DAMN. DAMN. SON OF A FUCKING BITCH. FUCK! GOD BLESS AMERICA. FUCK!! FUCK!!!
More to come later.... FUCK.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
It's a Go!!!
I received an unusually high number of comments regarding Dorky Tuesday (see post below). It looks like enthusiasm is high, so we will definitely plan on it for Tuesday, Sept. 6th!
Yes, it could be slightly damaging to some of your self-images. But I'm not asking you to post anything that I'm not willing to post myself! It seems that there are some of you who feel more comfortable showing your half-nekkid self than your dorky side! For those of you who claim not to have a scanner--I can guarantee that you know someone who does! That's why you've been given a week's notice!
If this is the success that I anticipate that it will be, I might plan on trying different themes once or twice a year.
Now go grab a camera and take care of your HNT pic for tomorrow!
Yes, it could be slightly damaging to some of your self-images. But I'm not asking you to post anything that I'm not willing to post myself! It seems that there are some of you who feel more comfortable showing your half-nekkid self than your dorky side! For those of you who claim not to have a scanner--I can guarantee that you know someone who does! That's why you've been given a week's notice!
If this is the success that I anticipate that it will be, I might plan on trying different themes once or twice a year.
Now go grab a camera and take care of your HNT pic for tomorrow!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Dork Alert!!
I ran across some old pictures the other day. It just reinforced my previous opinion of my own youth. I was a geek. A dork. A nerd. But then again, weren't we ALL during those awkward junior high days?? It got me to thinking. We need to see more examples of this phenomenon!
SO...let us have a Dorky Tuesday (for lack of a better term). On Tuesday, Sept. 6th, we will celebrate this dorkiness by posting the most hideously embarrassingly geeky photo you've got to expose to the world. A little story to go along with it would also be appropriate. You can even post more than one, if you were an uber-dork! We've all got them, tucked away somewhere. We can run it like HNT--comment on my DT post so that others can find you!
Go find them, scan them, and post them. This gives you a week to do that. Tuesday, Sept. 6th. There will be reminders!
(No, this does not replace HNT for the week, regardless of how geeky your HNT might be!)
SO...let us have a Dorky Tuesday (for lack of a better term). On Tuesday, Sept. 6th, we will celebrate this dorkiness by posting the most hideously embarrassingly geeky photo you've got to expose to the world. A little story to go along with it would also be appropriate. You can even post more than one, if you were an uber-dork! We've all got them, tucked away somewhere. We can run it like HNT--comment on my DT post so that others can find you!
Go find them, scan them, and post them. This gives you a week to do that. Tuesday, Sept. 6th. There will be reminders!
(No, this does not replace HNT for the week, regardless of how geeky your HNT might be!)
Tagged Again!
This time I was tagged by Britni and Keebler with the same one, so here we go---
10 Years Ago:
iTunes: Boogie Back To Texas Asleep At The Wheel
10 Years Ago:
- I was 38 years old. I was enjoying the fruits of unemployment insurance. I had been the executive director of the Symphony here, and the incompetent yahoos that sat on the board of directors decided to "change the role" of the position. I was not officially informed about it until the end of the fiscal year in June (though I pretty much knew what was happening). The new board president (a wrinkly prune of a woman) had the balls to call me on the 3rd of July, asking if I would be willing to stick around for awhile until they replaced me. Needless to say, I politely declined. The next 7 years were pure hell for the organization. The non-profit world is SO difficult....
- I was managing an independent music store (CDs & cassettes). My CD collection grew quite a bit during this time. Also, 5 years to the day, I was in Bozeman, MT to see Bela Fleck & the Flecktones in concert! Also very concerned with the welfare of a young female employee whose drug-dealer boyfriend was murdered in January, 2000. She wasn't very productive after that point, and her depression also affected me. To the point that my friends were a little concerned about me. We finally had to let her go. I just happened to see her a couple of days ago for the first time in about a year. She's doing much better these days (so am I!)
- The first weekend of Carroll College's school year. I had to have a pep band ready in less than one rehearsal to play at the football game. I did, of course. We had a streaker during the game who got trapped, with no place to run away to. That was fun. In Cahoots played a gig at the brew pub across from campus to welcome students back. I had a friendship with someone that would go horribly bad later that fall. It's non-existent at this point, never to revive. That's sad.
- I accomplished nothing. I blogged. I napped. I helped some people unload a U-Haul. I talked to Moose and Rachel. Incredibly dull day (except the Moose & Rachel part)!
- There's not a snack that I don't enjoy! The top five: potato chips w/dill pickle dip (only one brand I've ever found), chocolate chip cookies, watermelon chunks, grapes, cashews.
- Funny, I don't really do lyrics. When I hear a song, I generally hear the music--the rhythm, the harmonic structure, the "sound". So my list is short to begin with: "Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw"/Jimmy Buffett; "The Rodeo Song"/Gary Lee and Showdown; "The Star Spangled Banner"/Francis Scott Key; "Love Shack"/B-52's; "Sweet Home Alabama"/Lynyrd Skynyrd.
- Secure financial security for my parents and sisters; shower my friends with extravagant gifts; travel; buy a shitload of lottery tickets; buy a bitchin' stereo system for my apartment.
- Someplace in the British Isles--probably Ireland; Prague; someplace in New Zealand; some tropical beach on a secluded, but not isolated, island--preferably in the Pacific, I think; Coeur d'Alene, ID, or within a 50 mile circle of there.
- Spandex; Speedo; $3000 suit; one of those elastic "awareness" wrist bands; toupee.
- I don't watch much network TV anymore, but: Law & Order (SVU is the best); coverage of the Master's Invitational (golf); Super Bowl; uncut/unedited Looney Tunes; original Star Trek reruns.
- My Dad surviving 2 heart attacks within 6 weeks of each other; paying off my student loans (admittedly far less than anyone has THESE days!); winning a golf tournament with my Dad as my partner; my first teaching job; my first time conducting an orchestra for "The Nutcracker".
- Well, most of the ladies who answer this one come up with all those "unmentionable" things. Not me: King 7B Bass Trombone; 17" PowerBook; 12" iBook; Gibson SB450 Bass Guitar; Fender Rhodes Suitcase Piano (88-key).
- This is tough. Who hasn't been tagged with it yet?? Let's try Yoj, the Funky Bee, Mel Mega, Juliepatchouli, and Jaded Maniac. Have fun girls!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Slow Sunday
Not much going on today. So do you think I'm going to be domestic and clean the place, do laundry, etc.? Hell, no! Am I going to go outside and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous day we've got? Of course not! Actually, after I finish this, I'll probably shut down the computer, jump in the car, and drive around for a bit. Gas is still under $2.50 here, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can!!
No real subject for this post. I've got alot of short things to write about:
That's it for now. Time to drive!
No real subject for this post. I've got alot of short things to write about:
- Observations/questions answered from HNT--An amazing number of people fascinated by the word "glorping", and apparently they all know what that means! Or at least have an image of it...
--Thanks to happykap for the name of the chips I was referring to--Tater Skins. She even remembers the song!
--I apparently made one person's butt pucker, but that happens to her alot.
--We lost a couple of people without any warning. Anyone know what happened to Skinny Dip??? There was someone else, too, but I can't remember who it was....
--I like every week how the virgins want us to "be gentle!" What are they expecting???
--I posted my HNT, left for 5 minutes to check on 2 other blogs, and came back to see that 12 people posted to tell me they were up! I guess I'll go with the flow here--to maximize your exposure on HNT, you can post Wed. night, but let's try to wait until 10:00 PM local time. Yes, that means west coasters might see stuff at 7:00 PM. I won't post until 10:00 PM MDT, so comments can't be left before then.
--Someone asked about getting the "finger" and updated tag on the Nekkid roll. I don't have control over that, per se. It's a Haloscan thing you can add. It's inconsistent, at best. I may drop it soon.
--Yes, you can call me "Os".
--If you know of someone who's joined HNT, but their name's not listed, let me know! The Nekkid roll is up to 140 now, due to some new people who didn't let me know they were out there! - I've finally installed Tiger! (Mac OS 10.4 for you non-Mac heathens) Haven't really had much of a chance to explore things, but it holds promise!
- Helped some people unload a U-Haul last night. A couple who has been "separated" for the past few months. The husband has moved back to town. The wife was already moved into a house, which was already severely crammed with her stuff. Now they've doubled it. I smell a garage sale on the horizon. Maybe not. The trailer was poorly packed with half-filled cardboard boxes. None of them taped shut, so they were flimsy and didn't stack well. And they were very dusty/dirty. And old. There were boxes with remnants of scotch tape on them with addressess from over 20 years ago! You know full well that those boxes hadn't been opened in at least 15 years! How hard is it to go to the grocery store and score some new boxes???
That's it for now. Time to drive!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Long-ass days, thanks, faves & new HNT treats!
