Linkdump on Wednesday

Comic Book Legends Revealed #266: Thanos, Mesmero, and Roger Stern on Amazing Spider-Man.

Which side do you drive on?

Oldest Working UK TV found. "The few controls include volume and vertical hold, but there is no channel changer, as there was only one channel when it was made: the BBC."

The Wallingford Beast. Awesome. "...described as being insect-like with a chimpanzee head and the ability to climb a brick wall..."

Check out telephone promos for The Empire Strikes Back. COOL!

The Peeps trial happened.

I'd love to try these. But I think they are a bit too expensive for me.

Unattended Children... the battle is escalating.

LOLCat Theology.

Pug for the in-laws and comic book fans.

Linkers

Darryl Cunningham Investigates Homeopathy, which sounds even more nuts now that I know what it is, exactly.

Timespace's Finest.

AT-AT Afternoon (YouTube).

Girl Genius Volume One is now in COLOR! (And yes, there is some Wizard of Oz style coloring going on in the first few pages, just keep reading).

Oscar the Bionic Cat.

F.lux helps you deal with computer screen glow... and I've been using it for awhile now, and it has helped with getting to sleep at night after my final internet session.

I'm only linking to this because of the "Send her to the dry cleaners." line.

The Bacon Trampoline.

LOLCat Theology.

Coffee in the Morning

Those of you who know me know that I don't drink coffee. I'm one of those rare people who can't even stand the smell of the stuff. So it may come as a surprise that I like my Morning Coffee. Of course, I'm referring to a Firefox Add-on!

Morning Coffee is a really simple tool that allows you to add pages to a list, and each morning when you get on your browser you just hit the Morning Coffee button on your toolbar and it loads up all the pages set for that day. It's very simple, sweet, and does what it says on the tin.

I've been using it for a week now with no problems on the latest version of Firefox, so if you have certain pages you want to check out on certain days and are running the best browser, I recommend trying out this coffee to see if it works for you, too.

CameraPhone Zen

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• History Detectives: "Satelloon; Space Boot; Moon Museum" - Neat space adventure, with an early communications satellite, a prototype for a magnetic boot, and a chip of artwork that may have been place in a lunar module and hitched a ride to the moon. All three stories were fun, and the plea to viewers for more information on who "John F" was made for an intriguing ending.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Torn" - Starbuck and Tigh are quite a pair in this one. True, they had it worse than most, but they managed to be the worst of the bunch to their own people in return. I'm not feeling much pity for them by the time Adama straightens them out. As for the Cyclon virus... pity they didn't just jump in and all get wiped out.
• Battlestar Galactica: "A Measure of Salvation" - Speaking on jumping in and wiping them all out... whew. I find myself siding with Apollo despite the moral issues with it. And yet I'm as relieved as Adama about how it turned out.
• Dinner Impossible: "Caffeine Crash" - My first response to this challenge is YUCK! I hate the smell of coffee, and the few times I've been unfortunate to get food with coffee tainting it I've had to spit it out because it's so disgusting. So the food in this challenge has utterly NO appeal to me at all. With the weather against them, and not realizing that half their audience is vegetarian, they succeed with the coffee break but fail the tea break (yet manage to feed the workers anyway). All in all, not one that I found compelling at all.

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This week's netflix movie was Sweeney Todd (2007). I have issues with the graphic violence in this one, although I knew it was coming. The moment when Lovett figures out a use for the corpses and starts singing "A Little Priest" made me immediately think of The Emerald City Androgums in its pure silliness. As long as you don't take the whole thing seriously, hard to do because of the graphic nature of the film, the movie is watchable. Otherwise it's kind of hard to endure. Definitely a Burton film. Why is Bonham Carter so believable as an evil madwoman? This movie is consistently brutal, a little too dark, and very disturbing. I ended up looking away quite a few times. And I question the movie ending where it did, and wonder why a little lightening by seeing a last bit of Anthony and Johanna, say leaving the area, wouldn't have been a better choice.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released Jun 2nd, 9th, and 16th:

• Brightest Day #3 - Movement on the Aquaman plot. Aquaman and Mera discuss Mera's home, which hasn't happened all that much in the past. All-in-all, not too bad.
• JSA All Stars #7 - So much happened in Blackest Night, I didn't catch the death of Damage. The whole thing is good, but it relies on backstory I'm not familiar with. The second feature continues to be very fun.
• Justice Society of America #39 - This is a wonderful little Elseworld, but I think an issue could have been cut and it would have improved the story overall. There's been just a little too much stretching.
• Superman/Batman Annual #4 - Hubby-Eric noticed that this was a Batman Beyond tale, and so we ordered it just because we liked the show. And I liked the book. Didn't love it, but I wasn't really sure what to expect so it didn't disappoint.
• Demo Vol 2 #5 - Having just finished reading the Time Traveler's Wife, I couldn't help but compare this to that. I'm not sure I get just how the father's timeline worked, but it's a thought-provoking issue.
• Doctor Who Classic Series 3 #4 - I'm finding these sixth Doctor stories strangely unappealing. I want to like them, but they seem to want to take themselves way too seriously for me to enjoy.
• Legendary Talespinners #3 - So, that's it? Not exactly a happily ever after there. I feel like there should be more substance to this series than what we got.


• DC HeroClix Blackest Night Starter Set - Yay, a HeroClix of Mera barfing up red plasma! I am happy with the set, but I'll probably break it out and sell the non-Mera and non-GL figures. I really need to get out my whole collection of HeroClix and put them on display.
• Super Friends #28 - Nicely puzzled out, but a very simple story. I'm more concerned that Super Friends hasn't been solicited for two months. Don't tell me this fantastic book has been canceled, please?


