Society for Aesthetic Deletions

The new computer has arrived, along with the nice new display. I only have the 15" one, but I'll live. Especially as I have the 933MHz PowerMac, the one with the dual monitor card. So I can plug in my current 17" display and use both, which I am planning on doing.

This machine is so SWEET! I just have to decide if I want to partition the drive before I go much further. The main reason I had for partitioning is not really applicable - I used to have one sized with just enough space to burn a CD, as I was using that to set up config CDs for the computers. But since getting the external Firewire drive, I've been using that instead. We have very few computers now that don't have Firewire ports, and we'll be phasing those out.

So there's not much of a need. I also have a partition for all my own junk, that I don't want/need backed up. That's tempting, but right now it pretty much holds most of my MP3 collection, and my own web design stuff. Those could be easily moved elsewhere so they won't get backed up on the work system (and yes, I've configured our backup server at work to automatically not back up MP3s anyway).

It's nice to go from a Yikes PCI 350MHz with 256mb of RAM and a 10GB drive to a 933MHz with 512mb of RAM and a 60GB drive. I'm just disappointed I won't have more time to play with it this week. Fun will have to wait until Monday.

And I have to keep my 17" monitor. Where else will my FFVII PVC figure collection live?

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Late breakfast again this morning. We're trying to do big breakfasts late so we can skip lunch, and then do dinner later. We're doing the Excalibur tonight, and have to be there early, so not a lot of free time today. I think we're doing Denny's for breakfast this morning, and then maybe going to the Sahara. Anne wants to do blackjack at a $1 table, and Kori wants to give it a try too.

Which reminds me of something I should mention. I watched an Asian guy last night at a blackjack table at the Luxor deal out five $100 bills, take them all in chips, and place them in a bet. He drew a 9 and a 3, and I *knew* that he was going to draw a 10. He did ask for a card, and sure enough, it was a king. I saw him then, after that deal was settled, pull out 9 $100 bills, and take a variety of chips. I think he bet it all again, but at that point we were leaving, so I didn't get to watch. I was like -- damn, if you want to just throw that much money away, give it to ME!

Denny's for breakfast was oh-so-good. It's been a while -- since the Thanksgiving trip -- since we've been able to have our "regular" meals at Denny's, so it was a nice treat. Then Kori, Bob, and Bobby went to the Belz outlet while the rest of us tried our hands at Blackjack at the Sahara.

I watched Lou and Anne start, then Sally sat at the next table. John wandered off somewhere. The dealer at Lou's and Anne's table was great; very friendly, and he explained stuff to Lou as he went along. I finally decided to give it a try, and sat next to Sally at the other table.

I really liked our first dealer, a woman from China named Melody. She had a gentle hand with the cards, and was just really good. She left after a bit, and then we had a woman named Jeanne. She was good, but was harsher with the cards, which bothered me. I got up probably about $15 more than my original $20 stake (this is at the $1 table). Then Jeanne left, and a man named Al from Texas dealt, and I really didn't like how he dealt. I ended up losing my whole stake (mostly because I kept betting with the $5 chips at the end, instead of getting change). I watched Lou again for a bit, then gave up and went back to the table with Al. Another twenty came out, and I never really got a lot more than the $20 I started with. I think the max I was up was $26 (including my original stake). I had started to lose again, down $3 or so, when Sally came up and said that we were getting ready to leave. I played one last hand, and left the table with about $16 or so. If she'd only come two hands earlier, I could have left even with that hand. Lou ended up being even, not making anything other than the original $20 he'd started with.

We went back to the hotel, and rested for a bit before going to the Excalibur for the dinner show, The Tournament of Kings. That was fun, lots of "huzzahs" and "here heres" for toasts. And I hit my beefcake quotient for the evening -- damn, the King of Norway was hot! We were in Norway's section. But he still didn't do very well, alas. And the rest of the guys were VERY cute.

We wandered in the Fantasy Faire, basically a bunch of carnival games, before and after the show. John won Anne a medium-sized jester bear at the water gun game (instead of filling balloons, you raced Viking ships down a track). Kori won, but she got a plastic Viking horned helmet since there weren't enough people playing to get a bear. She really wanted one. While us girls were in the bathroom after the show, Lou won me a tiny jester bear. Now I had to get one for Kori -- she was the one who originally wanted one! So I sat down, didn't win on the first race, but got lucky on the second (wherein just about every seat was filled), and started shooting right at the hole. I kept up the stream, and won the bigger bear (she really wanted a large one with Mardi Gras beads, but I think you must have to trade in other bears to get that) and gave it to her. We took some pictures with all the bears later, and then it was back to the hotel. The others wanted to go to the Bellagio water fountains, but I was too tired.

I crashed early and slept very well. I think I'm finally getting used to the time. Just in time to go back, of course.

1. What's your favorite vacation spot?
We don't really take vacations like that, so I don't really have one. I did have fun in Las Vegas, but would not want to go there a lot. I enjoy trips to the Cape in winter, too.

2. Where do you consider to be the biggest hell-hole on earth?
Oh $diety, I have no idea. Cleveland?

3. What would be your dream vacation?
A two-week cruise to Alaska.

4. If you could go on a road-trip with anyone, who would it be and why?
My husband. He's a great travelling companion, and we talk and roleplay and hash out game world stuff. And we can just drive in silence too.

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
My game tonight, then Lou's running some Rilla and Gevrok for Jack and me tomorrow. We're doing our anniversary dinner at the Fireside tomorrow night, because we were too tired still to go last Saturday. Sunday is the last Facets run for a time. And I have to do laundry in there sometime!

You are most like Desmond, thrown out of a sleigh! Created by Thren. Which Gashlycrumb Tiny are you?

Courtesy of ***Dave

Courtesy of Meera

Wednesday, February 20, 2002

Lou wanted to go swimming this morning (he did yesterday morning), but he convinced his father to go breakfast at 9:30 instead of 10:00, and we slept in, so swimming will have to wait.

We're doing Circus Circus for breakfast and going to watch the show/clowns, etc., as this is what Bobby wanted to do. Kori's pick, seeing impressionist Danny Gans, is not possible. Alas, he's sold out three months in advance. We're here this morning, then off to the Hoover Dam. I hope that we can head back to the hotel; I was unaware of the plan, and didn't bring my camera! Oh no!

