WHAT SWITZERLAND HAS BEEN WORKING ON

It has been working on improving the spaghetti plate.

(Thanks to Lisa White)

Comments

[djtonyb]

*makes note to stop by Lab's blog in his random wanderings*

I was over on the main blog, but I'm just not well (or sick) enough to keep up with the Tuscan Milk followed by the Elephant Hand-J*b thread... I'm waaaaaayyy out of practice for such witty repartée ;)

[Kevin]

Tony, they're very punny, and it's an effort for me too. :)

[Eleanor]

That would be Kevin aka Eleanor. :)

[djtonyb]

*air smooches El from several feet away*

Hope I'm not contagious, I wouldn't wish this bug on anybody!

[Blogchik is procrastinating]

Hi DJTONY!!! :)
Welcome back. :)

I am sick. I've got the virus that's been circulating round campus--sneezing, hacking cough, dizzy, tired. I don't need this. I've got too much work to do...too much stuff to do in general. I'd like to curl up and zonk out for the next 12-24 hours. cept I can't. boo. :(

If I'm still sick on Wednesday I'm going to the dr for some antibiotics.

[Susan]

Hi DJT! And Blogchik! (who can't be procrastinating as much as my dear daughter. A report due Friday, even with no school. Should have been done, finished, Thursday night. It was written last night. Started at 7:30pm. Complainingly..."I'll do it later." I can procrastinate, but not that much.

Yay for birthdays!

[Eleanor]

We can smooch, Tony. I'm sick too. Same symptoms as Blogchik!

In other news, my daughter has some questions about buying a laptop, and many of the computer MOATies aren't around anymore.

Can I e-mail you?

[Eleanor]

DJT!!!

Don't desert me now.....

[Jeff Meyerson]

*hands out masks, tea, throat lozenges and chicken soup to sick MOATies*

Feel better, you guys!

Insomniac, can't remember who spoke at HS graduation other than the Valedictorian (snore). We had a lot of famous alumni but I guess they weren't invited. My brother graduated with Chuck Schumer, who I believe scored a perfect 1600 on his SATS, cementing his place in nerddom, a couple of years after me.

[djtonyb]

Ooops, sorry, El, I had to zip out for some wine, have a dinner party to go to tonight and it's the very last thing I feel like doing. Of course you can e-mail me! I just walked 3 other friends through buying computers in the past month, so I'm pretty caught up in that dept.

*waves to blogchik, the original MOATette*

Hey, the blog clock is wrong! Isn't that how this whole thing originally started?

[Jeff Meyerson]

SATs, not SATS.

[Eleanor]

Thanks Tony.

And yes, the blog clock was the beginning of everything.

BTW, did you heinz back far enough to see the wonderful flashback that Fish posted a couple of days ago? You'd love it. :)

[Eleanor]

Tony, cye...

No hurry, though. At your convenience. :)

[slyeyes]

*orders Battering Ram XTR5004 from ACME Battering Rams and waits for its delivery*

*opens package marked ACME Battering Ram XTR5004 and finds it empty except for a note at the bottom of the box, "Neener, love, Wyle E. Coyote"*

*orders the ACME Catapult Up-And-Away and waits for its delivery*

*opens package marked ACME Catapult Up-And-Away* and finds it empty except for a note "Ha!, love Wyle E. Coyote"*

*sends invitation to Tazmanian Devil, sends him directions to the Moat, detouring around the Grand Canyon and adjoining desert area, and waits for his arrival*

*In the meantime, ships an anvil covered in grease to Mr. Wile E. Coyote, American Desert*

*Welcomes Taz and gives him instructions, promising a whole ham when he's done*

*bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm IN!!!

*
*
*
*
Huh. I have nothing to say.

For now.

[slyeyes]

Oh! There's this:

WELCOME BACK, TONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd give you a big wet open-mouthed kiss, but I'll just wave "hi" from this safe distance.

Oh, and by the way, I'm TERRIBLY TERRIBLY TERRIBLY disappointed in all of us.

Yesterday was Tool Worshipping Day, and it was not properly acknowledged here. Then again.... yesterday was a light Moating day, so some of you may have been giving it your own acknowledgement in the Real Life.

