

Mix FlightAware with this site and you’ve now put Chloe from CTU out of a job and you didn’t even have to try and hide a baby under a desk.

Semi-related posts:

1. There are snakes on this plane.
2. 3 Minute Cake
3. News Update: Barack Obama is President

I mean, at least our planet’s not being eaten by a sun.

I wish I had the resources to save the people of Wasp-12b, but I probably wouldn’t make it in time. The planet will race to its death over the next ten million years.

I had thought about offering a LOST commentary from last night’s series finale, but I think it can be summarized in one sentence:
Mike was right.

Semi-related posts:

1. NBC Ends Life
2. Robotech and Voltron movie
3. Lessons Learned in Big Sky Country (not to be confused with NAU)

I am but a mere mortal and no king of Atlantis and yet my powers of beardery are more applicable than Aquaman’s. In the same respect, you’ll notice a ceramic seahorse that I’ve constructed. The sea only gives it the ability to be asymmetrical. At a later date you will witness the unspeakable wrath of my forgeborne horse.

The proper response shall be to cower and/or sing a telegram.

Semi-related posts:

1. McCutchen Whiskey vs. MacCutcheon Whisky vs. Free Will vs. Determinism vs. the Wolf Man vs. LOST
2. Do not put your faith in external hard drives
3. Blue Man Group

I know they’re striking athletic poses, but I can’t help but think Wenlock (or is it Mandeville? Which one’s the orange one?) is standing like a one-eyed alien Nazi.

One-eyed alien Nazi

Barcelona’s Cobi (from 1992) was cool because he was so simple.

I also dig the 1980 mascot, Mikhail Potapych Toptygin (yeah, that’s his name).

No mascot can trump the 1984 eagle, designed by Disney. It’s no surprise that Sam was the first mascot to sell out and be used commercially. Oh, the irony.

I blame the London mascots on the Athens mascots:

and accursed Izzy, the genetic aberration that should serve as a reminder that just because you have the technology doesn’t mean you have to use it.

He (it?) was the first mascot designed completely on computer. That never translates well into giant foam-suit-guy reality.

Semi-related posts:

1. Learn to Read with Booyor
2. Medvedev Won
3. Windows 7: The Operating System that Doesn’t Sleep

Well, the implied news. But it’s still exciting!
(It’s like a movie teaser site. “April 2011 – you know the rest”)

Semi-related posts:

1. Uglies: The Movie
2. Congratulations!
3. Simpsons movie, eh?

What’s really intriguing is the thought of Google TV streaming to an Android phone…

Google I/O would sure be an interesting conference to attend. Check the 1pm slot for tomorrow. TBA?

Semi-related posts:

1. Update Google Calendar by Text
2. Google Docs Add-Ons – One Day Only
3. Google Knol

Semi-related posts:

1. A call for more to join the Advent Conspiracy
2. And we’re gonna dogherd like it’s 1899
3. Should I call it a bureaucracy if I want their help?

It’s been a while since I’ve been impatient about my beard regrowing. There were so many comments from teachers questioning who the new librarian was. The change in hair status was literally a classroom disruption…twice (three times if you count the class walking by that stopped to stare). I walked into a class to solve a projector problem (the Video source button is the one you want to hit when you want to show a video) and the class gasped.

To be honest, I did pretend to take on Slade’s “walking around the mall” persona for a bit today. Here’s a simulation:

Semi-related posts:

1. Adventures in Haircutting with Slade
2. An Experiment: The Squish Time Machine
3. An experiment in wireless and beastly images

Random Person: So, which one’s your son?
My parents: The one with the Masters degree and the blue stage make-up.

It’s better than how I lied to my chiropractor’s receptionist.

Receptionist: Hey! You lost your beard!
Me: Yep. It’s getting to be summer time.

I answered a statement with another statement. It was a misleading statement, though. I should have answered:

Receptionist: Hey! You lost your beard!
Me: Yep. I’m going to spend the night hitting PVC pipes with paintbrushes.

Thanks to Jeremy for posting the video so quickly. Here it is:

Blue Man Group from Jeremy on Vimeo.

And BlogghBot 3000, don’t think I didn’t see your post. We’re gonna have words.

