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Chicken Scratches
January 8th, 2010
Guess when I got a new computer...
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August 2nd, 2009
From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basan.
Basan is a fowl-like bird illustrated in the Ehon Hyaku Monogatari.
According to the description on the illustration, it resembles a
large chicken and breathes ghost-fire from its mouth. It lives in the
mountains of Iyo Province (today Ehime Prefecture).
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January 19th, 2009
Kittens on a Computer Chair
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November 9th, 2008
Yet Another Avatar
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April 19th, 2008
New Role-playing Game
I am starting a new role-playing game. It takes place on a world
where human came to the planet roughly 1,200 years ago, but somehow
lost technology and had to rebuild from scratch. Most of the humans
are just that, human, but a small minority are very powerful Mages.
Two countries, the two superpowers, are about to go to war over
land that has been fought over for centuries, but now there may be
artifacts from the original colonists on that land so they are much
more serious about owning that bit of mountain. The game takes place
in the city-state of Aberdeen, a place mostly ignored until now;
except Aberdeen controls a canal both side want access to, badly.
- Write
Up!
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March 23rd, 2008
Another LOL Cat
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March 22nd, 2008
New LOL Cat
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February 24th, 2008
Dumb Question
- What would happen if the Borg assimilated tribbles?
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January 10th, 2008
Not a Cat, but a Chicken!
- http://www.worth1000.com/emailthis.asp?entry=316793
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January 4th, 2008
Another LOL Cat
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October 27th, 2007
My First LOL Cats
- Enjoy...
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January 7th, 2007
Filk
Birka Court
by Toriijima Tohaku (mka
Robert Schaeffer)
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a
tale,
A tale of a fateful court.
That started right at six P
M,
And would not be too short.
The king was a mighty
fighten’ man,
The queen his fair consort.
Five peerages were
set that day,
For a four hour court, a four hour court...
The
heralds started getting hoarse,
Their voices had to mend.
After
thirty AoAs it seemed that:
The awards would not end;
The
awards would not end.
The court took until ten P M
their
Majesties cut it “short”.
With Pelicans, the Laurels
too,
His Majesty, and the Queen,
The royal guard, the heralds
mute and without voice,
Here at the Birka Court.
If you didn’t figure out the tune, it is to the Gilligan’s
Island Theme Song.
This parody © Robert Schaeffer, 2007.
Rights to perform granted freely, though I ask that if you plan to
perform at an event I am at, let me know. If not, let me know how it
went. Rights to distribute also granted, provided this copyright is
distributed also.
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December 14th, 2006
Our Friends: The Safety Rail
You don’t realize how important safety rails are until you play
a video game based on Star Wars and fall, and fall, and fall.
Though, I swear the computer-controlled Obi-Wan pushed Jar-Jar
more than once.
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November 30th, 2006
It Will Be Glorious
In an old column about Mac OS X, by Andy Ihnatko, he summarizes
his feeling about the NeXT/Apple merger as:
It will be glorious.
But...
This is a favorite phrase of Worf’s; he says it only when he is
about to do something that will completely restore the honor and
former glory of both the Empire and his household, and return peace
to the galaxy; or when he’s about to do something unbelievably
stupid.
As an example of completely stupid, say this in your best Worf
voice:
My plan is this: Commander Data will load me into
Torpedo Bay Three and then fire me at the Borg Collective. My massive
bony forehead will tear through at least eleven decks of their ship,
after which I will engage each of the ninety-thousand Borg in single
combat. It...will...be...
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October 20th, 2006
Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat-Boat
Ekk’s boat, the Merganser, had her maiden voyage. All went
amazingly well. I am one of the wool-covered bumps in the middle.
Site
of just the boat!
Barb’s
LJ
Elinor’s LJ
Part 1
Elinor’s LJ
Part 2
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September 6th, 2006
Sleep Apnea and SCA Camping
I have a Bi-PAP machine and I like to camp in the Society for
Creative Anachronism (SCA). The problem is that there are rarely
outlets at these events (or at least to where I want to camp), so I
bought a system to power my machine. This is how it went and what I
have learned or at least been told.
