Team Kitty

Didn't think of some of these,,,,

2009-09-04T01:48:14Z

9 Hidden Toxins Lurking in Your Food
Posted by: Dr. Mercola

1. Stay away from processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and sausage. Sodium nitrate can also cause the formation of nitrosamines in your system, which can lead to cancer.

2. Reduce the amount of canned food you consume. Cans are commonly lined with bisphenol-A, an organic compound that may be associated with diabetes and heart disease.

3. Skip the diet soda and artificial sweeteners. Prolonged exposure to aspartame, a neurotoxic chemical additive in these products, can lead to nerve cell damage, dizziness, and headaches.

4. Opt for organic chicken. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy discovered traces of arsenic in non-organic chickens. Exposure to this dangerous chemical can lead to cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Another study also found numerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria in conventional poultry.

5. Avoid manufactured snacks. Hydrogenated oils are used to lengthen the shelf life of products like crackers and cookies, but they are also associated with diabetes and heart disease. Snack foods are also generally loaded with salt, corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients.

6. Stay away from artificially-colored foods like candy, maraschino cherries, and gelatin. Mice and rats exposed to blue 1 and 2, red 3 and yellow 6 suffered from brain, adrenal gland, thyroid, and kidney tumors.

7. Always buy organic produce. Lingering pesticides can lead to nervous and reproductive system damage, not to mention cancer.

8. Avoid Teflon cookware. The Teflon used to create nonstick surfaces can release noxious gases when exposed to high temperatures, which puts you at risk for a large variety of diseases, many of which are not even well documented at this time.

9. Never microwave food in plastic bowls, containers, or dishes. Exposure to heat causes the bisphenol-A found in plastics to break down and potentially contaminate your food.

AND

8 Spots Germs Love to Lurk in Your Home
Posted by: Dr. Mercola

1. TV remote

Many people watch TV while they absent-mindedly chew their fingernails, snack on food and flip through channels, leaving all kinds of bacteria on the remote. Make sure to sanitize the remote control regularly to prevent sickness.

2. Tub and shower

Your bathtub may have 100 times more bacteria than the trash can, according to an in-home bacteria study conducted by the Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community. The Hygiene Council recommends that showers and tubs be disinfected twice a week to get rid of dead skin cells left in the tub that can carry germs too.

3. Pet food dish

Most pet food dishes stay on the floor and do not get washed regularly.

4. Kitchen cloths and sponges

People frequently use sponges or cloths to wipe germs from surfaces in the kitchen. As a result, 70 percent of kitchen sponges in U.S. homes failed the hygiene test by having high levels of bacteria, according to the Hygiene Council. The council recommends running sponges through the dishwasher regularly and washing kitchen cloths on the hot cycle in the washing machine.

5. Microwave touch screen

This spot is notorious for not getting cleaned. Even though the food comes out cooked, the germs that can make you sick are left on the outside of the microwave for the next person to touch. It is important to wipe down the touch screen regularly, especially after cooking raw meat.

6. Light switches

Touching the light switch is practically unavoidable, but keeping it clean is not. The bathroom light switch can have as many germs as the trash bin. Disinfect light switches twice a week, or every day if a member of your household is sick.

7. Baby changing table

During diaper changes, the baby wipes container, the diaper packaging, the trash can and anything around the changing area get contaminated with bacteria through touching after handling a dirty diaper. The baby changing table area should be cleaned often.

8. Kitchen faucets

Typically people wash their hands after handling raw meat in the kitchen, but they touch the faucet to turn on the water and do not think about the bacteria that they leave. The Hygiene Council found more than half of faucets in American homes are covered in bacteria.

Writer's Block: I May Be Crazy

2009-08-16T02:48:26Z

What does this Rorschach blot look like to you?

View 537 Answers

Two donkeys walking up the side of a bell.

Where I live....

2009-08-16T02:42:42Z

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=10933330

I was about to do a differences story...not that this is a difference. But I cross this bridge nearly every day...

