cluck, cluck...

wow -- that grabs your attention, doesn't it?! i never even knew stuff like this took place. intentionally took place, that is. but 'active 4-wheeling' seems to be a new and exciting thing to do. actually, i think i would have enjoyed it when i was 25, but not now. somehow, in my old age, i've turned into a chicken. would you like doing that???

you, too, can become a gamer!

they say that you need to keep your mind active as you get older so there will be less chance you will lose some of your faculties. i've discovered several little games i can play while i'm online -- they're pretty silly but you really do have to think while you play, so maybe there is some value in spending time with these activities. here they are:

Sobics -- http://www.arcadebin.com/index.php?action=play&id=295 a game where you line up blocks of the same color; very basic; written in chinese so i have no idea if there is more to it than what i do.

Blox Forever -- http://www.arcadebin.com/index.php?action=play&id=56 a game where you move blocks together to get them to disappear; can be very challenging.

Zelda Puzzle -- http://www.arcadebin.com/index.php?action=play&id=234 a memory game that gets progressively harder; fun ... until it gets too hard.

and my old favorite, Bear and Cat -- http://www.zeronews-fr.com/flash/bearandcat.php a game where you dissolve the dots before they get you; can be stimulating; goes from easy to very difficult; i stick with the levels i can play (why not?); again, it's written in japanese or chinese so there may be tips i can't know about. if you play this game and you want to quit (e.g. you play to level 4 and don't want to do 5 but to just start over instead), go to the left side and click on 'pause' then click on the third button from the top, then click on the right-side button and it will take you back to the beginning.

there you have it. [)0 teh zerg rush @/\/[) pwn I+! w00t!!1!111!1!

and now, these weirds from our sponsor...

the FitNet guy, who i like so much, had a funny thing going this week -- i've reprinted it for your viewing pleasure:

"This week I am going to share entries from a contest sponsored by The Washington Post. In this event they partnered with Mensa and asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition."

Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

To subscribe, send a blank email to join-fitnet@lists.ia.gov .

Paparazzi struggle as Pitt-Jolie birth nears

man, ya gotta feel sorry for those picture-takers, right?

"Not only must the paparazzi contend with cloth screens surrounding the luxury resort. The police have joined private security guards to protect Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, from prying lenses, and one guard has used pepper spray to keep a photographer at bay."

"Namibia has already expelled several photographers from the seaside resort, and the government warned other journalists it would take all measures to ensure the couple continue to enjoy their stay."

"Paparazzi on the ground are clearly finding life tough...'This has really gotten out of hand. There is a no-fly zone over the hotel, it is an unprecedented display of police power. It is really ominous.'"

ominous -- oooooooh, the boogie-man.

excuse me *little snerk: heh* while i *bubbly mirth: hahahaha* go hide *raucous, uncontrolled, rotfl: *.

man + woman + two little girls

one of the blogs that i (try to) read faithfully every day is Slimbolala -- he has a great wit, is always optimistic, and is a gentle person. plus he regularly posts pictures and draws like a demon. here is one of his recent posts that simply cracked me up. http://slimbolala.blogspot.com/2006/04/challaballies.html

i just love stuffonmycat

Gingercat joins the witness protection program

-------------------------------------------
Bunch of lazy bones
 

crime wave continues...

April 16: A young man quit his job in Florida to travel to Alaska to seek his fortune. He drove 8,000 miles while touring the country in his Volkswagen camper van. While in line at the border his vehicle broke down. He managed to get the vehicle into a business parking lot. He left the vehicle (which contained all his worldly possessions) locked up and took his dog for a walk to find help in repairing the vehicle. During the 45 minutes he was gone a thief broke into the vehicle and stole his computer and GPS system. Although the vehicle was parked in a public place, there were no witnesses to the crime. The value of the items stolen was approximately $3,000.

April 15: A resident in the 1100 block of Adelia Street reported that her neighbor may have squirted ketchup on her car because he believed she called the police to check on his welfare. The neighbor left the area and went to a friend's house before police arrived. The ketchup was washed off the resident's car and there was no damage. The resident requested no further police action be taken.