HNT is really getting out of control--AND I LIKE IT!!! I was up until 3:00 AM on Wed. and Thurs. nights just trying to keep up with the comments! Fortunately, the bosses were away on Thursday, so I was able to maintain a presence most of the afternoon. The final count for the week--137 half-nekkid freaks out there! Actually, 138 (I never include myself in that number!). I got a great comment from sdk just a few minutes ago. She left a comment on all of the HNT entries. Not sure if she just went off of my comments or off the Nekkid roll (longer list), but she said she started at 10:00 PM, and ended at 1:39 AM. That's 3 hours and 39 minutes of life she'll never get back! That's why I had to start limiting my comments on blogs. Plus I need the time to make sure that anyone in the bottom list who posted a HNT got moved to the top. And greet the newbies. It just doesn't end!
Here's a graph of my visits over the past month. I did this once before, but when I had a measly 100 hits for the day. This is up-to-the-minute results:
I like the regularity of the peaks! And the fact that they are continually going UP!! HNT is only as good as those who are joining in, so my personal thanks to all of you who have made it what it's become!
Someone asked me again which HNT blog I liked the best. I hate that question, because I always leave someone out, but I'll answer it this time. They might not be the "most" half-nekkid, but they have all caught my fancy! These are the ones I'll check on first (but not in any particular order), whether they've left me a comment or not:
A particular blogger asked, "Where do you see HNT headed? Are there plans for improvement?" I'll skip the first question. And, technically, the second question. Let's just say there are some things that will be appearing on the virtual horizon. I have crack research/development teams working independently on one project, and I've got another project spinning in my head (thanks, Cece!). I hope to spring both of these ideas on the unsuspecting public in the near future! Just a little more fun for HNT!
It's late--I'm going to bed. I've got some other things to post about. A couple of rants. Not sure if I'll get posts up on all of them or not. Also got tagged by both Keebler and Britni with the same thing, so I'll get to that this weekend. Hope you all enjoy it as it winds down!
iTunes: Bang A Gong, T. Rex
Here's a graph of my visits over the past month. I did this once before, but when I had a measly 100 hits for the day. This is up-to-the-minute results:
I like the regularity of the peaks! And the fact that they are continually going UP!! HNT is only as good as those who are joining in, so my personal thanks to all of you who have made it what it's become!Someone asked me again which HNT blog I liked the best. I hate that question, because I always leave someone out, but I'll answer it this time. They might not be the "most" half-nekkid, but they have all caught my fancy! These are the ones I'll check on first (but not in any particular order), whether they've left me a comment or not:
- Ago-go--I love ya dear! One of the truly amazing necks in HNT! Work on those mpegs!
- HeatherS--this girl could kick my ass if I ran into her in an alley or a bar. Blond, athletic, and not afraid of showing off her body. This week's picture skyrocketed to my all-time favorite!
- Binsk--incredible camera angles! Very artistic!
- Yoj--she often accompanies some very nice HNT with her poetry. Very sensual. And she knows it!
- Andi--my blogfriend from TX. The one I "forced" into buying a camera! Great bits and pieces!
- Rachel--my friend IRL from Helena. The one who has opened up more of herself than any of us ever expected!
- Aughra--she's a bit more shy than she lets on. But not afraid to show what she wants!
- Moose--sure, she's my best friend IRL, but I'm getting to see things that I never got to see in the past 8 years!!
- Tish--she's new, but she's quickly ascended the ranks! Very gung-ho about HNT!
- Addict--not quite sure why, but she fascinates me!
A particular blogger asked, "Where do you see HNT headed? Are there plans for improvement?" I'll skip the first question. And, technically, the second question. Let's just say there are some things that will be appearing on the virtual horizon. I have crack research/development teams working independently on one project, and I've got another project spinning in my head (thanks, Cece!). I hope to spring both of these ideas on the unsuspecting public in the near future! Just a little more fun for HNT!
It's late--I'm going to bed. I've got some other things to post about. A couple of rants. Not sure if I'll get posts up on all of them or not. Also got tagged by both Keebler and Britni with the same thing, so I'll get to that this weekend. Hope you all enjoy it as it winds down!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
HNT Scar & Story
That big whitish glob in the middle is my finest scar. It's on the inner side of my left calf, a few inches above the ankle. As per the guidelines--a scar story. Fairly simple. I was out in the hills taking some pics about 15 years ago on my birthday (which really has nothing to do with the story). I was among a bunch of huge granite boulders. I stepped up on a piece that had broken away from the main rock. Sort of like standing on a knife's edge. It broke, I fell down, thinking I had only scraped my shin. There was no rip in my jeans, so I didn't think about it. Until about 15 minutes later, when I looked down and found the lower part of my jeans and my tennis shoe literally oozing in blood. As I lifted the pant leg, I found a 4-inch wide gash, all the way down to the bone. And all the fat tissue sort of glorping out.Imagine what "glorping out" might look like. Remember the chips from the 80s (don't know if they still make them) that were twice-baked? The TV commercial showed a baked potato, sliced down the center, and the insides sort of spilled out from something squeezing the sides of the potato, and the bag of chips rises up through the center in all its glory. That's sort of what the fat tissue looked like glorping out from the wound. I found a remarkable dirty hand towel in the car, and some baling twine alongside the road. I tied the towel down as tight as I could, and drove the 45 minutes back into town, and on a Sunday afternoon, called the doctor to meet me at his office so he could stitch it up. He scraped a bunch of the fat out, and found whatever skin he could, and gave me 20+ stitches. Lots of pills later, I hardly even limped!
There's my scar story. And my HNT picture. Now it's your turn! Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday!
Monday, August 22, 2005
Magazine Cover & Blogger's "Response"
Many thanks to Binsk, who directs us to a site where you can make your own magazine cover! See mine over there on the right. The only downside--you need a flickr.com account. So all you Mac freaks--go make yourself famous!!! (the rest of you can too!)
On a different matter--I got a "response" from Blogger.com. It's copied below. It's a only a response in the sense that it acknowledged that I wrote them in the first place. I would assume that any of you who wrote got the same thing. So the next plan might be to do what I read someone else doing.... If you've got the time, spend a few minutes playing with the "next blog" button. If it's relatively normal, leave it alone and go to the next. If it's a spam site, flag it. While it doesn't address the abomination that the "flag" represents, it gives us the chance to use it for good, not evil.
On a different matter--I got a "response" from Blogger.com. It's copied below. It's a only a response in the sense that it acknowledged that I wrote them in the first place. I would assume that any of you who wrote got the same thing. So the next plan might be to do what I read someone else doing.... If you've got the time, spend a few minutes playing with the "next blog" button. If it's relatively normal, leave it alone and go to the next. If it's a spam site, flag it. While it doesn't address the abomination that the "flag" represents, it gives us the chance to use it for good, not evil.
- Hello,
Thank you for your feedback about the Flag for Review feature. Please see
Blogger Help for information about this button and how it works:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1200
Further clarification about Flag for Review and the actions we do and do
not take on flagged blogs can be found in our Blogger Buzz post here:
http://buzz.blogger.com/2005/08/not-automatic-for-people.html
Note that, as this is a new feature, it is not yet appearing on all blogs.
Blogs that have not yet been republished, or that are publishing via FTP,
will not display this button.
Sincerely,
Blogger Support
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Change of order
All this weekly bouncing around of who's nekkid and who's not in the Nekkid roll has totally screwed up my daily reading habit! I spend too much time looking for a link than I do on the link itself! So...I'm going to alphabetize both the rolls over there. To those of you that I had listed at the top of the roll, you're now going to fall in with the rest of the crew. Sorry 'bout that. I promise I won't neglect you.... Just thought you'd like to know.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Revolting Development
It appears that not everyone is privileged enough to earn "The Flag". I've seen a couple of sites that don't have them, and not because their own coding skills got rid of it. An example: here, or here. Coincidentally (?), neither of these sites participate in HNT. Do I have one because of the word "NEKKID"? Or even worse--"NAKED"? "BOOBIES"? It appears that the Blogger people have come up with a script to look for certain keywords, and automatically tag them. This pisses me off the more I think about it!
I've been generally pleased with Blogger in my 7 months experience (with the exception of the comments area). But lately, with the proliferation of spam comments, and now "The Flag", I'm open to the possibility of moving to something else. We'll just have to wait and see....
iTunes: You Are, Carolyn Dawn Johnson
I've been generally pleased with Blogger in my 7 months experience (with the exception of the comments area). But lately, with the proliferation of spam comments, and now "The Flag", I'm open to the possibility of moving to something else. We'll just have to wait and see....
Question #24, Moths & Spit **POSSIBLE GROSS ALERT!!**
One of the 25 questions asked of me last week: 24) What volume of "condensation" does your trombone produce daily?
