Plenz' Rantings and Ramblings

Go "protect" yourselves...

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:52:36 GMT

Copy this sentence into your livejournal if you're in a non-same-sex marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

That's all.

An eBay score!

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:19:06 GMT

To answer a request by someone made on FB, but I know she uses LJ, too...

Check out what I got on eBay! The seller has no "source" information... he thinks it was obtained by his grandmother at a rummage sale in Florida.

The item looks similar to pins I've seen pictured in early Crimsons... this may have been something given to little sisters in the pre-Sigma Nu era. Other possibilities include gifts for girlfriends or House Mothers. Whatever... it's coming home! I'll bring it to activation if I get it by then and Viola may be compelled to wear it at Formal or Centennial.

It's gold with 14 pearls and six emeralds. It has the letters "FIB" engraved on the back... but i have no members with those initials in my records.

Here's another picture, a quarter-profile.

After all this time...

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:52:44 GMT

Just a stupid meme. I don't know what the fuck "gakked" means, so I copied and pasted the items from Kali's LJ.

Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your answer to each question in the search box, then write the FIRST definition it gives you.

1. Your name: machine, sexy, hot and makes girls go crazy

2. Your age: The Almighty Answer to the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It was calculated by the computer Deep Thought for seven million years and when asked to build a better computer to discover the Question to the Life, the Universe, and Everything, it built the Earth. Before the Earth could tell the Question however, it was destroyed by the Vogons to make room for an interstellar highway bypass. For more information, see The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
What is six times seven? 42!
No, no, that's too simple.
How many roads must a man walk down? 42!
That's it! We're made!

3. One of your friends: Jimbo - Jimbo is a man unparalleled in greatness. He is both staunchly conservative and intent on dispelling the common misperception and obvious confusion about global warming, or the lack there of. Jimbo enjoys the finer things in life, such as taming wild horses and riding them, and involving himself in political discussions. Jimbo is perfect in almost every aspect of life, but he is comically immature physically in the groin area. However, Jimbo still enjoys wearing nothing but a cowboy hat and a smile wherever he goes.

4. What you should be doing: This makes no sense, I don't know what to put into the dictionary.

5. Your favorite color: Red:
1) a communist
2) CCC tablet (Coricidin, OTC anti-tussive medicine)

6. Your birthplace: Milwaukee: Situated along the picturesque banks of wondrous Lake Michigan, Milwaukee is the "hidden jewel of the Upper Midwest," biotch!

7. Last person you talked to: Lillian - rock band in the 1980's and 1990's. From humble beginnings in 1983, the New Orleans-based hard rock act rose above the cream of the bands touring the southern U.S. club circuit. Within three years, the band's live show had built a reputation that could not be denied and was becoming legendary throughout the south.

8. The last thing you drank: Cherry Pepsi - THE BEST MOFOIN DRINK NEXT TO DR.PEPPER! suckas!!!

9. Your nickname: plenz isn't defined yet.

Well.. that was exciting.

Free Rice has been mastered!

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:00:19 GMT

So, if you haven't heard of it, there's a site called "Free Rice" (www.freerice.com) where you can build your vocabulary and donate rice to the hungry. It's a great (and addictive) site, and especially good for those people who may want to build vocab prior to taking the SAT or GRE.

When you go there, it gives you a word and four possible definitions. Select one. For every three correct you go up one level of vocab difficulty, for every ONE you miss you drop a level. The level of vocab goes from 1 - 50.

The first four items when you go there are used to place you in the difficulty range... if you get all four right you start at level 40. For every three after that you go up a level. This means that, if you never make a mistake, you can get to Level 50 in no less than 34 words. 20 grains of rice per word. 34 * 20 = 680.

Why do I bring this up?

Check out the screen shot below! Please note the size of the donation and the vocab level... and the fact that they match the afore mentioned minimum necessary to get to Level 50. I've been hovering around 48 and 49 for a while now occasionally popping into the 50 level, but yesterday was a very good day.

Not just a genius... a super-genius! (By the way, "penna" is a feather, in case you were wondering).

