Wandering through E-Space

D.W.Q.M.: "First things first, but not necessarily in that order." -the Fourth Doctor. I'm back from the land of cold and snow...although towards the end of my trip, it became warm with no snow-almost. ;) Despite a few things, I had a great time. The kiddies are soooo cute! I meant to try to log on while I was away, but I just didn't have the time. Here are a few notes I made in my journal-hopefully I'll get around to talking about my trip more, but you know me. ;) I do plan to post pics, though...eventually. LOL Trip Notes: 1. Getting sick at the beginning of your trip really sucks big time. The jury is still out on whether I brought it to them, or they gave it to me (they are leaning towards giving it to me), but at one point, my mom said my sister's place sounded like the TB ward at the hospital. Stupid colds! 2. I have witnessed a scene with the family dog and a stuffed gorilla that has scarred me for life and basically turned me off of ever wanting to be...

D.W.Q.M.: "More hasta, less vista." -the Seventh Doctor First off: Detroit Lions: 13 Green Bay Packers: 16 YEAH! I am soo happy I was able to catch the end of the game! Favre set a new record-he's the first player in NFL history to record 14 seasons of over 3,000 passing yards. Way to go, Brett!! Woo! :) I also watched Gado attempt to make the infamous 'Lambeau leap' after making GreenBay's only touchdown during the game. He didn't quite make it-but give him time. ;) He also broke a Packer's rookie record-had 171 yards on 29 carries. Way to go, Samkon!! :) ----- Okay, so the last couple of months have been really hectic-I've either been too busy or too tired to post. I noticed at the beginning of this month I didn't even get a November Night Sky post out. dang! I've got so much to say and so little time! I fly to Minnesota this week. Two months ago, leaving this early seemed like such a good idea... Hmmm...lets see: quick breakdown of the ...

D.W.Q.M.: "Eurkea!" -the Third Doctor Doctor Who dvds are coming to America, Doctor Who dvds are coming to America!!!!! What could be better thank region 1 discs for the first series coming to Canada? The BBC releasing a set in the United States!!!! Woo-hoo!!! "The BBC is choosing to release the DVD set in advance of any plans to license Doctor Who for broadcast in the United States." Here's another article of intrest from SciFi Wire. Perhaps this will help. *keeping fingers crossed* February 14th, 2006. SWEET.

D.W.Q.M.: "...why am I thinking of food?" -the Second Doctor Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!! Kristmutt's version of pumpkin pie I am thankful for many things, most of all, my family(immediate, extended, Tippit ;) ) and friends(in person, online) Everyone have a happy and safe holiday! God Bless! *HUGS*

D.W.Q.M.: "One day I will come back, yes, I will come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am correct in mine." -the First Doctor Happy anniversary to all my Doctor Who fans! 42 years and 10 Doctors later, the show is still alive and kicking. What a great time it is to be a Doctor Who fan. (even though we are still waiting for a broadcaster here in the U.S.. ;) ) top l-r: Joe, John Levene (Sgt. Benton) bottom l-r: me, "K-9", Debbie, and Debbie's sister I'd like to thank my mom and dad for getting me hooked ~25 years ago... ;)*heehee*

D.W.Q.M.: "We're gonna to crash land! Hahahaha..." -the Tenth Doctor I read about this on Outpost Gallifrey and Behind the Sofa Again -there is going to be a Doctor Who short (about 3 and a half minutes long, I think) during the Children in Need special on the BBC tonight. The special starts at 7, and the Doctor Who clip will air around 9pm, according to the website. (London time, of course) After the special airs, you can watch the clip on this site for an undefined period of time, sometime after 9:30pm (which will be about 3:30pm EST my time.) ;) For now, however, there is a trailer for the charity program, which includes a clip of the Doctor and Rose. ...so is that noise supposed to be the Cloister Bells, or is someone's alarm clock going off? ;) *UPDATE- 3:52pm* Ooops, silly me, forgot about daylight savings...it won't be on until 4:30pm. doh!

D.W.Q.M.: Moberly: "Are you OK, dressed like that? You don't seem to notice the cold." the Fourth Doctor: "I haven't come ten thousand miles to discuss the weather, Mr Moberly." IT'S SNOWING! IT'S SNOWING!!! Hmm...I guess it's time to put in my storm windows...

