eclectica, a weblog [stuff and nonsense since 1999]

Monday, December 30, 2002 (comments?)
At the Back of the North Wind, by George MacDonald. I read it when I was younger, and I remember that I liked the book. I'll probably read it again.

If Architects Had To Work Like Web Designers...

Dear Mr. Architect:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one...

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to spend less/save more? Then you might want to check out The Frugal Life for some money-saving tips.

Getting to the bottom of 2002: Dave Barry's Year In Review. Heh.

Sunday, December 29, 2002 (comments?)
I just archived the November entries here.

Time's Best and Worst of 2002.

Common Cold: "This site provides a comprehensive, updated and referenced source of information on the common cold."

Rowling's gift to child cancer victim: "JK Rowling read a dying girl her unpublished Harry Potter stories so that she would know what happened before she passed away." What a sweet, kindhearted act.

I really like Merriam-Webster's word look-up toolbar. I use it all the time.

Internet spammer can't take what he dishes out. Ah, sweet revenge! ;)

The Jobless Recovery. Scary.

An Interview with Viggo Mortensen. [You can check out Viggo's books @ Perceval Press]

Some LOTR-related links:

According to this page, Frodo screams like a girl 8 times in FOTR. Heh.

You know you're obsessed with LOTR when: "You're starting to make strange hissing noises when you speak and call all your possessions 'my precious'" Hee!

Aww, cute! Merry, Pippin and Treebeard.

A Middle Earth cookbook? Erm, ok.

Saturday, December 28, 2002 (comments?)
Yes, I'm still here. I've been busy with the holidays and work (Had to work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. Bleh.) Hopefully, I'll have time to update later on tonight; but right now, it's such a beautiful day, I'm going out to enjoy it!

Sunday, December 22, 2002 (comments?)
If you FedExed a letter to Santa Claus where would it end up? Find out here.

Allen MacDonald, a 92-year-old inline skater. Yeah, he rocks.

The Free Fall Research Page: "A few people have survived a fall of thousands of feet without a working parachute. This research page is dedicated to recording their stories."

Jesus Roller Skating, a mural.

The Easter Egg Archive: "The term 'Easter Egg', as we use it here, means any amusing tidbit that creators hid in their creations. They could be in computer software, movies, music, art, books, or even your watch. There are thousands of them, and they can be quite entertaining, if you know where to look."

This is one of my other kitties, Chills. She loves the Sunday paper; in fact, she "devours" it! ;)

Saturday, December 21, 2002 (comments?)
The Two Towers is awesome. I saw it on opening day and then again on Friday, and viewing it twice didn't diminish my enjoyment of it. If you enjoy fantasy or just a good action movie, go check it out. Counting the days until The Return of the King...

I just bought a digital camera today: An Olympus C-3020 Zoom. I love it already and I haven't even learned how to use all the features. Since I'm still learning how to use it, my first pictures aren't that great, but here's a sample, anyway:

Milo, one of my kitties. It's blurry because he was moving, but it's such a cute shot, I had to share! ;)

Sunset at the aptly named Sunset Lake Park. I inline skate there a lot.

My brother Ben walking. I think this shot is kind of cool.

Here I am, getting ready to go take my first pictures. It's the first day of winter and look what I'm wearing. It got up to 75 degrees today!

Heh, I like the slogan that The Advertising Slogan Generator came up with for Eclectica: You've Always Got Time For Eclectica.

Santa Phobia. It would be funnier if the kids weren't so terrified.

Charlotte Church tells Canadian fans she loves America. Ooops! Heh heh.

Is there any pagan influence in Christianity?

Worldometers: Population, Energy, Food, Health, and more.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002 (comments?)
I've been neglecting to 'blog lately. Sorry, all. No time this morning and I'll be out all evening (I'll be watching The Two Towers.) I'll probably do an update tomorrow.

Since I have no links today, here's another great place to start: Blog of the Day.

Monday, December 16, 2002 (comments?)
Check out Google's Year-End Zeitgeist. Interesting, as usual. Also: Yahoo!'s Year in Review.

I haven't had time to read everything at Journey to Japan, but I definitely think it's worth a visit.

Deconstructing "falling in love." Ah, where's the fun in that?

The Two Towers comes out Wednesday: Hobbits Return in New 'Lord of the Rings' Film. It's going to rock!

Friday, December 13, 2002 (comments?)
Copy Kat Creations: "Your home for recipes you'd normally find AWAY from home." (Beware the plethora of pop-ups.)

Psychologists now know what makes people happy: "The happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don't care about keeping up with the Joneses next door, lose themselves in daily activities and, most important, forgive easily."

Nose Picking Game. No, it's not gross. (I'm awful at picking noses: I only got 7 out of 16 right.) [via the presurfer]

Neato: The Letter Project. [another great link via the presurfer]

You may have heard of "gaydar," but have you heard of "vegar"? [via the scratching post]

Advice for Desperate Men:

The XTC song "The World's Full of Angry Young Men" is running through my head, but the words attached to the music are "The mall's full of desperate men." As it gets closer to Christmas, the population of the mall starts changing. Early on women and teenagers predominate, but over time, there are more and more lost-looking men with that deer-caught-in-the-headlights inward-looking stare--the natural prey of eager shopkeepers who know they can sell these men absolutely anything.

(Yes, it's somewhat condescending, but it did make me chuckle...)

I'm going to be buying a digital camera soon, so I'll probably be checking out this site a lot: Digital Camera Reviews and News.

EpGuides.com. Episode lists for over 2000 TV shows.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002 (comments?)
Congratulations to my favorite short track speed skater, Apolo Ohno, for winning his second consecutive World Cup competition over the weekend! (Picture of men's overall winners here.)

Noelle, who was at World Cup # 4 in Bormio, Italy, offered some first-hand details:

You should have SEEN Apolo in his 1000m heat (second round) - Apolo was in second with a lap to go when the skater ahead of him fell directly in Apolos path. It was a heartstopping moment, but Apolo didnt break stride and literally leapt over the fallen skater - and kept on skating and still won the heat! An unbelievable performance. We were screaming as we watched it take place.

Why oh why are the short track World Cups not aired on TV?! It's so much more exciting than something like golf. If you've never seen short track, check it out, if you can. You won't be disappointed!

One more Apolo-related item: Congratulations to the In Apolo's Name project for raising $10,000 to get a room named after Apolo in the new Ronald McDonald House in Seattle, Washington. (Donations are still being accepted, if you're interested.)

And now, back to your regularly scheduled eclectica content...

Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive.

The BBC's Science Human Body has some interesting tests and experiments.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002 (comments?)
Before I head off to work, I just have to share this link: Kitten Cam. Aww, so cute! [via I Love Everything]