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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169</id><updated>2007-02-01T07:12:06.519-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Heavy Heavy Water</title><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/index.html'></link><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25'></link><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www2.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>96</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-5103907417800164258</id><published>2007-01-29T04:31:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-29T04:34:36.801-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='analogic thinking'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='calendar'></category><title type='text'>It's my birthday?!</title><content type='html'>Today I logged into <a href="http://www.pgdp.net/c/default.php">Distributed Proofreaders</a> to discover that it was was my birthday. Birthday - that's not for another couple months...? Then I noticed the numeral "4" next to my user ID and figured out that it was my DP birthday they were talking about, and that I must have signed up four years ago today, which sounds about right. Although with the redesign of the workflow, I have gone back to being a relative newbie in the scheme of things. That fits, because by their having called it a "birthday" instead of an "anniversary," I now feel like a four-year-old.<br /><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkcakebox/299802008/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/299802008_a5fb2c9029_t.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="Brown &amp; Pink Birthday Cake" /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkcakebox/299802008/">Brown &amp; Pink Birthday Cake</a>,<br /> originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pinkcakebox/">PinkCakeBox</a>. </span></div><br />Pretty cake! Maybe I should have it scanned in so it can be proofread.<br /><br />Why doesn't my ISP, to whom I actually give money, send me a greeting on the date I began service, which puts the year count up there in the double digits now? After all, one cannot really feel to have been born unless one has internet access. The telephone companies, the cable company, and the water company might well in on the act as well, to help inspire customer contentment. Perhaps because the customers would start to expect gifts and good customer service and things like that.<br clear="all" /></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/it-my-birthday.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/5103907417800164258'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/5103907417800164258'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-1920132872474115850</id><published>2007-01-28T11:17:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-28T11:32:15.327-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='religion'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rant'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='biology'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='health'></category><title type='text'>Not so intelligent design</title><content type='html'>The second item on this <a href="http://crazyfoolish.blogspot.com/2006/12/world-cup.html">list of facts about thirst</a> makes me even more convinced that the design of human beings is poorly optimized. Consider that one can go only a few days without taking in water, and it would seem as if this would be a high priority item for a designer to get right. Why wouldn't dehydration make us thirsty automatically, instead of making us hungry or tired or forgetful? Even I as designer, non-omniscient as I am, would have taken some care to get that basic drive right before going on to the rest of the creature.<br /><br />On the other hand, evolution skeptics would cite the same item to point out that if human ancestors developed in the relatively dry African savannah, it would seem as if natural selection ought rightly to have cleared out any individuals who were apt to misidentify the need for seeking out a water hole. Humans who originated in a place with <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202:10-14;&version=31;">four wholesome rivers, in present-day Iraq</a> might be expected to be more casual about decent hydration. Fallen mankind outside of Eden just inherited a design that was meant for a quite different setting.<br /><br />All I know is that it's time for a cup of tea while I ponder human shortcomings.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/not-so-intelligent-design.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/1920132872474115850'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/1920132872474115850'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-2639379020267617093</id><published>2007-01-26T11:40:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-26T12:09:42.578-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='blog'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='meme'></category><title type='text'>Just this once</title><content type='html'>Mary of <a href="http://www.marysgreatideas.com/archives/2007/01/two_beers_a_tai.html">Mary's Great Ideas</a> has cut me to the quick with this meme originally generated by <a href="http://www.electricvenom.com/2007/01/20/my-me-meme/">Electric Venom</a>. I'm only doing this because I just happen to have the answers handy, not because I make a habit of mem propagation.<br /><h2>My Me Meme</h2><br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">My:</span> You’ve heard the saying “I’d give my right arm for…”. So, what would you give your right arm for?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.theforce.net/swtc/injuries.html#limbs"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RbpaMU2F8zI/AAAAAAAAACo/cm2l02nEmMU/s320/maim_anakin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024427502085731122" /></a><br /><br />A super-powerful cybernetic tentacle. <span style="font-style:italic;">Plus</span> plenty of batteries.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Me:</span> What’s one word that describes how you want people to see you?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://allthesky.com/various/co07umacastle28.html"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/Rbpe-k2F81I/AAAAAAAAAC4/eAErHhYFSPU/s320/co07umacastle28-b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024432763420668754" /></a><br />Beatific.</li><br /><li><span style="font-weight:bold;">Meme:</span> If you could be any blogger, which blogger would you be… and why?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.accd.edu/Sac/english/bailey/chaucer.htm"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/Rbpc002F80I/AAAAAAAAACw/H_XG-10r-hU/s320/chaucer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024430396893688642" /></a><br /><a href="http://houseoffame.blogspot.com/">Geoffrey Chaucer</a>, who maketh mikle merry with the langage Englysche, ond giveth not a fygge for whoso think him freakisshe.