There was a car blocking my driveway

I saw a car blocking my driveway late at night. It had its hazard lights on and its front passenger-side tire was twisted at a nasty angle. I'm guessing that it had a broken tie rod.

What a bummer for the owner. I am glad that the car was gone by the time I woke up in the morning, though. I would have hated to be blocked in. (Remind me to rant sometime about the jackass who blocked the driveway of the apartment building that I used to live in.)

I am also glad that this person didn't knock on my door and ask for help. I would have been willing to help, as I would not turn away someone in distress. However, I was also tired and had a lot of things to do.

Some cardio DVD recommendations

I'd like to recommend the following cardio DVDs:

Kimberly Spreen: Absolute Kickboxing
Criss Cross Cardio featuring Sherri Jacquelyn

In fact, I'd recommend anything by Kimberly Spreen. This particular DVD is great though, because it incorporates the use of a Body Bar (that is, a weighted bar) for some combat exercises. This is a great way to mix one's workout up a bit.

Sherri Jacquelyn is a bit of a newcomer; however, she does have some rather unique kickboxing moves. She also makes good use of capoeira, which is refreshing. I wish that my right ankle weren't hurting right now; otherwise, I'd do her workout a lot more.

I think I'll borrow these DVDs from the library now and then, just to give my workouts some variety.

A new robot

I received an ad today from Agilent Technologies. They were advertising their new Agilent Direct Drive Robot. It's a bit odd that they chose this name, as opposed to something glitzier. It's especially odd since their life sciences clientele probably wouldn't understand the implications of a direct drive robot, but what the heck.

It looks like a nifty machine. I wouldn't mind taking one of these things apart and/or discussion the design philosophy with some of their engineers. Might be kinda fun, and I do enjoy these high-tech toys.

Visiting

I'm glad that I got to visit a new friend over Christmas. She's very cool.

She says that she's no domestic diva. Personally though, I think she's a wonderful person. No romance in the cards there, but that doesn't mean that I can't respect her.

She's also a writer and can articulate herself very well. I appreciate that. If only more people had that kind of mastery of the written word.

Some Christmas humor

Here is a geeky bit of holiday humor from a clean jokes page.

Real programmers can never tell the difference between Halloween and Christmas. After all, OCT 31 == DEC 25.

Christmas Eve

Gonna meet a new friend for Christmas.

I normally spent Christmas with these delightful sisters that are very dear to me. One of them is on her honeymoon, though. The other is in a relationship, so getting together with me one-on-one is not an option.

Unfortunately, this meeting will involve a very long 3.5-hour drive, plus another 3.5 hours getting back. So I don't get to work out or do any real work on that day.

Extra billing from Bally

I don't get it.

Back in April, I cancelled my old Bally membership and started a new membership contract with different terms. Basically, for a few extra bucks each month, I can now go to any Bally gym in the nation. My old membership fees were being charged to my Visa card, whereas my new fees are being charged to my Discover card.

Starting in August though, I found that my Visa card was being charged again. I had a hard time getting ahold of any Bally customer service reps on the phone, but this week, I finally got a hold of one. (To be fair, I wasn't trying very hard, due to the long wait times.)

The problem has now been fixed and my charges are going to be refunded to me. We don't understand why the billing was erroneously resumed in August, though. Go figger.

So glad that I changed my battery

I am so glad that I changed my car battery. I could swear that the car runs more smoothly now. Yeah, baby.

I also saved myself a bunch of money that way.

Writing Great Articles

How do you write great articles? The following article (heh) from this site helps spell it out.

------------

How To Get Started On Writing Killer Articles


I once wrote an article in which I offered the following tip on how to speak eloquently in public: Talk about something that you’re passionate about. When we speak about matters that are dear to our hearts, we often find wellsprings of eloquence from which we can draw.

I offer similar advice to anyone who wants to learn how to write with flair and style. Start by writing about something that you feel deeply and passionately about. The same hearty emotions that lend eloquence to an orator can also provide a jumpstart to an aspiring writer. What’s more, we are likely to be well-informed about matters that we hold dear, and we are likely to have spent many hours pondering their significance in our minds.

Of course, this is no magic bullet. An aspiring writer still needs to master the mechanics of proper composition, as well as develop his own style. Still, these skills can only come about through practice—and if you’re going to practice, it helps to start with topics that we can launch into with great passion and aplomb.

V. B. Velasco Jr
http://www.immunospot.com

Replacing a car battery

I just replaced my car's battery. That was a lot more work than I expected, partly because I had never done it before. Loosening the screw on one of the battery clamps was pretty difficult, and as it turns out, I didn't need to loosen it all that much. Also, there was this arm that was used to hold the battery in place, and this one supporting rod kept falling out of place after I installed the battery.

Now that I have the hang of it, replacing the battery should be pretty easy. I probably won't have to do that for another five years, though. In fact, my current battery lasted me for a little over six years.

Oh, M.D.

This gal, M.D., is heavily into eastern mysticism and all this kinda nonsense. Too bad, since she's a very attractive thirtysomething woman. She's intelligent, lean, athletic, and beautiful, and she's got killer gams.

What a shame.

That's not what you do at a swing dance

There's a bunch of folks that I sometimes attend dance events with. Unfortunately, none of them know how to dance, with the exception of one gal who (somewhat infrequently) comes along.

There are a couple of other ladies who can follow along somewhat when it comes to partner dancing, but they aren't as enthusiastic as a lot of other folks that I hang with. What's more, they could use more energy.

I went to a swing dance event with them in December. At one point, instead of dancing swing, they did the usual "party" thing where you get a circle of people together and just kinda twist it around. That was utterly embarrassing.

It's one thing if you don't know the moves -- but for pity's sake, if you're at a swing event, then at least TRY to dance swing. Sheesh!

Motown dance moves

I decided that if I ever want to look up some useful Motown dance moves, I should check out Tamilee Webb's DVD, "Fit to the Hits: Motown Moves."

Patty

I just heard that my friend Patty got engaged. Good for her. She's a nice gal, and fairly attractive as well. She also has brains. Heck, if not for the fact that she's divorced with a boatload of kids (as well as a few areas of potential incompatibility), I might have chosen her myself.

She's a great gal and she deserves happiness.

Speaking of competence

Speaking of lacking competence...

I wonder what happened to DMS. He's a guy that I knew in school. When he landed a job, we all predicted that he'd be shooting himself in the foot before long. He had some technical competence but very poor social skills. What's more, he was basically a "plug and chug" kinda guy when it came to solving physics-related problems. He could study and he could score well, but he didn't necessarily have a very solid grasp of the underlying science principles.

Then there's Deborah, someone that I worked with at a charity. She had competence, but she was also severely lacking in people skills. She said that she was a people person who simply chose not to act like one. That was a blatant excuse for bad behavior, and she never admitted that to herself.

Competence

There are various works that could be used to describe T. Oliver. "Competent" is not one of them.

The guy is a bozo. He lacks common sense.

CVC

I saw that this site mentioned the CVC. Boy, did that bring back memory. Relatively recent memories, but still...

