somerandomthing

I don't know if this qualifies as stupid pet owner....

I was browsing the classifieds of a local news group (it is more popular than Craigslist in Utah)and this is what I found.


( Wild Caught Pigeons )

Can I report this to some ONE? Animal cruelty is a felony in Utah....

hey everyone! I've been lurking here for months but I finally have a question and I'm hoping one of you guys and gals might know the answer.

My mom was describing to me a mystery/thriller that she read in the early 1980s (between 1980 and 1982). The basic plot is that a mentally damaged man snaps and kills his (abusive) mother. He then goes across the country stealing people's identities and killing women in whom he sees his mother - basically killing his mother over and over again. My mom recalls (although she may be incorrect on this one) that the muder weapon was a stiletto. She would have sworn that the book was called "Stiletto," but since we can't find it anywhere, that is obviously not the title.

I'm dying to read this story and we just can't find it. It was probably published in the 70s or early 80s. I doubt in the 60s, but who knows. Has anyone read or heard of this book and knows what the title is/who the author is/where to find it?

Thanks so much :)

Total # of Books Read: 170
Most # of Books Read in a Month: 19 (June)
Least # of Books Read in a Month: 9 (December)
Total # of Books I own, end of 2009: 1595
Total # of Books I own, unread by end of 2009: 568
% of My Books That Are Unread: 35.6% (I am crap at maths, percentages especially, so please correct me if I'm wrong!)
# of Review Copies Read: 18 (many were ARCs, but not all of them arrived before the release date, so I just call them review copies)

Links go to reviews in my book blog.

( THE LIST )

I've been tempted to buy an Xbox 360 for some time now but I'm a little bit worried because many people have told me the Xbox 360 has a lot of problems and although I really want to get my hands on one, I don't think shelling out $449 for one would be worth it if it's just going to break.

How often do problems occur with the Xbox 360? I've heard of discs being scratched, overheating, red ring of death etc. Is there anything I could do to ensure that these problems don't happen? I've heard NOT having Xbox 360 standing vertical will stop discs being scratched - is that true?

Has anyone had problems with their Xbox 360? And do you think it would be worth buying one? (I'd be getting an Elite and the price for one at the moment is $449 although I might wait and see if the price drops).

I already have a PS3 and a Wii. I want the Xbox 360 because there are a few exclusive games I want to play (mainly Fable 2). I was told that I could get a gaming PC instead of an Xbox 360 because most games are on PC as well but that it would cost around $1500 for a decent one... and I don't want to pay that much :(

This is going to be a curious review for me. I want to begin by saying: I have not finished reading this book. There are good reasons for this.

The first is: I’m not too big on history. I need a lot of context for my historical facts otherwise, try as hard as I might I forget everything I hear or read. That’s not say I don’t like history--I like it quite a bit--I just need to get it in small doses. The second is: Thomas Asbridge’s The First Crusade: A New History is not particularly dry or boring, it’s actually really fascinating and easier for me to read than a textbook (of the historical variety); it puts things in context. Historical figures are put into roles as characters, given motives and backstories, there are maps, illustrations, and full color photo panels of medieval artwork and modern day buildings that were once pivotal during the Crusades. It’s not quite an historical fiction novel, but I’m invested in the text anyway.

If this were a historical fiction novel I can promise you I’d be finished by now. Since it isn’t, I think I’ll continue reading it as I have been: in small doses when I get the chance and not all in one go. I really want to understand the facts and research Asbridge has worked so hard to put together. Plowing through this would be unfair to the history and do an injustice to why I wanted to read it in the first place: to learn.

( Read the rest! )

I stumbled upon this video http://www.youtube.com/user/sugarglidervet#p/u/12/kjAd_SCnYW4
yesterday, of a "vet" giving out information on sugar gliders. I couldn't even listen to to the entire thing without getting steamed! I am part of a small pet rescue and we have had MANY sugar gliders given up over the years. Many that are injured ,ill, malnourished and unsocialized. He gets right into calling rescues false and continues to bash them!
The cage behind him is way to small for even one sugar glider but that is what he recommends. He also says it is okay for sugar gliders to be alone as long as they get attention from a person. Which is very bad! The company of a fellow sugar glider cannot be replaced by a person. His diet recomendations are bad... it's all BAD!
He is funded and supports the leading Sugar glider Mill of the US, Perfect Pocket Pets. Their tactics and information are just as false and smiliar to what this vet says.
I have to wonder if he really is a vet. If so, what true vet would support a mill breeder? Give out such awful advice? And bash rescues? I also wonder if all the "clients" are imaginary.
All comments submitted are screened and only good ones are put up on the web site.
What are your thoughts on this? Any info? I fear people buying into all the crap he says!

Couldn't find anything about this anywhere.

My 360 controller won't sync. I've tried replacing the batteries and everything. Then I noticed, the front of my console won't light up. It turns on and runs, but no green led lights. I am kind of freaking out. Does anyone know what I can do? I got this as a Christmas present so its going to suck if I have to send it into microsoft this soon.

Anybody playing it? What do you think?