</li></ol><br /><br />If they equal to the challenge, I hereby tag <a href="http://www.pupart.blogspot.com/">Pupski</a>, <a href="http://combingthesphere.blogspot.com/index.html">Daryl</a>, and <a href="http://rainonmytirade.blogspot.com/">Kelley</a>.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/just-this-once.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/2639379020267617093'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/2639379020267617093'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-2472868790754562889</id><published>2007-01-26T06:22:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-26T06:27:59.586-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='war'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='charity'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='project'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='horse'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='animals'></category><title type='text'>Little horsies</title><content type='html'>I have found just the <a href="http://www.guidehorse.org">place</a> to provide the essential ingredient in my <a href="http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/modest-proposal-to-help-bring-peace-to.html">plan for peace in Iraq</a>. The evildoers will be crushed by our massive superiority in cuteness!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.guidehorse.org/photo_page.htm"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RboPnE2F8yI/AAAAAAAAACc/SAaLzP8ekxM/s320/Cuddles2.JPG" border="0" alt="Guide horse" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024345498275148578" /></a><br /><br />[Via <a href="http://monkeyfilter.com/link.php/13628">monkeyfilter</a>]</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/little-horsies.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/2472868790754562889'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/2472868790754562889'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-5428717664570076161</id><published>2007-01-25T10:33:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-25T10:35:24.804-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='diy'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='food'></category><title type='text'>Chokeburgers!</title><content type='html'>I came up with some hearty lunchtime fare. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86698126@N00/sets/72157594499574980/">Flickr set</a><br /><br clear="all" /><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86698126@N00/369121423/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/369121423_54f75ffe81_t.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="Lunch is served" /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86698126@N00/369121423/">Lunch is served</a>,<br /> originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/86698126@N00/">milkfish</a>. </span></div></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/chokeburgers.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/5428717664570076161'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/5428717664570076161'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-1728104202907195620</id><published>2007-01-25T06:09:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-25T06:27:02.302-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='technology'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='health'></category><title type='text'>Night night</title><content type='html'>I have had one of these pillows for years now to help save wear on my poor aching neck, though still do I sometimes wake up with soreness for several hours.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.backsaver.com/shop_detail.asp?category=sleep"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/Rbi6Mk2F8xI/AAAAAAAAACQ/4rwjiGpNPvQ/s200/comfortstore_1931_7207660.jpg" border="0" ALT="Pillows" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023970109543543570" /></a>The problem is that when I sleep on my side, I want to have my head on the higher edge of the pillow, and when I sleep on my back, on the lower edge, and that, being asleep, I don't always have the wherewithal to shift the position of the thing as I turn over.<br /><br />I think someone should devise an automatic pillow which would adjust itself to the optimum height based on the orientation of the sleeper's body. An infrared camera positioned over the bed would determine whether a person were present (to avoid false actuation when a pet would jump up on the bed) and employ image recognition technology to identify who's present and to see whether the person's face were pointed upwards, to one side, or downwards. A very, very quiet servo mechanism (hydraulic rams? pneumatic? suspension cables?) would then gently adjust the top of the pillow to a pre-selected height for the sleeper.<br /><br />Naturally, there would be a manual cutoff in case the occupant wanted to turn off the automatic adjustment function in certain circumstances. (Here I'm talking about <span style="font-style:italic;">reading in bed</span>, folks.)<br /><br />Optionally, a microphone could be used to detect snoring and tip the sleeper's head slightly in such a manner as to eliminate the problem. Also, for small infants, who are supposed to <a href="http://www.nichd.nih.gov/sids/sids_qa.cfm">sleep on their backs</a>, a similar system could be set up to send out an alarm if the child happens to be in a risky position during sleep. I think these two selling points would by themselves justify a good deal of interest if something like this could be brought to market.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/night-night.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/1728104202907195620'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/1728104202907195620'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-3207096232410786524</id><published>2007-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-24T13:31:47.508-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='technology'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='diy'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='food'></category><title type='text'>EzBake Tandoor</title><content type='html'>When I read about the <a href="http://superbunker.com/projects/dorkbake/">Dorkbake</a> (via <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/23/dorkbake_oven_contes.html">Boingboing</a>), I got to thinking about how one might construct an Indian-style<a href="http://www.cpsusa.com/ebay/tandoorOven.htm">tandoor</a> heated with a light bulb. <br /><br />The idea would be to have a large thermal mass around the clay liner (a flowerpot?) and lots of insulation around the thing to hold the heat in. Since there's no open flame involved, as in traditional wood-fired tandoor ovens, during the preheating phase it might be good to hold in some of that heat by covering the opening of the pot with an insulated terra-cotta saucer. Stick a teeny-tiny grill in the bottom of that thing and some insulated tongs to insert and remove the food and perhaps the thing might work!