Summer of Alana: August 2007

Budget Travel-athon Suggestions

So I am planning on entering an article for the Budget Travel Magazine, but what I need from you dear readers is a suggestion of my Ideal TRIP. What would this be???? Please make it as fantastical, but a real, or rumored real location as possible. I will share with you what I enter, but I need a suggestion, there are so many possibilities that maybe one of you will spark an idea. If I get in, I will buy you a VERY VERY expensive dinner, if not something else awesome.

PLEASE- IDEAS... right MEOW!

here's a pretty picture made by me to spark ideas: One is me being a tour guide in Taormina, Sicily showing the acoustics of a Roman Theater, and other is just pretty.

The Barney Blog

In Ode to Chris Miller who once wrote for 'So I married your Mother', and whom Dougie Howser aka Neil Patrick Harris really didn't want to leave the show, I provide Barney's Blog- which is hilarious. check out the side links as well.

more later....

Re: Man Vs. Wild, Bear Grylls is a Phony

Survivor Man Ultimate Challenge

So there have been reports on NPR and the YouTube clip below about the validity of Bear Grylls outdoor skills. Whether he sleeps in a Best Western nightly or roughs it up on the jungle floor, I

would like to see you climb to the canopy of the Brazilian rain forest and not die.

Edward Michael 'Bear' Grylls is still my Hero. Get this, a little biography on my current British crush:

He broke his back in three places in a parachuting accident, and then recovered and two years later became the youngest Briton to climb Everest at 23. He was in the British SAS, basically the British navy seal, serving as a Sabre soldier, trained in unarmed combat, desert and winter warfare, combat survival, medics, parachuting, signals, evasive driving, climbing an

d explosives.

Evasive driving sounds like fun.

In 2007 Grylls announced he had broken a new world record by flying a paraglider over the Himalayas, higher than Mount Everest, having to cope with temperatures of -60C and dangerously low oxygen levels to reach 29,500 feet, almost 10,000 feet higher than the previous record of 20,019 feet.

Basically he is crazy...and he is crazy attractive.

Bear has his own website, It is now going to become a link on my page.

Bear lives on a converted barge on the Thames with his wife Shara and their two sons Marmaduke and Jesse.

Marmaduke is a great name.

He has several books and is writing some kids adventure books, and he looks quite dashing on the cover of many of these. *swoon*

This article provides some interesting tidbits about the Bear Grylls Hotel stays and the not as it seems nature of his tv shows. This is still the crazy ass though that squeezed elephant dung into his mouth for water, and gnawed on a zebra flank- which Cole states doesn't taste good- apparently Bear meat (Not grylls...) tastes like wet dog also.

So wouldn't the best show ever be like a Survivor 'survive off' between Les Straud

the 'survivor man' and Bear 'man vs. wild' where they have to compete and do the same tasks and see who could out survive the other the best? I think it would be as successful as a solid gold baby- which by the way the pinnacle of success.

Mom's idea was also that on the next season of Survivor either a reward we be to hang out with Bear or at the beginning each team gets either Bear of Lee for the first few days. Wouldn't that be awesome. Yeah I think so.

I also think there should be an International Be Bear Grylls Day. He's such a badass that he scores a solid rating of 'Chuck Norris' on the International Scale Of Badassery. And so we take today to celebrate 'Man Vs. Wild' and Bear Grylls by becoming him. Here are some tips:

Sad to say I didn't come up with this idea, but I approve and agree:

International Be Bear Grylls Day

(That salmon looks delicious by the by)

1. Go parachute into the most remote wilderness you can find.

2. Bring with you only a knife, a flint, and a water bottle.

3. If you get hot, take off your underwear and put them on your head. If you are still hot, pee on your underwear before putting them on your head.

4. If you get hungry, there are many things you can eat in nature, such as bugs, worms, grubs, spiders, rotten zebra meat, snakes, sheep eyeballs, raw bird eggs, turtles, raw fish, honey, rodents, and piranha (but only if you shot them with a bow and arrow that you made).

5. If you get thirsty, find a running stream or underground aquifer. If you can't find running water, you can drink the water off of fresh elephant turds or you can drink your own fresh pee.

6. Head towards bodies of water, that's where most people live. Bonus points for making a raft.

7. Climb up all the rocks and trees that you find, and mention the time you climbed Mt. Everest at least twice.

8. If you are on a volcanic island, and your shoe catches on fire, it's too hot to walk there. Find somewhere with less magma.

