Umuhk’s blog

I found what might be the largest ever collection of cat-pictures-for-use-in-forum-threads. You've probably seen many of these before, but most likely there are some new ones in here to chuckle at.

http://www.acc.umu.se/~zqad/cats/index.html

Enjoy. But not at work.

In which fictional world/universe/land/city would you most like to live?
Submitted by glenn is the new chuck.  

I've already commented about the Barast world in which Ponter Boddit lives, so I think it's probably apparent that I think I'd fit in better there than just about anywhere else. It'd be a little awkward being a human among Neanderthals, and of course I'd probably be an odd age (due to carefully coordinated birth control, a new generation is only born once every ten years, so it's unusual to find someone not precisely fit into a generation). I'd manage.

On the other hand, I've been playing quite a bit of World of Warcraft lately, even buying the recently released Burning Crusade expansion. Azeroth is a pretty compelling place, for me. It'd be a bit tricky to deal with the occasional raids, even in large cities, between warring factions, but I think I'd be willing to put up with it. After all, where else could I hang out with Dwarves and Draenei, Trolls and Tauren? Sure, the Burning Legion has recently reopened the gate between Azeroth and the Outland, and they're once again trying to retake the planet. But what place doesn't have its little ups and downs?

For those of you not familiar with World of Warcraft, a shameless plug: check out the World of Warcraft Cinematic Trailer. This is easily the finest trailer I've ever seen produced for a video game, and would even serve as a better movie trailer than much I see at the theater. Although the gameplay video is not quite up to the standards set by the trailer, the in-game music is. For the game (and fantasy) geeks in the audience (who haven't played the game), the characters portrayed in the trailer are a Dwarven hunter, a Night Elf druid, an Undead (Forsaken) warlock, a Tauren shaman, an Orcish warrior, and a Human mage. There is a Burning Crusade Cinematic Trailer also available, but although it's pretty, it's not as well directed, and is peppered with "in-jokes" and references only WoW gameplayers would catch. Which is appropriate for a game expansion, I suppose.

ps: I should mention that I have quite a few free hits of crack "guest passes" for World of Warcraft, good for ten days of play. Let me know if you're interested. They're really only good if you have a broadband connection, though, as you'll have to download the game from the Internet before you can play.

I need some advice, and like most people in this fast-paced, wired world, I go first to my "online peeps".

I need clothing help.

I'm terrible with clothes. When I wear any at all, it's usually a T-shirt and jeans. Hiking boots and a broad-brimmed leather hat complete the ensemble. I have a few long-sleeved "office" shirts and a couple pair of khaki chinos. None of my clothes fit me very well (that is to say, comfortably).

While in Las Vegas recently, we attended some nice shows and fine restaurants. Since I had only the aforementioned T-shirts and jeans with me, I bought a silk shirt and linen jacket at Macy*s (I reserve judgment on the technique of replacing the apostrophe with an asterisk, but it's their brand to do with as they will). They were both on a steep sale, so I didn't spend much. But they looked nice enough, I suppose, and allowed entry into Wing Lei at the Wynn (excellent food).

Afterwards, while walking through the casino at the Venetian, we passed three or four women walking in a group. Keith informed me, several feet later, that one of the women appeared to be impressed with my appearance, as she did the rotating-radar-dish thing as we passed. So the shirt and jacket worked, apparently.

The trouble is, neither the shirt nor the jacket fit me, either. They're as close as I could get prêt-à-porter, but the shirt's sleeves are too short, and the jacket's are too long.

My boss (who lives in England) is a fashion plate. He's advised me for some time that I should have clothes custom-made (and has offered several times to order suits for me). So I'm willing to give it a try. I'm not quite ready for the experience (or the expense) of a local tailor, but I've located what appears to be the most reputable online tailor out there, Ravi's Tailor. They get good reviews, and their prices are comparable to (and in many cases less than) off-the-rack clothing around here. I'm pretty confident that whatever I order will fit me correctly (and with luck, comfortably).

So...the big question: what do I order?

I'm unused to wearing "dressy" clothing, and I only vaguely understand the difference between a forward-point collar and an ainsley collar. I have no cufflinks for use with French cuffs, and I seldom (if ever) wear a tie (although I was given a very nice one a few years ago). My pants experience beyond Wrangler 13MWZ jeans is limited to the aforementioned khaki chinos. I have worn a suit (borrowed) just once.

I like the idea of nice clothes, but I'm at a complete loss. Does anyone out there in Vox-land have any advice to offer? Nudity's not an option given the particularly harsh weather we're having in the Northwest.

We just returned from dinner at The Herbfarm. It'll be a while before we've completely returned to Earth.

The food was excellent, the service was flawless and friendly, the décor was pleasant and amusing, the music (classical guitar) was performed by a member of The Royal Conservatory of Madrid, and the atmosphere was lively and cheerful without being boisterous. We're seriously contemplating making this a regular outing.

