. . . by Tad Williams, short story contained in the DAW 30th Anniversary Science Fiction Anthology.
:)
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Annie
Annie is the first cat I added to my household after I divorced. I got her in October, 1995. I think she must have been about 10 or 12 weeks old at the time based on her size and general development. Some friends had found her wandering lost and bedraggled in a parking lot, so they picked her up and took her home. At the time, they already had 9 or 10 cats gracing their household so they asked me to take her. I reluctantly agreed. I'd only been divorced about a year and was living in an apartment and I just couldn't imagine leaving a kitten alone all day while I was at work. But took her I did.
Chris and Kerry had named her Annabelle, but the name just didn't suit her. It was too big for the little cat she was. The minute she entered my apartment and planted herself on my chest to nap, she became Annie.
As you can see from the picture, Annie has orange points. After some discussion on the topic at Shadowmarch, I've come to the conclusion that Annie is a red point traditional colorpoint shorthair mix. (Colorpoint shorthair is the American term for a Siamese whose points are a color other than the standard four recognized for a Siamese.) Although you cannot see it in this picture of her, she has slightly almond shaped eyes of an amazingly speckled blue.
Chris and Kerry had named her Annabelle, but the name just didn't suit her. It was too big for the little cat she was. The minute she entered my apartment and planted herself on my chest to nap, she became Annie.
As you can see from the picture, Annie has orange points. After some discussion on the topic at Shadowmarch, I've come to the conclusion that Annie is a red point traditional colorpoint shorthair mix. (Colorpoint shorthair is the American term for a Siamese whose points are a color other than the standard four recognized for a Siamese.) Although you cannot see it in this picture of her, she has slightly almond shaped eyes of an amazingly speckled blue.
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Mouse in the house
Not that kind, silly. My kind. My son Alex interrupted her roll in the catnip to snap her picture.
Friday, June 18, 2004
One of those emails
You know the kind. They've been emailed by everyone in the known universe to everyone else in the known universe . . . twice . . . on all the days of the week ending in 'y'. Normally I read and delete but this one just plain annoyed me. Don't get me wrong. I'm not really annoyed with the person who sent it to me. I'm just royally ticked off at the person who started it. Before I say more, here it is:
DON'T BUY PEPSI IN THE NEW CAN
Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can coming out with pictures of the Empire State Bldg. and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge, "Under God". Pepsi said they did not want to offend anyone. If this is true, then we don't want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office. If we do not buy any Pepsi product, they will not be offended when they receive our money that has the words " In God we trust " on it.
HOW FAST CAN YOU FORWARD THIS ONE???
How fast can I forward this one? At the speed of never, thank you for asking. I don't actually drink Pepsi so I have no idea if Pepsi is or has produced a can as described or what Pepsi's motives are for doing whatever it is they did or didn't, will or won't do. What I do know is that the words "under God" were not - let me repeat that - the words "under God" were not in the Pledge of Allegiance as originally penned in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, nor were they in there in 1945 when the pledge was officially recognized as a symbol of the U. S. It was not until 1954 that the words were added by Congress at the petition of the Knights of Columbus. The words were added to distinguish god-fearing America from the atheist Soviet Union during the height of the Red Scare fueled by McCarthy and his ilk.
When all is said and done, bottom line, those two words have nothing to do with God or divinity by whatever word you choose to use. They are the by-product of a witch hunt that ruined countless lives and fostered an attitude of hostility, prejudice, and persecution that is still alive and well today. But we're no longer hunting pinko commies. We're going after anyone who dares to have an opinion contrary to whatever the Bandwagon Opinion of the Week is. We're going after people who dare to ask 'why' and who won't settle for 'because' as an answer. Phrased the way it is, that email is nothing more than petty hate mail. It earns the original scribe nothing more than my contempt.
And having ranted like a lunatic raving at the moon, let me leave you with one last thought . . .
Do you know what salute was originally intended to be used when saying the Pledge of Allegiance?
Yes?
No?
Let me give you a hint . . . it was similar to one used to salute an Austrian man who came to power in Germany.
