Marciepooh

“Daddy, I wanna play with the robot dog!”

“It’s not a dog, honey, it’s an Imperial walker. An AT-AT. A fearsome armored assault transport used to overwhelm the Rebel defenses in the battle of Hoth.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“OK, fine, you can play with the robot dog.”

We came down to my parents’ for Thanksgiving this year, because both Kate and I are really busy with work at the moment, and didn’t need the additional stress of planning and hosting a big dinner. On Friday morning, my dad went up into the attic and dug out the bags containing the vast collection of Star Wars toys my sister and I amassed in the late 70′s and early 80′s:

I was right in the prime demographic for this– I was six when the first movie came out– and my sister is four years younger than me, so we had a good long run with Lucasfilm and Kenner. We didn’t quite have a complete set of all the original action figures, but were pretty close. Some of these have gone missing, and the original Lando Calrissian’s head snapped off at some point, but my dad found most of them up in the attic, and then SteelyKid spent a happy hour or so carefully washing two decades worth of dust off them (as seen in the “featured image”), and asking me to name them all (a lot of the character names are totally gone from my memory, though I know when they appeared in which movie). And I still vividly remember how all the ships go together (though a lot of pieces are broken or missing, and some of the springs and catches have worn out). She particularly enjoyed the speeder-bike that blows apart when you press a button on the back.

She’s never actually seen any of the movies, thus the dialogue snippet above, but she’s sort of vaguely aware of Star Wars as a cultural force, thanks to various classmates. The original movie is probably a little too scary for her still, but maybe one of these days…

(Assuming it’s possible to get a version where Han shoots first, that is. I have principles…)

Anyway, I spent a good deal of Friday back in 1981. Hope the end of your week was half as good.

THIS JUST IN from WREX-TV:

A toxic icing spill at an area shopping mall has left locals traumatized, confused, and a little peckish:

 

However, it was in the bakery that results were most devastating, particularly among the turkey cakes.

Some burst into flames:

 

...others complained of being a bit chilly:

"I'll give you a heads up when it's warmer, guys."

 

And a few even found themselves on the new literal reality show, "Face Off."

"This punches you in the face with how bad it sucks."

"I liked it!"

"Nobody asked you, Ve."

 

This guy was spotted rolling down the bread aisle:

He looks fierce, but turned out to be a big cream puff.
(Now he's toast.)

 

Sadly, the largest percentage of cakes turned into something experts call "poo wangs."

And once a bakery is infested with poo wangs, it's really hard to flush them out.

 

 

In the mean time, though, the bakery is having a sale on the classic English dessert, "spotted dick."

So it looks like this situation might have a happy ending, after all.

 

Thanks to Jayson G., MK, Sara G., Lisa P., Judi I., Nat B., Wendy C., & Laurence R. for the spot of English culture.

One of SteelyKid’s classmates came over for a couple hours today. After a bit, they got into the Magic School Bus science kit she got for her birthday, and decided to invent “new kinds of water.” The “featured image” above shows her reinventing stock images… And doing a better job of it than this clown. If you need an image to illustrate your chemistry story, shoot me an email– our rates are very reasonable.

(The sludgy brown mixture in the tube is water with soap, cinnamon, and cracked pepper floating in it. If you shake it back and forth a bit, the pepper does float around in a kind of cool-looking manner, which is what she’s admiring. I didn’t pose this, I swear– that’s a genuine “whoa!” face.)

(I did ask her to put the goggles back on, though, because it’s a great look. She and her friend were taking turns wearing the goggles while re-inventing water in the downstairs bathroom.)

It’s difficult to express how happy we are that she’s reached an age where she can have a friend over and they can more or less entertain themselves, with only minimal supervision. And the fact that they find science-y ways of self-entertaining…? Well, let’s give SteelyKid the last word on that:

So I was thinking of epiphanies, and the word “Eureka” came up.

That word sounds like an infection, or a pain associated with vomit, or something horrible and medical.

The doctor said solemnly, “Eureka, you’ve got it. An acute case, in fact.”

So then I thought of all the nice-sounding medical words that are actually really nasty things.

And then I put those two things together.

Share and Enjoy:

Share and Enjoy:

That's one way to liven up a game.

 

Finally! A hero we can bank on.

 

This is all J.K. Rowling's fault, isn't it?

 

I'm not sure, but I think Molly approves of her farewell party:

 

A former patient sent this in to the hospital where Jill T. works - thereby dashing my hopes that "Dr. Watson & Staff" was some kind of high-end bush doctor:

 

And finally, when Amy D's aunt returned from a long trip she received this warm... um... welcome?

"Walk him. Walk him. Welk him. Welkim. Wellllk ome."

[head tilt]

Nope, there's no way.
I give up.

 

Thanks to Vanessa W., Nichole B., Elizabeth W., Amy G., Jill T., & Amy D. for being the apple of my pie. The supper crust. The peanut butter to my belly. The... dang, now I'm hungry.

Emails yelling at me will commence in 3... 2... 1...

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham		www.phdcomics.com
title: "Post-Doctor Who, Pt. 1" - originally published 10/7/2013 For the latest news in PHD Comics, CLICK HERE!