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local_wluk_sturgeonbay_car_on_bridge_200908141442_rev1

Oh no!!

2009-08-02T01:28:49Z

The Big Bad Wolf is closing. I am deeply bummed out.

Maybe we should start a letter campaign to try to keep it open! And all this while I'm 'stuck' in Wi. I wanted to take my new roomie to BG and part of that experience was definitely the BBW.

I guess I'm biased. It's an okay ride, but I got to ride it with Goat and it's a truly stellar ride with Goat. So much so I made others ride it - with him - for the experience.

I am depressed now. All the wrong things are changing and all the wrong things are staying the same.

This is AWESOME!!

2009-07-24T20:59:48Z

I need to move back to NY.... This is crazy fun....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1O1rv7vDsE&feature=channel

If the link doesn't take you there search "The Mp3 Experiment Six"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo&feature=channel

"Froze Grand Central"

Eye Candy with blurbs

2009-07-19T07:16:45Z

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/14/5-Amazing-Holes.aspx

5 Amazing Holes

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/12/8/top-seven-weirdest-houses.aspx

Top Seven Weirdest Houses

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/13/how-were-these-amazing-photographs-even-possible.aspx

How Were These Amazing Photographs Even Possible?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/07/Who-Knew-a-Picture-Could-be-so-Hypnotic.aspx

Who Knew a Picture Could be so Hypnotic?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/30/Is-There-Anything-Cuter-Than-This.aspx

Is There Anything Cuter Than This?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/18/Bruce-Lee-Plays-Ping-Pong--With-Nunchucks.aspx

Bruce Lee Plays Ping Pong -- With Nunchucks

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/16/National-Geographics-Best-Pictures-Of-The-Year.aspx

National Geographic's Best Pictures Of The Year

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/20/The-Most-Alien-Looking-Caterpillars-on-Earth.aspx

The Most Alien Looking Caterpillars on Earth

GORRAM IT!

2009-07-12T18:45:02Z

Damn all Mass Producing Soulless Companies to a new level of hell, under perpetual construction!

Propel Water (by Gatorade) has decided to replace the relatively safe sucrose sweetener with high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is one of the main reasons I need to get off Coke. That siren calling bitch is the WORST of the poisons out there and it's in goddamn EVERYTHING. Including bread for instance.

So it's damn near impossible to not eat something arsenic ladden (even tap water with its fluoride and medical drugs diluting anything watery about it) and Gatorade (a company that positions its image as healthy drinking) has decided to toss in with the devil too. Yet another poison to avoid. They were going to be my by-pass on my little road from addition, but their sales won't be spiking any time soon.

Feel free to imagine a happy place for me now, while I go off to swear about soulless profit-seeking death mongering America for a minute.

Yeah, I'm back.

Whatever. America is what it is and the state of someone else's soul is not my concern. I will go off and attempt to find something safe to eat and drink.

Sigh...I'm going off Coke

2009-07-12T18:25:02Z

Yeah, you read that right. I'm quitting Coke (the drink not the drug ;).

I won't say that I'll never have any again. I can't think of any way to more surely sabotage my efforts than that. Just that Coke's stock might plummet a little over the intervening days and weeks.

My health has been a little weird lately and I had one of those middle of the night revelations as to the culprit. Coke is, after all, a poison. I gave it a pass since it was my only vice (don't smoke, don't do drugs and drink alcohol so rarely I'm probably safe in saying I don't drink). I don't even drink any other sodas and I don't see the point in exchanging one poison for another. I guess my body has processed as much poison it cares to and it needs better if it's going to function better.

So I sit here, drinking water, and offering a symbolic toast goodbye to my demon-disguised-friend.

Sigh...