They do some exciting work, by gum. I almost wish that I could enter a different field and work alongside those clever folks.

I'm so cold

I am so cold. So uncomfortably cold.

I use to laugh at the cold. Well, not anymore. After losing a significant amount of bodyfat, I now feel the cold more acutely. A lot less insulation, you know.

I wasn't fat before, and I certainly wasn't a couch potato by any means. (You could say that I agree with this philosophy.) I also used to quietly scoff at people who complained about the cold. Well, not anymore. (To be fair, most of those people were fatter than I was. However, I also have to remember that some folks will just tend to be more temperature-sensitive.)

New solo Charleston stuff

I've got to remember the following moves and work them into my repertoire:

Boogie drops, followed by this four-snap move
Knee slaps followed by a jump Charleston
Charleston spins followed by the scarecrow

So incredibly tired

I am beat. I got to bed at a little past 3 am due to various tasks I had to take care of. Also, a friend of mine kept me up on the phone due to some personal crisis of hers.

Then I woke up early in order to attend my 8 am cardio workout class, which was further tiring. I would have liked to take a nap in the afternoon, except that the cleaning ladies who were supposed to arrive at my house were two hours late (through no fault of their own, I might add) In fact, they're still at work right this minute.

I have to leave in about two hours -- maybe an hour after the cleaning crew gets done. I've got a full night of activities lined up, and so I won't have time to rest. None.

I could really use some rest, too.

The Super Hero Squad Show

This show is kinda amusing. Clearly directed toward children, but with enough humor and witty one-liners for adults to appreciate it.

I could do without the flatulence jokes, though. Oh, and the inclusion of Wolverine was obviously meant to pander to the X-Men fanboys. Still, I like the way they include bastardized versions of all sorts of classic Marvel characters, plus a few more obscure ones.

Not feeling well

I'm feeling congested. This comes and goes. Ugh.

On an unrelated note, I'm a bit frustrated with this one social dance event that I've been attending every month. Virtually none of the people there know any dance styles. They just shake it about. One guy and gal know some east coast swing, and they're good... but not great. She can dance it, but with a bit of difficulty. He doesn't have much flair either.

I don't understand how people can attend these events month after month without figuring that it'd be helpful to learn a few steps. As things stand, they just shake themselves about, which is mighty boring. Few people can do that well.

It doesn't take much to learn some steps, folks. Attend a local swing dance event, for example. Or check out some videos from the library. Or even break down the moves in a TV dance routine.

Stephanie Underwood

So I watched Carrie Underwood's holiday special this week. The earliest skit left me feeling non-plussed, and some of the country numbers didn't really resonate with me. I do realize that the latter is a matter of personal musical preference, though.

Oh, and I loved the choreography that went into her performance of "Songs Like This." Her backup dancers were amazing.

Much has been said about Carrie Underwood's good looks. Personally though, I thought her sister Stephanie Underwood was a real stunner. There was an ongoing subplot within her special about trying to set Stephanie up with a guy, and I found myself thinking, "Yeah, right. A woman who looks like her should have men following her around everywhere."

The end of Monk

So the Monk TV series has come to an end. How sad. How very, very sad.

The series got kinda clunky toward the end, but it was still a darned sight better than most of the stuff on TV. The USA network really gets it when they emphasize characters over glitzy and gimmickry. Characters matter to them. As their slogan says, "Characters welcome."

Snotty swing dancers

Some of the ladies at the swing dances that I attend are so darned snotty. They think they're too good for some of us, and they blatantly ignore basic dance etiquette.

Yeah, Katie. I'm talking about you. As Chris said, you have such a bug up your posterior. Another guy said that you're pretty much the queen of the snotty crowd. I agree.

On an unrelated note, I tried to squeeze in a workout today. It just didn't happen. Had way too many other things to do and way too many distractions. That driveway full of snow, for example... ugh. Plus some video stuff that I was doing.

Never started a movie

I hate the fact that when I was young, my family would NEVER watch a movie right from the start. No, they always felt that it would be okay to walk in during the middle then try to make sense of the plot. We'd then have to sit in our seats during the long break, twiddling our thumbs, so that we could catch the first part of the movie.

Why was it so difficult for them to time our trips such that we'd catch the movie right from the start? I remember asking if we could try that, and that suggestion was dismissed.

I don't wish to disrespect my parents, but that was a positively philistine attitude. It deprived us of the opportunity to appreciate a movie properly, in the manner that was intended. It smacked of saying, "Eh, this is good enough."

Bah.

H-1B holders DO pay taxes on income!

Have you ever heard the claim that H-1B visa holders don't have to pay income taxes? That they get to live her as cheap labor without needing to pay taxes on their salaries?

That's just rubbish. It's one of many lies that have been spread by people who are frustrated and who don't bother to check the facts. They are outraged that foreigners are supposedly taking jobs away from US citizens (an overly simplistic claim, IMO), and so they unfairly lash out at H-1B workers. The reality is that H-1B workers DO have to pay income tax, and anyone who claims otherwise is either lying or severely misinformed.

Now that was a terrible sight

Every now and then, you get some annoying people at the local swing dance events. There was one such guy recently.

First, a word of explanation. It takes a while for newbies to learn how to dance swing, so you've got to expect that some folks won't know the moves very well. Nevertheless, it's expected that even newbies will at least try to dance in a swing style.

At one of the recent swing dances, there was this fella who wasn't doing swing at all. Instead, he was just messing around, swing his arms around with his partner and just making stuff up on the spot -- badly. You know, just swaying around and moving his arms about, as well as those of his partner. That was distracting enough, but this fella chose to do so RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the dance floor. You'd think that if he didn't know the moves, he'd stick to the perimeter of the floor instead of staking out a spot right where everybody could see it.

Now, it would be one thing if he was at least doing some other style -- foxtrot or salsa, for example. People would just figure that he was trying something different. When you're just messing about though, that shows that you're not really trying very hard.

To make matters worse -- and I don't mean to be unkind -- he was badly overweight. I mean SEVERELY overweight. There's no moral or social culpability in that; however, he was wearing an ill-fitting shirt, and so as he swayed back and forth, he had huge layers of flab flopping out of his shirt and bouncing around. It was a painful and disturbing sight to behold.

I don't want to disparage the guy for being fat. I do wonder if he knew how unslightly and disturbing it was to see these huge flaps of flab peeking out from his shirt and flying about. Yeow.

Smallpox

The following is from the October 2007 issue of Discover. Very nice.

------------------
Whatever Happened to... Smallpox?


Once the most feared disease on the planet, smallpox killed countless people in the course of human history. The first signs of smallpox are fever and aches. Then come the disfiguring pustules, often followed by death. But there hasn't been a case in nearly 30 years. In 1979, after an aggressive 12-year campaign of vaccination, the World Health Organization declared human beings smallpox-free. William Foege, who worked on the effort and is now a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, says smallpox is still the only disease that humans have ever manged to vanquish.

Crude versions of a smallpox vaccine were first described in the 18th century, and by the 19th century, vaccination had become widespread--and in some countries, compulsory. "The speed with which smallpox disappeared was breathtaking," Foege says.

