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Saturday, June 29, 2002

 

A few words on the price of things:

"A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything
and the value of nothing."

- Oscar Wilde

"A good film is when the price of the dinner,
the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it."

- Alfred Hitchcock

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

- Sir Winston Spencer Churchill

"The price one pays for pursuing any profession, or calling,
is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side."

- James Baldwin

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Do svidanya, tovarishi!*

*"Good day, comrades/friends/Romans/countrymen/non-player characters.
I was very amused to learnt that the Russian government considers Prez. Putin's official website: http://www.president.kremlin.ru/ to be unhackable.

Hmmhmmm... right.... Isn't that essentially painting a big red bulls-eye on your site that says, "Please Hack Me!"?

Is it possible for a website to be certifiably unhackable? The magic 8-ball says: HET! [pronounced: NYET!] ;-)


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Friday, June 28, 2002

 

This just in...
Ahh... forget it. Too tired to type. Must...Get... Allergy... Prescription...
[note: The author has just fallen asleep, as he has been zombiefied and utterly zonked out by the lousy otc medication he had to take.]

zzzzzzzzzz...

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Wednesday, June 26, 2002

 

OK, me here at home in El Kridge 'cause a certain file, which happens to be very important, decided to spontaneously combust or something... er... *rolls eyes*

I probably can't post anything tomorrow, so this'll be a relatively long one.

This afternoon they had me with the Minors (11-12 year-olds) as there was a shortage of counselors up there. I recognized quite a few of them (and knew almost as many names as I do of my own group ;-) ). There's definitely something that happens to these kids between the ages of around 8 (the Cubs, my groups) and 12. Some of these guys are getting close to my height! It's scary... and their banter amongst each other can be pretty weird and disgusting. Hmm...The password is: Hormones!

This is so weird... There's no one online from my AIM buddylist (a very modest 26 people). This has never happened before, to the best of my memory. sigh... I'm not lonely... just alone.

This made me happy:
The best TV show of last year (and just about the only network show I care to watch), 24: Season One, is now available for order from amazon.com SWEEEEET! The SRP is $60, but you can pre-order it from amazon for $45. I might do that, or just wait 'til its release date, September 17, and pick it up from The Tag. I'd say that's a pretty nice price for an entire season, regardless of whether there are any extras (and it's said that 3 alternative endings will be included- I wonder if they're any more coherent than the one they aired). Commentaries would be nice, as always.

As a side note, there's no mention of the 6-disc set on the FOX.com main site or their store, so amazon had better not be pulling our collective chain on this.

Notice also that currently the FOX main page has links to some movies, but clicking on the Minority Report pic takes you to StarWars.com... Hmmm... I was about to conclude that some Star Wars uber-nerd had hacked the site to try to bring more traffic to the house that Lucas built, but the adjacent SW promo shot is linked to their "Unfaithful" site. Nice job, webmasters.

I have to go to the lost and found. I saw this big set of briefcases lying on the side of the road today, which were marked "WorldCom, $3.8B" I wonder if they need them back... naahhhh, maybe I'll just keep them.

So that's all for now. Catch you sometime this weekend, ojalá.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2002

 

One last note:
FBI Monitors Terror Reading
WASHINGTON (AP) - Across the nation, FBI ( news - web sites) investigators are quietly visiting libraries and checking the reading records of people they suspect of being in league with terrorists, library officials say.

Scary stuff, no doubt.

But wasn't this mentioned- as a way to profile killers- in the gruesome, twisted SE7EN? I had thought AKWwas just messing with my brain. Guess truth is just as strange as fiction, if not stranger. Or just more sinister...

Hmmm... this is distressing. X>(

Anyone seen my brother's sunglasses? (not related to above story, as far as I know...)

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Well, another day, another dollar.

It was blazing out there today and from the looks of it, tomorrow won't offer much relief from the heat. Thursday might bring some rain, which would be a positive, from my POV. This weather report brought to you by "Sloppy Joes and French Fries." This lunch report brought to you by "McDonough Food Services."

This ludicrously unfunny ramble brought to you by "My Severely Chafed and Blistered Nether-regions." :-(

If I could see any movie before it's released, this would be it:

Yeah, what? Hope you know this flick's gonna rock your socks off, sucka!

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Hey, this is SWiley blogging from camp. That's right, it's break time now, so the kids are chilling out watching a movie, and the other two Steves* and I are just lounging about.