Kali thought she won, but I held trump!

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:44:04 GMT

Kali's a friend, a real Sci-Fi fan. But not as much as meee! nyah nyah!

My score is as follows:

	I received 93 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Guess the Sci-Fi Movie Sounds here Canon powershot

I know which one I got wrong... vexing. One one or two were challenging... the rest were easy-peasy. I would have liked to have heard Red Dwarf or Dr. Who in there...

Tau Handcuffs

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 03:04:17 GMT

Hey there.

For those of you who are or were Taus, one of the actives asked me to spread the word... she found a catalogue in which one can order custom engraved items, including handcuffs!

So far, between actives and alumni, we have 26 pairs of them awaiting order! However, there is a minimum of 36 to order, so we're hoping to get a few more interested parties!

Standard silvery/chrome-y lock and key handcuffs (with safety release) with "Theta Sigma Tau" to be engraved on one of the cuffs. The price is very reasonable: $6/pair ( pair = two cuffs connected by a chain... if you want to connect multiple limbs to multiple restraint points you either need multiple pairs or a partner who is a gymnast.)

In the unlikely event that 72 or more could be ordered, the price would drop 50¢/pair..

Figure that shipping would be another buck or two, so total cost to you would be $8 for the first pair and maybe $7 for additional pairs.

If you're interested, email me! Don't just reply to this, I don't check this as often as email... "plenz@ THE NAME OF THE HOUSE, ALL ONE WORD.org"

Pete

School programs...

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:52:52 GMT

Okay, for those few of you who may still read this...

We are starting to look into K-3 programs for Lillian. Yes, i know... it's pretty early to get her into school... and we're not going to be psychos about school or 10,000 activities etc...

But, we do want her and Elenor to start early so that they can "be all they can be" without having to join the Army. ;-) We don't want to rely solely upon the public school systems we have available to us, since public schools are chronically underfunded, understaffed, and overpopulated.

Anyway, one of the schools we're looking at uses the Waldorf Method of teaching. It's a K3 - 8th grade school, so they could both be in the program for a long time.

Another school uses the Montessori method, and it, too, would be a school they could attend for a substantial part of their primary school careers.

While I can do research on the method online and through other sources, and I will... I would like to know if anyone that I know has had any experience of either of these kinds of programs? Any feedback about these or other methods of teaching would be helpful in our decision making process.

Personally, having looked over some preliminary literature on both Waldorf and Montessori, I am a bit taken with the Waldorf Method and the arrangement at the school we're looking at that offers it. But I don't want to just jump at it.

Thanks in advance for anything anyone has to offer about these and other teaching methods. And, if you're in the Milwaukee area, if you know of a good school that offers one of these programs, let me know so that I can investigate it.

Pete

Baaaa

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:12:36 GMT

You're Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Interesting. Dunno how accurate it is, it seemed to be a small number of questions for something purporting to have 64 outcomes... and some of the questions were peculiar.

But it allows me to say "Yes, I'm still alive." I'm doing fine, Viola is well, Lily is making like a weed, and Elly is learning kick-boxing, according to her mom.

Mooo

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:23:41 GMT

Go to http://www.careercruising.com.
Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
Post the top fifteen results in your LJ, along with these instructions.

</p>

Mechanical Engineering Tech
Agricultural Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Aerospace Engineer
Biomedical Engineer
Computer Engineer
Heavy Equipment Mechanic
Mining Engineer
Diesel Mechanic
Engineering Tech
Automobile Mechanic
Small Engine Mechanic
Motorcycle Mechanic
Aircraft Mechanic
Electrical Engineer

Do we see a theme here?The engineering I can see, I was in an engineering program when I started college... the 3/2 program Ripon supposedly has with Rensaeller Polytechnic (sp?) but I guess being interested in how machines work makes me a closet mechanic. Interested in theory is not the same as interested in rebuilding a VW engine (which I've done... but it was not well-done!)

George and Patti...

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:23:38 GMT

Virginia Johnson, daughter of George Johnson and Patti Beck, was born today at 4.30pm EDT. Mom and baby are doing great!