6 Insane Discoveries That Science Cant Explain

2009-07-09T03:50:02Z

http://www.cracked.com/article_16871_6-insane-discoveries-that-science-cant-explain.html

A Belated Review of Breaking Dawn

2009-07-07T22:22:42Z

Because I didn't think reviews were impartial in their assessments I was compelled to offer the author some justice with a more balanced approach. THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE (as much as possible) AND FOR THOSE DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO READ IT

I guess it's true that people either loved it or hated it. So I offer what those before me seem to lack - an impartial analysis as best as I can give it. This reviews Breaking Dawn but also the whole saga as the "problems" with Breaking Dawn are evident in many of her books.

First off I will address the writing itself. Meyers writing style in all the Saga is wordy and 'loose'. Not in a moralistic way but just that she takes 30 pages (for instance) to write something that could be said in 5. It's why her books have relatively straight forward stories but are still 500-800 pages long. On the other hand, what's so special about concise writing - you could argue that her style sets atmosphere, tone, and character development. Even her critics - or people expecting to hate the series - seem to get sucked into turning each page. One 1-star reviewer said she read the whole series in a weekend. Over 2000 pages!! I'm sorry, but if it was a truly terrible series I could not continue to devote a weekend to it. So something kept the 1 star reviewer going. That said, were I her editor, I would hand back some of the more egregious sections and tell her to tighten them up. In Breaking Dawn that would be Book 2 - Jacob. It just went on and on, long after we got the point.

On the heels of that I would add that my biggest and first complaint as a reader was the beginning. There I feel she didn't take ENOUGH time. I would happily slice off 100 pages from book 2 and donate them to book 1. The wedding was rushed, the honeymoon was unsatisfying. In my opinion. Which is a critical statement.

The problem with the popularity of this book is that everyone imagined their own happy ending and then got mad at Meyers for daring to have a conflicting one. It is clear, perfectly clear, that this is the end Meyers had in mind all along. The arcs, the foreshadows, the back history are all present. I dare say most of the ire over this ending is not based on the ending at all but on the fact that the book didn't go where that one fan wanted it to go. A large cross section of "you can't please all the people". In fairness to those fans though, the tone and theme did markedly and abruptly change. It was an adult book following three very teen novels. Bella grew up and a semblance of reality was introduced. Suddenly it wasn't teen fantasy. It wasn't hormones, ogling, prom and millionaires. The fantasy of vampires and immortality hangs in the wish that we would never have to grow up. That one goes from being a pimply awkward teen to a beautiful fantastic millionaire in the space of a 'kiss'. I have yet to see the vampire story where the vamp is a newborn and penniless living in a ghetto. They are always several hundred to thousands of years old and consequently wealthy or they are sired by a wealthy vamp and thus skip any reality-inducing transition.

Most criticism is based around the adult direction this novel then took. They wanted to see more romping by Edward and Bella. Maybe with specific scenes in mind (college? hanging at the Cullens? backpacking through Europe). Something romantic and just outside our existence enough we could vicariously live it and just inside our existence enough that we feel we could have it to, if only. If only we met our true love, if only we found the family we would want to hang with, if only we could take an extended vacation and buy that European ticket. But for one small, but POSSIBLE request, we could be there too.

Instead Meyers takes Bella into a world of adult choices and consequences. No romping, no drawn out fairy tale wedding. No fairy tale honeymoon. Again, as the editor, I would have scrapped the honeymoon and had it re-written. They argued. There was negative tension. For a book built on romance they cannot argue on the honeymoon. Not only that but Edward didn't believe Bella's explanations and then withdrew emotionally. He made a decision and then carried it out unilaterally without her feelings. This is not a good romance, and arguably is not a good marriage. Many plot points come from the honeymoon, but if I lampooned her for anything it would be this section. She needed to find a different way to get there.

As for remarks from reviewers that it was "too easy" and there was no suffering, those comments are laughable. Again the same flaw as before. Meyers characters did not suffer the way some of her audience wanted or expected. And suffered terribly in other ways. But those other ways 'don't count' and suddenly it was too easy and there was no sacrifice. Not true.

