October 8, 1999

That picture is Jim (with the red hari) and Justin (with the no hair) playing some Playstation game. I put it in for a couple of reasons - first, I'm sick of pictures of myself and I'm sure you all are too. Second, Justin is leaving us to move to San Diego next week, and I'll miss him. I know Jim will too. So I hope he has a safe trip across the country, and I hope he enjoys San Diego. He's going to be looking for a job doing dog training, so if anyone has any leads, let me know and I'll pass them along! Wouldn't it be cool if he found a job through my journal?

Well, we're off to Disney today so there won't be a new entry until Wednesday at the earliest. My new Party of Five recap should go up on Mighty Big TV today. Are you enjoying that site? Tell your friends and family!

For the rest of the entry, I'm going to take Mike's survey, because I'm lazy. No, Mike and I aren't related that I know of. I have a brother named Mike Reed though. Interspersed will be some photos from my vacation this summer, that I just got developed. Enjoy.

1. Would you take the fall for a crime committed by a sibling or parent?

Probably not, unless there were extenuating circumstances.


2. What's your favorite picnic food?
Burgers and potato salad. Or salt potatoes.


3. What television show did you like that got canceled way too soon? My So-Called Life, definitely. I will also cop to enjoying Boston Common and The Single Guy, which I know were terrible shows, but were they worse than Suddenly Susan really?
   
   
4. Ever get caught picking your nose? Not that I know of.
   
   
5. By which school picture are you most embarrassed? Seventh grade. My aunt actually just sent it to me in my birthday card, and I wanted to hide it before Jim could see what a dork I was. Like he doesn't know.
   
   
6. What was your first computer? A TRS-80, handed down from my grandfather. Like 5 years after everyone else had moved on.
   
   
7. What are you completely and irrationally stubborn about? I have no idea. I get really upset when people make fun of the developmentally disabled. I don't know why. I'm not that upset about other disabilities.
   
   
8. You're offered the political appointment of your choosing. What job do you take? Ambassador to some nothing country, like Fiji. I mean, how tough could that be? I used to want to be Ambassador to the U.N., because of all the cabinet members, that person has the easiest job and yet is still technically in line for the presidency if everyone else dies.
   
   
9. How would you like to die? Quickly and in my sleep.
   
   
10. You get to plan your own funeral. Who speaks? Who sings? How do you get sent off? I want a big New Orleans style funeral, complete with street parade and "When the Saints Go Marching In". I want it to be a big party, not a sad affair. Celebrate my life, don't commemorate my death.
    
    
11. You and a date finish an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant and discover the waiter has charged you for only one lobster. Do you a) point out the mistake. b) keep quiet and leave a huge tip. c) quickly pay the tab and leave. Honestly? I'd like to say C, but I would probably do A. I'm not sure.
    


12. To whom are you most likely to lend money? a relative, a friend, a business partner, or the author of this survey. I would lend money to most of my relatives and most of my friends. I don't really have any business partners, and I don't know the author of the survey that well. It depends on the amount too. I would lend $20 to just about anyone, but $200?
    
    
13. Ever changed your website just so you could join a ring? No.
    
    
14. Ever written on a special topic, just so you could qualify for a web award? No.
    
    
15. Ever submitted your own site for a web award? No, but if anyone wants to nominate me for a Diarist.net award, I won't complain.
    
    
16. Ever offered a web award of your own conception? No.
    
    
17. What's your favorite flavor of toaster pastry? I can't say that I've ever had a toaster pastry, but my brother used to eat apple toaster strudel.
    
    
18. Ever paid one credit card with another one? No.
    
    
19. Ever been hoopsnaked by a home equity loan ad? No.
    
    
20. To what magazines do you currently subscribe? I have a hard time keeping track of subscriptions. Fast Company, In Style, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, Creating Keepsakes, and Glamour. I'm letting Glamour and Creating Keepsakes lapse, and I'm picking up Vanity Fair, I think.
    
