Content takes a backseat

Working feverishly on thesis....

Need to have last 2 chapters of a first draft mostly done by tomorrow.
Check out some of the fine folks on the blogrolls!

Check this out

You may have already noticed the lovely little countdown clock in the sidebar on the left which tells you how long I have until my frontal lobotomy PhD thesis defense, which will take place May 26, 2005 at 10 am.

If you want your own happy fun PHP clock, go here.

101 things to do while waiting for the scope to be done...

1. read blogs. Turns out the computer this baby is hooked to has enough power to acquire massive graphics and read webpages at the same time! WooHoo! No more boring 2 hour scans!

Do you need any more things to do?

Answers to the Tag meme tonight when I get stuck in thesis writing....

Wouldn't you know?

So I was frustrated today and I went for a walk at work this afternoon. I found the nicest little walk, from the hospital to the new student center via a new path, and then around the bell tower and the stadium and back to the hospital. Probably 1/2 to 3/4 mile, up and downhill, but nothing steep. The perfect 15 minute escape from the lab.

And I find it 3 weeks before I'm done!!!! ARRRRGH!!!!

Ok, to be fair, it didn't exist a couple of months ago, since the new building wasn't done, but, still.

BTW, I'm starting the dress diet today. The wedding I'm a bridesmaid in is July 30th, and I'm hoping to need my mom to do some 'good' alterations. The dress fits great now, but I'd like it to fit better, if you know what I mean, and the fact that it's sleeveless is an incentive to start lifting again... even if it is just 3lbs at a time. I get the feeling my fitness ball and I are going to know each other quite well in the next few weeks....

Plus I'd like to be in better shape when we move. The stronger my muscles are, the less stress I put on my joints when I lift heavy things and pack boxes. Writing forces me to sit on my can, and well, I'm pretty bored with it.

I'll keep you updated.....

Ok, I'm it

Rosemary tagged me with Ogre's If I could be... meme the other day, so here goes (while the scope runs...):

If I could be a scientist (with unlimited grant $$)... I'd set up a state of the art research facility in a little beach town and study how the human brain develops and take lots of breaks to walk in the sand...

If I could be a farmer... I'd raise all kinds of animals and have acres and acres of grapevines....

If I could be a musician... I'd be rich, dammit. RICH! And I would have the coolest tours, with special effects and bubbles and toys for the audience...

If I could be a doctor... I'd cure neurological disease

If I could be a painter... I'd fill my house with murals of things and people I love

If I could be a gardener... I'd have the perfect Southern garden: Wisteria, honeysuckle, roses, jasmine, dogwood, and azaleas, and it would be beautiful with minimal input from me..... Damn I'm going to miss the flowers....

If I could be a missionary... (OK, Rose and Bou both made the joke first, so I won't) I'd spread the Gospel of Dean Smith to the unwashed masses of dookie...

If I could be a chef... I'd be a pastry chef and open a bakery with my friend

If I could be an architect... I'd build my parents their dream house

If I could be a linguist... (again, the joke has already been made) I'd speak French, Armenian, Spanish, English and Polish fluently (I already know how to swear in all of those languages)

If I could be a psychologist... I'd tell people to grow up and quit whining.

If I could be a librarian... I'd be second in command to my mom, the greatest librarian I know :)

If I could be an athlete... I'd play Baseball in the summer and Hockey in the winter

If I could be a lawyer... I'd sue for the practice of common sense

If I could be an innkeeper... I'd run a victorian B&B on the central CA coast. That would be heaven.

If I could be a professor...I'd teach Neuroscience

If I could be a writer... I'd write novels I'd like to read

If I could be a backup dancer... Naah. Too many ex-Fresnans in the biz already....

If I could be a llama-rider... I'd break these guys' backs

If I could be a bonnie pirate... Arrgh. I'd sail the high seas with Ith and Nin and the Pirate before retiring to work in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as an extra (Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A pirate's life for me.....)

If I could be a midget stripper... Wait, isn't that what moms do when their kids get messy??

If I could be a proctologist... I'd certainly try to remember the difference between brown-nosing and being a sh*t head: Depth Perception

If I could be a TV-Chat Show host... I'd beat Oprah's ratings, and still not be a smarmy arrogant condescencing b*tch as often as she is....

If I could be an actor... I'd make good movies. Not intelligent movies, or artsy movies. Movies people can actually watch!

If I could be a judge... I'd make a law requiring people to take responsibility for their own stupidity.

If I could be a Jedi... My lightsaber would be green, and I would have a purple Jedi robe. Oh, and I'd have Princess Leia hair, too.

Ok, that's it for me. Now I get to choose. Mwahahahahahaha.

Duck, Duck, Goose!
Eeny Meeny Miny Mo!
Ink, Pink, you (don't) stink!

In case you can't recognize your own links, that's Ben, Blogbaby Paul, and Ith! (all of whom, somehow, seem to have missed out on being tagged as of yet... and who should all have pretty interesting answers....)

It doesn't matter where you die

A hero is still a hero. DeoDeuce of The Daily Spork lost a dear friend this week when he was killed in an accident during training prior to his upcoming depolyment to Iraq.

You can read about Pvt. Paul Varner here, and Deuce's tribute to him here.

My deepest condolences to his family, and all the families who've lost a soldier here and overseas.

I am such a geek!

Something to keep you busy while I work on my thesis today :)

Idol

I think this time I'm pretty safe saying that Scott, Anthony, and Vonzell are in the bottom 3.

Anthony and Vonzell are the bottom 2.

Not sure which is going home, though. Both had at least one off performance...

Bo rocked!!!

Carrie was pretty good, but I still don't like her.

House!

