'Tonight Show' pioneer Jack Paar dead at 85
Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Posted: 3:07 PM EST (2007 GMT)


GREENWICH, Connecticut (AP) -- Jack Paar, who held the nation's rapt attention as he pioneered late-night talk on "The Tonight Show," then told his viewers farewell when still in his prime, died Tuesday. He was 85.

Paar died at his Greenwich home as a result of a long illness, said Stephen Wells, Paar's son-in-law. Paar's daughter and wife were by his side, Wells said.

I seem to have psyched myself out of the lack-of-libido phase (past 7 months) and back into the over-drive normalcy.

This is a good thing, I think. At least there won't be any reason to ever be bored on the boy's days off.

So I don't forget.

Modest Mouse. March 16th. Ridglea Theatre. *swoon*

Virtual dummy to try on clothes


Sweaty battles with tight jeans in cramped fitting rooms could be consigned to history if new technology developed by Toshiba hits the shops.

Primate research lab plans axed


Plans to build a controversial centre for experiments on monkeys have been shelved by Cambridge University. It has decided the costs, including measures needed to protect the facility from animal rights militants, would make the laboratory uneconomic.

Man sentenced for marrying his 15-year-old cousin
Monday, January 26, 2004 Posted: 1:46 PM EST (1846 GMT)


SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- A member of Utah's polygamous Kingston clan was sentenced Monday to a year in prison for taking a 15-year-old cousin -- who was also his aunt -- as his wife.

It only took about an hour of dinking around to get the comments feature working. Go me.


Slow day. Nothing to do but laundry and some cleaning and none of it sounds that exciting. We'll have the boy here Wednesday-Friday so I think I'll save the chores for then.

It's cold as ass tonight. I hate hate hate hate hate winter. My skin starts to itch and ache and it's not going to let up until March or April, is it? Stupid seasons. I'd give nearly anything to live in a temperate climate. It's not so much to ask.

In other news, we talked about some wedding stuffs last night. Which reminds me... I was supposed to call and ask about the date being available. I'm crap at this.

Here's how happy I am.

I just want this one. I'm not greedy.

I play with the Sims on a semi-regular basis. Not as much over the past two weeks as during the first week I had the game. Anyway. I created a couple and named them after the boy and myself and as soon as I put them in a house, they managed to start a fire. The man died and the wife was depressed to the point of not wanting to do anything at all. So, I didn't save the game. Who wants to go back and play with the depressed peoples? Not me. I gave them a new house this morning and as soon as they started breakfast, a fire broke out and burned the kitchen appliances. At least no one died. But at this point, they hadn't gotten jobs yet and with no food, they had no inclination to GET jobs. Also, they didn't have enough money to buy new kitchen stuffs. Go me. Again, I didn't save the game.

A couple of hours ago, I gave them a new house and managed get them through the first week without killing them. They have jobs and are cooking without incident. They also seem to be madly in love.

The only difference was a zebra striped couch. Everything else in the house was EXACTLY THE SAME AS EACH OF THE TWO TIMES BEFORE.

Updating...

1. Read new books: no more re-reading old ones.

2. Find a market for soaps.

3. Take up knitting again.

4. Start crocheting again.

5. Make more candles.

6. Take a yoga course.

7. Landscape the front yard.

8. Plant a fruit tree.

9. Learn how to drive.

10. Save up at least $1000 dollars. Doesn't matter from where.

11. Get money from Misty.

12. Throw out clothes I don't wear anymore.

13. Wear the clothes I like.

14. Do more sewing. Partially done, anyways.

15. Stop talking inside my head.

16. Paint the bedroom.

17. Make/buy new curtains for the living room.

18. Get a job I like.

19. Pay off credit cards.

20. Upgrade processor in computer.

21. Put up curtains in office.

22. Go to Galveston with the boy at least once during the summer.

23. Go to Galveston with Nicole at least once.

24. Paint the kitchen. Be funky with it, you're the one that's in there.

25. Get rid of extra furniture.

26. Replace pots and pans.

27. Hang flower boxes on the shed.

28. Pave area in front of shed.

29. Grow irises. Irii.

30. Make fresh pies as often as possible. Baking is fun.

31. Write more letters.

32. Get something pierced. Nose or eyebrow, I think.

33. Tell dad about the tattoos. It's not the end of the world.

34. Get some Johnny Cash LPs.

35. Buy more Beatles LPs.

36. Go to one amazing concert.

37. Get married. This one's easy.

38. Make and send out invitations. This will make #37 easier.

39. Improve handwriting.

40. Learn how to dance. This also contributes to #37.

41. Buy more comics.

42. Learn how to paint. Japanese!

43. Learn Tarot cards by heart.

44. Bake bread.

45. Get Doggie fixed; it's for her own good.

46. Get rid of pointless collections.

47. Take a trip somewhere I'e never been.

48. Locate and buy copies of "In His Own Write" and "Spaniard in the Works".

49. Resod the front yard.

50. Dye hair bright pink. Disaster. What was I thinking?

51. Get a new tattoo.

52. Take a real vacation.

53. Get glasses or contacts.

54. Visit friends more often.

55. Keep a normal journal and update it every day. Working at this one.

56. Take more pictures of the pets.

57. Wear more dresses.

58. Clean out the office closet.

59. Come up with a schedule of daily chores. Being home all the time means there is no reason to have things in disarray. Now if only I could adhere to the schedule for more than 2 days in a row.

