E. Thomas Hughes

The Eagle has landed.

2009-07-20T15:10:56Z

40 years ago today something amazing happened. A tremendous scientific acheivement, and then those immortal words where uttered. "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

I know that we will get there again... there and beyond.

Today at work

2009-03-18T04:10:26Z

Today I was asked why I wasn't wearing green in celebration of St. Patrick's Day... my response:

"I wear black to mourn all those poor Druids that were driven out of Ireland by that mean Mr. Patrick."

Letter to my bank

2008-12-23T13:39:40Z

Dear Bank Management,

In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the
moment, I was wondering if you could advise me. If one of my checks
is returned marked "insufficient funds," how do I know whether that
refers to me or to you?

Sincerly,
Puzzled customer

----
Note: I didn't actually come up with this, but just had to share.

100 Highest Grossing movies meme

2008-12-15T15:46:34Z

Bold he ones you've seen.

Italicize the ones you've seen part of.

Underline the ones you want to see.

~~Strike~~ the ones you don't want to see.

I am stilling an idea from a friend, those movies I wish I had never seen are in red.

Titanic (1997)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Shrek 2 (2004)

E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Spider-Man (2002)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

~~The Passion of the Christ~~ (2004)

Jurassic Park (1993)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Finding Nemo (2003)

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Forrest Gump (1994)

The Lion King (1994)

Shrek the Third (2007)

Transformers (2007)

Iron Man (2008)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

Independence Day (1996)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Home Alone (1990)

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Shrek (2001)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

The Incredibles (2004)

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Jaws (1975)

I Am Legend (2007)

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Batman (1989)

Night at the Museum (2006)

Men in Black (1997)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Cars (2006)

Bruce Almighty (2003)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Twister (1996)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

War of the Worlds (2005)

Cast Away (2000)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Signs (2002)

Hancock (2008)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

~~Rush Hour 2~~ (2001)

WALL•E (2008)

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

King Kong (2005)

Ghost (1990)

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Aladdin (1992)

Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

X2: X-Men United (2003)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Back to the Future (1985)

300 (2006)

~~Wedding Crashers~~ (2005)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Ratatouille (2007)

Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Batman Begins (2005)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Armageddon (1998)

Superman Returns (2006)

Gone With the Wind (1939)

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Happy Feet (2006)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Madagascar (2005)

Toy Story (1995)

Men in Black II (2002)

Gladiator (2000)

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

Mr & Mrs Smith (2005)

Hussy dolls keep coming

2008-12-12T16:14:00Z

Bratz may be going away, but here comes Hooker Barbie.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2008-11-27T11:38:51Z

But remember, it's not a real Thanksgiving Turkey unless Sarah Palin has personally witnessed it's death.

Warcrack and other updates...

2008-11-21T16:10:01Z

My copy of Wrath of the Lich King expansion for WoW arrived yesterday. I have installed it and updated my account.

I have hit another creative surge for work on "Second Coming: a Divine Comedy".

Yay for BDSM!

That is all for now.

I am sad....

2008-11-09T02:11:32Z

Apparently David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who .

This makes me so sad.

Message for today...

2008-11-04T11:04:22Z

GO AND VOTE!*

If you don't you aren't allowed to bitch for the next four years.

* This isn't directed towards those that did early voting. For you I'm just jealous. Wish Missouri did early voting.

Happy Holloween

2008-10-31T14:24:32Z

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html

Your Age by eating out...

2008-10-30T15:18:40Z

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know!

YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH

This is pretty neat

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!

It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read .

Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!

This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun. Well... ok, it is a waste of time, but it's still fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat.

(more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758...

If you haven't, add 1757.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number

The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times
you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)

The next two numbers are
YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK,
SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS

In honor of this now being undead journal...

2008-10-27T19:41:44Z

brains... Brains.... BRAINS!!!!

*nom nom nom nom*

Politics

2008-09-10T20:27:04Z

Palin is a liar. Plain and simple she lies... alot.

McCain... he either lies or is senile.

A hard loss

2008-08-26T21:23:43Z

Almost 2 weeks ago we had to put Pilfer to sleep. I am only now able to post about it, and that is only because I have finally gotten to the point where thinking about it doesn't cause me to break down into uncontrollable tears.