DON'T BUY PEPSI IN THE NEW CAN
Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can coming out with pictures of the Empire State Bldg. and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge, "Under God". Pepsi said they did not want to offend anyone. If this is true, then we don't want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office. If we do not buy any Pepsi product, they will not be offended when they receive our money that has the words " In God we trust " on it.
HOW FAST CAN YOU FORWARD THIS ONE???
How fast can I forward this one? At the speed of never, thank you for asking. I don't actually drink Pepsi so I have no idea if Pepsi is or has produced a can as described or what Pepsi's motives are for doing whatever it is they did or didn't, will or won't do. What I do know is that the words "under God" were not - let me repeat that - the words "under God" were not in the Pledge of Allegiance as originally penned in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, nor were they in there in 1945 when the pledge was officially recognized as a symbol of the U. S. It was not until 1954 that the words were added by Congress at the petition of the Knights of Columbus. The words were added to distinguish god-fearing America from the atheist Soviet Union during the height of the Red Scare fueled by McCarthy and his ilk.
When all is said and done, bottom line, those two words have nothing to do with God or divinity by whatever word you choose to use. They are the by-product of a witch hunt that ruined countless lives and fostered an attitude of hostility, prejudice, and persecution that is still alive and well today. But we're no longer hunting pinko commies. We're going after anyone who dares to have an opinion contrary to whatever the Bandwagon Opinion of the Week is. We're going after people who dare to ask 'why' and who won't settle for 'because' as an answer. Phrased the way it is, that email is nothing more than petty hate mail. It earns the original scribe nothing more than my contempt.
And having ranted like a lunatic raving at the moon, let me leave you with one last thought . . .
Do you know what salute was originally intended to be used when saying the Pledge of Allegiance?
Yes?
No?
Let me give you a hint . . . it was similar to one used to salute an Austrian man who came to power in Germany.
! Cat Fight !
Miss Muggles, my tortoise shell kitten, and Mouse, my white kitten, were captured by my son Alex as they tussled in the catnip.
I think they are just too cute for words and so I'm making the world suffer by putting up pictures of them everywhere.
I think they are just too cute for words and so I'm making the world suffer by putting up pictures of them everywhere.
It should have been good night, but it's good morning instead
I was going to sign off with this joke last night, but the nasty compu-grinch wouldn't let me so it will have to be the thought that starts the day. I don't remember where I got it from so I can't give proper credit where it is due. I hope whoever originated it will forgive me for sharing.
Texas Women
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their new wives straight on their duties.
The first man had married a woman from Oklahoma. He bragged that he had told his wife to do all the dishes and clean the house. He said that it took her a couple of days, but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.
The second man had married a woman from Arkansas. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told the men that the first day he didn't see any results, but by the next day it was better, and on the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a Texas girl. He boasted that he told her his house was to be cleaned, dishes washed, the cooking done and laundry folded. And this was all her responsibility. He said the first day he didn't see anything and the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day some of the swelling had gone down so he could see a little out of his left eye!
Got to love Texas women!
Texas Women
Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had set their new wives straight on their duties.
The first man had married a woman from Oklahoma. He bragged that he had told his wife to do all the dishes and clean the house. He said that it took her a couple of days, but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all washed and put away.
The second man had married a woman from Arkansas. He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes, and the cooking. He told the men that the first day he didn't see any results, but by the next day it was better, and on the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.
The third man had married a Texas girl. He boasted that he told her his house was to be cleaned, dishes washed, the cooking done and laundry folded. And this was all her responsibility. He said the first day he didn't see anything and the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day some of the swelling had gone down so he could see a little out of his left eye!
Got to love Texas women!
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Ooooo, look what I did
I've modified one of the templates using my own backgrounds and color schemes. The new paint job is fairly easy on my eyes using my computer at home, but that doesn't really tell me anything. Not every monitor/graphics card combination is tuned the way mine is, so I've asked a few friends to pop in and critique the decor by leaving comments. That's right. Leave comments! I need to make sure I plastered all the holes on those walls as well and I just plain refuse to comment one of my own posts.
Momma, can you see me?