60. Eat less candy.

61. Film parties. They're fun to watch later.

62. Write more emails.

63. Make mix CDs.

64. Exercise more.

65. Dye hair red before wedding.

66. Get some real muscle tone.

67. Replace dishes with Matching Set.

68. Knit baby bonnets and find place to donate them.

69. Clean out closet and donate unused clothing.

70. Expand backyard flowerbed.

71. Add a flowerbed to the front yard.

72. Replace broken screens.

73. Replace missing blinds in living room.

74. Hang more pictures.

75. Take more photos of family and frame them.

76. Paint shed.

77. Get new printer.

78. Get flat panel monitor.

79. Spend more time hanging out with Bob. Good conversation is hard to find. A work in progress.

80. Talk to someone about the whole depression thing.

81. Stop buying things you don't need.

82. Take unread books to Half Price.

83. Redecorate the bedroom: get rid of picture mural.

84. Have at least one garage sale.

85. Stop collecting things that don't have an immediate purpose. (ties in to #46)

86. Do things on list. *sigh*

last night your nose itched and you said it must be because i was thinking about you. i said something like 'that must be it' and you said you were going to just tell yourself that was the cause. i don't think you knew that i was lying there, thinking about you and how home you are to me.

Singer Garfunkel Charged with Marijuana Possession
Thu January 22, 2004 04:36 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Art Garfunkel got busted for marijuana possession by a New York state trooper who had no idea he was arresting half of the legendary '60s duo Simon and Garfunkel, police said on Thursday.
The trooper arrested Garfunkel, 62, after stopping the driver of his limousine for speeding on Saturday in Hurley, New York, 90 miles north of New York City, police said.

"The trooper noted a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle," police said. "The trooper found a small amount of marijuana in Garfunkel's jacket pocket."

Adding insult to injury, police said the arresting officer did not recognize Garfunkel, known with Paul Simon for singing such rock classics as "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Sound of Silence" and "Scarborough Fair."

Garfunkel, the only passenger, was due to appear next Wednesday at the Town of Hurley Court charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. He faces a $100 fine. The driver got a ticket for driving 61 mph in a 45-mph zone.

Simon and Garfunkel just completed a successful reunion tour in the United States.

--
Well, You're in a Good Mood Today, Officer...
Fri January 23, 2004 08:21 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police had to close an entire floor of their station because the pungent scent of tons of confiscated marijuana was making them high, an Israeli newspaper said Friday.
The drugs, smuggled from Egypt, are kept in a storeroom of a police station in the southern town of Dimona. Police have confiscated so much, that the room is filled up almost immediately after its contents are sent to be incinerated.

"Every time I came to work I felt...like I was high," the Maariv newspaper quoted one officer as saying. "The smell of marijuana was killing us -- it was impossible to work."

The newspaper said a police medical officer ordered personnel to move to another floor until the drugs could be shipped out.

So. Yesterday.

I went to bed at about 1.30am and figured I'd sleep late and then take a nap at about 2pm, since the boy was having to keep work hours on his days off. I forgot about taking a nap because I was watching the Matrix; which, by the way, is better than the two movies that followed it. Anywhoo.. the boy got up at about 4pm and we hung out the rest of the afternoon, not really doing anything at all. Managed to go to wal-mart at about 11.30 since I was falling asleep. As an aside: Wal-Mart has a shit pajama selection. Everything is either super thin 'princess' or 'HOT' crap or 3x pseudo-thermal. blargh. Anyway. By about 2, we headed to Denny's and ate and were retarded. I so love that part of us. There is nothing better than being out with the boy I love and feeling like it's one of those 'not-quite-dates' that we had before we actually got together. Love Love Love Love Love those.

Denny's is cold at 3.30 in the morning. Cold and sleep-inducing. But they had good music going. And a neat waitress named Bee. She had funky 80's turquoise eye shadow and a zillian bracelets and rings.

Um... New Fine Arts is kinda creepy in the wee hours. I so didn't expect a construction worker to be in there just chattin' with the clerk. And the sheer number of bad bad bad bad bad bad pornos... I know they're out there. I know it. But I didn't realize they had all of them.

So sleepy.

I've been using this new conditioner for a while now. My hair is much softer and easier to handle (it's insanely thick) but the ends are still breaking off. I think that's leftover damage from all the scrunchies I've been subjecting the poor follicles to. Anyway. Stupid hairs.

Sometimes I wish my hair were much thinner. I'd be able to wear it down without it always being in my face like a damn sheep dog's bangs. But! my head would be cold in the winter and I hate winter enough as it is.

Blah.