Smallpos hasn't vanished entirely, however. At least two laboratories--the CDC in Atlanta and one in Moscow--keep the virus alive, and the last known case, in 1978, arose from a lab accident in Birmingham, England. Although the manufacture of smallpox vaccine for the general public was suspended in 1982, production resumed when security analysts realized that smallpox would be a choice weapon for bioterrorists. In 2002, President George W. Bush claimed that the United States had stockpiled enough smallpox vaccine to protect the entire country.

If smallpox does reappear, "scientifically, we know how to stop outbreaks," Foege says. "My concern would be the social chaos of people who are trying to get in line for vaccinations."

- Stephen Ornes

HCI

This site, HCI 2003, contains a variety of articles on user interface design, web applications and web usability, and ergonomics. It also has a few resources for people who are seeking a computer programming job. I recommend checking them out.

Lindy hop pointers

A few things that I need to remember when it comes to lindy hop:

Keep my shoulders square
Make sharp 90 degree turns with small steps
Step back, step back
Hold the woman close when doing a lindy circle
Lead with the shoulders. Think of yourself as turning your body, not just your feet.
Think of yourself as throwing the woman out, releasing just before the "5" count
Keep the footsteps low and avoid crossing over

How not to use PowerPoint

I suspect that everyone who has worked in a technical field has seen this kind of person. You know, the kind of clown who prepares a PowerPoint presentation, and then liberally reads the content of the slides out loud to the public. That's just sheer buffoonery, and it's an insult to the intelligence of one's listeners.

People like that typically lack common sense. They fail to realize that the audience is perfectly capable of reading the slides for themselves, thank you very much.

I would cut people slack when they're not college educated and haven't worked in industry before. After all, I understand that public speaking is an acquired skill. I also understand that some people are very uncomfortable when it comes to public speaking. If one is in the position of giving such talks on a regular basis though, then one should really know better.

This article might be beneficial to these folks. It talks about the reasons why PowerPoint is not a teleprompter.

What the...?

I swear, I do not understand how some people have so little energy. Lead them through a simple jitterbug basic, and they already get tired. It's one thing if you have a glandular disorder, but for a lot of people, simple exertion is enough to tax them heavily.

That's why a lot of people are obese. It's not simply that they move sluggishly because they're fat; after all, I know a lot of dancers who are significantly overweight, and who still move with energy. Rather, a lot of people are fat because they've gotten used to moving sluggishly. They don't want to put any effort into everyday motions, and so even simple dance moves are enough to wear them out. Ditto for simple things such as walking up two flights of stairs.

Allan, you were a jerk

I was reminded of Allan, a former schoolmate of mine who -- during an English class -- openly expressed his disgust toward the poor people in a park. Not a classy thing to say.

Allan, you were a jackass. That was admittedly a long time ago though, so hopefully you're a better person now.

Writing tip

Writing Tip of the Day: Avoid starting a sentence with "however." Try "nonetheless" instead.

Ranking the angels

This is how I would rank the classic Charlie's Angels.

1. Cheryl Ladd
2. Farrah Fawcett-Majors
3. Jacklyn Smith
4. Kate Jackson
5. Shelly Hack
6. Tanya Roberts

More costume thoughts

Sometimes, people don't have the time or inclination to make an interesting costume. They might not have the finances, either. I know one guy who wore his cook's uniform to a costume party, for example. That was reasonable, especially since he wasn't earning a lot of money.

However, it's usually lame when people take these costumes and actually enter a contest. For example, I attended a costume event once wherein one guy wore his taekwondo outfit. Nothing wrong with that, but then he entered himself into the costume contest. Predictably, people did not applaud for him. No offense to the guy, but it's not hard to see why. There's nothing clever about that kind of costume; instead, it speaks of someone who just used whatever he had lying around and using it uncreatively.

BO-RING.

Lame costumes

I like attending costume parties. Unfortunately, a lot of people simply have no creativity when it comes to costumes.

Consider this pre-Halloween dance that I attended recently. There was a costume contest at this dance, and three of the women who joined the contest were dressed up as witches. Get that? Witches. Plain old boring witches in black outfits. There is simply no way that a costume like that would win in any sort of honest contest.

Now if they had dressed as the witches of Eastwick, that'd be different. Or maybe Wendy the Good Little Witch. But your garden variety witches? Boring as all get out.

Costumes that are too obviously store bought are also extremely lame. Batman costumes, for example, are almost invariably lame, especially when they involve fake muscles. (Here's a hint, guys. Fake muscles on a costume are always a dumb idea.)

I know a guy who dressed up as Robin -- the classic Dick Grayson version. That's more original than dressing up as Batman. What's more, the costume looked very authentic, since it was homemade and had a lot of effort put into it. (Store-bought Bat-costumes invariably look cheesy.)

No more Traylor

Only two more episodes of "Monk" to go. I'm going to miss this wonderful cast I will miss Tony Shalhoub's comedic and dramatic talents, as well as the powerful performances from Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford.

I will also miss Traylor Howard. What a gal. She makes Natalie Teeger very likable.

I would be tempted to get the complete DVD sets. However, since I've seen virtually every episode at least twice, that would be kinda excessive.

BioScience

BioScience is the wave of the future.

Okay, that's a bit of hype; after all, there are all sorts of technologies with tremendous promise for the future, and these are often complementary. The greatest innovations often occur when you have cross-fertilization between disciplines. Still, bioscience is a tremendously promising field, so it's no surprise that some organizations are actively trying to promote it.

Good for them.

Windows Vista still sucks

Windows Vista sucks to high heavens. Talk about a resource hog.

I've got 4GB of memory and a pretty fast processor. When switching from one application to another, I should not have to wait several seconds.

Heck, I'm even using Google Chrome, which is much faster than Internet Explorer, and it's still slow. I click on the Chrome entry in the task bar, and it still takes several seconds for Chrome to respond.

This doesn't happen all the time, mind you. When it does happen though, it's bloody annoying.

One to ten

nueng: 1
song: 2
sarm: 3
see: 4
ha: 5
hok: 6
dedt: 7
baedt: 8
know: 9
sib: 10

The language of Muay Thai

andap: vrating
bat: block
champ: champion
dtae: to kick
dtae kao: knee kick
dtae wiang: roundhouse kicking
dtee: to hit
dtoi: to box
dtoi lom: shadow boxing
gamagan: referee
garsawb: punching
gawn welaa: novice bout
hua: head
kai boxing: camp
kao: knee
kradot: jump
kradot dtae: jumping kick
kru: instructor
kwaa: right
lop: to duck
mat at: uppercut
mat drong: straight punch
muay sakon: international boxing
na kaen: shin
nak muay: boxer
nuam: gloves
saai: left
sawing: swing
sawk (or sok): elbow
ting: throw
weh tee: ring
yaek: break

Those darned lyrics

Here is a snippet of the lyrics that I mentioned earlier.

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul


Here's another little excerpt.

There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near


"Countless screaming Argonauts." Now that cracks me up.

Birdhouse in your Soul

I've been listening to "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants. Now that's a catchy song. A total earworm.

