Amélie. Robin at work keeps trying to get me to watch this, and I finally did. Eh. I am glad I didn't pay money to see it, but it was interesting enough I suppose.
Batteries. I've had them die in both my laptop and my cell phone in the last two weeks. Gugh.
Contact lenses. I finally got my new lenses. After having not worn them for two months, it's very tough to wear them again.
Dryness. That's what my new contact lenses are causing - lots and lots of dryness. It's like I had Gold Bond in my eyes.
Estelle Getty. Poor gal.
Floppy disk. Yeah, I said floppy disk. I needed one to transfer data from a friends old computer to her new one. Stupid Windows 98 on a old computer without an Ethernet jack.
Grand Slam. No spoilers, but I watched the finale today.
Hawaii. That's where Jen is right now. She and several of her girlfriends left this morning and will be returning Friday.
Ingenious. This was the free giveaway of the day earlier this month, and it's a very fun game.
Jen. I could go on and on about this woman, but I don't want to bore the dickens out of all of you.
Kyle. Whether it be Minogue, MacLachlan, Rayner, or XY, Kyle seems to be the name of the game.
Laundry. Oops. I got to get stuff out of the dryer. Excuse me for a second...
Murray Head. Why is it that every time I hear an 80's station, they constantly play One Night in Bangkok by this guy?
Narnia. Finished reading "The Last Battle" yesterday. Hadn't read that series since I was a kid, so it was nice to go back again.
Omlete. That was breakfast this morning, before shuffling Jen to the airport.
Project. Microsoft makes free viewers for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio, but is there one for Microsoft Project? Nooooooo! Gugh.
Quechup.com. Looks like a site trying to be LinkedIn.com, but horribly slow.
Reaper. I've been trying to figure out things for this upcoming season, and this is the only show on CW that even interests me.
Strawberry Lemonade. Since I am not drinking sodas, this has turned into the benerage of choice for me.
TiVo. Rolling out TiVoToGo and MultiRoom Viewing to Series 3 boxes.
Universal Studios. That's not where company night is this year. It's SeaWorld.
Vegas. Going in mid-November to see Billy Joel. Again.
Wiki. I just may be starting one shortly.
XM. I didn't remember to cancel the service, so I still have it in the car. Never take it into work anymore.
You know how hard it was to do this list?!?!?
Zombie Fluxx. Already ordered.

1. If you were a fruit, which would you be and why?
Paul Lynde
2. If you wake up and smell smoke, and you have to get everybody (pets included) out of the house safely, but you have time to grab one item, what would you grab?
Underwear
3. If you were stuck on an island, who would be the one person you would want with you and why?
MacGyver
4. If you could change one thing about your physical appearance, what would it be?
I'd switch my eyeballs around. Put the left where the right is, and the right where the left is.
5. If you could spend the day with one famous person, dead or alive, who would you choose?
I'm not answering this one, because I got distracted by Thriller as performed by prisoners in the Philippines, Bollywood, and a wedding party.

ComputerWorld has a list of the Top 10 dead (or dying) computer skills, though the list isn't necessarily in order.
1. COBOL (though they refused to capitalize it...)
2. Nonrelational DBMS (waits for comments from zarchasmpgmr)
3. Non-IP netowrks (because SNA, IPX, NetBEUI, and AppleTalk were just that great)
4. cc:Mail (never did like this)
5. ColdFusion (already?)
6. C programming ("It's not just C, it's C++!")
7. PowerBuilder (too mundane now?)
8. Certified NetWare Engineers (so much paper, so little talent)
9. PC network administrators (because a lot fo this gets outsourced anyway)
10. OS/2 (...but was it ever really alive?)

USA Today, in celebrating their 25 years of existance, listed the top 25 inventions that changed our lives since 1982, and this is in order. So in reverse...
25. Karaoke - Uhm... okay.
24. Home satellite TV - DirecTV and Dish Networks have brought gobs of channels to the public, forcing the cable industry to react.
23. Purell - easy, portable, and affordable santitizing solution
22. TiVo - OH YEAH. Totally changed the way I watch TV, and I'll never go back to being forced to watch TV at a particular time again.
21. StairMaster - Try to find a gym without one of these.
20. Disposable contacts - made contacts cheap and easy... for you punks that can wear soft lenses.
19. Big Bertha golf clubs - Changed the game or so I've heard
18. Online stock trading - No longer did you have to go to a stockbroker. You could lose your money directly.
17. High-tech footwear - ...especially for people who want to steal them?
16. Microwave popcorn - Burned Jiffy Pop no more!
15. PowerPoint - cause of many deaths. =)
14. Electronic tolls - Don't have to carry a roll of quarters anymore.
13. Flat-panel TVs - Where there's a wall, there can be a TV.
12. Doppler radar - Why The Weather Channel has celbrities
11. Digital cameras - Don't like it? Delete it and take it again.
10. Lettuce in a bag - You no longer are stuck with iceberg, coring it, rinsing it, draining it, and leafing it to make a salad.
9. Pay at the pump - Go inside to pay? Pschaw!
8. iPods - One of the factors that lead to the demise of Tower Records
7. Lithium rechargable batteries - We're no longer tied to AAs, D Cells, and others to have decent power to portable devices
6. DVDs - Will be old in 10 years or less, but the digital replacement of analog technology was great.
5. Caller ID - Who's calling?
4. Debit cards - From TFA refering from Visa's introduction of this in 1995, "Ten years later, debit card transactions exceeded those on credit cards."
3. BlackBerries - The first big push to integrate email and phone in an affordable price with ease of use.
2. Laptop computers - Computers on the go, where they used to take a floor of the building.
1. Cellphones - Lead to the death of pay phones, freeway call boxes, and peace and quiet.