As with any book some lines I would cut, some characters could use a little more attention, some characters a little less. Examples would be to be a little less obsessed with Jacob (trim book two) and flesh out Rosalie more. She became more of a major character but stayed two dimensional. Not good. Alice disappeared and it wasn't until deeply in that a cursory reason was offered. Edward reverted to being a little too two dimensional himself, practically repeating the same lines over and over. While the story supported it to an extent I would have asked her to dig deeper. His actions made sense enough for the story she wanted to tell, but with a little soul-searching and digging around she might have transformed past the story she did tell and find one that would resonate more deeply with more fans. Edward needed to be more present as a true character.

Her story is a 2 person romance at its core - but in book 4 she shed the romance early on and then relegated Edward to an auto-pilot version of himself. No wonder a huge chunk is told from Jacobs point of view!

There were plot points that I didn't like either (yes, the imprinting issue was a major one) but it was her story to tell, not mine. So while I would not have gone in that direction I am also not a best selling author. But that particular plot line seems to have universal UNappeal. Truthfully the whole imprinting concept is a bad one. For a country that loves freedom as much as ours, the concept that you see someone and become their slave regardless of any choice or free will is rather repugnant to me. True love celebrates freedom. Meyers loved introducing Jacob as a REINFORCEMENT to Bella's love for Edward. Bella wasn't settling, she had fine options, she CHOOSE Edward and all that entails. So sad werewolves never get such joy for themselves. They don't find true love, but a happy sort of enslavement with creepy undertones at that. (Imprinting with children? Surely imprinting should ONLY work between adults.) This is not a tangant so much as an unfortunate offshoot of Meyers - in telling her fantasy and perhaps flexing her own fantasies - she unwittingly made werewolves the worst kind of culture. In addition to the aforementioned imprinting woes there was also the abuse theme that unfortunately ran too rampant for my tastes. I felt that Eclipse was entirely too close to a sexual attack between Jacob and Bella. Quite simply he used his superior size and strength to force Bella into sexual acts (just kissing but still) that she was not consenting too. But throughout the book he forces Bella into many things she does not consent to - through force or emotional blackmail. She tries to dress it up as his being young or hormonal. So rather than it being a character flaw of Jacob, he can remain flawless by pretending it is a character flaw of all men? That is, quite frankly, a terrible statement. I prefer to believe it is just a character flaw of Jacobs and one that continues to an extent in book 4. Jacob demands his way. I do not find that a friendship, a love interest, or in any way romantic or desirable. It is a temper tantrum and no more. Which paints werewolves as juvenile or valueless. Which is a shame. Meyers, so caught up in the way she regarded it, failed to see this for how it really read or could reasonably be read. A reviewer or editor should have pointed it out.

People found the end battle to be anti-climatic. This is a matter of opinion to a large degree, but it's fair to say that there was a showdown, there just wasn't a huge explosion, metaphorically speaking. The ending was far more intellectual than it was a mindless action movie. More readers wanted the mindless thrill of hunt, destruction and victory. But if they were to re-read the end without preconceived notions then they would find that a lot is going on. Having said that I must address that the ending, climax aside, had some plot holes. Since I'm I'm trying to avoid spoilers, suffice to say that you can't look too closely at the ending or it begins to unravel some. Again a failure of the editor or reviewer to catch this prior to release.

To sum up this review: Meyers tells her story. If it was the first book, like Twilight, when no one knows what to expect, then it would have received a far different review. More popular? Who can say. But certainly different. As the Fourth book of a beloved series people had secret desires and expectations for these characters. The main ire comes from the fact that Meyers told her story instead of the one they secretly demanded. Enter this book with an open mind, let Meyers tell you her story and you have a better chance of enjoying this installment.

There are some minor plot holes and times you might want to slap a character. This is as true for this book as any other probably. It runs fast in some areas, and long in others. As do all her novels.

Lastly, this book is more adult. Less fantasy and more How Their Lives End. Like it or not, the story is supported; it makes sense. It is the way she planned to end the tale. If it's not to your liking, there's always fanfic or your own imagination.

