Inspired by my cousin's scans of his dad's old slides, I bought a scanner to scan my dad's old slides. However, my priorities being what they are, I quickly switched from scanning slides to scanning some relics of my Navy days which are now in an album in my photos. Here's a scan of the Polaroid taken of when Captain Patton pinned on my dolphins.

My daughter, her mom, and their two dogs have been turned into elves!

Elf Yourself on JibJab.com

Bob in a chinese costume

My cousin Al on the left and Bob the Buddha on the right

I haven't written any poetry for a few weeks, but I found myself wanting to know what I could do with substituting the phrase "throw another log on the fire" with something similar. And it seemed more promising than "throw another pimp on the barbie."

On this cold night
throw another love on the fire.
Singe your skin on embers
of passion erasing itself with its tongues
of flame flickering like love
at first sight and doubt on goodbye.
In the morning, do not gag on the ashes
of looking back, the cold gray memories
sifted through fingers of regret.
Go outside, chop down another tree,
feed the wood into the hole
at the bottom of an emptiness.
The smoke will warn everyone of your warmth
that could burn down the world
but always dies before you
no matter what is stirred by your pokering.

The existing "bailout" isn't working as intended.

...banks that have received billions from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)... haven't been lending or extending credit, which was the intended purpose of the money.

The banks either have been sitting on the money or are using it to acquire smaller banks, as well as to pay executive bonuses and even stock dividends. "That legislation did not have enough carrots and sticks" to achieve the intended purpose, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) recently told reporters.

It's not the economy, stupid.

Sen. Richard Shelby R-Ala., a member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said: "The financial straits that the Big Three find themselves is not the product of our current economic downturn, but instead is the legacy of the uncompetitive structure of its manufacturing and labor force."

Shelby added: "I do not support the use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to reward the mismanagement of Detroit-based auto manufacturers in such a way that allows them to continue and compound their ongoing mistakes."

Full article here

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/gop-to-detroit-drop-dead.aspx

Here's one to file under the "poor dumb bastard" category.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5173755.ece

I like the game, too, but, c'mon!

Okay, I'm only level 44, so I'm only playing the classic game, but still...

There's an article by Declan McCullagh that I think is worth reading.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/12/politics/otherpeoplesmoney/main4595068.shtml

One of the best reasons why Detroit automakers should not receive a bailout can be found in a General Motors "Jobs Bank" program that, bizarrely, pays employees not to work.... To earn his pay, [one employee] was given the formidable task of showing up in a windowless shed, sitting at a table, and doing nothing for eight hours a day for six years, according to a profile in the Wall Street Journal... During those six years, Toyota surpassed GM as the world's largest car manufacturer... Democrats... are eager to loot taxpayers -- and reward unions and domestic automakers which made choices that benefited them handsomely in the short term, at the expense of long term competitiveness. One explanation for Washington's haste [for a bailout] is that while bankruptcy would alter union contracts, a bailout probably won't. The labor movement spent, according to Financial Week, a whopping $385 million to elect Obama and other Democrats last week. Nobody writes such large checks without expecting something: now it's payback time.

And who will pay? The prudent taxpayer. Or the deficit will increase, and the bill will be passed on to your kids and grandkids. And meanwhile, one or more people will be sitting around in a shed, doing nothing, collecting their full salary and benefits.

If you don't like this use of your tax dollars, now's the time to phone your elected representatives.

I helped to kill a Scourge, and all I got was this pumpkinhead!

Flying, on my way to level up my lockpicking in The Sludge Fen.

On my way back from a successful lockpicking leveling trip, waiting for the zeppelin from Orgrimmar to the Undercity. On my skeletal blue horse, with my normal look.

This piece is based on a news item I saw just before I went to bed last night. I couldn't sleep until I wrote it down.

Samhain

Trick or treat.
A bag filling up with sweets
that will scatter on the street
from a driver who will not see
mother and child
wearing dark clothes with minutes to live
pronounced dead at the scene.

The tongue that formed "thank you",
that would have warmed chocolate
no longer speaks. A child
who wanted to know what it's like to fly
learned a lesson that left one shoe behind
with safely wrapped futures unconsumed.
Our father, thy will be cold, entombed.
Notify the family of god's love
on this eve of all saints, this hallowed eve.

I took a liberty, which is where they were pronounced, because "at the scene" fit more sonically with the piece than "at the hospital." The story can be found here

http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/33677859.html

Being Halloween, it seems fitting to re-post the link to my Undead rogue character on World of Warcraft. Since the Wrath of the Lich King patch came out the Armory seems not to update as frequently. For instance, right after Sacerbane got the Bows ability, he also got Crossbows and Swords and has leveled up his Swords ability to around 190. Of course, these are all just variables sitting in a database somewhere, but the willing suspension of disbelief applies to games as much as it does to other forms of entertainment.

I'm only sorry I didn't get a screenshot of when a Scourge turned Sacerbane's head into a pumpkin for an hour. In fact, the way Sacerbane looks is not represented in the Armory. I think all Undead rogues get the same icon.

Anyway, if any of you play, I'm on the Terokkar server. I've lately been spending time at Boulderfist Hall in the Arathi Highlands. This weekend's goals include leveling up to 40 so I can use the Crusader Bow of Agility I got at the Auction House. And I think I might like to solo Shadowfang Keep to get drops for selling at the Auction House, although any friends are welcome to join.

http://www.wowarmory.com/character-skills.xml?r=Terokkar&n=Sacerbane

Also, check out the YouTube at

Who Do Warcraft Players Want As President?