My setup is an 80 Amp-Hour deep-cycle sealed AGM battery. It is
big and heavy, but it will run my machine for three nights dropping
to about 50% charge, or 12.2 volts. It might run for more nights, but
I was told to not let it go under 12.0 volts or that might damage the
battery. I am not sure of this fact, but since three days gets me
through most SCA events except Pennsic, and at Pennsic three days
means I only need to recharge once (I usually go for one week), I am
using this as a working theory.
I went with a type that is sealed since it does not require water
and does not spill acid if tipped.
I was told that a smaller battery that would only run a night
would not be able to handle the amperage required, which is why I
chose to use one big battery rather than two small ones. I have a
cart for it. This is important.
I am estimating that my machine draws 20 watts. It is rated for
higher, but only needs to draw that much for my pressure. Knowing how
many watts your machine draws at your setting is helpful. Power, or
wattage, is voltage times amperage. So, at 20 watts and 12 volts, I
need 1.667 amps. With an 80 amp-hour battery this means I can run it
(in theory) for 80/1.667 = 48 hours. 48 / 8 means 6 nights. What I
suggest, if you know your wattage, is to do the math as I just did
then half the time to take into account not wanting to completely
discharge the battery as well as possible naps and other uses you
will put the battery to.
Next is an DC to AC converter called an inverter. It does not
produce a perfect sine-wave, but it is close enough for the Bi-PAP
machine. I found that the Bi-PAP really wants almost 13 volts DC, so
running it directly off a battery doesn’t work for more than a few
hours. Instead, I use the inverter to go from battery to 120 volts AC
and then plug the Bi-PAP in exactly as I do at home. I highly
recommend using this system since the inverter can handle the slowly
lowering voltage as the battery’s charge drops. The inverter will
also shut down if the battery gets too low, which will prevent the
battery from getting damaged. Usually they cut out at 10.5 volts
which may still result in some damage. Finally, you have a standard
outlet in case there is some reason someone needs to run something at
camp.
I then just plug my Bi-PAP into the inverter and it works.
I do not take the humidifier camping since that is less of an
issue in the summer and is a huge power draw.
As for a charger, I bought the one that the battery store
recommended. You want one that will recharge the battery in eight or
so hours, since that is how long you usually get at Pennsic.
I also recommend buying a cheap voltmeter to measure your battery.
Anything will do. Try to find out what voltages map to what levels of
charge, and what voltages you want to not let your battery go below.
Going forward, I have considered a solar recharging setup. Since
there is only one event I would need to recharge at and they make it
very easy to recharge, it didn’t seem worth the money.
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September 2nd, 2006
Things that Make Me Happy
- M&Ms.
- Sleeping well.
- Afternoon naps.
- Autumn.
- Discovering interesting things about a former coworker’s sex
life. Oh my! Wish I knew that when she was still in state.
- Soy sauce.
- Finishing cleaning something and it is all nice and clean and I
can enjoy it and not have to think about it.
- Backrubs.
Podcasts.
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August 20th, 2006
Back from Pennsic
I am back from Pennsic. It was great.
So, we left Saturday pretty early in the day which made the trip
out there very nice and easy. We were on the road by 10:30 and got to
a motel close to the site before 10:00 in the evening. Slept and was
then in good shape to set up Sunday. That rocked.
Sunday we set up.
We camped in a corner of Panther
Vale’s area. They rock also. Thanks for helping make Pennsic
fun.
So, from here on out the actual days get fuzzy. I had a very bad
case of Pennsic Attention Deficit Disorder. But, I napped a lot,
except that in terms of total hours of sleep I think I averaged about
7 hours out of every 24. Four or five at night and two or three
during the day.
The weather was the best I have ever seen a Pennsic with only one
mildly hot day.