April 11: An officer was dispatched to a residence where a child had placed a toilet seat over his head and could not get it off. The officer was able to get the seat off the boy's head. There were no injuries.

oh, know ...

i was surfing the other day and came across this site: http://www.spellingsociety.org/index.php . these people think *gasp* the english language is hard to spell. they say, "Why don't comb, tomb, bomb rime? Why do they, say, weigh rime?" even though i would probably agree with a lot of the word changes, they are, obviously (rime=rhyme), from england. that in itself is enough to make me take a step back. i love and/or enjoy people from scotland, ireland, and wales, but england ..... they have an attitude. regardless ... if you're interested in joining the cause, go to the above link and jump in.

update

well, it looks like i may be stuck with flickr. i've looked around a bit and don't see another program out there to dump photos into without much hassle. so ..... i'll stick with flickr until something else comes along. i also made a web-address-name-change so you can access my photos by going to http://www.flickr.com/photos/kphiker/ from now on.

i still have to upload the pictures from our sojourn to jerome and sedona, plus all those fabulous cliff dwelling pictures. i'll get them up as soon as i can.

happy friday!!!

p.s. i numbered the pictures with 1=first pix taken, so you can get an idea of the sequence that way. also, if you go to the page listed above, then click on Your Sets (right-side of page), then click on either set of pictures, the thumbnails on the right side are the correct sequence and if you click on 'View as slideshow' then you'll get them big-sized and correctly sequenced. however, if you click on 'View your latest photos as a slideshow' on the main page listed above, you will not get the correct sequence. sequence matters to me, but if it doesn't to you then there's not a problem.

the az wedding

i finally got the wedding pictures up. go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/97063157@N00/ and you will find them NOT in the order i uploaded them. very irritating. i am going to be looking around for another site like flickr that might be better at picture arranging.

regardless, unless i find something else, you can peruse these pictures to your heart's content. enjoy!

world traveler

did you see the story about the ice motel? i've completely forgotten the story now, but this is a real picture of a room in the place. must be in iceland or somewhere north, huh?! sorry, but i just can't believe that 'bed' would be warm. 

whoa, mama

i know what Thumper said, but gees, they are just soooo .....

agent cat

Shh! No time for questions...you must trust me.

nothin' but trouble

“Who’s watching the brat?” said Big George.

“Mikey’s turn,” I said. “I watched her this mornin’.” It was noon-thirty and already it was hot. Only supposed to get up to 70, but it was headed up to 80 plus. “She’s gonna be trouble again. I’m gettin’ tired of taking care of nothin’ but trouble.”

“Maybe if you called her by her name, Joey, and talked real nice, she wouldn’t give you a bad time,” said Mikey -- mister smartmouth.

“Yeah, that’s real likely,” I said. “She don’t wanna be waitin’ for the boss and you know it, Mikey, so shuddup. Cryssakes, I’m gonna get me a real job one o’ these days. Make lotsa money and have nice-lookin’ dames hangin’ offa my arms.”

“Oh, that’s real funny, Joey. You not smart enuf to have a real job, so shuddup about it already. I’m sicka you gonna get a real job.”

“Shove it, Mikey, or I’ll shove it for ya. Then I’ll take your cut and we’ll see who’s smilin’.”

“Knock it off, you two,” growled Big George, “and go check on the dame.”

I look at Mikey. He knows it’s gonna be him since Wally’s out gettin’ lunch. “Aw shit, I’ll go,” he says and heads for the bedroom.

And explodes right back. “Shit! The brat’s gone! Went right out the window and we’s on the third floor.”

“Goddammit, goddammit,” rumbled Big George, “the boss ain’t gonna like that. Come on -- we gotta go find her again, and this time we tie her up.”

ahhh -- the 50's

maresie doates and doesie doates and little lamsie divey .....

jesus loves me, this i know .....

i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream .....

red rover, red rover, send johnnie right over .....

put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and shake it all about ....

bobbie and molly sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes bobbie with the baby carriage .....

metal skates and skate keys .....

white gloves and easter hats .....

pinafores .....

poodle skirts and spit curls .....

business advice

the following are some quotes from people who were really high up in the last company i worked for (3 years ago):

advice to others:
>> "It's important to listen to people you work with and don't assume you have all the answers." (president of the company)
>> "I would encourage people to develop others, value character and competence, and support team accomplishments in order to be successful in business." (VP)
>> "We have to take responsibility for our development and growth. Look for opportunities and mentors to help us be successful. We need to take charge and promote ourselves, not wait for others." (VP)
>> "Have a goal." (VP)
>> "Be authentic. Don't try to be someone else; seek out mentors; and don't be afraid to ask questions." (department head)

the sky was the limit

i used to be an air traffic controller. that was back in the days when there were no female controllers. most of the guys who worked there had been against women being brought into the ranks, figuring any female who tried to get in was either (1) really ugly, (2) a slut going to a lot of trouble looking for a good time, or (3) one o' them radical feminists looking to cause trouble. their theories did not leave room for the idea of a pretty, pleasant, and intelligent woman who wanted a challenging job and thought she was capable of handling the responsibility.

yes, i had to listen to a lot of rough jokes; yes, i had tricks played on me; yes, i had to do things better than a guy just starting out; yes, i was up against guys who tried to get me washed out; yes, i had to ignore sexual harrassment. but i liked the job and did pretty well at it.

eventually i could call most of the guys my friends, although in the loosest possible sense. they didn't want their wives to think they talked to me, and none of us became pals.

my future husband and i didn't work on the same side of the schedule and i really didn't even know who he was until he asked me out after he and his wife had split up and were working out divorce details.

yes, guys do gossip; yes, some guys go out on their wives without ever getting caught; yes, some guys talk big until their wives are present. some guys are extremely crude; some guys are very sensitive; some guys physically abuse their wives; some guys are hen-pecked; some guys are gentle.

it was an interesting period of my life and i will share stories as i think of them.

crime wave continues...