Estrogen poisoning on the horizon...

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:19:05 GMT

Elenor Petra Lenz shall round out our family some time in January of 2008. According to the ultrasound she looks healthy and well formed. A picture will be placed on her page at some point in the future. Maybe I'll put it here, too.

For those not aware of it, Elenor is a very old name, it dates from before the third age, it is the name of a flower found in the fields of Loth Lorien.

Stop buying products made in China...

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:14:50 GMT

News article from Aug 14:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6946752.stm

Looked at it?

This is the second such recall in two weeks, the first involved millions more toys including Sesame Street and Dora characters.

Before that there was the problem with Chinese tires disintegrating.

Before that... toxic ingredients in toothpaste sold to institutions.

Before that... toxic additives to products used primarily in the creation of pet foods, resulting in the death of a number of animals.

Did you know that an iceberg shows only a small portion of itself above the surface of the water? 80 - 83% of it is underwater.

As hard and as expensive as it will be, it's time to STOP buying products made in China. Cheap and toxic is NOT acceptable.

Ditto for products from other countries found to do this sort of crap.

Too cool! No wimpy wuss wizardiung for me!

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:03:16 GMT

Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

I need to bitch...

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:48:13 GMT

I know, it's been ages, and now I'm just gonna bitch...

So, our old microwave packed it in a while back, so we got a new one, from Sears, that has a built in coffee maker. The thing works great... no complaints there.

But the carafe broke. It's an odd shape and size, gotta get another one for the same brand of microwave.

I find out at Sears that i have to order it from their parts department because, apparently, they don't expect people to ever break glass carafes. I must be uniquely talented in that department.

So, i go online and order it on May 31. It costs $60 plus another $14 shipping and $4 in taxes. Steep, but they have me by the short hairs.

They debit my checking account on June 2.

By June 15 it has not arrived... so i go and look at the status online. Backordered until June 28 or later.

WTF? They charged me! That means it shipped in most parts of reality.

So I call them up. "We charge right away, it's an automated process."

See, I don't think that's right... until you've PROVIDED the good or service, or committed to a special order, you don't get to charge. They make lots of these microwaves and carafes and I cannot be the only person to ever break one of the things.

So, I explain this to them and cancel the order.

"The cancellation will be processed in 1-3 business days."

So today is a week, five business days later. The money they debited is not back yet. It's $78... it's not like it's going to break the bank, but I don't think that they should have taken the money in the first place and I was told 1-3 days.

So I call again. By the way, for those of you who don't know, I pretty much despise talking on the phone when dealing with phone-trees and corporate peons.

After getting hung up on by one idiot (defintely improving my mood, lemme tell ya) I finallly get "hand delivered" to a customer service manager ('hand delivered" means that i didn't let ANYONE put me on hold as i got transferred from place to place). She does some checking and it turns out that it will take "at least 14 business days" for the money to be returned to me. It's the way the process is handled, there's nothing she can do about it.

Again, WTF!?! They were certainly fast off the mark to charge me, but they don't want to give up my money... despite having NOT provided me with anything.

I informed her that, while I am only one disgruntled customer who no longer plans to ever buy something from or related to Sears, that with a set of customer unfriendly corporate policies such as they have, I am certainly not the first and will not be the last to tell them to take a flying fuck through a rolling doughnut.

I miss my old D-land journal... I used to have a listing of the companies that I would no longer deal with because of their poor business practices. Alas, D-land proved itself to be poorly run and managed, too.

I suppose that, with an attitude like mine, I will eventually be unable to shop anywhere, ever. Not necessarily a bad thing, IMHO.

Seriously... all I'm looking for is what anyone should expect...

1) If I order something and it is NOT in stock, inform me of it before I commit to the order. Your fucking inventory is on a computer. Your website is on a computer. Have the two talk to each other and keep a real time inventory. this way you can inform the purchaser if the item will have to be delayed, permitting them the option of NOT bothering or looking elsewhere.