    
21. What's your guilty pleasure? Cheesy teen dramas. Did you really have to ask?
    
    
22. What do you do that you do not enjoy simply for appearance sake? I'm assuming this means something that I only do for the sake of appearance. Sometimes I go to family functions because I feel I should, not because I really want to. Usually once I get there, I have a fine time, but sometimes I don't feel like going.
    
    
23. Have you ever taken out a singles ad? No.
    
    
24. Have you ever lied in a singles ad? No. I'm pretty boring, aren't I?
    
    
25. When was the last time you bounced a check? Probably this summer. My bank just automatically covers it out of my savings and charges me a bounced check fee, so I don't find out about it until afterwards. But I know I have bounced one fairly recently. Before that it was a while though.
    
    
26. Have you ever camped out for concert tickets? If so, for which concert? I never have, but Jim camped out for Jethro Tull tickets with Justin one time. I sort of camped out for Phantom Menace tickets. Does that count?
    
    
27. What's the most embarrassing name ever given to you by a significant other? Like I'm going to answer this. Actually, I tend to give Jim stupid names more than he gives them to me.
    
    
28. Ever played truth or dare in an effort to get into someone's pants? No.
    
    
29. Did you have sex in high school? No.
    
    
30. What's your favorite drinking game? I think three man works well for getting drunk fast, if that's your goal. We used to play that a certain roll meant you could make up (or rescind) a rule, and our made up rules were always like, "Every time someone rolls the dice, Justin has to drink." So we all ended up drinking a lot.
    
    
31. What bad habit do you have that no one is supposed to know about? It used to be smoking, but I don't do that anymore. But I was very secretive about my smoking - I didn't want friends and especially family to know.
    
    
32. Are you completely honest in situations where your name isn't used? Yes. Probably more honest.
    
    
33. Ever urinated in public? If by public, this means "outdoors but not in a bathroom", the answer is yes. We had a lot of road parties in high school, where we would have a keg on a back road somewhere, and you had to pop a squat. There weren't any porta-potties.
    
    
34. Which celebrity would you most like to see drop off the face of the Earth? Jennifer Love Hewitt.
    
    
35. Which celebrity would you most like to bring back from the dead? River Phoenix? That's who popped into my head first. Not because I loved him so much, but because I'm interested to find out what he would have done with his life.
    
    
36. If you found out who really killed JFK, who would you tell first? Oliver Stone. Just kidding. I'd probably be scared to tell anyone because they'd have me killed too. But then I'd get over and sell my story to the highest bidder.
    
    
37. What's your favorite comic strip? Probably Doonesbury. It used to be Dilbert, but that's getting pretty lame. Plus since I don't work in an office for a pointy-haired boss anymore, it's lost its relevance.
    
    
38. What was the last thing you purchased at Wal-hyphen-Mart? When was that? I think it was some under-bed storage bins that don't fit under my bed. What a rip-off. That was about 2 months ago. I know I've been there since then, but I can't remember what we bought.
    
    
39. If you were afforded the opportunity to sleep with one of your friends, who would it be? Honestly, I can't think of anyone. I'm not saying my friends aren't attractive, I'm just saying I don't think of them that way. And even if I did, would I talk about here? Probably not.
    
    
40. To what superstition do you most adhere? I'm not very superstitious.
    
    
41. Elevators or escalators? I have issues with both. I'm claustrophobic, so I don't much like elevators. And I fell on an escalator once, so they make me nervous too.
    
    
42. How many justices of the U.S. Supreme Court can you name? No cheating (there are nine). Ooh. Sandra Day O'Connor. Clarence Thomas. The one from New Hampshire. Rehnquist. Scalia. I'm done. (I looked up the rest for those who are curious: the one from New Hampshire was Souter. The others are Ginsberg, Breyer, Stevens and Kennedy. I can't believe I forgot Ruth Bader Ginsberg.)
    
    
43. What is the name of your congressman? (or similar government representative for those living outside the US and not in some fascist country that doesn't have a representational government). My two senators are Daniel Patrick Moynihan (for now) and Chuck Schumer. My representative in the house is Jim Walsh. I'm not crazy about Jim Walsh, but the rest of them are OK.
    
    
44. What are you a big old geek about? A better question might be, what am I not a big geek about? I'm a geek about anything web related.
    