And apparently I missed Kevin Bacon.

Drat.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Sly, you're (not yore) back!

SO, how long will you be in California? Where will you be situated? Did you cut yourself enough sandwiches?

[slyeyes]

I'll be out there 2 - 6 months; I'm reluctant to give any other details on the Moat; especially about the sandwiches. You never know if THEY are reading.

Guess where I am right now?

I'm sitting on my porch! It's currently 72 degrees; the high had been 75....tomorrow, we're going to hit 80!!

Maybe that groundhog was right after all.

[Jeff Meyerson]

2-6 months! Wow, that's a long time.

/end trite commentary

Really, I hadn't realized it was that long.

[Kevin]

I'm sorry I missed you too, sly. But I can't stay.

Several people are waiting for me to play Six Degrees of Separation with them.

Maybe next time! :)

[insomniac]

i was sick yesterday, (today too, but by not eating anything it's under control) so anything beyond watching my son's dvds of 'futurama' was out... especially tool-worshipping

[Susan]

My illness is limited to the spring allergy madness. I was coughing this morning...my daughter who spent the weekend coughing, got very irritated. At one point in the car she shouted "Do you need a lozenge?". If only that would have helped.

On another note I must hurry do the news and run run run. Apparently the papers will be here shortly....and I am NOT helping unload the truck. But if I'm here I may have to. Eeeeeek!!!!!!

I'll roll them tomorrow though. I can do that.

[djtonyb]

*worships a high-heeled Prada hammer in deference to sly's observance of the holiday*

Next week on "How It's Made", we'll feature Manolo Blahnik screwdrivers, direct from sly's ever faccionable toolbox...

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

*hugs* for Tony!!! It's good to see you back, sweets!

It's been a cold drizzly rainy day. Also it's the twin babies' first birthday. Wheeeeee! The party is on Saturday, though, because it's just too difficult for most during the week.

I'd better go and start cooking dinner. It's supposed to be on the table in 20 minutes.

[kibby F5™]

kibby missed mentioning Tool Day!? Man! It was one of his favorite too!

*goes to buy a tool*

[«LabSpecimen»]

Everybody is talking about how sick they are, and the weather. I must have wandered into the MOAT Retirement Community!

*waves hi to all the geezers*

[kibby F5™]

kibby's fine ... other than waking up this morning at 6 and finding his ENTIRE body vibrating.

*blames the shots and muscle relaxers*

[Blogchik is procrastinating]

Susan, my problem is, I'm having trouble concentrating. I sit down at my computer to write and my brain freezes up. It's really frustrating.

I think I might hit the doc up for some antibiotics this afternoon.

[kibby F5™]

blogchik, make sure the doc gives you the "Mind-clearing anitibiotics". If he says he doesn't have any, remind him "you know what he did in his last year as intern".... ;-)

[Jeff Meyerson]

I'm fine too, Kibby.

Blogchik, better your mind than the computer.

Or do I have that backwards?

The Riches was darker than I'd expected. Who knew that Eddie Izzard could act?

The best part were the promos for Grindhouse, which looks like a must-see classic.

I mean, how often do you see a woman with a machine gun leg?

[Eleanor]

*zips in*

ACHOO!!!!

*zips out to find Kleenex*

[«LabSpecimen»]

Jeff, you'll know this. Who is Eddie Izzard? Where would I know him from?

[Trillian]

Eddie Izzard - British comic, likes wearing women's clothing

[DDi]

*stumbles in still sneezing*

Kibby, CYE.

*stumbles out, still sneezing*

[Trillian]

Maybe you ran into him at Lane Bryant?

[Eleanor]

*snork* at Trillian - VF!

[kibby F5™]

DDi, re:postage? YAY!

... it only took 3 months and 2 printings!

[Jeff Meyerson]

He regularly cross-dresses both on and off stage and makes it clear that cross-dressing is, for him, not a sexual thing – he simply enjoys wearing make-up and clothing which is traditionally perceived in the West as female-only.

[«LabSpecimen»]

So, in answer to your question, then, "Who knew he could act?", I'd have to say obviously I didn't know he could act, since I had never heard of him.

