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Geoff Ellingwood

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Trick or Treat! [Oct. 31st, 2009|11:40 am]
[Current Mood | relaxed]

We had trick-or-treating at work yesterday. 100 kids, all in extra-cute costumes, all "belonging" to employees. Much candy was given out, although thankfully there's plenty left for me. Great times, great times. :)
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Republican WW2 Veteran Speaks on Gay Marriage [Oct. 21st, 2009|10:13 am]
[Current Mood |humbled]

You're going to want to watch this.



In other news, Homework Day is today. Tune in if you can; it's going to be a blast.
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Job update. [Sep. 23rd, 2009|11:51 pm]
[Current Mood | pleased]
[Current Music |The Guild - (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar (feat. Felicia Day) [(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar (feat.]

As of this past Monday, I am now a full-time employee with Wolfram Alpha, LLC. Benefits start at the end of the month. Needless to say, I am thrilled.
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For the rock hounds... [Aug. 20th, 2009|10:48 am]
[Current Mood | happy]
[Current Music |Rob Zombie - 06 - (Go to) California [The Sinister Urge]]

This month marks the one hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the main fossil bed of the Burgess Shale - one of the richest and most important fossil beds... well, ever!

Read for yourself!
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Looking back. [Aug. 19th, 2009|11:30 pm]
[Current Mood | happy]
[Current Music |Rob Zombie - 13 - Never Gonna Stop [Greatest Hits Past, Present, And Future]]

This past Sunday would have been my seventh wedding anniversary.

I suppose I should be upset and angry, but I'm really not. I'm doing better than I was, and I hear that Paula is doing well too. It's probably good for both of us; we just didn't match properly, for a variety of reasons. So I hope she does well in school, and I'll continue to enjoy my job.
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Friends don't let friends play Alliance. (part 2) [Jul. 4th, 2009|01:08 pm]
[Current Mood | creative]
[Current Music |Filterd Episode 041 (26 June 2009) - Frank Ellrich (A.S.Y.S) (Hard Dance - D I G I T A L L Y - I M P]

File this post under: Things Geoff does when he has a day off, a copy of Photoshop, and a desire for some humor.

Picture behind the cut. )
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George Tiller's murder and some thoughts about history. [Jun. 1st, 2009|06:22 pm]
Okay, this post is going to piss some people off. I'm well aware of this, and I'm even going to encourage it, to a certain extent. The things I'm going to be talking about are controversial, the positions I'm going to present are going to make people uncomfortable, and I'm going to make people on both sides of the issue think twice about their perspectives. So if you choose to read past the cut, keep in mind that I'm intentionally doing this to make you think.

Personal disclosure, I'm pro-choice, even though some of the things I'm going to say here are not necessarily going to come across as flattering to this position.

Now then.

As many folks are aware by now, on Sunday, May 31st, 2009, George Tiller was murdered. In a church, during services (although out in the narthex, and not in the chapel itself). This man was an abortion provider, and the murder is likely to have been motivated by this.

From here on out, my comments get nasty... )
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Wolfram|Alpha [May. 19th, 2009|06:59 pm]
[Tags|, ]

As many of you know, I'm working for Wolfram Research now. I'm involved (although mostly around the edges) with their new product, Wolfram|Alpha. There's been a lot of hype about this, up to and including a live web broadcast from the actual launch of the website. It's been pretty chaotic, but a lot of fun for me.

That being said, a lot of people don't quite get what this new thing is. It's being billed as a "computational knowledge engine", which is a different thing altogether from a search engine, like Google. This is something that simply has never existed before, which is why so many people are having trouble figuring it out. You can't use it to search for things, like the best value car, or the cheapest cell phone, because that kind of thing can't be computed, except by methods that would either be biased, or not be trusted, or both.