D.W.Q.M.: the Second Doctor: "The power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds. You might almost say they had a complete metal breakdown." Jamie : "Oooh." Second Doctor: "I'm so sorry." *hee* I've started a countdown to the Christmas Invasion! :-D Yesterday the BBC released pictures of the new Cyberman design, along with an article about the return of one of the Doctor's deadliest foes. My coworker, and fellow Doctor Who fan, Carolyn and I were comparing the new Cybermen with the old Cybermen-discussing the coolness and flaws of each particular design. Ahh, it's good to be geeky at work. When first encountered in the Tenth Planet , the looked kinda creepy (despite their sock-like masked faces), slowly walking through the snow. Creepy...up until they spoke. (Hey, someone should have decided how often and when they move their mouths before they started filming) The end result was a bit comical. Still, wit...

D.W.Q.M.: "Look, try and use your intelligence, man, even if you are a politician." -the Third Doctor There were long lines at the polls today-barely enough room for all four of us. Wha...? You mean I actually got up early this morning so I could go vote?!?!?!!! It's not even a presidential election!!! The world must be coming to an end, either that or I'm feverish. I mean, I hate politics. Seriously though-there were some state issues that caught my attention, so I got up to go vote. ...that and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a mayor. ;) (sorry, I couldn't help myself) Really, though-you should get out and vote today if you are able. That's all I'm going to say about that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since I hate politics so much, I find it odd that I got this result: You scored as President Laura Roslin . You may be ill but you have a job to do. Fate has put you in a powerful position by accident, b...

D.W.Q.M.: "hmm....new teeth." -the Tenth Doctor U.K. Who fans get a special Christmas present this year-it's official! The BBC will be airing 'The Christmas Invasion on December 25th! Check out the online article, Christmas Invasion at Christmas Lucky ducks! :)

D.W.Q.M.: Ian: "Where's your spirit of adventure, hm?" the First Doctor: "It died a slow and painful death when those bats came out of the rafters." Happy Halloween, everybody!!! I'm sorry I haven't updeated on a regular basis-not even my front porch. I've either been too busy, too sick, or just plain too lazy. ;) So, since I've been lazy, but still want to put my blog in the spirit of Halloween, I decided to post this picture of our pumpkins from 2003: Happy Halloween! (this was from last year's Halloween front porch. ) I'm excited-tonight I'm heading over to Foofy and Perseph's to help hand out candy. I'm heading over there early so I can help decorate their yard. I've got fresh batteries for my camera ( I am so sorry, Perseph! ) so I can take pictures of our Edward Gorey-themed pumpkins!! I'm sooo excited-it's always fun at the PF's!!! ;) (didn't you know? There house is the place to be on Halloween!) ...

D.W.Q.M.: Captain Mike Yates: "Do you know -- yesterday I saw a fox in Piccadilly?" Sarah Jane Smith: "And nightingales in Berkeley Square?" The other night I was talking with my sister on the phone when she noticed Boo had left her bike out by the road again. She decided to go out and bring in up the garage herself. Since she was on her cordless, I went out with her-we were still chatting aimlessly as she walked towards the bike, but then she started to sound distracted, and said, 'hang on a sec', then began to mumble a bit, then all of the suddened, said, 'Uff! I just freaked myself out.' and sounded like she was tripping over something. She regained her composure as the garage door started to close, and then said to me, 'You know, I'm not worried about thugs in this neighborhood. I'm worried about bears.' Me: "Bears?!" Al: "Bears." Apparently not too long ago, a neighbor of hers, who lives just three houses dow...

D.W.Q.M.: the Third Doctor: "You're mad... paranoid!" the Master: "Who isn't? The only difference is that I'm just a little more honest than the rest." This post is dedicated to Perseph , cause I know she loves the Happy Bunny. ;) you are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You adorable, but a little out there. It's alright, you might not have it all, but there are worse which happy bunny are you? brought to you by Quizilla

D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco: "Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, the Masque of Mandragora.) The month isn't over yet. LOL. ;) Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope , and my astronomy calendar. ;) The Moon and Planets October 7th: the crescent moon is below Venus, ver low in the southwest at dusk. October 16th: (starting October 16th) Mars will be closer to the Earth (and brighter in the sky) than it will be until 2018. Note: This should not be confused with the Mars Hoax . Mars will NOT be as big as the moon-this is just the closest it's going to be to Earth for a few years. :) [see October 29th] October 17th: Full Moon. Partial eclipse of the Moon peaks at 8:03am EDT-best seen west of a line from Toronto to Miami. October 18th: Moon near Mars after...

