You know, if everyone else is going to do my job for me, I'm going home...

Good heavens I love "Star Trek." Every time I see it I am stunned at how well they cast everyone - Bones, Scotty, Spock, amazing. I can't wait for the next one.

I never do weekend updates, but I should.

Friday - staff/faculty picnic at work as the kiddies are all graduated and gone. Left at 3:00, excited for an early day... and promptly fell asleep when I got home. Ah, well - my exciting life strikes again. (I spent 3 nights last week in DC seeing friends and whatnot, so I guess it took its toll.)

Saturday - up and out to dinner with AFW. Such a nice bunch, I wish they had more activities planned than just the monthly pot luck (although people are starting to think the same and are talking about a monthly restaurant dinner as well - just like my old LYC days!). Had a tentative date planned but he flaked, which is becoming more and more problematic around here (and I thought it was more of a left coast thing).

Sunday - another date flake, but didn't waste the day - discovered a new diner, visited Fairfax (which is kind of adorable), and chatted with some folks, both new and old.

I'm working 9-hour days to get every other Friday off for the summer, and although I had contemplated going to War Practice but couldn't really afford it, I'm already looking forward to Memorial Day, CON.TXT, Pennsic, and throwing my own summer shindig around July 4 sometime.

I think that's it. Boring, I know, but there it is. :)

"Being Mean to Fat People Is Pointless: A Good Old-Fashioned Plea for Civility"

"Shame is stagnation... Bullying is not activism. Hurting is not helping. Cut it out."

Indeed. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've learned more about self acceptance, self pride and breaking through societal shame more from my fat friends than I ever learned in all my years in the gay community. (Although props to my trans friends - they're pretty fucking awesome, too.)

Obama comes out in support of same sex marriage.

Didn't expect it until after the election, but I'm so proud of him right now. :)

Just checking that I'm not crazy:

You unintentionally offend someone. They tell you so. The appropriate response is:

A. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
B. "Go fuck yourself."

(If there are other options I'm not thinking of, please enlighten me.)

Aw! :)

First military base camp gay marriage proposal happened at Pendleton

So last night on the drive home from work I got a ticket for specifically NOT doing what the jerks in front of me did.

Traffic backup, and eventually I have to turn right. Jerkwads are passing me on the shoulder, but I know that's not the right thing to do, so I want until we crest a little hill and I see the turn lane. I wait for two more jerks to pass on the shoulder, then I pull into the turn lane... only to have a cop step out from a side street and make all three of us pull over. I'm thinking maybe there's an accident and we're not allowed to turn right way up at the light (the turn for which everyone was driving on the shoulder to bypass the backup in the first place), but no - I pull up to another cop who tells me I'm getting a ticket for driving on the shoulder. I was SO pissed, and told him I specifically DIDN'T do that and WAITED until I was at the turn lane, but he said, "Well, that other officer told you to pull over, so you're getting at ticket."

$110? Damn right I'm taking this to court! I usually support cops but this particular one really was blind and ignorant. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Earth: Final Conflict. Never should have gotten rid of Boone, never should have made the 5th season. UGH.

Um, hello? PENNSIC, of course. :) I go for the people and the chance to relax and, quite literally, get away from it all (although that's harder and harder to do every year with the advent of such portable modern conveniences like smart phones and such). It's my annual battery recharge. :)

Oh, and I don't think I'd live there permanently, but I would love to someday have a permanent structure there rather than having to set up a tent every time. If I had that and other people were interested, I'd vacation there more often than once a year.

Lovely weekend in Philly for Mom's birthday. Drove up Thursday night, and found she'd already done a lot of work around the house and in the yard. Spent Friday and Saturday doing mostly yardwork and little repairs around the house, food shopping, and food prep.

Sunday was the party, and we had a good turnout of around 30 people including kids. I've come to the conclusion that Mom likes being the indirect center of attention - she loves being the one to throw the parties, but not the one for whom the parties are thrown. Still, we all had a good time catching up with family (despite the rain). I do wish my oldest sister wouldn't get so worked up about things, though - very distracting.