<br /><br />Sadly, when I scan the <a href="http://superbunker.com/projects/dorkbake/ingredients/">standard ingredient list</a> at Dorkbake, I don't believe one could produce a decent tandoori-style dish with the kind of things you'll be given. One could use the bison cuts, tenderized, to pass for beef, but without yogurt, curry powder, turmeric<a href="http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/recipe?id.10586"></a>, and so forth, the seasoning is just not going to be all that it ought to be. Oh well, I don't have the wherewithal to make a trip to LA anyway at this time.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/ezbake-tandoor.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/3207096232410786524'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/3207096232410786524'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-6367595316989536691</id><published>2007-01-24T04:59:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-24T05:06:53.914-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gym'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photo'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='exercise'></category><title type='text'>Ripped</title><content type='html'>I stuck my hand in my pocket the other day and found that my pass for <a href="http://www.gettothegym.com">the gym</a> with the optical barcode on it had fallen into two pieces.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RbdYTU2F8wI/AAAAAAAAACE/GqRSLygyTHI/s1600-h/gymcards.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RbdYTU2F8wI/AAAAAAAAACE/GqRSLygyTHI/s320/gymcards.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023580998391427842" /></a><br />That's the new card they issued me underneath the old one, which had been sitting on my keyring maybe seven years or so now.<br /><br />My old membership number: 0038 (I'd actually signed up before they opened their first facility)<br />My new membership number: upwards of 16000<br /><br />I wish I could say that this is reflective of the dramatic physical changes brought about by three- or four-times weekly trips to work out. (Especially now that they changed the spin class schedule so I had to drop that particular agony.) Perhaps if they had instead a biometric scanner to identify their members, a sort of gate like they have at airport security, which would look at your weight and physical appearance as you entered, one could visualize the change wrought for the positive and the negative.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/ripped.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/6367595316989536691'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/6367595316989536691'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-7734457496878346798</id><published>2007-01-20T17:48:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-20T18:02:11.038-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photo'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book'></category><title type='text'>Zoroastrian coauthors</title><content type='html'>So is Douglas good and Lincoln evil, or is it the other way around?<a href="http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=goodevil6cd.jpg"><img src="http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4995/goodevil6cd.jpg" style="float: left" height="576" width="237" /></a><br /><br clear="all"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=frabtime-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0446576980&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" style="float: right"></iframe></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/zoroastrian-coauthors.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/7734457496878346798'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/7734457496878346798'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-1642167197146566623</id><published>2007-01-19T05:13:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-19T05:18:03.832-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='name'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'></category><title type='text'>Some respect for the 90% content-free posts</title><content type='html'>From now on I am going to refer to <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/blog/RichMagahiz">one-line postings</a> which depend heavily on a link to a website which is interesting in its own right as <span style="font-weight:bold;">abloggiaturas</span>, a term which will appeal mainly to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appoggiatura#.28Long.29_Appoggiatura">music geeks</a>.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/some-respect-for-90-content-free-posts.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/1642167197146566623'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/1642167197146566623'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-7081715435775101056</id><published>2007-01-13T13:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-18T18:11:06.564-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='medicine'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='name'></category><title type='text'>N-plegics</title><content type='html'>I was thinking about a particular line from <a href="http://magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/b2006/archangelic.html">a poem of mine</a>: <blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">quintuple amputee can't you heal us?</span></blockquote>and started to wonder about the closely related term <span style="font-weight: bold;">quintaplegic</span>. Do people use this term? And when they use it, is it always in a ribald way? So, instead of doing some real research, I tallied up page counts at <a href="http://google.com/">Google</a>, checking all the Latin and Greek possibilities I could think of.<table id="search" summary="Plegics" style="float: right; position: relative; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0; margin: 0;"><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td>Number of hits</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">0.5</td></tr><br /><tr><td>hemiplegic</td><td align="right">41000</td></tr><br /><tr><td>semiplegic</td><td align="right">7</td></tr><br /><tr><td>demiplegic</td><td align="right">3</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">1</td></tr><br /><tr><td>uniplegic</td><td align="right">75</td></tr><br /><tr><td>monoplegic</td><td align="right">2</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">2</td></tr><br /><tr><td>biplegic</td><td align="right">29</td></tr><br /><tr><td>diplegic</td><td align="right">39200</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">3</td></tr><br /><tr><td>triplegic</td><td align="right">1020</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">4</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quadraplegic</td><td align="right">85300</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quadriplegic</td><td align="right">980000</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quadruplegic</td><td align="right">2050</td></tr><br /><tr><td>tetraplegic</td><td align="right">116000</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">5</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quintaplegic</td><td