Geez talk about Threes

2009-06-26T05:56:37Z

First Ed McMahon (ok, 86)

Then Farrah Fawcett (Um, 62, but sick)

Then Michael Jackson. (50)

Dropping like flies.

Naughty Kitten

2009-06-22T05:16:37Z

So here's another oddly addictive, twisted game...

http://bored.com/games/play/273/Causality.html

The guy in the office, on the tiolet and the last 3 guys on level three are the hardest....

And this... http://bored.com/games/play/270/Contraption.html

I only wish Mark was around to see me play it. Some of the WORST engineering ever and some BRILLIANTLY inelegant contraptions THAT WORKED (although they shouldn't have...) :)

Fight Back against SpamScams!!

2009-06-12T18:31:05Z

If you're playful, adventurous or in a bad mood check out these sites to join the fight against spamscams. Since I am currently browsing Craigslist for a house to rent and REALLY getting sick of "Hi I'm doing missionary work in Africa, but mail me $800 and I'll mail you the keys and a lease" emails I might be on these forums SOON.

http://www.419eater.com/

"So what is scambaiting? ... It doesn't matter if you are new to this sport [Hee hee hee I would so love to see this as a real sport!!] or a hardened veteran; if you are wasting the time of a scammer, or frustrating them in any way well that's good enough for us, and we would welcome you to join with our now very large community.

Although this site concentrates mainly on the Nigerian 419 scam, we are happy to deal with other types of scams if and when the opportunity arises. We also have a large team of experts dedicated to the removal and closure of fake scammer banks and sites.

Even if you are a newcomer, much fun can be had and at the same time you will be doing a public service. If you are new to this game and need to know what scambaiting is all about, please click on the 419 FAQ link at the top of the page. See also Baiting Tips for information on getting started on this great cyber-sport

We encourage everyone to contribute to this site and the good cause of scambaiting by joining in the fun on the FORUM where you can meet new friends and seek expert help, tips and advice on anti-scamming. User participation is absolutely encouraged. Please help us to raise awareness the world over!"

OR

http://www.thescambaiter.com/

"Thanks for taking the time to visit theScamBaiter.com. Our mission is simple: To aggravate and humiliate scammers worldwide. While TSB mainly focuses on 419 Advanced Fee Fraud, we also are involved with tormenting other scammers as well- and as many as possible. By wasting these scammers time, it is less time they have to focus on potential victims.

The eBay Scam Killers (eBSK) are also a part of TSB. eBSK fights auction house scammers and engages in the take down of fake escrow sites. In most cases, we are more effective at thwarting this type of cyber crime than eBay themselves."

Of course, if these sites and forums are scams I may need to climb a clock tower.

Double Knock-Outs

2009-06-11T16:54:55Z

For those who care you can reap the rewards of my labor...I was wondering how many double knock-outs, if any, have occurred so I did a little search and here are the better results.

LFC 25 - Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaDWpvzMaPM

Better camera angle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhiHatGncek

The footage runs for 2 min but there's nothing new.

Melbourne Boxing

http://www.break.com/index/boxing-double-knock-out.html

Compilation - some are dumb, staged? and hard to see

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5l8ns_new-double-knockout-videos-collecti_fun

Repo! A Genetic Opera

2009-05-29T23:28:12Z

Oh, Dear God - Where to Start???

You will likely either love this or hate it. Most people seem to hate it and I can understand why. If you loved it, good for you, but spare me the "well you just didn't get it" speech. I got it just fine - and thought it was a waste of precious moments of my life.

We watched this for Anthony Stewart Head and he absolutely didn't disappoint. You may or may not like the movie, but Tony did a fantastic job on his character. Sarah Brightman was an unexpected talent as well.

As for the rest, it's a standard case of the writers being a little too in love with themselves and their work. Strutting about their originality, Repo! is a knock-off of all that came before it. Reminiscent of Rocky Horror, Bladerunner, Tommy etc the only originality is when they decide to toss in some totally random element that leaves you going, 'Huh? What was that?!?!' and not usually in a good way.