Nothing exciting going on. There's a gift shop near where my mom lives that has decided I can put a basket of my soaps up on display. Unfortunately, this is not a store with much traffic so I don't know how much that's going to help me. Every little bit counts, tho, right?

Feet. falling. asleep. I really shouldn't sit on them but if I don't, my legs get so cold and itchy.

I should pick a movie now to fall asleep to later. So far, I haven't managed to watch a whole movie when I'm up late. Last night, I made it to the 'try not to suck any dick on the way through the parking lot' part of Clerks. heh.

I do better at updating my paper journal these days. What's up with that? Sure, it's mostly rambling about what I did during the day or how bored I am but... still. I dunno. Stupid head.

Excellent....

And now for the promised photo of my hot-glue gun warnings.

I've got Site Meter running on this page as well as on Invisigirl Dot Com and it refuses to display on either one. I've had it running on Perdufoi for a year or more and it displays fine there. Anyone have any ideas WHY?

My friend Christine sends me the neatest emails. Here's a small sampling of peex she's sent me:

My new hot-glue gun cost $1.47. That's right, 1 dollar and 47 cents. I figure it will last about a week and a half but during that time, I will glue things that previously thought they had every right to flap and wiggle.

However, I'm a bit troubled by the warning to "Keep out of children". I don't even know how to make that funnier than it already is.

Picture posting to follow soonish. :)

I think today was the busiest I've had in a while. My mother came up at about 11 this morning and took me around to do some shopping and job-hunting. I've got 4 applications to turn in tomorrow or sometime this week. Something is going to give. It has to.

I've got new ideas brewing right now. Found some adorable wicker baskets at Garden Ridge: heart shaped and about 3 inches deep. I'm going to make up some Valentine Baskets for the soap site and see if those sell at all. I'll post pictures soonish. Managed to find some new soap molds and got trinkets for some embedding ideas I had. Blah blah, boring stuff, I know. Shut up and buy stuff.

The bedroom is a bit of a tease right now. I really want to repaint in there but I think we'll have to repair some sheetrock cracking that's going on. Bleh. Anyway... eventually, the walls are going to be a nice dark mossy green and I found the perfect paint-stamps to accent it. So hah! Eat that, sheetrock.

Words are not my friends today.

Limitations

Good. You know your music. You should be able to
work at Championship Vinyl with Rob, Dick and
Barry


Do You Know Your Music (Sorry MTV Generation I Doubt You Can Handle This One)
brought to you by Quizilla
Pure. Blind. Luck.

I think I've found the real reason I don't like video games. 'Nuff said.

It's only 8.15pm and my brain is already worn out and screaming for a rest. Eventually, it'll get one.

I spent a few minutes today finding out for sure that all the places I've recently applied at are hiring. (clever usage of html there, no?) Anyways. At least I know. At least I've called and asked and I'm not just waiting for them to get around to not calling me for a few more weeks. Tomorrow, I should check out Souper Salad. The pay is shite but at least I've worked there before and it would only take a few days to get used to things again. New section layouts and whatnot. Blargh. I don't want to have to do food service again. It's a shite job. To me, there is nothing less satisfying than being taken for granted for a paltry $2.13 an hour. At the very least, one ought to get $8 an hour to be ignored, snapped at, ill-tipped and generally run ragged.

I've got an urge to make more soapies. I got the brain spasm earlier that maybe I could market them to a few offices. You know, offer to make up nice little baskets for either the employees or to keep in the bathrooms as a centerpiece/smellygoodpiece. They could sell, couldn't they? Of course, I'd have to come up with some sort of pitch and that's where I fall short. I can't talk to people unless I'm content with pure rubbish coming out my mouth. I don't think I could do a 'here, you should buy something what I made. It's pretty.' speech. Anyone want to help me with that? Anyone? Bueller?

That's about all I've got for now. More soonish, I'm sure.

Court OKs Disability Pay for Horseplay Injury
Fri January 16, 2004 08:58 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal contractor must pay for an artificial hip for an employee battered in a bar bet gone bad because it dispatched him to a place where he had to make his own fun -- a remote Pacific Ocean atoll used as a U.S. chemical and nuclear arms dump, a court ruled on Thursday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld disability payments to a Hawaii man hurt in a barroom incident involving U.S. soldiers on Johnston Atoll, a U.S. possession some 700 miles west of Hawaii.

The San Francisco-based court backed decisions by an administrative board and judge granting disability benefits to Michael Ilaszczat, who required hip surgery after crashing to the floor of a social club on the atoll after he bet soldiers $100 that one of them could not high-kick over his head without touching him. He won the bet but got kicked to the floor.

(He had to bet them. He was forced to make his own idiotic fun.)

I don't mind so much the 'not being hired' part of things. It's the flyers that say 'these stores are hiring both full time and part time' and then the stores themselves saying 'sorry, we aren't hiring at all.' Get it together, ass monkeys.

So! now to call some of the other places that will undoubtedly say 'Thanks but no thanks'.

Rejection sucks.


update: 3.56pm: Well, that was fun.