align="right">31</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quintiplegic</td><td align="right">1</td></tr><br /><tr><td>quintuplegic</td><td align="right">3</td></tr><br /><tr><td>pentaplegic</td><td align="right">411</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">6</td></tr><br /><tr><td>hexaplegic</td><td align="right">32</td></tr><br /><tr><td>hexiplegic</td><td align="right">1</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">7</td></tr><br /><tr><td>heptaplegic</td><td align="right">13</td></tr><br /><tr><td>septaplegic</td><td align="right">9</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">8</td></tr><br /><tr><td>octoplegic</td><td align="right">36</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">9</td></tr><br /><tr><td>nonaplegic</td><td align="right">1</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">10</td></tr><br /><tr><td>decaplegic</td><td align="right">2</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">11</td></tr><br /><tr><td>undecaplegic</td><td align="right">0</td></tr><br /><tr><td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffff00">12</td></tr><br /><tr><td>duodecaplegic</td><td align="right">1</td></tr></tbody></table>(Sorry about the whitespace - I do not have sufficient HTML-fu to figure out why that table's doing that.) So it turns out that quintaplegic isn't even the most popular term in its category, which typically refers to individuals who do not have control over their neck muscles. The higher numbers usually refer to non-human creatures. I didn't find any hits for prefixes greater than 12. By comparison, a search on <span style="font-style: italic;">paraplegic</span> yields 1210000 hits.</p></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/n-plegics.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/7081715435775101056'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/7081715435775101056'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-8095226552586518336</id><published>2007-01-18T04:32:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-18T05:01:53.318-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='TV'></category><title type='text'>All of Today</title><content type='html'>The easiest way to know when you've gone to far is to try going all the way and seeing what happens.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/TODAY/Evergreen/SPATS/061201_todayfront_spat_v3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/TODAY/Evergreen/SPATS/061201_todayfront_spat_v3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br clear="all"><br />In a bid to cement their dominance over the television ratings in the morning, NBC's <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/?ta=y">Today Show</a> is soon to be <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16673581/">expanding to a four-hour format</a>, according to the network. It makes sense, given the name of the program, since "today" encompasses not only the <i>early</i> hours or the <i>good morning</i> period, but by rights the entire 24-hour period.<br /><br />From their beachhead of 7 to 11 (Eastern, that is - and could there be a sponsorship opportunity there), they could occupy a chunk of the midday with a talk-show in the style of <a href="http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index.html">The View</a>, putting their male hosts a chance to rest and putting the others around a table to exchange catty comments. Then in the early afternoon it would be so-called daytime drama which they could easily do by pushing a little bit over the edge of celebrity-obsessed non-news into more unreality-based speculative plots involving some familiar villains we know from their regular news factoid segments. In the later part of the afternoon, they could string some of their concert footage and entertainment features into a variety show. The easiest trick would be to rebrand the nightly news just by moving the set and subduing the lights a bit.<br /><br />The rest of the primetime hours could be some thinly veiled true crime story recast as a police procedural slash courtroom drama. Then some fake news, simply ripping off Comedy Central material from the night before maybe, followed by the <a href="http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/">Today-Tonight Show</a> and the <a href="http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/index.shtml">Late Night/Early Today Show</a>. After that, I figure they have enough personal electronics and cooking and home improvement gadget segments to populate a few hours of infomercial programming until it's time to begin over again with the Today Show proper.<br /><br />Of course if some earth-shattering news event breaks, such as some forgotten aged official passing away or a war erupts or something, they could just cast off all their canned programming for marathon news update special reports the way MSNBC does. Obviously they must already have broken the bathroom-break barrier somehow, and can just apply that secret knowledge to these rare and ratings-enhancing circumstances.<br /><br />If MSNBC goes ahead with this idea, remember, you read about it here first.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/all-of-today.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/8095226552586518336'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/8095226552586518336'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-1175583273478814775</id><published>2007-01-12T06:29:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-12T06:41:48.919-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='war'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='charity'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='project'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='animals'></category><title type='text'>A modest proposal to help bring peace to Iraq</title><content type='html'>When I read about the <a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/aug/03/tiny_drug_dog_has_big_impact/">Ohio police dog who helps socialize inmates</a> (among other things she does), I started to think about other individuals who might benefit from the loving contact of a pet. Top of the list: the warring factions in Iraq, a place which is on course soon to be known as the <span style="font-style:italic;">former</span> Iraq.<br /><br />One hitch in the plan: <a href="http://www.islamicconcern.com/dogs.asp">many Muslims consider dogs to be unclean</a>. And cats don't have the same kind of social nature, not being pack animals. So, instead, why not go all out and use horses (or, rather, ponies) in their place? Nearly everybody knows about the noble <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_horse">Arabian horse</a>, so what warlord or insurgent leader would turn down a chance to accept a gift equestrian<br /><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynnmorag/120317306/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/120317306_3116c908df_t.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="Every fairy child may keep ...." /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynnmorag/120317306/">Every fairy child may keep ....