Allegra – Page 623 – Allegra Sloman's blog

First half of September 2005

The last time they lost a city
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

San Francisco Earthquake Timeline

Homer is a Commie????
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Homer is a Commie??

Hey pOp
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Not funny
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Ground Zero EMS Katrina
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Why is it that I think the death toll in this makeshift hospital has not been included in the death toll so far?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4836926

What Moore’s Falls look like in August
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Shadow
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

This is Shadow… another of Sandy’s cats. What gorgeous markings!

Bashful
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

This is Sandy’s cat Bashful. He went up against a fisher, thus the missing eye. I think he looks very raffish.

Flood in Vancouver
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

If Vancouver were New Orleans

Interesting to see that I’d just be on the edge of the flooded area. If this link turns out to be ephemeral, somebody has used Yahoo maps to plot out how much of various North American cities would be covered in water if they had been flooded to the same extent. Kinda personalizes the catastrophe, which I imagine is the whole idea.

I simply must go to bed.

Still can’t sleep.
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

catsinsinks.com

Now there’s some niche marketing for you.

Can’t breathe
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

I was WOKEN UP by the smoke from the Burns Bog fire. My throat and lungs hurt and the level of particulates is so high that I’m afraid the fire alarms in the house are going to start going off. So it’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m staring at the little screen again, again.

Altogether now…. EWWWW

I find the PRC Chinese attitude towards their executed/death row prisoners to be loathsome to start with; this story just makes me feel horrible. What’s worse is the attitude of the people who now know what’s in it and WILL BUY IT ANYWAY.

enough sleep
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

I would like to compliment Paul on his ability to deal appropriately with my chiropteran feces.

NOOOOO!
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

God damn the bureaucrats, the petty minded thieves of lives, who steal with paper and delay what they would not dare to steal with guns. Goddamn! Read it and weep.

Justice, sort of
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

I’ve been following this case for a long time…. it’s been dragging on for the best part of three years. It isn’t exactly justice, what we see here, but I just thought I’d mention that it’s a hard universe to be transgendered in. RIP Gwen. If this link doesn’t work, google Gwen Araujo.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/12/D8CJ30KO4.html

Beacon Unitarian church did a program called the Welcoming Congregation a while back, and we had a couple of transgender people come and talk to us, and I watched some videos, one of which talked about Gwen’s case. Since then Katie has had two transgender schoolmates; that’s one of the best things about Katie’s school. It’s a safe place to be ‘different’. How long, stern Goddess mine, how long? Before we can be seen as we are….

X-Cool!
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Check it out!!! User interface clunky, basic idea sound!

http://grad.icmc.usp.br/~cipriani/bighole.php?lang=en

Many thanks to Cousin Gerald the Cartographer!!

Also from Gerald….http://www.ratbike.org/motorcycho/outlawname.php

I am Ol’ Mama of the Dead Donkeys MC. I like it!

Wikipedia on Katrina
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Interestingly there is another mention of 50 Canadians – but they are correctly identified. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hurricane_Katrina

Mounties? Wrong
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Murricans can’t tell the difference between rescue workers and Mounties. I think this is the source of that weird story you mentioned earlier, mOm. ….you will note it is a ‘politico’ and not a reputable official who said the Mounties got there before the Feds. Vancouver Rescue was in Chalmette very early on.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0909katrina-nursing-home09-ON.html

Aurora
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Ryan Finkbiner of Minot ND took this picture a couple of days ago.

Bridge across the Tarn
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

This is a pic of the bridge across the Tarn in France. It cost about half a billion US, is about 300 metres tall at the tallest point and spans almost two and a half kilometres. Damned French can’t do anything in a straight line, it looks like the ass end of a Citroen, doncha think?

After the Correction
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

We’re going to need new entertainment that doesn’t cost any money. With that in mind…. Stolen from Umop, reposted from Fark.

Keith and work
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Keith says…. I think I am becoming on of the temp agency’s star performers. I asked, “Why is that?” and he said, “I show up on time, I don’t leave early, I don’t mouth off the supervisors and I keep my paperwork in order.” AH, the things he is learning. So his gig this morning is apparently 1 hour of work for 4 hours’ pay (truck unloading), and all his coworkers are envious, because that’s the softest gig there is. Back to work, I wonder what joys and sorrows await me.

Burns Bog is on Fire
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Paul and Dan were diverted out of landing at Boundary Bay airport to circle the fire and report on its size. Paul said it was huge… this pic taken about 3 hours ago doesn’t really do it justice. The entire valley is filled with smoke and there’s a smoke plume that looks like the most terrifying funnel cloud ever on the southwest horizon. Katie said, it feels like the end of the world.

On a brighter note, just ate a stellar meal at Tom and Peggy’s.

take a hint
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

http://www.wakahiru-me.com/media/vid/hbo/hbo_maher_newrules_recall_bush_rant_050909a.wmv

Horror show
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

http://www.addiestan.com/2005/09/from-front-lines.html

You’ve probably seen this
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

I’m sorry, but one of the things about being me is that I find the juxtaposition of Cops and Tim Hortons innately hilarious. Also forwarded from Cousin Gerald, I just LOVE pix like these. Hopefully this won’t get too shrunk in the process of being posted… pic is from T.O.

More meese
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

It’s been bally ages since I posted a decent moose pic. Herewith, with kind regards from Cousin Gerald, provenance unknown.

From Juancole.com today
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

In four years, Roosevelt and allies defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. In four years, Bush has not managed even to corner Bin Laden and a few hundred scruffy terrorists; or to extract himself from the deserts of Iraq; or to put the government finances in good order so that it can deal with crises like Katrina.

Jerome and Shannon’s back yard
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picnic Pix
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Pleasantville
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picture is of a deity. Strangely enough, I am NOT a devotee of the Flying Spaghetti Monster; I am not a Pastafarian. However, I am deeply in sympathy with the Pastafarians, and hope that the imminent split between the Spaghettarians and the Linguinarians does not result in bloodshed.

Had a great day partying my brains out at the company picnic and also at Jerome and Shannon’s. In a later blog I will post a pic of their back yard, which is entirely too gorgeous for words.

Saw Cam and received word that the guy I want to take the Firearms Safety Course from is a standup guy, so that really calmed my nerves. Me and the boys are engaged in a charming debate about which gun I’ll buy first after I get my licence. Cam just got back from his second spell at The Project (didn’t know that the Burning Man had changed his name, didja). His response to questions like how was it were met with a single word “Dusty” (must have water, must have goggles, must have dust mask, and don’t even dream about wearing contact lenses). Only two deaths this year, one misadventure complicated by alcohol, the other likely a congenital heart defect. Met Cam’s girlfriend, whose name I won’t even try to spell, and she pulls cable for a living! Women in trades are so hot. She has also apparently memorized all the dialogue to Planes Trains and Automobiles, and proceeded to do the 2 minute version with sound and mime, to the guffaws of those assembled.

My mum says that an American cousin sent her an email saying that the Mounties showed up in New Orleans before the Feds did, and I said BS. There was nothing on CBC.ca and you can bet your ass that they’d be reporting on that, strike or no strike. Nothing. Mum had to tell the guy that it was a lovely story, but simply not true (she did her own research though, which gave me a secret thrill). These kinds of rumours abound in the wake of a catastrophe. Oh, by the way, if you want some interesting historical commentary, Go Read about the Johnstown Flood. There are interesting parallels with contemporary events.

Picnic
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

The company picnic featured a four way tug o war, which Paul’s team won, and a raffle draw for the DVD of Sin City, which was won by ticket 666, and me winning the first prize handed out, which was a Starbucks card, which I promptly gave to Katie (just like the last one), and yummy salads, and Katie and I doing the balloon toss thing, and even though I dropped it twice it didn’t break until that last time I threw it to Katie. She rushed up to me and rubbed all the water off on my face and clothes. Ah, parenthood! Wish somebody had video of that I’m sure it looked extremely goofy. Pix later, didn’t have a chance to upload them yet.

enough sleep
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Off to the company picnic and then off to Jeromy’s for his housewarming partay. Everybody have a nice day and try to stay out of trouble. I am severely aggravated and can’t say why. The only good thing about it is that it won’t last. Peak oil folks say that this is our August 1914. We’re wandering around in the sun, not knowing the world’s about to blow up.

Nasty nasty activist judge
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Pic stolen from mtholyoke.edu, and references this person as being Judge Janet Hall. Judge Janet Hall just ruled that it’s not democratic to put gag orders on the public identification of librarians involved in Patriot Act inquiries at libraries.

It’s like trying to do the fish-slapping dance with a Sherman tank as a partner, but it’s a good decision anyway.

Shaky fisty
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

That Brooke. She says her cat Toby was caught napping on “memorably, a pile of knives”. So she has one upped moi, yet again, again. Damn you Brooke the First Pharmacist in Space! Shaky fisty!!!

And She who can read Dr.’s Handwriting Quoth, that NAZI I saw Means NAnaimo Zone Inbound… so she’s got me coming and going, as usual. I get my revenge as best I can…..

http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate/

Another funny
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

This is hilarious. Every once in a while a fly lands on the camera at Mt St Helens, and I managed to grab this image. Mothra is coming! Flee! Everybody keep moving their mouths after they stop talking!!!

Tee Hee
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Day signs
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

I am not quite ashamed of my religious beliefs, but I don’t exactly trumpet them either. The biggest problem with the human brain is that some of the things it was designed to do very well came into conflict with each other after we learned to talk. In the process of naming our foodstuffs and methods of acquiring them, and our kinship relationships and methods of acquiring them, we learned how very useful it is to reduce the vastness of the universe to a single word… universe. Whoo hoo, I got the whole universe in my hand!! Or mouth, as the case may be. Somewhere along the way, coincidences and accidents and just plain ‘weird tangles of non-causally related crap’ acquired Deep Signifance and Spiritual Meaning. Ie, this rock is better than that rock because of the way the sun hits it on a fine morning. THAT kind of crap. The way we assign meaning to the meaningless, and then the assignment of meaning becomes the meaning we need. And then, because of the meaning assigned to a particular pretty rock, I acquired fitness (you know, merit, status, excellence, breeding plumage) as a member of a certain group, because of my relationship to a stupid although excellently pretty rock. Now sometimes the rock is visually stunning and imbued with skookumness, but it’s still a rock. The meaning I assign to it, however, makes me part of a group that will help me acquire foodstuffs and kinship relationships, and believe me, you can reduce all human behaviour as being related to the acquisition and maintenance of foodstuffs and kinship relationships. This blog is ALL ABOUT kinship relationships. No, duh.

So, let me tell you about my rock. It’s a very nice rock… I really like it. It “works for me”. Your rock might be the Bible, or Ohm’s law, the principles of Unitarianism, or a higher mathematics, or notion that you are the centre of the universe and you should have anything you want, which, with any luck, you grow out of. But my rock is a spooky blend of the laws of physics and visual imagery tied to poetry and myth. I’ll give you an example.

Yestreen I left my house and turned to my right on the way out of the door. Pokey was sleeping in the sun next to the house…. and using a rock for a pillow. Now, anybody who knows Pokey (and I can hear Brooke snickering) knows that this is exactly the kind of thing that you could expect him to do, because he is Not Usual. But I thought “A day sign! Hmp, wonder what it means,” and continued along my way. Katie came galumphing out of my house to join me, as she was meeting up with a girlfriend at 6th and 6th, and I was heading out to my writers group. So we got on the bus and chatted, which was pleasant. I got off at 22nd Street and you’ll never guess what happened next? I got the FRONT SEAT in the Skytrain. That happens like once in two hundred trips, so I sit down and notice that the window is even mostly clean, and I ride from 22nd Street to Broadway, eyes closed when the sun’s shining directly onto my face and eyes open the rest of the time. The mountains, the play of light, the shape of the clouds. The trip proceeded from sunshine to cloud. Then, around Joyce, a crow was on the right hand rail and got up and flew away. Another day sign, I think. Then, and this is the really really weird part, because unless I’d been sitting where I was I couldn’t possibly have seen it (and I’m still having trouble believing it, but my lexical memory is very good) somewhere between Joyce and Broadway there’s a little white sign with red letters sticking up next to the tracks, so close to the train you wouldn’t otherwise be able to see it, that reads:

Z (the Z has a bar through it)

I sat bolt upright and said to myself, Mother of Babbling God! Did I just see that?

Then two more crows, sitting on the right side of the tracks, leaped into the air, one after the other, totalling three for the trip. Three crows means two things to me, based on experience and research; one is Maiden, Mother, Crone, the three faces of a woman/goddess, and the other is the three Norns, the Norse goddesses of fate (Urd, Verdandi and Skuld who are the past present and future, sort of the same thing but not quite).

There was only one more day sign before the rain of day signs stopped (I get about one day sign every two weeks, and I’m watching for them all the bloody time, so this was quite the storm) and it was the most interesting of all, aesthetically, because normally day signs are visual. Sabena left her front door open, and after sunset the wind picked up very hard, and blew the first of the sere and fallen leaves up and down the street; the rustle was so evocative that I stopped listening to the conversation in the room to really hear it.

Part of the fun of interpreting day signs is that there’s no right way of doing it; the worst part is you have to understand that you can’t really take it too seriously. So there’s a kitty with a rock for a pillow… Bob Marley reference, and just plain Do You Know What Comfort Is? Then the seat at the front of the car… Do You Know How to Enjoy Being at the Front of the Line (and do you understand you have to take your turn?). The first crow was The Past. And then the NAZI sign came up and it’s like Do You Acknowledge Evil in Yourself? It was like being struck. Then the other two crows flew up and all the hair is standing up on my arms, and I come staggering off at Broadway fully expecting ANYTHING, you know Santa in camouflage, or a man walking his iguana. But all I got was the rustle of leaves, and I’ll leave you with that, because I didn’t need to interpret it. It just was.

Bengal kittens
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

Stolen from sadlyno.com, which has some interesting and evil links. I don’t think the proprietor is a Christian. But the flying red eyed kittens destroying a large building image is pretty much burned into my brain.

Quoted without comment
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

This would be funny if it wasn’t true.

I don’t hate all Republicans
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

Once upon a time, in Kansas, lived a newspaperman named William Allen White. He was a Republican. If you want to see how far the GOP has strayed, google william allen white quotes, and follow your nose. I think the classic is, “My advice to the women of America is to raise more hell and fewer dahlias” but there are other dandies in there as well. Bon appetit.

A day in the life
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

Pic is a formal portrait of JK Rowling.

Up at 6 to check my gmail, telus.net, sfu.ca accounts to see if my legion of fans has sent me anything interesting. No pix today. Responded to a couple of cousin Gerald’s emails re humor; he did me a favor by sending me something I was actually looking for so I could forward it to my daughter.

Then to the usual sites, Fark.com, Astronomy Pic of the day, and it’s Thursday so it must be www.markfiore.com day (don’t go there unless you think George Bush is not doing his best work these days), and then by various ways and means to eurekalert.org, where I find out that nanotechnology is being used to fight the “bad hair day” and parents don’t use car seats properly for their kids. Off to cnn.com where 25K body bags have been shipped to Louisiana, and DMORT has been asked to prep for 40000 dead.

Over to slashdot.org to read a review of a book on porn. Gracious, what a LOT of comments there were. There was a lot of debate about whether technological innovations are driven by pornography, to which my response is, no DUH. My parents told me that 20 years ago, and I haven’t seen a damned thing since to change my mind. If a technology is related to visual imagery resolution & propagation, speed of dissemination and ability to relieve one of cash through the internet, you’re titty well right prOn is driving the truck. I find it fascinating that anybody would think that ‘gaming’ is the reason for the tremendous increase in bandwidth crunchiness. But you’re allowed to worship your God in your own way; I’m sticking with a Goddess who prefers her sensuality big, fecund and messy. And personal, thanks. And I remember thinking, as I read through Post after Post after Post of boys basically saying “Don’t take my pR(n away!” you know, you guys have missed the point. You respond strongly to visual imagery of sexuality because you’re deeply wired for it. You don’t have to defend it. But you do have to step back and ask at what point the wiring and the concept of a civil society come into conflict, and that line is not always where you think it is. A little honest introspection is called for. Every man I know who has what I believe is a healthy attitude towards his own sexuality likes porn, dislikes porn which appears to be non-consensual, believes he has the right to purchase, make and consume porn, and spends more time fondling real girls or boys than ogling pix of them, unless he’s currently involuntarily single, in which case all bets are off. To me, an addiction to porn – and let’s face it, there are folks of both genders who are like that – indicates that a person doesn’t have enough excitement in his or her life from other sources. That’s just sad. And as for child pornography, may its purveyors rest on a specially selected bed of coals in the farthest reaches of a hell constructed by a vengeful Goddess and history’s most tortured minds, I will say again what I’ve said many times. Child pornography is bad not because I can prove that the images themselves are bad – there is a line, and I don’t know where it is – but because I can prove that there was no informed consent. Two year old children do not provide informed consent. That makes it wrong, and no amount of whining and special pleading makes it right. (Fourteen year old children? If they have legal representation, receive payment which goes to them or into a trust account, appear to understand the nature of a contract and have had independent counsel explain the life consequences of being involved in pornography; if they are protected from disease, and pregnancy, and damage to their fertility…. I’m willing to at least consider that that might be a consensual act, although I’d hiss and scratch at anybody who tried it within earshot of me. However we all know that the big kick of kiddie porn is that YOU HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OVER ANOTHER PERSON’S LIFE. You don’t enter into contracts with non persons. You use them. They are yours to toy with. If they have lawyers, that takes ALL the fun out of it. So my solution is no solution at all, because you can’t reason with the makers of kiddie porn. If they were reasonable people they wouldn’t torture children). If I was the benevolent dictatrix of the world, I’d either remove the organs of generation of any person caught making child pornography or summarily execute them, depending on my mood, victim testimony, and how many people showed up to defend them. Okay, I’d let them live. But I’d certainly be asking for volunteers at the knacker’s yard, and I’m sure I’d have no trouble filling the roster.

Gosh, one little book review and I work myself up into a full scale rant, and it’s not even 8 am! Aren’t I just the little vehement thing this mornin’.

Back onto the net to troll for… Hey…. I didn’t change my voicemail at work and I’m off for two days. Okay, phew, got that done.

Back to the news. Over at nmazca.com/blog, there’s yet another evac from NOLA story, this time from a bunch of EMS folks in NOLA for a conference. The line that sticks out is “Throughout, the official effort was callous, inept and racist.” As above, so below.

Check http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/default.htm for information on a breakthrough in nanomachinery.

Oh, and oddballs ARE more creative. There’s a study that says so.

I’m getting a callous, so I’d better get off the chair here and actually do what I said I’d do on my days off.

David Rovics sings about NOLA
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Everybody knew that it could happen
The likelihood was clear
The future was coming
And now itï¿½s here
They had to fix the levees
Because otherwise theyï¿½d break
On one side was the city
Above it was the lake
It was in the daily papers
In bold letters was the writ
What would happen
When the Big One hit
But every year they cut the funding
Just a little more
So they could give it to the Army
To fight their oil war

? No confirmation
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1886932005

I have no idea if the horrifying story of a doctor euthanizing a patient he couldn’t move is true, but it’s being reported as such. I haven’t seen this story elsewhere. Note to self…. lose some weight.

very little to report
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Katie came home with two boys I’ve never seen before last night. They hung out in her room talking and then she walked them home (?). They seemed like decent enough kids. One of them was wearing a t-shirt from Chichen Itza and when I asked him if he’d actually got it from there, he nodded with an “It was SO BIG” smirk. And he’s going to China later this year… or so his buddy said. And then Poof, they were gone. The TV had migrated upstairs on the weekend (funny…) and then Keith came out of his bedroom long about ten pm and said, “And now it can go back downstairs, I’m trying to SLEEP”; slam. So John had to watch 4th season Buffy (I think the one where Giles gets turned into that thing with the dirty great horns) downstairs.

I am pleased to report, in Canadian cultural news, that Deepa Mehta’s next project is SUPPOSED to be a film on the Komagata Maru incident. If you don’t know anything about this landmark incident in Canadian immigration history, this is a kindly person urging you to edumacate yourself about it before it’s all over the popular press and there’s a lot of controversy about it in about 18 months’ time. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. And since part of what happened took place in Vancouver (British authorities elsewhere opened fire on a prayer meeting; we were just racist bastards and kept them drowning in lawyers and on the ship for two months), really I should be staying on top of developments.

Pic is Jack Kerouac’s official Navy portrait, filched from thesmokinggun.com. Does he look schizoid to you?

Albino squirrels?
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Squirrels in Scotland are adapting life in modern buildings by becoming lighter in colour… or so the theory goes. Photo credit Sean Bell from the Scotsman.

Our boys in Chalmette Louisiana
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

That’s Joe Rohrbacher standing in front of his house.

It just keeps getting worse
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

A Canadian waste management magazine weighs in about New Orleans.

Good God A’mighty. That’s all I can say about it.

Short Trip
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

It’s a short trip from Serenity to Spamalot. That’s Alan Tudyk in the centre of this cast photo. Doesn’t he look wonderful with…. long hair????

Reunited
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Tasha was completely screwed up from her trip to the pound; but she appears to be in much better shape as of today, and here’s the complete mob: Tasha, Winkie, Spud and Mila in front of Mike’s folks’ place in the beautiful sunshine yesterday. I love a happy ending.

As for Steph, the only excuse that would make sense to me is that she had to commit herself to a mental hospital and couldn’t find foster care for the dogs in time. I am not going to speculate further on her abrupt abandonment of her responsibilities, and I am really going to be nice and not print what her soon to be ex-husband Mike wrote on the subject, although it was, uh, terse and emotionally charged. Mike, would you say that covered it? 😉

enough sleep
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Pic is more Finn Slough. Picturesque, eh wot? Looks sorta like a house on the bayou, and it should be on stilts, given that the Fraser river is about 30 metres in back of it.

Paul has recaulked the bathtub. Man, what a difference it makes to the appearance of the bathroom. I realized that immediate action was called for, so went outside and ripped out all the dead vegetation in the front yard flowerbeds and collected the coriander seed and trimmed back the rhodo a bit and hacked and slashed at the Rosemary Tree (it’s bloody huge) and removed about two garden buckets of dead stuff. Appearance of front yard much improved.

John saw something at the con that Screamed Katie’s Name. A t-shirt which says…. Knowledge is Power. Power Corrupts. Study Hard. Be Evil. She is contemplating wearing it today, it is after all the first day of school. Oh yeah, she liked it. John got me a cartoon magnet for the fridge which shows an attractive brunette saying, “Fleet’s in! May not be home for a week!” which I thought was pretty funny. John also got an amazing bloody bumper sticker which says Death is but a doorway… here, lemme hold this for you.

