Poor Dilbert

Go North, um I Mean South

Even though I'm not a member, I watched a repeat of Nova yesterday on my local PBS station. It was called Magnetic Storm and dealt with the Earth's magnetic field and how it was gradually weakening. Basically the field is decreasing because either the Earth is about to lose it's field because the core is solidifying or the field is about to reverse itself. The first cause is hypothesized to be why Mars is a dead planet. The second is what most scientists believe is happening now to the Earth. I thought it was very interesting that the Earth has reversed its magnetic field hundreds of times in the past and that we are overdue for it happening again. It's a scary scenario and life would become more complicated than it is now. That would be for the people who don't die as a result of the reversal.

I Want That One...No, Maybe That One

Does anyone remember when Halloween costumes came in boxes? The top of the box had a clear plastic window so you could see the mask and the costume was folded underneath it. I miss that. Now you have to sort through the costumes that are hanging off of display walls and most of the time they fall off the racks and end up on the floor being trampled by everyone. I remember after my parents bought me a costume, I would hold the box in my hands staring at the mask while riding back home in the family car. Thinking about how scary I would be and all the treats I would get on Halloween night. Times have changed.

Ever Wonder...

Why the hell the 3 Musketeers candy bar was named such? Well you can find out here. Does anyone remember the commercials for the candy bar from back in the 70's? I can't so feel free to jog my memory. And when did Mars become Masterfoods? And how did they reduce the fat content by 45%?

Viva Garfield!

That's A Lot Of Gas

I saw a commercial last night about the major oil refinery in town. They said that they produce 2.5 million gallons of gasoline per day. If that's the case, then why isn't the gasoline sold at their branded stations at bargain prices? I understand the distribution channels and all that malarkey but is there some kind of law that prevents the refinery from setting up their own gas pumps and selling direct to the public? You know, cut out the middleman and pay less.

There Are Lots of Me

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 2,385 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Now You See It, Now You Don't

So scientists have created a cloak of invisibility. Even though it only works with microwaves right now, they say "the chance of adapting the concept to visible light is good". Man, how cool is that? I came across this video clip of a Japanese experiment of the same kind of technology but this seems to have successfully applied the concept to visual light. I don't know if this is only a concept video of how such a cloak would work or if it is just a hoax. I have my doubts but I've said this before and I'll say it again...Those Japanese are clever people. Anyway, DM, Wendel the Dwarf is putting on his cloak of invisibility and entering the cavern with sword drawn while Clydophalese the thief keeps his eyes on the slumbering Orcs.

Tag, You're It!

When I was in elementary school, I remember playing tag and variants of the game like freeze tag. In all the years and numerous days of play I cannot recall getting hurt or any of my friends getting hurt while playing tag. In Physical Education class we used to play dodge ball as an organized class activity in the gym. Remember those red rubber balls that came in different sizes? When you got hit with one of the small ones in the leg, it would leave a nice outline of the ball on you and sting like hell. I remember lots of kids who got hurt playing that game.

I read yesterday that many school districts across the U.S. are banning tag playing. They are worried that students might get hurt and parents will sue the school. (These days, everyone is suing someone for something. I think it’s because there are too many lawyers). I guess schools have the freedom to ban any activities they think are dangerous but I think this is a little excessive. Recess and running around are part of school. Falling down and getting a scraped knee or elbow is part of growing up. If schools are afraid of personal injury claims then they should probably remove all the playground equipment too. So, in the end, there will be no more tag, red rover, flag football, swings, and seesaws, just to name a few. But at least we can sleep well at night knowing our kids are safe in the playground at school.

Another List

The top 10 best high school movies as ranked by Entertainment Weekly.

1. The Breakfast Club
2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
3. Dazed and Confused
4. Rebel Without a Cause
5. Heathers
6. American Graffiti
7. Clueless
8. Boyz N the Hood
9. Election
10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

You can see the complete list of the top 50 and the reasons why they made the list here.

Sad But True

It's official. At this moment in time, I'm worth more dead, than alive. Woo hoo!

Still...