    
45. Who makes you laugh? Myself. Jim. Terry. Mary. Molly. Just about all my friends, really. We're a funny group of people. Actually no one thinks Molly and I are funny except ourselves. But we amuse the hell out of ourselves.
    
    
46. Have you ever been in a band? If so, what was it called? Not really. I used to sing with Terry and Stimp's first band, "The Brave Utensils". But the other guys in the band didn't really want me around. And really, I didn't have a purpose. But I was never an official member of the band.
    
    
47. Herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore? Omnivore, but pretty close to carnivore.
    
    
48. When playing tic tac toe, which square do you always fill in first? Do you prefer "X" or "O"? Center, and I prefer X.
    
    
49. Does the time 4:20 have any significance for you? It has something to do with smoking pot, but I don't know why. While I am not a stoner, I have some stoner friends.
    
    
50. What was the biggest prize you ever won? I think I won $100 at bingo with my grandmother one time.

Warning: These links will open a new browser window.

I agree with this guy about business sites, but for entertainment or content sites, I'm willing to put up with a little Flash if it adds something. It rarely does though.

I think the problem with the live Ford Focus commercials are that they don't seem live. Do something that is conducive to the medium, or who cares?

Does everyone have a book deal? This guy's site lists wacky uses for everyday household products (and I'm a sucker for household tips, really), and he's got a book deal. I've got to come up with a stupid idea like this. How scary is it that Coke removes rust spots from chrome, and we also drink it?

I still say it's gif with a hard G because it stands for Graphical something Format. But this guy claims the developers say Jiff.

A whole site about Jell-O shots? If you've never done them, Jell-O shots are dangerous because they don't take effect for a while, so you keep doing them, not realizing that each one is the equivalent of a shot of hard liquor. Then they suddenly hit you.

I prefer the Campbell's brand Ramen Noodles, chicken flavor. They were always 4 for $1 instead of 5 for $1, but I'm willing to pay that extra five cents for quality. Anyway, you can buy crazy kinds of ramen noodles here.

I'm pretty good with the TV theme show lyrics. I had a songbook for the piano of all TV show theme songs in the early and mid-80's, so I learned a lot of the songs that way.

I used to watch "In Search Of..." on Saturday afternoons, but it was kind of scary. At least, I was scared. But I was like 10.

You can buy a Slurpee t-shirt here. Jim had a craving for a Slurpee while we were home two weekend ago. We drove all over, and were willing to settle for a Slush Puppy, but no dice. Jim fell asleep on the way home, so I made a detour to a 7-11 I knew of, and he got his Slurpee. But it was a quest, let me tell you.

A new book compares Amazon to Sears. I just got done writing a paper comparing Amazon to Wal-Mart.

Is Pokemon a threat to society? We've got trouble, and that starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pokemon!

Some straight talk on what cookies can and cannot do. One thing is that cookies cannot co-opt information you have given to another site, something that was mis-reported in my local paper a few weeks ago.

I am really enjoying Entertainment Weekly Online's Hot Topic column - but I still hate those interstital ads. Cut that out! I won't buy those products now!

This is an interesting column on how sometimes a teacher gets caught up in the drama of teaching, to the point of missing a teaching opportunity. I had a professor like this in college - he loved to hear himself read more than he wanted us to learn anything. He cried when he talked about Keats' death. Dude, get over it. It was a long time ago.

Dave Matthews will star in a film adaptation of "Where the Red Fern Grows".

I'm glad to hear that Disney World isn't infested with mice, since I'll be there in less than 12 hours!

I swear to God, this is the end of society - CBS is going to air a game show next summer where 16 people are trapped on a deserted island with killer snakes, pigs and monkeys, and few supplies and see who survives. I'd like to put dibs right now on someone killing someone else. The winner gets $1 million. Does anyone else think this is a BAD idea? Oh, but I'll watch it.

All right, I can't find any more good links today! Plus I have to write a paper before we leave. Go read Pamie or Beth or something. Check out my links page for help. See y'all on Wednesday. I'll tell Mickey you said hi.