Drink-driver forced to carry picture of dead victim

A drink-driver in Pittsburgh has been forced to carry a picture of the dead body of the man she killed.

Jennifer Dawn Langston, 27, was ordered by Judge George Hancher to carry the photograph of Glenn Clark for the five-year term of her probation.

Other conditions to her sentence included writing letters of apologies to his family and friends, sending Mr Clark's baby $50 (£27) a month and doing community work in a centre for victims of traumas.

Japanese toy maker comes up with dream machine

A Japanese toy company says it's developed a gadget that will enable people to control their dreams.
Takara has come up with the Yumemi Kobo, or Dream Workshop, which it claims can put people in charge of their dreams.

To work the gadget, the owner has to stare at a photograph of what they would like to dream about and then record, in their own words, how the dream is supposed to pan out.

Once users are sleeping, the gadget goes to work by combining the voice recording, lights, music and aromas to stimulate sleepers whenever it detects rapid eye movement - a sign that someone is dreaming.

BBC to broadcast silent orchestra

The BBC is to broadcast a live radio performance of an orchestra playing four-and-a-half minutes of silence.

John Cage's seminal work 4'33" will be the highlight of a concert on Radio 3.

The piece consists of four minutes and 33 seconds' worth of nothing.

Awadh Bihar Tiwari, a teacher at a local college, said: "I thought this was the work of some mischievous youths trying to take people for a ride. But now, I feel an evil spirit is behind the act. I am planning to consult a witchdoctor."

A couple of days ago, my friend Jasper ordered some soaps. I never thought I'd be so excited to get to do something creative. I know I like making things but this is ridiculous. It was like a shopper's high. Anywhoo.. made and shipped. :)


All mine.

I've got a cat in my lap, trying to nurse on my bathrobe. Nermal's about 4 years old but he's never grown out of his nursing habit. Gah. Cat slobber is the worst. He leaves these giant pools of it on my shirt every time I hold him and if I push him away, he gazes up at me with the most pitiful of cat expressions.

I now have a little bamboo plant from the Noikle. SO FREAKING PRETTY!

A Truly, Truly Bizarre Story
Mon January 12, 2004 10:19 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating after an angry man returned a computer he had just bought saying it was packed with small potatoes instead of computer parts.
The store replaced the computer free of charge but became suspicious when he returned a short time later with another potato-filled computer casing, police in the western city of Kaiserslautern said Monday.

"The second time he said he didn't need a computer any more and asked for his money back in cash," a police spokesman said.

Police are now investigating the man for fraud.

"We're the losers who didn't take their Ritalin and can't shut up. If we ever forget that, and I pray we don't, we'll become tedious really fast."

--JON STEWART discussing his news satire show "The Daily Show," quoted in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Oh Jon... I heart you.

I feel like I've spent days upon days looking for something to do for a paycheck. I don't guess I really have. But I've spent TODAY doing so. Applying for every kind of job I think I'm remotely qualified for. I don't know if any of them will call back and I have a feeling that if they do, I won't remember who they are and I'll come across as the village idiot. Great.

I'm ready for new music. A friend of mine tells me about new bands he likes and for some reason, they don't seem that interesting to me. I should give them a chance but I'm too lazy to even bother downloading tracks. If their websites are any indication, I'm not missing much.

I've been meaning to take more pictures to post on fotolog but I never get around to it. I have the digital camera at my disposal most of the time and only make use of it when I'm posting eBay stuffs. So. Here's something nicely out of focus. :-P

I don't remember why getting up at 10.13am after 2 hours of sleep seemed liked a good idea. I remember feeling wide awake for about 30 minutes but I know I felt like crashing soon after. I don't know why I didn't. Stupid head. So now it's 2am and I'm still awake and I'm past the point of being tired and now I'm just dead.

On that note, I go crash on de couch now.

I think I missed something here.

New edition: few items added on. Still working on getting it up to 104 items.