Another AWESOME episode.

SPOILERS in the extended entry for you west coast types!

For those of you with Gmail...

This is Cool!

Do the following:
1. Open your Gmail account
2. Click on the Spam folder to open it
3. Read the text just above the "delete forever" and "not spam" buttons
4. Refresh

Does anyone else have rotating Spam recipes?

BTW the other folders have different tags in the same place, my inbox has a Yahoo! News story and my "starred" folder tells me how I can use Yahoo! as an RSS reader. But the Spam recipes are amusing.

LSB is conducting an experiment

I think I'll try it too, as I'm pretty curious, myself.

I've discussed American Idol many many times on this page. But we haven't discussed the American Idol controversy brewing over Corey Clark and his story that he had an affair with American Idol judge Paula Abdul and that she promised him a career and bought him gifts.

Here's LaShawn's experiment: Corey Clark is a cad

Here's mine: Corey Clark sucks. Also, Cory Clark sucks, and for those of you who can't spell into google: Corey Clark sux

If you came here looking for a story on the ABC "Primetime Live" special Fallen Idol with Corey Clark, go here for more info...

If you're a regular reader and want to weigh in, you know where the "comment" button is....

So quickly, too

Just 9 days after visitor #25,000 dropped by, we just hit 28,000 (thanks PuppyBlender), and the winning refer-er is PrincessCat of A Swift Kick and a Band-Aid.

Yay!!!

You know you've made it...

when a major blogger reiterates your shtick....
Great minds think alike, I guess :)

of course, I beat her to it by more than 16 hours.....

RANT! or not...

F*cking Seacrest just called THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL FREAKING TIME "a hit for Michael W. Smith in 1988"

WTF??? MORON! Paul Simon wrote the song Bridge Over Troubled Water in 1969 about the strain in his professional and personal relationship with his best friend of 30 years, Art Garfunkel. The third verse is about his first wife being depressed over finding a gray hair ("Sail on Silvergirl").

I was pissed. But then Bo opened his mouth. Happier now. Scott is good at it too, and Anthony has the same kind of voice as Art Garfunkel. Not bad, but I could have done with out the girls. They were both flat. Badly. And they skipped the second verse.

More on Idol in the extended entry.

Today and Every Day...

May the Fourth be with you.

This stays on top all day. New content below.

Spam recipes redux

Since I seem to be the only one with Spam recipes in my Gmail, I thought I'd share a screen cap so you can see what I'm talking about....

Click for a larger image!

One down....

I just sent the first draft of my thesis to my PI and my committee chair to look over.

The hard part is done.

Now I just wait for the comments..... :)

Update: she wants 5 more pages of Ch. 3 by tomorrow AM

Jawas Rock

Rusty Shackelford has done a good deed for humanity.

On a related note, why do we always say "F*cking-A"?? Isn't F*ck WAY higher up than a$s on the scale of naughty words? Shouldn't it be "F'ing A$s"???

Just a thought....

Like you give a crap...

But if you care about the British elections, live coverage from the BBC just started on C-SPAN 2. Or you can watch it here

Better Late than Never

Ok, so I was remiss in putting up my Survivor reactions last night. OK here goes.

Below the fold for US Tivo'ers who haven't seen it yet and you Aussies who'll get it next week...

Light posting over the weekend

Must keep writing....Open thread for the rest of you.

What's up?

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to my Mom and all of the rest of you who are worth so much more than you receive for all of the things you do, especially some of my favorite bloggy moms:

Deb
Bou
VW
Amanda
Anita
Marie
Michele
Michelle
Christina
Bobo
Kate
Kelley
Key
AWTM
Rose
Da Goddess
Margi
Beth
Daisy Girl
Pam
Justine
Kathleen
And anybody else I missed....Have a wonderful day!

utter blasphemy...

(15 minute brain break....)

Why is is that whenever I see the Rancor scene in ROTJ, specifically the part where Luke chokes the Rancor with the bone before crushing it with the door, I always think of Beldar Conehead "narfling" the Garthok at the end of the movie?

Like I said. Blasphemy. Sheer Blasphemy.....

$22 fix or use a surge strip!

My old-as-the-hills-but-still-plugging-along fujitsu laptop was resurrected today with the arrival of a replacement power cord. Turns out that the silly computer left itself plugged directly into a wall socket (where it was attached temporarily in a different room than its normal home) overnight during a particularly foul thunderstorm.. and well, you can guess the rest.

Yay for a new power cord!

Glad Tidings!

The always interesting Steve of VodkaPundit has a good reason for being distracted. He and the lovely Melissa are expecting a little stranger in December.

Drop in and offer him your congratulations!

The biggest problem...

with setting up a blog for your husband is that all of a freakin' sudden, he wants to use the computer. Thank goodness that power cord arrived.

Do me a favor. Drop by, say hi, and make him feel special, ok?

Just go here... Did I mention he likes Star Wars?

More content and fun stuff to come in the next few days. After all, he's just getting started....

For those of you who dropped in at The Dark Side

I just want to say thanks for stopping in. You all made his day.

BTW, I just installed haloscan comments and trackbacks, so feel free to be as verbose as you like if you couldn't leave a comment earlier!

And for the record, it's just a set of bloggy training wheels!

H-Dog in the hizzy

Ok, so I admit. I didn't watch ALL of it. Too grossed out by the whole date thing.

And what happened to Cameron? When did she stop being a mouse? Put the freaking lab coat back on and do your damn job, girl!!!!

The pus thing was just NASTY!!!!!!

Comments? Questions? Thoughts about Stacy???

AI- not intelligence, but artificial

Umm, dudes, did AI suck for everyone or was it just me?

