I wish I was where I was

Am I wrong or should the bolded word be ensure not insure in this context?

"What additional measures to insure the preservation of the property would you propose?"

This sentence was pulled from my syllabus for my Life Sciences class which I will be taking starting 6/8/08. (w00t!) This is one of the topics I must touch on in my final paper.

I'm curious about the word use because I'm usually really good about using the proper word in situations where other spellings are commonly, mistakenly used, and I've seen insure used more and more when I would have used ensure. I guess I'm starting to question my sanity.

I want to have Rob Thomas' babies.

This is why.

"I am a straight man, with a big gay chip on my shoulder.

A while back on my Twitter page (yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds), I mentioned that, if I believed in the devil, Pat Robertson might be him.

Being a fairly liberal-leaning guy with either liberal friends or Republican and Christian friends who don't believe that being one has anything to do with the other, I was surprised at how many people took offense to what I had to say.

These people weren't friends of Mr. Robertson but friends, apparently, of God. They had "spoken" with him and he had assured them that he was no friend of the gays. He also told them that he loved America more than any other country and was a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars."

( The rest of the article )

BABIES!!

Does anyone know of - or should I start - a community for people who need ideas for dinners?

I mean, I'm completely bored with making the same shit over and over and over again - and I have to cook for four people - and I have a limited amount of time to prepare and cook.

Bottom line, I'm looking for meal ideas that are inexpensive and don't take a lot of time to fix.

If there aren't any communities like this, maybe I'll make one. Thoughts?

Since I'm a glutton for punishment:

THE ANONYMOUS WRITING FEEDBACK MEME

Actually, I'm writing something right now and it would be helpful to know if there's something (or somethings) on which I can improve. Feel free to comment - it's anonymous!

In an interesting turn of events, life imitates art!

I'm tired of these MF snakes on my MF plane!

I've now watched Series Four twice - once over the span of a few days as I forced Bill to catch up in time for the finale. And now I have a theory about Donna.

( Don't click here if you haven't seen through The Stolen Earth or, obviously, if you don't care. )

And also because I'm happy to share - here are some positive quotes:

"I am only one. But still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." ~ Helen Keller

"My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force. I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice, my responsibility. Win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny." ~ Elaine Maxwell, American writer.

"There is not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the light of one small candle." ~ Spanish proverb

"There is much to be said for challenging fate instead of ducking behind it." ~ Diana Trilling, American author

"If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing." ~ Zimbabwean proverb

"You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world." ~ Sheilah Graham, English-born American gossip columnist

"All the strength you need to achieve anything is within you." ~ Sara Henderson, Australian outback station manager and writer


And now I shall go watch "Stonehenge Decoded" on NatGeo.

Disclaimer, etc., found in Part One

( Part Two )

Title: Breadcrumbs and Bathtubs
Author: shellysmk
Fandom : Doctor Who
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Written for: zinke
Prompt: Claw-footed bathtub with period fixtures (ideally not found in the TARDIS).
Optional prompt: Duck Fadar (Darth Vader rubber duck that glows).
Rating: Teen/PG13
Spoilers: Through the end of series three to be safe - and though this is a post-"Doomsday" reunion fic, I'm not acknowledging any of the series four spoilers that are lurking about the net. Also, if you squint, there are some spoilers for series two of Torchwood. Events described in part two come from the Fifth Doctor serial, "Enlightenment" written by Barbara Clegg.
Disclaimer: Oh, my. They're not mine. I'm not even British! The BBC owns it all - especially my soul.
Author's Notes: Leave it to me to join a fic-a-thon and volunteer to write for a fandom I've never written for before, as well as one that's new to me, to boot. =] Special thanks and a tin of chocky biscuits to bexatious for helping me out with the Britishisms among other things. (Which, come to think of it, is only fair since she's the one that pimped Doctor Who on me in the first place!) And another tin to nnaylime for being both a fantabulous beta and an even better friend. If this fic is any good, it's because they've made it that way. That said, any mistakes are all mine.
Distribution: Bubblefic archive is fine - any others, please ask.

( Part One )

Join bubbleficathon . . . because I did and it sounds like fun. =]

We got to the Wetlands Park at 11:30 and left at 2:00. Lots of walking. It wasn't too hot because it was overcast but I still got some sun on my nose. I'm glad I wore my obnoxious, turquoise-colored hat! I took a bunch of pictures and here they are.

This is NOT dial-up friendly!!