1. Read new books: no more re-reading old ones.
2. Find a market for soaps
3. Take up knitting again.
4. Start crocheting again.
5. Make more candles.
6. Take a yoga course.
7. Landscape the front yard.
8. Plant a fruit tree.
9. Learn how to drive.
10. Save up at least $1000 dollars. Doesn't matter from where.
11. Get money from Misty. Lots of money.
12. Throw out clothes I don't wear anymore.
13. Wear the clothes I like.
14. Do more sewing.
15. Stop talking inside my head
16. Paint the bedroom.
17. Make/buy new curtains for the living room.
18. Get a job I like.
19. Pay off credit cards.
20. Upgrade processor in computer.
21. Put up curtains in office.
22. Go to Galveston with the boy at least once during the summer.
23. Go to Galveston with Nicole at least once.
24. Paint the kitchen. Be funky with it, you're the one that's in there.
25. Get rid of extra furniture.
26. Replace pots and pans.
27. Hang flower boxes on the shed.
28. Pave area in front of shed.
29. Grow irises. Irii.
30. Make fresh pies as often as possible. Baking is fun.
31. Write more letters.
32. Get something pierced. Nose or eyebrow, I think.
33. Tell dad about the tattoos. It's not the end of the world.
34. Get some Johnny Cash LPs.
35. Buy more Beatles LPs.
36. Go to one amazing concert.
37. Get married. This one's easy.
38. Make and send out invitations. This will make #37 easier.
39. Improve handwriting
40. Learn how to dance. This also contributes to #37.
41. Buy more comics.
42. Learn how to paint. Japanese!
43. Learn Tarot cards by heart.
44. Bake bread.
45. Get Doggie fixed; it's for her own good.
46. Get rid of pointless collections.
47. Take a trip somewhere I've never been.
48. Locate and buy copies of "In His Own Write" and "Spaniard in the Works".
49. Resod the front yard.
50. Dye hair bright pink. (edit: bad idea to do it yourself.)
51. Get a new tattoo.
52. Take a real vacation.
53. Get glasses or contacts.
54. Visit friends more often.
55. Keep a normal journal and update it every day.
56. Take more pictures of the pets.
57. Wear more dresses.
58. Clean out the office closet.
59. Come up with a schedule of daily chores. Being home all the time means there is no reason to have things in disarray.
60. Eat less candy.
61. Film parties. They're fun to watch later.
62. Write more emails.
63. Make mix CDs.
64. Exercise more.
65. Dye hair red before wedding.
66. Get some real muscle tone.
67. Replace dishes with Matching Set.
68. Knit baby bonnets and find place to donate them.
69. Clean out closet and donate unused clothing.
70. Expand backyard flowerbed.
71. Add a flowerbed to the front yard.
72. Replace broken screens.
73. Replace missing blinds in living room.
74. Hang more pictures.
75. Take more photos of family and frame them.
76. Paint shed.
77. Get new printer.
78. Get flat panel monitor.
79. Spend more time hanging out with Bob. Good conversation is hard to find.
80. Talk to someone about the whole depression thing.
81. Stop buying things you don't need.
82. Take unread books to Half Price.
83. Redecorate the bedroom: get rid of picture mural.
84. Have at least one garage sale.
85. Stop collecting things that don't have an immediate purpose.
86. Improve penmanship.

3 o'clock in the morning is starting to look more and more familiar every time I see it. I guess that means my memory is improving? Something like that.

I'm not a big fan of being away from the boy but I do so love having friends to hang out with. Friends that will drive all the way from Lewisville are especially neat tho I now have an aversion to the name Stephanie. I don't think there's any use in explaining that one.

IHOP still holds the same fascination that it always has. There's something about spending an hour or more in the place that's just... wicked fun. "We", whichever group of friends the "we" happens to be made up of, are always the boisterous, crude, giggly table. Always making inappropriate jokes when the waitress comes around or the conversation lags at the table of Nice Ladies. I so love IHOP.

That's all I gots. I should be sleepy but I'm trying really hard not to be.

Headed out the door with a Nicole soonish. Hopefully, we'll be getting her maid-of-honor dress today. I dun wanna have to order it and wait weeks and weeks to see it.

So, I dyed my hair pink a few days ago. The bleaching kit was shite. The pink dye was shite. So I had some pinkish blonde hair. Not at all what I had in mind. Bought some dark brown dye yesterday cause I haven't had brown hair in years. Now I have three shades of brown hair. Score!

*sigh*

Payrolls Barely Rise in Weak Jobs Report
Fri January 9, 2004 01:15 PM ET

By Anna Willard
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American employers hardly took on any new workers in December, a disappointing government report on Friday said, indicating the economic recovery has yet to translate into sustained jobs growth.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, the lowest in over a year and down from 5.9 percent in November. But this was mainly because 309,000 people dropped out of the work force.

The number of workers on U.S. payrolls outside the farm sector in December increased by just 1,000, after a downwardly revised rise of 43,000 in November. It was the fifth consecutive monthly climb but was far below economist expectations for a rise of 130,000.

The poor report is a headache for President Bush as he seeks re-election in November with the economy -- specifically job creation -- expected to be a key issue in the campaign.

But Bush, speaking to a small business forum, was upbeat, saying all economic signs were "very strong." He said the drop in the unemployment rate was a "positive sign" of an improving economy.

Economists disagreed.

"It's a shocker. The one ray of sunshine, the decline in the unemployment rate, is ironically a sign of weakness," said Cary Leahey, senior U.S. economist, Deutsche Bank Securities, New York.

"The only reason it declined is that fewer people were looking for jobs in December."

(exactly what I've been saying all along...)

I will never understand the fascination with Halo.

I posted some comics on eBay today... take a look. There's some Ministry of Space, X-Calibre, Too Much Coffee Man... stuff like that.

Yesterday I created a sim couple and the wife burned herself alive while preparing the first meal in their new trailer. I felt bad while I giggled uncontrollably.

$350 dollars is going to be hard to keep a hold of. Not relishing the idea of cutting off the cell phone but that's $50 a month I don't really have to spend. Bleh. I hate this.