Here's my rundown:
Carrie #1-- That was the single WORST version of Sin Wagon I ever heard. Politics aside, I love the Dixie Chicks, and that song is driving and rowdy. She was neither. She was pitchy and the performance seemed to lack energy.

Bo#1- Hell yeah. Looked sweet, sounded great. Not as good as #2, but made everyone else look like amateurs...

Vonzell #1- Looked great. Song was scoopy and pitchy. Sounded more like LeeAnn Rimes' version than Trisha Yearwood's, but, hey, Trisha's was in the movie, LeeAnn's sold more records. Go Fig. Anyway, she was clearly off her game, and the tears afterward indicated that she was pretty rattled. Not great.

Anthony #1- How in the heck did I KNOW he would pick a song like that. But he was pitchy and too breathy (as usual). Big Suck, especially going last.

Carrie #2- I thought it was a better performance than #1, but was still off. A big stretch, and she looked terrible in that outfit.

Bo #2-- Damn. He was awesome except for the questionable bling-bling, lack of shirt and FLIP-FLOPS. Barefoot would have been cool. Pimp shoes cooler. But FLIP-FLOPS???

Vonzell #2 -- Damn that girl can sing. I thought she'd do that song on 70's night. It was nice to see. Nice look, nice energy. Good recovery from the tears.

Anthony #2- WTF??? The same song as Carrie? Didn't those 2 dudes write another song?? Damn. Made him look like a moron. He was better than her, but still bad, and the fact that she did it earlier made it worse.

Bottom 2: Anthony and Carrie

See Ya: Carrie.

Not because she was bad, but because I suspect Anthony'll get sympathy/vote for the worst votes and some Carrie voters will switch after that dismal performance....

Hell, I've been wrong for 6 weeks. As long as it isn't the cute cokehead :)

A little linky-love before bedtime

First, Solomon has some interesting thoughts about marriage in general, based on Angela Winters' comments on marriage in the black community.

Second, Blog-God and Gracious Host Pixy Misa tears the MSM a new one for ridiculing the notion that bloggers are journalists. It's a good piece and well worth reading, even if it is a familiar topic.

Third, Paul has some really cool vintage video of some familair technology... from 1968!

Angels among us...

Bou posted this the other night about angels in her life, and I have a story I wanted to share too, although nowhere near as spooky cool as what she experienced.

You know how sometimes the answers are in front of you, but you can't see them? How sometimes you need a gentle prod in the right direction? Well, today I was feeling pretty wretched, and I got an email from a friend. Well, not really even a friend. She's the fiancee of one of my college roommates, a guy who I am pleased and proud to call a brother, though not blood. In fact, she and I didn't even know each other in college, I was acquainted with her through her sister and some mutual friends who were in my class. But I guess we're friends now, since if we weren't I wouldn't let her marry my boy :)

She's also a grad student in biology, and she emailed me for some advice. After answering her questions, I let her know we'll be missing the wedding because we'll be out in LA, hopefully finding a place to live. Instead of being put out that we would be missing the wedding (which is on the East Coast near her parents), she was just so happy we were finally coming back, and even told us to look into moving into their neighborhood. It just made my day.

I realized that's something I've missed. Having the people that mean the most to you nearby, so you can spend time with them without having to make a major production number out of it is something a lot of people take for granted.

I'd been pretty torn up about moving. We have friends here, and I love the small town and the trees and the animals. This is the only place we've lived together as husband and wife. But today I realized that I've been missing something that means so much to me, and it's changed me. I'm not the person I was 5 years ago, and not just because I'm not 22 anymore.

Going home is a good good thing for me and my husband and it doesn't matter whether I have a job lined up or not right now. What matters is that I'm not leaving somewhere, I'm going home, I just needed to be reminded of it. Thanks.

Eat What You Want Day!

I wish....

According to this, today is Eat What You Want Day!

Yay! You can celebrate one of two ways:
1. Buy Steve-O's book
or (substantially cheaper a.k.a. free)...
2. Share what you would eat if you could eat everything you wanted.

Here's my list:
Tommy's Chili Double Cheeseburger and chili cheese fries
Double Double Animal Style, and a Strawberry shake
Waffle Cone double scoop Peppermint over Cookies-N-Cream from Fosselman's
Trader Joe's Taquitos
Aunt Mary's Boereg (Armenian cheese turnovers)
Beef Stroganoff (my grandmother's)
Amante's Shepherds Pie Pizza with Pepperoni
Fried Dill Pickles
Big Stick Popsicles (the red, orange, and yellow ones, you can't get them here)
Homemade tamales
Salami and ritz crackers
Caramel Apples
Garlic Bread
A&W Root Beer Float

There's more, I just felt sick looking at that much food. BTW, anyone notice a theme here?

(h/t Michele)

Mwahahahahaha

(h/t Gir)

Update

Well, looks like we are close to a complete dissertation. I just need to go back through and add the references using Reference Manager so it builds a bibliography for me, and format the graphics and make a few text tweaks.... I hope....

But the majority of it is out there. 107 pages.

Legos and Star Wars, what could be better?

Check out Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Brick here

(h/t Flap)

Live Idol

Random embarrassing thing about me: I love Kenny and Dolly's "Islands in the Stream", it was my favorite song when I was 5 or 6.

Why, God?. Why did Vonzell, Carrie, and Anthony have to sing it? Bo was ok.

Now the audition tapes. Oh Geez. This oughtta be good.
Vonzell first. Chain of Fools. Nice. In fact better than last night. Randy thinks she's learned to believe in herself.

Anthony- I remember this. He had balls to do Jon Secada for an audition. I was amazed at the power of his voice in that room. Again, better than last night. Still lookin' goofy. Still a Clay-ken like muppet.