But if I had known the above (that you posted) before you asked, then I'd have to say I would assume he could act, since he was on stage.

There. It's all so clear now.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Good point. I was attempting to say, in my usual clear and precise fashion (as in the '1206' remark) that I only knew his stand-up work before this. Apparently he has appeared on stage before in various shows. I just never saw any of them.

[Jeff Meyerson]

And, by the way, has anyone heard from MiBKB?

[DDi]

Yes.

[«LabSpecimen»]

Jeff, I took your comments Re: Grindhouse as sarcasm. Was I reading you correctly there?

Thanks in advance.

[«LabSpecimen»]

Back to E.I.: I should have looked him up myself (my usual m.o.) instead of asking. The only movie I've seen (of his) is Mystery Men.

[DDi]

Kibby, please CYE, and please respond via email.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Lab, not really.

Even though I rarely watch those kinds of movies these days (Grindhouse), I watched a lot of them about 20 years ago, stuff like Caged Heat and Gator Bait. This appeals to me the way Snakes on a Plane did. I haven't seen that yet either, but when they come on HBO I will be watching.

Of course, I'll probably have to wait for Jackie to be out or asleep.

That's the problem with reading comments online rather than hearing them spoken - tone is lacking and you can't always tell how it was meant.

[Susan]

*waves to Lab*

I hate allergies.

But...I can breath again, although I sound horribly congested.

I'm also all official now...I have a press pass!

Such is the excitement around here.

[Eleanor]

Susan, do we have WCRE today. I'll czech myself!

[Eleanor]

Only on the PeePee web site.

I'm there!

[«LabSpecimen»]

Ah. Well, it will help my image of you if I continue to think you were being sarcastic. *snicker*

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

Did everybody die or is the clock still wrong? This is a test post...

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

Aaaah.. wrong AND everybody's dead. Excellent plan.

I'm pretty sure I've seen Eddie Izzard acting (dressed as a man) but I forget what the show was. Sounds like "The Riches" could be interesting if it ever gets here.

I was sick yesterday morning. I'm pretty sure that I'm over it, though.

I want to go back to bed. Can someone ring work for me and call me in dead, please? I'm a Christian, miracles happen and I should be ready to go again by Thursday, 'kay?

[kibby F5™]

*thinks everyone's rivited to The Tech Report*

[insomniac]

kaf.-isn't the precedent three days for that kind of thing? so you couldn't go back to work until friday (blog time).

[Eleanor]

Paging Brian B, paging Brian B

I've been meaning to ask you if you've seen Clerks II, was it as good as the original, and should I pay $3.95 to see it On Demand or wait for it to come on HBO?

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

Friday blog time being Saturday, and not working weekends, hmmmm.. I'd have to be "dead" until Monday. Yeah, I could do that.

[«LabSpecimen»]

I'm not Brian B, but I'll share my opinion, if you are interested.

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

Kibby.. they leapt forward on the weekend. The tech report was at 11am blog time.

[kibby F5™]

They moved The Tech Report? What this world coming to?

[Jeff Meyerson]

Yes, Lab, please share. I loved the original Clerks.

And I'll try and be more sarcastic next time.

How's that?

Kaf, feel better. How was the baby birthday party? My mother has pictures and an old 8 mm movie of my first birthday party. My cousin Penny (a year older than me) seems to have hit me to get my cake, or some attention.

She hasn't changed much since... .

The Riches was darker than I'd expected but as worth watching as other FX shows, like Rescue Me and Nip/Tuck.

[«LabSpecimen»]

The original Clerks is brilliant. Clerks 2 is funny. Both are vulgar, but the vulgarity in this one involves an animal. I don't want to type the B-word and draw attention via google.

I don't have HBO, so that wasn't an option. Thus, I rented it. If I was already paying for HBO, I'd wait and watch it there. It's not worth the extra trips to the video store or the extra $5 for renting / PPV.

[Eleanor]

I'm always interested in your opinion Lab. I just didn't know/remember that you were a Clerks fan.

I'll wait. I'm not a fan of the B-word, if it's the one I'm thinking of.

[insomniac]

boogers?

[Jeff Meyerson]

Thanks, Lab. I'll wait for HBO then. (I probably would have anyway, but it's always good to have your feelings confirmed by an informed viewer.)

