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Thursday, January 1st, 2009
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12:19 am
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Happy New Years everyone. I hope 2009 brings you better joys and more happy times than 2008 did.
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, January 31st, 2008
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11:00 am - Goodbye Fancy
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This morning, after 9 years with her, and her 12or so years on earth, we had to put Fancy to sleep. She had been suffering with Feline Corona Virus since around Christmas, and yesterday, the vet discovered that she had a lot of fluid build up around her lungs, and possibly in her abdomen. After talking with her about it, we decided this was the best course of action for her. We could have treated the fluid, but her underlying condition was still there, so it would be a temporary thing and could come back quickly and often. Doing some reading on it, and based on some other symptoms, I personally believe that the virus had mutated into FIP (Feline Internal Peritonitis) and that's incurable as well, so I do strongly believe we did the right thing for her.
There were no complaints at the end at all. Just a strong purring motor that ran right until the end, when she laid her head down peacefully. None of the bad things that the vet had warned us could happen. Just a strong little trooper right to the end.
I know most of the people reading this never got a chance to meet her, but Fancy was a special cat. She had nothing but love for anyone and anything. Really gentle, and was there for me in some really lonely times in my life. Mercury is the only pet I have had for a longer period of time. She was part siamese, part domestic shorthair, and part something that gave her a slightly squashed face. At her peak, she was about 18 pounds, but over the last month, she got down to 12 1/2 pounds. She never complained, just quietly rested in her corner. She had the most beautiful blue eyes, and it is sad to know that I will never see them looking up to me asking to be pet again.
I think the hardest thing about this morning was seeing her corner empty, and her favorite toy sitting beside it. Its a ball with a wand sticking up out of it. You wind it up, and the wand spins around, and there is a string with feathers at the end of the wand. She really loved it because she didn't have to chase, and could just sit there and play with it. Even during this last week, when she was really sick, and wasn't eating, she would reach out her paws, and hug it close to her, a final kill for the sweetest little hunter you would ever meet.
We had her cremated, and they say we should have her ashes back in about 1 to 2 weeks. We are ordering an urn that is resin cast and painted to look like its made of bronze. Its in the shape of a cat, asleep in a bed, with angel's wings. Fancy was my special little angel, I will always love and remember her.
current mood:  sad
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
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2:48 am - Me as a D&D Character
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I Am A: Lawful Neutral Human Sorcerer (4th Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-15
Dexterity-11
Constitution-16
Intelligence-16
Wisdom-14
Charisma-12
Alignment:
Lawful Neutral A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs him. Order and organization are paramount to him. He may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or he may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot. However, lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Class:
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.
Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
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1:08 pm - Marriage
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OK, it was 6 days ago, and I apologize for not updating LJ about it, but I am no longer a single man. May 24th, I married my now wife, and we are very happy about it. For a variety of reasons, the ceremony had to happen pretty quickly, so it was a pretty quick run-around to the Register of Deeds, and then over to the courthouse. But, we are both very happy.
For the big questions:
Yes, there will be a ceremony, but we are keeping it small, and it will happen on our one year anniversary.
Yes, she is changing her name. There was a lot of thought and debate on it, but she decided to take mine, which makes me happy.
Yes, she will get an engagement ring down the road, but right now all money is going into the ceremony, and those things aint cheap.
No pictures yet, but we will be getting things online, and I will be sure to share with people.
No rings yet either, but we hope to be getting wedding bands at the end of next month when I get a bonus.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Monday, May 21st, 2007
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11:34 pm - Long Awaited Update
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OK, lots of goings on.
Been to Chicago a couple of times to work with an external studio on an unannounced project. Can't talk about it too much yet, but it should be pretty good.
Bunnies are doing good. Bijou has been fixed, which means no babies for Cinnabon (aka Thor). Lots of info there, but basically, Bijou came back to the photo studio because his adoptive parents were not prepared to take care of him. He is a grey mini-french lop, and cute as a button. Really nervous about being touched, but sweet once you pick him up and have something underneath him. They are separated right now though, because when he came back from being fixed, they tried to kill each other. So, we are doing supervised bunny visits, they are in separate parts of the hutch, but now have a shelf that can put them together to get used to each other again. Vet says keep them apart for 4.5 more weeks. Then, with daily visits, and swapping the sides of the hutch for them, should let them get back to their cute cuddliness. Just in time to take her in and get her fixed. Apparently, female bunnies have a high tendency towards ovarian cancer. So, we just nip that problem in the bud. On her update, she is fully healed, and loves her apple flavored cosequin, so giving her that med is not a problem at all. Got to clip her nails soon though. Man, those things are like tiny little daggers *G*.