*One suggestion was for me to be known as Steve Old, and the others as Steve Middle and Steve Young. LOL... Not sure if that will catch on with me, as we 19 year-olds don't generally consider ourselves "Old" just yet. Not to mention the fact that the youngest Steve bears little resemblance to the former 49'ers QB. TTFN.

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Monday, June 24, 2002

 

Maybe I'll post more stuff about camp tomorrow. Without going into too much detail, I'm really happy to be working there again. The co-coaches/colleagues are really nice people. It's a special place for me... my 11th year involved with the camp, 4th as a "counselor." I will definitely relate any fun anecdotes that come up in these hot summer days...

I have to undergo more therapy sessions with wildsuga (PhD. ;-) ). What a great psychiatrist; she might not have actual training, but the price at least is right [free!].

"An anthill increases by accumulation.
Medicine is consumed by distribution.
That which is feared lessens by association.
This is the thing to understand."

- Siddha Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 AD)
Indian-Tibetan religious leader

"All that science can achieve is a perfect knowledge
and a perfect understanding of the action of natural
and moral forces."

- Hermann Helmholtz

"Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies
of correct understanding."

- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Indian philosopher

"Between, our birth and death we may touch understanding
As a moth brushes a window with its wing."

- Christopher Fry (1907-)
English dramatist, playwright

"A child of five would understand this.
Send somebody to fetch a child of five."

- Groucho Marx (1890-1977)
US comedian; from the film "Duck Soup"

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Before I go into any details about my first day at camp, I thought I'd post the absolute WEIRDEST anonymous AIM conversation ever...

SWiley9310 note: a person I've never talked to before: hey its steven

SJWiley note: me: ummm
SWiley9310: what
SJWiley: who's this?
SWiley9310: steven
SJWiley: uhh... right
SJWiley: steven what?
SWiley9310: who is this
SJWiley: uhhh... u already said
SJWiley: it's steven
SWiley9310: but who is this
SJWiley: u mean... me???
SWiley9310: yeah
SJWiley: ok... tell me who u r first
SWiley9310: mike
SJWiley: uhhh mike who?
SJWiley: from a friend note: this is what my aol-equiped buddy was able to dig up about "SWiley9310":
Member Name: Sylvia Wiley
Location: Chicago, Illinois USA
Marital Status: Single with no prospects
Hobbies: bowling, jazz, cooking, reading, good german wine
Computers: gateway
Occupation: healthcare
Personal Quote: if rejection is a disease then perseverance is the cure.
SWiley9310: jim
SJWiley: uh-huh explain the above then please
SWiley9310: who is this
\
SWiley9310: O:-)
SJWiley: I am steven... u r sylvia???
SJWiley: well....
SJWiley: I won't report u to the authorities...
SWiley9310: who is this
SJWiley: I just told u! Steven Wiley
SJWiley: and are u "sylvia wiley"???
SWiley9310: no
SJWiley: ok.. then where'd my aol buddy get that info?
SJWiley: c'mon... stop being coy... I won't bite
SWiley9310: hey jim it's me steven is using my code to go on line
SJWiley: what? whom are u addressing?
SWiley9310: did you fine the insurance information for me. melvin and i were just talking about itSWiley9310: is this my twin brother in georgia
SJWiley: this is too weird... I have no clue what you are talking about
SJWiley: LOL
SWiley9310: sorry my brother has the same screen name goodbye.
SJWiley: ok then.. that was difficult
SWiley9310: bye

And so I left it at that... God bless the Internet!!!


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Sunday, June 23, 2002

 

Just polished off a review long in the making:
4 Views of Science and its Detractors

That's right; four books reviewed for the price of one! Well, none really. I haven't gone commercial yet. Click the links on the books' titles to pick 'em up from amazon. I'd appreciate it $incerely. :-) Thanks!

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Howdy folks, I'm about to go off to Elrod Hendricks' Baseball Camp for the summer. Well, actually, since it's only a day camp I'll be staying at my grandfather's... and I should be able to update from time to time, but my output will most likely decrease unfortunately.

Maybe I'll focus more on* providing nifty links for your net surfing pleasure from now on...

*hehehe "He said 'moron'!!!" hehehe

To start the link thing off, I offer you the DVD Savant. I've been reading his reviews for quite some time, going back to when he wrote articles for MGM and then with the late, lamented DVD Resource. He chooses many fascinating* titles to review, but mostly he goes for older ("catalog") movies, often Westerns, sci-fi, or "art house". His reviews are typically long, involved essays, but I have not yet been displeased by any of his stuff.

Outstanding! Bookmark him, for sure!