But for things that are computable, Wolfram|Alpha excels. It builds on the computation power and symbolic interpretation of Mathematica, and takes it to an entirely different level. While Mathematica is designed for professionals, Wolfram|Alpha is designed for the whole population, although many of the data sets are rather specialized. As things stand now, this product is only starting. It's at the first point where it's good enough to be used by the public, but it has a long way to go. There's a lot of work to do, and a lot of things won't work, and there's a lot of data that hasn't been put in yet.

So if you run across things that don't work, or that you think should be added, use the feedback form on the bottom of the page. Your feedback will help make it better. I'm not just saying that, either - I'm actually one of the people who reads that feedback, and makes sure it finds its way to the developers. So sending feedback will also help to ensure my future employment. *grins*

There's a lot of articles out there which show off what Alpha can do. I figured I'd show a few examples, myself. So if you'd like to see some examples, click here to see them. )
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Steam, The Last Remnant, and why my weekend plans are trashed. [May. 1st, 2009|07:16 am]
So, there's a (fairly) new Square|Enix RPG out, called The Last Remnant. Xbox 360 release, and PC, with PS3 soon to follow. I had it recommended to me by [info]bav101.

Since I have a new job (more on that later), I figured I'd treat myself and pick up a copy. While at the mall this week, I stopped by the Game Stop in the mall, but they didn't have any PC copies. Apparently they're phasing out their PC games, because of "rampant piracy". Sounds like an excuse to me, but oh well. Turns out, the game was made available via Steam, Valve's download-based free service for game distribution.

I've had a Steam account for a while, and I was pleased with the results when I brought home my (store-bought) copy of the Orange Box. So, last night I fired up the client and purchased a copy of The Last Remnant. First of all, it was only $39.99 - no tax. Fair price for a new game, I figure. Second, the download was fast. It's a 12 Gb install, and it was done before I woke up this morning (and I started it right before I went to bed). Third, it just... works. I didn't have time to get very far this morning (just to the point where I actually control my char), and now I'm off to work, but there was absolutely nothing for me to do. Click on the shortcut, configure my gamepad, tweak the video settings, and start playing.

That's the kind of game experience I want. Simple, quick, painless, and it just works. Oh, and so long as I have my Steam account (free, of course), I can download it again any time I want. The fact that I have no physical media won't limit me at all.

Now, I'm off to work, and yeah, my weekend plans are fairly set now. *grins*
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Media wtf. [Apr. 25th, 2009|12:06 pm]
[Tags|]
[Current Mood |pissed]

Here is an article on Salon.com which describes a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles in the New York Times talking about how "some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq, and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended".

You'd think that something like this would be all over the major TV news channels, right? Well, no. In fact, they're supressing it. Here is an article from Media Matters which talks about an NBC segment which completely ignores these articles when discussing the Pulitzer Price winners for this year.

There's something going on here, and I don't like it.

The original articles are:
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand
One Man's Military-Industrial-Media Complex

These are New York Times articles, so registration is requied (although if you use BugMeNot, you can bypass that...).
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R.I.P. [Apr. 11th, 2009|08:11 am]
[Tags|]

Dave Arneson, co-creator of D&D, died of cancer on Thursday. Gary Gygax, the other co-creator, died last March.

I guess it's up to us, the new generation of role-players, to keep their spirits alive. The creativity and socializing that you can get from role-playing is still (in my opinion) one of the most valuable things that a young (or young-at-heart) person can do to help develop themselves.

In the mean time, I bet there's one heck of a session going on up in heaven.
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Some food for coding thought... [Jan. 15th, 2009|06:45 pm]
[Tags|]

Here is an interesting article to read. At first, you might scratch your head and think, "Gee, Geoff, what does that have to do with programming?" Well, it's pretty simple. The judge is upholding a ruling that says that calling something a "trade secret" does not mean you can keep the source code for a breathalyzer a secret from a defense team that might want to challenge it on the grounds that it was not programmed or designed correctly. While this will mean that some cases of DUI that should probably have resulted in convictions will be dismissed, the end result is much better.