D.W.Q.M.: "...how I love the autumn; the leaves, the colours..." -Romana 2 Hmm...hopefully the picture will eventually show up. ;) You Are a Silly Hat Cute, funny, and a little dorky. What Part of Fall Are You? Have I mentioned that this is the beginning of my favorite time of year? ;)

D.W.Q.M.: Ian: "Where's your spirit of adventure, hm?" the First Doctor: "It died a slow and painful death when those bats came out of the rafters." I love this time of year. October marks the beginning of my favorite four months of the year. I love the colors of the leaves, the coolness in the air (which is missing at the moment. ;) ), the smell of burning wood, pumpkin spice. Ahhh... Halloween is coming!! Already I have a ton of ideas that I need to share with Perseph about decorating her house and yard for Halloween (some of which I have shared with her in a series of brief emails as they pop into my head. LOL) According to her neighbors, Perseph's is the place to be on Halloween. :) I can't forget my own place, too. I've been really slacking-6 years ago, I would have been ready for Halloween by now. I don't even have my Halloween boxes unpacked yet! I do have my wreath up, and I finished putting in all the window lights. When I was testing ...

Well, I haven't been posting the last couple of weeks because I just haven't been up to it (for reasons I won't delve into right now) But go figure, the day I decide to post, dreamingheart seems to be down. LOL. ;) I'll just save this and the next post and try to publish when it's back up. :-D I need to update my sidebar...there's a couple of new blogs that I've been reading that are absolutely hysterical. Scary, but hysterical. ;) Both written by librarians-and here I thought life at our library was crazy!!! ;) Toodles!

D.W.Q.M.: Cornish: "Control to capsule: do you have visual contact?" the Third Doctor: "Do you mean 'Can I see it'?" 'Go to bed, Ro!' I bet that's what most of you are saying if you see the time this was posted. ;) I know, I should get some sleep, especially since I nodded off during the Daily Show, but I just got a second wind, and am feeling a bit nerdy. So I'm sitting hear after midnight, thinking about auroras, and wondering if I'd get the chance to see any tonight. Going back to the feeling nerdy part, I decided to write a bit about the likelyhood of us seeing auroral displays. The Space Environment Center has a handy page which gives some aurora viewing tips. Let's get technical... Of course, location is a big part-and knowing your magnetic latitude helps. They have a chart with different cities, but unfortunately Cleveland is not listed, so I used their map to 'guestimate' our mag. lat: ~51.0. Minneapolis is 55.1. Othe...

D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco: "Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, the Masque of Mandragora. ) Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope Sunspots, solar flares and auroras Ahhh, what an interesting couple of weeks the sun has had! Seven major X-class flares within the last few days. Region 808 will cross the center of the sun tomorrow, and, if it holds together, will reach the western limb around the 21st. I believe there is still a mid-latitude aurora watch in effect, so be on the look out for the Norhtern Lights, especially if 808 continues to produce solar flares and CMEs. Check out this article for all the excitement, and the dangers, that a solar flare can produce. There's a really nice picture at the end of the article of an aurora display that was cap...

D.W.Q.M.: "You know, I am so constantly outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delight and satisfaction of the arts... the gentle art of fisticuffs." -the First Doctor Football is starting this weekend (regular season)- Yay!!!! Go Packers!!! The Doctor: "Abernathy, where the heck did he come from?" Romana (nonchalantly) : "The Twins' dugout." The Doctor *shaking his head* : "Sheesh." Ahh, a victory-a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. ;) The Indians beat the Twins, 7-5. Boo!!! Hey, I got the Wendy's trivia question during the 7th inning: Which were the only 2 Twins to hit a grand slam during the World Series? A: Dan Gladden and Kent Hrbek-both from the 1987 World Series. ahh, what a great year. ;) LOL :-D Hockey starts next month! Yay! Go, Wild!!! Today Adam, Jerm, Jerm's dad, Mr. D and I tried out a different disc golf course-Rosco Park in Medina. It was fun, but took longer than Sims. That's ok-I can use the exe...