Monday she had a tooth pulled in the morning, so I went with in case she wanted me to drive her home (she did). I hung around for a bit, she foisted food on me, and I finally left in the afternoon.

So, yeah, nice enough weekend. Oh, and also stole back Mom's 80-hour TiVo since she got a new DVR from her cable company - score! :)

The rest of the week looks mildly entertaining - haircut, LGBT community pot luck on campus, gaming, and possibly more gaming. :)

Let the Pennsic drama commence!

OK, this made me laugh out loud:

An Irish woman of advanced age visited her physician to ask his advice on reviving her husband's libido.

"What about trying Viagra?", asked the doctor.

"Not a chance," she said... "He won't even take an aspirin."

"Not a problem," replied the doctor. "Give him an 'Irish Viagra.'"

"What's an 'Irish Viagra?", she asked.

"It's when you drop the Viagra tablet into his coffee. He won't even taste it. Give it a try and call me in a week to let me know how things went."

It was a week later when she called the doctor, who directly inquired as to her progress.

The poor dear exclaimed, "Oh, faith, bejaysus and begorrah! T'was horrid! Just terrible, doctor!"

"Really? What happened?", asked the doctor.

"Well, I did as you advised and slipped it in his coffee and the effect was almost immediate. He jumped straight up, with a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eye and with his pants a-bulging fiercely! With one swoop of his arms, he sent me cups and saucers flying, ripped me clothes to tatters and took me then and there passionately on the tabletop! T'was a nightmare, I tell you, an absolute nightmare!"

"Why so terrible?", asked the doctor. "Do you mean the sex your husband provided wasn't good?"

"Freakin' jaysus, it was the best sex I've had in 25 years! But sure as I'm sittin' here, I'll never be able to show me face in Starbucks again!"

I love how these targetted ads on Facebook and Google show me gay online dating sites, but they are always accompanied by photos of white boys. Apparently they're not targetting my particular demographic very well... ;)

http://boingboing.net/2012/04/09/9-year-olds-diy-cardboard-ar.html

The world needs more Caine's Arcades, and a lot more of the people who came out to play his games. This really, really made me happy. :)

The Bad News: I made a serious accounting error.

The Good News: It corrects substantially in my favor.

(The Meh News: It's work money, not mine. Alas.)

Dinner tonight took way too fucking long to make for something I make often. I really need to keep my eyes open for someplace new. :(

Large central room for gaming, lots of stonework, plenty of guestrooms, in-law quarters, big wraparound screened porch, and it's in San Diego with an underground tunnel that connects directly to Pennsic. :)

(Is it weird that I had a vision in my head that if I were to win the Mega Millions lottery I'd walk right up to Dave Cooper with a check for $1M and say, "You get this as long as I get E-12 in perpetuity," and then spend another $1M on block improvements? No, I don't think that's weird at all! Hee hee!)

My take on the Texts From Hillary meme (which is HILARIOUS):

Interesting:

http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/03/same-sex-couples-file-suit-against-defense-of-marriage-act/

If this case were to make it to the Supreme Court, it would be a little different from what I predicted would happen, which would be a simple case revolving around full faith and credit. Still, this is a perfectly legitimate way of going about it (although I would fear, in this case, the justices would vote, as they have in the recent past, in a limited way that applies only to this case, or perhaps only for immigration status, and nothing else; still, the precedent would be undeniable).

Have you ever actually looked at the money in your pocket?

When I was a kid I got and filled up a couple of coin collecting books - one for pennies, one for dimes, and one for nickels. I think I actually completed the book except for a couple of the really hard-to-find dimes.

I seem to accumulate a lot of change over time (mostly because of my murse - it builds up), and every once in a while I pull out a handful and look at them.

The pennies particularly strike me. The newer ones have the shield back rather than the Lincoln Memorial. The ones before 1983(ish) were of the old metal blend before they changed over to the cheaper, shinier mix. (HINT: If you ever get a pressed penny at an attraction or amusement park, make sure to use one of those older, duller pennies - the impression is drastically better.) Every once in a while I hit one of those "ONE CENT" reverses (I keep those). And the dates! Just now I ran across a penny from 1941. That's almost as old as my mother, yet it's in good condition (for a circulated coin) - you can read the date and the details clearly. Where this coin must have gone over the years! I can only imagine.