</a>,<br /> originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/lynnmorag/">Lynn Morag</a>. </span></div><br />Let's run the numbers. The increase in war spending is estimated at <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0125-08.htm">$80 billion</a>, and let's assume that 10% of that can go to this project. A pony might go for something like <a href="http://www.netequestrian.com/horses/ponies.asp">$25k</a>, and with the overhead of getting the animals over there, supplies, veterinarians, wranglers, and whatnot, we might imagine a total upfront cost of $250k per animal. That translates to 32000 pretty ponies we could send over there (assuming there are that many to be had). Some estimates of the number of insurgents range <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/08/iraq.main/">up to 17000</a>, that would be enough for nearly every insurgent to be given a pair of ponies of their very own.<br /><br />Now taking care of a pony is <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Look-After-a-Horse">a lot of work</a>, which would take time away from such things as constructing and planting IEDs, firing RPGs, and blowing up oil pipelines. Also, you can <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Ride-a-Fat-Pony-With-a-Saddle-That-Doesn%27t-Fit">ride a pony</a>, which would help relieve the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-12-29-gas-shortage_x.htm">gasoline shortage</a> that many Iraqis have to face, even among those who wouldn't personally be receiving the actual pony. Finally, the nonviolent and pastoral image of ponies trotting in public in places like Baghdad and Basra would radically change the image of Iraq, particularly if rebel cells could be induced to spend at least part of their time giving <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/srah/48436394/">pony rides</a> to children.<br /><br />Once the animals are old enough to breed, Iraq could develop a thriving commerce that would help bind the different regions together. So it would be important to make sure that healthy animals go to the Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish areas fairly.<br /><br />Of course, we would still need to have US forces there to help out, not least of their new responsibilities involving helping with the <a href="http://www.manureshovel.com/">shoveling</a>. But perhaps we could persuade outside contractors to take on some of this load until the revitalized Iraqi nation can take care of its own needs in this regard.<br /><br />You may think of it as a crazy plan, but I feel that if it is presented in the right way to the American people, they would see the underlying old-fashioned common sense behind it and support it. If you agree, I urge you to write your Senator and Representative in Congress so we can get started on this new direction.<br clear="all" /></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/modest-proposal-to-help-bring-peace-to.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/1175583273478814775'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/1175583273478814775'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-6287771676364411026</id><published>2007-01-11T05:13:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-11T05:26:09.751-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='language'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='geek'></category><title type='text'>I lost because I had been defeated</title><content type='html'>My last post mentioning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllogism">syllogisms</a> brought this nitpick to mind once more.<br /><br />When I heard the phrase used on NPR the other day, I realized then and there that I didn't want to be the <a href="http://www.languagehat.com/archives/000423.php">last person</a> holding onto the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question">original usage</a> of this phrase. But it made me sad.<br /><img src="http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/4125/tombstonevh3.jpg" alt="Tombstone for Begging the Question" title=="Tombstone for Begging the Question"/><br />[Tombstone Generator is <a href="http://www.jjchandler.com/tombstone/">here</a>.]</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-lost-because-i-had-been-defeated.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/6287771676364411026'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/6287771676364411026'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-5636249901033964481</id><published>2007-01-10T10:00:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-10T10:05:12.975-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='war'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='name'></category><title type='text'>War speak</title><content type='html'>A sort of syllogism:<br /><br /><ul><li>The people they are defending against over in Iraq are called <span style="font-weight:bold;">insurgents</span>.</li><br /><li>The proposed buildup in US troop level is being called a <span style="font-weight:bold;">surge</span>.</li><br /><li>Therefore, we might well refer to the additional troops as <span style="font-weight:bold;">outsurgents</span>.</li></ul><br /><br />Well, it's better than "surge-ans."</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/war-speak.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/5636249901033964481'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/5636249901033964481'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-5467774433021643710</id><published>2007-01-05T05:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-05T06:07:10.854-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='toothbrush'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rant'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='video'></category><title type='text'>Vroom vroom</title><content type='html'>More along the lines of <a href="http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/11/winds-of-entropy-blow-strong.html">things</a> stop <a href="http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/actually-i-did-want-what-i-havent-got.html">working</a>: my 2 year old electric toothbrush started acting weird the night before last.<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vRjeY50JGDw"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vRjeY50JGDw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" height="350"></embed></object><br />So it's not just a matter of a short, which would have it running all of the time, or a broken wire, which might make it run none of the time. Instead, it's decided it wants to run all the time whenever it's away from its charger. How does that happen?<br /><br />So now I pull the tip off while the thing is docked, smush a tiny amount of toothpaste on the brush part, then in one motion pick up the toothbrush and apply it to my teeth before the toothpaste starts flying all over. It still does that little pulse thing at the two minute mark, so the control electronics aren't completely fried. Then I've got to put the thing back on the charger so it'll shut down, pull the tip off for washing, then reassemble it. Or sometimes to avoid the hassle I go into the other bathroom and use my plain old non-electric brush (which would make my hygienist unhappy if she knew).