Where are we going to go today?

[:.CONTACT ME.:]
Any comments, questions or thoughts about the blog,
drop me a line.

[:.FAVORITE QUOTES.:]

8-11-03
"Since we no longer have the right to shoot trespassers on sight, we now reserve the right to viciously mock their clothes and haircuts. Until they cry and run home to their mommies. Long live the first amendment."
-Daniel Hill

2-5-04
"Maybe it's not the Grim Reaper. Maybe it's the Grim Rapper. Maybe it's just some guy that comes for ya and goes like 'Yo yo yo! It's time to go. You've lost all your fluids, your vitals sapped. Time to get ready for the big dirt nap.'"
-Robin Williams

2-19-04
"So Maine is cold. I think it was named Maine, which I believe is Indian for "Cold as your girlfriends feet in December". Pretty, but chilly."
-Melissa McCue

5-27-04
"If you try to take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have in your hands is a nonworking cat."
-Douglas Adams

[::.PLACES TO GO.::]

OTHER BLOGS

ObeeWife!
So... this is "Mad Stylin"

Melissa!
In The Key of Q

Coach Yoda!
It's Time to Make the Fencers

ADD In Action

FELLOW RASSMers

Rainbow Heron
Blog
Main Page

REALLY COOL FROODS (see Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for definition of "frood")

Author-Type Froods

Peter David
Christopher Moore
Neil Gaiman
Dave Barry

Musician-Type Froods

Matthew Abelson
Brigid's Cross
"Weird Al" Yankovic


COMICS
Dork Tower
Dilbert
Sluggy Freelance
Non Sequitur
Fox Trot
Cleats
Get Fuzzy
Rose is Rose
9 Chickweed Lane
Something Positive
Scandal Sheet!
Queen of Wands
Lore Brand Comics
Kevin and Kell
Two Lumps
Too Much Information
Count Your Sheep
StripTease
Order of the Stick
Alien Loves Predator
Code Name: Hunter


OTHER WEBSITES

Lego Mini-You!
Mini-Mizer

Plastic Battle Robots!
Mechwarrior

Demotivators!!
Despair, Inc.

A little bit of Buddism
Shambhala Sun

Keep On Poppin'
Perpetual Bubblewrap

Defending the 1st Amendment
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

My Fencing Club
Cyrano's Place

Seen Larry Lately?
Larry's Face

National Public Radio
NPR
WCPN
(Cleveland Area station)

Usenet Newsgroups
Google

The Official Star Wars Website
Star Wars

Online Poetry Site
Poetry.com





Comments by: YACCS

 
IT'S ABOUT TIME!!
Well, it's finally happened. After 9 months, and then 24 hours of labor, I have become an uncle. December 14, 2002 brought two beautiful bundles of baby boy into this world. At 7:31am, weighing in at 5lb 5oz and 17 3/4 inches, Ethan Hawkeye decided to say hello. Nine minutes later, at 7:40am, weighing in at 5lb 6oz and 17 1/4 inches, his brother Xavier James decided to join him. They're fraternal, not identical twins. Both are absolutely adorable. I hope to get some pictures up on the web soon, assuming I can find some or borrow some space. (If you would like me to email you a copy, drop me an email or let me know here.)


It's been a long couple of days. My sister went into the hospital at 6am, Friday December 13. (That's also her birthday, so a special Happy 30th Birthday to my sister Cathy, too.) After all the paperwork and things were taken care of, they started an IV to induce labor. That was at roughly 7am. All through the day, there is no change (she was at 1-1 1/2 cm all day), and there's talk of maybe stopping the IV and starting things again the next day. Needless to say, my sister is not really thrilled about that idea. At 11:45pm-ish, they give her an epideral for the pain. That kicks things off. At about 1am, she's finally at 3cm and her water breaks on it's own. This is good news, since they had discussed maybe breaking her water, rather than waiting for it to happen. They check on her again at 3am, and she's at 6cm. For whatever reason, the nurse checks her again at about 3:25, and she's at 9.8cm. She jumped nearly 4cm in half an hour. My younger sister, who had been at the hospital since 10am on Friday, calls home and lets us know what's going on. Myself, mom and dad get to the hospital about 4:30am. End up just kinda sitting and waiting around in the waiting room. Finally my brother-in-law comes out and says "It's a boy!" After a round of congradulations from everybody, he heads back. Ten minutes later he comes back out and goes "It's double trouble! Another boy!" We have to wait a little bit to get the babies all cleaned up and weighed and measured and everything, but we finally get to see them at about 8:15-8:30. They're so tiny, but absolutely adorable.


posted by Obee at 2:28 AM

 
COUNT WITH ME NOW
Decided to skip reading Shakespeare for the moment, since I couldn't decide which one I wanted to go for. Going for another classic instead. Rented The Count Of Monte Cristo last week; the most recent one, with Guy Pierce and Jim Caviezel. Rather enjoyed it, and since I've never read the book before, decided to go check it out. So far, quite a bit different than the movie. Good, but different. Granted, I'm not that far into it, but I'm enjoying it so far. If you've read the book before, let me know what you though of it.

posted by Obee at 4:54 AM

 
A NEW HOLIDAY SPECIAL
Have y'all heard about the new holiday special that's coming out this year?
It's called A Cross-dresser's Christmas or 'Tis The Season to be Mary.

posted by Obee at 6:08 PM

 
NOT QUITE WHAT I'D PLANNED
Okay, so this isn't quite the update I planned, but the fact that I can make it at all is a good thing. Last Friday (11-15-02) I was in a car accident that totalled my car (I've talked to the insurance company. "Total loss" is their statement about the car.). Since I'm sure you're all curious, details:
I was heading to my parents' house, because my mother and I had an appointment to get our hair cut. The quickest way for me to get to my parents' house is to take part of the highway. The section where I had my accident has a concrete barrier about 4 1/2 feet high, seperating the north and south bound lanes. The weather that Friday was kinda wet and rainy. So I'm on the highway and start going through a turn to the left. The speed limit for the turn is 50mph. I'm coming out of the turn, doing 50, and all of a sudden I start veering to the left. I try and compensate for that and start veering to the right. Try and compensate for that, and the next thing I know I've lost control of the car. The front driver's side strikes the center barrier and sends me into a spin. I get turned around and the rear driver's side strikes the concrete barrier on the far right side of the lane. I finally come to a stop, facing north in the south bound lane. Luckily, I came to a stop far enough away from the end of the turn that anybody coming around it had enough time to see my car and avoid hitting it. Also lucky that there was nobody in front of me, behind me, or next to me when I lost control. Also a good thing that I was wearing my seat belt and that my air bags went off. (There's something they never tell you about air bags. They stink like hell when they go off. They also start smoking a bit.) The worst injury I got was that I banged my right knee into either the bottom of the dashboard or the steering wheel, I'm not sure which. But at the time, my right shoulder/neck area was bothering me. Since I didn't want to take any chances that something serious might be wrong, (it didn't feel like anything serious was wrong, but better safe than sorry) I told the EMS crew that was there that yeah, let's go to the hospital to get me checked out, just to be sure. Since I told them that my shoulder was bugging me, they didn't want to take any chances. So I get put in the collar, I get strapped to a backboard, I get my head taped down to the board too. The most disturbing part of being in the collar and having my head taped down was that I couldn't look around to see what was going on or who was talking to me. All I could do was look straight up at the ceiling. Got to the hospital, had x-rays taken of my knee and shoulder. Fortunately, nothing serious was done.
So my car's a total loss, but I'm not. Give praise to the great gods of the airbag, and the seat belt. Worship them by ALWAYS wearing yours.

posted by Obee at 10:47 PM

 
WEEKEND RESULTS
Well, my fencing brain didn't come with me. In the "E" and Under, I ended up 22 outta 37. In the Open, 26 outta 30. On the plus side, I figured out why my results have been so crappy of late. I'm getting mentally lethargic. I'm just getting tired of it. I need a brain break from it. I still like it, but the fun has gone out for now. Things aren't working for me, it's frustrating me, and just making things a bit worse. So for the next couple of weeks I'm not going to be doing any fencing. Let myself recharge and come back fresh and ready to go. Oh yeah, and during the course of the day, one of my body cords broke, and also the wiring on my favorite foil. Fortunately, those are both relatively easy fixes.

