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August 20, 2008

Appliance Woes

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The dryer portion decided to stop heating the air. Oh, it still tumbles wet clothes forever. And washing machine works. It's all one unit.

Choices are not enviable. How many service calls and parts would it take to find/replace the heating element? Probably should replace the 16 year-old unit, but not until I get over the disappointment.

No, until then, we will drape wet clothes over staircase banisters, or possible espy a laundromat?

My lifestyle is regressing.

August 17, 2008

Boz Scaggs

Georgia

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He's on HDNET tonight and still brings it.

So it's like him, Springsteen, SpringFIELD,  sometime Billy Joel, REO Slow-Wagon, Non-Rush, Air-I'm-Outta-Supply, Rod Steward, or Paul freakin McCartney?

What even happened to more recent singers, like Alison Krause or Shawn Colvin?


And don't tell me she sounds like Annie Lennox, or Sarah McLaughlin.

Music's fun. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. :)




Barbara Oakley

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This is why you should watch CSPAN's BookTV on Sundays.

(She likes "General Hospital" too)

Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., P.E.

Associate Professor of Engineering

Dept of Industrial and Systems Engineering &
Dept. of Electrical and Systems Engineering

648 SEB
Oakland University
Rochester, MI 48309-4478
Phone: 248-370-2435
Fax: 248-370-2699
E-mail:
 oakley* AT *oakland.edu



Someone really cares about how atomic chemistry works in the brain.


She likes "General Hospital" too. And the Kate Voegele song:


Nadine, whose brain cells might not be Ayn Rand, but who is John Galt?

American Graffiti

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I was just walking around the townhouse this morning, attending to long-lost domestic duties, and had "American Graffiti" on TV.

What an amazing movie: a snapshot, one night of time, kids frozen in that last moment before going separate ways. Seventeen.

It was a time of innocence, for certain. Made in 1973. Reflecting, I don't know, fifteen years earlier? The precursor to "Happy Days," and I remember when that was on.

At dinner, we'd watch it and mom would say, "That's exactly how it was!"

I'm 46. I vaguely remember Wolf-man Jack on the radio in California.

A good first work by some guy named George Lucas. All those lives, intersecting for one last evening, then poof. Reality hits and never the same again.

All this talk ain't helping me clean out my vacuum filter. But it is keeping me away from


And yes, most rocket scientists got to be where they are by pursuing the very endeavors manifestly made forth in this blog. ;)

I Guess this Guy Can Swim

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Look at how he's holding open his mouth, as if he wants to breathe.

I used to swim.

Then got caught in a riptide off a beach in North Carolina, which almost cost me my life. I did exactly the wrong thing - swam straight against it instead of sideways.

I know this probably will not happen in a pool, but I ain't taking any more chances.

August 16, 2008

Nadine's Song

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As much as that sounds like a cool Coca Cola on a hot August afternoon, I'd prefer one of those Wendy's frozen treats.

I must stop talking about Claire/Nadine, because my dog is running around the house like a 13 going-on-30 canine with a life crisis.

Thank GOD we are not without dingo bones.


Here is Claire's site:

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Kate Voegele

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Don't ask me how I find this stuff.

All comes down to "General Hospital" anyway.

This is Nadine, in her prom dress.

The next Meryl Streep, and I do not mean that sarcastically.


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Thank God

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These are good people.

For those who might not know, Victoria Osteen was sued by a vicious tramp and her lawyer for an alleged "assault" on an airplane three years ago.

By all testimony, the whole trumped-up charge was beyond ridiculous.







Don't let anyone bully you Victoria.

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You've always been a model of class, and this experience, no exception.

As for Sharon Brown?

Well, she's obviously attractive, bright, honest, and decent.

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August 15, 2008

Spiders in the Bathroom

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Hope my gallery links are working again.

This is one of the funnier moments in film.

Classic movie.

Never Fight a Land War in Asia

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While we were straightening out my video gallery issue, she liked "The Princess Bride."

<-- So here is that clip, in higher definition than Youtube. :)

I tend to go the Ferris Bueller route on Fridays with Mozart.

---->

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Bueller?

Bueller?

Nectar of the Gods

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This is the best tasting juice I've ever had in my life!

I'm not a marketing honk. I'm telling you the truth.

I can't get enough. I'm going to start buying it by the gallon. I'm going to inject it directly into my veins.