dorwrath put it in his journal, I offered, and here's my answer.
Instructions: Comment and I will give you 3 interests on your list and 3 icons for you to explain.


This is an icon that jaydlewis created for me for any topics covering Microsoft's Windows Server Update Services. That's a program that basically allows a corporate administrator (read: me) to deploy security updates just like Microsoft Update.


It's Keanu holding a banana like a phone. If that doesn't scream Odd, I don't know what does. So I snipped it and made it an icon.


Self created, and one I have since seen others use. In all of the multitudes of LiveJournalist (the regular icon), I like standing out (the differently colored icon). This was actually done in MS Paint.      ....      Stop laughing!

Interest: roomba. Roomba good. Roomba is one of iRobot's machines, and in this case, it's a vacuum. See, both my wife and I tend not to be the best for things like vacuuming, so having something that makes it easy or, better yet, does it for me, is good. I have two Roombas -- the Scheduler upstairs which does it's job every Friday when we are at work, and a regular one downstairs for whatever we need.

Interest: borg club. The Borg Club is an old pre-Internet Prodigy Services group that was formed on their Star Trek board. Remember the episode where Picard became Locutus? Someone came up with the idea that there should be a "distant cousin" of that group of Borg, whose names would all end in "-us" (or the equivalent sound). And this distant group would be fun-loving, going around assimilating pizza, pasta, and Pepsi (oh my!). This is where I met jelly_doughnut, and I have this listed in case someone from those glory days in the early 1990's goes looking...

Interest: upland. Where I live. Upland, CA 91786. The City of Gracious Living.

... so I ganked one from creativedv8tion.

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... They MUST be real places, names, things... NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same first initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question and you can't use a search engine... Now Go!

Your Name: Carl
1. Famous singer/band: Cher
2. 4 letter word: Cusp
3. Street name: Carter St.
4. Color: Cyan
5. Gifts/presents: CD
6. Vehicle: Civic
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Cards
8. Boy Name: Curt
9. Girl Name: Cindy
10. Movie Title: Caddyshack
11. Drink: Clamato
12. An Occupation: Cook
13. Flower: Chrysanthemum
14. Celebrity: Charles Nelson Reilly
15. Magazine: Card Player
16. U.S. City: Chicago
17 Pro Sports Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
18. Something found in the Kitchen: Cube Steak
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: Commute from Hell
20. Something You Throw Away: Credit Card offers
21. Things You Shout: Cut it out!
22. Cartoon Character: Captain Caveman
23. Fruit: Cherry

The other day, I responded to a five question thing from creativedv8tion. The question was "Best movie most people haven't ever seen is...?". I finally figured out TWO movies that are better than the answer I originally gave -- The Dish and October Sky, both of which are based on true stories.

That is all.

First from renaissancegeek
( Cut! )

And from creativedv8tion
( Cut 2! )

So we left ot go to Vegas on July 1. Why? Because we had comp'ed rooms for three nights at one of the major Strip hotel/casinos, and we had three days. Sure, we could have gone up on June 30 and returned July 3, but going to Vegas on a Friday ngiht is normally horrible. Going to Vegas on a Friday of a holiday weekend is like getting your wisdom teeth pulled out with a spoon. I figure that we can leave early on Saturday and breeze up there.

Er... WRONG.

We got stuck in the backup of a major accident at Wild Wash Road (Exit 165). Aparently, we were there just shortly after the accident occurred, since we saw several CHP officers on southbound I-15 pulling into the turnaround point, as well as several paramedics along the side of the northbound I-15. Only the #1 lane was open, and we were able to squeak by this pretty bad accident. Afterwards, while listening to the Highway Stations, I heard they had opened the freeway up after having closed the entire freeway for emergency air transport.

