But, I am.
Of course, every day I get older, but changing into a new decade... well, that only happens once in a while, and makes you feel a lot more than one day older.
So, now I need to update my "About me" on this blog, as I am no longer a "Twenty-something male human."
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Pray attend!
Verily, th' English Language doth decay like a dampen'd tree stump.
Thus, tis meet to revive 't by th' expediant of speaking in the form of the Bard o' Avon.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/21/talk.like.shakespeare/index.html
In Chicago at least, April 23rd shall be "talk like Shakespeare day". :-)
Thus, tis meet to revive 't by th' expediant of speaking in the form of the Bard o' Avon.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/21/talk.like.shakespeare/index.html
In Chicago at least, April 23rd shall be "talk like Shakespeare day". :-)
Monday, April 20, 2009
The surest sign...
...of intelligent life in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
So, at least, Calvin and Hobbes say. For a six-year-old child, Calvin can be pretty smart sometimes.
But one former astronaut (and who would know better?) claims that we have been visited by extra-terrestrial intelligence(s).
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/ufo.conference/index.html
Edgar Mitchell is a little bit "out there" himself; and I'm not talking about the whole walking on the moon thing (he was #6 of the twelve people who've walked on another celestial body). Still, I hate to criticize a prominent C-MU alum too much; we don't have many to spare. :-}
Is there other intelligent life in the universe? From a purely statistical point of view I'm sure there is, though I certainly can't prove any of it even knows of our existance, much less has visited Terra within the life of the human race. I tend to side on the "our government isn't competent enough to keep it covered up" side of things, however.
What do you think?
Oh - it was a busy weeked, but I'll post more when I have a chance to upload pictures.
So, at least, Calvin and Hobbes say. For a six-year-old child, Calvin can be pretty smart sometimes.
But one former astronaut (and who would know better?) claims that we have been visited by extra-terrestrial intelligence(s).
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/ufo.conference/index.html
Edgar Mitchell is a little bit "out there" himself; and I'm not talking about the whole walking on the moon thing (he was #6 of the twelve people who've walked on another celestial body). Still, I hate to criticize a prominent C-MU alum too much; we don't have many to spare. :-}
Is there other intelligent life in the universe? From a purely statistical point of view I'm sure there is, though I certainly can't prove any of it even knows of our existance, much less has visited Terra within the life of the human race. I tend to side on the "our government isn't competent enough to keep it covered up" side of things, however.
What do you think?
Oh - it was a busy weeked, but I'll post more when I have a chance to upload pictures.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Non-cardiac chest pain
OK, first off, my doctor has concluded that there is no reason to believe anything is wrong with my heart.
That said, Wednesday I went to the clinic at work with chest pain, elevated blood pressure, and shortness of breath.
I've now had my first 12-lead EKG (as the patient - I can't count how many I've administered but it is certainly at least in the hundreds), and my first X-ray in roughly two decades.
My medic-sense told me that it probably wasn't cardiac... but my internal medic also told me that it would be very stupid to assume that, especially given that my father died of a heart attack at a not particularly old age.
The CP is mostly gone now (my doc thinks it was an infection that spread to the chest; makes sense to me), and my BP has returned to normal.
Why an elevated BP and SOB? Well... I'm going to make a wild guess... stress at work. This week my lead is back after 3 weeks vacation and it seems that nothing I did while he was gone meets with his approval.
All's well that ends well, I suppose.
That said, Wednesday I went to the clinic at work with chest pain, elevated blood pressure, and shortness of breath.
I've now had my first 12-lead EKG (as the patient - I can't count how many I've administered but it is certainly at least in the hundreds), and my first X-ray in roughly two decades.
My medic-sense told me that it probably wasn't cardiac... but my internal medic also told me that it would be very stupid to assume that, especially given that my father died of a heart attack at a not particularly old age.
The CP is mostly gone now (my doc thinks it was an infection that spread to the chest; makes sense to me), and my BP has returned to normal.
Why an elevated BP and SOB? Well... I'm going to make a wild guess... stress at work. This week my lead is back after 3 weeks vacation and it seems that nothing I did while he was gone meets with his approval.
All's well that ends well, I suppose.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
IOU
With the mortgage on the house, I chose to itemize deductions on my federal taxes this year. A conservative calculation (which I used) reveals that the feds took over a week's pay from me that they now have to give back.
The annual interest-free loan to the federal government usually doesn't bother me, but... over a week's pay?!?
How much do you owe/are you owed by the fed this year?
