The Labyrinth

Another Meme

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:00:55 GMT

From alicebentley

Instructions:
* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

The Image class does not have its own Background and Foreground properties because those properties are defined by the Control class and Image is not derived from Control. The distinction may be a little confusing at first. In earlier Windows application programming interfaces, virtually everything on the screen was considered a control. That is obviously not the case here. A control is really just another visual object, and is characterized mostly by giving feedback to user input. Elements like Image can obtain user input, of course, because all the keyboard, mouse, and stylus input events are defined by UIElement.

Take a look at the namespace System.

(It just had to be a computer book, didn't it?)

Reality Approaches Girl Genius.

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:11:54 GMT

Spider clank.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i89BJjNBqj4

The Geisterdamen would like.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ggmain/strips/ggmain20050321.jpg

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:02:36 GMT

Today I was at the Minneapolis Renaissance Faire. They claim it's the biggest one in the country, attendance wise. It was certainly a hot Faire, humid and well into the 80s.

Yes there were belly dancers (though the competition wasn't today), and yes there were jousts, and yes there were a lot of people in costume including Jack Sparrow (who was attracting a lot of attention from young ladies). "Jack" and I discussed antique pistols with a guy who actually knew a lot about them. I own a pistol very much like the one in today's user pic.

I took a picture of a very cute "mute" lady wood elf/fairy who's the unofficial "mascot" of the Faire; she's probably the best mime (but not the annoying Marceau style mime) that I've ever seen.

There were lots of young and older women with vast tracts of land, which was interesting for this guy. At least one young lady looked like she might be close to having a wardrobe malfunction sometime during the day.

A turkey leg was eaten, and good cider drunk.
A joust was watched that seemed like the real thing with knights in armor on horseback, but no blood.
A beer mug was purchased for my mug collection.
The Ren Faire was a lot of fun, but I'm not quite ready to go down the slippery slope that is SCA and similar things. Got too many things to do in my life as it is...but going to an occasional Faire will be something I'll do in the future. Maybe the Irish weekend in September...

Consider the effect...

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:33:57 GMT

of the Torchmen on Castle Wulfenbach if it comes within their scanning range about now.

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:12:08 GMT

Yet Another Meme

"If there are one or more people on your friends list who make your world a better place just because they exist, and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the Internet, then post this same sentence in your journal."

That would be the Darkfriends...originally on rasfwr-j and now LiveJournal, plus the Girl Genius and Albuquerque LiveJournal people. They make the Internet more interesting.

Writer's Block: Where the Cheese Goes

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:54:15 GMT

What should cheese go on, and what should cheese NOT go on?

View other answers

Cheese doesn't go with peanut butter and sweet stuff.
Cheese goes with burgers (green chile helps), New Mexican food, pasta, and even salad.

Memeage

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:36:35 GMT

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?

At home, a pic of the main mountains and valley at Guadelupe National Park in Texas.

At work, the stucco background MS supplies with WinXP.

Q. How many televisions do you have in your house?

One, a fairly new Sharp 26" wide screen. It's big enough, and has a crisp picture.

BIOLOGY

Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?

Right-handed.

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?

Tonsils.

Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted?

Two sixty pound bags of sand in my pickup truck, to help stabilize handling in ice and snow last winter. They're still in the bed; gotta do something about that.

Q. Have you ever been knocked out?

No.

BULL*OLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?

No.

Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

My name is perfectly OK.

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?

Blues or browns/tans, mostly. Black slacks for work also.

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item?

Well I don't like stuffed bell peppers, but technically they're food.

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?

No.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?

Hell no.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?

No. Not addicted, but sometimes I have to spout off.

Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?

No. They'd pay me not to pose naked, I'm sure.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?

No, but a little hot sauce in some food is a good thing.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?

No. I made it through the Army without shooting anyone, why should I change my karma now?

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?

Wallet.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?

I've seen a little bit of it. Probably too dorky for my taste.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?

Carpet.

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?

I stand.

Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?

One pair, in case I get an invite to a pool party or something.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Last person who texted you?

Verizon Wireless, saying I could pay my bill right now. I don't text message.

