UPDATE III: Ash fall alert from the weather geeks.

UPDATE II: I had tossed around the idea of luring a virgin to the rim of the crater, but decided against it. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm really not worried about survival or anything. It's merely the hassle of prepping the car for a 6,000-mile road trip. I'm hoping the ash fall is minimal.

UPDATE: Ash cloud at 50,000 feet.

I'm eight days away from the road trip of a lifetime, and now the angry fire god down the street blows up.

AK Volcano Observatory.

Let's hope the ash is headed elsewhere.

Having some issues uploading new photos... when that's fixed, the blogging will resume.

I'm back from Del Boca Vista. There were 136 comments in the queue for me, all but one of them were spam.

The curious thing -- and I'm clueless on how these spammers and spambots operate -- 122 of the 135 bogus comments were posted (in vain) to four entries. All four of those entries had a title with a number spelled out. Entries titled Hundred-yard Stare or Thirty-four get spammed disproportionately.

When I post photos of birds, I put the species name (in Latin) as the title, and I've never been spammed in those entries. Everything else gets a random spam comment here and there.

I guess I could stop spelling out numbers. Then again, all comments are subject to approval, and when 90% of all the garbage comments are in a few posts, it's easier to delete them en masse.

Any web geeks have any idea why that happens? It's not like their comments are getting through on those posts. Perhaps some automated program just locks on to them.

One of these days I'll figure out some software solution to spam. For now, there's always the anti-spam hardware.

I'm thirty-four today.

And I'm starting to lose my girlish figure.

(link-o-rama of blogworthiness in the extended entry)

Continue reading "Three-four"

The story is old (from mid-April) but I hadn't seen this photo before.

The croc bit the veterinarian's arm off as he tried to apply an anesthetic. One question -- Umm, was the tranq gun not working or something? Actually, reading further it states they tried to fire a pair of bullets into the croc, but the bullets didn't penetrate the thick skin. Seems like they need a bigger gun.

I hereby resolve to not complain about my job for the rest of the year.

There's an interesting article about a tragic fire in Vermont in this months Firehouse Magazine.

Read the whole thing. Then check to make sure you have both ionozation and photoelectric smoke detectors.

(via my older brother Jim, who tipped off our old man, who sent it this way...)

Someone out in Wyoming found an orphaned coyote pup.

You have got to see it to believe it. Probably the best blog I've visited in a while.

(via Uncle)

Evil beaver.

I read this book in Flori-duh this winter.

Turns out the radioactive kid is now allegedly the radioactive 31-year old. If it's true, he might end up needing a lead-lined coffin.

Hat tip to my old man, via e-mail.

In that warm California sun.

Blogging will be extremely light. Headed out to southern California in a few hours.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

My phone is acting a little weird... can't access my voice mail, so I might be a little late in getting back to you.

I'm working the next two nights, so I won't be around anyway.

Retired Brigadier General James Stewart of the US Air Force Reserves would have turned 99 today.

Continue reading "James Stewart"

Who was the old Met announcer that was born on the 13th? I remember as a kid there'd always be talk of triskaidekaphobia...

Perhaps it was Steve Zabriskie.

Here's a few Friday the 13th links:

Here's the scoop on the number 13...

Microsoft Office will skip from version 12 to version 14. Really.

I think that's silly.

Will it blend?

I'm partial to this one.

[via the Comedian]

I linked to Light Infusion once before...

...I'll probably do it again, too.

Head to his page, and keep clicking on the image to see the next one.

I finally got around to tweaking a few things with the templates, and figured I'd toss in some links.

Continue reading "Site Maintenance"

Hypothetically, if you won a contest where you received an all-expense paid trip to the sporting event of your choice, where would you go? Did I mention you could bring three friends?

Now, I know my old man would pick one of the big golf events. Has to be in the US, so "86" the trip to Saint Andrews.

The Mets have a good shot at making the World Series, so that's a choice.

I'd pass on the Super Bowl, since I'd miss all the commercials.

The Pro Bowl in Hawai'i? In the past week alone we've had temperatures around -18°F, and wind chills near -40°F. I might skip the game and hang out on the North Shore.

I've never been much of a fan of college sports, but I can imagine some folks picking the Rose Bowl, or the NCAA Final Four, or some big rivalry game.

There's the US Open for tennis, the Stanley Cup finals for hockey, the ESPN X-games to name a few. Heck, I'd be tempted to check out the NCAA Division I wrestling championships.

Continue reading "An interesting choice"

The story of a WWII vet who lost his wallet and had it returned sixty years later. [via Pass the Ammo]

Life is hectic right now. Substantial blogging to resume in a few days.

In the meantime, ask yourself what you'd want this bird to mimic. It's almost too strange to believe.