• Brightest Day #4 - And so we meet the new Aqualad. His name is Jackson, he doesn't know how to swim, and he lives in New Mexico where the White Lantern is sitting. Hrm. And that woman on the next scene... can't be Mera, she's with Aquaman. Could it be Mera's twin sister Hila? And the troops she has are using hard-water weapons, so they are apparently from Mera's dimension. More please!
• Birds of Prey #2 - Someone is tearing apart Oracle's world using the most frustrating weapon possible. How do you fight a full-court propaganda war?
• DC Universe Legacies #2 - I found myself wanting the next issue before I'd finished reading this one, just because I really really want to see the Silver Age start. No sign at all of the Golden Age Aquaman, but then, he wasn't exactly a team player.
• Tiny Titans #29 - The only Aqualad is on the cover and in the rollcall. So while this was as fun as every issue, it also needs more Aqualad.
• DMZ #54 - Interesting twist. Offered amnesty, and asked to simply report on the conflict, he makes the best choice he could under the circumstances.
• Age of Bronze #30 - This issue is all about getting Troilus and Cressida together despite the issue of Cressida's dad being a traitor and all. Sadly, their story does not end well.
• Marvelous Land of Oz #7 - I can't wait to see the reactions of people to the next issue.

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My library book this week was Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Seattle in the 1880s, Zombies, and airships... what more does a book need? Well, this one also has a decent plot and great characters, which makes it better than just your average zombie book. As a born and bred Lesser Seattleite, it also pleased me in lots of other ways (a wall around the city? What a great idea!). My knowledge of local layout made following the action work ok, although I was initially thrown by the references to Denny Hill until I remembered that it's an alternate Seattle so certain things happened completely differently. In fact, there's an afterword by the author to explain some of the differences, including that the city grew much faster in this reality which allows for the advanced rate of construction and larger population. I think I originally heard about it from Unshelved, but then others reported on it and I just found I wanted to read it. Maybe I'll need to find other works by Cherie Priest now too, even ones not set in Seattle. I just learned there's a sort-of sequel to this, Clementine, and put in for it through Interlibrary Loan in the hopes that my system will buy it.

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Agatha Christie this week was The Unexpected Guest from 1958, adapted by Charles Osborne from the play of the same name. A stranger enters a household just after a murder has been committed, and quickly helps the presumed murderer to cover up the situation. I've got to admit, this one had me fooled repeatedly. And with such a simple premise, the layers each peel back like an onion as the acts move on. As usual, I didn't figure it out, although I wasn't particularly surprised by the time of the reveal simply because Christie had given enough facts for it to be blindingly obvious in retrospect. Ah well, my record continues to be dismal with Christie's mysteries, but I still very much enjoy them.

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Fortean Times #261, Special 2010. The cover article is about Jesus in Britain, and whether he made the journey in the first 30 years of his life. The ones we know almost nothing about, but there are tantalizing clues within both the scriptures and popular lore. Personally, I'm not sure that it matters one way or another, but I guess I'm glad folks are thinking about it.

This issue came late. I mean, really late. It came out in the UK on March 25th. I usually get them about a month after that. This one arrived in early June. I hadn't actually gotten a new issue for over two months when #263 arrived... then this one the next day. As of this writing I still haven't gotten #262 and I'm not sure it will ever come. The shipping issues in the United States have gotten progressively worse since the fulfillment company started shipping from overseas instead of a central locale in the United States. Add in the flimsy shipping sleeves they've switched to, and it's a wonder anyone in the US bothers to subscribe anymore. Then again, I'm not one to talk, am I?

Right, enough ranting. Strangedays has the story of an unfortunate flock of starlings that met their death in some mysterious way. They were found dead by the dozens in the middle of a village street, with no toxins found, just physical damage apparently from the fall. Another mystery was solved when misbehaving car lock problems were traced to a wireless menu system a cafe was using. Makes me glad my car still has mechanical locks. A quick story covers a haunted outpost in Afghanistan. Some stunning murals are on display on the photo spread, that show apparently damaged buildings with fantastic interiors.

More fun comes from tales of snake oil, and the fact that Chinese water-snakes are high in omega-3 fatty acids. A short article tells stories of survivors of the Haiti quake, including the family that survived the quake in Haiti, moved to Chile to be with relatives, then survived the big Santiago quake. There's also a very short piece on cow licking a house and causing damage. Moo! A longer article talks about long-lived examples of various animal species, including a tortoise named Jonathan reported to be 175 years old, a dachshund-terrier that nearly made it to 21 years old, a cat that reportedly made it to 38 years, a polar bear of 42 years, and ... well, I don't want to spoil the article now, do I?

A couple of cool ghost pictures appear to show a reflection and a rapidly moving bug, but both at least look otherworldly. An article on the Japanese mania of blood types clears up some of the weirdness I read in Manga, but not all. Mythconceptions tackles dirty flies. The tales of items missing in the post has record delivery times, starting with a 110-year-old postcard. I love the Archaeology section, which talks about an army uncovered in Egypt's Western Desert that may be the lost army of Cambyses II. Cool!

Relics of Santa Claus and Galileo are reported in "Bones of Contention". Alien Zoo has a bit about a frog that completely changes colors as it matures. The UFO files has food for thought, but nothing earth-shattering this month. There's a great article on the Dream Machine, which is basically a flicker device meant to put the user into an alternate state of mind. Then there is more about Organite, but still no controlled scientific testing. Without that testing, I don't believe any of it. I'm willing to be convinced, but this isn't convincing. Anyway, moving on... lightning images. Images of lightning strikes on the body of people hit by lightning. Spooky, but there are pictures as proof. Speaking of pictures, more on ghost photos, with a great ghost story about a man who went to retrieve photos of himself while on his deathbed. There's also an early hoax photo with a very well-researched history.

The Forum talks about a Sun Roll and the Other. The reviews are lovely, with some books I may eventually want to check out. One good letters discusses the Vatican's opinions on alien life. There's also a letter debating the Robin Hood as Templar theory from issue #259 that has a number of good points. I like that the readers of Fortean Times are engaged and willing to question the authority of any article author. The stories in It Happened to Me... were good ghost tales. I loved the bit on French standing stones in Fortean Traveller. A good issue, I just wish the next one would come soon. Otherwise I'm going to read them out of order, not comfortable for an Aspie like me.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

CameraPhone Zen

DC Digital Comics Mean Nothing To Me

DC just announced their digital comics initiative, thus moving them closer to the modern world. But I don't have an iPad or iPhone, so there isn't much in this for me at the moment. I suppose that eventually they might provide the books on a platform I have access to, and maybe they'll provide enough back issues to make me want to buy in... but at the moment the story is meaningless to me, which is why I haven't jumped on it.