( A walk in the woods )

We also saw a raccoon but he waddled off before I could snap a picture. :-[

Title: A Single Rose
Author: Shellysmk
Fandom: Bones
Pairings/Characters: Brennan
Rating: K
Spoilers: None
Summary: Just a drabble
Length: 100 words
Genres: Drabble
A/N and Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. I just take the characters out to play every once in a while. I woke up feeling morose and this is what happened. Unbetaed but, really, it's 100 words. Still, all mistakes are mine.

*~*~*~*

( A single rose )

Title: The Soldier in the Woods
Author: Shellysmk
Pairings/Characters: Booth/Brennan - ensemble
Rating: T
Spoilers: Through 2x18 - The Killer in the Concrete (This would actually take place in the month of June so, technically, after the end of S2 but, for the sake of spoilers and canon, only through 2x18.)
Summary: When the supposed remains of Civil War soldier are found in a remote Florida forest, Bones and Booth are sent to authenticate the find.

Length: 10 chapters, 23K words
Genres: Case file/romance/maybe a smidge of angst
A/N: My first Bones fic. Be gentle. Extra special thanks go out to enigma731 for her priceless comments, indispensable advice, and occasional prods with a sharp stick. Thanks also go to bohemianfling who graciously provided her skills as a top-notch beta. Any errors contained herein are all on me. Loved it? Hated it? I'd love to know why. Take a moment to review, if the spirit moves you.

(The Soldier in the Woods)

I finally got out in the backyard to take a picture of my sunflowers! There's only one in bloom right now -- but I have four more buds!

( click for the pics )

Mind you, my camera doesn't take very good night pictures but they're still pretty. We're about 55 miles west of KSC so this is what a night launch looks like from my front yard:









Just after the last picture is when the solid rocket boosters detached. We were able to see them detach because the bottoms were still glowing. :-)

There's a spirit in my house. I've known this for quite some time -- just feelings. You know how when someone is standing near to you, you can "feel" them there? Like that. Also, things will go missing, like keys or my barrettes or a book and until I say, "Okay, you can put it back now. It's not funny anymore!" the item will remain missing. After I say that, I'll find it where I've looked five times already.

Skeptics will look at all of these things and say, "Yeah, okay. No proof. Just feelings and the fact that you can't keep track of anything in your house." True. But . . .

Bill, my resident skeptic, has heard noises. It started about a month ago. He was home, alone, and heard a sneeze. Purely on instinct, he said, "Bless you," and then he remembered he was alone. This happened TWICE that weekend (I was in St Pete and the kids were with their dad).

Last week, Meagan started sleeping with her bedroom door closed. When I asked why, she told me that she's seen the ghost -- a shadow walking in the hallway -- and she freaked out so she decided to sleep with her door closed so she can't see the hallway.

This morning, Sean was up super early. When I asked him why he said that he'd had a restless night. Apparently he was kept up by knockings and bumps on his bedroom door (which he keeps open) and, when Meg got up to go to the bathroom, he looked out into the hall and saw a shadow dart past his door.

So -- I'm thinking this . . . there's something in my house and I honestly think that Mom brought it with her when she moved in back in '99 and didn't take it with her when she moved out this summer. (I say this because my sister had similar experiences at my mom's old apartment.)

Is it sage that cleanses a house and puts the damper on spirit activity?

(A rare public post, too!)

Attention all BSG fans! I got this from The Zocolo Today newsletter:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA MOVING TO SUNDAY
SCI FI Channel has announced that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA will move to a new timeslot starting Jan. 21, 2007: Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, following the premiere of the new original series THE DRESDEN FILES at 9 p.m. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA has been airing episodes of its current third season on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The current season picks up the story of the ragtag fleet of human survivors as they flee the Cylon menace. Executive-produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, the series stars Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park.

My boss sent this to me because she thought I'd get a kick out of it. Someone posted it as a comment on the band Tool's MySpace page:

( Guidelines for Cultists )

Image heavy!! ( Click me, glub! )

Take a look at what I did!! -------->

(granted it's very elementary but I'm still astounded by the fact that I figured it out without crying or the rending of garments)

Does anyone know of a site that has the intro clip of the Season 7 West Wing opener? The one with the gang at the dedication of the Bartlet library, I think it was three years in the future. I'm mulling over a fic using that scene as a jumping off point but I need to see it again.

I thought I'd saved it to my hard drive but, apparently, as I can't locate it anywhere, I did not.

Thanks!

