Father's Day Gift Ideas

Here are some suggestions on what to get me for Father's Day, should you want to get me anything.

DVD National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)


DVD National Treasure (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)


DVD Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Three-Disc Special Edition)

This edition may be difficult/impossible to find.
DVD Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)


DVD Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

I used to have this, actually, but don't anymore. Bummer. :( So that's why it's on the list again. If you like a challenge, try to get the Best Buy version that includes a bonus "Best Buy exclusive" disc.


flash memory card memory stick pro duo (any size at least 1 GB)

book Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning by Jonah Goldberg


music CD An Ancient Muse by Loreena McKennitt


Dilbert books This is the Part Where You Pretend to Add Value, Cubes and Punishment, or Positive Attitude




And, of course, things I always like:

• Starbucks French Roast coffee, pre-ground
• macadamia nuts
• Indy-edition whopper from Burger King
  
• mixed nuts sans peanuts
  
• M&Ms
• chocolate milkshake from McD's or Wendy's
  
• the new strawberry-flavored Mountain Dew... it's quite tasty!
  
• pizza
• lasagna
• Wok In Wok Out
• gift certificates: Barnes & Noble, and restaurant

And, of course, cards are nice, too. :)

Walking Can Be Dangerous

Walk Highlands is a web site dedicated to helping people pick walking routes across the Scottish Highlands. The site contains interesting pictures and information of these highland areas.

What really caught my attention was the disclaimer at the bottom of the web page about Glenelg Brochs: "Walking can be dangerous".

Always remember, gentle reader, walking can be dangerous. Beware!

Extremely Local News for Sunday, 4/27

Here is the Sunday 4/27/08 edition of Extremely Local News.

* Our southern neighbor burned a leaf pile.
* Georgie (our orange cat) left his "cave" to set what everyone was up to.
* I used a computer.
* Blackie slept, ate some food, and slept.
* Tim ate some hot dogs.
* Chubbie (our grey cat) drank some water.
* I poisoned some dandelions.
* A duck chased another duck.
* Sarah (with an "h") dealt with customers and co-workers (or as Scott Adams says, "cow-workers").
* We had a fire drill at church during Sunday School, but it wasn't a drill.
* Doug picked up his mail.
* I had some pizza.
* Bennett had some pizza.
* Some neighborhood kids walked past our house.

Gentle reader, I hoped that you enjoyed this installment of Extremely Local News. Tune in next time to learn what happened to the plant. Same bat time. Same bat channel.

Googly Eyes Gardener video

Indoor gardening tips from a man (played by Christopher Walken) who's very scared of plants.

How Duct Tape Saved Apollo 17

What follows is a true story from NASA.

During the Apollo 17 mission to the moon, an astronaut accidentally broke off one of the fenders on their Lunar Roving Vehicle (aka "moonbuggy"). This was a serious situation, as the four fenders kept moondust kicked up by the tires from covering the moonbuggy and the astronauts.

When a rover rolls across the lunar surface, it kicks up a plume of moondust in its wake. (Astronauts called them "rooster tails.") Without a fender, the rover would be showered by a spray of dark, abrasive grit. White spacesuits blackened by dust could turn into dangerous absorbers of the fierce lunar sun with astronauts overheating inside. Sharp-edged dust wiped off visors would scratch the glass, making helmets difficult to see out of. Moondust also had an uncanny way of working itself into hinges, latches and joints, rendering them useless.¹

Fortunately, the astronauts had a roll of duct tape. They temporarily reattached the fender using some duct tape they'd brought along on the moonbuggy.

After returning to the lunar lander, the astronauts informed Houston of the problem. NASA's engineers came up with a more permanent solution: duct tape together four laminated maps, and then duct tape those to the moonbuggy in place of the broken fender. The new map-and-duct tape fender worked for the remainder of the lunar mission.

So remember, gentle reader, always have duct tape available. You never know when it will help you out, even on the moon!

¹ quoted from the article "Moondust and Duct Tape" found at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/21apr_ducttape.htm?list709814