The plot is thin and full of holes, the ending weak and along the way plot points are either rushed or drrraaaggggged out.

Some songs are good, but most aren't. Most singers were pretty bad as well, but ultimately that's subjective. If you define a 'cult' movie as a movie that only a very small segment of the population would like, then these are cult songs.

Even then I couldn't call it a cult movie because it's trying too hard. Trying to be original while stealing so much from others and trying to be 'innovative' and 'daring' while only succeeding in being 'random' and 'confusing'. It isn't defined as a cult classic because it's adored by fans, but because the authors demand that it be classified as such.

While I have to give credit to the costuming and sets overall, the movie still plays like it was written by two teenage boys ventilating their hormonal obsession with metal, blood and sex and then arrogantly calling it the new standard.

Free Netflix Trial

2009-05-13T23:33:37Z

Free month trial of Netflix - I'm not sure if this has more perks than just doing it through the site since this is a promotion that runs through members. Either way I got the annual freebie cards to pass out. If anyone cares the numbers are:

go to
netflix.com/tellafriend

Entering one of these codes:
M680361590275

M670331590255

M690331590605

Pick Me!

2009-05-04T20:00:40Z

http://www.livejournal.com/update.bml

Awesome football tricks! I especially liked the last one with the car!

Americas Scariest Drives

2009-04-17T14:42:28Z

I'm saving this because I want to do some of these. Once I get my motorcycle I'm heading for Tail of the Dragon!!

Here's some pics:
http://www.forbestraveler.com/adventure/scariest-highways-us-slide.html

America's Scariest Drives
By Joe Yogerst

Highway One/Big Sur
California

Alfred Hitchcock could not have conjured a scarier highway—122 miles of vertigo between Monterey and Morro Bay. Two lanes for nearly its entire length, the road meanders along cliff tops poised high above the Pacific, including 33 bridges and countless drop offs into liquid oblivion. Anyone faintly squeamish should not attempt to drive this route.

The Saddle Road, Big Island
Hawaii

The Big Island's incredible Saddle Road shoots between two hulking volcanoes across a sweltering lava-rock desert. “Famously bad and dangerous” is how one guide describes Hawaii Route 200 between Hilo and Waimea. Although improved in recent years, much of the route is narrow and one-way; intermittent fog makes it even more hazardous. Side roads lead to the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Aspen to Leadville via Independence Pass
Colorado

The 187-mile drive from Aspen to Leadville traverses some of the highest, harshest and most desolate geography in North America. The drive kicks off with a summit of 12,095-foot Independence Pass, a stretch of state highway 82 that is narrow, twisting and often without guardrails. The latter portion near Cañon City includes a short detour across Royal Gorge Bridge, which hovers 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River — built 1929 and still the highest suspension bridge in the world.

Dalton Highway
Alaska

The longest stretch of road in U.S. with no services, the 414-mile Dalton throws down several gauntlets including gravel roadway, steep grades, dangerous animals, and dire weather conditions. It’s an awful long wait for a tow if you break down out here.

U.S. Highway 50
Utah/Nevada

They call it the “loneliest road” in America, the 473 miles of U.S. 50 between Hinckley, Utah and Carson City, Nev. But it’s also one of the creepiest, especially in mid-winter when snow can cover the entire route or the middle of summer when daytime temperatures are almost always in the triple digits. The Nevada Commission on Tourism issues a free “Highway 50 Survival Guide.”

Tail of the Dragon
North Carolina/Tennessee

Tucked just below Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the sinuous “Tail of the Dragon” is an 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 129 between Tabcat Bridge, Tenn., and Deals Gap, N.C. Get ready for 318 curves, many of them monster switchbacks and hairpins, as well as a series of steep “S” curves called The Slide.

State Highway 170
Texas

This rollercoaster desert road along the Rio Grande is straight out of No Country for Old Men (which was filmed nearby). A dipsy-do roadway, stray animals and floods are just a few of the hazards along the 99 miles of the river road between Lajitas and Candelaria. Much of the highway runs through picturesque Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Yippee!! New toys!!

