Qoth the Raven...

There's something mesmerizing about this video....Crow, you remember when my Dad started reciting it off the top of his head?

Gee, I have a book of Poe's work, I should open that up for a second tonight. I used to love his work...

Proof of Akama's Leetness

Here we can see photographic evidence that Akama is in fact "Leet". The image has been altered only to enlarge the important portion.

On a more serious note I made a brigade account on Curse Gaming with some really good mods already favorited. So all you have to do is log on and click favorites. I'd say the only one required by the guild is the threat meter, but the rest are pretty much awesome in code form so check em out.
The account name is platypusbrigade and the password you gotta call me for cuz this is still a public-ish blog. I'll give you a hint though, with Blackelk and Iduku's powers combined they create the destructive force known as...
If you can't guess on your own you have not been paying attention. And don't post it in the comments. =\

Pretty Post? No? Then check this out!

Well hey there. I know It's been a while. Ok it's been more than a while but I'm going to try to start writing/reading on a regular basis again. As I need to get ready again (... again) for class in the fall I figure I'm better off getting into the habit of reading and writing.

As part of my training I'm going to be posting all those things I said I'd post... months and years ago.

So to start it all off I guess I'll mention something about pictures. One of the reasons I hate doing work on the web and for the web is that it's hard to make things pretty again. Well at least for the photo sites that problem can be solved.

PicLens

Check it out it's freaking awesome. Don't know where I saw it first, probably Gizmodo or Lifehacker. I've been using it for probably 6 months to a year now and I gotta say I don't know if I'd go back to the old way. The browsing part of it doesn't really work for me but once you've found a gallery that you want to check out it is just so much faster and prettier than the web.
Oh and did I mention it does videos too?

What made me think of it was lifehacker had a recent post about
http://blowup.bondartsciencefair.com/
which just made me like Pic lens that much more, though blow up can be used just from the web if need be.

Anyways feel free to harass me if you haven't heard from me for a day or too, but I'm really going to try to post a few times a week on here as I'm shooting for writing about an hour day (not all online thankfully for you all) accompanied by at least an hour of offline reading

Yay for nerdness?... maybe?

Some people made a horrible rap about the Large Hadron Collider. Ummm... yeah... they sent it to us in our little daily work news bulletin thing yesterday, so I've been traumatized by it, and now you can be too!

For the record

ag·gres·sive Audio Help /əˈgrɛsɪv/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-gres-iv] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. characterized by or tending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or the like; militantly forward or menacing: aggressive acts against a neighboring country.
2. making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive: an aggressive basketball player.
3. vigorously energetic, esp. in the use of initiative and forcefulness: an aggressive salesperson.
4. boldly assertive and forward; pushy: an aggressive driver.
5. emphasizing maximum growth and capital gains over quality, security, and income: an aggressive mutual fund.
6. Medicine/Medical.
a. (of a disease or tumor) spreading rapidly or highly invasive; difficult or impossible to treat successfully.
b. pertaining to a risky surgery or treatment, or to a medication that has grave side effects: aggressive chemotherapy.
[Origin: 1815–25; aggress(ion) + -ive]

—Related forms
ag·gres·sive·ly, adverb
ag·gres·sive·ness, ag·gres·siv·i·ty Audio Help /ˌægrɛˈsɪvɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ag-re-siv-i-tee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, noun

—Synonyms 1. pugnacious, militant. 2. forceful, enterprising, assertive.
—Antonyms 1. friendly. 2. retiring, shy, timid, hesitant.


So I dont think agressive has a "broad" definition Syd. Judging from the first definition the word is clearly used to define offensive behavior, not just being out spoken. Sorry, hate to say I told you so, Im just bored and trying to kill time before I have to go get deputized. Good morning all, now was posting this "aggressive" read the definition and you be the judge.

Reach out to me (freestyle lets so how it goes)

I got a new phone now
Reach out to me
Ill be all like, "WoW"
who the hell this be?
that is if you will allow
your heart to be free
a chance to take the crown
off the head of a king
a chance to leave ground
to a place we can meet
to each others soul bound
close your eyes and youl see
Im still right here
Your still in the sea
To me its all clear
To you its blurry
I hold you most dear
But you cant believe


LMAO I cant believe I wrote that in 3 minutes. It sucks! But I just felt like giving a little freestyle poem to say that I got a new phone and feel free to call me whenever. The phone poem is not directed at anyone, its just a brain fart. I hope everyone is having a good night. P.S. I have the same cell number as usual.

Crazy Lion Story

This lion story made me really happy when i watched it! I'm sure it will at least give yall some smiles. [via Crooks and Liars]

Yosemite!

Last time...While I don't anticipate any river crossings (frozen nipples, misplaced souls, etc), I'm sure we'll manage some sort of adventure.