BBC NEWS | Technology | Inventor plans 'invisible walls'
While in theory this is the coolest thing, I found it just the tiniest bit disturbing. Being a paranoid from way back before time existed, I couldn't really come up with anything I would call a positive for this technology. The first thought that popped into my head was invisible stalker and I don't mean the D&D kind. Even the potential "espionage and military purposes" vaguely hinted at in the article scream invasion of privacy and personal integrity.
I'm all for bringing the outside in, but I'd rather it be done some other way.
While in theory this is the coolest thing, I found it just the tiniest bit disturbing. Being a paranoid from way back before time existed, I couldn't really come up with anything I would call a positive for this technology. The first thought that popped into my head was invisible stalker and I don't mean the D&D kind. Even the potential "espionage and military purposes" vaguely hinted at in the article scream invasion of privacy and personal integrity.
I'm all for bringing the outside in, but I'd rather it be done some other way.
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
The last word
You didn't really believe that, did you?
The and his nasty little worm managed to infect another computer. This computer was apparently let loose in the wild without benefit of anti-virus software to protect its itty bitty self from all the bad people in the world.
But the workday is done and I am about to sit myself before the Great Mind Numbing Machine to unwind. I'm sure I can find some pleasant background noise to keep me company while I read and snuggle with the cats.
And speaking of cats, I'll leave you with the image of what an intrigued kitten looks like from behind . . .
(Mouse, picture taken June 10, 2004)
The
But the workday is done and I am about to sit myself before the Great Mind Numbing Machine to unwind. I'm sure I can find some pleasant background noise to keep me company while I read and snuggle with the cats.
And speaking of cats, I'll leave you with the image of what an intrigued kitten looks like from behind . . .
(Mouse, picture taken June 10, 2004)
Equine posterior . . . or something like . . .
I'd like to take a moment to thank the inconsiderate, immature, self-absorbed who wrote the W32.Erkez.B@mm worm. We need more people like him so people like me can invest a morning removing the infection from the one computer in the company that doesn't have its virus protection turned on and checking every other computer and server on the network to make sure the worm hasn't dug in somehow elsewhere.
Thanks, dude!
Thanks, dude!
And something else . . .
Wow! I was awakened very early this morning by the sound of rain pouring on my roof and thunder knocking at my door. It's eased up a bit now but it was quite ferocious at around 4 a.m. when I first awakened. We've had so much rain this year it appears Mother Nature is trying to make amends for the dryish year or two she gave us last.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Just thought of something
It would be terribly remiss of me if I didn't let everyone know about the place I spend most of my online time. That place is Shadowmarch. I invite you to drop in and visit. The site is graciously hosted by the man we Smarchers call the Dogly One, but who is better known to the rest of the world as Tad Williams, the author of The War of the Flowers and the forthcoming Shadowmarch.
Saying something . . .
Well . . . something . . .
Having said that, I'm now at a loss what to say in this my first blog entry. That, of course, is a fairly unusual happenstance for me. For the sake of argument, let's just say I've said something and let it go at that until I really have something to say. Yes, definitely, that just about says it all.
Ta for the time being . . .
Having said that, I'm now at a loss what to say in this my first blog entry. That, of course, is a fairly unusual happenstance for me. For the sake of argument, let's just say I've said something and let it go at that until I really have something to say. Yes, definitely, that just about says it all.
Ta for the time being . . .
Thursday, June 03, 2004
30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy by Elizabeth R. WollheimMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
There were three stories I particularly liked for no better reason than they suited the mood I was in when I was reading them. They are by no means the only good ones in the book, but they were the ones I felt a resonance with. Ending and Beginning, by Jennifer Roberson, is set in her new world about which she is currently penning her first novel. I also enjoyed A Perfect Day in Valdemar by Larry Dixon. In and of itself the story was excellent, but even if it hadn't been, this is one of those stories where the end would justify the means. And lastly, I enjoyed Lynn Abbey's It's About Squirrels . . .. It's an urban fantasy involving Florida, pallbearer squirrels, and a crashed hard drive. What more could you want in a story?
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Friday, May 21, 2004
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Sunday, May 09, 2004
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