Cats and dogs are doing well. Automated litter box has been slowly dying, so we reverted back to a non-automatic one. Bigger bits of litter should mean less spillage though, so that is good. Just means I have to clean it more frequently, but clever use of trash bags makes that relatively easy. And, it should tie in with regular hutch cleanings, so in all, not that bad.
I think that is pretty much it. Nothing too exciting. Maybe next time, I will have a pic or tow of the bunnies.
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Thursday, March 29th, 2007
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9:25 am - A bunny named Thor
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First, no pictures yet, so you will just have to imagine the cutest bunny on Earth, and then make it cuter to picture Thor.
So, many of you may or may not know that my girlfriend works in a photography studio. Its easter time, so that means that they have bunnies and chicks in for pictures. I am not sure what they do with the chicks, but they do let people adopt the bunnies, so that they have homes after all the photo shoots. They also tend to get small and cute bunnies so that they look good in pictures, and help make people's children look really cute themselves. Now, also, they don't name the bunnies themselves. For those of you who may be concerned, let me say that they do take really good safety precautions when handling the bunnies, there are always multiple people present, and to date, have not had any bunny injuries.
So, enters Thor. Thor is a dwarf bunny, and on Saturday, they asked me to take a look at him, because they thought he might be hurt. So, I check him out, and sure enough, Thor is limping a bit. But, it looks like he can put weight on his leg, just not really wanting to bend or extend it. The rabbit itself doesn't look like its in constant pain, and it is getting around fine, just with a bit of a limp. I gently feel the leg and feet, and it doesn't feel like anything is broken, and the bunny doesn't really react, so the decision is to let Thor rest for a couple of days, and we hope its just a sprain or a pulled muscle because they can't think of anything that had happened that would injure him, and because he is so tiny, he was just used with babies, so there was no lifting by the ears, or quick grabs or anything like that.
Fast forward to Tuesday, and I arrive to take Thor to the specialized exotic mammal vet in the area (the only one in quite a large radius actually, and it thankfully happens to be relatively close). Well, all the vet techs immediately fall in love, and fight for the one to be the examiner, because, well, read the first paragraph again. Cutest bunny EVER. So, we weigh Thor, who comes in at a mighty 257 grams (just over half a pound for people not familiar with metric weights). And, everything else seems to be fine. Vet comes in, examines Thor. We find out Thor is most likely a girl (still kind of young to know for sure, probably about 3 months old). And, the vet does a pretty thorough exam. No issues with the leg itself, but a little bit of swelling up around the hip, and Thor doesn't like having her leg extended from the hip. No where else is an issue though. Vet then gives me the choice of X-rays or just take home some pain meds, but the bunny on cage rest, and see if she gets better, if not, we take her back for X-rays. I pose my favorite question for vets, because I don't fully know all the risks and benefits involved: "Well, if she was your bunny, which would you do?". Personally, I want to do the X-ray, but I know it involves anesthesia, and I am not sure what the risk vs. reward curve here is. She says she would do the X-ray, so I sign the paperwork, and Thor goes back for the X-ray.
A little bit later, they call me back to take a look at the X-ray. Well, little Thor broke her hip, vet said a while ago, which probably means since before the photo studio even got her, because they have only had her for a week. The actual injury was the top of the thigh, where the ball joint is, and because she got a fracture there, the thigh popped out of the hip, so she kind of had both a fracture and a dislocation. But, the vet said that the bone is basically rebuilding itself fine, and its forming a new joint with the hip there. And, that as long as things are healing fine, its probably better to let her heal up that way than to put her through the surgery that would be required to open her up, trim the bones, and put them back in the right place. So, we agree to do pain meds for the next 5 days, and put her on a joint supplement for the rest of her life.
So, now, I go back into the exam room and wait for Thor to wake up from the isoflourane anesthesia, and for the office to mix up the solutions for her meds. Vet tech comes in with a sleep Thor, and we put her in her cage while we wait for the meds, and then they come up. I get a good explanation of how to give the meds, and they ask if I want them to demonstrate for me. Remembering back to permanently stained walls from deworming and anti-biotic treatments for my cat when he was much younger, I ask them to. So, the vet tech gets the bunny, holds her cheek bones, and tries to administer the medication. It doesn't go well because the bunny is so small, and so very healthy. Take two involves wrapping her up in the towel I had on the bottom of the cat carrier (the bunny, not the tech you sickos) in what I like to call the bunny burrito. Then, try again. Bunny is still struggling hard, and just before she gets the first syringe in Thor's mouth, I hear OW! Ow is almost immediately followed by a voice from outside the room "Did that little bunny just bite you?" "Yes, now I have to tell everyone the cutest bunny in the world bit me." But, after that, Thor submits to the apple and banana flavored treats, and gets back into the cat carrier for a return trip to the studio.