D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco: "Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, the Masque of Mandragora. ) No September night sky post yet. Ro seems to have misplaced her copy of Sky and Telescope Okay, enough of me talking in the third person. ;) Hopefully I'll have a September night sky post soon, so, until then... Tuesday night, after discgolfing with Adam and Jerm at Sims Park, we decided to check out the sunset along the shores of Lake Erie, 'cause it looked cool. *heehee* I have to watch my language here-don't want the guys to sound feminine. ;) They weren't, believe me, they weren't. Although Adam did decide to joke around and with a high pitch voice, said, 'oooh! the sunset, how pur-ty!' and skipped along the ground-but that was only after I said, 'ooh! Let...

D.W.Q.M.: "The ceremonial gift merely symbolizes friendship. We have no need for symbols, you and I." -K'anpo, from the 3rd Doctor story, Planet of the Spiders 'Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock...I'm talking to Au-n-ntie!' -Boo, today on the phone. :) It's hard not to love that! :-D I called my sister today to see how she was doing and it turns out she already got the packages I sent the kids on Monday! Woo! They all loved the books, and Boo especially loved the new clothes (she starts kindergarten next week-I don't believe it!) Al said she got pictures of them with their new books, including Mellon, holding hers up with the 'so big' expression and a huge smile on her face. Oooh! I can't wait to see 'em!!!! Yesterday they went to the Minnesota State Fair and had a great time-they got a new wagon. (the kids and mom seem very excited about this new wagon) I was going to ask the kiddies if they had tried Norweigan on a stick, b...

D.W.Q.M.: "It takes all sorts to make a galaxy." -the Fourth Doctor Ah, yes, we are coming to the end of the August blog challenge, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about a couple of things that are really important that make me happy. :) The first, of course, is my family. :) Of course, now that I want to write about them I have complete writer's block. LOL. Seriously, though-I have alot of happy memories of my family-weddings, reunions, graduations, picnics, the holidays, Sunday dinners. How many have played a family reunion volleyball game, with, like, 20 people on each side? (ok, maybe only 15) At one reunion back in 1990, I remember we played guys against girls. One of my second cousins was serving-she served the ball, and her husband, who had casually walked onto the court, just stuck his arm out in mid-stride and the ball bounced off of it with such force we all had to run for cover. Family volleyball games are cool, 'cause even the smallest kiddies get ...

D.W.Q.M.: "Well, you see, Mr Scarman, I have the advantage of being slightly ahead of you. Sometimes behind you, but normally ahead of you." -the Fourth Doctor Three cheers to Perseph , who won Settler's on taco night! Yay, taco night! This past taco night we watched the first episode of Farscape that I saw. It brought back a fond memory. My friend Jeff needed a place to stay while visiting, so I offered him my apartment. He accepted, but about a week before he came over, he asked if we could watch this show called Farscape (apparently it was starting it's second season that week) He said, 'you gotta love Farscape .' I said, sure, okay. Well, the Wenesday before he came, I noticed that USA was going to be airing a two part story from the show. I decided to watch it to see what I had agreed to. By the end of the first episode, I was like, 'wow, this is pretty frellin' cool.' By the end of the second, I was like, 'I want more! I want more!!!...

D.W.Q.M.: "It's so peaceful, like Earth after a thunderstorm." -Tegan Jovanka Happiness is...the middle of August and the temp's less than 70 degrees. Bliss. Ahh, I can let my hair down. Yesterday it was sunny and cool-and I loved it! So did Perseph! ;) Today it was cloudy, and we had some lake-effect rain (much needed rain, I think) but the temp is still cool, and it's not muggy-perfect for a lunch break walk! (Since she's back at KSL, Shar and I are determined to start walking during lunch on a regular basis again!) Before I forget-I'd like to thank Andy and Adam for showing up for the evening procession the last day of the Feast! Since they arrived after we had lined up, I didn't see them. During the evening procession, since we are playing constantly, the only people I am aware of are those who are right next to me. "Thanks, you two!!" :-D (special thank you to Perseph, too-who let me know they were there) :) Happiness from Saturday: Di...