9. Take off your shirt whenever possible.

Also I would like to note an up coming segment called Look alikes. This is prompted by the fact that I think Nate Mylrea looks like Bear, and Kyle looks like Zach Braff- I'll have some pictures so you can compare!!

MEERKAT INTERLUDE

It's Friday! and you know what that means???!!! Meerkat Manor has new episodes.. woooooo. Actually I did start to Tivo this- much to papa McGee's dismay. He blows through Tivo and deletes all my programs, I mean who doesn't like 20 episodes of jeopardy and lots of old southparks?

Anyway, I have been a fan of nature shows ever since I was a little kid. For that matter I am obsessed with animals in general, especially the cute and fluffy ones. When I was little I used to claim to be an expert on animals- I probably was lying, but most people didn't know the difference.

Meerkats live in 'gangs' (sounds vicious) in South Africa and Botswana-- I think they secretly run the Diamond mines. Meerkats are also known in tribal lore as 'sun angels', which protect villages from the 'moondevil' which is believed to attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen. The word Meerkat is Afrikaans for Sea Cat or Swamp cat- but they claim this was a misdefinition. In reality the meerkat is a glorified mongoose. I think they look just like their North American counterparts the Prarie Dog.

Behavior wise, they act much like a wolf pack where only the dominant male and female reproduce, thus ensuring survival for their offspring with the collective help of the group. In Meerkat Manor the Dominant Male and Female of the Whiskers Family are Zaphod and Flower respectively. It appears that the Alpha male is not always the ultimate alpha. In the Whiskers family it appears that the group is Matriarchal, lead by Flower, whereas other groups shown on the show are definitely led by the male meerkat- like the Commandos' Hannibal- so named because he has one eye. I thought a good name for him would also be Admiral Nelson- like the British hero, you know- with one eye.

When Meerkats talk its called yodeling- crazy dutch Afrikaaners, and another interesting factiod is that the females who act as babysitters who are not allowed by the alphas to reproduce often lactate to feed the groups babies themselves. It takes a village I suppose. Sometimes groups or gangs will get too big and they will split getting lost and going to different shelters and thus sometimes the seperation becomes permenant. Also there are gangs of roving males that will sometimes attack a group, steal females, and in the Case of the Whiskers Family actually join

the group as the new Dominant males, Zaphod and Yossarian. Their brothers actually stole some of the beta females and created their own group called Gattaca.

The reason this call all be filmed is there is a current study being conducted call the Kalahari Meerkat Project which surveys the long-term ecological causes and evolutionary consequences in cooperative breeding of meerkat groups. Film crews use Fiber-optic cables to film some scenes- whihc is actually quite impressive as they can view behavior in the burrow.

The film crews were housed in specially-built sheds, where they stayed until the meerkats became habituated to the presence of humans in their territory. The meerkats modified their behavior when humans were around; for example, they would seek shelter from cold early morning winds on the lee side of a human, and sometimes sentry meerkats climbed onto people if there was no suitable natural high place- which I find funny.

The main groups of study are the Whiskers Led by Flower and Zaphod- and should anything happen to those two- their daughter Rocket Dog. The Lazuli (pronounced Laj-u-lye). The Commandos- lead by Hannibal and Nikita (love the names!)-- they are neighbors from Hell. Starsky- lead by the evicted Whiskers female Mozart and Carlos. Zappa- lead by Houdini.

Timon from Lion King is a meerkat, and the mascot of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Meerkat vs. Prairie Dog

The fat North American cousin of the Meerkat. I guess they don't even really look the same, but they dig holes and live in burrows and have a similar family structure, only live in much smaller 'towns' or colonies. Lewis and Clark called them 'Barking squirrels'. Prarie Dog tunnels actually help channel rain water back into the ground to prevent errosion. In zoos, inorder to get the prarie dogs out of their holes in the spring they have to use a vaccuum and suck them out hahaha- imagine rodents flying up a tube! They also have a habit in captivity of coming when called by name.

These guys while considered a pest by ranchers, actually provide beneficial results to cattle grazing land, clearing it of some of the grasses no

t preferred by cattle. They also are a staple in the diet of most areal predators of the west where they live. They do the same stand up sentry thing that meerkats do.

Native Americans of the Plains used to run their ponies through Prairie Dog fields, and those that didn't break their legs they would use as war horses.

The Prairie Dog Rapture ---->>>

The Long Awaited Friday Part Deux

I have been neglecting you, dear readers, much like Michael Vick Neglected to get sound proofing around his dog fighting ring. I love this picture by the way:

It is almost Friday as I write this, probably Friday when you read this, so I will be brief and summarize the rest of the weekend so I can get on to more fun posts.