2) If this is impossible, then as soon as the backordered status must be assigned, contact the purchaser and ask if they want to wait or try somewhere else. NOT telling the customer is only going to annoy them when they find out. You're NOT the only game in town, if you give them reasons to NOT want to shop with you, they won't.

3) If something must be backordered, commit to a date that it will be available. Don't keep changing the date, pushing it further and further back. This may keep the buyer "on the hook" but the buyer will be a very unhappy little fish and will certainly look elsewhere in the future.

4) NEVER charge until the item is shipped or the service provided. The only exception is if something needs to be special ordered, and then make it clear to the customer before hand.

Had Sears done ANY of these, i would not be nearly so unhappy. Ditto for my experiences with Target.com and other places that I've had crappy experiences with.

Sure, doing the above might cost you a few orders, but you will wind up with more loyal customers who would rather deal with an up-front and honest business first, if possible. Of course, if a business has a problem keeping things in stock customers will stop coming back.

This lesson was taught in that old movie, Miracle on 34th Street... the Kris Kringle character starts telling people where they CAN find the toys their kids want, even if they're not at the store he's working in. The end result is customers who are happier and more loyal to the honest business that gives the impression of caring for their customer's needs over their own. Corporate culture appears to have forgotten this idea.

So, Fuck you Sears... in-person, by phone, or on the web... you won't be seeing my credit card numbers or check books again in my lifetime.

And maybe some of my friends will read this, agree, and join the boycott, too.

Swiped from Kali

Fri, 18 May 2007 23:59:54 GMT

And just to drive this point home, here's a meme:

- Bold all of the following TV shows which you've ever seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime.
- Italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode of it.
- ~~Strike~~ through a show that you've never seen
- ~~Strike and underline~~ shows that you would never watch, ever, even were a gun pointed to your head.
- If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

