Progress....

It's a shame we don't hear about this kind of thing on the news.

Istanbul not Constantinople

Easter miracle: Pope John Paul II apologizes for the Catholic Church's involvement in the sacking of Constantinople on April 13, 1204.  I'm sure Maryanne will have something to say about this.

Satire....

After making quick work of Dave Barry's Bad Habits and Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, I started on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was a slow start, and I was initially a bit put-off by the irreverence of the satire. I've read Mark Twain before, but little had prepared me for what this book would hold: biting satire, a variety of humor, a scathing view of the Catholic Church, and some truly heart-wrenching tableaus. It was hard dealing with a work that treated King Arthur so poorly, while other works I had read held him in such high regard.

Nonetheless I enjoyed it, though it's now making me debate whether I should reread T.H. White's The Once and Future King. I'll probably move on to something unread, instead.

"'Patriot' Games"

A fight could be brewing over the fate of the Patriot Act.

Use both hands....

You hardly ever hear about this kind of thing in the news.

History....

I found this interesting.

Over-priced....

It's been a while since I posted about that hotbed of unrest known as Carroll College.

"Lying for Dollars"

Caught in the act! The Brady Campaign is a bunch of lying liars.

Priorities....

Here's yet another reason not to live in California.

Vexations....

The past several mornings at work, while not hellish, have certainly been demanding. Something, certainly the result of a lack of foresight by someone, has been causing (painfully) slow login issues for a multitude of users. As a help desk analyst, I'm very frustrated by this. My job is to help people after all. It's, shall we say, vexing, when it seems that someone else's lack of preparation or planning makes matters worse by creating more problems than we already have.

Card-carrying member....

Here is an interesting op/ed piece from Mike S. Adams about why he joined the N.R.A.

Disarmed....

Here is yet another reason why I'll never live in Illinois.

Domestic terror....

James Swan offers some sound advice for dealing with what he terms "animal rights 'humaniacs.'"

Killing the dead....

Apparently vampires are still a problem in Romania. And since civilians have taken matters into their own hands, the police have become involved.

"And in the middle of negotiations...."

Maryanne and I have negotiated an offer on the house we looked at in Stoughton, and if all goes well, we'll be closing on April 30. Maryanne is so excited I can hardly stand it; I'm a little more subdued, to say the least. We'll have to see how the whole home-ownership thing goes.

Crikey!

Friday night, after a trip to Stoughton to look at a house, Maryanne and I returned to Madison and went to Outback for dinner. Neither one of us had ever been to one before, so we decided to give it a try. When we arrived there was over an hour wait to be seated, but we decided to wait. We were glad that we did. The food was excellent and the service spectacular. Our waiter, Jimmy, was friendly and checked on us frequently. Our dinners came with soup, and sometime after Jimmy had cleared the bowls, he said our food would be out in a minute and a half. It was probably ten minutes more before Jimmy returned, this time to apologize for our food taking so long, and asking if the manager had been by to talk to us. We answered no, and he returned to the kitchen. Our food arrived shortly after that.

The manager arrived sometime after we had begun eating, and made sure everything was satisfactory. We both said the food was excellent. The manager then said that she, as well as Outback in general, had very high standards, and that the amount of time that it took for our food wasn't up to those standards. She asked us to save room for dessert. Maryanne responded, "I'm not sure I'm going to finish this!" Dessert to go was offered, and the manager departed.

Jimmy returned shortly after to take our dessert orders. We had settled on cheesecake, thinking we'd be able to stick it in the freezer. Jimmy informed us they were out of cheesecake. Maryanne being visibly disappointed, he offered gift cards for dessert instead, and he left.

The manager returned next, and explained the cheesecake situation. Apparently they still had some, but it was all frozen, and she offered that. We accepted, and she went to the kitchen to get it. When she returned, she had a large to-go container with the cheesecake, and small styrofoam cups with toppings. She had given us half a cheesecake! On top of that, she gave us a gift card for a free "Bloomin' Onion."

Not once through the entire evening had we thought there was a problem, much less complained of one. Yet the staff at Outback bent over backwards to rectify a situation they thought needed remedying. While the prices were a little on the pricey side, the service we received guaranteed we'll return sometime.

Finished....

Today I was able to finish The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's use of language shines through in a brilliantly written story. And even if I was a little disappointed by the ending, it was still a satisfying conclusion.

