Mike Rowe always makes me laugh

Watching Mike Rowe bite the testicles off of lambs should NOT be at all funny, but it is.

It's not as funny as watching him get bit by snakes (I was sore the next day after watching that one), but it's awfully close.

God, I'm glad I work indoors and with computers.

Here's what the family is getting for Xmas

I was ruthlessly woken up by a serious case of RLS in my damn arm, so this could go long.

(Yes, RLS is real and yes, you can feel it in your arms not just your legs. I've had this crap on and off literally for as long as I can remember - well before the commercials - so it's not my weak mind being influenced by advertising, big pharma and/or doctors, but thanks for the concern.)

Anyway...

I've bought my husband a bunch of stuff in the last month or so. I haven't bought him anything that I'm going to put under my parents' tree because I suck at keeping secrets and if it's something really neat, I always want him to have it as soon as I get it.



One of the first things I bought him this year is a beginner's electric guitar from Woot! that I figured was perfect - if he plays it, I'll upgrade him. If he doesn't, well, we're out less than $100. It's very shiney and a whole lot heavier than I expected. I've read a lot about it and most experienced players warn against buying this guitar even for a beginner. There are things I worry about when buying something like this and I am a firm adherent to the "you get what you pay for" model of shopping, but with something that's just as likely to end up in the corner with the RockBand drum kit, I wasn't going to spend real money. He has actually picked it up and played around with it. This week will be the real test, though. He's off and I won't be home Monday and Tuesday. I'll get my hopes up if he puts in the instructional DVD that the kit came with.

I also purchased a neat thing over at ThinkGeek. I was browsing their What's New page and they had their Spy Coins back in stock! I bought him the half dollar because he won't accidentally spend it and it will hold a micro SD card like his cell phone uses. He was almost as happy with this gift as with the guitar. I imagine it will end up with some of the military challenge coins he has, but he might carry it around for a while because it is very cool.

And then there's the full series box sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel that I bought for us. Sort of a shared gift! Yeah, that's the ticket! (thank you Amazon Gold Box! Both were half off! Now I never have to open one of those crappy DVD sets and have all the discs fall out again!)

My parents are a little harder to buy for and only partly because every year they say, "Don't buy us anything!". I try to keep down the amount I spend on them, but we still get them gifts. Giving may not be better than receiving, but it's at least equal and when we've gotten them something great, it feels good. I think we did really well this year, actually!


For my dad, I bought a Rawlings leather mouse pad from Everything Baseball. It's shaped like home plate. I know he'll love it and will probably use it at work. Dad thinks that baseball is the finest game ever played. As much as I'd have liked to get him some of the other Rawlings leather stuff - like the briefcase or the duffle bag, he'd have killed me for spending that much on him. I also got him a pen shaped like a baseball bat. It's a little cheap feeling, but it will look nice on his desk.

Mom was a little harder, but I do believe I nailed her gift, too. We recently went to see my sister up in Lubbock and she's got a little black and tan dachshund named Layla. This dog looks a lot like the first dog my parents had after they got married named Freida. Both of them treated that dog like it was another grandkid. It was funny to see them with her - they have never really been like that about my dogs (they're nice to them, of course) and weren't like that with my sister's other two dogs. It was pretty clear that they would love to have a little black and tan dachshund, but Mom has sworn off dogs because they both work and it's too much hassle to get someone to take care of a dog if they want to go out of town (that excuse is total BS because I watch one of my coworker's dogs when he goes out of town - of course I'd watch my parents' dog)... whatever.
So, I was looking through the Signals catalog that I got and found the perfect gift for my mom. A Steiff Black and Tan Dachshund! Mom's got other stuffed animals around the house, including a few Steiff, so this is about perfect. I wish I could get her a real puppy, but she'd seriously kill me. I'm hoping they'll get a dog when one of them retires, but it's not looking like that will be anytime soon, either.

My grandmother was both the easiest and most difficult to figure out. In the past, we could always buy her books because she reads like I do and doesn't get out to the book stores very much. We can't do that anymore because she's got advanced Macular Degeneration and can barely see the TV, let alone read. She has some books on tape, but her stereo is over by the TV and for some reason, she just doesn't like using the stereo. I think it's because there's too much crap involved to get what you want to play - you have to make sure you have the device selected and so on.

