Today is our 7th calamity day of the school year. OK, so we’ll have to make it up later, but for today, I’m going to stay inside and enjoy the view. (Maybe it’ll melt enough so that I can get to the post office before they close this afternoon.)
Yesterday it got up to 70°F and was sunny in the morning. Today it was near freezing and raining all day. And then it went below freezing and was still raining. Our superintendent made a smart call and dismissed school an hour early. After all the kiddies were gone, we teachers were allowed to leave. So I did, and headed off to the polls.
I actually drove today (I usually walk) because of the threat of ice later. I don’t mind driving short distances in ice, but walking home? Gah! My rear window and passenger-side window were covered with ice, but the windshield and driver’s-side window weren’t.
Ohio has Closed Primaries, which means you have to declare your party before you vote. I’m Independent (or at least I was when I entered the church where we vote) and didn’t want to just vote for the one issue on the ballot, so I decided to vote Democrat. (Which is almost as boring as voting Independent in this county, except for the presidential candidates – any other Democrats there were unopposed, though most of the positions were Republican only. I mean, there are five guys vying for coroner and NONE of them were on the Democrat ballot.) I voted for someone I wouldn’t mind seeing as my future president. 🙂 (I know, I know, that’s most of the folks on the Democrat ticket.)
Once I was done with my civic duty (congratulating a first time voter on her way in – that would be Suzanne W, Becky’s next door neighbor, Amy. Doesn’t that make you feel old? Sure as hell makes ME feel old!) I headed back home. I spent a few hours online enjoying myself and was just thinking about working on college stuff when, at 4pm, the power flickered on & off. And on again. And off. Repeat for a few minutes. Finally it went off for good.
So I got onto my laptop and read one of the files for this week’s curriculum class (which I’d saved on the laptop, though I’d forgotten to save the questions the professor asked) and wrote up a short essay on how we do curricula here in Ohio. Was reading the second paper when my laptop warned me it was 10% to go on battery. I turned it off and thought about what to do next.
I realized that I don’t actually have any landline phones that don’t require power (I should get a cheap-o one just for such an occurrence) so I called dad with my cell phone. He was at the Flamingo Hotel getting ready for the big Westar Conference taking place this week. We chatted for a bit, then I said “bye” and decided to make supper. Yay for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches! 🙂
I listened to a David Tennant-read audiobook on my iPod (whose battery lasted long enough for the book and then some) while I ate supper. I even got out my Nintendo Gameboy Advance for a bit and was delighted to see the battery was still charged. Even without power, I was geeking. I love being a geek. (Still, I’m not as cool as elsaf, who, during the Detroit power failures a few years ago, was still able to get online. GEEK!)
Well, four hours and eleven minutes later and we have power again. Hooray for DP&L! Hooray for heat! Hooray for electricity and batteries! 🙂
So, did any of you folks ever play Lemmings? I loved that game and, though I never finished it, I got pretty high up. I even got several of the sequels, though I never liked them as much as the original.
Well, I decided to look to see if there’s a Windows Mobile version out there, but was sad to see only Palm OS versions. However, I did discover a couple of neat-o things:
Anyhoo, I’ll just get back to looking for Winders Mobile games (preferably freebies, heh).
PS: Check out the new icon. From today’s Sluggy Freelance. Heh heh heh.
My main goal for today was to get course stuff read and, maybe, clean a bit. Then, around noon, I got a phone call from audioboy. He and bex77 were in Ohio and making their way south and then west and wondered if I’d be interested in meeting up for supper when they’d be in the Dayton area. That sounded like a great idea to me, so I said yes and recommended Huber Heights, which is off of I70. They said they’d call back when they were closer so I’d know when to head out.