I also check out the quarters. For a while I was collecting the state quarters, but have no idea where my collection is on that. I also keep a look out for the 1976 bicentennial quarters, which were a big deal at the time (this was all before they started mixing up coinage and bills in the 90's and 00's to keep things interesting). I keep those, too.

I also really love the dollar coins. I always try to remember to get a whole bunch before Pennsic because they're fun to toss into the buskers' bowls along the road to the food court - you're giving them something substantial, and it looks pretty sitting there in the sunlight. (Besides, no one had bills in the Medieval period.) I definitely like the presidential series, but I admire the Sacagawea coins, too. I wasn't as hip on the Susan B.'s, only because they were also silver. (Canadian twoonies are neat - a gold center in a silver ring! Those are pretty.) Before that, my friend Carson used to live in NYC and he'd go to the depository and get a sack full of the Eisenhower dollars - those were HUGE, and he loved using them at Pennsic.

Sometimes I'll run across a JFK half dollar, which I'll also keep. My mother has a few liberty head dimes and really old nickels, too.

Anyway, was just musing. Carry on. :)

Happy First Contact Day, and happy anniversary to the Medians - 27 years of Fine Oriental Cookware and Quality Ball Bearings! "We're Fucking YOU Now!" :D

So torn, but I think I'm going with Janeway. I loved watching her struggle mightily with the decision to keep heading home instead of giving up and settling down in the Delta Quadrant, even when her crew seemed ready to mutiny over it. She sought input from all her staff, but the decision was always hers, and she took full responsibility for it, even when it didn't go all that well.

Now these are things all the captains did, I suppose, but with Janeway, she wasn't afraid to let her guard down. She had real feelings, and actually expressed them from time to time. She also didn't have any problems showing the people around her how much she cared for them, even when she had to switch gears and be a hardass to them. Out of all the series, theirs truly was the most of a family, since they were all stuck together on the same ship for years on end with zero other people of their own race to interact with. She was tough *and* tender, compassionate *and* stern, and held that balance with a lot of heart and strength.

In some ways, I liked Sisko for the same reasons - he was a hell of a leader and demanded the best from his people and got it because of the respect he earned. Sometimes, though, when he finally got around to expressing himself, it came off as "the dam has finally burst" dramatic.

Picard and Kirk? Apples and oranges, and both were tremendous in their own ways.

And Archer? I actually liked Archer, but I didn't have enough appreciation for the series to really appreciate him as a captain.

Oh, dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I seem to be in a bit of a spot... :(

So after falling asleep on the couch last night I am well rested for my weekend - gaming tonight, pot luck Saturday, and trying to get out from under in the area of "still living out of boxes" at home.

Oh, and since I know you're all vastly interested in my opinion...

All kinds of things involved in the Martin case, but here's how I think things went down:

Zimmerman, a guy with previous anger management issues, likes throwing his weight around, and thinks he's A Big Deal doing community watch. He's not a racist, but being raised in a racist society, he profiles a black kid in his neighborhood. Not being too bright, being a little overzealous, and ignoring the dispatcher's warnings, he decides to take matters into his own hands and play a tough guy and go after Martin anyway, even though Martin has started walking/running away from him.

Pursued, and possibly confronted, Martin is probably scared and defensive - after all, he's just walking home and this weirdo starts following him. He reacts with his own words, and possibly hands (although the latest info seems to contradict this part of Zimmerman's story).

An altercation happens, and things get out of hand - Zimmerman shoots, probably not out of malice, but also probably not by accident (I'd lay odds he thought just brandishing the gun would stop the fight). Knowing what to say (having already been through this before), the cops show up and the first thing Zimmerman says is "self defense." The cops do their cursory duty without looking too deeply into things and let him go.