Hey lady, stop! Don't hog the whole bottle. Give me some.

You're making a ridiculous spectacle of yourself.

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August 14, 2008

Who Are You, Jack T. Colton?

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"Who are you, lady?"

"I'm a romance novelist."

"What?"

"Jack, you're the best time I've ever had."

"I've never been anyone's best time before."


Jack Colton: My minimum price for taking a stranded lady to a telephone is 400 dollars. 
Joan Wilder: Will you take 375 in traveler's checks? 
Jack Colton: American Express? 
Joan Wilder: Of course. 
Jack Colton: You've got a deal. 

What did you do, wake up this morning and say, "Today, I'm going to ruin a man's life."




Joan Wilder: You're a mondo dismo! 
Jack Colton: I'm... what am I? I'm what? 
Joan Wilder: You're a man who takes money from stranded women!

Here is the original trailer:


Ted Talks

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So are almost all the speakers on Ted Talks.

It comprises a large percentage of my ipod listening and viewing pleasure.

On another note, I hope this blog post works. I upgraded the software last night and am having a few technical glitches.

Testing, Testing

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August 13, 2008

Maxie is Taking Spinelli for Granted One Too Many Times

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This quick chick with valley speak better get a clue, because she's about to lose the computer kid to Leyla.

Yes - this is what I'm resorting to, along with chicken soup.


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You should read the SoapZone forum on "General Hospital." I'm becoming a huge star over there.

Weather Report

Five o'clock in the morning on a Wednesday in August.

82 degrees outside before the sun.

Air hangs as heavy as wet clothes in a dryer that doesn't work.

Sincerely,

Vasco de Gama Cortezman, from the outer reaches of Ecuador.

August 12, 2008

Nadine - "General Hospital"

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Okay, this is Laura. She comes first.


That remedy sounds more clever than it is, because it comes with the price of addiction.

Not only that, but I'm the most popular person on their message boards.

They love me.

I'm on a spiritual high for their hatred of Nadine.





She's not so silly. Just in love.

Cut her some slack.


The world still stands.

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Next drama is whether her eyes will roll clockwise or counter-clockwise, but that's not important now.

Laura is rumored to be coming back to save her daughter from insanity. That will last, I dunno, two days?

If they keep bringing her in and out of a coma, I think I might find a convenient reason to go insane.

Ironically (and have lately been encountering irony in my life), it was the Luke & Laura reunion, now nearly two years ago, that drove me into this non-hooked re-addiction to fond remembrances of the girls' college dorm at the University of Texas.

A number of reasons to be hooked on that, but confine yourself to one.

They scheduled their classes around this show.

"General Hospital" was that big. It decided the course of individual futures.

The entire campus in Austin suspended breathing between 2PM and 3PM every day. Even the bowling alley in the student union fell silent.

So every afternoon, imagine this truth, a bunch of uncomfortable dudes, standing in the back of that guest host living room deal called a dormitory, stared in dismay at otherwise intelligent young women crying their eyes out.

"Who is Luke and why are he and Scott fighting?"

"No idea man. I'm starving. Is there still time to get pizza before bowling?" 

Graduation was a miracle.

I miss Georgie.

The way they killed her off was terrible. After all she did, her whole life, with this show.

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She was the best.

Don't wanna get sappy. I just miss her.

I miss her like someone I knew.


Two Feet Firmly Planted on the Ground

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And I like to support the aviation industry and NASA-oriented projects whenever possible.

But I ain't going up in one of these flimsy gizmos.

August 11, 2008

Ana Ivanovic, Fallen into Number Two Disgrace

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Ana is not very happy right now.

She acts as if losing number one doesn't matter.

I believe disdain for the question flies as far as I can throw this quilt.

Tough up there at the top.

No big deal. Number two is fine, right?

You slipped, right?

I mean, that's pretty good before you fall into obscurity, right?

You can see from her expression a sense of humor about it all.



Can't wait for the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, end of September.

Hey Ana. Relax. You are going to be one of the most serious champions the tennis world has ever seen.

70's retrospective swoon.


iPhone Mania

iphone.jpgI don't have one of these yet.

 

Maybe that is a good thing.

 

Let my friends work out the kinks. I'm just glad MobileMe is back online. No need to rock the boat. ;)

August 10, 2008

A Friend in Need

Life is Eternal





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This lady is genuine, and any assistance golden.

