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Dec. 29, 2003

Quick pix from Florida, Orlando, Disney! Just going to stick them in here for now. Too tired after second day at Disney! Adam has sent some fine Christmas pictures - thanks! We'll get them posted soon. Adam's pictures from Christmas are now online.

Riding the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, our first stop at Disney. One parks the car, and rides a multi car 'tram' to the ferry. Or one may take the monorail, which we did, on the return leg, later that night.

With Tinkerbelle's castle in the background.

What a cool thing: a room within a room. Evelyn had her own suite.

Dec. 25, 2003

Merry Christmas to all. Happy New Year!

Dec. 23, 2003

How not to hang the lights!

We were looking at yesterdays pictures, and think this shot on Mount Erie deserves a viewing.

Fae and Cassady on their way to LA. Ev home tomorrow! Ann's last day at work. Warm and cloudy. I guess it's time to put the scooter in the back yard. When we get back, it will be time for the SHED ADDITION!

This means that the BLOG will be on hold, perhaps for several days.

In the meanwhile, as suggested before: SEND along those interesting websites! Pictures! Etc!

Boy, was this a struggle. Yet, here is the license, on the last day possible before heading to the airport, where security was sure to question a temporary document.
I am looking forward to revealing the whole story, upon our return.

It was hard to bring the scooter off the street. But we did.

Dec. 22, 2003

Wishing all the very best of the holidays!

Rode today! All Aboard 

Hard to believe that in a couple days we'll be in Florida! Yahoo!

Waiting for pictures from YOU!
That includes interesting sites that you might have visited. COME ON! Help out, HERE!

In the meanwhile, you will find some GREAT GAMES! on this website.

Dec. 21, 2003

I found out today that a picture I posted to the Railroaddave Photo Page was, in fact, a colossal HOAX I fell for. Live and learn.

This great MYTH and RUMOR BUSTER site was the one that set me straight.

As much as I dislike even mentioning anything MICROSOFT, the question ARE YOU A GEEK? caught my attention. Turns out that I am. Are you?

Did you miss the EXPLODING WHALE? Or perhaps thought that it was a hoax, too? It isn't.

Dec. 20, 2003

This is it, folks, the home stretch! Christmas, the end of the month, the end of the year. Get it done NOW or leave it 'til next year.

HELP SANTA! by flying the sled and 'delivering' the presents. Cool game.

Are you still looking for That PERFECT gift? Look no more. This fellow has what you need.

Tired of hard tests? Finally, a quiz YOU CAN PASS, or, maybe not. Looks easy at first glance. . .

Here is another that some one will have to explain to me. What is the point of this? A completely DULL WEBSITE? Maybe the answer is in the replies to the dull entries?

Dec. 19, 2003

A solution is at hand for those health problems that just won't respond to the usual aspirin and pepto. Healed by Aliens, is a web site that offers help. Keep an open mind. . .

Tired of being put on hold? Telephone Hotline offers some unusual solutions.

How come none of this STRANGE STUFF ever happens to me?

Enjoying the company of the entire family on a Friday. Doing it the hard way, Evelyn under the weather. The good news is that it gives Mom an excuse to stay home, too!

Dec. 18, 2003

Please visit the Current Items on EBAY page.

I'm hoping that some one may be able to explain this -

An chronochromegraph from ship sensors of Dr. Snoot in the Ethereal pod. The pod creates a time point gate allowing for multipoint communication scenarios. Here Snoot attempts to establish low resolution contact with a partially undefined entity. The power of the Ethereal Rejuvenation pod is offset by the fact that prolonged use permanently alters the workers temporal placement. Snoot suffers from this condition, one symptom of which is that his exact age can no longer be established.

- Strange Site to me?

Speaking of things that are decidedly different, and all IN THE NAME of ART . . . this page would certainly have to be included. I especially liked the artist's no doubt unintended pun in the following description of her work:

I made these prints of my vulva using my own menstrual blood. I use a Japanese paper. These prints are from 2003. I have been making these prints periodically since 1981.

JEROEN continues to offer up interesting links. Thanks to him for pointing us towards the Theory of Everything site.

Dec. 17, 2003

Some pictures from this lovely day are HERE and it was beautiful sunny, warm. Rain was predicted all week. Oh well, probably tomorrow?

A lot of gardening stuff is explained OUTDOOR HELP here.

This fellow's Hiking/Back Packing Stuff web site is very thorough. He is also making a documentary about his Mother that includes an interview with Dad and Frances. More to follow. . .

THIS SITE is pretty much what it claims - weird. But a lot of it is not as bad as you might first think. Then again, on second thought, maybe it is.

