Quote of the Day - August 27, 2005

Everybody dies.

Wow, when this show says "the end", it's not kidding around.

- Teaser and tagline for recap of the final episode of Six Feet Under

Speaking of bad weather...

The worst flooding in over a century in central Europe is, to say the least, causing some problems. So how does NBC cover this event? By focusing on a monastery in Germany known for its beer. I can't find anything on their website, but both NBC Nightly News and Countdown on MSNBC (which tends to recycle stories from the nightly news) have reported on a monastery on the Danube in Germany that had to get help forming a flood wall to protect priceless art and their brewery. They even have something called a "beer garden". I have a feeling they won't have trouble finding volunteers to help keep the flood waters at bay.

Hurricane Season 2005, continued

Yes, it's still hurricane season, as Florida is being so unkindly reminded right now. June produced two named storms, July produced 5, and August has thus far given us four, though two didn't go near land, and one barely had time to form before making landfall. The current system, Katrina, was Tropical Depression 10, then it broke apart and reformed some time later as Tropical Depression 12 north of Cuba. The biggest risk for southern Florida and the Keys is rain. Katrina is somewhat slow moving, which means the heavy rains will be around longer than with a fast moving system. When Katrina re-emerges into teh Gulf, she'll hit very warm waters and minimal wind shear, which means she could become a category 3 or stronger before curling up and hitting the Florida pan handle. The entire southeast should look for rain from this system within the week.

What kind of nerd/geek/dork are you?

Christiana posted a link to a test that determines just how much of a nerd, geek, or dork you are. Here are my results:

Outcast Genius 65 % Nerd, 69% Geek, 73% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius. Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject). Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius. Congratulations!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 71% on nerdiness You scored higher than 92% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid

I think they also need a "freak" category, though that may be a subcategory of their definition of "dork" with a touch of "geek" thrown in.

NTN, Home Edition

That's right, Buzztime trivia in the comfort of your own home. Bringing all of the fun of bar trivia to your living room (BYOB).

Did They Play With My Legos, Too?

I awoke this morning to an awful noise that sounded like someone drilling in metal. Some time later, there was a knock on my door. It was the maintanence guys with a new convector unit for my bedroom. "Ten minutes, please," I said, having just leapt from bed. I managed to get dressed, throw various items out of the way so they could get to where they needed to be, and pack my lunch in less than two minutes. My, but I'm a well trained procrastinator. Anyway, I left for work and left them to theirs.

When I got back this evening, both thermostats were turned all the way down and my lava light was on. But to turn on my lava light, they had to first unplug my HEPA filter so they could plug in the light. Oooookay. Why for? It was bright and sunny when they came. They shouldn't have needed extra light, not that the lava light would have provided much practical lighting. Did they think I would enjoy coming home to a blue-hued ice-box? Why didn't they pop my Enya CD into my CD player and put it on "repeat all" to complete the "chill out" atmosphere? Come on, people, work with me here!

Fin de Harry Potter

Okay, I told myself that I would not finish reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince within 3 hours of bed. I sat down after work with pizza for dinner and started to read, thinking I would stop around 9 when there would be something on tv to distract me. So what do I do? I keep reading until a quarter to midnight and the book is done. Finito. It was going to be such a wonderful work-out book. It would have lasted me at least a month, engrossing and exciting enough to make me run on the elliptical longer and harder than I otherwise would have. But no, I had to read it other times, too. And now I'm stuck with the book finished, but the story oh so not.

I was hoping that I hadn't been spoiled, but I was (thank you so much, Sci-Fi Daily). Still, wow. And yikes. There are unanswered questions from previous books that just become even more pressing with this one. Book 7 should be out soon, right? Um... Man, I knew I should have waited longer to read this...

Quote of the Day - August 22, 2005

In the game of chess, you must never let your opponent see your pieces.

- Zap Brannigan, Futurama