D.W.Q.M.: "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." -the Fourth Doctor *hee* You are the Fourth Doctor: A walking Bohemian conundrum with a brooding personal magnetism and a first-rate intellect concealed somewhere beneath your charmingly goofy exterior. You are perhaps the most terribly clever of all the Doctors, though your occasional bouts of childishness get you in trouble. You never go looking for a fight, but when someone messes with you... good heavens, are they ever sorry they did. Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You? brought to you by Quizilla

D.W.Q.M.: "You know, I am so constantly outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delight and satisfaction of the arts... the gentle art of fisticuffs." -the First Doctor Tuesday Jerm and Adam introduced me to disc golf. Even though my arm was quite sore, and I was so much over par that I lost count, I still had a great time! Adam's been doing this for several years ago, so he is the expert. Jerm just started last week, but he's looking pretty good out there. :) We went to play again this evening, and although I still sucked, I was able to keep track of my score this time around. :) Both Adam and Jerm say they can see that I'm improving, so that made me happy!! :) We play again this Saturday-I hope to improve even more! ;) It's going to be a slow process, but well worth it. :) Also-we made Adam happy-he's really excited that we like disc golf. He was afraid that he'd take us, and we'd be like, yeah, this is cool,we should do it ah...

D.W.Q.M.: Sarah Jane Smith: "Boot cupboard? But it's enormous!" the Fourth Doctor: "Oh, I've seen bigger boot cupboards." First, apologies to those who read my blog who got my email on the subject-this entry will pretty much repeat it. Maybe a couple more comments-feel free to voice your opinion on the new dorms! Case has finished building the new dorms. 7 new dorms-buildings 1-4 for the upper classmen, buildings 5-7 for the second years. Today Shar(also a case alum), Brian, and I took a tour of the new dorms... OMG. Where to begin? The common room: A working fireplace. Working fireplace! , big flat plasma screen tv. Comfy chairs, a kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, and full oven/stove. The stove is one of those flattop ranges...WOW. My sister was willing to sacrifice an awesome fridge just for one of those stoves... Starbucks (open 7 days a week-7am to midnight), a convience store... Fancy staircases (as we were walking down, Shar said, 'it's t...

D.W.Q.M.: Barbara: "What's that awful noise?" the First Doctor: "I beg your pardon... 'Awful noise'? A good way to talk about my singing!" Barbara: "No, Doctor, not that awful noise -- the other one!" Surviving the Feast! :) Yup, I survived, and had a good time! I have to admit, though-I was quite worried. The first night of the Feast, Friday, was extremely hot and muggy-add to that the 3 hours of sleep I got the night before, I was very crabby by the time the evening was done. Since it was very cloudy, we didn't see any meteors, either. :( Although I was bummed, Perseph knew exactly how to cheer me up-a late night trip to the IHOP for dessert! ;) And, despite the fact that we didn't see anything, it was cool to hang out on the farm with Perseph, Foofy, Jerm and Mike(who came up from Dayton for the Feast) Although, the past three astronomical events that we have tried to see have been spoiled by clouds and haze (comet, planetary alignm...

D.W.Q.M.: Cornish: "Control to capsule: do you have visual contact?" the Third Doctor: "Do you mean 'Can I see it'?" Keep your fingers crossed for a break in the clouds tonight!! The Perseids are coming, the Perseids are coming! ;)

D.W.Q.M.: "Our lives are different from anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing!" -the Second Doctor Awnings are up, tables are up, trucks are blocking the road, signs, and lights are being draped across buildings, and Mama Santas is closed for the week... Must be time for the Feast!! I love the Feast of the Assumption-I'm sure I've said this before, but the Feast is my favorite Italian Band gig. :) And it starts tomorrow!! We'll be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday-starting at 6 (the neighborhood walk), with a sit down concert around 8:30 or so (weather permitting, of course) For the neighborhood walk, Father Racco gives us a list of Parish members who can't make it down to the Feast. When we go play for them, they are happy for the visit, often moved to tears. I can't really find the words to describe how I feel when we visit each home-the simplest way is to say that I feel happy when...

D.W.Q.M.: Barbara: "What's that awful noise?" the First Doctor: "I beg your pardon... 'Awful noise'? A good way to talk about my singing!" Barbara: "No, Doctor, not that awful noise -- the other one!" Ooh, the August blog challenge is really challenging, not because I don't have enough things that makes me happy, but rather, I don't have enough time to post every day! ;) That's ok, though. As Michael had mentioned in his comments, the way we go about it is up to our own interpretation. :) So, I have another small post. ;) In my opinion, if you are laughing, you are happy, so I'll post something that I heard on the program, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue that made me burst into laughter: The song, 'I've got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts' sung to the tune of 'Girl From Iponema' Enjoy!!! :-D

