...so here's a picture of my cat.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Young Justice: "Salvage" - So, Roy is out and about searching, but some of the stuff that was foreshadowed in the show and shown in the comics has come to pass. Impressive stuff in this one for all the relationship reveals, if nothing else.
- Young Justice: "Beneath" - The abductions don't make physical sense, being geographically so far from Bialya, although the boom tube tech suggests that transportation isn't a huge issue. Still. A lot more on Blue Beetle in this one, but Wonder Girl is annoying.
- Young Justice: "Bloodlines" - Oh wow. That's something you don't see every day. But what a way to bring Impulse into the universe. Wow. I do seem to say "wow" a lot with this show. Interesting B-plot as well.
- Jan 23rd
- The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West Ongoing #3 - The field mice are freaking awesome, the wheelers are terrifying (they've always been creepy, these are scary) and the story... well, I'm really interested to see where it goes. This is a fun book, if strange.
- Steed and Mrs Peel Ongoing #4 - I love how Mrs. Peel snaps the orchestra out of the trance. Having done the same thing on a very similar instrument, I can say it's satisfying and loud.
- Justice League #16 - Why would Dr. Shin be of any value when Vulko is there? I don't like how the league just dismisses Aquaman in this. They don't trust their teammate, even when he's got a magic lasso wrapped around him. Blah.
- Green Lantern #16 - So, Baz gets his formal intro to the Green Lantern Corps from a giant squirrel. There are worse possible mentors. Guy for instance...
- Green Lantern Corps #16 - And speaking of, there's Guy! And there goes Guy... I was amused at Guy's suggested that Baz's tattoo should have been the Cowardly Lion. heh.
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #16 - Hey, the White Lantern has shown up! That must mean this whole big crossover event thing is almost done, right? Right?!?
- JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skill #2 - I still don't know what is happening here.
- Young Justice #24 - I'm just not really impressed. Maybe I need to watch the rest of the episodes of the show. But I'm still not sure I'd like it. Not without Aqualad.
- Fables #125 - A car that runs on blood is bad enough, but it also will revert back to being an evil witch after so many trips? Yuck. I'd rather not drive that thing, myself.
- Saucer Country #11 - A very interesting tale of childhood, but I'm still not sure what is going on with the aliens in this book.
- Peanuts V2 #5 - I never thought I'd enjoy non Schulz Peanuts much, but these are ok. So far none rise to the level of classic, but some of the new stuff has gotten pretty close.
Another article, first of two parts, asks if humans are wired to believe in God. It comes to an interesting conclusion about the human brain and the pathways that religious experiences tend to travel. Another article talks about coincidence and the subversive idea that everything is linked.
Strangedays is the usual with a great set of Fortean Follow-ups that includes DNA results from a potential big cat attack in England. I was sadly amused at the report on the brawl at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem between the two sects of Christianity that administer the site. There's a 2012 watch section that talks about people preparing for doomsday and other people profiting off those folks.
Science postulates on attempts to erase people's memories, particularly experiments possibly conducted by the CIA in the 1950s. Ghostwatch is about interactive ghosts, who show people around houses, mostly. Konspiracy Korner has a splendid conspiracy about Obama being part of a group of people who teleported to Mars when he was younger. Not sure what to make of this except it's supposedly NOT the Onion.
Alien Zoo talks about Loren Coleman's museum, a giant sponge and megamouth sharks. Archaeology has a lot of different bits in it this month, nothing that jumps out at me. Classical Corner is about Byzantium and its passions. Fortean Traveller visits the Palais Ideal, created by a rural French postman. You really need to see the pictures and read the backstory to understand why it's Fortean, but it really is.
The UFO Files is about the Solway Spaceman, a thing I'd heard of before I really started to read Fortean topics, but had never known what it was called. Short story, guy takes a picture of his young daughter holding flowers in 1964, when the film is developed, there appears to be a spacesuit standing behind her. This article talks about what happened after the guy reported the incident.
Blasts from the Past has an 1898 case from Texas of lights in the sky, fireballs and ghosts. The Fortean Bureau of Investigation is about Rupert Sheldrake and what is wrong with science in the modern world.
