Society for Aesthetic Deletions

Shuttle Breaks Up

Courtesy of Jenn in email.

1. Do you remember the first LP, 45, CD or CD single that you bought? Recreate the scene for me.

Sorry, I have no clue.

2. What was the last CD or song that you actually paid money for?

Umm...my husband buys CDs more than I do. I listen to the ones he buys. Hrm.

For me, I bought the Final Fantasy X soundtrack. For him, I bought "Music for Elevators," Tony Head's CD. For both of us, I bought the "Once More, With Feeling" episode soundtrack.

3. It is my personal opinion that "Munchos" and "Funions" are the most perfect snack food ever. What do you think is the best snack food ever?

Cheetos. Crunchy Cheetos. NOT the Puffed, or the paws, or whatever. Crunchy Cheetos.

4. Comedian George Carlin once pointed we consider the things we like to keep around us to be our "stuff," whereas other people's stuff is just junk to us (ok, he used more colorful language, but you get the idea). What "stuff" do you have that someone else might just throw away if they were cleaning out your house?

Bwahahahahahahaha! Where do I begin?

First off, my movie ticket stub collection. I have a bunch in various coat pockets. But I also have a ton in on top of my dresser.

Various junk here and there, too. But I think the ticket stubs would be the first to go.

5. Do you think it is wrong for people to rush to e-Bay and start selling Space Shuttle Columbia collectibles?

YES. Hell yes. They should be brought up on charges.

6. Does it bother you when President Bush speaks about God and invokes scripture quotations from the Bible during his speeches?

YES. Hell yes. He should be reminded of the separation of church and state. Every day.

7. I have a friend who think's she's being photographed in public restrooms. What paranoid delusion do you have?*

Umm...none, that I know of. Or that I recall at the moment.

I'll Never Tell....

Which Buffy Musical Song Are You?
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1. You're filing an expense report at work, and there are some items that you know you can fudge for an extra $5 or $10, without chance of being caught. Do you? What if you've done things for your employer in the past that you weren't compensated for?

I've fudged a bit, but not even $5/$10 worth. You get an allowance for meals, so I've added in a bit when I've forgotten to get a receipt for tea in the morning or something. It's not really fudging, I don't think.

But I don't get to do it a lot. Plus, I also don't bother to get reimbursed for the little I drive for work (back and forth to Service & Repair), so if I fudge a bit, I think it balances out.

2. You're reading something on a controversial topic that flies in the face of what you believe is true, but which has some interesting points to it that you didn't consider before. Do you keep reading?

Sure. If something makes me rethink my beliefs, I'd definitely keep reading.

3. What do you want the most? What if you knew you couldn't get it, no matter what you did?

The most? I want to have the money to be able to buy what I want, when I want it.

And I deal with not having that every day.

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn't have breakfast, why not?

Tea, with Splenda. And a Fruit'n'Nut Trail mix bar.

2. What's your favorite cereal?

Corn Pops. I remember the days when they were called SUGAR Corn Pops. I also have a soft spot for Golden Grahams.

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?

We eat out more than we should. Probably 3-5 times a week. We need to eat out less.

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?

No clue. We didn't plan ahead. Probably order something out, or eat leftovers. We don't have anything thawed. Maybe we'll have the Lean Cuisine Turkey Skillet.

5. What's your favorite restaurant? Why?

Depends on what meal. For breakfast, though some may be offended, my favorite is Denny's. A close second is Persy's, a local place that has a huge breakfast menu.

Lunch...well, I must admit, I've grown very fond of Panera Bread. I also like Chili's and Little Chopsticks, and Four Seasons (local Asian food place).

Dinner. Chili's or Chopsticks for dinner is good. I love the prime rib from Fireside, though.

Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You - Powers Of 10

I feel so tiny now.

1. How do you feel about the aging process?

I'm okay with it. Every now and then I realize how old I am and it scares me, but I get over it.

2. What the best part about getting older? Why?

Still being carded! I think it's the fact that I still breakout, but that much is fun. Other than that, just having all the life experience is great.

