To love a cat ...

They purr,
they paw,
they snub,
and they rub ...
in the end they are your friends,
a good listener,
a soft companion,
the quiet headlight eyes in night.

That rustling noise in the window,
the mysterious force that bends the blinds,
but we love them.

When they pass,
on they go,
to kitty heaven,
to run,
and jump,
and paw,
and rub,
as if they were young kittens again.

To my dearest Patches may your rest in kitty heaven be well! Keep my dad company.


~Z~

How to best describe camping at the Texas Ren Fest

http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2004-11-11/news/feature_1.html

Since this article pretty much sums up the experience and friendliness I figured I'd just include as it's a wealth of information.

We'll possibly be going back to camp more at the festival in a few weeks. If you haven't gone you should!

Z

DOD Loses funding for Robot race ....

The Pentagon's research arm, which has twice hosted the high-tech contests since 2004, blames an obscure section in a defense spending law signed by President Bush this week. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency believes the law prevents the agency from awarding the $2.7 million prize money.

Ok here's some irony. This arm of the DOD is charged with trying to reduce fatalities out on the battlefield. What's the best way to induce progress in army grade robotics? Host a Contest with a LARGE prize .. like the X prize etc. For a few years now this has been very successful and lucrative for the Universities who partake in this challenge. Not to mention I love seeing the documentaries they do about the months leading up to the challenge and seeing what Universities came out on top :P But I digress.

Question is who is really behind this cut and was President Bush aware when he signed it into law. Obviously, no politician can read every page of these laws they're far too long. You'd think someone would have brought this up though :(

Honestly, I can't wait to see the outcome of the Elections this year... I forsee a wind of change. Will it get any better .. I think not sadly. Our country is heading down a very dangerous path. God bless you all and reaffirm your faith in what is grounded and does not waiver.

~Z~

If you blog and there's no one there to read it ...

Soo just like if a tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to hear it does it really make a noise :P

Of course it does due to the compression of air waves and the sound traveling outwards.

If you write a blog and no one reads it does it really exist? :P Surely it does.. but the writer clearly has to asses is it worth putting the effort into.

~~~~~~~

On another note ... one of these days I'm eventually going to start working on my inventions I keep thinking up or at least publish the ideas so that someone who knows how to make them happen can make em :P

~Z~

Mystery Box ... hmm

http://www.midnightbox.com/

So my friend Martin showed me this site... interesting. Seems like fun if you have some $$ and time to burn :).

Too fun to not pass on.

Z

Texas Ren Fest 2006 - Camping

I've waited a few days to collect my thoughts of this years camping at the Texas Ren Fest. Lessee no running water, no electricty, poor planning and drunk people make for an interesting mix of sex, drugs and celtic drum circles.

I've never seen so much public drug use, sex and craziness. I'm not much into the drug scene considering I've never touched drugs and don't plan to start. I highly value daily showers :P so I really don't see myself doing this again until we either get or rent a camper.

As far as the faire goes there are some new things. We didn't stay long enough to really explore it much. The weather was very hot and oppressive, why I let our friend talk us into going opening weekend I'll never know. Usually, we wait until the last weekend not to mention there's some good item discounts the last weekend.

Met some nice people at least and had some good games of cards. Realized we really need to get a new tent. We've not used our tent in so long some of the sealant is gone on the roof so all night long you had "drip, drip drip" on your head :P I somehow messed up the mantles on the lantern so when we turned it off the mantles went .. boom :P.

Overall I'd rate the weekend as a 6 out of 10. I'm still not sure if we'll ever do that again. The people are great but the setting just sucks much!

At least the costumes I slaved over were a hit.. so not all is lost.

~Z~