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| Dry Lightning - Bruce Springsteen
I threw my robe on in the morning
Watched the ring on the stove turn to red
Stared hypnotized into a cup of coffee
Pulled on my boots and made the bed
Screen door hangin' off its hinges
Kept bangin' me awake all night
As I look out the window
The only thing in sight
Is dry lightning on the horizon line
Just dry lightning and you on my mind
I chased the heat of her blood
Like it was the holy grail
Descend beautiful spirit
Into the evening pale
Her appaloosa's
Kickin' in the corral smelling rain
There's a low thunder rolling
'Cross the mesquite plain
But there's just dry lightning on the horizon line
It's just dry lightning and you on my mind
I'd drive down to Alvarado street
Where she danced to make ends meet
I'd spend the night over my gin
As she'd talk to her men
Well the piss yellow sun
Comes bringin' up the day
She said "ain't nobody gonna give nobody
What they really need anyway"
Well you get so sick of the fightin'
You lose your fear of the end
But you can't lose your memory
And the sweet smell of your skin
And it's just dry lightning on the horizon line | |
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| Some productivity -
Headlights changed in the cars
Front yard mowed
Outside lights hung - not doing that when it's cold
Took Ethan to the park
Hung out with Beth's folks
Got house cleaned
I have these bags under my eyes that scared me this morning. I need some real time off in the worst way.
Watching little man this afternoon while Beth and her parents go to the opera.
No movies for me. I will see 2012 sometime after I start leading the wave at baseball games. Yegads, I just can't cope with the stupid. | |
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| I think this song pretty well sums up my attitude about this year.
A Higher Place, Tom Petty
We gotta get to a higher place
And we gotta leave by night
Before that river takes us down
We gotta find some place that's dry
We gotta run like we've never run
Or we're gonna lose the light
[But] if we don't get to a higher place and find somebody
Can help somebody, might be nobody no more
Well, I fool myself and I don't know why
I thought we could ride this out
I was up all night making up my mind
But now I've got my doubts
I got my eye on the waterline
Trying to keep my sense of humor
[But] if we don't get to a higher place and find somebody
Can help somebody, might be nobody no more
We gotta get to a higher place
And I hope we all arrive togheter
We gotta get to a higher place
If we want to survive the weather
I remember walking with her in town
Her hair was in the wind
I gave her my best kiss
She gave it back again
When I add up what I've left behind
I don't want to lose no more
[But] if we don't get to a higher place and find somebody
Can help somebody, might be nobody no more | |
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| One of the commonplace trends on our campus is when a student does something noteworthy, faculty tend to email everyone else to let them know (win awards, etc). It's generally not a bad thing to know that one's students accomplish things from time to time. In the aftermath of nearly every one of these is a (generally limited) flurry of emails from other faculty, administrators, etc, offering congratulations. Those replies are generally also sent to everyone. Sometimes, they're a bit annoying, but I can just delete them and it's not that big a deal. Today, I got an email that was sent to literally everyone related to Millikin saying:
"Please don't "reply all" to mass emails, it fills up my inbox and is takes up a lot of space.
Thanks"
Umm, dumbass, what do you think you just did? And I believe you have an error there in the latter clause in your sentence. | |
|
| ...but there is a clear measure of how much I love my son. When I was a kid, I remember hating some of the most common sing-along songs with a passion. Yes, at 3, right around the time Gerald Ford was leaving office, I would sit by myself rather than sit with the other kids singing Wheels on the Bus or the Hokey Pokey. I'm sure that's terribly irrational, but the point is that my fervent dislike of these things is long-established and deeply ingrained in my being, having developed at a very young age.
Advance to 2009. We have Ethan signed up for swimming lessons, which at his age are really getting-used-to-the-water lessons, and it's a fun activity for him and me to share. That is, until song time. They open and close every lesson with songs that involve the kids splashing around in the water, and the last two sessions we've done the Hokey Pokey and Wheels. And yet, I stayed in the water with him, singing to him, and doing all the requisite moves. There was a black spot in my vision, and a rage, barely-supressed, seething beneath the surface, but I did it anyway.
So, there. | |
|
| Beth went over to the convenient care clinic for something yesterday. Usually, the wait is pretty short at this particular clinic, but last night, it was over 2 hours. That's a while, but much better than the emergency room, which had wait times of over 9 1/2 hours. Nine and a half hours. And most of the wait is people with the flu, or at least the mysterious flu-like symptoms. People are a little freaked out. | |
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| Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. -- Teddy Roosevelt | |
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| So Ethan has started imitating us and will walk around with a cell phone held to his ear and making talking sounds. When he can't get a phone, he'll sometimes do the same thing with a Duplo block. | |
|
| Weekend: Got older. Well, technically, I get older every weekend, but now I report my age as a mind-crippling 36. Seriously, I don't know how anyone gets past this age without snapping in two.