We played a bit of the slots at Circus Circus after the *extremely* sweet breakfast (I had not seen so many doughnuts or pastries or other sweet things (not counting dessert areas) for our breakfast buffets until today). I was dumping the quarters won at the Luxor into a few machines (still no "Take Your Picks" - they really must be exclusive to the Luxor), and finally settled at Wheel of Fortune. Played some, using all three quarters, and finally got a spin at the Wheel, and out came 125 quarters. Or rather, credits, until I cashed out. Decided to stop there, carried my quarters out to find my husband, who was promptly losing money at his addiction, video poker (Deuces Wild). I had given him $20 earlier as he had only $50, and then wandered off to play the slots at which I had won. I dropped five into the machine next to him and didn't win anything, but he didn't either. I cashed out all the quarters, and ended up with $58.25, which meant that I had won today $18.25 (that I kept, I did have more) because I had $40 in the cup before. I was pleased. We then had to start heading to the front to leave - I found another addiction of mine, the "win the car" slots, and dropped $10 into that. I was up at one point, but this was my $10 attempt to win the car, not to win money, so I kept going until it was all gone. I then wandered upstairs and saw a really cool juggler, but I was late and had to come back down to leave. We did go back to the hotel and got the camera (and various other bits) and then headed out to the dam.

Hoover Dam was pretty cool in and of itself. I had learned before we went out that the cement in the dam won't finish curing for 500 years, and that it was built to last 2k years. Pretty cool, even if the hard hat tour, the one down into the guts of the dam that Lou's parents had gone on last year at this time, was off-limits now. And I got to say I've been to Arizona (we walked across the dam bridge until I crossed the state line)! We headed back to the hotel then, with a brief jaunt to Lake Mead. We missed a chance with a wrong turn to go to the Dairy Queen, but with our trip to the Star Trek Experience with Sarah and Chris tonight, I think we'll be okay.

Lou wants to hit the Sahara again tomorrow and their $1 Blackjack tables. We also have The Fremont Street Experience, the Amazing Johnathan, and I need to see the water fountains at the Bellagio (everyone else saw it last night while I crashed), and then it's time for home on Friday.

We had enough time between the time we were back at the hotel and the Kindreds' visit to go swimming. As the weather was warm enough, I decided to go, even though the sun was setting. Lou had told me the pool was heated, and it felt nice. There was a slight breeze, so staying as much under the water as possible was a good idea. If the water started to feel too cold, I just went to the shallow end and stayed above the water for a while, the quickly submerged again, and boy did it feel good! There was a hot tub off the exercise area, and Lou and I headed there for a soak before going to shower and change. The Jockey Club also had a sauna, but we didn't get a chance to use that.

Sarah and Chris picked us up, and we headed out to the Las Vegas Hilton, home of the Star Trek Experience. We had dinner first, at Quark's bar, which was fun but we had not-so-good service. Sarah's appetizer was not what she ordered, and her meal never got entered so she didn't get any dinner, so that was a pain. But the food was good. I had a Pattern Buffer drink which was tasty, and the Joseph Sisko's Bayou Pasta, which was good and spicy. Lou had a Class M Pizza, as did Chris. Sarah was supposed to have gotten the Harry Kim Pad Thai. Lou had the Cardassian Creme Brulee for dessert and Sarah had the Apple Crisp (sorry, I forget the cutesy name with it). Then Sarah and Chris waited while we went through the museum and ride.

The museum itself was a lot of fun, with props from all the series and movies. I love the "Stone Knives and Bearskins" (okay, that's not its real name, but that's Spock's reference to it in the episode!) memory circuit, and the timeline. Then we got in line for the ride, which was just so much FUN! I had no idea what to expect, and that made it all the more fun. Suffice it to say that, without revealing the secret, any Trek fan should go on it if they get to Vegas, and more than once. We only got to go on it once, but it was a highlight of my trip. Best Ride Ever!

We headed back to the hotel then, bid farewell to Sarah and Chris (much TRiH talk was had during our visit, which was fun), and crashed again. It was an early night, but I'm still getting used to this place. Our hosts did recommend seeing the Treasure Island Pirate show, so we may try to hit that tonight, but a lot depends on timing. We've got The Amazing Johnathan at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, but dinner and the Fremont St. Experience before that. We'll have to play it by ear.

This American Life had a segment this week (last week? I heard it today) about superpowers. And if you had to pick between flight and invisibility, which would you chose and why?

Discuss.

Thursday, February 21, 2002

Well, true to his word at breakfast yesterday, Lou's dad didn't want to go out for breakfast. So Lou and I got up and walked over to Paris and had a good breakfast. Our waiter wasn't as good as our previous waiter was, but the food was still excellent. We wandered around there for a bit, then walked down to Caesar's Palace Forum Shops, as we had been told by the Kindreds that there was an FAO Schwartz in the shops, and Lou wanted to hit it. We stopped by the Bellagio on the way over, as a water show was just starting. It was pretty cool, and the only chance I was going to be able to get to see it, since our night was full. The shops were cool, unfortunately we had little time. We went through the toy store, and I wandered around through the stuffed animals, then headed up to where Lou was. I went to the third floor, and saw him on the second as I was heading up the escalator. I looked a bit more at the LEGO and action figures (they had a full-size Darth Vader with buttons to push to make him talk, and a LEGO full-size Darth Vader), then we had to head out. I spotted the Hello Kitty Statue of Liberty which heralded the Hello Kitty section, and had to stop to get Paula something. A few minutes later, we continued on and headed back as quick as we could. We were a few minutes late, but they were still waiting for us.

We were heading out to the Sahara, but had to do a stop at Walmart to get contacts for Bobby first. Then we changed the plan, and instead headed to The Castaway for bingo. Lou and Bobby didn't want to play, so Sally, Bob, Kori and I played and lost every round (sigh). Ah well. Lou played blackjack at a $3 table, and was up $40. We decided then that we'd just play there instead of heading to the Sahara, so Sally and I sat down and the others went to the slots. I had scored earlier on a slot machine with the quarters left from Paris earlier in the week (won 120 quarters at a Wheel of Fortune slot), so I staked that. Lou gave me back a $25 chip for the $20 I had loaned him yesterday, and then asked for a $5 chip in return when I was up a little bit, which I gave to him. I left the table up a little, but I don't remember how much. Then it was back to the hotel for a nap before the evening festivities, but I wanted to head to Gameworks and the M&M store to get some candy for our friends. It was $8 a pound for the bulk M&Ms, but you could pick the colors. I got just over a pound of of black M&Ms, and then got a small round box with blue ones in it for Kate, and we ate a brief meal at McDonald's and then came back. I passed out for a bit, and then it was time to go to the Golden Nugget.

