Homestar Runner wishes you a happy Halloday

That's so awesome! I miss carving pumpkins. *sniff*

This happy little thing won us second prize in a pumpkin carving contest at work!

That's Awesome!

Those of you who know Ray (of Ray and Jenn), click here.

Got the call. Grandma has been diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer (which is good news compared to the horror of "invasive cancer" that we had before). They are gonna go in and take out the part that is infected and stick a balloon in there with some sort of radioactive properties. They will then irradiate her for 5 days with a shunt in the effected area (better than the chimo and the irradiating the whole breast for 5 weeks that we had before).

So, all in all, this is the best possible thing you can hear after the words "you have breast cancer".

Thanks to everyone for your concern and thoughts. I'll be heading down there in a few weeks to say hi and see how she is doing...

So Carl reprogrammed my stereo at some point recently and found this station and just sort of left it there (much to my dismay because there used to be something else in taht slot, but I can't remember what it was). Anyway, turns out that it's a dance station and it rocks.

The site is pretty cool and they have up to the minute playback of songs that they have played and links to places to buy the CD. For me to say that I like an all flash site is pretty much an act of god, but the site lists everything I need to know - that is "WTF was that song I heard on the radio 1/2 hour ago???". They have live playback of what is on the station too so if you need something to listen to at work, here' the ticket if you're looking for dance. [check it]

Tesco has been forced to remove a pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of its website after it was accused of "destroying children's innocence".

The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go! [more]

[more]

(click to go to my shutterfly page)

Some pictures from my recent trip to Mt Hamilton.

helicopter - no idea what the backstory here is, but it's kinda cool.

Extreme Pumpkins - I know this has been posted before, but it doesn't hurt to remind people about it!

Dove commercial - showing the process that models go through to make them look beautiful.

There are no gorey images shown in this video. There is no scary soundtrack. But if you listen to it you may very well be sick to your stomach and get the cold sweats ... because its true.

...
The company also said, "Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and the rest of the creative team are dedicated to ensuring the "Halo" movie becomes a reality. We are already in discussions with potential partners who recognize the value of the 'Halo' brand and its appeal to consumers worldwide." [more]

Jane Wyatt, the television actress best known to SF fans for playing Spock's mother in the original Star Trek series, has died, the Associated Press reported. She was 96. [more]

Jon Johansen became a geek hero by breaking the DVD code. Now he's liberating iTunes - whether Apple likes it or not. [more]

Happy Birthday! :]

For those of you following Mil's Mailing List, a new one has just reached us. [read]

Here's an excerpt:

As I say, though, the point here is about the model of the world we have in our different heads; it's not always (with worrying frequency, yes - but not always) about how desirable it is to arrive at tomorrow. It's about communication. Communicate this, everyone: Margret walked into the living room last week and asked me, "What's the difference between a cucumber and something else?"
How - how, by God's holy jowls - do you answer a question like that? "Well, a CD player doesn't fixate nitrogen as it grows, and Pascal's Wager is more of a theological argument that's less useful when preparing a salad," I replied.
She nodded and left the room again.

Maybe I am just a sucker for Brittish humor, but this dude always makes me laugh.

For any of you who do not know.... It' snow at the beautiful Los Gatos Opera House. Ceremony still starts at 7, be there or be square.

Huh. Yahoo Mail upgraded itself (any by that, I mean of course, lots of people busted ass to make it cooler and launched it with 2 seconds to spare and are all now exhausted after 3 weeks of 18 hour days).

You should go check it out. Here's mine. This alerts me to the fact that I have a rediculous number of photos I need to edit.

I'm on this!

According to Variety, both Universal and Fox have pulled out of their agreement to co-finance a movie version of Microsoft's HALO.

On the surface the reason appears to deal with the films budget which was supposed to be in the range of $135 million. Recent reports suggested that it had risen to almost $200 million, though Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh denied this via representatives. [more]

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jim Henson's FRAGGLE ROCK is being developed by executive producer Ahmet Zappa into a full-length live-action musical fantasy starring the classic characters.

In development is a treatment in which puppet stars Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red will travel from beneath the Rock and venture into the human world for the first time.

"We had (Zappa) in to talk about books and movies," Lisa Henson said. "During that conversation, I had an intuition that he might be a 'Fraggle Rock' fan. He jumped out of his seat when he heard our idea of making 'Fraggle Rock' into a feature-length movie." [via]

Ohhhhhhh, to see someone say "deep, deep, dark, dark, deepdarkdeepdark pit!" again...

Ethan Albright Strikes Back

To: John Madden
CC: Electronic Arts Sports
From: Ethan Albright
Re: Being the worst rated player on Madden ‘07

Hi, John, my name is Ethan Albright. I play line for the Washington Redskins. You probably already knew that, so I’ll continue. I am writing in regards to the overall player rating of 53 that I have received in Madden NFL Football 2007. I feel that this is fucking bullshit and you should kiss my mother-fucking ass. Ahmed Carroll was rated a 78 and the Packers just cut his ass on a Tuesday morning after his performance in a Monday night game. That is pretty terrible. The worst part is that his overall rating was sniffing 80.

