Ho ho... ho?

Political correctness has really gone overboard. The latest victim? Santa.
That's right, Ol' Saint Nick. Or perhaps I should say "youth-challenged" Nick. Take a gander at this article. I mean... come on. Why don't we just ban them all?? I mean, some 6 year-old could be offended by the color red. Or perhaps the beard reminds him of his aunt and he'll get nightmares. Have we as a society, REALLY become that bad, that a hearty chortle is now considered taboo? I refuse to censor my laugh OR Santa's just because it may resemble something else.

Wow.
Apparently the Blog O'scorn isn't dead after all.

That's Super

So Da Wife and I recently (finally!) sat and watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Now keep in mind that I am easily entertained and do not watch movies with the eye of a true critic. But this kept me entertained throughout, some just smiles and several chuckles. While it is VERY campy, it works here. I didn't realize that Eddie Izzard was in it, and was pleasantly surprised. (Though I didn't realize he was that short, maybe Luke is tall. I don't know, but he seemed really short here. Probably the lack of heels...). If you're looking for something not overly taxing and just good campy fun, this is a nice diversion. There is one short dialog they have in the film about an age old question.

If you could have a super power, what would it be?

Me? Flight was always up there in the list, but the pragmatic answer is something more useful... like being able to absorb other peoples' powers or mimic them. How about you?

Oh deer, that's expensive.

Wowza!



$1143.32

I mean... it's a sexy bumper and all... but that's alotta moo-lah. Yes we have insurance, yes they're going to cover it. But still that's pricey. Wow... I sound like James. ;-)

I'm not even going to talk about how far behind Nano I am. Only that I have not given up yet. There's always time to crap 10,000 words into a story with no plan or plot. ;-) (Hope to get a bunch in this weekend. Work has just been crazy.)

And on the work front, I may be finally close to wrapping up a 6 month project tomorrow (mostly - meaning I don't have to wait on people outside of the company anymore) so good thing I have some champagne chilled (and mead can ALWAYS go over ice!)

In other news:
When I was just learning how to drive, I was told that I should be ready for anything that could happen on the road. From a person swerving into my lane up to my instructor's favorite phrase: "If a cow falls from the sky, you should be able to avoid it". I thought, sure a cow from the sky, I get the point, but can't you think of something more... realistic??
Well... I sit here corrected:
According to THIS report, that is EXACTLY what happened. No. Really. And no, it's not in some third world country on a dirt road. U.S. highway.
So apparently my driving teacher knew something about something. Even if I did make fun of him for a looooong time regarding his driving a rented truck INTO an overpass thereby crushing the cab of the truck and causing severe damage to the structure. Guess he would have missed it if it was a cow...

Deer Diary

Due to high demand for pictures of da wife's wrecked vehicle (ok 2 people asked, but for this blog that counts as HIGH), so I've decided to post them here. (I also think she'll be posting something either tonight or tomorrow, so if you're a reader, stay tuned.)


Boy you shoulda seen the doe!
Juusssst Kidding!
That's a left over from a Halloween event. The REAL photos are below.


This is the front right bumper clearly needing replacement.


Just to the right of the picture above, you can see how the impact tore through the outer shell of the bumper. So all in all not THAT bad compared to the things it could have been. Fortunately she had just recently read a deer safety article that stressed NOT swerving to avoid, since that is the biggest danger. I'm just glad everyone (except maybe the deer - though I didn't see a body when we went to go retrieve her license plate that got torn off in the impact) is ok. The insurance company said that our "insurance shouldn't go up". *shouldn't*... why am I suddenly concerned that they did NOT say *wouldn't*??
"Yeah Bob. I told the saps that it shouldn't go up. But you and I KNOW it'll be higher! LOLOLOL"
*grumble*


And just to be a sad impersonation of JamesF... a sunset shot



With a FAR inferior camera and photographer.
But working within the same awe inspiring world.


***UPDATE:
Yes, we found the license plate. As well as what appeared to be the remains of 5 or 6 other "victims" in a stretch no longer then 100 feet. And that was just on one side of the road. Definitely a high traffic area. Perhaps they need a sign... like "WARNING: suicidal deer run through here. Stay Alert!"