Our menu:

A Menu For
An American Harvest
Friday, November 24, 2006

Black Cod, Kushi Oyster & Crab Dumpling
With Sea Urchin Sabayon
2005 àMaurice Cellars Viognier, Walla Walla

Warm Salad of Heritage Turkey
Savoy Cabbage, Chanterelles Mushrooms,
Chestnuts & Spiced Carrot Vinaigrette
2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Riesling

Berkshire Pork Belly
With Vanilla Parsnips, Quince, and Saffron Cider Sauce
2004 L'Herbe Sauvage Pinot Noir, Grapes of Wrath

Oregon Fallow Venison
Lavender and Juniper Crusted Loin with Rainbow Beets
Braised Shank with King Bolete Bread Pudding
2002 Northstar Merlot, Columbia Valley

Estrella Apple Tree Tomme
With Spice Bread
Vintage 1863 Barbeito Madeira

Cranberry-Orange Thyme Sorbet
With Amagaki Persimmon

Trio of Harvest Desserts
Pumpkin Soufflé with Bay Custard Sauce
Butterscotch Crème Brulée with Gingercake
Blackberry & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

Herbal Infusions
Lavender, Rosemary, and Peppermint
Peppermint, Sage, Rosemary, Chamomile, Catnip, Hops, Comfrey & Goldenseal

A Selection of Small Treats
Orange Cardamom Caramel
Raspberry Gel
Cinnamon-Salted Shortbread
Jasmine Dark Chocolate Truffle
Lavender White Chocolate Truffle
Vintage 1912 Barbeito Bual Madeira

The food was all prepared with local, in-season ingredients. All of the fresh herbs used were grown on-site. The turkey in the salad was an heirloom species raised specifically for The Herbfarm. The pinot noir was produced exclusively for The Herbfarm as well. The 1863 Madeira was a nice touch for a dinner in the Thanksgiving season: 1863 was the year President Lincoln declared the annual Thanksgiving tradition (before that time, the holiday was declared on an irregular basis).

And on top of all this, between courses we ventured out into the garden to visit the restaurant's two pigs, Basil and Borage. Though we didn't participate, others who were there at the same time brought out small buckets of food for them. They're apparently being trained on scented food for careers as truffle-hunting pigs.

What character in a book can you connect with or relate to the most? 
Submitted by Eating A Book.

That would have to be Ponter Boddit, from Robert Sawyer's The Neanderthal Parallax trilogy. Ponter is a physicist, who lives and works with his partner Adikor Huld, a computer scientist. An accident sends him to a parallel world, populated by creatures long extinct where he comes from: humans. Ponter is a homo neanderthalensis, and on his version of Earth, they were the ones that survived the clash with our ancestors many thousands of years ago.

Sawyer's writing isn't always to my taste -- he uses quite a few too many pages of exposition hammering home points that I'd rather he sketched and let develop on their own. I much prefer Samuel Delaney's approach to such things. But the books have compelling characters, and an interesting plot, and there are many small touches of wit and beauty.

Ponter's world is very different from ours. Neanderthals ("Barast", in their language) have migrated across the planet only slowly, and in very small numbers. They never developed large-scale agriculture for food, never domesticated animals, though they have developed some sophisticated technologies. Due to some fairly draconian eugenics measures, crime -- even petty violence -- is virtually unknown. Barast society is divided so that men and women live separately much of the time, except for a once-a-month celebration ("Two Becoming One") where everyone gathers together for a day of togetherness. Because of this arrangement, every adult Barast usually takes two mates, a man and a woman. Ponter's woman-mate is dead, and though he has Adikor, he wrestles with loneliness, especially when Two Become One, and Adikor spends his time with his own woman-mate.

During his stay on our version of Earth, he befrends (and begins to fall in love with) Mary Vaughn, the geneticist recruited to study him. By the second book, Ponter is assigned by his government as an ambassador to our Earth, and he and Mary spend a great deal more time together. In one chapter, Ponter and Mary are walking through the Capitol Mall in Washington, DC., and Mary shows him the Vietnam memorial. This is an excerpt from that chapter.

"We've only got one day here in Washington before the conference begins," said Mary, "and there's so much I want to show you. But I wanted to start with this. Nothing else says more about this country, and about what it means to be human -- my kind of human."

Ponter looked at the strange vista in front of him, not understanding. There was a scar in the grass-covered landscape, a deep welt that ran for eighty paces then met, at an obtuse angle, another similar scar.

"What is it?" asked ponter, staring at the oblong blackness, at their reflections.

"It's a memorial," said Mary. She looked away from the black wall and waved her hand at objects in the distance. "This whole mall is filled with memorials. The pair of walls here point at two of the most important ones. That spire is the Washington Monument, a memorial to the first U.S. president. Over there, that's the Lincoln Memorial, commemorating the president who freed the slaves."

Ponter's translator bleeped.

Mary let out a sigh. Evidently there was still more complexity, more -- what had she called it? -- more dirty linen to be aired.

 . . .