What it means to a programmer is that, if you're involved with a project that has serious implications (in this case, evidence can result in a conviction and jail time), you had better do it right. And that's because your work can be gone over with a fine-toothed comb by a defense team. And for something so serious, it darn well had better be able to stand up to inspection.

Even better, it's not a difficult stretch at all to see how this sort of a ruling might be expanded to other things, such as ATM's - and even voting machines. No matter what side of the political spectrum you're on, I'm sure you want elections to be as fair as possible. I know I do.

This ruling only applies in Florida for now, but I don't see any reason why it won't be extended. So make sure you ship good code, if it's for something important.
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Video games and violence. [Jan. 13th, 2009|11:20 am]
[Tags|]

This topic has always depressed the heck out of me. I've played plenty of violent video games, and all I hear about them is that they somehow "cause" people to go do stupid things like shoot up their schools. How exactly does that work? These games don't teach you how to do anything other than use a mouse or gamepad to aim, and they certainly don't show you where to buy or make weapons. There's a cognitive disconnection in making that assumption; a distinct reality gap that's being consciously overlooked.

So, much to my pleasure, I ran across this blog entry (pops, originally from SlashDot). It's written by a psychiatrist, and is a summary of a study done by a psychologist and a sociologist which shows that video games do not lead to violence. They point out that, especially for boys, video games are social activities (and as such, should - in moderation - be encouraged). They do admit that people who already have a tendency towards violence or aggression may be drawn to violent games, and that those may affect them adversely, but that is a far cry from the "causation" that people want to believe.

It's just not there, no matter how much you want to believe it. It's not as simple as that. For children, ultimately the responsiblity lies with (*gasp*) the parents! Did you know that the ratings on video games are put there - voluntarily - by the video game industry? And hey, guess what, they're there for a reason! A game rated "M" (mature) for sexual and violent content is not for kids. If your kids have them, there's a problem - and it's your problem for letting them get a copy.

People should not expect politicians to legislate this away somehow. Laws that impose penalties for selling games to minors aren't very effective, for the simple reason that the minimum-wage people who are selling them often simply don't care. Similar laws have done very little to curb underage drinking, for the exact same reason. Warning labels, which are the latest measure proposed, worked so well on music CD's and cigarette packs, didn't they? All these things are is feel-good measures, that let people suffer the illusion that they are somehow doing something to help, when ultimately, there's nothing that can do on a large-scale level.

If you really want to stop random violence, stop trying to blame video games and other red herrings. Look at the real questions - how are people getting access to the weapons? (gun show loopholes, lax firearm registration, etc.) What sorts of things really drive people to that sort of rage? (bullying, mental illness, etc.)

Now, if you'll pardon me, I'm waiting for my World of Warcraft server to come back up.
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Swiped from [info]zanthess [Jan. 12th, 2009|09:24 am]
[Tags|]

01. Name:
02. Birthday:
03. Where do you live:
04: What are you studying/What are you working as:
05. What makes you happy:
06. What are you listening to now/have listened to last:
07. What is particularly good/bad about my LJ:
08. An interesting fact about you:
09. Are you in love/have a crush at the moment:
10. Favorite place to be:
11. Favorite lyric:
12. Best time of the year:
13. Weirdest food you like:

RECOMMEND
01. A film:
02. A book:
03. A song:
04: A band:

PLUS
01. One thing you like about me:
02. Two things you like about yourself:
03. Put this in your lj so I can tell you what I think of you?
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Meme, swiped from[info]lookingforlily... [Dec. 7th, 2008|01:08 pm]
[Current Mood | relaxed]
[Current Music |Anthrax - In My World [The Island Years]]

Bored? Well, maybe.

