Sunday, July 31, 2005

Vacation Cat Blogging!!



Think Happy Thoughts for Kitty. He's feeling,well, um, sick as a dog right now.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Duh

If you are walking along the beach looking for pretty rocks and you see one that is interesting and you pick it up and look at it and say "Hmmm. This rock seems to have some sort of skin condition, eww! it has rock fungus on it. Ick" and then you throw it away. Rocks don't get "skin conditions". There is a name for that "condition", its called an AGATE! rocks don't grow "rock fungi", some rocks are agates.

I was walking along the beach and looking for rocks and a lady along the beach saw me and asked if I was looking for agates and I said "I don't know what an agate looks like" and she dug through her bucket and picked one out and I said "Oh, yeah, I found a couple of those but I thought they had a fungus on them. I threw them back". That made her sad. People collect agates, the sell agates, they collect agates to sell - they don't throw them away because they have skin conditions. I know that now.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Friday, July 22, 2005

Friday Cat Blogging


Working hard at doing nothin' all day.
Whee!

I was doing a GIS for Marquette, MI and I was looking at the images and I came across one and said "Wow. This picture is crooked just like mine was of this same place. I guess I'm not as loserish as I thought I was". The picture was my picture!! I have a picture that is part of a GIS!.


Okay, I'm impressed.

GIS for Marquette, MI
The WACs are Wack Yo

from alert reader Tony


Take Me Away From Must All Of This!


This is Friday Entry Number 3. I had an especially harrowing afternoon trying to force the various technologies I work with to agree that I was going out of town and they needed to let other people know. My first hurtle was my voice mail. I don’t know anything about my voice mail apart from retrieving and deleting messages. I inherited that phone when I was moved into my current office, it had been an abandoned line for quite sometime and in the time it was left sitting there, it collected voice mails. A lot of voice mails. Once upon a time I knew how to delete old saved messages, but now I don’t. I’ve had 11 saved messages stuck in voice mail purgatory for two years, Gawd only knows how long they had been there before that, today I listened to the oldest one by accident ( I don’t know how I got there and I don’t think I’ll ever find my way back) “message number one” dates from 2001! . It took me two visits from my supervisor and 6 takes before I finally recorded a message that I was satisfied with. When I get back I may finally update my regular voice mail message to reflect my new supervisors name. She’s been there since February.

My next notification battle was with my email. I am all ready in a heated argument with the email system over wether or not it is going to allow me to add the state proscribed “Confidential Material” sig line. I know how to ad a sig line, I’ve added many a sig line in my day. The email program at work will not allow me to do that. It seems to want things I don’t have despite getting four pages of instructions on how to do it. I did mange to make my email go directly to my supervisors office, which was great until I mailed the daily blog entry to her. Oops. Fortunately, it was blog entry number 2 and mostly consisted of Friday Cat Blogging and a short screed on the evols of any technology that actually deletes things just because you told it to and won’t change its mind no matter how much you plead with it for a do over.

I really need a vacation. Today after I came home from work, mowed the front yard at 5pm in 96 degree heat, did some laundry, fed the dog, did more laundry - I took Dogger back to Dix Campus for a walk. It wasn’t a “walk” as much as it was a “wander”. We went to the huge field and I let Dogger wander at will and off leash. It was nice. I wandered around myself until I found a good place to lay down in the grass. I watched the sky. I really miss big sky. I miss seeing the horizon. Today I got to see both. I lay there in the green grass and listened to a couple of grasshoppers chat with each other and the birds visiting with each other in the trees. It was absolutely still and the grass was soft and the breeze was cool and the sky was clear and blue and big and stretched as far as I could see in all directions and Dogger was grazing near by, standing guard over all of us. Then had to get up, gather the Dogger and go home to take the trash out, gather the recycling, put the wet laundry into the drier and take the dry laundry upstairs, collect most of Doggers stuff in preparation for taking them over to Brosky and Alphagals tomorrow, after work, after I go to the mall... I will still be thinking about the big blue sky and the grasshoppers and the field and the soft grass and the birds and Dogger and the stillness. No matter how fast I’m going or how many things I still need to get done.

You guys be safe while I’m gone. Keep checking back as I will continue to update whenever I can. There will be Cat Blogging! I’ll miss you guys. See you soon.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Not Again

From BBC.com


Another bombing in the London underground. Story evolving. Pray it's a false alarm.

Edited to add - not a false alarm. but perhaps a dry run gone bad or thankfully, a case of faulty bomb making. No explosives but multiple detonators went off, explaining the sounds of "gun fire" reported. Still, not a good thing. This could have ended up a twin of the last round of explosions - asking the question, if the first was the first and this was the second, where will the third one be?

from CNN.com
Chinese stop pinning value of the Yen to the Dollar

You know how bad things are? They are about to get worse. For your consideration, here are two stories from CNN Money. The first story was written last May and is about the possible outcomes of if the Chinese changed how the yen is valued, and how it would effect the American consumer - short answer? Shrub and his cronies are going to be affected positively, the American consumer is going to take a large hit. The second story is about how the Chinese did actually change the Yen. Embrace those $2.50 a gallon gas prices while you can, and if you got a good interest rate - well, pat yourself on the back because those are going up,up,up. If you are going to make a big purchase and are going to be needing financing? do it now.

Story 1, May 5, 2005

Story 2, July 21, 2005
68 + Hours and Counting

I keep finding new things I need To Do Before I Leave. I also keep discovering all these things that I absolutely Must Take With Me that for some reason I did not deem “must take” worthy two weeks ago when I was packing the first time. To keep myself from making lists I will just lose anyway, I pulled out a bag to put all this Must Take stuff in. I figured I would carry on with me on the plane but the more crap I find I need the more and more it looks like a checked bag.

The first thing I put in my bag was my Harry Potter. I read six pages before I tore it out of my hands and hid it on the stairs to the attic, two minutes later I decided that putting it there led to the outside chance that I may go off and forget it in my rush to leave. It’s doubtful but I have done dumber things so into the bag it goes. The next things that went into the bag were the dog cookies I decided that I absolutely had to make for the dogs I know up there. I really, really did not have to do that and now I’m afraid that some airport anti-terrorism dog is going to sniff my bag and lose his mind and the next thing I know is that I’ve woken up on a plane to Gitmo. I don’t think the excon the airport will have protecting us from “terra” is going to care why his dog just freaked out, he’s going to be so excited his dog is freaking out and that he just won employee of the month due to my misplaced dog love, he’s not going to care why his dog is freaking out. They’ll probably blow my cookies sky high.

I also remembered to find my ticket. That is very important. They won’t let you on the plane with out a ticket. They practically won’t let you out of your car with out a ticket anymore so it was good that I got proactive on the ticket finding. It only took two tries to remember where it was.

