How the brain behind Bush deceived the world: Dick Cheney is discredited on Iraq - but don't expect him to be censured

Cheney's hawks 'hijacking policy'

How Australian intelligence was seized upon on by the CIA, spun and gilded, then presented to the world as the best evidence that Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction

Arrgh, here's my pirate name!

Mad Anne Vane

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

You can find out your own pirate name, too, if you want.

I was particularly amused by Andrew's pirate name. It was, and I'm NOT making this up, "Dirty Roger Bonney." *ahem*

Warning: TIME WASTER!

I found this 20 Questions game LOTS of fun (and I wasted lots of time with it, hehehe).

The sun on Tuesday unleashed what appears to be the third most powerful flare in recorded history, a storm of charged particles that could hit Earth midday Wednesday with more effect than any since 1989, when power was knocked out to an entire Canadian province.

Earlier tonight, the power went on on our street. I don't know why. It was early evening when it went out, and Zoë and Miranda were watching Pocahontas at the time. Andrew was on the train on his way home.

The power went off and I sort of gave a little shout because I was startled. Zoë started to cry mostly because her movie went off, but also because all the lights and my computer went off, and that was just too weird for her to understand. Miranda started to cry because she always cries when Zoë does, pretty much (and she cries when I sneeze, raise my voice, and sometimes when I sing, which makes me think she's sensitive to certain vocal frequencies, but I digress).

So I had a house that was rapidly getting dark and two sobbing children, neither of whom could understand my explanation that while it was weird, it was nothing to worry about. I took them into our bedroom because it's got a big window and I figured I could just raise the shade and let what lingering light there was filter in, and cuddling up in bed on a rainy day with no electricity on just seems like a fairly good plan.

Well, they cried off and on for an hour, to make a long story short. I'd get one comforted and the other would start up. It was quite the carnival. Yippee. I called Andrew several times on my mobile phone because the proper phone didn't work (it's electric), and he wasn't answering. I had visions of it being a huge, city-wide power outage, and the trains all stopped... I thought maybe the transmitter tower for the mobile was out or something... Turns out he had his phone in his pocket and it was too muffled to hear the ring.

Anyway, when he came home he brought some flashlights (torches, Australians call them) from where he happened to know they were hiding, and the kids thought that was kinda fun. I suggested we go out to eat since we couldn't cook anything (the whole kitchen is electric!) and it was dark, anyway. Just as we were leaving, the power came back on. We went out, anyway, mostly because Zoë had been so upset and I knew if we changed plans she'd go absolutely nuts.

So we went out and had a nice meal and went to put Zoë to bed, but she wasn't having any of that. I think she was still somewhat off balance from the drama earlier. We tried several things to persuade her to sleep, but no. Finally, Andrew said he wanted to go to bed anyway, and she could lie down with him. Fine. Cool. Good idea.

11:40 pm the phone rings. I think to myself, "Who the HELL would be calling me at 11:40 pm?" and started thinking all those, "Oh, no, something awful must have happened!" thoughts, but the machine picked up and hear Andrew's voice, "Come get this girl, please."

Yes, he actually CALLED on his mobile, from the bedroom. Zoë was apparently not inclined to sleep in there, either, and she was climbing on him, singing, playing, rolling around, etc. So he called for help. Literally.

She did go to bed after that. Said, "Goo nite," and happily pulled up the covers.

Is there a point to this? Nope. Not that I'm aware of.

Well, I've been preoocupied, busy, and otherwise distracted lately.

First, I've had another Poser product released, VivaColour! for UpDo2 (and if you have NO clue what that might be, heh, don't worry about it; it's just textures for a hair model).

I've also gotten two more comissions for potrait work for the MUD I'm working with. It, by the way, is linked on the sidebar, but you can visit The Seventh Sun directly if you like. They're still taking beta tester applications if you're into that sort of thing. Oh, and I did the towers and the top graphic on that site (not the cool knotwork, though).

Our server is still horrendously slow, and that's why I haven't been uploading new images as I do them or doing any other updates. It took 5+ minutes to upload a 4Kb text file a few days ago, and I got pretty disgusted with the whole thing. Thankfully, the bandwidth will be increasing in five days (the soonest it could be changed without totally messing up the billing cycle). I can't wait to be able to deal with my mail on my OWN server like I normally do. For weeks now I've been using the webmail system provided by Spamcop, and while there's nothing wrong with Spamcop's webmail, I don't LIKE webmail. I prefer PINE (sorry for all caps, but that's the proper name of it) in a Unix shell, dammit. (And on a totally tangental note, PINE stands for "Pine Is Not Elm", Elm being the other "big name" mail reader software for Unix, although there are a couple others now).

