Get Out!

Do you know what the house in the middle of the picture (courtesy of Google Maps) is known for?

Bigger In Texas

Lake Tawakoni State Park in Texas has an attraction right now that some think is fascinating and others won't go near. It's a spider web that covers trees and shrubs on a trail for 200 yards. Is it the work of one giant mutant spider or the work of a group of social spiders? No one knows yet for sure but many have speculated. The park has invited entomologists to visit and study the web but so far no one has accepted. I'm guessing they're too busy studying the recently discovered South American Gigantic Hairy Blue Jumping Hunter Squeaking Spider. Very dangerous indeed. Read the whole story (about the web) here.

Be Very Still

I had to go to a clinic earlier this afternoon to get a finger x-rayed. To make a long story short, I was out on the manufacturing floor and put my hand somewhere at the wrong time and wham, possible fracture in my left digitus minimus. It has been many years since I had to have an x-ray, and I've had them taken before when I was younger, but it seems that every time I had one the room was always dimly lit. Probably has something to do with radiation and the affect of intermingling types of radiation? Who knows? I'm not a radiologist, but I could have been. But wait, when I get an x-ray at the dentist's office the lights aren't dim there. So what gives?

Bad Neighbor

I went to the Best Buy near me this evening to browse and maybe buy something. There has been a large empty lot next to their building since it had been built. About two months ago construction equipment arrived and started to prep the lot for another building. I had been speculating ever since about what store may be housed in the new building. I had hoped it would be a Barnes & Nobles since the one up the street seems too small to me and does not have enough parking spaces. But when I saw the lot tonight, the foundation had already been poured and ready to take the walls, there was a sign announcing that Circuit City would be coming soon.

Ugh, I can't stand that store. There's already one a block away and I avoid it like the plague. I guess the strategy here is that consumers will go into Best Buy and check the price of an item and then go into Circuit City to comparison shop. I know Best Buy will match competitor prices but I'm not sure about Circuit City although I'm betting they do. But I guess this is their next plan to try to increase earnings per share and to try to come out ahead of Best Buy. Well time will tell. Perhaps once Circuit City closes this new store later, Barnes and Noble or maybe a Borders will move in. That would be a happy day indeed.

Something Moved In The Corner

I started reading a book last night called Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (aka Joseph H. King) which has begun to give me the creeps. I usually don't get uncomfortable reading horror or seeing movies of this genre either. I take that back. The last time I read something that gave me constant goose bumps, bad dreams, and made me uncomfortable in the dark was King's Bag of Bones. The last movie that did that to me was a film called Event Horizon.

I'm not exactly sure why I'm feeling spooked while reading this novel. Whether it's the prose or just the idea of a vengeful ghost, I have no clue. I do know that when I'm reading, everyone in the house is sleeping, and the shadows cast by my Itty Bitty book light seem darker and longer than usual. And there's the silence...except for the dog barking outside for no reason.

From Volcanoes to Dwarves

Over 1900 years ago today Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii. One year ago today Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet. I wonder what happened to Goofy?

What else happened on this day in history can be seen here.

What the...?

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Just Another Little Thing

Taking into account that I'm just an Average Joe with no previous criminal record, how would the following be answered?

• Convicted of DUI and violating probation from a prior DUI would I get jail time and how much? What if I was rich and famous?


• Caught speeding on interstate and Trooper discovers a couple bags of pot and a bag of meth in the car. Jail time or a fine and slap on the wrist? What if I was a famous musician?


• I'm being drunk and disorderly and resist arrest and shove (assault) an officer while slapping his hands away from me. Would I be charged with misdemeanors or felonies? What if I was a star football player?

• What if tried to enter the secure area of an airport with a pistol in my bag and claim that I forgot it was there? Fine or jail time? What if I was an ex-mayor of the city or football coach of a legendary team?

• What if I broke the law in a foreign country, jumped bail and fled back to the States? Would I be extradited to face charges or have the whole matter dismissed? What if I was a famous T.V. personality?

Pssst, It's A Secret

Come On Home

So the Space Shuttle will land on Earth a day earlier on the presumption that hurricane Dean may cause problems at Houston's Mission Control. It turns out now that Dean will probably make landfall far from Houston but what I'm worried about is the hole on Endeavour's belly caused by falling debris from the external fuel tank. The hole goes completely through the thermal tile to the felt fabric that covers the shuttle's aluminum frame. NASA engineers and managers say the shuttle is fine to land without making any repairs in space.




I don't understand why NASA would develop procedures and tools to repair damage like this after the Columbia disaster and then choose not to do it. Unless the procedures don't really work that is. Is this decision to cover up government ineptitude or bad management at NASA? This whole deal stinks like stinky cheese. I guess we'll find out if it was the right decision around 12:32 p.m. ET tomorrow.

Arm Yourselves

I've been in the mood to do some dungeon exploration, preferably during a quest of some kind. I would like to equip a party with individuals of my preference. I would want to be able to pick each character's class and race and perhaps even their alignment. I wouldn't want to just hack and slash the entire time while exploring a dungeon. I would like a nice combat system and an in-depth storyline with lots of towns and characters to interact with. It should also be for the PS2 since I still can't afford the PS3. Or maybe I ask for too much?