Wednesday Links

Batman finds Waldo.

ThinkGeek and the Canned Unicorn Meat.

I've needed these before.

What kind of idiot steals signalling cable from a major railroad.

Cul-de-sacs make us fat. It's a good point. Most newer developments aren't designed to be friendly to walkers.

How would movie couples look years later? I like the last couple.

Is Your Trip Necessary?

Waffling.

Linkdump for a Tuesday Night

The Hero Initiative eBay Auctions. Check out the rubber duckies.

Jesse Hamm draws The Doctor. And all his companions.

Hastings will carry comic books? I've never even heard of the store before reading this article, but there's apparently one about 50 miles away. Still not useful to me.

I don't get it.

Mickey Mouse shills for amphetamines.

Pioneer One, a drama made for the internet, debuts its first episode.

Learn how to make a bunch of Five Ingredient Meals In Under Ten Minutes: a free e-book. Has a few clunkers, but others that I'm willing to give a try.

Um, no. I will not tolerate ads on license plates. The state would have to pay an awful lot to make me accept this lamebrain scheme.

Is There A Link Between Autism and Vaccines?

Slashdot discusses health care and the comments have a lot of interesting things to say about all of it.

Pug puppy for the in-laws.

A Tale of Soccer and Calculus

I took Calculus in my senior year in High School. I did pretty well, even stayed after school when I got stuck. But when I got to University, the highest level of math they would let me take was beginning Calculus. Stuff I'd already studied the year before. Well, I had to take a math class, and I wasn't interested in most of the offerings, so I retook Calculus.

The teacher was a Polish gentleman whose name was unpronounceable by American English standards. He asked us to call him Dr K. He was brilliant, funny, and a really really big football (soccer) fan. He would start each lecture with a minute long rant about whatever was happening in the world of football and sometimes use football examples in the rare instances that was possible.

Dr K had a heavy accent, so most of the students relied on what he wrote on the blackboard to understand what he was teaching. Yes, we could follow him most of the time, but when he got excited and spoke too fast, the equations on the blackboard became vital. We copied everything he wrote studiously. But Dr K had one really annoying habit. He was prone to tiny errors, and when he spotted one he'd erase the board back to where he'd made the mistake and restart the lecture from that spot... while we were desperately trying to write the whole thing down. We would often have to start a new page and copy the start and hope we could catch up with him before he said, "Everybody got it? Ok!" and erased the equations. Which he did a little too quickly for most of our tastes.

After class one day, a group of us were talking about this annoying habit and someone said, "He should get a penalty for doing that to us!" And someone else said, "Yeah, a red card." And I said, "Why don't we?" And an evil plot was hatched. I found some red and yellow construction paper at the store, cut it into appropriately sized cards, and handed them out one day of class before Dr K had arrived.

We didn't have to wait too long. At some point in the hour, he realized he'd made a mistake and started to erase, and all of us pulled out our variety of cards and held them up. Dr K was stunned. He was literally speechless. And he looked like he was about to cry. And I suddenly felt incredibly bad that we'd done this to him, because for HIM a red card actually MEANT something. For us, it was a penalty in a game. For him it was something far more important.

I don't remember much about the rest of that year. It was twenty years ago now. I do know that only half the class finished the course, and not everyone who finished passed. I only passed because I'd already taken Calculus, at least that's my excuse. Dr K was the first in a long line of teachers who tried to get me to sign up in their department as my major, because he thought I was a natural. There are days I wish I had. But I'll never forget the absolutely broken look on his face when he was faced with a sea of red and yellow cards. And every time I see a soccer game I remember Dr K, and the last math class I ever took.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The Lodger" - Not your normal Doctor Who. This is the second story in the row that hits the right notes, even though it had the potential to be a very embarrassing tale. There are a LOT of questions about the device in this one that are not answered, and Amy's moment at the very end was exactly what I was expecting to eventually happen. Folks should note the number of the Doctor's jersey.
• Doctor Who: "The Pandorica Opens" - Oh dear. That's a cliffhanger if I've ever seen one. Not at all what I was expecting inside the box, although by the description given I had a very good idea what was supposed to be inside. Poor Rory, but I find it very strange that if he was (SPOILER ALERT!)completely erased from history, that Amy still had both memories AND a picture of him. Perhaps because the place/time that River went to was at the center of all of it? And while I get the whole Roman Legion thing, I don't understand why Amy's interest in Pandora's Box would have any bearing on the situation.(END SPOILER) Note that the key date happens to be the day the final episode airs in the UK. No previews for next week on this one, either.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Collaborators" - So, if I understand this correctly, the president is Zarek, because he was Baltar's vice pres. And Zarek recognizes that Roslin will become president again, and must have clean hands, so he calls together "The Circle". Considering how close the group came to making a huge mistake with Gaeta, I can't agree with Zarek's efforts.
• Sapphire and Steel: "Assignment Three: The Creatures' Revenge" - A very freaky story, very atmospheric. It was let down a little in the final episode with the creature itself and the lousy cliff-hanger from episode five, but overall it was good. The appearance of Silver was neat, and I want to know his history with Sapphire. Speaking of, Sapphire's outfit was terrible.
• Dinner Impossible: "Judgment Day" - I really like that divorce court judge (Judge Lynn Toler). Not enough to actually watch the show, but she seems pretty cool and one tough customer. I like how Robert convinced her of the three pairings she was certain wouldn't work. And I liked the couples they got to help out, even though the one guy was an utter twit. In the end, he gave them a lot of good dishes, and one they could argue about.

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This week's movie was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We didn't see it in the theater, so we watched it on DVD. Not bad. I've long since realized that I'm bound to be terribly unimpressed with the movies because they have to leave so much of the detail and the subplots out, so my expectations tend to be low. I thought the casting was pretty good, still love Luna. She's probably the character that most seems to have stepped out of the books. Ah well, a good way to spend an evening with the hubby.

