Square Thoughts

Thu, 06 Oct 2005 01:46:48 GMT

An interesting article about what box office numbers really mean in the modern world
http://www.whedon.info/article.php3?id_article=11722

PVP goodness

Wed, 11 May 2005 00:23:57 GMT

Hehe
http://www.buffy.nu/article.php3?id_article=9547

Wed, 04 May 2005 04:28:11 GMT

The small dark numbers on the off-white clock face pulled me back -- back to where I could watch my wild horses run through the tall green grass. I stared at the clock for awhile, feeling a familiar warmth from the past tugging at me. The memories were all fuzzy at first, then like the slow turn of a camera lens they pulled into focus. I was a child kneeling on grandma's thick, green shag carpet. To the plastic horses in my hands the 70's style carpet was an endless, grassy field, where the small herd played out countless adventures, all beneath the tick-tock face of grandma's clock that looked so much like the one I saw today. It felt nice to go there again.

And liberty for all... unless you're gay.

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 15:49:21 GMT

I'm embarrassed by the narrow-minded prejudice of my state government today

The Texas House just okayed a ban on gay marriage and civil unions. I'm not surprised, I understand the society I live in, just terribly saddened by the backwards steps we are taking. I don't believe government has any right to tell people who the can "Legally" fall in love with. Government should not legislate family. Rep. Warren Chisum, in support of the ban said marriage "deserves the highest level of protection so that marriage will not be interfered with." Well guess what Mr. Chisum, you just interfered with it.

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 15:24:12 GMT

Why do I feel like this will end badly?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/02/border.volunteers.ap/index.html

Lest we forget to stretch

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 02:53:43 GMT

There are two principles of stretching that I made into rules for myself.

First principle of stretching is to stretch. Too often I get busy and let my stretching routine slide, only to pay for it later. Half-way through a seven hour day of massage and I remember why the first principle is so important. Thus I've been working hard and sticking to principle number one. I think the quality of the care I provide our patients improves if I'm stretched out to start the day. It's harder to ease another's pain, when you're hurting yourself.

Second principle of stretching is relax. I used to treat my stretching like a work out; pushing and working the muscles. Stretching is not exercise, if you push the muscle too hard it responds by retracting to protect itself. There are two ways to avoid this. Repeating stretches that last for less then 2 seconds. Under a normal stretch a muscle won't respond defensively until after 2 seconds.

However, my preftered method is the long fascial unwinding stretch. This is where it becomes important to relax. Start with finding your limits, the muscle should be saying, "Oh yeah! that's the ticket," not, "Yikes! We're too old to become a contortionist." In other words, if it hurts, back off until it doesn't. Relax and hold the stretch, if you pay attention you'll feel the the muscle pull back a bit. Take a deep breath and relax deeper. After a bit the fascia (outer netting of the muscle) will begin to release. The muscle will actually lengthen a bit. What's happening is all that tangled net about the muscle is unwinding allowing the muscle to reach closer to it's natural range of motion.

The body feels great after a good stretch-out and will thank you all day long.

Wandering to the right

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 18:00:31 GMT

What a thrill to see Iraqis voting for the first time. Maybe this is the seed we've all been hoping for, maybe something good will come out of all of this. Perhaps not finding WMD's forced war hawks to do something right to justify their actions. There has got to be a better more moral way to bring democracy to the oppressed, but we've had the bad (LOTS OF BAD) it's about time for some good.

Doodle mishaps

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 01:35:53 GMT

This is hilarious

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/01/31/doodle.reut/index.html

Fruit and butter of Life

Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:55:45 GMT

After 5 days of creation, God looked at what he had made. He considered the Apple and it was good. He considered the peanut and it was good. But it was not good that they should be alone. And God said, "I must create something that will invent peanut butter and place it on the apple." And on the 6th day he made man. It is good to know your purpose in the universe.

We just keep hurting ourselves

Sat, 29 Jan 2005 02:11:07 GMT

Why is it that every time there's some crazed third world militant running around and causing chaos it always ends up he was trained or set up by the US!?

I'm reading about these crazy gang lords in Mexico kidnapping everyone, and lo and behold; they were originally trained by the US military for the Mexican army. The list is long and sad. Of course Saddam is its biggest star. We propped him up to counter Iran. That turned out well for us didn't it? When will we stop meddling?

We keep winning the military battles and losing the war for the hearts of the world. We are hated across every hotbed on the globe because of our insane backroom dealings. The truly tragic part is that it never works. Every time we train or empower some dope it comes back to bite us in the ass. And the hatred grows.

Our country has been in the position for a long time now to be, if you'll forgive the term, a witness unto the world. We are the touchstone of free societies. The downtrodden out there wanted to love us. They wanted to look to the US as a bringer of freedom to the world. Instead we've trained thugs.

Did we not believe in our own ideology? Why did we think a thug was any better than a communist? Yes, we won the cold war, but not by promoting democracy. We won it by stopping communism. Now we are experimenting with forcing democracy on third world countries. I just don't see how the mess we're making in Iraq will do anything but bite us in the ass once again. I sure know it's bankrupting us and robbing from the fortunes of our children for today's needs.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope this new method of changing the world works better than our cold war methods. But I don't believe I am. I can't bring myself to drink the Bush Kool-Aid.

What the frell?

