8/11/2008

Please hold while PJs brain cells attempt to return to on-line status

WorldCon rocked!
I enjoyed every minute - but my brain has been super-stuffed with all of the experiences.
Need time to process it all.
And then maybe, after I get some sleep, I’ll be able to write a coherent report of all that happened.

P.S. I was at the HUGO AWARDS! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

sparta at 6:23 pm

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6/26/2008

The Universe

The Universe has a way of hitting you with great things when you least expect it.

Here I was feeling a little blue - and a bit distracted - when BAM! a good opportunity landed right in my lap! I’m so psyched! A little freaked, but thrilled, too! I don’t want to ruin it, but I will say this:

1. It has to do with my podcast.
2. And it’s not going to be boring!

That is all - you may return to your -erm- normal (?) lives.

sparta at 6:52 pm

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6/25/2008

On top of old Smokey….

I am sick of smoke. Sick. Sick. Sick.

Our area is covered in smoke from the wildfires just to the north. Granted, the people in the immediate area have for more to bitch and moan about than I do - but I think we can all agree that we are sick of the smoke. Going outside for a long walk is not nearly as enjoyable as it used to be. And the faint smell of smoke is beginning to permeate things now.

I’ll be soooo happy when they finally put all the fires out. For several reasons.

How is everyone else doing?

sparta at 8:53 pm

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6/15/2008

Ye flippin’ macaronis! It’s been tooooo long….

Been way to long since I’ve posted here. Not even sure who still reads this blog at all.

We’ve been busy busy with all kinds of things, and that’s the summary. It would take too long to recap everything that’s happened since March, and I think all of you who read this, read my other blogs or email/phone me anyway.

I just wanted to leave a ping here - this site isn’t completely forgotten. ;o)

Love,

~PJ~

sparta at 4:14 pm

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3/14/2008

Testing 1-2-3

Is this thing even on?

HEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO?

sparta at 10:26 am

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3/12/2008

I love language games

Try THIS…

sparta at 3:55 pm

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3/10/2008

My Bitstrip

MY BITSTRIP …

sparta at 4:13 pm

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3/8/2008

We’re home!

We had a wonderful time in New Zealand. I highly recommend going there for vacation.

The boys traveled well - and we all had a great time with lots of great experiences. I’ll be posting entries about our travels - and pictures too.

In the meantime, tell me how all of you have been since we left. What’s new?

sparta at 7:09 pm

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2/16/2008

We the Robots…

http://www.wetherobots.com/

Go read - you won’t regret it.

sparta at 1:46 pm

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2/6/2008

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary. What do you give on a 14th anniversary? According to this entry at Wikipedia, it’s ivory if you follow older traditions, gold jewelry if you go modern.

Take a look at that list - go on - I’ll wait - now, everything from the 20th up makes sense to me. I mean, granite, I think, is very symbolic if you’ve made it to 90 years! But below 20…most of them are a bit confusing. I mean….paper? sugar? turquoise? BISMUTH?! And if you look at the 7th - maybe that explains the 7-year itch…WOOL?! “Hey, honey, it’s been 7 years. Here’s a wool sweater.” Who came up with this list anyway?

Actually, I think it’s all Emily Post’s doing. Stemming from one of her books on etiquette. Probably trying to help out some poor guy who felt clueless about what to buy for his wife.

Luckily, my hubby needs no such advice. All the gifts he gives me (throughout the year, I might add) are all chosen with thought, consideration, and care. I’m very very lucky to have him as my husband, and this is probably the best gift of all: he continues to share his life with me.

I love you, AJ! Happy Anniversary!

sparta at 1:14 pm

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WTF Spam….Example 22

Okay - tonight this was in my inbox:

Russian Spam 22

WTF? Everything was in Russian, of course, so I have no idea what the message actually way. I mean, it could be anything from:

“Do you find this man hot?”
to
“Does your friend’s cooking taste like this?”
to
“It’s a dessert topping, a floor wax, and a sealant!”

Does anyone else get this freaky messages?

sparta at 12:47 am

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2/5/2008

A very sad, real-life example of irony

After reading this story at Fox News, Andrew and I realized it is a true example of irony:

I’m going to remove this safety equipment from this pole to use as a sled - and then slide down the mountain and crash into the same pole - and so die from injuries from which the same equipment was supposed to be protecting me.

sparta at 9:55 am

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1/12/2008

In case any of my -uhem- rich relatives are reading…

I have discovered the knife set I want. It’s a set of ceramic Kyocera knives.

Yes, they are expensive, but after watching a show on how they are made (Thank you, Science Channel), I now understand why. After the blades are made, they are sent off to master craftsmen to be sharpened properly. You read that correctly - each of those ceramic knives is hand sharpened. Wow.

If nothing else, Mother’s Day is in a few months…. ;-)

sparta at 2:18 am

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12/23/2007

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Today was my birthday! Hooray!

I received a music CD I wanted (Mozart) and a bluetooth, stowaway keyboard for my new Nokia N800…AND they got me a cake…AND they took me to dinner at Red Lobster. :-) They love me, they really love me.