3. What's the worst part about getting older? Why?

My body can't do the things it used to be able to, like staying up until 2:00 a.m. with no consequences. That sort of thing.

4. How do you feel about having gray hair? Why? Would you ever dye your hair to cover up the gray? Why?

I told myself I'd never dye my hair when I went grey, that I'd revel in it. Still would. I've highlighted my hair, and may color it sometime for fun, but not to hide the grey.

5. What goal do you want to achieve by the time you are 60 years old?

Have a house of my own. Maybe children, but I'm not sold on that. I'm nearly too old to start now, anyway.

And I'd like to be published, somehow. For writing, of course.

A little over a week ago, Lou and I went down to our friendly credit union (where his mom is on the board, heh), and asked for and received a $3k loan at 6% for two years repayment. We'll probably have it paid off by the end of this year, or close to it, but hey...

And then after the check was deposited in our bank account and we made it back home, we ordered him the following, using my educational discount (it pays to work for educational institutions!):

12" Powerbook, with 640mb of RAM (maxed out), 60 gig hard drive, AirPort Extreme card, and the combo CDRW/DVD drive;

a 10 gig iPod;

Office for X;

Applecare Protection Plan.

With 2-day shipping added in, the total came to $3,090.

We had everything shipped to Jack's house in Concord, NH, to avoid the sales tax because we're not home during the day. There was a slight delay with our credit card company because of the odd shipping location, but one call to the credit card company later, and a follow-up call to Apple, and we were all set.

Everything has now arrived at our location. Everything except his Powerbook, which takes 2-4 weeks before shipping. He debated about getting the 40 gig and getting it *NOW* (from an Apple store), but he realized he wanted as much as he could get when we could get it, so he opted to wait.

I have the base station set up and working now, and using my work-paid-for wireless networking card, I can connect in the living room without needing cable. yay!

However, the signal has dropped out twice tonight for no apparent reason. It's not our phone, so what worries me is it might be a neighbor's phone. Living in a house divided up into apartments may have more drawbacks to wireless than I anticipated. ::sighs::

I brought an iBook home for Lou to load music for his iPod, and he busily ripped CDs and loaded up the iPod. So far, he's got 500+ songs.

And in other news, I have a cold. I took some Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine, but we only have one packet left and I think I'll need that tomorrow morning. So now I must drink lots of fluids (water so far, but some tea in a bit, herbal) and blow my nose, when it will let me do so and it's being all frelling stuffed up.

Oh, Friday's Farscape? Rocked. But ... (spoilers moved to extended entry)

1. In the states, every citizen is expected to perform their civic duty and serve on a jury at some point. This week, I am on jury duty. Have you ever had to serve on a jury?

Yes. Criminal case (robbery). Defendent fled before sentencing, we convicted him in absentia.

I've also been called to jury duty once more, in MA where I live now (the jury I served on was in RI), and did not get called.

2. If you were to ever serve on a jury, would you be able to give someone the death penalty?

Yes. I don't think I'd do it out of hand, but I think I could make that judgement.

3. One thing that concerns me about jury duty is what my life would be like if I had to convict someone. I'd always be worried about some sort of retaliation from the convict, or their family. Has fear of negative consequences ever kept you from reporting a crime or voicing your opinion?

No.

4. When it comes to convictions, I've never even been convicted of speeding (accused yes, but heh, never convicted). Have you ever been accused of or convicted for breaking any laws? What's the real story there?

Only speeding, and only tickets. I haven't gone to court or anything.

5. It looks like I will have a lot of time on my hands this week in the jury pool. I may get called, I may not. If not, I go back tomorrow. Rinse, wash, repeat. How would you pass the time if you had to sit and wait around from 8am-5pm for 5 days?

Been there, done that. MA has a one-day thing, but RI at the time did not. I read. Brought books and read. Now, I'd probably bring books and my Palm and keyboard, and I'd write or read, as the mood struck.