My answer was somewhere between a third to a half a cup. And that the generally accepted term is SPIT, not "condensation". I also said that for our next gig, I'd empty my spit valve into a cup and verify my estimate. But first, a sorta gross story (WARNING--It's flaggable!):
Even if you take evaporation rates into consideration--that ain't anywhere near a third of a cup, let alone a half cup. I'm crushed! I don't feel like I've given it my all! I'm considering running the test again at a future gig. A couple of things to note. There seems to be a slight blackish-green tint to the spit. That would be from the things growing inside my slides (another reason to bathe the bone). Maybe even some moth parts. And the bits of whatever at the bottom of the cup are NOT from my horn, but blown in from the considerable wind we played in.
So to answer question #24--I'm still researching the answer, but my original estimate seems to be too high. If you feel that this whole post was "objectionable", feel free to use the Nazi-like censorship flag above!
iTunes: Good Lovin', Young Rascals
My answer was somewhere between a third to a half a cup. And that the generally accepted term is SPIT, not "condensation". I also said that for our next gig, I'd empty my spit valve into a cup and verify my estimate. But first, a sorta gross story (WARNING--It's flaggable!):
- We had a rehearsal this past Tuesday, like every other Tuesday night. All the boys would be there. But just one of the girls. I pulled out my bone and did some pre-session warm-ups. In/Out/In/Out. Not very smooth.... My bone seems a little sticky. As I pull my bone away from my mouth, I notice a terrible smell. Yes, there's often an odor, though subtle, to my bone. Which is to be expected when there's so much spit involved. Add to that the sugars or bits of food from earlier in the day, and odor can build up with my bone.
- "One should always bathe one's bone, preferrably in warm (not hot) soapy water every once in awhile. This takes care of any scratchy build-up that may develop and aids in getting a smooth arm motion when playing your bone. You certainly don't want to be dealing with grit while you're playing your bone. All that pushing and pulling and pumping can seriously damage the insides of your bone. You can also get an acid bath for it, but that's fairly hardcore."
Even if you take evaporation rates into consideration--that ain't anywhere near a third of a cup, let alone a half cup. I'm crushed! I don't feel like I've given it my all! I'm considering running the test again at a future gig. A couple of things to note. There seems to be a slight blackish-green tint to the spit. That would be from the things growing inside my slides (another reason to bathe the bone). Maybe even some moth parts. And the bits of whatever at the bottom of the cup are NOT from my horn, but blown in from the considerable wind we played in.
So to answer question #24--I'm still researching the answer, but my original estimate seems to be too high. If you feel that this whole post was "objectionable", feel free to use the Nazi-like censorship flag above!
Friday, August 19, 2005
My "Flag" letter to Blogger--FYI; and THANK YOU!
This is what I sent off to support@blogger.com I doubt I'll do much more than this. Feel free to plagiarize it, paraphrase it, or anything else you'd like to do to it. Ignore it, too, if you'd like!
On a different note--I happened upon a HNT entry where they mentioned the "new" HNT site, and questioned if my site would still be HNT Central. I don't think this person intended any negativity, but many of you jumped up to my defense, as it were, and heaped a gob of praise on me and our HNT to the point that my old, graying head swelled to previously unforseen dimensions!! So even though it wasn't necessary, my deepest and humblest thanks to Melanie, The Funky Bee, Queen Of Pink, HS, Blazngfyre, Aughra, MomThatsNuts & Hippigirl! You ladies (and the rest of you!) are the BEST!!!
- "Without writing an entire essay on the subject, your inclusion of the "Flag" is the absolute worst idea you could have ever come up with. I'm guessing that you may very well lose alot of users if you continue with it. Censorship is a nasty little creature, and I don't think you want to open yourselves up to that debate.
The "next blog" button is adequate. I don't appreciate ANYONE--a stranger, the government, Blogger, or even any of my blogfriends telling me that certain content might be "objectionable". If an individual thinks it might be, they have the ability to leave a comment telling me so. And they have the ability to never come back to the site again. They even have the ability to express their views on their own blog about how "objectionable" a site strikes them.
Please reconsider your inclusion of this unnecessary and unrequested feature."
On a different note--I happened upon a HNT entry where they mentioned the "new" HNT site, and questioned if my site would still be HNT Central. I don't think this person intended any negativity, but many of you jumped up to my defense, as it were, and heaped a gob of praise on me and our HNT to the point that my old, graying head swelled to previously unforseen dimensions!! So even though it wasn't necessary, my deepest and humblest thanks to Melanie, The Funky Bee, Queen Of Pink, HS, Blazngfyre, Aughra, MomThatsNuts & Hippigirl! You ladies (and the rest of you!) are the BEST!!!
We're #1!!!
The local paper decided to revamp their arts/entertainment section, with the debut issue being released yesterday. As part of their PR for the first issue, they decided to also do a "Nifty 50" poll of music, arts, entertainment and more. The votes are in, and the Best Local Band is (drum roll, please!):
In Cahoots and the Mob Rules Horns
You can click on the picture to make it bigger, see all of our smiling faces, and read the wimpy little sidebar to it (sorry--it's the best scan I could come up with). The best thing about this is that people actually had to write our name on the ballot--it wasn't a multiple choice thing. So that's pretty good! We're going to exploit this to the best of our abilities!!
You can click on the picture to make it bigger, see all of our smiling faces, and read the wimpy little sidebar to it (sorry--it's the best scan I could come up with). The best thing about this is that people actually had to write our name on the ballot--it wasn't a multiple choice thing. So that's pretty good! We're going to exploit this to the best of our abilities!!
Cleaning up...with censorship??
Wow! What a busy day yesterday! Which screams for some clarification and edification. So without further ado...
I've got a gross post about moths, gigs and spit, but I'll save that for later in the weekend. Hope you all enjoy these last few days before school starts!!!
iTunes: Trilogy, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- My shower water--As was mentioned IN MY FIRST COMMENT, and many subsequent ones, the water looks brown. Trust me, it's not. As further proof of the color being a little off, look at my hair. Hardly a gray one to be seen. And we all know that's not true!
- The Nekkid roll count for this week's HNT is 119. And I had 128 comments at the time of this writing. AND NO SPAM!!! (Start using Haloscan, people!!!)
- The Myspace people started HNT. It's starting off small, with alot of "members" listed. At last count they had 3 actual HNT pics. Before anyone scoffs at that, I would remind them that this HNT had 5 people for its inaugural appearance.
- A bit of clarification on Myspace--I wasn't intending that we all jump ship and join up over there! Think of them as a foreign country. Say, Japan. They like our version of, say, "Happy Days". Someone over there creates a Japanese version of it--slightly different characters, different language, different situations. Maybe one of the American characters makes an appearance over there. Like Pat Morita. Then Ralph Macchio. Or Hilary Swank. Anyway, that's what's happening here. I'm just letting you know that there's a different version over in Myspace. To really explore things, you have to get a free Myspace account. Which is far cheaper than paying for cable over in Japan. Aaaayyyyy!!
- There's another version of HNT out there, too. I got a comment from someone who just got started in "Half Naked Thursdays". It appears to be a very small group of people (mostly young moms) posting alot of pics of their kids' bare tushes. I'm not even sure they're really aware of us. We should probably let them be....
- A surprise cropped up yesterday, and I DO NOT like it! If you haven't already noticed, all Blogger sites now have a little button at the top of their sites (up there, to the right) called a "Flag?". Upon further review, this is actually a censorship button. Anyone can push that button to "Notify Blogger about objectionable content". WTF??? Who is to determine what is objectionable? Blogger? The public? Did anyone ask for this ability?
I see a real problem with this as it relates to HNT. Will your site be "flagged" next Thursday? Will Lightning Bug's Butt's writing have to be scaled back (a plug here--he's published a book of his stuff!!!)? The Blogger people have attempted to justify their "flag". You can get to some FAQs about it if you drag under the flag button. It doesn't appease me in the least. I don't have the time/effort/eloquence to fight this in a public way. I figure there's alot of you that do. PLEASE. We need to nip this in the bud as soon as we can! CENSORSHIP IN ANY FORM IS WRONG!!!
I've got a gross post about moths, gigs and spit, but I'll save that for later in the weekend. Hope you all enjoy these last few days before school starts!!!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Sudsy HNT
I've got Moose posting this for me because I'm out of town on a gig. At least I think I'll still be away. Anyway, here I am! Thank you dear!
I figured that if Rachel could do a shower pic, then so could I. Does anyone find it a little sad and pathetic that I'd go through the hassle of actually setting up this shot?? With the tripod and timer? So that I've got that "Honey, why are you taking a picture of me in the shower?" look? I have got to get me a woman! Anyway, here's a squeaky clean (reasonably so) HNT. Have some good clean fun yourselves and get Nekkid! Don't forget to comment here to let us know you've posted!
