greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

  • This Day In History

    I’d like to thank some automated system at Lycos for being among the first to wish me a happy birthday this morning.

    Happy Birthday greyduck

    The My Lycos team sincerely hopes you have a special and
    wonderful day.

    Check out these interesting facts related to your birthday…

    And some of the facts include that I share a birthday with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (the jurist son, not the author papa) and Alan Hale, Jr. (a.k.a. The Skipper). Insert “Hey, little buddy!” joke here. And what is it with the Juniors, eh? Oh, but it gets better!

    1917 – Start of the February Revolution in Russia.
    1948 – The Supreme Court ruled that religious instruction in public schools violated the Constitution.
    1950 – The Soviet Union claimed to be in possession of the atomic bomb.
    1965 – First U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam.
    1983 – President Reagan called the USSR an “Evil Empire”.

    What, no cool inventions? No signings of treaties or cessations of hostilities? Bah.

    So, pretty much the only cool thing about the 8th of March is that it’s the date on which I entered the world. Take that, History Of Mankind! Neener, neener.

    (Well, okay, that “religious instruction” thing isn’t so bad. But still. Sheesh.)

    Update: Further research by way of the History Channel website adds that it was on this date in 1957 that Egypt opened the Suez Canal. I’ve also learned that I share a birthday with Lynn Redgrave, a Monkee and an Eagle. Yay! Oh wait, I don’t like the Monkees and I loathe the Eagles. That Redgrave chick ain’t bad, though.
    This Day In History

  • Past, Present, Future – Round Three

    This week’s seed idea should be pretty obvious. But then, I’ve always been an inventive sort of guy…

    PAST – Things rarely work out the way we originally intend for them to. This phenomenon is most obvious in the fields of technology and invention. Imagine what you would say to someone, assuming you had a way to send a message to the past, about what their creation has wrought in the world.

    PRESENT – We’re all clever folks here. If you were suddenly imbued with inventive genius, what spectacular innovation would you create?

    FUTURE – It’s the year 2050 and you’re obligated to contact your friends and family to wish them well during the holiday season. (Why? Because you’re a nice person.) Back in the 90’s you might have used a cellular phone or perhaps electronic mail, but those days are long gone. Now you use… what?

    No “seed idea” credits this week, as this inspiration just struck me out of the blue about fifteen minutes ago. You’re always free to email me (via the link right below the duck logo) any seed ideas you might have for future PPFs. As I did last week, my answers will appear later in the day in the comment file. And remember, if you don’t leave a comment then nobody will know you answered this week’s challenge!

    If you want to link back, please use this URL: http://greyduck.net/ppf/

  • A year older. Not a damned bit wiser.

    Some time tomorrow I turn 31 years old. This is an earthshaking bit of news, to be sure. My plans currently include dinner at Outback Steakhouse tomorrow night and, er, not working Saturday or Sunday.

    Yes, that’s it. I hasten to point out that this still beats any number of prior birthdays, thank you.

    I was going to engage in some soul-searching, but I took a peek in there and realized that there’s nothing pretty to be found. So you’re all spared that agony. Count that among your blessings.

    Here’s to another year survived, and a future twelve months of the same goofy crap I’ve filled my life with the past twelve.

    Oh yeah: If by chance some rich person ends up here, I’d like to direct them to my Amazon.com Wishlist. Thank you.

  • I’ve been Voyagered! Ack!

    I’m not much of a Star Trek fanboy (anymore) but hey, I figured, why not spend a few minutes proving just how much of a follower I really am! (“If Mari and Lilith jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?”)

    And so, without any ado at all, here’s the results from my taking of the Star Trek Personality Test. *sigh*

    Myers-Briggs would say that you are an ESFP (Extrovert, Sensor, Feeler, Perceiver). In Star Trek language, you share a basic personality configuration with Kathryn Janeway and Tom Paris. (ed.: “AAAAUUUUGH NOOOOOOOO!”)

    People like you are warm and social, impulsive, and unpredictable. You have a great zeal for life and are intensely aware of the world around you. You love to play and respond quickly to people who will play with you. You respond well to appeals to common sense and poorly to being judged. Attempts to trap you will make you ready to flee or fight.

    You’re highly curious and talkative, but also gentle, sensitive and caring. You close down when people fail to provide you with input and you’re frustrated with silences. You’re most comfortable taking action, particularly in order to help or enjoy the company of others.

    Your primary goal in life is freedom to be spontaneous and have fun. Your reward is to enjoy the company of others and know that they enjoy and appreciate you.

    Good careers for your type include primary education teacher, starship captain, public relations specialist, tour operator, actor, marine biologist, and starship pilot.

    Blah blah blah, I stopped listening when you said I’m most like a couple of characters from Voyager.

    If you’ll excuse me, I feel a strong urge to bathe now. “Still not clean…”

  • The Little Grey Otaku

    Let’s just burn through a few news bits, shall we?

    • Hot damn! The third Tenchi Muyo OVA series is under way. The proof is in the screenshots. (Aww, Ryoko and Ryo-ohki. How cute!)
    • The movie formerly known as “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” will see its U.S. theatrical release on the 4th of April. Check out the official (Sony Pictures) website for “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie”. (This is the other anime film I’ve been anticipating for ages. It’s about damned time.)
    • InuYasha starts up again on Cartoon Network, tonight at 1:00 AM during the Adult Swim block. Set your VCR, or TiVo, or whatever. Background information on the series is available at Sengoku Jidai. (Yes, I love parentheses.)

  • Addendum to Elsewhere

    Sunday was a blast, as it always is when Mari (and Doug) and Lilith (and Geoffrey) and I get together. Mari’s account covers most of the bases, so I’m just going to add a couple of tidbits.

    The chair is indeed comfy. It also features a dizzying array of possible massage combinations, most of which I can’t imagine seriously using. (The alternating-sides mode is just wrong.)

    There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having your breakfast and lunch in one meal, provided it’s done tastily. I applaud Red Robin for offering a burger that includes a fried egg and several strips of bacon. Yum.

    I’ve discovered what could be a problem for my photojournalism goal: I’m loath to snap pictures of people around me, especially family and friends. I know how much I hate being in front of the camera, so I naturally tend not to want to inflict that on others. Mari came to the rescue, however. If you can call it that.

    We love the camera. The camera loves us. Yeah.

    To finish up, let me state for the record that cheesecake abdomens are weird. Tasty, but weird. Thank you.

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