Originally uploaded by Overread.

Originally uploaded by Overread.

God Quiz Us, Every One

Welcome to your special edition quiz!

I'm afraid these might be a bit too easy, so forgive me for choosing some odd cuts. For the artist, write in the best, in your humble or not so humble opinion. :)

#1 One of my very favorite-est
I ought to say no, no, no, sir
At least I'm gonna say that I tried
#2
Well I don't know if there'll be snow
But have a cup of cheer
#3
Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
#4
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
#5
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime
#6
Think of all the fun I've missed,
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
#7
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.
#8
The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so...
#9
Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
#10
Some people think that Ebeneezer Scrooge is,
Well, he’s not, but guess who is: all three Stooges.

Mad Quizzes and Englishmen

Crazy middle of the day Quizzing!

#2 Well, Mendi got Crystal Gayle. It was Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue
#7 Aw, nobody got the 'Michael when he wasn't scary' song? ABC by the Jackson Five
#10 Mendi's right again with If You Want to Be Happy For the Rest Of Your Life, by umm... Some people.

Now, I'm still resisting the Solstice season, so we're going to dance with them what brung us:

#1

Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.

#2

Remember what the doormouse said:
"Feed your Head
Feed your Head!"

#3

We’ll have time for coffee flavored kisses
And a bit of conversation.

#4

Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossanova
You'll be dancing with 'em, too, before the night is over

#5

Room gets suddenly still
And when you'd almost bet
You could hear yourself sweat, he walks in
Eyes black as coal
And when he lifts his face
Every ear in the place is on him

#6

My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good

#7

All we need is a drummer,
for people who only need a beat
I'm gonna add a little guitar
and make it easy to move your feet

#8

But when the taxman come to the door,
Lord, the house look a like a rummage sale

#9

We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red

#10

I'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd run
Yes I'd kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun

Go Ahead and Jump

Newsflash:

Don't keep your one and only copy of your thesis on a jump drive in your purse.

Umm... I'll be right back. I've got some backing up to do...

'X' Stands For The Cross

There is a great danger lurking in these United States today. It's a danger that some have noted, but few have acted upon, and it's high time we begin to move against it. I'm talking, of course about the current state of Christmas. Christmas is under attack, not only by those of other faiths, but of the faithless as well. Because of this, I thought I should write an entry explaining the Christian-ness of Christmas.
The very nature of Christmas itself is in danger of being altered from the perfect and correct. Looking at the word itself, 'Christmas,' we see what the holiday is about: The Mass of Christ. Now, don't worry, it's not a mass like a Catholic thing, you don't have to go to church or anything. It's a mass in that we celebrate the birth of Christ. Now, Christmas isn't exactly on the birthday of Christ, as near as we can tell, but the day fits well into the calendar, so it's staying.
We celebrate this great man of modesty and propriety by buying gifts for friends and family. We celebrate the nobility of giving by giving to people meaningful things, like gift baskets from Bed Bath and Beyond, and sweaters. It wouldn't be the same if we were to give, say, food, shelter, or, heaven forbid, education to those truly in need, because they are probably in Africa somewhere, and they probably aren't Christian anyway, and if they were, it would probably just be pretend Christian so they could get food. Don't be fooled!
The big trouble is that when you go to buy your gifts, some of the people who work at malls are saying 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas.' Now, I understand that there are other 'holidays' out there, but we are shopping for Christmas presents, so it's insulting for them to not tell me to have a 'Merry Christmas.' And the Christmas season begins right after Halloween and goes right up until about January 15th, so there's no excuse there. And why would you call it a 'Holiday Sale,' if you put the red and green iPod cover on sale? Red and Green? Those are Christmas colors! Also, for those who aren't American, it's 'Merry Christmas,' not 'Happy Christmas.' That's just another import from those vile Harry Potter books. Learn to speak English, for cripe's sake.
We put these gifts under a tree that we've decorated with lights. It's not like the Jewish do, with their candelabra-thingie, there's a silly idea with nothing meaningful behind it - That whole hanaka thing is probably just so they can get more presents. Those people who say that the tree is an old pagan symbol are just wrong, wrong, wrong! The Christmas tree is Christian to be sure, because it's called a Christmas tree, and there's an angel on top of it. Or sometimes there's a star. As long as you call it a Christmas tree and have a star or an angel, you can put whatever else you want on it. All the cute snowmen, sleds, cartoon characters and candy canes - that's all good for a Christian Christmas tree, because the angel or star makes them Christian. Be careful about the Disney ornaments though, because Disney supports the left-wing homosexual agenda, and no angel or star can change that.
Finally, the most important part of Christmas, especially for the kids, is Santa Claus. Now some people might say that Santa Claus was a Catholic saint, but he's Christian, too! Other people might tell you that the North Pole, elves, cookies and milk, chimneys, and all that aren't supported in the bible, but just remember, it's the idea of giving that's Christian, so a big fat guy in a red suit flying around in a giant sled pulled by magical reindeer, sneaking into your house and eating your food is all ok, as long as he gives you presents. See? If you think about it that way, it's all Christian!
Oh, I should mention that elves are complicated. Santa's elves are good, but the elves in Harry Potter and the Lord of the Ring are all perversions of nature. If you aren't sure if an elf is good or bad, you will have to ask your pastor. Don't worry, you don't actually have to go to church - you can probably just email him.

