gelett burgess later said ...
"Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow" --
I'm sorry, now, I wrote it!
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it."
uh ... oh. oops. good thing he died in 1951.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
grade school rhyme
i had completely forgotten about this little rhyme (for about thirty or forty years!):
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
--Gelett Burgess
but i don't remember the name gelett burgess (at all!) ...
I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
--Gelett Burgess
but i don't remember the name gelett burgess (at all!) ...
update now --
friday's the deadline -- there's a malicious virus out there that is set to destroy ALL files in word, adobe, and other programs. go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11114993/ to read about it. best bet: make sure you've got the latest anti-virus update.
Monday, January 30, 2006
way back when...
this is great fun -- go to http://www.plan59.com/main.htm and click on Decor to find out what it would have looked like to live in the 50's. very, very retro...
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Drifting
Ah ... the irony of it. After all the dangerous things I’ve survived, all the risks I’ve taken -- am I going to die here on this god-forsaken planet?
It had seemed like a sure thing -- go to Imbro, pick up the boxes and crates from the R-1452 excavation, and head back home. Simple. And it had started out simply enough: departure - normal; the ti/spa dive - normal; re-entry - normal; landing, pack-on, liftoff - normal.
What hadn’t been normal was the slide, right after the time/space dive on the return. When you take the dive, it’s like you take one step, and then you re-enter to normal time and space. Only that didn’t happen. I slid. That’s what it felt like and that’s what I’m going to call it in the log, although I bet a billion years could pass before anyone would stumble on this desperate place. It doesn’t scan like any known planet, doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever heard of, and smells funny.
All the known routes, planets, and systems were taught from first class. That whole area of study was called rangles and was right up there with reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic -- the 4 R’s. And he knew the whole set-up better than anyone, even if he wasn’t in the Vaulted Service. Being in the VS had been a dream... once.
But I’m here now -- bleeding, banged, and botched. The slide had thrown the ship into an orbit around the planet and had damaged everything enough that it took herculean skills to keep from crashing. Broken arm, broken leg, puncture wounds, scrapes, bruises -- probably internal bleeding. But I would be glad to tell anyone who wants to listen that this little planet has breathable air. And a good temperature.
The ship had broken apart upon landing. Being thrown from the cabin into some sort of mossy, mushy glump had broken his fall and kept him away from the debris that had crumbled around the ship. He had realized after a time that the stuff he’d fallen onto had movement, and now he had drifted quite a ways away from the crash area. And even though the view was actually kind of pretty, he could tell it was deadly -- he didn’t have much time left.
There were a lot of what looked like multi-trunked puffy trees all around, with strange-shaped vegetation on the black ground. Everything looked... well... soft. But what he’d noticed just a bit ago was that he appeared to be drifting to the edge of something. He could see close and he could see far, but there was this edge...
He finally resigned himself to just enjoying the view, especially since there was nothing else he could do. He took a deep breath, relaxed back into the softness, and drifted.
It had seemed like a sure thing -- go to Imbro, pick up the boxes and crates from the R-1452 excavation, and head back home. Simple. And it had started out simply enough: departure - normal; the ti/spa dive - normal; re-entry - normal; landing, pack-on, liftoff - normal.
What hadn’t been normal was the slide, right after the time/space dive on the return. When you take the dive, it’s like you take one step, and then you re-enter to normal time and space. Only that didn’t happen. I slid. That’s what it felt like and that’s what I’m going to call it in the log, although I bet a billion years could pass before anyone would stumble on this desperate place. It doesn’t scan like any known planet, doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever heard of, and smells funny.
All the known routes, planets, and systems were taught from first class. That whole area of study was called rangles and was right up there with reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic -- the 4 R’s. And he knew the whole set-up better than anyone, even if he wasn’t in the Vaulted Service. Being in the VS had been a dream... once.
But I’m here now -- bleeding, banged, and botched. The slide had thrown the ship into an orbit around the planet and had damaged everything enough that it took herculean skills to keep from crashing. Broken arm, broken leg, puncture wounds, scrapes, bruises -- probably internal bleeding. But I would be glad to tell anyone who wants to listen that this little planet has breathable air. And a good temperature.
The ship had broken apart upon landing. Being thrown from the cabin into some sort of mossy, mushy glump had broken his fall and kept him away from the debris that had crumbled around the ship. He had realized after a time that the stuff he’d fallen onto had movement, and now he had drifted quite a ways away from the crash area. And even though the view was actually kind of pretty, he could tell it was deadly -- he didn’t have much time left.
There were a lot of what looked like multi-trunked puffy trees all around, with strange-shaped vegetation on the black ground. Everything looked... well... soft. But what he’d noticed just a bit ago was that he appeared to be drifting to the edge of something. He could see close and he could see far, but there was this edge...
He finally resigned himself to just enjoying the view, especially since there was nothing else he could do. He took a deep breath, relaxed back into the softness, and drifted.
spam
the spammers are getting more clever. instead of sending messages that are easily recognized and can be quickly tossed out, the missives start out looking like one thing, then morph into something else when you open them up.
haha, clever, yes/no? well ... sometimes. the following is a sample of the kinds of spam i've gotten lately (as shown by their subject headings):
easily dismissable:
re: excellent *boring*
re: standford *did you leave out the word 'and'?*
re: professional ed facilitation op *ha! in your dreams*
downright laughable:
re: so fill the openhearted deodorant *with what?*
re: selfoffence percolator *my coffee pot hates the way he smells?*
re: a oceanographer, horace may glamor *scientist by day, warlock by night...*
re: get nominated for a degr3e *like, from a colludg?*
just dumb:
re: of type to monolith cobweb *and splatter to pillow*
re: until wrap on pig *wait hat on bird*
re: orlan twa *chicag saa*
haha, clever, yes/no? well ... sometimes. the following is a sample of the kinds of spam i've gotten lately (as shown by their subject headings):
easily dismissable:
re: excellent *boring*
re: standford *did you leave out the word 'and'?*
re: professional ed facilitation op *ha! in your dreams*
downright laughable:
re: so fill the openhearted deodorant *with what?*
re: selfoffence percolator *my coffee pot hates the way he smells?*
re: a oceanographer, horace may glamor *scientist by day, warlock by night...*
re: get nominated for a degr3e *like, from a colludg?*
just dumb:
re: of type to monolith cobweb *and splatter to pillow*
re: until wrap on pig *wait hat on bird*
re: orlan twa *chicag saa*
mercurial moods
first they tell us we have to retire, then they tell us we have to work -- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10967825/site/newsweek/?GT1=7538 -- will it never end? well, yes, actually ... when we die. hahaha. *what, what'd i say ...*
one more time
decided i would give google a try -- msn has irritated me to no end, and i'm concerned about compromising my younger son on lj, so i've landed here and will see how this goes. wish me luck!
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