The Forum has an article about shape-shifting ghosts and an article about a frighteningly Fortean "suicide" that probably would never get reported in regular papers because the circumstances were so bizarre. A book in the Reviews section gets a very rare "0" for a rating, which always means the review is going to be entertaining reading. Letters were good, overall a strong issue.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
WE-ARE-NOT-PEP-PER-POTS!
Rest in peace, Raymond Cusick.
Savage Chickens gives us Dalek Humor. See also Dalek Whispering.
Cheezburger Daleks.
ThinkGeek has a Dalek Desktop Defender that's motion activated. I think my co-workers would kill me if I got one, so no joy for me.
Have you seen Daleks of the Day? If not, it's worth a visit for Dalek fans.
If you have seven and a half minutes...
...watch this video. It says a lot that I wish I could have said, better than I could say it.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Vacuum is PURE EVIL!
This is the look on Inkwell's fuzzy little face when I get the vacuum out. At least he's smart enough to run for the stairs, knowing that the growling evil beast of cleaning can't climb the stairs easily.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
What, more links?
I had an art history professor once say that you will see a news report about the Mona Lisa at least once a year. Here's one now...
Speaking of history, a hairdresser rocked the world of archaeology by figuring out how all those ancient hairdos actually worked. And even got a paper on the subject published!
Boing Boing has a time lapse video of "Nemo" the snowstorm hitting Boston.
Cracked.com gives us 5 reasons publishers rejected books that later became best-sellers.
What an awful headline to an otherwise decent story. Carol Tilley has proved that Fredric Wertham lied, not just misled but flat out lied, in his book blaming comic books for juvenile delinquency.
Here's a really disturbing story about the man who shot Bin Laden and what his life has become since then.
Stalker, an article about a man who was stalked and what it does to him. It's also about self-blame. My own experience with stalking indicates that you simply can't win in those situations.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Linken Dinken
Hidden TARDIS scarf.
Eric and I saw this documentary and very much enjoyed it. I would love to see the DVD release. Someday.
Some of these life hacks are pretty good. Others... well, your mileage may vary.
Need a QR Code? Use this to generate one.
Online comic for you to enjoy: The Honor Brigade.
Boing Boing introduces us to an amusing photo set: HadOneJob.
I don't believe every story on Not Always Right, but I still enjoy them. Here's an example of one I enjoyed.
An explanation of why there are so many Russian dash cam videos on the internet. Because of the tons of dash cams, the Chelyabinsk meteor was extremely well documented.
The subreddit "Explain it like I'm 5" has a decent explanation of the LAPD and Dorner incident. Warning: strong language, graphic description. Some of the comments are also insightful if you really want more information.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Young Justice: "Happy New Year" - Aqualad is replaced by a third-rate joke of a character, otherwise I didn't mind the five year jump too much.
- Young Justice: "Earthlings" - Ah, Megan has grown up. And not in a good way. And the whole blood transfusion thing is explained, sort of. Why did I enjoy Conner describing Megan's new boyfriend as a jerk so much?
- Young Justice: "Alienated" - I wanted Aqualad back, but not like that. Wow. They've just run with his origins, haven't they? Wow. I'm going to have to process this one for awhile. Wow.
This week's movie was The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) by Will Vinton. To say this is a freaky movie would be a huge understatement. This movie is, at moments, absolutely terrifying. Particularly the Mysterious Stranger piece. But it's a pretty good overall introduction to Twain's work, if you realize that's what you are seeing. It's definitely a tribute to Twain's attitudes about life. I wouldn't recommend it for small children, but older kids would get a kick out of it and might even learn a thing or two.
- Jan 9th
- Earth 2 #8 - There's an interesting turn of events for the alternate earth. Wonder what folks will say when they learn about Fury?
- World's Finest #8 - Power Girl can be quite nasty when she wants, can't she?
- Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual #1 - Um. Right. Ok. Whatever.
- Jan 16th
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series #10 - Surprisingly complex but decent little story. I enjoyed it.