Continues to keep my interest. Heroes, that is. I hope the show doesn't take a nose dive and disappoint me like some of the other new shows.

Just a Thought

I was waiting in line last night to get gasoline. Yes, waiting in line to purchase that liquid gold that makes my car run. It was posted $2.10 a gallon, which is the lowest I've seen in a very long time, so I waited. While waiting, I noticed that most of the cars and trucks were waiting in line for the pumps that could access the driver's side of the car to fill up. I was too. At least at this station, I know from experience that if I went to the opposite pump, I would not be able to get the hose around the car to get the nozzle into the tank. So here's my thought. Why can't the automobile manufacturers build their cars and trucks with access points for gas on both sides of the vehicle? That way it really wouldn't matter which pump you pull up to because you could fill up from either side of the vehicle. Sounds simple to me, but of course I'm not an engineer.

Exam

I had an appointment this morning at a clinic for my medical exam, which is needed to determine insurability for the life insurance company. It took about 20 minutes which included question and answer time, height and weight measurement, chest and waist measurement, blood pressure check, blood samples, and finally the good old urine sample. My main gripe of this entire process was why the hell was it so cold in that clinic? That and all the damn questions about my health and having to give blood/urine samples. I guess a man's word is no longer good for anything these days. Oh well. Hopefully the results will indicate a clean bill of health.

Hubble

Even though the Hubble telescope cost hundreds of millions of dollars and was broken when it was deployed into space (but later fixed), it has aided astronomers and scientists infinitely. And the layman or student can access the Hubble website and see the many discoveries and awesome pictures of far away galaxies. Very educational and interesting.

What? No, I'm Not!

You Are Scary

You even scare scary people sometimes!

How Scary Are You?

Semantic or Syntax

I'm writing this post in the late-morning. Or could this be considered early-afternoon? I wouldn't because to me, afternoon is just that...after 12 PM. But I know people who don't subscribe to that. And what exactly is mid-afternoon? Would that be noon or sometime around 3 PM? I consider early-evening to be around 6 or 7 PM. Others may not so all this could go out the window. Time is just so relative.

What's Up With That?

Yet another pattern of super cells and golf ball sized hail and tornado watches and warnings this afternoon and evening here. I still think global warming has a role in this weird weather pattern. I just finished watching Heroes and I have to ask why poor little Claire gets most of the unneeded blood and guts parts. But the ending in the morgue just cracked me up despite the scene.

For Sale : Possessed Car

Remember the movie Christine? You can buy her here for a mere $175,000. But wouldn't that be great? You get in a little fender-bender and the car actually repairs itself. It might also kill the other driver out of anger/jealousy/paranoia but that's what you get for buying it. Oops, I mean her. Nice Christine, good Christine. Hurry though, the auction ends on October 10.

Look And See

What The Grudge 2 movie site has for your entertainment.

I'm Getting A Headache

Calculating my life insurance needs and types is definitely confusing.

Ten Mad Elephants

Are here.

The Open Door

Evanescence rocks!

Definitive Proof

Ok, here's a picture of the Loch Ness Monster taken the other day. It clearly shows a fin from Nessie. This will surely put the "unbelievers" in their places. Um, what's that? Oh, this is actually a photo of a humpback whale taken off the Australian coast. Drat! Well, I still believe in Nessie.

Why...

Am I so obsessed with the Resident Evil franchise of video games? I think I'm hooked on the survival horror genre. Probably started with me playing id Software's DOOM although that really isn't considered survival horror. Anyway, I've been replaying RE Code Veronica X to try and finish it with an "A" rating (I told myself that I can't play the next game in the series until I unlock all the unlockables from the previous game). If I accomplish that, then I can restart the game and have an infinite Rocket Launcher as a weapon. There's a certain satisfaction that comes when you can blast a creature to bits with a rocket. So far, after 3 attempts with limited saves and decreasing total game times, I still haven't received the coveted "A" ranking. Well, I just found out how to do that. I can't save the game at all and I can't use first-aid sprays. Gosh, that kind of makes it difficult. Plus, I have to block off a few hours of time for game play. That's the nearly impossible task. Let's see what happens.