Then I had to decide what I was going to wear to church while we are there. I don’t put this much thought into what I am going to wear to church here, I thought about bringing a dress but after 30 plus years going to church there for two weeks every summer, they don’t get that dressed up. They are doing well when they don’t show up to Mass wearing waders , so I am pretty sure that khaki pants is going to put me in the fore front of the Mass going public. I may also brush my hair; I am just a summer person, they don't need confirmation on that before I open my mouth. I’m also too tan. Here, I am comparatively fish belly white, there I look like a contestant on Survivor ( ohhhh,Survivor related question, why don’t they send them to a cold place? That would be kewl! Why not actually make the environment hard to “survive”? they make fur bikinis don’t they?).

Then there are all the things I want to get done here before I leave. I have laundry I want to get done, I need to go to the bank, fill the car up, I also need to clean the house, I need to clean the Dog at least one more time and launder her bedding. I also want to take all that dog stuff over to Broskey and Alphagals early so I can check all that off. On Saturday I also want to go to the flea market book seller and see if there is anything I need there. Harry Potter is only 652 pages and there is no TV, no radio and no computer to keep me busy… I can’t be out being outdoorsy all the time.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

The 101st Fighting keyboarders have their chance at last!

Uncle Sam wants you – even if you’re 42 years old

The Defense Department quietly asked Congress on Monday to raise the maximum age for military recruits to 42 for all branches of the service. Under current law, the maximum age to enlist in the active components is 35, while people up to age 39 may enlist in the reserves. By practice, the accepted age for recruits is 27 for the Air Force, 28 for the Marine Corps and 34 for the Navy and Army, although the Army Reserve and Navy Reserve sometimes take people up to age 39 in some specialties. The Pentagon’s request to raise the maximum recruit age to 42 is part of what defense officials are calling a package of “urgent wartime support initiatives” sent to Congress Monday night prior to a Tuesday hearing of the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee.


Do you know any of those arm chair warriers who "would sign up, but..." Well, here is their chance! "Too Old, Too Fat, Too Out Of Shape" for service? Not Any More. No one is "Too Breathing" to enlist these days.

from The Army Times
Yeah. Right

Bush calls for dignified court confirmation

"In my conversations with senators last night, we discussed how important it is that Judge Roberts get a fair hearing, a timely hearing and a hearing that will bring great credit to our nation and the United States Senate," Bush said.


(LOOK WHAT I DID! SCROTUS! NOT ROVE) Nominee "When I was talkin' to red state senators last night, we talked about how much we would like it if Johnny gets okayed quickly before any one axs him about his judicial experience.(DON'T LOOK AT ROVE LOOK HERE) He went to Law School ya'll! He's totally qualified for the job! Jeb promised him this if'in he did what he asked back in 2000,(FORGET ROVE, LOOK HERE) and we think that if'in we can get him on the bench quick like, this will get us a lot of credit with The Base.(BANG! GOT YOUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM UNKA KARL!) Katherine Harris can suck my dick."



from CNN.com
Blogs In Space


I found a link to a site that will send your blog into outer space. I guess this so the extra terrestrials will know who to probe the next time they come down for a visit. Bloggers like nothing more then talking about ourselves so curious aliens who no doubt will leave feedback and comments and ratchet up the old hit counts of those smart space bloggers. . Those smart space bloggers will also end up anally probed by those same curious aliens, us but that’s what you get for putting yourself out there.

Or not. I tried to make the site work and it wouldn’t take my URL. I don’t know what you have to do to make it accept it but I got tired of trying. If you want to be all Space Blogger, go to here and blog in space. Speaking of space, did you hear that Darth Murdock bought Myspace.Com? Or as I call it, MyFAUXspace.Com because I’m not ever going back there.

What else?

I am hoping by the time you are reading this that I will be using my own force of will instead of the postal services’ to not read my Harry Potter. They have not called me back to talk about my complaint either.

To change the subject,

At church on Sunday there was a woman sitting in front of me who had her hair styled to look exactly like the shag carpet that we had in our house when I was a child. The woman’s head looked like our entry way! It was just wrong. It looked like she had done it on purpose and probably paid someone to make her head look like a carpet remnant from 1978. Shag carpeting! From the seventies! On Your Head! why would you do that to yourself? The hair was black at the roots, then shifted to a white then ended up as a reddish color at the tips. It was just awful – it was all tufty! And carpety! Her husband and kids were sitting with her and they seemed to be totally oblivious to the carpet remnant happening on her head. I looked to see if she was wearing a patient bracelet on her arm or a day pass hanging around her neck or some other external sign that the poor woman was legitimately out of her mind but if she was ( if? If?) She had hidden it well. Except for her hair. That was a dead “I am crazy!” give away.

To change again

Dogger and I managed to just miss the rain and we got our first walk of the week in. Every evening at about the same time it begins to thunder and become all kinds of threatening and then it spits on us and clears up. It doesn’t actually rain or anything, it just puts on a show. I wonder if the weather needs Viagra or something. The computer knew capitalize Viagra all on its own.

Dogger seems to be feeling better. We can walk down the hallway and she doesn’t need to stop for a scratch along the way. Tonight we are getting our second bath of the week and I know she will be just thrilled to jump into the tub again and be bath for the second time in three days. I’m thinking that tonight in an attempt to bribe her into the second bath that I’ll bring her up to Dix Campus for her walk. Its much nicer more interesting then the neighborhood and we haven’t been up there in a while.

I haven’t told her she is going to stay with Uncle Broskey and Aunt Alphagal yet but I think she might get the idea when she and her bedding and crate and her toys and her dish and her water bowl and her food and her cookies and her doggy first aid kit and all the stuff that lives in her back pack go there this weekend and I drive away into the sunset. I usually don’t bring everything when we just go for a visit and all that stuff might give her the impression that she’s going to be there for more then the afternoon.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Bush nominates John Roberts, Jr. for SCROTUS.
Could Be Worse


(CNN) -- President Bush will announce his pick to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court at 9 p.m. Tuesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said

Speculation about a replacement focused Tuesday on another woman: Edith Clement, a judge on the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals



The right to lifers don't like her so she may not really be in the running. She may be a dodge by the admin, we all ready know the nominee is not going to be our new Attorney General who is considered too brown to be suitably conservative over the long haul. Those of you with the stomach to watch Shrubs photo op tonight must share with the class what happens. I will be watching whatever they are airing on Discoverys' Shark Week programming until Rescue Me comes on.
Double Speak Vol. 2

Failure Is Not An Option British school children won't fail their subjects they will "deferred success" their subjects.
Why CAFTRA is bad

The Admin double speak translated here .
Disturbing

Is Cheney involved in Rowe/Plame too? can you "fire" the Vice President of The United States? screw that hambone Rowe! what about Cheney?

from Boston.Com
Title

As soon as you got your noses out of your Harry Potter books and came here, you said “Why did you have your nose in your dogs arm pits”? And then you said “Do dogs have arm pits?” Yes, yes they do. Arm and leg pits and spending time in your nose buried in a dogs pits is so much better then having your nose buried in a book you’ve been waiting for to arrive for months. Of Course it is. Not.