After my chat with Officer Jerry, I drove home, got my licence (which I coincidentally lost last night- but that is another story...) and went down to the beach and played with Duff. More like I watched Duff play and talked hysterically to friends about what had just happened and how absurd I am for arguing with a cop. Then I ran into Nate Arnold's parents down there.... that was awkward, kind of, but I played it off well- and also took on Ace, Nate's puppy as a new test dog for my ever expanding non-business of training other people's dogs- simply to see if I can do it. Turns out when you get paid to do these things they are much more interesting. I am not being paid at the moment for anything I do but it is a learning process.

So after many a conversation and waaaay too long at the beach- I left at like 8pm, I went over to Bren's were we proceeded to chill, admire and make fun of his roommates absurd garden while playing Beirut waiting for Ian to get back from his date. His roommate Scott has about 10 different varieties of Tomatoes, Crops (i.e corn- some of it is inedible), and some other Herby things. I was impressed- probably more than I should have been. Also met Scott's girlfriend who is very cute and sweet and a classics major like me! I knew there was another one out there somewhere!!!

So said highlight of night, besides Kyle and I dominating on the Beirut table, which is extremely odd for me- because I lack the precision skills required for that kind of game. I normally overshoot, b

ut I must have been at the perfect level of intoxicated to gauge back the shot just enough to keep nailing them. Anyway, Kyle and I had a streak for a while.

After 'ruit we went to what I am going to now consider the best bar ever, solely because of this one factor: The beers come in monstrous Oktoberfest sized steins and cost $5.00 for all that. And that's like a quart of Mac and Jacks too- not like PBR. I imagine the PBR is only like 2.50 for something that size. It was amazing! I now am going to hang out there all the time. It is also walking distance from Bren and Andrew's and I can claim a couch. It is right around the corner from the Lockspot- where the Captains from Deadliest Catch hangout, and I imagine this place is frequented by them too, it is called Sloop i think-- you know, like a sailing vessel.

So highlight one of night- the enormity of the discovery of HUGE beverages. Highlight number 2 was a round of trivial pursuit that was so vigorous Tom, my partner (i think) passed out in a chair- but that's just because we were handily beating everyone....

By the way, the New Trivial Pursuit has nothing on the 70's version I have come to love where

the entertainment questions all revolve around the Tv Show Gunsmoke starring Burt Reynolds. The pieces in the new game are translucent which was a poor move. I thought I had decent eyesight until I started playing this game- brown and red pieces look the same. Basically I give it the 'Frown face of Doom' on the Alan-o-trameter of Fun- which is the penultimate source on the Fun Scale, closely following the CIA Secret World News Fun Scale of Not-So-Fun Countries- which rates "funness" by equating it with the current socio-political economic state of that nation. In terms of the CIA SWNFS of NSFC - The DPRC is not the bottom of the list; that honor belongs to the Beautiful but French owned nation of Wallis and Futuna. Not only is it French!, but well yeah- if it wasn't for the French laws, "when applicable" it would be a pretty nice paradise. Pacific island atoll with fishies and wild pua'a galore to feast on with some taro. Maybe I'll move there. Anyway, The 'Frown Face of Doom' on the Alan-o-trameter is not as bad as the 'Look of disgust most vile' but definitely not in the
"smile of shoveling sunshine' category. So all in all the New Trivial Pursuit is not necessarily worth playing, and that is saying a lot, because I love challenges of knowledge- guess I will have to settle for bar trivia night.

SATURDAY:

Woke up and went to this awesome little bakery called Besalu and got some tasty pastries. Turns out this is actually the name of a town in Spain in the Garrotxa region. That was twice in as many days as i have heard or seen the word Garrotxa. I don't think I ever knew a place existed called Garrotxa- I bought some cheese from the Cheesemonger that was from Garrotxa, and after looking at a postcard in the bakery, man I want to go- It looked absolutely gorgeous- but I think It deserves its own post, which I will get to maybe tomorrow. So I'll just give you a little taste with this picture:

So I was in the shower and I slipped and fell and banged my head. no biggy, didn't concuss myself- I don't think, but I started to feel really nauseous all of a sudden after that, so Tom Trzyna and Justin were nice enough to come pick me up and I was an honorary member of the Trzyna family for the day.- because my parents wanted someone to watch me and make sure I didn't die. We had Tea for Martha's Birthday and then we went to Ray's Boathouse, which is also were Jake works. I asked the waiter if he was working-in hopes we could score some free calamari, but he must have been upstairs.