You know what, John? Two can play this game. I rate you a fucking 12. I rate you a fucking 12 in Ethan Albright Football 2000-ever… except for in the category of ball-licking. That is where I will spot you a 98 rating. You will receive this score because I will never give your blubbery ass a 99 in any category. Take that, pencil-dick. Go do Al Micheals or something. Boom. Score one for Red Beard. [more]

Dude's pretty pissed... This is hysterical.

I had to stop reading on page 3 because I became violent.

Republican Group Chides Democrats With Abortion Ads
Aim Is To Win Minority Voters, But Democrats Cry Foul [read at your own risk]

Ends above the milestone number on anniversary of the 1987 crash; Google profits dazzle. [more]

20 December 1976

Your date of conception was on or about 29 March 1976 which was a Monday.

You were born on a Monday
under the astrological sign Sagittarius.
Your Life path number is 1.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 9.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 8.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 6, 11 & 22.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443132.5.
The golden number for 1976 is 1.
The epact number for 1976 is -1.
The year 1976 was a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/31/1976 and ending 2/17/1977.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Dragon.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Owl; your plant is Mistletoe.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Menchir, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 29 Kislev 5737.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.3.8.8 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 3 tun 8 uinal 8 kin

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 18 April 1976.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 25 April 1976.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 3 March 1976.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 6 June 1976.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 13 June 1976.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 25 September 1976.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 15 April 1976.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 2 March 1976.

As of 10/19/2006 7:40:44 PM EDT
You are 29 years old.
You are 358 months old.
You are 1,556 weeks old.
You are 10,895 days old.
You are 261,499 hours old.
You are 15,689,980 minutes old.
You are 941,398,844 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
JoJo (1990) Billy Bragg (1957) Uri Geller (1946)
Peter Criss (1945) George Roy Hill (1922) Irene Dunne (1898)
Harvey Firestone (1868)

Top songs of 1976
Tonight's the Night by Rod Stewart
Silly Love Songs by Wings
Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John & Kiki Dee
Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor
Play The Funky Music by Wild Cherry December, 1963
Oh What a Night) by Four Seasons
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon
Kiss and Say Goodbye by Manhattans
If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
Love Hangover by Diana Ross

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.26418786692759 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)

There are 62 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 30 candles.

Those 30 candles produce 30 BTUs,
or 7,560 calories of heat (that's only 7.5600 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.43 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1976 there were approximately 3.1 million births in the US.
In 1976 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1976 in the US there were approximately 2,152,662 marriages (10.1%) and 1,036,000 divorces (4.9%)
In 1976 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1976 the population of Australia was approximately 14,110,107.
In 1976 there were approximately 227,810 births in Australia.
In 1976 in Australia there were approximately 109,973 marriages and 63,230 divorces.
In 1976 in Australia there were approximately 112,662 deaths.


Your birthstone is Blue Zircon

The Mystical properties of Blue Zircon

Zircon helps one be more at peace with oneself.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Blue Topaz, Ruby, Lapis Lazuli


Your birth tree is

Fig Tree, the Sensibility

Very strong, a bit self-willed, independent, does not allow contradiction or arguments, loves life, its family, children and animals, a bit of a butterfly, good sense of humour, likes idleness and laziness, of practical talent and intelligence.

The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waning crescent.

5 January 1978
Your date of conception was on or about 14 April 1977 which was a Thursday.

You were born on a Thursday
under the astrological sign Capricorn.
Your Life path number is 4.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 6 & 7.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 3, 5 & 9.

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443513.5.
The golden number for 1978 is 3.
The epact number for 1978 is 21.
The year 1978 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/18/1977 and ending 2/6/1978.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Snake.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Goose; your plant is Bramble.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Famenoth, the third month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 26 Tevet 5738.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.4.9.9 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 4 tun 9 uinal 9 kin

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 26 March 1978.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 30 April 1978.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 8 February 1978.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 14 May 1978.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 21 May 1978.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Monday, 2 October 1978.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Saturday, 22 April 1978.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 7 February 1978.

As of 10/19/2006 2:59:19 PM EDT
You are 28 years old.
You are 345 months old.
You are 1,502 weeks old.
You are 10,514 days old.
You are 252,350 hours old.
You are 15,141,059 minutes old.
You are 908,463,559 seconds old.