*Originally I had "interesting" here, but I have sworn off that word for today. It's too bland and nondescript. Uninteresting, you might say.

See ya...

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Saturday, June 22, 2002

 

I'm not excited at all about K-19: The Widowmaker. I don't care if Han Solo and Qui-Gon Jinn are in it. I'm just bored with submarine movies, even though plenty of 'em are good.

No, Geraldo Warreno*, it's not because of the sub-plots. Mwahahahaha!!!... "no pun intended!"

*Name has been changed to protect the guilty, errrr... innocent. Yes, that was his line that I stole. So blame him for it. Don't kill the messenger.

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And now my 14 word Minority Report review (in iambic unameter or something):
"Wow!
Go see it now!
I will again, or
I might have a cow!"

Coincidentally, this was my second Tom Cruise flick in as many days (yesterday I saw Space Station 3D at the IMAX theater in the Maryland Science Center.) Both were brilliant in their own little ways. OK, maybe I should say their own big ways, or hugantically enormous ways, whatever.

And you Cruise 'hataz' on the yahoo! msg boards can just shut their pie holes. And don't be rediculous; I'm not gay for Tom Cruise, you jackasses. So see the movie(s), and be awed. Suckaz!

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No time to talk, really.
Camp set-up went very well. I hope to be able post updates this entire summer. Maybe even pictures; who knows?
Maybe some writing tomorrow... Until then...

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Thursday, June 20, 2002

 

I had to post this before I disconnected:
A Calvin & Hobbes movie?!?!?

This was very unexpected. In the 10th Anniversary Book, Watterson says specifically that he didn't want to hear someone portray Calvin, that the voice in his head will never be matched by an actor. He also stated that he didn't want to undermine the mysterious nature of Hobbes' reality. *shrugs* As always, take this Cool News with a few grains of salt.

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Just posted a review for your reading pleasure, this time for a video game.
Medal of Honor: Frontline

Me and Dave were playing it over his place yesterday and he really got a kick out of it, being the WWII junkie that he is.

He's a wacko too, by the way. LOL... between mowing down Nazis with his automatic rifle, he harrassed innocent civilians and even tried to frag his own teammate. Bad form, dude.

This from the guy who thinks he's destined to become Emperor of the World.*

*"Emperor Bob," he calls himself. And he always demands that I greet him with "Sig Heil!" It's starting to really scare me. I began to wonder which side he wanted to play for in MOH. I'm very worried. Does somebody have the number for Fascists Anonymous?

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From the "Interesting Implants Department"...

That ringing in your ear could be your phone. Soon you could be swapping your mobile phone for a molar phone. Royal College of Art students in London have developed a phone that fits inside a tooth. The concept device picks up signals with a radio receiver and uses a tiny vibrating plate to convey them as sound along the jawbone to a person's ear. The designers said the mini-molar phone could be implanted in a tooth during routine dental surgery.
The phone tooth, Royal College of Art

The only downside is that Verizon's "Can you hear me now?" Guy will soon be present in all dentist offices. Aaarrggghhh!

Cool article, thanks to loyal reader cyberdrum (and would-be Scott Shriner back-up) for the link!


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Wednesday, June 19, 2002

 

Grrr... no update today. Promise there'll be a review tomorrow.
Here's some quotes to hold you over:

"Being busy does not always mean real work. The object
of all work is production or accomplishment and to either
of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning,
intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration.
Seeming to do is not doing."

- Thomas Alva Edison

"Too bad all the people who know how to run the country
are busy driving cabs and cutting hair."

- George Burns

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Tuesday, June 18, 2002

 

OK the game's over. Final score: 25-20. Seriously, those 8 year-old pitchers should not quit their day jobs.

Microsoft to Cut Off Support for Java in 2004 OK, Sun executives... Put the gun down, away from your temple... nice and easy now... everything'll be aaaaallll better...

"Fishing is a delusion entirely surrounded by liars in old clothes."

- Don Marquis (1878-1937)
US journalist, poet, dramatist, humorist
The New York Sun

Don't know why I posted that...
Can't post anything else. Sorry. Later...

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I have to play chauffeur for my 2 little bothers... er... brothers [Freudian slip!], who have to umpire a ballgame. So, I might not be able to squeeze an update in for today...

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Monday, June 17, 2002

 

A little this, a little that, as I attempt to *blurp* digest that new Grilled Stufft [sic] Burrito from da Bell. The thing is freakin' HUGE. Reminds me a little of one of those Nazi hand grenades, "potato mashers," I think they're called. No potatoes in this sucker, though. Just a metric ton of beef and lots of fillins. Achtung, duodenum!