I have a GOOD update for next time!

(Still haven't decided what by Shakespeare I'm reading next. I need opinions people!!)

posted by Obee at 1:16 AM

 
A BUNCH OF STUFF
Time for some updates that I've been neglecting in the past week. Let's see......
1) Tourny results from last weekend...... Ended up 24th out of 32, 33 (something like that). Don't know for sure. The place that held the tournament doesn't post official results online. Suffice to say, did not do as well as I hoped I would. Mentally I just wasn't with it when fencing. I think my fencing brain stayed here in Cleveland while I was elsewhere.
2) Got another tournament this weekend. Hopefully my fencing brain will be coming with me this time. Fencing 2 events this time. One is a regular "Open" foil event, for anybody who wants to fence. (These are most events I fence in.) The other is an "E" and under event. This is for those who have their "E" rating or are unranked. (I've discussed ratings at some point. August or September I think. Maybe it was earlier, I don't remember for sure. But it's out there.) As long as I'm on top of my game, I've got the chance to earn a rating. Depending on how many people are entered, an "E" at least, if not a "D".
3) Need to decide which play by Shakespeare to read. Recently read The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Just reading them for the heck of it. As the song in Kiss Me Kate says, "Brush up your Shakespeare. Start quoting him now." Need to figure out what to go for next. Probably one of the comedies. Any suggestions?
4) BIG ***HUG*** to RH. Got a surprise call from her last night, here at work. TOTALLY made my night. Thanks again!!
5) One of my new links is for the CBLDF, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It's an organization that protects the First Amendment rights of comic book creators and retailers. I'll be getting up on my soapbox and ranting about the issue soon, but here is a good starting point for everybody.
6) Have a good weekend everybody. I'll post Saturday's results either Sunday or Monday, depending on how boring it is at work.

posted by Obee at 6:47 PM

 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Taking a bit of a trip this weekend. Heading down to Cincinnati for a fencing tournament. Leaving Friday evening, getting back sometime Saturday night. Had a lesson this evening and worked on a couple of things that, should I think about them and actually use them, should help me to do well. I hope so. According to my coach, it should be a fairly high-level tournament, at least a "B" level tournament, if not "A" level. I hope I do reasonably well. I'd hate for us (me, coach, one other fencer) to have driven 8 hours (round trip) for us totally suck.

Of course, by going, I do miss out on one thing I wanted to do this weekend. I miss out on going to Howl at the Moon. Friday is the birthday for one of the girls here at work. She's been here (I should say back, she used to work here before, I didn't know her at the time) for about a month. I've had a couple of conversations with her. Nice girl. So I'm talking to her earlier in the week, and she mentions that she's heading to HatM to celebrate her birthday, and that couple people from work might also go. Then she says "Do you want to come along?" It's a little out of the blue, but it's cool. I tell her I'd love to, if I can, if I don't head down to Cincy this weekend. But I'm going down, so no Howling for me. Kind of a bummer. I love going there. It's a great place to people watch. Especially to watch drunk and semi-drunk people make fools of themselves. :)

posted by Obee at 12:58 AM

 
NOOOOOO, REALLY??
So I'm out and about on Sunday after work, going to catch a movie (saw The Ring, don't really think it was worth it). I've got a little bit of time to kill, so I stop by Walmart to try and find leather laces so I can lace my boots all the way up (found the laces Yaay!). Walking up, at least 5 or 6 parking spaces away from the end of the row, maybe a good 50-60 feet away, I can see and clearly read the BIG sign above the doors "OPEN EVERYDAY 7am TO 11pm" It's written in bright white letters against a dark blue background. Pretty obvious and easy to read, even at 9pm. So as I walk up to the glass door, what sign do I see (in black letters on a transparent background):
DAY OPEN CLOSE
Sunday 7am 11pm
Monday 7am 11pm
Tuseday 7am 11pm
etc. (you get the idea)

Hello? Is this in case anybody can't read the bright, easy-to-read sign? For the terminally stupid? For those who need to have everything beaten into their heads?

posted by Obee at 1:47 PM

 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I want to give a birthday shout-out to Rainbow Heron. Her 21st birthday was yesterday. Soooooo........
Happy Birthday to you!!
May you have many more!

(As much as you might be expecting it RH, I'll spare everybody having to sit through "Weird Al" :) )

posted by Obee at 10:09 PM

 
IN THE END......
In the midst of one of many email conversations with a friend, the subject eventually turned to funerals and wakes. This just about describes what my grave will be like when I die.
Hehehehehe!!
You probably don't even want to know what I want planned for the wake.

posted by Obee at 2:38 AM

 
A RATHER WEIRD COMPLAINT
Okay, I've got a weird complaint. (It's even weirder than the one my ex-gf made about me, and that's a weird one.) And it's even a complaint about myself. Namely, my calves are too muscular. (You were warned it was weird.) As y'all know, I'm a fencer. And I go for a mile, mile 'n half run with my coach once or twice a week. So, not surprisingly, my legs get a good workout.
Why I'm complaining about what is generally a good thing:

YOU-KNOW-WHO, YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS NEXT PART. IT DEALS WITH THE UPCOMING HOLIDAY.

This past week, I was out and about trying to put together my Halloween costume. Those of you who've seen the movie Young Frankenstein raise your hand. Those of you who haven't seen it, go out, rent it, watch, and come back. :) For my costume, I wanted to go as Igor. Or Eyegor. Your choice. (Those who know me well have agreed that this is a great costume for me.) My big problems trying to put the costume together have been the hood and mantle he wears, and also some decent boots. And trying to make a decent hump that sounds hollow and can be moved from shoulder to shoulder easily. The hood and mantle have been the hardest part. For the boots, there's a boot shop close that I can stop by and check out. (The hump I figured out how to do. Making it is the hard part.) So I swing out to the boot shop to take a look around and see what they've got. They don't really have anything that would work for Igor. But they do have these nice, knee-high boots that would work well for a Renaissance-type commoner costume. I've already got the shirt, pants and belt for that, so I figure What the heck. I'll just get the ren boots and things will be ducky.(Quack!) I can do Igor next year. So I try on the boots they have, to make sure they're gonna fit. And they fit my feet just fine. They also fit all the way over my calves. There's not a lot of space to spare, but they fit. So later in the evening, I'm trying them on and walking around in them at work to break them in. The boots come with leather lacing (like a shoe lace) so that they can be tied and don't slide off your legs and feet. A picture can be seen here. Mine are like these, only in are black. As you can see, they're supposed to be able to be laced all the way up to the top of the boot. I can't. I can only lace up to the hole second from the top. I don't have enough leather cord to do it. My calves fill out the boot totally. Now I need to go out and buy more leather cord so that I can lace them up all the way. ARGH!

YOU-KNOW-WHO, I'M DONE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW.

So in case anyone was ever wondering, yes, having muscular legs can cause problems.