See You Later Alligator

Yesterday I lovingly packed up two Elmo toys that I had to return due to the Fisher-Price recall. I was a little saddened at the thought that Elmo was probably going to meet his fate in an incinerator somewhere. The Little One has no idea (yet) that I took those two toys away and I'm glad they disappeared while she was sleeping. I'm not going to say anything about them unless she asks and then I'll probably have to make something up. I had received a postage paid label that I had to attach to the box and when I was at the post office the calculated price for shipping was $8. Wow, let's say the average consumer only has one item to return so make that an average shipping price of $4, with nine million affected toys but let's assume only eight million get returned, that comes out to $32 million for shipping alone.

My two items will require a voucher for $33 to be issued to me for replacement toys. On average most of the recalled toys were running around $13 in value, so that comes out to $104 million in vouchers if most consumers return one item. Total price for these recalls is around $136 million. I wonder if that's pocket change for Mattel or is this going to seriously hurt their bottom line? Unbelievable. Ok, sure this wasn't as exciting as figuring out the many possible combinations of Arby's 5 for $5.95 deal but it is an eye opener. I wonder where they get their Fancy Catsup from?

Combinations

Eisley rocks.

Sorry, Not Available

I went into my favorite electronics super store this evening to buy the just-released new CD Combinations by Eisley. They didn't have it. I asked one of the associates for help because there have been instances when a new CD I wanted was still sitting in their backroom on the release date but this wasn't the case tonight. They did tell me that the store on the other side of town had it but I wasn't in the mood to drive out there. I went over to another store and they didn't have it either. Bummer. I guess I'll have to drive across town later this week to get it.

Rock On

Another season of Fox's Hell's Kitchen has come and gone. I had a feeling Rock would come out the winner and even though I thought he was a jerk I think he deserved it. I always thought Bonnie was a spoiled, wishy-washy, brat but she surprised me towards the end with her total change in attitude. I was also surprised at how Julia acted in the finale and it kind of made me change my opinion of her. Let's see if she can finish her schooling and make it back on the show in the future.

One Way To Excel In Business

This is from yesterday but I think it's funny enough to post a day late.

To Buy or Not To Buy

I'm debating whether or not to buy the Harry Potter Box Set Books 1-7 (Hardcover) to be released on September 18. I haven't read any of these books nor have I seen any of the movies but I've been told that I would enjoy them. I just don't know if that's enough to justify spending $116.99 at Amazon. What am I to do?

Creepy

This video creeped me out and sent chills up and down my back and arms!

I Don't Buy It

It turns out that we have two toys of the many being recalled by Fisher Price because the paint may contain lead. I've received the information on how to send them back and receive credit for other toys and it seems straight forward and easy. It will just take some time out of my already busy day to get the stuff packed up and taken to the post office. By no means will I boycott the company but it concerns me that all of a sudden everything is being looked at under a microscope and so many problems are being discovered.

Recalls have been occurring since companies started manufacturing goods for sale but lately it seems like the media is scaring the public into not buying dozens of items. Am I going to stop buying fish because it may be laced with poison? That probably has the same chance that I will stop driving my car because it might catch on fire due to a malfunctioning cruise control. I'm not even sure what my point is but I think it has something to do with not living in fear. I mean you have to take each day and use your best judgement. I guess that suggestion could go with buying just about anything or even life in general. A philosopher I am not and it's time to go to bed.

The Next Step

Ugh. In bad taste, exploitation, insensitive...the list goes on. Read the whole story here.

It Keeps On Going

I've been seeing a commercial for a new gum which claims that the flavor lasts and lasts. Apparently the folks that make Stride gum are in dire straights because customers who bought the gum won't spit out the first piece because of the long lasting flavor. I decided to put this claim to the test although not by scientific means.

I bought a pack of Forever Fruit flavor, which reminded me of Fruit Stripe gum, and popped a piece into my mouth. I observed the time and chewed until there was no flavor at all. The gum had some semblance of flavor for eighteen minutes. I don't think I chewed the entire time so I tried another piece and it lasted fifteen minutes. I then tried a different brand of gum and it lasted for only eight minutes.

So there you go. Stride doesn't last ridiculously long but it lasted longer than one of their competitors. Tune in next week when I try to determine if the Naga Jolokia chili pepper is in fact the world's hottest pepper

What?

News Bits

I was watching the evening news which was chock full of depressing and sad reports. Flooding, displaced families, war, murders, accidents, and disasters just to name a few. What I found interesting was what I saw in a couple of the video clips. There was one where the news was doing a follow-up report of an accident or near-accident at a nuclear power plant. There always seems to be a video of the control room of the plant whenever any news channel does a report on power plants and there's always a guy sitting at a massive control panel wearing a hard hat. I was mulling over this and thought why do you need a hard hat in the control room? Is there a danger of the ceiling falling or collapsing? Maybe you need one outside the control room in a narrow, dark, and dank tunnel full of low hanging pipes but in the control room? I don't think so.

Then there was a video of a crime scene and I noticed that every time you see one of these there is always a shot of a cop talking on a cell phone or a group of them talking amongst themselves. I always imagine what these people could be talking about. Is the cop on the phone talking to his girlfriend and the group discussing where to go eat afterwards? It just bothers me that these people don't have anything better to do at a crime scene *and* let themselves be captured on video. Oh well, who am I to be complaining?