CritterKeeper

Yes, pretending she was a hologram or illusion was what I had in mind for the first option. With the current state of technology, I think you'd have a hard time selling the idea of a "real image" which can be viewed from all angles and distances. Something you can only see from one angle would be more plausible. Hmm, have you ever seen those flying-saucer-shaped things with mirrored interiors, where you can put a penny in the bottom of it and a "real image" of it appears at the opening at the top? It only works from certain angles, but it's fairly cheap technology. Maybe she could be inside a large version of one of those. Then it really would be a "hologram", which you could even pass yor hand through, giving an extra layer of plausible deniability.

And just what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen European Swallow?

It amazes me how many times I'll call someone, get their voicemail, and while I'm leaving them a message on one line, they'll call back on another line, even if they didn't know who was calling! If I see an unfamiliar number pop up on my phone, I'll wait to see if they leave a message telling me who they are and why I should call them back. If they don't leave a message, maybe it was a wrong number or telemarketer or something. It's not suddenly my job to call them back blind, any more than it was with a land line.

There are a few guys out there who do female characters really well. Either they're androgynous enough (or good enough with make-up and padding and such) to be able to look just like the character, or they do a male version of the character while keeping the essence that makes it that character. (Likewise there are female versions of male characters.) There are also some guys who do female character even though they don't/can't look female doing it, but they have so much *fun* with it that you just don't mind a bit. Even the actress who played the role, or the artist who draws the character, will break out in a grin when they see him. The classic image is Sailor Moon with the traditional short-skirted outfit but with a full beard, too. It's a joke and most people get the joke just fine. There could be a lot of reasons for Greg's choice of costume. Maybe he was a fan of Chun Li first, or maybe he could picture himself in the role better than he could LBBS. Maybe he hasn't finished his Lucky Bunny costume yet. Maybe he and Dex are working on matched LBBS costumes, although I'm not sure who'd be the bunny and who'd be the bounty hunter. ;-) At least one of Nanase and Ellen's dates was cuddling up together watching the videos. I don't remember Tedd having it, too -- not doubting you, I just don't recall it, so can't comment.

My little doggie turned 13 just before Christmas. He's not going to see 14. He's had a snorting/snoring/stuffy sound when he breathes since end of December, mild at first but getting worse, and in the past week his appetite took a nose-dive. After testing what we could at work, today I took him to see our favorite Internal Medicine specialist, and they found carcinoma cells in his lymph nodes. This isn't something that could be treated, or at least, not in any way that the outcome would be worth it. He's already pretty unhappy, not wanting to eat even chicken or turkey this morning, refusing to take his Pill Pocket, which he's always loved, so I knew it was pretty serious, I was just hoping for something fixable. No such luck. So, I'm not going to draw this out. I'll take care of things tonight, after the staff has gone home because I don't want a big fuss. The other vets offered to help or not, however I want to do this, and I haven't decided yet. Pippin loves peanut butter, and has tried to kill himself with dark chocolate multiple times through the years. I'm going to go get him a jar of Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter and if he wants to, he can eat as much as he pleases. It's something I've jokingly promised for years now, and it's time. I'll probably eat whatever he doesn't, once it's done. He's sleeping off a sedative they gave him right now, up on the bed with me. He didn't have to have anything too invasive or stressful to get the diagnosis, thank goodness. He's my baby, and I'll miss him.

He only started to say it was awesome, he corrected himself pretty quickly based on what the fire guys did. I much prefer his other, full Awesome, which was strictly for being able to summon his little friend, keeping her a secret. Hmm, now I have an image of Dex in some sort of costume, probably a wizard, with his fairy friend inside a glass sphere or birdcage or somesuch, telling everyone who asks how the trick is done that it's a trade secret. If you made it either so she was only seen from one angle, or could get her to hold still or limit herself to in-character mechanical-like movements, it could be both awesome and plausible!

I keep meaning to figure out how to install a TARDIS vworp-vworp noise on mine. In everyday life, it's fun to see who recognizes it. For sci-fi cons or Mensa gatherings, when at least half the phones are in TARDIS cases, I'll change it to the sound effect for jaunting, to make it more of a challenge to find recognition. ;-) In many ways, a text can be more convenient to receive, too. It's a lot faster to read a text or two than to call yourvoicemail box and sit through (possibly more than one) entire messages, possibly needing to replay them if there's information you need to write down, if you can find a pen or get your phone to play the message so you can hear and use the notetaking function at the same time..... I don't have a smart phone yet, mine's more average, but I have learned to appreciate texting.

I know a fair number of people who I usually only see at cons, and when I do come across one of them in the mundane world, they may be a totally different personality. The filker who sings loud and strong may be shy and retiring, the guy who plays a loud dumb-muscle warrior may be a very buttoned-up professional. I could definitely see Dex being one of the fen who are only "at home" at a con. For some people like that, a comic shop or gaming club is also "among their tribe" but Dex seems to be soft-spoken whatever the situation, even when he opens up. A full cosplay costume, especially one in Greg's size, is a hefty investment, usually of time and money both. It's not usually something you create and then only wear once. If anything, I usually see the opposite -- if your favorite show is cancelled, then cons become the only place you're likely to find other fans of it. Whether the con's programming includes any panels for the show, or shows episodes in the anime or video room, or whether you just wear an iconic item (like Tom Baker's scarf or a Star Trek uniform, or a T-shirt with a classic line from the show) and wait for people to recognize it, there are ways for fellow fans to find each other. And when you do, there's an instant bond, just like we saw with Greg and Dex.

