The Family Letter

Okay, I got a slight reprieve this morning and did not have to report at 0500. Instead I work today from 1200 to 2100, more or less. I took advantage of this to catch a little extra sleep, and to get some things done last evening (when I would otherwise have gone to bed really early).

Likewise, I'm using this morning to catch up on a few things. Like running in a bit, if I can get motivated enough. And, of course, posting some links from the calendar!

For those of you who are really into history, here's a page dedicated to the currency of Nadiria, the lost colony of Antarctica.

You've heard of whack-a-mole, one of my favorite carnival games? Well here's a new twist: slap a mime. It really involves no challenge, but I suppose it could be very satisfying if you absolutely hate mimes.

That brings us to today's link. If you've ever paused to wonder if Abe Vigoda is still alive, wonder no more! Just bookmark this link and you'll be able to check at any time. Apparently in 1982 People magazine published his obituary by mistake, so this site was created to help people keep tabs. I, for one, feel as though a burden has been lifted. (No, Heather, I didn't know who he was.)

I case anyone was wondering (ha), nothing came back yesterday on my blood work, but I really wasn't expecting it to be that quick.

And now, perhaps I should go for a run. Groan. Later.

Warning: Long Days Ahead. But all part of the gig. I'll be wearing my Air Force hat for about a week, working some 12-hour shifts and such while the base is going through exercises. Today was already interesting. I was part of a (EXERCISE, EXERCISE¹) death notification team for a fictional dead airman. The person playing the role of the spouse was a live human being though. So think role-play but with a touch more reality than the ones from CPE.

Also went to attend a debriefing of a group that had been out "picking up the pieces" after the fictional event that claimed the life of the aforementioned fictional airman.² Apparently even though it was simulated, they were picking up pieces… Pieces of scattered raw meat and the like. All the better to train people for the real thing which can–negative, will–happen.

I did remember to tear off the calendar entries for the next few weeks but frankly… Time for bed. I'll do what I always do, and catch up later.

1. We add that preface to communication so that we all know that what's going on is not"real world," but rather practice. [back]
2. Yes, I'm referring to pieces of people. That's what was simulated. [back]

Yesterday's link reminds us that there's a history to today's fancy hand-heldgaming devices. More of a history and more variety than I knew. Of course I think I just missed that window, being of an age where I wasn't really interested in such devices about the same time they got really cool technologically.

The next time you're tempted to take your Windows-base machine¹ and throw it out a window… Stop, take a deep breath, and instead break out into song.

1. Because, of course, people never get frustrated with their Macintosh computers! [back]

I don't think of myself as "addicted," but blogging can be fun, and I do occasionally think, "Gosh, I need to blog that when I get home." So there it is. How about you?

75%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

(Thanks to the Lovely Wife for this one.)

Confession: I didn't lose the calendar pages or forget, I was just feeling like taking a break from the blog late last week, so I just skipped several days. It is a new week and I'm ready to get all caught up:

Last Thursday we have a site that collects and publishes stuff that has been lost (or discarded) and found. This is actually more interesting than it at first seems–at least to me. I wonder if anything I've ever dropped is on this site..?

Friday's site is another game. They refer to the Friday entries as "time wasters." I'm beginning to see why! (The calendar advertises a game called "Bobbing for Cash," but when I follow that link I get "Sewer Surfing." Either way it is a game and a potential time-waster, so the link stays.)

Saturday we have photos from an abandoned amusement park in Japan. The calendar invites us to look them over and then go watch Carnival of Souls on DVD. Apparently sleep will then become impossible. But even without the DVD I enjoyed the photography. (Here's the page translated by Google into English. Note, too, that the link at the bottom is for "next," so there's more than one page of photos.)

Sunday's site is rather interesting and I may bookmark it so I can come back later to play with it some more. It allows us to look "way back" into the internet, finding pages that may no longer exist except in the land of the cache.

Today's web site has some rather fascinating collages of animals made from machine parts. They blur the line between animal and machine. Once again rather interesting from simply an artistic standpoint.

Not much to report on the Air Force front other than the fact that I have completed
MEPS (scroll down, there are two links on that page that describe MEPS). It went very smoothly and, as physical exams go, was pleasant enough. Bottom line, I have been given 50 to 60 years to live, and the paperwork moves forward, pending the results of the blood work¹.

