Tag: Love

Snowy Tree

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned previously, I live in Iowa. The last couple of years we’ve had cold winters but haven’t really had that much snow. Apparently, Mother Nature was feeling it’s time to rectify that situation and we’ve been having quite the snowstorm. Seeing how I like taking pictures and dislike getting cold; here’s a quick shot I took out my bedroom window. I apologize for the grainess of the image, but I took the picture during my lunch hour and I didn’t have enough time to try removing the window screen before taking it. That and I didn’t want to stand around outside in the cold taking photos; unlike some people I’m not all that eager to suffer for my art. 😀

A while back on the advice of AWelkin, I picked up a copy of Ghosts in the Snow. I read it, loved it, got distracted and never wrote up any kind of review. A couple of weeks later, I read again. I still loved it but I still didn’t write up a review of it. Sometimes, life just works against you. *sigh*

I think the best description of Ghosts in the Snow, by Tamara Siler Jones, that I’ve heard is “forensic fantasy”. It’s got ghosts, magical items, foreign religions and gruesome murders. Dubric Bryerly is the Castellan1 of Castle Faldorrah and it is his duty to keep the peace. Recently, a serial killer has been stalking serving maids and killing them, one after another. The troubling part for everyone is that no one has seen the killer. The real trouble for Dubric is the ghosts of the slain are haunting him.
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Wet Daisy

I was going through some of my photos from earlier this year when I ran across this one. I took this in Mom’s yard just after it had rained a bit and I really like how the water drops show up on the petals of the daisy. Plus, I’ve noticed that Ariesna has been using some of my posted photos as her wallpaper and I know she loves daisies. *grin*

Today is November 2nd and that makes it the day that America goes to the polls to pick our leader for the next 4 years. As an American citizen, I’ve already cast my vote and I’m hope all my fellow Americans will do so too. If you’re still thinking about not voting, take a look at this article. Below are some quotes from the article:

3. Because you’ll make your sixth-grade social studies teacher happy.
…
7. Because there are no television sets in the voting booth, which means the odds are great you will not hear the phrase, “. . . and I approved this message.”
…
14. Because even if it’s only an illusion to think you are making your voice heard, that’s still better than knowing with absolute certainty that you remained silent.
…
20. Because of United Airlines Flight 93. An amazing thing happened on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, on that hijacked airplane. The 33 passengers knew, from cell phone calls to loved ones, that two other hijacked planes had struck the World Trade Center. Unless they acted, they realized that they, too, were doomed. And do you know what those strangers did?
From the 9/11 report: “According to one call, they voted on whether to rush the terrorists in an attempt to retake the plane. They decided, and acted.”
What a remarkable act. With their lives at stake, with their country facing peril, these 33 men and women of diverse backgrounds did a most American thing: They took a vote. They decided to rush the cockpit. And a plane that might have destroyed the White House or U.S. Capitol crashed instead in a Pennsylvania field.
Why vote? Choose your reason.
Honoring their sacrifice will do just fine.

Oh and just for the record I voted for Kerry, via absentee ballot weeks ago.

The virus that have infected you will be show here along with thier cures, if known.

Viruses you suffer from:

Pokemon
Pikachu! Use your hyper-electric-get-a-life move now!

Linux
Install the latest version of Microsoft Windows. Learn to love it.

USA
Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! [repeat]

Junkfood
Eat some real food. Something which you can identify the source of every ingredient, not the point of manufacture.

Sci-fi
Stop wearing the stick-on ears.

Free BSD
The GPL isn’t that bad really. Adopt a penguin at the zoo.

Religion
Read “God’s Debris” by Scott Adams (yes, the Dilbert guy)

Japan
Big is good. Small is bad. Giant robots would not make a good last line of defence for Earth.

UNIX
Anything this old must be obselete. Go and install a nice modern operating system. I hear MSDOS has come a long way lately.

Discordia
Buy a suit. Invest your money. Eat hotdog buns on a friday.

Windows
Try MacOS X. It’s based on UNIX, it has a smoother UI than Windows and it doesn’t suck.
As an extra feature the boxes look nice.

Politics
Stop caring!

Brand Names
Having a well-known name doesn’t make it good.

Hippyism
Free love is passe and potentially dangerous, and patchouli smells like cat piss.

Computer Games
Stop staring at the screen and get some fresh air. You should see a doctor about the RSI in your thumbs.

Conspiracy Theory
Face it, the elected government is in control. Actually that’s quite scary.

Ultima
If you find one tell us.

Environmentalism
Consume more stuff! It’s easier to buy new stuff than to recycle.

Macintosh
Use a mouse with more than one button.

Viruses you might suffer from:

Gaming (70%)
Life is not a game. Roll 3D6. On a 4 or more go out and do something with your life.

Industrial (70%)
Everyone likes folk. No, really. Maybe you should listen to the Incredible String Band.

8-Bit (90%)
Polygons, all the polygons you can get are not enough.

X11 (60%)
I hear Mac OS 10 Aqua is nice at this time of year.

Prog Rock (60%)
Long hair looks dumb with a bald spot. Listen to CD’s they don’t crackle.

Football (75%)
Do something unhealthy and indoors, away from the Bears.

Click here to scan yourself