- Hoax Hunters #6 - The hoax hunters have conspiracy theorists following them around. Makes sense, actually.
The first article examines the ways the world might change and what doomsday prophets have preached. The second article discusses the appropriation of indigenous culture and knowledge by modern people. The third article is about the discovery of the Mayan long count and how it took on significance in the doomsday movement. The final article deals with the various books and artefacts generated by belief in the 2012 doomsday scenario, and the misappropriation of the Aztec Sun Stone to represent the Mayan calendar. Writing this in 2013 I can safely say the doomsday speakers were pretty much all wrong, but it's still an amazing subject to look back on.
Strangedays is the usual collection. The eBay exorcist was good. I enjoyed the parrot stories as well. There was one page that would help me lose weight if I just read it every time I feel like grabbing something to eat *shudder*.
Science was a piece on the American drone supposedly brought down by Iranians. Good analysis of the known facts, but I'm not sure what conclusion can be made from it all. Archaeology has a picture of strange V-shaped carvings found in Jerusalem's old city, a piece on early painting kits and another piece on early bedding. Classical Corner is about conspiracy theories of secret meanings in ancient works. It seems like a mix of numerology and wishful thinking to me.
Ghostwatch covers the story of an unfortunately-named ghost dog that stalks a Royal Air Force base. Konspiracy Korner has a bit on the Robert Kennedy assasination. The UFO Files has a strange piece on a TV personality planting a story about a lucky statue of a dog in a small town's media to see what happens (which is a very Fortean thing to do). The UFO part comes from the fact that the town had UFO sightings, well-before the media stunt, in the area the statue is located.
Blasts from the Past has more flying men from 1880. Fortean Traveller picked up on the 2012 theme by visiting the village of Bugarach in France that some people thought of as a hotspot for 2012 mysteries. Illustrated Police News was about a hermit who was once a postman and his hoard of stolen goods.
The Forum has a piece on the evacuation of the British Museum's treasures during WWII, an article about an artist who preserved a tramp's body and a story about a "sea monster" washed up on a beach. The reviews are great reading, as usual, as are the letters. Whenever I finish rereading a Fortean Times I understand again why I susbscribe in the first place.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Ting Thoughts
I just worked out my bill, and we've saved $63.58 since switching to Ting in November (that includes the cost of our new phones). Let's point out that with Ting, Eric and I have two smartphones with text messaging and access to the internet if we need it... while with Verizon we had two regular cell phones with only 500 minutes, no text and no internet.
There isn't a really a plan that we could have got from Verizon that would match what we have from Ting, but the most comparable would cost a minimum of $80 before taxes and wouldn't include any internet access. With minimal net access it would be at least $130 before taxes. I'm still using my old bill of $71.74 to make the comparison, so really, we're saving more.
If anyone wants to get $25 off at Ting, you can use my referral code and I'll get some credit. And if anyone wants more details on how much I'm saving with Ting, read the rest of the post.
Late Linkdump
I meant to post this yesterday, sorry. I guess I'm running a little late...
Have some time to kill? Check out the best supervillain musical numbers of all time.
I want to try to make the Octopizza Pie, but with olives instead of pepperoni pieces for the suckers (because I don't like pepperoni). It certainly looks like a fun meal.
Want a legal copy of a really old song, but can't find it? Boing Boing reports that Vinyl Vault is attempting to fix the problem, but in the process may run up against copyright nonsense.
Here's an odd commentary on jailbreaking smartphones.
Five staples of the legal system that don't work, including police line-ups and lie detection training.
George Takei tells us about an unsung hero during WWII.
Ok, here's my thing about the gun control debate. I don't want guns banned. But I want us to find a way to keep guns out of the hands of true nutters and idiots. Which means some level of control. Once upon a time, the vast majority of gun owners agreed with that point of view. Things have changed, for the worse. But we could go back to sanity if we wanted. Heck, we could even go somewhere entirely different. But we should not stay where we're at today and we should stop listening to extremists on both sides of the issue.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentine's Day at the office
Now THAT'S what I call a Whitman's Sampler. Pity it was only a single layer. Still, it was much enjoyed.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Belief has no part in this, only facts
So, here's a conundrum for you.