I was wondering, if I teach that bird to say something vulgar, and it constantly repeats that word or phrase, will other Lyrebirds pick up on it? And will still more pick it up from the second set of birds, and so on?

It could echo in the jungle indefinately.

Just a few links for you to enjoy, in the extended entry...

Continue reading "Just a few links"

I love when folks make fun of those motivational posters. And I hate zombies. This is too cool. [via Soft Green Glow]

The other day I started a post, but never got around to adding the links. So here it goes...

Continue reading "Thirty-three, continued..."

I've got a few links to put up, but I think I'll have some lunch first. Check back later.

The Tightwad Bank is closing its doors. Or more correctly, it's closing its drive-thru. The lobby was closed years ago.

Continue reading "Tightwad Bank to close"

My new job has taken up a bit of my free time. Blogging will resume this weekend, with plenty of topics to cover.

Continue reading "Neglect"

I'll get back to some photo-blogging in a day or two. In the meantime...

Continue reading "Quick Link-o-Rama"

My website is one year old today.

Continue reading "Resurgemus: the first year"

I went to see the Motor City Madman last night at the Alaska State Fair. How was the concert?

Continue reading "Uncle Teddy and Pluto"

#1 reason why my blog is better than a tankful of tropical fish...

Continue reading "Number One Reason"

This is my buddy Beetle. He looks just like Buddy Holly.

I've been meaning to post a big link-o-rama, and now that I've got an hour to kill, here it goes. A few of these links have some colorful language, if that's a concern of yours.

I've posted a few photos of strange statues that I have seen, but here's a huge collection at haha.nu. There's a ton of images, and it might take a minute or two to load. It's worth the wait.

Paw-paw is on vacation, and found a unique example of problem solving in Waco, Texas. How do you widen a road without cutting down a huge tree next to the curb? As my older brother Jim says, "What do you call someone who graduates at the bottom of their engineering school? A state highway engineer." I'm sure folks who build and repair roads get little credit for their hard work, and constant criticism over every little thing. Stuff like this doesn't help, though.

Dr. Wadcutter finds no intelligent life at a local eatery. At Wal-Mart in Louisiana years ago, I overheard an obese teenage girl tell her obese mother that, "Wal-Mart is good exercise, ma!"

This essay was posted eons ago, but I just found it the other day.

Incompetent Gun-wielding Criminals: 0
Applesauce Toting Senior Citizens: 1
Bruce has the details.

I guess some folks with XM and/or Sirius have had some wiring problems, turning their vehicles into small FM transmitters. Insignificant Thoughts details how listeners of NPR have had their thoughtful, progressive news analysis interrupted by Howard Stern. Heh. The full story is here...

Cop's Cop talks about gun safety. And Negative Ghostrider ponders to see, or not see, the new 9/11 movie by Oliver Stone. Personally, I'm not an Oliver Stone fan, so I'll probably pass. Or maybe wait until it's out on DVD.

A guy from work caught a 65lbs King Salmon not too long ago. He followed that up by having a black bear get inside his car and tear up the leather seats.

I remember a guy I knew in Hawai'i who was afflicted with multiple sclerosis. During a discussion of natural remedies for all sorts of ailments, I asked if he had heard of Bee Venom Therapy. Bee stings are used to treat the symptoms of MS [more here].

He had heard of it, and although he hadn't considered trying it, he mentioned he was attacked by a swarm in his youth. If I remember the story, the swarm nearly killed him; wasps or hornets, or something along those lines. He thought the great number of stings he received that day might have had something to do with his success in battling MS. I don't remember the specifics, but most folks who had MS as long as he had were crippled by the disease; he was still walking and driving, although things were starting to head downhill a bit for him.

Of course, it's anecdotal. Check the extended entry for another great story.

Continue reading "Salt water, honey bees, and spuds"

I stumbled across MyHeritage.com the other day. They have a facial recognition service that lets you compare a person's photo with 3,200 or so famous folks. I decided to take some of the portraits and snapshots I've taken [and a few other mugshots on my hard drive] and see what came about.

Continue reading "My Heritage dot com"

I'm not big on blonde jokes, but this one is funny.

[via Aught Six in Uncle's comments.

Blogs with a Face. Can you find me?

...DOCTOR WADCUTTER!

prescribing big fat meplats* of wisdom.

Congrats.

Continue reading "They call him..."

The other day I wondered if one could blog from the afterlife. As a matter of fact, you can.

You can also grant interviews.

Priceless.

Continue reading "A word to the wise..."

A while back I heard a radio interview with the author of Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World-Record Largemouth Bass. Seems the world record Micropterus salmoides was landed in June of 1932. Recently, my buddy and I at work were discussing if someone would ever break that very record. We were doubtful.