So I went about my day and was reading a very boring paper on curriculum writing (is there an interesting paper on curriculum writing?) with Linus on my lap when I got another call from them. They were half an hour away or so from the exit, so I headed out to meet them. We agreed to meet at Ruby Tuesday there in Huber. We had a very pleasant supper – it was nice catching up with them again. We wiled away an hour and a half or so while there, but then it was time for them to continue on their road trip. I wished ’em well and headed off to Target looking for something for work. (No luck there, but a second stop at Walmart on the way home was more successful.)
I hope their drive was a smooth one and that things go well for them on this trip. Thanks for the chance to meet up!
Tonight was the annual Chili Competition that the Fishers put on each year. There were half the number of folks this year as last, which wound up giving us half the number of chilies as last year. We had a few out due to conflicting commitments and several out due to illness. (Mom and dad were in California, for example.) But despite the smaller numbers, there was plenty of food and fun conversation.
There were only 4 chili soups to try and all of them were good. I’ve only been to three of these, and in the first two I managed to vote for the chili that won. This was not the case this year. Indeed, I couldn’t decide between two, but neither of them were the winning chili. Each year Gary brags that he’ll be the one to win (and often recommends that people just not bring any chili, heh). And to his surprise and delight, he won! You go guy! He even posed for a picture with the trophy (and mock applause in the background.)
As is usually the case when I go to one of the gatherings that they put on, I ate too much. But I don’t mind – it was all very good food. And there was bread and salad and brownies and cookies. Yummy stuff! I have a happy (though stuffed) tummy.
Today was spent switching my e-mail over from Pegasus to Thunderbird. *sniff* I’m going to miss Pegasus, but I need Thunderbird for my upcoming PDA purchase. If I want to avoid having to install Outlook on my PC, I’m going to need Thunderbird and Lightning along with Birdiesync. And I like what I see in Thunderbird thus far. (Well, Firefox is my preferred browser, so no surprise there.)
I enjoy reading webcomics. When I eat breakfast in the morning, I read e-mail and then webcomics. I have several comics that I read through LJ syndication (including a couple of newspaper comics) too. I’ve discovered that I like webcomics (at least the ones I read) much more that most comics from our local newspapers. For one thing, they’re funnier. 🙂 For another, you get to “know” the authors more by reading their comics, since many of them communicate with blogs or in forums. So for me, it’s no surprise that I like webcomics.
What did surprise me, however, was when I realized that I’m a webcomics’ merchandise junkie. When I found myself ordering the two Bunny books, the Station V3 book, The Devil’s Panties Men in Kilts (with leaf blower) Calendar, and a fleece plush Bunny all on the same day, I realized it. I enjoy the merchandise almost as much as the webcomics themselves. I have several t-shirts from Devil’s Panties, Ctrl+Alt+Del and Sluggy Freelance (with one from Questionable Content coming someday) which are fun to wear and suitably obscure. (However, I have had one person recognize a Sluggy Freelance shirt before.) I think the little stuffed toys from Sluggy, Bunny and Ctrl+Alt+Del are cute and sit nicely beside my computer. And I really enjoy having paper copies of the comics (in addition to the online archives). Heck, for dad’s retirement present, I commissioned a PC Weenies comic to be created.
I decided to gather up several of my webcomics merch for a group photo:
I like supporting the webcomic artists & authors with my custom. It’s my small way of saying “Thanks” for the hours of enjoyment that I get from their webcomics. (By hours, I mean hours. I usually go through the entire archive when I discover a new comic that tickles my fancy – Questionable Content being the most recent addition to my repertoire.) It’s neat to watch as techniques are honed as the comics progress.
Three of the webcomics I read are written by people I “knew” before I knew their comic work. Station V3 (and the various spin-offs) by axonite, Arthur, King of Time and Space by scarfman, and Special School by kingandy, all acquaintances from various mailing lists. I’m sure they’d all appreciate your viewership – give ’em a looksee.
For a more complete list of the webcomics that I read regularly, you can check out my main LJ page – along the side are links to my favorite webcomics. And I’m always on the look out for more, so feel free to recommend more.