Every summer Dogger gets prickly heat and every summer she waits until right before I am to leave on vacation so that I have no choice but to take her to the vet and spend many dollars on a quick cure for her so we can go on vacation and not be all itchy and red. Well. This year she is not going on vacation, and she miss timed her prickly heat so that I actually have time to treat it myself and I don’t have to go give the vet money. Instead I spent money at the grocery store and stocked up on new quasi medicated anti itch doggy shampoo, new anti itch goo, benadryl and a package of fabulously convenient, bite sized soft cheese in which to hide the benadryl. Total cost? $28, the last time she got this way I had to take her to the vet and they charged me a small fortune for benadryl and quasi medicated anti- itch shampoo. I’m not feeling spending the big bucks for that shite. I don’t have to and I’m not going to and I didn’t.

Dogger is going to have to deal with multiple anti- itch quasi medicated shampoo baths a week though and I’m sure she is just going to love that and of course, I also get to deal with multiple anti- itch quasi medicated dog baths along with her. I will love it about as much as she will. She is all ready loving getting her various pits swabbed with anti-itch creams and gels not to mention hydrogen peroxide. I even got her a roll on baby powder gizmo to keep her from chaffing. I’m sure she appreciates it, but the benadryl keeps her from being too appreciative about it because it makes her unconscious – while I appreciate the hell out of that, she may want to be awake more – too bad for her, I’m bigger and she will eat anything. I’m hoping that by the time I leave this weekend that the prickly heat will have subsided and she can go to Broskey and Alphagals drug free or at least potion and gel and peroxide free. I can’t imagine that they would have a problem keeping Dogger stoned while she is with them. An unconscious house guest is a good house guest.

Back to my Harry Potter angst. I wrote down the phone number on the slip the mailass left and called it this morning. It did not get me my local post office. It got my some post office question and answer clearing house. I really wanted to bitch at someone who had something to do with my delivery directly. In stead I got Operator 6 who didn’t really care. I bitched at her though and it made me marginally happy. I also submitted a complaint about my mail service that will probably end up with my mail getting delivered to the nearest circular file and my magazines being rerouted through Siberia - Oh, and even though the little note on my door said something about my book being delivered in what I thought meant “Monday”? Really means “Tuesday”. I leave the note out; my mailass sees the note and makes a note of my note and brings my parcel the next business day. If I wanted to wait for my book days after it was released, I would have bought at the airport before I left. I bought it from Amazon because they guaranteed delivery the day it came out and that is when I wanted it– not whenever my mailass got around to bringing it. Gawd.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Good.

Eric Rudolf Sentenced to life

Now, they can start on the residents of that town that hid him for so long.
All Weekend with my nose in a....


Dogs armpit.


Yeah. While the rest of the reading public spent the last 48 hours preoccupied with the events in the Potterverse, I spent my weekend preoccupied with events in my dogs arm and leg pits. Lovely places to visit, a dogs arm and leg pits. I suggest you take the whole family! Big Fun, let me tell you. It’s a visit to a whole ‘nother world! Its full of drama, angst and exciting new friends!

Harry Potter Day, I got up, got ready and took care of Dogger. And then I waited. And waited. And waited. I waited outside reading book five in preparation for book six. I sat outside with Dogger until it got closer to mailman time and I took Dogger inside in preparation for his arrival. In the past, injudicious use of Dogger in the yard has led to the mailman skipping my house all together - I was not going to risk that, not on Harry Potter Day and then I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, it was 3: 00 in the afternoon and I really had to stop waiting and leave the house. I was beginning to believe that the mailman had again skipped my neighborhood. He does this - Just doesn’t show up, usually on Saturdays. I hate him.. I decided that a watched mail slot does not get filled and I left.

Several hours later, I returned to find a card stuck to my door. DAMN! I know what that card means:

Although we're not requiring a signature, we still recommend that someone be home to accept the package, as the driver may not leave it on your doorstep if they don't feel it's safe to do so.

“Safe to do so” Mailman should know better. That same mailman has “felt safe” enough to have left all make and model of stuff at my door over the years and he deemed it “safe” enough then! So have the UPS guys. Over the years delivery men have felt comfortable leaving a box the size of a baby elephant housing a lamp out in plane sight - true the lamp only cost $4 but the shipping was a bitch - the delivery man felt good about leaving that out and he felt comfortable leaving my way kewl new purse inside the door and it cost more then the book! But No, mailman looked around saw the drug dealers’ homeboys out washing their SUVs and looking all intent on detailing their cars! And those scary hoses with hardcore spray attachments! Must have terrified him, And all those chamois must have made him piss his pants. Not only homeboys washing their cars! there were all these little kids playing cops and robbers! the little tiniest boy was using a dogs choke chain as his hand cuffs and that could look a little harsh, but he was the good guy! And true he was waving a gun around but it was plastic but he hardly ever aims it directly at you, he mostly drinks from it. The little guys questionable choice in hydration is not what scared the mailman. My neighborhood could be, if you squint, be seen as “Da ‘Hood” by people who don’t know better, and who have never actually been to a “real” ‘hood. I live in the nice part of the ‘Hood. If you look at it straight on, its really more like a ‘Hoodie. But no, I am forced the wait for my book.

I wasn’t going to read it yet anyway. I was just going to read a little of it. I’m taking it on vacation with me and I want to start with a fresh read. I’m planning on being strong. But still? The mailman had no reason to not “feel safe” about leaving it. I’m thinking I’m going to “feel good” about making a phone call first of business today.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!

Saturday, July 16, 2005

HAPPY HARRY POTTERDAY !!!!!!!

Friday, July 15, 2005

Friday Cat Blogging

Look into my eyeeeeeesssss...

The Obligatory Who Should Win, Who Will(at least in the few categories I care about…) Entry

COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox)
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS)
"Scrubs" (NBC)
"Will & Grace" (NBC)


I would lay money Arrested Development walking away with this. It has a small, cultish following, mostly among TV critics and their families and it is hard to follow and populated by trying, boorish characters. I dislike Desperate Housewives, hate Everybody Loves Raymond, got tired of Will and Grace and never watched Scrubs. I don’t watch any of them and could care less about the outcome

Should
Arrested Development
Will
Desperate Housewives

DRAMA SERIES
"Deadwood" (HBO)
"Lost" (ABC)
"Six Feet Under" (HBO)
"24" (Fox)
"The West Wing" (NBC)


Deadwood and Six Feet Under are both on HBO so they fall under the “Expensive Cable I Can’t Afford” rule, (They should not compete with shows bound by network constrants and censers. There should be separate categories for cable shows. I’m not asking for a return to the Cable Ace days, I just think that unless they all work under the same constraints they should not compete together) So nothing for them. Lost could be fun but they are bringing on new cast next season and unless they rapidly age the baby, there should not be new people, ever - So nothing for them. West Wing? I don’t think so, 24? Took the place of House or Rescue Me . Nothing for it either.

Should
NYPD Blue
Will
Deadwood

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox) Jason Bateman
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Ray Romano
"Monk" (USA) Tony Shalhoub
"Scrubs" (NBC) Zach Braff
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Eric McCormack


I still hate Everybody Loves Raymond so by extension I still hate Ray Romano, Will and Grace I am meh about so also by extension, meh about Eric McCormack, I like Monk but Shalhoub just won something for this part, so meh. I do like Bateman and Braff, and I really liked Garden State.

