"I guess I'm going to have to go out to [transmitter site]. The last time the temperature got that hot, some kids had set the building on fire."

[x] I am shorter than 5'4".
[x] I think I'm ugly sometimes.
[x] have many scars.
[x] I tan easily.
[x] I wish my hair was a different color.
[x] I have friends who have never seen my natural hair color.
[x] I have a tattoo.
[x] I am self-conscious about my appearance.
[x] I had braces.
[ ] I wear glasses. (sometimes)
[x] I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
[x] I've been told I'm attractive by a complete stranger.
[x] I have more than 2 piercings.
[x] I have piercings in places besides my ears.
[ ] I have freckles.

FAMILY
[x] I've sworn at my parents.
[ ] I've run away from home.
[ ] I've been kicked out of the house.
[ ] My biological parents are together.
[ ] I have a sibling less than one year old.
[x] I want to have kids someday.
[ ] I've had children.
[ ] I've lost a child.

EMBARRASSMENT
[x] I've slipped out a "lol" in a spoken conversation.
[x] Disney movies still make me cry.
[x] I've peed from laughing.
[x] I've snorted while laughing.
[x] I've laughed so hard I've cried.
[ ] I've glued my hand to something
[x] I've laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose.
[ ] I've had my trousers rip in public.

RELATIONSHIPS
[ ] I'm single.
[x] I'm in a relationship.
[ ] I'm engaged.
[ ] I'm married.
[ ] I've gone on a blind date.
[ ] I've been the dumpee more than the dumper.
[ ] I miss someone right now.
[ ] I have a fear of abandonment.
[ ] I've cheated in a relationship.
[ ] I've gotten divorced.
[x] I've had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.
[x] I've told someone I loved them when I didn't.
[ ] I've told someone I didn't love them when I did.
[ ] I've kept something from a past relationship.

SEXUALITY
[x] I've had a crush on someone of the same sex.
[ ] I've had a crush on a teacher.
[x] I am a cuddler.
[x] I've been kissed in the rain.
[x] I've hugged a stranger.
[x] I have kissed a stranger.

HONESTY
[x] I've done something I promised someone else I wouldn't.
[x] I've done something I promised myself I wouldn't.
[x] I've snuck out of my house.
[x] I have lied to my parents about where I am.
[x] I am keeping a secret from the world.
[x] I've cheated while playing a game.
[x] I've cheated on a test.
[ ] I've been suspended from school.

BAD TIMES
[x] I've consumed alcohol.
[ ] I regularly drink.
[ ] I can't swallow pills.
[x] I can swallow about 5 pills at a time no problem.
[ ] I have been diagnosed with clinical depression.
[x] I shut others out when I'm upset.
[ ] I take anti-depressants.
[ ] I have\had anorexic or bulimic tendencies or have\had EDNOS tendencies
[x] I've slept an entire day when I didn't need it.
[x] I've hurt myself on purpose.
[ ] I'm addicted to self harm
[x] I've woken up crying.

Once upon a time, there was a plain old Powerbook. Much loved, but not much to look at.



And so it came to pass that one day Infmom saw printable laptop skins at Office Max, suitable for application to plain 15" notebooks, and Infmom said, hmmm...

Infmom had on hand a wonderful image by kythera that would be perfect for the purpose. So she scanned, and printed test images.



And that looked really good, so Infmom printed out a test page on good quality paper and gave that a try.



And thus was born the Kythera of Anevern laptop skin, and the Powerbook is happy and Infmom is so thrilled she couldn't quite hold the camera steady to capture it in all its glory.



The image of "Morghu Mirror'd" is copyright ©2008 by Kythera of Anevern and is used by kind permission of the artist.

I have an external WinTV tuner that I got several years ago. For some unknown reason, I can no longer get the TV audio. Can't figure out whether it's the WinTV or my sound card's line-in jack that's at fault. The sound card's not exactly brand new either.

I figured no problem, I'll attach a laptop and check it out. Who knew laptops don't come with line-in jacks?

Watching the MJ tribute.

We live close enough to Forest Lawn that we could hear the flocks of helivultures quite clearly last night and first thing this morning. Burbank Airport reported 19 of them today. Ye gods. I suspect we could have gotten a reasonable view of the motorcade if we'd walked over to Griffith Park... but all in all, it was a better idea to watch it on TV.

I'm cynical enough to wonder if the digital glitches in the sound are there on purpose so people will want to buy an unblemished recording.

While MJ was certainly a phenomenal talent, I still think Sammy Davis Jr. is a better contender for the title of greatest entertainer.

Al Sharpton is a relentless media hot dog and ordinarily I change the channel whenever he appears, but I must admit he did a great job today.

The most heartbreaking moments were when Brooke Shields spoke and Jermaine Jackson sang.

The tributes from the King siblings were a lot more about them than about MJ. Did we really need to be reminded repeatedly who your parents were?

The young man from the UK is a phenomenal performer, and I hope he has a brilliant career ahead of him.

The grand finale was one of the real highlights of the show. But we could have done without the "How great I am" commentary from the promoter.

I wonder if they'll ferry the casket back to Forest Lawn now? Helivultures, ahoy.

I can't believe the number of people who fall for the crap about "socialized medicine." Many of the messages I've seen lately could have been written at the height of the Red Menace. Didn't anyone else study propaganda techniques in high school? The buzzwords that are being flung around look like something out of the bad old days of Phyllis Schafly and her bisexual bathrooms. I actually saw someone raise the spectre of Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss today. Unbelievable.

It's also funny (or it would be, if it weren't so sad) how many people don't have any understanding that the United States of America did not exist till the Constitution was ratified in 1789.

Maybe we should have an Independence from Ignorance Day.

We had a nice, low-key get-together yesterday with good friends. Much relatively-bad-for-you-but-nevertheless-yummy food was consumed. And better than anything else, we got the house cleaned up and dealt with a lot of stuff that both of us had left lying around for ages. We should entertain more often. This place would be a lot tidier. :)

I have the plots for three novels in my head. Why can't I get them from there to the outside world?

I'm going to try reading into the laptop next time I have the house to myself, to see if I can finally get my podcats underway. The sound card in my main computer is not compatible with my microphone. As a corollary, I'm thinking of using some of the money I inherited from my mom to buy the materials to build a new computer. I'd need a new motherboard, CPU, memory, sound and video cards. Time to do some research. I think it'd amuse my mother no end to put the money to that purpose, too.

The weather has been quite pleasant here this summer so far. It just makes me think that the weather gods are gearing up to incinerate us in September.

One good thing about having hot dogs for a cookout is that we can then have hot dogs for lunch for a week afterwards. And with that I think it's lunchtime.

Happy birthday janietrain!

Watched the fourth Indiana Jones movie tonight.

Fell into the Star Trek pattern, except here the odd numbered movies are fun and the even numbered ones are just plain stupid.