Movies and comic books are being posted on eBay. Check out the listings if you wanna see what's headed out the door. :)

Victims Have No Faith in Mexican Military Justice
Thu January 8, 2004 11:05 AM ET


By Lorraine Orlandi
MEXICO CITY, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Investigating a peasant woman's rape charges against Mexican soldiers, military and civilian prosecutors found semen in physical samples taken from her. Then they destroyed the evidence.

They also did not call the victim to testify. Eventually, Mexico's official human rights watchdog tried to inquire into the case and learned the entire investigation was undermined by errors, irregularities and foot-dragging. It's own review was blocked by military officials.

Yet, despite the latest evidence that Mexico's military does a poor job of investigating and prosecuting criminal charges against its troops, this and other cases remain in the hands of a military system largely closed to public scrutiny.

Germ-Zapping Mailbox Wins Patent
Thu January 8, 2004 07:22 AM ET

By Jane Sutton
MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida inventor has patented a germicidal mailbox that would let consumers sterilize their incoming letters through irradiation, as the Postal Service has done for White House and congressional mail since the anthrax scare of 2001.

John Cunningham's prototype invention uses the standard metal mailbox commonly found on suburban driveways. It is fitted inside with an ultraviolet light like those used in laboratory sterilizers and a wire basket, where mail is placed.

When the door is shut and a switch activated, a lamp zaps the mail with ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 254 nanometers for about 15 minutes while the basket spins to expose all the mail surfaces to the light.

Divers Probed for Giving Fish Champagne
Thu January 8, 2004 12:39 PM ET

WARSAW (Reuters) - Three Polish divers faced a police investigation Thursday for possible illegal fishing and animal abuse after a news photo showed them plying a freshly caught pike with champagne at an outdoor New Year's party.

"They may have committed offences of poaching and maltreating a fish," said Maria Niedziolka of the National Fishing Authority, which notified police of the incident.

The picture in Nowa Trybuna daily showed three frogmen neck-deep in a lake, with one of them tipping a bottle of cheap Russian bubbly into the fish's open mouth.

One of the divers told news agency PAP that they had found the pike half-dead and wanted to "restore it to consciousness by treating it with champagne."

It was not clear whether the fish survived. Police said it would not be needed as evidence in the investigation.

Woman Drops Claim to $162 Million Lottery Prize
Thu January 8, 2004 02:08 PM ET



CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio woman who said she lost the winning ticket for a $162 million lottery prize that was awarded to someone else admitted on Thursday it was a case of wishful thinking.

Elicia Battle, 40, made the tearful admission to reporters and said she was dropping a lawsuit filed earlier this week to block the money from being given to the woman who turned in the lucky ticket.

She said she really did buy a ticket and lost it but made her claim mostly because she wanted to win.

"I apologize," she said.

Lottery officials on Tuesday awarded the prize to Rebecca Jemison, 34, saying they were convinced that she had purchased the ticket and not Battle. Among other things Jemison had a second ticket that computerized sales records showed was bought at the same store and at the same time as the winning ticket.

Battle had claimed she bought the winning ticket but lost it when she dropped her purse outside the store.

(Somehow I think that's not just "wishful thinking"...)

How is it that I can miss internet access so much when it's not here and then when it is, it only takes about 15 minutes to catch up with the world? Something's wrong there.

Filled out more applications today. Online applications, yes. But they're still APPLICATIONS. Could you see me working at Starbucks? I don't even drink coffee. How about Fredericks? heh. That one was mostly just for fun.

Has everyone been getting the emails about the Banned CD? Every time I manage to check email, I've got about a half dozen "RE:" emails about the damned thing.

Blah blah. more noise, no signal.

Stupid tricksy internet. It hates us. And we hates it.

Today we get to find out of the modem is at fault or the provider. I'm leaning more towards provider cause I don't think a fried modem would be working on and off and mostly in the mornings. Just doesn't seem... logical. I dunno. I could be wrong, as I often am.

My Sims are not doing well. Yesterday, George Smorf managed to burn himself alive in the kitchen. I tried to get him to call the fire department but he wouldn't leave the fetal position he'd assumed. Now, his house has a new tenant that's plagued by a clown and a neighbour girl that can't seem to keep her hands to herself. Maybe I shouldn't have named her Jane Mansfield.

In other news, I have $373 dollars to last till I find a job. Feel free to visit my diaryland diary and donate moneys. I feel like such a loser but I HAVE been looking. I've been applying for work steadily since last MAY and the gods are not smiling on me. The boy doesn't seem worried but I don't want to have to ask him to support me more than he already does. bleh. I am that guy.

This is depressing. I'll leave now.

I purchased a desk calendar the other day. It's got a clear plastic cover with little polka dots all over it and each page covers one day of the year. I thought that would be the best way to manage to keep a daily journal. Apparently, my mother had the same idea. She bought me the cutest Hello Kitty calendar. I'm scared to use it because it's so damn CUTE! What if the things I write in there are ugly? I'll have ruined the best calendar ever!

