This week’s questions are brought to you again by Friday5.org. Now the questions are all about acronyms and the meaning they hold in our otherwise uninteresting lives. These are some good questions to answer, so I’ll just dive in:

What is an acronym specific to your workplace or profession? (students who don’t work: What is an acronym specific to your campus or major?)

– Here’s one I can think of right away… MIT – Manager in training.

What is an acronym you use a lot in your personal life?

– FUBAR… F—-d up beyond any recognition.

Internet acronyms are unavoidable, but what’s one you particularly despise, and what’s one you particularly like?

– I really don’t like using AFAIK. Never mind that in the same length of time one can usually type out most of what it means, the K is supposed to be “Concerned”, which is just plain nutty! However, I love using RTFM (Read The Fine Manual)… I say it to all those who can’t be bothered to do the research!

What acronym could you create right now for some regular annoyance in your life?

– Rude and Insensitive People… RIPS!

What would be a memorable or appetizing acronym for your most recent meal? (if your most recent meal was a BLT or SOS or some similarly acronymed food, please choose the next-most recent meal, smart alecks!)

– TCQ (Tamales Con Queso)!

Well, that’s all I have for now. Oh, did you all know that I’m coming up on my 400th post? This will probably happen during January and I’ll have to plan something big for that. I’m planning a special New Year’s Eve entry, so stay tuned for that one as well. Cheers!

This year was better for the family get-togethers than last year was. Last Christmas, more than half of the family got really sick from one of the earlier family gatherings. They encouraged us to stay home and keep well. Well, this year we definitely made up for that, at least on Christine’s side. The downside to all this is that I couldn’t see anyone on my side of the family. I’m thankful for phone conversations, but I do miss everyone that I couldn’t see this year. Also, I’m thankful that this year’s holiday didn’t have any bad surprises (ie. deaths) to mar future memories. This seems to happen to more families than I care to think about. All in all, I’m just thankful, and that is one of the main points of the holiday, as it is a gift in itself.

Now that I’ve said that, it’s time to bring up the gift bag so I can talk about the cool stuff I received! Just to let you all know, the order that I’m going in does not dictate most favorite or anything like that.

First, I got a neat little toy called a Rubik’s Revolution. I say “toy”, instead of “puzzle”, because that’s really what it is. At first glance, it looks like a super-sized Rubik’s Cube, but the centers are hollowed out and have lights in them. Plus, the layers really don’t move. What is cool about it is that it is an electronic game device with six games built-in. Most of these games are themed on turning off multicolored lights within a time limit. However one game, “Pattern Panic” is fashioned like the classic Simon game where you repeat a growing pattern from memory. Another game, “Code Cracker”, has the player figure out a hidden pattern in the fewest turns possible. While this is a fun little thing, I only have two small caveats about it. One, you can reduce the volume, but there’s no way to mute it. For that reason, it stays downstairs per the wife. Two, I don’t like the fact that Rubik’s name is being used for a mere toy when that name has been synonymous with brain-busting puzzles. Still, I’ll be enjoying it for a long while.

Next, I was given an awesome box set of the second season of Doctor Who . I can’t tell you how pleased I am to have this, and it’s also a gift for both me and Christine because she loves the show, too. We have seen some of the episodes on it, but not all of them, so we’re going to have a fun time watching the unknown ones. The extras on some of the discs, I can tell, are going to be awesome. I’ve already watched the out-takes, because I really love blooper reels. There’s just something about watching your favorite actors flubbing up lines or breaking out in lunacy. Maybe after we watch all the episodes, I’ll make some episode reviews.

Also of note, I was given a CD of Lunatica’s “Fables & Dreams”. I just recently heard a few songs of theirs and I got hooked on their smoother form of Symphonic Metal. So far, the whole CD is just great and I’ll do a review of it on this site soon. Speaking of new music, we just received a late-arrival gift today for Christine: Din Fiv’s “Escape To Reality”.

