I fear I’ve left this blog alone so long that it’s starting to grow mold.

Have no fear, I’m still alive and I have no intentions of abandonment. I’m just running on fumes right now. And I’m so busy.

Work is really killing me, to the point where I don’t even check the blog during the day. And when I get home at night, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer.

Truth be told, I might have made the time to sit down and write something if I, in fact, had something about which to write. But even though I’ve done many things lately, I find myself with nothing interesting to say.

Trust that I will answer all of the questions and resume my regular posting just as soon as I get my groove back.

…just wholly uninspired and super busy. So in order to get my creative juices flowing, why don’t you guys come up with some questions for me?

Is there a topic you want me to cover? A story you’d like me to tell? Or just something about me you want to know? Well now is your chance to ask.

And while you’re waiting anxiously for that newly inspired content, you can still answer my latest set of questions for you: Survey 2.0 - Living in the Moment.

Previously…
-I Will Now Take Your Questions

Stop oppressive gardening! Free the gnomes!

Okay, I know it’s silly, but I really get a kick out of garden gnome pranks. You know, when people kidnap the little guys and take them on a trip? Or leave a number of them arranged in a forest somewhere? Or under water?

Now I’m not the least bit fond of people putting these things in their yards. I think it’s tacky and low-class. But the stories of gnome mischief somehow make it a little better for me.

I do realize that some people would consider “gnome liberation” to be theft, but then I don’t really understand how anyone can be so attached to a damn lawn ornament that they would actually get upset over something like this.

Besides, it’s all in good fun. The gnomes are usually recovered or returned. Many of them write home, and some even come back with pictures and a story tell.

Almost makes me want a roaming gnome of my own… Almost.

Further Reading:
-Museum of Hoaxes: Gnomes [Museum of Hoaxes]
-Underwater gnome threat ‘returns’ [BBC News]
-Man gets letter from missing yard gnome [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
-Edgar the roamin’ gnome is home [Fulton Sun]
-Policeman ‘goosed’ over gnome prank [NZ Herald]
-Garden Gnome Liberation Front [Wikipedia]
-Garden gnomes spark pop culture frenzy and ‘liberation’ movement [AZ Central]

Related:
-Uncle Roel the Travelling Gnome
-FreeTheGnomes.com
-Gnomes!!! Gnomar and Friends [Gnomar.com]
-Gnomar and Friends Photo Pool [Flickr]
-Nigel the Gnome [nigelthegnome.com]
-Welcome to the Home of the Roaming Gnome [Travelocity]

Phone conversation with my dad, in which I attempted to help him download the photos from his camera:

Me: Okay, so you created a new folder for the pictures, and opened the window with the contents of the camera?

Dad: Yes. So now I do edit, select all…

Me: Alright, now drag the files into the new folder.

Dad: Right click or left click?

Me: Left click.

Dad: *Misses folder, 337 files start copying onto the desktop* Stupid thing!

Me: *sighing* Cancel it.

Dad: I swear, I dragged them into the folder!

Me: I’m sure you did, Dad, but the folder icon is a small target. Open it up and try again.

Dad: Okay, I cancelled that and deleted the files from the desktop. So… edit, select all… oh, here it says “copy to file.” Should I do that?

Me: Dad, you are making this way more complicated that it has to be. Let me teach you a little trick. Select the first file in the list you want to copy.

Dad: Left click?

Me: Yes, left click.

Dad: Okay.

Me: Now, hold the shift key, and click on the last file on the list.

Dad: Nothing happened.

Me: Did you keep holding the shift key? Because you have to hold it until you click the last file.

Dad: Okay, let me try this again.

Me: *Repeating the instructions*

Dad: Nothing happened.

Me: *laughing* Dad, are you sure you did what I told you?

Dad: Yes. Why are you laughing at me? You know, it was working just fine when I was doing edit, select all.

Me: *laughing* Fine, just go ahead and do that again.

Dad: What’s so funny?

Me: Dad, what I just tried to teach you has been one of the most basic computer functions since, like the dawn of time. I just can’t understand why you couldn’t get it to work.

Dad: Edit, select all… okay, it’s copying.

Me: Finally! Dad, are you sure you were holding the shift key?

Dad: Yes, I was holding the shift key!

Me: Not the control key, the shift key?

