Month: June 2005

“Ah, the script has finally arrived.” – Tom Servo

!@(mst3k.jpg popimg: “A selection of the many DVD+Rs used”) Thanks largely to the guys over at the Digital Archive Project, I have finally finished burning 28 DVDs of MST3K goodness. That’s 167 episodes from the show’s 11 year run – or every episode that isn’t commerically available (well, a couple that are, because I got them before the fact).

For those unfamiliar with the DAP, it’s a very cool project that began with the premise of sharing MST3K episodes captured from old tape libraries and expanded to include other lost cult faves like Max Headroom and Freakazoid. They’ve done a very good job of keeping the site legit by isolating their own eDonkey network and only allowing shows not available in stores to be available. So if you are interested in checking out their offerings, be prepared to thoroughly read the FAQ and follow the instructions to a “T.” If not, don’t be surprised if you get banned.

I was going to conclude with another great quote, but there were just too many good ones to choose from. Instead, here’s an odd site with a whole crapload for your enjoyment.

…than following the masses.

I really hate when I barely post for a week except for some silly links. At least this one is for a survey – although I don’t know that I was thrilled with the questions. Give it a try if you’ve got the time. Then you too can proclaim:

Thanks to Dougal

I’ve never read Gizmodo with any regularity in the past, but that’s all beginning to change. Not only is it a cool way to keep up with the latest gadgets, but it’s just so darn funny. And you really need a sense of humor when discussing the latest products from XenoFreaks.

I’ve been missing a couple CDs for a few days. It’s not like I really searched that hard for them, just poked around my desk and at various pileas around the apartment. Certainly different from my copy of World Clique that’s been missing for two years (time to cave and buy it again). These ones I was just sure were around by couldn’t be bothered the few minutes of time to find. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I looked under my car seat and immediately saw my still shiny Guero case. Yay, one down! And a very important one, as I just haven’t had the chance to listen to it enough. Next I opened the garage door and went into Lisa’s minivan. EJECT – wow, here comes Paper Tigers. Two for two!

Not much of a point to this entry other than to highlight my own laziness/procrastinability… or to show that sometimes things are actually in the first place you look… maybe the second place in this case… which was still the last place I looked…

!@(guineapigs/justshadow.jpg:R popimg: “He’s so tiny”) Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family: Shadow. Well, that’s his name for now. I wanted to call him Neil, after my favorite black-leather-clad author, but Lisa wanted something cuter. Since he started following Jessie around like a shadow (and since he’s black… like a shadow) she thought that would be better. As of now, I’ve conceded since that happens to be the main character in Gaiman’s last book.

However, if any of you have opinions or other suggestions, feel free to comment.

!@(guineapigs/jessieshadow.jpg popimg: “I think Jessie could eat him”) I didn’t want to rush into getting another guinea pig, but Lisa was concerned about the effect of loneliness on Jessie. He’s certainly been showing signs of depression, which was enough reason for concern. Depression in guinea pigs can be a serious problem as they stop eating. So we need to keep him amused, and while contemplating future companionship for him, Lisa fell for this sleek black feller.

Of course, Lisa is paranoid that you all will judge us as horrible monsters for rushing out and replacing Teddy when that was not our intention. Apparently she must think that lots of people read this site and actually form opinions based upon the posts. Fortunately I know that it doesn’t weigh on people’s minds nearly that much. Nevertheless, let it be known that the purchase of Neil/Shadow was in fact for Jessie, not us. And once he accepts him as a cagemate, rather than sniffing him vigorously and trying to hump it, that will be more readily apparent.

!@(guineapigs/meshadow.jpg:L190 popimg: “I present to you, The Shadow”) !@(guineapigs/lisashadow.jpg:R190 popimg: “The black lump next to Lisa’s huge boob is Shadow”)
!@—

Goodbye Teddy. We’ll always love you.

!@(goodbyeteddy.jpg:L300 popimg: “Goodbye Teddy”)
!@—

All the ladies in the audience must be saying, “Hey, you gave your woman a rock, and we ain’t seen it yet. What gives?” And if you’re not, why not? Isn’t that what you girls do?

!@(thering.jpg popimg: “The Ring”)Anywho, since I have to force this stuff on you, here it is. The diamond is courtesy of my mother. That’s the same one my father gave to her well over 40 years ago. As a matter of fact, it’s a bit of a family heirloom. The gemologist estimated that it was cut around 100 to 150 years ago. The setting, however, is new. Although it does resemble the ring Lisa’s mom wore, which makes it a very nice combination of both families.

And now onto the stone.

Unfortunately this time I’m not talking about the diamond. I’m refering to what the doctor feels is truly wrong with Teddy. He quickly learned to avoid the crushed pills of Baytril and, after limited success with the liquid form, he stopped eating. From there the vet had us stop the treatment and prescribed something to help his apetite – which barely worked. The entire time his weight spiraled further downward. In the end, we rushed him to the hospital. This time the vet took the x-rays shown below. There appears to be a stone (or possibly a tumor) somewhere around his bladder.
!@(teddyxray1.jpg:L190 popimg: “Top x-ray of Teddy”) !@(teddyxray2.jpg:R190 popimg: “Side x-ray of Teddy”)

This is not a matter of money. Regardless of whether or not I could afford the $1200 for the necessary surgery, there’s only a small chance he could fully recover. Most likely we would need to force feed him, and give him constant care. And even then, he’s already close to 6 years old, and could probably only make it another year. So we’ve made an appointment for tomorrow to ease his suffering and put him to sleep. It’s not an easy decision, but we made it for his sake. At this point, prolonging his pain would only be selfishly motivated because we don’t want to say goodbye.

For Teddy’s relief, we will do so tomorrow.

Where to start? Many of you already know what’s been going on with Lisa and I, as of late. However, since she occasionally reads this website, I’ve had to hide the details on my super secret livejournal. Now it is time to make the official announcement:

Lisa and I are engaged. Last night I asked her to marry me, and she accepted.

Continue reading “She said yes”

The following entry was originally posted only to LiveJournal in order to keep things secret from Lisa. I have added these to my blog with the original timestamp for posterity’s sake.

Yes, tonight is in fact THE NIGHT. Holy crap, I’m nervous as hell right now. And this is how it happens to me, I’m perfectly fine until I realize that I’ve got to act calm for the next few hours to not let anything slip up. We’ve got to eat dinner. We’ve got to enjoy the show at the Goldhawk. And now, to add an extra twist, I’m going to take her over to the Open Mic afterward, and try to do this all “on stage.” Okay, that part isn’t exactly set, it does depend a bit on who’s actually there. But that’s my hope. Otherwise it’ll end up out on the street with me getting my knees dirty on the sidewalk.

My nerves are calming a bit, right now. We’ll see whether or not I can avoid throwing up on her at this point. I have a funny feeling that would somewhat ruin the romance of the evening.

Thank god for my oversized camera, at least – my telephoto lens hood has allowed me to hide the ring without worrying about the unsightly bulge in my pocket.

Right now the fear of the future is nothing compared to the fear that I’ll trip trying to get down on one knee, drop the ring down a grate, and/or say her name wrong just before blacking out. If that happends, hopefully someone could at least get it on video for me to laugh at later.

One of my favorite visitors to the Open Mic, Danya River, will be in New York City tomorrow for a lone set out here on the East Coast:

Saturday, June 11th, 2005
The Bitter End
set from 8-8:40pm
147 Bleecker St
NYC NY

(212) 673-7030
Price: $5

If you’re looking for something to do, I highly recommend catching this talented singer while she’s away from her home of Boulder, CO. I’ve got a party during the day, so it’s 50/50 whether or not I’ll be there.