I dreamed that Rob of Nine and I attended a really boring and badly run meeting about ‘the remediation of a park area’. I dream about co-workers and my workplace all the time, male and female (no nudity was involved, of course) but what made this dream special was two things… 1, he had long hair. Rob normally keeps his hair even shorter than John does, so that was startling. (You will note a post of Mike showing Much Long Hair earlier, and you can gather from this that I like long hair on guys – please also note that a wisecracking goddess has given me a man who looks waaaay better with short hair. It is to chuckle). 2. I got to go back to my work area during the course of the meeting – hey, it’s a dream, it doesn’t have to make sense – and all that Herman Miller crap (I said crap, and I mean crap – you should at least be able to park your butt on furniture without going wobbly-ka-boom) had been replaced with a mahogany lawyer’s set, facing the window. Sigh, deep sigh. That was a lot like heaven. I didn’t realize I was such an elitist about office furniture.

Did you hear about the 3 college kids who rescued 7 people from downtown New Orleans by impersonating journalists? I hear things like this and I just wanna pop something. PS. That was a two wheel drive HYUNDAI they were driving, not a Hummer. Civic minded AND ecologically responsible.

Keith at Finn Slough or is it Finns Slough
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Mermaid III
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Finns Slough etc.
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

John is back from the south end of Cascadia (Cascadia is the Land of the Salmon) having been to CascadiaCon in Seattle, and if his description is accurate, Brooke, accompanying herself on banjo, sang her way through “Gentle Arms of Eden” which is a Dave Carter tune. Hm. Did you know that border guards are not legally required to know what a banjo is? I thought not.

Katie looks so cute in her Kaylee outfit that I want to buy her Fluevogs, or something.

We went to Finns Slough today, and grabbed a little bit of Vancouver history; this pic and the next few are from Dyke Road/Finns Slough.

roaring
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

After many long months of not posting much, http://www.nmazca.com/blog/index.htm, the Home of Mr. Damon, has come roaring back with a blistering series of links about Katrina. Thank you Mr. Damon.

Carly’s team won one and tied one yesterday… a great start to the season.

I still don’t have a functioning dishwasher (either in the human or mechanical sense, as the children are NOT responding to bribes), so I had to stop cooking this morning and leave the kitchen so Paul could do dishes, because the way the kitchen is set up you can’t cook and do dishes at the same time with two people.

I decided not to continue with this anecdote because it just plain wouldn’t be a good idea. But I really wish I was living someplace else right now.

Am continuing my plans to make Joss Whedon the master of the universe by exposing Jan to Firefly. We watched the pilot – aGAIN. My goodness, it doesn’t seem to matter how many times I watch it, I see stuff I hadn’t seen previously.

Glenda visit
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Glenda is in hospital, as noted earlier; I went to see her and found out that the Peace Arch Food is LOUSY; her ER nurse used to be the bagboy at Safeway; the staff are wonderful and kind; the doctors have no idea what the hell is wrong with her; and her sugars are okay. This woman has had no fewer than 8 doctors look at her in the last three weeks and they still don’t know what’s up. Sigh.

Fluorescent shark
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Details on eurekalert.org. I wanna dress that color!!

Operation Rescue Spud and Tasha
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. Mike and Tori grabbed the dogs from the pound just now. Hugs to Mike’s parents for offering to take them in; they already have one dog, a cutie named Mila.

The Palimpsest
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

http://glennferon.com.nyud.net:8090/portfolio1/index.html

On the one hand, here’s a bunch of pictures of extremely hot, mostly of-African-descent women. On the other hand, this is a really cool insight into how what you see in a magazine is .. um… manipulated. So what you get out of this really will depend on your age, gender and orientation. My honest reaction was, “Hey! He can make my cellulite disappear!!!!” I am hoping my legion of loyal, heterosexual, male fans will thank me for this. Notice how sneaky I am getting at trying to interject some feminism into my blog.

Heat wave autopsy
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html

This address is liable to be ephemeral – ie it will be gone within weeks, but if you get the chance I urge you to read the article, which is a talk with the author of a book about the disastrous 1995 Chicago heatwave, in which some 750 more people than normal died, while the authorities stalled and denied what was happening. Disasters have a social context; there are echoes of New Orleans in there.

Connecting the dots
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Articles about the connection between the Katrina response and Gulf II

Family news roundup
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Glenda is in hospital (but able to talk on the phone) and so I hope to get out to see her sometime today. I had called the hospital earlier and they said she’d been discharged, so it was bizarre getting Peter T’s email indicating that she was still in. If you need to know where she is contact me for details.

Jan, Marilyn and Glenn over for dinner last night. Paul cooked an AMAZING array of barbecued meats, including what has to have been one of the best pork chops ever, and chicken and Marilyn and Glenn brought a salmon. I don’t think it was ten pm before I blasted through as many of the dishes as I could and hied myself off to bed. It wasn’t the company, whom I love… I could barely keep my eyes open after my exciting day running around downtown and using public transit.

Nita has been moved into her modern day equivalent of a monastic cell – the university dorm. The whole experience, according to Jan, was quite painless.

Carly’s soccer team won its season opener 4 zip. Oh yeah! She’s at the hotel with the team and her mother Jan was here last night.

Jim is fighting a virus – on his computer. Glenn sez: Keep those virus updates current! Words to live by. It’s just a pain to deal with the aftermath, heaven knows.

Stephanie took Spud and Tasha to the BCSPCA. I am curious as to her version of events. Mike is going to try to retrieve Spud on Tuesday but he can’t take Tasha. If anybody knows of someone looking for a middle aged spayed Rottie cross who is great with people and loathes other animals, the shelter has a dog for you.

National Geographic article from before the storm

And today Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, says that nobody could have foreseen it.

So, like, compare and contrast.

Paul is doing yoga and Keith wants the computer back, so later, y’all.

enough sleep
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

Something cute
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

Haven’t run any cute animal pix in ages. Can you spot the towel? Cousin Gerald sent me this.

enough sleep
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

Photo credit AP, the Shreveport paper. The MSM rarely sticks the names of the photographers on the credits, piss me off; I am retitling the picture “Louisiana Hospitality”. And yes, I’m being very grim, because that’s about how nice the hospitality would be around here after the big one came through.

Finished Patricia Cornwell’s bio of Jack the Ripper, whom she says was a right weird artist named Walter Sickert, who died in his bed in 1942. She had me convinced. Now I have to get the book outta my house, it has intensely bad vibes. Patricia at work loaned it to me… thanks, I think. It was interesting, and anything to do with forensics rivets me. Funny that I don’t have TV, I’d probably be watching all three versions of CSI regularly. I’ve only ever seen the original one with the Grissom dude once, and I couldn’t take my eyes from it.

Brooke and John (renamed “Dr. Filk”) are off Stateside at a Sci Fi con, and appear to be doing fine if her livejournal notes are indeed accurate.

Keith made a fine omelet and really great coffee this morning, it was nice to get up to that.

Paul is either going flying or canoeing with whomever he can dig up, perhaps Suzanne if she’s available, and then he wants to do a salmon barbecue this evening for various of our relatives that may or may not turn up (not having been invited it’s hard for them to say whether they are coming@).

I’m going to the demo with the kids; the sun’s coming out so the weather should cooperate.

What I want for Christmas.

www.lehmans.com, items 23305 and 6684112. Actually there’s a lot of stuff in there, but that will do for starters.

Out of the www.leevalleytools.com catalogue, item GL270, item 45K17.85, PA745, 29T32.05 and 29T32.06, 81D32.01, 99K69.51. I really want the 45K17.85 more than anything; I think it will be the single handiest thing I own after the big one comes through. Also, tarps. Anybody who wants to give me a tarp for Christmas will get a big hug. You simply can’t have a good disaster without tarps.

More from NO
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

http://www.livejournal.com/users/phanatic/374866.html#cutid1

Interesting description of why things aren’t happening faster.

from Nola-intel.org
2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

This is what the drier parts of New Orleans look like.

There are – five days late – troops on the streets of the Big Uneasy.

I feel better
2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

Man, it’s been so long since I hung out with Mike by himself I’d forgotten what it’s like; we killed a couple of Stellas apiece at Toby’s Grill and ate ribs and wings and shot the breeze. Winkie is as pretty as she ever was, and she was always a very pretty cat.

Did a tarot reading for work at lunch yesterday. More of the bloody same, as far as the eye can see! Confusion, miscommunication, selfishness, lack of openness to change. First card was death, last card 4 of cups. Go figure.

Aesthetics
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

Tori took this picture of Mike on Hornby Island. Sigh. Had to put something up that was nicer to look at than the centipede.

enough sleep
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

If you feel like donating for the relief effort for New Orleans, the American Red Cross Toll free is 800 Help Now. I don’t know if it works in Canada. I am more inclined, seeing the devastation, to prepare for our own Big One, which is a geological eye blink away. I think I’m turning into a harsh assed old crone.

Holy crap
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

Tonstant weaders will recollect a previous post in which a gentleman in the UK was bitten by a South American Critter, a Brazilian Wandering Spider as I recollect, and damned near died. Well, picture if you will, yeah, GROSS isn’t it? I just finished reading Allen Steele’s Labyrinth of Night (full of motorized insectoid critters) so I was underwhelmed when I read the story of Aaron Balick of the UK, who was expecting to find a mouse in the papers behind the tv and whipped out this behemoth 9 inch Scolopendra gigantea, no kiddums. Being of the British Phlegm, and holy crap, as they say, that took some doing, he popped it in a jar and got it to the Museum of Natural History, where the head bug dude just about spasmed. Yes, folks, that IS the biggest centipede currently extant, and it hitched a ride to Britain on some fruit. Now, I found an earwig in my home grown grapes yesterday and that made me plenty nauseous… but if I saw this thing I’d pee my pants. Jeez, Dale, they have these things in Belize? No need to strip down the bed in the guest room on my account, I ain’t never going to South America now.

last half of August, 2005

live from New Orleans
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

http://www.wwltv.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=beloint_khou&props=livenoad

This is a live feed from a tv station in Louisiana…. I have no idea how they kept going (while I was watching the feed their lights cut out). www.wwltv.com is the home page, and there’s up to date information on rescues, which roads are impassible, etc. I note in their events blog that the state officials are already dissing the Army for their inability to start putting down sandbags. Also, the newspeople were saying, if you’ve reported that a rescue is required, please don’t call back to monitor progress; the rescuers are only flesh and blood and they’re rescuing people one family at a time.

Officials are now calling for the complete evacuation of the city, and frankly there is no other sensible course of action if they want to stop the looting and prevent a full scale epidemic; water is available but on a boil water advisory, which doesn’t help when there’s no fuel but what’s left of the buildings in the city.

Medical staff who evacuated into Baton Rouge are being asked to return to the city.

After the end of the emergency
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

I want this guy’s life story. He looks like the town character. And, to a Canadian goil like me, it seems obvious; I have to love The Man Who Saved the Beer. I am such a sap for icons.

I spread blessings of joy and light on my beloved coworkers.

Mario gave me chocolate today. I should have swooned, but I didn’t.

Katie hung out at Jess’s and came home with me; Paul worked and slept far too little… and remember, this man gave blood in the last 48 hours, did I fail to mention that? Remiss of me. So he’s tired and subdued. I am going to stop typing and go kiss him.

Storm in Ontario
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

Parrotlets on Parade
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Scientific American Quote Sept 2005
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Herman E Daly, a ecological economist, sayeth thusly: “As important as empirical measurement is, it is worth remembering that when one jumps out of an airplane, a parachute is more beneficial than an altimeter.” Or, The sky’s no limit, the ground is.

Feeling nostalgic?
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

http://www.melaman2.com/cartoons/singles/mp3/bull-rocky.mp3

It’s just a sign
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

stolen from http://www.survex.com/~olly/wank/wankhaus.jpg

Bunnatine Greenhouse update
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/29/news/army.php

Bunnatine Greenhouse, who fought obvious pork barrel procurement contracts in Iraq on behalf of the US Army, has been demoted. I find it interesting, given what else is going on in the US right now, that her story is getting any play at all.

Interesting
2005-08-29— Posted by: allegra

http://www.fallwell.com/index2.html

Looking for armor against fundamentalist swill about gay people? Look what some Christians put together. Nicely done, nicely argued, and the section What Would Jesus Do says it all.

enough sleep
2005-08-29— Posted by: allegra

run away, run away
2005-08-29— Posted by: allegra

And my next homily is going to be on … not radical hospitality but Epistemology, if you can believe it. I am already trying to drag Goddess worship, Monty Python and monster trucks into the same homily; we shall see.

Gotta write this and run; the bus comes in about 8 minutes and my mother panics if I don’t post something. I am post migraine which means I’m walking into doors and going Tweet Tweet a lot.

Twas fabulous to see Alan and Janice; they haven’t changed a bit except to get better, as far as I can see. Thanks to Katie for suggesting that we do the Quay boardwalk yesterday, which meant we could all have coffee and walk someplace flat, because I wasn’t looking forward to Robert Burnaby park after all the stairs I did at Lexi’s the other night.

Fabulous party, by the way, food, musique and company most excellent. And I got to see 2/3rds of Pulp Fiction; I can understand why a LOT of men I know quote the damned thing extensively. As Janice said, rather indelicately, there are chick flicks, and there are Dick flicks. Dick Nixon, Dick and Nora… you know what I mean.

Pic is of Hunter’s departure, as forwarded by Sandy. Her dog Sparkle continues to refuse to die, which is just peachy with all of us, even if Sparkle did always bark at me. Sandy’s got her on Ayurvedic medicine for parasites and off the rest of her meds, and while she has good days and bad days, mostly she’s better. Well, how was the vet supposed to know that a parasite had jumped species? It’s not like it ever happens.

Okay, which comes first, the housing bubble bursting or the global pandemic, place your bets.

Megrim
2005-08-28— Posted by: allegra

I am having one of the weirdest migraines ever. My right eye is drooping, I have transitory head pain, nausea and little bouts of aphasia, interspersed with feeling almost chipper. However, I can’t look at the screen anymore so I’m bailing shortly. I light a candle for the people of Louisiana, but I can’t help playing New Orleans is Sinking in my mental background loop. Pic is an MRI of a migraine. I don’t think mine is that bad.

enough sleep
2005-08-27— Posted by: allegra

Brooke informed me last night that there will be not one but two zombie walks in Vancouver today, one at 4 in front of the Art Gallery, and one at 5 at 8th and Sophia. Can such things be?

I said, whining, that I had no fake blood, to which her response was a “Corn syrup and food colouring; cheap and effective” but this was followed by a short meditation on which items of clothing she was willing to sacrifice in her on-going one-woman attempts to cleanse Vancouver of the stain of being “no-fun” city.

Of course, if Alan and Janice weren’t here, I’d go.

Keith wants to go to some kind of comics thing, Katie is still unconscious, and I made the coffee so strong this morning that there is a centimeter of sludge at the bottom of my cup.

Lexi is some ridiculous age; she’s celebrating her birthday; and it doesn’t matter how many she celebrates, she’ll always be 12 years younger than me. I am very much looking forward to her party, as there is likely to be singing.

Despite the fact that John quit his job, he went back for an additional two days of lighthearted abuse. I could not believe it when he said that there was going to be no farewell dinner or libation for him. Holy Virgin! If I worked for the same guy for 8 years and he didn’t so much as buy me a cider at the close of our contract, I would consider myself well shut of the place indeed, so I am no longer having sentimental sighing notions about John’s long and (for me anyway) entertaining tenure at his soon to be ex-job. Superman’s appearance in my front drive was indeed a sign of great change.

I will miss the truck, though. The Thing That Wouldn’t Die was like a cuter version of every possessed vehicle ever written about. And the graphics on the side were adorable; Betty Grable putting five cents in a jukebox….

It has been very emotionally peaceful at home. This is good, because work has meant heroic amounts of self-control around NOT poking people in the eye and yelling at them. Thank god for the lunch bunch. I frequently feel as if they are the only people who keep me sane.

Paul had a 3 and half hour soaring flight yesterday. He was getting 1000 feet a minute lift cheek by jowl with 1000 feet a minute sink; not enough to tip the glider over but enough to push him within 200 feet of the unforgiving granite of the Rockies. Rob of Nine, Paul would very much like to take you up for some serious fun. Since you formation fly and do aerobatics, I’m sure there’s nothing about soaring that you would find discomfiting….

Pic is Jerome standing on Mike’s hot tub.

Polar bear
2005-08-26— Posted by: allegra

I haven’t posted a polar bear pic in ages. Here’s a new addition to the Detroit zoo, Talini; her mom Barle was rescued from a circus in 2002. Thanks folks! I think if I was a polar bear I’d rather live someplace I could swim than it a Puerto Rican circus, and they actually have winter in Detroit. Polar bears are not designed for the tropics, they get all kinds of fungus and skin problems because the hair shafts in their fur are hollow. Credit Bill Pugliano Getty Images.

enough sleep
2005-08-25— Posted by: allegra

Pic is credit Paul, a continuation of his last sunset photo taken on the I5.

I know this will annoy the crap out of my webmeister, but I still think that we’re headed for lawless starving anarchy. And no birth control. The housing bubble in the States is about to deflate, or maybe even pop; savings are at the lowest rate in US history and Canada isn’t far behind; the world’s superpowers are grappling with each other for access to fuel; Kinder Morgan god help us is going to be taking over the pipelines in BC, which is terrible news for individual Canadians (get a wood stove and a wood lot); and all I can hear as background noise is Peter Lorre as Ahmed in Five Weeks in a Balloon yelling, “It’s KEEEEZMet, we are DOOOMed!”

On the other hand, things are nice and quiet and peaceful here right now.

Baby Parrotlet
2005-08-24— Posted by: allegra

I spy, with my little eye…… For purposes of scale, a woman’s index finger is about how big it is.

enough sleep
2005-08-24— Posted by: allegra

I was going to post the first little bit of my autobiography here but I could not get the layout to behave. I actually got up at 5 am to water my lawn. Katie actually stayed home all day yesterday, but that might have been because she can barely move; I mean, I’m no big fan of the stairs at Wreck Beach, but at least I pace myself. I’m stiff but not whiny, if you know what I mean. It might also have been because she’s expecting a shipment which includes “Ferngully” from her grandparents, which, if I’m lucky, will have my ‘loose shoes’ in it. I have to tell you, I have really missed my shoes. They are the comfiest I have ever had, and when you’re 46 and overweight, comfortable shoes hover ever closer to the top of your list of really important things. Keith actually worked most of yesterday – he’s working most every day now – and he completely horrified me by saying that he wanted to work in a warehouse full time. I mean, the whole point of him working temp was to get an abiding distaste for physical labour and intensify his desire to go to school… I feel very thwarted, especially since he’s not making enough money for us to chisel rent out of yet.

John’s big news is that he is no longer working for the Pinball Wizard, and that he has gone on to bigger and more industrial strength things. He will be assisting in the manufacture of devices to haul containers off ships.

Nothing to report
2005-08-23— Posted by: allegra

from a song Paul quotes all the time…. You ask me why I don’t say much. That’s cause I don’t have much to say.

Actually, lack of stuff to say is not, and never has been, my problem. It’s prettying up how to say it, so that I don’t sound crazy… that’s the problem. Hunter S Thompson has been laid to rest in a very unrestful way. RIP baby.

Who would Jesus assassinate
2005-08-23— Posted by: allegra

Pat Robertson calling for the assassination of Hugo Chavez.

Um, Hugo Chavez was democratically elected, and the ‘successful’ coup was no such thing; it was backed by the US government and fell apart when the people opposed it. The US has already tried to assassinate Chavez; but I guess the will of the people and democracy only meant something in 1776 but we have ‘a new reality’ now. My god, the framers of the Constitution would be having a cow if they could listen to a man of God call for the assassination of the head a democratically elected foreign government.

Fig Plucking
2005-08-22— Posted by: allegra

As it turned out we plucked no figs, because the wasps were on every one. However, Jim, by way of Carly, provided this gem: “I’m not a fig plucker, but I’m a fig plucker’s son; I’ll pluck the figs ’til the fig plucking’s done.” Add beer; rinse, repeat; won’t that be fun?

Wreck
2005-08-22— Posted by: allegra

Wreck Beach yesterday was magnificent as always. Katie and I went for a meander up and down the beach (the tide was out RRREAL far but I got us a good spot close by the stairs) and Mike flew his kite and Keith sat by himself and reread his beatup SECOND copy of Neuromancer and Tori was full of funny anecdotes and good advice, as always. And, as always, there were a lot of naked men, and not a single one of them looked better than the men I was with, or with the man I would have BEEN with had he not been working, grr. And Mike gave me about twenty minutes of work on my back, which I was completely desperate for, and I did get lightly toasted, but I only got burned in one spot.

Redid my hair last night (Garnier No 60) and I keep thinking I’m going to stop, but I figure that plus plucking my eyebrows is the only concession I make to the juggernaut of “thou shalt change thy appearance” this culture serves up with every commercial break; I can only thank a merciful goddess that she provided me with a man who doesn’t even dream of asking me to get waxed, except in an old fashioned and not safe for work kinda way.

Now off to work. It’s 6:39 am, do you know where your boss is?

Thumbnail is me in my Jayne Cobb hat. Somedays I’m too stupid to smile when a camera is pointed at me.

enough sleep
2005-08-22— Posted by: allegra

This is Bonnie and me on the dock in Steveston. We had a lovely meal at the Steveston Seafood Restaurant; but from this picture you’d think I want to take Bonnie home, cook her up with star anise and yogurt, and eat her. I just don’t look sincere in how I have placed my arm around her; it’s funny how you can look at a photo afterwards and think, this does not convey how I felt at all. I was so happy to see Bonnie, it felt wonderful to hear her voice in person after some years. I’m mostly posting this for my mum… Bonnie hasn’t changed much, has she?

Bazillions of Basilians
2005-08-21— Posted by: allegra

The title for today comes from Catherine C in Toronto, an old and dear friend, who went to the funeral of a Catholic priest and came back saying that she had seen…. indeed.

The pic, of course, is from a recruiting poster for the priesthood from Fr Jonathan Meyer. I saw the link on Fark and had to repost it. Because I am on the side of love, peace and understanding, I won’t launch into the six paragraph analysis of this pic of which I am ever so capable of; I’ll just say, Kewl! and leave it at that.