The casing on one hinge of my DS Lite has been broken for ages now, but it was just a cosmetic thing—it cracked, and then chips fell away until the metal inside was exposed, but as long as I was careful with it, there were no problems. Well, last night I was fumbling around on my bedside table and knocked the DS a foot+ to a tile floor. When I checked out the damage, the hinge was now...out of alignment, I guess is the best way to put it. The top screen no longer works (I get a flash of color stripes when I turn it on, then black) and it doesn't recognize the game cartridge inside.

I accept that this is my own fault and I might just have to buy a new DS, but is there any chance this could be repaired? Looking at it, it appeared that some internal wiring might have been jerked loose, but I could just be kidding myself about the fixability. I can afford a new one, but I'm sort of nostalgically attached to my original. (I know, I know, it's silly.) I've never actually had a console in need of repair before, so I figured people here would know better than me. Anything you can share would be very appreciated.

( Some pictures )

If I do suck it up and get a new one, at least I can get a new color. Silver lining and all. I think I'd get another regular Lite, though; the DSi doesn't really interest me, and I like having the GBA slot since I never had one of those. And I'll never leave it in nighttime fumble-range again.

Laura Petrie, *Yes*!

NOTE: May be offensive to people, especially in this comm. I've come across countless, countless gamers like this guy in-game (and gotta admit, they can be entertaining!) and have always wondered what it may be like if they treated the world like a game :X Don't get too riled up and just have a little giggle~

Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Original UK title: The Other Hand
Anchor Canada 2009
266 pages
Fiction


After two years locked up in a refugee detention centre outside London, Little Bee has finally been released. The sixteen year old Nigerian girl spent her time there having nightmares, coming up with new and inventive ways of killing herself should the bad men come, and perfecting her Queen's English.

Now free but still not legal, she goes to the only people she knows in England, journalists Andrew O'Rourke and his wife Sarah Summers. But when she arrives it is to find Sarah about to leave with her son Charlie, perpetually dressed as Batman, for Andrew's funeral.

Little Bee is about the tragic, frightening circumstances of Little Bee meeting Sarah and Andrew in Nigeria, how Sarah lost her finger and how guilt slowly drove Andrew to suicide, the deep connection between Sarah and Little Bee and how they help each other. It is also about the things people flee from - atrocities that are denied - and how the rest of the world turns its shoulder. It is about the atrocious conditions in detention centres - centres that are, in essences, concentration camps.

( Read the rest... )

 So, there's a kitty in my parking lot. Very friendly, but very cold (I live in MN). She has tags. Yay.
I call the owner, who is seriously annoyed with me. "She's an OUTDOOR/indoor cat, I'm so sick of these calls!" Um, how the hell am I to know that? She could have just gotten out, and it's 9 degrees out. Not to mention, this kitty lives over a mile away from my place. I ended up convincing the owner to come out here, as it is so darn cold out, but she was visibly pissed at me. Sorry for caring about your chilly cat. :(

I am so looking forward to this...good God I can't contain my excitement!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

( Spoiler? )

I think I understand why I don’t like the Darth Bane books and why I didn’t like The Force Unleashed as much as I could have. Both have Sith as protagonists. Sith have massive egos. I don’t particularly like massive egos. I’m also tired of reading about the “best” pilot/apprentice/whatever who did everything phenomenally well in their careers, did it early, and are infinitely better than their peers, past and present. What happened to slightly above average, average, or even really below average protagonists?

I’ll tell you why these massively huge, uncontrollable egos bother me. A character can boast all they want or simmer under the surface with barely contained self-love and admiration, preen themselves flailing a weapon around and showing off to their underlings or other, less worthy souls, but they still wind up getting killed in the lamest, most easy way ever. Are Sith really supposed to be this two dimensional? I don’t think I’ve ever read an in-depth study of any Sith, other than Anakin; the star of the Prequel Trilogy had his psyche picked apart so we could have the movies in the first place. Jacen Solo’s recent dive into the Dark Side was enough to provoke my desires for him to finally do something as a character. I was impressed with his transformation, but ultimately was left feeling like Sith are boring for a reason: they’re single-minded ego-maniacs with anger management issues. There’s only so much repetition of the same archetype I can take before my brain says, “no more."

( Read the  rest! )

http://www.straydogsjourney.com./Home.html


what an idiot. be sure to watch the video, it will make you want to punch a baby.

This may sounds silly, but I was recalling a book that I read as a child, and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?

I am unsure if it was a 'classic' or modern, but I specifically remember there being a writer as a main character. (S)he was a romance writer, but for reasons forgotten, decided to write a novel on sheep buggery in the end.

That's a pretty strange description, so I am really hoping it is a book (I'm sure it might be well known) and I didn't somehow dream this.

Thank you!

What could be better than some zombie-brain-bashing fun with Left 4 Dead? How about some L4D zombie-brain-bashing in glorious retro 8-bit? Better yet, how about playing it for free?

Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead – a “retro de-make of Valve’s hit zombie killing masterpiece” that offers two difficulty levels and co-op – is now available to download from Eric Ruth Games. It’s worth a download for the kick-ass 8-bit soundtrack alone.

Source: Girl Gamers Suck.com