We parked and ate (sat in the smoking section, and I had problems at the end. At first, no one was smoking in the area, but it took so long to get our order in that by the time we left there was smoke in the air), and the food was again VERY good. I passed on dessert, and then we hit the Fremont Street Experience, which is very cool and highly recommended. Our Experience was all Motown songs. Then we got a shirt for Jack, as I had recalled his allergies too late to get him some white chocolate. We had a little time to kill, so Lou and I played some blackjack at a $5 table right off of Fremont Street. Lou was up $35 and I was down $10 when it was time to go. Then it was inside to see The Amazing Johnathan.

The Amazing was very funny. I'd seen much of his stuff on TV before, but it was great hearing him in person. He was vulgar and hysterical, and a lot of fun.

We left after the show with only a slot or two played on the way out. I found a "Take Your Pick" machine, but it was a dollar a play, and I wasted $3 that I had in $1 bills. There was also a $5 "Take Your Pick" machine, but I was SO not going there.

I also watched a $50 minimum and a $200 minimum blackjack table, in a separate area so it was through the glass. I think I also saw a $1000 minmum, but there was no dealer at it. It would have frightened me if there had been people playing it! Give me the money, don't waste it!

We made a last trip down the Strip on the way back to the hotel, and then it was crash time again. It was Friday by then, and Lou and my anniversary. Five years...whoo-hoo!

Anne noticed that my "Recent Referrals" list on the side included someone looking on google for - "aesthetic woman picture."

I hope they weren't too disappointed when they came here.

Friday, February 22, 2002

Lou gave me two anniversary cards this morning. Of course I had none for him. I'd thought about getting some when I got the Valentine's Day card, but forgot or just decided not to. Lou thought ahead and brought the ones he had bought at Valentine's Day with him, so I got two neat cards.

We packed and got ready to go to breakfast and then the airport. Not as much stuff fit, and I didn't buy all THAT much stuff, but I guess the packing goes better when you're heading out than when you're heading back. I'm writing this as we're just waiting for the dishwasher to finish with the dishes and for Lou's parents to get ready. I may have some time to write more later today, perhaps on one of the planes. It's cold in Chicago and in Boston, so I've got extra clothing since I didn't bring a jacket.

Breakfast was a bit of a fiasco, but we pulled it off with time to spare. I think I've just hit that point where too much togetherness is too much, and I need my space. Fortunately this happened on the last day of the trip, so I won't seem like such a bitch.

We made it to the airport just on time, and then through the check-in and the security with only a few minutes to spare. I headed off to the bathroom, and passed Bobby and Kori playing the slots in the airport. On the way out of the restroom, I took a look at all the slots -- there were 25 cent ones and $1 slots. Lou was playing a quarter slot, as were Bobby and Kori. Having a little bit of cash left, I picked my machine and put in $10 to a $1 machine. I played full credits, so it was $2 a spin. I got down to my last $2 with only winning back my bet once, then I won a few more. At $6 left, I hit a nice-sized jackpot - $120, making it a total of $124. Deciding to spend down to what I won, I spun twice but came up zip, then cashed out. I think that brings me up to actually making a tiny profit on this trip! Whoo-hoo!

I knew this machine was going to score for me, just like I had at the Castaway. Just a feeling that paid off twice for me.

The machine had other ideas and had only spat out about $20 worth of tokens when it made some whining noises and stopped. Fortunately, there was an attendant right near the machines, and she called in for service. Turns out it was not out of tokens, but some tokens were stuck or just not flowing properly. The person who came to help got it running again and it continued with its token dispensing. Lou asked for a dollar token and I gave him one, which unfortunately made my count uneven as he lost with it. But being up $119 was still pretty good. It was time to board then, so to the plane we went.

Flying into Vegas at night was fun, but I much prefer flying during the day. You can actually see more outside the window then. For example, I can now say I've seen the Grand Canyon. It was off to the right-hand side of the plane, which was the one I happened to be on. I also got a good shot of the Luxor from the airport terminal...the best view in town, I think.

But anyway, I've now seen the beautiful sight of the Grand Canyon from a goodly distance up. I had spotted it first before the pilot had told us that is what it was. Very cool, and something to visit someday, whenever we make a return trip out to this area.

We're now passing over the Rocky Mountains, too. LOTS of snow, and just plain cool mountains. I think we are going right over the Continental Divide now, but I don't know a lot of west coast geography. I did spy a frozen lake/river, with snow covering it. It looked just like someone had spilled milk down the mountain, and it had pooled in the crevasses. I pointed it out to Lou, and of course he had to pun - "It's no use flying over spilled milk." Let's all groan at Lou now. It's fortunate for him that it's our anniversary, and I'm a forgiving person.

The mountains are thinning out now, less snow and height, but still there. I did also see a city of some sort at the base of the "milk lake" in the mountains; I wonder what city it was? Probably never know. Maybe if I look at an atlas when I get home.

Time to put this away and read my book again.

Over the midwest now - I can tell because of the patchwork quilt of land beneath me, broken only by a few circles here or there, and now and then some hills.

I can tell Lou is getting annoyed with me, pointing out scenes outside while he tries to watch the TV. But there is so much to see outside, even when it is just fluffy white cotton clouds, all below us, stretched out forever.

I missed the trees.

I am in the rented van, on the way home from the airport. It is dark out, but I can see the outline in the moonlight, streetlight, or car headlight of the trees that line the highways here.

I never really thought of it before, but the streets of LV had only palm trees, with the occasional evergreen-type bush/tree. A few ground covering plants here and there.

Last fall, I had thought of sending Sarah some colorful leaves in the fall, but I had never done it. Now, I think I will not only send her some leaves in the fall, but I will send her some leaves this spring as well. A little bit of home in a place so far removed from it. I know she is home now, with Chris. But she is still a New Englanda, and that never goes away.

Sometimes I wonder at the world that roleplayers live in, and how it's viewed by the outsiders, the "mundanes."

I have a game on Monday nights. Lou is not in this game, he decided not to play for a number of reasons. But prior to this game starting, Lou was in the same GM's Monday night game, which I was not in.

This previous game had a lot of character deaths. So each night when Lou came home, I'd ask him the same question -- "Did you die? Did anyone die?" Alas, his character never died, but a number of the other ones died, sometimes multiple times.