Cut for her pleasure... )
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USAF Interrogator speaks on Iraq [Dec. 3rd, 2008|07:20 am]
[Tags|]

No matter what your views on the matter, please read this.
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These are a few of my favorite things... [Nov. 14th, 2008|10:25 pm]
[Current Mood | stressed]
[Current Music |Scooter Vs Status Quo - Jump That Rock (Whatever You Want) [Jumping All Over The World Whatever You]

Swiped from [info]lookingforlily, cut for length. )
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The election is over. [Nov. 5th, 2008|09:43 am]
[Current Mood | pleased]
[Current Music |Black Sabbath - The Mob Rules [Mob Rules]]

I'm sure plenty of people have lots to say about how it was and wasn't won, but I personally have something slightly different to say.

Thank you, Senator McCain. Nothing becomes your campaign like the way you left it. No fussing around with recounts or court cases. You bowed out graciously when the results became clear, and you told all your supporters - even cutting across the boos - to stand by Obama, because he is going to be the next President. History will remember you for many things, but the one thing that I will remember you for is you being a gracious loser.

Hopefully, people across the nation will listen to what you said. Barack Obama is the next President of the United States, and we all need to get behind him, regardless of how you feel about his politics. As the saying goes, we aren't out of the woods yet - there's still economic and military troubles all over the world that need to be dealt with. The nation has chosen what it believes is the best Executive for handling that, so it's time to toss aside party differences and get to work on making this a stable and productive nation again.

That is all.
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I have to plug these guys... [Oct. 25th, 2008|12:33 pm]
Good Old Games is a web-based computer game purchase place, and every single game they sell is completely free of draconian DRM. Buy it, download it, play it as much as you want. They have some great classics like the entire Fallout series, Descent, Shogo: MAD, MDK 2, and lots more - all for under $10. If I didn't already have most of those games, I would totally be getting copies.
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Excuse me while I have a nerdgasm. [Oct. 22nd, 2008|01:04 pm]
[Current Mood | excited]
[Current Music |Disturbed - Indestructible [Indestructible]]

You know that Bioware/LucasArts Knights of the Old Republic MMO that had been speculated about for a long time?

It's official.
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Biscuits. [Oct. 21st, 2008|01:38 pm]
[Tags|]
[Current Mood | hungry]
[Current Music |Metallica - 07 - Hit The Lights (Live In Paris) [The Unnamed Feeling]]

So with the wonderfully cool fall weather, I'm starting to have a craving for warm things for meals. So I took a few biscuit recipes from around the 'Net, and as is my normal style, I tweaked and modified them. Extremely successful so far.

The Base:
  • 2 cups flour

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

  • dash salt

  • dash granulated sugar

  • 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix dry ingredients well in a large mixing bowl, then cut in shortening. Stir in milk until completely mixed. For best results, use warm milk (simmering it in a saucepan on the stove works quite well). You may optionally knead out the dough gently 15-20 times on a flat board, lightly sprinkled with flour, or you may simply choose to make drop-style biscuits (I prefer the latter).

Either knead and cut biscuits using your preferred method or drop them directly onto a lightly-greased baking implement. Makes about 6 cut biscuits, 12 large drop biscuits, or 18 small drop biscuits. Bake for 14-18 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits (smaller ones will require less time).

Variation 1 - Garlic and Herb
When warming the milk, mix in some fresh garlic or garlic powder, to taste. Also add various herbs to the dry mixture. Garlic powder, cilantro, sweet basil, thyme, and sage all work quite well, from my experience. No further changes necessary. This will give you a nice herb taste to the biscuits, which makes them better as a side for a full dinner.

Variation 2 - Chocolate!
Add 2-3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and 1/4 cup sugar to the milk while warming. To the dry mixture, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup sugar, and decrease flour to 1 1/2 cups. You may optionally sprinkle the biscuits before baking with granulated sugar for a nice carmelized effect.

More variations as I come up with them. The chocolate ones are baking now... yum!