Q: Last person who called you?

Karen, my wife.

Q: Last person you hugged?

Karen again.

FAVORITOLOGY

Q: Number?

42

Q: Season?

Spring for the moment.

Q: Color?

Blue.

CURRENTOLOGY

Q: Missing someone?

Karen and most of the kids.

Q: Mood?

Quiet.

Q: Listening to?

The rain, and the squirrel trying to get into the apartment attic.

Q: Watching?

The PC

Q: Worrying about?

Karen's feeling ill, and I'm a long way from Albuquerque.

Q: Wearing?

Jeans and a T Shirt.

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?

The kitchen to make coffee.

Q: What can you not wait to do?

Go walking again in nice weather. It's raining today.

Q: Do you smile often?

Yup.

Q: Are you a friendly person?

Usually am.

Meme

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:24:37 GMT

1. My username is ______ because ______.

paoconnell--A condensed form of my name, more or less.

2. My name is _____ because ______.

My last name is Irish, as is my first name.

3. My journal is titled - The Labyrinth

4. My friends page is called ____ because ____.

Entering the Labyrinth

I'm a caver in real life, though I'm not as active as I used to be. I'm also a fan of the sections of Wheel of Time that go through the Ways, and the parts of LOTR that take place in Moria. And then there's the Jim Henson movie Labyrinth, which is full of mazes, Muppets, Jennifer Connelly, and David Bowie.

5. My default userpic is

Random, a Prince of Amber, from Roger Zelazny's Amber series. If you don't know why he's ultimately awesome, RAFO.

Earth Hour 2008...

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:55:04 GMT

Seems to be mostly a symbolic gesture. Turn off your exterior and interior lights for an hour, then turn them back on. A Time article about whether this matters is at

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1725947,00.html?cnn=yes

It would make more sense if unnecessary exterior lights on buildings were turned off permanently. I can think of any of a number of tall buildings, mostly offices, that could benefit their power bills by removing architectural lighting other than aircraft warning lights.

It would also make sense if more people could replace some of their incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent or even LED bulbs. I recently replaced the bulbs in a ceiling fan in my apartment with fluorescent bulbs. The fluorescents draw a quarter of the power of the bulbs they replaced, and they'll last a lot longer than incandescents. Don't give me the "omigod mercury" thing either, there's about a microgram of mercury in each bulb, and the phosphors are more of a problem than the mercury.

I have an ulterior motive about cutting down excess lighting. I have a modestly priced telescope. If less light is wasted, I can see the stars, planets and galaxies. But then, so can you. How long has it been since you've been able to see the stars on a clear night? How many of you have seen the Milky Way on a clear night? It's wonderful.

Discuss, please.

Only in Indiana...

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:04:48 GMT

...would a thief do something this dangerous and stupid.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/15182722/detail.html

Stardust DVD

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:07:50 GMT

I bought the DVD at Costco, having read Neil Gaiman's book several years ago. This is a great fantasy movie, close to the level of Princess Bride. Definitely a keeper.

DeNiro and Claire Danes are particularly good, and Michelle Pfeiffer makes a great witch. Charlie Cox is a newbie, but does well as Tristan. Big Win for Neil Gaiman, who worked on the screenplay too. There's a "The Making of Stardust" feature on the DVD, in case you wonder how they put this movie together. There's also a blooper section, and some deleted scenes, but I haven't watched those yet.

Rimrunner's meme

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:56:55 GMT

When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?

Entryway, from an interior hallway in the apartment building.

Do you have a dishwasher?

Yes

Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?

Carpet, new.

Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?

Both.

House, apartment, duplex or trailer?

Apartment
How many bedrooms is it?
Two

Gas stove or electric?

Gas
Do you have a yard?

Common grassy area for the tenants, complete with gas grill.

What size TV is in the living room?

26" HDMI. Still messing with the controls and cables.

Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?

They happen to be right now.

Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?

YES!! Is the Pope Catholic?

What room is your computer in?

Living room.

Are there pictures hanging in your living room?

Yes. An acrylic painting of Cassandra, the prophet that was always right but never believed. Done by my daughter's ex-boyfriend. Four more pictures need to be hung as I get the urge.