I could not believe this story. See if you can:
An all-night search by 130 volunteers and 10 police officers for a boy who disappeared in Délémont Switzerland ended happily. The boy was found asleep under a chair in the dining room of his grandmother's house. The newspaper Le Matin Suisse reports police officer Gilles Bailat says searchers tried to follow the route the boy may have taken when he was last seen the day before. After questioning, police found out the boy had been spotted looking in a shop window at a toy car. The shop was near his grandmother's house. After police contacted the grandmother, she searched the house and found him hidden from view under furniture. The grandmother told police her door had been left unlocked because she had some people working in the house. The boy says he hid because he knew he shouldn't have left his nursery by himself.

"All's well that ends well," that's what I always say! Well, not really, but that just seemed to fit.

And finally, a nice, refreshing quote:
"Commerce is of trivial import; love, faith, truth of character,
the aspiration of man, these are sacred."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Right. Just as long as I get my paycheck, I'm cool with all that hippie stuff. ;-)


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Holy guacamole!
U.S. beats Mexico in World Cup!

We're in the semi-finals!!! And 6 or 7 fans are excited! Meanwhile, Mexico's seriously ticked off...
Looks like Pancho Villa is gonna try to invade again!
New Mexicans, get ready. This time, it's personal!!!

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OK folks, I'm keeping my word. Here's my latest review. It should be interesting, IMHO*.
*That's "In My Humble Opinion," wildsuga. (A very redundant and overused acronym, IMHO. ;-)

Booknotes: Stories from American History
Did I like it? Is it worth your $26.95? Click, and find out!

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Sunday, June 16, 2002

 

...Well I felt guilty [ed. note: That's uncommon!] for just leaving you all hanging with no pearls of wisdom* from yours truly, so just thought I'd mention that when checking the visitor stats for the blog (Yes! 122 hits, baby!), I happened to find that one lucky net traveler had the domain name of net.tw . Hmmm.. I thought... .tw = Taiwan. Neat-o!

*Or reasonable facsimilies thereof.

So for any Taiwanese visitors, here's what I have to say:

Huan yin!
(Ya'll speak Mandarin, right? If Cantonese is your tongue of choice, then "Foon ying!" is my little way of saying "Welcome!")

And Happy Father's Day!

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Too busy to add my latest review. "Review of what?" you ask? You'll find out tomorrow. Just rest assured that it will be a fine read, I guarantee it.

...now is that what you call a tease, or what?

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Porque eskimokissr me llamó un "DORK", he decidido escribir éste en español, como puede ver actualmente. Ella no sabe la neta: ¡español es la bomba! ¿Quién aquí no está de acuerdo conmigo? Hmmm... todos, desafortunadamente. O, bueno. Entonces, regreso escribir en gringlés* otra vez. ¡Qué aburrido!

gringlés: El idioma que hablan los gringos; es parecido a inglés.

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Wildsuga: Buns are better!

The preceding message was brought to you by the Council for Spandex Plants, Inc.

Is there a more annoying sound than the one found in the background at the official Aix-en-Provence website?? AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! Apparently the town itself is even worse. Hope Italy's better, Missy! Lots o' luck! :-D

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Saturday, June 15, 2002

 

This CD-R drive is infuriating me! Why won't it burn?!?! *sob...*

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Friday, June 14, 2002

 

Normally I don't advocate any search engine apart from the reigning champ, but KART00 caught my eye recently. Wacky, but civilized, strangly enough. It plays with your head, man! Don't ask me how you work it.
Laterzzz...

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Maybe it's time for a check up on my summer reading progress...

Three (count 'em) Book Reviews! Woo-hoo! Exciting news, this I know.


I've got more reviews and essay thangs in the works, but I didn't want to overwhelm ya'll with my astonishing content output and whatnot. Chill out, they'll be posted soon...

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Some days it seems as though 45% of the internet is broken...

O evil four-oh-four, thou art mine enemy.
Forevermore shall I loathe thee!
Vile apache500, how I curse thine existence!
Wherefore hast ye played me the fool?

Ahem... more later. Less poetry though.

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Thursday, June 13, 2002

 

I KNEW IT! We've been hoodwinked by nefarious propagandists!
Belgium does not EXIST!

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A few entries from my favorite cynical lexicogropher, the inimitable Ambrose Bierce:

"AGE, n. That period of life in which we compound
for the vices that we still cherish by reviling those
that we have no longer the enterprise to commit."