The lyrics are kinda nonsensical, though. There was some clear reference to a lighthouse, but much of the remaining lyrics were kinda oblique. As it turns out though, the song was written from the viewpoint of a blue canary-shaped night light. It referenced a painting or photograph of a lighthouse, which the night light apparently considered to be its predecessor.

Good to know that it wasn't purely nonsense. Some of the lyrics were kinda shoehorned in and didn't make much sense, but the song was still great.

More rantings

Here are some disjointed thoughts.

One of my Zumba instructors is cute. She's not pretty in any classical sense, but she's physically fit and quite friendly. She's also very intelligent, which makes her very attractive. She can also dance, and I've found that to be appealing. A few years ago, I would never have said such a thing.

I like geeky jokes. That's one reason why I enjoy watching "The Big Bang Theory." I especially like the scene where Penny made a Star Trek reference without even realizing it.

I also like the PharmiWeb website. They've got a lot of really helpful resources. Great stuff.

Oh, and I miss the old Riptide TV series. I loved that show.

I wish I had more hours in the day with which to work out. Sigh. I'd love that.

Swing dance during Zumba! I love it!

I loved it!

I attended a Zumba exercise class tonight. I don't normally do that, but I felt that I needed more variety in my exercise routine. Besides, I strained an Achilles tendon a few weeks ago, so I need something less demanding than my usual Monday night plyometrics. That's where having some variety in one's exercise routine can really help.

During the cool down segment, our instructor started playing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and she did some east coast swing moves. I loved it! I love swing dancing, and inwardly, I was screaming, "Ah! I wish I had a good swing dance partner right now. We could really show these people some fun stuff."

Yeah, I like to show off now and then. I do it more than I should.

Lindy moves

Here is my new list of the lindy moves that I've learned recently:

Swingout from the open position
Swingout from the closed position
Lindy circle
She goes
He goes
Outside turn
Rollaway
RJ
RJ with a turn
RJ with follow-through
Texas tommy
8-count tuck turn
Reverse swingout
"Mark's pretzel"
Basic dip
Dip with a turn
Dip wherein woman almost sits on the guy's lap
Handpress with no turn
Handpress with a single turn
Handpress with a double turn
Hip catch

The Lovely Bones

Emily Deschanel really makes the TV series [em]Bones[/em] sizzle. She does a great job of making her character seem highly intelligent, despite her statuesque beauty. Supposedly, this is because the actress herself is quite intelligent and was cast with that purpose in mind.

The TV show sometimes stretches credibility to the breaking point, such as when it uses its magical holographic technology or makes wild inferences. Most recently, it played up the leprechaun angle in last week's storyline, requiring one coincidence after another. The show itself is still fun though, due largely to the interactions between the two leads.

The Mythbusters got it right!

I was absolutely thrilled at the Mythbusters last night. This week's episode touched on the subject of rocket-powered flight. They mentioned a certain Renaissance master, and they referred to him as "Leonardo."

Why is this special? Because most buffoons would have called him "da Vinci," which is completely incorrect. His name was Leonardo. "Da Vinci" was simply Italian for "from Vinci," and it was not his proper name.

"But that's how people call him!" some people complain. That's true, but those people are incorrect. Let's not foster inaccuracy and ignorance, folks.

A clever title makes all the difference

When writing an article, a clever title can make all the difference. For example, I once wrote an article titled, "The Sad State of Science Education" and submitted it to a few magazines. One magazine editor realized that this title wasn't very catchy, so he changed it to "Science: The Forgotten Subject." Now that was clever.

Consider the following article as well: "When Is A Software Engineer Not A Software Engineer?" That's a great example of how to drive a point home using clever wordplay. It also gets the reader's attention.

Someone once told me about an article titled "Anorexia Wrecks Ya." I would have loved to read that one.

Very clever indeed.

IBPA

Consider this to be a free plug for the IBPA, the International Biopharmaceutical Association Alliance. To paraphrase its own literature, the IBPA brings together biopharmaceutical and clinical research institutions and organizations from across the world for reflection and action on common concerns and collaborates with various regional, national and international bodies active in biopharmaceutical industry and clinical research. The IBPA's services are available to organizations, institutions, and authorities concerned with biopharmaceutical industry and clinical research, and to individual policy and decision-makers, specialists, administrators, researchers, educators and students.

Aquagirl

I had read about Tula, aka Aquagirl, in some old Adventure comic books. Then in an issue of New Teen Titans, Marv Wolfman retconned her into being a member of that distinguished team of teens, presumably in some untold adventure.

I more recently learned that there was another Aquagirl, a blonde lady named Lisa Morel who appeared in Adventure #266. She predated Tula by several years. She was an Atlantean whose powers had been dormant and were reawakened. She lost her powers by the end of the story though, and she has not reappeared since then.

Supposedly, there was also an Aqua-Girl named Serena who appeared in one issue of World's Finest Comics. I've never read the story, though.

There is a new Aquagirl named Lorena Marquez. She was initially depicted as having developed water-breathing capabilities, but is now shown as having extraordinary strength as well.

On Batman Beyond, there was another Aquagirl played by Jodi Benson. Since Jodi provides the voice of Disney's Little Mermaid, this was strangely appropriate.

Michelle Nicastro

I discovered that Michelle Nicastro is on Facebook. I don't know if she's still performing or not, but apparently, she's doing some charity work nowadays.

She was great as the voice of the Swan Princess, and she did a wonderful job on the very first Unsung Musicals CD. I love to hear her sing.

Randy Disher

Did you catch last night's episode of "Monk"? The buffoonish Randy Disher demonstrated his worth as a police officer by protecting three young boys from a pair of gunmen in the woods. This was without a firearm on his person. He waited for the gunmen to pass, then using a piece of wood, he knocked one of them out, grabbed his shotgun, and trained it on the other fella. Randy for the win!

I've always felt that the writers went overboard in portraying Randy as an incompetent buffoon. Moments like this demonstrate how useful he is as a police officer.

It's also great that both he and Monk noticed a vital clue -- namely, how one of the gunmen would twist peanut shells open instead of opening them along the seam. I remember one previous episode in which he solved this mystery at the same time that Monk did. And of course, one of his shining moments was when he and Monk needed evidence to put a bad guy away, and Randy was the one who realized that they could get his fingerprint off of a truck's ignition key.

Loving it.

V, the new TV series

So, in order to appreciate the new V television series, do I need to first watch I through IV?

And do I need to watch the first twelve movies in order to appreciate Apollo 13?

That's not science!

I've encountered an amazing number of people who pride themselves on being "scientific," and yet have a very poor idea what science is all about.

Consider the fellas who insist that science is the only way that we can know truth. If you think about it though, that's a self-refuting statement; after all, what manner of scientific test can possibly show that science is the only possible path to truth?

Another fella said (and I paraphrase only slightly),

"There are many people who would have better lives if they used the scientific method in relationships. 'Your girlfriend loves you' is the hypothesis. If she does indeed love you, then she will say so, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well. If she seldom comes home until 5 am, we might falsify the hypothesis that she loves you, right?"