~~21 Jump Street~~
24
~~30 Rock~~
~~7th Heaven~~
~~8 Simple Rules~~
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
~~ALF~~
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
~~Alias~~
~~American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol/etc.~~
~~America's Next Top Model/Germany's Next Top Model~~
~~Angel~~
~~Are You Afraid of the Dark?~~
~~Arrested Development~~
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
Battlestar Galactica (the old one)
~~Battlestar Galactica (the new one)~~ (sadly)
~~Baywatch~~
~~Beavis & Butthead~~
~~Beverly Hills 90210~~
Blackadder
Blake's Seven
Bonanza
~~Bones~~
Bosom Buddies
Boston Public
~~Boy Meets World~~
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
~~Bug Juice~~
~~Caitlin's Way~~
Chappelle's Show
~~Charlie's Angels~~
~~Charmed~~
Cheers
~~Clarissa Explains It All~~
Columbo
~~Commander in Chief~~
~~Coupling~~
~~Cowboy Bebop~~
~~Crossing Jordan~~
~~Criminal Minds~~
CSI
~~CSI: Miami~~
~~CSI: NY~~
~~Curb Your Enthusiasm~~
~~Dallas~~
~~Dancing with the Stars~~
~~Danny Phantom~~
~~Dark Angel~~
~~Dark Skies~~
~~Davinci's Inquest~~
~~Dawson's Creek~~
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
~~Degrassi: The Next Generation~~
~~Designing Women~~
~~Desperate Housewives~~
Dexter (assuming this is the cartoon, Dexter's Lab)
Dharma & Greg
~~Diagnosis Murder~~
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (1963)
Doctor Who (2005)
~~Dragnet~~
Due South
Earth 2
Emergency!
~~Entourage~~
ER
~~Everwood~~
~~Everybody Loves Raymond~~
~~Extreme Makeover: Home Edition~~
~~Facts of Life~~
Family Guy
Family Ties
Farscape
~~Father Ted~~
Fawlty Towers
~~Felicity~~
Firefly
~~Flash Forward~~
~~Frasier~~
~~Freaks and Geeks~~
Friends
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan's Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
~~Green Wing~~
~~Grey's Anatomy~~
~~Growing Pains~~
Gunsmoke
~~Hannah Montana~~
Happy Days
~~Heroes~~
Hogan's Heroes
Home Improvement
~~Homicide: Life on the Street~~
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
~~Instant Star~~
~~Inuyasha~~
Invader Zim
~~Invasion~~
~~Hell's Kitchen~~
~~JAG~~
~~Jackass~~
Jeeves & Wooster
~~Joey~~
~~John Doe~~
~~Just Shoot Me~~
~~Keen Eddie~~
~~LA Law~~
Laverne and Shirley
~~Life With Derek~~
Little House on the Prairie
~~Lizzie McGuire~~
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
~~Lost~~
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Malcolm in the Middle
Married... With Children
~~Melrose Place~~
~~Miami Vice~~
Mission: Impossible
~~Monk~~
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
~~My Life as a Dog~~
~~My So-Called Life~~
~~My Super Sweet 16~~
~~My Three Sons~~
~~My Two Dads~~
~~NCIS~~
~~Nip/Tuck~~
~~North Shore~~
~~Numb3rs~~
~~One Tree Hill~~
Oz
Perry Mason
~~Phil of the Future~~
~~Pokemon~~
~~Power Rangers~~
~~Prison Break~~
Profiler
~~Project Runway~~
~~Psych~~
Quantum Leap
~~Queer As Folk (US)~~
~~Queer as Folk (UK)~~
Red Dwarf
~~ReGenesis~~
Remington Steele
~~Rescue Me~~
~~Road Rules~~
~~ROME~~
Roseanne
~~Roswell~~
~~Salute Your Shorts~~
~~Saved by the Bell~~
~~Scarecrow and Mrs King~~
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
~~Scrubs~~
Seinfeld
~~Sex and the City~~
~~Six Feet Under~~
~~Sinchronicity~~
~~Skins~~
Sliders
~~Slings and Arrows~~
~~Smallville~~
~~So Weird~~
South Park
~~Spaced~~
~~Spongebob Squarepants~~
~~Sports Night~~
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
~~Starsky & Hutch~~
~~Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip~~
Superman (is this the one from the 60s?)
~~Supernatural~~
~~Surface~~
~~Survivor~~
Taxi
~~Teen Titans~~
That 70's Show
~~That's So Raven~~
~~The 4400~~
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
~~The Apprentice~~
~~The A-Team~~
~~The Avengers~~
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Brady Bunch
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
~~The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd~~
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
~~The Famous Jet Jackson~~
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
~~The Golden Girls~~
The Honeymooners
~~The Invisible Man~~
The Jeffersons
The Jetsons
~~The L Word~~
~~The Love Boat~~
The Lucille Ball Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
~~The Mighty Boosh~~
The Monkees
The Munsters
~~The Mythbusters~~
The New Statesman
~~The O.C.~~
~~The Office (UK)~~
The Office (US)
~~The Pretender~~
~~The Real World~~
~~The Shield~~
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
~~The Sopranos~~
~~The Suite Life of Zack and Cody~~
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
~~The West Wing~~
~~The Wonder Years~~
The X-Files
~~Third Watch~~
Three's Company
~~Top Gear~~
~~Torchwood~~
Twin Peaks
~~Twitch City~~
~~Two and A Half Men~~
~~Ugly Betty~~
~~Veronica Mars~~
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Will and Grace
~~Wings~~
~~Without a Trace~~
WKRP in Cincinnati

First there was Mac, now there is Cheese

Wed, 16 May 2007 01:15:45 GMT

That's right, in case you hadn't heard... we're knocked up again.

Lily's excited to be becoming a big sister. We're excited to be having number two.

Due date is yet to be determined, I'm thinking late January.

Gender is yet to be determined (by us, anyway) and will take at least three more months before we can have a chance of determining it.

Updates as they are warranted.

The Great Leatherback Race

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:19:11 GMT

Endangered Species + Competitive Racing = Greater Awareness...

Get This Widget!Great Turtle Race

If it doesn't work... go here, be amused, perhaps help out.

http://www.greatturtlerace.com/

Nifty neeto Crimsonness!