"EDUCATION, n. That which discloses to the wise
and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding."

"CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and
elephants are permitted to see men, women and
children acting the fool."

"ANOINT, v.t. To grease a king or other great
functionary already sufficiently slippery."

"CONVENT, n. A place of retirement for woman who
wish for leisure to meditate upon the vice of idleness."

These and other caustic definitions can be found in Bierce's legendary The Devil's Dictionary. The sardony is rich!


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Just watched Sabotage, Hitchcock's rather unflinching look at a kind of terrorism in 1930's London. I would have appreciated it if they had a better villain than the nebulous Mr. Verloc and his shadowy employers. But I suppose the political climate (Nazis, IRA, etc.) of the time prevented any name naming, as it were.

A bit short at only 75 minutes, the film still does pack somewhat of a punch, for a 66 year-old movie. It was based on Joseph Conrad's novel The Secret Agent, but one mustn't confuse this with Hitch's The Secret Agent. Could have used a smidgen more suspense and I missed Sir Alfred''s cameo, if he had one. Nevertheless, I recommend it for a rainy afternoon.

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Wednesday, June 12, 2002

 

weeezer... weeeeeeeeeeeeeezer...gooooood
cover band... gooooood
download videos... veeeeeeery gooooood
thanks to cyberdrum1*, bass dude in My Name is Jonas

Yeah, my cuz, whom you might recognize from our Episode II adventures a few weeks back...

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I hate to prosletyse dear friend, but perhaps with all the stresses of the modern world, you may have neglected your spiritual side.
Why don't you visit the Abbey of the Order of the Blessed St. Scully the Enigmatic? :-)
No futher comments... lol...

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Tuesday, June 11, 2002

 

Hey some positive feedback on this blog! Will wonders never cease?

Thanks, Bre*.
AKA boykrazytigger, AKA Dunst look-alike, AKA Cuter than Jenna Bush :-)

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What I thought was the most bizarre thing that would happen to me today happened at the pool a few hours ago.
So we're closing up the pool as the cover rolls out there's a dead baby raccoon lying on it! Very freaky. I thought of all the grotesqueries that could have caused this poor animal's premature death, but the details, I'm afraid, are too shocking for the average blog reader. Yukk!

...then, I was chatting with two friends on IM, and 3 absolutely unbelievable coincidences just pop up. (I'm afraid that these are also beyond the pale for most readers of this blog. Sorry!) I thought they were in on the conspiracy, trying to make me nuts, but they deny such charges and I have to believe them. I might have to check myself into a mental health center tonight.

SWiley Trivia: My baseball team (for one reason or another) played for a few years at the infamous loony Spring Grove in Catonsville. What a rediculous place to play ball. It's right outside UMBC by the way, so next time you notice some half-naked man spouting insane things while walking through the campus, don't assume it's just the psych 201 professor. :-D

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Does anyone else feel guilty for reading people's AOL IM profiles without ever making contact with that person?
Maybe it's just me...

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Monday, June 10, 2002

 

I'm sure that I have the fastest-growing facial hair this side of the Yukon.

Picture this: after going just one measly day without shaving, I was starting to look like Gimli from Lord of the Rings!

I'm serious, who else is man enough to challenge me to the 1st Annual El Kridge Unbelievably Hirsute Freak Show? Yeah that's right. Ya'll are serious wuss-outs. Now go grab me a neck-comb!

"I have the greatest idea!"... If you've ever thought that quintessentially American thought, this is the website for you! OK, basically you just post your stupid (possibly booze-induced) crackpottery and a dozen trolls jump on it like starving wolves. I shoulda thought of that!

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Less than two weeks until this blissful semi-existence comes to a close. When I am old, I will probably look back at this past month in my life thinking, "What a lazy bum."

So as I sit here contemplating my (lack of a) contribution to the betterment of humanity, I amuse myself by witnessing these shocking new tools of bodily destruction. I think to myself, "What are we doing? Inventing more and more catastrophic weapons that could fall into the Wrong Hands, though it is denied by those whose economic livelihood depends on the funding of its development that that could ever occur."

Then myself says, "Holy Crap! What an awesome lethal weapon!!! Lemme test one out on the neighborhood cats!"

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Oh why not? Some more goodies, of a humorous variety:

"A pun is the lowest form of humor when you do not think of it first."

- Oscar Levant

"Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be
drawn and quoted."

- Fred Allen (Sarcasm is the sour cream of wit)

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Why can't intercontinental telephonic communications be free? It's all that I ask really! AT&T etc. don't need any more profits, do they? No, I think not.