<br /><br />I was trying to think of some aspect whereby this new behavior might be an advantage, and the only thing I could come up with is that it would be considerably harder for a burglar to steal my toothbrush undetected. Otherwise, nothing.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/vroom-vroom.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/5467774433021643710'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/5467774433021643710'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-4923891716601804140</id><published>2007-01-03T05:28:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-03T05:48:56.915-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='space'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='name'></category><title type='text'>Alternative Moon names</title><content type='html'>Did you know that there's a <a href="http://www.space.com/spacewatch/061229_moonnames2007.html">name for each full moon</a>? I certainly didn't know about the existence of names beyond the old "hunter's moon" and "harvest moon," or that there were variations in the naming.<br /><br />I came up with my own suggested list of names for this year:<br /><ol><li>January 3: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Sobriety Moon</span></li><br /><li>February 2: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Steroid Moon XLI</span></li><br /><li>March 3: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Take The Storm Windows Down Moon</span></li><br /><li>April 2: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full State and Federal Moon</span></li><br /><li>May 2: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full International Conspiracy Moon</span></li><br /><li>May 31: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Free Extra-Special Bonus Moon</span></li><br /><li>June 30: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Are We There Yet? Moon</span></li><br /><li>July 29: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Spiked Lemonade Moon</span></li><br /><li>August 28: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Back-To-School Specials Moon</span></li><br /><li>September 26: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Talk Like A Pilot Moon</span></li><br /><li>October 26: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Goblin Turkey Moon</span></li><br /><li>November 24: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Who Let The Dogs Out?! Moon</span></li><br /><li>December 23: <span style="font-weight:bold;">Full Shopper's Freak-Out Moon</span></li></ol><br /><br />You are welcome to print this out and stick it to your refrigerator for handy reference.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/alternative-moon-names.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/4923891716601804140'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/4923891716601804140'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-2158822830490642190</id><published>2007-01-02T15:35:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-02T15:39:22.185-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computer'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='random'></category><title type='text'>www.PromHairstylesaccess.com has your name written all over it!</title><content type='html'>I updated my <a href="http://magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/b2007/randomdomain2006.html">random domain script tool</a> to take in the top 50 search terms for 2006 as reported by <a href="http://50.lycos.com/">Lycos</a>. (<a href="http://magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/b2006/randomdomain.html">Previously</a>)</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/wwwpromhairstylesaccesscom-has-your.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/2158822830490642190'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/2158822830490642190'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-9103019599054475488</id><published>2007-01-01T17:05:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-01-01T17:11:03.767-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pets'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='how-to'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='children'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='animals'></category><title type='text'>Combine and conquer</title><content type='html'>Compare the recommended techniques for playing with <A HREF="http://www.wikihow.com/Play-With-a-Piglet">a piglet</A> and with <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Play-With-Kids-While-Babysitting">kids</a>. I'm thinking that the ideal solution is to bring a piglet to one's babysitting assignment. <span style="font-weight:bold;">"Best. Babysitter. EVAR."</span></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2007/01/combine-and-conquer.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/9103019599054475488'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/9103019599054475488'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-8039443737895114725</id><published>2006-12-30T04:37:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-30T04:40:32.926-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='analogic thinking'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='SF'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='biology'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='irony'></category><title type='text'>For the den</title><content type='html'><a href="http://www.wists.com/cribcandy/90d75df3b8ba5b279c0b1b5f9ed034ba">Mounted Tyrannosaur head</a>. Good, but I think I might prefer a mounted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greys">grey</a> instead.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/for-den.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/8039443737895114725'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/8039443737895114725'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-3189405852782290782</id><published>2006-12-29T05:26:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-29T06:14:01.518-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='technology'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='grooming'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='video'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='geek'></category><title type='text'>Shaving without commitment</title><content type='html'>I like my own hair just fine, but I don't have a problem with the idea of parting with it should the occasion arise. But what would be the most prudent way to proceed?<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZMXjm4FxpQM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZMXjm4FxpQM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br />[Caution to those at work: it's some dude without his clothes. But there are <span style="font-style:italic;">bubbles</span>, so it should be copacetic, right?]