Let's say people have been seeing an animal for hundreds of years. Sightings go back to almost ancient times, but nobody has been able to catch one and prove the existence of the animal. But sightings continue, thousands each year. Does the animal exist?
According to science, no. It can be hypothesized that it exists, but it cannot be proven.
Ok, so people start looking for evidence of the animal. They find footprints, fur and other signs. They hear it and record the vocalizations. Sightings continue, thousands each year. Does the animal exist?
Well, if the fur can be DNA tested, maybe. But the research would have to be peer-reviewed and be published in a science journal. The rest of the evidence is apparently useless to science.
So, a researcher goes to the trouble of doing the DNA tests on samples collected across the area that have clear lines of possession (eliminating the possibility of contamination) and submits the research to scientific journals. Here's where the researcher runs into trouble. Because science has said in the past that the animal doesn't exist, none of the journals want to deal with the possibility of being embarrassed when they publish a paper about the supposedly fictional animal. So they decline to even give the research a fair hearing, and it becomes a catch-22: Science won't accept the animal as existing until research on it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but scientific journals won't accept the research because they all "know" the animal doesn't exist and would be too embarrassed to admit they are wrong.
In this particular case, a journal agreed to start the peer-review process, and then apparently got cold feet. Here's what Melba Ketchum, the DNA researcher in question, said about the process.
We encountered the worst scientific bias in the peer review process in recent history. I am calling it the "Galileo Effect". Several journals wouldn't even read our manuscript when we sent them a pre-submission inquiry. Another one leaked our peer reviews. We were even mocked by one reviewer in his peer review. We did finally pass peer review with a relatively new journal. It took a fresh outlook on the part of the editors and their careful selection of reviewers with knowledge of next generation whole genome sequencing in order to pass. I have no idea who the reviewers were though I have the reviews. That was kept confidential as is the way journals handle peer reviews. That was only part of the delay and problems associated with publication though. After this journal agreed to publish the manuscript, their legal counsel advised them not to publish a manuscript on such a controversial subject as it would destroy the editors' reputations (as it has already done to mine). I have documentation on all of this drama. So, rather than spend another five years just trying to find a journal to publish and hoping that decent, open minded reviewers would be chosen, we acquired the rights to this journal and renamed it so we would not lose the passing peer reviews that are expected by the public and the scientific community.The author tried to give a concrete example of what the process has been like as well:
To get an idea of bias, the Lesula monkey paper in PLOS One used 6800 bases of DNA sequence to prove it was a new primate. We have aligned 2.7 million bases of nuclear DNA on two of the three Sasquatch genomes in this first manuscript and generated a phylogenetic tree to prove it. We also had 20 whole mitochondrial genomes at 16,500 bases each. That same publication wouldn't even send ours out for peer review.All this said, the research is going to be ignored and ridiculed by many people for being 'self-published' although the peer-review process had already been finished before the rights to the journal were acquired. It's a pity, because I'd much rather have more scientists looking at the data, not just the subject matter, and drawing conclusions from solid facts. I'm fine with scientists finding flaws in the research, but I have an issue with simply ignoring a subject because it doesn't fit the prevailing viewpoint of the scientific community.
Cryptomundo has published the press release about the paper, and the project has a website as well. Without reading the actual paper, and possibly earning an advanced degree in DNA sequencing to understand it first, I can't say whether or not this is any sort of real proof. But I wish it had been given a fair shake.
Scientists can be as dogmatic as some religious folks on some topics. It's been a problem with human nature as long as there has been science, and will continue to be so into the future. Close-minded skepticism of anything out of the ordinary is as foolish as open-minded belief in everything.
Coincidence can shock you
This past Saturday I responded to a plane crash. As a reporter, I raced out to the scene and took a few pictures. Then I hunted around to find eyewitnesses and interviewed them. I found three eyewitnesses. The first was a little girl who looked a little haunted by what she'd seen, but told me anyway and gave me permission to quote her. The second was a man who only spoke Spanish and didn't want to be in the paper, but through a translator I got a slightly better sense of how many people were in the parking lot and how the crash played out. The third was an adult woman who was the one who called in emergency services. She was quoted in the final article as well.
