"Murphy was an optimist!"
January 20, 2006 7:42 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeIt looks like a good day for a meltdown said the ice cube to the sun.
add a commentOf Grasshoppers January 19, 2006 7:10 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Grasshoppers, PhilosophyStudent: If I can just make it around the next bend.
Master: Just take one more step.
Student project: Mood-phone for Aspergers patients January 19, 2006 7:07 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Aspergers, Of Interestadd a commentMotorola has given an award to John Finan, who created a conceptual “mood-phone” that would help Asperger’s Syndrome patients determine the mood of the people they’re addressing. Asperger’s Syndrome famously afflicts sufferers by impairing their ability to pick up on social cues, and the mood-phone would makes those cues explicit, thus enabling Asperger’s patients to communicate more readily.
Ah! Happiness January 19, 2006 3:33 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeI needed that.
add a commentMark Michael’s Map January 19, 2006 3:30 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeIf you read Big Orange Michael, be sure to wish him a happy birthday today and mark yourself on his frappr map. If you don’t read him regularly, you must at least read his Lost reviews on Thursdays!
add a commentMayor Nagin of New Orleans January 19, 2006 3:09 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Humor, PhilosophySeen the latest publicity poster for New Orleans?
add a commentThought you’d heard it all? January 19, 2006 3:02 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest, Science, TechnologySo I was thinking I was the master of all knowledge and then someone showed me the nasal douche!
add a commentI love being a dad! January 19, 2006 2:53 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, FamilyOne of the best things about being a dad of an infant is love pats. There is no feeling to compare with holding a 7.5 month child who firmly puts one arm on your shoulder then uses the other arm to pat you on your chest or arm. Love pats come in repetition. Usually its about five. They are firm, confident pats; not hits. They communicate love and comfort. Love pats say, “Thank you Dad for protecting me” when the Roomba has my curiosity but is making me nervous. Love pats say, “I love you” and “you make me happy.” Love pats almost always are attached to the most content, at ease grin – just a little upturn of the corners of the mouth to say “Life is good.”
add a commentApproaching Boiling Point January 19, 2006 2:46 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeI often feel like a mechanic that has been dropped into the pits of the Indianapolis 500 but only given a hammer and a screwdriver to get the job done.
My machines are slow. I could be so much more productive with a wireless network and a laptop. But those are simple and solvable. The real challenges come in the form of power outages. Just as I’m about to press the send button on an email I’ve spent 10 minutes on, I hear a boom and our house blacks out. A bit later the same thing. Now I’m trying to rush through some stuff and the cat climbs into my lap and starts shoving my hands with her head and licking me. Not cute when the veins in my neck are pulsing.
Those of course are simply a couple of very specific examples. If only it didn’t feel like karma was fighting me constantly.
2commentsLost Thought January 19, 2006 2:41 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Lost, Of Interest, TV / MoviesIs it me or did Zeke and Locke seem a little to familar to one another? Was Locke’s original encounter with the monster or with the others?
1 comment so farRead the headline January 19, 2006 12:37 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : HumorPhotoshop is so fun. Wish I had thought of this one. I should add that I saw this one a week or two ago in a different setting. I think orsm.net is taking someone else’s credit. Seems the picture wasn’t as dark either and that you could actually see the woman in the paper in the paper in the paper…
add a commentTrue or False? A North Korean Missle Hit Alaska January 19, 2006 11:24 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : News, Of InterestA report in, of all things, The Korea Times claims that a missle test from North Korea ended in Alaska:
The warhead of a long-range missile test-fired by North Korea was found in the U.S. state of Alaska, a report to the National Assembly revealed yesterday.
“According to a U.S. document, the last piece of a missile warhead fired by North Korea was found in Alaska,’” former Japanese foreign minister Taro Nakayama was quoted as saying in the report. “Washington, as well as Tokyo, has so far underrated Pyongyang’s missile capabilities.”
Snopes does not have this yet. Maybe this is how GW plans on clearing the Alaskan wilderness to make drilling easier.
Brrrr January 19, 2006 7:28 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of InterestI know they are saying the temperature is going to get in the 60s (F) but right now it’s cold as a witch’s titty! Now, you might ask, “How do you know how cold a witch’s titty is?” Let’s just say I knew a few witches back in college. That may lead you to ask, “So, just how cold is a witch’s titty” to which I would have to say, “now we’ve gone too far!”
Now, the expression “cold as…” is rather common despite its potential offensiveness. I had to find the origin.
The simple explanation is that “colder than a witch’s tit” is just a vivid metaphor, like “hotter than the hinges of hell.” Since a witch is in league with Satan, presumably she has no maternal feelings. Thus the medium by which she would suckle a child is, well, cold as a witch’s tit.
But there’s some history behind this wisecrack. A witch’s tit (or witch’s teat, to use the older spelling) supposedly left a marking that witch hunters and courts would look for on the body of an accused person. Supposedly, witches would suckle their familiars, and sometimes the Devil himself, from this “unholy” body part. To find these marks, as well as insensitive spots on the skin called devil’s marks–caused by the Devil’s claws or teeth–the suspects wer stripped, shaven, then closely examined for any blemishes, moles, or even scars that could be labeled as diabolical. To find marks invisible to the eye, the examiner would poke the victim inch by inch with a blunt needle (called a bodkin) until they found a spot that didn’t feel pain or bled. Discovery of these marks or spots–one supposes they would be considered cold since they were a sign of communion with the Devil–would be “proof” of the person’s dealings with Scratch, so they would be shown in full court before the execution.
Is this accurate? I don’t know. I just only searched briefly since I’m on a deadline.
add a commentQuit paying $1 or more for 411 January 19, 2006 5:45 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest1-800-FREE-411 offers directory assistance for free (must listen to a 12 second advertisement). Snopes has the details.
add a commentGeocaching in the news January 18, 2006 10:58 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Geocaching, News, Of InterestGeocaching gets on CNN with a terror alert. In other news, the Honeymoon Bug is 68 miles away from crossing the 20,000 mile mark!
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