With her loss on the 14th, both of our original pair of ferrets are now gone... we lost Filch last year shortly after moving to Missouri.

Anyway, that's all for now.

The humor of Will Rogers

2008-03-31T00:00:01Z

Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known. Enjoy the following:

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.
2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.
4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
5. Always drink upstream from the herd.
6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.
8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.
9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.
12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

ABOUT GROWING OLDER..
First ~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Second ~ The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Third ~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

Fourth ~ When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.

Fifth ~ You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Sixth ~ I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to thetop.

Seventh ~ One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Eighth ~ One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day hasbeen.

Ninth ~ Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Tenth ~ Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.

And finally ~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

I can see!

2008-03-30T06:04:21Z

The lasik is over, now comes the healing.

And on a completely unrelated note:
24

One more day...

2008-03-28T11:21:47Z

For tomorrow I will have my eyes peeled, and then lasers will shoot into them!

I am very excited.

I will now dazzle you all with my geekdom...

2008-02-29T20:40:24Z

A few moments ago I celebrated that it was 2:29 PM on 2/29... something that only occurs twice every four years.

*sings* My geekdom brings all the boys to the yard....

Downward mood swing...

2008-02-25T22:01:08Z

I don't know if it's the weather (it's cold and rainy out) or if I am just in one of my down swings. Whatever the case is, I am feeling myself in a depression.

I am doing everything I can to keep this from becoming a full blown depression.

Gods, I hate this feeling.

Zune update...

2008-01-31T19:20:00Z

Well. I know that my Zune works. I brought it over to Hamelyn's last night and we hooked it up to his computer. It did everything it's suppose to do.

While I only have the sample songs it came with at least I can use the radio tuner for my music for now.

Still won't connect to my computer. Still waiting for Microsoft Tech Support to work this out. Well, while it isn't the best, at least with being able to hook up to Hamelyn's computer I can at least get some songs and videos onto my Zune if nothing else works.

I'm ready for a do over...

2008-01-30T15:53:53Z

This past 18 hours could really have been better.... MUCH MUCH BETTER!

My string of bad luck since about 4pm yesterday:

1) Got a flat tire while running errands. This was during a snow storm with VERY cold and strong winds. At the time I had to pull over, the only place to stop was along the side of the road at the top of a bridge over the Interstate. So I was up in the wind, freezing my balls off while changing a tire.

2) Bought a Zune, mainly because I liked the fact that it played various media file types. Also Hamelyn has one, and I figured it would make sharing some music easier on occasions. I got it so I would have music during work outs with Hamelyn and also at work. Of course silly me thought at Microsoft Windows device would ACTUALLY work on a Microsoft Windows computer. The software download went fine, but when I contect the Zune to my computer the drivers fail. Everything that has been checked indicates that my drivers are fine and up to date though. I spent from about 6pm to 11pm on the phone with both Zune tech support and Miscrosoft tech support. The issue is still not resolved, and has been escalated. I should be getting a call back from tech support tonight... Maybe I can ask Hamelyn to bring over his computer and see if I can hook it up to his computer to get the firmware update into the device and get some music on it... who knows it might work on my computer after that.

3) Had to be late to work this morning so I could get new tires... see issue one for more details.

4) Got speeding ticket on way to work because all the aggrivation I had to deal with had me distracted and I didn't realize how fast I was going. Thankfully, from the look of things it won't be TOO bad.

So all in all, I am ready for a do over of the past 18 hours.

An even dozen...

2008-01-20T17:51:59Z

Today is JD and my anniversery. We have been together now for 12 years, and we are still going strong.

I took us out to dinner Friday night. We ended up at Chevy's, though that wasn't my original plan. I had intended to take us to the Melting Pot... apparently though you HAVE to have reservation for the local Melting Pot. This is what happens when there is only two in the whole Greater St. Louis area. Well, I know that now for future references.

Then JD took us out to breakfast Saturday morning. Nothing fancy, just to a Bob Evans.

We took each other out early because JD had to work last night which means he is working until Noon today, and then he has to sleep during the day because he has to go into work tonight at Midnight.