Oh, and I'm going to start using tags now, for what that's worth.
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O LORD IS DAT SUM DRAGON HEAD? [Oct. 20th, 2008|06:05 pm]
[Current Mood | happy]
[Current Music |Scooter - Nessaja [Jumping All Over The World [CD2]]]

Why yes, yes it is.

cut for bandwidth )
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Halloween party! [Oct. 9th, 2008|05:28 pm]
[Current Mood | stressed]
[Current Music |Nine Inch Nails - Closure DVD (DVD Extras)]

Cut for her pleasure. )
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Meme, as tagged by [info]seleene_paris [Oct. 8th, 2008|03:31 pm]
[Current Mood | stressed]
[Current Music |Milk Inc - ouch damn [Forever]]

RULES:
  • Pick your birth month.

  • Strike out anything that doesn't apply to you.

  • Bold (or italicize) the five-ten that best apply to you.

  • Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months under a lj-cut.

  • Tag 5 people from your friends list.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

I tag: [info]gaijinjohn, [info]mapjunkie, [info]perpetuallydry, [info]stryck, [info]zanthess

Months here. )
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More funnies. [Oct. 7th, 2008|12:46 am]
Some lolcats, cut for space. )
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WARNING: Laughs Ahead [Oct. 6th, 2008|11:41 pm]
A list of 213 things that Specialist Schwarz is no longer allowed to do in the US Army. (pops)

Warning, do not eat or drink anything while reading this list. You will almost certainly spit it out or exhale it through your nose with laughter.
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Meme. [Oct. 6th, 2008|08:16 pm]
Swiped from [info]maskmaster, cut for brevity. )
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'Tis the Season... [Oct. 6th, 2008|04:43 pm]
[Current Mood | stressed]
[Current Music |DJ Liquid - Birth of Liquid Dreams [Liquify]]

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
neppyman goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as a Borg Cube.
arnie40 gives you 4 green cinnamon-flavoured jawbreakers.
bav101 tricks you! You lose 1 pieces of candy!
bronriel gives you 5 brown lime-flavoured nuggets.
circe_ravaine gives you 4 purple spearmint-flavoured wafers.
earnbrand gives you 11 teal peach-flavoured gumdrops.
jennkitty gives you 17 red-orange raspberry-flavoured pieces of taffy.
mapjunkie tricks you! You get a used tissue.
maskmaster gives you 15 red-orange blueberry-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
seleene_paris gives you 8 green lemon-flavoured gummy bats.
stryck gives you 4 blue lime-flavoured jawbreakers.
neppyman ends up with 67 pieces of candy, and a used tissue.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.
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Politicking [Oct. 5th, 2008|09:48 pm]
So the McCain campaign has gone full-on offensive with their tactic of attacking Obama's character. The primary vector so far seems to have been Obama's associations with William Ayers, one of the founders of the Weather Underground. Admittedly, back in the 1960's, they were Very Bad People(tm). They set off bombs and were what just about everyone would agree was a terrorist organization. And that was forty years ago. Now? Well, Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois, Chicago. And yes, he and Obama live in the same neighborhood, and have served on a couple of different community organizations - all charitable ones.

Sarah Palin says that this means that Obama is "palling with terrorists". Really? According to CNN's Fact Checker, not exactly. "CNN's review of project records found nothing to suggest anything inappropriate in the volunteer projects in which the two men were involved."

Meanwhile, a slightly different story is surfacing from the left side. The Daily KOS has a good summary, along with links to the original posting (it's in Norwegian, so translations may be required). Suffice it to say that, in 1988, Obama gave a complete stranger $103 in an airport to help her check an extra bag. Since she was taking everything she owned to Norway to get married, this was very important to her. Further details on the website.

I think the contrast is quite clear. The Obama campaign isn't trotting this story out, even though she received a formal letter from Obama in 2006 when he was a US Senator. They also aren't harping non-stop on the Keating Five scandal, from a different economic crisis, in another era. Instead, they're continuing to talk about what their candidates will do to make the situation better.