A few people pointed out that this was NOT an example of the scientific method, and that the conclusions did not logically follow from the tests. Among other things, the results are subjective and not replicable. I like what one fella said (again, paraphrased slightly):

"If we say that any scientific results must objective (that is, all researchers get the same results), replicable (i.e., the experiment produce the same results every time), and quantifiable (i.e., the results are precise measurements rather than vague assessments), then none of the approaches that you're describing involve the scientific method. In fact, they fail on all three counts.

"To take the girlfriend example, your description shows exactly why the scientific method won't work in that situation. You say: 'If she does love you, she will say it, she will want to be around you, and she will treat you reasonably well.' But it's wrong it both directions. Firstly, a woman could say she loves a man, spend time around him, treat him reasonably well, and yet not love him. Second, a woman might love a man but not do any of those things if circumstances intervened, or if they had the kind of relationship which didn't center on those things. The point is that the experience of the love between two people cannot be quantified, cannot be replicated, and cannot be objectively assessed by outsiders. In other words, it is not subject to the scientific method. It is a unique experience between just those two people, and it may be vastly different from what any other two people in love experience. Anybody who searched for love by trying to exactly replicate some sort of average of what others did would be setting him/herself up for failure."

Still so very, very tired

I am still so utterly tired. I wish there was a place here where I could stretch out and just relax for a while -- maybe catch a nap.

I'm sitting in a rocking chair in a busy building. Where? Let's just say that it's a public place of commerce and leave it at that.

I am very, very, very tired. I know that this is getting repetitive, but the bottom line is that my brain isn't working very well right now. I could use some Zs. I'd take a nap right here, except that i need to watch over my stuff.

German

I've often wished that I understood German. That way, I could make sense of pages such as this one. German is a very logical language, or so I've been told. It might be nice to learn.

BTW, in my younger days, I received a bit of ridicule for wanting to learn a foreign language. My classmates were relatively bright, so they understood, and my parents were very supportive. A lot of other people just couldn't understand why anyone would want to do such a thing, though.

I don't think I'll ever really learn German, though. I just don't have the time. Heck, I'd love to learn Latin, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

TBBT

I recently discovered The Big Bang Theory on TV and DVD. This show cracks me up! Howard's vocal expressions are hi-larious, and even Penny, the least cartoonish character on the show, is still very funny.

I loved that bit where the four geeks were dressed up as the Flash, and where Raj suggested that they walk right behind each other in order to simulate the Flash's after-images. Wow.

I won't go into the Christmas episode, the key scene of which is an extremely popular YouTube video. Let's just say that it's also extremely funny.

I hope that this show remains on the air for a long, long time to come.

So tired. So very, very tired.

I am so groggy. I had to get up very early in the morning in order to get together with someone. Ugh. I am exhausted as a result, and I could use a nice long nap.

I've been pushing myself so hard to do stuff -- work, yard work, housework, exercise and so forth. I could use a long vacation.

Halloween costume thoughts

Here are a few thoughts regarding Halloween costumes. I think that most of these apply in all costume situations, mind you.

First, store-bought costumes usually look cheezy. This is especially true of Batman costumes. Oh, and anything with fake muscles looks kinda dumb.

There are exceptions. For example, I saw an Imperial stormtrooper costume that was great. It was obviously store-bought because it consisted of molded plastic. Still, it was terrific.

Second, store-bought costumes are boring. Why? Because anybody can buy a costume and put it on. There's no creativity involved. That's why even when the costume looks awesome (such as the aforementioned stormtrooper getup), they don't particularly impress me. People tend to appreciate costumes that involved some more personal effort.

Which leads to my third point. Store-bought costumes can still look good if we invest some personal effort into them. If you're going to dress up as the Joker, for example, you can add the kind of facial make-up used in "The Dark Knight." Or if you want to dress up as Superman, carry a fake lead box with some green rocks inside.

The fourth point: Try to be creative. I'm always disappointed when I see women dress up as witches and then try to compete in a costume contest. You're not going to win, folks, not unless the winners are selected based on popularity. Dressing up as a witch takes no imagination.

Instead, why not pick some non-obvious choices? Dress up as Captain Stubing, for example, or as The Six Million Dollar Man. Dress up as Alan Scott instead of Hal Jordan (though Hal Jordan would still be an awesome choice, given that he's not as obvious as Superman or Batman).

Why doesn't the Great Pumpkin arrive?

So why hasn't Linus ever been successful in watching the Great Pumpkin rise out of his sincere pumpkin patch?

Personally, I think he should try offering a sacrifice. Perhaps a crabby older sister? Or the annoyingly lovestruck sister of a close personal friend?

Another lindy move

I just remembered another lindy move that I learned: the rollaway. It's really eas, and I should use it more.

I wish that I could learn these dance moves more easily. One problem is the lack of a dance partner. My friends tend to be very non-athletic, and they get tired very easily.

Actually, I've found that a lot of people can't do even simply moves. Obviously, I'm not talking about experienced dancers here. I've attended a lot of dance events recently where the people just kinda jiggle themselves around, which is frustrating. Showing them how to do a simple turn is like pulling teeth; they just can't manage to complete a turn.

The thing is, it's not about being overweight. I know a lot of overweight people who can still move. Rather, the problem is that a lot of people are just used to moving very sluggishly. They're not used to stepping in a lively fashion, and so when it comes to dancing, they just kinda plod along. As a result, it's easier for them to just kinda stand in a circle with a group of friends and shake their booties or sway to the music.

There's nothing wrong with that, and by that, I mean that there's no moral culpability in that. Still, it's like preferring hamburger over a fine steak.

Lindy moves

Here is a list of the lindy moves that I've learned as of late:

Swingout from the open position
Swingout from the closed position
Lindy circle
She goes
He goes
Outside turn
RJ
RJ with a turn
RJ with follow-through
Texas tommy
8-count tuck turn
Reverse swingout
"Mark's pretzel"
Basic dip

Hiro and Charlie

I like watching Hiro and Charlie on TV. It's rare to see an Asian man involved with a white woman, especially one who's very attractive. And Charlie was a very beautiful woman indeed.

This show has its good and bad points, its highs and lows. This episode that I'm watching right now is pretty darned good.

A worthless 'physics' DVD

I like educational DVDs. That's why I like to borrow the various Cerebellum teaching DVDs from the public library. Ditto the DVDs from the Teaching Company.

That's why I checked out "What the #$*! Do We Know!?" from Netflix. It was simply no good, though. It was terrible. It purported to be about quantum mechanics, but it was simply an exercise in spewing incoherent, unscientific psychobabble. Talk about worthless.

It's gotten some pretty terrible reviews, such as the one here. Don't waste time on this one, folks.

Nervous woman laughing during a dance lesson

I was attending a beginner's salsa lesson in which this one woman kept on laughing and laughing. Apparently, she didn't feel confident about doing the moves. She must have felt nervous, and so she'd start laughing when it came time to try the moves.

This got to be a little annoying.

