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May 26, 2003
Cat Costumes and Photo Safaris
Part two of my May 15 weblog:
These cat costumes are now available for you feline owners. I especially like the black cat in the pictures. He looks really mad, and I get the feeling he's thinking about scratching off the costume ASAP.
I found this really cool website. If you are interested in photographic journeys, this is the site for you. These photo safaris are trips where professional photographers lead and teach sessions on how to photograph, mostly in nature settings. The fees are pretty steep, but if nothing else, you can use the site as a guide as to when to travel to certain places for peak photographic experiences. I got a couple of good future ideas for travel from this site. Check out the 'Venomous Reptiles' trip. It's laughable that the snakes photographed in this trip have all had their poison sacs surgically removed to make this a 'thrilling, but safe' experience. I wonder what the Crocodile Hunter would think of this controlled environment?
Posted by Kathy at 05:12 PM | Permalink
May 22, 2003
Shakespearean Hokey Pokey and the RIAA Radar
This is an amusing rendition of a Shakespearean version of the Hokey-Pokey:
WASHINGTON POST STYLE has a contest in which readers submit instructions for doing various things, their choice, as written by famous authors. Jeff Brechlin of Potomac Falls recently won for the following, for wonderfully obvious reasons:
The Hokey Pokey (as written by W. Shakespeare)
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.
Here's an interesting tool to try. The RIAA Radar can be used in an Amazon.com album detail page to query against a database that lists all record labels associated with the RIAA.
Posted by Kathy at 05:16 PM | Permalink
May 15, 2003
Matrix Reloaded Party and Animatrix
I took the day off work and went to see The Matrix Reloaded today. I didn't just go to the showing though. A friend of mine, Don Bailey, organized a breakfast party and cooked waffles and bacon for us while we watched the first Matrix movie on his big screen TV. After the first movie was over, we all swooped down to the theatre for the purpose of the day. Truly spectacular. I thought the second movie was better than the first. Why? Well, the first movie left a lot open. Many things were unclear. I liked that new ideas showed up in the second movie. Ideas which suggest that even reality as defined in the first movie is not necessarily the true reality. How far does Neo have to go to find the real truth? The Wachowski brothers have done a good job keeping the story fresh by introducing these new ideas. The kung-fu scenes were awesome. I'm already anticipating the third movie due out in November. Meanwhile, I will be watching the Animatrix series and purchasing the DVD on June 3.
Posted by Kathy at 05:19 PM | Permalink
May 13, 2003
Dog Costumes and Allergy Pills
Do you have a small dog? Someone sent me this link that you can buy costumes for your dog from. I thought it was hilarious. Poor dog...if this was a cat, the costumes would probably have been ripped to shreds.
If you have bad seasonal allergies, you may know that Claritin is now available over the counter. I thought this was a great idea. It seems that Claritin should have been quite a cash cow for Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals. Instead, Schering-Plough reported losses for the first quarter. Why? Maybe it's because Claritin's main competitor, Aventis Pharmaceuticals' Allegra, is not available over the counter. At approximately $1.00 per pill, the consumer pays about $30 per month for Claritin, whereas, with health insurance, Allegra may be $10 per month. This is an interesting situation. On the other hand, the consumer may not need to take an allergy pill every single day. She probably wouldn't if she had to pay for each pill individually. With a prescription, she would probably take the drug everyday, regardless of actual need. This could possibly increase chances of side effects from the drug. Definitely worth considering if you suffer from allergies.
Posted by Kathy at 05:21 PM | Permalink
May 11, 2003
The Apple Store and Teaism
I haven't had much time to devote to my weblog recently, due to projects hitting me like a ton of bricks. I hope things will be more manageable now. I'd certainly want to update this page more often than I have been.
I discovered the Apple Store a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't been, check it out. It's awesome. Especially if you own an iPod.
I went to another teahouse recently. Teaism is located in the Washington, D.C. area. There are several stores. I tried the shrimp ochazuke (stir fried shrimp on brown rice with tea) and the sweet green tea pearl (sweet green tea bubble tea, basically). Both were very good.
Posted by Kathy at 05:24 PM | Permalink