D.W.Q.M.: "If only I could find my recorder, I could play you a little something to pass the time." -the Second Doctor ...Suite. ;) Several weeks ago we drove past a sign advertizing Neil Diamond's concert at the Gund. Jerm said, 'I'd like to go to that...' A little over a week ago I won 4 tickets to that very concert. Last night we went to an awesome concert! Originally we were going to go with Perseph and Foofy, but due to last minute injuries (arm and big toe-I'm sorry guys! I hope you're both feeling better) they decided not to go. So I invited the Doctor, who, upon seeing my tickets, had exclaimed, 'holy $h*t! I'd even consider going to that.' and my friend Kim, who wasn't doing anything that night and loves spontaneity. It was awesome-our seats were pretty high up, but we were next to the stage and could see the band, the backup singers, and most importantly, Neil Diamond. ;) Also from our perspective we were able to get the ful...

Well, originally I was going to have a nice long post about what makes me happy-related to my August Night Sky post. ...unfortunately my lunch hour is just about up, so I'll save that for tomorrow. :) Instead I'll just post two little things that made me smile: Yesterday I was out sick (no, that did not make me happy-my ear was killing me!) Anyhoo, Perseph gave me a call to see how I was doing, and mentioned that Karen noticed I wasn't in and hoped that I felt better too. That certainly brightened my day and made me feel a whole lot better! :) Thanks, guys! The second happened this morning. I was riding the bus with my coworker Barb and we got off at the library and saw Ron, another coworker who rides the bus with us, walking towards us. So Barb calls out, 'I see somebody got the early bus today!' Ron, with a semi-serious/mock-horrified look, replies, 'You mean it isn't time to go home yet?!?!' LOL-that totally made my day.

D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence- claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco:"Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, The Masque of Mandragora) Woo-hoo! August! What a great month for backyard astronomy! :) This astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope Planets ...vs. the moon. ;) August 7th: Crescent moon close to Venus at dusk. Neptune comes to opposition. August 9th: Crescent moon close to Jupiter at dusk. August 24th: Moon near Mars after 11pm (EDT) August 25th: For the next week, Mercury is below Saturn near the eastern horizon about 75 minutes before sunrise. Don't forget your binoculars! August 31st: Moon near Saturn in twilight this morning. Uranus reaches opposition tonight. ---------------------------------- Meteors! August 11th-12th: Perseids peak tonight! The best known, most reliable shower (dubbed ...

D.W.Q.M.: "Oh, my giddy aunt!" -the Second Doctor My second entry for August blog challenge. :) I actually have two today. One-my sister found a job! Yay! :) She had been looking for a while, but it was hard finding something part time for the hours she could work. But now she has one, so we're all happy! :) Of course, this always makes me happy: Mellon: 'I've got to get away from these weirdos!' LOL ;) My sister took this while we were stopping for gas, right after they had picked me up this past June. Whether it's just them saying, 'I miss you! I love you!' over the phone, sending me an email through Grandma's account, a hand written note, even just the pictures my sister sends me through her cell phone-they always makes me happy! Whenever my sister sends me a new picture, I have a habit of printing it out and running around and showing it to everybody. One of my coworkers, Mary, once commented, 'I thought I heard a squeal of delight!...

D.W.Q.M.: The Third Doctor: "Your paper on DNA synthesis was quite remarkable for your age." Prof. Jones: "A promising youngster, huh?" Third Doctor: "No, no; I mean for the age that you live in." I thought that I would start Micheal's August challenge by posting something that made me smile over the weekend. :) I was in the children's section of Half-Priced Books looking for something for Mellon and Boo when I heard this tiny voice say, ''scuse me.' I looked down and saw this little boy who was politely waiting for me to move so he could put a book back onto the shelf. His mother, who was keeping track of at least 3 kids, had just turned around to look at him as he said it, looked up at me and said, 'Oh, my gosh! He said it unprompted!! ' Then, with an embarrassed laugh said, 'I'm sorry, it's just that he's only 2! I'm so proud of him!' I smiled and told her it was ok, and that she should be proud. As ...