McCain, on the other hand, is attacking. And using out-and-out baseless accusations that one could easily call fear-mongering.
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Screwy cat. [Sep. 30th, 2008|03:50 pm]
So I'm sitting here at my desk, with Freya on the back of my office chair, and I hear the CD-ROM drive on the server (which is behind my head) open. It seems that Freya has figured out what the "eject" button is, and what it does. After batting at it for a bit, she manages to give it enough of a shove to trigger the auto-retract mechanism. At which point, she leaps off the chair (which almost throws me out of it, since it's suddenly unbalanced), and tears off into the other room, knocking over a stack of books on the way.

Who wants to bet that she'll try again later?
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Arr! [Sep. 19th, 2008|02:14 pm]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |WoW]

Even Blizzard be understandin' the fun of International Talk Like a Pirate Day. All ye lubbers playin' the World of Warcraft, make yer way to Booty Bay and enjoy the fun and frivolity.

As for ye wenches and ale, Brewfest be startin' tonight at midnight, so get yer mugs ready to drink all the grog ye can handle!

Screenshot, cut for bandwidth... )
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Political musings... [Sep. 18th, 2008|09:26 pm]
[Current Mood | pensive]
[Current Music |Brainiac]

It won't surprise anyone that I'm a liberal, supporting Obama. But here (pops) is an interesting article by a conservative columnist (and former publisher of the extremely conservative National Review) which offers reasons why conservatives should be supporting Obama as well. Interesting food for thought, whether or not you agree.
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Alive? Why yes, yes I am. [May. 28th, 2008|01:10 am]
So yes, to answer your question, I'm still alive. Me and the lovely Brandi are enjoying each other's company very much, as is her lovely daughter.

As for what else I've been up to, well, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I've been playing lots of World of Warcraft. Screenshots and details of my exploits are behind the cut.

Cut for her pleasure... )
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More World of Warcraft commercials... [Dec. 23rd, 2007|06:10 pm]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |Scooter/Bomfunk Mc's - Scooter Meet BomFunk MC's [Sheffiled/In Stereo]]




Vern Troyer as a Gnome Mage





Jean-Claude Van Damme as a Troll Mage (in French)


A happy Winter Veil to all the WoW players out there (go rescue Blitzen!), and to all others, a very happy holidays.
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For all my WoW friends out there... [Nov. 23rd, 2007|01:30 am]
[Current Mood | full]
[Current Music |none]



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For all you electrical engineers out there... [Nov. 19th, 2007|12:37 am]
[Current Mood | excited]
[Current Music |Dougal - Ministry of Sound - United in Hardcore - CD1 [Ministry of Sound - United in Hardcore]]



Link3 comments|Leave a comment

For all you band geeks out there... [Nov. 17th, 2007|02:01 am]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |Billy Daniel Bunter - Ministry of Sound - United in Hardcore - CD3 [Ministry of Sound - United in Ha]

(and anyone else who appreciates stuff like that)


LinkLeave a comment

Quick quizlet... [Nov. 15th, 2007|03:15 pm]
[Current Mood | relaxed]
[Current Music |TOONAMI - STRINGS [TOONAMI]]

IQ Test Score


This seems to be the maximum rating...

Fair warning, their signup page is rather restrictive about what you can type in... and there's a lot of "Special Offers".
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Funny picture and cute cat... [Oct. 28th, 2007|10:33 pm]
[Current Mood | relaxed]
[Current Music |none]

Click here for picture (Borderline NSFW, opens in new window/tab)

As for cat... I was in the bathroom, taking care of business, and Freya as usual is working her way around my ankles. She stops after a while, and I look over to see her sitting down. In the shower stall. I couldn't help but crack up laughing... the one place in the apartment that the cat does NOT want to be - and she's even gotten wet a few times from poking her nose in while I'm showering! On the other hand, she's taken up the habit of joining me under the blankets again. I think she likes being all warm and cozy under there, and she's not the least bit claustrophobic, so she often goes to sleep with me.
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Geek joke... [Oct. 13th, 2007|11:44 pm]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Of [Rage Against The Machine]]

What HTML element is used the most often in a mortuary's website?