EDIT--Brad had a conference to go to, so he's up early.
iTunes: Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett
I figured that if Rachel could do a shower pic, then so could I. Does anyone find it a little sad and pathetic that I'd go through the hassle of actually setting up this shot?? With the tripod and timer? So that I've got that "Honey, why are you taking a picture of me in the shower?" look? I have got to get me a woman! Anyway, here's a squeaky clean (reasonably so) HNT. Have some good clean fun yourselves and get Nekkid! Don't forget to comment here to let us know you've posted!
EDIT--Brad had a conference to go to, so he's up early.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
New Territory for HNT
Something new is happening! HNT is about to conquer another kingdom! I got a note from "Tish", a nice person who lives over in Myspace.com, inviting me over to check out the new HNT group that's being started over there! Tish is the one whose picture graces the group page in her own half-nekkidity. Certainly enough for me to go check it out further!
Now I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about all of this. Obviously, if HNT can infiltrate and take over another blog kingdom, then I'm all for it! But if you haven't explored Myspace, it's a different sort of experience. There's a totally different feel, a different culture and a different presentation. Some of you might feel out of sorts there. Sort of like me being dumped in the middle of the south side of Chicago. No idea where to go, or how to get out. Well, it's not that bad, but for those of you who don't know what to expect, here's some things I've learned from exploring over there over the past year:
First off, you might be asked to sign up for Myspace. It's free. I used a 10-yr old email address that's expired. So I don't get any sort of spam, and no one can get ahold of me. The largest audiences are: a) high school students who do that weerd txt msg 5pe11ing thng, b) college students who haven't let go of high school yet, and c) rock bands who don't have the money to really do anything but free web sites. There seems to be alot of lesbians out there. Or young HS students who think they are (or would like to try). The males seem to think that this might be a good place to pick up chicks. Almost everyone puts some sort of music video up, which generally will gum up the works, and make navigating their sites almost impossible. There's a link to store up to 10 pictures on each site, a good majority of which are the "cell-phone-at-arms-length" shots. The big thing to do is to build up a group of "friends", which is where the boys jump onto some girl's site, hoping that she'll think he's THE ONE. Or the previously mentioned bands who will thank you for coming to their site, and then relentlessly get you to download their music, or come to their shows. There's sites that have +1000 "friends". For the most part, it's like high school all over again.
Now granted, there's alot of decent sites over there. And not everyone is teeny-bopper. The HNT group site already has over two dozen members. Mostly bands and horny boys looking for boobies. My guess it that most of them will be lurkers, rather than participants. But we should give them the benefit of the doubt. It could truly explode, and if someone over there wants to be in charge, that's even better! So as you do your own exploring of your regular HNT sites, stop by over there and see how it's going. I'll try to keep you updated.
Now I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about all of this. Obviously, if HNT can infiltrate and take over another blog kingdom, then I'm all for it! But if you haven't explored Myspace, it's a different sort of experience. There's a totally different feel, a different culture and a different presentation. Some of you might feel out of sorts there. Sort of like me being dumped in the middle of the south side of Chicago. No idea where to go, or how to get out. Well, it's not that bad, but for those of you who don't know what to expect, here's some things I've learned from exploring over there over the past year:
First off, you might be asked to sign up for Myspace. It's free. I used a 10-yr old email address that's expired. So I don't get any sort of spam, and no one can get ahold of me. The largest audiences are: a) high school students who do that weerd txt msg 5pe11ing thng, b) college students who haven't let go of high school yet, and c) rock bands who don't have the money to really do anything but free web sites. There seems to be alot of lesbians out there. Or young HS students who think they are (or would like to try). The males seem to think that this might be a good place to pick up chicks. Almost everyone puts some sort of music video up, which generally will gum up the works, and make navigating their sites almost impossible. There's a link to store up to 10 pictures on each site, a good majority of which are the "cell-phone-at-arms-length" shots. The big thing to do is to build up a group of "friends", which is where the boys jump onto some girl's site, hoping that she'll think he's THE ONE. Or the previously mentioned bands who will thank you for coming to their site, and then relentlessly get you to download their music, or come to their shows. There's sites that have +1000 "friends". For the most part, it's like high school all over again.
Now granted, there's alot of decent sites over there. And not everyone is teeny-bopper. The HNT group site already has over two dozen members. Mostly bands and horny boys looking for boobies. My guess it that most of them will be lurkers, rather than participants. But we should give them the benefit of the doubt. It could truly explode, and if someone over there wants to be in charge, that's even better! So as you do your own exploring of your regular HNT sites, stop by over there and see how it's going. I'll try to keep you updated.
Answers (looonnngggg post!)
Damn! Some of you went for the tough questions! Well, I'll answer as honestly and as best I can. Here we go:
1) You get to pick one thing, anything at all that you could instantly have changed about your life (current, not past) what would it be?--I would have money. I have none now, and I'm OK with that. But living from paycheck to paycheck sucks. I tend to adjust to the amount of money that I bring in. I can guarantee you that 90% of you make more than I do, yet many of you also do that paycheck to paycheck thing. For me, it's living within my means. I would love it if I didn't have to worry about it all the time though.
2) What is the best compliment you have ever gotten?--Over the years I've gotten huge compliments for various musical performances I've been involved in. I've had strangers tell me at the grocery store that they loved the last symphony concert, or I'll be in a bar and some drunk will tell all his friends about this kick-ass band that I play in. Without wanting to sound conceited, I've pretty much gotten used to it. Then I got this in an email regarding HNT:
3) What is your all-time favorite beer?--Double answer here--prior to the days of microbrews being readily available, it was probably Miller Genuine Draft. Or Killian's, if the bar had imports. These days, however, I drink alot of Northern Light Ale (Lewis & Clark Brewing, Helena), Beltian White (Harvest Moon Brewing, Belt, MT) or Alaskan Winter Ale (Alaskan Brewing, Juneau) during the season. I'm also a sucker for Kokanee out of British Columbia. In any case, it's a far cry from the Olympia, Ranier or Hamm's I used suck down in high school!
4) What grosses you out/scares you the most?? Talkin' something along the lines of snakes, spiders, carnies...etc.--I don't really mind creepy crawly things, if I'm aware of them. I could easily do "Fear Factor" with bugs, as long as I didn't have to eat them. But moths will scare the bejeesus out of me. Not as they're walking around minding their own business, but when they fly around in the dark, checking out my ears as a possible haven for the evening. I'll go ballistic to get away from them.
5) Why did you start this blog?--Simple question. My best friend Moose decided to start one, so I just followed suit.
6/7) What inspired you to start half nekkid thursday and what is your favorite pick to date? (I know, its really 2 questions, but they're related!)--I answer the first part of this alot. I refer you to here to read up on the inspiration (first paragraph).
As for my favorite--that's a loaded question. First of all--I love them all! Even the very simple ones--that's a big step for some! And those of you who don't have any problems showing off--yours are great. There are the obvious ones that are quite enjoyable for all of us. But my favorites would be those who were terrified of stepping off the edge, but did it anyway. Those who never thought that they could do it. And there are others. Even though there's some great male shots, my favorites are the ladies. With that in mind--Jaded Maniac's covered boobie shot that she eventually took down. Even though she did that, it took incredible courage for her to put it up in the first place.
Bez's very first HNT post. The boobies with flowers tastefully drawn in. Showing us that bigger girls belong here too!
Rachel's butt shot. Even though it's tame compared to more recent HNT photos, she was the first to put it out there for the world to see. And everyone responded!
Any of them with a bare back. I love that! Thanks to Summer, HeatherS, Moose, Nina, Sam, Cece, Hippigirl, Aughra, Lindsey, and anyone else I might have missed.
But these are my two favorites--for the most fun, I'd say Hippigirl's picture in the horse trough. My absolute favorite is HeatherS's bare back behind the bar. Damn, that makes a great wallpaper!
8) What makes your head snap back from thought/day dreaming?--If I'm asleep and dreaming, it's generally a sudden loud noise in the dream. If I'm in a power nap mode, I almost always jump up when my leg twitches because it's gone to sleep on me. Sometimes it's my arm.
9/10) Who, IRL and currently, has had the greatest impact on your life? and why? i know...2 questions...but they are related...and i wanted to know the reason...--Probably would have to be my parents. They just celebrated their 49th anniversary, and are as much in love as they ever have been. They raised 4 children who were good students, had very minor brushes with the law as they grew up, and none of them smoke or do drugs (other than alcohol, in which case we excel, without being alcoholics!). The children who have children of their own are raising them in the same manner. None of us are on welfare. We have all carved our niche in life without depending on the parents to bail us out. We still gather on a regular basis. My parents are my heroes.
11) Is there a song you absolutely hate?--Without a doubt, it's the Chicken Dance. Of the "Big Three" that some old lady wedding planner thinks should be played (Chicken Dance, Macarena, Hokey-Pokey), it's the only one that we might consider playing. Anyone who requests it should be severely beaten, preferrably by the bride's bouquet.