I drop her off, explain to them the issues, and we had already talked on Saturday that if she was seriously hurt, my girlfriend and I would probably be taking her in, because lame bunnies can't get adopted. I explain everything to the studio manager. We agree that because she needs cage rest, that I will leave her there, and rush out to get bunny supplies so that we can take her in until she gets healed. So, I head out, rush all over town, can't find hardware cloth or chicken wire, so end up paying a pet store way too much money for a good-sized hutch, so we can keep the bunny inside and in a good home. Get the hay and other supplies needed after doing much research about how you should take care of rabbits, and get things built at home just in time for my girlfriend to get home with the bunny. Turns out the manager just told her to go ahead and take Thor home, they won't risk her with any more pictures, because with kids, there are no guarantees of stress-free pictures.
End result, is that we are now the proud owners of Thor. And, because the only room that had enough space for the hutch, and that we could close off so we did not have to worry about dogs or cats getting into the bunny space when we were not there to closely monitor was the conservatory (yes I have a conservatory now), which is also where the drums are, the girlfriend is without drums until the bunny heals enough that we can take her to an exercise pen, which I can set up in another room, while she plays the drums.
Now, I am not going to sit here and say that I wanted a bunny. In fact, I was really nervous about getting a bunny, because I have two cats, and one dog that is part greyhound.... a breed known for chasing bunnies. But, I am happy that I could provide a good home for someone who would most likely have otherwise ended up at the pound, and no one adopts rabbits from the pound, so that would have been a death sentence for her.
So far, she is really happy in her new home. She likes to ping a bit, and I am assuming its a really good sign that she zips from one end of the hutch to the other. She is eating well on a diet of Timothy hay (all she can eat), a pellet diet which has a mixture of grasses and other high-fiber materials in addition to the pellets, alfalfa cubes (for the extra calcium for that healing bone) and the occasional treat of a bit of apple, or the honey nut stick. I also got a rattling carrot-shaped flip toy for her, some good corn-husk bedding (not that artificial stuff that can clog up her digestive tract), and several toilet paper tubes, which she is artfully moving around the cage to make it look the way she wants it.
For people who are interested, here is a link to the hutch I got her. Its a little small for a normal rabbit, but a good size for a dwarf, especially considering that we will be taking her out into a larger exercise area for a couple of hours a day once she gets all healed up.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441813465&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302036906&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023695&bmUID=1175176413888&itemNo=12&In=Small+Pet&N=2047888+4294966683&Ne=2
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, March 26th, 2007
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10:46 am - Good Hockey things happening
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So, after going my first season on this team with zero wins, and only winning one game last season, my hockey team has pulled together.
Last night, we took the Short Bus to school. That makes our third win of the season, and only puts one team in the lower C league that we have not yet beat. The team has just melded and come together this season pretty strongly. Its so awesome to see consistent lines, and people adapting their playing style to the style of people around them. Last night's game was particularly exciting because we ended up winning in a shootout, with special big Kudos to our goalie for shutting down all three of our shooters.
Overall, its looking pretty good for us. If we keep this up, who knows, we might just win the lower C league championship this season. I think if we keep improving like this too, we might be able to win against some of the upper C teams this season. In fact, in two weeks, we face my old team, which has kind of collapsed in on itself this season. I hold big hopes for being able to beat them.
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, February 18th, 2007
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12:55 am - Updates Long in Coming
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OK, so, it has been a long long while since I updated, so I guess it is about time I do this, so that people can find out how I am doing *G*.
For starters, tax refund was nice. Turned it into a 32" LCD HD TV for the bedroom to replace the set that still has UHF and VHF tuner knobs on it. If you don't know what I am talking about, check with your parents. I honestly think that the set might be older than my girlfriend, and the picture tube was starting to go. Got it at Sam's Club for a really decent price, and picture quality is good. Not awesome, but pretty good for an LCD set. I think when I upgrade the main set in the living room, I am going to go with a DLP. The picture quality is definitely better than most LCD's, you just got to pay a little bit more for it.
