Gacked from the entire universe…

1. Video taped my father signing a Russian folk song and dancing on a street corner in St Petersburg, Russia
2. Been part of a rescue team that carried a Christian Scientist down a mountain from a hike where she had fallen and broken her ankle, and then spent the better part of the ride to the hospital trying to convince her to put on an oxygen mask.
3. Had sex in the Milne library at SUNY Geneseo
4. Went scuba diving with dolphins in the Red Sea in Eilat, Israel
5. Hosted a freind for a few days who had a schizophrenic break and had been living on the street,

“The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.”
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11. Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
13. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch – George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald (Bleh)
23. Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34. Emma – Jane Austen
35. Persuasion – Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41. Animal Farm – George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50. Atonement – Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52. Dune – Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72. Dracula – Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses – James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal – Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession – AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94. Watership Down – Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by R. Dahl
100. Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Wow… I am S L A C K…. so lets see if we can ctach up…

asks:”>
1. Why the SCA?
Simple answer, its where my friends are. I have basicly answered this before, but in a nut shell I was at a very low point in my life and & Gryphon dragged me to the last Jangeulerie (and I am sure I have butchered that spelling) held at Kanata. I had a blast and people were so friendly and welcoming. One of my most vivid memories is coming to the archery range selling bag lunches. I had never met him before but he greeted me like a long lost friend. Thats an example why I say I never joined the SCA as much as I was adopted by it.

2. Do you ever miss practicing law? If so, what part?
The practicing? No. I miss the intelectual stimulation of law school. That way of looking at a problem from multiple angles. The challenge to argue the other side of an issue. Plus, studying law is really studying sociology. Even better its the sociology of your own society.

3. What was the best city to visit? Why?
I always love going to jerusalem, and niot just because I have family there I dont get to see very often. But for just fun places with lots to see and do, its a toss up between St Petersburg (Russia not Florida…) and Eilat. St Petersburg is vibrant with amazing things going on. Eilat is just an amazing beach resort town. Of course, there are a significant number of cities I have yet to visit to ask me after my next trip.

4. What was the best city to live in? Why?
I mostly miss Boston. I like not having to use my car for days on end, the activity, the slower then NYC but faster then other places pace. The things to see and do. Of course I do not miss the weather, cost of living, traffic, sucky job market, etc.

5. How do you as a pelican feel about casual scadians?
Define casual scadian. I know very few SCAdians who wont pitch in if asked. For example, at the Pas – one quick request and teh fighters were up in mass, and had taken down the eric and one of the baronial pavilions before anyone knew it. And not one person gripped or wandered away without pitching in that I noticed. Sure some of them dont come to meetings, and many of them dont take officer positions or run events or whatever, but would the Society function without them? I dont think so. So, define a casual SCAdian and I will let you know how I feel.

asks…”>
1. How did you end up in NC?
My ex, wanted to move to NC and get residency so eh could go to a program at UNC. I didn’t want to come, but he convinced me and I fell in love with it here. He is now in Seattle (I believe) and I am still here. I owe him for pushing me to come when I didn’t want to.

2. What’s the best thing about the SCA for you?
See number 1 above…

3. If you could permanently change one thing about your phyiscal self, what would ti be and why?
I would be more athletic.

4. Who is your favorite literary character?
Yes. OK, couldn’t resist, and I supose Doctor Who is not really a literary character. I am not sure I have one. I mean, its like what is my favorite movie – it would be easier for me to list movies that we should invenmt time travel so we cna go back and prevent them from being made. Enough avoidance?

5. What’s your favorite type of porn?
Gay porn, duh. but seriously… I like the stuff with real people in real situations. I hate the bow-chicka-bow bad acting worse scripts with situations that never happen in the real world. Give me a real person with another real person in a situation which may not be every day but is at least rationally possible, like I needed money so i agreed to have sex on camera with someone I just met two minutes ago. And since we are on the subject, dammit swallow!

asks…”>
In all honesty, I cna only think of one question to ask since I already know you’re one of those crazy service types. 1. Has your orientation ever affected you in the SCA?

To be honest, I am amazed no one has ever asked me this in one of these online QA things before. The simple answer is not that I am aware of. and I used to discuss this as one of those peer-student things. I think we both agreed that since I am, for lack of a better phrase, straight acting, it was less of an issue then it might be for others. Also, if anyone has ever had a problem with it, they have never mentioned it or in any way visibly to me showed it in the least. In fact, one of my fondest memories is one Ymir. For some reason you were nto able to attend, and Janos was at our table at feast. We had an open space, so we were putting aside food for our server on a plate next to me. At one point she came and sat down and Janos made a comment about having a beautiful woman sitting next to me. Nia said “Janos, you are more Nikulai’s type then she is.” Janos grabbed his feast gear, stood up, looked right at her and said “Well then lets trade places.” He made everyone at the table laugh and put me at ease.