Are there any themes found in your home?

Much clutter. Furniture tends to be wood, except for a leather comfy chair and a cloth recliner.

What kind of laundry detergent do you use?

Wisk right now, but maybe Costco later.

Do you use dryer sheets?

Yes. Cheapo but eco-friendly ones from Walmart.

Do you have any curtains in your home?

No. Vertical blinds.

What color is your fridge?

White.

Is your house clean?

Cluttered but clean. I actually use a vacuum cleaner on the rug.

What room is the most neglected?

My desk area.

Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?

Dishwasher = empty
Counter/sink = A few dirty ones.

How long have you lived in your home?

Two months.
Where did you live before?

Albuquerque.

Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?

Hell no.

Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?

No.
How many mirrors are in your house?

On the bathroom vanity.

Look up. What do you see?

The ceiling.

Do you have a garage?

No. Parking lot, yes.

Back Home from Chicago

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:38:28 GMT

I finally got to publius1's New Years party/DFS. There were a few driving problems on the way there, like fresh, slick snow around Eau Claire WI Friday night causing people to slide into ditches (I got a room), and a few flaky drivers along the way on Saturday, but I got to the party anyway. We went out for Meat on a Stick Saturday night. MmmmmMeat, but it was expensive.

Breakfast Sunday was at Golden Apple (good, reasonably priced omelet, incidentally). Lunch was dim sum, also delicious. prince_corwin cooked Czech comfort food for dinner--very good incidentally. There's a thread here, and a rapidly expanding gut that goes with it.

I went to the South Side on New Years Eve afternoon to meet with my daughter Katy and her boyfriend, who's a native of the South side. We had Italian Beef sandwiches at a restaurant that specializes in them. I still have no idea what makes Italian Beef so delicious other than garlic. Gotta be more to it...Incidentally, Chicago drivers seem to have issues with not planning ahead for New Years Eve alcohol, as there was a traffic jam by a liquor store caused by people buying more booze at the last minute, and I got caught in it. Parking back at Kenn's was problematic, as it took awhile (45 minutes) to find a space to park in that was big enough to accommodate my Toyota Tacoma, and which didn't have restrictions that could get me towed.

Once the truck was parked and I trudged across the tundra to Kenn's, there was food provided by missysedai (Middle Eastern, including lamb burgers tabbouleh and hummus) and of course alcohol. Everyone did the usual HAPPY NEW YEAR at midnight, with hugs and all that. About 2 AM I crashed and slept.

Next morning I packed and left about 9 AM, drove through some fresh snow in Illinois, and got back to Minneapolis about 5 PM.

What Do You Have To Say? - Fashion: Do-It-Yourself Clothing

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:50:41 GMT

Tell us about your favorite DIY clothing stores.

Brought to you by HP

View other answers

As far as I know DIY clothing is the grungiest stuff you have. It's what you wear when changing the oil on your car, or you're repainting a room.

I sense a great disturbance in the Farce

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:30:53 GMT

There is a sudden migration of names and faces, old and newer, to RASFWR-J like I haven't seen in years. Get thee hence Darkfriends, and marvel at the people who are now posting. The Loy, Emma, Jim Hill, BunnyThor, and many, many more.

The pistol's thar because tomorrow be Talk like a Pirate Day, matey!

James O Rigney, RIP

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:30:47 GMT

Parts of this post were posted before under Stormfeather's original post, but I thought I'd add a bit to it.
First, my condolences to Harriet and the rest of the Rigney family.

RJ/James Rigney was a heck of a storyteller, and somehow brought us Darkfriends together through RASFWR-J. Many of the Darkfriends are now LiveJournal members reading this post. Unfortunately, AMoL is still unfinished, though apparently Harriet Rigney has much of it in the form of outlines, text, notes, and so forth.

Hopefully the last book will be finished by Harriet, but if she doesn't or can't, we'll need to live with that decision. Perhaps the Nielsen-Haydens can help with its completion.

Assuming AMOL is finished and released, maybe we'll know after all who Demandred really is, and WHO KILLED ASMODEAN???? Or not--maybe RJ left notes saying "Don't tell them."