Should
Zach Braff
Will
Ray Romano

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Boston Legal" (ABC) James Spader
"Deadwood" (HBO) Ian McShane
"House" (Fox) Hugh Laurie
"Huff" (Showtime) Hank Azaria
"24" (Fox) Kiefer Sutherland


Huff and Deadwood are out of the running due to my ECICA rule. Spader and Sutherland get Brat Pack points but Laurie is on a show I actually watch and enjoy so.

Should
Hugh Laurie
Will
Ian McShane

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central) Jon Stewart, Host
"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (NBC) Jay Leno, Host
"58th Annual Tony Awards (2004)" (CBS) Hugh Jackman, Host
"Tracey Ullman Live & Exposed" (HBO) Tracey Ullman, Performer
"Whoopi Back To Broadway - The 20th Anniversary" (HBO) Whoopi Goldberg, Performer


Jon Stewart all the way. I hate Leno, don’t really like awards show's awarding other awards shows, Tracy Ullman and Whoopie Goldberg’ shows fall under the ECICA rule, so

Should
Jon Stewart
Will
Jon Stewart

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
"Da Ali G Show" (HBO)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (NBC)
"Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)


I’m still Jon Stewarts’ girl., Allie G has no business being rewarded for anything and falls under my ECICA rule as does Bill Maher who I have no thoughts on, I like David Letterman and Conan O’Brian but I can’t stay up to watch them and they don’t repeat on Comedy Central the next day for my viewing convenience.

Should
Jon Stewart
Will
David Letterman

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Watch Out Wal-mart!


Dear Friends,

I am excited about AFA's new online American Family Superstore. !!!!!

The Superstore has thousands of Christian books, Bibles, videos, CD's, DVD's, Bible study resources and even a complete line of home schooling supplies. I invite you to use the free Christian e-cards to send to your friends and family on those special occasions.
!!!!!!

"Very Special Occasions? for these people? Do you think they make e-cards marking Juniors First Abortion Clinic bombing or for when your sister and brother in law Adopt a Snowflake... What do these people do for fun? And even more puzzling, why all the books? ain't the bible good enough for them?

If all that Khristin musik and Inspirational readin' isn't enough, you can follow a link and find God . Somehow, I doubt that Wildmon and his merry band of bigots could find God if He stood in front of them and gave them directions.
Yay!

Hello from Amazon.com.

We're happy to let you know that we've begun preparing your order for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" for delivery.

You should have the book(s) in your hands no later than 7:00 p.m. in your time zone on Saturday, July 16. Most books will be delivered by U.S. Mail, either with your regular mail delivery or in a separate, special mail delivery. Some orders may be delivered by UPS.

Because our carriers are delivering hundreds of thousands of books on that day, we do ask that you wait until 7:00 p.m. before contacting customer service if you haven't received your order.

Although we're not requiring a signature, we still recommend that someone be home to accept the package, as the driver may not leave it on your doorstep if they don't feel it's safe to do so.

You'll receive our usual shipment confirmation e-mail after your package leaves our fulfillment center.

Thanks for shopping at Amazon.com, and happy reading!
Emmy Nominations

Full List

And the nominees are...

COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox)
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS)
"Scrubs" (NBC)
"Will & Grace" (NBC)

DRAMA SERIES
"Deadwood" (HBO)
"Lost" (ABC)
"Six Feet Under" (HBO)
"24" (Fox)
"The West Wing" (NBC)

MINISERIES
"Elvis" (CBS)
"Empire Falls" (HBO)
"The 4400" (USA)
"The Lost Prince (Masterpiece Theatre)" (PBS)

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox) Jason Bateman
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Ray Romano
"Monk" (USA) Tony Shalhoub
"Scrubs" (NBC) Zach Braff
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Eric McCormack

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Boston Legal" (ABC) James Spader
"Deadwood" (HBO) Ian McShane
"House" (Fox) Hugh Laurie
"Huff" (Showtime) Hank Azaria
"24" (Fox) Kiefer Sutherland

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
"Elvis" (CBS) Jonathan Rhys Meyers
"Empire Falls" (HBO) Ed Harris
"The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" (HBO) Geoffrey Rush
"Warm Springs" (HBO) Kenneth Branagh
"The Wool Cap" (TNT) William H. Macy

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC) Marcia Cross
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC) Teri Hatcher
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC) Felicity Huffman
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Patricia Heaton
"Malcolm in the Middle" (Fox) Jane Kaczmarek

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Alias" (ABC) Jennifer Garner
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC) Mariska Hargitay
"Medium" (NBC) Patricia Arquette
"The Shield" (FX) Glenn Close
"Six Feet Under" (HBO) Frances Conroy

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
"Back When We Were Grownups" (Hallmark) Blythe Danner
"Dawn Anna" (Lifetime) Debra Winger
"Lackawanna Blues" (HBO) S. Epatha Merkerson
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" (ABC) Halle Berry
"Warm Springs" (HBO) Cynthia Nixon

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox) Jeffrey Tambor
"Entourage" (HBO) Jeremy Piven
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Peter Boyle
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Brad Garrett
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Sean Hayes

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Boston Legal" (ABC) William Shatner
"Huff" (Showtime) Oliver Platt
"Lost" (ABC) Naveen Andrews
"Lost" (ABC) Terry O'Quinn
"The West Wing" (NBC) Alan Alda

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
"Elvis" (CBS) Randy Quaid
"Empire Falls" (HBO) Paul Newman
"Empire Falls" (HBO) Philip Seymour Hoffman
"Our Fathers" (Showtime) Christopher Plummer
"Our Fathers" (Showtime) Brian Dennehy

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Arrested Development" (Fox) Jessica Walter
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Doris Roberts
"Two And A Half Men" (CBS) Holland Taylor
"Two And A Half Men" (CBS) Conchata Ferrell
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Megan Mullally

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC) Sandra Oh
"Huff" (Showtime) Blythe Danner
"Judging Amy" (CBS) Tyne Daly
"The Shield" (FX) CCH Pounder
"The West Wing" (NBC) Stockard Channing

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
"Elvis" (CBS) Camryn Manheim
"Empire Falls" (HBO) Joanne Woodward
"The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" (HBO) Charlize Theron
"Warm Springs" (HBO) Jane Alexander
"Warm Springs" (HBO) Kathy Bates

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Fred Willard
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Victor Garber
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Jeff Goldblum
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Bobby Cannavale
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Alec Baldwin

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
"ER" (NBC) Red Buttons
"ER" (NBC) Ray Liotta
"The L Word" (Showtime) Ossie Davis
"NCIS" (CBS) Charles Durning
"Without A Trace" (CBS) Martin Landau

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC) Kathryn Joosten
"Desperate Housewives" (ABC) Lupe Ontiveros
"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS) Georgia Engel
"Malcolm in the Middle" (Fox) Cloris Leachman
"Will & Grace" (NBC) Blythe Danner

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
"Huff" (Showtime) Swoosie Kurtz
"Joan of Arcadia" Cloris Leachman
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC) Amanda Plummer
"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit/Trial By Jury" (NBC) Angela Lansbury
"Nip/Tuck (FX) Jill Clayburgh