Why was I listening to the Highway Stations instead of my beloved XM Rado? Because I was stuck in the middle of another backup, and they do have the best traffic for the I-15. The second accident was between two minivans at Lenwood Road (exit 178), which again only left the #1 lane open. I passed that just after it was cleaned up. So all told, it took three hours just to get to Barstow, which is normally a one hour drive. The entire trip took five LONG hours. Should be able to breeze through indeed...

Once at the hotel, check in was easy. It was hellla-hot and muggy though! You already heard the 121 degrees in Baker story, so I need not repoeat that. It was 107 in Vegas. The humidity was high. Thank goodness for air conditioning! Had a great time there. One of the things I wanted to do is play blackjack using basic strategy. Having never played a table game, and not wanting to learn blackjack at $10 a pop, I found a quarter video blackjack machine. Man did I play the heck out of that machine! And even better, I understand *why* basic strategy is what it is, and how that helps lower the house advantage.

Unfortunately, Jen started having sinus issues, and ended up with a major earache. Driving home, we lose some altitude fairly quick at one point, and she was literally to the point of crying. *sniff* She's better now that she's home, with the allergans that she is familiar with and less impacted. But we didn't go out to our normal haunts for the Fourth. And now I'm back into boring work meetings.

-----
If you want to give me five questions, or less, or more, feel free.

-----
Got to listen to the shuttle launch on the way home. Wasn't sure that they were going to be able to launch, after hearing the weather reports from earlier in the day. One of these days, I'd really like to see that bird launch live.

-----
And Kenneth Lay, 64.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/news/newsmakers/lay_death/index.htm?cnn=yes

A hypothetical five questions, because I'm bored...

1. Why do you like Sports Night and Babylon 5 so much?
Well, Sports Night just has the great mix of drama and a high level of comedy that just ... works for me. I actually didn't see the pilot episode first, but The Apology. It was a powerful, compelling half hour of programming unlike any thing else I had ever seen, so I made a point to tune in the next Tuesday at 9:30.

As for Babylon 5, I backed into the show. I had seen the 2 hour pilot movie (The Gathering)when it first aired, but was too busy to get involved regularly with the show when it first started a year later. My parents and several friends had though. I finally sat and watched War Without End, Part 1, and again, I thought it was an interesting show, since I did remember seeing Babylon Squared.

With both shows, continuity mattered. Also, neither of the shows talked down to the viewer, and actually respected the viewer. In the days where the normal shows were Ally McBeal, and Dharma & Greg, it was nice to see something that more targetted to an audience that didn't need to be told when something was funny or interesting.

2. So what's the deal with you and comic books recently?
After Babylon 5 ended, and Crusade was dead before it started, jms moved into the realm of comics with Rising Stars. I was curious enough to find a comic shop near me and buy these, once a month. When he started Midnight Nation, I was there. Because my local shop decided to focus solely on hobbies, I moved to The Comic Bookie, who is a great guy. At one point, when in to pick up my minor pull list, I saw the cover to Identity Crisis #7, with the costumes of many very popular DC characters hanging on hooks. Well, I wanted to see what that was all about, so I bought the series. This was happening just as Infinite Crisis was starting, so it was a good time to jump in ... with some research. And from there, with help, I've also gotten familiar with some of the Marvel multiverse, specifically with Spidey and Squadron(s) Supreme. Why? Because the business of comics, like the business of professional wrestling, is interesting to me. And the stories take a little bit of digging and build upon each other. Remember what I said about continuity? ...

3. I can understand that. But Billy Joel? Are you really that pathetic?
Hey now. Musically, one of my earliest memories is It's Still Rock And Roll To Me off the Glass Houses album. I had no idea what the Miracle Mile was, or why you'd cruise it, but it had something to do with white wall tires, whatever they were. I was young. Leave me alone. =) Anyway, I heard another song that I liked... and another ... and then I got the cassette of An Innocent Man and wore it out, mainly to Christie Lee. And, as one of my friends has said, when I get into something, I get obessive. (See above and other various posts.)

4. Let's shift away from popular media and go towards the Internet. How long have you been online?
I was online before online meant the Internet. Way back in 1990/1991, I bought my own computer - a clone 386SX/16! My father had a 2400 baud modem for reasons I don't know, and I was able to use it. I BOUGHT my Prodigy starter kit (yes, you had to buy them in those days) at the Target in Highland and dialed in. I was a member of the LA News group, and eventually the Borg Club where I met jelly_doughnut. At some point around 1993/4, Fraudigy increased their rates, and ye ol' Borg Club attempted to move to GEnie and failed miserably. But by then, I had discovered the Internet (CVADS021@csupomona.edu), alt.tv.game-shows and the rest, as they say, is history.

5. Serious question then -- Dick York or Dick Sargent?
Pass.

Because I haven't done a meme for a while, and this caught my fancy

Answer this using only yes or no, nothing more. Further explanations can occur if people comment and ask questions. It's surprisingly challenging to resist the urge to elaborate or qualify the answers.