[digression here -- the best one was the guy who decided he wanted to play a new character, so the GM killed off his old character. His new character was part of a group of captives the other PCs were going to save. In the process, the new character died. So the player spent the rest of the session creating YET ANOTHER new PC for the game. He should have just stuck with his original character!]

So, since I'm now playing in this GMs game, on Monday nights, Lou constantly asks me when I get home if I died. In this game, death is significant -- the PCs are linked via magical rings to one other person in the Realms (it's a Forgotten Realms game, we're going through the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil). If we die, the other person we're linked to dies, and vice versa. It's how the GM decided to allow evil PCs in the game, yet still make them want to work together.

We've had one death (well, two), but that was because one player never showed up past the first session, and another player didn't like his own character, so they both got offed. No one since then has died, but a few have come close.

So last night, Lou and I headed out of the house together. He was going grocery shopping (which we hadn't done since coming back from Las Vegas -- too much Final Fantasy X), I was going to the game. We said our goodbyes, and then he called out, "Hope you don't die!"

I pondered to myself if my neighbors had heard that, and what they would think. Usually, a husband and wife might say to each other, "Drive safely," or "Have fun," or "I love you," and so on. But it's not often you hear "Hope you don't die," from one's beloved spouse.

But hey, it made perfect sense to me.

No, not the book, but the test...

Which Firearm are you? brought to you byStan Ryker

I'd have much rather been a Desert Eagle, like Doyce.

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Schoolhouse Rock will be coming to DVD in July. Yay! Have to get a pre-order for that in soon.

I have the icky videos that put Cloris Leachman and a bunch of singing and dancing kids between the segments. If I want to watch one, I fast forward past those as quickly as possible.

And bonus! It will have a new segment written by the show's original creators! Woo-hoo!

Courtesy of ***Dave.

I took the What Mythological Creature Are you? test!

I hadn't realized how bad my blog looks in Netscape until I looked at it a few weeks ago, in Netscape Communicator 4.7 for the Mac.

Man, did it look awful! I decided that I wasn't going to worry about fixing it, though. If Nav was more standards-compliant for CSS, this site would look great. but I'm using the default (well, slightly modified) layout for Movable Type, and it doesn't use tables for layout.

If I get a lot of complaints (only one so far), then I may reconsider and go to tables. But for now, I'm sticking with CSS. Tables aren't SUPPOSED to be used for layout. (though most of my site the REST of my site uses them)

I used to be a loyal Netscape user. IE sucked! It was the tool of the devil, the Evil That Is Microsoft!

Then they came out with IE 5 for Mac. And it was beautiful. And then Netscape 6 was released. And it sucked. I resisted, mightily, but finally caved. And now that I'm using OSX, it's either IE 5 or Netscape 6. Well, THAT is an easy choice.

Yes, I know I can use iCab, or Opera, or even OmniWeb. I'll stick with what I know. And what is free.

Well, today is the day for my job audit. I meet with the interviewer (auditor?) at 2:30.

It should go pretty well, I think. I just have to tell her that the job I'm doing now is SO much more than my PCD (Position Content Document, aka Brown's version of a job description). Kate prepped me a little, advised me on what to emphasize and what not to emphasize.

Kate says this is pretty much a formality, but I'm just happy it's getting done. It's been just about a year since my last review, wherein I listed all the things I was doing that were OUTSIDE of my PCD, and in the Sys Admin PCD instead.

Fortunately, if it all goes through, they backdate the pay through the date they received the request. Which unfortunately for me is only January 31. But it's January 31, and not today! So that's good.

Here's hoping! Cross some fingers for me, okay? Or pray if you do that. :)

[It may not be Wil Wheaton's 7 things that I'm thankful for, but here it is.]

Which tarot card are you?

and

Which Computer Component Are you?

I am helping Anne set up MT on her new site, hosted by my provider.

She will also be having multiple blogs, when she gets it up and running.

And she's agreed to do the Letter Game Blog with me! Yippie!

I may not need to help her with MT tomorrow night, she'll have this all set up in a few minutes. Then it's just a matter of playing with the layout/CSS.

Enough people have asked that I should post.

Lou's CT scan went fine. In fact, if he had not let himself get all worked up about it (which he really only lets happen with doctor's visits), and stopped and thought about it, he'd have realized it wasn't going to be invasive.

See, the last time he had a CT scan done, it was when he had kidney stones. He actually passed the stone, but they did the scan to make sure there was no damage done. They gave him an IV with the radioactive dye or whatever it is that would allow his guts to show up on the scan. And this wiped him out the next day, he felt all ill and such.

This time, it wasn't internal. It was on his upper arm, on the bone. No need for dye. So we went to the hospital for our 10:00 p.m. appointment, and got there early. Waited a bit (I brought a book), then went down to the next area with him. Waited some more. He went into the room alone, and had the scans done. Came back out, all fine, realized if he'd bothered to think or done some research he would have saved himself a lot of worry, then we went home.

I crashed, he was wired, so read for a bit. But see? No IV, no nothing. Just a scan.

By the way, the blood tests came back all normal, so no infection. We'll just have to see what the scan results say. He also says his arm doesn't hurt as much, which is good.

I just hope this isn't one of those things where they don't know what the problem is, and it goes away on its own.

1. What makes you homesick?
You know, when I was a kid, I got homesick staying two houses away from my own. I'd wake up in the middle of the night, crying, and my parents would have to come and take me home.

So now, I don't get homesick much anymore. At some point, I just grew out of it, and once upon a time, I slept in strangers homes (okay, they were online friends, but people I'd never met before!) every month or so.

But things that make me homesick -- thinking of my kittens. The smell of the ocean. Thinking about the home I grew up in in Portsmouth.

2. Where is "home" for you? Is it where you are living now, or somewhere else (ie: Mom & Dad's house, particular state/city)?
"Home" for me is two places. The apartment I'm in now, with my husband. But "Home" for 20 years was that house in Portsmouth. I'm a Rhode Islanda at heart (though I was born in Alabama!), and will always be.

3. What makes it home for you? People? Things?
Definitely NOT things. People. Habit. Familiarity. The latter probably even more than people, but not quite.

4. Where is the furthest you've been from home, miles-wise?
That's easy. Alicante, Spain. I don't think we went much further east than that on our trip. I have no idea how many miles that is from home, though. A lot.

The farthest west was Red Rock Canyon on my recent Vegas trip.

5. What are your plans for this weekend?
Meera's right, it is the Friday Four with "What are you doing this weekend?" at the end.