Sorry for the noise.

Internet access has been touch and go for the last few days. I think I spent a total of an hour online yesterday. An HOUR! I had withdrawal symptoms, I swear. At least I have a new addiction to keep me entertained...

The Sims.

Most people have played this game at least a few times but I'd never gotten around to it. I knew deep down inside that it was a bad idea. I don't get addicted to activities very often but when I do, they are a time suck. Time Suck.

I'm happy to report that the Sims are indeed that Time Suck. In between creating and razing a few domiciles, I managed to do the chores off my Chores List and bleach my hair out a little. But the creating and razing... that's where the real fun was. The Snerfles and the Goths never had a chance.

K. Must post this before the modem drops signal again. It's behaving quiet well at the moment but you never can tell.

I promise the next entry will be more signal, less noise.

I now have a very colorful chores calendar. Hello Kitty makes everything fun. ;)

The One Hundred
1. I am obsessed with my nails. If they show even the slightest sign of peeling, I will pick at them till they do.
2. I miss my long hair.
3. I miss my short hair.
4. My pinky fingers lock if I hold them out straight.
5. My right leg is longer than my left leg by half an inch. If I stand up straight, you can see that my knees don't match up.
6. It's hard for me to stay up past midnight anymore.
7. I don't really want to have a job unless I get to work with my best friend.
8. I get girl-crushes.
9. I dream about sex quite often these days.
10. My sex dreams are always about the boy.
11. I wish I could type faster but I lack the commitment to practice.
12. My big goal in life is to take care of the boy. I like to think I'm doing ok so far.
13. I want to be Harley Quinn for Samhain.
14. Most of my best friends in life have been boys.
15. I ate turkey for thanksgiving and Christmas and don't feel bad about it.
16. I can't imagine being a Missus.
17. I've been to two Pearl Jam concerts and would be happy if I only ever went to their shows.
18. I make soap because it's relaxing and makes the house smell clean even when it isn't.
19. I want to have hot pink hair.
20. I used to hate my lips.
21. I really like being naked in front of the boy, finally.
22. I only ever clean the bathtub when I've just taken a shower.
23. I hate folding laundry.
24. Misspellings aggravate me no end.
25. I don't have a style of my own.
26. I am obsessed with shoes.
27. I love being dressed up.
28. Sometimes I wish the boy would pin me down. Feeling completely at his mercy is the best sensation ever.
29. Video games frustrate me immensely.
30. When I was younger, my dad would tell me stories of when he was in basic training but he would never discuss what happened while he was on tour in Vietnam.
31. To this day, I have no idea what sort of action he saw.
32. If I'd been a boy, I think I would have joined the armed forces.
33. I think animal abusers should face mandatory sentences instead of fines.
34. I don't like drinking anymore.
35. I miss smoking cloves cigarettes.
36. I like to give people gifts.
37. I used to make new friends online all the time. I don't remember how anymore.
38. Some songs will always make me cry, like "Glycerine" and "Name".
39. I would be ok with never visiting another country if I could go back to London occasionally.
40. I cannot stand blue-grass covers of Metallica songs. They are NOT Funny.
41. I have an unclean love for all things Sanrio.
42. I'm only friends with two ex-boyfriends. I don't miss the rest of them.
43. I love hockey but I have a hard time watching entire games.
44. I can't watch tv while lying down on my side. I fall asleep or get massive headaches because my eyes do not focus correctly and I seem to have double vision.
45. The thought of drinking Mad Dog or Hot Sex makes me ill.
46. I love S'mores.
47. Dove dark chocolate is my drug of choice.
48. I worry about putting off having a baby. I don't want to wait so long that I invite complications.
49. I'm not always sure the boy wants another child even tho he's always assured me that we'll have one.
50. My parents accept my statement that the scars on my left arm are from cats. I think my mother, at least, knows they are self-inflicted.
51. I feel guilty about the actual cat-caused scars on my right arm.
52. I have had a crush on John Lennon since I was 16.
53. I still don't know how to drive and I don't think I ever will learn.
54. I wish I could pose for SuicideGirls.com.
55. I want to learn French when I get pregnant.
56. I love rings, bracelets, and most things shiny.
57. I lost my virginity when I was 20. I wish now that I'd waited another year.
58. 90% of my orgasms are the result of oral stimulation.
59. Sometimes I seriously consider losing ten pounds so I can weigh exactly 100.
60. I can say things when I'm angry only if I'm talking to a stranger.
61. I'm scared to say anything out of anger to a friend.
62. I still miss my dog Sasha and have periodic dreams about her being returned.
63. Sometimes I cry when he asks me if I'm ok. The thought of something being wrong with me turns on the waterworks, which kind of means there's something wrong with me.
64. I only really like my breasts when I'm on the patch and they're swollen.
65. I fell when I was 15 and my back hurt for a year. It still spasms once in a while but I've never gotten it checked out.
66. A doctor discovered that I had scoliosis when I was 19. By that time, he felt it was too late to take any kind of corrective measures.
67. I love the Superman comic books.
68. I've never really liked cats even though I've always felt they were one of the most beautiful creatures.
69. Cum makes my throat catch.
70. I tend to visit the same ten sites every day online.
71. I have the potential to be highly organized but I lack the ambition.
72. I've considered going to school to be a nurse or therapist but I'm secretly terrified of the responsibility that comes with either role.
73. I wish I had a little tiny apartment with little tiny appliances.
74. I have a shower curtain fixation.
75. If I had a loft apartment, I would separate sections with shower curtains instead of screens.
76. I can't stand mustard.
77. The smell of olives makes me sick.
78. I'm really just a pasta-rian.
79. I never do anything with my stuffed animals but I can't bring myself to throw them out.
80. Sometimes I wonder if I've simply lost the ability to have profound thoughts.
81. I've only seen the ocean once.
82. I have a tendency to touch my skin all the time.
83. I like being small because it means the boy can carry me around when I don't feel like walking.
84. My toes get claustrophobic sensations during the summer.
85. Guns don't scare me.
86. I hate winter weather. Sweaters are cozy but I could live without them if it meant never getting goose bumps.
87. I don't tan evenly at all.
88. I crack my knuckles constantly.
89. I hate my smile.
90. I'm not very good at making lists for anything.
91. I get nervous if I have to call anyone on the phone.
92. I don't know what my favourite colour or smell is.
93. I haven't read a whole book in about 6 months.
94. I get nervous when I'm around a lot of people.
95. One of the things I liked about my exboyfriend is that I could always borrow his clothes.
96. I wish I could be a model.
97. I don't like when strangers feel the need to touch my tattoos.
98. I once dreamed that all the kids I knew in my hometown became infected with a strange disease. After infection, the victim would become exceedingly violent and attack other people. That dream influenced my decisions about going back to see those friends.
99. I used to think that Neil Diamond's "Brother Love Salvation Show" included the lyrics 'crabby old ladies'.
100. I love to fly.