I picked this up on the Zocalo Today and researched a little to find this, a con-report from a Ranger in which JMS speaks of his projects:

"--And there's something else: WB came to him as they do periodically wanting to do something with B5. They asked if he wanted to do a feature film but JMS declined mainly because he can't yet picture structuring a B5 movie "as long as Andreas and Rick insist on staying dead." Maybe in a year or two he'll be able to but right now he can't do something big. What JMS suggested was a bunch of short films 'little mini-movies, an anthology show set in the Babylon 5 universe. They said, "Okay." There's a network already interested in carrying them but they're also planned for direct to DVD. This will be "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales", a lot of small stories that never made it into the series that he's rediscovered notes for. And JMS wants no interference, complete creative support "in writing". They said, "Okay." And JMS wants to direct them. They said, "Okay." The first will be three individual stories about three of the main characters (to be determined). The plan is to shoot in September, post-production Oct.-Dec. and they'll probably come out the second quarter of 2007."

Pulled from http://www.isnnews.net

Also, the comment from The Zocalo Today newsletter:

"BABYLON 5: LOST TALES

Following the announcement of this project by JMS at San Diego Comi-
Con, JMS posted the following information in the B5 moderated
newsgroup:

To the other questions that have arisen: we're looking at 3 half-
hour episodes/stories for the first DVD, with additional features
and the like in the other half hour. Each story will be worked
around a given established character, the specifics of which are
still TBD contingent upon availabilities and other issues.
We have a budget, we're greenlit, we're going.

As for what prompted the interest now at WB...it's only recently
that they've finally run through all 5 seasons, which for many years
now has been a constant source of revenue, and I think they would
love to have something to continue to with. The recent news re:
Changeling probably didn't hurt, but the deal was actually being
negotiated long before there *was* a feature film deal with Imagine.
As I recall, we finalized the deal right around the time that the
Imagine news was announced.

It was a rather extraordinary 24 hours.

I held off saying anything until I was cleared by WB to announce it
as a go project. Ultimately, whether we shoot in Vancouver or
elsewhere will be a function of the deal that gets made locally."

YOWZA! Existing characters! This is the best news I've heard in AGES!

I have the feeling that I'm taking West Wing canon and turning it into real life events.

Does Israel have "the" bomb?

I said as much to Bill last night as we were watching the daily recap on the Lebanon/Israel conflict but, after I said it, I thought I might be wrong.

Poll #769348
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Is Shelly Delusional?

( Where Should I Spend My Summer? )

So true!

Does anyone know who might have created this icon? It cracks my shit up and I'd like to give credit where credit is due!

Today is Bill's birthday. I bought him a t-shirt that says, "Wisconsin. Smell our dairy air." I saw it in Target and stood in the aisle laughing for five minutes. Meagan didn't get it so I had to explain that dairy air = derriere = French for butt. ::giggle::

Okay -- everyone has to stare in awe and wonder at the lovely title bar that xyellowroset created for me. Isn't it gorgeous? I've been staring at my journal since I uploaded it last night. ::sigh::

I want a West Wing mood theme to go with my new layout but I can't find one and don't know how to load it. HELP?

Courtesy of WFTV.com

( I'm actually proud to be a Floridaian right now. )

Link to story here: http://www.wftv.com/news/9310010/detail.html?treets=orlc&tid=2655240730813&tml=orlc_12pm&tmi=orlc_12pm_1_11000206022006&ts=H

Here are some pics of our new houseguests:

( Ribbit )

We have five of these little fellows living in the potted plants on our back screened-patio. :-)

Critters = love.

(And a rare public post, to boot.)

I can't get straight in my head where everyone fits in the new administration and, until it's straight, I won't be able to write. (Yes, this is my current excuse.) Could you all check out this list and make additions/corrects as needed?

President - Matt Santos
First Lady - Helen Santos
CoS - Josh Lyman
DCoS - Sam Seaborn
Director of Communications - Louise Thornton
Assistant Director of Communications (? - based on location of the office, though I know that offices move in the West Wing) Assistant to the President - Bram Howard

Secretary to the President - Ronna Beckman
First Lady's CoS - Donna Moss
FL's Director of Communications - Annabeth Schott
Vice President - Eric Baker (what's his first name?) though this is hardly established and I choose to think that he doesn't get through the confirmation and Nancy McNally ends up as VP

Legislative Liaison? - Amy Gardner
Chief Counsel - Ainsley Hayes
Secretary of State - Arnold Vinick
Asst to DCoS - Otto
Asst to Cos - Margaret Hooper

Holy cow! I can't recall what position Arnold Vinick accepted! I think Otto is Josh's assistant or do I remember CJ mentioning that Margaret was staying on?

Is that it? Did they ever name the Press Secretary?