What's next? The local recruiter gets all the phase three paperwork, including the MEPS stuff, together and sends it to the Texas-based chaplain recruiters. They go over it for completeness and then send it… Someplace. I'm not entirely sure. Provided that all goes well, I'll then sign on the dotted line. I could be missing something in here, but that's my understanding.

More news when I have it!

1. My blood has to go to a lab in Philly, then the results come back here. Go figure. As someone said earlier, "Your tax dollars at work." [back]

For anyone who loves trivia today's site is a gold mine. Enjoy!

Somehow I waltzed right through Sunday and never posted the link. Let's blame jet lag. At any rate, Sunday we're invited to contemplate someone who has managed to give us all the finger for all eternity. Yes, the page is clean, not at all explicit. It is a bit odd, though. Odder still when you look carefully at the URL to see who is hosting this page.

Monday's link was broken, so I didn't post it yesterday.

Today we finally get a link from Wikipedia. Given how huge that wiki is getting, I'm surprised this is the first, but also suspect it won't be the last. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of depth in this section of the article, however I must still say it is quite the cromulent site. Hm, did I use "cromulent" correctly? DOH! I have no idea.

'nuff said!

(And thank goodness I'm not preaching in the morning!)

I guess I was enjoying vacation more than I realized, because it just dawned on me today as I travel homeward that I hadn't blogged in a week. Oops. So, here goes:

Need an aphorism? I know I often do, for preaching or whatnot. Well, last Saturday's site should help.

Last Sunday's link was a YouTube video that was removed due to "terms of use violation." The question is, then: Does that make you want to see it all the more, or less?

Ever wondered if there are famous internet figures? Well, yep, there are! Check them out at this internet moguls web site. (I'm a bit disappointed that AKMA isn't on the list.)

Nothing makes my day like a web site featuring demonic children selling food. No, I'm not joking. The 50's was indeed a scary era.

You can send this guy a title and he'll illustrate it. That is, actually, pretty cool. I know your normal book cover is going to be a bit more, ah, graphic, Lynn (as amply illustrated by your new blog header, nice!), but maybe you should give this a shot and see what he comes up with.

Every time I think I've seen it all online, another site pops up and surprises me. For example, click here to learn to yodel. Whee.

Oh! Oh! This one's great! Puppy curling! Hours of fun ahead. Too bad the plane doesn't have internet. (And no puppies were harmed. Heck, they look like they're having fun.)

Okay, finally, and probably just in time to board, we come to today! Here you can convert your birthday into decimal years. Well, sort of, I'm not putting that right. But you'll feel younger, trust me.

Phew. That about takes care of the last week. Enjoy.

In the meantime I'll be winging my way back to Honolulu from Atlanta for the rest of the day. Hanging out in airports as much as I have the last two weeks has given me plenty to think on. AKMA asked a while back when the TSA security status of "elevated" would just become "normal." I'm noticing that the regulations in effect due to "elevated" status aren't much different than those from years before 2001. For example even back in the 80's you weren't supposed to leave your baggage unattended. Duh. Oh well.

Oops, they're starting to board first class passengers. Ciao!

Okay, since I have some time at the airport (the theme for the day is "killin' time at the airport, both Asheville and Detroit), let's get caught up on some links.

Thursday's link is failing me no matter what browser I try, both Windows and MacOS X. I have no idea what a "Rails error" is, but the site seems to have one or more. But feel free to try it yourself, maybe you'll have better luck. It looked interesting, a look back at historical telephone books. Back in the day before they became the whopping boat-anchor weight tomes they are today.

Today's is a potentially addictive little web-game with a monkey and a ball. Hope you don't waste too much time on this one.

The amusing sign of the day was discovered at a Fiddlin' Pig restaurant in Asheville, NC. It holds the first prize for most wordy way of reminding employees to wash before returning to work: "Each employee's hands must be washed thoroughly, using soap, warm water and sanitary towel or approved hand-drying device, before beginning work and after each visit to the toilet." Don't believe me? I have a photo. I couldn't resist.

I wonder who authorizes hand-drying devices. Is there a department of hand-drying devices in the local or state government?