"This memorial," said Ponter, sweeping his arm, taking in its two great walls. "What is its purpose?"

Mary's eyebrows climbed again. "To honor the dead."

"No, no," said Ponter. "That may be an incidental effect, I grant you. But surely the purpose of the designer -- the purpose of anyone who designs a memorial -- is to make sure people never forget."

"Yes?" said Mary, sounding irritated by whatever picayune distinction she felt Ponter was making.

"And the reason to not forget the past," said Ponter, "is so that the same mistakes can be avoided."

"Well, yes, of course," said Mary.

"So has this memorial served its purpose? Has the same mistake -- the mistake that led to all these young people dying -- been avoided since?"

Mary thought for a time, then shook her head. "I suppose not. Wars are still fought, and --"

"By America? By the people who built this monument?"

"Yes," said Mary.

"Why?"

"Economics. Ideology. And..."

"Yes?"

Mary lifted her shoulders. "Revenge. Getting even."

"When this country decides to go to war, where is the war declared?"

"Um, in Congress. I'll show you the building later."

"Can this memorial be seen from there?"

"This one? No, I don't think so."

"They should do it right here," said Ponter, flatly. "Their leader -- the president, no? -- he should declare war right here, standing in front of these fifty-eight thousand, two hundred and nine names. Surely that should be the purpose of such a memorial: if a leader can stand and look at the names of all those who died a previous time a president declared war and still call for young people to go off and be killed in another war, then perhaps the war is worth fighting."

Mary tilted her head to one side but said nothing.

 . . .

"Do you not see?" said Ponter. "That is what this memorial, this Vietnam veterans' wall, should serve as a reminder of: the pointlessness of death, the error -- the grave error, if I may attempt my own play on words in your language -- of declaring a war in contravention of your most dearly held principles."

Mary was still silent.

"That is the reason why future American wars should be declared here -- right here. Only if the cause stands the test of supporting the most dearly held fundamental principles, then perhaps it is a war that should be fought." Ponter let his eyes run over the wall again, over the black reflection.

Mary said nothing.

Keith Olbermann is the closest thing we've got to Edward R. Murrow. May he be as influential, for the dangers we face are greater in many respects than in Murrow's time.

Please read Garrison Keillor's editorial now.

What's your musical horoscope?  (Put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)  Inspired by Stephanie.

hmmm...

1. Warehouse - Dave Matthews Band
2. Concerto #2 Fmaj - comp. Corelli, cond. Pinnock
3. After the Thrill Is Gone - The Eagles
4. Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones
5. Ready Room - Stu Phillips
6. Earth Abides - Escape Radio
7. Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent
8. O Fortuna - Carl Orff
9. In the Still of the Night - Neville Bros. (comp. Cole Porter)
10. The Explorer - Billy Barber

That's some list. To put it in perspective, they were drawn from a library of over 410 hours of music, so there's a lot of options that didn't get explored. For example, the next 10:

1. Lost Boys and Golden Girls - Meat Loaf
2. A Knife in the Dark - Mind's Eye Theater (Tolkein)
3. O Makunde - Cirque du Soleil
4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles
5. I, Zombie - White Zombie
6. Voldemort - Patrick Doyle
7. Chava Ballet Sequence (from Fiddler on the Roof) - Tevye (comp. Harnick & Bock, cond. Stern)
8. Anakin Defeats Sebulba - John Williams
9. Lecture - Richard Feynman
10. March for Koala - Yoko Kanno

Yes, there are a lot of soundtracks.

This test was kind of tough to cut-n-paste -- OKCupid doesn't have a "VOX" option, so I did it piece-by-piece:

Snuffleupagus
You scored 60% Organization, 63% abstract, and 59% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are somewhat organized, both concrete and abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.

I bet you didn't think you were Snuffleupagus. Let's find out why.

You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Alloyius Snuffleupagus (and all Snuffleupagus') is not sloppy by nature, but he moves so incredibly slowly that it is impossible for him to be totally organized.

You both are about equally concrete and abstract thinkers. You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. Snuffy generally has very basic interests, but he explores his abstract sensitive side when he plays his snuffleflute.

You both are somewhat introverted. Originally Snuffleupagus was very shy and was only Big Bird's invisible friend. However as he has aged he has started to build new friendships with new characters. Like Snuffy, you probably like to have some time to yourself. However, you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations.

The other possible characters are
Oscar the Grouch
Big Bird
Cookie Monster
Ernie
Elmo
Kermit the Frog
Grover
The Count
Guy Smiley
Bert

If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

Snuffleupagus

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

What's your motto?

This one's easy, for now. It's the motto I have here on my profile: "Reason, Justice, Integrity".

I came up with it as part of my registration on The Daily Kos, since virtually everyone else posting there has some pithy words of wisdom (or not) at their online signature. I decided I wanted to try to distill my political leanings into three words. These three words were as close as I could get.

I'll work hard to elect the first politician who campaigns on a platform of reason, justice, and integrity. Unfortunately, there aren't any at present.