On the other hand, they *are* in pretty darn good shape. :D
(Happy RH? I updated. Twice in one day, even.)

posted by Obee at 1:04 AM

 
INTRODUCING...... RUM!
RUM! Short for Random Uncle Musings. It's a new blog of mine. As the regular readers of my blog know, my older sister is pregnant for the first time. I started it for my different thoughts, feelings, comments, etc. about the pregnancy, delivery, them growing up, etc etc etc. Go forth, check it out, let me know (comment or email) what you think. I'll note when I make changes to it.

posted by Obee at 12:57 AM

 
THE GREAT SUEDE SKIRT BET
Just got off the phone with a friend of mine a little bit ago. We've just made a $40 dollar bet with each other. She thinks she can get me into a suede leather skirt by Christmas. I say there's no way in hell it'll happen. She over-estimates herself (and under-estimates me) if she thinks she's persuasive enough to get me into one. Considering she has never won any sort of argument with me at all, I think history is on my side in that I'll win.

posted by Obee at 11:00 PM

 
RESULTS
Since I'm sure you're all curious (thanks for all the luck), I ended up 17th outta 31. Not too bad. Was 3-2 in my pool. Lost my DE 15-5. Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do when your opponent is faster than you are.
Just found out one thing. The person I lost to ended up taking second place for the day. I don't feel quite so bad about my loss now.

posted by Obee at 1:10 PM

 
WISH ME LUCK
Got a fencing tourny on Saturday.

posted by Obee at 5:32 PM

 
SOMETHING AWESOME!
Had something really cool and nifty happen at work last night. I got a phone call. Not really all *that* cool, I hear you thinking. However, this is the first time this person has called me. It was from a friend I met online, who I've been emailling back and forth with for quite a while. Had a very nice conversation, though shorter than I would have liked. So a BIG **HUUUUG** and THANK YOU to my most excellent friend!

posted by Obee at 7:33 AM

 
JOTD
A better joke this time, to appease the whiners:

WHAT MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE:
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside -- I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION:
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL:
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC:
"Because I said so, that's why!"

My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
"Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY:
"Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about OSMOSIS:
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM:
"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA:
"You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER:
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS:
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times -- don't exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE:
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION:
"Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY:
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"



posted by Obee at 7:23 AM

 
JOTD
A visitor to a monastery notices that they have some very beautiful flowers on the grounds. Coming home, he tells his friends about them. Soon word starts spreading about the flowers, and the monks keep getting more and more visitors. The monks build a greenhouse and start cultivating the flowers to sell. Soon they have a thriving business and become very wealthy and are paying less and less attention to spiritual matters.
Eventually, the head of the monks' order hears about what's happening. He decides to send Brother Hue out to investigate. Brother Hue had a reputation in the order of a fearsome temper. He gets to the monastery and sees everything. A terrible rage comes over him. In a fury, he destroys the greenhouse, uproots all the plants in the ground, and burns the place to the ground, making it unusable in the future. Turning to the monks, Hue proceeds to lecture them fiercely about what they were doing.

Moral of the story:
Only Hue can prevent florist friars.

posted by Obee at 3:24 AM

 
TALKING 'BOUT THE WEATHER
Nifty little addition down along the left side, right under the "Just Read" section. Fun little graphic for the weather in the Cleveland area. One minor problem with it.... it's not an "up-to-the-minute" type of thing.

posted by Obee at 12:27 AM

 
EN GUARDE!!
Had my first fencign tournament of the season today. Didn't do too terrible. Ended up 16 out of 25. Lost all my bouts but one. It's kind of a weird sport where you can say you lost most of your matches, but still had a good day. It was my 2 more important ones that were the good ones. For the fencing impared of you out there, the way a tournament runs:
It starts out with pools. Pools generally have between 5-7 people in them, depending on how many have signed up. You are (relatively) randomly sorted into your pools. You fence all the people in your pools, and your wins/losses decide your seeding for the direct eliminations, or DEs. Today, I lost all the bouts in my pool. Generally, I'll win one or two, depending on how well I'm doing. After everybody finishes their pools, all the seeding and organizing is done for the DEs and you fence those. The DEs are the "tournament" part of the tournament. That's where you get your first place, second place, etc. for the day. The pools are fenced for 3 minutes or 5 valid touches, whichever comes first. Pools used to be 4 minutes long, but the USFA (United States Fencing Association- the ruling body for fencing in the US) decided to drop them down to 3 minutes, so that they're equal to the international federations rules (The jerks!!). The DEs are 3 - 3minute periods (for a total of 9 minutes), or 15 valid touches, whichever is first there. My first DE I won 15-8 against someone I've had problems with in the past. Personally, he's a nice guy, but fencing problems. He's usually beaten me when I've fenced him before. My second DE I lost 15-5, at 8 mins 57 seconds. If I hadn't pressed my attack at the end, I could have timed the bout out, and would have lost 14-5. My opponent for this one is also someone who I've had problems with in the past. He also usually beats me, but it's been well before the full time period. Today, I took him the whole way. Of course, he's also given our top foilist (John, who just turned 13) problems in the past, so I don't really feel too terrible losing to him. He didn't goose egg me, and we went all the way to the end.
So that's how I can say I lost all my bouts but one, and still had a good day fencing.

posted by Obee at 2:35 AM

 
AAARGH!!!
Need to vent here, then I'm going to bed.
Tomorrow is my fencing club's annual picnic. I was going to try making some new type of cookie item for it. The cookie "thing" has got a pan-base layer of chocolate chip cookies, a layer of peanuts and caramel, and then rice crispie treats over the top. Except I didn't cook the chocolate chip cookie layer long enough, so that was screwed up, and also the rice crispies were stale. It's brand new box, bought last Friday and opened tonight. So the whole thing turned into a big disaster. ARGHH!!
I'm tired as hell too. I'm going to bed.

posted by Obee at 1:34 AM

 
RETURN OF.........
......The Totally Irrelevant Poll! (Drum Roll please......) For those who don't remember, the Totally Irrelevant Poll is something I started way back when on RASSM. I haven't done one in quite some time, so I thought I would do another one, for the hell of it. (If you would like to check out previous ones, they're in my archives.) And now, on with the questions:
1) Which one is cooler, vampires or werewolves?
2) If you could be the actor in *one* movie that’s been made, what movie and what part?
3) Which CD or CDs do you own that you now look at and think “Where was my brain when I bought this?”
4) If you could learn to play a musical instrument, what would it be? If you already know how to play one, pick a different one to learn.
5) Who put the bomp in the bompbabompbabomp?
6) Why?

A note on this:
#5 & #6 are not, repeat NOT related questions. They are seperate, stand alone questions.
It'll be interesting to see how many people answer #6 with the answer(s) I have in mind.

posted by Obee at 11:11 AM

 
JOTD
One Sunday morning, the priest noticed Little Johnny was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. It was covered with names, and small American flags were mounted on either side of it.
The seven-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the priest walked up, stood beside the boy, and said quietly, "Good morning, Little Johnny."
"Good morning, Father," replied the young man, still focused on the plaque.
"Father Scott, what is this?" Little Johnny asked.
"Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."
Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque.
Little Johnny's voice was barely audible when he asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15?"