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN A VARIETY OR MUSIC PROGRAM
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central) Jon Stewart, Host
"The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" (NBC) Jay Leno, Host
"58th Annual Tony Awards (2004)" (CBS) Hugh Jackman, Host
"Tracey Ullman Live & Exposed" (HBO) Tracey Ullman, Performer
"Whoopi Back To Broadway - The 20th Anniversary" (HBO) Whoopi Goldberg, Performer

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
"Lackawanna Blues " (HBO)
"The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers" (HBO)
"The Office Special" (BBC America)
"Warm Springs" (HBO)
"The Wool Cap" (TNT)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
"Da Ali G Show" (HBO)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)
"Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (NBC)
"Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"77th Annual Academy Awards" (ABC)
"Everybody Loves Raymond - The Last Laugh" (CBS)
"The Games Of The XXVIII Olympiad - Opening Ceremony" (NBC)
"58th Annual Tony Awards (2004)" (CBS)

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM
"Agatha Christie's Miss Marple (Mystery!)" (PBS)
"Jazz At Lincoln Center Grand Opening Of Frederick P. Rose Hall - One Family Of Jazz (Live From Lincoln Center)" (PBS)
"Leonard Bernstein's 'Candide' In Concert (Great Performances)" (PBS)
"Stephen Sondheim's 'Passion' (Live From Lincoln Center)" (PBS)

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
"Classical Baby" (HBO)
"Nick News With Linda Ellerbee: Never Again? From The Holocaust To The Sudan" (Nickelodeon)
"Pride"(A&E)
"That's So Raven" (Disney Channel)
"Zoey 101" (Nickelodeon)

NONFICTION SPECIAL
"Beyond The Da Vinci Code" (The History Channel)
"Cary Grant: A Class Apart" (TCM)
"Inside The Actors Studio: 10th Anniversary Special" (Bravo)
"Live From New York: The First Five Years Of Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
"Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise And Fall Of Jack Johnson" (PBS)

NONFICTION SERIES
"Biography" (A&E)
"Broadway: The American Musical" (PBS)
"Cold Case Files" (A&E)
"Dinner For Five" (IFC)
"Inside The Actors Studio" (Bravo)

REALITY PROGRAM
"Antiques Roadshow" (PBS)
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
"Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" (Showtime)
"Project Greenlight" (Bravo)
"Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" (Bravo)

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
"American Idol" (Fox)
"The Apprentice" (NBC)
"Project Runway" (Bravo)
"Survivor" (CBS)
Random

I’ve had to spend the entire day at work working. I mean the nerve of these people! I do have to say its better then the alternative which is to spend the entire day at work trying to create work to do and that never goes well. When I am busy the clock moves forward so much faster then when I am jot busy. In fact, non-busyness makes the clock move backward. I remember at another job sitting at my desk and coloring in all the zeros on my calendar for the entire year and thinking, “wow that took a long time! It must be lunch time. Oh, it’s still 9:15. It was 9:15 when I started!” this was before we all had computers on our desks and years before the computers on our desks were more then word processors. But, today at this job I have been working. Hard.

I would spend this entry going on about the Emmys™ but, those are announced later on today and all the lists of prospective nominees I have run across are heavily weighted towards teen crap and shows I don’t watch. I do know that I as much as I would like to see Hugh Laurie nominated for House, I really want to see Denis Leary nominated for Rescue Me. Laurie is doing a bang up job but he is a good actor – he acts very well, it’s what he does and he is going to get more out of an average script on a weekly bases then most actors get out of their yearly specially written Give Me An Emmy™ script. House is on FAUX, which doesn’t usually do any favors for their shows, but it is a drama and it has done very, very well with the both the critics and the ratings. Rescue Me is on FX and only on part of the year. It has done well with the critics but I don’t know how it does ratings wise. It does get the same cable cheat that the other big winning cable shows have received in the past – but I am willing to overlook that because it is such a kick ass show over all and Leary is so hardcore good at what he is doing. He has come as a surprise after seeing some of the other projects he’s worked on, and I would love to see him recognized for it. Everyone all ready knows that Laurie is a fine actor on a really good show.

The squeeing fangirl yahoo groups I sadly get signed up for are going to explode into squeeing fangirl goo in any eventuality. They are very sure Laurie is going to be nominated – but every year some one deserving gets left off - and to be a very bad squeeing fangirl I really hope the left off is not its not Leary or Rescue Me, I’m pretty sure that House can take care of itself either way. The PTB can fell totally all right about leaving off somebody from West Wing or The Practice 2.0 or Lost or CSI et al or the excretable The Gilmore Girls and Desperate Housewives. I don’t watch those for the most part and I don’t have to hear their squeeing fangirls desperate promises to throw themselves in front of busses should their favorite “actors” nominations not get called out. I will do a lot to avoid the squeeing of fangirls.

The other shows I watch are no longer Emmy™ bait or are so not Emmy™ worthy that there is no reason to even check to see if they are present and I have no expectations for them. It’s been I don’t know how many seasons since I felt like I had a horse in the Emmy™ race that I am really looking forward to the announcement later on this morning. I will post the list as soon as I find one complete and cut and pasteable.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Ro-ro

Chief Justice William Rehnquist taken to hospital for observation after complaining of high fever, a spokeswoman says.

from CNN.com


He can be sick all he wants, he better not step down because of it.
Dayum

Former CEO Bernard Ebbers sentenced to 25 years in prison in WorldCom fraud case.

from CNN.com

25 years! Good gawd! did he kill and eat an investor? Make an employee suit out of three VPs and a company attorney? Shiiitttteeeee. Martha can officially shut the fuck up about what a martyr she is.
The Law

50 USC 421(b)

Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified information, learns the identity of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent’s intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both


I haven't posted much about this because I have the fear that the admin will protect that dirty low life Rowe no matter what and all of this is going to vanish in a poof of Home Land Security smoke. I'll get my hopes up when and if something really comes of this - cause, ya know, IOIYAR.


from Atrios
Pandas and Koala’s and ice picks Oh my!


Propaganda Panda a Panda of Propaganda. The panda speaks with a slight panda accent

I found a review of a children’s book in the paper and it had a lovely illustration from the book that now graces my office door:

The book, on not very close inspection, seems to be about a Zen Panda. I didn’t know pandas were Zen. I figured that Koalas would be Zen like; they chew a lot of leaves and end up kind of high all the time. What is the sound of one paw clapping? I could see koalas thinking about that up in the tree cover as they munch leaves and study their paws. They probably have all kinds of good ideas about things. I hadn’t thought about where pandas are spiritually. Are pandas stoners too? Would an aardvark be an aardvark of agitprop? Would pandas be down with agitprop or are they too mellow for agitation? Do pandas agitate? Do they get agita from stress? Do pandas feel stress? propaganda panda a panda of propaganda the panda speaks with a slight panda accent…. After awhile you could hypnotize yourself with the word “panda”, you could make yourself unconscious if you spent time wondering what a panda accent would sound like.

