29Sep2006

Sunday Scribblings #27 - Skin

Skin. That is this week's topic for Sunday Scribbles.When I think of skin - I think of the exchangeable parts on my technology stuff. I think of cell phone skins, web skins (templates) and Media player skins.I also think of human skins and races, and animal skins; skin cancer (The Skin Cancer Foundation), skin diseases; dinosaur skin and feathers; scales, fur and hair; membranes.Skins...
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27Sep2006

A Hollywood Legend

Lu Mininni Totin: actress, director, author, theatrical instructor... and Hollywood Legend?!Thank you, Annie, for the link: Lu Mininni is famous!!!::: big grin ::: It's not real, you kn...
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26Sep2006

TAG! A Meme for Bibliophiles!

I was tagged by AnnieElf today. I thought: "Hmm, no big deal. This could be fun." Little did I know that Better Half and I would spend the next half hour trying not to piss ourselves from laughing too hard.The Rules of this tag game are:1. Grab the book nearest to you...no cheating!2. Open to page 123. 3. Scroll down to the fifth sentence.4. Post text of next 3 sentences on to...
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26Sep2006

Cleaning Mode

Better Half and I cleaned the dining room today. "Aut, it took you all day to clean one room?"Oh, I'm sorry - I don't mean clean. I mean clean. Most people would consider a deep clean something as simple as wiping dust off stuff with a Swiffer and sucking the cobwebs off the cheap light fixture with the handy shark vac. Not in this house, Buster.To clean, to truly clean, one...
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25Sep2006

Knitting and Recipe Swaps... EVERYTHING SWAPS!

Let me be perfectly clear: I do not knit. I don't know how to knit. I can crochet - long ropes that do nothing (and I have not done that since I was 4 or 5.) I would love to learn to knit, but there are no knitting circles in my area.I have found a lot of knitting blogs while poking around online. Many knitters participate in some of the same of the weekly writer's forums as I...
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24Sep2006

Musings On A Blustery Day

I actually ventured out today, for more than just a quick meal. That is not to say that I am entirely back in the groove, but it is a vast improvement to just sitting about the house with heating pads on my back and pharmaceuticals on board (the legal kind, thank you very much.)The cotton ball forms of Cumulus clouds raced overhead as I wound my way down our small town's main street,...
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23Sep2006

YES!!

Sometimes you just have to climb up to the roof, jump about, and act like a fool. I, on the other hand, am satisfied with a simple outcry of "YES!!", having just loaded the new template to this blog. If it looks the same, you need to hold down your ALT key and click on your refresh button at the same time (this is called a "hard refresh".) Be patient as it will take a few seconds...
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22Sep2006

Template changes to come

Those were the very words that I said in February of this year, and I spent a month tinkering with HTML to accomplish what you see today. Now, I fear it has become stale (to me), and thus I think I shall be undertaking a new mission over the next week or so - providing I can find the spare time.While my house colors (or my furniture or curtains) can stay the same for decades, I find that my amusement with my artwork or web sites runs dry shortly after I have completed my efforts on it. Perhaps I just love new challenges. Perhaps I just think the work I do for myself sucks,...
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22Sep2006

Sunday Scribblings #26 - Instructions

Instructions. That is the topic of the week from Sunday Scribblings. Yet, they failed to give us any further instructions on it.It is tempting to write something satirical, perhaps rehashing the Hashi instructions, or else bemoaning the instructions that accompany ready-to-assemble toys and furniture (often written in English with severe grammatical errors.) I am also tempted to write a short piece concerning "Instructions for Mankind", replete with wise proverbs and suggestions that could be applied to everyday life.Instead, I think I will write about the instructions we are...
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19Sep2006

Poem, Interrupted

The view from my window,on a crisp Autumn daynormally is lushuntil leaves fade away.But today they are dancingthe herald of things to comeand I sit pensiveImagining each oneis a silent partnerin the grand ballquiver and spinning...Better Half has just thrown a damp rag on this. "It's not Autumn yet. It's Autumn on the 21st," he says.Well, damn. So much for that.Other than having the desire to capture a bit of beauty from my office window to share with you, I really have nothing else scheduled for the day. We were to drive up to Pittsburgh for Better Half's VA appointment today,...
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18Sep2006