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Here are reviews of the Free Comic Book Day comics of 2010 that I got and read:

• Del Rey Showcase - This is a good sampler, with zombies and three other features that all give a strong showing of the stories. This definitely made me interested in a couple of the stories.
• Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter - Two very nice previews that gave all the details a reader might want to know before jumping into a new book. Both of these were strong and compelling enough to gain readers.
• Weathercraft and Other Unusual Tales - Sorry, I don't "get" Jim Woodring's appeal, so this book was a complete turn-off for me. However, if this type of work appeals to you, I think this is a sufficient sampler.
• Worlds of Aspen 2010 - This is enough of a sampler that I feel like I understand more about this publisher than I did before I read it. Not my type of stuff, but good as a freebie.
• Yow! Drawn & Quarterly Presents...2010 - A nice set of classic comics that make you want to go out and get more of the same. Nancy and Tubby have strange dreams, and strange things happen in other comics. This one is fun.
• The Oni Press Free For All #1 - This book introduces you to three odd stories and their characters, and is both fun and incredibly strange. I don't know that I'm going to pick these up, but they are good. Another great sampler!
• Green Hornet #1 - This makes me almost tempted to pick this book up. If I were more of a Green Hornet fan, I'd be likely to be swayed by this. That makes yet another good sampler!

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My library book this week was Spindrift by Allen Steele. A ship is sent to explore the source of an artificial signal outside the solar system. This is set in the same universe as the Coyote novels that I've previously read and enjoyed, but it's set sort of at the same time as those books, thanks to the whole space travel thing, and the end actually ties in with the ending of the third Coyote book. Again, as with the others, if you enjoyed them you will probably enjoy this one. Good characters, a focus on a small group, and a fairly compelling story. There isn't as much jumping around in this one, simply because the narrative is fairly straightforward. All in all an excellent book, and enough to get me to look for the next Allen Steele Coyote universe book.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Saturday Links

Comic Book Legends Revealed #265: Warren Publishing, Thanos, and Sith-Lords.

A cool tale from Emerald City Comicon 2010.

Airplanes Unexpectedly Modify Weather. Unexpectedly?

New version of Ubuntu, Lucid Lynx, is available. There's even a way to install it on Windows like a regular application and yet still be able to dual boot. I think I need to try that.

Learn how to tie a bowline (pronounced "boh-lin") knot. Video and lots of interesting comments.

How to Remove a Stripped Screw Without an Extractor.

High Tech Gadgets of 1977 if 2010 tech had been available then. Just go look, it'll make sense.

How to cope with annoying grammar mistakes.

Pug for the in-laws.

More Baking Adventures!

The Golden Age cookies were run past my panel of experts (the boys next door) who declared them to be "yummy" and "good" and "will you make more?" So I think that recipe will stay in my book. But, as I'd given away much of those cookies, I needed to make more cookies to keep hubby-Eric and I happy (we generally each have cookies with lunch). So I pulled out the recipe for peanut butter cookies and gave it a go.

I used the Classic Peanut Butter Cookies recipe over at Baking Bites, and after I got my first pan in the oven I remembered how my mom used to make these and resorted to that method instead. The dough was the same, but the fork trick is to roll the cookie in sugar before dropping on the pan and then the fork won't stick. The water will work, but I think I prefer the sugar-rolled cookies by a smidgen.

So, here's the recipe in case the link is down. I plan to run these cookies by my tasting committee one of these days, but maybe I'll keep the first batch for just us.

Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened*
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)*

Preheat oven to 350F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars.
Beat in egg.
Add vanilla and peanut butter and beat well.
Add in dry ingredients and beat on low speed until combined.

Roll rounded spoonfuls of dough in sugar and mark grids on the top of the cookie with a fork. (Alternately, put ball of dough on pan and mark with a fork dipped in either sugar or water to keep it from sticking to the dough.)

Bake for 11-12 minutes, until just beginning to brown on the edges.
Cool on wire rack. Makes between three and four dozen depending on the size of your dough balls (snerk, my batch made 45 cookies exactly).

*The cookie will be brittle/crumbly if you use processed (regular) peanut butter, so add an extra tablespoon of butter unless you are using a natural peanut butter.

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And, just in case you didn't want to transcribe the cookie recipe from my Golden Age Cookies post:

Golden Age Cookies

1/2 cup butter, or other shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Curtiss 5c Baby Ruth Bars, cut in small pieces

Cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in egg.
Stir in other ingredients.
Chill and drop by half teaspoonful on greased cookie sheet.
Bake in a moderately hot oven (375 F) for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 75 cookies.

Sheesh. More Links.

Comic Book Legends Revealed: Jason Todd, Living Zombie, Zombie Smurfs.

Israel "Brudda Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole and his medley of "Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World".

Restaurant cannot be named "Little Mac", even though they sell Mac & Cheese.

Bill Nye the Planetary Society Guy.

ChatRoulette is trying to filter itself.

Freakin' Greg Hatcher looks at awesome Young Adult series.

How to memorize lists quickly from Lifehacker.

Outwitting Squirrels.

Oooh, this may happen in my house someday: turn an old typewriter into a USB keyboard without damaging the typewriter.

Hoarding is a disease. The folks who do it aren't intentionally being lazy or sick, they can't help it.

Girl decides to live by the rules in Seventeen magazine for a month. Ick.

Daily Dead Wildlife from the BP Oil Mess.

Linkages for a Thursday

The Onion is channeling my report from the other day, you know, my wake up call. And no, I've learned nothing new. There was a major DEA operation that morning, "Project Deliverance", that may or may not be related. But my wake up call was not unusual that particular morning, it happened all over the country.

Bill shares a Doctor Who sketch with us. Speaking of, here's Doctor Hoo.

Rachel shares a science video that demonstrates chain reactions.

The characters on Glee are serial copyright pirates and would owe TONS of money, if they were doing this in real life. Under current copyright punishments, the characters would be deep in debt before getting out of High School.

Slate talks about over reliance on GPS.

The NBC Pipes, decorated by bored Muppet performers, and now preserved.

Who killed the Iceman?

More Verizon math, this time at AT&T. People who don't understand the difference between .05 cents and .05 dollars should not be allowed to handle money. Ever.