Click for answer... )
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Today's Recipe: Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy [Oct. 8th, 2007|09:33 pm]
[Current Mood | full]
[Current Music |Brobdingnagian Bards - Do Virgins Taste Better Medley [A Faire to Remember]]

This one is really easy - and really good.

These portions are for either one very hungry person, or two moderately hungry people. Adjust accordingly.

Sausage Gravy

  • 1/2 lb. breakfast sausage (I use Bob Evans's Sage pork sausage)

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 1/4 cup sifted flour (approximate)

  • 1 tsp black pepper

  • 1 tsp salt

  • dash garlic powder

  • dash onion powder

  • dash red pepper


Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 1 1/2 cup Bisquick

  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine

  • 1/2 cup milk


Preheat oven to 450. Brown sausage in a skillet, chopping into as fine pieces as possible. While sausage is browning, cut margarine into Bisquick in a large mixing bowl with a fork, then stir milk into the mixture until it begins to flake. When sausage is browned, remove from heat, drain, and cool in the skillet. Take biscuit dough mixture in your hands and knead gently, making sure to clump it all into one mixture. If it sticks to your hands too much, dry them well and rub a little flour into your palms. Separate into four equal portions, and form into 2" round discs, placing on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake biscuits for 10 minutes. While baking, add milk and dry ingredients - except flour - to the browned sausage in the skillet. Over medium-high heat, bring to a simmering boil. Slowly sift in small amounts of flour, stirring vigorously to avoid clumping. The gravy will thicken quickly. Stop adding flour when it is just shy of the thickness you are looking for, and remove from heat.

Biscuits should be done at this point; place them on a plate, sliced in half, and serve covered in gravy.
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LOLZ [Sep. 28th, 2007|10:02 pm]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |Scooter - 10 - How Much Is The Fish? [Mind The Gap (CD 2)]]

You'll all enjoy this, I'm sure.

So I'm heading to the store tonight, to pick up some stuff. As I'm getting to the bus station, I spot a Ford Expedition coming. My first thought is, "Gee, not another bloody SUV..." Then as it passes, I make out the license plate, taking a closer look. Clearly not from Illinois. In fact, it's from Alaska. Okay, fine, so they probably need the four-wheel drive (passing over the question of what it's doing in Illinois). Then I see what's on the license plate. "BRRR1" I almost fell over laughing. One of the few times I wish I had a camera phone.
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Sillybeans for you. [Sep. 4th, 2007|08:17 pm]
Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. Here's a few goodies to brighten your day:

Battlestar Galactica Opening with WoW


The Ballad of the N00b
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Swiped from [info]seleene_paris... [Sep. 3rd, 2007|03:50 pm]
[Current Mood | sleepy]


NerdTests.com says I'm a Highly Dorky Nerd God.  What are you?  Click here!
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Friends Don't Let Friends Play Alliance Gnomes [Aug. 25th, 2007|10:30 pm]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |Korn - One [Live & Rare]]

Sarindara hit 70 today. I finally got her all the PvP marks I needed, and I ground out the last bits of the level so I can start grinding honor for her in Alterac Valley. She's in pretty good shape, gear-wise - already has 3 of the 5 High Warlord pieces with great gems, and is well on the way to #4.

While grinding in Nagrand today, various conversations led to the following joke:

Schroedinger's Gnome

A gnome is placed inside an air-tight box, with a vial of poison inside, and the vial of poison is attached to a detection device. The detection device will trigger on the reception of an event, the probability of which is exactly 50%, given the duration of the experiment. When the box is opened...

punchline behind the cut... )
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A Gift For You! [Aug. 23rd, 2007|02:04 pm]
(found on various LJs, but copied from [info]jennkitty )

Pay It Forward : I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment here on my LJ. I don’t know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days of this post. Edit: I'll extend it do the first 10 people.  But bear in mind that, in my case, "handmade" might include electronic stuffs, like pictures or icons.