So the plan is to leave late morningish (10AM?) on Friday August 8, grab lunch around Oakdale, and set up camp at Upper Pines for the night. If at all possible, I think we should just take one car (and it should be possible since all our shit will have to fit in our backpacks...). Dan, we've got a couch with your name on it. Not quite, but we can make a name tag for it.

Schedule:

Friday August 8
* drive to Yosemite
* Del Taco, etc for lunch in Oakdale
* set up camp in the valley, get some firewood from Curry Village
* hotdogs, chips, random vegetables for dinner

Saturday August 9
* break camp, repack backpacks, pick up backpacking permit (early morning 7-9 AM)
* cereal, yogurt for breakfast
* pack sandwiches for lunch
* hike up the mountain for a very, very long time (lunch near the trail split to Vernal)
* set up camp in Little Yosemite Valley
* cashew chicken curry for dinner

Sunday August 10
* oatmeal, cliff bars for breakfast
* pack lunches (peanut butter on tortillas?), trail mix, etc
* hike over to Half Dome, freak out because it's really big
* beef stroganoff for dinner

Monday August 11
* Platypus Brigade: The Wedding (wander back to Nevada Falls)
* lunch suggestions... (I'm cool with more peanut butter tortilla things)
* stuff around Little Yosemite Valley (this is the "chill" day...)
* couscous, need other dinner ideas...

Tuesday August 12
* pack up, hike down the mountain for a very long time
* probably scrounge trail mix and left over random stuff for lunch
* drive home

In the food department, I've also got some Gatorade powder stuff and a few Powerbars. I was planning to check Costco for a box of some sort of cliff bars or something closer to being food than powerbars. Let me know how you all feel about oatmeal for breakfast, because I don't eat it, and someone else should choose flavors. We need one more major dinner item, and if anyone can think of something else for lunch, I'm open to suggestions. Keep in mind, we can't really have anything that needs refrigeration, and bread would probably not survive and would be a waste of space.

****Remember to bring gloves if you want to try to go all the way up Half Dome****

We're covered in the tent department, I've got 3-person and 1-person backpacking tents. I have an extra sleeping bag I borrowed from my dad, and if my boss remembers to let me borrow one of his backpacks, I've got 4 backpacks (although one is small and Dan is probably better off getting his own). I've got a water filter, a veritable shitload of platypus and camelback products, a backpacking stove and cooking set, 3 conveniently sized plastic bowls, and sets of heavy duty plastic utensils. Also, bug repellant, camp soap stuff, sunblock, solar shower thingy. Umm.. let me know if it looks like something vital is missing from this list.

I recommend picking up some sock liners (really thin fitted white silkish socks that go inside your thick hiking socks). I was wearing some when we went to Yosemite Falls, and no blisters! Yay!

hediously gortesque furry thing of the day! Space monkeys from Mars and we don't care!

You know, at first, the thought of a pig with a monkey head doesn't sound so bad. You imagine some doll or sculpture type thing with the body of a pig and the head of a monkey. No problem!

Next imagine, it's real. It doesn't have fur like a real monkey, but instead is just a pig with a face that resembles a monkey. In fact, it's only got a monkey head in the sense that its deformed to the point where its a mound of flesh that resembles a monkey. Throw in the fact that it's hind legs are longer than its front legs and voila! You have something out of the circus freak episode of the X-files.

I'm not going to post it's picture because...I don't want to see it every time I check the blog for the next week or so. So here's a link to the story.

I just want to put stuff like this in the context with which I view them. Obviously, this is a genetic mutation. But why? Most scientists will probably search for some disease which causes mutations similar, or some sort of nutritional defect that would cause such deformities. After all, this thing lives in China which isn't known for the healthiest of living conditions these days.

I just want to throw something out there. In the spiritual framework I subscribe to, DNA is the direct link to that spiritual force we are all connected with. In fact, that spiritual force exists in an ever present energy field which surrounds us and when conscious energy manifests in the world we see on a regular basis, DNA serves as the foundation for translating one entity from that space to the other. A "hiccup" in DNA may in fact be an indication of some deeper attempt for an entity trying to transition from one form of living to another...it may be an indication for a physical manifestation of some spiritual scar or issue that needs resolution (which is where some would say genetics is the scientific equivalent of karma).

Times seem to be changing. I would be curious if we see more deformities as we move closer to 2012 as energy levels for this conscious field are supposed be getting higher. Supposedly entities are trying to transition from one mode to another and it's entirely likely that things like this will occur with more frequency.

That's just my take on things like this. At the end of the day I like finding deeper meaning in everything, so at the very least these thoughts pacify that aspect of my Self.

Every joker (inspired by Dark Knight)

Why so serious friend?
Every joker needs a good laugh
I’m the killer everyone loves
As long as I leave on my mask
Without the paint I am just one of you
A freak with a heart filled with glass
Citizens of Gotham deserve more fun
Cause of me they will all have a blast!
Batman can have this city if he wants
Come morning there will only be ash