So the pickens are slim for today's blog. Here's what I could come up with:

Absence, a lack of *ehermm* "something," is today's topic.

"The absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously."
- Henry Kissinger (1923-)
US government official

"Absence -- that common cure of love."
- Miguel De Cervantes

"I was courtmartialled in my absence, and sentenced to death
in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence."
- Brendan Behan (1923-1964)
Irish dramatist, author
"The Hostage," act 1, 1958.

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Sunday, June 09, 2002

 

Check out this great story: Hackers find way into Norway's past

hehehe The Norwegians are like "Ya... we're wantin' our påsswørd, ya!"
Later

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Coming soon to a theater near you...

Cal Ripken Jr.: The Movie
Starring:

Michael Keaton ..... Cal
Kim Basinger ..... His wife... uhh is it Kelly?
Paul Newman ..... Cal Sr.
William "Billy" Baldwin ..... William "Billy" Ripken

with
Samuel L. Jackson ..... Eddie "Ed-D" Murray
Vince Vaughn ..... Brady Anderson
and Marlon Brando as Peter Angelos
and a special appearance by
George Will as That Columnist/Talking Head Show Guy Who Is A Total Cal Sycophant AKA "Himself" :-D

Directed by Barry Levinson
(1988 21-game losing streak nightmare scene directed by John Waters)

Good casting, eh?

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SWiley here, at home.

We just reached the 200 hit (err..."page view") mark.
We're on course to have 5,200 hits by the end of our first year. I did my math! :-P

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Good morning, good netizens.

Just got up. It would be cool to have a PC by my bed at home (like I do here) so I could post any epiphanies I have had in my slumber. Unfortunately, there'll be none of those today. :-(

Allergies are killing me. Is there an ENT in the house? My eyes have been so watery that when I got up, they were crustier than a deep-dish, no cheese pizza. Arrrghhh, quoth the author.

Wow two weeks have gone by since the start-up of this blog. The last week has flown by faster than an unleaden swallow. And only two weeks 'til camp starts. You'll get an intro to the camp soon enough...

Oh yeah, that America vs. The World thing I wrote? The missing one was the annoyingly vague (to a foreigner at least) incriptions on much of our coinage. This was pointed out in the last RandomThought email by Steven Morgan Freeman. One would expect the number of cents each of our metallic pieces of currency to be printed clearly, right? Well, check out the penny: there's no Number 1 on it at all. Sure, it says "One Cent," but that won't be of too much help to a non-English speaker*. Worse still is the dime, which, believe it or not, does not say how much it is worth! All it says is "One Dime." According to Mr. Friedman, all of the coins he's seen from across the globe (he's quite a traveler, you know) have the Arabic number of their value. But ours are goofy.

*Which may be the point; who knows?

I'll be home tonight. Maybe an update tomorrow, if you're lucky.

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Saturday, June 08, 2002

 

I was pondering the many differences which seperare America from the rest of the world. I had included numerous examples, but unfortunately I ran into a bug which hosed up all my Internet Explorer windows, losing all of my near-finished post in the process. GRRRRRRR....

From now on I think I'll Ctrl-C all my stuff when I'm working in another window. Blah!

Oh well. I'll recap:
***The Metric System

***Something else... don't remember.

***Israel (Long rant, don't get me started...I'll save it for another time)

***Most importantly, soccer. Soccer/football is the game which divides the Joe Sixpack American from just about all other people in the world. Ask any guy in American what he thinks of soccer and chances are he'll say that it's... to put it mildly... somewhat effeminate. I don't know where this attitude stems from, but it seems quite commonplace, especially as the outside world is taken in with the World Cup.

I think soccer's a great sport... when watched in 3 minute highlight reels on ESPN2. I don't have the patience for a whole game of defense... At least baseball has an offensive focus ever play. I, like my compatriots, do know understand the thrill of a mess of guys running around all day without the faintest possibility of excitement (as we would define it at least.)

Hmm... "at least" is definitely my verbal crutch... in writing this blog at least. heh. later...

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I'm enamored with the hi-speed cable connection they've got up here in Jerzee. With this amazingly quick connection, I was trying out Valve Software's new project, Steam. It's a great idea, letting users play games streamed online instead of using the game CDs. Unfortunately, they've got their work cut out for them. For the life of me, I could not connect to any Counter-Strike servers that would let me play; they gave me (and others, apparently) a bunch of wacked, server-side errors I could do nothing about. So much promise has turned into an unbearable headache.

Cable Internet still rulez, just FYI.