The annual interest-free loan to the federal government usually doesn't bother me, but... over a week's pay?!?
How much do you owe/are you owed by the fed this year?
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Wonders of Science
It may be a hoax, but it is a brilliant idea either way:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514158,00.html
Chocolate inhalers - take a breath of chocolate in four flavors; no calories!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514158,00.html
Chocolate inhalers - take a breath of chocolate in four flavors; no calories!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cursed
Maybe I haven't broken my TV curse after all. :-(
For quite some time, it seemed that every show I was interested in got cancelled either before I even found out about it (reruns), or within a season of me first watching it on TV, or REALLY went down the tubes in the same period.
OK, this is hardly statistically unlikely; most shows don't last past a season, and in any given year there are more shows in reruns or on video/DVD than in production.
Still... Crusade, Firefly, Three... I've got some shows on my all-time favorites list that died horrible deaths.
Then Grey's Anatomy rolled around - I picked it up in its 2nd season, and it still seems to be doing OK in its 5th. Aside from childhood shows like Sesame Street and Square One, that's the longest I've ever watched a show that was in production.
But this TV season, just as I was starting to watch a lot of TV (~one show a night on average) three more graves have been added. The one that is the most disappointing is Life On Mars (US version, not UK). I actually posted about it on this blog last year as a show with promise - I was right, as far as the 17 episodes actually made go. It was a good show... right up until they cancelled it.
The TV networks seem to have unrealistically high expectations for new shows - within a matter of months they are expected to generate a massive following, often despite shifting time slots, gaps in production, and non-existent off-network advertising. News flash to the major networks: I, like many people, only watch your network when I expect there to be something on I want to watch. I don't troll it looking for new shows - most of the shows you broadcast aren't worth my time. Your news coverage is biased and has an even lower percentage of useful content than your website. Reality TV isn't, and I thought Survivor was a boring idea the first time around (let alone the 8th or 50th or whatever you're on now).
Oh well.
Requiescat In Pace, Life On Mars.
For quite some time, it seemed that every show I was interested in got cancelled either before I even found out about it (reruns), or within a season of me first watching it on TV, or REALLY went down the tubes in the same period.
OK, this is hardly statistically unlikely; most shows don't last past a season, and in any given year there are more shows in reruns or on video/DVD than in production.
Still... Crusade, Firefly, Three... I've got some shows on my all-time favorites list that died horrible deaths.
Then Grey's Anatomy rolled around - I picked it up in its 2nd season, and it still seems to be doing OK in its 5th. Aside from childhood shows like Sesame Street and Square One, that's the longest I've ever watched a show that was in production.
But this TV season, just as I was starting to watch a lot of TV (~one show a night on average) three more graves have been added. The one that is the most disappointing is Life On Mars (US version, not UK). I actually posted about it on this blog last year as a show with promise - I was right, as far as the 17 episodes actually made go. It was a good show... right up until they cancelled it.
The TV networks seem to have unrealistically high expectations for new shows - within a matter of months they are expected to generate a massive following, often despite shifting time slots, gaps in production, and non-existent off-network advertising. News flash to the major networks: I, like many people, only watch your network when I expect there to be something on I want to watch. I don't troll it looking for new shows - most of the shows you broadcast aren't worth my time. Your news coverage is biased and has an even lower percentage of useful content than your website. Reality TV isn't, and I thought Survivor was a boring idea the first time around (let alone the 8th or 50th or whatever you're on now).
Oh well.
Requiescat In Pace, Life On Mars.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fools! We're going to tell you the truth!
From CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/01/april.fools.pranks/index.html
"It's April Fools' Day -- when media outlets around the world take a break from the serious business of delivering news and play fast and furious with the facts."
I thought that the major media outlets played fast a loose with the facts all the time?
I think that as an April Fool's joke the mass media should conduct in-depth reporting on nothing but verifiable facts with no spining or slanting of the stories.
Of course, that might cause the end of the world as we know it.
"It's April Fools' Day -- when media outlets around the world take a break from the serious business of delivering news and play fast and furious with the facts."
I thought that the major media outlets played fast a loose with the facts all the time?
I think that as an April Fool's joke the mass media should conduct in-depth reporting on nothing but verifiable facts with no spining or slanting of the stories.
Of course, that might cause the end of the world as we know it.
Nature wins again
Google has their expected April Fool's joke on their webpage, practical jokes are flying... but up here in Puget Sound Mother Nature is getting the last laugh, as usual.
It is snowing.
It is snowing.
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