Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in DelosD's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, November 14th, 2009
3:08 pm	A bathroom conversation Heather is just finishing her shower, and gets out to dry off. As she does that, I walk out of the room to check the weather. Heather: "You are not going to watch me dry my naked and wet body!?" Me: "Oh, I didn't even notice." Heather: "We're not even married yet!" (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
8:36 pm	Don't worry, be smiley! Every time I say "Now I've seen everything!", the world informs me that my assessment is completely wrong.  I thought I'd seen everything when I saw the video on the chicken vaccuum, but then I saw the bacon leisure suit.  So I won't say I've seen everything THIS time.  However, this particular little device certain takes this year's prize for "misbegotten behavior modification device".  I present to you... The Happiness Hat! The hat that makes your happier by monitoring when you are frowning and causing you *pain* until you smile!  Frown, you get zinged.  Smile, and you're allowed to live your life in peace.  At least from the hat.  Talk about Big Brother! Current Mood: puzzled Current Music: Elton John - Rocket Man (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
8:27 pm	Man of Mush I find I have been brought low by the simple expedient of denying me my Spicier Nacho Cheese Doritos.  Or Doritos of any type, for that matter.  Who would have thought that the removal of such from my diet would have the effect of turning my into a gibbering, sobbing, quivering pile of mental and physical mush? (And I am still in trauma about the loss of M&Ms, so I can not speak of it.) Current Mood: cranky Current Music: Silence (13 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
3:29 am	Tactical Bacon Yes, it's a product.  And yes, it IS bacon.  I think.  (And make sure you click on the second thumbnail picture to see the back label of the can, it is not to be missed!) Are YOU ready for a zombie standoff? Tactical Bacon! Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: Vienna Teng - Lullabye for a Stormy Night (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 17th, 2009
1:33 am	I ran across a video some time back (in a post bymatt_arnold, thankyouverymuch) that had a remarkable impact on me.  I have watched it quite a few times now, and continue to be both impressed and moved by it.  But I have a terrible curiousity about the story behind the story.  The piece is lovely and extraordinarily moody, and leaves much interpretation hanging.  I would VERY much appreciate it if all of you would watch this, and tell me what you think happened *before* the piece.  Why is it the way it is?  What happened to the people involved?  What is the point of what is being done?  Frankly, I am agonizing over these questions, and would love to have opinions from other people.  I will share what ideas I have after some postings have been done.  The video is a bit lengthy, about nine minutes, but is wonderfully worth the time invested.  Please share it with me. Current Mood: stressed Current Music: None (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
11:13 pm	My week Yes, it has been a rather interesting week.  Thursday, 9/24/09 at about 12:30 AM, - Proposed to the1trueheather, she accepted.  Disgustingly happy. Go to dinner with treebones that evening and mention that my arm hurts. Friday, 9/25/09 - Have contractor to house to see if there was a way to do remodelling so that both the1trueheather and I can live here.  Same annoying pain in my arm returns just before going to bed. Saturday, 9/26/09 - Go to ER in morning and discover that the arm pain was a heart attack.  This does not bode well for the weekend. Sunday, 9/28/09 - Talk to cardiologist and get scheduled for a heart catheterization on Monday.  Things seem serious but minor as heart issues go. Monday, 9/29/09 - Go in for heart catheterization.  Based on results I don't even get out of the operating room but am instead loaded into an ambulance and taken downtown to the main branch of the hospital for immediate balloon angioplasty on a 99% blocked artery. Tuesday, 9/30/09 - Get the OK to go home and start my very own branch pharmacy. Get home to discover that the furnace wasn't working. I still have Wednesday to look forward to. Some random observations: The West Bloomfield Henry Ford hospital is practically a resort hotel.  From my private hospital room, I had a lovely view on the pond and trees, and was able to watch the deer come out to drink and see some types of birds we couldn't even identify.  All of the rooms are private, are larger than most double dorm rooms, and are furnished like high end hotel rooms.  There are also in-room movies, Internet, and TV available.  All meals are ordered individually through room service, and are available 24 hours a day. And the staff was absolutely wonderful.  They are also dedicated to satisfying your "unexpressed needs".  This seems vaguely creepy, but I'll give them points for effort.  If you're going to be deathly ill, this is the place to do it in style. The main Henry Ford hospital in Detroit is, shall we say, not as palatial.  In fact, the rooms are so tiny that my bed, the bedside cart, and two wooden guest chairs didn't really fit.  Trying to put the five people that visited me on Saturday into this room would have meant that three or four of them would have had to have been on the bed.  I would say that the entire room, which I shared with another patient, was significantly smaller than the room I had to myself at West Bloomfield.  (It also didn't have a sleeping couch and lounger, sitting area, and working desk!)  And the heating and cooling was so bad that my room was like a sauna all Monday night and Tuesday day after my procedure, which was decidedly unpleasant.  However, again the staff was unfailingly nice and helpful, though somewhat a little light on the experience side in some cases.  (It's a teaching hospital with a high number of inexperienced interns and residents.) Medical practice has come a long way in my lifetime.  