Dec. 16, 2003

A banner day. A six month Driver's license struggle comes to a positive conclusion. AND we get tickets for the midnight showing of Lord of the Rings.
Windy and warm in WA. I may still get on the scooter.

Dec. 15, 2003

We went to see Eric and Debra's new home yesterday. It is really quite nice! Tucked away on a hill amongst the pines. We dined on pizza in Bellingham on our way home. Ann and I both agreed that we never got to live anywhere that nice, when we were that age. We took a camera, but forgot to push the button.

I made it to the water for a walk.

Over Due Links:
JKZ has been pursuing unusual photographic methods, and some of the results are finally
HERE

Also, this was the summer that KWS got his sailboat in the big lake. And that project can be seen
HERE

If you've ever wondered if there was anything you could do once you are stuck in a Traffic Jam , take heart. There is. This guy has a HUGE web site jammed with interesting stuff of all sorts.

The return of URI. . . YES, even YOU can BEND a FORK, by following these step by step instructions.

Dec. 14, 2003

This is winter in Anacortes. 40's, all week. Near fifty, a couple afternoons. Mostly cloudy all week. Some light rain. Occasional sunshine a couple times. I saw other guys out riding, but I never made it. I'll have to stick the scooter in the backyard pretty soon. At least until we get back.

Now, this gets a little confusing, but it was fun. Ran across THIS PAGE of unusual links. Then lost it, and couldn't give credit. Doing so now. The VTOL craft (Your next car? Dec 12 entry) came from one of his links. Another led me to The subgenious LINK , a very odd site in itself, which led me to foolspress.com a sometime contributor to the Church of the Subgenious. With me so far?

A small mention on the Foolspress site led to The weird EYE PAGE which is truly jarring. It was created by This fellow ARSEIAM  who also gets a nod.
It just gives an idea how one thing leads to another, and sometimes the other is interesting. Sadly, often it is not.

Dec. 13, 2003

Want to see someone's MUG SHOT? you'll find it on this site.

In a lifetime, the average house cat spends approximately 10,950 hours purring. (Source: Verified)

I found several other and even more Amusing Facts on this site.

Here is the family, only missing a couple folks:

Dec. 12, 2003

Evelyn's school recital was last night.

Some leisurely surfing turns up three links. This may well be YOUR NEXT CAR .

Ever wonder HOW LONG you have to live? Find out.

What internet experience these days doesn't include some basic nudity? This site has GRAPHIC stuff! A nod to the SILLY ZONE .

Dec. 11, 2003

From Nancy comes some intriguing entertainment! FLY the Helicopter is so much fun that I've wasted an hour!

Still grey in Anacortes. But warm. I'm THIS close to riding!

Dec. 10, 2003

It is always a pleasure to hear from ones children, n'cest pa? Brett sends along some recent pictures of our newest grandchild, Hogan.

Some additional pictures of Hogan are on the December 2003 Pictures page.

Jack Conductor's forum  sends along an interesting link bearing an unusual amount of Christmas cheer. THIS LINK is aptly titled!

Other than that, a grey day in the Strait. (of Juan De Fuca.) 40's, no sun.

Dec. 09, 2003

This is different: What are the Ig Nobel Prizes? you ask?

What are the Ig Nobel Prizes?
Every Ig Nobel Prize winner has done something that first makes people LAUGH, then makes them THINK.
WHY: The Igs are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology. Here are some discussions of and what the Ig is and is not, and perhaps what it could mean.

JEROEN was kind enough to Mention this BLOG again. THANKS! He also tosses in a link to RailroadDave - a very nice thing to do.

I found THIS LINK on his BLOG. Another of those 'animated' critter 'thingy's', as Evelyn would say.

Dec. 08, 2003

This is funny! Animated Cat 

Jarvis sent me an interesting link. Are you racially biased? This is a misunderstood concept. We like to consider ourselves as being unbiased. Yet, bias is something that is ingrained and difficult to eradicate. It affects our opinions and decision making. So, HOW Biased? are you? Take this short test and find out!

Dec. 07, 2003

If you ever wanted to know any interesting things About your Age then this is the place to go.

What a great lazy Sunday. Read, napped, sat by the fire. Enjoyed the company of the woman I love so much. Plenty of reason to give thanks, which I did.

Dec. 06, 2003

Just a reminder; each month there are pictures going on a page for that month, that are not on this blog. If you are looking at the dec03 blog, you are NOT seeing the December picture page dec 2003 pictures. I'm trying to use the blog for other than a picture page. Maybe one or two, 'teasers', but then an actual photo page for the given month that is separate. Oh, why must we make things so complicated?

Not much computer time this day. But had a fine time playing.

