Saturday, November 16, 2002
It's Saturday, November 16, 2002 and yesterday's tomorrow was today. Profound, eh?
Oh well, silly is as silly does. I'm back from the mid-Hudson region of New York, having survived two job interviews and viewing some six houses. I woke up this morning with a chilling feeling that this is all unreal, that I will wake up and be soundly reposed in my bed. But to wake up in a strange city, thinking that you may be living there soon, is weird. I've lived in my home seventeen years and are about to face one of those decisions that many single parents face: making a BIG decision without counsel from the spouse. So, in the absence of that I got silly, and thought silly thoughts all the way home through the snow, freezing rain and rain of our wonderful (and proprietary) Nor'Easter.
I know that this is all in "the plan" and that I need not worry or fret about the coming months. God knows I will be working, somewhere, and may be living, somewhere. But can't you just turn the page, Lord and give me a peek at the future? That is why I valued the word of my wife in those decisions, because two can be closer to the will of the Lord than one, I thought. See the previous blog; am I really getting closer to fine?
So, silly me takes to the internet, an everlasting source of sillyness, and believe me, I don't want to repeat the road trip I took today. I decided to revisit some of my links in my favorites list to see if they are all working. Predictibly, this being a paying internet, some web sites and domain names go by the wayside. And those that remain, well. Let me give you one example.
Now this is perfectly serious, even though we are supposed to be silly here. A link that went to a page dedicated to the Animaniacs (I told you, silly!) has a bunch of links reporting on something called Anthronot or something. This girl has attended these conventions of, you'd better sit down, costumed cartoon characters. Filling up a hotel with these, mind you. And this girl is reporting the goings on as seriously and solemnly as possible. I can't repeat the text, as that is infringing on her right to be downright silly, but reading it made me fall on the floor laughing. First rule of comedy, contrast what is real with what is not. Would Dan Rather give a report from the floor of the convention center, talking with a Tony the Tiger wannabe? Or visiting the many "puppet" displays of cute characters entertaining as if it was Vegas? Not.
One of my favorite sites is George H. Gobel's site. If you think back, he is the guy that barbequeues with liquid oxygen. That's right, meals in a millisecond, and you'd better hurry as it vaporizes right after it is done. The grill and all. Ashes on the ground. He's got videos and team coverage from many newspapers on his experiments. And, sadly, the fire department shut him down, so these pages are all the documentary evidence of the ultimate fire starter.
And speaking of science, there's the scolarly Characterization of Organic Illumination Systems, which showed what Digital Equipment engineers did in their off time. The subject of their incandescent illumination is, of course, a pickle.
Another for the silly hall of fame is this, that really fries my potatoes. Fun With Grapes reports: "We have made an important new discovery in the field of culinary entertainment. Properly prepared, the common seedless grape can be made to combust spectacularly when subjected to a short (5-10 second) duration of microwaves." Don't try this at home.
Finally what is science without talking about the breakfast food of college students, and a new way of "lighting them up." The guy who figured out the deal with the grapes contributed his scientific method to Strawberry Pop Tarts.
And a plug for my cousin, who is now on tour as "Rock 'N Roll's First Science/Performance Artist." Combing his love of magic, his college career at Wentworth Tech, and his days as the metronomic timekeeper behind the Pixies and the Martinis, he is now a "scientific phenomenalist." Check out David Lovering's web site, and find a place near you where you can catch his wild performance.
I'm sillied out, and need to get unsilly and look for a job. But this was fun, wasn't it? Toodles.
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Oh well, silly is as silly does. I'm back from the mid-Hudson region of New York, having survived two job interviews and viewing some six houses. I woke up this morning with a chilling feeling that this is all unreal, that I will wake up and be soundly reposed in my bed. But to wake up in a strange city, thinking that you may be living there soon, is weird. I've lived in my home seventeen years and are about to face one of those decisions that many single parents face: making a BIG decision without counsel from the spouse. So, in the absence of that I got silly, and thought silly thoughts all the way home through the snow, freezing rain and rain of our wonderful (and proprietary) Nor'Easter.
I know that this is all in "the plan" and that I need not worry or fret about the coming months. God knows I will be working, somewhere, and may be living, somewhere. But can't you just turn the page, Lord and give me a peek at the future? That is why I valued the word of my wife in those decisions, because two can be closer to the will of the Lord than one, I thought. See the previous blog; am I really getting closer to fine?
So, silly me takes to the internet, an everlasting source of sillyness, and believe me, I don't want to repeat the road trip I took today. I decided to revisit some of my links in my favorites list to see if they are all working. Predictibly, this being a paying internet, some web sites and domain names go by the wayside. And those that remain, well. Let me give you one example.
Now this is perfectly serious, even though we are supposed to be silly here. A link that went to a page dedicated to the Animaniacs (I told you, silly!) has a bunch of links reporting on something called Anthronot or something. This girl has attended these conventions of, you'd better sit down, costumed cartoon characters. Filling up a hotel with these, mind you. And this girl is reporting the goings on as seriously and solemnly as possible. I can't repeat the text, as that is infringing on her right to be downright silly, but reading it made me fall on the floor laughing. First rule of comedy, contrast what is real with what is not. Would Dan Rather give a report from the floor of the convention center, talking with a Tony the Tiger wannabe? Or visiting the many "puppet" displays of cute characters entertaining as if it was Vegas? Not.
One of my favorite sites is George H. Gobel's site. If you think back, he is the guy that barbequeues with liquid oxygen. That's right, meals in a millisecond, and you'd better hurry as it vaporizes right after it is done. The grill and all. Ashes on the ground. He's got videos and team coverage from many newspapers on his experiments. And, sadly, the fire department shut him down, so these pages are all the documentary evidence of the ultimate fire starter.
And speaking of science, there's the scolarly Characterization of Organic Illumination Systems, which showed what Digital Equipment engineers did in their off time. The subject of their incandescent illumination is, of course, a pickle.
Another for the silly hall of fame is this, that really fries my potatoes. Fun With Grapes reports: "We have made an important new discovery in the field of culinary entertainment. Properly prepared, the common seedless grape can be made to combust spectacularly when subjected to a short (5-10 second) duration of microwaves." Don't try this at home.
Finally what is science without talking about the breakfast food of college students, and a new way of "lighting them up." The guy who figured out the deal with the grapes contributed his scientific method to Strawberry Pop Tarts.
And a plug for my cousin, who is now on tour as "Rock 'N Roll's First Science/Performance Artist." Combing his love of magic, his college career at Wentworth Tech, and his days as the metronomic timekeeper behind the Pixies and the Martinis, he is now a "scientific phenomenalist." Check out David Lovering's web site, and find a place near you where you can catch his wild performance.
I'm sillied out, and need to get unsilly and look for a job. But this was fun, wasn't it? Toodles.
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