All of the doctors involved in my treatment (and there were probably about six cardiologists and one or two non-cardiac specialists) gave me plenty of information, actively involved me in the decision making, and very patiently answered my questions.  (It probably helps that I know enough about heart issues and treatment to ask reasonable questions too.)  But we've come far from the days of Dr. God. My car is still sitting in the emergency room parking lot at the West Bloomfield Henry Ford hospital.  I need to do something about that.  The furnace is working again.  FLAME may be expensive, but they get somebody there in two hours and just fix the problem.  That's worth it. It's amazing how fast word gets around on things.  I swear some of the people that called me in the hospital had more information on my treatment than *I* did!  And thanks to all of the folks that came to see me, but particularly to dawnwolf and schometortoise, who did more to help out both me and the1trueheather  than I can describe. Current Mood: weird (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
12:33 am	Announcement the1trueheatherhas agreed to become my wife. I will not sully that statement by adding anything further, save mentioning my immense gratefulness. Current Mood: indescribable (17 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 14th, 2009
9:41 pm	Say Hello, Steve Just dropping a quick post to say Hello to everyone, and assure you that I am indeed still alive.  It's been a most unusual year, and life has thrown all manner of surprises at me.  The strangest thing is that I've gone several months now with experiencing the highs and lows of life - and nothing else.  ONLY the highs and lows.  Extreme highs and lows.  Nothing even remotely moderate.  It's been... stressful.  And in some ways almost unbelievably rewarding.  I guess it justs goes to show the wisdom of a closing quote from a favorite television show of mine: "There can always be new beginnings... even for people like us." (Bonus points if you can identify the TV show.  Major geek cred if you know what character said the line.  And UberFen status if you can name the episode title.) Current Mood: somber Current Music: Free The Spirit - Love Theme From Blade Runner (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
4:28 am	Remembering Ricardo Montalban This is actually more than a bit out of date, since Montalban passed away about six months ago, but I only today read an obituary that I simply had to share.  It’s always something stupid that people remember you for. Ricardo Montalban appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows in a career that began before Pearl Harbor, yet to members of the age cohort that is now running America, he is best remembered for extolling the Chrysler Cordoba’s “soft Corinthian leather.” Here at National Review, Montalban made a deeper impression — as a longtime subscriber, a thoughtful conservative, and a friend of the magazine. Our publisher, Jack Fowler, recalls a National Review Institute dinner “where, nobly perturbed, he stood up and hushed the chattering crowd because Bill Bennett was speaking. Just the hint of the wrath of Khan was enough to bring instant silence.” Cheesy commercials aside, Ricardo Montalban will be remembered as a perfect gentleman, courtly and patient with fans and strangers alike; as a devout Catholic; and as one of a tiny handful of performers who, when the situation required it, could actually out-overact William Shatner. Dead at 88. R.I.P. From National Review Magazine, Feb. 9, 2009 (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
2:06 am	To the non-college graduates... ...a simple question - what did YOU do with the time you didn't spend at college?  "...Alexander Hamilton [...] lived in St. Croix from ages 9 to 15.  St. Croix was his last stop before college; like many a resume stuffer today, he thought of Priceton, but ended up at Columbia (then King's).  He never graduated, fighting the Revolution, writing the Federalist Papers, and running the Treasury Department all intervening; slacking isn't what it used to be."  -- Richard Brookhiser, "Sugar Islands", National Review, 25 Jan 2009 (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
3:30 am	Birthday Presents I have a most marvelous girlfriend.  She asks for things for her birthday present that are even more fun for me to give her than they are for her to get!  (Well, maybe not MORE fun, but it's probably a close thing. :) ) Current Mood: grateful Current Music: None (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
12:02 am	In memory of the fifth grade Sometimes things strike you as so funny, you have to share.  Even if they are *definitely* elementary school humor... Word of the Day "Cummingtonite"   [kuhm-ing-tuh-nahyt] –noun an amphibole mineral, magnesium-iron silicate, similar in composition to anthophyllite but richer in iron. Origin: named after Cummington, Mass., where it is found; see -ite 1 (With thanks to Dictionary.com.) Current Mood: silly Current Music: Many keyboard taps (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
12:11 am	Well...? ...are you all frakking HAPPY now?!? What is WRONG with you people?! EDIT: I should note that this comment was an expression of general frustration at numerous things going oin in Real Life, and that I was only venting at those who read this LJ, NOT directing the comment at them.  Sorry if I panicked anyone. Current Mood: infuriated Current Music: Rusted Root - Faith I Do Believe (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
3:42 pm	The "Miniatur Wunderland" If you have even the slightest interest in model trains, or just love gadgets and amazingly well done modelling, then you have GOT to see this video.  The Miniatur Wunderland is the largest model railroad project in the world: over 16,000 square feet in layout, more than 10,000 train cars running simultaneously, and 6.8 miles of HO gauge track.  A mammoth labor of love, and a huge tourist attraction, it is truly a wonder of the world.  See it here: Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Taproot - Birthday (3 Comments |Comment on this)