( Movie Rant )

While I'm on the topic of movies, here's an informal poll (informal because I don't feel like making an actual poll). Our adult ticket price for a 7:55pm show was $9.00/each in Orlando, FL. If you would, reply to this with your geographic location and how much you usually spend on a movie ticket (prime time, not matinee discounts). If you know anyone who lives in the major cities (like LA, New York City, or Chicago) would you ask them, too? Bill and I are curious as to how the $9.00 ranks. Thanks!

Today is my niece's "coming out" party. My sister and bro-in-law are very strict about only household members touching/holding the new baby for the first thirty days - it's a bonding thing - so today the rest of the world can touch the baby. Meagan is currently horseback riding (I bet she'll be sore!) and Sean is officially being orientated at Disney. Yay weekends!

Here's an interesting tidbit. Tvtome.com has Aaron Sorkin listed as a cast extra in the final episode of WW - titled "Tomorrow."

Watched "Scratch 'n Sniff" and "Infinite Possibilities - Pts I and II".

( Holy Shit! )

Oh! Yeah! There was something on my television last night other than West Wing! ;-) Bill and I are finally picking back up with Farscape. As promised, here's my reaction to the episode we watched -- which was ( Meltdown )

I'm going to watch at least one more tonight (maybe two if I can wrangle it) so I'll post my reactions(s) either tonight or tomorrow.

Signing off!

Cake rocks. No -- not the wonderful, frosted, baked goodness that one usually devours on the anniversary of one's birth (unless you're Meagan, in which case you prefer ice-cream cake or pie) but the alternative rock band, Cake.

No reason -- just listening to some Cake and I felt the need to proclaim their rock-ness.

I'm looking for some good walking music. I need some tunes with a good beat that will make me move. I'm currently listening to The Chemical Brothers, Aerosmith, Prince, Eminem, and some other techno-pop tunes but I'm looking for something new.

If you have any suggestions for tunes that I can load onto my iPod that will make me move my feet, I want to hear them! If you know of someone that has good or eclectic taste in music, pimp this journal entry so I can get their input, too. I'm open to just about anything, from rap to techno to country -- as long as it has a good beat and makes me want to bounce.

Mom and I went walking at the lake this evening and I got this lovely photo. So, pic spam!

( Sunset on the lake )

We've been pacing ourselves with season 3 -- I don't want to be left hanging like I was with the ending of season 2!

( Season 3 spoilers ahead! )

I made this journal "friends only" not too long after I created it. That said, I'd still like to meet more people who share my interests. If you think you'd like to be my friend, leave a comment and I'll add you.

Alphabio Meme gakked from xyellowroset.

( this was fun! )

Because I feel like playing -- gakked from xyellowroset

( the girl meme )

Finished season two last night.

( Oh. My. Gods. )

We're all of five episodes from the end so I thought I'd post my thoughts on the season, thus far, before the plots run away with me.

( How about a margarita shooter? )

That's about it for now. Hopefully we'll get to watch a couple of eppys tonight and wrap up the season tomorrow. Yay!

Tagged by xyellowroset

Name 5 of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick 5 people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used. Tag 5 people on your list.

1 - Singing in the car
2 - Margaritas (I know I'm supposed to be original but, can I help it if the tagger and the tagee often think alike?)
3 - A good book
4 - A sunset in Key West
5 - The ocean

I'm going to refrain from tagging anyone so, if you're so inclined, have at it.

Check out the awesomeness of my new icon! Made with love by xyellowroset! ::squeee::

John came through and brought me all of season two today -- and told me to pace myself. He has to find season three. He thinks his dad may have it, in which case he'll get it over Thanksgiving. Otherwise, I'll be S.O.L. and he says the season two ender is better than the season one ender.

He also says I have an addictive personality (he's a therapist, I suppose I should listen) but I told him I could stop any time I want. I just don't want to. ;-)

. . . Except that I can sooooo relate to being surrounded by muppets.

You scored as Moya (from Farscape). You are surrounded by muppets. But that is okay because they are your friends and have shown many times that they can be trusted. Now if only you could stop being bothered about wormholes. </td> SG-1 (from Stargate) 100% Moya (from Farscape) 100% Serenity (from Firefly) 88% Millennium Falcon (from Star Wars) 75% Galactica (from Battlestar: Galactica) 69% Nebuchadnezzar (from The Matrix) 63% Enterprise D (from Star Trek) 38% Bebop (from Cowboy Bebop) 38% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

I can see where this could become a serious addiction.

( Season One - Episodes 1 through 6 )

There we go -- at least two more episodes tonight and the rest of the season by the end of the weekend!

I read this at Yahoo!news. Very interesting. Very scary. Very true.