Have recently heard from Alan R, Catherine’s ex, now married to Janice; they are coming to town for a wedding next weekend, and I can’t wait to see them; even though I only live a three hour drive away I see them shamefully infrequently, and they are big favourites of mine (& Keith’s, as they are so very print, media and computer intensive). We usually eat something yummy and walk someplace interesting, which is a fine tradition to have.

Also we kill ourselves laughing; Alan is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met; when he gets going it’s paralyzing. Anyway, he and Janice are off in San Fran right now celebrating three birthdays at once, including his own, so I light a candle for old friends and throw in a hug for the magnificent cat-rescuer Janice, who gave me a Molly Ivins book the last time I saw her which I promptly devoured.

Today I have a number of tasks before me which I will ignore in the order they come in. I have to phone the worship services committee chair and straighten out the homily. I have to go visit somebody who may or may not still be in hospital. I have to go to Wreck Beach. And I have to finish the Process Narrative for the Returned Materials Submodule of the Revenue and Receivables Process. Honest to Murgatroyd, I wish I was making that up, but if I don’t have it done by tomorrow, I’m going to be run through by the corporate equivalent of a roasting spit. I find it hilarious that I get to do important stuff like this and also cover for reception. If I ever did a factual job description it would sound like the editor for the Harvard Business Review trying to do a comedy routine. Now, if you were confronted with a to do list like that for the day, wouldn’t you want to just go to Wreck Beach and hope you were hit by a semi on the way home? (Note to mother, no, I am not suicidal, and besides, I’m planning on making Keith drive.) More later…. I can’t sit here blogging all day, I forgot to mention that I’m also supposed to pick the last of the figs. I ain’t going on the roof and there may be too many wasps. We shall see.

Nanotech
2005-08-20— Posted by: allegra

Sorry if there’s any meshuggas with HTML but I wanted to reprint this entirely. This is some way exciting science news.

U. T. Dallas-led research team produces strong, transparent carbon nanotube sheets Numerous electronic, optical and structural uses demonstrated; Advance reported in Aug. 19 issue of prestigious journal Science

RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 18, 2005) – University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) nanotechnologists and an Australian colleague have produced transparent carbon nanotube sheets that are stronger than the same-weight steel sheets and have demonstrated applicability for organic light-emitting displays, low-noise electronic sensors, artificial muscles, conducting appliquï¿½s and broad-band polarized light sources that can be switched in one ten-thousandths of a second.

Carbon nanotubes are like minute bits of string, and untold trillions of these invisible strings must be assembled to make useful macroscopic articles that can exploit the phenomenal mechanical and electronic properties of the individual nanotubes. In the Aug. 19 issue of the prestigious journal Science, scientists from the NanoTech Institute at UTD and a collaborator, Dr. Ken Atkinson from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), a national laboratory in Australia, report such assembly of nanotubes into sheets at commercially useable rates.

Starting from chemically grown, self-assembled structures in which nanotubes are aligned like trees in a forest, the sheets are produced at up to seven meters per minute by the coordinated rotation of a trillion nanotubes per minute for every centimeter of sheet width. By comparison, the production rate for commercial wool spinning is 20 meters per minute. Unlike previous sheet fabrication methods using dispersions of nanotubes in liquids, which are quite slow, the dry-state process developed by the UTD-CSIRO team can use the ultra-long nanotubes needed for optimization of properties.

Strength normalized to weight is important for many applications, especially in space and aerospace, and this property of the nanotube sheets already exceeds that of the strongest steel sheets and the Mylar and Kapton sheets used for ultralight air vehicles and proposed for solar sails for space applications, according to the researchers. The nanotube sheets can be made so thin that a square kilometer of solar sail would weigh only 30 kilograms. While sheets normally have much lower strength than fibers or yarns, the strength of the nanotube sheets in the nanotube alignment direction already approaches the highest reported values for polymer-free nanotube yarns.

The nanotube sheets combine high transparency with high electronic conductivity, are highly flexible and provide giant gravimetric surface areas, which has enabled the team to demonstrate their use as electrodes for bright organic light emitting diodes for displays and as solar cells for light harvesting. Electrodes that can be reversibly deformed over 100 percent without losing electrical conductivity are needed for high stroke artificial muscles, and the Science article describes a simple method that makes this possible for the nanotube sheets.

The use of the nanotube sheets as planar incandescent sources of highly polarized infrared and visible radiation is also reported in the Science article. Since the nanotube sheets strongly absorb microwave radiation, which causes localized heating, the scientists were able to utilize a kitchen microwave oven to weld together plexiglas plates to make a window. Neither the electrical conductivity of the nanotube sheets nor their transparency was affected by the welding process — which suggests a novel way to imbed these sheets as transparent heating elements and antennas for car windows. The nanotube sheets generate surprisingly low electronic noise and have an exceptionally low dependence of electronic conductivity on temperature. That suggests their possible application as high-quality sensors – which is a very active area of nanotube research.

“Rarely is a processing advance so elegantly simple that rapid commercialization seems possible, and rarely does such an advance so quickly enable diverse application demonstrations,” said the article’s corresponding author, Dr. Ray H. Baughman, Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry and director of the UTD NanoTech Institute. “Synergistic aspects of our nanotube sheet and twisted yarn fabrication technologies likely will help accelerate the commercialization of both technologies, and UTD and CSIRO are working together with companies and government laboratories to bring both technologies to the marketplace.”

The breakthroughs resulted from the diverse expertise of the article’s co-authors. Dr. Mei Zhang and Dr. Shaoli Fang, NanoTech Institute research scientists, first demonstrated the nanotube sheet fabrication process, and this result was translated into diverse applications by the entire team. The other team members include Dr. Anvar Zakhidov, associate director of the NanoTech Institute; Christopher Williams, Zakhidov’s graduate student from the UTD Physics Department; Dr. Sergey Lee and Dr. Ali Aliev, research scientists at NanoTech Institute, in addition to Atkinson and Baughman.

The applications possibilities seem even much broader than the present demonstrations, Baughman said. For example, researchers from the Regenerative Neurobiology Division at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dr. Mario Romero, Director, and Dr. Pedro Galvan-Garcia, Senior Researcher Associate, and Dr. Larry Cauller, associate professor in UTD’s neuroscience program, have initial evidence suggesting that healthy cells grow on these sheets – so they might eventually be applied as scaffolds for tissue growth.

Baughman said that numerous other applications possibilities exist and are being explored at UTD, including structural composites that are strong and tough; supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells and thermal-energy-harvesting cells exploiting giant-surface-area nanotube sheet electrodes; light sources, displays, and X-ray sources that use the nanotube sheets as high-intensity sources of field-emitted electrons; and heat pipes for electronic equipment that exploit the high thermal conductivity of nanotubes. Multifunctional applications like nanotube sheets that simultaneously store energy and provide structural reinforcement for a side panel of an electrically powered vehicle also are promising, he said.

UTD researchers began collaborating with their counterparts at CSIRO last year. In November 2004, the organizations achieved a breakthrough by downsizing to the nanoscale methods used to spin wool and other fibers to produce futuristic yarns made from carbon nanotubes.

The latest research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an agency of the United States Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Texas Advanced Technology Program, the Robert A. Welch Foundation and the Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology.

Nanotech
2005-08-20— Posted by: allegra

Sorry if there’s any meshuggas with HTML but I wanted to reprint this entirely. This is some way exciting science news.

Gonna Be a Bear
2005-08-19— Posted by: allegra

Paul sent me this. I have no idea which genius came up with this, or who THEY stole it from, but I know about half a dozen women who are going to fall about laughing when they see this, so here you go.

various
2005-08-19— Posted by: allegra

Pic is of Moore’s Falls up near Sandy’s place. Sparkle is doing much better; goddamned vet never checked her for parasites and a single dose of OVER the COUNTER, excuse me, Combantrin got her to ‘give it up’ so to speak. Poor little tyke was so full of worms it was amazing she could move at all.

In other news, Keith is still working at the HBC warehouse – and then he went to karate last night. Must be nice to have the energy.

Eminem’s being treated for addiction to downers. I light a candle in my heart for him. It’ll only get worse as his daughter hits her teens. And of course he will rise triumphant and write something really funny about his hospital admission. The tears of a clown….

TRIFECTA! TRIFECTA!
2005-08-18— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-08-18— Posted by: allegra

Went to the Arms on Coast Meridian yestreen for dinner. I ordered liver and onions, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I hardly ever go to restaurants with that on the menu. Poor Glenn! The waitress (personal comment about her residential status and appearance deleted) presented my liver and onions to him, and he absentmindedly started eating it. He even thought to himself, “Gosh, this veal cutlet is thin, and a funny colour,” but soon enough his error (he loathes liver) was revealed to him and he fired it, with an “I guess I can’t really scrape my tongue off in public” look, over to my side of the table. Everything on my plate was yummy. Then I ran into my ex-boss smoking a stogie on the patio. “I wondered where the hell that stench was coming from” I said, and then told him I’d see him back at the salt mines in the morning.

And we’re going drinking again on Friday night – I emailed like about 70 people at the company to come drinking to see if we could start getting another batch of folks to come out, as the Golf Course scene is not happening so much (mostly because the beerganizer (just made that up, me happy) adopted a child and is rilly busy). So a whole bunch of the fun people are not coming but swearing they will come in future. We shall see. I mean, I even invited a VP and people from HR. I’m very broad minded. Eckshully, I’m broad everywhere.

Bunny version of Rocky Horror Picture Show
2005-08-17— Posted by: allegra

http://www.angryalien.com/0705/rhpsbuns.asp

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

What life will be like after the collapse
2005-08-17— Posted by: allegra

Except it will be food we’re talking about. This story is about a riot over …. laptops.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973616/

enough sleep
2005-08-17— Posted by: allegra

Katie never came home from Dax’ but at least she called, and Keith was gone when I got up this morning… he was only going to wake me up before I left if it didn’t rain last night so I could place the sprinklers, but it rained good and steady last night, so he let me sleep; he’s gone off to his 7 til 3:30 shift at the HBC warehouse in the farthest ass end of Richmond. He says the work there isn’t bad, and the pay is way marginally better than other jobs, but the buses suck. Then he’s going to a Starbucks job fair; for reasons best known to god he wants to work retail in this town, which strikes me as insane. He’ll probably be a zombie by the time he gets home… at which point I’ll be gone, because we’re heading to Glenn and Marilyn’s at some point after work. This will make Keith very happy, I imagine, as nobody will be competing with him for the computer, and he’s going to really want to collapse in front of his current game. So I’m not likely to see anybody in my family ‘cept Paul for another 24 hours, and I STILL haven’t talked to John about his lifechange – he got in dreffle late last night and I wasn’t going to go staggering down the stairs and demand the full gory, especially when it was the first time Paul had been able to sleep in his own bed for four days and I was extremely snuggle deprived. Paul says I didn’t snore at all last night and that any time he woke up, which was lots because of adjusting back off midnights, I was breathing deeply and regularly. I woke up a lot too, but every time I did I heard the rain and promptly clunked out again. Last night I dreamed I had an apartment by the ocean and there was a winter storm and the frozen spray came right up to the windows. It had a lovely window. We had a house filk, and we were expecting four people, and twenty came, and even though they all brought instruments a lot of them hadn’t seen each other for ages and they were talking over the singing which is TOTALLY bad form for a house filk and I kept yelling at them but they were all big bearded geeks and they ignored me. So sue me, I didn’t feel like putting in paragraphs this morning. If they posted terror alerts at work I’d be floating around orange. I’m gonna kiss my boss’ feet when he comes back from vacation. I had no effing clue what he protects me from when he’s around. It’s the classic “Wanna know what I do? You won’t know until I leave!” situation. Rev Katie phoned last night in response to my email about my homily which was supposed to be in September but isn’t going to happen; finding this out last week triggered on my part a GREAT DEAL of furniture kicking and swearing, which is extremely funny when you think about it. Rev Katie of course has nothing to do with the scheduling and she advised and rightly so to wait for people to get back from Ontario and Antarctica (never had to juxtapose those two words before, life is good!) to find out what’s going on. It simply wouldn’t occur to me to travel to Antarctica even if I had the dough because I consider it to be too ecologically fragile. Actually everywhere is, which is a considerable inducement to stay the hell put. See y’all later.

Mummy look!
2005-08-17— Posted by: allegra

It’s a cute bearded Frenchman named Jacques Barrot, competing in the annual Pig Squealing Competition in Trie sur Baise, France. I have now got two corners on my mom’s trifecta of bearded men, pigs and quilting. If I can ever get all three into a pic, my mum will be rendered speechless.

Allegra’s pithy sayings, advice etc – Part I
2005-08-17— Posted by: allegra

Heroes drive convertibles.

Never say, “Bite me!” to a vampire or “Flip you for it” to an acrobat.

Don’t moon werewolves or play leapfrog with unicorns.

Never pay list.

Pull over or don’t answer.

Never attribute to malice what is explained by stupidity.

Send snail mail to people you love.

The moon belongs to everyone, but some of us get more pleasure from it than others.

People who don’t like recycling should be told that dinosaurs have peed in their drink.

Teach your children to swear when they are young and when they’re teenagers it will hardly bother you.

Don’t be too hung up on being respected. If you can find people to help you move, you’re probably doing okay.

Buy metal utensils.

Whenever I hear the word self-respect, I reach for my pig bladder, and I feel better almost immediately.

Never buy furniture you can’t burn in a woodstove or won’t stand up well in a barricade.

If you’re female, guard your fertility. It may be your biggest bargaining chip.

If you don’t want to have kids, don’t, and take no guff about it. Make friends with people in your family younger than you and tell the breeder world to kiss your ass.

It’s embarrassing to state the obvious, and usually necessary.

Go to family reunions. At least one person will turn up who makes the trip worthwhile.

It is better to visit the sick than bury the dead.

The best opinion I ever have is that now is a good time to keep my trap shut.

Wish I could take my own advice, but it never seems to be where I left it.

People with OCD and insomnia invented civilization.

If you’re depressed, find someone worse off than you and drive them crazy with your self important inanities. Hey, works like a hot damn for me.

enough sleep
2005-08-16— Posted by: allegra

I was going to start off the blog with a list of my symptoms, but there was no way I could pretty them up enough to be an accompaniment to any sane person’s breakfast, so I’ll be nice and vague and say “Olfactory hallucinations – unpleasant” and “general malaise” and “sleep disturbances” and “noticeably higher levels of general background irritation” (and if you can hear Keanu Reeves saying “Whoa!” in the background when I say that, we’re in psychic communion).

I could proceed from here to work but that’s no fun, so let’s skip over that (except to say that after 8 years with the company I did what I have never previously done and went to HR to complain about the actions of a coworker – can you tell my boss is on holiday) and go wah wah wah about the CBC strike. Non Canadians, or persons who don’t listen to the CBC, are not going to find this of any interest. However it does affect my daily and personal life, negatively, so my crabbiness is growing spikes.

Watch this space for intensely different news about my brother in common law (typed low, which is extremely funny n’est-ce pas, John?.

Sandy reports that Sparkle is better; who the hell knows what’s wrong with her (the vet doesn’t) but she appears to be responding well to the various medications and has returned to having a dog’s life rather than that of a moribund invalid, so that’s good. I asked Sandy how she was going to deal with no dogs after Sparkle goes to her reward and she said she would reacquire same after she retires; somehow, Sandy without dogs is like Santa after three months at a spa; of course it’s all right, really, but you can’t help but feel that it’s all wrong. And she has settled on a Bouvier as the next installment in the story of her and dogs, and I love those dogs, so that’s happy making for me. A previous Bouvier in her life was Bear, and Bear was awesome.

What else. I am thinking a lot about forgiveness these days.

FDR’s speeches are on line. I read about six of them last night; he wasn’t always right, but he sure as hell could write a speech. Hm… sounds like somebody else I know. What strikes me is how he emphasizes the cooperation between Republicans and Democrats. I had to keep rubbing my eyes and going back and rereading it, I thought I had missed something. Imagine coming to office in 1933. His inaugural speech was something. Anyway, check them out; some of them have MP3s, but isn’t it funny to know that recorded copies of many of his speeches simply don’t exist. Just about everything both Bushes did in public is on tape; that’ll make a great Presidential library some day. Not one paper, just lots and lots of videotape. I think I’ll stick with FDR.

First half of August 2005

hmmm
2005-08-15— Posted by: allegra

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/15/austrian_signs/

Point and laugh, everybody, point and laugh.

not enough sleep
2005-08-15— Posted by: allegra

Up at quarter after four, feeling scratched over. This weekend simply wasn’t long enough.

Had kebabs for dinner last night; Katie and I made them and Paul cooked them perfectly. So we actually, all four of us, did TWO things together yesterday, which was shop and eat dinner.

Calling all aircraft and lightning fans
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

You absolutely must check out

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/ltg/plane_japan.php

Unbeleegable!

Elephumps is clever
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

Here’s an elephant throwing the first pitch at a West Michigan Whitecaps game. From the story:

I’ve never caught an elephant before, catcher Chris Robinson told The Grand Rapids Press.

Jumping Jimmy Christmas! I should think it’s something you only do once. I am definitely filing this one with “Get out, get out! The alligator is coming!” under “no, duh!”

Yes, we have no bananas
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/article/0,20967,1076199,00.html

I heard on the radio that bananas were going extinct about 6 months ago and thought it was bogus. Now I’m not so sure. This article is very interesting, and covers a lot of ground. I recommend it.

I wish somebody would do the same for rubber. Wade Davis says that rubber trees the world over are one good fungus away from being wiped out. If you wanted to make industrial civilization slowly keel over, killing rubber would be one way to do it.

scary dream/dreaming screenplay
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

Last night I had really scary dream, which, as dreams do, morphed into something else. I dreamed my desk had been moved down into the factory (which except for the noise and light level I would actually prefer) and I was taking a call from a customer who had expected a shipment – or so I thought. He talked a lot of gibberish, an excessive amount for a dream, and I was getting increasingly testy with him. Finally the customer said, “I’ve got something for you, but you’ll have to listen closely” and I could hear a gun being cocked over the phone. Somewhat wildly I said something to the effect of, I’m outta here, and pulled the plug on the call.

This next is going to seem like a digression, but it’s not.

Now, I am old enough (and I say it with more pride than shame) that I have actually WORKED with a cord board, and I’ve literally unstuck extensions, going back into the equipment room and taking a plastic spoon to a weird little switch and pushing it up so it could click back down into the disengaged position. A cord board is a switchboard like in the old movies. A call flashes in and you answer it by poking a plug into a hole which has a flashing light on it, and you connect it to a hotel extension (or whatever) by poking its partner plug into a labelled hole on this massive board of holes at your operator position. One of the beautyful things about a cord board is that if you get a particularly interesting caller, say a “What colour panties are you wearing” caller, three people can listen in on the call; I fondly remember rolling across on my chair to listen in on such a caller; however you could not plug in to an existing call without triggering a hail of static into the customer’s ear; he got spooked and hung up. “AW!” ANYWAY, the point I am heading to with about as much success as Umberto Nobile’s Polar expedition, is that when I hung up on Mr. I Have A Gun, I pulled the cord out. There was a little twist you made with your arm to get it to seat back down again (there were reels on them but they were cranky sometimes.) I turned to my boss, who in the way of dreams, was conveniently to hand, and he was most sympathetic. Then I look up and a guy I don’t recognize with a very broad face and high forehead and crazy blue eyes is pushing a cart full of finished goods past my desk and he gets right in my space and breathes (he had a very distinctive voice, sort of honey poured over gravel) “Miss me?” and I realize it’s my “needs to order a product and keeps changing his story” wacky caller, whom, last I checked, had a gun. Well, needless to say I freak; I snap the proverbial chain and run into the bathroom, where I…. perform a duet of the Tapioca Song with a male coworker who was using that particular bathroom to get in touch with his feminine side. Great great harmonies. However I came back out and I was fired, although crazy guy gets hauled off to jail for busting up the factory….

Then the dream turns lucid. I’m thinking, this would be a great screenplay, and all of a sudden our heroine is not a tubby middle-aged woman with a gas problem, but a brunette stick insect not a day over 22. I won’t bore you with the rest of it, but it’s sort of an Xfiles meets crazy guy chasing chick screamfest; at one point he fixes it so that her own cat attacks her…. although around HERE that wouldn’t be much of a plot point.

Muppets in bags
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

Oy vey. I’m assuming they were taking the cast of “Avenue Q” which is a (or so I’m told) very funny musical – out to the dry cleaners, or bringing them back therefrom. I find this pic unutterably freaky, which is why I am sharing it.

Graham Chapman’s eulogy
2005-08-14— Posted by: allegra

I want a funeral service like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=fUYfkmgaGC4

baby animals
2005-08-13— Posted by: allegra

Harassed parents
2005-08-12— Posted by: allegra

These harassed looking parrotlets rather abruptly laid six eggs. They have now all hatched and the parents are looking kind of ….. well, busy!

enough sleep
2005-08-12— Posted by: allegra

The little lemur previously posted is Microcebus lehilahytsara, which mashes Malagasy and Latin…. gotta love it.

It’s 5:32 in the morning. I had a horrible nightmare in which I was stung to death by wasps during a Spit (a Spit being, in case you didn’t know, a gathering of Dorothy Dunnett fans). Woke up whining to Paul and of course neither of us could go back to sleep so now he’s doing his yoga and I’m blogging.

For eighty bucks US you can purchase a blank keyboard. Is it a sign that I am easily influenced that I immediately thought Must Have It?

Stephanie of the writer’s group hosted a pot luck / group read last night, and she invented a dessert that I immediately dubbed Blueberry Awesomeness. It definitely had the Buddha nature. Start with a not very sweet shortbread crust, with a thin layer of custard, a fat layer of blueberry compote, a thin layer of cream and then a fat layer of whipped cream with blueberries on top. Maybe I should mention the writing. Never met Melinda before, she read an elegantly constructed two page rant which was an interweaving of her rage with cheap slogans, psycho babble, the war on Iraq and the meditative sequelae from a 20 year high school reunion. We were mesmerized. Celine continued with her autobiography… she’s written 95 pages since I last saw her, bless her… and of course it was amazing as always. Stephanie read a dialogue between an atheist and a deist which could have been a Unitarian sermon, and I read the homily I delivered at the family reunion, at which point several of those assembled told me I should publish it. This somewhat startled me, but I will investigate it. So much of what I write is occasional… not meant to stand the scrutiny of the ages in other words… that the idea of publishing it anyplace more transitory than a blog usually doesn’t occur to me. It was great to see Taylore and Hana and LE and Anna and the rest, and Paul came, bless him, the only boy in a crowd of uprising women.