12) In conversations, do you tend to listen or talk more?--As you can tell by my writing, I tend to be verbose. In conversation, I generally start out listening, but eventually I find myself pontificating to the masses. To the point these days that people will actually ask if I'm OK if I haven't jumped into a conversation. Yes, I talk too much. And what's worse, I generally don't have much to say.
13) If you had to choose one thing to do for a living besides what you already do, what would it be?--I'd love to be a helicopter pilot. Or be a back-up musician for Jimmy Buffett (that would be the Coral Reefer Band, for those who didn't know).
14) What is your greatest accomplishment in life?--Tough question. In my mind, it would be the impact I have had on former students, particularly the ones who have continued on in music over the years, either as teachers or as amateur performers. I hear from alot of them and it's a great feeling to know you impacted their lives in such a way. From an outsiders perspective, who knows? Perhaps getting my Master's degree in music ed.
15) Paper or plastic?--Plastic. Easier to carry alot of sacks.
16) What part of you is least likely to end up half-nekkid on a Thursday?--The possibility of seeing anything from between my belly button to my mid-thighs (front or back) are as slim as Bush pulling the troops out of Iraq in the next month. There's way too much belly to show, and nothing below that to brag about. But who knows? Just don't wait in anticipation!
17) Coffee or tea?--Coffee is the devil's drink, and Starbuck's is the temple of the devil. I have probably had a total of 10 cups of coffee in my life, and those were out on Boy Scout camping trips. Except for the drunk high school nights where we'd go to Denny's and have coffee, but pour half of the blueberry syrup in. Tea, on the other hand--I'll drink tea in the summer if it's available. With sugar and lemon. I'm not a tea snob as far as varieties go. Just give me the generic Lipton's.
18/19) Where is your favorite place in the world and why?--Northwestern Montana and the Idaho Panhandle. You can find some of the most beautiful and pristene country around here. And I've got alot of memories from my childhood in the Montana part. I fell in real love for the first time at Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID, so I generally go into a trance any time I pass through the area (which is about once a year).
20) I just paid $2.75 a gallon for gas here in southern cali. piece of crap oil company... don't they know i'm poor?--No they don't, nor do they care. Bastards!
21) What is one thing/event/situation/conversation/action in your life that you wish you could have the opportunity to do over? In other words your biggest regret?--Laurie Mayfield, 1981. You don't get any of the details, but I do believe my life would be vastly different had something not happened (yes, I could have done something different at the time). Interesting--I've never mentioned that to anyone, ever. Let your minds wander!!
22) Can i still ask a question?--No, because by the time I get done, I will have answered 25 questions. Sorry!
23) I know I am not supposed to ask but... what are the coat hangers for?--I generally will hang my Hawaiian shirts (of which there are many) outside to dry, rather than use the dryer. It was really windy and they were blowing all around, so I moved them inside. I just never moved them to my closet. So I'd just pick a shirt on my way out the door, leaving the hangers. It's a bachelor thing....
24) What volume of "condensation" does your trombone produce daily?--Finally! A truly odd question! First off, it's not "condensation". It's spit. Say it with me. "SPIT." The little thing that empties it (ala "Mr. Holland's Opus") is not a "water key", it's a spit valve. And it is perfectly acceptable to empty your spit valve on the floor, or the shoe of the person next to you, or on the flutes and clarinets in front of you.
As for the volume--I can't give a daily amount, because I don't play daily. The amount also varies with the amount of playing being done. In symphony rehearsals, that's not much, because we don't play near as often as the strings or woodwinds do. But for a 4-hour gig with In Cahoots, I'd guess that I empty between a third to a half a cup. Other factors include alcohol intake, food intake, and environmental conditions (damp and humid, or dusty and dry). If I can remember, I'll spit into a cup at our next gig and get a better measurement for you.
25) If you were on death row, what would you ask for as your last meal?--I'd start with an appetizer of Hoagie Cheese Fries from Hoagieville in Missoula. For dinner, I'd want a big honkin' steak, medium-rare, my mother's potato salad (ideally, my grandmother's recipe, but no one could find it after her death), shoepeg corn in butter, a Caesar salad, made and tossed by my father (complete with the anchovie paste), and a couple of bottles of Kokanee to wash it down. If I couldn't have beer, then a half gallon of chocolate milk. And maybe some fresh asparagus in butter--just a little treat for those doing the autopsy afterwards. For dessert, my sister makes this mean chocolate pudding/Oreo cookie/fudge/and other stuff monstrosity that, if I ate enough of it, would give me a heart attack before they could strap me down.
That's it. Twenty-five questions. It took me 2 and a half hours to answer these. Please remind me of this the next time I decide to do another one!
iTunes: Play That Funky Music, Wild Cherry
1) You get to pick one thing, anything at all that you could instantly have changed about your life (current, not past) what would it be?--I would have money. I have none now, and I'm OK with that. But living from paycheck to paycheck sucks. I tend to adjust to the amount of money that I bring in. I can guarantee you that 90% of you make more than I do, yet many of you also do that paycheck to paycheck thing. For me, it's living within my means. I would love it if I didn't have to worry about it all the time though.
2) What is the best compliment you have ever gotten?--Over the years I've gotten huge compliments for various musical performances I've been involved in. I've had strangers tell me at the grocery store that they loved the last symphony concert, or I'll be in a bar and some drunk will tell all his friends about this kick-ass band that I play in. Without wanting to sound conceited, I've pretty much gotten used to it. Then I got this in an email regarding HNT:
- I wanted to thank you for sharing this idea with the rest of us in Blogland. I have never felt beautiful or comfortable about my body. HNT has liberated me! I'm a little bit more proud of myself. A little bit more appreciative of what God gave me. It has been a positive thing in my life. Everyone is so beautiful, each in their own way. Whether it's a hand or a shoulder or something more obscure...it's been fascinating and wonderful. You are a wise man.
3) What is your all-time favorite beer?--Double answer here--prior to the days of microbrews being readily available, it was probably Miller Genuine Draft. Or Killian's, if the bar had imports. These days, however, I drink alot of Northern Light Ale (Lewis & Clark Brewing, Helena), Beltian White (Harvest Moon Brewing, Belt, MT) or Alaskan Winter Ale (Alaskan Brewing, Juneau) during the season. I'm also a sucker for Kokanee out of British Columbia. In any case, it's a far cry from the Olympia, Ranier or Hamm's I used suck down in high school!
4) What grosses you out/scares you the most?? Talkin' something along the lines of snakes, spiders, carnies...etc.--I don't really mind creepy crawly things, if I'm aware of them. I could easily do "Fear Factor" with bugs, as long as I didn't have to eat them. But moths will scare the bejeesus out of me. Not as they're walking around minding their own business, but when they fly around in the dark, checking out my ears as a possible haven for the evening. I'll go ballistic to get away from them.
5) Why did you start this blog?--Simple question. My best friend Moose decided to start one, so I just followed suit.
6/7) What inspired you to start half nekkid thursday and what is your favorite pick to date? (I know, its really 2 questions, but they're related!)--I answer the first part of this alot. I refer you to here to read up on the inspiration (first paragraph).
As for my favorite--that's a loaded question. First of all--I love them all! Even the very simple ones--that's a big step for some! And those of you who don't have any problems showing off--yours are great. There are the obvious ones that are quite enjoyable for all of us. But my favorites would be those who were terrified of stepping off the edge, but did it anyway. Those who never thought that they could do it. And there are others. Even though there's some great male shots, my favorites are the ladies. With that in mind--
8) What makes your head snap back from thought/day dreaming?--If I'm asleep and dreaming, it's generally a sudden loud noise in the dream. If I'm in a power nap mode, I almost always jump up when my leg twitches because it's gone to sleep on me. Sometimes it's my arm.
9/10) Who, IRL and currently, has had the greatest impact on your life? and why? i know...2 questions...but they are related...and i wanted to know the reason...--Probably would have to be my parents. They just celebrated their 49th anniversary, and are as much in love as they ever have been. They raised 4 children who were good students, had very minor brushes with the law as they grew up, and none of them smoke or do drugs (other than alcohol, in which case we excel, without being alcoholics!). The children who have children of their own are raising them in the same manner. None of us are on welfare. We have all carved our niche in life without depending on the parents to bail us out. We still gather on a regular basis. My parents are my heroes.
11) Is there a song you absolutely hate?--Without a doubt, it's the Chicken Dance. Of the "Big Three" that some old lady wedding planner thinks should be played (Chicken Dance, Macarena, Hokey-Pokey), it's the only one that we might consider playing. Anyone who requests it should be severely beaten, preferrably by the bride's bouquet.
12) In conversations, do you tend to listen or talk more?--As you can tell by my writing, I tend to be verbose. In conversation, I generally start out listening, but eventually I find myself pontificating to the masses. To the point these days that people will actually ask if I'm OK if I haven't jumped into a conversation. Yes, I talk too much. And what's worse, I generally don't have much to say.
