Nice garage but..
If they could just get all that junk out of there.
Icelanders are NOT terrorists
Icelanders are not terrorists. Here is a picture of one of the non-terrorists.
Literary Rules
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat)
Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
Be more or less specific.
Remarks in brackets (however relevant) are (usually) (but not always) unnecessary.
Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
No sentence fragments.
Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
One should NEVER generalize.
Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
Don’t use no double negatives.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be ignored.
Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
Kill all exclamation points!!!
Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
Puns are for children, not groan readers.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
swiped from misscellania.com
It has plants!
Okay so I got a little ahead of myself. I loaded up the aquarium with water, plopped in some plants and some starter fish. They all seem quite happy! I have more plants coming this Friday and hopefully the bacterial bloom will clear in another week or so and the water will clear up. It makes sitting at my desk so much more pleasant 
Photo is from a web cam, not great quality.
Okay it’s a little big.
I haven’t had a fish tank in well over a decade. I’m amazed at all of the new fun toys one can buy from aquariums to zebra fish. As part of reorganizing our office I decided to jump back into the freshwater fish tank fun. I’ve had several different sizes of takes over the years, and discovered long ago that larger tanks rae actually easier to care for once you set them up.
In reading about setting up a ‘modern’ fish tank I’m surprised to learn out about fishless tank cycling. The general idea is to add straight ammonia (with no surfactants!) to an empty fish tank that is setup and running as if it had fish. Monitor the ammonia levels over a period of time until nitrites are produced, and eventually nitrates are produced. The idea being to produce a good colony of bacteria capable of consuming the ammonia and nitrites to produce less harmful nitrates. Occasional water changes helps to remove the nitrates. The whole process takes at least a month unfortutnately, but no fish will die during the process (which seems to be the normal course for new tanks I’ve had in the past.)
So here is the beauty. Still empty and sitting in the garage awaiting a few more pieces.
Paris Hilton responds to McCain ad. p0wned
Lantana ~ The Crazy Plant
I’ve commented on this before, but thought I’d post a new photo of the plant I ignore. These lantana were planted last year. We’d originally tried to grow a garden in the spot but it faces south and the fence is on the east side. It basically becomes an oven in summer. I do not water the lantana either. I have no idea how it does so well. They are over 6′ tall now and at least as wide.
Randy Pausch has died - July 24th, 2008 - “The last lecture”
Font Conference ~ TOO funny!
Where’s your motivation? Gym tips.
Getting motivated to exercise is absolutely the hardest part of the exercise. It isn’t just going through the motions of getting on your gym gear and going to the gym. There is a deeper challenge with motivation while actually exercising! You plan on doing 12 repetitions, and call it quits at 10. I know because I have done it myself.
Sometimes people mistake this lack of motivation for running out of strength or energy. That happens, but more often than not — if you have the right weights and have been-there-done-that then it’s all in your head. You have to begin to look at the motivation part of exercise as an integral part of your day.
1. Join a gym. There’s nothing more defeating than going to the spare 10′x10′ bedroom to lift some little dumbbells and watch Montel on the TV. You MUST get out of the house and workout around other people. Other people will motivate you just by being around them.
2. Pick a time of day and stick with it. This not only helps you make yourself get to the gym to workout but you synchronize your body to expect it.
3. Plan your diet around your workout. Don’t gorge at lunch on a foot-long chili-dog and extra-large onion rings with that 55-gallon drum of coke. Think light but fulfilling. You don’t want to be feeling your lunch during your workout. And those around you probably don’t want to experience the effects of that chili-dog either.
4. Avoid sugars and food that converts to sugar quickly before your workouts. This includes large doses of bread, non-diet sodas, ice cream .. you get the idea. Once your body gets all that sugar it’ll tell you shortly after that initial rush that it’s time for a nap. Not a good pre-workout strategy.
5. Make some friends in the gym. This part is tricky. I have seen those that seem to only join a gym so they can have somebody to talk with for the entire duration they are ‘exercising’. It’s fine to have a chat during breaks between repetitions but it can be distracting. You must keep your mind focused on the task. Your gym friends should be there to help and encourage, and you can provide the same for them.
6. Determine how to make the gym a lifelong habit. Working out shouldn’t be to lose those 10lbs for the beach vacation. An exercise program is a life-long commitment. As soon as you are able to fix this into your mind you will have more energy and will-power to commit to this part of your lifestyle.
7. Music! If you don’t own an iPod
There are dozens of other motivation tips that would take an entire book to cover. Watch here for more motivation tips!