BSG Drinks

Last night, while watching Battlestar Galactica, Danika and I tried some of the BSG Drinks from BattlestarExtras. So, I have some info for those of you who like both BSG and alcohol.

Okay, the Lay Down You Burdens is good, but strong. Recommend adding more milk, and taking a lactose pill beforehand. Choca-booza-holics rejoice! Needless to say, the super-sweet, fatty, adult beverages gave me a bit of a tummy ache. I recommend not drinking like 3 of the LDYB.

Ionian Nebula is like drinking cherry chocolate cough syrup. I do not recommend it at all. Or maybe buying a higher priced cherry brandy, or subbing half the cherry brandy for regular brandy. Something, anything. Gag. Down the drain.

Then john rushed out to buy us some orange soda so we could try a Knuckle Dragger. Quite tasty, and a refreshingly light drink after all the creamy sweetness.

Be advised: we made all of these shaken or on the rocks, because we were far far too lazy to bust out the blender. All our opinions should be taken with a big rim o' salt.

In non-BSG drinking news: I acquired the ingredients to make a Sidecar. I'm going to try making one tonight, and hopefully it will be my new favorite drink. I'm tired of only ordering Long Islands and Amaretto or Whiskey Sours.

I also got a copy of some video and pictures from a very fun drinking night in December. I'll re-watch it sober sometime this weekend and maybe post it for you to laugh at me.

I'm still working on not double-spacing after a sentence. Its harder to change than you might think. It appears that either Facebook or Blogger goes back and fixes it for me; odd.

HALLOWEEN IS COMING!

The End: A scarecrow, a magpie and treason.


I've also been watching these sceery Halloween-themed stories:

Better Zombies Through Physics
Join us for chills, thrills, and pulse-pounding scientific breakthroughs as we embark on a tour of the Quantum Zombie, Inc. facility, courtesy of a guy who bears a striking resemblance to famed scientist and cat-lover Erwin Schrödinger. Hijinks, hilarity, and an abundance of felines await you in Tor.com's newest comic strip.

ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER is a serialized horror story, written by Joey Comeau, illustrated by Emily Horne, who are also the creators of A Softer World. The final chapter (chapter 8) will be released on Halloween night, 2008. [Warning for people who like cuddly babies and kittens....this one is disturbing]


Red Meat Comics
This one isn't specifically Halloween-themed, but more a randomness that often crosses the line of creepiness. I do love it so very much.

Knitted to Death!

These are ADORABLE and HILARIOUS knitted critters made by Patricia Waller.



Check out the whole gallery. Yes, I could have put up comments on everyone's myspace, but that's just not my style, and it would have taken longer. Just love me for who I am, m'kay?

Caution: Some of them are not exactly safe for certain innocent minds, especially that last one, ehehehehehe!

For Lydia: Crossing Wonderland (Frog Prince) <---Totally safe
For Becky: Crossing Wonderland (Unicorn)
For Amanda: How to Kill Your First Love (Duck)
For Troy: Rabbits [all three of those crack me up!]
For Traci: Domestic Help<--Totally safe

This one's for ME! Aliens (Space Couple)

And, psstt....

( )_( )
(='.'=)
(")_(")
PASS THE BUNNY ON!!!!
Bunnies RULE THE EARTH!!!!

X-Files *spoilers*

Positive:
Mulder and Scully together without angst. Thank you.

Confusion:
Have they been living together for awhile, or just since she went out to find him? If the former, then why is she ribbing him for being so trusting and not noticing she's in the house, and only just now complaining about the scratchy beard? If it is the latter, then its awful odd how she's referring to them having a home together. Why do two people who love each other and sleep together still call each other by their last names when they no longer have a professional relationship? We are fans of X-Files, we would know who Dana and Fox are.

Interesting:
When Mulder is trying to make a call, we see a closeup of his screen as he selects Gillian. Accidental or intentional?

Negative:
Hey, remember that show, X-Files, where all that supernatural and extraterrestrial stuff is investigated? Well this isn't that. We get one guy who "has visions." We, the audience, don't get to peek into those visions, and they are completely unreliable and mostly useless. Instead, this is a movie about trying to touch on as many "current events" topics as possible: Stem cells, gay marriage, and pedophile priests.