Today I also made Fantasy Fudge and homemade Cherry flavored hard candy. As I was pouring in the chocolate chips for the fudge I noticed they were “Milk Chocolate” not “Semi-Sweet Chocolate.” OH-OH! But - being in the middle of the recipe, and having no other chips, I finished pouring them in. Then I went to add the vanilla…I only had half of a teaspoon..DOH! The recipe calls for a whole teaspoon. EEP! So I added a little bit of water to the bottle and swished it around, then added it to the rest. And do you know what? That fudge is pretty darn tasty!

The hard candy turned out pretty well. It’s been two or three years since I’ve made it….through a mishop, however, I ended up with a glob of 300 degree correction: it had cooled off a little, so maybe, 250 degree molten candy on my finger. Can you imagine the blister? Well, after icing it, I put a padded, cushy band-aid on it right away, so I don’t know for sure. But it burned for a long time - and it’s sore now, so the chances are high it blistered nicely.

Tomorrow we’ll be baking and decorating sugar cookies - some to leave for Santa, the rest for two wonderful boys (and a few for their fantastic, but modest mom; and maybe one or two for their dad).

I may be off-line for the next couple of days, so if I don’t see you around the Tubes: Have a Happy Holiday, and a wonderful New Year!

~PJ~

sparta at 11:55 pm

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12/19/2007

What year is this again?

A rare “religious” comment from me:

From Reuters regarding The Golden Compass:

In the film version all references to the Church have been stripped out, with director Chris Weitz keen to avoid offending religious cinema goers.
Still, some Catholic groups in the United States have called for a boycott, fearing even a diluted version of the book might draw people to read the bestselling trilogy.

< *GASP*> They might READ A BOOK? Well, clearly this is a terrible influence. A movie inspiring someone to read and think… for… them…..selves. AH! I’ve spotted the problem: the Catholic groups don’t want people thinking! Well…good luck with that! Too bad this isn’t a few hundred years ago where you could just shut down the theatres and send the people involved with the movie and Pullman down to the dungeons to confess all their sins. (rolls eyes)

Look, I’m not against people having spirituality - I’m not against people practicing any certain religion (and yes, I believe spirituality and religion are separate things, it’s just for some - their religion supports their spirituality
) - but I do have issues with ANY religion (or church of that religion) that tries to do all the thinking for an individual. This is at the heart of my issues with any radical sect, branch, or religion. Man has free thought and free will and the urge to exercise it.

And you know what? If you are so worried that someone will see a movie or read a book and leave your church, then you never really had a true follower anyway….they were already dissatisfied with something. Maybe these groups need to focus less on condemning books and movies and more on real problems, like the homeless, the poor, the mistreated, and others in need.

End religious commentary.

sparta at 1:20 pm

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12/11/2007

Ah meteors…

So - who wants to join me out in the chilly / freezing night air on the 13th / 14th? The Geminids are coming! And this year’s show is supposed to be pretty great.

And hey, how are you guys doing? Speak up and drop me a comment! :-)

sparta at 4:47 pm

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12/5/2007

December?! WTH? - An Update

I can’t believe it’s December already! I mean 2007 is just days from being over - and I was just settling into it. I mean, it took me the first six weeks to stop writing 2006. My mother tried to warn me about how time changes as you get older, but I didn’t listen then. As with a lot of things, she was right. I mean, The Oldest is 12! Freakin’ TWELVE YEARS OLD! How did that happen? I mean, I blinked - and he’s already on the verge of being a teenager! EEK! There were so many things I had wanted to do this year that just didn’t get accomplished. I suppose they will just have to carry over into next year. *sigh*

I haven’t posted in a while, I know. Things have been bonkers here…the kind of bonkers that interferes with my posting. I was sick for a while; there was Thanksgiving; and then all the prep necessary for our property management inspection (ah, the joys of renting). The good thing is that we, once again, passed with flying colors. ^_^ After a couple of conversations with people from the mgmt co I get the impression that a lot of renters are a pain in the butt. Actually, my aunt and her husband have rental properties, and she’s said pretty much the same thing. They don’t make payments, they don’t report problems, they let things get damaged without calling or at least repairing them. *shakes head* I just don’t get it.

Click here for more »

sparta at 1:53 pm

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11/14/2007

Content

If I was not so sleep deprived - if I wasn’t putting all my energy into remembering things like breathing, walking, talking, and laundry - I would have actually content here.

So let’s just pretend that this is one of my usual witty and interesting posts, and you all can make your own usual funny comments.

Ready?  Go!

site admin at 4:24 pm

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11/6/2007

Can you be TOO connected?

Sometimes I wonder if I’m either too connected or not connected enough.

Between websites, forums, IM, e-mail, etc. etc., a person could spend ALL DAY doing nothing but communicating with people.  Seriously.

At the same time, when the area you live in does not afford you the opportunity to connect with people “like you” - the virtual communities that do become quite important.

I suppose - like anything - you have to strike a balance.  Still, I haven’t posted in a while - to all kinds of places, so here’s my shout out that I’m still alive.

And the mother of a 12-year old!  EEP!  And apparently, the mother of a banana.  ;-)

Speak up!  How are you all doing?

site admin at 2:30 pm

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10/30/2007

First Earthquake over a 5 - whee?

Calm down everyone - we’re fine.  It was about 54 miles away from us - but it did make the house sway a bit.

A 5.6…wow.  Took me a few seconds to realize it was an earthquake and not the boys running in the hallway.  ;-)

site admin at 9:34 pm

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