In some bars and restaurants, the phrase “pint of beer” is not taken literally enough, with some places drastically under-filling the glass or using a smaller glass in the belief that a tall-ish glass is a pint. But a proposed new law in Michigan would make it against the law to advertise a “pint” that contains anything fewer than 16 ounces of liquid.

The bill doesn’t require a ton of legalese. It merely adds the following section to the Michigan Liquor Control Code of 1998:
AN ON-PREMISES LICENSEE SHALL NOT ADVERTISE OR SELL ANY GLASS OF BEER AS A PINT IN THIS STATE UNLESS THAT GLASS CONTAINS AT LEAST 16 OUNCES OF BEER.

“[W]hen people buy a pint and they’re served less than a pint, it strikes me as sort of low-level fraud,” said state Rep. Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor, who tried to introduce similar legislation in 2011.

Irwin and the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. David Knezek of Dearborn Heights, point out that there are already laws on the books in Michigan to protect people from getting short-changed at the deli or gas station. The Liquor Control Code also has Sec. 1023, which forbids the prohibition of “pinball machines on the premises for the purpose of amusement.” What else would pinball machines be used for?

They said that some bar staff don’t even know they’re selling “pints” in glasses that are as small as 12 ounces. Then there are the “cheater pints,” where the bar or restaurant uses glasses with thicker bottoms or heavier glass to give the visual look and heft of a 16-ounce glass.

The executive director of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association tells MLive.com that “pint” is a generic term for a glass of beer and that “We have other pressing issues right now that need to be addressed over the amount of alcohol in the pint.”

Rep. Irwin says this isn’t about punishing bars or making things harder for them. It’s just about truth in advertising. If the law passes, they don’t necessarily need to go out and buy all new glassware; just stop advertising that customers are getting a “pint” when they aren’t. .

“I don’t anticipate the state actually investing dollars and sending out the pint police,” admits Irwin.

Michigan proposal would mandate beer pints include at least 16 ounces [MLive.com]

An oil company employee working in northwestern Alberta has unearthed the stunning fossilized remains of what is believed to be a massive duck-billed dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Period.

Read more...

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham		www.phdcomics.com
title: "Taking work home" - originally published 9/30/2013 For the latest news in PHD Comics, CLICK HERE!

Bill Nye, who tore 80% of his quadricep last week, was told not to participate in last night's Dancing with the Stars. But he did anyway, performing a Daft Punk-inspired robot dance with Tyne Stecklein that required him to move his injured leg as little as possible. The duo won't be returning, but they left the stage to chants of "Bill! Bill! Bill!"

Read more...

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham		www.phdcomics.com
title: "Seminar Food" - originally published 9/6/2013 For the latest news in PHD Comics, CLICK HERE!

This coming weekend John and I are heading to Dragon Con, one of the world's largest sci-fi, comicbook, fantasy, and pop-culture conventions. For four blistering days more than 50,000 geeks will flood downtown Atlanta, and oh yes, IT WILL BE GLORIOUS.

Maybe you've heard about Dragon Con before and wondered if it was right for you. If so, then allow me to help:

 

- You've ever celebrated an Xbox achievement with cake:

Xbox Cake Wreck: ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED

 

- You prefer your inscriptions in binary:

Alternatively, this reminds you of Flight of the Conchords' "binary solo."

 

- Mistakes like this fill you with nerd rage:

(And bonus points if you get the reference.)

 

-  Speaking of mistakes: you also know that Spider-Man is spelled with a dash, Lucasfilm only has the "L" capitalized, and "Wookiee" has two Es - unless you count the original novelization, which is technically canon, but if you're up for arguing this with me then you're pretty much making my point.

"LET THE 'WOOKIEE' WIN."

 

- You think zombie wedding cakes are awesome:

"More like The Walking WED, am I right? Eh? EH?!"

 

- You occasionally forget your friends' birthday, but never H.P. Lovecraft's:

 

- You once drove somewhere with a giant Dalek cake strapped into your passenger's seat:

(Why yes, now that you mention it, these ARE getting oddly specific...)

 

-  The recent news of Ben Affleck being cast as Batman caused you real emotional turmoil:

It's like a match made in Gotham's Malibu Dream House.

 

- Or maybe you don't care so much who plays Batman because WHEN THE HECK DO WE GET A FEMALE SUPERHERO MOVIE?!

Ahem.

 

And finally, you belong at Dracon Con if:

- You have a favorite Doctor, are now afraid of angel statues, and/or have at least three close friends who NEED this cake for their next birthday:

My favorite Doctor is Peter Davison, btw, and he's going to be there this weekend, so I just may fangirl all over his shoes. Would it be terribly stalkerish if I brought him a bouquet of decorative vegetables? (I also dearly love Sylvestor McCoy, who is ALSO there, and a mutual friend offered to introduce us, and SQUEEEEEEE excuse me I may need to lie down for a moment...)

See you this weekend, fellow geeks! (And follow my tweets if you'd like to say hi!)

Thanks to Jessee, Amy L., Jennifer M., Anony M., Liliya, Sam H., Suzanne S., & Brian L. for helping me geek out with my geek on.