But then they didn't really talk about any of the issues, except the safe one that few will disagree with: pedophile priests are evil nasty people. Then they go to the old standby "evil medical scientists with accents do horrible experiments." They even tried, I think, to imply "horrific" sex-change operations, since the gay-married head transplant guy was only being attached to women's bodies. Of course, that might be because movies don't get made about missing, abducted men, that would be dumb because those men would obviously be able to take care of themselves and get away, duh.

On top of all that, the movie was dull, slow, lacking energy. The same conversations were re-hashed at least three times per character...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... all of these plots would have been 10x better.

On Fat

First, the video by Joy Nash


So this a picture of me, 5 years ago:


I know that at the moment this picture was taken, I felt like a cow. I look back now, and I see that, wow, I was kinda cute. But I still crop my lower body out of this picture, because I still look at it and feel as awkward as I did the moment it was taken. That is a shame, because the pond scenery is sooo beautiful. The bigger shame is that I had to feel so awkward in such a lovely photograph, just because my clothes didn't fit me right.

I. Looked. Great.

But I was so overjoyed at finally FINALLY being able to get into and zip up a size 10 pair of shorts, that I didn't realize that it didn't mean that those pants FIT ME. With the unfortunate shirt, I was stuck on the idea that I was a size Medium, forever an always, up top. I was so terrified, mortified, at ever even trying on a size Large *gasp, horror* that I actually put up with an entire wardrobe (term used loosely) of shirts that stretched tight over my round belly.

I was the most physically fit of my entire life. Back then I weighed 141 pounds, overweight by Air Force standards for my height. Lets keep in mind that at this point I had zero social life and spent 1-2 hours PER NIGHT at the gym, in addition to my unit's thrice-weekly mandatory mile run and calisthenics, and I ate a cobb salad for lunch and dinner every day. I could do 65 situps in 60 seconds, but I still had the round tummy, and I always will. FACT.

Here's me last month:

When I posted this picture to Facebook, I cropped it to not show my arms, and squeezed the image a little. Yup. I still can't stand the sight of myself in the camera's lens.

Now, I don't bother weighing myself anymore. I am done hating myself because of that number. Maybe it is around 165, I dunno. I wear a size 12/14 pant, and Large/XL shirts. I can't shop at most stores in the mall because they have shitty selection that high, and I get asked "why are you here, skinny?" at Lane Bryant.

I have biked 100 miles in about 5 total weeks. I do yoga or an abs workout 4 times a week. I have found healthy, simple foods that I enjoy, and I refuse to eat something "healthy" that I do not absolutely love.

Today I made pound cake, and I will delight in every brandy-infused bite for the next week.

Sad

So, the last couple of days have been dramatically bad in my family.

Some argument between Mom and Aunt Kay over some other thing spilled over into an arguing over the car I was trying to sell to one of them. I'm getting drunken calls in the middle of the night, and I'm trying to mediate the argument and make sure that my interests (getting the car out of my name) are covered. I thought it was more of the same when I got a call from Mom last night. Not even close.

The call I got from my Mom is that Aunt Kay called her, told her my cousin's boyfriend died, and hung up. Mom called my brother, no answer. Mom called my other cousin, got an angry response and hung up on. I have no idea what that is about, but then she called me and asked me to find out what was going on. She was worried that my brother might not be okay. She is like me (or I am like her, whatever) in that a tiny bit of bad information rolls around in my brain and snowballs until I panic over all the possibilities. This put me in the position of calling my aunt, who was in the middle of a tragedy, in the middle of trying to calm my distraught cousin, and try to get information. I felt like a piece of shit.

My cousin, her boyfriend, and my baby brother are all about 17/18 and good friends. I am assuming the three of them were together last night when the boyfriend drowned in the river. Apparently, the thing to do is wade out to the sandbars and hang out. He stepped into a hole, I guess on the way out.

It could have been any of them, it could have been all of them...

I keep picturing the two kids, napping together on the couch while I was visiting. I have never seen two people so in love, so comfortable with one another.

Mom asked me if they had found him yet. I stammered, I choked. There was no way I could have asked that question, even if I had thought about the possibility. No way on Earth I would have found the words.

Video from KQ2 News

From StJoesNews.net

River conditions blamed in drowning

by St. Joseph News-Press
Wednesday, July 23, 2008

NODAWAY, Mo. — Authorities believe swift river currents contributed to the drowning of a Skidmore teen Monday in the Nodaway River.

The drowning occurred near the intersection of Andrew County roads 400 and 459 just west Nodaway, Mo.