Paraphrasing:

There are neither beginnings or endings to the Wheel, but this was an ending...

A Darkfriend has penetrated the iPhone's Bore

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 01:36:08 GMT

Check out:
http://www.tuaw.com/bloggers/erica-sadun/

Labor Day Camping and Caving Trip

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:16:28 GMT

Labor Day weekend was spent at a campsite near New Mexico's Black Range with a bunch
of cavers I've known for a long time, but I didn't bring my telescope (not
enough room in the truck, and the road to the camp was rough to say
the least). The camp's in a deep valley, but that turned out not to
matter, skywise.

Friday night was early rain, then clear and crisp, but not all that
great for looking at stars. Funwas hanging around the campfire, talking to old friends, and meeting new people.

Saturday night was rain--lots of rain. We always need rain in New
Mexico, but I'd guess we got nearly an inch of rain.

Sunday and Sunday night were perfect. We went caving in Robinson's cave, got muddy, and had a great hike to and from the cave. Some of the people that were still in camp
that night had never seen the Milky Way before, and the sky was a "My God It's
Full of Stars!" kind of evening.

Oh, yes, we went caving too. My 24 year old daughter Katy has the
caving bug again after giving it up for eight years, and also
rediscovered the night sky Sunday night. She thought she was a city
girl for awhile, but has a girlfriend from high school that got her
back in the wilderness. We'll return the favor for Emily, who's very
curious about caving and isn't claustrophobic or afraid of mud.

Satellite gazing

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:30:49 GMT

Last night I was reading an astronomy discussion group on Yahoo, and someone mentioned they had watched the Space Station and the Shuttle orbiting through the night sky. How did they know where and when to look?

Well there's a Website:

http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx

that will calculate when any large satellite passes through your skies, and can tell you exactly what time it will appear and disappear from sight (the shadow of of the Earth will often cut off light reflecting off the Station or Shuttle while you're looking at it).

Anyway, I typed in my location (Carlsbad NM) last night, and had it calculate when the Shuttle and Space Station (ISS) would next appear over Carlsbad. It gave me a rise time tonight, (9 PM) and a disappearance time, and the sky map showed that they would disappear near Cepheus.

I stepped out at 9 PM, but didn't see them at first. Then I remembered they were rising in the Northwest, not the Northeast (the sky map is printed to be held over your head when searching for stars--duh).
There were the Shuttle and the ISS flying in the same orbit under the Little Dipper, and each of them disappeared near Cepheus. Science strikes again--in a good way.

I've moved

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 04:07:44 GMT

I took a new job in Carlsbad NM, doing programming and database management. I might get to do a little caving down here also, as Carlsbad Caverns is nearby also. another national park and a national forest are nearby, and they're good places to hike. I better get mass quantities of sunscreen, as it's a desert down here.

High school meme

Sat, 19 May 2007 05:37:35 GMT

1. Who was your best friend? The people (guys and girls, all pretty bright) in the Astronomy Club. Observing sessions can be pretty weird when it's Indiana, and most nights are cloudy. We hung around together a lot, talked about life the universe and everything (before Douglas Adams invented the expression).

2. What sports did you play? Canoeing, camping, caving. Outdoor nut even then.

3. What kind of car did you drive? None. Didn't get a driver's license until I was 19.

4. It's Friday night, where were you? Probably out camping, or maybe at a basketball game.

5. Were you a party animal? No.

6. Were you considered a flirt? I was pretty shy except with the group I hung around with.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No. But I listened to rock and roll a lot. Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, the Who, and so forth.

8. Were you a nerd?

The term didn't apply then. This was the mid-60s (space race), and science/engineering was considered cool.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No. I was a straight and narrow kind of guy.

10. Can you sing the fight song? No. I could when I was in school.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Larry Lott. Only high school teacher I had that made us really work on our papers (enriched US History). This helped when I actually started doing college level work.

12. What was your school's full name? Southport High School.

13. School mascot? Cardinal.

14. Did you go to Prom? No.

15. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
You're kidding, aren't you? High school was mostly pretty lame. I started having a life in college.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? Looking forward to college.

