Lusty Antarctic Icons!

Ah, Jacquelyn!

Here are the Antarctica icons you wanted from the source images you sent me. Most of them I merely cropped to the right size, others I had some fun with. I hope you like!

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( The Icy Glory of the South )

Just remember...

The sun does rise
after a night of darkness,
when nothing is certain
and demons appear,
one must remember-
they turn to ash
at morning's first light.

(C)2006jjp



I wrote this on the spot as a comment for someone who was feeling depressed.

Please allow me to put on my literary mask...

Did I ever tell you I finished A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby? kiwikat metaphorically slapped me in the face with it and said, "Read this, motherfunker!"

So I did.

The premise of A Long Way Down is that four people show up at the same rooftop on New Years Eve with the intention of plummeting to their deaths. Sound a bit macabre? No, not really. It's pretty funny actually, if on the blacker side of comedy.

Like other Hornby novels I've read, it was enjoyable. Nick is quirky and emotional, and no matter how absurd things get, it always feels plausible, with a certain amount of suspension of disbelief. And like a half-hour sitcom or 97% of Hollywood movies, it all comes together for a happy ending.

Considering this book was about suicide, that's probably a good idea.

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, as recommended by antarcticlust. I'm uber-picky about my fantasy, so I'm, of course, skeptical.

I grew up on the DragonLance series. Robert Jordan was good enough to get me hooked, but I no longer enjoy them like I used to, and now, like a junkie, I just fiend for a hit, but rarely get enjoyment out of it. I just have to know how it ends. I really enjoyed Raymond Feist for a while as well, but I lost interest after the first fifty-brazillion books. I can't stand to read Tolkien.

However, I am hopeful, though temporarily disappointed. I'm only like six chapters in, but so far every scene I've read feels like it's weird carbon-copies from different books. But I'll keep an open mind.

And pray.

Got a problem? Eat some acid!

BASEL, Switzerland -- When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he deploys a powerful mind expanding tool -- LSD-25.

"It must be changing something about the internal communication in my brain. Whatever my inner process is that lets me solve problems, it works differently, or maybe different parts of my brain are used, " said Herbert, 42, an early employee of Cisco Systems who says he solved his toughest technical problems while tripping to drum solos by the Grateful Dead -- who were among the many artists inspired by LSD.

"When I'm on LSD and hearing something that's pure rhythm, it takes me to another world and into anther brain state where I've stopped thinking and started knowing," said Herbert who intervened to ban drug testing of technologists at Cisco Systems.

Herbert, who lives in Santa Cruz, California, joined 2,000 researchers, scientists, artists and historians gathered here over the weekend to celebrate the 100th birthday of Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered LSD here in 1938. The centenarian received a congratulatory birthday letter from the Swiss president, roses and a spontaneous kiss from a young woman in the crowd.

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