We brought cheese.

We had a wonderful time and got home around 11 and ColLapsed.

Work is utterly miraculous at the moment. I had a conversation with a coworker that I have been wanting to have for 6 years. I basically bounced around the inside of my skull like a monkey on crunk for the rest of the afternoon, or would have if I hadn’t been trapped in a process meeting. Only the charm and intelligence of the other two people I was trapped with prevented it from being a massive sinkhole in an otherwise glorious day.

Is it possible to hurt yourself yawning, and who might afford me sympathy? I think I’ll traipse back to bed.

Pictured is the recently rediscovered Whiskeytown Falls in a remote area of California; it has a four hundred foot drop. Photo credit AP.

Tori being adorable
2005-08-11— Posted by: allegra

Taken during Mike and Tori’s Hornby vacation last weekend.

Snowbirds in White Rock
2005-08-11— Posted by: allegra

Taken Tuesday evening, credit Rob of Nine.

Snowbirds in White Rock
2005-08-11— Posted by: allegra

Taken Tuesday evening, credit Rob of Nine.

Not enough fuzzy animal pix
2005-08-11— Posted by: allegra

Aw… it will grow up to rake its claws down your arm. Pictured is a baby ocelot. Brother James is in town; I am very much hoping to see him for lunch. More later….

Keith’s day as recounted by him
2005-08-10— Posted by: allegra

It starts out innocuously enough. As John was just leaving the driveway, like before he hit the sidewalk, the phone rang. It was a gent on Elwell Street who was reporting that after several attempts to discern the number on Pokey’s tag, that he had brought him in and fed him. Nobody else was home. Dad was out with the car at Boundary Bay, Allegra was at work and John had just pulled out of the driveway as I was taking the call. It therefore fell to me to retrieve Pokey, as his finder had not wanted to hang onto him any longer than necessary. I was just coming away from a 9 hour shift at the Kay Can warehouse in Langley (a one and a half hour commute, one way) and I felt frazzled, and I felt as though I’d blown every sweat pore in my body. The muscles and tendons in my forearms were issuing cries of pain and resentment of which Job might have been proud. I was in short, rather less able of mind and body than normal. Nothing truly surreal happened to me on my trip to get Pokey until Robert Burnaby park. While walking towards the baseball diamond, I noted a ragged crew, clad in various shades of mottled brown, of perhaps one hundred persons, gathered around two devices strongly reminiscent of medieval catapults. It is telling of my mental state that I did not find either of these sights remarkable and reacted to neither for about the space of half a block’s walk. My brain only engaged enough to realize that they were extras and the devices were props in a movie production, and then I noted the Uhauls, first aid station and white tents set up around the baseball diamond. In such circumstances, with many many people running around frantically, and many others simply looking on, a long haired galoot with an empty cat carrier simply is not remarkable enough to register. I passed this sight by, contemplating my mental and physical reaction, and wondering if I would have bestirred myself had they turned out to be real orcs, having thoughts directed towards me involving full or partial disembowelment and catapults. In the spirit common to fantasy stories, where travellers know their way without knowing how they know their way, I turned randomly at one street and found that it was actually Elwell, although it had not been marked. I walked up the street hearing nothing and seeing nothing of the sight at the baseball diamond, and wondering if it had been some fever induced hallucination. I heard lots of dogs barking. As I continued, I saw Pokey sitting in the driveway of a house which I passed and a youngish couple who came out as I approached. I thanked them profusely of course for keeping Pokey for the time that they did, and made two recommendations should they ever meet the orange mooch again, and those were not to invite him in or feed him again lest he come to consider their house a second home. I got him into the carrier with no difficulty and walked off considering my odd-look-free exchange with the young couple. I thought I must have returned to full or partial coherence and on impulse I decided to test this supposition by returning via the same route, passing the baseball diamond and the same crew of movie makers. Pausing to watch their antics as they packed up from the day’s shoot, I hit most shamelessly upon the notion of using Pokey as my attention getting device, and did attract the attention of two gentlemen getting into a mini van. Feeling a sudden strong sense of civic duty to the social group I identify with, I said to them, You are making a movie of Dungeon Siege. They nodded and said this was indeed their purpose. I replied, Then speaking on behalf of fans world wide, please remove a great deal of repetitive monster killing and add a great deal of plot, as these were, respectively, qualities which the computer game Dungeon Siege had in truly unnecessary abundance or truly appalling lack. Both the gents considered this amusing as they were whisked away in their conveyance. As I continued on, I had in my fiendish & feverish brain the notion that I should variously embarrass and degrade Pokey on the trip back. As I passed a blackberry bush which I know very well which exists at the edge of Robert Burnaby Park I hit upon the notion of a primeval regression similar to that depicted by the extras I had just seen. I decided to set Pokey down while I went blackberrying. Continuing on with a load of blackberries strewn across the top of Pokey’s cage, I met with no further incidents and thus filled the empty minutes with a one sided and rather loud conversation with Pokey touching upon such subjects as his elemental stupidity in crossing 16th Ave and the various habits of cats which make them so violently allergic to any sort of loyalty. The last incident was merely a sighting; tent caterpillars are taking up residence in one of our trees. Freeing Pokey in the downstairs suite, I repaired upstairs to copious quantities of lemonade and media saturation, and wonder even now how much of the above provably occurred in reality.

A wonderful site
2005-08-10— Posted by: allegra

Wonderful photogallery of equipment warning signs.

I posted a reference in an earlier blog and I had to share the whole thing again. I wish I’d written the commentary.

New Mouse Lemur from Madagascar
2005-08-10— Posted by: allegra

Don’t you just want to take it home? This newly discovered critter (pic shamelessly ripped off from New Scientist) is just as sweet as can be. Thanks Jerome.

In other news, I was somewhat … uh…. startled when Mike answered the phone with “Mike’s Drive-in Computer Service”. Let’s just say I’m waiting for the pictures, and that it was a bad way to end a vacation.

Welcome home Peggy and Tom.

Next sermon
2005-08-09— Posted by: allegra

The next sermon I give at Beacon has been moved up to September 11th, and the topic is “Angels Unawares” being a sermon I’m actually basing on Scripture, can you believe it ? (Hebrews 13 1-3, although I, I, I’m holding up at the stuff about fornication).

One of these days I’m going to finish my extended, drunken riff on Revelations. I kind of hinted at it in an earlier blog, but reading Revelations (King James, of courrrrse, nothing matches it for sheer grandeur and rolled r’s) out loud while taking it literally (you can’t take it literally, the whole thing is an extended metaphor) is a lot of fun. And I didn’t get hit by lightning. As I recollect, it was to honour the death of Hunter S. Thompson – he read a lot from Revelations while he was ripped, and who can blame him? Them who’s got ears, let ’em hear. Some dude in the most recent Harper’s said that modern American Christianity, with its emphasis on Revelations (it’s about to hit the fan, and I’m gonna go to Heaven, and You’re Not) over the gospel (love God, love your neighbour – how boring is that) is all part of the medianation thingy…. At the family reunion one of the Mennonites said, I can’t remember the words to these hymns, I’m used to seeing them on a screen; my blood ran cold.

I wrote in a song once, “You want to do well, you want to do well, but if God’s an environmentalist – you’re going straight to hell. I don’t want to be the cold voice of reason that drops a hailstorm on your … tourist season; but it’s hot where you’re going to go. As a gesture…of friendship… I thought I’d let you know….”

News from Belize
2005-08-09— Posted by: allegra

I can add “international recording artist” to my resume.

From Dale:

Well, you have now debuted in the Green Dragon Internet and Deli in San Ignacio, Belize. Full power for the whole house! Its great! (Other bits of the message redacted) I would reciprocate if I knew how. Later

Song debuted low on the charts, but I’m going to be following up Lifeline with the soon to be world infamous

Tapioca Song. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Dale, don’t worry about the religious aspects of my blog. I go to a church where the atheists and the Christians can sit side by side. Makes writing sermons interesting, you always have to have an eye on the atheists, because they offend a lot easier than the Christians (snort, snicker). No, let me rephrase that. Let’s just say that the atheists’ ability to tolerate BS is very, very low. Atheists get made if you insult their intelligence; Christians their faith.

Post for pOp
2005-08-08— Posted by: allegra

Hey Dad, check this out. Saw this, thought of you. Forwarded to me by the Multilingual Mario. You know, the guy who shows me up by doing crosswords in English better than I can, despite it not being his first language.

not enough sleep
2005-08-08— Posted by: allegra

Is your tortoise roadworthy?

Hope everybody had a better night of sleep than I did. Kira is butting her nose into my ear and complaining about breakfast… but it’s only 6 am so I won’t be feeding her quite yet. Katie’s back… I found her keys on the back deck, complete with the little fake ruby Playboy bunny charm which frankly gives my slumbering feminist the pip every time I see it.

Keith will be getting up shortly to see if there’s any work; I imagine Paul will come in from the tent sometime soon.

I really wish the guy across the street would get his car fixed; last night he spent half an hour trying to start it, and this morning at 4:30 he spent about fifteen minutes trying to start it, and it’s about 20 meters from my window, so I get every agonized splutter and grinding noise with hi fi clarity. Who needs an alarm clock?

The only thing I accomplished yesterday was making greek salad. It’s extremely fine greek salad, but it doesn’t seem like much done given the fine day I had.

Manners
2005-08-07— Posted by: allegra

Somebody, whose parents likely weren’t able to pound sense or manners into him/her, raced up and down the streets of east Burnaby on an inadequately muffled dirt bike, at 3 am this morning. I was so mad I got up and clipped my toenails. Little did I know that the annoying …tick…. tick…. tick…. noise was lovingly conveyed outdoors, where Paul was attempting to sleep in the tent (no, no domestic insanity, just him trying to get relief from the heat). So Paul knew I was up. He couldn’t go back to sleep either and after about fifteen minutes got up and found me playing solitaire on the computer. No sooner had we arranged ourselves back in bed but Drunken Rectum was at it again, just long enough to guarantee we’d be lying in bed, dreaming up punishments and floral tributes for the subsequent funeral. I lost a couple of hours and only just got up in time to say goodbye to Paul, who is working today.

None of this detracts from the simply lovely time afforded at Rob, Char and Arden’s yesterday. Brother Jerome and his lovely livein Shannon were there; LOTS of kids, lots of Babies, including ones I’d never seen, sigh, and two dogs – Chari brought her dogs and a couple of the kids tried to exhaust themselves throwing balls. What they didn’t know, and I do, is that it takes TWO straight DAYS of ball throwing to wear those dogs out, Brian told me once.

Pic is from Gapers Block, the Chicago website.

Figs went moldy, darn it.

enough sleep
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

The mosquitoes abruptly got really bad around here. I’m wondering if it’s time to invest in mosquito nets. Katie’s gone to a girlfriend’s place for a couple of days but appears to be picking up her phone, so that’s okay… I’m also a little concerned that she’s going to the fireworks on Saturday but hopefully she won’t sass cops or do anything else that’s dumb.

Paul’s doing yoga, Keith’s asleep, Pokey’s outside crying to be let in and something caught fire in the neighbourhood last night, a firetruck came right by the house and there’s a sort of hint of “burning insulation” smell in the air this morning.

I’m really abruptly turning into a pro deportation hag. (This is not the same as an anti immigrant hag). I am now thinking, on the basis of personal experience and the news over the last six months, that if you are a foreign national on Canadian soil and you commit any crime more heinous than a parking violation, and it’s proven in court, out you go, and if you get caught here afterwards, out you go in 72 hours (basically long enough to see relatives that might be here), no appeal. When I think that three taxpayers were murdered because Canada failed to deport some crook in 1994 it makes my blood boil. I would be a lot happier with my government if it actually started deporting people who commit violence and fraud against my fellow citizens. And if you’re a foreign national and you are a person of interest in an investigation for anything more serious than a parking violation, you’d bloody well better surrender your passport to the local cops.

‘Course, when the pandemic fires up, the whole immigrant thing will be very interesting…. it will trigger the biggest mass migration in history.

weir were we
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

mmmph, missed this

jelly
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

Somehow, when I looked at this picture, it was the shadows that interested me more than the people. So all you get is feet and legs and shadows, which allows you to concentrate on an ugly, stranded, venomous, jellyfish. Bleaaah. Pictured are Carly and Jan’s feet.

And we’ll throw in for free…..
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

Another picture of the fish weirs. What were your ancestors doing a thousand years ago? Turn your face across the water and ask yourself the question.

The weirs are in the estuary in Courtenay.

But that’s not all
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

So I couldn’t stop with just one. Jim sent five pix. What you are looking at, in this picture, is aboriginal title. It is a picture of how the Coastal peoples sank the forest into the ocean to catch salmon and other fish.

When it’s the lowest low tide, you can see the pilings for the fish weirs march out into the ocean and along the beach and estuary for kilometers.

If people want to talk about title, what about a thousand years? What if you could say, for a thousand years, my people caught fish here?

JimJan&Carly
2005-08-06— Posted by: allegra

Okay, I love this picture. It is a family picture. Let me bulk up the richness and the strangeness of it. First of all Carly, Jim and Jan’s athletic, graceful and very amusing youngest daughter, had the idea for it. Next, Jan sat still for it, probably making clever suggestions all the way through. Then Jim lay there like the most esculent parody of emaciated boys ever seen, and parked shells over his pechos. Ah yes, taken all in all, a masterpiece of digital bliss; a picture for the ages. Thank you so much.

enough sleep
2005-08-05— Posted by: allegra

This cat is named Pikachu; he took on a 4 foot alligator while his master went for the phone. I am amused by his resemblance to my cat Zeek!

I am even more amused that the incident occurred in Joliet IL. Nice to know that at any time, in any place, you might be dealing with a critter that isn’t from ‘these parts’, like that chef that got bitten by a Brazilian spider in England and damned near died.

Keith is off at work. He had to get up at five to get to work in Richmond for 7 am. Bleahh. His job involves cleaning and degreasing food grade containers.

Had a simply lovely time at the Steveston Seafood House last night with Bonnie. Misunderstood her – Stephen is in North Bay, not here. Anyway, the best part of the evening was looking at her pictures of Turkey. The pictures of Ephesus in particular were spectacular; Turkey looks like a very dry country, though; and pictures of the Topkapi and the Hagia Sophia were splendid as well. Dunnett fans would have been pleased.

Bonnie herself hasn’t changed much in, like, 35 years. Meant to ask her where she hides the Dorian-Gray-equivalent but decided that would be tacky.

Looks to be another spectacular day in Vancouver.

Paul is doing yoga and looking quite fine and Katie is unconscious.

Here we are, working on our 25th year. Hard to credit.

24th Anniversary
2005-08-04— Posted by: allegra

As blogged previously, Paul and I have 3 anniversaries in August. Today is our first anniversary – the anniversary of the day we met. We are celebrating by going to eat with my friend Bonnie B, who goes back the furthest with me – I’ve known her since I was eight or thereabouts. She has THE most infectious giggle in the known universe. We finally get to meet her sweetie Steve…. how many years is this??? And hopefully we see pix of her trip to Turkey.

Yes indeed, Paul and I have had our ups and downs, but today we appear to be shiny.

going flying
2005-08-04— Posted by: allegra

Paul took Dax flying … only one incipient spin. More than I could take, that’s for sure. Apparently he’s going flying again tomorrow to take computer bits to my folks. This is all a good thing.

Watermelon judgment
2005-08-03— Posted by: allegra

http://www.johnconroy.com/Dunsdon%20Reasons%20Jan%205%202005.pdf

This dude – John Conroy – is also Marc Emery’s lawyer. I haven’t commented about this case because I am angry, and waiting to calm down.

The judgment cited is with respect to Watermelon, may she live forever in song, story, fable and myth. Those of you with legal background may find it of particular interest, as it is closely and finely reasoned… or resined, as the case may be.

corrective and explanatory notes
2005-08-03— Posted by: allegra

I use Alex and Lexi interchangeably.

Brother James is not my brother – I refer to him that way because we were in the trenches of customer service together. Looking forward to seeing you this summer!

That’s Takamine, not Nakamine. Duh.

Paul and I aren’t married. However, when you live together for nearly a quarter century, referring to the father of your children and the other name on the mortgage as ‘spouse’ or ‘partner’ just doesn’t seem right to me, although I normally try to be as accurate as sanity allows.

There’s a lot going on in my life that I can’t talk about. When I am being circumlocutory, it’s because a completely fair rendering of events would either make me look worse than I do (I have a pretty good idea how this blog makes me look, and believe me, the reality is far better and much worse) or would give a greater emphasis to something bad (or excellent) than circumstances and life history warrant; and I know my opinions change over time so I try to be somewhat judicious about expressing them although I can hear the collective whoosh of eyebrows going up as you are reading this.

Also, I can’t talk about work until they fire me or I retire, because I’ll never quit. Okay, never is a long time. But I sure have it in my mind not to quit. And if I do…. Brother James and I will have a little confab, and the results should be quite entertaining.

Bully’s
2005-08-03— Posted by: allegra

Bully’s is a rehearsal space in New Westminster. We were there last night to visit with Katie and Dax, who had space for about an hour; they were noodling, rather amazingly given how long they have practiced, with bass and drums. The people who run Bully’s are Super Nice – Frank and Mark … as in just completely wonderful, and they are obviously trying to make a rehearsal and music space that is as welcoming as possible (ie they have business practices which suggest that they want to make money over the long haul rather than right this instant).

At one point Paul picked up the bass and was noodling with Dax, who was playing drums. Sounded pretty good.

Earlier Paul and I went to the Pho Hong on Kingsway and I ate a number 3 on the patio (a little noisy for my taste but cooler than inside). Dang, but they make good pho.

Then we went by Suzanne’s to see Katie and hang out on the deck at sunset (twas gorjus) and a couple of Suzanne’s buddies were there and I admired pix of her girlfriend’s garden (her girlfriend lives ‘beyond Hope’ and has a moss garden, which is unique and exotic and very pretty.) Taught Suzanne how to sent Rogers text messages from her computer. Rogers makes it really easy, although recent changes to the website made me pretty cranky for a while.

I’m thinking of Peggy and Tom and hoping they have a fabulous time out east.

Finally caught up with John after we got home – he returned safe around quarter to one night before last – and he had, as usual some funny anecdotes.

Lois and Bob’s son Jesse keeps snakes, plural. I me demand why I have not seen pic-a-tures? One is almost completely white with faint orange markings and the other is a reticulated python. And both big. Not small. Jesse! Obey the message on the wind and send me pix!

Paul and Dax go flying today.

I light a candle of thanksgiving that no one was killed in the Air France accident yesterday, and predict hydroplaning as the proximal cause of the accident. And the pilot shouldn’t have accepted the landing – he’d already missed one approach.

Jumping Jayne Cobb, lookit the time. ‘m outta here.

Gizmo the Mighty – From Brother Jeff
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

Weird thing happened yesterday. I went for a walk in the woods with Gizmo. He loves doing that – he gets really excited, climbing trees and racing around. So far so good.

We walked along the path for a while, then Gizmo stopped and went off the path and sat down, so I stopped and looked back. Someone was coming along the path behind us, walking their dog on a leash.

As the dog got closer, Gizmo started to retreat into the woods but I stayed put, thinking that the dog would just pass by. In similar situations in the past, both cats basically disappeared when a dog showed up.

The dog didn’t notice Gizmo but was intent on sniffing the path. I think it probably smelled Gizmo. I don’t know what breed it was, but it was slightly larger than your typical dog, with droopy ears – it looked like a hunting dog.

When the dog was within about 5 meters, it finally noticed Gizmo and lunged for him, straining against his leash. I expected Gizmo to take off, but instead HE LAUNCHED HIMSELF AT THE DOG. Gizmo was a blur, circling the dog and lunging at it with his claws. I think he hit the dog a few times, but in any case, the dog started to whine and back away.

I tried to grab Gizmo but he was out of control and kept attacking. The dog and his owner tried to continue down the path, but Gizmo kept after them. I was finally able to keep him back with a stick, but not without a few angry looks from Gizmo.

I had to apologize to the dog’s owner from a distance, but he didn’t seem too upset, just shocked – as was I.

It’s hard to say what would have happened if the fight had continued, but clearly Gizmo won the first round.

Allegra sez: Pic is, obviously, of Gizmo. I hung out with him & Jeff this weekend. The only thing Gizmo savaged was his food. Jeff lives in Colwood right next to the woods. You can see the stars at night from his back deck – it’s a very peaceful spot.

Mine is an evil laugh
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

A-ha! My mother is now a Firefly addict. Ditto Alex (aka Lexi). She showed up at the door yesterday wearing my recently completed Jayne Cobb hat; I burst out laughing, and then thankfully accepted her cargo of left behind underwear, etc. I do not think I have EVER visited my parents without leaving a debris trail that would make an accident investigator cringe. Two children help with this project immeasurably.

There is a wasps’ nest in the second shed eaves. Something must be done. The figs are STILL dehydrating, they are ver’ juicy. Paul is contemplating the solar dehydrator plans from Home Power magazine back in 1998; he downloaded them or ordered them last night. Animated discussion about how we’re going to deal with food after Power Down.

Animated discussion this morning about commercializing this site. The first first thing I’m going to do is talk to Glenn – the long postponed dreaded talk – at least I already know which software I’m going to use to charge people with. Then I’m gonna put up music, some free (starting with the Tapioca Song, which wants to be free! I asked it), most for coin (sorry, I’m not letting The Evening News go for free. Not gonna happen). Then I’m gonna do is ask my mother if she wants her own subdirectory for publicly posted family stuff and genealogy, as pix are a complete bandwidth hog. Ok, Mummy, consider yourself asked. You too can learn to upload pictures to a website. It isn’t hard; I can do it…. Then I’m going to post all my miscellaneous writing, most free (including the homilies), some for coin (for obvious reasons, I’ll be charging for the erotica… Old enough for a credit card? C’mon down!) And then, to quote Firefly, I’m gonna “be the king of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat”.

While I like Supreme Server which is “mine English host” (they do the job, and they’ve dropped the ball once in one year, and heck, who hasn’t had a denial of service attack at least once), I keep thinking about moving the host to Vancouver. Then I think about earthquakes. Hm. It’s a poser. Back to work and a mountain of emails.

Moving sunset
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

Paul grabbed this picture out of the window of a moving car. I used to yell at him for doing that, now I eagerly wait to see what beautiful thing he’s come up with this time.