So now you know. Defend Christmas! Go out and drink your eggnog (you can put a little punch in it, if you know what I mean), and sing all your songs about maid's a-milking, Rudolph and Chipmunks - They're all Christian, because they're Christmas songs!

No offense intended to Christians (of Catholic or other persuasions), Jews, Atheists, Agnostics, Disney, people who listen to iPods in Red and Green cases, Santa, the British, Elves (in general and of the Tolkien and Rowling versions), maids, reindeer, or chipmunks. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Casey At Bat

Oooh, a swing and a miss for the grad-school guy who was hitting on the cute gal at the table next to mine. I wasn’t able to eavesdrop as much as I wanted to, but she was actually pretty kind to him for awhile. I’m not sure that his paisley shirt did him any favors though.

Nothing To See Here

Well, who knew? I actually got chipping away at my thesis today. I really should start a non-anonymous blog so I could talk about it in more detail, but then, that would probably require work. Seriously, some of the stuff I’m working with is hilarious, but you can’t see it. Nyah, nyah.

The thing is that I’ve got enough of the basic data taken care of. I’m doing some of the analysis now, and it seems to be coming out ok. I’m finding decent support for some of the assumptions that I made early on, so that’s good, and some new ideas are becoming really evident after looking at the data more closely. That’s really fun.
Since it’s only an MA thesis, it doesn’t have to be too long, and I’m getting the impression that I’ll be on or beyond my page-target.
This whole mess is starting to seem possible. Now all I have to do is get into a PhD program so I don’t have to flip burgers next fall.

This is a filler post, I know, and I probably should apologize for not saying anything really worthwhile, but hey, all you have to do is click on to the next blog, so I don’t really feel that bad.

Link Dumpery

Are you feeling competent? Secure in your knowledge? Well, this set of geography quizzes will take you down a couple notches :) For full humiliation I recommend the African nations, or perhaps the Chinese province one...

Now, stop crying, it wasn't that bad. Check out this nice list of online timewasters.

If you don't have enough time to do all the games, then you should probably go here to learn why you should support the 28 hour day movement.

Who knew that Suessian phrasings could be put to the use of explaining everyone's favorite pet owner, Schroedinger, and his is or not is cat. Only Unka Cecil could do it up right.

And finally, Life came up with a list of 100 photographs that changed the world. They only let you see 28 though.

Is That a Quiz in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

I guess I should be happy that you guys didn’t get the ones about being too young for that kind of fun - hehe

#6 was Does Your Mother Know? by ABBA

#7 was Young Girl, and I had it by Gary Puckett, but I’d be happy to be corrected on that one. I actually didn’t hear about the whine-fest from Donovan, not that I’d be particularly surprised. Was it a good one?

I wonder how many folks are still out there in holiday-land. Well, for those of you that are still here, I warn you, I’m stuck in a scary time, and there are no Christmas songs yet. Yet. :)

#1

The things that pass for knowledge I can't understand.

#2

Tell me no secrets, tell me some lies
Give me no reasons, give me alibis
Tell me you love me and don't make me cry
Say anything but don't say goodbye

#3

What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothin' is really wrong
Feelin' like I don't belong
Walkin' around, some kind of lonely clown

#4

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

#5

They would not listen
they're not listening still
perhaps they never will.

#6

Loving you
Isn’t the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel

#7

Reading, writing and arithmetic
Are the branches of the learning tree
But without the roots of love every day, girl
Your education ain't complete
T-T-T-Teacher's gonna show you

#8

Did it take long to find me? I asked the faithful light.
Did it take long to find me? and are you gonna stay the night?

#9

Everybody wants her, everybody loves her
Everybody wants to take your baby home

#10 and, just for balance,

So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

What? Who Runs?

8.6km - 50 minutes

Ok, I finally ran again. My footsies were not pleased. It felt pretty good though. I had to run on the treadmill again though. I'm getting used to it though. I did go through with the Audible.com thing a month ago or so and I'm running and biking now listening to The World is Flat. It's a very interesting very globalization... tape...er... MP3? I'm very torn on the topic, but I like some of the things that author brings up - most importantly is the need to start actually funding education. He also thinks that engineering a Fossil Fuel Alternative could be the modern version of the Moon Shot. Getting kids into science and challenging the current possibles, but with a goal of general good. I don't think that would be as sexy as the Moon Shot, but the true sadness is that we're not trying anything. We just de-fund everything in the hopes that the private sector will pick up the slack. Sigh... In two generations, or very possibly one, there will simply be no way we are going to be able to have more or better technical workers than India or China. We simply don't have the money, the drive or the numbers. The best we can hope for is to minimize the damage to our industry and give away green cards to any PhD who wants one.

Wow. That all just blurted out. I wonder if any of it made sense?

Oh, Hell

People Who Use Cell Phones/Laser Pointers in a Movie, Parents who bring squalling brats to R-rated movies
Circle I Limbo

Scientologists
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Owners of Telemarketing Businesses
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Editors of Fashion Magazines/Promoters of Stick-figure Women
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Plagiarizers
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

George Bush
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Bigots
Circle VII Burning Sands

Osama bin Laden
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

NAMBLA Members
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

hehe - seen at casa de Luckybuzz