Now, as a matter of routine, I generally do a quick Google check on my sources. Just to see if they are who they say they are or if there is something unusual that might compromise them being used in a story. After running a check on the little girl I almost didn't use her as a source. That's because about three and a half years ago, my eyewitness to a plane crash, a girl who was only a few feet away when the plane hit the ground, was nearly hit by a car in another scary incident.
I sat there with my notes and my jaw on my desk, staring at the Google results. It was the same girl, I watched the interview. Same child. Holy carp on a stick with tartar sauce. This child has one of the best Guardian Angels around, I think. I pray now that I never interview her or her family again for anything except her earning some honor at school.
I did use her quotes in the final article because she summed up the situation nicely and made a couple of astute observations that others didn't (she noted that the plane hit the ground in the lot and was trying to stop, and that slowed it down before it hit the tree). Plus, I wanted at least two eyewitnesses, and I didn't have the name of the guy who spoke to me.
I was pretty shaken all day. And as Monday was a very very difficult day, it was sort of a blessing in disguise. I was off my center, but I had a darn good reason for it!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday Linkdump
Trying to clear out some old links, so enjoy a list of what interests me...
Best tweets during the Blackout Bowl. I thought it was the best thing to happen during the Super Bowl in ages, personally.
I love new archaeological discoveries. Ones that come with ancient poetry are even better.
Then there is Oak Island. A new film claims to solve the mystery to some degree. I think I'd love to see it as a Fortean, but I'm not sure I'm willing to believe any of it.
Here's a decent piece on the whole Richard III thing. There are some good links from there, and a comment on the piece points out that people who have scoliosis don't look nearly as deformed as some folks might think they do. The Guardian says there will be a lot of debate on the subject of Ricky. Yup.
Speaking of science, don't forget that scientists are human too, and have been known to be very childish at times.
John Scalzi illustrates the proper way to deal with trolls.
Absolutely awesome Doctor Who crafts. I'd love a custom Aquaman in that style.
Advice from Jane Yolen on how to find your plot. Be sure to click through and read the comic, which uses repurposed pages from the actual graphic novel.
Aquaman! Control your sea friends... Seal pup doesn't wanna be in the water, so it ends up sitting on the dashboard of a car, enjoying the storm from a warm and dry spot.
While I don't think alternative medicines are a good idea for everything, I also don't believe they should be automatically ignored. This story seems to illustrate that, and it seems to me that the parents went about it just the right way, as well. Trust in your doctors, but don't be afraid to question.
An idea on how to fix the too-big-to-fail problem. I think I mostly agree. It could work, but would never get through our broken political process.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Young Justice: "Usual Suspects" - And finally it all comes to a head! Oh yeah, this was what I was waiting for, and it did not disappoint. But the best moment was the reveal of the mole at the end. Not who I was expecting. Very much not HOW I was expecting.
- Young Justice: "Auld Acquaintance" - The finale of the season was quite an adventure. Again, I wasn't expecting a lot of what happened. The individual fights were excellent, but snarkly Klarion just sort of made the episode for me, despite being annoying every time he was on the screen. What the Light gathered at Cadmus was very interesting, as are the missing 16 hours. Looking forward to starting season two.
- Jan 2nd
- Arrow #2 - Three "chapters" each on a different subject. Nothing earth-shatteringly interesting there.
- Batman Beyond Unlimited #11 - We're finally getting near the end of the Jokers story in Batman Beyond... The Superman Beyond story is kind of cool. And the history of Barda was ok. No Aqua-family though, pity.
- Superman Family Adventures #8 - There's a strange and interesting twist in the Superman legend.
- Road to Oz #4 - Interesting choice to use the map that has East and West switched, but I suppose it makes sense if you know enough about Oz. Still, I'm willing to bet it'll confuse some readers.