Saanich Fair Grounds
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

This is where the reunion was. Great kitchen… and I saw a lot of it. Not that I’m complaining. I love feeding people I love.

Katie smiling
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

Our canoe was called Bambi…. We had a really good time that day, as you can see.

Why go to family reunions?
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

Because the relatives bring mementoes of times past. Does anybody remember the joke that goes with this item from yesteryear?

the coolest cat in Burnaby
2005-08-02— Posted by: allegra

Please take out this catheter
2005-08-01— Posted by: allegra

So I just read in eurekalert.org that if somebody actually programmed a doctor’s pager to go off at some predetermined point after the insertion of a catheter, he or she would be reminded to take it out and thus prevent humiliation, infection, and lots of money to treat the infection. Yeah, I’m always really happy to be intubated, reminds me I’m alive. You can be really really glad that after I searched the internet I chose to NOT post a picture of a catheter. So I’m posting something else instead…the copter I went for a ride in the middle of July in Arlington WA.

In keeping with the helicopter pic, I offer vibrations of happiness to the SFU engineering team that got an RC helicopter (10 kilos) to fly a prescribed 3.3 kilometer course, being the first team to successfully do so. Competition was held in the US. Way to go, guys!!!

I have found out what Keith’s goal is in life. My brother never reads my blog, so I can comfortably say this… Jeff, you’re hooped.

Paul and I are looking for matching old fashioned floor lamps – tri lites by preference – with big solid ugly bases and fabric lampshades. Any assistance in locating them so we can stop buying floor lamps every two years, since the contemporary floor lamps are roughly comparable in quality to a bubble gum machine bracelet, would be greatly appreciated.

Paul was very happy that we came home yesterday evening. And I’m happy too. But I don’t want to canoe Widgeon Creek today because I simply have too much life maintenance, and I sure as heck won’t feel like moving when I get back. Fortunately, Dan P., may his name be blessed and adored, wants to go flying with Paul. As I said to Paul, I sleep in your bed every night, but the weather is only good when it’s good, so that means it’s time to go flying.

Figs, figs, fresh figs, lots and lots of fresh figs, which I am attempting to dehydrate. I think I should have cut them in half first. FOR ONCE, I have one upped my across the alley neighbours, Karl and Cleo, may they also be blessed, because I actually grow nicer figs than they do. However, I got the over the fence love tap right back into hopeless fecklessness AGAIN when she casually handed me a little container of blackberries – that were unusually large, but I didn’t think too much of it. I’m not crazy about blackberries until Tom L turns them into jelly (and he makes jelly….;) but in THIS case, I took a bite, heard a heavenly chorus, and had to sit down from the excess of sensory input. These are NOT wild blackberries. These are a cultivar, and she’s GOING TO GIVE ME cuttings. Oh yeah, baby. They are unbelievably, stupendously good. Oh, and the figs are good too. It turns out that I have a completely different kind than Karl and Cleo. THEY have figs that are white inside. Mine are a lovely wine colour, and although I’m not a big fan of fresh figs I’ve eaten two already, and the skins are so soft you don’t have to peel them.

I send vibes of love to all my peeps, including Mike & Tori, Tom U, Tom and Peggy, L.E. and Doug, Sandy, Liz M, and all my relations, including Paul’s, which would include the wonderful Marilyn, the amazing Glenn, the good Dr. John, the glorious Lois and hardy Bob, and the marvellous Ruth and uxorious John. Hi Dale. I promise I’ll send the CD soon.

Last half July 2005

FINALLY
2005-07-31— Posted by: allegra

I finished the homily. Now all I have to do is deliver it without turning into a big puddle of tears.

guppa guppa guppa guppa
2005-07-31— Posted by: allegra

Okay, so I me making babbling noises. I experienced joy and also a family reunion story telling contest, in which my cousin Wyona was the undisputed champeen. She started off the family reminiscences with a story so Rabelaisian that my mandibles collapsed under the strain. Then there was a roomful of weird, low-key THWOKing as everybody else’s jaw hit the floor. I’d repeat it if I thought I had a snaeball’s chance of doing it justice.

Lessee, for my musical friends (and you KNOW who you are) Lexi pulled out that sweet black Nakamine she’s been abusing these odd few years, and she and I and cousin Laurel all sang together for the first time in front of a small crowd of adoring relatives. And WHAT did we sing? Uh, I’ll Fly Away. And then Peace Like a River. In three part harmony, at least some of the time, unrehearsed. It was like ballooning on acid with God.

Earlier in the day, Lexi told me she’d been in a corporate box for a Motley Crue concert (please insert umlaut, although it is up to you where yu insert it).

Now I really have to write that sermon. ‘Scuse me.

visiting
2005-07-30— Posted by: allegra

So yesterday morning got up, ate dry cereal for brekkie, and went to the Agricultural Hall of the Saanich Fair Grounds. I took pix but no USB cable, I forgot to pack the spare from work, so I have no way to upload them until I get home.

Unhappy mutterings from behind me (I’m in my brother’s game room, having spent the night here) as my brother does the shaky fisty at the Firefox development team. He reported a major bug and it’s apparently not going to get fixed before the beta 4 version. I said, all alarmed – as you will notice I tend to get rather easily – should I stop using it and he said, no, but I don’t use it because it’s buggier n hell and they tend to break thing a in the process of patching thing b. I’ve never had so much as a hiccup, belch or blast of flatus from Firefox, and IE crashed, popped up garbage and passed through scum all the gorram time, so now I dunno what to do.

Saw Shaun of the Dead last night – as promised, at least one zombie movie per visit – and laughed myself silly. A brilliant, brilliant script brought to magical life by the charm of the principals, even as they beat zombies back to death with cricket bats. Enough scary bits to be a real zombie movie, and more laughs per minute than supposedly hit US comedies. Must see The Aristocrats soon. I know I shouldn’t be rewatching movies while I’m here, but Katie had never seen Van Helsing. Or Bubba Hotep. And I just love the lead vampire in Van Helsing, he’s so over the top I want to put him in my pocket and love him to death.

I suppose I should drag the POV back over to the family reunion. The point of contention is that most of the people attending are Bible believing Christians, and alert readers will note that we just had our first gay wedding in the family, yay Rawd and Graham, and Yes, despite the fact that I am an anarchist (non violent variety) and I Personally have No Love for the Institution of Marriage blah de hopping blah, I cherish the rights of my fellow creatures, and if they want matching corsages and the right to write their own vows that is cool by me. Okay, that was catty, but overall, an accurate take on my feelings on the subject. And I did like the wedding pix I got and I put them in a photo album right away, which I, like, never do, so you can tell even as I’m poking fun I’m taking it pretty seriously. Where was I. So OF COURSE the gay marriage is not flying particularly well with those who know about it and will make large groups of elderly mostly female relatives scorching mad, and it’s my job to find the middle ground on the subject, of which there is vanishingly little, unless you reframe the whole thing rather dramatically. Now other people would quail at such a prospect but I don’t, because I am NOT a dualistic thinker. The theological, interpersonal/family dynamic, sociological, legal, moral and logistical implications, not to mention the sheer gorram humour value of all this, impress themselves on me just about equally, so really, I’m prob’ly the only person in the family who COULD do this. I will be holed up in a corner working on the homily likely today at the reunion, and actualllly, I should go work on it now. Remember, a sermon / homily is easy. Tell em what you’re gonna tell em. Tell em. Tell em what you told em. Do it in less than 20 minutes, and break into a really good hymn immediately afterward. Or a Beatles song, if you can’t remember any hymns. If you’ve got a really rough crowd, a beer commercial will do; but the homily shouldn’t be over 10 minutes and you should keep packages of peanuts handy to ping the hecklers with.

I slept on the floor last night, and believe it or not, I slept FINE. Maybe I will be able to go camping after all.

I forgot to pack black tights. I have 24 hours to locate same.

No, duh
2005-07-29— Posted by: allegra

First thing my mother does this morning is look for my blog. Hm, I’m in Victoria and haven’t had a chance to get to a computer, so unless I’ve magically transported to the 29th century and uploaded it with the sheer energy of my widdy brain, don’t see How That’s Possible.

Much sturming und dranging over an aspect of the family reunion which is Potentially Dire. Fortunately, although I haven’t been mentioning it in my blog, I had been thinking about precisely the problem my mother presented me this morning with for the last two weeks with what spare brain cells I have. I will be covering the issue in my homily on Sunday – and reposting the homily if anybody is interested. Now I have to write it; hopefully the words will flow, because I’ve made no fewer than three attempts to start it and I’m having a heck of a time. I was even thinking of doing it ex tempore but my mother’s aura started pulsing “Warning Will Robinson”.

Love each other while you can and keep singing.

Thanks Randy
2005-07-29— Posted by: allegra

For your pleasure, the all new, totally free Red Neck Grill.

Allegedly true
2005-07-28— Posted by: allegra

Okay, this is probably a hoax, but it’s a damned good one. This is SUPPOSED to be a real sign from the London Tube System.

Happy Birthday Mike
2005-07-28— Posted by: allegra

Mike is some undetermined age now. He’s still younger than me though. Tori gave him a very nice birthday present, unspecified.

I have to pack and git out of here tonight, Paul is driving me to the ferry.

I don’t know why, but even though I got plenty of sleep, I feel really tired.

Pokey, despite the fact we are letting him out, is still hanging around the house a lot. I suspect he actually misses John and doesn’t want to be gone when he reappears.

Revenue flight
2005-07-28— Posted by: allegra

Okay, Paul sent me this and I MUST repost it. Note the ‘repair’ on aircraft engine, which got grounded in Frankfurt after an ‘unscheduled fuel stop’ and a damned good thing too.

Best. Customer. Contact. This. Week
2005-07-27— Posted by: allegra

Picked up the phone and got “Hi! this is Bill “I have read the manual thoroughly” So-and-So.” Thought I’d die laughing. (This is a repeat caller). Told him that was a great way to start the day. He also told me that I was on speed dial, and after I quit laughing – again – I said “Words customer service people dread to hear.” What a guy. Have a great vacation, dude!

I must make my writing more terse. Laconic, even.
2005-07-27— Posted by: allegra

My brother sent me this link. I think my favourite is the condensed works of Stephen King. http://rinkworks.com/bookaminute/sff.shtml

enough sleep
2005-07-27— Posted by: allegra

Keith is off to work – at an ungodly hour, but such is life.

Paul’s doing yoga, and Katie’s unconscious.

Katie and I went to work out at Canada Games Pool yesterday; tried to invite Tom and Peggy forgetting that they had to be up Very Early this morning for their trip out east. Bon Voyajee as Bugs Bunny would say. My mother has pretty much finished my Jayne Cobb hat, and you can just Eat Your Liver!

Scrappy little fairies
2005-07-27— Posted by: allegra

I don’t know about YOUR neck of the woods, but in Vancouver, the fairies are very very scrappy. When they aren’t granting wishes, some of which are easy to manage, and some of which are downright difficult, they are writing letters to the editor and playing the banjo and scratching skunks behind the ears. Some of us are very envious of the fairies, and supportive of their mysterious activities whether in Trout Lake Park or the bottom of the garden or mopping up the dark matter between the stars: I know I am! but others have laid in a supply of Brownie B Gone. We know who THEY are, and we hates them. Okay, we dislikes them intensely. Okay, after a few beers we feels sorry for them. In the meantime, here is a specially truncated picture of a real live wish granting fairy, I do believe in fairies, I do, I do.

Reminiscing – from Lexi
2005-07-27— Posted by: allegra

Long John Baldry – it’s due to him that my name evolved from Alexis to Lexi.

I first met him when he played at a bar in about 1991 or maybe 1992 in Watson Lake, Yukon (The Belvedere – a fine establishment of sustenance and good cheer, if anyone is heading that way. Tell Pat Irvin I say hi…) I was assistant manager there and he and all these fantastic musicians descended on us and rocked our world for a weekend. He put on a brilliant show.

When I first moved here to Vancouver in early 1993, I was trying to be a songwriter. All my friends were musicians – several of them, including Kathi MacD, were members of the various bands he had over the years, and I looked them up when I arrived. I was sofa-surfing with one of them in a house on Kits Point right across the alley from his penthouse apartment. We would occasionally all hang out at Baldry’s place (or Uncle Bobby’s, as Kathi used to call him) for drinks etc. He was as much a performer in a Kitsilano apartment as he was on the stage — a raconteur of great skill – and a little eccentric. (He kept rabbits in a hutch on his rooftop deck!) He never could remember my name as Alexis – it was Lexi right from the get-go. Eventually everyone in that circle started calling me Lexi as well, and the name stuck. Although I had vehemently objected to Lexi ever since I’d decided as a little girl that I was a big girl now and insisted on being called by my full name, I just had to let it go. When someone with his kind of charisma and presence decides something, you kind of just have to go with it…

I’ve not seen or talked to him in over ten years, but being on the fringes of that group of people at that time in my life is something I will treasure always.

Thanks, Lexi.

That’s no moon – that’s a sponge!
2005-07-26— Posted by: allegra

All right, all right. I know that they’re trying to save money, but taking a blurry picture of a sponge on a black background and claiming it that it’s the moon Hyperion is RAhhhlLY stretching it.

enough sleep
2005-07-26— Posted by: allegra

Pokey alert
2005-07-26— Posted by: allegra

Dang! The cat with More Personality Than Brains is at it again. This time it’s a phone call – “You own a cat?” “Oh yes,” I say. “A big furry dumb orange one? Blue tag? Green collar?”

Of course, when I get there, Pokey is not interested at ALL in even looking at me, being well absorbed in suckin’ back a big bowl of milk. I tried carrying him home, but he turned on me – politely, gave me PLENTY of warning of his intentions – so I put him down and he jog trotted back into the house after me, and I fed him. Many thanks to the neighbours at 14th Ave who now know where he lives and kept him occupied for a while. PS to John… the tag is a little worn. You’ll be wanting to be investigating a new one, perhaps something a little sturdier. And he’s in for the night.

enough sleep
2005-07-26— Posted by: allegra

My blog now gets 10,000 hits a month now… Hint. It isn’t all my mother. I just listed, in an extremely stupid and self congratulatory manner, all the reasons why I’m getting hits, and I accidentally deleted it. Sometimes, the Goddess smiles at me, usually while she’s treading on my toes and elbowing my ribs.

Note to the wish fairy; have you considered what naked pix of you will do to your mother’s political prospects? I mean, one could be pro, and one could be con. But the internet is forever, and Mal doesn’t hand ammo to his enemies, last I checked.

I know, I know; I haven’t come clean about all the things I’M interested in, but that’s because I still have minor children at home; although I can imagine them giving a spirited and cogent defense of my various ‘life-style’ choices were anyone brave enough to ask for their opinions. Three things have to happen before this blog will get REALLY eyepopping (ie, I will no longer be constrained by the last shreds of common sense, good taste and puerile self-interest) and they are all, thank goodness, a long way from crossing my life event horizon. Although, looking back on my life, and the history of changes therein, it seems clear to me that all my prerequisites for a truly, monumentally tasteless blog will likely happen in the same week. I am the Heron Woman; many long hours of standing around breathing, followed by lightning like movement and little frogs wriggling.

I light a candle to honour the departure from this life of Long John Baldry. I saw him live at Fryfogle’s in London ONT many many many years ago, and he was a great stage presence and a solid entertainer. They don’t seem to make ’em like they used to. Lexi, if you have anything elegaic to say, I will gladly cross post.

Love each other and sing while you can.

Radio Free Saturn
2005-07-26— Posted by: allegra

The Cassini mission grabbed some radio transmissions from Saturn. I urge you to check it out, it’s bloody amazing.

http://cassini.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/cassini/SKR1/SKR-03-324.wav I’m listening to this right now, and it’s so eerie, and so wonderful… think of the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet and the hair on your arms will stand up. They are actually ‘aurora noises’.

enough sleep
2005-07-25— Posted by: allegra

Feel like animatronic scrap this morning thanks to a canoe outing yesterday at Widgeon Creek. We only have one canoe; I rented another one at Ayla canoes and then the four of us canoed across the Pitt River and went, by stages, over about an hour and a half, to the Widgeon Creek campsite. There must have been fifty canoes dragged up on the bank when we got there, it was quite entertaining to see, but past that point nothing but a very shallow draft kayak could get through as the creek dries up any farther up. There were so many people on the Creek that there was no wildlife to be seen, but it was still a wonderful trip and you can’t beat the scenery.

Katie and I were in one canoe as neither of us could stand the notion of having Paul bag at us non stop for our technique, or lack of it. Apart from me cutting off a kayak three times running (did I feel like a maroon) I didn’t actually do too badly in the steering department.

My mother, who is a domestic goddess masquerading as a retired nurse, has already commenced my Jayne Cobb hat. The rest of you can just croak of envy, thanks!

Back to yesterday’s events… ah, yes, after a brief stop for veg etc at a roadside stand, we headed off to Tom and Peggy’s where we ate a fantastic dinner cooked by Brooke and sang very very very appropriately, Vive l’amour (Vive la compagnie) among many other songs. Got to watch Ben have a very public religious experience as he communed with the bass Peggy’s stellar hubby bought for her a couple of weeks back. We’re not talking electric, it’s a dirty great standup bass. And if that’s what that sucker sounds like with old strings, I’m gonna be scared to sit next to it when it’s got new ones. Amayzing bass, how sweet the sound, etc. Mike J, Agnes and #1 son Sean were there as well; I had a lovely time.

Frankly did not expect Katie to want to come home, as she’d gone of to the bf’s… but she DID want to come home, and do you know why? Harry Potter!

Pic is Paul Paez snap of a polar b’ar being treated with Gentian Violet. This matches the Green polar bear I posted earlier. Since there are now two, do you suppose they’ve started a support group for Differently Coloured Polar Bears?

Kicking and screaming
2005-07-24— Posted by: allegra

I’m off to Widgeon Creek.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=19076.20

Knitting instructions for Jayne Cobb’s hat.

Illuminares
2005-07-24— Posted by: allegra

Went to the Lantern Festival at Trout Lake last night. I wish I could say I had a good time… let me rephrase that. I had a good time up until about 10 o’clock. After that, things kind of fell apart, and I have a really bad blister.

Briefly saw Tom, Peggy, and Brooke. Should have stuck with them but I always was a f*cking idiot when it comes to keeping promises to people.

Did the usual, put on a garment covered in Christmas lights and walked around Trout Lake with a Powerpack in my knapsack – lit up like a festive tree. Having three year old girls run up to you saying, awestruck, “You’re pretty, you’re pretty!” is balm for wounded nerves.

Mike, what did you do, turn your phone off? I had my phone with me and turned on.

Went to Stef’s to say hello to her, Patty and the dogs (Nathan’s in Toronto for the summer, and I can only pray he’s got air conditioning where he is) and hung out with her salsa buddy Diana for a while.

Missed the fireworks. Being told “They weren’t all that great this year” was not an adequate recompense, thanks.

Paul crushed his hand yesterday. He can flex it, so it’s not, as far as I can tell, livelihood threatening, but it looks like it hurts like hell.

I think I’ll go back to bed. In my current state of mind, only large amounts of unconsciousness will do.

Keith took pictures on his new used cell phone of the festival but we don’t have the right USB cable to upload them.

Troubletown
2005-07-23— Posted by: allegra

http://www.troubletown.com/cartoons/01.html

Course, the Chinese revalued the yuan, so everything’s good. Anybody want to take Mandarin lessons with me?

enough sleep
2005-07-23— Posted by: allegra

Farewell beers at the Golf Course last night for Elizabeth; quite an appropriate turnout for someone who always impressed me as both very smart and very hardworking. A couple of old timers, long since out of there, showed up as well. One of them, who shall remain nameless, was advised by a current employee to buy a round and expense it as ‘recruiting’ as his company has already poached a couple of really good hires. Just as well that nobody from HR showed up.

All five of us went for a walk just at sunset last night and we walked over to the Cariboo pedestrian bridge and back.

humph
2005-07-22— Posted by: allegra

With so many Red Deer references in my blogging world at the moment – hsifyppah among them – I am appending the following:

Stolen from the Red Deer Site:

Discover the Official Cookie of Red Deer:

Caramel Surprise

625 ml (2 ï¿½ cups) flour

175 ml (3/4 cup) cocoa

5 ml (1 tsp.) baking soda

250 ml (1 cup) white sugar

250 ml (1 cup) brown sugar

250 ml (1 cup) margarine

10 ml (2 tsp.) vanilla

2 eggs

125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped pecans

40 Rolo Caramels

Topping

125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped pecans

15 ml (1 tbsp.) sugar

In a large bowl cream margarine. Beat in both the white and brown sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat well. Add flour, cocoa and baking soda and blend well. Stir in pecans. Shape 15 ml (1 tbsp.) of dough around 1 Rolo Caramel, making sure it is completely covered.

In a bowl combine the two topping ingredients together. Press one side of each ball in the topping mixture and place nut-side up on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 180ï¿½C (350ï¿½F) for 10 minutes. Makes 40 cookies.

Note: If the cookie should spread too much while baking, add a little flour to the dough.

Enjoy!

Red Deer Sunset
2005-07-22— Posted by: allegra

Katie finally came home last night. Went to L.A. Sushi to celebrate.

Then, oh joy of joys, we sat down and watched a whole bunch of Firefly again. Then I went to bed relatively early but between Paul and Keith they were making so much noise that I wasn’t actually able to go to sleep until 11:30 so I’m very crabby this morning.

Previously deleted portions of this blog include such gems as “Dish dirt like a front end loader.” Thank You.

Pictured is a reason to go to Madawaska, ON.

Mocking the afflicted
2005-07-22— Posted by: allegra

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0721051gold1.html

NORMally I don’t bother with stuff like this, but this picture is, um, well, let’s just say I’m glad my mother raised me not to become addicted to inhalants.

I can’t hold it in any longer
2005-07-21— Posted by: allegra

Brief holiday
2005-07-21— Posted by: allegra

Okay, so this is a brief holiday. This is what Red Deer Lodge and Campground looks like. Shade, rustic cabins (not shown in this pic), sandy beaches, clean water. Sigh. I’m a long way from there right now but I thought I’d give myself a visual vacation.

Finally
2005-07-21— Posted by: allegra

China has unpegged its yuan from the US dollar, which the US has been requesting for ages now. I find the timing interesting. The Chinese tried to buy two large US companies, Unocal was one and I can’t remember the other, and was soundly rebuffed for its troubles.