I'm going to get her a compact boom box that plays a single cassette or CD and that will sit on the end table next to her chair. I am going to get it tomorrow so I'll have time to paint the play and stop keys (if necessary). I would have bought one online, but I wanted to test out the buttons for myself and make sure they weren't going to be too hard to push down.

We tried to convince her that a big screen TV would be better than her 27", but she stubborn (and allowed to be stubborn - she'll be 90 in January). I'm doing what I can to alleviate her boredom because I know she's bored as hell. This is the best I could think of. She knows what CDs are, so I bought her the two most recent JD Robb audiobooks. They're unabridged, so she won't miss any of the book. She'd read them all up to that point. Heh, I'm just hoping Dad goes over to check on her one afternoon while the audiobook is reading her a sex scene :)

That's pretty much it. I got the niece a better camera like I promised I would last year if she didn't break the one I gave her. I got my sister some stuff that I've already given her and one other thing that I'll give her when they're here in January. She's the only person who might run across this, so I'm not going to spoil the surprise.

Ok, I'm going back to bed. The RLS in my arm has stopped making me want to stab myself in the bicep, so maybe I can go back to sleep for another two hours.

Today is going to be a long one at work (but at least it's a 2 day week!)

I got a new camera

Well, it was new back in November.

It's a Canon XSi. My wonderful and generous husband bought it for me so I'd have a really good camera for my sister's wedding. Too bad I don't know how to use it yet.

We bought it from Amazon.com who had the best price I could find AND had the added advantage of being a company I trust. Also, free shipping with Amazon Prime (which has paid for itself this year).

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

I also got some nice accessories:
Lexar SD8GB-133-381 8GB Professional 133x Secure Digital

Opteka Battery Pack Grip / Vertical Shutter Release for Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS & Digital Rebel XSi with 2 LP-E5 Batteries (3600 mAh Total)

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Canon Wireless Remote Control RC1 for Digital Rebel

I'm learning to use the camera, but I want to be good now. I don't want to have to relearn all this stuff (I used to be a pretty decent film photographer, actually), but I do want to be good again. I'm trying to find a class that meets my needs and my schedule. I'd like to take the photography class they offer at ACC and I probably will over the summer if I don't find something before then.

So, here's a couple of pics from my new camera. Any flaws are entirely the fault of the user and NOT the camera.











More to come as I gradually learn to use this beast! (I love my camera in ways that are probably illegal in some states!)

Your Amazon.com order has shipped

Woohoo!

My copy of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog DVD has shipped!

I got the CD yesterday and I'm listening to it now. Not that I didn't have the soundtrack as a digital file (from iTunes), or already have the videos (again, iTunes), but I'm a big believer in supporting things I like with actual money. I'll buy it on Blu-Ray if it ever comes out on that format.

It's a problem sometimes. Amazon recently had the full Buffy the Vampire Slayer series on special for about half off. While I have boxed sets of most of the seasons (and two of season 6), I bought two of them - one for me and the other for my sister. I did the same thing with the full set of Angel last week. This is something I can justify as I really, really hate the packaging for both series. They didn't have the slim packaging when I was buying sets, so I have the horrific fold out packaging - you know, the ones where to get do disc 4 you have to flip out the whole thing, which makes discs 1-3 and probably 6 fall out on the floor.

My husband (who usually doesn't understand my purchasing habits) was in full agreement with both purchases. He did question my second set of Firefly, but I can't find the first and it's just so tiny on my iPhone!

So, right, I will be watching Dr. Horrible this weekend.

Camel Police

This is a long story from about 2 years ago, I think. I was not at all involved and I do not actually know the person who wrote it. I picked it up from an HPD (Houston police department) forum that I belong too and permission was given to share it. This story made astronauts giggle (one forum member's sister worked at NASA and sent it up to the guys on the space shuttle at the time).

It's still one of the funniest things I've ever read, especially knowing the type of officer this guy is :)

Camel Police - A True HPD Story

The following tale is 100% true. It occurred last night (06/29/05) in the presence of numerous credible and sober witnesses...

While in the police academy, instructors used to tell us that our profession was a front row ticket to the freakiest show on Earth. It has been proven time and time again, but last night...

Tuesday nights are pretty slow in our part of town, so we seek entertainment any way we can get it. A friend of mine was collecting ducks ("writing tickets") in the parking lot of Sharpstown Mall on the southwest side. I got a message on my computer from him telling me to get my tail over there ASAP, because there was some freaky stuff going on at the mall.