Oooh Bo and Carrie and a surprise after the break....

Did I mention our local Fox affiliate has its own version of Idol called "Fox50's Gimme the Mike"? Good God. The prize is a audition for a record company.

BTW I wasn't going to live blog the commercials, but the combination of the "We don't have sex" PSA with the Nationwide commercial where the kid builds the robot with the laser eyes that blows up the parents' house is enough to make anyone celibate.

Here's Carrie: "I can't make you love me". No bitch you, can't. She looks better now, I guess the stylist was worth it. Simon was surprised she was that good, and any finalist could win after all.

Finally Bo. Nice shirt. Nice song. You can tell he was nervous. He should stick to rock and soul when he does his album. Heh. Harold. Hairold? Simon likes him.

ooh a free trip home to get rejuved before the final...

This better be the last damn commercial.

Results below the fold.....

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

It's getting to be summer, and aside from my baby blueberry bush, the one thing I must have in the garden is basil. Our favorite thing to do with fresh basil is make a quick salad of tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese, and Basil.

It's pretty simple, not even a formal recipe and you can scale it up or down to feed as many or as few people as you like.

1. Equal parts tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
- We like chopped roma tomatoes or whole cherry or grape tomatoes
- I usually use fresh mozzarella balls in brine (from costco!), chop to approx. the size of the tomato pieces. Cubed manchego or gouda is also a good treat if you're in the mood for a different cheese.

2. Several sprigs of fresh basil, chopped
-again, to your taste. We like a lot of basil

3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1.5 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes or so
-get a lightly flavored oil so it doesn't overpower the fresh ingredients

4. Balsamic Vinegar, 2 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes
-we use a Pomegranate flavored BV, but a good strong standard balsamic or another fruit flavor works well, too.

That's it.

Chop tomatoes and cheese to bite size pieces if necessary. Chop up basil leaves, removing stem pieces since they're not as nice to eat. Toss with oil and BV. Refrigerate before serving if desired or serve immediately.

If I have some on hand, I like to toss in a few small crostini just before serving for some crunch.

This is on the menu nearly every day in the summer, especially if the deer have avoided the tomato plants, and I have to fight my husband to even get any :)

Oh F*ck yeah!

Notice which school was first? Huh? Didja? Notice which school (MIT) wasn't on the list?

Mwahahahahahahahaha

Draft II done

I added the references and made some changes to one of the data sections based on new observations and now all I have to do is make corrections based on what the boss tells me I need to work on, and fix the figures and make sure the numbering is consistent. Yay!

Praise Batman!

Scientology is so passe. How about Fictionology? Now there's a pseudoreligion I could get my mind around.

"Fictionology's central belief, that any imaginary construct can be incorporated into the church's ever-growing set of official doctrines, continues to gain popularity. Believers in Santa Claus, his elves, or the Tooth Fairy are permitted—even encouraged—to view them as deities. Even corporate mascots like the Kool-Aid Man are valid objects of Fictionological worship.

"My personal savior is Batman," said Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Greg Jurgenson. "My wife chooses to follow the teachings of the Gilmore Girls. Of course, we are still beginners. Some advanced-level Fictionologists have total knowledge of every lifetime they have ever lived for the last 80 trillion years."

"Sure, it's total bullshit," Jurgenson added. "But that's Fictionology. Praise Batman!""

Unfortunate Authors

I found this at Dean's World.

Drink and bathroom/body part humor warning!! Pretty much SFW, since it's from Amazon.

Follow the link for the funniest Amazon.com list EVER. EVER!

Why are you still here? Go. Laugh.

Toast of the Town

Have you seen Arianna's NEW blog???

Be sure to check out every person on her blogroll individually....

(h/t Babalu)

Do something nice

Rob's daughter Sam is in a blog popularity contest with a $1000 prize at stake. She could really use it, and all you have to do is drop by and click for her site.

Go here and vote for Savannah Sam (you'll need to scroll down)

Survivor- Knife in the Back edition

Holy Sh*t!
Hella Drama tonight.

It's up!

The lovely and talented Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice is the host of this week's Carnival of the Recipes. Lots of yummy things this week, and especially a number of really yummy looking recipes that won't break that swimsuit diet!

Drop by and check it out!

Bleeding (and Blogging) Dodger Blue

Seems blogging has found its way into the clubhouse and the front office... Guess who's got a blog now?

He Who Bleeds Dodger Blue. He blogs Dodger Blue too. Check it out!

If you click through to the MLBlogs page, there are links for the blogs of a number of other baseball notables, including Brooks Robinson.

(h/t Cap'n Ed)

I am in fact a Star Wars GEEK

Emily posted this meme:

1. What's in your CD player right now?

2. What book is on your coffee table/night stand?

3. What's in your VCR?

4. What's in your DVD?

And these were my answers:

CD: SW Ep. III Soundtrack
Book: Revenge of the Sith
VCR: ROTJ (the original version, dammit)
DVD: Empire Strikes Back

What a geek-tard! Although, I must admit, the book is on GMT's nightstand, not mine...

So, how about you? What are you wasting time with, non-virtual media-wise?

Hell of a week coming up

Good thing Survivor finished up.... This week rocks even without it:

Tuesday: Team America comes out on DVD (F*ck Yeah!), Sela Ward arrives on House
Thursday: Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith opens.

Need I say more?

Yay Tom!

Well, if you missed the Survivor finale last night, too bad, 'cause it was a doozy!

Jenn, Ian, Katie, and Tom were the final four. Jenn went home after a fire-making tiebreaker loss to Ian. In the final endurance challenge, Katie quit after 4 hours, and Ian and Tom lasted more than 12 before Ian quit.