D.W.Q.M.: Dr Percival: "E equals m C cubed." the Master: "Squared." Dr. Percival: "What?" the Master: "E = m C squared, not cubed." (from the Third Doctor story, the Time Monster ) WVIZ still sucks-it's now after 1, and they are still airing the wine auction. blah On a much lighter note-I decided to read some blogs and found this entry at Big Orange Michael . It made me laugh! Hmmmm...I wonder if the 10th planet has Cybermen on it. ;)

D.W.Q.M.: "Well I have something of vital importance to tell you, that you sir are a NIWIT!" -the Third Doctor Ok, well, it's not August yet, so I'm going to post something that made me mad! I have said it before, and I'll say it again: CLEVELAND'S PBS STATION SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's bad enough that they don't air the cool programs like the British comedies (like Are You Being Served? ) and Red Dwarf and Doctor Who (when the BBC was still giving PBS the rights to show them) but now they aren't even showing what they have scheduled to air!!!! I knew it was too good to be true-I went to WVIZ's website to see when the program Soundstage aired. More specifically, when the Wallflowers were going to be on it. I was quite surprised when I saw an actual listing for our PBS station. I was so glad that I hadn't missed it. It's supposed to be on right now. I was a bit concerned when my Gu...

D.W.Q.M.: "When everything is new, can anything be a surprise?" -Cho-je, (from the Third Doctor story, Planet of the Spiders ) I think I figured out what is wrong with my fonts. In Blogger, you have 'Edit HTML' mode and 'Compose' mode. Compose mode allows you to choose your font (if I'm not mistaken, a fairly recent addition) I think that's confusing the CSS file (which controls my fonts), or something. So, for now, after I'm done typing in HTML mode, I'll switch over to Compose mode and change the font to veranda. Haven't decided on the size I like best, though-so the size might change from time to time. Anyhoo! Big Orange Michael has posted a Blog challenge for August which I am going to participate in. Every day (or nearly every day) you post about something that made you happy that day. It sounds like alot of fun! :) :) If it had started today, I know exactly what I'd post about-I won tickets to a Neil Diamond concert! Yay! I am...

D.W.Q.M.: "She lets her knowledge out a bit at a time, so as not to embarrass me." -Ian Chesterson ...so says Jerm. But he's right, you know! ;) Just take a look at the evidence: Ben Browder-John Crichton of Farscape , now Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell of Stargate: SG-1 Claudia Black-Aeryn Sun of Farscape , now Vala Mal Doran of Stargate: SG-1 Lexa Doig-Rommie of Andromeda , now Dr. Carolyn Lam of Stargate: SG-1 Mitch Pileggi-Walter Skinner of the X-Files , now Col. Steven Caldwell of Stargate: Atlantis (ooh, and as a side note, Robert Patrick-Doggett of the X-Files was Col. Summner(sp?) in the Stargate: Atlantis pilot. Sure his character didn't last beyond the pilot, but that still counts.) Hmmm...have I missed anybody? Don't get me wrong-I am not complaining here. I have really enjoyed the new seasons of the Stargates. I just find it amusing. :) (and seeing Browder, Shanks, and Judge at once on the same screen is an added bonus. LOL :-D) ;)

D.W.Q.M: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence- claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco:"Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, The Masque of Mandragora) Sorry this is so late and a bit brief! Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope Around midnight on July 4th I was standing outside my sister's house, looking out at the dark sky wishing I had a telescope! Deep Impact collided with Comet Tempel 1- click here for an article about the impact! :) July 5th: Earth is at it's 2005 aphelion (farthest point away from the sun) July 17th: Mars is at it's perihelion (closest to the sun in orbit) July 20th: The two brightest starts in the sky will be out at equal, great heights. Vega high toward the east and Arcturus high toward the southwest. July 21st: Full moon at 7:00am EDT. This is the closest and largest full moo...

D.W.Q.M.: the First Doctor: "You know, I acquired that ulster from Gilbert and Sullivan." Ian: "Oh, really? I thought it was made for two." Hey! I'm back online. :) I can do everything except send mail from my dreamingheart address-but hopefully I'll have that remedied soon. (I can check it though-thank goodness!) :) Hopefully I'll get around to talking about my trip to MN soon. Mellon now has her first tooth and can crawl! (Unfortunately both of these events happened after I left) She was backing up while I was there! She hadn't quite figured out how to move forward, but she was pretty close. Tonight was our first night at the Mt. Carmel gig. My friend Mike and his friend Andy came up from Dayton to play. :) Unfortunately it was raining, and apparently the new priest there hired another band for the evening, so we only did the walk around the neighborhood and then left. Apparently the guys who take us to our stops didn't know we wouldn...