April 8: During patrol, an officer recognized a driver who they had arrested in previous weeks for driving on a suspended license. A DOL check confirmed the driver as still suspended and he was placed under arrest.

April 8: Officers responded to a verbal domestic dispute. A husband was reportedly caught cheating on his wife via the internet. The husband apologized for his actions and said he would do anything to make it right. The husband left the residence and sought alternative housing for the evening to let things cool down.

April 5: A resident called to report that someone was parked on his property. When the property owner asked the person to leave, the person told him he would leave in a minute. This was not acceptable to the property owner so he called the police. Both parties spoke with one another and worked out the problem in a civil manner.

April 5: A 12-year-old boy reported two older boys approached him on foot and demanded he give them his bicycle. When he refused, one of the boys strong-armed the bicycle away and began riding it. An adult reportedly observed this and yelled at the boys to give the bicycle back. They complied and gave the victim his bicycle back.

Moments later, the two boys re-approached the victim where one of the boys handed a knife to the other boy who opened it, stood near the victim, and allegedly threatened to cause bodily harm if he didn't give up the bicycle. The victim initially gave his bike to the brandisher, but was able to grab it back and flee to his residence to call the police.

Both suspects, ages 13 and 14, were identified through investigation and arrested within an hour of the incident. They were booked on robbery charges.

a-reading we will go...

i love blogging. and reading other people's blogs. even when i have no idea who they are, the process can be satisfying and adventursome. if you've ever wondered about france and england, go to this gal's blog -- she's taking a trip and has some really fabulous images! http://jenngemini.blogspot.com/

catching up on sleep

vacations can be hard on a person. every morning while we were gone, i awoke between 6 am and 7 am (sunshine in the window). that doesn't sound like a trial, but it was. i usually stay up until midnight, 1 am, 2 am, or 3 am creating stuff on the computer or reading. the next morning i arise at 8 am, or 9 am and proceed with my day. it works well for me, a night person, and having the right amount of sleep at my right times keeps me pretty happy.

i knew the vacation was going to be a stretch for me and gave it my best. but pretty quickly i could tell that my body wanted to sit down with me and discuss this new paradigm. since it was a necessary but short-lived routine, i simply soldiered on.

but last night it caught up with me. i worked on cropping some of the pictures i'm going to mount on the walls, and finally shut down the computer at 12:50, brushed my teeth, and was in bed at 1 am. i awoke at 7:10 am (cockaleakie), went back to sleep, dreamed various and delightful dreams, and re-woke at 1:20 pm just as hubby stuck his head in the bedroom door and said, "i was just coming to see if you were okay." wow. more than twelve hours. haven't done that in a long, long time.

the moral of this story -- don't listen to scientists or do-gooders who profess to know what you should do about sleep. listen to your body and do what YOU think you need to do, even if it doesn't fit with anyone else. and be patient with the masses, who sleep differently than you do, when you go on vacation.

i love ...

FrostByte Groove Lounge



'nuff said ... 

dangerous to our health?

"Nanotechnology involves the manufacture and manipulation of materials at the molecular or atomic level. At that scale, materials are measured in nanometers or billionths of a meter. Nanoscale materials are generally less than 100 nanometers in diameter. A sheet of paper, in comparison, is 100,000 nanometers thick."

this new product paradigm sounds interesting, but it could introduce a totally new type of problem to consumers. although the technology is in its infancy, the FDA is trying to stay on top of the new technology.

"German counterparts struggle to understand why nearly 100 people suffered respiratory problems after using a novel cleaning product made with the submicroscopic particles ... continue to probe 97 cases of intoxication, some of them severe, in people who had used a recently introduced aerosol cleaning product called "Magic Nano."

to discover some of the products already on the market, go here -- http://www.nanotechproject.org/index.php?id=44&action=view -- the list is certainly not comprehensive, but a person might as well try to become familiar with or have a grasp of something that could have health implications.

admittedly there are already enough things to worry about, but trying to be aware of what's out there is surely advisable. especially if it becomes ubiquitous. (quotes found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12304550/)

the cliffs are home

The turtle doves cooed, woke her up, and interrupted her dream. She waited a moment, wondering if she could just go back and finish the dream, but it was gone. She sat up, stretched, then got up, took the water jug, and climbed out the hole into the morning.