Four hours in, Tom told Ian that if he'd quit, he'd go to the final two. Ian said no. 8+ hours later, Ian told Tom that he'd quit if Tom promised to take Katie to the final two. Tom agreed, and Ian became the last member of the jury. Dumbass.

As for the final tribal, was it me or was the cattiness so totally contrived except for Coby (who really is just a b*tch)? I mean, yeah, I knew they all disliked Katie, and that Tom played the game better than about anyone ever (can you say DOMINATION? I knew you could...) so wasn't it just a forgone conclusion that Tom would win over her? I mean duh. Ian quitting like he did cost himself some $$ but he also handed Tom a $1 million check!

I think the only vote Katie got was Coby's and that was really a vote against Tom. Even Caryn voted for Tom.

Katie spent some money getting her hair done, and Steph looked pretty good. Gregg looked ratty.

Probst's hair looked shitty, too. I think he had a bad dye job going along with the stupid cut.

Did they HAVE to ask Wanda to sing?

Science's equivalent of a home run

This week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, an astonishing breakthrough in the treatment of some hematological cancers was announced.

The drug Revlimid was tested in 115 patients with MDS, or myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition in which the bone marrow can not make enough mature, healthy blood cells. MDS, while little known, is actually more common in American adults than Leukemia, and results in anemia and fatigue, and eventually death from somatic oxygen deprivation. MDS patients require frequent transfusions to keep them alive, and there are few drugs available to treat the symptoms of the disease.

According to the authors of the study, Revlimid was initially tried in order to ease the symptoms of the disease, but to their surprise, doctors found that Revlimid actually was curing the disease itself.

After about six months on the drug, 66 percent no longer needed blood transfusions, said the study's leader, Dr. Alan List of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. A year later, three-fourths of them still don't need transfusions.

But the big surprise was that signs of the genetic mutation fueling the disease diminished in 81 patients and vanished in 51.

"The chromosome abnormality completely disappeared, something we've never seen before" from a drug aimed just at boosting red blood cells, List said.

That's amazing. It seems to have at least temporarily CURED nearly half the patients in a reasonably sized study, and more patients than that had their main symptoms alleviated. Drugs don't usually do so well in this kind of study, especially when their mechanism of action is unknown.

Revlimid is chemically related to thalidomide, and like its notorious cousin, little in known about how Revlimid works, except that it boosts certain aspects of the immune system. So far, according to the authors, the drug has been well-tolerated with few serious side effects.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one, it may turn out to be a real boon to millions of people.

Someone explain to me...

...why this is news.

So he delayed it. So what? It got the science some publicity, which is alright with me. He didn't lie. They just kept it quiet. Discoveries in science are kept quiet all the time for financial reasons. Especially by large corporations and in the case of controversial findings.

There's no lie here. According to the paleontologist in question, Jack Horner, the names and dates are all recorded honestly in the lab notebook, which is in fact a legal document attesting to the record of discovery that can be used in court, and must be presented to substantiate published claims.

So why in HELL is NPR spending taxpayer money to hound this guy? Clearly he is an honest person. He just used his information to his advantage, and his employer's (Horner was a paid consultant on the Jurassic Park films), without altering the scientific record.

I mean honestly, do you think he would have gotten even 30 seconds on the news if he had reported the finding broadly in a shorter period of time?

Hell no he wouldn't.

I guess I just resent the hell out of the implication that delaying publication is dishonest. You see, in my game, we like to VERIFY our results by repeating the experiments before we go running our mouths off, and well, sometimes that takes longer than a year to accomplish...

But then again, this is NPR we're talking about.

No community is safe

Chapel Hill is devastated after learning this weekend of the deaths of James and Alison Sapikowski, who were long-time local business owners and the "parents" of the UNC club hockey team. The couple were shot to death in their home, probably two weeks ago, by their 16 year old son, Adam, a student at posh local private school The Durham Academy.

Adam Sapikowski shot his father 3 times, and his mother twice, with a .410 shotgun.

Somehow, the crime managed to remain hidden for two weeks. Police were only called after an out-of-town relative became alarmed. They began looking for the "missing" family, but a routine search of their home turned out to be anything but. The family had never left town. Adam Sapikowski was staying in a local hotel while his parents bodies decomposed on the floor of their bedroom.

It's not only the parents that are sickos, sometimes. Let's all be thankful he didn't take that shotgun to school, too.

When 900 years old you reach...

... look this good you will not!

(h/t: Boba Fett)

Who's the Hottie?

There's been much debate over the BFL mailing list over GOP babes and Hotties, based on this post at Lex Communis, and one nightmare-inducing email portraying certain liberal females at their worst juxtaposed with lovely photgraphs of GOP/ conservative women....

So the question arises, if there are any number of conservative "babes" (female), Then who are the conservative hotties??
Here's my list (based on apparent support for Bush during the previous election or personal statement of conservatism)
Nick Lachey
Stephen Baldwin
Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Jason Sehorn
Tom Selleck (hey, I grew up with Magnum, ok?)

Anybody else? If you enter yourself, there had better be a suitable picture ;)

F*ck Yeah!

It has been a worthwhile afternoon. Consider:

Visitor # 30,000 arrived at 1:36 this afternoon via the Accidental Verbosity Site Meter (Jay and Deb win again!)

Trip to Target: Acquired 1 copy Team America: World Police (the Uncensored Uncut version)

followed by dinner at BK: brought home Luke Skywalker, Jabba the Hutt, the Millenium Falcon, and Han Solo the coffee table (toys)

I'd say it's been quite a night already. House and AI yet to come.