Pandas have been in the news lately because the pair of pandas (pandi?) at the National Zoo managed to successfully get one of them pregnant and the offspring so far as lived longer than other pandas born in captivity at that zoo. A pregnant panda. A pregnant propaganda panda - which in theory those pandas actually are as they are a loaner pair from China. The current pair are successors to the original propaganda pandas that China sent over in the wake of Nixon’s visit there.

I just went to Amazon to learn more about the book and as it turns out, there isn’t a mention of the Propaganda Panda! The picture from the review isn’t there of the propaganda panda and in the book there are other animals and they seem more important then the panda! That is outrageous!

The book is an illustrated children’s version of a story by Tolstoy so suddenly the red kite the kid carries has more meaning then just “Hmmm. What color should we paint the kite? Hmm, what would blend well with the other colors? What would be a nice compliment? I have some red here. How about red? Red is nice”.

Coincidentally, redness aside, the ice pick used to kill Tolstoy (or actually, TROTSKY, the guy who was killed with the ice pick in question if I had actually RTFA) may have been found. The woman who has it, wants to sell it, while at the same time, the museum in Mexico dedicated to Tolstoy and run by one of his descendents isn’t so much excited about paying for the murder weapon that may have killed his ancestor. The woman who has the alleged weapon says no one values what they don’t pay for. The revolution is official over. Somewhere all the old revolutionaries are rolling over in their communal graves.

Anyway. Think Happy Thoughts. I suggest Happy Thoughts about pandas. Propaganda pandas. What would a pandas speaking voice sound like if pandas could speak? How pronounced would their panda accent be? Think on that. Try counting pandas. one propaganda panda, two propaganda pandas, three propaganda pandas…Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Vacationland

Why on earth would you go to Disneyland when you can go to The U.P instead? There is one thing though, I have never heard of anyone calling a tourist a "fudgie" and I am not familiar with the storied fudge shops either.
Operation Dogger Freedom

AS you read yesterday, or I hope you read yesterday… I know you all print out each days entry and highlight important sections, store it in an acid proof setting and of course, memorize each word. Right. I don’t either. Okay, moving on. Dogger.

Dogger is thus far half way through her first day of semi-freedom and when I checked on her at lunch she hadn’t destroyed anything - yet although she still has several hours to fill and she might decided she needs a hobby or she might just decided that its too much work and just go back to sleep. I’m pretty sure that’s what she does all day anyway but prior to Operation Dogger Freedom she was in her crate all day and there wasn’t much else for her to do

Doggers’ Day

Sleep
Roll Over
Itch Self
“Groom” Self
Drink Water
Chew Bone
Take Nap
(Repeat)


But now, now she has an entire office room to roam around in. She’s tall enough to take things off the desk top if she wants to and she could knock her cookie box off its home on the roof of her crate if she could figure out that was what the box was holding. She could also chew the office chair, pee in exciting new places and if she was feeling really naughty – easily cruise right through the toddler gate and into the house at large. This would be a problem.

And I can’t just shut the door of the office. With the door closed the room gets stifling hot in a very short time and the door doesn’t shut all the way anyway and Dogger has no problem getting though doors. She could also jump the toddler gate if she really wanted to and she has in the past when I have used it as a barrier, she was a smaller dog then and she might have, now that she has grown, become too big to jump over the gate. I think what Operation Dogger Freedom needs is a taller and easier to secure toddler gate.

I survived my first full night with out The Kitty. Sigh. It looks like Kitty and Dogger did speak before Kitty left because Dogger seems to be filling in for The Kitty in the roll of sleep disturber. I had left Dogger out of her crate for the night but she started to whine at 1:30am and I had to get up and put her in her crate.

Oh, and because I can - If the guy you are going out with drives up in a truck that has the confederate flag emblazoned across the tail gate? And you go on to tell me about it and I make a face and groan, do not get huffy and lecture me using any variation on the phrase “Proud symbol of our Southern Heritage” because in my world it is a “Negative symbol of our Southern Heritage of ignorance, bigotry and forced servitude”.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Dummy

Spend hours over the weekend watching Mythbusters? Priceless - Forget about office party until right before the party and wind up shopping at a Jiffy Mart? - $11.38 for a couple of medium sized bags of chips and a container of dip.
Woe is Me!

My best friend has left me! The bastard went on vacation and left me here to take care of the Dogger all by myself! What kind of friend does that?

The kind of “friend” that gets to be on vacation for a full month while I, the bread winner and bill payer has to make due with just two weeks. Its not fair! Those of us higher on the food chain should get some kind of reward for it - over and above the whole advantage of “being human” .We all end up somewhere on it and we can’t all be in the “Eat bugs, lick ass” link. I would like to be in the “Full month on vacation” link though.

It’s not just my cat that is going on vacation with out me. Most of my tee shirts and all of my better socks are leaving with out me too - which leaves me catless and sockless and down to my least interesting tee shirts, if the TV was also packing its bags and setting me adrift I would feel like a contestant on Survivor- Raleigh. I almost think I could sit around and eat a lot of rice while complaining about the horrors of paradise found and bitching about my uneven tan lines or whatever they do on that show in-between posing under waterfalls and trying to remember how Lord of the Flys ended. Isn’t that what Survivor is, anyway? I hope they checked the copyright on that. I think I might even watch it if they could guarantee a dead famewhore every week.

But. I am not alone. Dogger and I are facing the darkness together. We’re going to watch TV, go on walks and sit together and be sad that I am having to wear white socks!! ( Oh, the horror!) . Dogger is going to spend the two piddly weeks I get for vacation, camping out at Uncle Broskey and Aunt Alphagals house bonding with Nephdog and enjoying life with an almost limitless expanse of back yard and the unheard of opportunely to bark at deer with out leaving the yard. She’ll suffer greatly.

This week for lunch I’m eating with the last Harry Potter. I decided it would be a good idea to refresh my memory and read a book I’m not likely to finish before I need a refill on my drink. I’m also doing this because the new Harry Potter is being released into the wild this week and I am not going to be able to jump into it until I leave for vacation or I can’t stand it and read a few chapters early. Which I am going to try like hell not to, unless, it turns out to be another 700 page wonder, in which case, I think I’ll allow myself some liberty on the “Not until vacation” stipulation.

Its going to be so lonely around here with out Kitty. Who is going to let me know that the sun has risen? Who is going to lay across my morning paper and shield me from the latest administration outrage? Who is going to park themselves under my nose at 3am to make sure I’m breathing? There will be no one in the house to redecorate my kitchen or re-purpose my utility bills. To fill the void in my households paper shredding and kitchen wreaking, I have decided that it is time to experiment with letting Dogger out of her crate and allowing her to be free in the office room during the day. . We shall see. I would like to get to the point where I can phase out the crate and just let her be free in the office room all the time with just a toddler gate standing between her and massive destruction Maybe I’ll come home at lunch...

Sunday, July 10, 2005

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!

Saturday, July 9, 2005

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!

Friday, July 8, 2005

Friday Cat Blogging

Sweetie edition.


