Beyond This Door...

Turkey Day was alright for me, leaning on the side of crappy - Angel was rather sick, and The Bear developed a weird rash literally overnight. Once we made the rounds as far as family goes, we decided that they should both be taken to the ER to find out what's wrong. M'love was in quite a bit of pain, and hadn't had the best of days the day before. Teddy, meanwhile, seemed almost completely oblivious to the fact that he now looked like a slice of pizza, since it didn't seem to be an itchy type of rash.

After we checked in, we made our way to the waiting room. Clearfield Hospital isn't really known for it's speedy processing and treatment (sorry, but it's true), so I anticipated a rather lengthy and boring wait with a squirming 11 month old to keep me busy. Not only was the wait not terribly long, but when Angel went to the bathroom, I overheard one of the most bizzare and hillarious sentences ever come out of the mouth of a woman in the ER waiting room...

"They tried to stick a tree in my butt, see if it would grow."

Yeah. This chick actually said those exact words. No lie. Mortified and slowly descending into maddening laughter, I turned my head to see who'd said it. It came from the general direction of a rather... shall we say, choice... family, and the only two female vocal candidates were MUCH bigger than me, so I quickly turned my head back around and tried to stifle my growing case of the giggles.

When Angel came back, I headed out to the truck. For starters, I needed to get outside and smoke a cigarette. And two, I wanted to write those exact words down as quickly as possible so I wouldn't forget them when I wrote this, the inevitable entry on the moment. Once I got into the cab, I lit my cigarette, rolled down the window a bit, and opened the glove box to pull out a Micky-Dee's napkin. As I was writing, an ambulance arrived (oddly without sirens or lights, so I never noticed it til it was there) and a patient was being unloaded by the crew. The exchange between this crotchety old gent and the female EMT at the end of his gurney proved to be an unexpected bonus...

"I'll walk in there my own damned self, thank you..."

"No, you will stay right where you are."

Just like a mom would say to her unruly kid. Of course, it was one of those 'you had to be there' moments, but rare is it that anyone would get a double dose of Karma comedy in one night, let alone at the Clearfield Hospital ER... So of course I wrote that down, too, just as soon as I finished making sure I had my notes on the previous shot of teh funnay all squared up. Finishing my cigarette, I hurried back through the blustery Central Pennsylvania chill and into the ER waiting room, eager to share the whole experience with Angel.

Sometimes, even the not-so-good moments in life have a funny way of giving you something to smile about. Angel and Teddy are both fine, though Angel has bronchitis, which I know first-hand bites, and bites hard. Teddy's rash was just a reaction to a common antibiotic, and he should be fine in the next day or two.

One thing I do know for sure right now: You should never burn the candle at all three ends, especially on Black Friday...

UPDATE: Whoops. Forgot to re-mention: Don't forget that Wil will be on NUMB3RS tonight. Check your local listings. IGN has an article (with corresponding Fark Thread) featuring a quick 'interview' with Wil, who quickly and decisively dispells any rumors of a TV comeback, given his latest string of guest shots. No, our boss is happy being a writer, and we're all glad for it.

Not that it hurts to see teh Wheaton on teh Tube every so often, mind you...

Rejoice: Wheaton On NUMB3RS Tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Nothing like celebrating 500 years of theft, deception, and really bad Karma. Fuck the Pilgrims, fuck Christianity making it out to be a lie of friendship and co-operation. You people should be ashamed of yourselves. Now, go eat your fucking turkey...

Now that the negative stuff is out of the way, it's time for some GOOD news: Wil's guest shot on NUMB3RS will air tomorrow night, according to this WWdN:IX post. ROCK!

Rare is it that I watch network TV shows. Most of the time, they're crap. But a few years ago, I was sucked in when Wil did his guest spot as Walter on CSI. Tomorrow night will be no different, as I'll be glued to my TV watching our fearless leader transform from blogging cool guy into douchebag comic book guy.

At least the WGA Strike didn't put the kibash on this one...

John Miller Starts A Blog

Live (sorta) from Electric Avenue...

Anyhow, my good friend and webcast pioneer John Miller, along with his partner Candy Churilla, has this radio show happening on Pirate Cat Radio in San Fransisco, CA. I've known John since his earlier webcasting days on FCCFree.com, back when he could drop F-Bombs and have Vince Desi (the genius behind the Postal game series) on the show uncensored. Ahhh, the Golden Age...