posted by Obee at 11:40 AM

 
JOTD

MOSES AND THE COMPUTER
"Excuse me, Sir."
"Is that you again, Moses?"
"I'm afraid it is, sir."
"What is it this time, Moses? More computer problems?"
"How did you guess?
"I don't have to guess, Moses. Remember?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
"Tell me what you want, Moses."
"But you already know. Remember?"
"Moses!"
"Sorry, sir."
"Well, go ahead, Moses. Spit it out."
"Well, I have a question, sir. You know those 'ten things' you sent me?"
"You mean the Commandments, Moses?"
"That's it. I was wondering if they were important."
"What do you mean 'were important', Moses? Of course, they're important. Otherwise I wouldn't have sent them to you."
"Well, sorry, but I lost them. I could say the dog ate them, but of course you would see right through that."
"What do you mean 'you lost them'? Are you trying to tell me you didn't save them, Moses?"
"No, sir. I forgot."
"You should always save, Moses."
"Yeah, I know. You told me that before. I was going to, but I forgot. I did send them to some people before I lost them though."
"And did you hear back from any of them?"
"You already know I did. What about the one guy who said he never uses 'shalt not'? Can he change the words a little bit?"
"Yes, Moses. As long as he doesn't change the meaning."
"And what about the guy who thought your stance was a little harsh, and recommended calling them the 'Ten Suggestions,' or letting people pick one or two to try for a while?"
"Moses, I'll act like I didn't hear that."
"I think that means 'no.' Well, what about the guy who said I was scamming him?"
"I think the term is 'spamming,' Moses."
"Oh, yeah. I e-mailed him back and told him I don't even eat that stuff, and I have no idea how you can send it to someone through a computer."
"And what did he say?"
"You know what he said. He used Your name in vain. You don't think he might have sent me one of those - er - plagues, and that's the reason I lost those ten things, do you?"
"They're called 'viruses,' Moses."
"Whatever! This computer stuff is just too much for me. Can we just go back to those stone tablets? It was hard on my back taking them out and reading them each day, but at least I never lost them."
"We'll do it the new way, Moses."
"I was afraid you would say that, sir."
"Moses, what did I tell you to do if you messed up?"
"You told me to hold up this rat and stretch it out toward the computer."
"It's a mouse, Moses. Mouse! Mouse! And did you do that?"
"No, I decided to try the technical support first. After all, who knows more about this stuff than you, and I really like your hours. By the way, sir, did Noah have two of these mice on the ark?"
"No, Moses."
"One other thing. Why didn't you name them 'frogs' instead of 'mice,' because didn't you tell me the thing they sit on is a pad?"
"I didn't name them, Moses. Man did, and you can call yours a frog if you want to."
"Oh, that explains it. Kind of like Adam, huh, sir? Bet some woman told him to call it a mouse. After all, wasn't it a woman who named one of the computers Apple?"
"Say good night, Moses."
"Wait a minute, sir. I am stretching out the mouse, and it seems to be working. Yes, a couple of the 'ten things' have come back."
"Which ones are they, Moses?"
"Let's see....
'Thou shalt not steal from any grave an image' and 'Thou shalt not uncover thy neighbor's wife.'"
"Turn the computer off, Moses. I'm sending you another set of stone tablets."

posted by Obee at 12:28 AM

 
HIKE!!
Did something a little more interesting than usual on Saturday night. For the first time in I don't remember how many years, I actually went to a football game. I think the last time might have been something like 6 or 7 years ago, when I went to a homecoming game with my ex. I went and saw the Browns play their first home game for the year. Pre-season game, of course. It was against the Detroit Lions, and we won 24-23. All in all, not too bad of a game. But I'm glad I won the tickets, cause there's no way I would have paid for them. According the face value of the ticket, they were $100 each. They were supposed to be the "club" seats. The seats were even with the end line, where the goal posts are. We were in section 329, so we we're not even close down to the field. The seats themselves were a rather hard plastic, kind of small, uncomfortable overall. The concession area was the only thing that was kinda maybe sorta somewhat worth it, but not really. On second thought, not even kinda maybe sorta somewhat. The only thing good about the concession area is that it was nicer than any others ones I've ever been to. It had carpeting, and was enclosed, so there was no smoking. The prices were still the outragous overcharge that you get anywhere else at the stadium, though. All in all, it was an okay game, but with 'eennhh' seats.

posted by Obee at 2:12 PM

 
JOTD
Sunday after Mass, Fr. O'Shea comes down from the pulpit and sees one of his parishoners crying.
"Why Mary, whatever is the matter?" he asks.
"It's my husband. He died last night."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Did he have any last requests?"
"Yes, he did."
"What were they, if I may ask?"
"He said 'Mary, please, put down that gun.'"

posted by Obee at 11:58 PM

 
ODD RANDOM THOUGHT
If you want to have some fun and confuse the hell out of some people, next time you're in a bookstore, go up to one of the employees and ask for the "large-print" audio books. When they take you to the regular audio books section, insist that those are the wrong ones.

posted by Obee at 9:41 PM

 
NEWS OF THE TWINS
Update on the baby front. My sister went to the doctor today. Apparently, both twins are at full size. Well, full size for the stage of developement they're in. As I kind of understand it, twins are usually smaller in the womb then just a single birth. Not these two, I guess. :) So if things continue down this road, by my best guess, we should have 2 little ones roughly 20-22 inches when born and about 7-8 pounds. Ladies (especially those who've given birth) this is about average, correct?

posted by Obee at 12:50 AM

 
JOTD
A lawyer died and arrived at the Pearly Gates.
Saint Peter asked him, "What have you done to merit entrance into Heaven?"
The lawyer thought a moment, then said, "A week ago, I gave a quarter to a homeless person on the street."
Saint Peter asked Gabriel to check this out in the records, and after a moment Gabriel affirmed that it was true.
Saint Peter said, "Well , that's fine, but it's not really quite enough to get you into Heaven."
The Lawyer said, "Wait, wait! There's more! Three years ago, I also gave a homeless person a quarter."
Saint Peter nodded to Gabriel, who, after a moment, nodded back to affirm that it was true.
Saint Peter then whispered to Gabriel, "Well, what do you suggest we do with this fellow?"
Gabriel gave the lawyer a sidelong glance, then said to Saint Peter, "Let's give him back his 50 cents and tell him to go to Hell."


posted by Obee at 12:44 AM

 
JOKE OF THE DAY aka JOTD
I get a lot of jokes in email. I've also got a list or two that I get ones from pretty much daily. I'll post some of the better ones when I get them, or some of the older ones I have.

Dog Pet Peeves About Humans
(Note, I don't own a dog, but I thought these were too good to pass up.)

1. When you run away in the middle of a perfectly good leg humping.
2. Blaming your farts on me...not funny.
3. Yelling at me for barking...I'M A DOG YOU IDIOT!!
4. How you naively believe that the stupid cat isn't all over everything while you're gone. (Have you noticed that your toothbrush tastes a little like cat butt?)
5. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?
6. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose...stop it.
7. Yelling at me for rubbing my ass on your carpet. Why'd you buy carpet?
8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet...idiot.
9. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth, you're just jealous.
10. Dog sweaters. Have you noticed the fur? Imbecile.
11. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your shit up when you're not home.
12. When you pick up the crap piles in the yard. Do you realize how far behind schedule that puts me?
13. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out everytime we go back.
14. The slight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! What a proud moment for the top of the food chain, you nitwit.
15. Invisible fences. Why do you insist on screwing with us? To my knowledge, dogdom hasn't yet solved the visible fence problem!!

posted by Obee at 3:12 AM

 
WHOA!
Yes, it's amazing!! I'm updating my blog! I know, I know, I said I would do it more often. Ooops. Time and things just got away from me.

This past week I've been wiping myself out again. We've had another beginning fencing camp that I was helping out with. So by Friday I was close to a zombie. I didn't even really get a chance to recover some either, because Saturday I got up at 7:30 am. A bunch of us from the club went to the Great Lakes Renaissance Faire, which was a lot of fun. And next week, I get to zombiefy myself again. The club is having an advanced fencing camp that I'm actually participating in, so I should be even more wiped out next Friday.
And my personal situation isn't helping any of this. A couple of weeks ago, the doctors decided to put my mom on oxygen to help with her breathing. Originally, it was just supposed to be "as needed." Well, it turns out that "as needed" happens to be all the time. Not good. And this past week the situation took a turn for the worse. Apparently, her pain levels have been getting rather high. So they decided to check her into a hospice facility to help bring them under control. Only it hasn't helped much. They checked her in on Monday night, saying it should only be about 3-5 days, meaning she should be out by the weekend. Yeah right. Well, it's Sunday, and they're not quite sure about when she's going to come out. The thing is, they've got her on so much morphine and other painkillers, it's making her groggy and disoriented. So who the hell knows what the situation is there, or when it's going to improve. Hopefully some time this week.

posted by Obee at 5:16 PM

 
HEHEHEHEHEHE!
This was sent to me by my Uncle Steve. Hehehe! :)
I happen to agree with most of them, too.