This is just funny….

Anyone interested in checking them out?

NC Museum of Natural Sciences Upcoming Special Exhibits
The Dead Sea Scrolls
June 28 – December 28, 2008

The Dead Sea Scrolls — objects of great mystery, intrigue and significance — are widely acknowledged to be among the greatest archaeological treasures ever discovered.

The Dead Sea Scrolls date from 250 BCE to 68 CE and are our bridge to a period that laid the foundation of western traditions, beliefs and practices throughout the past two millennia. Among the Scrolls are some 207 biblical manuscripts that represent nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) and that predate any previously known copies by more than 1,000 years.

For more information about the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit as well as special events and lectures associated with this exhibit, please visit the Museum’s Dead Sea Scrolls Web site.

Ticketing information

Dead Sea Scrolls FAQ

The across the street neighbor has a small thicket of pine trees. As such he is constantly disposing of pine straw. Last night he helped me move six wheel barrow loads to my yard and spread them out into the big plant bed in front of the yard. Looks good.

asks…

1.) What the single most “WTF” moment you had after becoming a peer?
Honestly? You saying ‘I dont know what I want for dinner. Nikulai, you’re a peer – what should I eat?’

2.) Pelicans tend to be leader types who plunge in to take on hard tasks and get things done. Does this lead to a lot of A-type personality conflict when birds of a feather flock together?
Interestingly, generally no. There is a common goal, a desire to get a long, and the PLQ of trying to understand the other side of the argument. Thats not to say everything is always kittens and roses. There are definitely moments, but there are also moments in any group.

3.) Have you ever gotten to do a Peer smackdown, and if not, would you?
Smackdowns aren’t really my motis operandi. I have provided council on more then one occassion. I have volunteered to be the messenger, but honestly if someone needs a smackdown, there are much more effective peers then me for that. Know your strengths.

4.) Do you think there is such a thing as “negative service” and if so, how do you define it? By success / failure or by the effects of the service?
Absolutely. As many things in the SCA, my perspective on this comes from – negative service is when you create service opportunities for others to correct what you have done. For example, and no one has done this tio my knowledge, but if someone volunteers to take down the baronial pavilion and return it to the storage shed but find it is wet and takes it down anyway and returns it to the shed without drying it, they have created service opportunities for others who need to go pull it out of storage, set it up, let it dry, pack it up, and return it to the shed. Or, even worse, pull it out, scrub the mildew off, patch the holes, etc. That, IMHO, is negative service. They would have done much better to call someone and say ‘hey can I set this up in your yard til it dries, then come pack it back down, and take it to the shed?’ Or just saying look, its wet I cant handle it.

5.) Could I totally bribe Lukas to help me make a dress in the next week?
Ummm sorry just getting to this now – and as for ’s sewing skills and schedule, you are talking to the wrong end of the horse.

asks…

1. How long have you and Lukas been together and how did you meet?
We have been together for almost 30 months. We met on line and then in person. ‘Nuff said.

2. What do you do for a living and how did you get involved in that?
I do IT work for a big pharma company. I support around 100,000 users across more then three hundred sites in over ninety countries.

3. What is the biggest strength of our Barony?
4. What is the biggest need in our Barony?
I will answer these along with ’s similar question in a separate post.

5. What is your biggest personal strength and need?
I would ay my two biggest strengths are organizational skills and an ability to get along with ‘both sides of the aisle’ so to speak. My biggest need right now is time and sleep…

This is a test entry for the new Firefox plug in Zemantra.

Zemantra is a ’suggestion’ mechanism which provides suggestions for useful links and images as you type. This seems like a neat idea and so I wanted to try it out.

There are two negative caveats I have found. First, you need to type three hundred words in your entry before it starts to make suggestions, so I am kind or rambling to see what happens. Actually, there is a button to click which will force it to update earlier – interesting.

The second negative caveat is that it has to be used via the web browser. i.e. the LJ post page. So, this means no SE Magic. Probably worth suggesting to the SE Magic developers that they integrate the Zemntra technology into SE Magic.

Among the kewl aspects of Zemantra is its compatible with a lot of blogging programs, not just LiveJournal. So, if you use Blogger or Wordpad, you can make use of Zemantra.

Another neat feature is that when you go to the Post page, Zemantara pulls random pictures from Flickr that you can use as inspiration.

Hmmm… clicked update now and it says its retrieving updates but nope, nothing is coming up. Which is kind of disappointing. So this may be a failed experiment.

Maybe I just haven’t found anything worth making suggestions about. Anyway, not much doing… kind of taking a break from the insanity of work and fooling around, as I am sure you can tell.

Anway, this is somewhat disappointing… oh well I am going to let it percolate and see what it comes up with.

Ah, its a reported problem. Added a ‘me too’ and Im going to follow the thread and see what happens.