As best I understand the potential negative consequences of this move, they run like this: American manufactured goods will get more expensive, quite abruptly, because most of the American brand names are now manufactured in China anyway. Also, unpegging means that currency speculators now have something to bet on; they won’t just bet that the yuan/renminbi will rise, they’ll bet on all the Asian currencies to hedge their risks, and why the hell not? The American dollar looks like an ant carrying an anvil, in terms of the amount of debt tied to it. As some economists think, this will pummel growth in Asia. Central banking reforms in the Asia Pacific region will assist in helping these economies weather the storm, but if the currencies go up too much and the exchange advantage for export goods vanishes in a wave of currency speculation, a lot of these countries may have problems. There are contrarians who say this won’t happen and that China will be careful to manage the process, but I have my doubts. The Chinese are perfectly capable of planning and executing a currency shift that smacks the hell out of some of their biggest competitors, lets them unload a pile of US dollars (which they can’t use right now because the Yanks won’t let them buy anything), dampens growth back home just enough to kill inflation without too much damage to the rest of the economy, and allows them to buy energy with less cash. Oh, and kick a lot of American manufacturers in the noogies. Yup, and when everybody is really upset and the housing bubble in the US breaks, they’ll repeg to the American dollar, but at a different rate. It is possible that the revaluation will result in hugs and puppies all ’round, but I don’t believe it for a minute, and anybody who does offshore manufacturing should be prepared for at least two quarters of hell while things adjust. I started saying six months ago that anybody who can move production back on shore should be doing it; between gas prices, earthquakes shutting down western ports (yes, I know, that’s an if AND a when), and saber rattling on the part of both the US and China I am not at all convinced that offshoring is either safe or profitable in the long term. (Then somebody said, but Allegra, all the parts are made in China too… intimating that I am a dumbass. But I stick with what I’ve predicted.) The Chinese want our timber and our energy and our cement, and they’d much rather drive us into bankruptcy for it than fight; they have the advantage of being able to shoot their own people with impunity if they complain about the homeside consequences of any economic restructuring. So I have been waiting for this move for a long time, but I don’t think it’s going to play out to my personal advantage. I await with interest what copvcia.com will have to say on the subject.

thank goodness
2005-07-21— Posted by: allegra

Nmazca.com/blog is back on line.

Just cruise through the links sometime, they’re mindblowing.

In other news, Keith drove back from the canoe outing yesterday and Paul said his driving was ‘perfect’ end quotes, and he also learned how to operate the canoe from the stern. All in all, Keith is turning into a wonderful well rounded human being, and I’m extremely happy I’m his mom. Also, we took him to the Golf Course for a beer on Friday – but he didn’t drink it and wanted to run away a lot faster than we did. He sure was happy to get out of there. It was good seeing Matt last Friday though, and better hearing that his S/O got into speech pathology at Purdue…. Good to see Jerome, too, I really miss the old bunch of us.

This entire, extremely funny, scathing paragraph, deleted on the fierce insistence of my lawyer, who is currently pouring drinks and making Be Reasonable noises. It was about work, could you guess? I have saved the best line for use later…. eet waz a good wan.

That’s a moray
2005-07-21— Posted by: allegra

In keeping with today’s watery theme, Amore meets A moray.

This link won’t last
2005-07-20— Posted by: allegra

http://www.nbc30.com/news/4741822/detail.html

As frequent visitors doubtless know, I am a repeat offender when it comes to Octopots. This particular Octopot, a denizen of the Copenhagen Zoo, is particularly expert at opening jar lids. Sic Semper Cheez Wiz, baby! Anyway, if you come upon this when the link has expired, Google octopus Copenhagen Zoo jar lids. Which, you have to admit, is a wonderful grouping of words.

Mr. Damon
2005-07-20— Posted by: allegra

One of my top ten fave blogs, nmazca.com/blog, run by Mr. Damon, has gone off the air; I find it weird and fitting that his registration expired on Lunar Lander day. Sic transit gloria mundi, baby.

Mike, in an excess of Sanity, closed the shop on Monday and stayed at the beach instead. What a great idea, wish I could have joined him and Tori. I’m not a fool, so I won’t talk about *my* work right now.

Keith and Paul had a lovely canoe ride out to Widgeon Creek yesterday afternoon. They saw quite a variety of wildlife including beavers.

So Bush has nominated somebody with the same belief system for the Supreme Court. Yeah, so? The Supreme Court has meant nothing since the passage of the Patriot Act, except perhaps as a marker for the capacity of all the arms of the American government to make life incrementally worse for anybody who doesn’t worship money.

Pokey
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

A fitting end to the day
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

As I was about to destroy it, I realized, ah, it’s not so bad, speshfully if I take the more extraneous bits out. I look so happy, innocently spanking an inanimate Superman. He can’t feel it, and I damned near broke my finger! I am innocent no more, lemme tell you. Hard stuff is ouchy and hurty, did you ever notice that? I look at him, manfully holding up my weight on, uh, an inconveniently small amount of surface area, and wonder how many little children he viciously dumped on the terrazzo of large malls over the years of his career thus far. For his life, his death-in-life, is not over; he will continue to have slushies rammed down his skivvies, be barfed on, and be the recipient of other rude fluids besides; he will be repainted, each time looking somewhat worse, especially as nobody bothers to repaint his face anything but a garish and not very healthy looking pink. He will terrorize storefronts in very small towns. From the very front, he looks to me like a man who’s (ed note; knock it off). From the back, well, if paradise is hard and painted blue and red, his butt is a dead ringer for it. Deny that if you can!

What have we here?
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

And there was, o my god, a picture of me attempting to spank Superman. It too, has joined the Great Dead Pixellator in the sky, and a damned good thing, too…. However, Pokey made his opinion of events quite clear, as shown hereunder:

But wait, there’s more
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

In deference to commonly adhered-to standards of decency and taste, I have had to pull this next picture. It adds nothing to the fund and sum of human knowledge, and would detract from the digestions of those miserable few who viewed it. I was not born to lie curled up on an epoxy Superman. You DON’T want to see a picture of it, and I’m frying them from both the camera and hard drive in a brave and uplifting last stand against the oncoming, flux-ridden horde of nightmarish images. (Sorry, I heard “No Quarter” sung on Saturday night and some of its martial imagery stuck).

Where do I plug him in?
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

So here I am, contemplating how Superman has finally been made real to me. A coin-operated Superman, with his own airsick bag. Okay, off the top I see three, but there must be at least ten, really odd / scary features of this photograph. Share them with friends, collect the entire set.

Superman has handles?
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

Cool! Johnsquared’s truck is parked in front. John says, in that quiet conspiratorial tone he uses for odd and wonderful things, I brought Superman home!

Now, how could anybody who knows John even raise an eyebrow at this. Jaded as I am with his Many Years of Durance Vile with one employer, I immediately assumed it was a bar top game, and that he had just been playing on words. But, and it’s all blissfully true, he brought home a SUPERMAN, a corporeal superman, and my elderly neighbour who walks his dog past my place just about seized up laughing when he saw me sprawled on top of him. He croons to his dog, a golden lab pup and a gorgeous one, “You wanna fly with Superman?” and then starts laughing again, shaking his head as he moves the dog along.

So enniwess, I run out there and let John take some rifrikkindiculous pictures of Superman and me. Okay, in this one, I thinking, “Wot de hell is dis?” because the untoppable man has handles, and that has a girl’s mind turning to pink skin, not that it will show through his painted shorts. I did spank him and the digitus impudicus on my right hand is squawking at me as a result, mental note, dumbass. Hey, I made it up the stairs at Wreck Beach without croaking! Not … ready … for a wheelchair.

Brief detour, Paul mentioned the other day that the only thing wrong with Wreck Beach was that it wasn’t wheelchair accessible, and all us just looked at him and said right on, and then talked about how you’d do it without destroying the ambience. Very nice moment.

Superman has handles. Happysigh.

Architectural detail
2005-07-19— Posted by: allegra

I am a big fan of rococo decorations in theatres, and Sandy sent me a very nice example of it. If you notice anything else about this picture, then you are obviously very vulgar minded.

Peak Oil
2005-07-18— Posted by: allegra

Oh, Allegra, why won’t you grow up and realize that Peak Oil is just imaginary?

Because of articles like this.

Busy day then
2005-07-18— Posted by: allegra

Saturday night went to a house filk at Cindy’s which was fun, and there were a LOT of instruments there. And voices. Next day we went to the Buffy Singalong for Kelly’s birthday, we being Keith and John and I, and then Paul, who had been flying with Dan P, met us at Wreck Beach, where we got free parking in the beach side lot and met up with Mike and Tori, narrowly missing Trent, who had arrived and departed on his Zodiac, which was amusing because Keith was rereading Neal Stephenson’s Zodiac while we were at the beach. Mike liberally applied balm to my wounded nerves in the form of about half an hour of desperately needed bodywork, and despite my not so happy return trip up the stairs (I insisted we leave before sunset) I still have that languorous, boneless feeling you get after a really good massage. And of course I got completely covered in that Wreck Beach composite material, sand and sunblock, which means I have now completely exfoliated. Finished Harry Potter VI; when they said ‘it’s dark’ they are not just whistling Dixie. However, it has plenty of Rowling’s trademark combo of finely observed social commentary, ouch-that-smarts plot points and laugh out loud dialogue and descriptions of persons and behaviour. Okay, it’s 4:30, back to bed.

Monty and Tyler
2005-07-18— Posted by: allegra

From the Sun Online, via Fark, Monty the horse and Tyler the dog. Tyler learned to ride when he was quite small and now the two animals ride together pretty much every day.

Dawn Patrol
2005-07-17— Posted by: allegra

I’m about half way through the new Harry Potter. I’m off to a Buffy singalong and then Wreck afterwards. I hope to be in a better mood some time before the end of the year, but as long as Paul is doing an imitation of Eeyore as an attack therapist, I find it hard to picture.

sigh, happy sigh
2005-07-17— Posted by: allegra

Keith and Paul are singing and playing “Lousy Copilot” together on guitar and mandolin.

Pottie Harrie
2005-07-16— Posted by: allegra

Went to the world famous Coquitlam Superstore – the one that ‘uh, sorry’ released the Harry Potter VI early. Picked up a legal copy and am now attempting to negotiate a reading schedule. I want to read it aloud, but if I can’t get some freaking cooperation I’ll just hide in my bedroom with it for the rest of the day.

Sun came out for thirty seconds – thought, that’s funny, the Sun is mooning us – and now it’s hiding again.

House filk tonight and Buffy Singalong at Pacific Cinematheque tomorrow afternoon.

Neighbour showed up to borrow a phone today; Sprint sucked her in and now she’s spitting Sprint out and going back to Telus. I’m sticking with Telus because they are the phone company that actually puts people up poles when the disaster comes.

Now I’m off to Rowlingville, see ya later.

Law Society
2005-07-15— Posted by: allegra

My spies inform me that there’s a new CEO at the Law Society of British Columbia. If his actions during his first six weeks on the job are anything to go by, I have to assume that there is going to be what they delicately refer to as a ‘housecleaning’. Considering that they don’t even currently do monthly financial reporting and there hasn’t been much in the way of corporate governance since the last CEO was s-canned for conflict of interest (in BC? never happens), it’s maybe a good thing that this gent has come on board. Oh, and a non lawyer is in charge of regulatory. Give me a break.

Came up with a good one yesterday. Patricia said, There is no I in Team, to which my immediate response was, and there’s no F in Way.

enough sleep ?
2005-07-15— Posted by: allegra

Came home last night and crashed out, I was feeling tired and having waves of weirdness and dizziness. Woke up with Paul off to work, Katie off to Youth Night, John not in evidence and Keith at Karate.

Stooged about for a while feeling sorry for myself – a weird feeling of disconnection – and then got about a third of the way through Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, a POWerfully weird book, and then Keith came home. He wanted to watch Firefly and I refused.

Then Katie came home and said, Why the hell is it that every time I walk out of the house I end up having to talk to cops? Keith and I sagged a little, but it turns out that she watched a guy assault one of her friends. Get this. This man assaulted Billy for swearing. Seems a little harsh, don’t you think? He outweighed Billy by a factor of two to one. Katie was really angry with herself for being so stunned at how uncalled for it was that she didn’t take her camera out and snap this big guy holding Billy on the ground. And of course it’s Billy that gets tossed in the patrol car, which made Katie furious.

At that point I said, soothingly, let’s all go downstairs and watch Firefly, which we did. Three freaking episodes, didn’t get to bed until one. Inara just told Mal she’s leaving the crew (just when she’d participated in a caper, too!). Katie has definitely decided she likes the show. I just love Nathan Fillion. Now I have about thirty seconds to have a shower, or my coworkers will look askance, and no car today because we have to replace the windshield.

first half July 2005

more media, dead bodies, and strong emotions
2005-07-14— Posted by: allegra

A corpse fell into traffic in Texas the other day. I dunno, if I saw something like that I would take it as a sign to slow down. Some employee of a funeral home didn’t secure the back door of the truck, and down will come corpsey, gurney and all.

Saw Paul Bettany in The Reckoning last night. I thought a lot of it was a wilful misrepresentation of medieval English life, but there was almost enough dirt for a Python flick, so I guess that was okay.

Then watched the War Stories episode of Firefly. Ah, playful banter during torture. TV is so much better than real life, don’t you think? I think it is possible we may have converted Katie into a fan, though. Ha! Feel the sinister clutches!

Got a call from Alan last night. He will be in town for a wedding the end of August (whee!) so I get to see him and his lady wife Janice. I told him we speak of him often (uh oh was his response) mostly in connection with various cultural high points that he introduced me to, like, lessee… Art Spiegelman’s Maus… Dead Can Dance… Neal Stephenson (he loaned me a first edition of Zodiac back when nobody knew who the hell Neal was) and I’d give anything to put a Wonkette style reference in here but everybody I know, including my mother, would be crimped at me.

Note from 2019. Alan dumped me, a few years later, (I mean you knew I was poly, right?) over the phone, while I was at work, and sitting across from my boss’s cubicle. He had an office. It never occurred to him to even think about that. What a ….He’s an utter polished turd, and I wish his third wife well of him. Sure he introduced me to a lot of great stuff but Paul’s worth five of him in terms of character, humility and usefulness.

Note to Dax… I witnessed Katie’s reaction to a good chunk of the extended IM session you guys had yesterday, and while I still like you, I think you need to a) get out more and b) shake your head a couple of times. If you don’t give people an opportunity to revise their story, they won’t, especially when the slightest shift causes hysteria in the audience. Maybe you think that you have the right not to be lied to by anyone, but most of us old tired adults are used to being lied to so much that we hardly take offence at it anymore. We emotionally shelter with people who don’t lie to gain respite from a world of lies. I don’t know if you think yesterday’s exchange was useful; it didn’t look that way to me. So may I humbly suggest that you SHIF-W your communication style a bit.

I see you doing this.

I hear you doing this.

I imagine this means … whatever fevered imaginings are troubling your brain.

I feel and then sum up how the action/speech makes you feel.

Then, the grand finale – I want this outcome, this behaviour change, this speech change.

This communication technique does two things. I allows you to think through what you’re feeling so that you can express it without sounding like you’re coming unglued, and it prevents you from having the message you want to convey get derailed as you respond to what the other person says.

PS, it doesn’t work in an employment sitch. Tried it in a product meeting once, sucked to be me.

PPS, wish I used the technique more consistently, but sometimes it feels way better to uncork the whupass, and it definitely makes better theatre.

Writers group tonight, must print something off.

The water heater is now tied to the frame of the house, yay Paul.

annoyance
2005-07-14— Posted by: allegra

The toll free number at work was broken for about 2 1/2 days this week. Considering all the other crap that has been going on I’ve been getting a little torqued and got bitchslapped by a customer on the phone today. I deserved it, but I’m finding this really tiresome.

enough sleep
2005-07-13— Posted by: allegra

Woke up this morning feeling like somebody had been lovingly dropping grains of silica gel into my mouth all night.

Saw Fantastic Four last night – three of us got in for $12 cause it was cheap night at the New West Cinema. The movie is unpretentious and completely ridiculous, and only worth seeing because of the Thing. If it doesn’t win best makeup I’ll be annoyed.

Limpet
2005-07-12— Posted by: allegra

This is Suzanne’s cat Limpet, who is missing a hind foot. (Missing foot not shown). She’s an extraordinarily pretty cat; quite tiny, and this pic does not convey the beauty of her plushtoy fur, although I must say it conveys her personality nicely.

2019: this ‘crippled’ animal once CAUGHT A BAT AND BROUGHT IT INSIDE. pandemonium ensyued.

Must reads and rumors
2005-07-12— Posted by: allegra

www.juancole.com

He must have posted about two minutes ago (it’s 3:30 am here) but it’s a full grown fire breathing dragon of a post. Hint. He don’t like Karl Rove.

Rumors… Keith Richards to do a cameo as Jack Sparrow’s Pop in Pirates II? Magic Excellent Air Guitar Riff Inserted Here. 2019 says I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED SON

From Boing Boing…Those Crazy Koreans: Associated Press reports that Korea’s Doosan Bears pitcher Park Myung-hwan was caught keeping frozen cabbage under his cap. He explains that he was trying to keep cool, but the Korea Baseball Organization issued a ruling in a statement that said quote wearing cabbage leaves inside a baseball cap constitutes an inner quote alien material end inner quote that may disrupt a game end quote. I must start following the Doosan Bears; they sound like they really know how to have good fun.

In news that will surprise no one who wishes Bill Gates would either convert to open source or die abruptly after changing his will, MS is buying a spyware company and has changed its new Anti Spyware to ignore the festering code of this new limb of Satan. Question… how many arms does one Prince of Lies need, anyway?

Also from Boing Boing, a picture of a chair which has a juicer on it so a lapdancer can, um, extract the juice from a 🙂 piece of fruit using nothing but the gift the Goddess gave her and, that’s right, pelvic force. Sales in Surrey are expected to be brisk, and Kevin Federline has already bought two, I assume for two different rooms in his house.

Jim E is back from the opening bars of the new song of his life; his little girl is here and apart from sleeping issues, she’s the new queen of his heart. No word from Carol but I await their reports on parenting with abiding love and interest.

2019 says she’s gorgeous, she’s smart, Jim and Carol still love her with everything they have.

Charbaum made my life a beautiful thing by sending me an invite to Arden’s 1st birthday party (his pic posted in a previous blog); set for a weekend Paul can’t attend, aw.

Since quite a few people want to know, I am back to sleeping in my own bed, and Paul’s hearing appears to have been restored. This means that I can make my requests in future at a more reasonable volume. I can’t say all is well but much is better. Also, it’s just wild how many one bedroom apartments are for rent in New Westminster right now… there are forty, and I already got approved for two, and I only started looking Sunday, and here it is Tuesday am at 3:48…. Alert readers will connect the dots and think “Uh oh, hot tub!” but if you throw in (all right, that’s enough, the laundry list of grievances real and imagined here redacted), you get the idea. If you burn your arse, as Dunnett so poetically wrote, you sit on the blister. Hey, that loops back to the juicer seat! Very nice. On that note, I’m back to bed. Paul’s at work. Jumping Jimmy Christmas, what buttheads I have living in my ‘hood! Who would honk their horns at 3:54 am? Bastards. Oh, yeah, that’s right, I’m already awake. Katie home, shoes here. Must let her know that really nice apartment on St Andrew isn’t a happening thing. Dang, it was a gorgeous place, and heh heh…. cable was included. Now it would be an Elastigirl style stretch to think I could ever get Paul to consider cable, but to quote Hemingway, isn’t it pretty to think so? A mosquito just flew up my nose, I’m outta here.

very funny
2005-07-12— Posted by: allegra

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2005/05/why_dont_people.html

me laughing…..

Got Wood?
2005-07-11— Posted by: allegra

This is TamTam dressed for Pride Day standing in front of a statue of Alexander Wood. He was gay, a long long time ago, before it was fashionable. LIKE the coat and that fancy hat. This statue was unveiled in the heart of the gay barrio in Toronto, and TamTam’s choir sang at the dedication. He was an honoured public servant even though he had to leave town due to a sex scandal in the early part of the 19th century.

Google Alexander Wood gay 1844 for more details.

So I lied.
2005-07-10— Posted by: allegra

Nuthin but hugs and puppies from now on
2005-07-10— Posted by: allegra

This is a Stump Tailed Macaque. He is 7 days old. Isn’t he cute?

too bad, so sad
2005-07-10— Posted by: allegra

At 7:30 this morning Paul told me he doesn’t want the hot tub. So I’m emailing people and phoning people to make the whole process stop. I am very sad about his decision.

This now colors my entire experience of this weekend. Half an hour ago I wanted to talk about how much fun I had yesterday, but now it seems pointless.

I did have a lot of fun with Mike McG and his wife Liz yesterday, as we sucked back Sleemans and traded screechingly rude aviation/childrearing stories on his back porch. One of his stories I will cherish forever, and the picture of the sloth was cute.

Katie is back from Dax’s in fine form. Upon her return to the family fold, she presented me with a malapropism that combines anatomy, geography and political incorrectness in such a fashion that I justabout whizzed myself. Unfortunately I can’t repeat it in a family publication, but adult readers of this blog are invited (no, urged!) to make discreet personal enquiries of your excitable correspondent.

Capitalism at work
2005-07-10— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-07-09— Posted by: allegra

Short sharp blog this morning as I am about to jump in a car and go to the airshow in Arlington. At some point I’m hoping to meet up with coworker Mike and drink beer and coworker Rob of Nine and ditto ditto. If the winds are favorable and the fates propitious I may even get to combine the two. Then back to town to level the playing field, literally, for the hot tub to sit on. Keith had a nice birthday with his dad and has already phoned Paul’s mum to thank her for the birthday gift. Yet another dream about dark old houses with non standard corridors and strange but seemingly normal events. There was a lot of writing in this last one, which is okay. I love the road trip to Arlington, it’s a long standing fave. I’ve been down that road in a brand new Mustang with the top down; I’ve been down that road in brand new rental cars; I’ve been down that road alone, and in a Miata with the top down (thanks Lexi!) and with coworkers who, as soon as the doors closed, started gossiping so hard my eyes nearly bugged out (extremely entertaining and very informative). I’ve been down that road at the speed limit and at a constant 30k over the speed limit, while the driver kvetched about how really, the company was being backward about not paying for the speeding fines as we really were being more efficient. I note that at no point, thanks to Paul’s constantly inculcating me with an insouciant attitude to the prospect of an abrumpt (quoting a departed VP) cessation of vehicular movement, was I worried. And the tunes were crankin’. I’m driving, so I’m happy. Mind you the Echo makes whiny noises if you try to push it past 100k, but o well. Katie at Dax’s, like you didn’t already know. Did you know that elephants can make a surprisingly large range of vocalizations? There’s an elephant in Kenya that imitates trucks, but only at night. Now there’s a solitary vice for you. There’s another elephant that was raised with another species of elephants, and has stopped making the vocalizations of her own species and now chirps like the ‘phants she grew up with. Ah yes. The Eminem of elephants. Did I say that? Time to go.