Any Happy Scrappy Pup-type scenes?

[«LabSpecimen»]

Ya know... I don't recall.

[Brian B]

El,

It's probably worth the $3.95 if it's On Demand. I wouldn't make a special trip to the movie store for it though.

I liked it. Not as good as the original, but still pretty freaking funny. Of course, nicely toasted on parfaits is the preferred mental state to watch it.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Of course, nicely toasted on parfaits is the preferred mental state to watch it.

My brother in law & I watched the first Cheech & Chong movie, Up in Smoke, under that influence and we thought it was the funniest thing we'd ever seen. When he tells the cop, "I just thought of something funny...your mother," I could barely breathe.

Jackie & her sister thought we were crazy.

[Mad Scientist Weasel]

of course you are crazy. Everyone here is. But in a good way

[Mad Scientist Weasel]

For those of you who hate playing " voice prompt bingo" check out this site. It tells you how to get to speak directly to a human and grades most major customer support lines. Not suprising most Computer and Insurance carriers got marks of "F" or "D".

/public service announcement

[insomniac]

what company asks that you breathe heavily and ask "what are you wearing"?

[Eleanor]

ooops. I thought I was calling Fish. Sorry I bothered you, insom. ;)

[Mad Scientist Weasel]

insom -I'm not sure that the computer would respond to heavy breathing. That probably works better once you are past all the prompts and reach a human. But that is a whole different rating system.

For those who check the message boards I posted something about laughter on the weasel board. Perhaps I will add it to my blog as well.

[slyeyes]

*gives the Tazmanian Devil another ham for breaking down the Moat Wall. Again.*

*sigh*

This is getting old. When I tried to post this morning, I found out I was banned again. It's seems to be a daily thing. Sort of like Groundhog Day.

And they can't get my work IP whitelisted or whatever. So, I can only come in here at night when everbody is gone.

*whistles while aimless kicking a small stone across the Moat*

[Jeff Meyerson]

Thanks, Mad. I already have that site bookmarked and have used it - successfully - a number of times.

We're here, sly! I am having the same problem I had on the computer in Florida - when I get the IP # starting '152' I can't post; when I get either '205' or '64' I can. So I check when I go online and if it's bad, I go off and try again.

I'm not even going to bother with the 'whitelisting' bit this time as it didn't work in Florida despite the promises.

Did anyone watch American Idol? Is this a really weak group with a few (very few) standouts or what? Melinda and LaKisha and Jordin were great tonight and a few others have been good in the past, but how did they ever pick Sanjaya to be in the final 24? He is embarrassingly awful every week.

I blame Al Gore.

[Jeff Meyerson]

OINY:

Blonde #1: Is Super Bowl Sunday this Thursday?
Blonde #2: I think so... I'll ask my boyfriend, he'll know.

[Blogchik is procrastinating]

Bad News On Campus: A student who graduated from here last year just committed suicide. The news has spread like wildfire over campus and everybody's pretty upset about it. It's a very small, close-knit community (which can be maddening at times, but still), so a death like this is huge. I think everybody is still in shock. I wasn't that close to him, but I thought he was nice, and funny, and cool, just an all-around good guy.

RIP Eric.

[Blogchik]

erase the 'is procrastinating' up there...forgot to delete it.

[Blogchik]

Also, my cold has definitely turned into bronchitis. So instead of working on my sermon for tomorrow I'll be hanging out at the doctor's office WAITING...Then they get to sock it to me with the bill. Yay.

I have crossed the event horizon of tired into the tired-beyond-tired. The ubertired.

Going to bed now. The news about Eric just caps off a shitty week so far. :(

[Kaffy In Disguise (With Glasses)]

Blogchik - sorry for your loss.. even if you didn't know him well, it's still quite a shock.

To answer Jeff's question (which I should have answered this morning) the baby's birthday party is this coming weekend and as such, hasn't happened yet. I will report back on Saturday afternoon my time. The weather will have to improve, though, or they'll have 40+ people inside the house. It's pouring outside.. started just as the bus turned into my street. I didn't think I needed a shower that badly.