Anyway, I had the King Crab Legs simply because I was curious. It was good- but well, I don't think I like it very much- I'll stick with my Dungeness. Part of the problem may have been that the water it was cooked in was heavily salted and it was just too much ocean water flavor for me to handle. But the claw meat was excellent. I need a post about the dungeness vs. king crab. yet another post for the future. So many ideas, but my laziness gland is in overdrive at the moment....

The Eventful Weekend (Friday) part 1

Where to begin. I guess I should start with Friday.

Friday:

I finished my finals in Econ, both Macro and Micro- with some stress and have a feeling I didn't do that awesome on them-but I was like whatever- It is done. So after class, I was headed down to the Mu.Shoe to make me some much needed mullah. I was in such a cathartic state that I thought why not add to the hilarity. I suited up and hopped on the SEGWAY- helmet and all. I don't know if it is classified as a vehicle or personal walking device? Anyway, riding into downtown E-town was hilarious. I have never laughed so hard. I was laughing so hard as I was cruising down main street I almost feel off. They are just so Nerdy and ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, they are perhaps one of the most awesome possessions one can own- but man, the hilarity of the situation just made me down right giddy. Here I was in a skirt and heels (and shiny iridescent blue helmet) trucking down 5th Ave, passing all these kids and old people out walking around on a sunny day shaopping, getting all kinds of awesome looks like they were saying, "what the hell is that?" "God I wish I had one", "Don't hit me"and "What the hell is that??!!". And let me tell you, these things can move. My brother-in-law got into an accident on it earlier this year where someone opened a car door into him as he was zooming by (because honestly who looks out for Segway traffic?) whereupon he flipped over the handlebars and over the car door. It would have been a sight to see, especially since my brother-in-law, Matt is like 6'5". I was in the store down the street and I heard it.....

Anyway, because of this I was just laughing hysterically. Basically you see people on Segways very rarely. I saw some guy in Redmond once with one, near where I adopted Duff--basically the point is that you get remembered as that Segway guy. Evan rode it the other week up to get his prescriptions. So I rolled into the store and gave Big Suz a lesson on how to ride it. She was in love with it. I need to take it down to her house and Show Big Jimmer aka Hime how to ride it- because he is the kind of guy that will just not even think its nerdy and just love it. I love the Wilsons.

So riding it back I stopped at the Pet store and Got Duff his Food and goodies which all fight amazingly into my backpack- and I rolled on home- the giddiness reaching new levels.

Got home- unloaded, needed something to calm me down, my back was starting to hurt again (which is never cool) so I opened the fridge and there was a blast from the past sitting on the shelf. What but a Mike's hard lemonade. Now I haven't had this stuff since high school when it was the most delicious thing ever- but I had just cleaned out the boat from Seafair and someone had left one, so I brought it home thinking it might get consumed if I had a party or something at some point. So I cracked that bad boy open, more because I wanted lemonade than I wanted a cocktail, sat down and watched something on Tivo- I forget what, and basically persuaded Duff to chill till I was done to take him to the Dog Beach.....

This is where the fun begins...

Alright. Situation was as follows: I just took meds for my back, had that gross/delicious Mike's, and now I was headed down to the beach. Well, I never take my wallet because I don't want to take my purse and have to leave it somewhere while I tend to Duff or keep it attached to me at all times- so sans wallet, plus a Dog and I'm off.

I turn down Pine St. as I usually do and as has been the case in recent weeks, the two block section where it connects with Edmonds Way is blocked off with a sign saying "Local Access Only". Well, I am a local and I want to use that road. wrong answer. Also you have to understand I do this all the time. The reason it is blocked off is because Ferry Traffic on weekends extends all the way past Pine, almost up to 8th sometimes (an absurdly long way). So I continue through the road block and then turn past ferry Traffic, like I do almost every other day when I take Duffy to the beach and start headed down the road. I am driving and I notice this guy behind me who is going really fast and then starts riding my tail. Well that irritates the hell out of me so I start speeding. again wrong manuever. Turns out it is a cop.

wait, it gets way better:

So I pull over into the parking lot where my favorite Thai place is, and roll down my window. That's right I don't have electricity in my car... up walks Officer Jerry (I asked him his name later in our convo). He asks me do I know why I was pulled over. I say Yeah I have a couple of Ideas. I was probably speeding because you were right behind me and that freaked me out, and I went through that street that specifically said Local Access. But I figured it just was meant for people not to cut in the Ferry line- not for locals like me- right get it, local access. I like playing kinda dumb.
He then informed me that wasn't the case, and the reason he was riding my tail was because Cops do that because it discourages people fleeing. I asked if people really did that a lot in Edmonds, the reputation of our town being one of old retired people, he replied that surprisingly it happened a lot. So he asked me for my license and registration. Ahhhh right. license. "Well, no actually I don't have my licence because I left it at my house up the street, because I was just popping down here with the pup." "Alright well do you have anything that can confirm who you are." I look around my car. "Well I have my cell phone?, you can call someone?" he just chuckles, I then grab my quiz from the floor of my car "here's a quiz from last week, it has my name..." "well let's see your registration and insurance"

Now here is where the hilarity really begins:

I open up my glove box (where these things normally live) and out falls about 100 pieces of paper.