2009-03-01T02:11:46Z

http://www.realage.com/HealthyYOUCenter/Games/intro.aspx

Games to strengthen your mind (allegedly)

There's a Quiz for everything!

2009-02-26T04:07:05Z

I am a: Glock Model 22 in 40 cal

What kind of handgun are YOU?

Serenity DVD in space!!

2009-02-24T19:12:38Z

http://www.breakingatmo.com/status/2007/06/heres-how-it-is

Here's How It Is...

Simply put: There are Browncoats at NASA. And so, in early June, an astronaut aboard the next-scheduled shuttle mission will carry DVDs of Firefly and Serenity to the crew of the International Space Station. Or, at least, that's the short version. In order to get everyone up to speed as we launch the Breaking Atmo website in advance of the launch of STS-117 itself, what follows is a tour through how all of this came to happen in the first place. And then, from here on out, check back here for updates -- or subscribe to them via feed, so you never miss any news. Because next week, Serenity takes off into the black.

There's a narrative to made of all of this, someday. But for now here are the relevant online postings from Maiii, presented in chronological order. It begins somewhat before the DVDs entered the picture, with altogether something else finding its way to the International Space Station.

Some of us Browncoats are working the current Shuttle and Station Mission and we got the Captain's quote about love uplinked to the ISS crew in tomorrow morning's daily summary.

"You know what the first rule of flyin' is? É Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall downÉ tells ya she's hurtin' before she keelsÉ makes her a home."

-- Captain Malcolm Reynolds in "Serenity"

Yippee! Organizing Browncoats!!

2009-02-22T14:34:35Z

NASA is letting the general public name the next node of the International Space Station.

One of the options is "SERENITY"

Let's get our girl into atmo for real.

Go to: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/name_ISS/index.html to vote.

You can vote once a day until March 20th!

Help put SERENITY back in flight because they can't take the sky from us!

Snippet of Nothing

2009-02-22T04:30:54Z

I haven't posted in a while and felt I should. But while tons has happened nothing really struck me as post worthy. I did come up with one fairly funny post in my head the other day, but sadly forgot it.

I also am considering throwing part of a story up here. I had a dream a few days ago and wrote the coherent bits down. But the story (which I thought was shaping up nicely) ends where my dream did. I dream like one watches a movie or tv show they vaguely recall, which is to say that I never know where the story is going either. It unfolds for me like it does a viewer, and yet I do know when something is foreshadowing. So it seems my unconscious has the plot. And some dreams have been really really interesting! To others as well as me. But I don't know the end! I described one to a friend who found it very interesting and he said 'well just make up the end' but it was a very complex dream involving 3 different time lines, eras, and possibly two dimensions. And the dream was clearly leading somewhere - I couldn't just 'make up' an ending without it being a hack job of the plan. In an odd sense it would be like my conscious was writing a fanfic to finish off unconscious me's plot. A nice try, but usually far inferior.

I wish my sleeping brain would finish a story.

Anyway I was thinking of posting a recent unfinished dream story to solicit more plot. If anyone would read it...but ...eh. You know?

Anyway, the snippet that inspired me to post...I think I am the only person, ever, to accidentally get toothpaste in their eye!

Nothing as explanatory as it was on my finger and I rubbed my eye either. When I squeezed from the tube onto the brush some liquid squirted out at, apparently, an eye-trajectory.

Toothpaste juice (who knew there even was such a thing?) burns btw.

My life can be really odd.

Oh and my cat hates me because I keep making it snow. I try explaining that I want warmth too, but I still get the glares. It reminds me of when I tried explaining to him that King is the largest size possible for a bed. Although, to his credit on that, I suppose I could have something special made. No such luck on the weather. I promised to move us somewhere warmer this Spring/Summer and that I would, one day, get him that dream yard. One day soon, not one day fanciful thinking.

Has anyone else slept somewhere else because their cat took up their bed and was just too cute to move?