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:58:08 GMT

As some of you may know, i managed to score a 1964 Crimson on eBay some years ago. That is the senior year of our brother, Harrison Ford. When i got it, I opened it and discovered that the name of the original owner was written inside. No, not Harrison, but one of his brothers in Sigma Nu. So, the yearbook came home, sort of.

Recently I have managed to score TWO 1961 Crimsons... Harrison's Freshman year and Al Jarreau's junior year. Nothing too remarkable about one of them... the other I am waiting to receive... perhaps it will coincidentally have something interesting in it.

I also managed to get a 1936 and a 1935 Crimson recently. Both from the same auctioneer, who may be selling off items from an estate. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the '36 book... it's in excellent shape but nothing to suggest that it might have a connection with the House.

However, the 35 Crimson might, just might, have belonged to a brother. The book has no marking in it, itself. But, like the 36 Crimson it has pictures cut from other places and pasted into the inside covers and blank pages of the book. Additionally, it has a couple cuttings from relatively recent Ripon College Magazines (the same fonts used today, glossy colorful pictures, etc). One of the cuttings appears to be an image associated with an obituary for Robert Rashid, '36, a Tau who IS in both of these two Crimsons.

It could be that they both belonged to Emmeth Luebke, 36, who I know passed away last February.

It's compelling.

In an amusing aside, one of the "seniors" listed as being a member of Tau and spotlighted in the 1935 Crimson was in his eighth year at Ripon with that Crimson. It looks like Zeus was following in the footsteps of Taus that went before.

There's also some interesting historical stuff in the blurb about the house.

I also just scored a lot from 1946 - 1952.

These old books are fun!

Plenz - The Movie

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:06:46 GMT

I've seen this sort of thing before, but it can be amusing...

If your life were a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

Rules:
1. open your library (itunes, winamp, media player, ipod, etc).
2. put it on shuffle.
3. press play.
4. for every section of the movie, type the song that's playing.
5. when you go to a new question, press the next button.
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...
7. tag me when you do yours, so I can laugh at your life, like you are about to do mine!

opening credits: John Henry - covered by Bruce Springsteen

waking up: (This Could Be) The Last Time - The Who

first day at school - Lost for Words - Pink Floyd

falling in love: Bard Dance - Enya

fight song: The Dead Parrot - Monty Python

breaking up: Speedway at Nazareth - Mark Knopfler

prom: All I Want for Solstice is My Sanity - Lance Holt

first time having sex: The Mummers Dance - Loreena McKennett

graduation: The Senses - The Warners (Yakko, Wakko, and Dot)

life's ok: Born in the U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen

mental breakdown: The Hunting Song - Tom Lehrer

driving: Baby on Board - The B Sharps

flashback: Broken Promise - B.B. King

getting back together: She's My Girl - Tom Lehrer

wedding: If I Ever Lose My Faith In You - Sting

birth of child: Run-Around - Blues Traveler

final battle: I Touch Myself - The Divinyls

death scene: Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac

funeral song: To Go Beyond - Enya

Okay, that really is the mix I got... some are kinda disturbing... "Plenz dies in a horrible incident involving an on-line masturbation device and a DDOS on his server."

Maybe I'm proving it here...

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:51:07 GMT

Okay, first off... welcome to Lent. A period of 40 days running up to Easter. One tradition, one of the few left, is that good Christians and Catholics should give up something that they like for this period. One might refrain from drinking soda, watching tv, whatever one is inspired to give up. Make it specific enough and one might not be too bothered... I could give up Mountain Dew... don't like it anyway.

It used to be this was a period of fasting and self-reflection and whatnot. That's why Mardi Gras occurs the day before Ash Wednesday and Carnival runs up to it, too: a last period of indulgence and gorging before one has to give things up for a while. Of course, most of the tradition of giving something up has gone... used to be no meat, then no meat on Fridays, then fish was not meat (vegetable, maybe?) and now meat on a Friday is only discouraged, not actually demanded.