I am going to see Anne tonight and we're having our Chow Yun Chat. Then tomorrow morning I have to write out the checks I've been neglecting to send before my ftf Amber game, WEF. Sunday is the bookclub in the morning if I've finished the book, followed by Mamma Mia at the PPAC, and then then the Sunday game.

Whoosh, busy weekend!

The Purple Rose of Romance

Laura Resnick does a hysterical editorial on the difference between Sex and Romance.

UPDATE: Sorry, forgot to add...

Courtesy of Anne.

I'm so glad my old boyfriend gave me Remo Williams books to read and showed me the video. I missed this movie when it came to the theater, though I did want to see it.

Chiun gets the best lines. I watched it this morning while home sick. Very busy weekend made for very tired Julia, and tired Julia's get sick much quicker.

I did get to see Mamma Mia yesterday, which I will write up for a review for my pop culture blog soon. It was a lot of fun, very much a wacky romantic comedy musical, and if you have even a single fond memory of any Abba songs, treat yourself and see it on tour.

I'll also have more on the Letter Blog Game later today, for those who asked.

ABCNEWS.com : Oops! Astronomers Say Universe Is Beige, Not Green.

Damn. Green is still my favorite color, even if it's not the color of the universe.

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Letter Games

Trolling the net netted the above link, which is a good sum-up of what Letter Games are all about.

The book mentioned, Sorcery and Cecelia, was published as a result of a Letter Game between Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede. It's out of print and hard to find, but will be reprinted next Spring.

The basics are this, however: Two (or more, but two is probably good to start) authors write letters from one character's perspective to the other character. A setting is established, and a general world-type view is agreed-upon. And lastly, the characters must never, ever meet up.

Then, through these letters back and forth, each writer works on their own character's plot, sometimes providing advice or help for the other characters, even on occasion adding a bit of background to the other character (something along the lines of -- "Remember when you fell in the pond when you were 8? I tried to pull you out, you pulled me in instead, and we were both in bed for weeks? They thought you were going to die, but I was certain you would pull through, and you did. Has that cough ever cleared up?"). As you can see, there does have to be a certain amount of trust between the authors.

Using the blog interface, one can have multiple authors in one blog working on their own Letter Game. Or, two people who have their own blogs could write letters in their own, and link to their co-author's page for the next in the series. It seemed a wonderful extension of the Letter Game, making it public for all to watch and comment on.

I think Anne and I may start using the children of characters from the original fantasy game Lou ran. Anne got to play Kit for a brief time in the sequel to the original game (before pregnancy and child-caring for pulled her away), but I haven't done anything with Brianna's child. I'm not even sure what sex it'll be (I'm leaning toward male at this point).

Or we'll decide to do something altogether new. Probably not Amber-style, though. Anne has only played in one ADRPG game, and hasn't read the books. :)

So, any takers? Meera looks like she got some of her own already. I'm willing to give folks logins to my Whitespace blog, or set up another one. Want to be the hostess with the mostess, that's me.

You can take a look at it here. If you have a problem viewing the link, refresh and/or cut off "index.html" from the end. Worked for me after a bit.

Looks like they downplayed the romance angle in this one, playing up the action. You get to see Mace Windu use that lightsaber his action figure came with.

Doesn't surprise me. Try to hook the chicks early, 'cause you know the geeks will see it anyway.

And is it just me, or can anyone not see this Jedi without thinking of Andy Dick at the Oscars from a few years back?

If I wasn't peanut butter, I woulda been Tea. That's better. Sticks to the roof of your mouth less.

Amazing photos of a tugboat doing the limbo.

Courtesy of Ian.

I just got "unofficial" notice (the letter will arrive later this week, no doubt) that my revised PCD has gone through, as did my job upgrade. Which means I am now a 9E (as opposed to an 8E), and I am getting a 15% increase in pay to go along with that grade increase.

Go me!

And I am hoping that I will still get the raise from the upcoming performance review. Kate believes this will be so, because the pay is backdated to February 1. If it had been March (evaluations take place in April, with increases usually in May or June, I forget), then it would be less likely.

So now I can try to climb out of debt quicker (ha!). But it also makes the lunch that Lou and I are doing at Little Chopsticks a celebratory one!

(...Julia does little dance of joy around the office...)

This is fun. Shockwave required, but it's not a noisy one.

UPDATE 3:43 p.m. ET: Page doesn't seem to be responding. Might have exceeded bandwith limits. Check back later.

This article proves that sometimes, when life gives you lemons, take some pictures of them and see how they look!

Courtesy of Myth, via the Liad mailing list.

Would you survive a horror movie? Find out @ She's Crafty

Courtesy of ***Dave, who would also live

Courtesy of Doyce.

What Tree Did You Fall From?

I fell out of the Fig tree, which actually fit me very well. Lou, however, was under the Walnut tree, and with the exception of "ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate," nothing else fit him. At All.

Courtesy of Myth again, via the Liad List

Ooh, all about da aminals!

1. What's your favorite animal?
Horses. I majored in college (now it's a University) in Equestrian Studies/Business Management. Didn't graduate, but horses have always been my love.

2. What pets have you had in your lifetime?
Started with Tom-Tom when I was young, he was the family cat. Part Siamese, part big old yellow alley cat. He was a tough cookie; chased a miniature poodle that lived across the street out of the yard. After Tom-Tom died, we had Mona. My sister Jean's cat, she was named Mona after it was made clear that he was a she (she had been named Moe, part of Eeny, Meenie, Miney, and Shadow, a litter of kittens her friend's cat had had), and she was basically a long-haired tortie, a cross between a calico and a Persian. Mona had the misfortune of being around when the family finally caved in and bought a dog, a cute mutt from the pound named Casey. They were wary about each other - I think Casey was more scared of Mona than vice versa. Mona ended up with my sister at one point when she had gotten married and moved out, and went missing for a time, showed up again months later, but then went missing again, and was hit by a car. I don't think, at her advanced age, the move to a busier street was something she could handle.

Then we got Cinnaman. Used to be Cinnamon, but when we found out he was male (can you tell we name cats before we know the sexes of them in my family?), and he was cool. But he was an outdoors cat, never much for hanging around inside.

Casey died a few years later. We were all about moved out by then, so Mom didn't get any more pets.

Lou and I are owned now by Athena and Artemis, our littermate pound kitties, and just the most wonderful thing we've ever done. We love them dearly, even at 5:00 a.m. on the weekend when they decide we should be up.