The Rules....This Time by Men.
We always hear "the rules" from the female side, now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules!
Please note ... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us bitching about you leaving it down.
1. Birthdays, Valentines, and Anniversaries are not quests to see if we can find the perfect present yet again!
1. Sometimes we are not thinking about you. Live with it.
1. Sunday = sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Don't cut your hair. Ever. Long hair is always more attractive than short hair. One of the big reasons guys fear getting married is that married women always cut their hair, and by then you're stuck with her.
1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
1. We don't remember dates. Mark birthdays and anniversaries on a calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand.
1. Most guys own three pairs of shoes - tops. What makes you think we'd be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress?
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. A headache that last for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
1. Check your oil! Please.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.
1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
1. Let us ogle. We are going to look anyway; it's genetic.
1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions, and neither do we.
1. The relationship is never going to be like it was the first two months we were going out. Get over it. And quit whining to your girlfriends.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. We are not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really.
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as navel lint, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. It is neither in your best interest or ours to take the quiz together. No, it doesn't matter which quiz.
1. BEER is as exciting for us as handbags are for you.
1. Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know we really don't mind that, it's like camping.


posted by Obee at 11:50 PM

 
IT'S SHOCKING!!!
Just absolutely astounding and amazing!! Amelia Earhart's plane has landed! With only a skeleton at the controls! Not only that, but flatulent sheep are destroying the Earth, a midget was stuck in an airplane toilet for over 2 hours, The Pentagon has developed an "Ice Bomb" to destroy Hell, an ape has started a new religion, and the "real" 'Men in Black" are not government agents, but space aliens themselves!! All these news stories brought to you by the people at the Weekly World News. This "newspaper" is one of the funniest things out there. Anytime you see a cover story about Bigfoot, or a frog boy being born, or something absolutely ridiculous like that, this is probably where it's coming from. This is the paper for the conspiracy nuts and loonies out there. And the stories they print are a laugh. They can never name their sources, since all this "information" is "top secret" or, when they do name names, it's on things that are impossible to check on. And of course there are the personal ads in this thing. Unfortunately, they only print about 2 dozen. I wish there were more, just for the laughs. This week, we have 7 correctional institute inmates, 2 women and 5 men. My favorite this week is from one of the women: "Dangerously lonely doll desiring passion, a love that will last until I take my last breath, sassy, charming, flamboyant, exceptional, loyal. Will relocate. Released soon." All I have to say is, I don't doubt the "dangerously" part of that statement. Also, who exactly will be taking the last breath in the relationship?
Any time you need a good laugh, find a copy of this paper and read it. It will be highly entertaining. :)

posted by Obee at 9:20 PM

 
I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!
Returned from visiting my sister in one piece. Ya know how I said that I hoped my flight back would be better? It sucked. The itinerary for the return trip was supposed to be: leave Long Island at 7:05, get to Baltimore at 8:10, leave Baltimore at 9:45, get into Cleveland 10:50 (all times PM). There are those pesky words again. "supposed to be". We got to LI airport at 5ish. Flight takes off on time, not a problem, get into Baltimore relatively on time. Go up to the counter at Baltimore. Our flight's been delayed, it'll get to Baltimore at about 11pm. ARGH!!! It does, we leave Baltimore at about 11:30, get into Cleveland about 12:30. I flew on Southwest both ways, and it did not leave a good impression with me. My sister and bro-in-law both assure me that what I experienced is highly unusual for them. I dunno. If I had to fly again in the near future, Southwest would not be my first choice.

Something more fun next time.

posted by Obee at 2:14 AM

 
I'M LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE.....
Well, technically, I left already. I flew out yesterday, well Tuesday night at this point, to Long Island. The flights themselves weren't bad, it was the waiting at the airports that was a pain in the *BEEEEP*. My flight plan was supposed to be: leave Cleveland at 6:10pm, get into Baltimore at 7:10, switch flights and leave Baltimore at 8:40, get into Islip/Long Island at 9:50. Notice the key words: "supposed to". Except my flight to Baltimore left Cleveland at about 7:45, because the plane was coming from Chicago and was delayed there. I finally get to Baltimore at about 8:50, missing my flight to Islip. The next plane leaves at 9:50ish. I finally get into Islip at about 11:15ish. And of course, most of my time at the airports is spent standing in line, because I keep hearing "The plane will be in soon." And because I'm spending so much time waiting in lines, I can't pop over to the phone and call my sister and let her know how late I'm running. I managed to get to the phone at Baltimore and call my sister, to let her know how late I am. She tells me that my bro-in-law has already left, and that he doesn't have his cell phone with him, so she can't even call him to let him know how late I'm running. So he was waiting at the airport for me for about an hour and a half, with no idea about my situation. It really sucks because I don't really have anything to read now either. I had brought along 2 books. I finished one with all the waiting in lines and on the planes. The other one I've started already, and might even finish that by Friday. I really hope my flight back on Friday is a lot better, because my current arrival time in Cleveland is scheduled for 10:50pm.

On a slightly seperate note, before I go. Something to think about for the next time you, or someone you know, is flying.....
If flying's considered such a safe means of transportation, why is the main building called the terminal? :)

posted by Obee at 12:57 AM

 
HOLY MOSES!!
YES, IT'S A BLOG UPDATE! Okay, so it's just been a weeeeeeee bit of time since I updated last, like a whole frickin' month. Well, I was doing pretty good for awhile there with frequent updates. I'll try and do better. Of course, if you want more frequent updates, you can always email me and compla...remind me. :)

And yes, I do know I owe you guys my review of Star Wars. Soon, I promise.

I guess today's blog is a general update of my life. There are one or two things I have in mind for specific blogs, but I think that's for next time.
"And now for something completely different......"

Been fighting an ear infection since Thursday night. The doctor told me I had an ear infection, and I'm thinking "You've got to be kidding me. Ear infections happen to little kids, not adults." My left ear was blocked, and I couldn't hear anything. I think it finally cleared up tonight. I hope it. Going around only being able to hear out of one ear was a royal pain in the ass. Don't know what caused it. One thing's for sure, I DO NOT want another one. Besides not being able to hear, the pills for it were outrageous. I got 2 prescriptions, 20 pills each. Supposed to take them twice a day, for 10 days. So I go to get them filled, and pick my jaw off the floor when they tell me the price. One of the prescriptions was $26. The other $100. 5 bucks per pill. ARGH!!!