Savannah Volunteer Fire Department personnel recovered the body of Eli Stiens, 19, at 7:19 p.m. Monday, said Bryan Atkins, the chief deputy for the Andrew County Sheriff’s Department.

According to a Missouri State Water Patrol report, the victim went camping with friends on a sandbar. He went swimming in the river, which had a depth of about 7 feet to 10 feet. The report stated that friends said he was approximately 25 feet from the sandbar when he began having problems. His friends attempted a rescue but had to let him go because he was pulling them under at about 4:30 p.m. Monday. Mr. Stiens went under and didn’t resurface.

The fire department launched two boats shortly after 5 p.m. Monday to drag the river, Mr. Atkins said. It was too late for a rescue, he said.

Briefly

If you love Torchwood, and have any knowledge of LOLCats, you must read this now: Trying to Communicate.

That is all.

Polarized Shirmp Vision

Funky Shrimp Vision helps them get Funky
or as Professor White says, "...for the four fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing and...flirting."
...
The two scientists have shown that shrimp of the species Gonodactylus smithii have eyes that simultaneously measure four linear and two circular polarisations, enabling them to determine both the direction of the oscillation, as well as how polarised the light is.

Bla Bla Bla....

Still no word on my final grade in Physics 2. Suck.

I had to replace my driver's side seatbelt, which was going to cost an arm and three legs. Luckily, I go to the same place all the time and they are super-nice and I saved $40 off my bill. While waiting for them to diagnose the problem on Monday, I discovered the new River Valley Coffee and Cafe downtown. I was so hungry for breakfast that I would have eaten cardboard, but luckily this was much better AND YOU MUST GO THERE AND EAT! Yesterday while waiting for them to finish my car, I stopped by D'Vine Wine for the first time. I was unaware that they made their own wine on site. I had a Wine Rita....a frickin' wine smooooothhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee.....it was very good. Then I had to walk back to the coffee shop for some lunch.

For today's activities, I started with a yard sale "organized" by the apartment management. By "organized" I mean they told us what day to do it, and maybe put up signs. Participation was low, and I didn't get out there until 9:30 so I missed some sales opportunities. I made $35, which will go to buying grass mat or bamboo window treatments for my living and dining rooms. I'm off to goodwill now, to drop off some unsold items, and then to Tuesday Morning to find those window treatments, and then to the grocery store for some sour cream for tacos. Mmmm tacos.....I'm so hungry....

***
Eh. I forgot the box of stuff for Goodwill, and there were no good window coverings at Tuesday Morning

But the tacos were totally good, and now I'm full.

Only 20 Percent?

Created by OnePlusYou

Around 20% of the pages on your website contain cussing.This is 150% MORE than other websites who took this test.

Do they count things like "I fraking love The Battlestar Galactica!!!!!!!!!!!!!"? If not, their count is off.


Also, please watch this cute and serious little video about body image that I found via Shapely Prose

Blame Leap Day

I've just spent a few hours reading up on The World Calendar and Decimal Time, which are both ideas I very much like.

The World Calendar is great because you'll never have to buy a new wall calendar again, the same one works every single year. Your birthday or anniversary will be on the same day of the week every year. The year ends on Saturday, there's a Holiday day, and then the new year begins on Sunday. Leap Year days are between Saturday and Sunday as well. It is simple. It is tidy. I'm in love with Calendar Reform.

I ran across decimal time because i get really annoyed at time conversions in my physics homework. There's a different conversion each step of the way to from days to hours to minutes to seconds. Yes, it is pretty common sense, but why have another thing to know when we are already learning x10 prefixes for every single other unit of measurement? Dumb. Annoying. Do away with it. In reality, if that happened I know we would be forced to learn how to convert from Wacky Time to Decimal Time, thus adding complexity rather than eliminating complexity. A Geek can dream, okay? I'm willing to bet (or remember) that it is already the case that some science uses decimal time. No, I won't look it up. Who do you think I am?

Then I ran across this selection of funny clocks at Dick and Jane's Fine Woodworking. On the 4th and 5th rows are: Who Cares?, Don't Do Mornings, No Drinking Before 5, Further I Go Behinder I Get. They also have one Decimal Clock.

Google Reader Widget

I added a new widget to my sidebar. Now you can see blog posts that I have read and flagged as interesting. Because I have no real life, you may recall. Now, thanks to Google Reader and Blogger, you can know just how weird my internet readings (and the inside of my skull) really are.