Survivors of the Deepwater Horizon rig speak out about BP's sloppiness.

A girl whose father is a climate change denier got a cool award for a science project that supposedly disproved Global Warming. As it turns out, the father was behind the hoax. He used the names of the National Science Foundation and Al Gore to convince his child and her school and the local newspaper. Then he makes himself out to be the victim.

Golden Age Cookies

While looking at a Golden Age All-American Comic, I noticed this ad, and found that I wanted to try out my new baking prowess with a very old recipe printed in a comic book.

So when we went shopping, I picked up a jumbo Baby Ruth bar and some more sugar, and yesterday I mixed up a batch of these things. Because the ad recipe says to chill the dough, I left it overnight and baked up the cookies today.

The results were... mixed. The cookies themselves were wonderful sugar cookies that I managed to get to an almost perfect crispness. The Baby Ruth pieces weren't quite enough, though. I should have gotten two regular bars like the husband suggested instead of a single jumbo. Maybe next time, if I do a next time.

Anyway, here's a few of the best examples of the result.


The not as best examples included lots of cookies where the candy bits caramelized and made messy blobs of candy. Some of them even ended up with holes in the cookies where the caramel blobbed out. The cookies themselves tasted fine, but I didn't get a lot of chocolate.

Kitten

Linkdump

Start reading Imaginalis from J.M. DeMatteis now.

I love this thread on MetaFilter about dystopian young adult fiction, which reminded me of my William Sleator kick I went on in Middle School, when I read every book he'd written shortly after meeting him.

Smile is a webcomic worth reading.

Morgan reviews Doctor Who, spoilers for the last episode. Check out the link to his other reviews, too.

Speaking of Doctor Who, Jon Blum links to The BEST Steven Moffat interview ever:

Cultural Awareness makes our military better.

This image has been making the rounds.

Mother Tracks Down Kidnapped Kids Using Facebook.

Racial Tolerance by Roger Ebert.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Battlestar Galactica: "Precipice" - Lots of "eek!" moments in this one. I'm not sure what to make of Baltar, and I'm not happy that Zarek and Roslin are in that group of dissidents that were executed. At least Cally got away. Yikes.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Exodus: Part 1" - Eric said after we watched the last episode that we didn't actually see who fired, and as it happens I'm considerably more happy with the outcome than I thought I would be.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Exodus: Part 2" - Oh Ellen. Oh Starbuck. Oh Pegasus. Wow. While it partly feels like a return to status quo, it's also surprisingly good.
• Dinner Impossible: "Speed Dating Downfall" - That's what I call impossible. If you have utterly no idea whatsoever what the ingredients will be, how can you cook a meal? At least he actually got a kitchen this time.

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This week's movie was This Is Spinal Tap. LENNY!!!! Um. Right, this is serious movie, not spoof of 80s heavy metal bands. Ha. Right. Thankfully this is a nicely short movie, coming in at 82 minutes. I don't think I could have lasted much longer. I think if I'd seen it when it came out I might have found it much funnier. I've heard pretty much all the best jokes from the movie from other sources so it's not as fresh as it should have been.

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Here are some reviews of the Free Comic Book Day comics of 2010 that I got and read:

• War of the Supermen (FCBD) - Ok, so I finally know what the deal is with the Superman books, since I don't follow them. But this didn't make me want to read them any more than usual.
• Fame/Puppy Sister - The Fame side was completely forgettable and not hardly worth getting, unless you are really into celebrities, at which point it might be considered fun. The Puppy Sister side was a promising start, but again not quite enough to get me to buy it.
• Bongo Comics Free-For-All FCBD 2010 - Standard Bongo fare, definitely worth checking out if you are a Simpsons fan. If not... well, your mileage would definitely vary then.
• Toy Story FCBD Edition - Fun. Cliffhanger at the end, but fun.
• Artifacts issue Zero - The Top Cow Universe is pulling out all the stops for a 13 issue crossover that involves 13 Artifacts. I found this surprisingly compelling, although I don't really ahve that much interest in it. I'd say this book did its job.
• Atomic Robo/Neozoic/Box - Another really good sampler. I got a strong impression of each of the books involved, and I'm actually interested in all three to some level. Good stuff in this one.
• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #155 1/2 - I've never been a big GI Joe fan, but the opening introduction to this made me almost want to buy this book, just because they got the original Marvel GI Joe writer to come and continue his series at IDW. Fun stuff, even if you aren't a Joe fan.

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My library book this week was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The clever handling of time travel is what makes this book worth reading. Seeing how all the pieces fit together, and when everything happens, is what keeps you turning the pages. The characters are flawed, typical humans. Henry isn't a terribly nice guy, but he tries. Clare is a shallow rich girl from a shallow family who has a wonderful secret that makes her mildly more interesting than her fellow rich friends, but otherwise she's not really someone I would care to meet. The truly interesting character is Alba, but the story isn't really about her, it's about the love between Clare and Henry as Henry is constantly ripped from his rightful time and place and flung away where Clare cannot follow. Overall, it's a ripping read, but if you sit back and really reflect on it the book becomes harder to love. But at least it makes you think, and that's a good thing.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Stepford Plants Update

Say good-bye to the One Dollar Tomatoes. This may be the last we see of them:

They were outgrowing their pots too quickly to wait any longer, so I replanted them (badly) into the yard. I don't know if they will survive. The odds are very much against them as it's fairly late in the season for this kind of transplant, they are still fairly small, and they are now open to all kinds of problems that they didn't have to deal with in the window pots. And I'm lousy with plants and probably managed to kill them in the replanting. *sigh* At least I completely got my $1 worth out of that kit, and I still have seeds left over to try next year.

The plum stick had a minor disaster in yesterday's windstorm, as the cage around it broke loose from the stakes and fell, taking the stick with it. Fortunately it bent but did not break, and I was able to (I hope) repair the damage, restake the cage much better, and then tied the stick a little to hold it upright for a bit. I hope it stays, but I may need to consult my expert on how to do it right.

The arborvitae are just existing. They don't seem to be growing, but they aren't dying (except that one).