- Jan 9th
- Smallville Season 11 #9 - Still can't quite figure out what's up with Lex and Tess, but it's getting more interesting. I kept expecting AC to pop up with the pair were running across water.
- Love and Capes: What to Expect #6 - Wow, I really love this book. I think we need to go hunt down the back issues or collections and get the rest of the series. Good stuff.
- Spongebob Comics #16 - Eh. No Mermaid Man. Still pretty funny. Eh.
- Doctor Who V3 #4 - Ha, bonding time. I like how Amy works out that she can help. Eight people actually died, which means Amy saved seven.
There's also an article on UnCon 2011. As I'm unlikely to ever make it to an UnCon but am at least familiar enough with conventions to understand the descriptions, I very much enjoy these reports. Another article talks about submarines in Loch Ness. The author proposes an expedition to retrieve the many subs lost in the depths of the loch to help clean it up (then display them as a tourist attraction).
Strangedays was fun. The picture of the "blue" lobster is very striking, very cool. It also included a Fortean Follow-ups section, which is always lovely to read. Sometimes I remember the stories, sometimes I don't. The second half of the movie piece that was the cover story in the last issue is here, and it covers A Man Called Gannon, Men in Black, The Railway Children, Rio Grande and Three Men and a Baby.
Archaeology has an interesting report of strange structures in the Arabian desert that don't seem to have any use and can only be seen from the air. It also has a follow-up on the destruction of ancient earthworks, reporting that a 72-year-old man was arrested for plowing the structure into oblivion. Classical Corner talks about how tales become facts by being repeated in supposedly reliable sources. The quote "A fact is a statement repeated in two textbooks" sums up the article nicely.
Science talks about the difficulty of getting equipment to Mars to explore, and all the failures involved in getting there. It mentions the "Great Galactic Ghoul" that some folks in NASA jokingly blamed for eating probes in space. Ghostwatch is about two travelers who seek directions from a house they later learn doesn't exist any longer. Alien Zoo has a bit of cryptozoological Canadian coins along with a couple of other stories.
The UFO Files has a really interesting story of a 1968 sighting that still isn't fully explained, and what happened after the off-duty policeman reported the sighting. Blasts from the Past starts a series on the Fabulous Flying Men of 1880. There's some really bizarre stuff in there. Random Dictionary starts a series on UFO Crash Retrievals. Again, interesting stuff. If there were so many downed test aircraft, the cover-up sometimes was worse than the crashes, I think.
Fortean Traveller goes to Bangkok to talk with skulls. Police News is about animal hoarders, and having seen Animal Cops I don't think the pictures really do justice to the reality of animal hoarding situations. That's one subject Illustrated Police News didn't sensationalize enough.
Forums has an article about skeptics' double-standards (in this case accepting an anonymous report that a psychic's show is faked instead of getting solid evidence), an article about belief and the human brain and an article about Transient Global Amnesia (which could explain a lot of "lost time" events).
Interesting reviews that nearly made me put books on my wishlist, but I resisted. Letters were great, including a lovely haunted house story. Another good issue.
Saturday, February 09, 2013
That is a plane
I was fast asleep, fighting off a nasty cold, when a co-worker called to tell me there had been a plane crash nearby. I raced to the scene to get pictures and interview witnesses. Eventually I went home and rested, but I fear I'm losing the fight against this cold.
Friday, February 08, 2013
Back Door Service?
This morning I was getting ready to head to work and looked around for the cat. Since Eric accidentally left him locked in a room a while ago, I've been careful about making sure I know he's free to wander the house when I leave. He was at the back door, the sliding glass door, so I pulled the curtain away to say good-bye to him.
And that's when I noticed there was a box on my back porch.
Now, Eric and I don't go out back much in the winter. In fact, "not at all" pretty much sums up the times I've been out there since we put away the mower. But looking out the back, there's a package sitting back there, covered in a layer of frost.
I opened the sliding door with some difficulty, as there were curtains, a security rod that physically stops the door from moving and a cat in the way. I pulled the box in, set everything else back in place, and wiped some of the frost off the very damp box. It was addressed to me. However, I was in a hurry to get to work, so I set the box on the counter and headed out.