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I'm visiting my aunt and uncle in Jerzee.
Today I had the pleasure of attending the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life, held at North Huntingdon High School. I was there because my 2 year-old cousin Sami is a survivor of neuro blastoma (don't expect me to explain what that is...) Visit her website to find out more about her amazing story. What she and her parents have gone through in the past year+ is beyond belief and I try to be helpful in any way possible. It's great to see her in recovery now...

That's all for now, need sleepy [!] (want mint for pillow?), expect more tomorrow... (I know, you all are waiting with bated breath... lol!)


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Thursday, June 06, 2002

 

Big-time shout-outs to my good friend who's having a miserable time in Europe. You know who you are; much love and supportive from all of us in the States...
Don't let the French get you down! (or the Spaniards, Italians, Germans, Austrians, etc...) (or other Americans, for that matter)

¡Y no mames, chica! ;-D

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Some good quotes on the nature of our existence:

"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
- Jules de Gaultier

"Everything you can imagine is real."
- Pablo Picasso

"Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real,
and you're just a reflection of him?"
- Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes)

"Reality bites... and doesn't let go."
- Source Unknown

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Wednesday, June 05, 2002

 

Nothing much to talk about today.
Javascript is not my best friend.
One exciting scientific discovery though:

National Science Foundation: Science Hard
INDIANAPOLIS—The National Science Foundation's annual symposium concluded Monday, with the 1,500 scientists in attendance reaching the consensus that science is hard.
"For centuries, we have embraced the pursuit of scientific knowledge as one of the noblest and worthiest of human endeavors, one leading to the enrichment of mankind both today and for future generations," said keynote speaker and NSF chairman Louis Farian. "However, a breakthrough discovery is challenging our long-held perceptions about our discipline—the discovery that science is really, really hard."


Brilliant work. I'll see you folks later. Peace

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Tuesday, June 04, 2002

 

I'm gonna get my bud Gatsu88888* one of these schwanky O'Reilly Factor ties. He's a news junkie like that.

His response:
Gatsu88888: hey! hey! hey hey hey hey! macho macho man yah
i want to be a macho man macho macho maaan i want to be a.......

*AKA HunterVampireBob AKA Dave

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EXCELLENT story The subheading says it all: Civilian deaths from U.S. bombing were exaggerated to sway opinion
But darnitall: registration is required.
(Best viewed with a non-Taliban apologist browser. )

In other news...

OK, is this not the most misleading headline ever?:
Scientist computes limits of the universe
I mean, the story was OK, but there was some kind of disconnect between the headline and the item itself. Yes, I could do a better job. Uh-huh. I could!

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This is just too weird:

Menorah Man can grow as many as eight arms, shooting flames from each of them. He also can shoot flames from his feet. This enables him to fly. He has metallic endurance and resistance to harm and is impervious to the rigors of space travel including extreme heat and cold, presure and vacuum and radiation. Menorah Man is the founder and leader of The Jewish Hero Corps.

Unbelievable. Oh well... it made me smile...
BTW, it's getting increasingly hard to tell what is satire and what is, uhhh, well... "serious" isn't the right word for this stuff... Maybe "ingenuous"?

Source: Spider-Jew - (an analysis of the movie from a pro-Israel standpoint, which is not that far-fetched, one might suppose, after all, many of the great comic books, of which I am not an afficianado, were created by Jewish authors (Stan Lee, Jerry Siegel, et al.), and are sometimes taken a bit too seriously in this regard, i.e. literally)

I had never seen one of these before. Quite legendary, or rather, infamous, at least in the soft drink world.

MP3s are so passé! I waste my bandwidth by listening to some midis. Crank it up!


take free enneagram test
- don't ask me what that's all about. I just felt like killing some time. No, that's not a capital offense, so don't even suggest it. :-P



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For those who care...
Nice article on the console price war. Further proof that XBOX will be looked upon as a failure in the annals of Microsoft/videogame history.

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Monday, June 03, 2002

 

Could anyone use some spare US Air Force parts? I thought not...

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A quotation for the managers, coaches, and teachers of the world:

"I have yet to find the man, however exalted his station,
who did not do better work and put forth greater effort
under a spirit of approval than under a spirit of criticism."

