paperwork

So I'm back to paperwork, even though I know there's no way my
taxes will be done on time. I might have a better chance though
if I could keep away from sites like this, in which pennies are stacked
in many interesting ways in order to demonstrate engineering principles
and keep tax preparation avoiders like me entertained.

I knew I was in trouble when, instead of downloading forms from the IRS,
I found myself looking under the bed for my coffee can full of pennies.

Ed

Ed, originally uploaded by lumberjack.

Remember with joy a life well lived.

100_0817_1, originally uploaded by lumberjack.

100_0815_1, originally uploaded by lumberjack.

Gone North

I guess I'll be off on the funeral trip in a few hours. Sheesh, I only really
worked two days this week. Two days of real work, anyway. Paperwork is
work too but it's not the same as getting out there with a chainsaw and
punishing nature.
Now it's gloomy and drizzling, which seems right for a funeral. If anything
could seem right for a funeral. Wake tonight funeral tomorrow morning. I'll be
sharing a room with a friend who flew in from Hawaii. Yikes, unless he hooks
up with someone from the wake. Nah, we're grown-ups now, that probably won't
happen. Oh, also, lucky for me, he sprang for the room with the nonsmoking
hairdryer.

Next Meeting

Darnit. I was hoping we would have more meetings of the
Used-Up Hippie Society before this one. It's Ed's funeral
this time. Which, we knew was coming, only I was looking
for it to be a few years or at least months down the road.
Not days down the road dammit.

Just dammit. So now it's time to get the black suit cleaned again.
Plus even the hotels are going to be a challenge. Here's what I
came up with:

2 Queens - Smoking Hairdryer-hbo Or Sho
-clk Radio-shampoo Inviting Comfortable
And A Great Value AAA Rate
Id Required For AAA And CAA Members Only
Valid Member Id Reqd At Checkin

So I have to share the room with two queens and a smoking hairdryer?
Man they make you jump through hoops to get the discount rate. But I guess
I can put up with it if I get the $70/night rate. Sure. And the queens
can have the radio-shampoo -- I'll bring my own.

Even more friends will be coming this time. Some from far away -- but
this is just about the most crapful way to meet them that there could
possibly be.

Sunny Day in the Forest

What a fine day it is. Sun is out, birds tweeting, the whole
mother nature thing, only no bugs yet. A perfect day for staying
home and doing the books. I do get to walk out back once in
awhile. I took the dogs out to lie in the sun. (which was an
experiment really.... the one pup has gotten so chubby, I wasn't
sure there would be enough sun to cover one whole side of her)
She's out there now, snoring, and only walking over to the window
from time to time to make sure nobody has taken her kibbles.
Hope it's sunny where you are. Go put the sun on your face, sun
screen be damned. Summer is waking.

the funeral

Some blogs are reporting that President Carter was passed
over for the official delegation to PJP's funeral. But
Reuters reports that he was invited:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush will join President Bush's delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the White House said on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will also be part of the official U.S. delegation to Friday's funeral.

Former President Jimmy Carter was asked to join the delegation, but he will not do so, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. The White House declined to explain the reason.

The president and first lady plan to leave for Rome on Wednesday.

Hmmm. Wonder what really happened? President Jemmy had, and has, a lot of bad
ideas and I imagine he wouldn't be the funnest guy to travel with, but I've
always admired him just a little. I mean, he *is* a sincere guy. I say: if you
don't want him to go, just invite him but tell him the wrong airport. "Oh Jimmy, we
waited and waited, but the plane couldn't stay on the runway forever."

next pope

Not that anyone has asked me, but I'd bet the next pope
is from Latin America. (no brainer... they already speak
Latin down there, that's got to be an advantage)

Piercings

After years of trying to avoid having metal
pierce my skin, I may finally have found an acceptable exception.
From Ananova:

Artist invents pierced glasses

A Dallas artist has had permanent glasses pierced through the bridge of his nose.

James Sooy, 22, came up with the idea because his specs were constantly slipping down his nose.

He and a friend designed the piercing, which features magnets so Sooy can take the lenses off to bathe and sleep.

He wants to offer a model for sale by June and patent the pierced glasses.

Elayne Angel, medical co-ordinator for the Association of Professional Piercers, said the idea was eye-catching but impractical.

"I imagine putting those on and taking those off is going to be difficult, especially to try to put it on yourself," she said.

John Paul II

It doesn't look like he will be with us much longer. The whole
world benefited from his time here.

Scheduling Problems

I was looking for April Fools pages on the www but
I gave up; I can't tell what's fake anymore.
Here's one from News of the Weird:

The executive director of Chicago's New City YMCA was fired in December following a major scheduling snafu. The facility's pool had been reserved for a kids' swim meet beginning on a Sunday morning at 7 a.m., but the facility had also been reserved (for Saturday overnight, until 8 a.m. Sunday) for a ball and fashion show for transsexuals. Parents arriving with their kids had to pass gaudily dressed men on their way to the locker rooms and allegedly found the floors littered with cigarette butts and condoms. [Chicago Sun-Times, 12-20-04]