I should also mention that we had fishtanks and fish growing up, until we really stopped taking care of them and they all died. My brother also had a cockatiel at one point; I've no idea what he did with it after he moved out. And then there were the hampsters. Growing up in Maryland, we had a huge Habitrail, and lots of hampsters, one even had a litter. They all died or were given away. At one point, we had an end of the Habitrail up against the wall for some reason (I was young, I have no idea), and the hampsters ate their way through the wall, and got down inside it. I don't think we ever managed to get them out, alas.

Lastly, when I was in high school, our biology class had gerbils. I volunteered to take them over the summer, and they became our gerbils. They were named Mom and Pop by my friend Dawn and I, because they had The Kids. They also eventually died of old age.

Whew! A lot of pets.

3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why?
Not really. I'd love to have a horse, but they're not pets by any stretch of the imagination. And that's a lot of work, so I'd need someone to help me take care of it.

4. Are you allergic to any animals?
Not that I'm aware of. I may be allergic slightly to cats, but not my own.

5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves (your pets or others')?
Dogs are not lap animals, no matter how small they are. Cats are lap animals. Not dogs.

If you don't have time for a dog, DON'T GET ONE. Save yourself and the dog the situation, please. The same goes for cats, but less so, because they most often don't require as much attention as a dog does.

Courtesy of ***Dave.

I haven't really felt like blogging about this, but I do feel I should make some note.

Lou's grandmother, Frances G. Evans, affectionately known as Nana, passed away a week ago today. She was 86. We got a phone call last Friday night that she had gone into a coma, and then the call Saturday morning that she had died.

Nana Evans was one of those crochety old Irish grandmothers - liked her drinks, liked her smokes (she smoked up until about a year or so ago, and was last year diagnosed with lung cancer, which was what helped claim her life), liked to hear gossip (though she'd never admit it), liked to complain, and loved her family. She also hated being unable to care for herself, hated being unable to walk up and down stairs without help, hated having to rely on others for things that she used to be able to do just fine. In the past few years, she had given up on trying to live - she wasn't doing anything other than what was required, not having the joy of life anymore. The mood increased after the lung cancer diagnosis, but there was something else along with it. An attitude of "I told you so, I told you there was something wrong with me, see!" that lurked under the surface. Never voiced, yet there nonetheless.

We had a memorial mass for her on Thursday. It was a very amusing thing to see this very lapsed Catholic leading the family of non-Catholics (or also very lapsed Catholics) in what Lou terms as Catholocize - the sit-stand-sit-kneel-stand motions that I went through weekly for the first 17 or so years of my life. I'm sure Nana would have laughed at us, all confused.

The mass was followed by a few words from the priest at the gravesite, and then it was to a local restaurant for food, drink, and conversation. We all sat, reminisced, learned some about the family history, and then headed home.

Lou hasn't really reacted to this, not like I was expecting. I think he'd accepted it was coming long ago, and as she accepted it was going to happen, so did he.

No tears, just a fond farewell.

It's snowing outside. It's been doing it all morning.

The original forecast for today was some snow, changing to rain, and then lots of rain.

They changed it sometime in the night. Temperatures are not expected to rise. So we get 1-2 inches of snow.

In March.

On March 18, to be exact.

This is about as much snow as we here in Southern New England have had all year.

It won't last past Wednesday, as temps are going to climb into the 40s.

I thought it was supposed to snow in New England...it USED to.

Global Warming, anyone?

It didn't last much past last night. The only places the snow still exists are on top of cars that weren't cleaned off, or on grass/trees/bushes that haven't yet had the chance to melt it away.

Ah well. At least I got to throw a couple of wet snowballs to the first-floor's dog last night. But she didn't try to catch them. Poor Bailey -- she belongs the type of people about whom I have pet peeves.

We'll get some flurries this morning and maybe some tomorrow, but then rain.

Isn't March supposed to go out like a lamb?

Who's Your Inner Buffy Bad-Girl? Find out @ She's Crafty

Courtesy of Anadandy.

This helps confirm theories of global warming. Either that, or some supervillan has a heater under the ice and is buying up mountain-property (soon to be seafront property) as we click and type.

More images and story are here.

Courtesy of Slashdot.

Newsflash!

Miss Cleo not Jamaican!

I played a Jamaican character at GenCon last year. I kept losing the accent, so I would suddenly break into "Call me for your free reading now!" to get back into it.

The game itself was fun - Theatrix, IIRC. I hope there are more Theatrix games this year.

Oh yeah...

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Are You A Hit-Obsessed Weblogger?

I scored 30 points, which is in the 20 through 39 percent range.

TYPE C (HIT-CURIOUS). You do the weblog thing for yourself instead of for an audience, but you are aware that you do have an audience, small as it might be. You are often curious as to what other people find so interesting about your weblog. You check your weblog referrers every now and then just to satisfy your curiosity.

Courtesy, once again, of ***Dave.

Interesting effects of spiders fed drug-dosed flies.

Can you tell when I'm running stuff in the background that doesn't require a lot of input? Lots more blog posts...

Courtesy of Doyce.

Which Angelina Are You?

Courtesy of Anadandy, who got to be Lara.

Virtual Keyboard

I wouldn't need to bring my folding keyboard (that I love, but it does require a hard flat surface) with me to use my Palm!

Okay, maybe this would also require a hard flat surface, but wouldn't it be cool to just start typing in mid-air someday?

Courtesy of Slashdot.

Movable Type 2.0 is out.

Must finish Ask Aunt Flora redesign tonight.

ARGH!

Ah well, I can play with MT tomorrow night, while Lou's at his game.

Not much to post today, but maybe more after the upgrade this evening.

Be back later!

(heh...used to hearing that a lot with Lou playing SMAC. Now he's gonna start EV Nova, if he can get away from Blitzballing...)

Well, the upgrade is over. Went well, too.

I'm having a problem though, and it's not related to the upgrade. Using IE 6 on my XP Home OS'd laptop, I can't see my blog entries that go past the right-hand sidebar.

They're all loaded...if I view source, I see everything. And up until recently, if I visited another page, then went "back" to this page, I could scroll to the bottom. But over the last week, it just hasn't been working.

I may have to go back to tables for layout for this site. Besides, it looks so bad in Netscape 4.7, and I have at least one person who visits the site on occasion with that browser. (waves to LM)

So, anyone but me having this problem? My Pop Culture blog was having the same problem, but it's gone. Maybe it's because I only have one entry in it now?