F*ck Yeah!

AI live

Final 3 on tonight, next week is the whole banana. Each contestant will do 3 songs tonight and has 2 phone numbers...Updated at each commercial....

Clive Davis is tonight's guest judge!

Moving the Comments below the fold!

Best House Yet!

Tonight is Guest Star night!!

See below the fold for Surprise spoilers!

BEST EPISODE EVER!!!!

I could have watched another 2 hours. I haven't enjoyed an episode of a TV show so much since Jarod (The Pretender) went off the air.

In other Star Wars News....

Not real accurate, but hey, I don't usually do horoscopes anyway....

Star Wars Horoscope for Scorpio

You are a powerful character. You tend to be possessive and lusty - which explains your greedy nature. You feel threatened when people try to order you around or control you. You are prone to suspicion and jealousy - but your resilience and passion get you what you want. Star wars character you are most like: Han Solo

(h/t Jenna)

In honor of Star Wars Ep III

Alright, I suppose they should have been "sepratists" or "jedi" or "clones" but most normal people don't include those words in their recipe titles, so we're going OT.

Two recipes this week:

First, from Emporer Palpatine:

Imperial Pork Salad
Makes 4 servings.

1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/2 pound lean pork, cut in
bite-size pieces
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup California raisins
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 fresh ripe plums, divided
4 cups shredded lettuce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Sliced green onion; for garnish

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add pork and garlic.
Saute over high heat 1 minute or until pork is no longer pink. Add raisins and stir in remaining oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Cube 1 plum and combine with lettuce and cilantro in shallow serving bowl. Spoon pork mixture on top.
Quarter remaining plums and arrange along side. Sprinkle onion slices overall.

And from the Alliance:

Rebel Angels
Makes 4 servings.

1 pound bacon
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons paprika
1 pound large shrimp - peeled
and deveined

Directions:

1 Cut bacon strips into thirds. In a large saucepan fry
bacon 5 minutes, they should remain somewhat limp (bacon is
not yet fully cooked).
2 Combine onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil,
thyme, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and
paprika in a medium sized bowl. (To regulate the spiciness of
this dish use the white pepper and cayenne pepper to
taste). Coat shrimp with the spices.
3 Wrap bacon around shrimp, secure with toothpicks.
4 Fry shrimp in saucepan over medium heat until bacon is
crisp and shrimp are pink. Serve hot.

Everyone else is doing it...

So I'll link this too. Go over to Ben's place if Ith or Deb haven't sent you already and read about his feelings for Star Wars, and his amazing kitsch collection. No kiddin'. Three sets. I'm not surprised. You should see some of the other cool 80's stuff in that house......

BTW the crazy fanatics he mentions at the end of the post are yours truly and my DH....

W

I am....

W... Tungsten You scored 54 Mass, 22 Electronegativity, 61 Metal, and 60 Radioactivity!

You may buy into the values of society, but you just can't seem to fit into it. You've always been a bit too prone to over-reacting. On the bright side you can withstand extremely high energy people and environments just as easily as you can low energy ones. You might do comparatively well hanging out with Phosphorous people as a result. In fact, you are probably the best suited person to try to shape their efforts into something constructive... unfortunately, that would require your actively involving yourself with someone, which you are generally loathe to do. The ideal job for you would be working within a nuclear power plant... alone.

(h/t Bill)

AI-- The Final Two

Below the Fold

Stick a fork in me...

I'm DONE!!!!

Finished getting all of the little glitches and goofs out of the thesis, and made a pdf so I can email it to my advisor (in New York) and another of my committee members (in Europe).

Now I just to print 4 more copies of the bugger and distribute them, and then prep for my meeting next Thursday!

Yay!!!!

Good thing Survivor's over

Husband got 2 tickets for tonight at 8pm!

WooHoo!!!

Did I mention it's raining so hard it sounds like a pressure washer on my front windows? Holy cow!

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Conservatives?

There's a subtle political theme in SW Ep III that no one's picked up on yet.

Below the fold (for dialogue spoilers only, no plot spoilers if you've seen Ep. IV)

My Review of Ep. III

Five Words: Lucas really pulled it out!

More below the fold..... (SPOILERS)

Carnival Time!

This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up at the home of fellow MuNuvian Jordana of Curmudgeonry. Lots of great recipes from all across the spectrum this week, and some I definitely want to try!

Go here for all the yummy-ness!

Top Gun Baby!

Well, not quite, but I don't think the F-14 was one of the outcomes...

Cuba Nostalgia

Val Prieto is liveblogging the Cuba Nostalgia event this weekend in Miami, despite all the hack attempts fidel can muster....

Drop by, check it out, and perhaps share your own story of why fidel needs to go.

Don't forget to check out the webcams too!

SO the truth...

Another quiz, because it's Friday and I'm working at home, so I can procrastinate.

Dammit.

(h/t NuMu Pam of CHBF)

One more review

Michele, whose Star Wars geekiness surpasses my own solely because she was old enough to go to the theatre to see Star Wars and Empire when they first came out, has a wondeful review up.

Warning: Review Contains Spoilers!

Her experiences with the film are similar to mine. Tears? check. Chills? check.

Plus she has a great sum-up of the scene where Vader gets his mask, and explains better than I can why it doesn't bother me....

One thing I disagree with, Michele's unhappy that Padme names the twins right after they are born. I figure, if Padme (and Anakin) had picked out a boy name and a girl name (planning for either), it makes sense that she would want her children to have those names, and, knowing she was dying, made sure to name her children before she couldn't.