Yesterday and today, especially today, I've been really wiped out and tired. But I actually know the cause of this one. It's not enough sleep coupled with extra physical activity. This week, the club is holding a beginners fencing camp. It's sort of a month long introductory class crammed into 1 week. I'm helping out with it. We're starting at 9:30 am (argh! What is that bright orb in the sky??) and going till about 3pm. Well, they are. I have to be at work at 3, so I'm leaving at 2. We're running, doing lots of footwork, drills, and fencing. And there's still 2 more days of it. So my schedule for the week is, get up way too early, go wear myself out, come in to work, get frustrated at the PCs for several hours, then go home and get a few hours of sleep. Then do the whole thing over again. Friday (don't work yaaaa!) afternoon and evening = SLEEP!! :) And sleep later Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon is the last tournament of the season for me. Hopefully I'll get some good results. Assuming I get sleep. :)

Taking a couple of days off of work and heading out to Long Island, New York next week. Leaving Tuesday evening, coming back Friday night. Going up to help my sister and brother-in-law pack their house. They're selling it and moving back around here. My sister comes back for good on Friday, June 28. My bro-in-law is coming in for a week, then heading back to LI to finish up some things there. It's kinda fitting I suppose. I helped unpack it, I get to help repack it. :) One thing I'm looking forward to while there is going to a small restaurant (don't remember the name of it) they have in Hampton Bays. That place has the best burgers I have *ever* had! It was one of my requirements for helping them to pack. We've got to go there. There's really only thing that really bums me about going to help is that I miss the club's advanced fencing camp. I was actually going to go to that one as a participant, rather than an assistant. Oh well. There's another one at the end of July or August, I forget which. I'll hit that one.

As some of you may know, my birthday was yesterday. I turned the ever ancient 26. Or as I like to think of it, 22 with 4 years of additional experience. :) From my parents I got gift certificates to Marcs and Giant Eagle (GOOD!!) and an incredibly awesome cd, Freedom by Michael W. Smith. It's an all instrumental CD, with all sorts of different pieces on it. There's a couple that have a Celtic feel to them, almost like they could have come out of Braveheart. The entire CD is cool. From the 2 sisters and bro-in-law I got a couple of really nice, comfy shirts. And my young sister joins the ranks of "Really Cool Little Sisters." She got me (from the 3 of them, but she found it) the Deluxe 2 DVD set of Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail. As some may have noticed, I like Monty Python. And MP&TQFTHG is one of my favorite movies. I have yet to get to the second disk that has all the bonus stuff on it. Maybe next week or something.

I think that's it for now. Something not so long (and a little weirder) next time.

posted by Obee at 10:11 PM

 
IMPALEMENT FOR FUN AND PROFIT (THE RESULTS)
Just got back a little bit ago from the March of Dimes fencing tournament my club sponsored (and which none of you stinkers offered to help out). Ended up 9 of 14. Okay enough results I guess. I think I would have donen a little better if I hadn't been fighting a cold for the past week.

On a seperate note, as most you know, I'm a big Star Wars fan, and yes I did see the movie on Thursday. I'm gonna catch another show tonight, and I'll post my personal review about it in the next day or two.


posted by Obee at 8:27 PM

 
THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY LIGHTSABER.......
Over on RASSM, when we get trolls complaining about aspects of Star Wars, inevitable the complaint comes up that the actors are all "wooden". As I was falling asleep the other night, that was bouncing around in my mind, and it sort of morphed into a Monty Python sketch. (This will really make more sense if you've seen Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail.)

FAN #1: We have found a Star Wars actor, may we burn her?
BEDEVERE: How do you know she is a Star Wars actor?
FAN #1: She looks like one.
BEDEVERE: Bring her forward.
VICTIM: I'm not a Star Wars actor. I'm not a Star Wars actor.
BED.: But you are dressed like one.
VICTIM: They dressed me up like this.
CROWD: No we didn't.
VICTIM: And this isn't my hair, it's a cinnamon bun wig.
BED.: Well?
FAN #1: Well we did do the wig.
BED.: The wig?
FAN #1: And the robe. But she is an actor.
BED.: Did you dress her up like this?
CROWD: No, no, no, yes, yes. A bit.
BED.: What makes you think she is a Star Wars actor?
FAN #2: She turned me into a Jawa!
BED.: A Jawa?
FAN #2: I got better.
FAN #1: Burn her anyways!! Burn her anyways!!
BED.: Quiet! There ways of telling if she is a Star Wars actor.
CROWD: There are?
BED.: Tell me, what do you do with Star Wars actors?
CROWD: Burn em!
BED.: And what do you burn aside from Star Wars actors?
FAN #1: Star Trek actors!
FAN #2: Wood!
BED.: So why do actors burn?
[pause]
FAN #3: Be....cause they're made of wood?
BED: Good! So how do we tell if she is made of wood?
FAN #1: Build a bridge out of her!
BED: But can you not also build bridges out of directors?
CROWD: Oh yeah.
BED: Does wood sink in water?
FAN #1: Nope.
FAN #2: It floats.
FAN #1: The artificial pond. Throw her into the artifical pond!
BED: What also floats in water?
FAN #1: Bread!
FAN #2: Costumes!
FAN #3: Extras! Extras!
FAN #1: Producers! Producers!
MCCULLUM: A prop!
BED: Exactly! So, logically...
FAN #3: If... she.. weighs the same as a prop, she's made of wood.
BED: And therefore...?
FAN #3: A Star Wars actor.
CROWD: A Star Wars actor! A Star Wars actor!
BED: We shall use my largest scales.


posted by Obee at 2:03 PM

 
IMPALEMENT FOR FUN AND PROFIT
I know that everybody **REALLY** want to give me lots of money, right? :) It's for a good cause, not just to line my pockets. (However, if you want to give money for that cause too, I'll take it.) Frequent readers of this blog know that I've been taking fencing as a hobby. Well, the club that I belong to (Cyrano's Place, link on the left) is having a fundraising tournament to support the March of Dimes. It's on Sunday, May 19th and we're asking for donations and sponsors. Sponsoring can be done in several ways:
1) A general donation for the day.
2) The number of people I fence, also know as a bout. Sponsorship that way can be done either for the number of people I face, or the number of bouts I win. Personally, the average number of bouts per tournament I fence is between 5 and 7. Of the bouts I fence, I usually win about half.
3) Or by my placement for the day. Based upon past performance, I usually end up in the middle of the pack.

It is also open to the public and free of charge to watch (I believe). If you want to come and watch, let me know and I'll send you directions.
If you would like to help out or have any questions, drop me an EMAIL.

Thanks for all the help.

posted by Obee at 9:11 PM

 
WOOOOHOOOOO PART 2

IT'S GONNA BE TWINS!!! IT'S GONNA BE TWINS!!!!

And the due date is sometime around the end of the year.

***We now return you to your regularly scheduled insanity***

posted by Obee at 1:30 PM

 
I NEED A FAVOR.....
Okay everybody, I need you to do a favor for me. Think "Single, Female, Mid-Twenties, with lots of single friends." Could ya'll do that for me? The apartment next to mine is available for rent, and as far as I know, it hasn't been rented out yet. Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks! :)

posted by Obee at 12:30 AM

 
SURPRISE!!
See what happens when my job requires me to sit next to a printer for several hours, doing nothing but feeding paper into it? You get a new looking blog, and I get the headache of trying to switch it over. :) Let me know what you think of the new look.


posted by Obee at 1:42 AM

 
TIME IS ON MY MIND
Was going through and cleaning out some old emails the other day, and stumbled across something I had written awhile ago. It was a late night at work, and I was in a little bit of a melancholy and pensive mood. I was sitting at a computer and typed this out and sent it to a few friends of mine. Let me know what you think. Also, I need help thinking of a good title for it. If you think of one, let me know.

Time is like an oiled shadow.
It creeps up in the alleys of Life,
Silent as a cemetary at midnight.
You turn to look back at the Past
Then turn to look for the Present
And
BAM!
It's right in your face.
Never heard it coming.
Never saw it coming.
And it still arrives,
Whether you like it or not.


posted by Obee at 12:14 AM

 
READ A GOOD BOOK LATELY?