The cliff homes were all she had ever known and she loved them. They were warm in cool weather, and cool in warm weather. The birds made mud nests overhead, food was gathered and kept in caves in the back wall, and it gave much pleasure to be able to look out and see far from so high. Sometimes she thought it would be good to have wings and fly above while the sun was born.

Several of the others were already up, getting water and starting fires, so she made her way quietly down the ladder to the first floor, then climbed down to the ground. It was lighter now and she could see as well as hear the ravens and wrens as they chirped and called to each other. The wind shushed gently through the trees, and the water in the stream tumbled down and around the rocks as it moved along its way.

Taking a moment first to wash her face and hands, she filled the water jug and made her way back to her room. Soon rice was sizzling and after she added an egg, her meager breakfast was ready. She had picked a few berries yesterday and enjoyed them with her egg-rice patty today. Then, after a minute of clean-up, she sat before her loom and reviewed her work. The blanket was turning out nicely and would look good with a flower added to the side.

She worked steadily for a number of hours, then went back down the ladders and to the stream to fill her water jug again. The men were working the corn and cotton, and a couple of women were gathering stems for baskets and clay for pots.

“Hello, Maiya,” she said. “How is your baby?”

“She is very happy, Ruoto. How is your weaving coming?”

“It is good and will please the chief,” she said. “Maybe he will decide to give me a husband.”

“Yes, Ruoto, it is time. I don’t know why he hasn’t taken care of you yet,” said Maiya. “I wonder if he will look toward Huoleyo or Nikulu. Do you have a preference?”

“Oh Maiya, it is not for me to think of such things. I will be happy with whichever decision he makes. Both are good men and I think would be good to live with.” Ruoto smiled and turned away, heading back for the ladder.

She would come down again, after weaving for several hours, to look for berries and roots to add to her evening meal. After her meal, she would talk with some of the other women until it began to get dark, then she would return to her room, think quiet thoughts, and go to bed.

hello again

well, we're back! as soon as i get the energy i am going to post all the trip pictures on flickr and i'll let you know when they're there.

we had a lovely time, the wedding went off just fine, everyone seems to be happy, phoenix is pretty, prescott is wonderfully old-fashioned, jerome is perched, sedona is snotty but beautiful, the ruins are thought-provoking. every day was packed with things to do and good food was available at every stop.

the ONLY down-side to the whole trip was the ordeal of flying: the lines at the ticket counter, the lines at the security check-in, the ridiculous strip-down that we have to go through because of those dvmbfvck middle eastern terrorists, the waiting, the flagrant abusers who get in the boarding line first rather than politely waiting until their 'zone' number is called, the gutless ticket agents who let the flagrant abusers get by with it, the packed-in-like-sardines seating, and the masses of it's-all-about-me humanity (most usually the people with kids in tow). i mean, puh-leeze. it's just so dispiriting. gentility and breeding seem to be absent in the common people.

well, wait. the motel room and continental breakfast were absolutely terrible, too.

regardless, we're home now and will be seeing waylin in may when they drive over after going to heather's wedding.

in other wonderful news My Younger Son is planning on coming home on may 19. details as they become available.

ta ta ...

up, up, and away...

well, we're here. the flight seemed long *do those seats have to be so narrow so that the guy next to me sticks his elbow in my ribs?* but except for the people and the abrupt changes in altitude due to turbulence around phoenix, it went fine.

our people picked us up and we drove to mimi's for lunch. WOW! what a nice experience! i had a cobb salad with totally yummy dressing and a lovely blueberry muffin and some great french onion soup. hubby had some kind of sandwich and the others also had sandwiches. i'm sure my meal was the best!

then we headed out for prescott and arrived in time for sunset except that it was raining then sleeted briefly. cloud cover = no sunset. tomorrow we'll be out-and-about, friday is the rehearsel dinner, saturday is the wedding and reception, and sunday we'll be heading back up here unless there's a birthday party for the grandaughter. no word on that yet. then out-and-about on monday, and to the airport for home on tuesday. so we have a full couple of days ahead.

more when we get back ...

donde esta la biblioteca? *

well, we're outta here ... heading to phoenix for the wedding of husband's oldest son. the girl is a sweetie and they will be so good together. i hope to have pictures for you when we get back.

hasta luego ...

* = the only thing i remember from my two years of high school spanish.

which are you ...

elton cat?



or party dude?

 

quiz time

oh this is hilarious ... if you'd like to do one of those 'which one are you' things (this one from star trek), go to http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/startrek/ .

you'll never guess which character i am. (results, later...)