What this....

Here's an interesting list of underappreciated movies worth watching.

Superficial stepping stone....

Even in the bastion of liberality known as California, there glimmers a small light of common sense. Interestingly enough, it's on the campus of USC.

The Scarlet Letter

Today I started on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Having already read A Wonder Book, I'm familiar with Hawthorne's writing style, but it will be interesting to see what he does with an original story. I don't know how long it's going to take me to get through this one. It's a little over 200 pages, the Reader's Digest edition, featuring some illustrations that look like watercolored woodcuts. The writing flows well, though, despite Hawthorne's use of archaic language for dialog.

Which reminds me... I need to find a good copy of Tanglewood Tales!

Concession....

More op/ed goodness from John R. Lott, Jr.

Done....

Today I was able to finish Jane Austen's Emma. It was a quicker read than I thought. While portions of it were entertaining, even amusing, the rest of it smacked of the kind of "slice of life" literature that doesn't engage the reader. I hope that in its day it was a much better read, when the effects of class, social status, manners, and impropriety were more relevant than they are today. While the writing was well executed --indeed, the dialog was brilliantly executed-- it will be a long time before I pick up another Jane Austen novel.

Shenanigans....

More tasteless shenanigans from those whack-jobs at PETA.

Searchin'....

The past two nights have been spent looking at houses. We haven't found a real winner yet, but it has been an interesting process so far. It's given us a chance to see what's on the market, and what we like and dislike.

Off target....

Read this scathing op/ed piece from John R. Lott, Jr.

Happy birthday....

Today would have been Dad's 57th birthday.

Long day....

Saturday was a very busy day.

The morning began with a haircut for Maryanne and a visit to the health club. After that we returned home to get cleaned up before heading out again to meet with a realtor. It was a very productive visit.

After that we had to stop at Cara's house, so that Maryanne could pay for some Girl Scout cookies. It was a longer visit than I expected, and it eventually led to a visit at Kim's as well.

Then it was off to some scrapbooking store that was having a sale. The store was incredibly crowded, and eventually I decided I would wait outside. By this time it was almost four o'clock, and we were finally able to have the lunch we had talked about three hours earlier. We went to Denny's, and the service was quite pokey. After we were done there we went to another scrapbook store at the much-lauded Greenway Station. I must admit that by this time I was loosing interest in the scrapbooking thing.

Our next stop redeemed things as we stopped at Half Price Books, where I was able to sell a few things as well as pick up a few things. We still needed to do our grocery shopping on the way home, so after a stop at Woodman's we finally got home around 7:30.

It was an exhausting day, and thus we declined an invitation to meet some people downtown.

Conspiracy....

Democratic Senators may have schemed to purposely delay U.S. Circuit Court nominations, perhaps with the intent of affecting the outcomes of certain cases.

A long slog ahead....

After breezing through Dave Barry's Guide to Life, an omnibus of four smaller books, I have decided to start on Jane Austen's Emma. It's the Everyman's Library edition, and weighs in at 495 pages. It may take me a while to get through this one.

The white stuff....

It's astonishing how some snow can turn Madison's already moronic drivers into bigger dumbasses than usual.

Asking for it....

I was wondering if something like this was ever going to happen.

Geeky....

Saturday was this month's Dungeons & Dragons day. We originally scheduled for four o'clock due to a previous commitment that Jenni had, but she basically ditched it and we were able to start a little early.

I was DMing the group through The Sunless Citadel, and we had to complete the second half. I recapped the first half, and off we went. The second half has more combat, so there wasn't a good place to stop and pause for dinner. We didn't eat until around eleven. Not our latest night, by far, but still a late night.

It's good to be able to do some roleplaying on a regular basis. I'm adjusting to the 3rd Edition rules as we go along. Maryanne is becoming more enthusiastic as we go along, as well. I hope that trend continues.

Next on the list will be The Forge of Fury for April. And trying to get everyone up to speed and modify things to fit my campaign world. That may prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Whack-jobs....

This is probably the most disturbing picture you'll see today, courtesy, of course, of the whack-jobs at PETA.

Knight errantry....