My spies talk to me
2005-07-09— Posted by: allegra

Personal commentary from one of my spies about Nathan Fillion.

I have redacted the first portion as it was an undignified neener neener about how my spy has shared air with Nathan Fillion, and I haven’t. Quote commences, “….funnier than all get out, and a REALLY nice guy. I’ve worked with him twice now, (show names redacted).

He is most definitely crush-worthy, on every level. Sigh.”

end of quote.

You bet your gorram ass, sigh.

In other news, my doctor’s daughter-in-law’s mother is running for Mayor of Vancouver. (Can you tell my mother does the genealogy thing???) She’d better win. That’s Deb Abbey we’re talking about, and now I’m happy Larry Campbell retired. I wasn’t before, but it’s looking good.

I light a candle for the dead of London. Life is short. Love each other while you can.

‘s no joke
2005-07-09— Posted by: allegra

Snow leopards, c/o Denver Zoo.

SIGH
2005-07-08— Posted by: allegra

Keith worked very hard yesterday but I guess it didn’t work out – so he’s not working again. Today is his 19th birthday. Paul’s supposed to do something fun with him today.

Katie is ailing with something.

I need help moving a hot tub this Sunday afternoon at one, if you want to volunteer, call me.

Keith is working
2005-07-08— Posted by: allegra

Today was Keith’s first day of paid employment, a day before his nineteenth birthday.

Sigh. I’m so happy, and so proud.

from screenhead
2005-07-08— Posted by: allegra

stolen from someplace else. This is Xander’s coffee. This is Joyce’s decaf. This is Spike’s …. mmmm… blood.

I’m not too good at this
2005-07-07— Posted by: allegra

but I was in a hurry.

enough sleep
2005-07-07— Posted by: allegra

Damn you Brooke! (fisty shaky gesture). I am now SO madly in lust with Nathan Fillion. I am about a third of the way through Firefly and am having a rahhhlly hard time controlling my urge to… oh hell, I think I’ll just indulge myself. Amazing pink and grey sunrise. Must do dishes, kitchen is a sty. Katie must be home, her door is closed and her shoes are here. Excuse me while I titter behind my hand, because I know something that Katie doesn’t know, and when she finds out she’s going to be PPPPPP… choked. Titter. Giggle. I told my mother, the rest of you are going to have to wait, but more news soon. My coworker Patricia told an anecdote yesterday that made me laugh so hard that people in the cafeteria turned around and stared at me, and I laugh really hard every day, so this was a little over the top even for me. Oil is $61 but it isn’t going to affect my traditional way of life. I will say gun ownership is looking more attractive. Still no idea why a coconut ended up in my yard. If somebody tells you to visit a site about Mr. Gisby’s Totally Gay Pet Store, don’t bother, it isn’t that funny. I will say that the collection of 1900 – 1960 mug shots on Flickr.com is perversely satisfying. I got more Sleeman because they are giving away free glasses. Keith bought me sushi yesterday, and I know why, and Katie doesn’t. I have seen the future, and there will briefly be a much higher TV to Work ratio, which will work well for some people. There were bombings in London. I light a candle for the eight, so far, dead, and the wounded. Sometimes it’s better to be dead than wounded but it’s not considered polite to say that.

2019 says it isn’t polite to say that, because it’s ableist.

I don’t have the car today, and I’m trying not to be all resenty about it. Sigh. But the best thing about today is that the sun come out just about two seconds ago, and that means, I can’t tell you, because Kate doesn’t know yet. Giggle.

what the ffff
2005-07-07— Posted by: allegra

When I went to the car this morning, there was a coconut in my driveway. I remember hearing something really bizarre in the front yard this morning long about 4 ayem but I had no idea that the suspicious muffled clattering was a coconut. Where did it come from? Can such things be?

I’m sitting at home right now sucking back beer and contemplating the other strange thing that happened this morning. I got to work, logged in, blah blah blah, and then looked down and realized I had somehow conveyed a Whole Slug into the office. It was entirely undamaged and serenely making its gooey way across the floor. I picked it up and conveyed it back into the great outdoors. I know I somehow Got It On Me as I was walking past the little waterfall to work, but how did it Get On Me? And how did it Get Off Me without being injured? These are the things that perplex my tiny, acorn like neural tangle.

You’re an Eight.
2005-07-07— Posted by: allegra

Katie is sleeping at Dax’s, according to her mominlaw.

This is a urinal in the shape of a hibiscus.

Can such things be?

shameless plug
2005-07-06— Posted by: allegra

I don’t feel any better, but there’s no reason not to post a funny picture. Stolen from mamameow.com, which I heartily recommend if you have a cat lover on your gift list, and who doesn’t?

Dread
2005-07-06— Posted by: allegra

I feel entirely sick at the moment. Katie left the house about 8 pm last night and hasn’t been seen since. I have no idea where she is. She wouldn’t – or couldn’t – pick up the phone last night and did not respond to text messages. Normally she calls. She’s not at Dax’s that I know, having left for a friend of Wendy’s. I at least know where Wendy is and plan on banging on her door later.

I got two pieces of wonderful news last night and now I can’t enjoy either of them, and my eyes aren’t completely unstuck yet – I scarcely slept.

not enough sleep
2005-07-05— Posted by: allegra

Woke up I don’t know when, hitting Paul, in an effort to get him to stop screaming. I’m obviously the cause of all of his troubles; he’s hardly back two days and he’s having nightmares.

Woke up AGAIN to the unmistakable and highly unpleasant sensation of having a bug crawling across me, only I decided to inspect it before I killed it and it turned out to be a ladybug, so I took it to the bathroom window and encouraged its exit from my house.

My mother is back from her eastern perambulations, thank the Goddess in all of her forms; not being able to pick up the phone and call her has been very anxiety inducing, especially with Paul & Keith out of town the entire time as well. My mother doesn’t enjoy travelling, but the seeing relatives including ones she hadn’t seen for half a century was nice.

Current fave news quote
2005-07-05— Posted by: allegra

I kept telling him, ‘The alligator’s coming. Get out! Get out!’

Medicine Heart
2005-07-05— Posted by: allegra

White Buffalo are very special. David Stephenson took the pic.

22 year old cat
2005-07-04— Posted by: allegra

Forgot to mention I shaved a cat yesterday – Callie. I mean, it’s not like that happens everyday. So I had a squirmy squally 22 year old tortoiseshell kitty on my lap while I was going zuzz, zuzz, with the clippers, because her mats are godawful, with Tom L. holding the biting end with his welding gloves on, and then Tom vacuumed me (I really wish somebody had been videotaping that, it must have looked hilarious). I have to say that 22 year old cats who haven’t been grooming themselves well do NOT smell great, and I wasn’t happy until I doffed my duds later in the evening because I couldn’t get rid of the smell until then. After about 7 or 8 minutes she was biting and screeching so hard we figured we’d injure her if we kept it up.

But the best part was finding out she is tortoiseshell all the way down… her skin is the same colour as her fur.

The glorious 4th
2005-07-04— Posted by: allegra

I’m looking forward to seeing more pix of the comet impact.

The Mighty catcher and releaser
2005-07-04— Posted by: allegra

I think John is getting the picture about leaving the goldarned window open so Pokey can come and go. Yesterday around 10 of the clock Pokey caught a juvenile squirrel and pranced up and down the downstairs apartment with it.

Katie got a look of consternation and said, “Pokey’s caught another bird, John’s yelling and I can hear cheeping”. We went downstairs to render what aid we may, and it turned out to be a squillill. (Durrell reference). I thought Tom L. was going to blow a head valve when I told him I had let the squirrel go; he has despatched many of them this year, but I’ve given up – I have karma to repair.

My cats have NEVER caught a squirrel, although I suppose they may have tried; Pokey is both so dumb and so athletic that it never occurs to him not to. I have a picture of him pretending to be a chock for the Echo… I will post it later.

Pokey has been way too busy to take a round out of anybody lately. I saw him sleeping in a corner of the yard… on the concrete… yesterday.

Brooke dreamed a song a couple of days ago. I was favourably impressed.

Tom L. cooked a stupendous pork roast yesterday. Meshuggas with timing meant we were late, and it was still damned good.

Saw the Dalai Jarmo and Susanna yesterday, with the boys – all well, the boys squabbling non stop as per usual – and their boat has a new fuel injected four stroke which doesn’t suck up nearly as much gas. No Hot Springs trips planned. We were there to inspect the camper van for suitability for the road trip to the air show, but I think maybe it will be later in the year.

Anyway, about that window…. if Pokey is going to do what he does, maybe he should be encouraged to do it outside. Otherwise John is going to come home to a serious cleaning problem, and then there’s the issue of other cats figuring out how to get in, with the attendance pandemonium….

Camping pix
2005-07-03— Posted by: allegra

This boat is not blue – the awning is. Gives a most beautiful and painterly effect. Paul took this pic, also on the camping trip.

Camping pix
2005-07-03— Posted by: allegra

Turtle. Don’t know which species.

Camping pix
2005-07-03— Posted by: allegra

Paul got some great pictures.

Tennesseeing is believing
2005-07-03— Posted by: allegra

This cow stuck her head in a tree and was still patiently standing there when the vet (John Brunner, amusingly enough), a tractor and a wholelottalube showed up. This took place near Milton, Tennessee and was reported in the Murfreesboro Tennessee Daily News Journal. Apart from a scrape to the back of one ear the cow was none the worse for her remarkable demonstration of curiosity. The hole has since been closed.

Ha!
2005-07-03— Posted by: allegra

Sh…. don’t tell anyone, but Marilyn just phoned and asked me if I really wanted to come for dinner seeing as how Paul was arriving tonight, and I owned that I would really rather see Paul, even if she is a stupendous cook (and I wanted to pick Glenn’s brains too about the site). I will, therefore, be waiting here when Paul gets home (if he doesn’t call me to let me know he’s landed, in which case I’ll go get him.)

Line dried sheets and freshly cut grass will be waiting for him, therefore…

Dreamworld
2005-07-02— Posted by: allegra

So I learned something about the dream world last night. I learned that if somebody hands me a cup of coffee, I wake up.

So I’m minding my own business, the way I do in dreamworld, because it’s just not a good idea to start opening doors, and I end up on this boat that was built a long time ago. It’s very large and the corridors don’t meet on the square and it’s remarkably spiffy as far as fittings are concerned. We go cruising through something that looks like a cross between the Gulf and the Thousand Islands, and there’s this frikking naked giant huddled in a ball on an island (which he dwarfs) really trying hard to look inconspicuous. He can’t though, I mean he’s about twice the size of my house. I ask my companion, a slender woman in nondescript clothing who appears to be in her late twenties – whom I have never seen before – what gives, and she says: He was a really bad piano player and this is his punishment (subtext – beats shooting him, I s’pose). How bad is bad? I say, thinking this is a bit much, and she shows me a piece of promo he put together which indicates that he has a piece of promo, but not that he can play piano, and he got this cruise line gig, but he’s useless; he can’t even play “Feelings”. Now to my way of thinking this is not negative, but whatever. Then she handed me a cup of coffee… dang, I could smell it…. and I woke up.

You know, of course that you’re not supposed to take food from the hands of the dead, in dreams, because it’s how they claim you. But she was alive; I wonder who she is and if I’ll meet her soon. I have dreamed the faces of people I haven’t met before. One turned out to be my grade 10 math teacher, but you can’t have everything.

Enniwess, I assume that all this boat crap has something to do with watching the ferry crash on Thursday. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. It really seemed like the classic Canadian accident; millions of dollars of damage; no fatalities.

Bucketing rain when I got up this morning. Katie still at Dax’s.

John says we nearly beat the record for a gloomy June… more overcast than is normal and in fact five more hours of sunshine this month that it would have taken to beat the record. Me, I’m happy every time it rains. It fills the reservoirs and prevents fires. Although Criminy, my grass is growing like it’s training for some form of horticultural Olympics.

Keith told Katie on the phone the other day that he has a most excellent tan. Katie is now saying she’ll go next time, but I know perfectly well that she won’t go because (this part deleted, cause I’ll get my butt kicked).

Here come a twister
2005-07-02— Posted by: allegra

From Coaldale Alberta last week. Happy Canada Day!

enough sleep
2005-07-01— Posted by: allegra

Shown are Terry, Clare, Tish and a small black bear. This is someplace around Grundy Lake close to Sudbury, but I don’t have anything more specific than that… like a GPS reference. Paul emailed me another picture, purportedly of a mink playing in some water, but it didn’t matter how hard I squinted, I couldn’t see anything. Like a frikkin Margaret Atwood poem, mutter mutter.

enough sleep
2005-07-01— Posted by: allegra

Received the sad news that Cody, Sandy’s oldest dog, died yesterday. I emailed her saying I was sorry and that he was a good dog, and her response says it all: “I beg to differ. He was a great dog.”

Keith and Paul have delayed their return by one day; the flights today just suck, so tomorrow is looking like a better bet and Tish and Terry wanted them to stay another day anyway.

Watched both of the Bill and Ted movies last night and ate dinner over at Suzanne’s. Katie of course spent the night. Woe = parenthood! Katie was describing a dream the day before yesterday and said that she went home in the dream. It was clear from context that Home meant Dax/Suzanne’s place. She looked apologetic for about 30 nanoseconds, then looked impatient. “Home is where Dax is,” she said.

Pic is from our beach walk last fall.

This is really cute, but not for dialup. No, I’m not going to do a link. Checking links is such a pain in the ass. And I’m about to get emails about how to automate checking links, I can just tell. http://amfilms.hash.com/search/entry.php?entry=1065

Ato the Praying Panther
2005-07-01— Posted by: allegra

She’s at a zoo in Japan, and she’s apparently praying for rain. Credit Mainichi Shinbun, again. I was going to post pix of Albino Cobras, but you’d be looking at it all month long, and I prefer pussercats.

yucca filamentosa

enough sleep
2005-06-30— Posted by: allegra

Katie’s off job hunting today with Wendybird; Keith and Paul are due back on Canada Day but since they are flying standby they may not make it back; off to Glenn and Marilyn’s for dins on Saturday; the yucca filamentosa exploded into bloom yesterday; Pokey caught and brought home a live bird of some description, which he let loose into the house with the attendant disarray – John’s portion of the house, I am thankful to say, not mine. I had wondered if he was going to be a hunter after watching him with that crow, and he hasn’t disappointed me. Mine have brought live mice in, but they had the decency to despatch same on the kitchen floor. Gizmo and Eddie, Jeff’s cats, have caught everything under the sun and killed it on the living room carpet… to the point that my brother is expert on dealing with the most atrocious stains and has this ‘amazing stuff’ that reduces the damage to a vague, unclassifiable blotch; although if you hit the place with fluorescene you’d think different. (Isn’t that the stuff they use on CSI? I don’t watch network TV but that doesn’t stop me from paying attention to what people talk about.) Cousin Gerald sent me last night’s link. He also sent me a link to the best television ad I’ve seen in many many years.

Nita is moved into her sublet until school starts up in the fall.

This is a note to those just joining us that my host is in England, so everything is 8 hours ahead. My posting window for getting it into ‘today’ starts at 4 in the morning. Yes, eventually I will get a local host.

Pic is of Paul and Rob of Nine (sorry ’bout the red eye) at last year’s Holiday Celebration, which was in the same hotel as the liability seminar. You can tell what kind of person I am by the fact that a) I had fun at both and b) figure this was likely because of the food.

Have a kickin’ Canada Day; if you’re on the other side of the line, have a safe and terror free Day of Independence, and remember that your founding fathers wanted you to be free of tyranny. I still think that the Declaration of Independence is one of the finest products of collective human inspiration, and I salute all those who honor it.

Catacombs of Paris
2005-06-30— Posted by: allegra

Revive your rusting French and play follow the leader through the catacombs of Paris. They were down for ten hours, and if you can read, say, grade eight french you should pee yourself laughing, I know I did. The human who wrote it is a complete card. Even if you can’t read French the ambience is cool (and did I mention damp) and the Medusa is def trif. I now know the French for “The water is sparkling clean, but I wouldn’t advise you to drink it.” http://cata.riffzone.net

I found the pic on necroticobsession.com. Isn’t it amazing which websites come up when your search criteria are ‘rats’ ‘catacombs’ and ‘leptospirosis’? I had no idea there WAS a website called necroticobsession.com. And then I found this guy.

Oh my god. I was looking at motorcyle mags tonight. I think I want a scooter. It’s a very retro looking thing.

Writer’s group was great.

Went to see Mike for dins and got so thorough-lee stuck in traffic (Ironworkers Memorial comPLETEly crapped, apparently people were stuck on the bridge so long that they were peeing off the bridge deck. (Hope they checked the “look out below” first.))that it took me 90 minutes to get from SFU to Broadway and Commercial, calice tabernac. So I bailed on that and ended up eating at Quizno’s before getting to Sabena’s place on West 10th. I have a wonderful anecdote which I can’t post, but can share that I groomed a cat I never saw before today with my own comb for about 10 minutes. What a suck!

Okay, this pic is just plain tacky, so wait for it.

I was so stressed out today that I was indiscriminately handing out neckrubs. One of my coworkers pretends to faint when I do that, which when he is standing up presents a very amusing tableau.

I am terrified of dying. No matter how many times I tell myself that it’s like childbirth, I’m going along for the ride whether I want to or not, it still scares the hell out of me. I’m really happy to be alive, and take no pleasure A-tall in the notion that I’m going to join my ancestors. Then I see pictures like this and temporarily feel better.

family pic and aurora

Family Pic
2005-06-29— Posted by: allegra

Jim P sent me this a long time ago. I have wanted to post it for a long time with my comments, but first attend to the way the pic looks. The children are all looking at the camera. The adults, for whatever reason, appear to think that a piece of something has stuck to the back of Jim’s head. We don’t want to know what… because his uncle looks amused, his grandmother repelled and his mother stunned. Jim himself looks like he has accomplished something Le Petomane would have been proud of.

I have wanted to post a picture of my urbane and camera shy webmaster for a long time, and this is perfect. You can’t see all of him, but what there is is really hot. In 1959, I was pretty cute too, in a bald headed, diaper wearing, spherical-headed sort of way. You will note that absolutely nothing has happened to Jim’s smile in the intervening years, apart from the fur (which he still has). Hopefully the notes will be clear, unlike the last time I tried to do this.

Great aurora pic
2005-06-29— Posted by: allegra

Sorry, no attribution or date, but it’s from Voisey Bay, NFLD.

this is not a cute animal picture

This is not a cute animal picture
2005-06-28— Posted by: allegra

This is Spider’s Genitalia

Maria M. Ramos GS

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Princeton University

This is the image of a dissected and cleared ï¿½epigynumï¿½ï¿½the genitalia of a female spider of the species Nephila edulis. The large spheres are the spermathecae, or sperm reservoirs.

Oh come on, if I didn’t post stuff that’s revolting once in a while, there’d be no attraction. And the next time you say “uglier than the ass end of a spider” you’ll really mean it. Because, even programmed as I am to see the beauty in all of nature, this is a powerfully creepy pic.

musical update
2005-06-28— Posted by: allegra

Ted Leo got mentioned in the 27th June Gawker.com, so now I have to go see them when next they are in town. Beware the power of a personal recommendation promptly backed up by a website. They are an “indie” band. Also, Ike Turner plays piano on the Demon Days album, he doesn’t sing.

Must go shower, the health and safety of my coworkers is at stake.

partay
2005-06-28— Posted by: allegra

Pic has no relevence to current events, but there’s a recent convert to my blog who will just nod while viewing it.

Went to Stef’s b-day party last night, where I met a whole bunch of people who like salsa dancing and pay a lot more attention to a proper skin care regimen than I do. They were also a lot of fun and really lively, and know how to give gifts. (Tickets to the Lipizzaners? Now that’s a boyfriend.) I picked her up a beautiful, detailed little Buddha for her desk at work; also picked up a Ganesh for Suzanne, who c’llects elephants. Also earrings for Katie, who hopefully will like them. The gazpacho was so salty and bodiless that I could barely eat it, and the salad was also inedible. I am sure other people got good food, but I had to take consolation with Granville Island products and the Portuguese style buns, as there was none to be had with the table d’hote. The restaurant was the Latin Quarter on Commercial. The waitress took an hour to take our orders. As I paid my bill, I considered that I was essentially paying for the right to trash the joint on my blog, and that cheered me up somewhat.

Rounded out the restaurant meal by singing The Housewife’s Lament in the park facing Havana Restaurant. Stef was pleased.

Got home around eleven feeling quite cheerful, having avoided death on the highways and byways of Vancouver (I am terrified of crashing the car while Paul is gone), where I found John, who gave me a stern lecture about locking the Kira cat in my bedroom. I reconstructed the crime and realized that she had only been locked in since Katie left the house around 7:30 to spend the night at Dax’ (again). I was frankly relieved, not about Katie, I am more or less resigned to the understanding that the manifold delights of her incommonlaws’ house are greater than any under my roof, but that Kira didn’t break training or get too chuffed. Mind you, it was past dinner. Much is forgiven with the administration of food.

I’m going to hunt up Ted Leo… he’s apparently a really cool musician who gigs in Vancouver occasionally.

a grazing mace

update
2005-06-27— Posted by: allegra

Slept til quarter after seven…. of COURSE! It’s a work mornin’. Dinner last night was quite successful and now we have pasta sauce leftovers, which was the idea. I made a sign that said Danger, Zach’s Room, which he liked, and everybody else ate and talked and looked reasonably comfortable. Dax didn’t come but I am no longer upset about that as he is really sick, we don’t know with what; hopefully he will be off to the doc shortly. Suzanne, his mum, is a pet, I really like her. More later, I have to unstick my eyes and clean up.

Burning Teen Action
2005-06-27— Posted by: allegra

So I called Katie about 10:30 am, asking her whereabouts, and she said, Mom? in that tone of voice that means she has something important to communicate. What?

I got bear maced again.

How many times IS this now?

Four, she said. I’m going to be a hermit.

Apparently some kid named Shawn took the safety off his bear mace to impress somebody and he accidentally fired it and Katie got the backwash. As did Jessica D.

