The Alchemist

Just in time for Halloween, I ran across a fun entry on HowStuffWorks called How Zombies Work. Be sure to read the Zombie Self Defense page just in case you happen to run into any Monday night!

Also, so you can completely understand the zombie threat and how it spreads, check out the Zombie Infection Simulation and practice what you’ve learned in the Urban Dead game.

Whew! Now you can rest assured that you’ll be prepared for the inevitable zombie outbreak when it comes. Sleep tight.

You do what you eat is a fascinating article and should be required reading for parents and educators.

“Having a bad diet right now is a better predictor of future violence than past violent behaviour.”

Wow.

At the owner’s request (he’s performing an experiment on readership), I’m linking to a post on Minding The Planet here. It’s definitely a techie site, but very interesting for a guy like me who’s always trying to keep track of what’s going on in the minds of other technologists. Feel free to click through and check it out, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Today is my lovely wife’s birthday. Everyone please wish Amy a happy day!

Happy Birthday, honey!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051021/ap_on_fe_st/carjacker_thwarted

BLUFFTON, S.C. - A would-be carjacker got a different kind of jolt from his intended victim’s morning cup of coffee, authorities said.

The suspect tapped the car window Wednesday morning with a gun and motioned the driver to get out, Chief Deputy Roy Hughes said.

But the driver — who had just bought a cup of hot coffee — slammed the car door into the carjacker’s legs, threw the coffee at his neck and face and wrestled him to the ground, Hughes said.

A shot was fired during the scuffle but no one was hurt, Hughes said. He said the driver managed to get the gun from the suspect and point it at him.

The suspect ran into nearby woods, Hughes said. Deputies are searching for him and two people thought to be with him who drove off during the scuffle.

This is a pretty neat use of Google Maps. Put in your address and see where the nearby registered sex offenders are.

http://www.mapsexoffenders.com/

Hmm. Actually, it’s more disturbing than “neat” really…

I spent this weekend filming my first ever feature film! Gary Wood of Saving Star Wars fame cast me as “Heckler” in his newest project, Open MIC’rs and this was my weekend to film. A bit part, to be sure, but it was truly a pleasure to work with Gary and such talented actors as Cindy Morgan (”Caddyshack”, Tron) and Gavin Lindsay Goode (XXX: State of the Union). Thanks to everyone we all had a blast and this is going to be a very funny film!

And, check this out: This movie just gave me a Kevin Bacon number of 3 (meaning I’m only 3 degrees away from Mr. Bacon)! Here’s the proof:

1. Scott Ganyo was is Open MIC’rs (2006) with Cindy Morgan
2. Cindy Morgan was in Caddyshack (1980) with Bill (I) Murray
3. Bill (I) Murray was in Wild Things (1998) with Kevin Bacon

Or…

1. Scott Ganyo was is Open MIC’rs (2006) with Gavin Lindsay Goode
2. Gavin Lindsay Goode was in Syriana (2005) with Steven Hinkle
3. Steven Hinkle was in Loverboy (2005) with Kevin Bacon

Sweet! Kevin, give me a call, will ya? We’ll do lunch!

I ran across this amusing take on a really stupid proposed Indiana law via Boing Boing:

Proposed Indiana law would make the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit criminals

If the Virgin Mary had been born 2000 years later, she might have ended up in an Indiana State prison, if Republican lawmakers there get their way. A proposed bill hopes to make criminals out of unmarried women in Indiana who conceive “by means other than sexual intercourse.” Peter Svensson says: “Under the proposed Indiana law, if [Mary] willingly accepted the Holy Spirit’s visitation, that would be a misdemeanor:

As it the draft of the new law reads now, an intended parent ‘who knowingly or willingly participates in an artificial reproduction procedure’ without court approval, ‘commits unauthorized reproduction, a Class B misdemeanor.’ The criminal charges will be the same for physicians who commit ‘unauthorized practice of artificial reproduction.’ “Presumably, if the Holy Spirit didn’t give her a choice in the matter, she would have been let off. But in either case, the Holy Spirit would be charged.” Link

You know you’re a true hoosier when…

1. Vacation means going north or south on I-65 for the weekend.
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
4. You often switch from heat to AC in the same day and back again.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events including weddings.
7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kids Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 5 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, road construction, and It’s hot!
12. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
13. Down south means Kentucky to you.
14. A brat is something you eat.
15. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed .
16. You go out to a tailgate party every Friday.
17. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
18. You find 0 degrees a “little chilly.”
19. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Indiana friends.

So, what’s not to understand?

I’m speachless. Literally: I am unable to speak. This was to be the closing night of our show and I was barely able to speak… let alone sing. It was already coming last night and I gave it my all to finish that show. Trouble is that it turns out that included my all for tonight, too. I feel so bad for those that wanted to see the show and couldn’t. I so wish I could’ve done it… as Matthew wrote: “the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” It is so disappointing to end the show this way.

And, since I’m in the mood to quote, I’ll end with a paraphrase of T.S. Elliot: “This is the way the show ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Sigh.