Movies I will be disappointed by in 2004
the start of the list

Hellboy
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Ok, since I started growing my beard back ( read: stopped shaving ) 7 or so days ago, 3 random people have come up to me and started talking to me for no reason.
( well, one wanted to take my picture for a painting reference. What's that about? )

This has to stop.

It's really freaking the shit out of me.

FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs [sfgate.com]

Now there is going to be a 5 day waiting period on Farmers Almanacs :)

mr. picassohead

mine here

So, here is the story.
Thursday afternoon, I bring my system in to work to act as a testing server (kinda sad when you can say, 'Yeah, my server is equivilent to the $3500 dell server the customer has. Lets test with it'). Got everything setup with a new U160 scsi adapter and 3 10K U160 drives. Happy, happy it's all working. I decide not to lug the bugger home, because it weighs a ton and I don't feel like fucking around with it. I have the laptop to surf and watch dvds.
Skip to today, I'm walking towards the office, when a coworker on the way to the can stops me and says, 'We got broken into again last night. They didn't take anything but they ransacked the place'. After overcoming a brief bit of horror, the first thing I can say is, 'Is my computer ok?' Of course, he doesn't know that my computer was in the server room. I run in there and find my precious sitting there in all it's P4 2.4GHz glory. After much hugging and kissing, I go to my desk and find my cupboards and drawers open but that's it. Of course I brought my baby home tonight, after giving her another 512MB of ram and replacing an exhaust fan that went out yesterday.
This is the second time in about a month that the office has been broken into. Crowbar'd the door open. They got a few bucks in petty cash last time, but didn't take anything this time. My guess is we are going to get hit over the xmas holiday. Totally sucky.

Child's Play [penny-arcade.com]
This has to be the coolest thing I have ever seen.

I spent a while in the hospital when I was young, 7-8ish. After reading that father's letter, I remember what it was like to be there. Being tied to an IV, watching the other kids really play, while I had to make do with more non-moving play. To only be able to move 5 feet from the IV, and none too fast, otherwise the hard pain of replacing the needle insued. I remember my mom would bring me toys to play with, while watching the other kids move through the bed next to me. I remember the funnest times were when my doctors would come in to play with my toys, or just to teach me how to make paper airplanes.
Toys for these kids are important, probably more important then paying the cable bill this month or even the gas bill. I guess I can feel what these kids are feeling. If you have a couple of dollars, give a gift to them, or even to the local ward. How ever you feel, if you do, give if you can. It does mean a lot.

I hope you appreciate it.
Do you know how many overly dramatized diatribes I have conjured here drinking, but have spared you of? How many self-pitying monologues I have suffered, and kept from you, for your own sake?

God, I really need to stop reading epic poetry

Smart soldiers decided to flee the Rings battle [canada.com]

Very cool little article about the ork 'agents' fleeing the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Link found via boingboing

Are the new owners of a beloved Tempe bar playing drinking games? [phoenixnewtimes.com]

Looks like perhaps the city will get Bandersnatch yet. According to the article, it's shuttered. I will wander down there tonight and see what's going on.

The Michigan Walk [commonmonkeyflower.net]
It's not that I'm lauging at you, per say. Who am I kidding. I am laughing at you, but I'm 2000 miles away, in the bright warm sun. :P

A moment of zen.
pictures of the Grand Canyon

It's really big.
honest.

In a press conference today, Donald Rumsfeld rebuked reports, saying 'Step up, bitch. Step up.'

Test entry

Maybe it's just me, but this makes me proud.
An official exorcism!!!

And now, personal stuff.
This is me, my dad, and my mom when I last saw them some 7 months ago. My dad has since gone through some tough surgery and my mom has coped the best she could. I seem to call there every weekend to find out what's up and how my dad is doing. It made me start to think about the whole family thing, and how much I am not a part of it. Do I regret moving away, most days no, but I miss every day I could have had. I haven't ever been the most family-oriented person in my time, but I am here to tell you, move 2000 miles away and that will change a bit.

Update: here is my entire family. Three generations of Lillibridges.

An interesting exercise.
My choices are
here.
In no particular order, top to bottom
1) Streets of Laredo - good revisionist western history
2) Gun with Occasional Music - Gotta watch that karma
3) Good Omens - It's just good, ok
4) The Bell Jar - ibid
5) The Hobbit - Probably the first fantasy fiction I ever read
6) Algorithms and Data Structures - Classic comp-sci
7) Applied Cryptography - Maybe I will finish the damn thing
8) The Art of Computer Science vol 1. Fundamental Algorithms - ibid

According to Slashdot ( here [slashdot.org] ), Peter Jackson is interested in doing a film version of 'The Hobbit'.
I gleaned the address of the Tolkien estate from the comments, and would request that people write them, as I intend to do.

Tolkien Estate
Cathleen Blackburn
Manches & co.,
3 Worcester Street,
OXFORD,
United Kingdom.
OX1 2PZ

I first saw 'The Hobbit' in the animated TV version. I imagine it is what not only caused me to read the novel, but sparked my interest in fantasy fiction. I haven't seen the movie in decades, and don't plan to. I have near and dear childhood memories pinned to this event, and would rather my imaginigs stay the way they are. But I would dearly love to see a Peter Jackson version of them. I can only see it causeing more children to read the books. While the film versions of LoTR are far from literal, they are very good films in their own rights. Let's bring 'The Hobbit' to the screen as it should be ( with no disrespect to Ralph Bakshi ).