The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog. (and I will check to see if you do) Edit: Nah, I trust you folks.

If you have already posted this meme in your blog then you should choose the next 3 people who responded to your original post and send them a handmade gift too.
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Screwy cat [Aug. 11th, 2007|09:57 pm]
[Current Mood | silly]
[Current Music |Rob Zombie - 02 - Black Sunshine (Feat Iggy Pop) [Greatest Hits Past, Present, And Future]]

So it's hot today. Really hot. Hot to the point where, after a mid-afternoon trip to the store, I hop in the shower (on cool) and lie down for an hour. And apparently, the heat has done something to Freya, because she's decided to be extra-screwy today. First, she tries to join me for a shower. I see her little head poking around the corner of the shower curtain, but before I can grab her, she gets sprayed by a couple of drops and bolts. Second, she decides to play with my toes while I lay down. So I get her toy (a sturdy length of nylon rope), and start twitching it around. She seems to not like playing on top of the bed, probably because it's too "open", with no place to stalk from. So she stalks from under the bed, jumping around the edge, onto the top, to catch the rope. The only problem is that the sheets don't have that great of a grip, so she keeps sliding off, usually landing on her bottom... And finally, tonight I give her some fresh water, and put an ice cube in it to be nice (like I said, it's hot). Freya decides that the ice cube is a toy, so she bats at it, but in a typical cat way, pulling it kind of towards herself... which, of course, splashes her with ice-cold water. As I'm typing this, she's winding her way around my legs with a wet tail.

Oy. I love cats.
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Oh God My Stomach! [Jul. 28th, 2007|09:51 pm]
[Current Mood | full]
[Current Music |]\[i]/[ - 01 - All The Love in the World [With Teeth]]

I think I just had a foodgasm.

So I finally got my apartment squared away, and I invite [info]mapjunkie over for dinner and a long-overdue Scrabble game. He makes some general requests as to food, so I go to work. Here was tonight's menu:

Salad: Fresh redleaf lettuce with peeled carrots (peeled directly into the salad - makes them nice and thin).
Side: Fresh corn on the cob (bi-color sweet).
Main: Orange-glazed chicken over couscous.
Desert: Blueberry crepes.

Yum.

Detailed recipes here! )
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A-unpacking I will go... [Jul. 11th, 2007|07:48 pm]
[Current Mood | accomplished]
[Current Music |Metallica - Am I Evil? [Live Shit Binge and Purge Disc 3]]

The movers were here on Monday, schlepping my furniture into the new apartment. My mom and I unpacked most of the stuff (dishes and the like) yesterday, as well as fixing the side slat on my old bed (pay $80 for a furniture repair shop? Nah, we'll do it ourselves for $5 in parts). My mom flew back to Colorado today, and I'm almost done unpacking the rest of my things. All that's left are a few bags of clothes, some of which will have to go straight downstairs to the laundry room.

In the meantime, here are some things to entertain you:

The hardest Super Mario Brothers ever. NSFW language, but hilarious.



Assorted anime music video shorts (not safe for dial-up - 1h6m).



I'm having pizza tonight! Whee!
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A funny! [Jul. 2nd, 2007|03:52 pm]
[Current Location |home]
[Current Mood | calm]
[Current Music |04 - Rob D - Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Mix) [The Matrix Soundtrack]]

This is for all you World of Warcraft players out there. Got this from a Fark.com photoshop contest link, although it wasn't made by an entrant; not sure who actually did it, but it's pretty funny.

Animated GIF, fairly big, pops.

Oh, and happy birthday to me. 28 years young.
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