I caught up with a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in years, which
was nice. Swapped e-mail and such. Got hooked on a period Arabic
toothbrush/tree-root thing which I am going to start using not just
for camping.
Swam, napped, socialized, ate, napped some more.
Ran into a few random people who turned out the be the
sister-in-law of someone I know or something like that. Small world
for an event with over 11,000 people.
Discovered that I give good backrubs. Had at least one person tell
me she had almost fallen asleep and another say, “I have never had
a professional massage before.”
That was nice.
Got in a glow-stick fight one night that ended with glow-stick
juice splattered over people. That was really cool, actually. Don’t
get it in your eyes.
Took a class from a guy
in how to kiss hands. Best class ever.
Didn’t burn or blister, though I have a Penssic medallion shaped
tan line.
Ran into lots of people with C-PAPs or Bi-PAPs and batteries.
Compared notes. I am going to look up some of their sites this week.
I want to make a household of people with C-PAP or Bi-PAPs and call
it Clan Darth Vader. I doubt that will pass.
Tent and all that worked great. That was a relief.
The drive home was uneventful, which was good.
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July 4th, 2006
New England Weather
Summer: Rain. Warm.
Fall: Rain. Cool.
Winter: Snow. Cold.
January 18th, 2006
Childish Meme
Name 5 things that you adore secretly (or publicly) but think are
childish.
- Trying to use logic with my cats.
- Danny Phantom and Fairly Odd Parents.
- Chickens!
- Paying my boss a dollar to throw himself bodily against his
office wall, the one he shares with his boss’s office.
This site.
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November 4th, 2005
Rush Limbaugh
Wow. I was looking for information about how much Rush distorts
things. I didn’t realize it was this crazy.
Do not follow this link if
you agree with him.
In other news, I had my surgery but not much has improved. Sigh.
Kitten is still hyper.
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October 11th, 2005
Sick
Well, just over two weeks to surgery. At least I can see if I can
get comments to work with Chicken Scratches.
- Oh, and the movie Spirited Away totally rocks.
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October 4th, 2005
Music
Oh.My.God.
September 27th, 2005
Comments Followup
For those that noticed a broken link with comments and the link
page, I draw your attention to the line in the last entry that I have
made in italic.
Mood: In pain because my cat just botched a leap-on-lap roll and
left claw marks on my leg. Didn’t even know she was there.
September 26nd, 2005
I Now Have The Ability to Take Comments
I am using LiveJournal as a way to wrangle comments on articles
here. I may add the same for Chicken Scratches. But, frankly, I am
right now too fried to even test what I have done. That is where
you people come in. Enjoy.
September 22nd, 2005
No One Else Has Said This
Flying Spaghetti Monster is obviously the Logrus.
If any part of that makes no sense, well, read Roger Zelazny’s
Amber series and go to this
web-page.
But, no one else has said this so I am the first. See?
September 17th, 2005
Priorities
From
the LA Times:
Bill Kristol, another prominent conservative, recently
told the New York Times, “I think the Clinton administration would
have done a better job in handling Hurricane Katrina, but I’m also
glad Bush is president and not a Democrat.”
Uh, why?
September 13th, 2005
Tony is a Genius
Tony discovered that if you take:
WEEKEND 2 Saturday, September 10: Cleavage Contest
http://www.kingrichardsfaire.net/
You can make an anagram (ignoring the numbers) and get:
W.
Ave! Fact, me awkward kingly Scepter rises when she pretend at being a Tudor tarte.
--C.
September 12th, 2005
Riding Cat!
Once again, Bertha proves she is a master of Photoshop:
September 9th, 2005
Animusic
Okay kids, review time. I just got a new DVD called
Animusic. I have tried to
describe this to people and failed miserably. So have others.
It is amazing beyond words.
Let me describe how I stumbled upon this. I was channel-surfing and
hit one of their animations on NHPR. It was cool and I liked the
music so I kept watching. The next animation came on. My jaw hit
the floor and stayed there. It was amazing. No, we need a better
word for amazing than amazing. (When you get the DVD, this was
“Pipe Dreams.”)