Imagine this, literally I open the glove box and it explodes outwards with paper. The officer is so amused he just starts laughing. I search through papers from 1998, 2004, 2005 being the most recent one I can find. I hand him that so he has something to look at while I am still rummaging. I tell him that one is expired, but I know its in here somewhere. He is just looking at me laughing. so he takes my info, asks how old I am etc etc and makes me promise that when he looks it up in his database that this is me, etc etc. he does that, comes back and says, you realize your tags are expired. "Ah ha!" I quip "actually I have one more day!" I was supposed to have gotten then changed earlier in the week, but did I, of course not. "yeah, until 12 am tonight" more chuckling. so we chat for a while, and he suggests that I find the registration and insurance and whatnot and put it in a little bag in my glove box, and get rid of all the other stuff (and he informs me how much all of this would cost if he decides to give me a ticket-- it's like $700). I just say I am so sorry and he says that I remind him of his 23 year old son, to which I ask is his son attached. That's right.... "is your son attached?" (in retrospect I can't believe I did this-just thinking about it makes me crack up)

This was after we had been having a conversation for 1/2 hour while all this was going on about all the drunks in Edmonds, and how he, officer Jerry, broke up lots of nasty fights last week because of the Taste of Edmonds and I commented on how funny all the drunk 40 year old men in Tommy Bahama shirts were, and we were talking about all the new restaurants and bars opening, etc etc, exchanging jokes. The good news is he didn't give me a ticket. But seriously I speed, brake several laws (who knows how the mike's/ultram cocktail is hitting me now), Don't have my license, registration, or proof of insurance, and my tags are outdated to boot. Oh and I ask him if his son is available. Seriously, how did this happen!

Turns out his son has a girlfriend. Well was worth a shot.

Oh but the night is just beginning....

You Win Some You Lose Some

Apparently Brad found a job?!!!??? I haven't read his blog the past week because I have been unusually busy, but that all ends as of 1 pm tomorrow-- well more like 5 since I am working at the 'Shu. well more like 6 or 7 as I need to take Duff and myself for a run provided it isn't raining-- That SeaFair booze just won't go away! I need to get some new pics of him too-- cute a little well behaved monster that pup. We learned how to speak (kind of) and Bow (baby steps) today. I have trained him so i can point at dogs for him to chase at the beach though-- I was proud of myself about that- I swear he's part border collie or something herding, aside from Newf and Golden.

So the title of this post is not only in reference to my beloved Mariners-- Watashi-wa Kenji Johjima ski desku (I really Love Johjima *Peace-sign*!) in his native tongue (Phonetic spelling sorry, my computer doesn't have kanji), who seem to have lost the other day and I think are still behind those damn Angels, but more in reference to Brad's disappearing- AND the new appearance of Roast Patoni!. I shamelessly plug anything if it involves nepotism. All McGee's are funny- believe it, and love it.

So those of you at work, this means you Emily and maybe Crotty- for sure the only two people I know read this occasionally, you can see the often hilarious insights of my sister and my crazy niece, complete with freak outs, flip outs, tantrums, hugs, and utter destruction. Oh the joy of children? yes, the question mark is on purpose.

I leave you with some dear thoughts of our beloved Jack Handy:

What is it that makes a complete stranger dive into an icy river to save a solid gold baby? Maybe we'll never know.

"Somebody told me how frightening it was how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared."

The not so Itsy Bitsy Spider

It's spider season here in the Pacific Northwest. We have several spider seasons actually- there's the autumn these things are hiding in my laundry and in my shower every morning spider season, which is fast approaching as over the last few weeks I have rescued many a spider before I shower by getting them on a piece of paper and dropping them outside (eat your heart out Buddhists--it's not that I am afraid of killing them- it's just gross and they don't hurt anyone); but currently it is walking face first every morning into spider web outside season. I hit one in the face as I exit in the morning, duck under another when I open the gate at the downstairs door, break one with my legs walking between the bushes, and sometimes ruin one that is strung between the Jeep and the Prism every morning. All this is a space of 20 seconds and less than 20 ft.