I was able to finish Don Quixote today. It was not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination, being over a thousand pages. Nonetheless, it was very good. The translation was as faithful as possible while still making sense in English; there were some 17th-century Spanish idioms that would not have translated well. It was very entertaining, being amusing as well as moving. For anyone who's been wondering about tackling it, I recommend giving it a try.

The Grave Digger....

It's probably old news by now that Gilbert Brown was cut by the Packers recently. He certainly wasn't the most versatile player, but he did what he did, and giving it his best, did it well. Throughout his tenure in the NFL he was extremely faithful to the Packers, something I greatly admire.

Victimized again....

This gives me a nice warm, fuzzy feeling about Madison police.

Armed and responsible....

Now why can't we get Wisconsin to do this?

Evil incarnate....

If you support the Second Amendment, you should read this. Have I ever mentioned I hate Dianne Feinstein?

Doctors recommend....

Here is an interesting Op/Ed piece on the issue of concealed-carry, written by a doctor.

"Meet the heartland...."

This is an interesting read.

Narnia on film....

I'll want to read the books first, and then hope Disney doesn't fuck it all up somehow.

Oy....

If The Passion of the Christ has you down, this might help lighten things up.

A different story....

On Sunday, Maryanne and I went with some friends to see The Passion of the Christ, the somewhat controversial film by Mel Gibson. After seeing the movie, I can see why some people would get themselves worked up over it, but would also add that those people probably wouldn't be very rational to begin with. The only way I see this movie causing feelings of anti-Semitism is if a person is already predisposed to be so.

The movie is rather graphic. But as I told Maryanne, and later Amy, it's just a dramatic, graphic representation of a story we already know.

Well, most of us know it. As it turns out, most of the people we went to the movie went weren't very familiar with the story, as demonstrated when they mentioned they wished the movie would have contained more background, so they knew what was going on. Maryanne commented that they probably didn't see the same movie she and I did. I have to agree with her.

PEBKAC....

The past few days of work have been hellish.

We started the week with some security patches being pushed out to users, patches which caused machines to lock up and our network to run slowly. We had two mornings of heavy queing on account of this.

Add to the mix the onslaught of the Netsky virus. This additional problem was compounded by (let's face facts) stupid end users. The e-mail server was bogged down by not only normal mail and the mail generated by the virus itself, but by end users e-mailing each other basically asking "What did you send me? Why did you send me this?"

It's been a real case of PEBKAC.

Because of this, we're being asked to come in an hour early tomorrow. Thirty minutes definitely would not bother me. But when you're talking an hour, some comp. time would be appreciated. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees.

Nothing brightens my afternoon like being asked to work an extra hour with nothing in recompense for it.

New and "improved...."

This article was pretty interesting. I find it a little unnerving, though, that some of history's greatest writers fare so poorly when judged against the test's criteria.

I'm glad Wisconsin prefers the ACT.

Litigious....

Read this, and then contact your senator and urge him or her to support S. 1805.

Irony....

This is pretty ironic.

And I'm linking to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel because the Madison-based Capitol Times sucks.

Now entering geekdom....

On Saturday Maryanne and I invited some friends over, Jenni and Jeff, and Eric and Tina. The six of us entered the world of geekdom and started a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Laying all the small talk aside and taking care of last minute details relatively early, we were able to play for about eight hours straight, with maybe an hour total of breaks in between.

When all was said and done and our guests had left, Maryanne looked at me and said, "If I tell you something, do you promise not to be...." It sounded like she was reluctant to say something. She finished the sentence: "...surprised?"

"Sure," I replied.

"I had a lot of fun tonight."

I was glad she had fun, and finally had a good experience with D&D, even though she was a little ashamed to admit it. As she keeps saying, I'll turn her into a geek yet.

Gnarly!

Take the 80's Lyrics Quiz. I scored 94 on my first run through.

Burnination....

Burnination strikes at the campus of the University of South Carolina. Trogdor wins as write-in for Preston Hall first-floor representative.

Man of La Mancha....

I started reading Cervantes' Don Quixote late last week. It's the Motteux translation, and Knopf's Everyman's Library edition. It's been a slow read so far.

Comments....

Comments have returned, this time hosted by HaloScan. They seem much more stable and professional, and I probably should have picked them from the beginning. I'm hoping they're more reliable than the previous two attempts.

Bizarre....

This is pretty bizarre, even for the whack-jobs at PETA.

Lacking credentials....

