Comment
Wow, comments not from a person I know or linked to. A First! I see why she likes "That which doesn't kill me, makes me stranger" instead of stronger. Unfortunately, if I got much stranger I would have difficulty passing for normal just in my usual day-to-day activities. Not a huge problem, but not a direction I need right now. The mass murderer plaque text [on the Bender Family] can be seen here. Unfortunately, you can't see the actual plaque, which is taller than I am. Which still begs the question of why this thing is there, anyway.
- posted by owlish @ 8/29/2004 12:05:00 PM 20 comments

 
Attack rodent
From Fark, we have the story of the evil attack squirrel of death. Isn't that a sign of End Times?
- posted by owlish @ 8/29/2004 11:57:00 AM 1 comments

 
50 questions part 2
50 things part 2: 26. Orange juice or apple? Orange 27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine? Assuming eating takeout Italian food with my sister doesn't count, eating pizza with the guys after helping move their mother's stuff. 28. Favorite type chocolate bar: Probably Hershey's special dark [although Lindt raspberry filled is quite tasty] 30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? this spring; my parents arn't growing them any more, but they know plenty of people who do. 31. Have you ever won a trophy? Several for high school debate, one in 6th grade (?) for sportsmanship from a summer camp. 32. Are you a good cook? yes 33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? yes [where did that question come from, anyway?] 34. Ever order an article from an infomercial? no 35. Sprite or 7-up? sprite 36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? yes [assuming the lab coat counts] 37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? map of Kansas City streets 38. Ever throw up in public? If the kitchen of the fraternity house counts as public, then yes 39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? wuv, tru wuv 40. Do you believe in love at first sight? no 41. Ever call a 900 number? no 42. Can ex's be friends? sometimes 43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? I think my grandmother after she fell; maybe a friend after delivering her kid 44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? yes 45. What message is on your answering machine? something like "you've called 555-9999. Please leave a message." 46. What's your all-time favorite SNL character? Samuri ___ 47. Name of first pet? Captain 48. What is in your purse? N/A 49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? usually read 50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? That I live in Texas.
- posted by owlish @ 8/27/2004 09:57:00 PM 1 comments

 
Angry Aliens
Yes, the bunnies doing versions of movies are amusing, but the Cartoonist's Block made me giggle. Seen before, but directed from APCB. Which has Star Wars rumors.
- posted by owlish @ 8/27/2004 08:18:00 PM 0 comments

 
Spyware
Ok, from Inter Alia, recommendations for this article on spyware, malware, and some blockers.
- posted by owlish @ 8/27/2004 07:53:00 PM 0 comments

 
50 things
From TexasBestGrok, via Llamabutchers [as usual]: A fair number of these don't apply well, but what the hell. 1.Name spelled backwards: sgnirettum hsilwo 2.Where were your parents born:Father: small town in Texas, Mother: Missouri 3. Last thing downloaded: a sound file from Lilek's bleat 4. Fave restaurant: probably Salsas, a good TexMex restaurant 5. Last time you swam in a pool: not sure, probably last fall at my friend's parents' house [swam in Gulf much more recently] 6. Have you ever been in a school play? Yeah, I was Santa Claus in the 2nd grade Christmas play. I played a black housekeeper in resident's follies a while back [~10 years]. I tried out for a part during college, at the urging of a brother; I didn't get the part [probably a good thing] 7. How many kids do you want? 2; at this point extremely unlikely to happen 8. Type of music you dislike the most: gangsta rap, probably 9. Registered to vote: yes 10. Do you have cable? yes 11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? no 12. Ever prank call anyone? not that I can remember 13. Ever get a parking ticket? yes 14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? maybe: going to a summer camp during junior high, one of the activities was jumping from fairly high up onto this huge float - jumping off the first time was always hard, but then it was fun. If I started doing a face your fears kind of thing sky diving would probably be on the list. 15. Farthest place traveled: Europe 16. Do you have a garden? no. Doing occasional weeding for family and friends always nips any such instincts in the bud [so to speak]. 17. What's your favorite comic strip: Dilbert 18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? yes 19. Bath or shower, morning or night? a morning shower is pretty much mandatory for me to be alive before 10; a long hot bath later sometimes after a workout 20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? N/A 21. Favorite pizza topping? depends - just one on a normal pizza would be pepperoni; more would add mushrooms, black olives, and various meat; a nearby restaurant makes a mean chorizo and goat cheese pizza 22. Chips or popcorn? depends - with a sandwich- chips, usually fritos or doritos; as a stand alone snack popcorn 23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? N/A 24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? no, why? 25. Have you ever been in a beauty pagent? no. Next 25 tomorrow.
- posted by owlish @ 8/26/2004 08:55:00 PM 1 comments

 
Trip
Ok, so here's the story. My sister was in a wreck about 10 days ago, and broke her foot. Some other scrapes and scratches, but nothing else serious. She was coming back to her apartment in Lawrence, Kansas, to which she had moved about 2 months ago and then spent 6 weeks in Utah. She asked for help, both because she had been planning on moving again anyway, and not being able to drive made it more urgent, and because essentially the only food in the house was a bag of chicken sandwiches she picked up from Burger King on the way back from the ER. Most of her furniture is still in storage [in Kansas], otherwise we would have hired movers. Anyway, so I was mover, chauffeur, grocery shopper, and entertainer for 5 days, while sleeping on a mattress on the floor and bathing in a tub that made me feel dirtier after the bath than before. Not to mention all the little nervous habits she has, which irritated me in high school, now just piss me off. And to go I had to break a promise I made to my friends about 3 months ago. Basically, I'm glad I'm not in Kansas any more. [The whole walk into Walmart and everyone is Caucasian experience, the rest area with a historic plaque recognizing a mass murderer, the spice is evil attitude just add to that feeling]. So, last night I considered getting completely shitfaced, but didn't have the energy, or the heart, or something, so I just killed stuff in Diablo 2. Whee.
- posted by owlish @ 8/26/2004 06:17:00 PM 2 comments