Poetry

These are my two favorite poems, both by Robert Frost. Enjoy

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Random Links

Here I am watching the BSG Razor videos, but the damn things aren't buffering and its pissing me off. Funny, the ads at the beginning aren't jumpy, and of course the video quality is ass. Good Grief, this thing is 4 minutes long, with 2 full minutes of credits. There's an ad at the beginning, and then the credits on the end, and then a promo for the upcoming real episode on the end. The actual clip must only be a minute long. I just spent half an hour trying to watch 7 clips like that, 7 damn minutes. They did the same thing last season, and the clips were of even more crappy quality. I know they're a big-budget show, but you wouldn't know it from these videos.

So anyway, I moved on to finding some gadget to help me find (or maybe not lose) my keys. A few months back, I bought a cute box for Michael to put his wallet and keys and random pocket items in. It is now a bottomless pit of receipts, and the general clutter has overflowed to the counter again. I'm considering one for myself, but first I'm going to investigate my options.

I found the KeyRinger, which is of a fair price and the two tags find each other, no remote. Then there's the pricey option: The Loc8tor. Need I say more? I found a low-tech, low cost solution at The Container Store. Its a khaki doorknob hanger with pockets and a clip for keys. I'm not sure if my wallet is skinny enough for it, but it would keep the Paper-Pile Monster from growing within. I turned to Amazon.com and found two things similar to the Loc8tor, but less expensive and complicated. They are, um, at the top of my

Of course I suppose its time to tell you all about the hours I spent holiday decorating. Yeah. It seems there are so many holidays during this chilly season to keep people from killing each other, and look what christmas has done, turned into a holiday that makes people want to kill each other, while giving them an excuse to hold hammers. Its just a horrible loop. I started hanging my little snowflake strand, but the nails i was using were too short for me to hammer into the wall, so they kept falling to the floor. At nail #4, i threw down the hammer and declared "The Season" was over, because it ends the moment it begins to annoy me. Anyway, I ended up hanging Michael's stocking (mine is packed somewhere) and sitting out the green sparkle teddy bear and the little stuffed snowman on either side of the tv, and the rest of the shit stayed in the holiday gift bag it was being stored in, now "decorating" the spot between the TV and fireplace.

Thats the end of my holiday decorating.

Oh Sick!

Steve, Don't Eat It!
I've only made it to reading the Urkel-O's ... and Michael thinks I'm too adventurous about trying new foods...

Ok, I finished reading, and I admit that there was one entry that exceeded my ICK limit, and I quickly scrolled past it, bravely hoping the following entries wouldn't be that bad. I leave you to guess which one.

Bird Therapy

Thanks to kiwilito over at birdboard.com for the laugh.

Defective Yeti

I just ran across this one via Dooce's sidebar, and I can't bookmark on these damn lab computers. Anyway, here are a few snippits:

I always imagine the inventors of Trivial Pursuit sitting around one evening after a few beers, saying "You know what my favorite part of high school was? Taking exams that I didn't study for. If only we could package the thrill of a pop quiz into a board game, but do it in such a way that 80% of the time you're sitting around inertly watching other people struggle to answer the questions, we would have a sure-fire hit on our hands."

____________
Knock knock

Who's there?

George W. Bush

Oh, god. Still?

Yes, for 14 more months

Fuck.

_____________

Of course I'll be the first to pull the lever for Clinton if it's Hillary v. Rudy in the general election. Standing on principle is noble, but Giuliani eats power for breakfast and shits crazy in the afternoon.

Geek Cakes

I sent this link out in an email awhile back, and I just went to some of the links left in the comments. OMGosh there are some real funny geek cakes:

http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/09/bake_me_a_geeky_cake.php#more

Here are just a few from the comments:
http://www.barrettnexus.com/gallery/d/7552-2/imag0001.jpg
Trilobites
http://lukawitz.com/wedding/fordaddy/cake.jpg
http://homepages.tesco.net/%7Ejanefisk/discworld/discworld.htm
http://katzor.blogspot.com/2007/09/power-ee-nerds-eat-your-heart-out.html
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/circuitsnacks


I want to bake something.

Dr. Who loves birds!

This is absolutely marvelous! Here I am, sitting with my conure and waiting for tonight's Dr. Who episode, and what do I find on the internets? I and the Bird #58, a carnival of bird posts in the context of Dr. Who. The circle of geekdom is complete.

7 Minutes of Truth

Brutally Honest. Watch at your own risk, my friends.



Found via:
Effects Measure