Semi-related posts:

1. Blue Man: The Rock Concert
2. A shout-out to my silicon crew.
3. Demented Stickman Stair Toss

Would you trust someone like this?

No question.

He is currently in a state of beardery similar to this:

but with more PVC pipes and face paint.

Once I regain full control of this site, I will need a bigger challenge. I’m interested in car computers.

Semi-related posts:

1. Shop at Ultra Bath!
2. New Category! – And a shout-out?
3. Forbes Fictional 15

Q: What happens if Arpaio is held in contempt?

A. Some experts said a trial of sorts would have to be held in order to find him in contempt. If that happens, he could be jailed until he agrees to turn over the requested documents. In court parlance, a judge will state that the person held in contempt “holds the keys to his jail cell,” meaning that if he complies with the order, he is released.

Short of contempt, the board could narrow the scope of its request for documents, or if dissatisfied, it could take a variety of actions. For example, the board could turn off the county credit cards of certain sheriff’s employees, restrict travel, or ask Arpaio to turn over all of his books to an auditor.

Semi-related posts:

1. Beep
2. What is wrong with our society?
3. Bureaucracy Fail

My students used to ask if I had a big house. I told them I was so rich I could afford two bathrooms. They got the sarcasm and matched accordingly.

Check out the Global Rich List to give you a perspective on how you rank compared to World Bank Development Research Group’s findings.

“You are the 155,652,174th richest person in the world!”
Woohoo!

Other money advice: Something that I just learned is that when you rent a car, your credit card company will pick up the rental car insurance for you (protection against dings and scratches). With my situation and my card, I would have had to pay for the rental on the card for them to cover it. Since the other guy’s insurance paid for the rental, I don’t qualify for the card coverage but it’s info to tuck away for later.

Semi-related posts:

1. Because credit card companies are in need of money, right?
2. The world loses a legend, Wayman Tisdale dies at the age of 44
3. I miss my car.

It does a decent job with more words than just “shuriken” and “boot to the head”.

Semi-related posts:

1. Ninja versus Pirate
2. Ninja/Pirate Point-Counterpoint
3. 52,000 Words

I did get a rental car. I will miss driving to Tower of Power each morning and I am very thankful for everyone’s help getting me to work.
The rental place had one option:

but it didn’t have enough headroom.

Semi-related posts:

1. Flying Car
2. Another reason why I miss Fred Rogers
3. Hypermiling – Increasing fuel efficiency

We watched the first 26 minutes of the Gospel of John movie on Netflix streaming. It’s actually really good and I wish it would gain in popularity. I get nervous when a movie claims to be word-for-word from a gospel, but it does it well. If you have a Netflix account, I think it’s worth your time. (I would have watched more but my daughters needed breakfast.)

Henry Ian Cusick plays Desmond on LOST and plays Jesus in this movie. Much like the Sylar/Spock anomaly, I wondered if I could separate those two characters. It helps that Desmond exists in two timelines at once and has a different perspective on life. I’m just waiting for Jesus to call to his disciples, “Come to me, brutha, if you want to live.”

Can I spend a moment of your time as an advertisement for Netflix?

We don’t have cable and we were very annoyed when Saturday morning cartoons got replaced by Horseland (it’s a show about a land…full of horses) and Skechers advertisements (the Really Tall ads do have more pathos than Horseland, though…)

Boo to you, horses, and your lame attempt at an E/I certification.

Now we can cue up some decent shows. I just found Fraggle Rock yesterday in instant streaming. I had only seen parts at a babysitter’s house growing up. This should be an intriguing foray.

Yesterday was my wife’s talent show for school. I watched my daughters while my wife taught. My youngest wanted to run around, so the two of us left my oldest in a row on her own.

From the back of the audience I pulled out my phone to text my oldest and then realized that she’s a lot more mature than I give her credit for. For some reason I thought she had a cell phone.

I was conflicted with how to manage my youngest during the talent show. Some young mega-violinist was on stage performing a great solo but my daughter wanted to make some noise. I heard the familiar sound of one lightsaber hitting another and looked down to see that she had attached the markers end-to-end to create an elegant weapon from a more civilized age.

How can I shush that?

Semi-related posts:

1. Why I love my principal
2. Netflix on the Wii
3. Learn to Read with Booyor