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 18:22:38 GMT

"We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids." - Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Apparently a deviant lifestyled SpongeBob gay-pants.

http://www.freepress.net/news/6271

It's nice to know the world is such a safe place that we must now focus our attention on eradicating evil cartoon characters. If the these people cared so much about children why don't they focus more energy on feeding and protecting them from real dangers, not on a cartoon that is all about silliness and preaches only the most basic moral lessons. If there is a criicism about "SpongeBob" it is that it makes no bold statements, it's pure entertainment. By their own argument "Veggie Tales," could be accused of brainwashing kids. It whole-hartedly is preaching christian morality in an entertaining and captivating medium. And that's okay, just like it would be okay if "SpongeBob" preached tolerance of homo-sexual lifestyle. We too quickly confuse brainwashing and preaching. Mr Dobson's group would claim "Veggie Tales" is teaching good moral lessons. But if they disagree with the lesson the same technique becomes brainwashing. Frankly I like both cartoons. They're fun and silly, one preaches a christian agenda, and one preaches squids are grumpy. There should be a cartoon that teaches tolerance of other lovestyles. It would be a great eductional tool for the large group of people who find tolerance an essential moral lesson their children need to learn. A message the christian community is too often unwilling to include in it's moral teachings. Unfortunately "SpongeBob" is not it.

The Leftist in me

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:06:34 GMT

Strange... I've been struggling through some right elbow tendonitis the past couple of months. Caused by work but aggravated by that damned mouse. I can't afford to let a repetitive stress injury slowly destroy my career. Amazingly enough I've taught myself to mouse left handed. As a lifetime rightie it suprised me how easy my left hand picked up the workload. It's certainly helped and *JOY* I don't have to choose between my computer games, and my life's work. The only trick is now I keep bumping the right button against the left side of the keyboard. A small annoyance but overall I'm very proud of what my left hand has accomplished. I'd applaud for it, but that just seems like such a slap in the face.

Twisted Lego fun

Sun, 26 Dec 2004 06:04:46 GMT

I'm just so twisted.

Prepare for hyperdrive!

Sun, 26 Dec 2004 06:02:10 GMT

My wife and I still aren't too old for a little Lego fun.

There is such a bird as an eagle

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 05:31:10 GMT

The season is whimpering to an end. The much revered and hated team with the star on its helmet is drifting into NFL obscurity. We Cowboy fans finally know what it is like to say "next season" year after year. For 20 straight seasons Landry's Cowboys were in the hunt. The late 80's were dark but they soon gave way to the early and mid 90's where the glorious light of the Super Bowl gods shone brightly upon Dallas. The late 90's were the unavoidable lower ebb of the NFL flow. Now it is the Aughts and time once again for Boys in white to stand tall, grasp at that championship ring and claim their destined birthrights. Instead we drift from "next season" to "next season."

What have we gained in this "next season" that will lead us to another "this season?" Looks like we found a running back. Julius has been the bright spot among a lack-luster group of off-season acquisitions. Nate Jones looks like he might be able to play nickel back, or was it just that opponents were too busy throwing at our corners to go after Jones? Frazier also looks like he may be able to play nickel. Too bad he's at corner. Darien Barns is a serviceable full back and Terrance Copper looks like he might have something at wide receiver. We don't know what we've got in Henson at QB, Peterman at guard, or Jacob Rodgers at tackle. Forgetting the unknowns then, we've got one potential playmaker and some potential roster fillers. The 'boys need a playmaker or two to show up out of those unknowns to justify this past off-season. It takes a long time to build a team when you do it one playmaker at a time.

Of the sophomores, Newman was inconsistent but I think if he’s given time to mature in this new no-touch life of the NFL secondary, he'll be fine. He looked solid today. Al Johnson looks like a starting NFL center, and considering this is really his first year, I predict pro-bowls in his future. The best of the sophomores, tight end Jason Witten, is already breaking records. Finally, Keith Davis would like to be our next Bill Bates. I'll gladly let him. So from the last "next season" (that would be Parcells’ first for those of you keeping score) we have one definite playmaker, a potential playmaker, and two solid pieces to the puzzle. Not bad, but for a team drafting as high the Cowboys did you'd have liked to have seen a few more of those puzzle pieces falling into place.

If our 'boys want to reach that distant and slippery life of "this season," they need to take it up a notch this off-season. No more bargain shopping at the Good Will for free agents, and please don't trade down for a bunch of seventh round picks. Find those puzzle pieces and roster fillers in the middle rounds. Leave the seventh round leftovers for somebody else to sort through. Play the odds, spend the cap money, build a team that we can be proud of "next season."

Farscape SG1

Sat, 18 Dec 2004 06:50:33 GMT

This is cool! I may have to start watching Stargate SG1 more often

Ben Browder, star of Sci Fi Channel’s "Farscape" series and miniseries, has signed onto the upcoming ninth season of Sci Fi’s successful "Stargate SG-1."

There is no such bird as a Seahawk

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 17:19:37 GMT

What a game! Cowboys were down 3 - 14, up 29 - 14, down 29 - 39, and win it 43 - 39. I know, I know... everyone in Seatle is screaming about the Keyshawn TD that should have been called back. But let's face it, the officiating was pitiful throughout. I'll give you the Keyshawn TD if you give back the Rice Push-off TD, & while we're making things right let's give Julius back his TD reversed on a phantom holding call. We could go on and on, the point being you have to overcome bad calls sometimes to win. Up until Monday night I didn't believe the '04 Cowboys could overcome any obstacles. What a difference one player can make. Julius is making believers out of us. The blue Kool-aid is on the tip of my lips. Hmmm, looks good, smells funny... think I'll let it age until Philly in two weeks.

By the way, another week, another opponent with bad uniforms. Did someone really think "Hey, all grey! that won't be depressing in the least."