- Charles M. Schwab

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Well not to much to dish out today.
I'm trying to get through my pile of "paper links" today.
"What are these?" you ask? They are for the most part, as you might imagine, urls that I've written down while reading books and mags, like PC Magazine, Maximum PC, Yahoo! Internet Life, etc. They could also simply be names of authors or titles of books that I've read about and wish to investigate a bit further, using Amazon, CDNOW, or good old google.
Here are a few samples:
inksell.com
Thomas Keneally
uselessfacts.net
emailalibi.com (apparently down)


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Sunday, June 02, 2002

 

Last update for the day. I have to make my summer vacation plans. Hmmm... Kashmir or Jerusalem? Choices, choices...

Friday was the first day I'd taken a dip in the pool this year. You wanna know the cool thing about it? I didn't have to comb my hair when I woke up these past two days. The chlorine makes it all sticky-like, which is a slacker's dream come true! hehehe... I wish it would retard facial hair growth, but then we'd be living in a perfect world, wouldn't we?

Just thought perhaps you'd like to read some other blogs. If so, thenclick here.
Also, check out some of the best: The Bloggies 2002

This blogging thing is highly addictive. I'm tempted to attempt* a terribly cliched joke/remark about how it should come with the surgeon general's warning, but I won't do that, because that would be st00pid, so just forget I even mentioned it.
*Wonder if those two words are related... I guess that's what the Oxford English Dictionary is for...

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A few notes:
Happy One Week uhhhh... Anniversary! (Not sure what to call a weekly thing- anniversaries are strictly for years I guess- any hints, good readers?)

One book down, 25 to go (well 20 or so books and a couple of magazines). cover
Not bad. The usual suspects are mostly there, but there are also some really out-there choices, like Enter the Dragon and, of all movies, Jailhouse Rock (!!!) It has a focus on (a) icon-making/genre-defining flicks and (b) landmark foreign films. If it sounds like a royal snooze, let me say that I wasn't bored while reading it and I have a few more ideas for rentals, etc. Les Vampires, anyone? (It's a seven hour French silent serial about gangsters, not bloodsuckers per se).

The Internet is getting clunkier by the minute and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Brother, could you spare some bandwidth?

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True story:
Yesterday, I found myself wandering through Waldenbooks in the Columbia Mall when I came upon a great find: all three Calvin & Hobbes Treasuries (The aptly titled Essential, the Indispensable, and the Authoritative C&H) and The Prehistory of The Far Side on a super-cheap sale- only about 6 or 7 bucks a pop. So as I was checking out, the cashier girl caught me off guard with one of those "preferred reader" annual membership things.

Before I could get a word in edgewise (I tried to tell her that I don't really buy books that often and I had just checked out a huge load of books from the library, to no avail...), she starts coming onto me, right then and there. I should have resisted, but her feminine wiles were too strong for me. She's like, "Oh, I need to sell 6 of these today, and I've only sold 1 so far." [note: it was about 11:00 o'clock btw] "Pleeeeeeeeeeease, you don't want to say no to a cutie *blush* like me." [almost an exact quote] Meanwhile, my bud, the natural ladykiller GWPSW*, is snickering, egging her on. With friends like these... :-)
*AKA The Engineer formerly known as Willy Schott

I was a deer caught in the headlights, with no place to run. And she was right: I didn't want to say no, not to her at least. "It will only be $7, instead of the normal $10." *Sigh* ... This always happens to me. Some pretty girl gives me the hard sell, somehow knowing that I would pay up and she'd get the bonus. It seems I'm walking around with a sign that says, "Saleswomen: hit on me and reap the benefit$." I like to imagine if I had used similar tactics while working at The Tag...

Me: "Excuse me, miss. Has anyone talked to you about the benefits of getting our Performance Service Plan with that Playstation2? We really recommend it because...
She: "I don't really have a lot of extra money to spend, so..."
Me: [pout lips, wink a few times] "C'mon, baby. You think I'm hot, don'cha? So why don'cha help me out here a little... You're not gonna say no to a stud like me, are you honey?"...
*SLAP*
I lose my job and get hit with a sexual harrassment suit. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Now isn't that a sexist double-standard? You be the judge. :-)

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Hey everybody, can't believe it's June already. Here's a few quotes about everyone's favorite* season:

"Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent
and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January."
- Hal Borland (1900-1978)
US journalist

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the
breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
- James Dent
stated in the "Charleston, W.Va., Gazette."

"The summer that I was ten --
Can it be there was only one summer that I was ten?
It must have been a long one then..."
- May Swenson (1919-)
US poet
"The Centaur," Sts. I & 2, "To Mix with Time," 1963.

*Everybody claims that their favorite is Spring or Autumn. Trust me, those people are lying. I can see right through them. Kind of like Superman, only in a figurative- not from Planet Krypton- sense.

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