Issues involved are complex and could be looked at separately, despite their interrelational natures in this particular case - societal racism, profiling, Zimmerman's history of aggressive problems, Florida's fucked up gun laws, this particular town's fucked up police department, and what we, as a society, are going to do about all of them.

The whole thing is just fucking sad, no matter which way you slice it.

How on earth did I just manage to empty out most of my clogged inbox? Well at least when I get distracted from doing something I don't want to do it ends up being constructive...

Every time I see a commercial for the upcoming "Three Stooges" movie I'm amazed that Larry Fine is being played by Sean Hayes - he really looks like he's nailed the imitation. I kind of want to see it now...

Edited to add: Yeah, just watched the longer trailer, and I was laughing throughout. Gotta see this flick. :)

1. Go here: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/scale_of_the_universe_2012

2. Be amazed at the scale of things across the universe.

3. Scroll left a little until you get down to the water molecule.

4. This is what you'll see:

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5. Click on it for a description.

6. Be amused. :)

7. Go drink some water!

I'd be satisfied with Delaware, Illinois, Nevada, California, Maine or Wyoming. Rhode Island would make a cool name, too. I don't think any of them really suit me, though.

Miss Manners, of course!

The more I hear about the SCOTUS healthcare case, the more I think it should be struck down... AND REPLACED WITH NATIONALIZED HEALTHCARE. Seriously. FFS.

Hello, sick day. :( I really need to take better care of myself...

Multiple social networks are hard, so I'm trying Hootsuite. It covers Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, and even MySpace of all things. No LJ (heaven forbid), but it does cover Wordpress. Also doesn't cover Google+, but I hear it's under development. Regardless, this should help me post stuff a little easier.

Also, gamed all day yesterday. Much fun. :)

Curse you "Modern Marvels" for stealing my Sunday! *shakes tiny fist*

The NAMES Project Quilt was on campus this week. Always sobering. Some of these people were so fucking young...





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3+ hours for rides at Walt Disney World in the 70's and 80's. In my day we didn't have FastPass! :P

Had an interesting dream over the weekend.

 

Somehow or another I met Will Smith, and he quite smoothly put the moves on me. (No wifey and kids in this reality.) I found myself drawn to him, and we began a low profile but profoundly deep and meaningful love affair. We lived in a posh open-air penthouse suite of a swanky hotel in Los Angeles. He was an incredible lover.

 

At some point in the relationship (months? years?) he decided it was time to reveal his secret to me - he was part of a cabal of visionaries that was exploring the universe to discover the answers to all of life's great mysteries. He showed me a hidden laboratory in our apartment that was part planetarium, part astrometrics lab, and part physics lab. I was duly impressed with his wisdom and selflessness in trying to help all of humanity.

 

Interestingly, "I, Robot" was on TV tonight...

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

Star Trek's for sure, not only for the technology, but for the personal freedoms members of the Federation can enjoy. I mean, I'd like to be able to do what I love, all day, for free, and have my contributions considered valuable to society without having to worry about money, my health, etc.

I like both, but currently I have two cats.

You know you've been home too long when you seriously expect your mother to say, "In MY day a serviceman came to your home, fixed your phone, sexually pleasured you, *and* waxed your floors!"

Uh... SLEEPY! I have the #1 Sleepy collection in the U.S. (or at least I'd bet money I do). He's my absolute favorite Disney character! :D I even created an LJ community for him at sleepyfans I lurves my little guy so...

I love checking on an issue only to discover I'd already solved it weeks ago. I'm just that good.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE self-solving problems. :D

Edited to add: And I love them even more when it involves other people who annoy me having to do unexpected extra work!

I had a dream last night that I went to a casino with my mother and won $5,000. Looks like we've got plans for next weekend, Mom! :D

http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2012/02/29/fox-reporter-who-hinted-that-danica-patrick-was-a-bh-is-suspended-by-station/

Seriously, WTF is wrong with people? Danica Patrick makes a legitimate point about the way women are covered in sports, and this "starts with an 'A' and it ain't 'awesome'" sportscaster Ross Shimabuku calls her a bitch instead. Between him and Rush Windbag, it's no wonder our national dialogue has devolved into the mess that it is.