2:17 pm	Squirrel Tidbits (Literally) The latest news in the ongoing battle against the Great Squirrel Menace.  Officials in the city of Spokane have recognized the extent of the menace, and are replying with advanced technology.  An incursion of hundreds of ground squirrels is being beaten back with the help of ... THE RODENATOR!  Here's the news story: April 13, 2009 in City Spokane parks detonating ground squirrels Thriving rodents digging up Finch Arboretum Mike Prager Staff writer Hundreds of ground squirrels have invaded Finch Arboretum and are turning the grounds into Swiss cheese. Even worse, it’s breeding season. Spokane Parks officials are mounting a counterattack with a commercially available weapon – the Rodenator Pro — that injects their burrows with propane and oxygen and sparks an explosion that shakes the ground and collapses their furrows. It also turns the little critters into fertilizer. Full story.... Also, here's a great look at the latest in WSD (Weapons of Squirrel Destruction) technology.  In the splendid tradition of Caddyshack, behold the Rodenator Pro!     Current Mood: aggressive! Current Music: Peter Frampton - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 29th, 2009
9:12 pm	Work, and 1,001 uses for a sheep... One of the unfortunate things about my job is that I am constantly faced with dealing with people where the only conceivable response to the things they utter is "Where in the hell did you come up with THAT!?!".  It seems I'm not the only one with this problem.  And, as is the case these days, someone did a YouTube video about it.  I present to you: "The Vendor Client Relationship". And, for no particular reason, and with absolutely no connection to work, I submit to you "Extreme Shepherding Art".  Yes, art with sheep.  EDIT: Oops - almost forgot to give credit where credit is due.  Thanks to hyrkanian for the link - though she doesn't know she gave it to me.  Shoot, she doesn't even know ME. :) Current Mood: drained Current Music: None - just silence (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, May 18th, 2009
8:46 pm	Ninja Squirrel When Squirrels Attack!  They even turn on their own - sort of.  But I have to say that I've never seen a squirrel perfectly execute a Flying Tiger Leap before.  There must be some secret Shao-Lin Squirrel Monastery out there somewhere. Fast Forward to 3:50 into the segment... Flying, Tumbling, Throat-Rending Squirrel of Death! A fervent thank you to star_gazersusan  for the link!  She KNOWS about the Great Squirrel Menace. Current Mood: cranky Current Music: Silence (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
12:17 am	Today's Quote 05/11/09 Hello everyone.  I just realized that I have not posted anything in THREE BLODDY MONTHS.  Well, I'm afraid that life has been too full, and too draining in many ways.  I'm sorry, if there are those of you that missed these posts, but sometimes things are like that.  I'm not exactly chock full o' time right now either, but avoiding going to sleep is a good enough excuse to say *something* to all of you.  "All of you".  A strange construction given the fairly low number of LJ friends I have, and the fact that I've gone "radio silent" since early February.  But if I felt sure that *nobody* was reading, I'd hardly bother to write anything, would I? On the other hand, there's PLENTY of people out there on LJ who seem to write only to themselves.  In any case, I don't have a great deal to share right now, nor a great deal of energy to do it with.  I'm afraid I'm saving it for that whole reality place.  It's kind of a strange place, and quite unpredictable, but it's the only reality I have available, so I'll have to make due with it.  With that being said, let me share two more quotes with you, which will put a wrap to my long-running series of quotes.  The first, a bit of political humor. "The most frightening words I ever heard on the floor of the Senate chamber were [Joe] Biden’s request to speak for an unlimited time (which, when granted, he then strove to exceed)." -- Ed Whelan, former Republican Senate staff And lastly, one to think about. "When all is said and done, Civilizations do not fall because of the barbarians at the gates. Nor does a great city fall from the death wish of bored and morally bankrupt stewards presumably sworn to its defense. Civilizations fall only because each citizen of the city comes to accept that nothing can be done to rally and rebuild broken walls; that ground lost may never be recovered; and that greatness lived in our grandparents but not our grandchildren. Yes, our betters tell us these things daily. But that doesn’t mean we have to believe it." -- Bill Whittle, NRO Online, 09/19/08 Current Mood: somber Current Music: Mono - Life In Mono (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
10:25 pm	Odds and Ends I wish I had someone to make a cup of tea for me now! (Four days in a row home sick from work.  You all know  how unheard of THAT is.) Thought I'd share this - it's Doug's worst nightmare... And lastly, an Internet story which I doubt the veracity of, but which is too good not to pass along anyway. Supposedly, the following was said by a flight attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight.  As I said, I suspect it never really was, but it SHOULD have been... "Welcome aboard Southwest  Flight XXX to YYY. To operate your seatbelt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seatbelt and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will descend from the ceiling.  Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two small children, decide now which one you love more."  Current Mood: crappy Current Music: None - just silence (9 Comments |Comment on this)
12:09 am	Today's Quote 02/10/09 “In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” -- Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister There will never be another like the Iron Lady.  Current Mood: tired Current Music: The Classics IV - Everyday With You Girl (2 Comments |Comment on this)