I went to bed last night knowing we were on a 2-hour delay already, which made me happy (I like to sleep in an hour on 2-hour delay days). I turned on the news at 11pm and it looked to me like the whole thing was going to miss us, so I was feeling sorry for our superintendent (and the dozens of others) who had already set the delay in place. But when I awoke, we had gotten plenty of freezing rain overnight and the roads weren’t all that good, nor were they looking to improve. So we had our 6th Snow Day today.
I spent the day fiddling about, mostly on a series of web pages for a friend of mine. But I also got some coursework done that was due today. And I called mom & dad during the sleeting time. It was so loud mom could hear it when I held the phone up to the window. Heh. The streets, which had been getting better, were back to worse again. After taking some photos of the sleet covered roads, I turned back and saw the kitties on the sofa.
Awwww, ain’t they cute?
Yesterday, during our bootiful floofy snow, I took some photos. I sent a few along to mom & dad out in California and they enjoyed showing them to their friends. Heh. But one of my favorite shots is of the snow collected on some of the neighbor’s trees. Plus a shot which makes the snow look like the fake snow you can buy at Christmas time.
Fluffy trees (especially in the back)! Happy little trees! Plenty of Magic White used here! (A joke for you Bob Ross fans.)
See, it was fake snow all along!
Tonight was Parent/Teacher conferences and, as usual, I had no conferences. After getting a lot of paperwork done (mostly professional development committee stuff) I spent much of the night talking with coworkers. One of the secretaries was also nice enough to drive me home since it had begun snowing (again). Who knows, if the wintry mix shows up like they’re predicting, we may have another day off tomorrow. Considering they’ve been wrong so much this season, I’m not betting on it. 🙂
We’re getting pretty fluffy snow. This is the scene from my kitchen just after we got the phone call that, due to poor road conditions, school is closed today. Yay! I get to stay home cuz of bootiful floofy snow rather than icky ice. It’s light out now, and more of the really fluffy stuff is coming down. Yay! (This uses up our last Snow Day, so hopefully we won’t get much more bad weather this season!)
We were informed last night that we had a 2-hour delay today – no surprise there. What did surprise me was the phone call at 8am this morning (just after I finished breakfast and while I was reading e-mail) which let us know that, due to the country roads being crappy (not his words), school was closed today. Woohoo! So, now that I have another day off, I thought I’d start out with the Doctor Who meme that’s been doing the rounds. (I like how one flist member described it as an “interrogation” rather than a meme.)
1. When did you start watching?
In 1982, I believe.
2. What was your first episode?
“Four to Doomsday.” However, I had seen bits of “Genesis of the Daleks” and “The Android Invasion” before then. When I realized they were Doctor Who, I’d turned them off. “Four to Doomsday” however surprised me – the toothy guy with the scarf wasn’t there, it was some young (cute) blond dude. And I loved the mouthy Australian. So I kept on watching.
3. Which episodes have you seen?
All of the existing ones, I believe.
3a. Favorite?
Original series: “Ghost Light.” Current series: “Blink” with “Empty Child/Doctor Dances” closely following behind.
4. Are your friends/family interested in the show?
Considering most of my friends I found though Doctor Who in the first place… lots of friends like the show. My sister used to enjoy the series (the Tegan years). I showed mom and dad “Blink” and they really liked it. I even have a coworker who knows the original series.
5. Which Doctor is your favorite?
Doc7 as played by Sylvester McCoy. (See icon.)
6. Which Doctor is your least favorite?
I like ’em all. (See icon.)
7. Which TV companion is your favorite?
Turlough and Martha. (I usually say Benny, but then I remember “Oh, she wasn’t a TV companion.”)
8. Which TV companion is your least favorite?
Adrip.
9. Do you listen to the Big Finish audios?
Yes.
9a. If so, which is your favorite?
The Fearmonger. (Go Jon!) The Harvest is also very good. And my favorite non7th Doc story is The One Doctor.