I understand that some people have a harder time than others. Heaven knows that I'm not a natural dancer. I also understand that some people can get nervous. If you're an adult though, you should know enough to squelch the laughter at inappropriate moments. Being nervous is understandable, and to some extent, even the laughter is understandable. Adults should know self-control though, and they should know that laughing doesn't help.

This reminds me of the ladies in my cardio gym class who'd start giggling when the instructor would ask us to do a move that they had trouble with. I don't think that's excusable either -- not unless you're a little girl. If you can't do the move, then either adapt the moves, leave the class, or take a break. Giggling and laughing are not excusable in mature adults.

More on Holiday Inn dancing

In yesterday's post, I mentioned these two ladies that I asked to dance. One tried, but didn't really know how. Her friend was pretty rude, though I'm trying to be gracious and not think too harshly of that person. (I won't be asking her to dance again though, that's for sure.)

When some latin music came on, I asked this one woman if she knew how to dance salsa. She said that she could try. It was difficult, though. I'm no salsa expert, and heaven knows that my own style needs work. However, it didn't seem to me that she had ever done it before, or maybe had done it once or twice. Apart from the basic salsa step, she couldn't really follow either.

I'm not saying these things to rail against people who don't know how to dance. I'm not expert myself, and I understand that everyone has to start somewhere. It's just frustrating when you want to dance and you don't want to just shake yourself around. Sigh. I'd like to do something more sophisticated, but there are seldom a whole lot of people around who can follow or who know any real dance.

Dancing at the Holiday Inn

So I visited one of the local Holiday Inns last night. They had a great local band playing, so I figured that I'd sit and listen. I was also hoping to find some nice people to dance with.

I was disappointed. As often happens at these events, scarcely anyone knew how to dance. They were just kinda shaking it around. I don't begrudge people enjoying themselves that way, but complete freestyling seldom looks good, and I personally don't think that it's very satisfying.

I did ask a few ladies to dance, with mixed results. First, I asked this Latina lady if she knew the Hustle, a simple dance style that's suited for a lot of 70s music. She said that she did, but when I brought her onto the dance floor, it became clear that she had never done it before. Thankfully, she was able to follow well enough to make it work, which was pretty good; after all, most people would completely flounder, even with these simple steps. So the experience was a little disappointing, but still better than what you'd expect with most people.

A few minutes later, I asked her friend to dance. I did this mostly to be polite; however, her friend fixed me with a steely gaze, as though unsure about what I was asking. After repeating myself a few times, asking if she'd like to try the same dance that her friend (sorta) did, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

I held up my hands in front of myself as though to say, "Okay, okay. No need to get mad." Inwardly though, I was thinking, "Boy, this gal is a piece of work. If you're going to turn down an invitation, then just say so politely. A non-verbal reply is pretty rude." Heck, I'd even say that it's rather arrogant.

I found myself thinking that this woman was a real bitch. I did catch myself though, and I've chosen to remind myself that she might be a much better person in general. I don't want to judge her too harshly based on this one encounter.

Software agility

Have you ever heard someone try to excuse the use of sloppy software design techniques -- y'know, the "code as you go" types? What astonishes me is that some of these guys even take pride in this approach, justifying it on the grounds that they're being "agile."

Some guy wrote an article on this phenomenon. The article says that agile programming techniques should not be used as an excuse for foregoing design. That is absolutely correct.

This reminds me of those bozos who write C++ code, and then claim that they're using object orientation because they're keeping data private and access functions public. They don't know their stuff. They savor as much of this design philosophy as a vessel savors the food it contains.

It's enough to make a computer science instructor cry.

Diogenes

There's this fella on a message board who goes by the name "Diogenes the Cynic." He takes tremendous pride in his intelligence which, quite frankly, is tremendously overrated.

Don't get me wrong. He is bright and he's very knowledgeable. The problem is that he has no concept of his limits. He prides himself on his knowledge of religion, for example; indeed, many posters admire his expertise in this regard. His actual depth of knowledge, however, is appalling. He also takes a tenacious view of matters both religious and political, to the point where he ignores and any all facts that contradict his views.

He used to be more respected. In more recent years though, I think that people have come to see through his bluster. It didn't help that he predicted that he could write a high-quality TV script on the first try, even though he had never written for that medium before and had never experienced the challenges that actual TV writers encounter.

Diogenes is an empty suit.

Monk is ending

The Monk TV series will be ending soon. Supposedly, Monk will get his badge back, and he'll figure out who killed Trudy. I predict happier times for Disher and Stottlemeyer as well.

Humor. Pathos. Excellent acting and quirky storylines. I'm going to miss it so much.

At least the novels will still be produced, hopefully for decades to come.

Stay at the back, folks.

Earlier, I talked about these newbies who boldly occupied the front row during a shim sham routine, even though they had never seen it before. They were foolish, foolish kids. A sensible person wouldn't put himself or herself so firmly in the limelight without having at least SOME idea of what to expect.

A similar incident happened not long ago. I was in the front row, waiting for the shim sham routine to start. I saw that three newbies took up positions to my immediate left. I asked one of them, "Do you know this routine? Have you ever seen it before?" She said, "No, but I'm very good at following along."

Feeling a bit chagrined, I said, "Y'know, this isn't really the kind of dance that you can just follow along. It's pretty complex." I knew that could sound a bit condescending, so I added, "It's up to you, of course, but I'd recommend watching it first."

Sure enough, once the shim sham song started, they got lost very quickly. The lady to my left made some sort of exasperated sound, so I softly said, "I tried to warn you."

Stay at the back, folks.

Every month, I attend this swing dance event in a neighboring county. At around 10:30, the ringmaster calls people onto the floor to do the Frankie Manning version of the shim sham dance routine. Those who can, that is. Others who want to try to follow along can stand behind the shim shammers or off to the sides.

Obviously, in situations like this, the ones who know the routine should stay up front, and the ones who don't (or who don't know it well) should stay behind them. After all, people tend to copy the ones in front of them, and the wrong moves can throw people off.

Once though, a bunch of foolish teens decided to occupy almost the entire front row. I was surprised at this, since I didn't figure that they knew the routine. Sure enough, they didn't, which ruined it for everyone else. The moves were pretty complex, and so these teens were floundering around, thus throwing off the people behind them.

You have to wonder about folks sometimes. I knew that these people were swing dancing newbies. You'd think that if you're still new to swing -- or indeed, any style of dance -- you'd want to sit back and observe before trying a routine that you don't know. If you don't know the electric slide, for example, then you'd probably choose to stay behind the ones who do know it well so that you can follow their moves. Heck most people would be understandably wary about looking too foolish, and so they naturally gravitate toward the back or the sides.

Instead, these folks stood in the front row, with only the ringmaster for them to observe. I just had to wonder, "What were they thinking?!?!" I know I should be charitable, and I understand that they didn't know what to expect. Still, I'm surprised that they didn't exercise a little bit more caution in an unfamiliar situation. That's just common sense.

So she's a motivational speaker now?

I recently read that supermodel Stacey Williams eventually decided that modelling was kinda soulless. As a result, she chose to decline offers unless they were ludicruously lucrative. Thanks to her successful career and outstanding looks, she could afford to pick and choose with regard to her assignments.