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Marilyn Manson (1969) Pamela Sue Martin (1953) Diane Keaton (1946)
Juan Carlos I, King of Spain (1938) Alvin Ailey (1931) Robert Duvall (1931)
Walter Mondale (1928) George Reeves (1914) George Dolenz (1908)
Konrad Adenauer (1876)

Top songs of 1978
Night Fever by Bee Gees
Shadow Dancing by Andy Gibb
Le Freak by Chic
Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees
Kiss You All Over by Exile
Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey
Baby Come Back by Player
MacArthur Park by Donna Summer
Thicker Than Water by Andy Gibb
Three Times a Lady by Commodores

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.11506849315068 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)

There are 78 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 29 candles.

Those 29 candles produce 29 BTUs,
or 7,308 calories of heat (that's only 7.3080 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.31 US ounces of water with that many candles.


In 1978 there were approximately 3.1 million births in the US.
In 1978 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 2,152,662 marriages (10.1%) and 1,036,000 divorces (4.9%)
In 1978 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

In 1978 the population of Australia was approximately 14,430,830.
In 1978 there were approximately 224,181 births in Australia.
In 1978 in Australia there were approximately 102,958 marriages and 40,608 divorces.
In 1978 in Australia there were approximately 108,425 deaths.


Your birthstone is Garnet
The Mystical properties of Garnet:
Garnet is used as a power stone

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources):
Emerald, Rose Quartz

Your birth tree is
Fir Tree, the Mysterious
Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it,rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable.

The moon's phase on the day you were born was waning crescent.

[find out about yours!]

The Dow Jones Industrial Average blasted past 12,000 for the first time ever after this morning's open, but waves of profit-taking and weakness in tech and energy stocks prevented the blue-chip index from a historic close. [more]

This was on the back of some pretty odd tea that Ling brought me back from China:


It gets better and better as you go down the list *giggle*

Time since I have needed to reboot my work computer: 2885 hours! (that's 120 days!)
Not bad for a 7 year old computer...

Hmmmm. This must be more than a coincidence.

HONOLULU A strong earthquake rippled through the Hawaiian Islands, shaking residents and tourists from their sleep, knocking out electrical power to several areas and triggering a landslide that rained boulders and other debris on the major highway of the largest island.
[more]

WASHINGTON - Air samples gathered last week contain radioactive materials that confirm that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte's office said Monday. [more]

Lily Allen - Smile

http://www.stunningnikon.com/dslr/

view the album

Hi guys. I am home today if anyone needs me.

Yesterday at the end of the day, I found out that my grandmother has been diagnosed with a pretty invasive form of breast cancer. She has to go back today to get her appointment list of all the other doctors she has to see to make sure that the cancer has not spread before they can do the surgery and kemo that she will need.

Anyway, that's my share for today. I'm at home, trying to at least clean my house a bit. Call me if you need anything.

Some shameless promotion here - my venerable employer, Virgin America, is asking the public to name all of its planes! We even built an amazing 3-D space to display the recent submissions - it's very cool.

So name away! Submit as many as you want, the more the merrier!

http://www.nameourplanes.com

Awesome! I actually recognize a lot of em. :P

Or rather, battle of the album covers. Ehhh, you kids are probably too young to know these. ;-)

Check out this animated mock-u-mentary about what it would have been like if George Lucas had made the Lord of the Rings films.

Check this out... these are the notes given to concert venues where Iggy Pop will play... and, they're hilarious.

Wow. The total nerd in me is so excited. [read]

Mark your calenders for Oct. 20th, Hacienda IMAX [read]

Blue-chip indicator manages highest close ever, taking out a 6-1/2-year-old record; falling oil is the catalyst. [more]

Details here. Highly recommended!

YAY!

Will probably be going to see Neil tomorrow night too!

Good month so far.

The duo detailed to the world a security flaw in Firefox, which afflicts the browser's handling of Javascript. As if that weren't painful enough, Spiegelmock and Wbeelsoi also said the glitch was probably "impossible to patch." [more]

Hey party people, so we got an offer to get some Get Clean Starter Kits for really cheap through employee discount. If you were ever interested in getting all organic and non-toxic cleaning products for your house, this is the coolest thing ever.

Let me know if you want one. Price = $37.04 plus tax. If you want to know why on earth you'd want this, check out what is in the cleaners you use. Want details on all of the Kit's contents? [click here]

Not a sales pitch - I really don't care if you get this or not, just extending the offer if anyone wants one....

P.S. if you just want to know what has been making my life hell for the past month, it was making this site happen, so click one of the links and check it out.

Just in case she forgets today.

Hey! After 9 days, I am back. I'll probably have to blog the details later, but I had a great trip with CP up 395 and a fun time with the girls in Vegas.

For a concice re-cap of the 395 trip, see Paduan's post...

Anyway, I am VERY happy to be home and able to sleep in my own bed for a while. I need a little bit of down time, I think.

And YAY RAIN!!!! After a long ass trip in the desert, rain was the most awesome thing to have happen when I got home.

click