[slyeyes]

*awakens and looks around suspiciously*

*notices that blog clock indicates the time is 5:14 am, not 6:02 am*

*Notices the radio is NOT playing "I've Got You, Babe*; the song is "Irreplaceable" (to the left, to the left)*

*cautiously clicks on "post"*

[slyeyes]

Well, it would be nice to stay and play... but I'm off to work.

Later!!!!

[neophyte]

I seem to have regressed to blurking. It's not intentional; I just don't seem to have anything to say. (Yes, I know; I'm posting to say that I haven't anything to say.)

[Jeff Meyerson]

Yay, sly!

Blogchik, sorry to hear that. A guy we knew in college (Jackie better than me) killed himself too, and it was a shock. There has been a rash of suicides at NYU in recent years which have gotten a lot of publicity. The pressure can be enormous.

Weather: 57 yesterday, mid-to-upper 60s today, then a cooldown. Unfortunately it looks much colder over the weekend. I say unfortunately not just for the cold but because we have a concert Saturday night: The Levon Helm Band at the Beacon.

/end weather

Lab, you'll be happy (for us) to hear they have added a third Steely Dan concert and this is at a time that we should be able to go, provided we can get tickets of course.

/end concert news

Who has the traffic and gas price update?

Bueller?

[Jeff Meyerson]

{{{neo}}}

Stay awhile. How's school?

[Leetie]

Channeling slyeyes:

HAPPY PI DAY!! to all Math Geeks.

My daughter is taking pies to all of her classes today. She teaches two classes on Wednesdays and was going to bake them; but due to two instructors being at a conference, she's covering other classes as well; so she's buying them.

Yum, pi(e)

/channeling

[Jeff Meyerson]

Were there minced, diced onions in the pies?

[kibby F5™]

*joins Kaf in shower*

WOW! PI DAY!

Guess I'll take a slice that's 3.1415926 ........

[Trillian, the not too swift]

Oh! today's 3/14, Pi is 3.14. I get it!

[Eleanor]

And then Trillian, when it's 1:59pm, all the pi geeks in the world are going to do something really silly spectalular!

[Trillian, the not too swift]

all 26 of them?

[DDi rhymes with Pi]

Good morning and a happy PI day to the brown shirts of the world! We love you! In honor of PI day, I'm wearing my brown shirt with pocket protector.

[«LabSpecimen»]

Jeff, did I mention to you that Steely Dan are going to be in Memphis for the Beale Street Music Festival this year? You should come.

I'm planning on posting some stuff about the BSMF on my blog sometime today. If I get time during lunch.

[«LabSpecimen»]

I'm a pi geek, and I'm wearing a blue shirt. I'm pi-geeky enough to know that (a) pi is a transcendental number and (b) what a transcendental number is.

[Jeff Meyerson]

Lab, I would love to get there but the timing is tough because we're going to New Orleans for Jazzfest the week before.

Maybe another year.

[«LabSpecimen»]

You should skip jazz fest some year for Memphis. The music variety is huge.

Just let me know in advance if you're doing that. You know, so I can plan on going to jazz fest that year. *wink*

[Jeff Meyerson]

Looking at the Beale St. schedule it seems a lot of the acts are also performing in New Orleans: Jerry Lee Lewis, John Legend, George Thorogood, Counting Crows...

[«LabSpecimen»]

Jerry Lee Lewis is a BSMF tradition. Sly forced me to go hear him last year. I'm *still* in therapy.

*snickers knowing that Sly can't post a denial*

[Jeff Meyerson]

Well, as long-time fans of New Orleans we feel we can do our part to give back to the city by spending our money there and still have a good time. But I would really like to see Memphis, and Jackie definitely wants to see Graceland.

[Leetie]

Q: What did the cannibal do after he dumped his girlfriend?

A: He wiped his a$$

And then he celebrated Pi day by eating a mathematician for dessert. He prefers them over clowns because clowns taste funny.

(sorry... there are ZERO good pi jokes out there!)

[«LabSpecimen»]

The Wench and I have had serious discussions about the jazz fest in the past. It's just that Memphis has a special place in our hearts, since that's where we fell in love.

[Leetie]

Lab: What does Pi say when it meditates?