Nothing New To Report

It's been one heck of a weekend. I didn't get much done (alright, I didn't get anything done), with the exception of finishing our CPS classes for foster applicants. That at least, is a good thing.For those who don't know about how hellish it can be, I welcome you to readDysmenorrhea, an entry concerning it that I did in June of this year.My God, I just can't write when I feel...
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14Sep2006

Sunday Scribble #25 - Research, Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques)

I rarely go back and add to work after it is published here, but perhaps an explanation is needed. So...My article below is an example of research and the presenting of facts... a very basic technical writing style. It is not presented in an essay format (and is not copy/paste from other web sights, with the exception of two referenced quotes.)Alright, I am starting to assume that...
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14Sep2006

Stupid Things and Stupid Moments

"OMG"This phrase is reserved for those special moments in life when I am stunned by the asinine actions of another, I hear some bit of horrible or shocking news, or after the committing of miserable act brought on by my own stupidity.I often mumble the words, "Oh my God" on those occasions. If it is an especially bad situation, I might pepper the minutes afterwards with expletives...
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13Sep2006

A Butterfly Emerges

I wanted to write an entry today, but my mind held too many topics for a single entry.I wanted to write about Endymion Spring, a debut novel by Matthew Skelton, which took my breath away - it is written for the book lover in each of us! (Hint: buy the book, and embark on a journey. You won't be disappointed.)I wanted to write about Blogger word verification - a true horror story...
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12Sep2006

A Touch of Autumn, and Musings on Weather

Fall is my favorite season, and I revel in the climate changes that transpire with each passing day. Our trees will soon burst into the bouquets of Autumn, and our eyes will drink in shades of maroon, umber and ochre-gold. (Not satisfied with waiting for these colors I spent the afternoon festooning my front porch with garland!) It is more than just harvest time. It is our land...
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10Sep2006

Weekly Blog Pick - Discernment

A new weekly participation blog! I just love these things, so when an online friend asked me to help them sort through HTML for their idea, I eagerly lent a hand. Discernment is a Christian-based devotional blog. Like many of the co-operative blogs out there, Discernment tosses us a theme each week and asks us to write about it in our own blogs. The difference between Discernment...
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9Sep2006

Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and Steve Irwin

By now, the shock of hearing of Steve Irwin's death has worn off for many people. They have gone back to their daily lives, perhaps catching reruns of Croc Diaries on cable or vowing to watch the tribute on Sunday.Part of me is thinking of a family of people, a group dedicated to their work in wildlife, in a zoo in Beerwah, Australia. The Irwin children are back home with Mum,...
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8Sep2006

Italian Comfort Food

This is been one of my "bad weeks", as my articles this week probably reflect. Those who know me completely understand this statement. Those who do not can read into it at The Bemused Muse: My Return. I woke up on Monday (waking up is a good thing!) and vowed to put off the day's activities until the morrow. I have made that vow every day this week. Finally, facing a busy weekend,...
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7Sep2006

Sunday Scribblings #24... adapted to "What you should never write..."

This week we have Sunday Scribblings: #24 - I would never write...I have faced many challenges in my life - when it comes to writing! I can say that I have "done it all", even if my part in it is minute. I have written training tomes, (bland) thesis papers (sometimes ones that were not even my own damned thesis or subject!), self help hints, articles, transcripts... fiction and...
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5Sep2006

Waltzing Matilda and Her Woes

This is Waltzing Matilda (on the right), an eleven-year-old Lab/Dobi mix. Mattie, as we lovingly call her, is both dog and anti-dog. While she transforms herself into a clingy ball of unbridled love each time she sees us come home, she is also the embodiment of the term "bitch", and will tear into any dog that bothers her, threatens her food or source of affection, or draws too...
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4Sep2006

Steve Irwin - His Legacy Will Live On

To Terri and the Kids, Wes Mannion and all those who loved him best, I offer my sincere condolences. The world has lost a boisterous champion for conservation. Steve Irwin embodied the phenomenal ability to connect with the animals he so loved, and catapulted a new way of thinking about reptiles such as crocodiles, Perentie, and bird-eating spiders. His legacy will continue through...
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3Sep2006

Bocce Husband, and loss of sleep

Sleep is a precious thing. We don't realize that unless it is a struggle to obtain it.I fear that I shall probably tick off Better Half today by posting this, but I am so damned tired.Better Half? No Sleep? Hmm!Please remove your mind from the gutters; the sleep deprivation is not due to nocturnal "frolicking". Rather, I have spent the past two nights trying to achieve REM patterns...
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