D.W.Q.M.: "No, impossible. I'm fully booked for the next 3 centuries." -the Fourth Doctor Yes, I'm back! Yes! I had fun! Yes, the kiddies are cuter than ever! Yes, I took pictures! Yes, they are 'instant gratification' pictureS! (digital camera pics) No! they are not downloaded/uploaded. :-D Hey, I just got back, give me a break. ;) Actually, the uploaded part may be a while-I have to get a new isp (blah) and I don't know how soon I'll have that set up. For now, brief lunch posts, and possibly posts on a friend's computer, is all that I can do. *sigh* It took me over an hour to get through all my junk mail (yuk). And I don't know what's up with the font on my blog-it's posting in the wrong font. I noticed that before I left, but wasn't able to work on it. *sigh* The worst part about going on vacation is getting back into reality. I think my alarm went off for 3 minutes before I realized it was going off and I had to get u...

D.W.Q.M.: "What's wrong with being childish? I like being childish." -the Third Doctor Before I forget, I've updated both my front porch and travel dog pages-feel free to check them out when you get the chance! So as I'm packing a couple of vid games (Mario Party 6 and Double Dash) for my trip up north, I start mentally preparing myself for the 'why don't you bring up that Super Nintendo and leave it here?' that I'll probably get from my sister. She tries that every time I visit-even starts in on it 3 weeks before I get there. She hasn't said anything to me this trip yet, so I'm actually a little worried. She always tries to guilt trip me and it never works...maybe she's got something really good planned... ;) My sister is a fan of the old cartridge games, just like me. I still have our old Texas Instruments computer with all the games (another thing she tries to get me to send up to her) lol. One thing we don't have, thoug...

D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence- claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand." Marco:"Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, The Masque of Mandragora) Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope. Happy Solstice, everybody! :) Summer officially started at 2:46 am EDT, this morning. Planets June 25th-29th: Grab your binoculars! Venus, Mercury, and Saturn form a rare 3 planet cluster (a trio-3 celestial objects that fit within a 5 degree circle) low on the WNW horizon near Pollux and Castor, approximately 50 minutes after sunset. Watch how they come together from now until the 25th. :) For more on this, and other events this week, check out this week's Sky at a glance. I might have to skip out on this one, unless I can find another neighborhood to stargaze in-too many buildings around-don't want anyone to think I...

D.W.Q.M.: "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish, sometimes." -the Fourth Doctor The bib says it all: She's getting so big! I can't wait to see her next month. :) :) And Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! :)

D.W.Q.M.: "Fantastic!" -the Ninth Doctor Upcoming episode: 13. The Parting of the Ways -season finale this Saturday on BBC1. If you don't like spoilers at all , I suggest that you stay away from the BBC's Doctor Who site (the link is provided for those who don't mind just a glimpse. ;)) I saw it, I didn't read any details, but all I gotta say is that it was pretty freakin'-frellin'-frackin' cool. 8-D. According to Outpost Gallifrey , on Wednesday, June 15th, the BBC announced a third series of Doctor Who has been confirmed for 2007!!!!!! WOO-HOO! Now, if only the show would come back to the U.S. of A. *sigh* Speaking of coming to the USA, someone in one of my lists has an interesting theory-he had just received his region 1 copy of The Leisure Hive dvd last week, and in it found a promo card with the 9th Doctor and Rose in front of the TARDIS on the front. The back was an ad from BBC America for the new 9th Doctor books. Although there ...

D.W.Q.M.: "Your silliness is noted. Drive systems regenerating..." -K-9 Oh, before I get to the pics, I have a new item to add to my list of things you'll find at an Italian band procession: Car alarms set off by the fireworks. *bam!* Also, thanks to my completely incompetent sunscreen lathering abilities, I am no longer 'alabaster white', but instead, a nice 'lobster red'. *OW!* Okay, on with the show... Here are a few pics from some of the displays at Marcon this year: These pictures are of the Chaos Machine, presented by Steve Jackson (the Gaming GOH), and was located just outside the dealers room. This machine was really cool-you just drop a ball in it, and you have no idea where it would end up. Jackson also had a preview of a new Munchkin game, but I missed it. :( This next picture is a picture of the NASA display: Complete with a moon rock! (it's on the right of the picture-and it got a little cut off-sorry about that!) I'm hoping ...