It's snowing!
Well, so far just light flurries, but I'm hoping for more!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Secret of Google's Search Success
Have you ever wondered how Google is able to return what are, sometimes, eerily precise results to your web searches? Me, too! Well, the answer is... pigeons! Or, more precisely, PigeonRank, a system which arranges pigeons into low-cost pigeon clusters (PCs). Who knew?
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Animals I've Eaten
in no particular order:
- rabbit
- squirrel
- deer
- elk (maybe)
- alligator
- ostrich
- buffalo
- cow
- pig (so many wonderful meats come from these)
- wild boar
- hot dog (frankly, who knows what's really inside these anyway?)
- chicken
- turkey
- fish (various varieties)
- frog (just the legs)
- calamari (yes, I know that's squid)
- clam
- scallops
- crab
- lamb
- lobster
- shrimp
- duck
- quail
Our Previously Dark Tree
Last night, with assistance from Timothy the Valiant and Bethany the Fair, I put additional lights on our Christmas tree, added some silvery garland, and put up blue, silver and clear ornaments. Our tree is dark no more!
After putting on all the light strands, I of course switched on the power to them. Immediately, I was nearly blinded by all the lights on that tree!
There is a downside to having our Christmas tree now fully decorated for Christmas... the cats now have ornaments to bat at. There weren't any ornaments on the floor this morning, though the cats may still have been blinded by all the lights. I expect to find at least one on the floor when I get home from work. Hopefully, the ornament wil have put up a good fight before having been pulled from the tree.
After putting on all the light strands, I of course switched on the power to them. Immediately, I was nearly blinded by all the lights on that tree!
There is a downside to having our Christmas tree now fully decorated for Christmas... the cats now have ornaments to bat at. There weren't any ornaments on the floor this morning, though the cats may still have been blinded by all the lights. I expect to find at least one on the floor when I get home from work. Hopefully, the ornament wil have put up a good fight before having been pulled from the tree.
Our Dark Tree
As is the tradition in our part of the country, we recently put up a Christmas tree in our family room. As is the tradition in our family, we put up an artificial Christmas tree. The best thing about using an artificial Christmas tree? No sap! Well, not usually, anyway.
As is the tradition for my wife, she asked me to run a strand around the Christmas tree's center pole while I was assembling the tree, so that there would be light coming from inside. Mission accomplished!
As is the tradition for me, I then proceeded to test our various remaining strands of Christmas tree lights, of which we have many, to determine which ones to put on our tree, and which ones we'd donate to the seagull farm, if you know what I mean. Well, all of the strands had problems! At best, on any one strand, 50% of the lights lit up. All the strands will be "recycled".
So, there our Christmas tree stands, our single working strand of lights wrapped around its center pole, and the dark star on top (no nearby strand to plug it in to). At night, when I turn the tree's lights on, the tree gives off an eerie multi-colored glow from within its depths. So eerie that, the first time I turned on those lights, trick-or-treaters showed up at our door! No garlands or ornaments adorn the tree yet, as it is still waiting for more lights.
On the plus side, the cats haven't tried to pull the tree down yet! (In past years, they usually tried at least once, claiming that the ornaments made them do it. Yeah, whatever... we all know it was the catnip.)
As is the tradition for my wife, she asked me to run a strand around the Christmas tree's center pole while I was assembling the tree, so that there would be light coming from inside. Mission accomplished!
As is the tradition for me, I then proceeded to test our various remaining strands of Christmas tree lights, of which we have many, to determine which ones to put on our tree, and which ones we'd donate to the seagull farm, if you know what I mean. Well, all of the strands had problems! At best, on any one strand, 50% of the lights lit up. All the strands will be "recycled".
So, there our Christmas tree stands, our single working strand of lights wrapped around its center pole, and the dark star on top (no nearby strand to plug it in to). At night, when I turn the tree's lights on, the tree gives off an eerie multi-colored glow from within its depths. So eerie that, the first time I turned on those lights, trick-or-treaters showed up at our door! No garlands or ornaments adorn the tree yet, as it is still waiting for more lights.
On the plus side, the cats haven't tried to pull the tree down yet! (In past years, they usually tried at least once, claiming that the ornaments made them do it. Yeah, whatever... we all know it was the catnip.)
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Wish List - 2006 "Year of the Blog" Edition
Every year my family members exchange wish lists at Christmastime so that, as we buy gifts for each other, we will buy things people will actually want. As opposed to, for example, buying socks and hoping for the best ("hope you like purple!"). Plus, this allows our family the chance to avoid the dreaded day-after-Christmas rush to the returns department at local retailers.
For those interested, here's my list separated into two categories: things I like (which make great gifts any time of the year, and include lower-priced items), and things I want (including the not-so-lower-priced items). Enjoy!
Things I like (in no particular order...)
For those interested, here's my list separated into two categories: things I like (which make great gifts any time of the year, and include lower-priced items), and things I want (including the not-so-lower-priced items). Enjoy!
Things I like (in no particular order...)
macadamia nuts- gift cards to any of these restaurants:
Johnny Carino's, Mongolian BBQ, Outback Steakhouse, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Culvers - be taken to: Old Country Buffett, Ponderosa, Mongolian BBQ, Wok In Wok Out
- gift card to Barnes & Noble
gift card to Best Buy- yogurt-coated pretzels
- cheese curls (puffy, not crunchy... any brand is fine)
- large chocolate shakes from McD's (please, no substitutes)
- see a movie at the theater... preferrably a movie I'd enjoy :)
my wife's homemade lasagna, but also with pepperoni (yum!)- blank CD-R and DVD-R discs (you would not believe how quickly I use these up!)
Starbucks pre-ground French roast coffee (I prefer not to grind coffee beans myself, but will if necessary)
Things I Want (in no particular order...)
an MP3 player... any brand or model is okay as long as it can play MP3 files (duh!) and having a display on it would be nice but isn't necessary... if you'd like a specific idea on what I'd like, check out the SanDisk Sansa m240 1GB MP3 player at Best Buy's web site... it's got an LCD display, FM radio, 1GB flash memory, USB interface, and uses one AAA battery (all the features I'm looking for) and currently on sale with free shipping!- snow globe
- Dilbert TV series on DVD
- Sledge Hammer! TV series (both seasons) on DVD
Sony PSPtime to watch LOTR in one daytime to watch Star Wars in one day (though a different day, of course)- convince Outback Steakhouse to build a restaurant in Holland (my wife would like this one, too)
- magazine subscriptions: Christian Research Journal, CPU, Linux Format (from the UK!)
- Sony PS3... preferrably the 60 GB version
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Four-Disc Extended Edition... goes on sale 12/12/06Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 2-disc special edition... if you get it this week at Best Buy, you'll be able to get it on sale ($10 off!) AND you'll get an exclusive-to-Best Buy bonus disc (oh yeah, I'd want that disc, too)... don't forget, I have a birthday coming up, too! :)
Be sure to re-check this post in the days leading up to Christmas, as I will change between now and then. Merry Christmas!
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