Paypal at



Happy Sunday all. :)

Decision Point: Serious Program Manager? Or Twit.

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I just completed a three-day grueling Integrated Project Management workshop that took me five years to get into.

It was the most intense, brain-absorbing, concentration-demanding insistence on my highest attention since a few quaky courses in college.

I'm proud of myself. Placed 17th out of 17. But I passed.

This from a guy who has always flown clean, without any effort, from grade school on. Welcome to reality.

An eye opener as to how project management works.



I probably will not report my results to my parents, but for me - it was a big deal. So I say, "next up boss?"

Here is where my melodramatic side kicks in.

What I came back to, after three mind-numbing days, to my house, to my dog, were three episodes of "General Hospital" on DVR.

Emerson very enthusiastic as I watched them in cascading dismay of his untimely canine dinner.

The forums all hate Nadine.

I like her. 

If a blonde twenty-something threw herself into your arms like this, what would you do?

The "General Hospital" forums are 90%/10% against Nadine, but I say,

WHAT THE HELL MAN? SHE'S IN LOVE.



Time For Another Cali Lewis Post

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She went away for a while, but now back to her shiny, happy tech news.


Most girls speak fast when they feel the need or not, but she actually knows what she's talking about.

I happen to know that she, like Morgan Webb

writes most of her material.


Two seriously smart chicks (average IQ=165)  who love Apple. I may have to move to the West Coast (what, and miss all these hurricanes?)

Here Cali, in her five-minute fit, gets enthused about obscure references to solar panels and 1500 milliamp batteries sown in the back of some new toy.

After you come down from their "high," here's good advice:


If you have a Mac, and Safari is your browser, welcome to Nirvana:


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Instant dropdown direct links from the search box literally as you type.

It's Google on coke.


Fast download. Free.

If you are still running a Windows PC, well - I'm sure you'll have a decent day.

Could be worse.

Could be raining in England.

Could be worser. High School grammar teacher rescinds your diploma.

Could be even more and more worse, DVR stuck on "General Hospital." Don't know how to turn off the automatic recording.

Caught a show or two in October, 2006, just to see Laura and Luke again. Now - I know more about the "GH" family tree than Integrated Program Management or situational ethics. 

Reprise for the girls. I think Springfield has a long-awaited hit tune here. If you think it sounds like "Jessie's Girl," that's because it does.

Ok girls, eat it up:


August 9, 2008

Ok G.W. - Time to Go Now

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I don't know why the tall girl in white is wearing glasses, and I really don't care.

Hey Mr. President, Congress just bailed for five weeks on not voting up or down to open up oil drilling in The United States of America. How do you feel about that?


Too Many Yellow Pages - No Kidding

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I'm forever trying to get rid of these masses of paper. I'll maybe look in yellow pages twice per year? And never in white pages. Who needs to in the internet age?

I can't understand how this remains profitable. Think of all the Al Gore trees cut down, which otherwise would help fight global warming by eating carbon dioxide. It's an outrage.

August 6, 2008

Continuing With the "Victoria" Theme

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Yeah, I see Victoria Osteen as a lady wrestler on a plane, inflicting bodily harm to a flight attendant.

Can anyone think of a six-letter word, beginning with an "L" and ending in "yer?"


And if you think U.S. society is falling over the brink, this political comeback by Paris Hilton should restore your faith in our way of life.

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Beam me up Scotty.

August 4, 2008

"General Hospital" Rocks

Rick Springfield.




Here is the way it played out on TV you should be recording every day like Gospel.

No One Cares if my Computers Get Wet

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This storm is obviously personally intended for me.

I'm sorry if anyone else becomes inconvenienced.

I intend to stand on the roof, braced against the wind, like Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump," railing against God.

"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?"

Or maybe just cower with my dog in an interior closet with half supply of dingo bones and cheetos.

This is ruining a very important seminar I was supposed to attend tomorrow.

And what about dog pee and poop? How am I supposed to sweet talk myself out of that?

Electrifying. No power. No SoapNetZone. And oh my God, NO "GENERAL HOSPITAL!"

Here's a funny thing about preparing for a storm. They say, load up your fridge at coldest temperature and don't open the door.

What a brilliant idea.

Of course I have marshaled plenty of microwave meals to survive the aftermath. Anyone sense a lapse of logic in this formula?