I'm missing the point here. It looks like Candy took it upon herself to open up a BlogSpot Blog to make posts about the show, and I hope she keeps up with it, because it's pretty much a no-brainer. Having a blog for a radio show is a logical association, as it gives listeners additional insight as to what goes on in the studio of the JMP.

In order to keep things fresh, I'm gonna see if I can't get myself in as an East Coast contributor to the blog. That means a call out to the coast, but oh well. That's the beauty of unlimited long distance, baby...

Will Winwood Man Up?

Apparently, Steve Winwood has a daughter he barely knew about, and now it's time to see if that's actually the case. The evidence is stacked up in favor of him being the father, but if you read this article, you'll find that alot of people have conspired to keep this hush hush over the decades. At the end, Winwood made this comment:

'My wife and I will contact Francesca in early December to determine whether or not I am indeed her biological father. If that is the case, our family very much look forward to meeting her.'

Now, the music world will be watching to see if Winwood actually lives up to his word and agrees to meet (and have a test done with) his daughter. You never hear anything bad about him in the press, he's a top-notch performer who has both earned and wholeheartedly deserves the respect of everyone in the business.

Me? I'm banking Steve will man up and reconcile with his long-lost daughter. After all, he did sing about "Higher Love," and if you ask me, there's no higher love than that of a parent and child...

Steering Perception, I Am

So. Why do I call myself The Lost Prophyt? Why did I choose a pen name based on a band who's only song I know is on the Need for Speed Underground soundtrack? Why did I use a Y? Why create the identity at all?

Deserves a bit of rationale, dun'it?

Alright then, here goes. Yes, the band was a bit of an influence. lostprophets rock, no doubt about it. But I've really only ever heard one of their songs, and it's fairly good, but nothing I'd burn onto a CD and jam in the car over and over. Normally, my mood determines if I keep it on the playlist in the game or not. But adding lost to prophet carries much more meaning than just that.

It's well known that I'm something of a Secular Humanist. A Prophet is a figure attached to religion. Because I could see myself as something of a (very, very, very minor) prophet, but for the human race, not for any specific deity. I don't preach the "obey" power trip like Jesus (yes, he was just a prophet) or Mohammad. In fact, I don't really preach at all. I think and speak for all our good, as a collective, IMHO. Slight societal changes, easily implimented, that could actually bring about a more well-thought out world view.

Lost plays in, given my status outside of the "norm" of the religious establishments. I am neither Christian, nor Muslim, nor Bhuddist, nor Satanist, nor Wiccan, nor Jedi, nor Pastafarian. No, to them, I'd be seen as a sort of lost soul, wandering without the love of their own chosen deity, a person to be actively "saved" to the point where you tell your own Aunt to fuck off. Yeah, I've fallen that far from the tree. Oh well. So I'm a lost sheep. Trick is, I ain't no sheep. I'm a human fucking being.

So, lost and outnumbered, I quietly spread the idea that, if we just gave up on the lunacy and corruption of religion, we might stand a chance to grow, develop, and eventually save ourselves as one collective race, not a collection of whack-job factions with delusions of superiority over the others.

Is that so bad?

Look. I don't care what happens after I die. Why should I? I'll be dead! Can't care when you're dead, right? I'm not worried about my "soul" or any such hooey-blah. Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen spelled out my basic philosophy on the silver screen in Peter Jackson's monumental Lord of the Rings Trilogy:

Frodo: I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

So true.

Who cares about what happens after. It's what you do now that counts. So, I am The Lost Prophet. I'm voicing my view, just like everyone else. Whether folks catch on or not, that's up to them. But, in the end, I just can't be silent.

And I guess some of you are reading, whether it's my secular humanistic PoVs, my often-odd video posts, funny little anecdotes from life at large, when I take a side on an important issue, or whatever. Thanks for showing up, and thanks for listening, whether you agree or not. I bid you all welcome...

And hey, a hit from Brazil... Gui, is that you?!?

There Is No Pain

What. A. Fucking. Night.

Boy, do I have some video to show you all. As soon as I get it off of Justin (most likely Monday), I'll process it and slap it on The Tube.