In other news:
I think that even with my health benefit deductions from my paycheck I will still be making enough per paycheck that JD will be able to not have to work the 3rd Saturday of a Month, and this means he will finally be able to join me in LARPing. Which would be very nice.

Also, Hamelyn is home from his tour of duty. This makes me very happy, even though I haven't seen him yet. I am sure I will see him soon, though so I can remain patient.

I got my free exam for LASIK, and I am a good canidate with the likelyhood that with the treatment I wouldn't even need reading glasses until I am in my fifties. However, because of the thinness of my cornea the treatment is more expensive than I hoped. Not sure if I will be able to afford it this year... though they do have financing plans available. I have to consider, and I have until Feb 23rd before I have to make a decision. If I do go for it, I will need to have someone drive me that day. Best bet for that would be Hamelyn, but I will have to check to see if he will be around - cause he is planning on doing some traveling.

I can always move the date further out if I decided to go for it. I really need to consider the financial impact and if it's doable or if I should save up some for it and do it next year.

That's it for now... time to go pick JD up from work.

I broke down...

2008-01-19T13:07:20Z

and made and lolcat type picture.

moar funny pictures

Please click and vote on it.

To a very good friend...

2008-01-14T15:01:02Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to satyr69

Don't peek into the darkness...

2008-01-08T04:53:08Z

...GLARE into it!

Yes, boys and girls it's my report about the con I attended. First and foremost I have to say that I had a very fun time, with only a few minor issues. The hotel was very cool looking, with this whole castle theme going on... here in lies issue one, and the biggest issue I had. 99% of the staff just gave bad customer service.

Now for the con itself, let's start at the beginning.

Drove up with a couple other people from the St. Louis domain that need rides and crash space. Which I provided since I had both available. The people definately made the ride better, though in the future I am thinking that the room sharing part should be with only really close and/or intimate friends. This was one of the only other issues, and was for the most part minor. The issue part was being in a room with people, while I am friendly with, have mannerisms that I am not completely use to and thus things felt a little awkward at times.

Now when I told many non-gamers that I was going up to Iowa several asked me if I was going for the Iowa Cacasus (I know I spelled that wrong, but I'm feeling to tired and lazy to look up the spelling right now). Of course I told them no. When we get to the hotel we find out that first night of the con the Camarilla is sharing the hotel with John McCain's camp. I didn't see him, though he was supposedly there. Did make for some interesting looks from people as all these Cammies in their various Vampire costumes walked past the hotel bar where the McCain people were.

Met some great people, and saw lots of hot boys. One of them was being very flirty with me... even told me I had gorgeous eyes. However, from him I think it was mostly that he had a flirty personality, and not real interest in me. Still I count him amoung one of my new friends.

Now for the games... which was the main reason I went up to the con of course.

The Requiem game rocked. The plot was great, and really was one that every Covenant could get involved in. The quick run down of it was, there was this boy that didn't believe in the supernatural.. his belief in this was so strong that somehow it manifested in a manner that caused vampiric powers to stop working in the city we were in. Of course several groups figured out peaceful, non-violent solutions to this; however a group of Gangrel decided that despite this they were going blow up the orphanage where the boy lived. Of course this means the child, and several others were killed. There is already IC fallout about this.

The Changeling game, had much neatness. The plot was a little weak, but still the game was fun and I got many complements on the makeup for my character. Which since it still takes 45 minutes to an hour to get ready, I will only be doing the full makeup bit at Cons and not local games. The weakness of the plot was really the last an minor issue I had, and even with that I still had a good time.

Overall the neatest thing was that the plots of all the Venues - Vampire, Mage, Werewolf, Changeling, and Promeathen all impacted on each other. The con ran them as all taking place in the same city and thus it was neat to see how one game influnenced things in the other games.

I have to say that con wise I had more fun at GLARE than I did at ICC, mostly because at this point I know more people bout OOC and IC so it allowed me to get more involved.

On last thing I feel I must mention. On sunday when I was getting the car loaded for the drive home... me (who still has the thin blood of someone that lived the past 15 years of their life in South Florida) being able to walk around outside in a t-shirt... in Iowa... in January... It's just wrong!