Hello Deer

No, not a typo. Deer. As in doe. Although in this case more like D'OH! A DEER! *brakes* *thump* *foul language* *stops car*
At least that's how I envision it when I heard that da wife had had a close encounter of the herd kind. Everyone (except the deer) is ok, well... and her vehicle. Though the vehicle suffered mostly a smashed bumper. Once she got home and I looked over her ride I noticed a small problem... the license plate was gone! So it looks like we may have to go out and reconnoiter the area to find the plate, and be able to give a better approximate location if there is a carcass to pick up.

Yes I make fun, but da wife is more upset about hitting the deer than the damage to her vehicle. But the annoyance at having to have the vehicle fixed is up there. ;-)

So take this as a public service announcement. It's fall again, so if you commute or drive anywhere near trees and wildlife... slow down and keep your eyes open. And DON'T swerve, most of the bad accidents happen to people trying to avoid the animals. Here's what FFX County says about it. Though I think this site is a bit more informative.

Nano Update 2

So managed to get another thousand words in last night, so I'm up to around 4700 or so. However, by the end of today to be on schedule I need to be at 1667 * 5 = 8333 (approximately). So let's see 8333 - 4700 = 3633. Not too bad really. That means I'm really only about a day behind... hopefully I'll be able to catch up slowly. I talked to Nadra briefly and she's doing great! Although... how you get 1000 words about a tent, I'm not sure. Perhaps I need to speed more detail time on the protagonist's car.... LOL

Keep Writing!

Nano update

So.... I still have no idea what I'm writing about, but at least I have over 2700 words down. Yes, that means I am only 4000 words behind "schedule". But I plan on writing for a while tonight, so that I am merely 3500 words behind. What's in that first 4-5 pages? Nothing. Like I said, I have no idea what I'm writing about. The story sounds like it *might* be interesting, and that's probably about as far as it will get. Since this is my first year ever doing this, I will be happy if I cross the finish line. (ok I'll be happy if I even get close).

In other news I scored us some raw food samples for the dog from Aunt Jeni's all natural foods. More details will be available on what this is will hopefully be available on Da Wife's blog later this week. (she's not in a writing mood at the moment, and likes to get all her facts lined up first - unlike me who just sloshes words about in a most careless manner.) And really since that blog has "gone to the dogs" that's really where all that info should be. All I know is that the new flavor I served up tonight was quite... colorful (maybe Da Wife will even snap a few pics! *hint*).

And so you don't think the blog o'scorn is completely done with... I'm still amazed that people across the street from us, put on Christmas lights on November 1st. Are you KIDDING me?! Nov 1st? I mean hey, while we're at it, why don't we go ahead and put up some hearts in the tree and celebrate Valentine's day now? Or better yet, let's just remove all time and date associations from every holiday. It'll be great. You can celebrate whatever holiday you want, whenever you want. You can go trick or treating in June, you can send Christmas gifts in March, fireworks and hotdogs in November (for independence day silly), and maybe, just maybe some long eared chocolate bunnies in August. Come on people, time speeds along plenty fast on its own, do we REALLY need to boost it with nitrous?

NaNoWriMo

Nano-what-o?
Nah No Wry Moe. (some say Nah No Ree Moe too)
National Novel Writing Month!

That's right, starting today (well.. tomorrow since I'm a horrible slacker) it's novel writing time. About what you ask? I have NO IDEA.
Yup. Nov 1 to 11:59PM Nov 30th... 50,000 words. No plan. No notes (mostly). And no eye to make the content worthy beyond quantity. But then again... that's the whole goal.

I suspect I will write about what I know... the life and times of a geek. Mind you this will be fiction, so any reference, resemblance, names, places, etc are PURELY fictional. So if there is a JamesF in the story, it is NOT *this* JamesF. If this goes horribly, then I blame Nadra! Since it was her idea anyway. If it goes well... I still blame her, but I will take partial credit on the success. ;-)

I may or may not post excerpts from the work in progress. If you see random bits of prose that seem to have zero meaning (aside from the usual posts), that's probably novel drivel. In the meantime, I'm off to get at least a paragraph in....I hope.