If you'll direct your attention over to the left side of the screen, under the "recommended" section, you'll notice I've added something new. It's the "now reading" and "just finished" sections. That's for books I'm either reading at the moment, or for ones I've just finished. If you've read the one I'm reading at the time, or heard things about it, drop a comment and let me know what you think. Ditto for the "just finished" books. Those will probably be the last 5 or so books I've read. It's gonna be an ongoing thing, so drop a line anytime.

posted by Obee at 1:13 AM

 
Poem of the Day

Here's something I haven't done for awhile. Haven't swung by the site for a little bit, and the couple times I have, haven't seen anything I liked. But I've got one now:

tell me about you
the tears and desires
your song of living
and of the years to come

Please, let me know what you think. And if you do one yourself, let us see it.
Poetry.com (link over that way <-----)


posted by Obee at 6:26 PM

 
WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO

***Excuse me while I bounce around the room***

I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE!!! I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE!!!!

Saw my older sister today. Due date will probably be about mid January.

***Going back to bouncing around the room now***



posted by Obee at 8:58 PM

 
STUPID FORTUNE COOKIE FORTUNES

Had Chinese for lunch today. Here's the fortune I got with the cookie:
"The stars appear every night in the sky.
All is well."

Hello?!?! What sort of stupid fortune is that?? It's almost as bad as another one I had one time:
"You are almost there."

Anyone else ever have fortunes as bad as these, if not worse? Let me know.



posted by Obee at 6:13 PM

 
LIVING LIFE WITH A HAND SHOVED UP YOUR ..........

All I gotta say is:
Who Da Frog Baby?! Who Da Frog?!
Yeeeeaaaahhhh. You know it! :)

	You are Kermit! Though you're technically the star, you're pretty mellow and don't mind letting others share the spotlight. You are also something of a dreamer.
Take the What Muppet Are You? Quiz!

Let me know who you are.


posted by Obee at 6:31 PM

 
HERE WE GO AGAIN..............

So I was talking to Miss Cleo the other day, and she said it was time to post some more questions. I figured I needed a second, more professional opinion on it, so I checked with somebody's Magic 8-Ball at work and got an "It is certain." So here's another Totally Irrelevant Poll. Maestro, take it away...........

1) If you could change your height, would you be taller, shorter, or no change?
2) What color are your eyes?
3) What's your favorite Elvis song?
4) "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
5) If tin whistles are made of tin, what do they make fog horns out of?

posted by Obee at 1:30 PM

 
HAVE AT THEE!

Was out and about impaling people on Saturday. Lots of fun. 'Course, got impaled myself a number of times, but such is the nature of life I guess. Well, the nature of my sport of choice, at any rate. I'm talking about fencing of course. (Granted, I could be out hunting vampires too, but that's an entirely different topic for another time.) This weekend, I actually did pretty well. Definately my best showing since I started fencing last June. Came in 10th of 23. I could have come in higher, but I got impatient and basically defeated myself. But as Sara (my coach) says, things are definately starting to "click" for me. Assuming that this weekend wasn't a fluke, and I can consistantly do this well or better for the rest of the season, I may actually end up with my rating before the summer is over.

Ratings, for the fencing-impared of you out there :), are similar to belts in Karate. Ratings in ascending order are U, E, D, C, B, and A, with A being your topped ranked fencers (Olympians, NCAA college champs, etc. would be your A rated fencers). 'U' is what everyone starts out as, standing for Unranked (go figure). Ratings are awarded based on your victories in tournaments. To earn a rating, you have to do so well, based upon the number of entries in the tournament. This weekend, since there were 23 competitors with 2 Cs among them, made this a C level tournament. Had I won my last bout, the one I got impatient on, I would have ended up 6th, and earned my E. Hopefully next time.

posted by Obee at 1:08 AM

 
DO YOU KNOW YOUR INNER CALVIN?

Found something interesting earlier....

You are Spaceman Spiff! Zounds! You are the intrepid Spaceman Spiff, the engaging explorer ensconsed in an unending universe of exotic and evil extraterrestrials! You're brave, but you should give that dictionary a rest. Take the What Calvin are You? Quiz by contessina_2000@yahoo.com!

posted by Obee at 9:58 PM

 
En Guarde

Over in the links section of the page (that way <---------), I've added a link to the fencing club I belong to, Cyrano's Place. There is a picture of my on there, if you're interested. It's under the "Meet the Team" section. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself which one it is.

posted by Obee at 1:37 AM

 
SOME PEOPLE GO THAT WAY ---->, OTHERS GO THAT WAY <-----

I've mentioned before about the Star Wars newsgroup I'm a member of, rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc (henceforth known as RASSM). Well, a couple of months ago, when the whole big flap about NSync possibly being in Episode 2 was going on, one of the other frequent members had started a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) sort of story, Star Wars based, of course. For those who don't remember the CYOAs, they were novels for kids and teens where the reader would be given several choices to make, and whatever they would choose would determine the outcome of the story. You usually had to make about a dozen or so choices, and the book skipped all over the place. Interesting to read when you're a kid. I don't know if they're still being published. (does anyone know if they are?) Anways, RASSM & CYOA. So the person who was doing it stopped, for whatever reason. Recently, somebody mentioned that they would like to get one going again. And then I pretty much stepped forward and said, "Sure, I'll do it." If I had been thinking a little more clearly at the time, I might not have volunteered. After writing the first post and working on the subsequent ones, I came to a realization. The number of posts becomes an exponential function each time. My first post, I gave the readers 4 options, which means I now have 4 storylines to write out. Even if I were to only give 2 options from now on, for each path, that still means for the next chapters I write, I have to do 8 storylines. The following ones after that, 16. The ones after that, 32, then 64, then 128, etc etc etc. A *LOT* of writing. Not that a mind a whole terribly lot, but I just didn't realize at the time how much I would be putting into it. Of course, I don't think I'm actually going to be writing that much in the end. One of the storylines *will* definately end in death, one other one possibly, I'm not quite sure yet. (For those of you from RASSM that might be reading this, you'll just have to wait and see if it's the path you've chosen. :) ) But the way I look at it, it'll be a fun exercise in creative writing.

Oh, for those of you reading this that might want to join in on the fun, let me know and I'll email the story sections to you.

ObeeKris
Make your choice. Choose well. :)

posted by Obee at 1:08 AM

 
Odd Random Thought

If all the world's a stage, and all the people merely players, who's our audience and where are they sitting?

posted by Obee at 1:24 AM

 
Poem of the Day

Yeah, I originally said I was going to try to be doing this daily. Then I started going back to the site. And then remembered why I *stopped* going to the site and doing this in the first place. I didn't get inspired as much as I thought I would. But, I have one today.

bubbles holding shifting shapes
works never contained by shadows
the Muse never happier
will she see it's flaw

posted by Obee at 2:50 AM

 
Really Odd Random Thought

If you put a package of the blue marshmallow Peeps in the freezer, it kinda looks like they froze and sufficated to death.

Hey, you were warned it was odd.

posted by Obee at 3:48 AM

 
Poem of the Day

Nothing today. Stopped by the site and was playing around with the words. Nothing came that I really liked. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for this.

posted by Obee at 11:07 PM

 
SAY WHAT.....?

Was surfing online today, and stopped by a site I used to visit, but kind of stopped going to. It's Poetry.com. As suggested by it's name, it's an online poetry site. They've got all sorts of resourses and whatnot. You can also submit your own stuff for various contests. (I've submitted a poem or two there. Swing by, do a search, let me know what you think.) Anyways, one of the daily contests they have is called Poetry in Motion. It's sort of like those magnetic poetry kits you see everywhere. They give you a bunch of different words, and using 20 or less, you create something. Mine for today (it's still Monday for me, no matter what the date and time says) is:

moonlit night's sweet awe
marks the faithless dawn
Remember the dream of love

The words they have available change daily, so it's always something new. I'm gonna try and do this one daily, and I'll be posting them here. So.....
Let me know what you think of mine, or if you swing by the site and submit one yourself, let me know what it was.


posted by Obee at 1:33 AM

 
IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN.....