Things heat up in the Sturgeon Bay mayoral race when the incumbent is forced to come clean.

We have a winner!

A Green Bay girl finds one of the Great ColorQuest M&M contest bags and wins $20,000 and a Volkswagen Beetle.

Done already?

The Jungle Book was indeed a quick read. I should have brought something else with me.

Sneaky....

Another whack-job drought ends as PETA makes the news again, this time in a flap over the Atkins diet. Remember to eat more meat.

Nameless....

I finished reading Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage yesterday. It was a quick read, being around 170 pages or so, and since it was a Reader's Digest edition, it was illustrated. It was good, but unusual in that the author did not refer to the characters by their names.

Today I started on Rudyard Kiplings The Jungle Book. It's the Everyman's Library edition, and illustrated. I also expect it to be a quick read.

"Nobody's fault but mine...."

Wisconsin law-makers eye making people take responsibility for their own actions instead of being able to blame fast food chains and other restaurants.

Knobs is one....

A Washington-state 3rd grade teacher uses cribbage to teach her students better mental math skills. I wonder if any of the kids has gotten the 29-point hand?

The nerve!

Boston-area resident Bob Adams uses his Second Amendment rights to defend himself against an intruder. Now the intruder's lawyer says Adams should be charged.

Boosting morale....

I'm glad to know this is happening year round, and not just during the holidays.

Offshore no more....

It looks like Colorado isn't the only one interested in keeping jobs from heading overseas.

My dog's smarter than your dog....

See how your dog ranks on this list of dog breeds ranked by intelligence and obedience.

Fun for the whole family....

Film critic Peter M. Nichols looks beyond Disney for movies that are good for the whole family, including children. Read more here.

Ironic....

Showing the true meaning of irony, the Statue of Libery is the only national monument that has not reopened since September 11, 2001.

Call me gimpy....

Maryanne and I arrived home last night from our trip to Fresno, California. It was a pleasant but exhausting weekend. My only regret is that we weren't able to do more because of some tendonitis above my right ankle.

Once Maryanne gets a real blog going on her website I'm sure she'll have some news, maybe even some pictures, of our adventures.

No comment....

The third-party host for the commenting on this site is officially dead now. My apologies to all who left comments here.

I'm reluctant to switch to the other host I had tried for fear of problems with it, as well. Until I find an alternative, we may be without comments for a while.

The ends may justify the means....

I received this item in my e-mail some time ago. I was a little wary of it, in light of all the urban legends and hoaxes that circulate around the internet. After checking Snopes a couple of times, I'm currently leaning toward its being authentic. If that is indeed the case, it is certainly thought-provoking.


From: Seitz LtCol Scot S
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:40 AM
To: 1MAW MWSS171 All Personnel
Cc: Fenstermacher Col Stephen M; Kirkpatrick LtCol Stephen F; Chase
LtCol Eric T
Subject: ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Marines and Sailors,

As we approach the end of the year I think it is important
to share a few thoughts about what you've accomplished directly,
in some cases, and indirectly in many others. I am speaking about
what the Bush Administration and each of you has contributed by wearing
the uniform, because the fact that you wear the uniform contributes
100% to the capability of the nation to send a few onto the field to
execute national policy. As you read about these achievements you are
a part of , I would call your attention to two things:

1. This is good news that hasn't been fit to print or report on TV.
2. It is much easier to point out the errors a man makes when he makes
the tough decisions, rarely is the positive as aggressively pursued.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...

... the first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active
duty.

... over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.

... nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.

... the Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.

... on Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts-exceeding the
prewar average.

... all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open,
as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.

... by October 1, Coalition forces had rehab-ed over 1,500 schools - 500
more than scheduled.

... teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.

... all 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.

... doctors salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.

... pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 700
tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.

... the Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccinations to
Iraq's children.

... a Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000
kilometers of weed-choked canals which now irrigate tens of thousands of
farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and
women.

... we have restored over three-quarters of prewar telephone services and
over two-thirds of the potable water production.

... there are 4,900 full-service telephone connections. We expect 50,000 by
year-end.

... the wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes
to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and
towns.

... 95 percent of all prewar bank customers have service and first-time
customers are opening accounts daily.

... Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.

... the central bank is fully independent.

... Iraq has one of the worlds most growth-oriented investment and banking
laws.