"WTF?" I sent. "Camels," he responded. Tail I did haul.

As promised, there were two bactrian (two-humped) camels grazing on Mexican Heather in a flower bed. In Houston. At a mall. At 1:30 am. Now bear in mind these weren't wild East Texas Camels that wandered into the city like a wayward moose in East Jesus, Montana. There was a traveling petting zoo in the parking lot, complete with zebra, horses, etc. All the critters were safely in their pens, except the camels, who had achieved liberation by unknown means.

A drunk handler who was supposed to be watching over the animals assured us the camels were in no danger of escaping, because of the flimsy, waist-high fence surrounding the "zoo." Problem was the fence surrounded the area, except for the knee-high landscaping bed that was currently being used as a camel salad bar. "Ees awright. Ees okay," the inebriated handler told us.

As borracho stumbled back to his chair for a siesta, Camel #1 hopped into the flower bed. Camel #2 -- not to be outdone -- lept as gracefully as a camel can leap over the flower bed and onto the sidewalk. Both camels were in grave danger of being hit by a drunk (see a pattern here?) driving his peekup truck to the taquería.

I actually had to say over the police radio, "18G21N, hold me out on loose camels in the street, 7500 Bellaire."

[giggle] "Ooooooooookay. [giggle] One hump or two?"

"Dromedary, if you really need to know." I'd forgotten which was which and took a 50/50 shot, apparently choosing the wrong 50.

By this point, the drunk handler rousted his even-drunker co-worker to catch the escapees. A friend of mine tried to grab one camel's bridle, but it turned to bite him, causing the big, bad cop to squeal like a girl and run away. The drunk handlers managed to catch that one after a brief, but amusing, foot pursuit.

The remaining miscreant was a bit calmer and was still chowing down on Mexican Heather (which was not intoxicated, being a plant). Seemed nice enough. I'll rub the camel's nose, I thought, and will try to do so without being bitten by a mangy camel. What happened next will live in HPD lore forever more. I don't know if my hand soap is allergenic or if I pushed the right button, but the bastard sneezed a huge camel booger that landed on my left bicep. I squealed like a girl and flapped my arm like I had...well...a camel booger on it.

For those who have not seen a camel booger, they are a bit larger than the nose gold you people mine during your morning commute or in church during a boring sermon. This thing -- had it been expelled at altitude -- might very well be capable of bringing down an airplane. It actually stung when it hit me and took several frantic flicks before I dislodged it from my arm hairs. It looked like a gooey, squished tarantula.

Unfortunately for me, camels don't appreciate sudden, shrill screaming in close proximity to their camel selves. When I squealed, it barked like a dog. I kid you not, the camel actually barked. Drunk handlers grabbed Booger Bazooka the Wonder Camel and penned him up, but not before every cop and wrecker driver in the area witnessed me come within an iota of being the first police officer ever to Taser™ a freaking camel.

Here is a pic of the offending beast....

((( sorry, but that photo has been lost in the last year and a half. rest assured, it looked like a camel - bugdog)))


Now do you see the lengths I will go to for your safety? I hope you people are entertained at my expense. I'm going to wash my arm.

DOG!

This is yet another photo of my little dog, Tippy (aka Tipton, Tiptonite, Tiptard, Tip, Hurricane Tippy, and the ever popular Goddamn it - what are you eating now).

I figure since I don't have any cats to post on my blog, that I will post dog photos.

Tippy is our little girl. She's a beagle mix that we got from OK Beagle Rescue last December. We'd just lost Bug in early November and there was a Bug shaped hole in our family. Tippy has filled that quite well. She does somewhat resemble Bug in coloring, but she has a totally different personality. We still miss Bug, but Tippy has made that bearable.

She's actually really quiet for a beagle mix and doesn't bark unless she's playing or is startled by something outside. I'm not sure what I expected, but Bug was much more vocal. Tippy is just now getting to where she'll bark and howl along with my husband, Crash and I. Crash loves his nightly howl (even though he can't howl very well, heh).

Yep, we have dogs instead of kids. Wouldn't trade them for the world.

What was that?

Just overheard...

"what are those? spiders or rocks? rose petals? LEECHES!"

I don't want to know what this woman is on. You can't imagine how happy she was when she said leeches.

Pure evil.

See the horns?