 
Eeekk
Back from Kansas, land of bland TexMex: Taco John's and Carlos O'Kelleys heading the list. This is rapidly turning into the summer of moving. I survived. That which doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
- posted by owlish @ 8/25/2004 07:43:00 PM 5 comments

 
Life keeps catching up with me
Ok, so my sister called me, telling me she has broken her leg, doesn't know how long it will take for her leg to get good enough that she can drive, and she wants me to come up to help her. Basically, for various reasons, I don't want to go, but feel that I have to. Bleh. An extended absense is likely.
- posted by owlish @ 8/17/2004 06:49:00 PM 0 comments

 
Bomb
Quoting the Weekly World News, we have Gawker from Ken Wheaton that I saw from IMAO: Extremist Muslims are developing an estrogen bomb! Horrors.
- posted by owlish @ 8/13/2004 02:32:00 PM 0 comments

 
Bomb
Quoting the Weekly World News, we have Gawker from Ken Wheaton that I saw from IMAO: Extremist Muslims are developing an estrogen bomb! Horrors.
- posted by owlish @ 8/13/2004 02:32:00 PM 1 comments

 
FDA
Ok, so this device isn't some amazing thing that would revolutionize the treatment of depression. On the other hand, it's already approved for epilepsy, and what data I've seen showed some effects on major depression [although I am positive I havn't seen all the data]. What use is the FDA, anyway?
- posted by owlish @ 8/12/2004 02:51:00 PM 0 comments

 
Blog, blog, blog, blog
This looks like a fun blog to watch. The interesting thing is, I can remember watching the beginning of Desert Storm and wondering whether my classmates and I would be given an abbreviated trauma course and drafted. Didn't come close, but....
- posted by owlish @ 8/10/2004 05:22:00 PM 24 comments

 
Game Plan
Vodkapundit has a posting well worth reading - not quite the length of a den Beste novella, but close. Besides, you've got time since the USS Clueless is on hiatus.
- posted by owlish @ 8/10/2004 04:42:00 PM 0 comments

 
Sex
This may be more information than some people need. If so, you are excused. I have never had a masturbation fantasy involving a woman alone, or several women for that matter. I was able to explain that to myself by thinking that would be "dirty," to the point I remember a guy showing a Playboy centerfold during 9th grade English, and I turned away. Not much after that I can remember seeing a female friend's Playgirl, and being impressed and probably turned on. Sexuality does probably follow a continuum - after all, according to Lady Sally monosexuality is the primary hangup of the 20th century. [sorry, couldn't find the book for the exact quote]. If I had a choice between getting married to a woman [having ejaculations caused by the physical act of sex rather than desire] and being stoned to death, I would get married. What all this leads to is that while the "reparative" therapy might be able to take someone who is bisexual and make him so guiltridden that he never wants to have sex with a man, I don't think there is anything that could happen that could make me have sexual desires towards women rather than men. By the way, I don't think 10% of the male population is gay, either.
- posted by owlish @ 8/09/2004 11:42:00 AM 20 comments

 
Weekend
Ok, so I headed up to Dallas to see John Lanius and his family. We hung out, and he made the stereotypical straight male contribution to dinner - he grilled. The fajitas were good although to my taste could have used more cumin - although given how much difficulty they had getting the kids to eat anything but the tortillas, more spice might have been a bad thing. We talked - me about coming to the conscious realization I am gay changed my life, him about having kids changed his life, me giving anecdotes about my friends' childraising travails, him about various gay issues. Northpark has changed from when I last was there, though - the metrosexual's dream. No bookstores [although there's one across the street], no toystore, one electronic games store. Halfprice Books still rocks.
- posted by owlish @ 8/09/2004 11:29:00 AM 2 comments

 
Books
Books have been an important part of my life, but I usually read to escape, not to learn something. So, following this definition, I would only count one book: In the Moment by Harvey L. Rich. On the other hand, Books that I read over and over include: Expendable; James Alan Gardner The Fionavar Tapestry series by Guy Gavriel Kay Little Myth Marker; Robert Asprin The Last Hot Time; John M. Ford Door into Sunset;Diane Duane Dark of the Moon; P.C. Hodgell And almost anything by Steven Brust, Roger Zelazney, Mercedes Lackey, and L.E. Modsitt, Jr.
- posted by owlish @ 8/07/2004 07:44:00 AM 1 comments

 
weird week
Ok, let's see. A friend's mother died recently; memorial service was held Monday [which I missed], wake on that night [more or less], moved stuff out of her apartment yesterday. Which means my truck got some use. Not too bad. Headed off to Dallas more or less now. My computer is still infected. Bleh.
- posted by owlish @ 8/07/2004 07:39:00 AM 2 comments

 
The fight
Ok, so we've had the Democratic convention; Republican to come. Some people are predicting a Bush win already. I am less sure - lots can still happen. So, the fight - Democrats vs Republicans, or Americans vs Islamists. I know which I think is more important.
- posted by owlish @ 8/02/2004 11:27:00 AM 0 comments

 
States
A couple of days ago: Colorado, Minnesota. Yesterday:none.
- posted by owlish @ 8/02/2004 11:22:00 AM 3 comments