6. One thing I do like about this "civic duty" is that it will be at the downtown courthouse. I LOVE downtown. There is just so much life there. What part of your town is your favorite to visit? Why? What makes it so special?

I'm not a city person, but I like Providence's waterfront. With Waterfire and everything, Buddy did a great job of spiffing up Providence before he went up the river.

7. I'm not that outgoing around strangers, so I doubt I will be meeting many new people this week. Do you have any problems striking up a conversation with someone you don't know? Have chance encounters with strangers ever led to interesting new relationships or opportunities?

No problems striking up conversation here. It usually depends on the situation, but if I can find something in common to talk about with someone I will.

I don't think anything has led anywhere, though. Well, other than the man who sold me tires for my car one time ended up becoming my husband, but the tires were totally unrelated to how we met. Heh.

http://www.coxar.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

[jeez, couldn't do a Valentine's Day one right on the day, eh?]

1. Explain why you started to journal/blog.

Originally, it was to write a character log for a game that I'd have an easy way to update. I was trying to write a first person summary of the game sessions. I think I lasted about 10 (checks) 13 sessions before there was just too much for me to keep up with, and I have at least one more session and a half I never typed up. I think the main reason was that I was writing longhand then typing it in. Partially, anyway.

At the same time, I had started my own personal blog, but I never got the hang of it. Kept wanting to do it, but never did. Then September 11th happened, and I wanted to record some things from that time. I didn't, but it got me kick-started.

2. Do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? Why or why not?

Yes. I don't openly advertise it at work, but some folk know I have it. It's secret, like my livejournal is. My husband says he reads my blog every other day or so, to see what I've been up to.

3. Do you have a theme for your journal/blog?

Not for this one, no. I have the Weight Watchers one, so that has a theme, the Whitespace one for writing, and the Pop Goes the Culture one for reviews of TV, movies, etc. This one isn't really themed.

4. What direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year?

I'd like to post more, and maybe write a bit more in this one. Not writing, but longer, more thoughtul entries.

5. Pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs.

Look at my Hit List. Those are the ones I visit daily. I won't pick five, they're all wonderful in their own way.

Today is Valentine's Day, and it's appropriate to explore the theme in this week's Wrap-Up.

1. Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? Why or why not?

Not really. Lou and I have our anniversary next Saturday (we specifically did NOT get married on Valentine's Day), so we give each other cards and maybe a cute gift, but that's about it.

2. How will you celebrate Valentine's Day today? (If you're not planning anything special, describe your ideal Valentine Day.)

I'm running my ATF game tonight, because we'll be missing the next few Fridays of game, and only missing two players with other plans tonight. And since Jack will be staying over, there's not a lot of chance for other celebrations. *grins*

I don't have an ideal day, since I don't celebrate it.

3. Did you give Valentines as a child? What was your favorite Valentine to give and/or receive?

Yeah, I remember the cards in school. I don't recall anything in particular.

4. Do you still send Valentines? Why or why not?

We gave one to my mother when we had dinner with her on Wednesday (early anniversary dinner), and Lou and I give them to each other, but that's it.

5. Who is your Valentine today? What makes him/her so special?

My husband. For many reasons. He's my light, my love, my one-true-thing. He rocks my world. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile, he makes me cry. His laugh is infectious. His smile is beautiful. He is mine.

*hearts Lou*

He's also probably tearing up now as he's reading this. *smooch*

I may not like the Hooters restaurant chain, but I must admit, they do have a great sense of humor.

And glad to see anti-war protesters using the LotR/Bush joke.

[started this yesterday, but didn't get to finish it]

Well, that was a pleasantly long weekend.

Brown University does not celebrate President's Day. This is unsurprising to me, as I have worked in private boarding schools for years. It is much better to give everyone three weeks at once than long weekends here and there.

[We always get MLK Day off, though.]

So, since by my current estimations of vacation to be used this year, I will have 8 days (I never have ANY days left) in December, I took Monday as a vacation day, especially as Lou had the day off as well.