3 hours of sleep is nowhere near Enough.

1.04.04 : 12.34am

This year has an Überlist. This list will be edited as I think of new things.

1. Read new books: no more re-reading old ones.
2. Find a market for soaps
3. Take up knitting again.
4. Start crocheting again.
5. Make more candles.
6. Take a yoga course.
7. Landscape the front yard.
8. Plant a fruit tree.
9. Learn how to drive.
10. Save up at least $1000 dollars. Doesn't matter from where.
11. Get money from Misty. Lots of money.
12. Throw out clothes I don't wear anymore.
13. Wear the clothes I like.
14. Do more sewing.
15. Stop talking inside my head
16. Paint the bedroom.
17. Make/buy new curtains for the living room.
18. Get a job I like.
19. Pay off credit cards.
20. Upgrade processor in computer.
21. Put up curtains in office.
22. Go to Galveston with the boy at least once during the summer.
23. Go to Galveston with Nicole at least once.
24. Paint the kitchen. Be funky with it, you're the one that's in there.
25. Get rid of extra furniture.
26. Replace pots and pans.
27. Hang flower boxes on the shed.
28. Pave area in front of shed.
29. Grow irises. Irii.
30. Make fresh pies as often as possible. Baking is fun.
31. Write more letters.
32. Get something pierced. Nose or eyebrow, I think.
33. Tell dad about the tattoos. It's not the end of the world.
34. Get some Johnny Cash LPs.
35. Buy more Beatles LPs.
36. Go to one amazing concert.
37. Get married. This one's easy.
38. Make and send out invitations. This will make #37 easier.
39. Improve handwriting
40. Learn how to dance. This also contributes to #37.
41. Buy more comics.
42. Learn how to paint. Japanese!
43. Learn Tarot cards by heart.
44. Bake bread.
45. Get Doggie fixed; it's for her own good.
46. Get rid of pointless collections.
47. Take a trip somewhere I'e never been.
48. Locate and buy copies of "In His Own Write" and "Spaniard in the Works".
49. Resod the front yard
50. Dye hair bright pink.
51. Get a new tattoo.
52. Take a real vacation.
53. Get glasses or contacts.
54. Visit friends more often.
55. Keep a normal journal and update it every day.
56. Take more pictures of the pets.
57. Come up with a schedule of daily chores. Being home all the time means there's no reason to have things in disarray.
58. Eat less candy.
59. Film parties. They're fun to watch later.
60. Write more emails.
61. Make mix CDs.
62. Exercise more.
63. Dye hair red before wedding.
64. Get some real muscle tone.
65. Replace dishes with Matching Set.
66. Knit baby bonnets and find place to donate them.
67. Clean out closet and donate unused clothing.
68. Expand backyard flower bed.
69. Add a flower bed to the front yard.
70. Replace broken screens.
71. Replace missing blinds in living room.
72. Hang more pictures.
73. Take more photos of family and frame them.
74. Paint shed.
75. Get new printer.
76. Get flat panel monitor.

Monkeys are the new bananas.