Here's an excerpt (non-spoiler):

Do you want to know how much of a geek I am? I can't believe I am going to admit this here. When the opening scroll started and the music began I actually teared up. I swear to you, there were tears in my eyes and I almost, nearly started crying. And I'm not the only one. There was a palpable sense of relief in the theater when the scroll came up. Like everyone sighed at once. Finally, our questions answered. The closure. The scroll and the music is the beginning of the end, and it's very bittersweet because you know that once the movie starts, you're on your way to it being over. Not just the movie being over, but the whole Star Wars saga that you spent 28 years of your life thinking about and talking about is over.

Go read the rest!

Take that, cagastro!

Val and friends are still liveblogging from Cuba Nostalgia and have several computers set up. Visitors can share their memories of Cuba or email fidel (here) and tell him EXACTLY what they think of him.....

Drop by Babalu over the rest of the weekend and check out some of the great stories, like this one.

Caffeinated Quiz for Saturday

From the coffee-mistress herself, Cranky Beach:

You're a Cappuccino!


What Kind of Coffee are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

D&D quiz

From my Darling Husband:

You People REALLY suck!

I am #1 on Google for "You people suck"!

See here for proof!

Yep. That's me.

I got your "Hand-Raiser" right here, Ben.

Me and Hermione Granger.

Hand-Raiser You are 85% Rational, 57% Extroverted, 42% Brutal, and 42% Arrogant.

You are the Hand-Raiser, that annoying kid in class who always had an answer for everything. No doubt, as a child you probably sat in the front of the class, anxiously waving your hand back and forth in the air while your teacher desperately tried to avoid calling on you because you were the ONLY f*cking kid that answered her questions. Clearly, the key traits of your personality are your rationality and your extroversion. You are like a little talkative calculator, in other words. You also tend to be rather gentle and less arrogant than most people. So what is your defect, then? Well, you're boring, and when you're not boring, you are just plain annoying with your ultra-logical responses and constant need to talk to others. So keep waving that hand in the air, son. I'm still not calling on you. You are too logical, you talk too much, and your humility and gentleness only makes me hate you more, because they make me feel like I almost SHOULDN'T hate you. But I do. Big time. To put it less negatively: 1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive. 2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted. 3. You are more GENTLE than brutal. 4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant. Compatibility: Your exact opposite is the Brute. Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Braggart, the Haughty Intellectual, and the Robot.

This is even better

I'm #4 on Google for "things that make you happy"

Pretty cool!

Music Question for the Masses

Who else saw the Millenium Falcon (pronounced Fawl-con) cameo in SW ep. III? I didn't until we saw it again yesterday afternoon.

I guess that was Lando, huh?

BTW points to the first person who can tell me where the post title comes from. My DH doesn't get to play.....

Update: edisoncarter scores a win with "Depeche Mode: Music for the Masses"

The voice of dissent

Via Gay Patriot West comes this wonderful piece by Keith Thompson, a liberal activist who worked for Robert Kennedy and McGovern and who is now stepping away from "mainstream" liberalism and the liberal political machine.

He makes an important point: The left in this country has forgotten its roots in peace and human justice. They're so caught up in hating Bush and what they perceive him to represent, that they've lost sight of the big picture:

Nightfall, Jan. 30. Eight-million Iraqi voters have finished risking their lives to endorse freedom and defy fascism. Three things happen in rapid succession. The right cheers. The left demurs. I walk away from a long-term intimate relationship. I'm separating not from a person but a cause: the political philosophy that for more than three decades has shaped my character and consciousness, my sense of self and community, even my sense of cosmos.

I'm leaving the left -- more precisely, the American cultural left and what it has become during our time together.

I choose this day for my departure because I can no longer abide the simpering voices of self-styled progressives -- people who once championed solidarity with oppressed populations everywhere -- reciting all the ways Iraq's democratic experiment might yet implode.

My estrangement hasn't happened overnight. Out of the corner of my eye I watched what was coming for more than three decades, yet refused to truly see. Now it's all too obvious. Leading voices in America's "peace" movement are actually cheering against self-determination for a long-suffering Third World country because they hate George W. Bush more than they love freedom. emphasis mine

He goes on to say this: (see the extended entry)

randomly cool

I'm using FoxyTunes to listen to my musica while I check out the net, and I've got winamp on random, and it keeps spewing out great songs for singing loud (DH isn't home yet)

right now: The B-52s "Love Shack"

Earlier:
Shawn Colvin "Sunny Came Home"
Beach Boys "Kokomo"
U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
New Order "Blue Monday"

Interestingly, 3 of these latter songs are among my favorite songs of all time...

Heh. It just switched to Like A Prayer, which is hella good for singing loud and alone.

Everything old is new again...

Just saw an ad on VH1 for Alanis Morrissette's new album/tour...I mean old album and tour. Heck, I guess what ever works, right?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess. Or maybe just go with what works......

It's official: Canadians are WEIRD

Check this out:
Michele tells us the story of Canada's private war against innumeracy: Give 'em an incentive, eh?

I'm sorry ma'am, no free shoes. You couldn't tell me what [(22+16)-18]*8/2 is.

Give me a freakin' break.

Evidently to win a prize in Canada you have to be smart enough to do strange math problems.... I hadn't seen this before, but according to this, it's been around a while.

Heh. It's like Jim Crow literacy tests for voting in the US in past days. Just as stupid, and frankly, in this case, silly. Wonder when all the liberals are going to rise up against this flagrant discrimination against the math impaired.....

Can you imagine what lottery sales would be like in this country if you had to answer math problems to collect your jackpot? Funding education would be a moot argument since the lotteries wouldn't make any money. Not that all Americans are stupid, mind you, it's just that I think most would resent such a test.