... Iraq has a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.

... satellite TV dishes are legal.

... foreign journalists aren't on 10-day visas paying mandatory and
extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for "minders" and other
government spies.

... there is no Ministry of Information.

... there are more than 170 newspapers.

... you can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.

... foreign journalists (and everyone else) are free to come and go.

... a nation that had not one single element - legislative, judicial or
executive - of a representative government, now does.

... in Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils.
Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the
city council elected its new chairman.

... today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional
organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.

... 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in
Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.

... the Iraqi government regularly participates in international events.
Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen
international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab
League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30
Iraqi embassies around the world.

... Shia religious festivals that were all but banned, aren't.

... for the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites
celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.

... the Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large
and small, as part of a strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.

... Uday and Queasy are dead - and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to the
zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force cooperation,
torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games, or murdering critics.

... children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents disagree with
the government.

... political opponents aren't imprisoned, tortured, executed, maimed, or
are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.

... millions of longsuffering Iraqis no longer live in perpetual terror.

... Saudis will hold municipal elections.

... Qatar is reforming education to give more choices to parents.

... Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.

... the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian -- a
Muslim woman who speaks out with courage for human rights, for democracy and
for peace.

... Saddam is gone.

... Iraq is free.

... President Bush has not faltered or failed.

... Yet, little or none of this information has been published by the Press
corps that prides itself on bringing you all the news that's important.

Iraq under US lead control has come further in six months than Germany did
in seven years or Japan did in nine years following WWII. Military deaths
from fanatic Nazi's, and Japanese numbered in the thousands and continued
for over three years after WWII victory was declared.

It took the US over four months to clear away the twin tower debris, let
alone attempt to build something else in its place.

Now, take into account that Congress fought President Bush on every aspect
of his handling of this country's war and the post-war reconstruction; and
that they continue to claim on a daily basis on national TV that this conflict
has been a failure.

Taking everything into consideration, even the unfortunate loss of our brothers
and sisters in this conflict, do you think anyone else in the world could
have accomplished as much as the United States and the Bush administration
in so short a period of time?

These are things worth writing about. Get the word out. Write to someone you
think may be able to influence our Congress or the press to tell the story.

Above all, be proud that you are a part of this historical precedent.

God Bless you all. Have a great Holiday.

Semper Fidelis,

CO

No comment....

As you can see, comments are down again. I may be seeking alternatives to third-party providers. My apologies to those who have left comments.

Not helping the issue....

It's hard for me to respond to this without seeming extremely anti-Catholic. On one hand you have Bishop Burke doing his job, doing what he's appointed to do. On the other hand you have politicians doing their jobs, doing what they're elected to do. Politics and religion rarely mix, a fact the founding fathers knew and understood well when drafting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. While Catholic doctrine prohibits abortion and euthanasia (and I'm not here to debate those particular issues at this time), politicians have a duty to represent their constituents, and would not be doing so for long if they were to vote against those they represent.

Bishop Burke is certainly entitled to do his job as he sees fit, and to be concerned about the spiritual welfare of these politicians. However, he's certainly not doing them any favors by denying them one of the most important Christian sacraments, a sacrament recognized by all Christian denominations.

Downhill....

On January 5, William Bunch, columnist for the the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote this column in anticipation of Sunday's NFL Divisional playoff game in which the Packers visit the Eagles. It was tongue-in-cheek, of course, featuring some good-natured if biting ribbing. Tom Perry, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette responded in like fashion with his own column. Sadly, senses of humor were lacking all around, as exhibited by these e-mails sent to Perry by readers of the PDN. Perry did his best to smooth things over with humor in this latest attempt. An article from the GBPG chronicles the rapid degeneration of what should have been a friendly exchange of trash-talk.

Alert! Alert!

Do you ever wonder what the current terror level is? I know I do. But I don't lose any sleep over it, because I know I can always check it out here and here.

My compass is broken....

Check out this interesting article about Earth's magnetic field. Here comes the science.

Team spirit....

Now if only I had a Green Bay Packers polo shirt for Friday.

Insightful....

It turns out Boomer Esiason is a pretty bright guy. If you don't believe me, just read this column.

Gratitude....

For those of you who might doubt that Green Bay Packers fans are the best around, just read this.

Something's fishy....