Coming home for lunch I found the box on the counter, now frost-less and slightly dried out. I opened it to find an awesome and utterly unexpected gift (Thank you, Vincent!). Then I typed in the tracking number to find out how long it had been sitting there. It was delivered Tuesday afternoon. It was sitting out there for two and a half days because the UPS guy decided on a whim to deliver it to the back door instead of the front, like every other package we've ever had delivered here.
Or have we?
Have other delivery guys put boxes in the back? We have a lot of kids in this area who aren't adverse to taking things from other people's property. Who knows if any boxes have been stolen from our back yard because we didn't know they were there? I'm not betting that there have been any, but I wouldn't know, would I?
That package would have made my day on Tuesday. I'm still very pleased with it, don't get me wrong, but I could have really used it Tuesday. Why on earth would they deliver it to my back yard? It makes no sense to me. There's a good spot on the front porch that most delivery guys put boxes, where the doormat can be lifted to almost hide a box. But the back yard? It's open to the elements (no porch). It's a moderately long walk in grass/weeds with no path to get to it. It just seems incredibly stupid to put it there.
I e-mailed UPS to try to get an answer. I wonder what they'll say. If they claim a security issue, it's a pretty lame excuse because I feel far more secure having boxes delivered to the front. And I notice those. Sheesh.
Restful Metaphor
So I've been obsessing about work the last few days. It's been hard on hubby-Eric, who has to listen to me rant. Last night he wanted a break, and I wanted a break, but I couldn't stop obsessing.
"Ok," said Eric. "Just put all that in a box and stop thinking about it."
So I visualized a box and imagined shoving the big story of the week into it. Bits wouldn't go in.
"Eric," I wailed, "the box won't stay shut. Some of the stuff is trying to get out. It's like zombie arms!"
"I hope you have a flamethrower ready."
"Uh, no I don't..." I said.
"Sure you do, there's one on the wall," he said. I visualized it. Neither of us had moved an inch, just talked.
"The box is wooden, if I burn it, some of the zombie bits will escape," I said. "I need a hammer to pound the zombie arms back into the box. Can I borrow a hammer?"
"Uh, sure."
I imagined a hammer and started pounding the imaginary zombie arms, a pleasant thought. Eric and I started to talk about other subjects. But the zombie arms (ie, the news story) managed to get out again.
"I need to seal the box," I said. "Can I have some nails?"
Bemused, Eric agreed and I visualized some wicked sharp wooden stakes. I told Eric what I was visualizing, and said, "These will do." I pounded the box closed. A single zombie arm hung limply out the side. Eric and I talked about other subjects again, but the story started leaking into my head again.
"I think I need to close the door," I said. "The box is bouncing around and making a lot of noise. Hang on." I imagined closing the box into its own closet, then used the hammer to pound in some more wicked stakes to seal the door. "Oops," I said. "I think I left the flamethrower in there."
"Don't worry," said Eric, getting into the metaphor. "There's a whole wall of them over there, and if you run out, you can always order more from Acme and they'll drop-ship them in an instant."
"Ah, yes," I said. "There's a fuel truck outside, too."
Oddly enough, it worked. For the rest of the night, the story was gone from my active thoughts. Sure, it wasn't far back in my head, and if I needed to think about it I could. But for the first time in a week I was able to stop obsessing and get some rest. It was much-needed.
Now... back to work to deal with the latest twist in the story. Monday is going to be very interesting, but at least maybe I'll be able to metaphor the story away over the weekend.
(For the curious, here's the story, sort of: Monday afternoon's bit published Tuesday and Tuesday's bit, published Wednesday... the next chapter will be in today's paper, I think. I don't want to say more, read the paper for information. My opinion on the subject is something that only myself and poor Eric should ever hear.)
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
I do like my job, but...
...there are days when it's a little much. Today was such a day. My head hurts so badly right now that I just want to curl up in bed with the covers over my head and hide there until maybe the month is over. Yeah, I think the end of the month may be long enough. Maybe.