And of course, we get hit by the biggest storm of the millenium (so far), and Brown closes early on Monday, and then doesn't open at all on Tuesday. Lou has to head into work on Tuesday, so he shovels out some of the driveway on Tuesday morning, then asks me to do the rest.

And of course, yesterday, after being back into work, the laptop arrives in New Hampshire and we drive up last night to collect it.

Gah, I had more to say about the snow, but I've forgotten it all. We have a lot, some of it has melted, but most of it is still here. I'll have pictures when I've finished the roll and have it developed (still need a digital camera!).

The Letter Box is a campaign to make sure that JKR and WB understand that the Harry Potter novels aren't just for kids.

I was given the first HP novel some years back by Lou when I was panicking at our friends' house in North Carolina, as on Thanksgiving morning my upper lip swelled to, what seemed to me, to be enormous proportions.

HP helped distract me from my problems, well mostly. But I never bothered to go back and pick up the others for a long time. Just over a year ago, I read some Harry Potter fanfic, and that got me hooked to read the rest of the series.

Of all the people I know, more adults have read the HP stories than children. Most my nieces and nephews rarely read. My bookclub chose the first book as one of their choices last year.

Some of you may think that Ali's overreacting. You're entitled to that opinion.

But me, I'm writing my letter.

BTW, remind me never to update MT until a month after it comes out from now on. Do you realize they're up to 2.63 now? *sighs*

Well, after a brief hiatus due to db corruption, then having issues with importing the old files (well, for one blog ONLY), sfad and my other blogs are back up and running using MySQL as the back end. Wheee!

I have two weeks of blogging reads to catch up on, for I didn't even have time to read much whilst I was down. And this weekend, we're off to the Cape with Lou's folks and his brother (sans his wife, since she's now decided she doesn't want to be married to Lou's brother anymore *sigh*), so I will have to find time to catch up on memes and quizzes and entries SOME time.

BTW, do take it to heart. I have no idea if upgrading from 2.51 to 2.6 really corrupted the DB or not, but always export your files before upgrading MT. I only lost one post (and I still have it around here somewhere, I'd saved it as text in BBEdit), but I was *lucky*.

Buffy to end, but spinoff possible

Well, if Reuters has it, it must not be rumor, right?

I think it's best if it ends after this year. I have to applaud SMC for leaving, and not dragging it out another year.

Oh, and spoiler alert! Willow's supposed to show up on Angel. WB also hasn't announced it'll pick up Angel for a 5th season, but I think that WB'd be stupid to not. (then again...)

Oh, and Alias was picked up early for another season. Whoo!

1. For me, breakfast usually consists of a bagel and cream cheese. And I wait until about 10AM to eat it, mostly to avoid eating a mid-morning snack. What do you like to eat for breakfast? Do you even eat breakfast?

I usually have a cereal bar of some kind for breakfast during the week, and I eat it once I get into work. On weekends, we tend to eat out, wherein we go to a place that has a huge variety of food, so I will get eggs or pancakes or waffles or some combination thereof.

But I do love cereal, even though I don't eat it much anymore.

2. Back in 1990, I worked at a radio station in the Promotions Department. Our office was directly below the DJ booth. One day there was this thundering bass booming from upstairs. It was just a huge booming sound, with an amazing beat. My manager and I bolted out of the office and up the stairs to the production room. When we opened the door I was smacked in the body by a wall of sound. What I heard reminded me of "Super Freak" but the bass was thumping like I'd never heard before. Then the vocals began, it was a "rap" I would never forget: "My, my, my music hits me so hard, makes me say 'Oh, My Lord, thank you for blessin' me, with a mind to rhyme and two hyped feet.'" The song was MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" and it blew my mind. What was the song that "blew your mind" and is etched in your brain forever? Recall the moment and why it remains in your mind.

No clue. I don't tend to have those kind of moments about music, usually because I'm doing a number of different things as I listen to it.

3. Do you like to gamble? Have you ever won (or lost) big?

We play the lottery on occasion, and we went to Las Vegas last year. I had fun with the slots and Blackjack, though I won more at the slots than cards. I won/saved enough to buy us a PS2 when we got home, so I'd say that was big enough.