Um, probably not.

Yes, I realize I need help. But he's really cute!

Slut Snow

2009-01-20T04:38:14Z

This morning I think I encountered a new variety. No, not because it was 'dirty' from mud, dogs, or too much Fox News. No it was because it looked like Friendly Snow and fell like Friendly Snow, but when I went to my car... well let me back up.

See in Wisconsin you start your car first. First before you brush off snow, sure; but also before you have breakfast, before you take a shower, before you leave the house with remote starters (which are very popular here). Undoubtedly before you get up as soon as a manufacturer invents a way to start a car on a timer.

So, when I'm running late, when I go outside, the first thing I do is start the car. Then I brush it off the bare minimum possible and hightail it to work.

So I journey through our Hallmark flakes, open the car, start the engine, grab the snow brush and shut the door...

...and the snow drops off the door on impact. The covering of snow just falls off without me having to make any effort at all.

I mean, there's friendly and then there's just giving it up.

However, like any male, I'm not complaining, I love it, but come on, that's Slut Snow.

Virtual Cooties need Virtual Condoms....

2009-01-16T20:25:25Z

Recently my computer became infected with a nasty little virus. So I reached out for help in stripping it. This is the comprehensive advice I was given, I see no reason that TK readers shouldn't have the advantage of it as well.

Safe computing!

Malwarebytes' Anti-malware is a little known program in which I've found a great deal of success. It reliably takes out malware, usually fairly straight-forwardly. If it finds and removes things on the first pass, run it again after to see if there's anything else to clear out.

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?part=dl-10804572&subj=dl&tag=button

F-Secure online scanner once you've run the Malwarebytes program to detect and remove anything else. This is a good follow-up scan, and will see what's left over.
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml

Kaspersky online scanner is also fairly in-depth, though it just tells you what's infected, it doesn't remove it. But, you can use it to find the files, then go to them individually and delete them. Shouldn't need it after the above two, but just in case.
http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/free-virus-scanner.php

Hopefully that clears your PC up. If you have problems downloading the Malwarebytes program, you may want to download it on another PC and place it on a USB flash drive, then copy it onto your PC and run it.

I've had to remove a few nasty ones, and this is the procedure that's been working for me lately. Let me know how it goes. Once your PC is clean, I definitely recommend changing anti-virus providers.

If you want free, AVG Free (http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?part=dl-AVGAntiVir&subj=dl&tag=button) works, as does Avira AntiVir (http://www.download.com/Avira-AntiVir-Personal-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html?tag=mncol).

For non-free varieties, I'm a fan of F-Secure (www.f-secure.com), though I've heard good things about Eset (www.eset.com) as well. Anything legitimate is better than nothing though.

For removing spyware / adware, I recommend running both Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html) and AdAware (http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2008/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5&cdlPid=10903602). This is in addition to the anti-virus. Don't have to run it often, but they're both useful to have.

Avira AntiVir is no slouch - welcome to give it a try, even moreso since you had AVG, your PC got infected, and it sounds like AVG couldn't remove it by itself.

Outside of anti-virus and anti-spyware/adware products, one other item that could assist is firewall software - helps to keep most undesirable programs from even contacting your computer in the first place. If you're running through a router that has a firewall, then you've already got one. If not, you may want to consider a free one, such as Comodo Firewall Pro (http://www.download.com/Comodo-Firewall-Pro/3000-10435_4-10460704.html?tag=mncol)
or Zonealarm Free (http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/free-upgrade-security-suite-zonealarm-firewall.htm).

Other than that, only other major topic would be to ensure that your Windows Automatic Updates are enabled in the Control Panel - Security Center. If you don't want the updates installing automatically when Microsoft releases them, you can tell it to notify without installing, so you choose when you install it.

Overall, if you've got anti-virus and anti-spyware/adware, you're good to go. Firewall, either inside a router or in software, will add to your security. And once your PC's clean, if you've got good preventative tools, your PC will tend to stay clean in the future.