Saturday, we headed out to Millikin to watch the Millikin/NCC football game. For those of you who remember North Central football as, well, bad, it's different now. They won 58-0, and it wasn't that close. After the game, I met up with Dr. Horner and Kr. Kelley, who came down (they're apparently faculty mentors for the team) for the game, and showed them around the science center. That was fun. We then headed back to Champaign, where Beth, the little man, and I went out for sushi. Mmmm. Sushi. Ethan picked me up a copy of TMBG's Here Comes Science (oh, that's good stuff), and Beth got me some cool cookware, so it was a good time all around.
Yesterday, we mostly watched football and hung out. Went out later in the afternoon and took Ethan to the pumpkin patch (gotta make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin bars). It was a beautiful fall day, as is today. | |
|
| So, I've been catching up on Angel episodes, and I've made it to an episode in season 4 where Fred publishes a physics article and goes to present at a conference.
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
Supposedly, the area of physics she's talking about is pretty close to the area I did my research on in graduate school, so I'm a little familiar with the subject.
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.
It was like someone opened a few journals and textbooks and copied out a lot of big words that they didn't know how to pronounce and mixed them up in random combinations, and then had the actors present them in a setting that made no sense at all.
Let me just say ow. It's painful when TV tries to reach out to an area that it doesn't know anything about, and it happens to be yours. | |
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| Since ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) luminousx has cancelled his Halloween gathering, there is a hole in the autumnal social calendar, so I thought I'd try to resurrect the idea of an Iron Chef gathering. The weekends I have open are 10/31-11/1, 11/7-11/8, and 11/21-22 (the one right before Thanksgiving). Thoughts? | |
|
| I'm cranky lately, and I'm not sure why. Had a good day yesterday with B & e, and all I want to do today is sleep and stay in bed reading. It's finally fall, which is great, but for some reason, every little thing that goes wrong just pisses me right off.
Well, off to work! | |
|
| Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
I don't need whole lots of money,
I don't need a big fine car.
I got everything that a man could want,
I got more than I could ask for.
I don't have to run around,
I don't have to stay out all night.
'cause I got me a sweet ... a sweet, lovin' woman,
And she knows just how to treat me right.
Well my baby, she's alright,
Well my baby, she's clean out-of-sight.
Don't you know that she's ... she's some kind of wonderful.
She's some kind of wonderful ... yes she is, she's,
She's some kind of wonderful, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhh ...
When I hold her in my arms,
You know she sets my soul on fire.
Oooh, when my baby kisses me,
My heart becomes filled with desire.
When she wraps her lovin' arms around me,
About drives me out of my mind.
Yeah, when my baby kisses me,
Chills run up and down my spine.
My baby, she's alright,
My baby, she's clean out-of-sight.
Don't you know that she is ... she's some kind of wonderful.
She's some kind of wonderful ... yes she is,
She's some kind of wonderful, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahhh ...
Now is there anybody, got a sweet little woman like mine?
There got to be somebody, got a, got a sweet little woman like mine? yeah!
Can I get a witness?
Can I get a witness?
Can I get a witness? yeah ...
Can I get a witness? ohhh ...
Can I get a witness? yeah ...
Can I get a witness? yes.
I'm talkin', talkin' 'bout my baby. yeah.
She's some kind of wonderful.
Talkin' 'bout my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
Talkin' 'bout my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
I'm talkin' 'bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
I'm talkin' about my baby, my baby, my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ... my baby, my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
Talkin' 'bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
I'm talkin' 'bout my baby, my baby, my baby.
She's some kind of wonderful.
(repeat to fade) | |
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| Have you always wanted to throw a party to commemorate the release of a Microsoft product but were frankly too dumb to know how? This video, clearly produced by someone who's never had a moment of fun in his or her entire life, will show you how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ | |
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| The internet is sleeping. | |
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| If you happen to think your job sucks, I know someone on FB who spent last night setting up Christmas trees for work. | |
|
| I seem to have lost all my feeds. | |
|
| We had a nice relaxing weekend down here in middle-of-nowhere land, which was very welcome. It was our first weekend without surgery, guests, traveling, or multiple events since June sometime, I think.
