John Derbyshire writes about the same thing that Fred did, below, but with another spin. Ditching Diversity
posted by MikeM at 8:54 AM    

 
Fred has another missive, The Coming Storm.
posted by MikeM at 8:44 AM    

 
Kingdom Hospital again tonight - one of the best TV series I have seen in a long while. Unfortunately there are only 13 episodes, and all good things must come to an end.

I finished the last NPC for my new AD&D campaign! I'll be going over the plot and checking for problems. I'm now leaning towards letting the players start out at 9th level. I just got the Unearthed Arcana and there are some good ideas in there - I used part of them for the NPCs, so the players get to use them if they wish.

posted by MikeM at 9:27 PM    

 
Phoney captain fools RAF base for five months

posted by MikeM at 2:55 PM    

 
Osama Bin Laden Captured! ...NOT!

An email is circulating on the internet that claims to be from CNN or BBC. The email utilizes a recent MSIE exploit to download a file pics.chm that in turn contains and executes a Trojan. McAfee has identified this as Exploit-MhtRedir.gen and Norton identifies it as Backdoor.Nibu.D. The Trojan once executed attempts to steal passwords and bank account information.
posted by MikeM at 2:27 PM    

 
You can own this DeLorean Time Machine from "Back to the Future"! How cool is that!

posted by MikeM at 7:07 AM    

 
In order to comply with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations, and at a cost of about $5.2 million per ICBM, the rocket motors on 500 Minuteman III missiles will be replaced with new ones. These rockets will emit less toxic chemicals when used. EPA Approved ICBMs

Your tax dollars at work.

posted by MikeM at 2:52 PM    

 
After Patty killed a HUGE spider in the garage, I kinda want to watch Eight Legged Freaks again. This spider was LARGE, and Patty said it took two full-on whacks with a shovel before it stopped. When I got home, it still wasn't dead, but it was definitely injured. A lot. I would estimate it at about a 3/4" long body and 2-3" legs - or about a 5-6" diameter critter including legs. Shiny black legs and a fuzzy black/brown body - kinda armored looking. Looked a lot like THIS spider. (Scroll down to Nov 21 on that link page...)
posted by MikeM at 2:29 PM    

 
Over the weekend we watched a lot of hockey, went to see Hellboy (Great movie! Just go see it!), and had Brian and Marcia over for dinner! Overall - a nice weekend without any problems or manual labor. ;)

I'm nearly finished with my 3.5 conversion of an old boxed set campaign that I want to run eventually. Once that is ready to go, I'll begin working on a parallel adventure for a much smaller group of people that want to play - Patty & Sara. I already have the perfect NPC to accompany them - one of the major bad guys from the one I just converted. ;) Dual-Weapon feats are a wonderful thing. This guy is a friggin cuisinart!

On the computer front, I haven't done anything at all for a long time - Patty has pretty much taken over the computer for her business and writing needs. Even the laptop we just bought is hers for when she needs to write but not be upstairs. *sigh*

Speaking of her writing, she is up to 33,000 words! Roughly one-third complete!

posted by MikeM at 9:51 AM    

 
Here is a Magnetic Fan developed by a single inventor in Japan that uses 80% less energy to get the same horsepower as a standard electric motor fan. Could be the next big thing, but when you read the article you will wonder why this wasn't discovered before AND if it is for real or not. Good story though!
posted by MikeM at 2:53 PM    

 
There are exploits available For the latest Microsoft vulnerabilities – **PATCH NOW**

The Microsoft patch website is http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
posted by MikeM at 9:46 AM    

 
What's been happening? Not much! Every evening for the last week or so (and for the next few months) will likely be spent watching HOCKEY! The playoffs are upon us, and thus we watch games going into multiple 20 min overtimes! This means a 7:30pm game that goes to 2 OTs will be over just after 11pm. Tired now.

Last weekend we saw "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - not a bad movie! Good date film, but not for kids. Seeing Jim Carrey in a serious dramatic role is strange, but he did it well.

I'm still working on converting the older AD&D module to the new 3.5 rules for a future campaign, and Patty is busily writing her novel! Yes, she has been stricken by the muse and has finished over 27,000 words so far! I get to proofread occasionally, and I think this will be a very good book once it is published!

This weekend we are having Brian and Marcia over for dinner, should be fun. Nice weather, so we decided to grill up some marinated chicken breasts and perhaps make a pasta dish we are fond of.

I eventually have to see Hellboy, Kill Bill 2, and the Punisher, but I should have time over the next month or so.
posted by MikeM at 7:03 AM    

 
61 hits so far... Google Search: "Grab the book nearest you, turn to page 23, find line 5."

posted by MikeM at 3:18 PM    

 
Book Meme:

Grab the book nearest you, turn to page 23, find line 5. Write down what it says, along with this sentence, and post it in your journal.

" In reply to his questions on this point, Mr. Snodgrass was about to offer an historical account of the circumstances just now "
posted by MikeM at 11:27 AM    

 
Now you can rip your cassette collection to MP3! ThinkGeek :: PlusDeck

posted by MikeM at 3:57 PM    

 
Fred is at it again in his latest column : Democracy Explodes Over Iraq

posted by MikeM at 12:13 PM    

 
Feel like simulating doomsday? Here is a new tool: Asteroid Impact Calculator

posted by MikeM at 8:30 AM    

 
Everyone is watching Kingdom Hospital, right? Stephen King's latest work of genius.
Kingdom Hospital of Maine

posted by MikeM at 7:34 AM    

 
Perhaps you have seen this before, but I thought it was worthy of mention : The perils of obedience

posted by MikeM at 10:39 AM    

 
Here is an article on a long-running series of events in Italy. Apparently since mid-January there have been dozens of fires caused when electrical devices or just wiring explodes into flame!
Spontaneous Combustion in Sicily.

posted by MikeM at 9:12 AM    

 
For those who simply MUST know how to do everything : Installing Linux on a Dead Badger
posted by MikeM at 8:44 AM    

 
Friday evening we watched a borrowed DVD - Legion of the Dead. A friend of ours was actually IN the movie - very cool. The movie wasn't bad, actually funny in parts. The last half was kinda disjointed, but overall I give it a D+.

Saturday we went to see the last home game of the Capitols this season - Hockey is fun, and even moreso live! Tickets were $55 for the 400 range of seats - not the nosebleeds, but just below them. We had seats right on the blue line, great view!

Hot dogs were $4, Pretzels $3, Drinks $4. They certainly do make some money from concessions at the MCI Center.

Sunday was gaming day - how many people have seen a dragon run away when it was obviously winning? I mean, it was attacking us at will, and we were doing very little damage to it! Then it runs away. *sigh* We'll eventually have to find it, of course. Hopefully it won't slaughter us all when we do!
posted by MikeM at 10:51 AM    

 
Need a new Hamster Cage? Like those tubes running all over the room? Then check out this new item! Computer Case for your Hamsters!

posted by MikeM at 8:03 AM