I had really meant to be updating this more than I have been. One of those things that's always on the "To Do" list, but never as high as you want it to be. Well, several posts ago I had mentioned a Totally Irrelevant Poll I did on the Star Wars newsgroup I frequent. Just posted another one. Here's the questions. Let me know what your answers are too.

1) If you were to duel with someone, would you use a sword, or one of the old single shot dueling pistols?
2) Does you bologna have a first name? What about your other lunch meats?
3) If you started a band, what would you call it? (Those of you in a band need to think of a different name.)
4) If it’s December 1941 in Casablanca, what time is it in New York? (With my regards to Bogie.)
5) If a train leaves New York at 1pm heading west at 60 MPH, and another train leaves L.A. at 11am heading east at 70 MPH, when will the giraffe realize that he doesn’t have enough beer for his party on Friday night?

My answers, since I know you're all dieing to know:
1) Definately a sword. My fencing coach would beat the snot outta me if I said otherwise. :)
2) Nope, I try not to get too attached to my food.
3) I like the name 20' Frog. What it means, I have no idea. But it sounds kinda nifty.
**ADDENDUM (2-26-02) ** Foam Penguin is another name that I came up with. **END ADDENDUM**
4) I won't spoil this for you. Rent the movie and find out.
5) December 17, 1998.

Making life a little more surreal for everyone! :)

posted by Obee at 1:54 PM

 
LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE BEEP......

Huzzah!! Got a comments section working again. It feels like I should be in a Monty Python sketch: "And lo, he did get the blog working. And there was much rejoicing!"
So everybody, start leaving comments, and let me know what you think.
It's bedtime for me now.


posted by Obee at 3:16 AM

 
AGING KICKING AND SCREAMING

I'm starting to feel old. At age 25, not necessarily a good thing. Was at Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday. Went there because a Munchkin I know is turning 4 years old. Her name is Noelle. An absolute cutie with blonde hair and blue eyes. When I go over to my friend's house and she's there, a little blur attaches itself to my leg before I get all the way inside the door. I've known her since she was probably about 6 months old. She's the daughter of a friend of a friend of mine. I used to work at Kinko's, and since they lived close by, they would stop in on the nights and weekends that I worked. I saw them frequently enough and so I became "Uncle" Chris. I remember the first time she took her first couple of steps towards me. Had the biggest smile on her face and she was so proud of herself. One year for Christmas I gave her a teddy bear that was bigger than she was. For the longest time, the bear went *EVERYWHERE* with her. That's not the case now (fortunately for her mother), but I understand that she still sleeps with it every night, and throws a fit if it isn't with her.

Roughly about a year ago, we started going to Chuck E. Cheese with her, since we figured that she was old enough to start enjoying some of the things there. (That, and the fact that us adults got to play Skeeball. Ostensibly for the tickets to get prizes for Noelle, but who are we kidding? :) ) For those who haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese in forever, they've got these huge tunnels up overhead that the kids can climb around in. Noelle would want me to climb around with her and since, for the longest time, they had a sign that said something to the effect of "Hey Parents! Kick off your shoes and climb around with your kids" I was able to do that. They've taken the sign down now, for which me and my body profoundly thank them. That and she's also outgrown the desire for me to climb around with her.

So we were there this past Saturday since it's one of her favorite places to go, especially with "Uncle" Chris. And it dawned on me how fast she's growing up. It's like just the other day she was this tiny little baby that I could hold so easily. Now she's this little girl that runs around everywhere. Soon she's going to be entering school. And then not too long after that, high school. And then college. And then who knows what. Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhh!! As the Garth Brook songs says "Much too young to feel this damn old!"

Although I do have to admit, one of the fun things about small children is how easily they pick up on things and repeat them, and how easy it is to teach them. "Uncle" Chris has taught her a few fun things. My personal favorite is "Duh!" Ever had those times where someone you know does or says something a little stupid, walk into a door, something along those lines? Well I taught the Munchkin, at times like that, you just give the person a big "Duh!" She's learned the lesson well, too. And she can figure out on her own exactly when it's called for. My friend has heard it quite often. She'll walk into a door, or stumble over her dog, or something else incredible obvious that she shouldn't miss but does, and you'll hear this little voice go "Duuuuuhhh Aunt Amy." My friend is so grateful to me for teaching her. :)

Well it's getting late, and since I'm getting old, I'm going to get some sleep.


posted by Obee at 2:17 AM

 
IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY.....

As some of you may have guessed from my nickname here, I'm a Star Wars fan (Obi-Wan/ObeeKris). As you're probably not surprised to know, there are millions of us out there, and naturally, we gravitate towards the web. There are hundreds and thousands of different websites about all sorts of different things pertaining to Star Wars. If you've been around the web long enough, you've probably heard about newsgroups. (For those not familiar with them, they're places where people post messages concerning all sorts of different topics, usually centered around a particular theme or idea.) Not surprisingly, there are a bunch of those also dedicated to Star Wars. One I frequent, and am a regular poster on, is rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc. There are quite a number of regular posters there, the majority of whom I get along with and enjoy reading what they write. Since I'm a regular poster there, the other regs are used to seeing me (I hope). Most, but not all, use nicknames when posting, like I do. So last week, Dec 30th actually, partially out of curiosity and partially for the heck of it, I post a "Totally Irrelevant Poll." (None of the questions have anything to do with Star Wars.) The questions were as follows:

1) How did you get your nickname(s)? (Those of you who use a different email name from .sig name get to answer twice.)
2) If you could have written any 1 movie *as it exists today*, and be credited for it, which one would you write?
3) If you were a Muppet, would you be A) an existing Muppet or B) a totally new Muppet?
If A) which Muppet would you be? If B) would you be animal, vegetable, mineral, or something else entirely?

I got some pretty good response to the questions, especially the Muppet question. (For those of you wondering, my answers are 1) [short version] real name is Chris, I'm a SW fan, hence ObeeKris. 2) Shrek 3) I'd be a penquin, but more of a leading role type, rather than a background penguin.)

Since the poll seemed to go over favorably, I thought I'd go for another one again this week. This week's questions were:

1) What’s your favorite Disney movie?
2) Do you workout or participate in a sport regularly?
3) Toilet paper: over the top or underneath?
4) Does this count as a valid fortune cookie fortune: “You are almost there.”?
5) To be or not to be?

[My answers, since I'm sure you're wondering: 1) Aladdin 2) yes 3) over the top 4) not really 5) to be]

So the responses are going pretty well this week too, so I think it's something I'm probably going to be doing regularly, but more likely every other week, rather than weekly. And since you all got my answers to the questions, send me your answers, let me know what you think.

Well, it's getting late, so I'm heading off now:
May the Force be with you!


posted by Obee at 3:57 AM

 
IT'S A NEW YEAR!

Well, it's a new year, with a new blog, on a new computer!! For christmas, one of the presents from my parents was a brand new computer. It is an emachines T1100. It's got a 1GHz Celeron processor, 128MB ram, 20 Gig harddrive, CD-RW, 56K modem, running Windows XP. 17 inch monitor and a color printer. I got a bunch of other really cool stuff too, but the computer is definately the best. So it was a good Christmas! :) And since I've got this great new computer, I'll hopefully be updating my blog more frequently. The look of the blog may change throughout the year, too. I'm definately gonna try and experiment with it over time. This entry is gonna be short, since I just set the computer up today, and want to play with it some more, but I'll be back soon.

Happy New Year to everyone!

posted by Obee at 12:09 AM