More recently, I found a website which lists her as a motivational speaker. I'm not sure what that means though, since it doesn't say anything about the kind of speaking that she would do. I do know that she once hosted one of the Sports Illustrated specials and did a darned good job, so I suspect that she's effective at this.

Heck, is she even still doing this? The speaking, I mean. You just never know how up-to-date this information is. It could be years out-of-date. Just sayin'.

P-web

I like Pharmiweb. I like the fact that they provide relevant news on clinical research and biotechnology, as well as resources for researchers.

Heck, right now, they've got a listing of 26 pharmacy-related jobs. I'm not interested, as this would be way out of my fields of interest and expertise. Still, I have to appreciate it.

I'd love to see some publications listed on the site, but that would probably be asking for too much, especially with the logistics of maintaining such a database.

Another weirdo

Speaking of weird dancers, there was this fella named Perry who used to attend our local swing dance events. He was another weird fella. He was a good dancer, but he always had this ecstatic expression on his face, no matter what kind of dance he was doing or what kind of music was playing. Heck, he'd have this weird open-mouthed expression on his face, even when dancing with a woman for the first time.

Now, I can understand smiling with a dance partner. That's more than fine, and it's even a good idea, especially when dancing with a newcomer. He had this weird expression where his mouth was wide open and his head was tilted as though he were in the throes of ecstasy. It was just plain strange.

And he'd try to do aerials with first-time dancers. Not a good thing. Common sense should tell him that it's a bad idea.

I know one woman, Colleen, who chewed him out once. He had danced with one woman and got all creepy with her. He later asked Colleen to dance, and she said, "No. Not after what you did with my friend." Colleen was right to do that, as far as I'm concerned.

Just heard of this company

I just came across the following biotech company. They make a variety of products: human serum albumin, human gamma globulin, human plasma, human serum, bovine serum albumin, and more.

And yes, bovine. That means that it comes from cows. Or bulls. Cattle.

So this company is based out of Oceanside, California. Somehow that doesn't surprise me.

Weird dancing guy

There's this weird fella who shows up for the dances at the lounge in the local Holiday Inn. He's got a lot of energy and skill, but he keeps swinging his hips everywhere, no matter what kind of music is being played. It's like he's got his own weird style.

For pity's sake, tonight, they were playing the Electric Slide -- AND HE STILL KEPT SHAKING HIS HIPS EVERYWHERE. Terrific.

A woman that I met says that she's thought about saying something to him, but decided not to. She said that she wouldn't dance with the guy, and I don't blame her. He's a bit of a wierdo.

Maylo?

Once again, I find myself wondering whatever happened to Maylo, the erstwhile wife of Willie Aames. It was a terrible shame how their marriage ended, especially after their troubled lives had been straightened out.

One shouldn't judge too much based on looks alone; however, Maylo had this sweet and wholesome look about her. Perhaps this shows how deceptive a pretty face can be, since I once read that she had been a wild one in her youth. Let's face it; an attractive woman can cause men to see things that aren't really there.

Or maybe it's the magic of television and Hollywood. She played wholesome roles, and maybe that makes her look sweet and wholesome as a result.

I liked her guest appearance on Riptide, BTW.

Need a fitness vacation

I would so love to take a week off and just work out. Work out daily, work out for hours, work out with a great deal of variety. I'd love that.

I could even mix it up by spending a lot of time cleaning up around the house, doing yard work, practicing dancing, and all that stuff. I'd want to lift weights, do kickboxing, try some salsa exercise, maybe even a bit of Zumba if I can do it for cheap. I'd also do plyometrics, though with my recently strained calf muscle, I might have to take it easy for a while.

I'd like to reduce my body fat and get totally ripped. That and totally buff.

I want to work out, work out, work out. And more.

Would like to dance more

I really, really wish that I had a regular dance practice partner. I would like to improve my dance skills and become a better lead. It would be so nice to have someone that I could practice with and refine my skills, especially when it comes to lindy hop.

Such are the problems with being alone. Sigh.

As an aside, I once got this charming lady to attend one of the local dances. She met this guy there and wound up having coffee with the guy. To cut a long story short, it was obvious to me that she should have said no right from the start, but unfortunately, a lot of women tend to be blinded by a man's attention.

Goodbye, K.

I was saddened to learn that a young lady that I know had to move back to Eastern Europe recently. She was trying to establish a life for herself here in the USA, but things didn't work out. She couldn't get the work visa that she wanted, and so she couldn't find employment here.

What a shame. What a terrible, terrible shame. She was a nice person.

Whaddaya mean, "Belief is meaningless"?

Unbelievable.

I was reading a discussion on atheism recently. Two guys were arguing about whether atheism means belief that there is no God or whether it simply means an absence of belief. (FTR, the traditional definition has been an active belief that there is no deity. In more recent years though, a good number of people have used the term to simply denote a lack of belief. Personally, I think this simply leads to confusion, especially since there were already terms to describe a mere lack of belief: either non-theism or, arguably, agnosticism. But I digress.)

One other fella said, "Belief or disbelief doesn't enter into it, for atheists. There isn't anything to believe or not believe in." I've paraphrased slightly, but only by removing some parentheses.

Now that's unbelievable. This person failed to grasp that his statement -- namely that God does not exist -- is a statement of disbelief. Another person said in response, "As an atheist, I am dubious about any assertion that means that 'I don't believe in that' is an impossible statement to correctly make."

Believing that something does not exist is a statement of belief --- or alternatively, a statement of disbelief.

Stock investing

Check out this article on stock investments. It advised people to put their money into defensive stocks during a recession.

This is good advice, but as with any brief article on this topic, certain things are kinda glossed over. For example, while it's probably a good idea to invest in these defensive stocks, this won't guarantee a payoff. Depending on where you are in the recession, for example, it may take a couple of years before you see the stock investments pay off. And of course, defensive stocks aren't absolutely safe. They simply entail lower risks than other stocks.

Another dance anecdote

Here's a story. I was at a 50s event a couple of years ago. My friend Donna asked me to dance with a friend of hers, so I tried a few basic swing moves -- just some simple turns. After a couple of turns, this gal said, "Boy, you have a lot of energy."

Admittedly, I do; however, the moves I was doing were extremely basic and not very demanding. The problem wasn't that I had plenty of energy; rather, the problem was that she had virtually none. She moved in a plodding way, with no bounce to her step and scarcely moving her feet.

That's the way a lot of people are nowadays, though. Americans have become very lazy. I'm reminded of the time I was at a social outing on a nearby island. Our travelling group had planned a bike ride, but these three ladies decided to rent a golf cart instead. I overheard them say, "Yeah, we're being smart! Their butts are going to be sore, but we're going to be taking it easy."

The thing is, it doesn't take much energy to ride a bicycle. If you're in halfway good shape, your posterior is not likely to ache -- not unless you're pedalling uphill or at high speed for half an hour or so. In case you were wondering, two of these women were very much overweight, and I think the third one looked a bit sedentary as well.