Second major purchase is coming up tomorrow. Queen-sized waterbed is being swapped out for a King-Sized regular bed. We found a place that has sets really cheaply, because they are a clearance center. Bigger size is because the dogs are deciding to spend more time in bed, and the queen size is just not big enough for me, the GF, a 70 pound dog, and a 50 pound dog. Especially when the 70 pound dog likes to sit between us, and push off of me, into her, trying to push both of us off the bed at the same time.
All the rest went into taking a chunk out of my credit card debt. It feels good to be slowly chipping away at that, and still being able to put something into savings. Alas, truck needs new rear brake pads, and new front shocks, but I can do that stuff myself, and end up saving something on the order of 300 to 400 dollars.
House is going through some big changes now too. The old guest bedroom has been shifted around. The office has now become the guest bedroom, and the old guest bedroom has officially been dubbed the Conservatory. Can't really call it an office, because her drumset and my violin have moved in there, and soon, her computer is going in there too. Outside, I have decided to make some changes to the yard, and finally do some of the yardwork that is long overdue. I did go on a mad ivy-killing spree to stop it from destroying my siding. Definitely going to have to look into replacing that soon anyways.
Next up is re-running all the cable under the house to come up into proper recepticles, and in better locations than where it is all sitting now.
That's pretty much the big stuff for now. Relationship is going well. Pets are all healthy, started going to the gym with the GF. not much to complain about right now, so that's good. Now, if only this bout of insomnia will go away soon, I will be much happier.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, December 8th, 2006
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11:22 am - Firefly MMO
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| Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
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2:18 pm - No real surprises here.
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| Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
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4:24 pm
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| Tuesday, July 11th, 2006
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10:05 am - Interesting Pair of Articles on Gaming
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So, I got links to the following two articles about gaming, and in particular, about game critics:
http://www.esquire.com/features/articles/2006/060610_mfe_July_06_Klosterman.html
And, a follow up interview with the author at GameSpot:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153778.html
I do find it a shame that he backs away from his assertion that there are no gaming critics that fit the same role as a movie or book critic. It has been my assertion for years that there is a lack of journalistic integrity in gaming criticism. This is clearly evidenced by reading articles that talk about how a game needs feature X, when feature X is already in it.
But, one of the big things that I think the author misses out on when he discusses the nature of the art form versus others is simply the amount of time it takes to experience a video game. Take a movie critic. He sits down to a movie, and a long one takes 3 hours to review. If he wants to, he could watch a typical movie 3 times during an average work day, and then sit down to write his review. At this rate, it is reasonable to expect a movie critic to be able to review a movie a day, or 5 movies a week. This is generally a sufficient period to allow a single person to hit all the significant titles that get released in a week.
What about video games? Unless you are delving into the genre known as casual games, you can expect to have to put in hours to experience all a game has to offer. Look at a typical first person shooter, where the single player portion of a game can take 10-15 hours to complete without significant external exploration, or going back to replay a section to see what makes it so exciting. Then, you have to add in the multiplayer experience, which is just as big an element of modern video games, and can take much longer to experience all it has to offer. Or, look at the expansive RPG's that can promise literally hundreds of hours of exploration to experience a game fully, or the MMO's where players can spend months getting to the coveted high-end content.
With this reality of time investment, one has to ask if a true video game critic who explores all nuances of a game to provide a traditional criticism is even remotely economically feasible for a publication, whether electronic or paper-based to survive. I have to believe the answer to this is no. So, where do gaming critics fit in the culture of video games?
The answer that seems to have evolved, and is supported by what you read in the major gaming press, has to be that of adviser to the consumer. Look to the gaming press to help you decide if you are going to enjoy a game, but do not expect an expose on the rich tapestry of human emotion and morality that is exposed through a video game (if it is exposed at all). Instead, look to the gaming press to provide you guidelines on what games to explore for yourself. One of the elements that makes it hard for a non-gamer to read gaming press pieces is the ubiquitous comparison elements of current titles to past titles. But, given the limited space in the press, and the limited time a user wants to spend reading about a game, these shortcuts are necessary to clearly convey the buying advice. Those little comparisons serve as a rich bastion of information to the consumer to let him know the pacing and type of activities he will be expected to perform within a game. And, it can help parents, friends, siblings or significant others decide on an appropriate gift. If they can pick up a magazine and read that Game X is like Game Y, and they always see the intended recipient playing Game Y, they have an idea which title to pick out from the myriad of colored boxes in the gaming store, that stands a decent chance of at least being enjoyed by the intended recipient. Heck, when selling fishing reels to wives or girlfriends, it was common to point to the display case, and ask which ones look like the ones the husband/boyfriend already uses, because they just don't know the terms or jargon of the trade. Is the video game industry really that different?
