Free Stories!

Current Mood: CreativeAfter a couple of months of dithering, I’ve finally got around to putting a couple of my stories back online.  You’re free to read them, or not.  They’re released under a Creative Commons license, which means you’re free to spread them around as much as you like (the world needs to know of [...]

Lawn Formation

Current Mood: CalmBehind the fold, the strange botanical pattern we found in our back yard.

Spoilers — HP and politics

Current Mood: CrazyA brief thought and some minor HP spoilers beneath the fold.

Amazing! Einstein’s theory raises possibility of Humans from other universes de-stabilizing

Einstein’s theory raises possibility of Humans from other universes de-stabilizing Earth into violence.
Seriously, though, this is probably one of the most amazing examples of an expert’s name being abused to support some crank’s pet theory that I’ve ever seen.  As far as I know, Einstein said very little, if anything, about the probability of "other [...]

The Furry Grim Reaper

Current Mood: UndeadJennifer found this story:  Cat Plays Furry Grim Reaper at Nursing Home.
The cat, who goes by the name Oscar, seems to have an uncanny ability to predict within a few hours when one of the patients in the nursing home is going to die; he is so accurate that staff members will actually [...]

Squirrel Wars: Dispatches

Current Mood: Nervous
Our new neighborhood is a hotbed of squirrel activity.  Whenever I look out the window of my office I can see them clambering all over the trees, running in the streets, scampering over our neighbors’ rooftops, taunting the cats.  When I go outside, they chitter and chatter at me, chewing me out.  They [...]

The End of Batboy?

Current Mood: GeekyIt’s been all over the blogosphere that the Weekly World News is shutting down in August.  It’s a shame; when I was in high school, my friend Barry and I would stop by the grocery store and pick up a copy on the way to the bus stop, and snicker over the stories [...]

Harry Potter, Anarchist

As anyone who has grabbed a stick and shouted "Lumos!" knows, the Harry Potter books are infallible guides to casting magical spells and to Dark Magic, and are thus rightly feared by the Religious Right.  But in addition to the magic which kids learn from reading the books (and the more dangerous notions that kids [...]

Strange Dream

Current Mood: CrazyLast night, by the way, I dreamed that I had to improvise an opera about being buried alive.  And naked.
All I can figure is that it’s a conspiracy between Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allen Poe, and Wayne Brady to control my dreams.

Done!

Current Mood: Nerdy
My reactions to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows within. No spoilers, but you never know, so I’m putting this beneath the fold.

The Book

We are now in possession of The Book.
See y’all in a few days.

Spoilers!

Current Mood: MischievousWith all the Harry Potter spoiler paranoia (heck, I’m disconnecting for the weekend!), I figured I’d post a few spoilers for you that aren’t necessarily related.  Here they are:

The ship sinks.
Anakin turns into Darth Vader.
Rosebud was his sled.
He was dead the whole time.
The aliens are killed by the common cold.
Gollum bites the ring [...]

A blip of no consequence

Current Mood: AmusedThanks to Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy, I’ve discovered a new web comic:  Home on the Strange.  You should check it out.  It speaks to my heart because it is about a thirty-something married nerd couple.  Granted, the lead male character, Tom, is a former punk rocker while I have never listened to [...]

Southern Lawn Care

Current Mood: ThoughtfulShowing skin gives new company boost in business
So you pay a few extra bucks and instead of having a neighborhood kid come out and mow your lawn, you get a hot babe in a bikini.  I don’t suppose there’s anything wrong with that per se, but I find the concept very… weird.  The [...]

Look! I’ve been Simpsonized!

Current Mood: Calm
I’ve been completely Simpsonized!  Full image beneath the fold.
I have to admit, I’m a tad skeptical about the Simpsons movie.  I love the show, though I think they’ve been losing their edge over the past, oh, decade or so.  Will the movie feature the really sharp satire and pop cultural zingers that characterized [...]