We went to the farmer's market, and bought some nice peppers and onions to make fajitas with last night and some really excellent corn, which we had for dinner on Saturday. Went shopping and bought a new battery for my car and even installed it. Took Ethan to the park. Went to the gym. Mowed the lawn. Cleaned the kitchen. Watched football. Watched baseball. Watched golf. Caught up on Monk.
And now, there is work. | |
|
| Hello,
My Name is Ashley,I got your e-mail address from an email surfing marketing company with the US chamber of Commerce, my Late Grandma was a puppy breeder, She died about 6 months ago and she left 2 Female English Bulldogs, 2 female Yorkshire Terrier and 1 Male Yorkshire Terrier and a female Maltese before she pass a way, One of the female puppies who recently gave birth litters puppies, they are so adorable. But due to my work as a Construction Engineering , my Job does not permit me to take proper care of these little puppies, I would love to take care of them myself but due to the nature of my job, I hardly have time for myself, I decide to look for someone, who is a caring and loving parent...who will take good care of them and is willing to adopt them from me, If you are interested in having one of them, please contact me as soon as possible for more details and information about adopting and also to let me know the type of the puppies you are interested in adopting from me, and in case you want Yorks
Looking forward to your prompt e-mail again.
Thanks.
Ashley Austin | |
|
| Excellent, excellent movie. See it. Now. | |
|
| So, Facebook's Which Great Philosopher Are You Quiz gave me John Locke.
I can buy that. | |
|
| I was asked to post the recipe I have for Shish Kebabs. Since I'm making them tomorrow, I had the book out, so here goes:
(from The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook)
2 lb boneless leg of lamb, cut in 3/4 in cubes (I sometimes use beef, since Beth doesn't like lamb and beef is a lot cheaper)
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 1/4 lemon
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon paprika
1. Coat the lamb cubes with 1 Tablespoon of the oregano, the dried marjoram, the salt, and the pepper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the wine, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Add lamb cubes to bowl and mix well. Marinate covered and refrigerated 7-12 hours.
3. Cook.
Remember that when you make the kebabs, put the meat and veggies on separate skewers, otherwise you end up with overcooked veggies or undercooked meat. Tomorrow we're using cherry tomatoes, onions, green pepper, and mushrooms. | |
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| Tuesday Morning
The Pogues
Too many sad days
Too many Tuesday mornings
I thought of you today
I wished it was yesterday morning
I thought of you today
And I dreamt you were dressed in mourning
But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning
I fell through the window
And I found that I was still breathing
I thought of tomorrow
And the fear that you might leave me
I thought of tomorrow
And I wished it was Monday evening
But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning
Turn your face from me
I will cover myself with sorrow
Bring Hell down upon me
I will surrender my heart to sorrow
Bring Hell down upon me
And I will say goodbye tomorrow
'Cause I know that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning
Yeah, I know that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning | |
|
| Here I sit, on the first day of class, healthy, and, I think, ready. It's been so long since I've felt like I really had my feet under me that I'm looking forward to moving forward.
Dropped e off at day care this morning. He's starting in a new classroom (Toddlers), so everything was a little different, but he was so engrossed in the new toys that I don't think he cared.
Spent the weekend up around the city, dealing with the chaos that is the reign of terror known as the Daley Administration. My sister had come out because she wanted to take e to the Shedd Aquarium. I knew there was a Bears game Saturday night, so I looked up the info on parking, and the website said that we'd need to be out of the garage by 5 and that if we got there after 3, parking would be $46, but if we got there earlier, the normal parking policies would be in place. We got there about 1, and were told that the garage at the museum campus was closed, but we could drive down to McCormick place, and take a free shuttle. Inconvenient, but doable. We got down there and were told that, no, that wasn't the case - there was no shuttle. We were welcome to park in the underground garage and walk if we wanted. That didn't really thrill us, so Beth called the museum to find out what to do while we also considered parking at Millenium Park and taking the shuttle from there. Of course, that shuttle no longer runs. We found out from the museum that, on Bears game days, parking at the museum campus, Millenium Park, and McCormick place goes up to $46 all day, that there were no shuttles, but we could take a bus, and we couldn't park at the museum campus anyway. Does Daley not want people going to three rather famous museums on a nice weekend day? He's a fucking moron. Oh, and could they have the correct info on the website?