You see the music. Really. Every note does something different on
the screen, so you can see every instrument and every note. In some
animations there are details I still haven’t caught.
My favorite animation is “Future Retro.” The music is awesome,
but what makes this above and beyond is the robotic drummer gadget
(wow) and the “main theme laser” (major wow). If you look
closely there are indicator lights, inside the well the laser
emerges from, that go on and off in synch with the laser.
Run out and get this, unless you are my niece, in which case wait
until Christmas.
September 8th, 2005
Domain Name!
I finally shelled out and got FireBreathingChicken.com! Yay
me!
August 26th, 2005
Why it is Not a Good Idea to Pet Iorek
August 18th, 2005
My Next Car
August 13th, 2005
Stripey McCeltic
Bertha
made me this great sock-kitty! His name is Stripey McCeltic. Notice
his T-shirt.
June 12th, 2005
What is the SCA?
I am in a Medieval Re-enactment group called the Society
for Creative Anachronism. I am in the East
Kingdom in the Barony
of Stonemarche. I will be posting pictures I take at these
events here. Oh, yeah, I got a new kick-ass camera!
May 22nd, 2005
New Cool German Word
Atomalterskatze
Cat of the atomic age!
May 22nd, 2005
Ziegelsteinscheißehaus
I have found the greatest German word ever!
Ziegelsteinscheißehaus
Find out what it means.
May 17th, 2005
Fire Breathing Dino-Chicken
Bertha
made me a fire breathing dino-chicken, shown here in its native
habitat. Beware its fiery breath! His name is Herbie.
May 14th, 2005
Socially Aware Chickens
Get your socially
aware chickens!
May 6th, 2005
Home Uses for Lightsabers
I bet you’d never think of the home uses for a lightsaber,
well here
ya go, and here.
May 5th, 2005
Why I Like Macs
So, some people were sitting around talking about spy-ware
on their Windows machines. One person had to totally reformat his
hard-drive to get rid of it all. Another only had to reinstall
everything. They had antivirus software running.
So, at a break in the stories, I pipe up, “I ran my antivirus
scan.”
Pause.
“Um, that’s all I’ve got. It didn’t find anything.”
May 1st, 2005
International Respect for Chickens Day
Yes, Wednesday is International Respect for Chickens Day. I
like their suggestions
for activities.
April 26th, 2005
Icons!
Bertha made icons of Betsey, herself, and myself. Pretty
cool!
Not much else new. No I.V. in my arm any more. Yay!
April 21st, 2005
New colors!
Thanks to Betsey
for her help and to Bertha for tweaking the logo! Yay!
April 19th, 2005
World’s Greatest T-shirt
The world’s greatest T-shirt is here.
Be sure to click on the larger image.
Today seems to be another National Drive Like You Are a Kitten and
There Might Be a Small Bird Under Your Brake Pedal Day. It must be
the warm weather.
So, I hope people like the new colors. They are cheerful and that
is good. The new logo looks very happy, like breathing fire is the
best job ever a chicken can have. Maybe it is. Most fire-breathing
things are grumpy, from dragons to Godzilla.
April 16th, 2005
Recovering
Well, as you may or may not know, I am recovering from
pneumonia and an antibiotic resistant sinus-infection. After about
ten days of a new I.V. antibiotic I think I may actually be turning
the corner. Yay me! Yay Fortaz the antibiotic.
April 15th, 2005
Welcome Back!
Well, it has been a while, but Fire Breathing Chicken is
back! Yay!
Now, I have someplace to write down all the wacky dreams I
have that I can’t bore my coworkers with, which is news since I
now have coworkers. I am doing automated web testing at EBSCO. You
have either heard of EBSCO or don’t care.
I want to thank Bertha
for her help with the logo, which I then stole all the colors from
to make this page.
Oh, yeah, I also got a Mac Mini which is really nice.
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