Waiting

Let’s see. I washed the dog, applied copious amounts of anti-flea to both animals and did my laundry, if Cindy promises to hold off dropping the predicted rain on us until say, tomorrow, I might just get my lawn mowed tonight. It’s so nice for things to be so calm. Dogger hates me because I haven’t walked her in a few days but I have this fear of her doing one of her freak outs and hurting my knee for real and I don’t want to go there. If it stays clear here she might get a walk tonight or I might just blow that off and mow the lawn instead.

Of course, Dennis is coming and that does not add to my sense of calmness. I’m not going to my traditional battery/water/junk food buy this time – which should result in a storm of epic proportions and I will kick myself for being so laid back with my storm preparedness. At the same time, I would rather have some minor storm anxiety then be in central London today and tomorrow and for the next stretch of time. Why did the bombers do that if the desired result was to have the British pull their troops from Iraq? Why would making them angry and staving their governments resolve to continue fighting be a good outcome? It doesn’t seem rational. The Spanish pulled out , but the Spanish were going to pull out regardless, they were all ready mad at the government and they were going to vote them out even if they hadn’t been the victims of terrorism.

If you wanted to be the terrorism worlds new It Boys, why not blow up the G8 gathering? The big chiefs, the high and mighty the big bold face names that actually have some sway as to what happens to the world. Why bother with blowing up work a day folks in the subway? What does that prove? How does it help the terrorists to piss off the British populous and make them feel picked on and victimized? Why make them hate you? Why give them a reason to fight? What do the terrorists hope to gain with this latest outrage? It’s not like Great Briton is a Red State nation, they never wanted to be in Iraq and the occupation has never been popular there. You know, until now. Why bring the war to them? Why involve them on a personal level in it and make them hate the bombers and their cause. Why make killing more of your people seem like less of a big deal? Why make it an eye for an eye? If anything, this attack will make the war in Iraq more popular and probably end up helping with enlistment as well as support for the war on both sides of the Atlantic. Why wake a sleeping dragon? Why make it personal?

The death count was mercifully low and the injured, while in the hundreds, was not as bad as it could have been - any number would be too many, but it could have been even worse and caused even more bloodshed – which makes me ask, if you were going to bomb the bejesus out of a people, what was this series of bombings supposed to prove? In what way was this going to frighten the British out of Iraq? They’ve fought the devil and all his minions and won, and then when the last group of terrorists thought that they could bomb them into submission, they didn’t win either and only ended up harming themselves, their families and their country and their cause. Why take your war to a people who are more then prepared to fight back? And no doubt will, with a vengeance.

Thursday, July 7, 2005

Gas Pri$es

The pirates,in honor of the bombings in London have raised the price of the cheap gas to $2.35. It was $2.11. PIRATES!!!
Pray For Them


Central London hit by coordinated blasts, Many casualties, unknown number of dead

Witness Statements

Story progressing. Check CNN, BBC, 10x10
Randomness


I hurt my knee over the weekend. I was attempting to be all “X-Treme!” and jump from one side of a tiny creek to the other side of a tiny creek and ended up on my knees in the middle. I got up, cursed the creek for being, well, creeky, because I now had traipse through the forest with wet socks and went on. I should mention that it was dark and I was in a hurry. I did note that I had skinned my knee - nothing says “Hi, I’m a grown up” like a skinned up knee. I was planning to tell people I skinned it after I returned a serve with my killer back hand and while I was going to volley back my opponents return I slipped and hit the ground and went into the net and still managed to win the point – if I am going to lie about how I hurt myself, I prefer to go big.

Anyway, by the time I came back to civilization I had grown a knot on my knee the size of a grape fruit half and the whole knee was purple. It was very gross. Alphagal iced it and I watched TV until my knee numbed and left so I could spend 40 minutes sitting in traffic watching my knee to turn into something that normally lives on a reef and eats plankton. Good news is, while it is stiff, it doesn’t hurt – Yet.

I go back to work and other then a purely psychosomatic limp, go blythly about my business. I do not ice it as much as I should, okay, at all. Everything is fine and the grapefruit half as shrunk to an apple. The bruise however seems to be expanding. I opt to not walk Dogger, which isn’t all that big an issue since it was raining torrentially and aftrer it stopped, it was too hot.

Day 2 of sore knee. The knot is now the size of an apple wedge and I can see almost my entire knee cap. The bad news is that it kind of hurts. I start to ice it. It hurts more. I still have normal range of motion and no limp. I stop iceing it. I think as long as I don’t wear shorts for a while no one will know or I could wear shorts and say I hurt myself skate boarding or rock wall climbing or whatever it is the young folks do to tempt death these days.

So long story short: Fell down, Swollen, Purple, Stiff knee, Less Swollen, Less Stiff, More purple knee.


What else?

Long time readers will notice that its summer and I haven’t said anything about my vacation and what I am going to do with the animals. I know you can’t wait. Dogger is staying with Broskey, Alphagal and Nephdog while The Kitty is going to drive cross country with my parents and New Kitty. I am flying and instead of carting Kitty’s fat self through airports I will be carting Harry Potter 6’s fat self instead. Harry is going to arrive seven days before I leave which means while the rest of the world is camped out reading it, talking about it and generally adding it to the culture I will be Amish and stay away. It will be like lent only shorter and just me. I will be strong. Its’s going to be another thick one right? Maybe I won’t have to be all that strong? Maybe I can read a few chapters? The last time a Harry Potter book came out I waited on the porch for the mail man and grabbed it out of his hands as he came in on his approach. I read the whole damn book over the weekend. It’s going to be a tough seven days. To think the last time I carried a Harry Potter book through airports, it wasn’t my book, I pissed and moaned about the weight of it and didn’t even try to read it.

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Newsies in the News

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A federal judge ordered New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed for contempt of court Wednesday for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative's name. She was taken into custody immediately. Miller faces up to four months in jail, the length of time remaining for the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the case before its term expires.

from CNN.com

Wow. Judith Miller is going to jail. Do you think they will put her in solitary confinement? like they did McDougal I’m thinking Judith “Yay! War!" Miller will do her "time" at some federal tennis prison. Four months for what amounts to treason, as it as been said before Its Okay If You Are A Republican. I do wonder what Cooper will say? Rove is way too insulated to take the fall, who is going to get hit with this one? what member of the Bush Admin is going to through themselves on their sword? How fast do you think FAUX is going to go with the "well, it was all right for Woodstein to keep quite all those years- they get called heros while poor, sad, girlie, Judith Miller is being rail roaded by the libruls and sent to jail" song and dance.
It's good to know Bush isn't going to turn this into a side show...

Bushco names Fred Thompson, from Law and Order to "guide" future SCOTUS nominee" Jack McCoys' boss? he's going to do what? show them how to hit their marks and educate them about key lights and stage make up? Granted Thompson is a former pol, but shiiittte, I guess Angie Harmon went on maternity break but how about Bruce Willis! he's a right wing thug and has a higher Q rating. How much did Thompson donate to the re-election campaign?

from CNN.com
So close and yet so far


Deal signed to put Olsen in space , sadly, not an Olsen, its a completely different Olsen.
The Kitty’s Diary


Dear Diary,

There was another cat in my house. I use the word “cat” loosely as it was very small and immature – in all ways! All it wanted to do was hide under my other bed and make whimpery little meows, complete nonsense! It also made some very rude comments about my weight! In my house! It smelled recently female and possibly she may have had a litter. I believe she spent too much time with her kittens because she could hardly speak in complete sentences and relied on kitten talk when conversing with me when I pointed that out to her and suggested she should spend more time with adults she told me to go lick myself! The Nerve! I hope I never see her again!