AND, I injured my shoulder yesterday. We did a little bit of gardening, and I do mean a little. I planted the bottle brush (Banksia) that I got at my naturalization, and I did a bit of weed pulling. But somehow I managed to pull a muscle in my shoulder and now I can't extend my arm without pain and I can't lift anything with that arm without it hurting a LOT. I'm on the ibuprofen now (naturally), and I expect it'll be better in a couple of days, but for now... Ouch.

So, well, that's where I've been and what I've been up to. In a few days when the server is improved, I'll upload some of my new images and maybe do some other updating. I've got plans for the Alicorna site, including pulling most of the older graphics sets and doing some entirely new ones...

On sale through Halloween, too!

Raven and Ruby for the Millenium Kids and Mada's Petals.

There's apparently a campaign to Draft Wesley Crusher for Presdent. Hmmm. I wonder what Wil Wheaton thinks about that... ?

A Swedish man was jailed in Australia for trying to smuggle eight dangerous snakes, including four deadly king cobras, through Sydney Airport strapped to his legs.

I have an essay online. It's basically a "reflection" or something of that sort. It's spiritual in nature, and it's most definitely (and I should think, obviously) metaphorical.

The essay uses a diamond ring as the basis for the greater reflection, which is: flaws don't make something less beautiful. (The essay is here if you want to read it.)

Every now and then, though, some idiot decides that I need a lecture on diamonds and jeweler's standards and who knows what else having to do with the trade of diamonds and jewelry.

I just always wonder what on earth these people think I'm writing about?! It's a METAPHOR! Hello?!

Anyway, I got one of those "let me teach you a thing or two about diamonds" emails today. They didn't include an email address (it figures, doesn't it?) or I would have most assuredly replied to them and informed them that taking everything literally can be a dangerous thing to do, especially on a website clearly dedicated to things spiritual and intangible.

Honestly, I just have to wonder where these people come from and WHY they feel like I would give a damn about their lofty knowledge when I was mostly being metaphorical... Obviously, I understand some things that the palinfully literally minded just can't grasp.

Such as, "Don't send emails to random people on the web if you don't understand what the website is about".

Finally, a software that does exactly what it promises!

Mmmmmm. Art Noveau...

Well, it's official. I am now an Australian citizen.

The ceremony was reasonably boring, but not too bad. I've been to worse events (graduations, for example). A few politicians spoke, they had a folk singer guy to entertain before the proceedings and to play for the national anthem, and they had the citizens-to-be come up in groups of about twelve to take the pledge, receive their certificates and some other goodies (the nicest is a small bottlebrush plant that I've already decided where to plant).

Afterward, there was a reception with food of various sorts and a representative from the council to take our voter information.

So, do I feel any different? Not really. Well, maybe a little. It's one more step in my quest to become someone other than I once was, certainly. The name on the certificate of citizenship is different from my old name, and the person I used to be wasn't an Australian citizen... Dunno if that makes sense. But it's good. I always wanted to become a citizen, and now I have.

Next step, acquiring an Australian passport....

I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us.

On-line Orgasmic Simulation. Requires JavaScript. Bet you never knew JavaScript could do THAT, did you?

(Link via She Sells Sanctuary, what a great blog! Thanks, Murray!)

I don't get to listen to music much these days. We always seem to have the television on with some form of child entertainment.

Well, I'm getting tired of it. We've got 400+ CDs (and a couple hundred vinyl LPs, but that's another discussion), and I never listen to them!

So tonight I put Boston in the DVD player and that's what we're listening to.

...
Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind...

Ah, the 70s... Ahhh, Boston....

Just got this in my spam filter:

Powerful Anti Spam Filter

From the title of a spam that got caught in my filter which, while I didn't open it to find out, was almost certainly for some sort of penis enlargement scam:

I b:ec*a;me tw.ic*e t`he m^an I use t"o b.e

... and lost my ability to type. Or maybe he's typing with his newly enlarged member? Hmmmm....

How about the Book of Revelations done as an anime comic/game? Yes. Really. It's APOCAMON: The Final Judgement!

War in Iraq has swollen the ranks of al Qaeda and galvanized the Islamic militant group's will, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Wednesday in its annual report.

The extraordinary baby dolls at Michaela's Nursery are amazing!

United States President George W Bush wants to visit Australia to not only thank the country for its help in the war against terror, but also because he's heard it's a bit like Texas.

The pain of hurt feelings is as real as the pain of physical injury, new brain studies show.
 
The findings appear in the Oct. 10 issue of the journal Science. UCLA researcher Matthew D. Lieberman, PhD, used real-time brain scans to map brain activity in people feeling social distress.
 
The findings: The areas of the brain that light up when a person feels physical pain also light up when a person's feelings are hurt.
 
"We use physical metaphors to describe social pain like 'a broken heart' or 'hurt feelings,'" Lieberman says in a news release. "Now we see that there is a good reason for this."

