Found this at Lemur Girl, who found it at Special K:

FIRSTS
First job: Flower delivery man for a florist in Dallas.
First self purchased CD: Brain Salad Surgery, by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer in July 1987.
First piercing/tattoo: Summer 1983, left ear piercing (long since closed-up).
First enemy: 10th grade - Some guy named Jeff Anderson who borrowed my bass guitar longer than appropriate and teased me until we got into a fight; although I outweighed and out-reached him, he knocked me down with one good punch to the face in my one-and-only after-school fight. He dropped out of Jesuit a year or so later, and I graduated Salutatorian of my class. Guess I won after all.

LASTS
Last big car ride: Dallas to Corpus Christi and back, to visit the USS Lexington.
Last kiss: 20 minutes ago (my lovely wife)
Last library book checked out: Ummm. . . some gardening books in 1999, the last time I did a vegetable garden.
Last movie seen: In the theater? The Alamo. On DVD, Master and Commander.
Last beverage drank: Guiness Extra Stout.
Last food consumed: Buffalo Wings at The Cheesecake Factory.
Last phone call: my wife, on my way home from work earlier today.
Last CD played: Fragile, Yes.
Last annoyance: The jerk in an SUV who did such a sloppy job parking at Stonebriar Mall, where we went to eat tonight
Last pop drank: Coke.
Last ice cream eaten: Blue Bell Country Vanilla (w/ Hershey's Hot Fudge sauce).
Last shirt worn: Dallas Sidekicks T-Shirt.

I....
I AM: Ready for a break.
I HAVE: The Summertime Blues.
I WISH: I could find more time to write.
I HEAR: The air conditioner humming, my dog breathing.
I SEARCH: For filler like this to keep this blog running.
I REGRET: very little.
I LOVE: my fantastic wife and three outstanding kids.
I ALWAYS: wonder where my paycheck went.

FAVORITES
NUMBER: 13 (My birthdate is April 13)
COLOR: blue
DAY: Saturday
MONTH: November
SONG(S): It Had to Be You, Harry Connick; South Side of the Sky, Yes; Natural Science, Rush; Cliffs of Dover, Eric Johnson
SEASON: Autumn
DRINK: Guiness, Shiner Bock, or Coca Cola

Posted by: JohnL at 11:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There should be a clause in the Photoshop licensing agreement that forbids putting it to this kind of use:

(WARNING -- GRAPHIC IMAGE -- DO NOT CLICK ON THE EXTENDED ENTRY IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH) more...

Posted by: JohnL at 09:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Venomous Kate takes aim at reality TV and proceeds to inflict multiple deadly bites upon it.

I'm proud to say I've never watched a single episode of any of that trash. Life's just too short. Fortunately, for people like me who are alien to this unsavory bit of pop culture, Kate provides helpful links to each of the shows in her post.

It's scary to think that the concept has propagated as far and successfully as it has.

Posted by: JohnL at 09:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Ace of Spades HQ links to a bunch of creepy European art, movies, and games.

My favorite: http://www.beksinski.pl/

(Described by Ace as "Lovecraft-meets-Giger").

Posted by: JohnL at 08:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Check out more of Chris Muir's Day by Day.

Posted by: JohnL at 09:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Well, the Llamabutchers started it, and Ted has kept it alive long enough that I can post on this while it is still somewhat fresh.

What are ten subjects about which I know more than is healthy?

In no particular order:

• Hammond Organs (I own an M-3 with a Leslie 147 and an M)


• The Various Incarnations of the Rock Group Yes


• Larry Niven's Known Space Universe (I even still have my complete Ringworld RPG)


• The Rock Group Rush


• Pipe Organs (I played my full-faculty recital on this one)


• Monty Python (Say no more).


• Alternative Histories (I'm starting Zulu Heart, sequel to Lion's Blood, tonight as soon as I finish blogging)


• Ayn Rand


• Halo


• Space Law

Ted augments his list with an additional ten items. Quite the dilettante, he. I won't bore you with more of my details. Instead, please just read back through my archives to see what other interests I have that verge on geekdom.

Posted by: JohnL at 10:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Timothy Sandefur has me convinced that I need to read some Mark Twain. Aside from the obligatory Huckleberry Finn in high school, I haven't really read any Twain.

But today Timothy points us to some hilarious excerpts from A Tramp Abroad, including this account of a French duel.

(Since I missed blogging on Cinco de Mayo, this will have to serve as my slam-the-French post).

Posted by: JohnL at 10:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I haven't watched Friends in about 8 or 9 years. I liked it a lot in the first season, before anyone had really heard of it (and, more importantly, before the actors got too full of themselves). But the characters just got boring, and never seemed to grow up. Meanwhile, my wife and I had three kids, bought a house, and I successfully worked my way from absolute legal scut-work to a dream in-house job. The Friends crew just sat around and drank coffee. I couldn't relate to them anymore. So I didn't waste any time on their big finale.

Luckily, I didn't miss much, and the Llamabutchers have all the gory details. Be sure to read Steve's proposal for how the finale should have been done as an episode of Law and Order:SVU. Give that man a TV series!

Posted by: JohnL at 10:21 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Via Snooze Button Dreams, I came across some random questions from Ted's daughter, Mookie.

Here are the questions restated with my answers:

1. Middle Name?
Walter
2. Favorite Animal?
My new dog, Jake
3. If you were to go on a deserted island for 10 years, and you could take 1 person and 3 items, what would you take?
Person: My wife: tough, resourceful, smart, and gorgeous too!
Items: Versatile knife, mess kit, stocked tackle box
4. WhatÂ’s your favorite food?
Steak, medium rare (sirloin or ribeye)
5. WhoÂ’s your favorite band?
Rush
6. WhoÂ’s your favorite person?
My wife
7. How old are you?
36
8. Where do you live?
Plano, Texas
9. WhatÂ’s your favorite type of Ice Cream?
Blue Bell's Tin Roof
10. WhatÂ’s your favorite family tradition?
Christmas morning treasure hunt for baby Jesus (my wife and I kidnap him from our nativity scene and hide him, leaving a series of written clues to lead the kids to him)
11. Do you have a job? If so where?
Yes; in-house lawyer at a nearby telecom company
12. WhatÂ’s your dream car?
Acura RSX-S or TSX, in either case 6-speed manual (i.e., a souped-up version of my current car, a Honda Accord)

Posted by: JohnL at 11:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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