Not more than 20 minutes ago Duffers went out on the back deck and well, it's funny to watch a dog struggle with something it can't see all over it's face.

Gi-normous, possibly poisonous spiders are one of the reasons I am currently residing in my brother Tim's room at the moment. It was Evan's room, which is also now my office, or as I like to call it Valhalla- which was the name of my linksys and fifedom outside of Santa Barbara in Solvang, Ca., complete with my huge Mac with pretty screen which is fun to watch movies on from bed--but Evan was just home last week, so like an orphan in Kazakhstan, I was displaced. At least until I tear through the rest of the belongings in my room and clean it out so I can be sure no spidies can get at me while I sleep.

Most people don't really ever get bitten by spiders- the Daddy Long Legs that are so prevalent in this area, while highly venomous to small insects and critters, their fangs can't break through human skin. I, however, have had a very painful spider bite. When I was in middle school I believe I woke up one morning, probably a Monday, with this nasty painful HUGE red puffy lump on my right wrist. What was more disconcerting was that it itched like a mo-fo (I think) and it kept getting bigger even when I didn't touch it. I hope it was a spider bite at least- I have had many an odd skin ailment throughout my years as those who saw me at 8th grade graduation would know due to the flesh-eating killer marine microbe no one could identify trying to eat my face. I'll see if I can't digitize some pictures.

Some of you may find this gross, Sorry, toughen up. I am oddly fascinated by gross things.

Anyway, back to Spidies. Spiderman by the way, while I wholeheartedly adore Peter Parker in comic form, the movies with Kirsten Dunst (I have some other issues with her- like her first kiss was Brad Pitt, and she got to be in a movie with him, Antonio Banderas -who was my fave at the time, and Tom Cruise when he wasn't freakishly scary) and Toby Maguire I think are totally lame. Uber lame even. I refuse to watch them I think they are so bad.

Enough Tangents; Spiders:
Get ready:

Here is a photo I took of a tarantula on the Gainey Estate when I was working at the vineyard. After some time while I was poking it with a lab instrument, Javi- everyone's favorite Mexican cellar hand kindly informed me that they jump when irritated. I like how he waited to see if it would attack me first. I have never moved so fast.

And then there was the spider in Tim's room that was the biggest insect, arachnoid-excuse me- I have ever seen maybe outside the Insect House at Woodland Park Zoo. Jay was coming to visit and staying in there so I was cleaning the place up when I saw out of the corner of my eye this monstrosity-->

It was so BIG I could actually see all the little hairs on its head, and look it up online and identify all of its markings. Thank god it didn't move. So this not so little guy I decided couldn't be allowed to live, unlike those harmless little fellows in my tub because if it didn't bite jay, well probability was it was going to bite me at some point in the future, and damned if I was going to let that happen. I was so freaked out because it was so big- no shoe would do for this guy. I found a 5lbs hard backed dictionary, and got ready. I also figured what if I missed and scared it or it didn't die right away. I was chucking this thing from like 5 ft away, so I got another heavy book in my other hand, ready for the one -two. Well the first shot worked, but it was SO gross! It was so big i could see its internal organs. That is something someone never- ever wants to experience.

We have lots of Hobo Spiders here, Like that one i killed with the dictionary, and some Brown Recluse. Now it is true that the two are often confused, and the Brown Recluse is really the one that will kill ya, but the Hobo leaves a nasty mark as well, let's not kid ourselves. I won't gross you out with pictures, but like its cousin the Recluse, the Hobo leaves a big puffy area of skin and then a gross blister. If your looking for pictures of the recluse bite, click here. It is too graphic for me to want to save on my computer.

This is also a interesting study on drugs in spiders? Check out what they did. These Crazy! scientists injected flies with different drugs then fed them to the spiders. Check out the craz

y Webs they produced. The LSD one is the best, there is not way they are going to catch anything in it! There is even a game you can play were you feed your Spidy Drugs! I just find it interesting someone actually did this test.

And this guy is the fabled Camel Spider of the Euphrates. Be afraid. Someone recently was telling me gross stories about these things- all of which are warranted, I assure you.