Me, I make sure to eat something red and bloody every Friday during Lent. And I've decided to over-indulge in things that I like, and maybe to indulge in some things I don't like... why? Why not... it's just as meaningful as pretending to give things up or pretending to sacrifice while pre-emptively making up for it (to say nothing of the very large Easter dinner most will have at the end of Lent.

One other thing caught my eye, and maybe the above proves it. The below link cites a congressman who believes that the theory of evolution is a conspiracy by those of the Jewish faith to lead Christians astray.
http://abroch.wordpress.com/2007/02/19/congressman-says-evolution-is-a-myth-spread-by-jews/
Sanity in elected officials... that would be refreshing, wouldn't it?

Call me Jewish and pass the gefiltefish!

Stolen from my g^7 grand-little

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:34:32 GMT

Your Name: Plenz

1. Famous Artist: Pisanello

2. 4 letter word: porn

3. Street name: Pierce

4. Color: periwinkle

5. Gifts/presents: puzzles

6. Vehicles: Prius

7. College or University: Penn State

8. TV Show: gundam wing

9. Country: Peru

10. Things in a Souvenir Shop: plates

11. Boy Name: Peter

12. Girl Name: Petra

13. Movie Title: Philadelphia

14. Alcoholic drink: Port

15. Occupations: Professor

16. Flowers: pansy

17. Celebrities: Pitt

18. Magazines: Popular Science

19. U.S. Cities: Pewaukee, WI

20. Food: pizza

21. Something Found in a kitchen: paring knife

22. Reason for Being Late: pregnant ;-)

23. Something You Throw Away: packaging materials

24. Cartoon Character: Peter Griffin (Family Guy)

25. Something You Shout: PORN!

How cute!!!

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 19:09:01 GMT

I need this game when it comes out... take up a collection...

http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/munchkincthulhu/

Can I do research like this?

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:24:22 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4468884.stm

An actual formula... I need to get into research like this... I know my Taus would volunteer for a longitudinal study on topics of this sort...

Of course, you already knew this...

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 21:31:35 GMT

Okay, Daven... punk...

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:05:44 GMT

1. Is your second toe longer than your first?
It might be... each of my second toes bends away from the big toe and the outermost knuckle, the flange at the tip is pointing about 30° away from the big toe.. if they were straight, they might be longer...

2. Do you have a favorite type of pen?
Red rollerballs, they look best when grading papers... bright, eye-catching, unmistakable in pointing out poor grammar

3. Look at your planner for March 14, what are you doing?
Teaching History of Psychology, taking Viola to MATC for an exam, celebrating her A with lots of baby-awakening sex...

4. What color are your toenails usually?
About the same color as my skin except for the regions that are discoloured by melenin, those make black lines from base to tip on some of them

5. What was the last thing you highlighted?
Let's assume we're talking about markers here... a note on a contract indicating that, while it was dated as having been sent 22 December, the postmark on the envelope is dated 23 January... indicating that someone at the University of Wisconsin is a liar, an incompetant, or (most likely) both

6. What color are your bedroom curtains?
We have a white paper blind

7. What color are the seats in your car?
silvery gray

8. Have you ever had a black and white cat?
Magpie was all black except for a tiny tuft of white on his chest

9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on?
A Where's George dollar bill after entering it. I'm 27th in Wisconsin!

10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming?
It's possible

11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time?
Gods, I don't use ATMs anymore. I hit the tellers in the credit union looking for $2 bills (for Where's George, $1 coins (for ren faires) and any other funny money they might have.

12. Who is the last baby that you held?
Well, Lillian is now over two years old, so I don't think I should count her. So, the answer would be Cu and Nikki's lovely daughter, Elisabeth, last Saturday

13. Do you know of any twins with rhyming names?
No

14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste?
Not nearly as much as fennel toothpaste.

15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago?
2003 Toyota Corolla

16. Pick one: Miami Hurricanes or Florida Gators
It's Florida... who flippin' cares?

17. Last time you went to Six Flags?
Heh... that would be "Senior Night" my senior year of high school. President Reagan had just begun his second term and the Windows OS did not yet exist (except in that the OS that Gates based its "look and feel" on did...