4. Some people find comfort for their troubled mind in food. Others find it in music or books. What do you turn to for comfort when you are troubled or worried?

When I'm stressed, I don't eat. Neither does Lou. I usually veg out in front of the TV or online, or talk with Lou if I'm really upset. But I don't get stressed very often, thankfully.

5. When was the last time you felt apathetic? What was it about?

I'm beginning to feel apathetic about blogging. But I think that's just a winter slump!

6. I just read that Google bought Pyra Labs (Blogger.com). Although Blogging was going "mainstream" before this, it most certainly will now have greater exposure, and one assumes, bring us even more Bloggers. Is this a good thing?

What worries me more is AOL and blogging. I could care less about Google buying Pyra, since I don't use them anymore.

7. What did you do with all your freetime before you blogged?*

Read. Watched TV. Basically most of the same stuff I do now.

1. Has anyone ever told you that you needed to lose weight or change something about yourself physically? Who told you and what impact did it have on your life? Your perception of yourself?

No, I've always been very thin. People told me when I was younger that I should GAIN weight, but not often.

I decided I needed to lose weight when I had gone up 10 lbs. a year for three years in a row (yearly doctor's appointments let yo notice these things).

2. Do enjoy the snow and cold weather?

3. Visualize the perfect winter evening. Are you alone or with someone? How does the evening start? How does it end, and everything in-between.

A walk in the snow, time for snowball fights, snow angels, snowmen building. Then back to the house, curl up in front of the roaring fireplace with hot cocoa (with little marshmellows!) to get warm, and snuggle with Lou and maybe a good book. Maybe something both of us can read together.

4. I've noticed that people I work with, even no more than 6 feet away, would rather e-mail me a message than turn around and speak to me. Same goes for voice mail, I find I get more calls when I am away than when I am available to speak to someone. So many things that could be said face-to-face are now accomplished electronically. Do you think that technology has had allowed relationships and human interaction to become less personal? Is this a good thing?

Yes. And not always. But hey, I'll prefer to use email or IM than call someone on the phone, so who am I to speak?

5. One thing I've always wanted to learn is how to juggle. I'm pretty good with my hands, so I am sure I could do it. Yet, I've never made the commitment to sit down and learn how. Is there anything you've been meaning to learn, that you can learn, but haven't? (or maybe you have?)

I can juggle, but only light scarves. Don't have the hand-eye coordination down to do anything heavier, anything that doesn't take time to fall.

I want to learn how to play the piano. I have the best hands for it, or so I've been told. But we never had one at home, which would have made practicing between lessons rather hard.

6. On the other side of the coin, there is photography. As much as I'd like to, I will never be as great at it as others. And I am OK with that, still I wish I had the gifts that others have. What skills or talents have you wished that you possessed that you most likely never will? Are you content with that?

There's a ton of things that I'd love to be able to do (like take a really good picture, or write something that is worthy of being published). I deal. I don't like it, but I deal.

7. "AudioBlogs" are a twist on text blogs, where the blogger posts audio files instead of writing their entries. Not far behind the curve are VideoBlogs. While I've tinkered with Audio posts before, I think it excludes too many people and personally, I feel the written word has a deeper impact. What do you think of the concept of "AudioBlogs?" Would you like to hear the voice of your favorite bloggers occasionally? Would you rather listen to or read your favorite Blogs?

Nah, I'd rather read. I don't mind audio, but if I listened to the blogs at work, it'd be competing with NPR on the radio and iTunes. And at home it'd compete with the TV. Besides, I like to read.

1. What is your most prized material possession?

My wedding ring.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?

Ye gods...probably my Duran Duran button collection. Or some books. Probably the books. I think I've got some of my mom's Nancy Drew books.

3. Are you a packrat?

Yes. 'Nuff said.

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?

I'd prefer a clean house if I didn't have to be the one to clean it. But I get to say where everything goes (or Lou does). Not some cleaning person.