Me so sorry

This seems to be a habit- but as I have finals this week for Macro and Micro Econ I don't really feel that bad, and frankly I don't care that you are pining away at your desk for my many erstwhile adventures- of which there many. I even took photos of my food several days in a row so I can really be like brad. The food was from Tubs. for those of you who know what that is, be jealous, for those of you who don't you will soon see a post up on this site about it- but preferably I would like to write it when I am procrastinating, not freaking out because I haven't studied enough and I'm not going to have that much time tomorrow because of my damn Gmat class, and I JUST learned that one of the finals starts on Thursday, ouch-ness!

So woefully unprepared. GAH.

So get excited about Tubs, and dick's (the restaurant) and adventures at everyone's local favorite dingy Edmonds nightlife hot spot- Rory's- (shudder*), and magical adventures through Mongolia and lake Baikal and fish that eat large rodents in Russia- because everything is bigger in Russia; and how i love doritos and their many uses, and how the mariner's are awesome, and how meerkats are glorified prairie dogs (but I don't think that point was ever in contention), and Hayden Christensen and how I always love the bad guys, my #1 not so secret rule of making movies; How I plan to learn Japanese martial arts, how I heart horsies, and I don't think I even talked about Seafair at all! Glorified red neck awesomeness that it is .

See I have tons of posting topics, I just can't focus enough right now to put one fully fleshed out into its proper viewing form- and when I don't have the time and the energy they really suck- you can tell which ones those are- the ones recently... So bear with me oh loveable peons of the internet, joy shall be with you soon.

And until then I suggest you check out Cuteoverload, because everyone can always use a daily dose of cute. It will make you a better person, I swear. Also the superficial.com is always good.

And remember the wise words of my hero a one, Mr. Stephen Colbert:

"Bears are godless killing machines."- Colbert
"Bears are not killing machines..."- alleged expert on wildlife
"SO then you are not denying that they are godless...."- colbert

Also as my leisure time will be increasing dramatically soon- I would like decent book recommendations- something that is easy to get into and stay into because I am notorious for getting bored with books and leaving them half-read. I have just finished harry potter 7 for the third time- just because, I like it- so please people, help me out.

Mac or PC

So a friend sent this to me- it is done by some kids I went to high school with at Lakeside. It is an amusing video- too bad the guys who made it are complete dicks. I actively dislike all the people associated with this video. Here is is anyway:

The answer by the way is PC. Although I do like my Mac, pretty graphics ooooooo. and i like the little remote mine has so I can sit in Evan's bed and watch movies.

Is Your Nalgene Dangerous?

My sister found this article in the Seattle Post-Intellegencer this afternoon- I find it my sad duty to report it to all of you.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/326907_plastic09.html

My nalgene, that I so love, with its beat-up neon green tint and Got Moab? Sticker and Sharka surf co. sticker is indeed a recycle number 7, as probably is yours.

Here's to all the college kids who use these constantly. I wonder if when I filled it with beer at many a Dog head, or that gross Vodka concoction Cheka put in it at Preakness, got rid of the badness?

And people used to make fun of me for my giant OPB growler full of water- turns out that was probably a better idea. If only I hadn't left it under a bench while waiting in Hyannisport for the boat to Martha's Vineyard, I'd be free of whatever neuro-toxin is currently plaguing my body...

Oh how I miss OPB (Old Pond Brewery- for those of you who don't know)! I remember when it was up for sale and rich and I were like, sweet let's own a brewery in Maine, where it is snow covered 9 mo. out of the year. Beautiful, beautiful Skowhegen.

Sigh, should I give it up? Well I am at least going to stick it in the dishwasher.

The StarWars you didn't know existed

So I owe, and have tons of material for more posts, and I'll get to some of those today hopefully, but anyone ever wonder about Yoda? So, over the last few days HBO or some movie channel has been playing the series, and I have been lucky enough to once again view lots of battle scenes- i really never get tired of them.

George Lucas, and those he gave approval to write all those books about the realm of Star Wars, really did create a fully functioning Universe- one only known to nerds around the world and the McGee Family. Some of those nerds have been kind enough to post about this world on Wikipedia. I find this hilarious. I am going to enlighten you on a few interesting tidbits:

Yoda: Besides the fact that he speaks in a grammatical syntax equivalent to German, Lucas purposely does not mention what race he is. He was also voiced by John Lithgow in some radio version. He is the Jedi Grand Master, Chief General, and trains all the younglings. His name is probably derived from the Sanskrit word for warrior (yoddha) or Hebrew for knows (yodea).

There is also a Female equivalent of Yoda, called Yaddle- They have a whole history for her on wikipedia- my goodness! She is one ugly being- but she does have an orange lightsaber. Yaddle, who was 484 at the time of her death, died when she used the Force to absorb a deadly chemical weapon, in the process saving the city of Naatan (in which Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker were staying), but also dying instantly.