This is a good story for the holidays. It also makes you stop and think about where our priorities, as a nation, might be.

Part of this complete breakfast....

This is the kind of thing Maryanne would beat me for if I did it. Nonetheless, I find it amusing, and she probably will too, since someone else did it.

At what cost?

The disturbing story behind the Evil Empire. This is the reason I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague.

Comments....

Well, it turns out the free blog comment provider I had tried, though easy to use, is unreliable, and a mere day or two after setting up the feature, their site is already down. That does not bode well, so I switched providers to BlogSpeak, who I'm hoping will be more reliable. Since Maryanne was the only one having left any comments on the site, I'm not overly concerned with the loss of her two comments (Sorry!). Hopefully this new host will be more reliable, and I can look forward to some more active commenting here.

Apologies....

It's a couple weeks old now, but this Op/Ed piece is one of the best I've read in a while.

It doesn't quack....

What noise does a platypus make? It doesn't matter: they have radar.

Idle hands....

Some people have too much time on their hands, and then we end up with stuff like this.

Silly....

Speaking of whack-jobs....

Now arriving: comments....

As you can see (or maybe not), I've added a comment feature to the blog. It's provided by a third-party vendor, called BlogOut, and is a free service. If you don't like it, then you can come up with an alternative for me.

Happy holidays!

A little twisted humor just in time for the holidays.

Full of surprises....

It turns out my windshield did have to be replaced, at a cost of $300-some dollars. It turns out Klein-Dickert is pretty cool, though. The part was in stock, and we were able to get it fixed right away.

Much of our weekend was spent doing some Christmas shopping. Did you know it's nigh on impossible to find desk lamps with a polished-brass finish? Or that it's equally difficult to find a bathroom towel rack in an antique-brass finish? It's all chrome and brushed nickel these days.

Saturday night there was a surprise birthday party for Maryanne's friend Kim, who was turning 30. She was surprised. It was an interesting evening that included silly string, marshmallows, flashing, and a little bit of pyromania. Thank God there were some other guys there.

Cracked view....

Somehow I developed a crack in my windshield. I reported it today, and made an appointment to have it fixed tomorrow morning. But between the time I left home this morning and the time I got home this afternoon, the crack had grown. I'm not very optimistic that it's going to be able to be fixed, and I'm wondering instead of my windshield will have to be replaced entirely.

I have no idea what caused the crack. I don't recall anything hitting my windshield hard enough to do it. I suspect the crack has been there for a while, and the rain turning to snow we got earlier this week caused it to grow.

Surfing...

Personal Web surfing at work can be beneficial. Here comes the science.

Geeky Christmas....

Christmas gift ideas for the nerd in your life, brought to you by the good people at Wired. Geek factor: high.

Changed the world....

Monty Python's Flying Circus: "the Beatles of Comedy."

Grammar....

Check your grammar skills. I'm sure few will be surprised to learn I got 10 out of 10.

"Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night..."

...Nor a massive snowstorm could keep these sisters from Lambeau Field.

This is most certainly true....

This might be interesting to see.

Strange things are happening....

Wackiness is almost sure to ensue when Mormons are involved.

Crossing a line....

Apparently this guy hasn't heard about separation of church and state.

Behold the power of cheese....

Yet another example of geeks with too much time on their hands.

Bully tactics....

Whack-jobs aren't only found with PETA, but this guy's from California, and that's good enough for me.

Gobble, gobble!

As Thanksgivings go, Thanksgiving 2003 was probably somehow the most organized in a long time, considering all that went wrong.

Maryanne and I arrived Wednesday night, but later than we would have liked. Caly's Blazer was in Mom's driveway, and we were greeted by the smell of cooking. It smelled like steak to me, but when we got inside we learned that Caly's pumpkin cheesecake had leaked all over the upper oven, proving that Mom's smoke detector did indeed work. Because of the buttery, smoky mess in the upper oven, Mom decided to run the cleaning cycle. With instruction manual in hand she started pressing buttons. The upper oven locked, and we set it on its merry way.

The next morning we discovered that the oven was still locked and without power. Resetting breakers did nothing to help, and we soon discovered we had to find another way to roast two turkeys.

One was done on the Weber kettle grill, while Caly came and picked up the other and cooked it at her house. With the dressing cooked on the gas grill, everything came together quite nicely.