Instead, we drove out to the burbs and decided to go Sunday. When we actually did, it was quite nice. Turns out that educators get into the Aquarium for free, and all three of us have faculty ID's, so that was great. I haven't been to Shedd since I was a kid, and this was the first time for me to see the Oceanarium, etc. All in all, a very good day.
Drove home last night, and late in the evening (after e finally went down), my sister tells me that she caught the flu that the rest of us had the week before and spent the night throwing up. Between e, her, and getting up early this morning, I'm a bit tired, and today is a long 12-hour workday. That's alright, though - it's time for school! | |
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| http://www.stopabductions.com/ ALIEN ABDUCTEE FROM AUSTRIA WEARING A THOUGHT SCREEN HELMET SHE MADE FROM DIRECTIONS ON THIS WEB SITE. "I have been abducted by aliens for years and found stopabductions.com by a happy coincidence. The Thought Screen Helmet, invented by an expert, has stopped the unwelcome visitations and has raised me and my family`s quality of life. Therefore I highly recommend it." h/t Bartcop | |
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| Not that I am the prime specimen of physical awesomeness (not that I'm *not*, either), but I got the word today from the doc that I'm all better and this particular slice-me-open-multiple-times, missing months of work, and generally dealing with lots of fun is finally over. | |
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| gr82live, lifepart3, a grill, a TV, and a baby fascinated by the early stylings of Jim and Frank. Not a bad way to spend an evening. | |
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| Happy Birthday, gr82live! Have a disturbing amount of fun. | |
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| RIP John Hughes, dead at 59. | |
|
| Relating to a twitter post from dimfuture talking about email sign-offs. This wasn't a sign-off issue, but it amused me. When I went into the hospital earlier this year, I sent a message to my students using our course-management software. I began the message "All, I went and got myself laid-up this weekend." However, when it turned the message into an email, it truncated the subject line to "All, I went and got myself laid". Apparently, my students thought that was a bit too much information. | |
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| Today...is progressing. Slowly.
Wassup? | |
|
| Happy Birthday, lifepart3!
Be old wih joy. And cake. | |
|
| "Force Ten" - Rush
Tough times demand tough talk
Demand tough hearts demand tough songs
Demand...
We can rise and fall like empires
Flow in and out like the tide
Be vain and smart, humble and dumb
We can hit and miss like pride
Just like pride
We can circle around like hurricanes
Dance and dream like lovers
Attack the day like birds of prey
Or scavengers under cover
Look in -- to the eye of the storm
Look out -- for the force without form
Look around -- at the sight and the sound
Look in look out look around...
We can move with savage grace
To the rhythms of the night
Cool and remote like dancing girls
In the heat of the beat and the lights
We can wear the rose of romance
An air of joie de vivre
Too-tender hearts upon our sleeves
Or skin as thick as thieves'
Thick as thieves'....
Look in -- to the eye of the storm
Look out -- for the force without form
Look around -- at the sight and the sound
Look in look out look around...
Tough times demand tough hearts
Demand tough songs demand...
Look into the eye of the storm...
Look out for the force without form
Look around at the sight and sound
Look in, look the storm in the eye
Look out for the sea and the sky
Look around at the sight and sound
Look in, look out, look around...
Tough times demand tough hearts
Tough times demand tough talk | |
|
| The last few weeks, I've had the oddest dreams. Most of them are pretty screwed up. I can figure out where some of them come from, but there are others that have just been weird. I'm not sleeping all that well to begin with - it's been months since I've been able to roll into my normal sleeping positions (I now empathize more strongly with the sleeping issues that come along with pregnancy, I must admit), and I think I keep falling in and out of REM sleep, meaning that I'm dreaming a whole lot. A couple of nights ago, I had a dream whose point (I think) was that I'd rather have 14" of incisions in my stomach than spend time with an ex-girlfriend (not that that's a likely occurrence, thankfully). My wife thought that was hysterical.
I'm not sure what all of this means. | |
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| May your future be as bright as you are. Cake. | |
|
| I'll be incommunicado for a bit. Y'all play nice now. | |
|
| Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, Come on, Come on, now,
I hear you're feeling down.
I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again.
Relax.
I'll need some information first.
Just the basic facts.
Can you show me where it hurts?
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child I had a FEVER My hands felt just like two balloons.
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain, you would not understand
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.
(solo)
I have become comfortably numb.
O.K.
Just a little pin prick.
There'll be no more aaaaaaaaah!
But you may feel a little sick.
Can you stand up?
I do believe it's working, good.
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on it's time to go.
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying.
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown,
The dream is gone.
but I have become comfortably numb. | |
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