13) If you had to choose one thing to do for a living besides what you already do, what would it be?--I'd love to be a helicopter pilot. Or be a back-up musician for Jimmy Buffett (that would be the Coral Reefer Band, for those who didn't know).
14) What is your greatest accomplishment in life?--Tough question. In my mind, it would be the impact I have had on former students, particularly the ones who have continued on in music over the years, either as teachers or as amateur performers. I hear from alot of them and it's a great feeling to know you impacted their lives in such a way. From an outsiders perspective, who knows? Perhaps getting my Master's degree in music ed.
15) Paper or plastic?--Plastic. Easier to carry alot of sacks.
16) What part of you is least likely to end up half-nekkid on a Thursday?--The possibility of seeing anything from between my belly button to my mid-thighs (front or back) are as slim as Bush pulling the troops out of Iraq in the next month. There's way too much belly to show, and nothing below that to brag about. But who knows? Just don't wait in anticipation!
17) Coffee or tea?--Coffee is the devil's drink, and Starbuck's is the temple of the devil. I have probably had a total of 10 cups of coffee in my life, and those were out on Boy Scout camping trips. Except for the drunk high school nights where we'd go to Denny's and have coffee, but pour half of the blueberry syrup in. Tea, on the other hand--I'll drink tea in the summer if it's available. With sugar and lemon. I'm not a tea snob as far as varieties go. Just give me the generic Lipton's.
18/19) Where is your favorite place in the world and why?--Northwestern Montana and the Idaho Panhandle. You can find some of the most beautiful and pristene country around here. And I've got alot of memories from my childhood in the Montana part. I fell in real love for the first time at Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID, so I generally go into a trance any time I pass through the area (which is about once a year).
20) I just paid $2.75 a gallon for gas here in southern cali. piece of crap oil company... don't they know i'm poor?--No they don't, nor do they care. Bastards!
21) What is one thing/event/situation/conversation/action in your life that you wish you could have the opportunity to do over? In other words your biggest regret?--Laurie Mayfield, 1981. You don't get any of the details, but I do believe my life would be vastly different had something not happened (yes, I could have done something different at the time). Interesting--I've never mentioned that to anyone, ever. Let your minds wander!!
22) Can i still ask a question?--No, because by the time I get done, I will have answered 25 questions. Sorry!
23) I know I am not supposed to ask but... what are the coat hangers for?--I generally will hang my Hawaiian shirts (of which there are many) outside to dry, rather than use the dryer. It was really windy and they were blowing all around, so I moved them inside. I just never moved them to my closet. So I'd just pick a shirt on my way out the door, leaving the hangers. It's a bachelor thing....
24) What volume of "condensation" does your trombone produce daily?--Finally! A truly odd question! First off, it's not "condensation". It's spit. Say it with me. "SPIT." The little thing that empties it (ala "Mr. Holland's Opus") is not a "water key", it's a spit valve. And it is perfectly acceptable to empty your spit valve on the floor, or the shoe of the person next to you, or on the flutes and clarinets in front of you.
As for the volume--I can't give a daily amount, because I don't play daily. The amount also varies with the amount of playing being done. In symphony rehearsals, that's not much, because we don't play near as often as the strings or woodwinds do. But for a 4-hour gig with In Cahoots, I'd guess that I empty between a third to a half a cup. Other factors include alcohol intake, food intake, and environmental conditions (damp and humid, or dusty and dry). If I can remember, I'll spit into a cup at our next gig and get a better measurement for you.
25) If you were on death row, what would you ask for as your last meal?--I'd start with an appetizer of Hoagie Cheese Fries from Hoagieville in Missoula. For dinner, I'd want a big honkin' steak, medium-rare, my mother's potato salad (ideally, my grandmother's recipe, but no one could find it after her death), shoepeg corn in butter, a Caesar salad, made and tossed by my father (complete with the anchovie paste), and a couple of bottles of Kokanee to wash it down. If I couldn't have beer, then a half gallon of chocolate milk. And maybe some fresh asparagus in butter--just a little treat for those doing the autopsy afterwards. For dessert, my sister makes this mean chocolate pudding/Oreo cookie/fudge/and other stuff monstrosity that, if I ate enough of it, would give me a heart attack before they could strap me down.
That's it. Twenty-five questions. It took me 2 and a half hours to answer these. Please remind me of this the next time I decide to do another one!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Numbers
I'm currently uninspired, and I've seen this used on a couple of other blogs, so I figure I'd give it a shot. Go ahead and ask me a question--any question. I'll answer it as truthfully as I can. Hints--don't ask me about philosophy, politics, books, art or movies. I don't do any of them. And sex questions will get you painfully dull answers, trust me! Anything else is fair game. I will answer the first 25 questions asked. Limit--one question per person. Egan, did you read that??
Numbers:
Hope you're all in the midst of a more exciting weekend than I'm currently having!
iTunes: Hillbillies, Hot Apple Pie
Numbers:
- 25--Number of questions I'll answer as stated above.
2.299--Number of dollars per gallon of gas at the station I went to today.
30.10--Number of dollars it took to fill my car with gas today.
111--Number of bloggers who are on the Nekkid roll this week.
2.5--Number of hours I took for a nap this afternoon.
2--Number of songs I have to write horn parts to before Tuesday night's rehearsal.
3--Number of times I've listened to the new Nickel Creek CD today.
50--Number of degrees Farenheit the temperature outside is at this moment.
10--Number of degrees Celsius the temperature outside is at this moment.
0--Number of readers who really give a damn about this list.
Hope you're all in the midst of a more exciting weekend than I'm currently having!
Friday, August 12, 2005
Odd pairing
Has anyone seen the commercial with former Chrysler CEO/chief honcho Lee Iacocca paired up with Snoop Dogg? It's not quite as odd as creepy Burger King commercials, but it's not what you'd expect to see. Mr. Iacocca doesn't look too bad, but Snoop dressed in a pink shirt and pastel blue/white sleeveless sweater is just a bit much. Then Snoop actually takes a swing at the ball on the tee box. There's a reason that he's a rap star, and it ain't because of his golfing abilities!I'm guessing there's some elderly couple in the midwest, watching the commercial after the evening news. Then talking about that nice Mr. Iacocca playing golf with that funny-looking black man with the strange speech problem...
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Reflective HNT
I'm always asked "What the hell does Osbasso mean???" I did a post of this back in January (go here for that post). I think I first came up with it in the mid-80s. I think it was 1985, to be specific. Anyway, I saved my car's license plates each year that Montana has changed them. This is the classic 1976 "U.S. Bicentennial" design. Lots of red, white & blue--just like every other state at that time. I took this with a flash, but because of the reflection of the plate (as designed!!), the rest of it came out darker. Note that M*A*S*H is on the TV, and don't ask me about the hangers over my shoulder.
Early posters are Moose, Cece, Sojourness, Dixie Belle and newcomer (but longtimelurker voyeur) BTExpress. Have a great Half-Nekkid Thursday! Let the games begin!
iTunes: Julius, Phish
Early posters are Moose, Cece, Sojourness, Dixie Belle and newcomer (but longtime
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Success!
I found a data recovery program that I also had a hack for! In other words--I got concert pics! I didn't get to recover the movie I took, but I'm still satisfied. As I had somewhat expected, alot of them were a little blurry. I went with the AUTO function, and the shutter speed was just a hair slow. So I'm glad I didn't spend the money for the serial number! Lizabeth, j.a.g. and Moose--I'll email you the whole collection later!
Monday, August 08, 2005
Sad Day, and a Lost HNTer
Crystal (Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper) is hurting. Stop by and read her very special post this afternoon. Then leave her some kind words.
New Feature
Checking out this video hosting place (castpost.com). I could make some good use of this if it works!
This is my hero. White, geeky, and a trombonist!
Powered by Castpost
This is my hero. White, geeky, and a trombonist!
Powered by Castpost
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Lotsa stuff this weekend...
Geez--where to start?
Thursday--See the post below for info on the Alison Krauss concert. Regarding HNT, we had 97 join in on the fun. I'm finding stragglers out there all the time, but that number is pretty close to true. No doubt in my mind that we'll easily surpass the 100 mark this week! One comment I've seen on the newer people is how friendly and positive we've been to them. Keep it up! And an official decision from my end of things--I'm no longer going to comment on all posts. It's taking me over 3 hours of non-stop browsing (and reading other's comments) to get through the list. Please don't take it personally if I don't leave anything. If your name is on the Nekkid roll over there on the right, then I've personally seen a HNT pic on your site for the week!