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(comment on this)
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| Thursday, June 15th, 2006
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2:45 pm - Bad 24 hours.
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OK, so Canes lose to a shorthanded power play goal in overtime. Yeah, Refs were not that great, but the Canes defense fell behind on that game. Of course, a strong argument can be made that goal three should not have happened because of the missed penalty that should have come to Peca when he took out Aaron Ward, but there are two more games, and the Canes only have to win one of them. Still very positive on the whole thing. Still upset that Edmonton seems to think the only way they can win is to injure Canes players, but that is kind of hockey.
Blue died last night too. He got sick, so I separated him into a hospital tank, gave him some antibiotics, but when I woke up this morning, he was dead. Now, for those who do not know, Blue was the betta I got for the GF the week before Valentines day, when we were both really sick, as kind of a pick me up for her. Back when I knew I was getting her a big fish tank for V-day. So, blue was always her favorite fish, and she called him our Love Fern (Watch How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days if you don't know that reference). Very sad, but the GF seemed to take it pretty well.
And, then the semi-funny story. I got eyes examined on Tuesday. Got called last night that the frames I had ordered were now discontinued by the manufacturer. Went in today to pick out new frames. Over the course of looking at online catalogs, we determined the frames were not really discontinued by the manufacturer. Instead, they had been moved to a different brand, and because the lenses were small, moved into the children's category. End result... in less than two weeks, I will be wearing children's glasses, because they fit so well, and were the best looking frames on my face that they had in stock.
current mood: disappointed
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, June 10th, 2006
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11:22 pm
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So, OK, I agree that the Canes were not playing up to their full potential tonight. Yes, that earlier goal probably should not have had the play called dead when it did, but it was. But, geeze, Toronto, wake up and look at your refs. McHugh has never called a fair game against Carolina. Yes, some things on both sides were let go, but a lot of the calls against Carolina were very questionable. And, the ratio is something like %50 missed calls on Carolina, and %80 missed calls against Toronto, even some very blatant calls on the play.
And, that final goal was pure BS. Toronto reviewed and could not see either the clear goaltender inteference, or the deflection angle that indicated it went off an offensive skate? Come on. The reffing this whole playoffs has been bad, and not just against Carolina. Look at what San Jose went through. The number of times a player got cross checked into the goalie and then called for goaltender inteference? Top it off with the way the networks have been hyping up Edmonton, clearly favoring them this whole series despite the fact tha Carolina was ranked second in their division, and Edmonton was ranked 8th? Gee, there is not much bias in this Stanley Cup, is there?
Wake up NHL, you are pissing off a lot of people with the way you are clearly trying to fix the Stanley cup. Its not even freaking close. Can you get your refs to at least call a THIRD of the Edmonton penalties in this series? Game 2 was called well. Why can't you keep up that standard?
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
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4:47 pm
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| Thursday, February 23rd, 2006
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10:46 pm - Like Heck I will
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10:45 pm
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Well, good news is that I am on a hockey team again. Bad news is first game of the season is at 10:45. Feels good to know that I will be playing though. We shall see how things go with the new team.
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(comment on this)
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| Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
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9:54 pm - Yay birthday week
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So tally of wonderful birthday week events:
Dog has to get teeth cleaned.
Truck acts up and has to go into shop.
Spend Saturday in bed with nasty stomach thing
Team gets beaten 11-0 in championship hockey game
Get e-mail this morning that I am now off the team because my skills are not competitive in the league.
One of the valentine's day fish dies.
I can't wait to find out what tomorrow brings.
At least B-day presents rocked, and people love me.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Thursday, February 16th, 2006
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4:20 pm - Uggh, I thought I was a dwarf
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ELF
You are an elf. An elf is like a
human but much fairer and pure. Elves are
usually tall, with pointed ears, and resemble
humans very closely, but elves are usually
much more beautiful. Elves are a distant
race. They prefer to keep to themselves,
because often, many of them feel that their
race is superior to humans. Elves symbolize
wisdom, prudence, love, and hope. They are
very merry and happy. They are forever young
and delight in music. They are natural
artists as well.
Which mythical creature resides in your soul? (11 Results + Pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla
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(comment on this)
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| Monday, February 6th, 2006
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3:19 pm - And, now for something completely different
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After you die...
Heaven
After death, you will exist in heaven. Everything and everyone you love will constantly surround you for all of eternity. You lucky scoundrel.
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Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com
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(comment on this)
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inisdun's journal