Dear Diary,

The dog is a moron.


Dear Diary,

If I am in full lotus and in a deep meditative state, why am I suddenly so interesting? Why can’t I just have some Kitty time? Is it too much to ask? Do I grow a sign that says “Please Pick Me Up”, I seriously doubt it. I hate the feeder. I think I will shred her TV Guide tonight.


Dear Diary,

The feeder has changed my food. What does it mean? The new food tastes different. What is she up to? The old food was fine, I liked it. Is she making some comment on my weight? Was this stuff on sale? I can always tell! She bought me cheap food! The nerve. I think I’ll yak it up on her clothes.


Dear Diary,

The door to the dogs’ room is open again! I haven’t been able to properly visit with the dog in weeks! Torment, visit – it’s all the same to me. If it wouldn’t shout at me, I wouldn’t have to tease it.

Dear Diary,

On one hand I got to ride in the car. On the other hand I had to spend time with the dog. Even worse, that other cat was there! I thought I would never have to see it again and there it was – in my other house! I thought perhaps it was just passing through on to where ever it was going but to my shock, it lives there! It was making itself comfortable on my bed! Looking out my windows! Playing with my people! Fortunately, it doesn’t like the outside and hasn’t gotten its fur all over my lounge chair and the feeder wised up and I wasn’t asked to entertain it much out there – I told it was little as it is that a big bird was coming to take it away. I also told it the fountain was hungry. I did this because it called me names, it also ate my food! I hope I don’t have to spend any more time with it. To get even with the feeder for allowing that cat to call me names and eat my food, I threw up on the bed. Ha.

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

Photo Blogging

Tuesday

I didn’t do a damn thing this weekend. I didn’t go to the beach, I didn’t have any wild adventures, I didn’t get anything accomplished, I didn’t do a whole lot of anything. There is an upside to not doing a whole lot.

Things also did not do this weekend

1. Mow The Lawn.
2. Do the Laundry.
3 Run any errands
4. Stand in any lines.
5. Empty or load the dishwasher
6. Think about what I should make/go out and get for lunch/dinner
7. Vacuum .
8. Look at the clock.
9. Have to “be” anywhere.
10. Wake up before I wanted to*
11.Think about the Bushco nominee to the Supreme Court

*I was did get up very early one morning before I wanted to because The Kitty woke me up as he yakked all over one of my Mothers brand new set of matching, bright white bedspreads and that lead to me kneeling bent over the bath tub trying to scrub yak out of brand new, bright white bedspread at 4 am.

Things I did do this weekend

1. Slept very late
2. Sat outside on a padded lounge chair with a cold drink at hand and read my book.
3. Went on a lovely tick free hike through the woods.
4.Visited my Fathers nifty new deer blind.
5. Ate a lot of good food.
6.Celebrated my Mothers Birthday


All in all, I’m thinking that actually, I did get a lot done. How was your weekend?

Monday, July 4, 2005

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!!!


INDEPENDENCE - use it or lose it.


Sunday, July 3, 2005

HAPPY SUNDAY !!!!!!

Saturday, July 2, 2005

HAPPY SATURDAY !!!!!!

Friday, July 1, 2005


Friday Cat Blogging


Kitty Lurve, now from other side of the post! Kitty loves to experiment. Kitty is himself is a big lefty, but he's trying to be balanced.
If you haven't all ready burst into tears at the news



Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, first woman on U.S. Supreme Court, is retiring.

Watch CNN or log on to CNN.com

This is going to make the Schievo thing look like a disagreement over seating at your Aunt Maudes card club.

Think about kitties instead
Fun with food

After spending time on news sites or reading "Online Magazines" about how Buchco is ruining the country and by extension the rest of the world and you want to think about happier things - you can think about kittens or you can think about Cupcakes .
TGIF


Just in time for another trip to the beach my last beach sponsored sunburn has turned into a lovely tan and now I can go to the beach and not blind the passersby with my bright white self. It’s really rude to be that pale in public, also? I would hate for people to think I was some washed up dolphin. But now, now I am properly tanned and ready for exposure to the sun. I have burned off that pesky outer layer of skin and now I’m all about the leatheryness and the hidesness. I am proud to say I achieve this leathery hide the old fashioned way and not through use of modern chemicals or those commie tanning beds. If I wind up skin cancer it is going to be an organic skin cancer.

This time around before I go out of town, I am also planning on not forgetting to mow my lawn like I did last time. I may even do it early so that I won’t have to be all hurried about it; I also need the weather to promise that it will continue to rain everywhere but directly over my house as it did the other evening when I was out with Alphagal. It rained like a bitch a block from my house but when we got back there it was as dry as a bone. Not a drop of rain fell. I told Alphagal that the drug dealer has got some scary connections if he can even make sure that it doesn’t rain on his neighborhood. Now if he could do something about where the nasty things that shed from his tree onto my driveway, we would be golden and it would make it easier for me to over look the SUV parked in his yard.

I did end up taking Dogger on a walk last night. She has been really good lately about not freaking out and going into massive phobic spiraling freak outs on our walks – until last night. Dogger did not want to walk on a sidewalk that had some evil death from above sponsoring tree cover or shade as the rest of us non-phobics like to call it. This caused us to have to cross the street to a less shady sidewalk and later allowed us to check out some urban redevelopment projects that I hadn’t a chance to inspect before. There are three houses currently in process of being, um, redeveloped. One looks like as though its being torn down, that wouldn’t be a bad thing as from what is left of it shows a lot of damage that doesn’t look worth repairing. The other places look great and one is almost done. They have really gotten on the ball with the abandoned houses in my neighborhood and rescued them sad lives as crack houses. I’m always glad to see these properties being renovated or if necessary, torn down. Sadly, there are still a lot of places that despite all the work being done still desperately need to be brought under the hammer, I pass a number of boarded up houses on my way to work and any of them would be great projects for the redevelopers to fix up. I hope to get to more of thesse eyesores soon and if they really love us they would publicize when they have open houses so the rest of us can see what they look like inside. It would be nice.

It doesn’t look like I was the only one who opted to
Not to watch Shrubs TV show
the other night. It was his lowest ratings yet. I see a change in color coded Terra Alert thingy coming up, his Q Ratings do better when the nations fear is ratcheted up. Lets see what else, Pope Benedict tried to remind Spain that he’s their Daddy and they needed to do as he says and refuse basic rights to some of their people and Spain said “Hey, wait, you aren’t the boss of me!” and let human rights roll on. Go Spain!It always nice when a nation decides to not bow to theocracy. Remember when we used to live in a Democracy? Wasn’t it nice?