UPDATE 11:03 p.m.: Of course, now that I say this, when I load the page it shows everything fine. I've no clue. It'll probably break again. But it's also good to know that my secret editing link still works...

1. What is your favorite time of year?
In New England, it's Fall. The colors are so riotous, so vibrant. Followed closely by a SNOWY winter. If winter doesn't have snow, I'd rather have any other time of year. Including August in the Northeast, when the humidity makes the world seem like you're swimming in hot soup as you walk down the street.

2. What is it about your favorite season that, well, makes it your favorite season?
Oops, answered that above. Cheryl Wheeler has a wonderful song that sums up everything about why New England is hella cool in Autumn.

3. What is your least favorite time of year? Why?
Winter without snow. Summer with no cool breeze. Fall when hurricanes come and strip leaves off the trees before they change color. Dry Springs. Hmm...that wasn't one time...

4. Do you do anything to celebrate or recognize the changing of seasons?
Not a sausage. Since it snowed on the first day of Spring here in New England, we don't tend to mark those days as important. At least not on "official" days.

5. What's your favorite thing to do outside?
Swimming. In the ocean preferred, though I haven't done that in years. Walking on the beach off-season is a blast. Lou and I are going to the Cape for a quick jaunt this weekend (see, I answered the unasked question!), but with it being hella windy, it's not likely he'll get me onto the National Seashore. I don't like wind when it's cold out.

Can anyone else tell right from wrong?

I think this sums up my husband's thoughts on the matter. We talked about this a little at home, not much. Once the verdict was read, he was appalled. Working in the mental health industry, it was inconceivable to him that she would be found guilty. I was not perhaps so stunned, but surprised.

I think many people in the US of A need to learn a lot more about mental illness.

Courtesy of Ginger Stampley.

You are Civilian Calvin! You don't get to travel much outside your neighborhood, but you still manage to get in plenty of trouble. When you're not acting up, you like to wax philosophical. Take the What Calvin are You? Quiz by contessina_2000@yahoo.com!

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Peter goes to Boot Camp and Peter goes again.

Very amusing stories about a geek to takes Seal PT training in New York City for two weeks, then decides he likes pain enough to do it again.

I've spent most of this evening reading his posts to Lou while he plays FFX. We've both laughed out loud at various parts of his tale.

Courtesy of Slashdot.

Gasoline costs rise sharply

Lou and I noticed this before they reported on it. Hell, I noticed it this past week, when I had to get gas for the minivan. "What the heck?" I asked myself as I pumped a ton (or as Ian would say it, tonne) of money into the van to fill it up, "I hadn't heard anything about this on the news?"

Lou filled the van up this weekend while we were on the Cape, and he had the same reaction. Of course, after we both shell out the dough, the news is all over it.

I am more anxious than ever now to replace Lou's car with a hybrid. Too bad we won't be able to afford it until next year.

My Very Secret MacOSX Diary

This was posted on Slashdot while I was on vacation, and I only found via a MacSlash comment and reading that person's weblog.

Howver, have now gotten rid of stupid QTPro Upgrade notices. Go Andrew!

Sauron's diary. It may be the last one she writes until The Two Towers comes out. Suspect she is burning out, other duties being neglected.

But still....

Go Cassie!

Last night was the last game session of Pat's great experiment.

I wrote about Pat's previous game before, the one where lots of PCs died. And this game was a response to those who had characters die, but wanted to play evil ones. He wouldn't allow it in the old game, since it was a heroic game.

So this game, we all have to work together, or we'll die.

Guess what happened?

I must admit, I missed last week's session due to dentistry. If I had been there, the great experiment might not have ended, because there is very little way that I would have, in character, agreed to the plan that they had devised in my absence. Ah well.

We got captured by bandits. They were going to ransom us. Or kill us. We tried to talk our way out, but that didn't work. Then we tried to escape.

And we all died.

But this means that next week he can start the Wheel of Time game he's been wanting to run since we gave him the first books to read. (heh heh heh)

He's going to run it as if we were the main characters in the books, but not using the same characters. I really don't think it's the best way to run a WoT game, but I'm willing to give it a try. Lou might not, though.

And I really do think that the person playing The Dragon Reborn should have read the books. Right now, the current front-runner is someone who has only read the game book. Not that I want to play the doppleganger of Rand, mind you -- my mind is already filled with Aiel, Wolfbrothers, Aes Sedai, Wise Ones, Warders...can't...decide...what...to...play... -- but still...

I'd love to Lou to play an Aes Sedai and for me to play his Warder. That'd be fun.

You know you've been playing/watching too much FFX when...

In the Thunder Plains, you run about and try to dodge lightning by hitting the X key before the bolt strikes. You can tell when the bolt is going to strike because the whole screen flashes white for a split second. In order to get one of the items needed to fully release the power of Lulu's legendary weapon, you need to dodge 200 consecutive lightning bolts.

Lou spent some time in the Plains tonight, trying to get Kimahri's legendary weapon, and got 10 consecutive dodges, without really trying. But when he started to try, he didn't do much better.

It's raining outside. There has been occasional lightning.

I looked at him after one of the flashes outside. He looked back at me, and grinned.

But I don't think he hit the X button.

the blogger code!

And here is mine:

B3 d t k s u- f i o x-- e- l c-

The Birdcam is back!

I got some excellent pictures of the baby birdies off of this site last year. I'll have to post them someday.

Courting now, so we won't see much yet. But soon - nesting, then eggs, and then baby falcons!

Courtesy of Mata, who I got hooked on this last year.

As promised, here are the pictures I kept. This is only one day, but I thought these were some excellent shots. I hope to get some bettter ones this year.

This is just one of the strangest things I've ever seen.

Courtesy of Ian.

As a side note, I also took all the other quizzes on ***Dave's site, but didn't want to post the results. I am the Monopoly hat (like him), Hydrogen (like him), and Daria (not like him).

LotR:FotR DVD news

Scroll down on the page to get to it.

So now, the decision is:

August 6 - buy two disc set.

November 12 - buy 4 disc set.

Or wait until all three movies are out and buy mega-box set, which you KNOW will be released.

Or just buy every one as it comes out.

I'm going to see it again, hopefully this weekend. Saw it on Sunday, thinking that they'd already switched the last reel out. D'oh! But it was still good to see it for a second time. I was more moved by some scenes than I had been before.