<br /><br />I saw a <a href="http://www.headblade.com/index.html">HeadBlade</a> in the store the other day and thought to myself, "I might try that if I knew that I could change back if I didn't like the way my head looked." That's when I came up with the idea of a <span style="font-weight:bold;">razor with undo</span>.<br /><br />The way it would work would be to mate an electric or non-electric razor with a can of <a href="http://www.onlyhairloss.com/glh/">spray-on hair</a> in the color of your existing hair. If you make a mistake and take off more than you actually want, you would flip a switch on the thing so that you could reforest the bad spot with a bit of spray-on. To go even higher-tech, one could imagine a gadget that collects and cleans the little hairs being shaved off, so that when you hit the undo button they could be stuck back on, assuring an absolutely perfect color match to what you had before. Assuming that that was what you wanted (think bad dye jobs). It would be like having CTRL-Z for your head! (Geeks know what I mean by that.)<br /><br />It would also be great for persons undergoing sudden hair loss (such as during chemotherapy), to get rid of the weak hair and replace it with something more durable.<br /><br />I think it might also work in the case of shaving one's face, though am somewhat dubious about how convincing the spray-on stuff would be in emulating a beard, let alone a mustache. It might be good in combating the problem of uneven sideburns, perhaps.<br /><br />I know that there are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B3m5nbqqvw&mode=related&search=">women who shave their heads</a> also, but I think it might be a savvier marketing idea to go after the much larger segment which shave their legs. I find it unlikely that they would have much reason to restore the hair, but I understand that some people have problems with cuts during this procedure, so I think the obvious choice would be to mate a razor with <a href="http://www.bactine.com/spray.htm">antiseptic</a> and <a href="http://newskinproducts.com/spray-bandage.htm">spray-on skin</a>. As soon as one felt or saw a little nick, a spritz of this and a spritz of that should set you right.<br /><br />Also would be nice to have: software to let you know what your bald head would look like beforehand. But that would be the subject of a different post altogether.</content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/shaving-without-commitment.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/3189405852782290782'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/3189405852782290782'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-5962827957754805377</id><published>2006-12-27T04:20:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-27T04:28:41.756-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pets'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homage'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bird'></category><title type='text'>Pied beauty</title><content type='html'>Christmas morning we drove out on a one-night trip to Massachusetts to visit Pam's mother. There's a pet store near us which we've patronized for ten years where we bring our two cockatiels for boarding when we're out of town, so that we know they'll be warm and fed.<br><br clear="all"/><style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86698126@N00/101198019/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/101198019_1709aef150.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="Cornbread" /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86698126@N00/101198019/">Cornbread</a>,<br /> originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/86698126@N00/">milkfish</a>. </span></div><br clear="all" />Last night, after calling the store, we drove home and went over to pick them up, and the first thing I noticed when I looked at their cage up on a high shelf was that I couldn't see either of them. Had they gotten out and flown away? But then I saw a head pop up from the lower part of the cage and I thought they were just playing on the floor. Instead, we found BB (the one on the left here) slumped on the grill, dead, and Pearl had been standing by her. The pet store worker told us that when we'd called twenty minutes earlier, she'd looked and they both looked fine standing up on their perch.<br /><br />BB was twelve or thirteen years old, near as we can figure, not very old for a bird of this type in fact. As you can see, she had that patchy "pied" color pattern quite different from the normal grey cockatiel hen. She'd gotten her name from her little two-note cry with a rising intonation, which sounded to us like "BB? BB?" She was not a hand-fed bird and so was always a bit nervous around us, unlike Pearl, though we came to an arrangement over time where we could pick her up without too much struggle to pet her, and she would never, ever bite.<br /><br />We called the largest vet clinic here last night to find out what to do to find out whether there might have been some kind of illness present which would put Pearl at jeopardy, but they told us that they do not do pet necropsies themselves, referring people to Cornell if such is required. She seems to be fairly healthy, though she was unusually hungry when we got her home, ravenous, really, making us wonder whether they might have been deprived at the pet store, though it seems nearly as likely that she might have succumbed to a bad fall somehow. We had other reasons to believe that the account given by the pet store was accurate and that it had happened only a very short time earlier, but everything is based on circumstantial evidence.<br /><br />I checked on Pearl this morning and she seems to be okay. It makes me sad to see her all by herself there, even though the two of them had not been best buddies or anything like that, because I know they are very social creatures. My wife is upset and unhappy too because of a sort of history of Bad Things having happened the week between Christmas and New Years Day.<br /><br />I'll be going out to lay BB to rest in a spot in the garden later this morning. BB was a wonderful, sweet pet to have had these ten years, and it's a hollow kind of loss we feel.<br clear="all" /></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/pied-beauty.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/5962827957754805377'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/5962827957754805377'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-7017562874617228815</id><published>2006-12-24T20:53:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-25T04:51:08.189-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='religion'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='food'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='music'></category><title type='text'>Christmas eve 2006</title><content type='html'>Our church choir's one big performance at 10pm last night went off at last, after something like eight weeks of practice, with many of the same hymns as <a href="http://magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/b2005/christmas2006.html">last year</a>.