Continue reading "Big Fish"

I'm not very knowledgable about Able Danger, but I do enjoy reading A.J. Strata. I'm not sure if this whole Able Danger thing is some sort of X-file worthy of the Art Bell Show, or not. It'd be more entertaining it were over something trivial, like alien abduction, rather than on matters of national security.

Some folks were discussing whether Vice President Cheney's delay in notifying the press after his hunting accident was similiar to Senator Ted Kennedy's delay in notifying the authorities after driving his car off a bridge in 1969. I think one major contrast: Kennedy's passenger didn't survive.

On a lighter note, if you've seen this costume, worn by a member of the press to mock the Vice President, then you'll get a kick out of this photoshop. [both via the Insta Dude]

And I can't say that I'll miss the guy, but it's a shame he got blow'd up like that. [via D.B. at Volokh]

Continue reading "Able Danger, bird shot, and clowns"

Just after the stroke of midnight today my site meter raced stumbled past the FIVE THOUSAND mark. Since the 5,000th visitor came here via Wadcutter, head over and get yourself some big fat meplats of wisdom.

In honor of this great moment, I will now post a five thousand word essay on the theme celebrate.

Continue reading "A Milestone for Resurgemus!"

I'm finally getting around to sprucing up the ol' blogroll.

Continue reading "Some additions"

Lately I've been whining about the sub-zero temperatures here in Anchorage. I'll stop now.

Continue reading "I'll quit my complaining"

I'm looking for some solution to all the trackback and comment spam. I'm going to try upgrading my version of Movable Type.

Continue reading "DIE spammers DIE"

Click on the icon to the right to head over to the 2005 Weblog Awards category where this blog was named a finalist. You can vote for me once per day.

I haven't had a chance to post much in the last day or so. I had a huge certification test at work this afternoon, and had to adjust my sleep schedule from the midnight shifts I've been working. Needless to say, it's been a hectic week.

Continue reading "Vote early, vote often!"

Resurgemus has been nominated for a Weblog Award. The polls will open tomorrow, December 5th.

You'll be able to vote once a day, and you'll need Macromedia Flash installed [necessary to prevent cheaters swarm-botting the system].

Look my my site under Best of the Top 6751 - 8750 Blogs...

Continue reading "Resurgemus makes the cut!"

If you head over to the Weblog Awards page and drop a comment nominating www.resurgemus.com, I'd appreciate it.

And while you're poking around the catagories page, perhaps you'd consider nominating some of your favorite blogs. If you're not sure who to nominate, here's my personal non-biased voter guide:

Continue reading "Shameless Self Promotion"

The Commander -in-Chief visited Elmendorf last week. The other day he swung by Ulaanbaatar for a bit. Via Registan, check out Gateway Pundit, Asiapundit, and Coming Anarchy.

Continue reading "The Boss"

So the Giants' game is over. Perhaps the Giants should run a hurry up offense, at least for a few drives during the game. Manning has led a game winning or game tying drive in the final minute four of the last six weeks, minus only the blowouts against the 'Skins and the 49'ers. Why not once a quarter just run the no-huddle offense?

The Fire Ant Gazette runs a photo of an oversized rattler. I wonder if the folks who campaign against fur have similar feelings towards turning a nine foot rattler into a wallet. Just curious.

Personally, I'm not afraid of snakes like my buddy Raymond. Then again, I'm in Alaska.

Kevin at Smallest Minority reminds us that National Ammo Day is upon us. If you've got a gun, go out and buy some ammo on November 19th.

Via Cox & Forkum a story of some WWII vets from the USS Melvin trying to get a ship named in honor of their Skipper, retired Adm. Barry Atkins.

Publicola and TFS Magnum discuss recent pirate attacks. Another case of disarming those who abide by the law, thus making them vulnerable to the lawless. Compare and contrast with these two stories from Alphecca. When someone is already in your house [or along your port-side] your options are limited.

I bought a digital camera this weekend; a Canon Digital Rebel XT. It won't completely replace my Reagan-era Minolta X-700, but as I get used to it, I think I'll probably shoot the majority of my photos with it. Might take me a little while to figure it all out.

And I definately won't be taking long exposure photos with it. That's one discipline where the old manual-everything Minolta wins. Not that I've been taking many long exposure photos lately. Tim calls me a whiner. He's right. Then again, my first few months in Arizona and Hawai'i I was complaining about the heat, but eventually got used to it. Give me a few more weeks [or months] and I'm sure I'll be adapted. I am amazed at how many people I see in short-sleeves here in Anchorage as soon as the temperature breaks 25°F. Probably the same people that complain about the heat [70°F] in July.

I think I'm going to take a Russian language class at one of the local colleges. There's a great deal of Russian culture here in Alaska, and most of the local schools have some Russian programs. In the meanwhile, I'm checking out Spoonful of Russian to help me get started.

A trip around the blogosphere -- click on the extended entry.

Continue reading "Around the Blogosphere"