Fitness and dance

Earlier, I talked about how I've been attending some social dance events where virtually nobody knew any basic dance moves. Nothing except for some line dance moves and a few country steps, that is.

Here's another source of frustration. Most of those folks, even the ones who are only 35 or so, move like they're in their sixties. They've got no energy and no stamina. I can understand the lack of coordination, as it does take time to develop dance skills. Still, it's frustrating that they won't pick up their feet enough to complete a full turn, for example. Sometimes, they can't even complete a half turn. It throws everything off, and that stinks.

Again, I want to be understanding. When I first learned how to swing dance, for example, it took me a while to keep up the rhythm. I did at least try to keep my feet moving, though. Nobody can say that I was just moving sluggishly.

Therein lies the problem. A lot of people think, "Oh, I can't do this. It takes too much energy" and so they can't. Thinking positively -- being prepared to move energetically -- is about half the battle right there.

Disappointed in these dance events

I'm really getting disappointed and frustrated with these social dance events I've been attending. Except for the occasional line dance and some simple country moves, people just want to shake and sway to the music. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's frustrating; after all, anyone can shake their booty around. It takes more artistry to do something interesting with the music, and it's a lot more satisfying.

Heck, for a lot of music, you can get by with just stepping to the rhythm. A simple box step works well with a lot of strong four-count or eight-count patterns, for example. It also helps if you read up on some basic dance moves or watch a few videos beforehand.

And that's the part that frustrates me a bit. I understand that people just want to enjoy themselves, and that's perfectly fine. Would it really hurt to borrow a DVD from the public library though, or perhaps look up a few dance moves on the web? That way, you can throw in a few simple swing, jazz or salsa moves. That'd make everything more fun.

The problem is that most people don't do much research before embarking on something. It takes effort to study a few dance moves, and most folks don't have the foresight to do so. Like I said, I don't want to begrudge them that, as I understand that they just want to enjoy themselves. Still, I can't help but think... wouldn't they be able to enjoy themselves a lot more if they also worked on ways to up their game? I sure felt that way when I was starting out.

Blood cells are not organisms!

I can't believe it. I just read a discussion wherein somebody claimed that blood cells are living organisms. (He was a staunch pro-choicer who said, "So what if the embryo is a living organism? So are blood cells!")

Now I don't want to discuss the abortion issue, so my point is not to take sides in that discussion. I just want to say that I was absolutely astonished that he said such a thing. You don't need to know about lymphocytes, leukocytes, antigen-presenting cells or any of those other technical details to know that blood cells are not organisms. They are alive, yes, but not in the same sense that a distinct living organism is alive.

Whither Christopher Cowart?

Whatever happened to Christopher Cowart of Transcontinental Warranty? His name might not ring a bell, but his business should. He was one of the people who was indicted for that epidemic of car warranty telephone scams that plagued the nation up until May 2009.

I believe in due process; however, assuming that his company was indeed behind these scam calls (and they were undeniably scams), then he and his employees deserve to languish in jail. I don't say that lightly, and at this point, nobody seems to be contesting the fact that he was in charge of this company or that they performed the calls.

I'd like to have some closure. What happened to these folks, and when will they be jailed?

Debbe

Debbe Dunning is known more for her figure than for her face. Still, there are times when she looks exceptionally pretty as well. Consider these images of Debbe, for example. I like the way she looks in these pics.

She has a truly sparkling smile at times, and she could look really pretty. I think that she was much prettier than Pamela Anderson, even though Pamela was the more famous of the two Tool Time girls. I liked Debbe much better as Tim Taylor's assistant.

I feel sick

I hate being sick. I hate to take sick days, I hate feeling weak, and I hate all of these symptoms.

I do often wind up being very productive when I'm sick. Still, I hate this feeling.

I love working out like a maniac in the gym. When I'm sick though, I have to rein it all in. I feel like such a wimp, and I tend to worry about putting on weight or losing strength. Argh.

I prefer to be an iron man all year long. Sadly, I can't keep doing this. I also have too much yard work to do.

What happened?

What in the world happened to this page? It looks suspiciously like somebody's content management system is on the fritz. Whoa.

The cynic in me wonders if this'll ever get fixed. I only say that because sysads have a difficult job to perform, and because I know that they are often overworked.

New year's resolutioners at the gym

I'm already dreading it. In just three months, the gym is going to be flooded with the nasty New Year's Resolutioners. You know -- the people who say that they want to get fit, but who wait until the first of January before actually deciding to do something about it.

These people aren't serious, which is why they don't last. Someone who truly wants to get in shape isn't going to wait until the first of the year. No, he or she is going to eat better and start exercising regardless of what time of the year it is.

What's wrong with these resolutioners? They fill up the gym. They overcrowd the cardio classes. They make it nearly impossible to find a parking space. And they flood the gym all at once, instead of spacing themselves out through the year. I'd have more sympathy if I thought that they were seriously trying to get in shape, but the reality is that these people who wait around until New Year's Day aren't serious about their efforts, and they create a great inconvenience for everyone else.

There is one upside, though. Some of them will hopefully maintain their gym membership throughout the year, even when they're not using them. That'll help defer the costs for everyone else.

Stacey W

Stacey Williams. I don't understand the appeal of a lot of the modern models, but Stacey was different. That's because she looked healthy and fit. She also had a truly beautiful face, which makes a real difference.

She's athletic and it shows. She's also articulate, which is a huge plus.

Cazzy

So I watched this episode of "Two and a Half Men" on DVD. An actress named Cazzy had been billed as a guest star ("Girl #2"). As it turned out though, she only appeared for practically an instant and had no speaking role -- kinda like her appearance on "That 70s Show." She was basically there to look good.

The thing is, they could have hired a much less attractive actress for that part and it would have still been credible. What a waste, especially since it seems to me that she can act. (How well? I don't know for sure, but she can act.)

Barney

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A sad message

I received the following message from a friend. It has been slightly edited, but the sentiment remains.

Hello Everyone!

This is hard to email and will be a shock for you as it is for us but the nodules in my mom's lungs are cancer. She had a couple of them biopsied. The hardest part of this is that the doctors say it is incurable. This cancer is the same as her breast cancer and because it's in another location it's concidered stage 4 but I guess because it is in the lungs the treatment can only stop the nodules from growing. I'm not sure what else to say....Please intercede in prayer for us.

I have set up a CaringBridge website for my mom since I don't like sending out these mass emails. That way you can stay up to date through the webstie and also leave encouragement for my mom and family. Below is the information:

To keep you up to date on her, I created a CaringBridge website. You can follow Patricia’s progress and show your support.

You can visit her website in either of two easy ways:

1. Visit the CaringBridge website by clicking the link below.
<< link removed for privacy reasons >>

2. Enter the website name, << name removed for privacy reasons >>, at www.CaringBridge.org.


When you visit you’ll be asked to log in, because I’ve chosen to keep the site private.

Losing respect

I know that I've said it before, but I've really lost a lot of respect for Hope. She is a nice person with a lot of wonderful qualities, but I've lost a lot of respect for her now.

Her parents, on the other hand, are commendable and admirable. I respect them a lot.