18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house?
Nope. Tacky wood panelling upstairs, though.

19. Closest thing to you that is yellow:
That would be my Tootsie Pop "How many licks does it take?" boxer shorts. ... hey, you asked...

20. Last person to give you a business card?
Some publisher's rep

21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to?
Last Cheque: Columbia/St. Mary's Children's School. Last person: Barb

22. Closest framed picture to you?
A picture of myself at 2 years old, looking like a carbon copy of my daughter

23. Last time you had someone cook for you?
Saturday Cu and Nikki had us over for dinner... quite good pasta and pie!

24. Have you ever applied for welfare?
Nope

25. How many emails do you have?
Addresses? Four that are used, three more that are repositories for junk mail or to enable me to have a particular messenger.

26. Last time you received flowers?
I don't recall having received flowers.

27. Do you think the sanctity of marriage is meant for only a man & woman?
Nicely worded question to try to bias responses: religious bigots can restrict crap within the realm of their religion all they want... religion is intended to control and exclude. As far as the real world, if two consenting adults wish to marry, it's no one's business but their own who has what equipment. I support the right of homosexuals to marry and live full, complete lives without the imposition of other peoples' moralities or beliefs.

28. This one appears to be missing. I'll make something up... Do I go off on tangents? Yes I do, let me tell you a story about...

29. Do you play air guitar?
I prefer air-accordian... it's just as fun and looks ten times sillier

30. Do you take anything in your coffee?
I like cream in my coffee (non-dairy because of that whole lactose-intolerance thing) but nothing else.

31. Do you have any Willow Tree figurines?
No, but I have an extensive collection of Tau Glassware, ancient cameras, and silver eagles.

32. What is your high school's rival mascot?
I'm lucky I remember our mascot... seriously, we were the Trojans. I gotta tell you, many is the time we got ribbed for that.

33. Last person you spoke to from high school?
Back to Cu, from this weekend.

34. Last time you used hand sanitizer?
I haven't had any hands to sanitize in a while... keep them in the freezer with the rest of the body and they stay sterile... gotta watch out for freezer burn, tho.

35. Would you like to learn to play the drums?
Such a useful skill that would be to learn. I think I'd rather learn to basket weave underwater, thanks.

36. What color are the blinds in your living room?
They were once white... but the sun has discoloured them a bit.

37. What is in your inbox at work?
Email inbox: shitloads of email; On-campus mailbox: nothing now that I took the package out of it. I don't have an "inbox."

38. Last thing you read in the newspaper?
Continuing analysis of the rambling basket of half-truths and mis-truths that Bush spewed last Tuesday

39. What was the last pageant you attended?
What the hell IS a pageant? And if you're not the parent of one of the people in it, why would you bother?

40. What is the last place you bought pizza from?
Frozen pizza? Pick & Save. Delivery pizza? Dominos Death Disks od Saukville.

41. Have you ever worn a crown?
Does the one with thorns count? Oh, wait those weren't thorns, it was barbed wire.

42. What is the last thing you stapled?
The fabric underside of our loveseat (what? I used a flipping staple gun!)

43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi?
Once. Never again, but once.

44. Are you ticklish?
Not usually, but I pretend for Lily.

45. Last time you saw fireworks?
Some time around the fourth of July.

46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut?
Many moons ago

47. Who is the last person that left you a message & you actually returned their call?
My mother or father, I suppose.

48. Last time you parked under a carport?
Last weekend while waiting for Viola to finish work

49. Do you have a black dog?
No. No dog.

50. Do you have any pickles in your fridge?
Yeah

51. Are you an aunt or uncle?
Not by blood, but I am Evil Uncle Pete to most of my friends' kids.

52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know of?
Viola, Lily, Lis... haven't noticed anyone else's eyes in a long time.

53. Last time you saw a semi truck?
Every day on the interstate

54. Do you remember Ugly Kid Joe?
Who?

55. Do you have a little black dress?
Well, because Wisconsin State law with regard to marriage means that Viola and I both own everything we own, I have several really cute or sexy black dresses... that she wears, thankfully.