No Wonder....

I've been feeling like @ss all afternoon. Now I know why.
3pm: Sunny 72 degrees F
4pm: Raining 58 degrees F

I love rain, but this is crazy. It's freakin' May. Last year this week was in the 90s!

Tonight, Tonight

AI finale at 8 followed by House finale at 9

So any predictions? Who wins AI tonight? Bo or Carrie???

Y'all know I'm rooting for Bo. Luscious, amazing singing Bo.....

Simon Cowell Sucks

They're setting Carrie up to win. Did you hear the comments???

Granted she was better tonight than previously..... Although the first song was awful. The second was better than she had done it before.

Bo did damn good. I don't think the mix was great, and they weren't great songs for him, but he was awesome. Win or lose, he's the class of the field.

Did I mention, Simon Cowell sucks

Go now, vote for Bo!

Honeymoon

That was the title of tonight's episode of House, and clearly the honeymoon is over.

More in the extended entry...

One last TV post

a pet peeve....

Rob-Amber's wedding is on CBS, and as is super predictable they wrote their own vows.

But aren't vows promises? I mean 3/4 of what Rob said was extolling Amber's virtues, and the family and friends made more of a promise than Rob or Amber in their vows.

No wonder people get divorced so often. They can't even make promises to each other at their wedding.
[/pet peeve]

On a more positive note, the minister was great. He made a nice blessing at the end.

And the bridesmaids' dresses were the same color as they were at my wedding. We should have gotten married at the beach. Then we wouldn't have had to worry about not being able to match dye-able shoes.....

Super busy tonight!

I need to work on my presentation for tomorrow, cut brownies, pack for CA, and clean up the house so the damn dog doesn't get into anything while we're gone (a friend is watching her and staying at the house, but still...)

I also need to go pick up my dissertation paperwork so they can sign it tomorrow so I can graduate......

Soooo.....OPEN THREAD..... I may pop in and add my two cents if I get a down minute.....otherwise, it's all you.

We'll be in CA from tomorrow night to Tuesday, but I'll have sporadic computer time, and I will definitely be checking email.....

Couldn't resist

Green is your Lightsaber's color.

Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth,
harmony, and freshness. Green has strong
emotional correspondence with safety. Green is
also commonly associated with wealth and
happiness, so someone with a green lightsaber
like yourself is a fortunate soul.


What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla

From Ith

F*CK!

I'm buying his album anyway.

Clay kicked Ruben's ass all the way to the bank. I think Bo will too.

Simon Cowell is an ass.

Sorry for the spoilers, folks.

The Doctor is in

PERMANENTLY.

I passed!!!!!

YAY!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!

Home Sweet Home

It's amazing what kind of things you forget when you leave what you love for so long and don't come back often....

The clarity of the light. In LA the light is different than anywhere else. It seems so sharp and white, even through the smog.

The blue sky, not as blue as Carolina's, but somehow bigger as if the world itself was expanded.

The technicolor flowers, from the pink and orange roses to the purple jacaranda blooms that fall on green grass.

The fact that people understand how to use a left turn lane!

Gridded streets.

Real ethnic food.

Dry heat.

The way that although some things change, others will always be the same in unexpected and delightful ways.

Thanks!

A great big Thank You! to everyone who left such nice messages yesterday. I really appreciate it!

aminal blogging

Yes, I too have succumbed to the demon that is Catblogging. But these two aren't mine. They belong to the friends we're staying with.

Here's Franklin:

And Arthur:

Bonus Lizardblogging:
Meet Norman:

Pustulio.....I Obey

Zim is a fool- your soap-making abilities are
better than those of the leading brand!


What random GIR quote are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

from Gir (who else???)

Memorial Day 2005

On Memorial Day, take the time to remember the soldiers in your life, and what they mean to you, as well as what their service has meant for all of us. Take the time to think about it, and you might be surprised at how many people in your life have served our country.

These are mine:
My maternal grandfather, who worked in a transportation company in WWII, deployed to Canada. He helped to build the Al-Can highway.

My paternal grandfather, a recent immigrant to this country who volunteered for the army and was sitting on a platform, waiting to ride the train to basic training on November 11, 1918.

My maternal grandmother, a Red Cross nurse at Camp Stockton. Incidentally where she met my grandfather, before he went to Canada.

Her sister, also a Red Cross Nurse, a WAVE, too if I recall, and her husband, a naval officer.

Uncle L who went from a Captain to a Private in France in WWII because he told a general that "Engineers are not lumberjacks" and that the general's men could "cut their own f*cking wood".

My mother's cousin, a Marine who volunteered for 4 tours in Vietnam, and is now the proud father of a Naval Academy graduate (and another NA student)

Uncle D who was a radio operator for 13 months in Vietnam and came home with a bronze star for bug watching which led him to see the enemy approaching...

Cousin D who flies B-2s and once saved the Air Force $1 billion.

His Brother B who just finished medical school and will be a USAF doctor

My sweet husband who fixed artillery in peacetime, and stood guard after 9/11.

My B-I-L who has spent less than 6 months living as husband and wife with my S-I-L; their 3 year marriage encompassing a tour in Korea, a brief return to Ft. Hood, and a year long deployment in Iraq. Now they'll be able to be together.

My friend's husband, who served in the Navy, and then switched to the Army and became a Blackhawk pilot.

Our good buddy H, who served with my hubby, as well as a year in Korea followed by another in Iraq. He's off to Germany next.....

And don't forget the milbloggers who bring us the real stories of what's going on in the "Sandbox" these days, and who do their duty unselfishly and with pride.

Thanks.

We're off!

Leaving for home this afternoon. See you all tomorrow :)