Monday, February 04, 2013
Thoughts on the Big Game
The only reason I was rooting for the Ravens is the literary reference in the mascot name. So, I didn't really care who won. I just wanted a good game. In the end, that's what we got. I was able to get worked up about the game after the long power outage delay when the Niners had their comeback. I was very surprised by the fake punt at the end and the safety, but I understand the reasoning.
As for the ads, nothing really sticks out for me. I enjoyed the Gangnam style jumps the shark ad, and the horsey ad was good as it often is. I can't really remember much else. Certainly no ads that will be classics.
Best part for me, by far, was the power outage. The response online was magnificent, and the sheer joy of watching people in the stadium deal with something completely unexpected was awesome. I look forward to more conspiracy theories about it. Ought to end up being a Fortean event in some ways.
Overall, I enjoyed watching it, which I wasn't expecting. Now, let's just get the Seahawks back into the big game... one in which the refs haven't been bribed to make calls for the other team.
Sunday, February 03, 2013
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Young Justice: "Agendas" - Superboy learns of another Superman clone while the league debates new membership. Lex is even nastier than I thought. And how he manipulated Connor is pretty terrifying.
- Young Justice: "Insecurity" - When Red Arrow joins the team, Artemis feels slighted. Does everybody on the team have some deep, dark secret? I'm beginning to doubt any of them can be trusted. Yikes. Loving this show.
- Young Justice: "Performance" - Robin episode to a big extent, with some of his history nicely explored. Good episode.
This week's movie was William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996). Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. This modern retelling keeps the Shakespeare dialogue, but sets the play in a modern Florida town of Verona Beach, with guns in the place of swords. It's a really bizarre version. I mean really bizarre. I'm not sure what to make of it overall. Part of me wants to hate it. Part of me thinks that Shakespeare the showman would love it. Having the priest deal with a "faithless" delivery service. Ha. The Prince was also an interesting choice in this version. Good acting overall, but the sheer bizarreness of some of it was off-putting for me.
The thing that always gets me about this play is how stupid everyone is, all throughout it. I've yet to see a version in which I sympathize with the characters. This one is no different. I just never get to liking any of them before their inevitable deaths.
The Science section is about recreating what people are visualizing on a computer screen. I find it oddly chilling. Ghostwatch has more about timeslips, this time focusing on houses that no longer exist that are seen by people.
Archaeology has bits about deviant burials and viking ships. Classical Corner is about books lost to antiquity and why so much didn't survive. Alien Zoo has an update on the blue spider of Kansas and information about deer and monkeys. Fairly normal stuff in the UFO files.
There's an interesting article about a 1561 woodcut that appears to depict UFOs in the skies over Nuremberg and what it really meant in the context of its time. Another article reports on people who don't feel like they are quite human, and how they deal with it.
Another article covers the collection of animal specimens of Alex C.F. that include werewolves and dragons. It's a cute little article with some fun photos.
An article in the forum talks about reptile monsters in Riverside, CA. The reviews have some good stuff, from a book on hysteria that got added to my wishlist to a book about an extinct bird. The letters start off with yet another Doctor Who reference. Police News covers the dangers of pulling pranks.
Strangedays has a picture of a guy who collects daleks, with the caption: "Memorobilia collector Rob Hull has entered the 2012 edition of Guiness World Records for owning the world's biggest collection of Daleks, even though the 49-year-old, from Doncaster, claims to hate Doctor Who." Oh c'mon, that's just silly. How can anyone hate the show?
All-in-all, another good issue.
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Friday, February 01, 2013
Friday night linkdump
Hrm, this may explain a few things about Inkwell's efforts to purr me out of bed in the morning.
But then, cats are destroying the planet.
Online war started with mistake, costing thousands of dollars.
Elayne had a close call on her commute.
Here's a story of bureaucratic idiocy.
Don't miss the story of a family complete cut off from human contact for 40 years, and the sad conclusion.
Ug, just because its legal doesn't mean you should do something stupid.
Let's hope the scientists have their math right.
Oh, THIS is where I got the pizza box idea from. Heh. I love my snowman.
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