Yearly Archives: 2002

weekend update 2002-06-18

Over the weekend, I painted the picket fence out in front of my house. I also finished painting first floor on the south side of the house and I put up a small wire garden fence and no parking signs in the backyard around the parking area, to prevent people from driving onto my lawn. I did that because I came home from Lowes Saturday morning and found an SUV parked on my lawn, and a moving truck on the parking area. Of course there was no where for me to park. The guy next door was moving out. Naturally, I flipped out, because, you know, that’s me. I flip out at stuff like that.
But anyway, I have to do some more replanting of grass (for the fourth time) to cover the spots where he drove on the lawn. Like I have time to do that with everything else I need to do. I’m just so tired of people not staying off my property. I don’t want to be a giant bitch, but what the hell else am I supposed to do? I can’t afford to put up a privacy fence yet. Should I just let people drive on my lawn, though? What’s the point of me planting grass if people are going to do this?

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Links for 2002-06-17

I’d love to add my name to this letter on Prominent Americans who refuse to sign on to the “war on terror.”

Scientific American magazine gives us 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense.

Here’s a fun link: celebrity gossip. I don’t believe a word of it. And I did read every word on the page. Check out the entry for Billie Burke. 🙂 Also, Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett a couple? Ha!

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Sports Teams with Funny Names

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I got a bunch of questions about why I posted all these sports teams… um, because their names are funny. See? Appleknockers! That’s a real team name! Ha! Funny! Okay, maybe it’s just me. But my cousins went to a school where the team name is “The Maroons.” You can guess how some people pronounced that.

The Hoopeston Cornjerkers

The Freeport Pretzels

Butte Pirates

The Effingham Flaming Hearts

Fisher Bunnies

Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts

The Cobden Appleknockers

Appleton West Terrors vs. Appleton East Patriots

Yuma High School Criminals

Blue Hens, University of Delaware

Hickman Kewpies

Union Laguna Cotton Pickers

Lewisville Texas Fighting Farmers

Tillamook Cheesemakers

ALTONA MAROONS

Scottsdale (Arizona) Community College Fighting Artichoke

Topeka’s Seaman High School vs. The Topeka High Trojans

Richland High School Bombers

Watersmeet High School Nimrods

William College Ephs (Purple Cows)

UCSC Banana Slugs

Poca High School Dots

Chinook High School Sugar Beeters

Winters High School Blizzards

Rhinelander High School Hodags

Virginia Tech Hokies

Washburn University Ichabods

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Maneki Neko and the Legend of “Goutokuji” Temple

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Tama the waving cat
Tama the waving cat
At the beginning of Edo period (17th century), there was a rundown temple in Setagaya, the western part of Tokyo. The priest of the temple kept a pet cat, named Tama, and he though he was very poor, he always was sure to feed Tama first.

One day, Naotaka Ii who was the lord of Hikone district (western part of Japan near Kyoto) was caught in a shower near the temple on his way home from hunting. While avoiding the rain under a big tree in front of the temple, Naotaka noticed that a cat was inviting him into the temple gate. And as soon as he left the tree tempted by the cat’s gesture, the tree was struck by lighting. Naotaka’s life was saved by the cat which was proved to be Tama.

By the incident, Naotaka became closer to the priest of the temple. The rundown temple was appointed to be the Ii’s family temple, and changed it’s name to Goutokuji. Goutokuji became prosperous. Tama saved Naotaka from lighting, and saved the temple from it’s poverty at the same time.

After it’s death, Tama was buried at Goutokuji’s cat cemetery with all due respect, and Maneki Neko was invented to honor Tama.

There are different kinds of Maneki Neko. One raises its left paw; the legend specifies that the one with its left paw up invited customers or people. The other raises its right paw; the legend specifies that the one with its right paw up invited money or good fortune.

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In a Snob-Free Zone

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In a Snob-Free Zone, By Joseph Epstein

My cousin Sherwin’s way into the snob-free zone was simple enough: Care only about one’s work, judge people only by their skill at their own work, and permit nothing else outside one’s work to signify in any serious way. View the rest of the world as a more or less amusing carnival at which one happens to have earned–through, of course, one’s work–a good seat. Judge all things by their intrinsic quality, and consider status a waste of time. One of the reasons I liked him so much is that he brought all this off without any contortion of his essentially kind character.

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Winona Ryder shoplifting case

Now that’s the first time I heard this: in the Winona Ryder shoplifting case, the security guard says they found the security sensor tags cut off several items of clothing and stuffed in the chair of the dressing room Winona had been in. The cut material on the tags matched holes in the clothes she had stuffed in her bag when she was stopped. Hmmmmm.

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Happy Birthday to me

Birthday Alligator
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday, dear me.
Happy Birthday to me.

Hershey Kiss
In case I hadn’t mentioned it, today is my birthday.

Yesterday, I had someone come up to me and say “I recognize you from somewhere.” And after we went through a big list of places (work, college, high school, friends, etc.) it turns out he recognized me from my appearance on the morning news with Dick Wolfsie. I’m like, famous. In Indianapolis, Indiana. I think I’ll stop combing my hair and become disaffected, like all the other celebrities.

(2014 update: I’ve since realized it isn’t that hard to get on the local news, or that impressive. But I should let 2002 me have my moments, shouldn’t I?)

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Cat Property Laws

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1. If I like it, it’s mine.

2. If I saw it first, it’s mine.

3. If it’s in my paw, it’s mine.

4. If it looks like mine, it’s mine.

5. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.

6. If I can take it away from you, it’s mine.

7. If there’s more than one, ALL of them are mine.

8. If you have something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.

9. If it’s mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way.

10. If it’s boring or doesn’t taste good, IT’S YOURS!!

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