9b. Also: which Big Finish companion is your favorite?
Hex, though Eveline and Erimem are good too. Doc8 OTOH – don’t like any of his companions. Or his stories, actually.
10. Have you listened to any non-Big Finish audios?
Yup.
10a. If so, which is your favorite?
Punchline (BBV) and Death Comes to Time (BBC).
11. Have you read any of the novels or short stories?
Yup.
11a. Have you written any of the novels or short stories?
Nope.
11b. Which is your favorite?
The Left-Handed Hummingbird (Virgin) and Heritage (BBC).
12. Have you read any of the comics?
Not regularly. I have the 7thDoc compilation (of course).
12a. You guessed it – which is your favorite?
Don’t really have one.
13. Do you watch any of the spin-offs (e.g. Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures)?
Watch ’em both.
13a. Which is your favorite?
SJA thus far. However, I’ve been enjoying season 2 of Torchwood.
14. Is there any particular episode/book/audio/comic you desperately want to watch/listen to/read?
I never give up the chance to watch “Ghost Light.”
Fandom
1. Do you write fanfic for Doctor Who?
Not anymore.
1a. If so, post a snippet of a work-in-progress (or several)!
N/A
2. Do you create Doctor Who icons?
Yes – Doc7 ones, usually.
2a. Let’s see a sample!
3. Recommend a fanfic/icon/fanvid/fancomic/fancreation!
I did rather enjoy Time Rift when I saw it.
4. Have you been to any Doctor Who conventions?
Visions 95-98, Gallifrey ’98, ’00, ’02, ChicagoTARDIS once.
5. Have you ever dressed up as a Doctor Who character?
Nope.
6. Do you own any Doctor Who merchandise?
Yup. Books, DVDs, toys, collectible cards, playing cards (heh heh – can’t wait to show them to judiang), etc.
7. Are you a fan of Russell T Davies?
Yup.
7a. Steven Moffat?
I’ve been a fan of his since his short story in Decalog 2. My favorite episode of Murder Most Horrid was written by him. My favorite eps of the new series are written by him.
7b. Paul Cornell?
I’ve always liked his stuff, but I always liked Kate Orman’s better. 🙂
8. What say you to Season 6b?
If people want to have it cannon, let ’em. I’m neither for nor against it myself.
9. The UNIT dating controversy?
Heck, all the goobering up that the Doctor’s done with time, it’s no surprise they can’t get the dates right.
10. The Blinovitch Limitation effect?
Fun gobbledygook.
11. Multi-Doctor episodes?
Also fun gobbledygook.
12. What’s your favorite Doctor Who technobabble?
“Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.”
13. Have you watched other TV shows exclusively because of the presence of Doctor Who actors?
Hell yeah. That’s how I watch TV & movies in general – who’s in ’em, not what it’s about. Someone says “I’m watching such & such” and my first question is always “Who’s in it?” I’ve seen mucho stuff with Sylvester McCoy, but I’ve sought out stuff from all the Docs and many companions.
14. Have you met any of the actors?
The actors who played Docs5-8, several actors who’ve played companions.
14a. Traveled to any filming locations?
Never on purpose. (Unless a BBC studios tour counts as “on purpose.”)
15. What do you think of The Curse of Fatal Death?
Fun stuff, even the fart jokes. (I’m easily amused.) Jonathan Pryce is the best Master evah (even better than Derek Jacobi and DelGOD.)
16. Do you have any fannish opinions that you think are fairly unpopular?
That Sylvester McCoy is the best Doctor. Heh. How about that Death Comes to Time is cannon?
17. What’s your favorite pairing?
Eh, that’s the realm of one’s own imagination. And my imagination is warped, so I shan’t answer. 😉
18. What pairing(s) won’t you touch with a really long pole?
I love Rose, I love Docs 9 & 10, but the “pairing” got a bit heavy-handed by the end of it.
