I don't know what happened, but for a little while, I was receiving the audio from one channel, and the video from another channel.

This wouldn't be more than an annoyance, except I was hearing, "Now we'll add a miter joint here," while one of the Antiques Roadshow appraisers was pointing out the features of a cabinet...

I just read volume one of Starman Omnibus.

History Detectives started a new season last week.

I have a DVD of Connections for later this week.

And there's ice cream in the freezer.

I know life can get better than this. But right now, this is pretty good.

The story.

The part I'm uncomfortable with is where the article notes that "Irvin...said he believed there was a 'secret gay organization' that could be engaging in covert actions against him..."

I don't agree with Mr. Irvin's position. However, is it necessary to include quotes like that?

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority sells CharlieTickets and CharlieCards, rechargeable paper tickets and plastic cards which are used to pay for subway trips.

Presumably, there's some way of recharging the card or ticket so a rider doesn't get stuck on the subway due to a fare increase.

Out of curiosity (and a bit of boredom), I went through the alphabet to see what websites my browser associated with each letter.

A - http://www.naturalchemist.com/
B - http://www.bay12games.com/forum/
C - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Archive.aspx?tag=Column
D - http://dornbeast.livejournal.com/friends/
E - http://www.evil-comic.com/
F - http://filkertom.livejournal.com/
G - http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php
H - http://www.eyrie-productions.com/Forum/?az=login
I - http://icanhascheezburger.com/
J - http://www.jayisgames.com/
K - http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/
L - http://www.livejournal.com/
M - http://mail.yahoo.com/
N - http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/gamespyarchive/index.php
O - http://jick-nerfed.us/forums/index.php
P - http://www.punchanpie.net/cgi-bin/autokeenlite.cgi
Q - http://www.questionablecontent.net/
R - http://rollick.livejournal.com/
S - http://www.sinfest.net/
T - http://theferrett.livejournal.com/
U - http://www.userfriendly.org/
V - http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/El_Vibrato_Island_guide
W - http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Archive.aspx?tag=Column
Y - http://www.youtube.com/
Z - http://z-gryphon.livejournal.com/

The horoscope in my local paper began rating days from 0 to 10 a few weeks ago.

Anybody who is surprised that nobody's day has rated lower than a 5, raise your hand.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

If there are Orthodox churches, why aren't there Unorthodox churches?

A group of MIT students asked, "Where is energy being wasted in a car?"

They've redesigned the shock absorber to generate small amounts of power.

I don't have a song. I have a soundtrack.

I keep coming back to Gypsy and The Tide Will Rise, but there was a point when Oh Life (There Must Be More) was the main theme.

I was unemployed and approaching broke at the time. Considering that the song appears to be about a woman who commits suicide, I have no idea how I locked on to that song as a focus for keeping on.

I'm sure there are other songs for other moments, but these are the ones that I remember right now.

I like reading This Modern World. It's funny, it points out the errors in American conservative thought, and it's even well-drawn.

However, Village Voice Media, the owner of a chain of alt-weeklies, including the Seattle Weekly, has suspended publication of all its syndicated cartoons.

My inner cynic is saying, "Well, I guess the Bush administration finally found a way to stop Tom Tomorrow from pointing out their mistakes - all they had to do was kneecap the economy."

The rest of me is just stuck with the question of why I should read the Weekly now. This is just a temporary suspension, they say. I hope this isn't "temporary" like a temporary rate hike from the electric company.

This weekend was a kick-ass box of laughter, volunteering, and hammered awesome. I think the only room for improvement would have been grabbing more hugs. (Note to self: Hug people.) And, as a nice way to ramp down to the regular, there were new episodes of Chuck and Heroes tonight. Add in a nice collection of DVDs from the library, and I think I'll be able to survive out here, where the Wow factor is a little lower.

I'm still wondering what happened that night at Wayward Coffeehouse when everybody started clapping during Thirteen. I've heard that beat hiding in Tony's guitar part since I first heard the song, so I've always thrown it in for myself. Did somebody else find the beat as well? Did I accidentally infect the whole crowd with that part?

Conflikt: I missed Seanan McGuire's concert last year, so catching it this year was a definite improvement. (On Saturday of last year's Conflikt, some blonde came into Conflikt Hospitality and started picking out orange and green M&Ms. I made some offhand comment about making sure she had a supply in the proper colors.
I'd never seen her picture or read her LJ or anything. How was I supposed to know that that was Seanan? I did deliver on the M&Ms this year. No promises for next year, though.)
(Last year, I went out for food instead of seeing her concert. It's one of those things where you lose or you lose.)

Next year, I take Monday off as well. It's easier than cadging a ride after I realize the time is Last Bus Plus Thirty Minutes.

"You're crazy."
"I've been around all weekend, and you only just noticed? I'm losing my touch. Maybe I'm getting old..."
(I was dancing with a plush dragon. Then again, that might have been the craziest thing I did all weekend.)

In a room of amazing filkers, it's so much easier to sit back and let them work. I only sang two songs all weekend, and that was just fine. (And I botched the lyrics on both of them. I don't blame Frank Hayes. I'm the one that didn't bring my notes.)

Another note for next year: Bring more cash. Credit cards are all right, but tips for the maids ate most of it, I spent the rest on other stuff, and I still had things that I could have paid for if I had cash on hand.

Microsoft Songsmith: Give the program a starting point, and sing the lyrics into the computer, and it'll come up with accompaniment.

Well, somebody decided to throw the lyrics from various songs at Songsmith, then post the results to YouTube. I admit, the tunes do work...they're just different.

Listen to I Heard it Through the Grapevine or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

A reed switch doesn't just detect a magnet near it, it detects one near any part of the circuit that isn't shielded.

The magnet from a Sonicare toothbrush head triggers a reed switch at roughly an inch away.

LEDs work exactly the way I thought they would. This is good, because it means the LED didn't go *pif* from too much power, and I don't have to go out and buy resistors.

(Next up: Buying glass beads to put the LED in, so I can make a pretty light. Not a bright one, but a pretty one.)

I don't recall exactly what I asked for, but I'm pretty sure it was "no snow sticking to the ground until the first Sunday in January." Or maybe "...until after the filk concert."

Whatever it was, I would like to thank you for doing that. The reminder of being careful of what one wishes for was not necessary, but thank you for that, too. It can't hurt, I suppose.

Tonight, I was asked, "Do you ever have a problem with staying here, while your co-workers do all the traveling?"

I did my best to answer, but I don't know if I said what I needed to say. So I'm going to write it down here, for myself.

It is not about Who Goes Where or Who Did What; it's about What Gets Done. I do what I do best where I do it best, and so do my co-workers, and because of this, good things are happening.

There's a sledding party on Denny Way, where all the "Road Closed" signs are. Spotted as rides:

A Washington Lottery sign.
Cardboard boxes.
Dumpster lids.
Laundry baskets.
Small recycling bins.
A surfboard.
The box spring half of a mattress set.
And various improvisations based on plastic bags wrapped around something.