I find this plausible. High power does not necessarily mean hair-trigger; in fact, if Sarah is any example, stronger natural talent might mean better control, while Sarah's D-rank talent leaves the body-swapping on that hair-trigger she keeps complaining about. Perhaps, although fairies flying around places other than near bars would attract attention. But Pandora would know that a summoning talent would be able to progress to much more noticable summonses (?), so it's more of a long-term investment on her part. Which, come to think of it, would explain why she wasn't watching Dex very often, and thus missed what Voltaire was up to. She didn't expect Dex to be entertaining until his talent had time to develop further.

Hack! We're gonna have company!

Sounds like a situation where you'd be better off watching MST3K and reciting their Mantra.

Does your definition of "left unguarded" include "left on the shelf which is specifically dedicated to food which everyone is welcome to eat"? Hmm.... I think I have a counter-example. I once bought a seaweed-based chip thing, also from Trader Joe's. It was labeled as if it were edible, and came in crisp green chip-like pieces which certainly looked like they could be edible. However, everyone who tried to eat any of it couldn't get past the first touch to the tongue, and many couldn't even get past the smell. It was like they took everything which is icky about fish, but none of what's good about it, and concentrated it times a hundred. The most disgusting "food" ever, and everyone was in agreement about it.

Ahem. I do believe it was a play on the term "wanker" as an insult, and/or "to wank" as a term for masturbation. "Obi Wan Ka-Elliot"

Ooh, I like it. But can we get a boys vs girls thing going? ;-)

Does Elliot know about the prophetic dreams and Will's message about the rules changing? I'm thinking not, since Tedd didn't know about it. That makes the reason Tedd's depressed too much to explain via text, they probably will need to talk in person.

I overheard someone telling another someone that they had a scene with a dog in a wave pool, where the trained dog didn't want to do it and was forced into the rough water anyway, the person who's supposed to watch out for and stop animal cruelty standing around watching and not saying anything (and now in trouble for it). Whether true or not, such stories are likely the cause of the bad ratings.

Eh, same thing around here with I-94. In my area, it's north-south, with the northbound being labeled West and the southbound labeled East. So you're backwards to how we do it.

I got a bag of blood oranges at Trader Joe's and brought them to work a couple of days ago. Just had a second one, and the bag is noticably flatter now, so it looks like others are finally giving them a try. I like helping others discover new tastes!

That, in itself, is part of the problem, I think. Why is it a "pinup poll" instead of a "Sketch poll" with pinup options? I really hope Dan knows some of us would really rather just have regular sketchbooks, instead of all these pinups which, frankly, some of them seem like they'd be better *without* the fanservice element. Maybe the pinups would win the voting anyway, but I do wish we could have a chance to find out.

*takes own card out of back pocket, checks card* Um, what exactly are you apologizing for? ;-) I prefer proportional to body type, myself. Boobs that look great on an Earth Mother would look ridiculous on Twiggy. Yeah, women with extra weight up there get a lot more sympathy and an easier time getting insurance to cover reductions than women with an even bigger nonproportional weight a foot lower.... Eh, in garb you can usually substitute belt pouches. Works for me!

Who says "Kitty" is the name on her birth certificate? Maybe her legal name is Katherine, and Kitty is just such a long-standing nickname because of her catgirl obsession, that people think of her as "Kitty" instead. Exactly. Even if her name is Jane Smith, she could have been telling people, "Call me Kitty!" since she was three. An affinity-based name, not a name-based affinity.

I'll knit you a Tom Baker scarf, no problem. Just supply me with $50-100 worth of wool yarn, needles, and a time turner good for repeating at least a hundred hours. Hmm, if you want the longer versions better make that 200 hours, and an extra $50.

PVC = Premature Ventricular Contractions Normally, the blood goes into the heart, into the atrium at the top, then the atrium contracts and sends the blood into the bigger, stronger ventricle below, which then pushes it off to the rest of the body. Well, left side to the body, rght side to the lungs. In a PVC, the ventricle doesn't wait until it's full before contracting, so it's not sending as much blood out to the body, and the atrium can't empty itself and get ready for the next beat's worth, so it's not happy either. We see occasional PVCs on pets under anesthesia sometimes, but they're not supposed to happen more than once in a blue moon, so to speak. If we get a bunch of them, we know there's a problem. Since some blood is still flowing, it's not as big a problem as some things, but it's at the least a warning to pay more attention.

*looks at the red fezz* Anybody claiming this? No? *picks up fezz, puts it on* I have a fezz now, fezzes are cool!

I bought some Orlando travel guides. My first trip there, for the conference, is coming closer and closer, and after that I have the one in May with my sister, so I figured it's worth researching a bit more. I'm much more prone to Disney-ing than she is, so I'll probably try to get it out of my system now, and save the Harry Potter stuff for a big splurge with her. I just have to decide what the best deal is. Ah, what a good dilemma to have to face!