( Cut for length )

Don't forget that the Rose Parade will be on Monday, January 2 because of the "no parade on Sunday, no rain on our parade" pact with God.

Although, it sounds like that pact ain't working out so well, since the forecast for the area has rain scheduled for Monday morning.

The Rose Bowl is on Wednesday, due to the "no Championship Game on the day of the parade" pact with whoever made this crap up.

Oh, and CBS won't be airing the Rose Parade this year. I don't know if Tribune syndicates Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards out to the nation from KTLA any more or not, but if you can, watch them. They *are* the Rose Parade for many people.

And because all the cool kids are doing it...

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Generate more bad karma. Get your resolution here

Instant karma's gonna get me... So in closing, and to put this post back on target, I offer you this album. Coming up roses, indeed...

(yes, I snarfed this too!)

1. Who is your favorite superhero?
Right now, I'd say The Flash. I mean, yeah, he runs fast. Really, really fast. But he has a "normal" life with a wife and now twins, and he's got the legacy dating way back in time, and way into the future. And he's a smart aleck. ... Okay, so that last part is the most important. =)

2. If you were a superhero, which one would you be?
Snarfing this answer from creativedv8tion, who took it from mistervimes: Hand over that Green Lantern Ring; Flight, Force Field, Universal Translator, FTL travel, Weapons limited only to my imagination, what's not to love?

3. Justice League or Injustice League?
Justice League. Although, I do appreciate the JSA Classifieds right now featuring a new Injustice League, mainly from their POV.

4. Which supervillain would you be?
See #2, replacing the words "Green Lantern" with "Sinestro".

5. If you could have superpowers, what would they be?
Telepathy seemed good, but the whole storyline on Babylon 5 (including the EXCELLENT Psi Corps books) now makes be realy leary of that. So... psychokinesis.

Because I seem to be speaking in bullets today...

• Can someone please explain to me this "O RLY?" thing? I've seen it, but clearly don't "get" it. I'm guessing it's a la "All your base" or LJ's own infamous "I am sex"...
• XM Radio via DirecTV started today, and since I'm working at home, I will say that it's a beautiful thing!
• Congrats again to the latest ol' married man on the block, jumbach.
• Whisper for jelly_doughnut -- the weasel has entered the front door.
• I don't get to say this often (ever?), but WWE handled something with a great deal of class and respect. And I've only watched the intro to RAW.
• GIP, though I stole the icon from someone online and it doesn't match this post at all.

On a personal note, there are some medical issues that Jen is going through right now, which aren't relevant to be shared. Rest assured she'll be okay, just got to address them. I might be spotty in posting and replying as a result.

Grant
Grumby
Hinkley
Howell
Summers

Further, why am I bringing this up today?

Well, I'm closing the Top 10 names for females from my last post. The source for this information can be found here. And finally... the full list!

10. Samantha
 9. Elizabeth
 8. Ashley (guessed by driley)
 7. Alexis
 6. Abigail
 5. Olivia
 4. Hannah (guessed by white_n_nerdee)
 3. Madison (guessed by jiggery_pokery)
 2. Emma (guessed by talonvaki)
 1. Emily (guessed by talonvaki)

I snarfed this idea from quiz_master_man's journal. He'll sue me, I'm sure...  This might not work if people start performing net searches instead of guessing.

The US Social Security Administration occasionally publishes a brief study on the distribution of given names of Social Security holders. The last published survery was in 2003. Given that....

What were the top 10 most popular names for females on the 2003 report? I'll put up the list as they are guessed, and will site my source after completion.

10.
 9.
 8. Ashley (guessed by driley)
 7.
 6.
 5.
 4. Hannah (guessed by white_n_nerdee)
 3. Madison (guessed by jiggery_pokery)
 2. Emma (guessed by talonvaki)
 1. Emily (guessed by talonvaki)

There's a meme going around to capture your desktop image and post it.

Mine is basically this with the XP taskbar at the bottom. There are three data files on my desktop, two folders, and the Recycle Bin.

The Deviant Geek You answered 80% of the questions as a geek truly would.

You're a geek and you know it. You've got all sorts of fringe hobbies and socially unacceptable tendencies. Chances are, whenever possible, you hate to be grouped with other people and sometimes go out of your way just to be different. You're smart too. You're more willing to depend on your own brainpower to solve problems, instead of relying on others to pull you through life. You probably read a lot, and generally enjoy learning new things. So what's it all mean? You may be considered by some to be uncool, but you probably don't care either. In social situations you may be either slightly passive or slightly loud (geeks always fall into the extremes). In a nutshell, you answered enough questions correctly supporting a geek philosophy to be considered a more potent geek than 60% of the population.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 75% on geekness

Link: The True Geek Test written by ambientred on Ok Cupid