We also got the usual assortment of clothing and gift cards, which are equally appreciated. However, I figured that the above mentioned items were most interesting and worth talking about in detail. I will say that the only bad thing about the DVD box set is that I’ll be tempted to get the other two season box sets later this coming year!

Cheers!

My Twitter buddy and teacher extraordinaire, Scrivener, tweeted about Friday5.org yesterday. What a wonderful premise for a blog: every Friday, they ask five questions centering around a main theme. They ask visitors to post the questions on their own blogs with the answers.

I guess I should consider this to be another possible regular thing on the blog. We’ll see how this goes, for now. Let’s dive in:

What’s your favorite song about growing up?
– “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Cat Stevens (but I like Ugly Kid Joe’s version better!)

What’s your favorite song about cars or driving?
– I guess it’d have to be “Cars” by Gary Numan, redone by Fear Factory of course!

What’s your favorite song whose title is a person’s name?
– Pink Cream 69’s version of “My Sharona” by the Kinks

What’s your favorite get-up-and-dance song?
– This one’s a toughie, mainly because I only listen to dance music occasionally. Probably “Move Your Body” by Eiffel 65. A second favorite is “Crying In The Rain” by Culture Beat.

What’s your favorite novelty song?
– “Traditional Irish Drinking Song” by comedian Denis Leary

It’s amazing that the last two answers weren’t cover tunes! If any of my visitors here want to expound on their favorites, please do so in the comments. I always appreciate the feedback!

… and aspiring ones, too!

This is my last post for this month, the National Blog Posting Month (NaBoPoMo!). Sadly, I missed two days (the 12th and the 15th), so I’m probably excluded from the little contest I was in. Ah, well… at least I gave it my best, and this month was probably my most prolific month ever. It was a lot of fun, except for those times that Christine got angry with me for tapping away while she was trying to sleep, simply because I almost forgot to post that day. I just get quite wrapped up in my own little hobbies and interests, not to mention commenting on other people’s blogs!

Even before my little NaBloPoMo adventure, I was thinking about my fellow blogger Sebastian and his partnership with his friend on the Enraged Amigos blog. I also thought of Britgirl and her former involvement with the Purple Women blog. I said to myself something along the lines of, “Why don’t I start up, or be involved with, something like that?”. I even thought of asking if I could join Enraged Amigos; well, I figured I’d fit in with those two guys! I decided not to, though… didn’t want to seem intrusive.

Of course, I’m talking about starting up a group blog. It can be about anything in general, really; my interests are open¹ and varied, as you can see in my blog tags and history. I’m thinking of asking a few individuals, people I have in mind, if they want to consider such a venture. Right now, though, I want to see if whoever reads this would like to comment and possibly throw their hat in the ring, so to speak! If this starts to take some kind of form and substance, I’m willing to work on any ground rules that need to be set. (Hey, you gotta have some kind of control in place, ya know?)

So… what do all of my friends (and even family!), fellow bloggers and readers think?

¹ When I say “open”, I dont mean wide open; no involvement in porn or smutty stuff!

(Update 12/01/07: In honor of NaBloPoMo, and since I want to keep this post at the top for a bit, I’ll rest from blogging for today. Next post will be on the evening of 12/02/07. Thanks to all!)

ABC News: Zealots Want Teddy Bear Teacher Executed

This is a continuation of the last post.

If I didn’t say it clearly in the last post, I’ll say it now: This is what happens when religion goes too far into the basic rights of human beings. This teacher most likely didn’t know what the outcome of her or her student’s actions would be. A crime of sheer lack of knowledge is hardly a crime at all. The most that should have happened is a slap on the hand. Not this.

I have nothing against religion, per se. Religion is a very good thing for a society; it helps to give a sense of moral grounding to all who need to embrace some sort of spirituality. I am a Christian, albeit non-denominational. I believe, not quite in religion, but in a relationship with God and his Son, Jesus. I also believe that when God sees people even calling for a killing in His name, He is not in the least impressed or flattered, but shakes His head in shame.

That’s really all I can say for now. If anyone else has any thoughts on this, you’re welcome to comment, please.