But I do like some clutter.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?

No, no theme in the apartment, other than the monitor armies in the computer room.

We were fortunate in finding a futon cover for the living room that (mostly) matches the loveseat and the chair, though!

1. How responsible are you for the happiness of others?

Others in general? Not very. Others in specific, like Lou? Moreso. Not completely. I know you can't take complete responsibility for others happiness. Though sometimes we wish we could.

2. Where's the strangest place you've ever been?

Strangest? No idea. Umm...in the bowels of Penn Station, before they revamped it. That was very strange, and easy to get lost in. This would be like 15 years ago.

3. If you could only do vacation travel (a) to places you've been to before, or (b) to places you've never been before, which would you choose?

Never been. There's too many places I still want to see!

1. Someone at your office thinks the calendar you've put up is rude and tasteless, though HR hasn't -- yet -- agreed. Do you take it down? Does it matter what the subject matter is (art, humor, etc.)? Does it matter what you think of the other person?

Heh. I could so see that happening with my current calendar. Well, maybe only a little.

No. It's in my office, they don't need to see it often. It's mine, I keep it up.

2. A person at the office offers to loan you some software CDs for you to install at home. You know this is illegal, and there is a possibility that you could be caught doing it. Do you do it anyway?

Would depend on the CDs. Could I get them off of Limewire myself?

Hrm. I think that answers that question quite well.

3. Do you contribute to a charity? If so, how do you decide how much?

Not regularly, no. I'd give away more money if I had more money, I think. Right now, the biggest charity is me.

1. How often do you get sick? Are there particular times of the year when this happens? If so, when?

I don't get really sick very often. Maybe once a year. Most often in winter, but not necessarily.

2. Do you go to the doctor when you're sick? Why or why not?

On occasion. Really depends on the illness.

3. What comfort things and/or foods do you seek out when you're sick? Why?

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is a big comfort food for me. And ginger ale. I also love Swanson HungryMan dinners, but only the fried chicken ones.

4. Do you take medication (prescription or over-the-counter) when you're sick? Why or why not?

Depends on the illness. Advil is a constant, if there's a headache. Cold means Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus cold medicine. We also used to take echinacea, but we took it year round rather than stocking up when we started feeling sick.

5. How long do you stay typically stay sick? Do you stay home or do you go out and/or work? Why or why not?

Depends on the illness! Colds will get me stay home, but usually only for a day. If I'm out more than one day, I'm really sick and have probably gone/will go to the doctor. I will work if I'm functioning. I won't go to work if I can't think or see straight. I'm not that dumb!

1. What is your favorite type of literature to read (magazine, newspaper, novels, nonfiction, poetry, etc.)?

Novels. I divide my time between romance novels and fantasy novels, with a little science fiction thrown in.

I also read fanfiction. Some of it. Only the really good ones, unless I really want to torture myself, or feel in a mocking mood.

2. What is your favorite novel?

This changes, depending on mood. Right now, I'm going to have to say A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold. Honorary mention to Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase.

3. Do you have a favorite poem? (Share it!)

I love all of Robert Frost's poems. Lou gave a collected works volume to me for our anniversary. But I think Birches is my favorite.

4. What is one thing you've always wanted to read, or wish you had more time to read?

My TBR pile? That said, I'd like to try The Silmarillion again. I might get further this time.

5. What are you currently reading?

St. Raven by Jo Beverley. I'm going to follow that up with the last two bookclub choices I haven't gotten to yet, Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams and Someplace to be Flying by Charles deLint. I just finished Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan.

Yes, I'm a Wheel of Time fan. Get over it.

You're sort of a shady character. You sneak into the city under the East River, and make a hasty exit soon after. But while the tourists may steer clear of your decrepit stations, you know you're essential to the commuters who depend on you.


Which New York City subway line are you?
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Gimme the T or the Metro any day, please!

*twitch*

Farscape Bobblehead Figures

At least there's not an Aeryn one.

Courtesy of Scapers LiveJournal.