Friday--My 30-yr class reunion. Missed out on the golf in the morning, since I got home after midnight from the concert the night before and spent a couple hours doing HNT stuff. We had a no-host gathering on Friday night. Some general observations: I used to be pretty good at placing names and faces, and did pretty well with the women. The men were another story. Between the extra weight, the baldness, the facial hair, the gray, or any combination of those things--many of the men were difficult to recognize. The standard greeting was not a handshake, but a hand reaching out to grab a closer look at the nametags. We partied until about 2:30AM (yes, we were surprisingly good at that). I had to drive a classmate home who was too drunk to drive. Only took 3 attempts for her to figure out what street to turn down. I got home at about 3:15 and immediately wrote a drunk blog about the evening, but then closed my browser instead of hitting the publish button. Oops. Probably for the better anyway. Highlight of the evening was reconnecting with a former girlfriend (a first-time mom at 43!) whom I hadn't seen in just under 30 years! Biggest disappointment was finding out that my best friend from HS was not going to be attending...
Saturday--Most of my class hadn't set foot in the school since we left, so we arranged an open house for about an hour so people could wander around. Quite a few did that. Then we had a tailgate party at a nearby park. We had far more people than anticipated, but most of us drank water and lemonade--I guess we aren't the total party animals that we had imagined. We had a very nice dinner buffet and dance that night. Very little dancing--people were still into catching up on each other. Our cross-town rival high school was also having their reunion at the same time in a different part of town. Theirs was apparently a bust, because a bunch of them crashed ours. I was accosted at one point by 3 women from the other school--they were girls I had gone to grade school with. (Point of clarification--I attended the only Catholic grade school in town until they closed it down after 6th grade. The students were then separated into "east side" and "west side", and started the 7th grade at their respective junior highs. This tore up 4-6 years of great friendships. There was no way that we could be friends anymore, since they went to the "other" school.) Of course, I recognized all of them immediately, even after not seeing each other since 1969!!! And we'd run around to others that we'd gone to grade school with, all with the same happy reactions! To me, that was the absolute highlight of the weekend! They closed out our reunion with us, catching us up on our 6th grade friends from the other side of town. We gathered everyone who was still around who attended Bishop Gilmore School (about 20 of us, I think) for a picture. We exchanged emails. It was great!
Sunday--Nothing specific planned. I had hoped to sleep, but was awakened by a nasty clap of thunder in the neighborhood. Sun shining, no rain, and lightning and thunder. That was funky! Got together with a classmate before she left town, talked to another for awhile, then pretty much did nothing but nap and grocery shop. The temperature was 100 for the past couple of days, and it's just too damned hot to do much of anything else.
Now, all of a sudden, I don't have anything pressing coming up in the near future. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself! Not to say there's not a great deal to do--I just don't have anything fun on the horizon. Is summer over??? I'll be scanning alot of photos over the next few days. And trying to recover my concert pics. And I found something to add to the blog, if I can find some particular files. Hopefully you all had a great weekend!
iTunes Welcome To the Jungle, Guns 'N' Roses
Thursday--See the post below for info on the Alison Krauss concert. Regarding HNT, we had 97 join in on the fun. I'm finding stragglers out there all the time, but that number is pretty close to true. No doubt in my mind that we'll easily surpass the 100 mark this week! One comment I've seen on the newer people is how friendly and positive we've been to them. Keep it up! And an official decision from my end of things--I'm no longer going to comment on all posts. It's taking me over 3 hours of non-stop browsing (and reading other's comments) to get through the list. Please don't take it personally if I don't leave anything. If your name is on the Nekkid roll over there on the right, then I've personally seen a HNT pic on your site for the week!
Friday--My 30-yr class reunion. Missed out on the golf in the morning, since I got home after midnight from the concert the night before and spent a couple hours doing HNT stuff. We had a no-host gathering on Friday night. Some general observations: I used to be pretty good at placing names and faces, and did pretty well with the women. The men were another story. Between the extra weight, the baldness, the facial hair, the gray, or any combination of those things--many of the men were difficult to recognize. The standard greeting was not a handshake, but a hand reaching out to grab a closer look at the nametags. We partied until about 2:30AM (yes, we were surprisingly good at that). I had to drive a classmate home who was too drunk to drive. Only took 3 attempts for her to figure out what street to turn down. I got home at about 3:15 and immediately wrote a drunk blog about the evening, but then closed my browser instead of hitting the publish button. Oops. Probably for the better anyway. Highlight of the evening was reconnecting with a former girlfriend (a first-time mom at 43!) whom I hadn't seen in just under 30 years! Biggest disappointment was finding out that my best friend from HS was not going to be attending...
Saturday--Most of my class hadn't set foot in the school since we left, so we arranged an open house for about an hour so people could wander around. Quite a few did that. Then we had a tailgate party at a nearby park. We had far more people than anticipated, but most of us drank water and lemonade--I guess we aren't the total party animals that we had imagined. We had a very nice dinner buffet and dance that night. Very little dancing--people were still into catching up on each other. Our cross-town rival high school was also having their reunion at the same time in a different part of town. Theirs was apparently a bust, because a bunch of them crashed ours. I was accosted at one point by 3 women from the other school--they were girls I had gone to grade school with. (Point of clarification--I attended the only Catholic grade school in town until they closed it down after 6th grade. The students were then separated into "east side" and "west side", and started the 7th grade at their respective junior highs. This tore up 4-6 years of great friendships. There was no way that we could be friends anymore, since they went to the "other" school.) Of course, I recognized all of them immediately, even after not seeing each other since 1969!!! And we'd run around to others that we'd gone to grade school with, all with the same happy reactions! To me, that was the absolute highlight of the weekend! They closed out our reunion with us, catching us up on our 6th grade friends from the other side of town. We gathered everyone who was still around who attended Bishop Gilmore School (about 20 of us, I think) for a picture. We exchanged emails. It was great!
Sunday--Nothing specific planned. I had hoped to sleep, but was awakened by a nasty clap of thunder in the neighborhood. Sun shining, no rain, and lightning and thunder. That was funky! Got together with a classmate before she left town, talked to another for awhile, then pretty much did nothing but nap and grocery shop. The temperature was 100 for the past couple of days, and it's just too damned hot to do much of anything else.
Now, all of a sudden, I don't have anything pressing coming up in the near future. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself! Not to say there's not a great deal to do--I just don't have anything fun on the horizon. Is summer over??? I'll be scanning alot of photos over the next few days. And trying to recover my concert pics. And I found something to add to the blog, if I can find some particular files. Hopefully you all had a great weekend!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Concert news
Just checking in. The concert last night was wonderful! Sixth row, just off the center aisle. Just.a.girl and I drove down in the afternoon, bummed around for a little bit, and got to our seats about 5 minutes before the concert started. The couple next to me came in after the first song had already started. Then in the next 2 hours she (not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES!--cue Lionel Richie!) pulled out her cell phone and called God-knows-who, spoke loudly (so she could be heard over the music), then held up the phone so G-k-w could hear some of the concert. But I could deal with that, since I was clicking away with my digital. And who would have guessed that her backup singers had taken up residence in the seats behind us... One of them could whistle, too!
So where are all these concert pics, you ask? Well...... I got a bit cocky. I got about 40+ . Then the nice big security guy asked me to accompany him to meet up with her production people. Busted!! I didn't put up a fight. They said they gave ample warning about no pictures--but the "prominent" signs weren't prominent (though I did see one), and their announcements from the stage weren't heard because we were there at the last minute, and the "no cameras" warning on the tickets weren't printed on the tickets!!! Anyway, t hey took my camera, which I could retrieve at the end of the concert by the sound board. And they would erase any concert pics I had on my card. Then I was escorted back to my seat. It didn't bother me much, because I've seen some software out there that will retrieve "accidentally erased" photo files. I downloaded a demo copy of one, and yes, the pics are still there! I just don't want to pay the $30 to enable the Save function. If anyone else has a solution, I'm all ears (Mac-specific, please!). And Lizabeth, I'm checking your suggestion, but can't find it right now. Still working on it.
Speaking of Lizabeth, she and Eric made their way down from the upper seats after the concert to meet us at the sound board. It was wonderful to actually meet my very first blogfan! I just wish we had a little more time to chat! While we were all there, a nice and equally big security lady came over with my camera in hand. She was a bit slow, but she was able to get a picture of the four of us (I'm the one with the legs). All in all, a fine evening!
So where are all these concert pics, you ask? Well...... I got a bit cocky. I got about 40+ . Then the nice big security guy asked me to accompany him to meet up with her production people. Busted!! I didn't put up a fight. They said they gave ample warning about no pictures--but the "prominent" signs weren't prominent (though I did see one), and their announcements from the stage weren't heard because we were there at the last minute, and the "no cameras" warning on the tickets weren't printed on the tickets!!! Anyway, t hey took my camera, which I could retrieve at the end of the concert by the sound board. And they would erase any concert pics I had on my card. Then I was escorted back to my seat. It didn't bother me much, because I've seen some software out there that will retrieve "accidentally erased" photo files. I downloaded a demo copy of one, and yes, the pics are still there! I just don't want to pay the $30 to enable the Save function. If anyone else has a solution, I'm all ears (Mac-specific, please!). And Lizabeth, I'm checking your suggestion, but can't find it right now. Still working on it.