It’s ludicrous, isn’t it?

squirrelly girl

Squirrelly girl
2005-06-26— Posted by: allegra

I’ve been accused of being squirrelly on a number of occasions, and I thought I’d document it. The feet belong to Keith; the squirrel, a junior who died about two days after this photo was taken because I didn’t give him Complan or something similar, is Burt; and the fashion sense is entirely my own. However, the blue nylons are completely necessary for the story, as they gave the squirrel the purchase to reach such heights. Please congratulate me on not dropping the baby. This is another scan, so sorry ’bout the dirt and blur.

4:38
2005-06-26— Posted by: allegra

Kira started dancing up and down across my chest, and after I rolled over, my back, at 4:38 this morning. That’s okay, I had nothing better to do than play kitty gym furniture at that time anyway. Sleep is for wimps, right? My own damn fault for thinking that the cats had developed manners and would not start campaigning for food so early. So I groggily crawled out of bed and punted Zeek! out the back door – he had already popped his claws into my face (gently, but it’s a hell of a way to wake up) and commenced the takeoff cycle.

I don’t think there’s any way in hell I’m going to be able to get the pictures over to Toribird today; I have an awful lot of cooking, cleaning and life maintenance to do. For those of you just joining, Toribird, a wonderful person, singer, artist, cook, etc etc, possessor of the world’s most infectious giggle, is going to do my family portrait Edward Gorey style… but not before I give her the darned pix to work from! This was commissioned by my parents like MONTHS ago, so I publicly apologize for not getting off my duff sooner.

(2019 says mOm still looks at it from time to time)

Katie slept over at Jessica Ds. Or so I was led to believe; the little weiner turned her phone off, but seeing as how it had been ringing non stop with people she didn’t partickly want to speak with I’m not too choked. I am at last month’s telecom bill, though… what the hell was she doing making a long distance call or was that when she ‘loaned’ the phone to one of her morally ambiguous chums? The way of the parent is hard and thankless.

I think it absolutely hilarious and quite typical that after not speaking to each other for 4 years, or so, maybe three, the first thing that passed between Sandy and me is the gloomy agreement that the economy is about to tank because of the level of indebtedness of the US, and the amount of personal debt in Canada. She’s having a good year, as these things go, in the tourist business; but please don’t ask her what she thinks of the policies of the current Ontario Legislature, or the weather, which is broiling. She was very happy to report that the blackflies departed the earliest ever, June 9.

It’s hard to say which of my boys I miss most – Paul or Keith. So now I have to root through about six places on the hard drive, because of COURSE I haven’t put all the pictures in one place OR developed a standard nomenclature and find my favourite pic of Paul. This is a scan, so forgive the blurriness. I just think he looks so hot. Anybody know where he is? it’s the lower mainland (that’s BC). He’s standing on a railway trestle (yes, we shouldn’t have been up there and I bailed after I took the picture (or did Keith, I can’t remember) because bridges and heights etc. make me queasy). Hint. The bridge he is standing on goes over one arm of the Fraser. That should narrow it down!!! ha ha.

Alone again. Good Gosh.
2005-06-26— Posted by: allegra

Well, I’m off to a great start. I was going all confessional (bleaggh!) and I guess I’d better nip that in the bud so I just reefed on that backspace key.

The funniest part of my Mom being away (she’s currently taking a six deep bath in family in Saskatchewan, which is where both of my parents were born) is that it is very likely, and to my way of thinking, almost certain, that my father will not go near my blog until my mother gets back to read it to him.

I really like the new Gorillaz album. I keep wanting to slap Katie’s hand as she bounces over the tunes she doesn’t like; I like pretty much all of it. Their music is a colloidal suspension of homage, pastiche and collage. I’m a hopeless loser about musical tempo – no sophistication at all – so I can’t tell whether the beats are really as phat as all that. I just like it. I try to be honest in my genuine appreciation, artists like praise.

What I like about the human voice on the album is that it intertwines decent, intricate, fun loving rap with Damon Albarn whose voice (okay, whiny Brit moaning) is a colloidal suspension of Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Jason Pierce (Spiritualized). I just read that Ike Turner (Ha! typed Tuner) guested on one track. Can such things be? Ibrahim Ferrer did an amazing turn on the last one. I am prepared to believe Ike sang, but – well I’ll be darned, there he is on the tracklist. The inertnet is strange and dangerous.

Anyway, it’s time to do dishes and start putting myself away for the night.

Katie’s off to a party at Jessica D’s. She sounded happy to be going, apparently the guest list is tiny, like five people in total, all girls.

When I came back from dropping the screen and projector at Mike’s – and it was good to see him however briefly –

oh, and I forgot to mention there were THREE west facing accidents on the way home, I literally detoured away from one accident and drove into the debris of another. Took a frikkin hour to get home with the construction and everything, always too far north or south and then smack, dead end

Where was I. Oh yeah, there are no fewer than three neighbourhood kids of various sexes, ages, and ethnic origins, mauling the living snot out of Pokey, who merely accepted it as his due. Katie chuckled, but I was laughing my ass off as I pulled up. “Hey, wanna get out of my driveway?” I asked them, choking.

Pokey of course chose this moment to leap up and pretend to run directly under my wheels as I’m pulling into the driveway, triggering thoughts of Oh My God, I mushed John’s cat. But no such luck (John’s thought balloon “Just a minute!) and I’ve now been through this drill a couple of times. All you have to do is keep your speed constant, and Pokey will have no trouble staying out of your way.

So the reason I’m laughing is because the REASON we tossed Pokey outside into an uncaring universe (you should SEE him suck up to passersby, it’s shameless) is because he clawed Paul, Keith, a niece, Brooke, John once or repeatedly; his banishment was behaviour mod. I’m thinking – that cat’s DYnamite, kids; you may get much more than you bargained for. But now that he gets to go outside, he doesn’t have the energy to be contrary. This morning he found the greenest part of the lawn (sets off his fur, of course) to wash himself on. Then he sprawled out, looking like an expensive plush toy. This is while I’m taking two wheelbarrow loads of moss off the lawn. I was dumb, I didn’t wear gloves or I could have worked longer.

Katie and I did a shop. I loathe Superstore. I want to stop shopping there.

Nita called and I made sure John called her as soon as he had his helmet off. The move is on for this week. Happy family news, she’s been accepted at UBC.

Three kinds pasta with three kinds sauce tomorrow night. I’m thinking meat sauce with a little heat, crunchy veggie sauce and my homestyle Alfredo, and we’ve already got the pasta, some of which looks quite odd. Yum, delights await tomorrow.

message on the wind

The Drugs I Need
2005-06-25— Posted by: allegra

This is a parody…. Austin Lounge Lizards provided the music and the chorus is frikkin hilarious.

http://www.jibjab.com/167.html

Message on the wind
2005-06-25— Posted by: allegra

I have felt compelled to call Sandy in Ontario for a week now, and when I finally overcame my qualms (I thought perhaps one of her relatives had passed on) and called her, it turned out Bitsy, a very good dog, departed this life last Friday of a heart condition. We quarrelled some years back and I hadn’t spoken to Sandy since. When I called (like what the hell was I thinking, 9 am on a Saturday when the Lodge is open???) it was the usual, work to the ceiling and guests driving up and breakfast cooking. I was amused and pleased to learn that Paul had called her on his way to Grundy Lake; of course no one else in the convoy wanted to stop but I’m sure Keith wouldn’t have minded reacquainting himself with one of our favourite family spots.

Anyway, if you are looking for a really wonderful vacation spot which is just comfortable enough not to be roughing it and just wild enough to be interesting, you can do MUCH worse than Red Deer Lodge & Campground Madawaska ON.

(Notes from 2019….. heavy sigh)

my new lawnmower
2005-06-25— Posted by: allegra

This $3K (US) Solar Mower will really show the neighbours who’s upscale.

for sale by owner’s government

Somebody’s response to the eminent domain ruling
2005-06-24— Posted by: allegra

found a great site
2005-06-24— Posted by: allegra

that helps you make custom safety signs.

Alone…..if you don’t count John
2005-06-24— Posted by: allegra

Paul phoned me as I was wending my way home from the restaurant last night (and I’m glad I pulled over) to tell me that the song I recorded (actually that was with Gomi, not with PD) which is WB Yeats set to music (The Second Coming) had ‘the best harmonies I’ve ever heard’. Which was really nice to hear even if I could not hit a note during the first two bars for the life of me. It’s a damned hard song to sing and I wrote it. I was feeling musical after that so I found the mandolin – it was hiding in the dungeon – and banged out a couple of tunes, and then, because the mando does that to me, started writing another tune. Just music so far, but it has something to do with summer and I keep hearing the Edge doing backup guitar. Yeah, like that would ever happen. But it helps the process so I’m not complaining.

After joining me for part of the evening Katie vanished again, so I decided to cut the lawn. (I had been planning watching a movie with her, Finding Nemo, which I have never seen but…)

So There I Am, feeling virtuous and hardworking and property owner like. But that was then; and now I am ready to beg Keith’s forgiveness for making him touch this clapped out hulk of a lawn mower (Keith as noted in previous blogs hauls 99% of the lawn duty). Jeez, Louise, as they say, where do I start.

Okay, the extension cord has been run over repeatedly and repaired repeatedly and you have to snake it around your hand while you’re mowing to keep the juice coming. I think, “Interesting!” and keep going. The power switch has an intermittent in it, but I figure out how to let it out slow and take it back in slow and I manage to keep it going, thinking, “Fascinating!” but I keep going. I notice that the handles have broken and been repaired in a way that is functional – to a point – but hardly decorative, making pushing the lawnmower a rather Zen experience as it is not laterally stable, which accounts for the interesting appearance of the mowed rows – the ones I finished. I think “That’s weird” and keep pushing. I notice that the wheels are wobbling; cursing, I stop tighten one of the nuts (not realizing until afterwards that I HADN’T CUT THE POWER! WHAT a moron), but don’t realize that I’ve tightened the wrong one, because as soon as I get to the plum tree, a wheel comes off. I turn it over (again? again??*) and realize that the blades look like the discard pile after a Viking melee, and I can’t find the nut (although the washer, being bright and shiny, is easy to find) and then I say **** this noise, I’m off to the hardware emporium tomorrow to buy another lawnmower and after consulting with John I push the lawnmower into the garbage area by the garage and leave it, with its little wheel on its head like a party hat. Why Keith has not boycotted lawn duty until given something approaching a real lawnmower I have no frikkin idea, but I just want to publicly state that I’m sorry. And of course in my enthusiasm for weed whipping the other day I destroyed the back garden hose, and we need more extension cord, so I’m going to be heating up the debit card Friday night, I can tell.

Rob of Nine wants his Munchkin game back so I am returning it, but Brooke handed back the next three SIP digests (that was fast), so he’ll get those today too. I can hardly wait for his opinion of High School, digest 6, which has some of my all time favourite comic art in it and is screechingly funny. “Sidekick!” she spluttered. Ah yes.

John came up to me after the lawnmower debacle and said, well, if you haven’t used up all your mowing mojo, come and mow me, so I ran a rizzer over his head and trimmed his ear hair (how unfair the goddess is in her liberality, sometimes!) and of course that always calms me down; it’s a primate thing.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-1664577,00.html

Hope you enjoy this mum, I thought it was interesting.

* You’re supposed to hear My Life in the Bush of Ghosts when you read this.

the headlines write themselves

enough sleep
2005-06-23— Posted by: allegra

Cousin Gerald sent me a bunch of pictures. Some cute, some bizarre, but I REALLY sat up and took notice when one combined two of my fave themes, aircraft and moose. Herewith…..

Sometimes the headlines write themselves
2005-06-23— Posted by: allegra

This morning, another miscellany. First up:

Theological and classical studies are suffering intellectually because the academic tools used to study them have not progressed or evolved the way other scholarly subjects have, says Professor Bradley Mclean of Biblical Studies at Knox College.

Culled from Eurekalert.org.

I read on Eurekalert this morning that there’s a virus that’s endemic in human populations that infects and destroys cancerous cells. I remember theorizing the existence of such an organism when I was in my teens.

Also read in Eurekalert.org what causes bedsores. This is actually important because infected bedsores are hell for the patient and not much fun for the caregivers. What happens is that the healing mechanism gets stuck. The cells at the bottom of the wound are supposed to unstick and migrate to the edge of the wound. In bedsores they stop – they literally stick together and quit migrating. That’s what forms that nasty cliff at the edge of the non healing area. Also, cells at the edge of the wound are supposed to lose their nuclei and form that tasty scab – uh, I mean, they are supposed to transform into a mat of cross linked proteins that forms a waterproof barrier while what is underneath continues to heal. That process stops at the same time. There is a substance your body normally makes indicating whether the healing process is happening properly or has stalled so now we know how to demonstrate that wound healing is screwed up when the wound is small and can hack it off earlier rather than later, or better yet come up with a non invasive treatment. May you never have bedsores! They really suck.

It’s 6 am and I’m just waiting for the bread to come out so I can go to work.

Katie’s asleep.

I have been wanting to write a guerrilla marketing piece about work for a long long time now and I got about a third of it done last night. “A girl’s guide to our products”. Sexist, but somehow thrilling and chewy, and I get some lovely shots in at the competition. This line deleted, as is the rant that flows naturally from any comment you ever make about marketing. I will insert one comment, which is Why Can’t We Use Geek Factory as our marketing Mavens, but I imagine, given that they actually work, that would be too much to pay for. This was OF COURSE last night when I was supposed to be doing something else for work, but my frontal lobes began to strangulate my optic nerves, so I had to stop and do something else. My muse wants a beer.

Humiliation

humiliation
2005-06-22— Posted by: allegra

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20050621.html

Read the complaint. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the guy or consider him to be the biggest, most self-absorbed wanker I’ve run across recently. Or is Jessica Cutler an even bigger wanker? You be da judge…

Do yourselves a favor, and don’t sleep with people who have anonymous blogs.

Then ask yourself how anybody would KNOW whether somebody else has an anonymous blog in which they described in gruesome detail your shrimp fetish. Mmmm, shrimp. So I just want you to all be happy that my name and my blog address are exactly the same, that I do not even hint at what’s going on in my sex life (although I must make it clear that I have no *legitimate*, *civil* or *performance* complaints, just the usual tiresome and not to be published kvetching which any middle aged woman can uncork without effort given half a bottle of wine and a sympathetic audience, and sometimes even without those) and that even if I had the world’s hottest sex with you, personally, last night, I’m not going to describe it because my mother would rather firewalk than read it to my dad (she reads the blog to him because sometimes he has to explain things to her, which is pretty funny when you think about it). Let me find something safe to talk about.

How about those gas prices??? I’m driving by signs and I can’t tell if it’s the gas price or a cross promotion for an FM station. You know, 102.9 FM. 103.5 FM. The sound of our culture screeching to a crawl.

post haste
2005-06-22— Posted by: allegra

The boys are headed to Ontario for a week to camp and frolic, etc. I have to get off the computer right away and drive them to the airport as check in time is about an hour from now. More later…..

enough sleep
2005-06-22— Posted by: allegra

Finally met the inlaws, this would be Katie’s boyfriend’s mum and the rest of the family in their lovely apartment in New West (with the damned BIG deck). Dinner was make it yourself subs and potato and pasta salad. That woman makes the best potato salad on earth.

Happy solstice everyone.

As is usual at the Solstice, I had a number of happy daysigns. The first was on the way into work when a six foot tall fibreglass lobster went by me, tied on to the back of a flatbed, I hasten to add. Afternoon and heading back up the car with Rob of Nine and Patricia – giving them a lift – Rob nearly killed a freshly hatched garter snake, on the stair by the waterfall, so wee that its head was, like, the size of three matchheads tied together. I went into raptures about its beauty and cuteness, and then put it on the ground next to the stairs where it would not get trodden on by the next person to come along. Dang, it was a cutie patootie.

Then we had a MOSt EXcellent discussion about Disgusting Smells. It was a classic… “I can top that story” series of anecdotes. Bloated wretched mice pried from under sink floorboards, nicely gassing seal carcasses trodden on land mine style by large dogs who after FOUR baths still reeked, and the four year old boy who decided that a bucket would do for an ensuite…. ah yes, much hilarity.

Picture is some guy who appears to have worn a gorilla suit while jumping on the standing stones at Stonehenge. Man, the civil authorities in England must be really mellow, or this guy must have been really persistent.

I’m in a much better mood today, just waiting for Paul to get home.

Work is so disgusting in between bouts of euphoric hope that I think I’m going to have a complete failure of health between now and August. I might show up to work naked or start drinking at noon and then somersault myself down the cafeteria stairs while howling verses from Revelations. Jeez. I guess that’s been done. I’ll know I’ll think of something original and apropos to indicate that my last gasket has lost its seat. I know this feeling won’t last, or will last until I slap my task list into something resembling order… right now it’s making like the opening scene of Van Helsing.

Keith is at an end of term movie. Katie of course is at the in laws. And Paul will be home soon.

Chor Leoni

Chor Leoni
2005-06-21— Posted by: allegra

Ma. Ma… I had about 20 “I wish my parents were here” moments last night. 45 beautiful voices singing about opera (pianissimo…FORTISSIMO… pi zzi ca to cresCENDO!) and then That’s Amore, and the Funiculi Funicula song, and it opened and closed with Comedy Tonight, and the triumphal march from Aida was in there, and they sang Send in the Clowns, and the back up band included a freaking amazing guy on violin, a really good bassist, oh, hell, they were all good… but there was a mandolin! and the costumes were absolutely hilarious (all these guys wearing Roman style costumes, but one of the togas was… a sleeping bag). 30 guys wandering on stage with violin cases and black suits and snap brim fedorae. Sigh. And a really silly audience participation song (which they only do once a year) Honestly, you would have loved it. Promise me you and pOp will go to see them in Victoria this summer, you WILL not regret it. I have seen them six times now, and they are always amazing. And the guest singers were amazing; may I draw your particular attention to Mariatheresa Magisano, whose unabashedly operatic name belongs to a Juilliard trained soprano who hails from Montreal. She combines angelic features, the luscious mezzo frame, a soaring, effortless and joyous voice and gutbusting physical comedy skills. As always the ‘showmanship’ was great and the audience was practically giddy as we strolled out to our cars under a full moon which danced amid beautiful noctilucent clouds….

The last time they lost a city 2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Homer is a Commie???? 2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Hey pOp 2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Not funny 2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Ground Zero EMS Katrina 2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

What Moore’s Falls look like in August 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Shadow 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Bashful 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Flood in Vancouver 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Still can’t sleep. 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Can’t breathe 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

NOOOOO! 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Justice, sort of 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

X-Cool! 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Wikipedia on Katrina 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Mounties? Wrong 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Aurora 2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Bridge across the Tarn 2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

After the Correction 2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Keith and work 2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Burns Bog is on Fire 2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

take a hint 2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Horror show 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

You’ve probably seen this 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

More meese 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

From Juancole.com today 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Jerome and Shannon’s back yard 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picnic Pix 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Pleasantville 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picnic 2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Nasty nasty activist judge 2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Shaky fisty 2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Another funny 2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Tee Hee 2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Day signs 2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Bengal kittens 2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

Quoted without comment 2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

I don’t hate all Republicans 2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

A day in the life 2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

David Rovics sings about NOLA 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

? No confirmation 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

very little to report 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Albino squirrels? 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Our boys in Chalmette Louisiana 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

It just keeps getting worse 2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Short Trip 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Reunited 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Keith at Finn Slough or is it Finns Slough 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Mermaid III 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Finns Slough etc. 2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

roaring 2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Glenda visit 2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Fluorescent shark 2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Operation Rescue Spud and Tasha 2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

The Palimpsest 2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Heat wave autopsy 2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Connecting the dots 2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Family news roundup 2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

Something cute 2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

More from NO 2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

from Nola-intel.org 2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

I feel better 2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

Aesthetics 2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep 2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

Holy crap 2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

live from New Orleans 2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

After the end of the emergency 2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

Storm in Ontario 2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

Parrotlets on Parade 2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Scientific American Quote Sept 2005 2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Feeling nostalgic? 2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

It’s just a sign 2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Bunnatine Greenhouse update 2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Interesting 2005-08-29— Posted by: allegra

The last time they lost a city
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Homer is a Commie????
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Hey pOp
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Not funny
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

Ground Zero EMS Katrina
2005-09-15— Posted by: allegra

What Moore’s Falls look like in August
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Shadow
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Bashful
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Flood in Vancouver
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Still can’t sleep.
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

Can’t breathe
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-14— Posted by: allegra

NOOOOO!
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Justice, sort of
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

X-Cool!
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Wikipedia on Katrina
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Mounties? Wrong
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Aurora
2005-09-13— Posted by: allegra

Bridge across the Tarn
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

After the Correction
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Keith and work
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Burns Bog is on Fire
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

take a hint
2005-09-12— Posted by: allegra

Horror show
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

You’ve probably seen this
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

More meese
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

From Juancole.com today
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Jerome and Shannon’s back yard
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picnic Pix
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Pleasantville
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

Picnic
2005-09-11— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Nasty nasty activist judge
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Shaky fisty
2005-09-10— Posted by: allegra

Another funny
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Tee Hee
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Day signs
2005-09-09— Posted by: allegra

Bengal kittens
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

Quoted without comment
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

I don’t hate all Republicans
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

A day in the life
2005-09-08— Posted by: allegra

David Rovics sings about NOLA
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

? No confirmation
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

very little to report
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Albino squirrels?
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Our boys in Chalmette Louisiana
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

It just keeps getting worse
2005-09-07— Posted by: allegra

Short Trip
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Reunited
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Keith at Finn Slough or is it Finns Slough
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Mermaid III
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

Finns Slough etc.
2005-09-06— Posted by: allegra

roaring
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Glenda visit
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Fluorescent shark
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

Operation Rescue Spud and Tasha
2005-09-05— Posted by: allegra

The Palimpsest
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Heat wave autopsy
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Connecting the dots
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

Family news roundup
2005-09-04— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

Something cute
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

More from NO
2005-09-03— Posted by: allegra

from Nola-intel.org
2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

I feel better
2005-09-02— Posted by: allegra

Aesthetics
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

enough sleep
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

Holy crap
2005-09-01— Posted by: allegra

live from New Orleans
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

After the end of the emergency
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

Storm in Ontario
2005-08-31— Posted by: allegra

Parrotlets on Parade
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Scientific American Quote Sept 2005
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Feeling nostalgic?
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

It’s just a sign
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Bunnatine Greenhouse update
2005-08-30— Posted by: allegra

Interesting
2005-08-29— Posted by: allegra