This is Jack, playing the banjo with Dick on the harmonica.
Photo by: Ann

Dec. 05, 2003

Edit: The SHORT video  (test video from yesterday) is about a thirty second broadband download. Almost six minutes over a 56K modem. Sorry. I'm looking for video compression software? HELP!

This Link opens a video of an enthusiastic, though somewhat unskilled, Jaguar driver. Thanks, Jarvis.

Jerry knows that I'd love to be driving another Jaguar. I was fortunate to own a 1960 XK 150 S. Great machine. I'm looking for a picture. . .

I sold that one in 1972. Oddly enough, I ran across that same car a decade later, and in another state altogether. I recognized it by the stitching I'd done on the leather seats, the top I'd had custom built, and the grain on the wood dash. Not to mention, it still had the same 'Gangster wide whitewalls'. Some automobiles are so individual and specific that there is never any mistaking them. That Jaguar was one of only two honest to God FAST cars that I ever owned. I don't mean 'quick'. The Jag, and an Austin Healy 3000  Mk3 that I should NEVER have sold, both had top speeds of at least 140 MPH. The Jaguar speedo topped out at 160 (and I don't mean kilometers). That's well fast enough to be considered, 'flying'. The tyres are off the road more than they are making actual contact. Can you say, drift?

KILL BILL(G) is another find from B3TA. 

Dec. 04, 2003

Airframe humor is yet another interesting page that Jeroen  was kind enough to point me towards.

Ken inspired me to show the cats in their WireHouse this morning.

Which in turn inspired this rather long downloading (for non broadband) TEST video video test page. This may yet turn into an OK song?!

Dec. 03, 2003

I love to throw open the blinds in the morning and see a sea of masts in the harbor. Reminds me where I am, and why. Mt. Baker in the morning sunshine, covered with snow down to the thousand foot level is another grand eye opener. Plenty of frost on the windows this morning. Got chilly last night, only about 32 degrees when we got up. But, already over forty by 10 AM. Five more degrees and I can ride in a Levi jacket.

Finally got a decent CD copy/burner program going on Dick's new machine. It came with some third level program I'd never heard of, that didn't integrate well with XP, and wouldn't allow CD read/write add and delete. In other words, wouldn't treat the read write CD as a large floppy disk. NERO SOFTWARE  did the trick.

Dec. 02, 2003

I finally had a chance to get into the online 'chat' at WWR Whole Wheat Radio  and had a great (tho too brief) time.

Got out on the motorcycle, too! Fifties and mild, some actual sunshine! Thanks, Honey, I knew you could do it. . .

HERE  is an opus to help understand and defeat SPAM. It's quite a read, and contrary to some things we've read (that suggest replying to spam merely indicates to the spammer that yours is a valid email address) it has a PLAN to relegate SPAM to the trash. Thanks to: David.

If someone sends you junk mail through your e-mail account, they're wasting your time and money. If you consider it abusive when a Jehovah's Witness wakes you up at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning to sell you a magazine, a telephone solicitor interrupts your dinner to interest you in investment opportunities in Guatemala or your daily snail-mail is buried in flyers for supermarkets you'll never shop at and health clubs you'll never sweat in, you have just as much right to feel abused when you receive e-mail you didn't request, never gave anyone permission to send you and don't want.

Want to build your own computer? THIS SITE  will provide valuable insights and advice. Thanks to: Jerry.

The B3TA Site  is an intriguing amalgam of information and more. See for yourself.

Need a Bumpersticker? 

Dec. 01, 2003

Welcome to the December blog page. Note the above links if you want to see November's blog.
Mailed an armful of boxes at the Post Office. LONG lines!
I'm thanking Ken AGAIN for his help in getting my computer's registry cleaned out. I don't know when he got so smart, but he sure is!

He also suggested PopUp Cop . A very useful tool when web surfing. You don't need it so much when visiting your 'regular' sites, but once you head out into WEBLAND - turn it on. Free thirty day trial.

The Northwest Ballet did a great job on (Picture is here)  -
The Nutcracker , which we attended over the weekend.

A belated special thanks to Jarvis for his help in building this computer, which is still on top of the stack. Now nearly three years old, it still outperforms most new machines. I look forward to building another this spring, with Jerry's help, of course.

Here is the Ultimate Gift 
Thanks,  Eyeno 

Here is a cool video of the Mars Launch.  Thanks Stephen 

Finally, an interesting link  (IMHO) that I discovered on my own:

Time For Your Meds

GOT A LIGHT?:

There are two things which seem to be inherent in schizophrenic patients: smoking and paranoia. It is extremely rare that we have a schizophrenic patient on the unit that doesn't smoke, and even rarer that we have one that takes...

If you've ever been in or dealt with a rehab situation, this is right on. Thanks -   Tracy.