Anakin Skywalker: (the later Darth) saves a bunch of people on a certain planet from the, get this: the Techno Union. I don't know- sounds pretty sweet, I'd like to be part of the Techno union.

There is an animal called a Nerf. kinda looks like a Yak. When Leia insults Han with, you scruffy looking Nerf Herder, he'd be herding distempered Yaks. Speaking of Nerf, who doesn't remember those awesome toys. My favorite were the bow and arrow ones and the swords that Evan and I used to fence each other with. (Post on them coming up)

There is a whole Glossary of animals of the StarWars worlds. This is a Nuna from Naboo. Looks like a fat scaly chicken-- delicious.

Shake from Aquateen Hunger Force claims to be from the Dagobah system. (that's Yoda's planet refuge)

There are 7 different forms of light saber combat: Shii-cho, Makashi (noted for its elegance and used by Count Dooku), Soresu (Defensive), Ataru (Used by Yoda because he's short), Shien/Djem So, Niman, and Vaapad (used by good 'ole Sammy L.)

I have always wondered how if the Light saber is energy how does it stop and form a blade. Apparently a light saber, the blade part is formed by a tight loop of extremely high powered energy; and Samuel L. asked for his to be purple so you could see him better during the group dueling scenes.

Weird Al- He loves Yoda. His song to 'Lola' music, here is my favorite lyric:
"I know Darth Vader's really got you annoyed
But remember, if you kill him, then you'll be unemployed"

k that's it for now- I'm bored.

Planet Unicorn Remix

Two new episodes of everyone's favorite mini show have been released. You can view them on the side of my page or you can view Epi 4 here

and Episode 5 here.

Until I figure out how to put you tube clips in my main post this will have to do. Now I shall leave you to watch our beloved friends...

Quickie

I saw this on youtube- just too funny had to put it up asap!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Ilq3kFxek&feature=active_sharing

A Contest

Because I don't feel like posting much at the moment I purpose a contest, wherein the winner will receive something, which I will explain:

The Picture that is a background of my title is not any old random picture lifted from a tropical brochure, it is a picture I once took on vacation. The winner of said contest will receive a framed copy of this limited series of 12. Since it is Friday and not may people will read this, the contest officially begins at 6 am Monday PST- thats 9 am for you on the Right hand coast.

I plan on selling these in the future, so you are getting something for free! Something pretty to hang in your appt, or to re-gift!

The winner, to be determined by me, will have provided the most accurate information about the picture as possible. Where in the world was this picture taken, the more specific, the better. Any other pertinent or non-pertinent information you provide may make your entry all the more likely to be picked. I will decide the winner by Wed. afternoon- provided more than two people do this.

You may use whatever means necessary to acquire this information. In the case that two people submit very similar entries, I will choose the one that was submitted first.

Sorry, but immediate family and Margaret are excluded from this contest as I owe Margaret a copy anyway, and family most likely know the location.
You can email me @ alanamcgee@gmail.com or submit your entry to the comments section.

Happy Hunting.

Ze French say Le Tired

So it is only Wed. and I am le tired; exhausted even. I was brain dead yesterday at MuShoe, when there was a fiasco because the computer died. Now I have just come to the understanding that someone, let's name her 'Faula', bought a brand new computer for the store without asking Big Suz. Excuse me? are you stupid? ASK FIRST. I bet 'Faula' just cost BS like $1k. Who does that?- the old one just needed to be tweeked a little bit, in fact I am using the old one right now. We had to switch back to the computer that gave us the Blue screen of death because the new one couldn't handle the printers in conjunction with Vista.

This is partly why I haven't posted the last few days. Very sorry readers, I was tired. GMAT class kills brain cells. I have absolutely no desire to go tonight. Good news is over the weekend when hanging out with Emily and Joanna- we made some delish sandies (not pecan sandies), the kind with meat and bread. AND I took pictures like brad.

Brad should also know that all my friends now read his blog, including my sister- as it appears more people are bored at work than one would think.

So Alex Ridder and Whitney are here visiting on their way to Canada. I just forgot what I was typing. We are going out tonight in belltown- I'll take pics. Maybe tomorrow I will have more stories and energy but right now, sorry readers creativity is at an all time low. I just want to sleep and drink water. it is hot.

later gator.

or as in the movie I watched this weekend "Factory Girl" (about Andy Warhol's muse) - in which Hayden Christensen (I HEART HIM) played Bob Dylan, "you're the boss Applesauce".

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Summer of Alana