17. Where were you on senior skip day? There was no skip day.

18. Did you have a job your senior year? I did the summer after I graduated, making pizzas.

19. Where did you go most often for lunch? School cafeteria. We weren't allowed off campus during school hours.

20. Have you gained weight since then? Of course. Being a guy, I got taller and far more muscular in college and in the Army afterwards. In my 30s, the weight started to shift to my gut, of course.

21. What did you do after graduation? Not a damn thing other than a few relatives coming over to my parents' house. That summer, I went to Expo 67 in Montreal.

22. When did you graduate? 1967. The Summer of Love, but Indiana is a long way from California.

23. Who was your Senior prom date? No prom.

24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion? Did the 10 and the 20. Haven't been since.

25. Who was your home room teacher? Mr. Dart was the last one. That was cool, he let us play chess in the room before school started.

26. Who will repost this after you?

Okay--where's Constantine or the Loy?

Lindsey Buckingham Concert in Albuquerque--April 14.

Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:08:23 GMT

First rate concert! Lindsey (of Fleetwood Mac if you didn't know) had everyone dancing in the aisles--and barking (Holiday Grove)! the concert was a mix of Fleetwood Mac classics he's written, and songs from his solo albums, including the newest. "Under the Skin." He's still a virtuoso guitarist, and his voice is still excellent.

The crowd was a mix of old Boomers (my wife and I) and younger concert goers.

Lindsey said he really liked the Isleta Casino showroom for its relative intimacy, and the enthusiastic Albuquerque crowd. We liked him and his talented band, of course.

I had seen Fleetwood Mac when Rumors came out in the 70s. This was the first time my wife had seen Lindsey in concert, and my first time seeing him as a solo act with a different backing band. The music, old and new, was intense and soaring. The best older song was probably Tusk, though there were a lot of great ones. The best new song was Under the Skin.

Well worth seeing--if Lindsey comes to your area, check him out!

Obsessive Compulsive Stargazing

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:24:33 GMT

Last night, I attended a Messier Marathon. No, that's not a bunch of very sloppy runners. In March, the position of the Sun will let an obsessive-compulsive amateur astronomer (or a bunch of them) see all 107 objects (galaxies, star clusters, Nebulae, and a few double stars) in a single evening.

In the late 18th century, there was a noted comet hunter (he found 20 of them) named Charles Messier that made a list of 103 fixed astronomical objects that might be mistaken for comets (which move across the sky). That list was expanded to 107 in his lifetime, and is now at 110. More about Mr. Messier at:

http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/CMessier.html

Anyway, 8 members of the Rio Grande Astronomy Club

http://www.rgas.org/

attended the Marathon, held in a dark spot near the small town of San Ysidro NM northwest of Albuquerque. Skies were alternately cloudy and clear with fast moving clouds. We were seeing stars with the naked eye about 5-5.5 magnitude when it was clear, which is actually pretty good for the US.

We found about 50 Messier objects (most of which I hadn't seen before) using the club president's shiny new (to him) 10 inch telescope. However, around 10 PM the clouds finally started sprinkling and we wussed out.

Employed!

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:32:02 GMT

It's a 3 month contract with Sandia Labs, starting March 5. Oracle Applications debugging and possible reconfiguring. It pays very well. Yes, renewal is a possibility. [happy dance]

Colts Win!! Bears Win!!

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 05:03:26 GMT

I missed watching the Bears/Saints game--chores and other real life stuff got in the way. I should have watched--the highlights made it look like a classic Midwestern outdoor football game/mud and snow bowl. The Saints were apparently defeated as much by the weather as by the Bears. Brian Urlacher (UNM alum and a friend of my son's) has a chance to win a Super Bowl ring now.

However--I did watch the Colts/Patriots game--amazing. The Colts worked for their victory in one of the most exciting (comeback for the Colts from 18 points down)/aggravating (weird plays all over the map by both teams--two touchdowns were scored by Colts linemen) games I've seen in a long time.

Guess what--I'm a longtime fan of both Da Colts and Da Bears. Whoever wins the Super Bowl will be OK by me.