I mowed the yard twice in the last week, once to get through the rain-driven growth, which was really hard because the grass and weeds were still wet. The second mow was to clean up what I missed on the first. I will need to mow again in a couple of days.

Wake Up Call

My morning was a little odd. Just after 6 am I heard someone yelling "POLICE! OPEN THE DOOR!" over and over, and a loud pounding. As I woke up I groggily realized it couldn't be at my door, because it would be even louder (my bed is right over the front door). Jumping out of bed, now fully awake, I peeked out the front window and saw at least four cop cars, glancing to my right, I realized there were a number of officers with guns drawn posed on my neighbor's porch. I went to the side window and got a better look as they broke down the door and entered, still yelling. I went into a little bit of shock. I know at least two children live in the house, and I just saw at least five cops in full raid gear with weapons drawn break down the door and enter the house.

I heard no shots. I rushed in to the bathroom where poor Eric was showering and tried to tell him what happened. He couldn't hear me the first two times. I threw on regular clothes, just in case, and repeated myself until Eric understood. Then I watched. I counted the cop cars, four of them, and not all from Churchville. One car was from a larger town 30 miles away. As I watched, a plain dark minivan pulled up and a cop got out. He went to the rear of the van and pulled out a large case and walked up to the house. I stopped watching for a moment and went downstairs. By the time I opened the downstairs shades there were seven cop cars outside. Two were blocking the neighbor's driveway completely, and there was a police SUV blocking our driveway. A couple of cops were leaning against a K-9 unit car chatting. They looked relaxed.

As I continued to watch, mostly by glancing out the window while I did my morning internetting, I saw three children leave the house in the company of a familiar adult. I think he's the father of two of the kids, as I've seen him around. The police talked to him for a moment, then all four of them got into a car and drove away. More police arrived. The dog got out of the K-9 car and went inside the house. I finally got a look at the insignia on one of the guys who was driving an unmarked car, and it said DEA. Ah. A glimmer of understanding.

I watched for a bit while Eric continued to get ready for work, then when he was nearly ready to go I went outside and got the attention of the officers standing on the neighbor's porch at the moment. They immediately guessed that I needed the cop cars moved, and went to spread the word. I looked at our driveway. Three cop cars were blocking it completely now. Other neighbors were driving by, slowly, and looking as curious as I felt. The cops came out of the house one by one and moved the cars; the last one, the original SUV, just as Eric went out to open the garage. Off he went to work, and I continued to watch.

The neighbor brought the kids back, which surprised me. He parked in my driveway since there was no place nearer, and the cop said something to him. I came out of the house to let him know it was ok to stay in my driveway. He thanked me, looking a little frazzled and puzzled. The kids were led back into the house by the cops, and came out a few minutes later with backpacks. One of the boys was sobbing silently, tears streaming down his face. The girl was crying openly. She looked broken and terrified. The other boy, the one I didn't recognize, was grim and silent. They went back to the car parked in my driveway and sat. It was around 7:30 am, and the sun was shining.

After about fifteen minutes I went out to check on the kids and see if they needed any water, or maybe cookies. The father thanked me but declined, and so did the kids. That's when I saw that the mother was outside, and her car was now parked behind the car the kids were in. My immediate reaction was that she had done some kind of Houdini trick, since there was no way she could have gotten out of their driveway. In retrospect, I wonder if she was even home during the raid. I nodded to her and the kids and went back inside. I wanted desperately to ask what was happening, but I felt like they were already going through too much for me to pile on.

The morning wore on, and the cops started to leave, one at a time. I stayed by the window, half-reading a Popeye collection while I kept tabs on the events in front of my house. The family sat in the car in my driveway. More cops left until there were only DEA agents. One of them talked to the father, and then they got in their cars and left. During the time I was watching I saw no one arrested and no violence other than the breaking down of the door. I did not watch continuously, so it is possible that evidence or another person was taken from the house and I didn't see it. But the family I know lives there was in my driveway for over half the raid, being mostly ignored by the police.

After the last of the officers/agents had left, the father got in the car and pulled it around into their own driveway. All of them got out and went into the house. The mother pulled her car into the garage. They couldn't close their front door. When I glanced out later, they had pulled the frame off and set it on the porch. Other people arrived, including a handyman who opened the big ol' toolbox on his truck and went to measure the door. Others who may be part of the extended family arrived, making my cunning plan to bring cookies over and offer assistance in the hopes of gathering more information moot. Not that I think I could've mustered the nerve to do it anyway. At some point, the boys came out and played a lackluster round of basketball on the streetside hoop. School let out yesterday, so all the kids in the neighborhood are home. Things seem to be settling back into "normal". But I'm still desperately curious.

I'll update if I learn anything new, but I suspect this is all I'll ever know about this event.

Other thoughts...

• I know that there was no way I could've gotten from my bed fast asleep down to open the door in the time from when I first heard the cops yelling and pounding until they started to break the door. In short, unless I'd been awake in the living room at six am, the "open the door!" command could not be met.
• The sobbing of the kids scared me and makes me wonder if they were simply stressed or something worse happened. I haven't heard their dog barking since the raid.
• I don't know if the raid was "justified" or a mistake. I may never know. But I've been opposed to the way the Drug War is being carried out in the past. This event has only firmed up my opposition. There were children in that house, and the police entered with guns drawn. There has to be a better way.
• I like my neighbors and don't suspect them of anything. I know they have extended family in the Valley, and could be convinced that the cops were looking for one of them. Every family has a black sheep.
• If this had gone much worse, I would be one of those neighbors saying "I never suspected there was a problem, they were so quiet!" Except they aren't. At least the kids aren't. They are normal kids.
• I'm dying of curiosity, but any method I could use to get to the heart of the matter would be rude. And so I sit in ignorance, utterly unblissful.