Speaking of Lizabeth, she and Eric made their way down from the upper seats after the concert to meet us at the sound board. It was wonderful to actually meet my very first blogfan! I just wish we had a little more time to chat! While we were all there, a nice and equally big security lady came over with my camera in hand. She was a bit slow, but she was able to get a picture of the four of us (I'm the one with the legs). All in all, a fine evening!
Pony Express did better than this...
I had two extra tickets to last night's Alison Krauss concert. I put them up on eBay a few weeks ago. They get sold for $90. The people who bought them were newbies, not totally aware of what to do, so I didn't get paid for about 10 days. Still, I was able to mail them out last Thursday. First class. As of yesterday afternoon (one week), they still hadn't received them, so I had to meet them at the concert (they bought cheap seats at the door) and refund their money. I don't understand why a first class letter from here to there (90 miles away) can't be delivered in a week! While I highly doubt that I'll get any satisfaction out of the deal, I'm going to go to the post office and bitch and moan and try to get my money back. This is totally inexcusable! PeeMan will be busy for awhile!
iTunes: Do It Again, Steely Dan
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
HNT Agony of Da Feet
Go to WarCryGirl's site and vote for me! I've lost that comfortable lead I had!!
Right off the bat--I apologize Grace. At least I warned you! I'm running short on time, short on ideas, and it's damned hard to come up with something exciting without a camera partner! Anyway, this is the opposite end of last week's head shot. These are ugly and stubby. But they're relatively clean! I cannot begin to tell you how much my feet hurt these days. I'm in desperate need of a pedicure. Or at least a very lengthy foot rub.
Other items of note: you can see rows and rows of CDs on the walls on each side (classical on right, rock/jazz on left). Out of control philodendron above the TV on the right. Powerbook on left. Fat calves. Incredibly weird & ugly toes, even from the bottom side. The gap between the big toe and the next one on my left foot where the doctors removed the "extra" one. Well, just kidding on that one. Just seeing if you read this far.
And a HNT programming note--Heather had to leave town, so she's posted early. I don't know of anyone else. There's probably others. I hope they stop by and leave a comment! Enjoy HNT!
iTunes: Don't Speak, No Doubt
Right off the bat--I apologize Grace. At least I warned you! I'm running short on time, short on ideas, and it's damned hard to come up with something exciting without a camera partner! Anyway, this is the opposite end of last week's head shot. These are ugly and stubby. But they're relatively clean! I cannot begin to tell you how much my feet hurt these days. I'm in desperate need of a pedicure. Or at least a very lengthy foot rub.
Other items of note: you can see rows and rows of CDs on the walls on each side (classical on right, rock/jazz on left). Out of control philodendron above the TV on the right. Powerbook on left. Fat calves. Incredibly weird & ugly toes, even from the bottom side. The gap between the big toe and the next one on my left foot where the doctors removed the "extra" one. Well, just kidding on that one. Just seeing if you read this far.
And a HNT programming note--Heather had to leave town, so she's posted early. I don't know of anyone else. There's probably others. I hope they stop by and leave a comment! Enjoy HNT!
AKUS, CHS, HNT, ETC.
OK--here's what's happening in the next few days. I've got 1001 things to do in a limited amount of time. And fortunately, much of it is FUN. It's the other stuff that I have to squeeze in that sucks. Anyway, here's what's up--
Gotta run and finish off some work before the boss figures me out! Look for my HNT post sometime later tonight (let's try to keep the premature submissions down!).
iTunes: don't know, one of iTunes streaming classical radio stations
- I have two meetings in the morning, which means I have to once again be functioning at the buttcrack of dawn. I'm generally up by then, but functioning is a whole different matter. From those I go to work. Then the fun begins! I head to Bozeman (about 90+ miles to the SW) with just.a.girl to go see Alison Krauss & Union Station in concert. Sixth row center. We're excited! And we also hope to meet longtime blogfriend Lizabeth and her boy Eric! I don't think Eric or j.a.g. share the full enthusiasm, but Lizabeth and I are excited!!
After driving back from Bozeman and getting home sometime after midnight, I'll again have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn, but this time it's to hit the golf course. The 30-year reunion of the class of 1975 of Helena Capital High School will be taking place all weekend. We were the first graduating class out of the new high school, so we've always been a little full of ourselves! Should be a good time, but I think we're to the age that we're beyond the wild party drinking, BUT I COULD BE SADLY MISTAKEN!!! Anyway, there's functions going on for the next couple of days....
HNT--I'll post something tonight, and I'll be able to briefly check in tomorrow at work, but I'm not going to be able to do much in the welcoming or commenting areas. I'll try to get the Nekkid roll up to date ASAP, but no guarantees as to when that will be. I've asked Rachel (actually, she offered) to take care of the smile & handshake thing with everyone. Maybe the Addict can help with that (like you usually do anyway!). I'll hopefully greet all the newbies, but I know for a fact that I can't comment on everyone's by this weekend. As some of you have noted--this thing's gotten almost out of control! (Yay!) Sorry! Hope you'll understand...
Sandwiched between all the activities, I've got a couple of deadlines to meet with symphony stuff. I'm not excited about that at all...
Lastly, the Great Keychain Contest is going strong over at WarCryGirl's website. I'm in the lead, but facing serious challenges! Everyone needs to go vote for me!! After all, who brought you HNT??? Not that I'm begging here or anything....
Gotta run and finish off some work before the boss figures me out! Look for my HNT post sometime later tonight (let's try to keep the premature submissions down!).
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Keychain contest
I'm entered in WarCryGirl's keychain contest! Go to her site and vote for me! And leave a comment for her, too!
Oh, I've changed PeeMan's victim to Diaryland.com, as suggested by WarCryGirl. Not that I would stoop to using a tactic like that to influence her final decision on the keychain....
Oh, I've changed PeeMan's victim to Diaryland.com, as suggested by WarCryGirl. Not that I would stoop to using a tactic like that to influence her final decision on the keychain....
PeeMan requests
In a strange fit of contentment, I find that I'm not really pissed off at anything or anyone right now. Anyone got some suggestions for PeeMan? I'd hate to take him down for lack of work!
iTunes: Would I Lie To You?, Eurythmics
See Janie sing? Sing, Janie, sing!
Anyone ever wonder whatever happened to Janie Porche? The overly perky young lady "who saved Christmas" with her Apple PowerBook? No, not the stoned one. The cute one. If you haven't seen the ad (from 2002), check it out here.
She's in Chicago and is trying her hand at singing. Her website has a few downloadable mp3s, and she's got Apple's iTunes ready to carry them too! It's an interesting style. I kind of like it! Her site has a number of other links to her art and other things. I'd tell you more, but then I just come off as a creepy cyberstalker..... Go check her out!!!
iTunes: Hush, Deep Purple
She's in Chicago and is trying her hand at singing. Her website has a few downloadable mp3s, and she's got Apple's iTunes ready to carry them too! It's an interesting style. I kind of like it! Her site has a number of other links to her art and other things. I'd tell you more, but then I just come off as a creepy cyberstalker..... Go check her out!!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
CD List
Like I don't have anything better to do, such as SLEEP! Here's an alphabetical list of CDs I own. I've got about 1700 laying around the place. These aren't necessarily my favorites, or hold any special place in my heart. Nor do they include any of my classical CDs. It's just a list.
iTunes: Them Changes, Buddy Miles
- A) Apocalyptica - Apocalyptica
B) The Bobs - Sing the Songs of....
C) Eva Cassidy - Live At Blues Alley
D) Jerry Douglas - Lookout For Hope
E) Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
F) Focus - Moving Waves
G) Gladiator - Original Movie Soundtrack
H) Steve Howe - Not Necessarily Acoustic
I) Incognito - Positivity
J) Jamiroquai - Synkronized
K) Diana Krall - When I Look Into Your Eyes
L) Lee Press-On and the Nails - Jump-Swing from Hell
M) Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 - Foursider
N) Nickel Creek - This Side
O) The Outlaws - Best of: Green Grass & High Tides
P) Pointer Sisters - Live at the Opera House
Q) Rob Quist - This House of Memories
R) Buddy Rich/Mel Torme - Together Again-For the First Time
S) The Squirrels - Harsh Toke of Reality
T) McCoy Tyner - Fly With the Wind
U) Ultimate '70s R & B Smashes
V) Gino Vannelli - Powerful People
W) Rick Wakeman - Journey to the Centre of the Earth
X) X-Files - Original Movie Score
Y) Yes - Yessongs
Z) ZZ Top - Greatest Hits