Tonight, my claims were tested. And tonight, they were proven true.

I might even play a game of PopUp Video for this one...

Addendum: Oh yeah, duh. I have a bunch of video on the Shuttle to process, something I'll take care of tomorrow. There will be all new Karaoke vids, including the video from last week's 30th Birthday celebration.

Support the WGA Strike!

The Writers' Guild of America, the people responsible for bringing you the crap you see on TV and in the movies, are on strike, and I (for one) am supporting the hell out of them. They're getting screwed over by the studios in a big way, who are refusing to pay them their due residuals from past projects. So the Daily Show, Colbert Report, Talk Shows and now the new Dan Brown flick Angels and Demons (the book that came BEFORE The Da Vinci Code) are on hiatus, and it's only just the beginning...

The last writers' strike was back in 1988, and my recollection of it stems from the fact that it made Season 2 of Star Trek: TNG about four episodes short that year. Back then, though, it was tough for the WGA to make their point to the masses, whom the studios want to convince that writers are nothing but a bunch of millionaire crybabies. The only rich crybabies trying to horde money are the studios themselves.

You see, for every $20 DVD that's sold, the writer(s) behind it get a whopping $0.02. Every time a TV show is shown, same thing. BUT. When a full episode of a show like Heroes is shown on the internet, complete with commercials, the writers don't get jack. Why? Even though there are paid commercials during the webcast, the studios still call it "promotional," exploiting a bad decision on the part of the WGA from an earlier bargaining agreement, dating all the way back to the dawn of VHS.

At any given time, fully half of the WGA's 12,000 strong membership is unemployed. They have families, mortgages, bills, and lives, just like us. When there's no work, those residuals become VERY important. Screwing out of them is just wrong. To illustrate their key points, several writers have taken to YouTube to make their point, and the Blogosphere is catching on and posting them everywhere they can in an effort to shed light on the WGA's struggle.

Wil's been a big supporter of the WGA's efforts, posting and linking whenever he can. So, taking a page (almost literally) from WWdN:IX, here are some of the WGA videos, including one from the writers of The Colbert Report which hillariously and damn-near correctly describes the attitudes of the Studios and their BS rhetoric. Enjoy!

Why We Fight

From the Colbert Report Writers (via WWdN:IX)

Support the WGA...

Windows ME 2: Electric Boogaloo

Looks like XP has a new lease on life, if only into next year. Why? Because Vista is turning out to be alot like Windows ME: A big, bloated piece of non-working shit. The Vista Death Watch has begun:

So what went wrong with Vista in the first place? Let’s start off with the elephant in the room. The product was overpriced from the outset. Why was it so expensive? What was special about it? All the cool and promised features of the original vision of Longhorn were gutted simply because it was beyond Microsoft’s capability to implement those features.

This failure to deliver what was promised—even after several delays in the product’s release, by the way—did nothing to excite anyone. It made the company look bad. It directly resulted in a no-confidence vote that was manifested in a lackluster reception and low sales. Microsoft should have scrapped the project two years ago and instead patched XP until it could deliver something hot.

The article goes on to make some suggestions as to how to fix the problem, but does anyone here think Micro$oft will listen? Probably not. At least we still get to keep our actual working operating systems for a bit longer. Fark Thread.

I'll Take FARK For $1000, Alex

Here's video of the Fark.com Headlines category on Jeopardy! tonight. Awesome! Kudos to TotalFarker bubbaprog for his quick work in posting it on YouTube! Thread Here...

Awesome!

Five Hours Later

Here's another shot of the same area, five hours later, and as you can see, I've caught some of the snow in the pic. Nifty, eh?

So, my day has been pretty much stoking the fire and watching snow fall. How's your day been?

Seasons Bleed

The weather this past decade has been quite the topic of conversation, both locally and nationally. Alot of people want to pin it on Global Warming, and then when we have a bitter cold spell, do a 180. There are those who are simply ignorant of the change other than the inconveniences it causes. Then there are those of us, but only a few, who want to read more into what's going on.

Since I don't have any formal meteorological training, all I can do is guess with what layman's knowledge I do have. For the previous two years, snow has been a long time coming to our area, often waiting until December before we see any great amount. This year, however, snow decided to show up a little early, at the beginning of November.

