Abundance

Hokey smokes! This has been a jam-packed month o' fun and accomplishments. I have been fully whelmed, if not just a bit over. I apologize for the lack of bloggery, but if you really want to see regular postings, you're gonna have to help me win the Lotto.

Since mid-November, my day job has featured nonstop proposal activity, which is mentally taxing and physically draining. But it does have the side benefit of letting me have fascinating conversations with genius inventors about wild and crazy technologies that might someday save the planet. (Yes, I suppose you could interpret that statement in terms of reducing energy consumption and emissions...but you could also think about stuff that might help us be ready when the @#$%!* Borg show up.) I doubt that I will ever rank "proposal management" as one of my favorite activities, but it's a whole lot more fun at ITN than it was at Lockheed Martin. I like my job.

My social life has been pretty active, as well. The first event I'll mention is our excellent swim team party, which once again reminded me how fortunate I am to have such excellent friends. It is such a privilege to be associated with these fine athletes, who are also outstanding human beings. They inspire and motivate me, and are always fun to talk to. And every time we have a potluck event, I'm also amazed at the cooking talents possessed by our swimmers. My brother and his wife even brought me a birthday cake, and I had so much fun that I stayed up several hours past my normal bedtime.

I have other photos from the party to post, but I'll have to do that later. I'm in the process of finding a new online photo-storage account, and I need to get stuff uploaded there. The motivation for this is that I got a new camera for my birthday, and intend to be taking more (and hopefully, better) pictures in the future. Anyway, please come back this weekend to see more from the swim team party.

And more. Since I last posted, I also attended the Foothills Employees Appreciation luncheon, the ITN Christmas party, and several birthday lunches. I also did a lot of running and swimming, and even made a little progress on my "purge obsolescence" project. More details about those things will be coming soon, as well.

For now, though, I just want to get this posted, so I'll leave the fancy stuff for another time. Let's talk about our last quiz:

I'm embarrassed, and mortified. I made a mistake. I am usually flawless in every single thing I do, and I know that you expect nothing less than perfection from me, so I must apologize and grovel and beg your forgiveness. I got some of the quotes wrong.

1. Take that, Lazlo Panaflex!
    A. Walt Disney
    B. Rocky II
    C. Troy McClure
    D. Nikolai Tesla

The actual quote is "Watch out, Lazlo Panaflex!" Troy McClure shouted the line on the Simpsons episode where he married Marge's sister Selma. He was receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and commented that his wife would someday have a star adjacent to his...which happens to be the space occupied by the star belonging to Mr. Panaflex. (Unfortunately, while the name "Panaflex" does indeed have a prominent place in Hollywood history, it refers to a camera model from the Panavision company, not an Italian immigrant cinematographer. Sorry.)

2. If you have to shoot, shoot -- don't talk.
    A. Austin Powers
    B. Tuco
    C. Marty McFly
    D. Jesse Ventura

B. It's actually "When you have to shoot, shoot -- don't talk."



3. You're gonna look mighty funny with that knife sticking in your...EAR.
    A. The outlaw Josie Wales
    B. Captain Kirk
    C. John Matrix
    D. Lazlo Panaflex

A. Heck, I probably didn't quite get that one right, either, but it's close enough. The "in your ear" part was not in the original theatrical release, but was dubbed over his reference to an altogether different orifice when the film was edited for television.

4. I'm a surgeon, not a bricklayer!
    A. Doogie Howser
    B. Hawkeye Pierce
    C. Spuds MacKenzie
    D. Bones McCoy

D. Leonard "Bones" McCoy had many "I'm a doctor" or "I'm a surgeon" lines, but the bricklayer reference was uttered when he was ordered to repair a wound on the Horta, who was a silicon-based lifeform that pretty much resembled an animated rock. Kirk's reponse was "You're a healer," which apparently provided McCoy with the motivation he needed to whip up some quickcrete and slap a patch on the beastie.

5. Rosebud!
    A. Snake Plissken
    B. Charles Kane
    C. Pavel Chekov
    D. Mordecai Brown

B. Charles Foster Kane is probably better known as "Citizen" Kane, from the movie of the same name. It's a pretty boring movie, so I've only watched it once...but if I remember correctly, the term "rosebud" referred to some flower petals his daughter Zuzu gave him before he drove his car into a tree and jumped off a bridge to save Clarence Rutherford. Something like that, anyway.

For extra credit, what was Mordecai Brown's nickname? (Hint: He was a digitally-challenged baseball player.)

6. I'll have some toasted white bread please.
    A. Arthur Fonzarelli
    B. Peter Venkman
    C. Billy Jack
    D. Elwood Blues

D. Jake Blues ordered whole fried chickens, but his brother Elwood preferred white toast. They were scofflaw blues musicians who hated Illinois Nazis and performed charitable work for religious institutions.

For extra extra credit, name the actor who played the Cook county clerk to whom the Blues Brothers presented the money to save the orphanage. (Hint: He's also the common thread between the lines "You're gonna need a bigger boat," "Phone home," and "Why'd it have to be snakes?")

Good luck, and have a great day!