<br /><h4>Choral preludes (9:30 PM)</h4><br /><ol><br /><li><a href="http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/pages.html?cart=33439135313143749&target=smp_detail.html%26sku%3DGI.G-6184&s=pages-www.google.com/search&e=/sheetmusi<br />c/detail/GI.G-6184.html&t=&k=&r=wwws-err5">O Holy Night</a> (<em>Adam</em>)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/o/godrest.htm">God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.grandi-tenori.com/features/am/am_2004-12x.php">Gesù Bambino</a> soprano solo (Yon)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.stpetersnottingham.org/music/panisangelicus.html">Panis Angelicus</a> tenor solo (Franck)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg9kxA7fRCg">Pie Jesu</a> soprano/alto duet (Webber)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.giamusic.com/hymnals/Gather_Comp_II.pdf">Hark, the Herald Angels Sing</a> (Wesley - <em>Mendelssohn</em>)</li><br /></ol><br /><h4>Mass</h4><br /><ol><li><a href="http://www.ocppublications.org/en/songsearch/viewsong.php?music<br />id=284">O Come, All Ye Faithful</a> (Wade - <em>Adeste Fideles</em>)</li><br /><li><a href="http://paulgibsonmusic.com/liturgical-music2.htm">A Christmas Gloria</a> (<em>Gibson</em>)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.wlp.jspaluch.com/wlp/product.asp?category=SONGBOOK&part_no=001592&find_category=SONGBOOK&find_description=&find_part_desc=">A Child Is Born</a> (Deiss)</li><br /><li>Christmas Alleluia (<em>Dean</em>)</li><br /><li>Offertory - <a href="http://www.halleonard.com/featureResultsItemDetail.jsp?itemid=87414<br />94,8741495&order=335&featureCat=140045&li=yes&location=Church&refer=null">He Shall Be Called</a> (<em>Callaway</em>)</li><br /><li>Sanctus - Mass of Creation (<em>Haugen</em>)</li><br /><li>Profession of Faith - "O Come Let Us Adore Him" (Wade - <em>Adeste Fideles</em>)</li><br /><li>Amen - Mass of Creation (<em>Haugen</em>)</li><br /><li>Lamb of God - Mass of Creation (<em>Haugen</em>)</li><br /><li>Communion meditation - <li><a href="http://www.stantons.com/details/index.pnt/287489">Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring</a> violin and piano duet (<em>J. S. Bach</em>)</li><br /><li>Communion hymn - <a href="http://www.giamusic.com/hymnals/Gather_Comp_II.pdf">Silent Night/Night of Silence</a> (<em>Kantor</em>)</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyworld.htm">Joy to the World</a> (Watts - <em>Händel</em>)</li></ol><br /><br />I would be exaggerating to say that everything went off without a hitch, but I think the issues we had to deal with were pretty small - a missed cue here, a disjointed accompaniment there, a thump when someone touched a microphone - that most of them were probably just at the threshold of perception for the audience. On the other side, we seemed not to have as much of the chronic flaws we fought during practice (ragged entrances and a pronounced tendency to go flat), plus the crowd maybe 25% larger than what we had last year, in this time slot that always poses such a challenge.<br /><br />Finally, after the last hymn, I made an announcement: Nobody was to leave until they'd had a chance to pick up one of the cupcakes I'd made! From the sound of the thanks I received, I think I might have earned some (almost literal) brownie points thereby.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RY_JDgP-Y2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/UNQ5_Rvlgbw/s1600-h/100_0146.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RY_JDgP-Y2I/AAAAAAAAAB4/UNQ5_Rvlgbw/s320/100_0146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012445972320379746" /></a></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/christmas-eve-2006.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/7017562874617228815'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/7017562874617228815'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-357247651131803667</id><published>2006-12-24T12:33:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-24T12:39:27.281-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='calendar'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photo'></category><title type='text'>2007 calendar</title><content type='html'>I used <a href="http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/calendar.php">one of the Flickr Toys</a> to make this calendar for 2007 out of some of my favorite snapshots. (Click on the thumbnail to download a zip archive of the 12 individual months.) It is suitable for printing in a format suitable for a <a href="http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/calendar-instructions.php">CD case</a>. I hope you like it!<br clear="all"><br /><a href="http://magahiz.com:8080/frabjous/b2006/calendar07.zip" title="Photo calendar, 2007"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Cd3k-gzBV-I/RY7k7AP-Y1I/AAAAAAAAABs/Iw7UYAXrrAg/s400/cal07thumb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012195137640358738" /></a></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/2007-calendar.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/357247651131803667'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/357247651131803667'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27263169.post-2549621049049032578</id><published>2006-12-23T04:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2006-12-23T04:54:30.870-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='film'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='project'></category><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='toy'></category><title type='text'>Don't let them get me!</title><content type='html'>When I was a kid there were are few <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051432/">movies</a> which would sometimes get me scared at night, with the common old fear of the thing lurking under the bed. This crafter has created a <a href="http://www.themousehole.org/monster.html">monster under the bed</a> plushie which I feel deserves to be popularized, as a way to help children (and others) get over their night frights maybe. Maybe some purple electric tentacles and slime glands would be nice accessories to add - I'm willing to act as consultant!<style type="text/css">.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }</style><div class="flickr-frame"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gothcandy/143837543/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/143837543_57e555c0a0_t.jpg" class="flickr-photo" alt="Cthulhu" /></a><br /> <span class="flickr-caption"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gothcandy/143837543/">Cthulhu</a>,<br /> originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/gothcandy/">GothCandy</a>. </span></div></content><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/2006/12/don-let-them-get-me.html'></link><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://t2o.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default/2549621049049032578'></link><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/27263169/posts/default/2549621049049032578'></link><author><name>RichM</name></author></entry></feed>