German police apprehended a vicious crow which was attacking passers-by by getting it drunk on bait laced with alcohol, authorities said Monday.

Doubts are growing about President Bush's ability to deal with international crises and the economy, says a poll released Thursday night.

COOKING DIRECTIONS: Put noodle, powder soup, and additional soup together into the boiling water (550cc) and simmer for additoianl 3 minutes. Stir well and serve.

(Seen on a real packet of Korean Kimchi Ramen)

Everyone should take their life lessons from James Bond...

Americans accused of brutal 'punishment' tactics against villagers, while British are condemned as too soft

It's my father's 60th birthday. I haven't set eyes on him in about nine years or so. Haven't spoken to him since 1996. I expect I won't again, given that I live on the opposite side of the planet now and my father doesn't actually want to communicate with me at all (and, let's face it, the feeling is mutual).

So, hey, happy birthday, old man. I'm guessing you'll be spending it alone with my mother, since you've managed to utterly alienate your only child and none of your grandchildren live anywhere near you. This is where your life choices and decisions have led you. I hope you realize that. Maybe, after sixty years on this planet, you've finally figured out a couple of things about responsibility, lying, bullying, and acting like a decent human being.

I kinda doubt it. But, hey, we all reap what we've sown. Enjoy your sixty years' worth of harvest.

Our server's still having some problems. Most seem to have been ironed out, but there are a couple of weird issues that need to be investigated and things are still quite slow, which means we probably need to do a connection upgrade. When that will take place I have no idea, but it'd better be soon. The server is practically unusable the way it is. Oh, yeah, you can load web pages sometimes, but try editing a file on the server... And that, by the way, is the reason certain things haven't been fixed yet. When you need to log in and edit and you can't edit because the server is painfully, agonizingly slow, well, you don't get much done...

Okay, I only have one of the geek hobbies listed in Dorkstorm: The Annihilation. I have a passing interest in one of the other things on the list, but it's not really a "hobby", only an interest. So I guess I'm only mildly nerdy...

Studies have shown that there's no increased risk of brain cancer from mobile phones, but when one explodes in your pants, you really have to reasses the danger of these things...

I reinstalled ICQ after ages of not having it. I like the lastest version. It's got some cool features. The coolest I've found so far is that I can send an SMS message via ICQ. I HATE having to type via the keypad on my phone, so I hardly ever send SMS messages, but hey, if I can type...

I think you prolly need to know my mobile number if you want to SMS me via ICQ, but if you have my ICQ number and you want to try, feel free. And, hey, if you have my ICQ number, you can ask for the mobile number if you really want it. The people on my ICQ list are all trusted by be so I know you're not going to call me up and telemarket or anything.

And speaking of mobile phones, I changed my ringtone (oooooohhh). I used to have Walzing Matilda, but I got really tired of it. So I had a look and changed it to the opening bars of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the chamber music (or is it a concerto?) by Mozart. You know the one. It goes... dum da dum da dum da dum da dum...

Feel like crap today. Lots of reasons, some external, some internal, some irrational, some sensible. I just feel like slinking away into a dark corner and hiding there until... well, until I don't feel like this any more.

It's SPRING. Thank goodness. I hate winter, and it hates me. Seasonal Affective Disorder SUCKS. But now it's spring, yay!

Everyone is in good health, I don't have a headache, my marriage is happy (despite the fact that we're both basically annoying), my kids are cute, my cat loves me, and I'm proud of myself for the way I handled a recent high-drama situation which, in the not-too-distant past, would have bought out the absolute worst in me and turned me into a raving psychobitch (I didn't rave at all, nor did I go psycho, although I may have been just a little bit bitchy, hehe).

So there you do. Life IS good. I just really need to remember that, ALWAYS.

On the evening of 20 October, I'm going to become an Australian citizen.

This "what does this sign REALLY mean" page made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt and I had tears running down my face. Wow.

I dunno if everyone will find it as hilarious as I did, but it might be good for a chuckle (Andrew and I play the "what does this sign REALLY mean" game all the time, so maybe that's why I was so amused, but probably I just have a weird sense of humor, but since you're reading my blog, I'm assuming YOU have a weird sense of humor, too).

WHEW! You may (or may not) have noticed this server was offline for over a week. We moved the server's physical location and what was supposed to be "a couple of days" of downtime ended up being "a week and then some" due to various factors which I won't bother to detail, but mostly it was Telstra's fault (blame everything on the phone/internet giant, I say). Tomorrow the server will go offline for a few more hours while a new electrical circuit is installed, but after that it should be smooth sailing.

Things may be a little slow for a while. I hope it'll settle down as the routes become well-established and everything gets tweaked properly, etc.

Whew. It's good to be back. There have been lots of funny little links and so forth I've wanted to post and couldn't. But, hey, I'm here now, so....