Now, as I recall from my childhood, snow in early November is fairly normal. Quite a few of my birthdays (and even a Halloween or two) were celebrated with powder on the ground, and it was the time during high school that I'd be getting geared up for Ski Club trips to Tussey Mountain.

The above picture illustrates a sort of bleeding over of seasons, something I haven't seen in quite a few years: The colors of fall (seemingly skipped this year, or at least only two weeks long), tinged gray with a thin veil of falling slow. As I type this, the snow has lightened up even more, but it's still coming down. The roof of the pharmacy across the street has a frosty layer of white stuff capping it, but not the houses down the street.

Heh. People losing all kinds of heat over there.

Such is life in this nowhere void we call Houtzdale. Joy, eh?

Do The Mario

I think I posted something like this before, I'm not entirely sure. I know I have a similar video favorited on my YouTube Channel, but since this is a nerd's backyard, it's much more appealing. Amature electrical engineering often produces fun results, and the sound in this one is more well-defined.

Yep, you're seeing this correctly: Two Tesla Coils playing the theme to Super Mario Brothers. There are no speakers, just a fiber optic connection to a laptop running special software to have them emulate two different MIDI channels. Too much to wrap your brain around? Then just watch:

Captain Lou approves...

Quiet Passing

Well, I would have blogged about my birthday party yesterday, and I would have posted the video to YouTube, but Verizon made my decisions for me. For once, they decided that they were going to live up to their reputation and have a rather long outage. Thankfully, we have plenty to entertain ourselves without the Internet, but it does limit communications to local phone calls, which can be quite the pain in the ass.

At any rate, my birthday party was teh hawsome! Fred, Andy, Mikey, Angel, Dee, Matt, Scuba Steve, Joe and Justin were all that made it, but that's all I needed, really. We took over Karaoke for a bit after witnessing the Steelers trounce the crap out of the Baltimore Ravens in the first half of Monday Night's game, and then retired up to the office to watch the karaoke vids before we all left for the night. Quiet, fun, I couldn't ask for much of anything more. Once Windows decides that it likes the codecs needed to play and edit the vids (something GOMPlayer does enough to play on it's own, MUCH better than Media Player), I'll post the clips on YouTube for all 10 of you to enjoy.

Hey, 10! Up from 3! Rock on! LOL And thanks to my de facto twin sister Laura for actually posting a comment!

And yes, let it be known: I love Angel to death! I was right: She got me Happiest Days, and it is awesome! I'm still prepping my review of Just a Geek, but I couldn't resist the urge to crack open the new dead tree edition of Wil's stuff. And while we're talking about reviews of Wil's stuff, here are Two Reviews of Happiest. Listen well, for they are spot-on in their praise of our fearless leader's latest release. By the time I get around to writing my review, I'm going to look like I'm just jumping on the bandwagon, but I don't really much care. Yeah, the book is that good...

Koga is adjusting pretty well to his new home, and housebreaking him has been the worst part. Even then, in the two and a half days he's been here, he's learning quickly that sitting at the door expectantly is usually enough to tear Dad away from his Internet Box long enough to grab the leash and take him out into the backyard. In 40 degree weather. In a sweat suit. At 4am on my 30th fucking birthday.

Nah, I'm not that bitter. But it is that bitter cold, or at least the wind chill makes it feel that bitter cold...

Birthday LOL

Joy, I'm 30. Just kidding, it's not all that bad, and I didn't expect it to be. So, to celebrate and start the day right, here's some LOLCat goodness from our friends at I Can Has Cheezburger!

Adorable, aren't they? I think so...

Hello, Koga!

Everybody say hi to Koga.

I guess you could say he's an early birthday gift, since Angel went to get him around 8:30 or 9. I just got back from taking him for his first walk, and it was a pain in the butt just to get him to sit still long enough to take this picture.

Koga is named for a character on InuYasha, which is pretty much Angel's favorite Anime. It was, however, me that suggested the name, since I knew it would make her happy as hell.

So, why did we name him after a Wolf Demon? Well, he does have a little wolf in him (you can kind of see it), so I found it appropriate. He's the latest addition to our family, and I'm sure his hijinx will be the subject of many's the blog post in the future...