Son of a Beach

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I don't have time for such a lovely interlude.

I have a very important class tomorrow that starts promptly at eight o'clock!

 

What part of that did you not understand, Mr. Poseidon?

 

lovely.gifYes - that is right over my house. Uncanny.


August 3, 2008

We Can Only Laugh and Love, Right?

Sick at heart about Christina Applegate's cancer.

I don't want that kid to die.

I contribute what I can to various cancer charities. Who knows if that makes any difference.

Then I think, "Mark, you are smart. Solve this yourself."

But it is so hard. This article

only skims the surface. The real problem with cancer cells, in my very un-educated opinion, is how they mercilessly reproduce, after a normal cell's life is over. It goes down to fundamental atom relationships.

I wish I were smart enough to figure out how to stop certain cells from "forgetting' they should die. But I am not. 

Let's support those who can. Meanwhile, take a breath.


Christina Applegate has Cancer

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they say she will make a full recovery.

What a sweet kid. She's only thirty-six years old.

And while I have not followed her career closely, I've respected her from a distance. She has been one of those "under-the-radar" beauties for me, as hard to believe as that might sound.


But I've been aware of her for a long time, sideways glimpsing, year after year, in this or that story, how she has survived growing up in the Bundy household, matured through a relentless Hollywood child-killing machine, into a lovely young woman.

Then comes a shocking day.

Regular MRI... doctor walks in.... "sorry to tell you this Miss, but you have breast cancer."

One month after her 26 year-old boyfriend died from a heroin overdose.

Dear Christina,

I don't know you honey. Just a quiet admirer. I like you for your looks, your humor, Bundy laughs, and survival through the Hollywood jungle to become a huge success in what you have chosen to do.

You have been a "fight against cancer" advocate long before discovering the terrifying truth it festers in your body as well.

I wish I were smart enough to cure it. But I'm not.

Have faith that this is not life-threatening. First prognosis sounds hopeful, but what a shock.

We all dance around the prairie, don't we? Hoping to avoid the meteor strike.




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Please don't let her die.


Are We Voting for President or a Pop Sensation?

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Politics on a fun blog can get one in trouble, but my God people, all I ask is for the press and yourself to take five minutes and think about the realities of this world, how a free market economy works, what limits government should have over every aspect of your supposedly free life, and whether or not you deserve to keep more than half of your income.

That's all I ask.

I guess it does not matter if the majority of our nation have willingly turned into star-struck sheep.

We now return you to the three monkeys:

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August 2, 2008

Maxie is Taking Over "General Hospital"

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I don't know how she does it with that sickening, Valley-girl, voice.

Ratings through the roof.

Link behind the pic shows you how many characters volley for air time.

Maxie's monologues - stuff of future legend.


And not as extemporaneous as it sounds, although Soap Operas resort to ad-lib frequently.

Both Kirsten Storms (Maxie) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) have amazing memories. They hardly ever stare at a cue card.

Plus, Maxie is ten times sexier than Lulu can ever hope to be, and don't think Johnnie doesn't know it.

This new girl, piano student, Lourdes, is complicating matters, because she's on to the hit & run couple.

Go Maxie.

Ignore Spinelli's hurt feelings. Everyone on this show is the "great friend" to the love of their life.

When he finds someone else (Leyla), a primal scream will not prove pretty from polished lips.

"Hey, wait!"

That's what everyone says when it's too late.




Birds Quiet Down in Novosibirsk

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As one young lady, hoping to make it out of Siberia one day on her brains and bra through http://meet-russian-women.com, said:

"I didn't even realise there was an eclipse," said the receptionist at a local hotel. "It just goes to show what happens if you live up here - you don't find out about anything until it's too late."

August 1, 2008

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

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Bailey.

A close friend of mine is thinking about witnessing "part two," genuine chick flick while hubby plops two day cub scout excursion duty.

My friend has no idea.

If you did not see the first movie, how can you pretend to care?





Maybe they can try to restore the other four plot lines in a sequel.

For those who do not know, Bailey saved Tibby, the incredibly intuitive Amber Tamblyn, from a life course of cynicism.

An angel Bailey, God life skitter.

If you can find meaning in her death, you have more power of self-persuasion than I am capable of.

Here's a riff tribute to this amazing kid.

Railing Over the Railing Over Picket Fence Pieces