Having not been to weigh in since February 6, before our trip to Vegas, Lou and I were expecting the worst.

And were both totally shocked, when I had stayed the same and he was only up one pound. Lou was expecting a 10 pound increase, with allowances for more.

So we celebrated, and went to Applebee's last night. We had terrible service at our local Applebee's a few weeks back, and our friends had similar problems a few days later. We thought we'd give them another try, on a less busy night and an earlier time.

Well, the waiter was more attentive, but we never got our appetizer and my steak wasn't medium, like Lou's was, but medium-well.

We aren't writing them off just yet, but we may have to find another location than the one in town to frequent.

We skipped out on the meeting after the weigh-in. Lou has developed an aversion to the meetings; I don't know why, and neither does he. And to top it off, yesterday was "Easter Bonnet" day, which I have been fortunate to miss, since Lou went to his first before I started going with him (he and his mother started about a year before I joined).

We love our leader, June Gesner. We really do. But sometimes, things just go a bit overboard, and we must flee.

Now it'll be interesting to see how we do at next week's weigh-in.

ADVERTISING AGE ACQUIRES ADCRITIC.COM

I just hope that they don't start charging to view the commercials. AdCritic was just the coolest website, when it was up.

Once again, Sluggy has set up a few comics so that you can create your own!

Here is my first and second attempts.

You can find them here and here. Create your own!

And if you don't read Sluggy, you should! Just don't start with the current stuff. Pete is taking a month's vacation. Go back to the beginning and start there. Or buy the dead tree versions from Plan 9 or Amazon.

1. If you could eat dinner with and "get to know" one famous person (living or dead), who would you choose?
Oh geez, this old party game. I don't know ... off the top of my head ... Queen Elizabeth. I'd love to know more about her, if she'd be willing to talk to me.

2. Has the death of a famous person ever had an effect on you? Who was it and how did you feel?
Not that I recall. Like Anne, I sometimes watch the Oscars to recall who has died in the past year. Most of the time I'm surprised by them, even though I know on some level I was aware when they passed away. A year or so later I have forgotten, and I go "oh no..." all over again.

So no, I can't say that a famous person's death has ever really had a real effect on me.

3. If you could BE a famous person for 24 hours, who would you choose?
Okay, here's a follow-up. Would I know I was that person? I mean, really...I could be Yasser Arafat, or Osama Bin Laden, and not know that I was, and therefore not be able to change anything.

See, I'm already going against the celebrity types, be Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts for a day. Not really interested, thank you. With all that is going on in the world today, I'd want that 24 hours to make a difference.

Though I could say Kiefer Sutherland, and then get 24 hours spread out over a whole year. (heh)

4. Do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? Who?
Not that I recall. Though lots of people have been telling my sister-in-law she looks like Geena Davis. I still think no, especially as she's way too short. :)

5. Have you ever met anyone famous?
When I worked at St. Andrew's School, I got to meet Andrew Robinson. He had actually attended the school, back when it was a school for troubled young boys. I was so thrilled...and this was just when DS9 was starting out, so Garak was a minor character.

I've also met JMS and Bruce Campbell, but that was in autograph signing stuff, so I don't think it really counts, alas.

This is a very interesting article on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon from one of its designers/developers.

You want to know why Eric the Cavalier was so whiny? They made him that way. On purpose. And he always had to be wrong, in the end.

This is a cartoon, my friends, that I used to set my alarm for on Saturday mornings, because our local stations would show it, but only at 6:30 a.m. And I was so enamoured of it -- BEFORE I was into RPGs mind -- that I had to watch every episode. Even if I'd already seen it.

And of course, today I'm still haunted by Uni the Unicorn (who was voiced by Frank Welker, THE hardest working voice-over actor in the business. Go on, take a look at what he's done. Any place where there's an animal sound to be produced in a movie, HE's the guy they use. And I'm not just talking animated stuff, but ANYWAY...).

Lou's playing FFX, as I've noted here before. The main female character is named Yuna. But one of the other characters calls her Yunie. This wouldn't be a problem save one thing...they actually use VOICE actors in FFX, to deliver the lines as they are also typed on screen.

Any time I heard Rikku call her Yunie, I want to make that annoying nasal bleat that the frelling unicorn did, and I wonder where Bobby the Barbarian is.

Enough tangents. The original link is...

Courtesy of Ginger.

take free enneagram test

Interesting test. My second highest number was 7, which was a free-wheeling optimist adventurer. Quite disparate. But I wonder if those I know would agree with both.

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Web Test Taker Analysis
	Julia is a kooky pain in the ass with too much free time You drive people crazy with your incessant web testing and result sharing. It's people like you that give the web a bad reputation.
Take the test yourself, or not.

Courtesy of ... who else?

Queen Mother Remembered

We were in Firestone today, picking up the van from it's brief repair. The news came on the TV there, and Jack said, "I guess Eddie Izzard was wrong." Eddie has, on one of his audio and video performances, a bit about how grandmothers live forever, and he mentions the Queen Mum, and how she's still going strong after all these years.

Still, 101 going on 102 is nothing to sneeze at. Well lived, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Well lived.

My new laptop has a SmartMedia slot. This was sorta cool when I bought it, but not the main reason I bought it. The Firewire port was the main reason.

Or so I thought...

We have a very nice digital camera at work. I made us buy a nice one, going on two years ago now. We had money we had to spend, and the only camera we had was an Olympus that didn't even have a zoom feature. It wasn't really good for taking shots in schools, which is where it was used most often.

So I looked at what was on the market, what was somewhat compatible with what we had, and made a recommendation, which was approved.

We became the proud owners of an Olympus C-2100 Ultra Zoom, a camera that came with optical zoom as well as digital zoom, plus lots of other goodies.

This camera uses SmartMedia as its save source.

It is very easy to take pictures with the camera, and then remove the card and place it in the slot on my laptop, and download the images to disk. In fact, I realize now that the "D:" drive on my computer, all this time, has been that slot, waiting to be filled.

I SO know what sort of digital camera I'll be getting now.

So now, we have an easy way for me to take pictures of my kittens, and you can compare them to other people's kittens, and see whose is cuter. (heh)

I also have pictures from our trip to the Cape last weekend. Not many, but a few. This was when I truly discovered the use of that little slot on the left-hand side of the laptop. Those will probably be posted someday.

And sorry for the artsy-ness of the thumbnails. I was trying to be funky with Photoshop. And SO did not like their automatic web photo gallery feature.