Update: As noted in the comments, I did a little sleuthing and was unable to find out what had happened, although I was told that there was a lockdown at the local schools. When I went out to get the mail at 2:30 I chatted a bit with my neighbor on the other side, who thinks there may be shenanigans involving the abandoned house across the street. As I walked up my driveway, one of the boys in front of the raided house asked if my offer of cookies was still good. I said yeah, as long as they didn't have allergies, and went in to grab the batch of banana oatmeal cookies. I asked one of them about this morning, if the raid was a mistake. He said, very quietly, that it wasn't a mistake. I didn't ask anything else. I had to repair my plum tree that had been knocked over by the windstorm, so I decided to, again, leave well enough alone. The good news is that they apparently liked the cookies, so I think that recipe goes on my "keep" pile.

Linkages for Tuesday

Comic Book Legends Revealed #263: Marvel Zombie, Thomas Zuvembies, and 'Mazing Man Zombie.

Rachel Hartman explain why she's not doing Amy Unbounded.

I've seen the news of new Torchwood all over, but none stranger than at Cryptomundo.

I actually like "reverse graffiti", but didn't realize it was being used for ads. *sigh*

This is a better use of sidewalks.

Naked Comet coming! What? Oh, right. Naked EYE comet. Just means we can see it without a telescope.

This Boing Boing post reads like an ad, but I think I'd love to get a wallet from them someday.

I think I want an Ove Glove.

Another Washington State Tornado.

Schrodinger's cat.

LOLCat theology. Oops.

CameraPhone Zen

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "When OMAC Attacks" - Missed this when it first aired, but enjoyed it on the rerun. Good stuff with Buddy, although his hick stereotype got grating very quickly. The preopening sequence with Hawk and Dove was hilarious.
• Doctor Who: "Cold Blood" - Still hate the crappy Silurian costumes. They just look too sleek and Star Trekky. They don't have enough elements of the originals to be good. There were a few twists in this one that made it worth watching, and some fundamental progress on the overall plotline that made it essential watching (just remember the ring). I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it as much as I hoped.
• Doctor Who: "Vincent and the Doctor" - This works. It just fits right there, a break from the overall plot while still managing to move it along, and a very very guilty Doctor trying to deal with the events in the last episode. And Amy got along wonderfully with Vincent. I still hate bow ties.
• Dinner Impossible: "Disney Dilemma" - Nine hours, 400 guests, and every dish needs to be part of the story from a Disney princess. I think I need to see that latest Disney movie, because I actually didn't recognize a princess. Robert was wonderfully gracious to the princesses, including blurting out "You're beautiful!" to one of them. Robert should be glad the Mad Hatter he got wasn't the DC Universe version.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Webisodes: The Resistance" - Eric and I watched these together after finishing season 2. Scary stuff, with a gritty despression that's hard to watch.
• Battlestar Galactica: "Occupation" - Brutal. You think they can't be worse off than running from the Cyclons through space. But there they are, in much worse shape. Kara's got it worst, though Tigh has it pretty bad as well. Apollo doesn't look terribly Apolloic any more.

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This week's movie was Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. Quick review: Not enough Aquaman. At least Aquaman appears in it, and does a pretty good job taking on the evil Marvels. I enjoyed his attitude to Batman's warning, which came perhaps because Batman thought Aquaman might be a little too cocky. Heh. But for the rest... decent plotline, fun little asides, Batman being Batman was great to see, and Owlman. Owlman's bit was nicely done. The last scene of him was particularly good. Overall, a really nice popcorn movie worth watching if you are a superhero fan.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released May 19th and 26th:

• Brightest Day #2 - Aquaman is on the cover, but not really inside the book. So... needs more Aquaman! Otherwise, eh, it's ok.
• Justice League of America #45 - Not really feeling it. No Aquaman, not much interest.
• Zatanna #1 - I guess if you're gonna have a book featuring Zatanna, you pretty much gotta get Paul Dini to write it. So far, so good.
• DC Universe Legacies #1 - This isn't the DC version of Marvels, but it definitely has a little of that feel to it. I look forward to seeing Aquaman make his appearance (yes, I have a one-track mind).
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold #17 - A week in the life of Batman. Needs more Aquaman.
• Tiny Titans #28 - Super-Pets issue, but Aqualad only appears on the cover, and nobody is eating the ever-popular Aqua-Ohs in this issue.
• The Incredibles #9 - I feel completely lost. I have the vaguest idea of the plot, but not much really seems to happen here.
• PS238 #44 - Another great issue of one of the best comic books on the stand. I really want the return of Captain Clarinet, and I want to see something happen to him in this storyline that will guide him back to that. I love his "real" name. Heh.
• Marvelous Land of Oz #6 - And the Gump is created and comes to life! Wahoo! This didn't match the mental image I had for the event, but this version feels very good anyway.


• Green Lantern #54 - A cat with a Red Lantern ring? On page four, Atrocitus' symbol appears to say "MOM". At least we get some Aquaman... and even Mera. I'm not liking Hal for creating a giant shark to take on the Mera construct.
• Green Lantern Corps #48 - Ok... I'm almost interested. What are Guy and Ganthet up to, and what's happening with the Alpha-Lanterns?
• Power Girl #12 - Final issue with the current creative team, and I'm bummed about it. They tied up the loose ends, cleaned up house, put everything in a state for someone else to take over... and I don't want 'em to go.
• Super Friends #27 - Aquaman looks so cute in a winter jacket, even though he doesn't need cold weather gear (he can withstand a lot of cold, being from the ocean). Fun story.
• Northlanders #28 - Wow. Not the ending I was expecting to this sad tale. Powerful stuff.
• Doctor Who #11 - You just had to go and bring up Adric. What sort of timey-wimey stuff is this going to end with?

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My library book this week was Mennyms Alone by Sylvia Waugh. Again, an unexpected turn of events. The Mennyms are still dealing with the events of the previous book when Grandpa gets a premonition, and they have to adjust life to his ideas of what's going to happen to them in a year's time. This is a well-crafted series, and a particularly well-crafted book in the series. You just wonder what will happen to these folks, especially once Grandpa's prediction comes. And with only one more book in the series, you really have to doubt that Grandpa's premonition is going to happen. Very good series for young adults.

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Agatha Christie this week was 4.50 From Paddington published in 1957, and also published as What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw and Murder She Said. Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a parallel train, but no one except Jane Marple believes her. I loved this one. I once again had the wrong murderer pegged, but I did eventually figure out the guilty party before the reveal. I just really really didn't want to believe it, and hadn't actually worked out the details. I love Christie's books, and I think I may slow down a bit while reading them now that I'm getting closer to the end. Unfortunately, I can't erase my memory of the books and reread them once I'm done like Holly on Red Dwarf.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Yay, Links!

Phil at Bad Astronomy tackles the rumor about Betelgeuse. Best quote from original idiotic rumor-monger: "The extra hour of light from daylight savings time won't burn the crops, but this might." In short, don't trust anyone who doesn't understand Daylight Saving Time.

Drunken Parrots Falling From Sky. What a lovely headline.

I have a wonderful typewriter that I ought to get looked over by these guys.

Need some whiteboard space, but don't want to pay through the nose for it? Lifehacker has you covered.

Forensic Astronomer? I wanna try that!

How to make your own ketchup. Tempting, but I don't think my skills are up to it yet.

I hate debt collectors. They harass people who don't even owe money, bothering family members and co-workers. Well, this debt collector went too far.

Speaking of hate: Altered mural fuels racial debate. Seems that showing non-white faces has led to slurs yelled at the painters. Prescott City Councilman Steve Blair said, of the residents he agrees with, "What these people don't like is somebody forcing diversity down their throats." Never mind that the mural was based on actual children that attend the school. Clearly the school has an unacceptable level of diversity for the racists of Arizona. Photos from the dedication, to give more context.

Now I really want a cat.

Not the monorail cat.

Pug for the in-laws.

Stepford Plants Update

One of the arborvitae is dead. Completely deceased. There's not a chance of reviving the poor thing. I would take a picture of it, but I'm ashamed of the fact that I didn't mow today and get the weeds knocked down around it.

The One Dollar Tomatoes had me very depressed, because I thought they weren't growing much. But today I took a picture and when I compared it with the one from two weeks ago I realized the things have been growing like... well, plants. The ones on either end aren't growing as well, but even so I'm going to need to transplant the two small ones from the doubled up pots soon.

There's a tiny chance I might even get tomatoes from these guys this summer, though I'm not counting on it. If I do, I'm going to be impressed with that Target $1 Tomato set.

And lastly, my plum stick. It's still not quite a tree, but it's getting closer. There's actual branches starting to grow out of it as you can see in this image. That top leaf is beginning to look a lot longer than just a leaf.


I might have fruit in five years after all! Hopefully the weather will cooperate and tomorrow I can mow the lawn. We've had one of the wettest springs on record here in the valley, so keeping plants hydrated outside hasn't been an issue, but keeping the weeds down has been difficult.

Another Linkdump

No, she wasn't out hunting for a lawsuit excuse: Woman sues Google after being hit by a car while using walking directions. More here.

On the other hand, some humans are wonderful.

This picture scares me.

The first episode of The new Doctor Who Adventure Game is downloadable now... if you live in the UK or know how to use a proxy. (Yes, of course I know how to use a proxy).

MetaFilter links to a half-keyboard. I'd love to have this as a software solution, but I'm not buying a $600 keyboard to get that functionality.

Rename Mount Rainier to "Ti'Swaq"?

The pronunciation "tea-swawk" is acceptable, Satiacum said, though it really should be pronounced with more character given to the final K sound.

To be more accurate, the word should end with a coughlike exhalation of air, Satiacum said. "Think of blowing out a candle."

So, would that be Mount Teeswawkh?

AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Quebec is on fire.

Pugs for the in-laws.

Linkdump

Want some original artwork but can't make it to a convention? Periscope Studio has an Etsy page (warning: some artistically adult content). Some really good artists and their art here. Check it out.

Lovely Two-Page Usagi Yojimbo story.

Comic Book Legends Revealed #262: Iron Man's Nose, Alan Moore as Sith Lord, and Elliot S! Maggin.

Space Jam is a Mayan Tale.

Rachel Maddow gets a lightsaber. Just watch the video clip, you can ignore the rest.

Chemical bombs are real.

Ken Jennings on Wikipedia's lack of authority. I ran into this recently when a vandal changed Aquaman's Wikipedia entry, and an unrelated podcasts read the vandalized entry as if it was true, without any question. If it's on Wikipedia, verify it before you believe it. Wikipedia is a good place to start researching, but it's not to be trusted.

J.L. Bell on piracy. I like it when companies subvert the act of online piracy to their own ends.

Darryl Cunningham is starting a new strip about Homeopathy. His strip about Wakefield recently made the rounds. Darryl is one of the good guys.

How Avenue Q is dealing with Gary Coleman's death.

And to finish this post: a pug for the in-laws.

Five Titles

Apparently I missed a chance to Name Five Past Or Present Comics Titles You Think Should Always Be Published, Just Because It Would Please You To See Them On The Stands. Well, here's my main list:

• Aquaman - C'mon, you think I couldn't start with that one? I'd love to see what Shaun McLaughlin had planned, and the rest of Kurt Busiek's plans. But almost any writer/artist team would please me.
• Amy Unbounded - by Rachel Hartman. I miss this comic so bad, and it left off on a cliff-hanger, no less!
• Castle Waiting - by Linda Medley. I miss this one, too. I could stand to have this as a monthly.
• PS238 - by Aaron Williams. This is regular enough I don't usually get to the point where I miss it, but I love it nonetheless.
• Usagi Yojimbo - by Stan Sakai. Another regular book that I really want to always be published. So far, so good.

That's just the top five, there are many many more that I'd love to see on my personal spinner rack new every month. For instance... Abadazad, Age of Bronze, Akiko, Amelia Rules, Arrowsmith, Astro City, Birds of Prey, Buck Godot, Colonia, DMZ, Dorothy, Girl Genius, Hellboy, Hikaru No Go, Justice League, Leave It To Chance, Noble Causes, Northlanders, Resurrection Man, Ruse, Super Friends, Thieves & Kings, Tiny Titans, True Story Swear to God, Way of the Rat, Wildguard, Xeno's Arrow, and Young Justice, just to name a few. And I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

So, what are your top five? And are there any on my lists that you'd like to see return?