Dad: Yes!! You know, I resent this! I know where the shift key is!! I KNEW WHERE THE SHIFT KEY WAS BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN A GLINT IN MY EYE!! SO IF I SAY I’M HOLDING THE SHIFT KEY, THEN I’M HOLDING…

Me: Yes?

Dad: …the spacebar.

Me: Ha ha. Wait, are you serious?

Dad: Yes. God, I have to stop doing this so late at night.

Me: Dad, it’s only 9:30.

Dad: I know, I know.

Man, judging from the recent comments, it looks like you people need something to keep you occupied. Sorry I’ve been lacking on that end, but your wait is over. It’s time for another installation of the famous SALIME Survey.

As always, the rules are simple: answer truthfully or lie your ass off, whichever you prefer.

1) What’s the current weather where you are?

2) Where are you?

3) What’s the last thing you ate?

4) The last thing you drank?

5) What’s the background image on your computer? If you email me the image (landslide at dunedan dot com), I’ll display it in your comment.

6) What are you wearing right now?

7) Who was the last person you spoke with on the phone?

8) Who was the last person you spoke with in person?

9) What is the last book you read?

10) What’s the last song you heard (or the one you are hearing right now)?

Press your space face close to mine, love: this time it’s Pandora done David Bowie style…

1) Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) - David Bowie
2) (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman - The Kinks
3) Invisible Sun - The Police
4) New Song - The Who
5) TVC15 - David Bowie
6) Surrender - U2
7) Go To The Mirror Boy! - The Who
8) Criminal World - David Bowie
9) What You’re Missing - Chicago
10) Sweet Maxine - The Doobie Brothers

Bonus: Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty

Second Bonus (because I freaking love this song): Moonage Daydream - David Bowie (BBC Radio Sessions 68-72)

Also, please notice, the strange David Bowie-Superman connection continues…

Previously, At The Landslide In My Ego:
-Friday Random Ten: Twilight Zone Edition
-Friday Random Ten: It’s the Freakiest Show

Link Love for Other Random Ten Players:
-A Modest Construct
-Apartment 2024
-The BM Rant
-Freakapotimus
-The Sam and BeckyBoo Show
-The Smedley Log

This is a video of a cat flushing a toilet. Over and over and over again. Now I’m sure some of you will think it’s boring, but I actually found it quite fascinating. That cat’s behaviour seemed to have an almost human-like quality to it. The fascination and utter determination reminded me of a small child. Check it out. [via Metafilter]

Welcome, Philly Future readers!

Essentials for first time visitors:
-The Ego Behind the Landslide (All about yours truly)
-Burning Questions (FAQ)
-Classic Ego (My greatest Hits)

(This post will remain sticky for the duration of my featured blog status.)

As promised, the conclusion to my California story…

Now where was I… oh, right. After finally getting to LAX, I was surprised by a waiting car, which whisked me (as fast as one can “whisk” in LA traffic) to the hotel just as the reception dinner for my meeting was starting.

The hotel was… how should I put this…? VERY nice. Beautiful gardens with lots of water. The second oldest fig tree in the state of California (which was apparently payment for a bar tab).

It was right across from the beach—though separated by a bluff and a highway, as I would discover. (Check out a satellite view of the hotel on Google Maps.)

My room was equally impressive. They gave me a suite with a king size bed, a huge bathroom, a jacuzzi, and a sauna. That’s right, I had a freaking sauna in my room.

Not that I got to spend a lot of time in my room, mind you. My weekend was almost completely scheduled, from early breakfasts to late dinners.

But I made a point of putting my feet into the Pacific Ocean about an hour before I left. There was no way I was coming home without doing that! Pictures for your viewing pleasure after the jump. (more…)

Guess what people!!

I’m the featured blogger on Philly Future for the next two weeks!

And I have to say, I am both flattered and flabbergasted. It’s really rewarding to be acknowledged by fellow bloggers like this.

I’ll try not to let it get to my… er… ego.

To my regular readers, thanks for making this blog a success. You keep me on my toes and make me laugh almost every day.

For those of you stopping by for the first time, you can read a little bit about me here: The Ego Behind the Landslide, and there’s a rather incomplete FAQ about the blog here: Burning Questions.

Both the new and the old readers should check out “Classic Ego” for some of the best content here at Starting a Landslide in My Ego. It’s sort of a catchall category for my personal favorites, as well as for the posts that garnered a large response and/or fostered good discussions.

Previously, at the Landslide in My Ego:
-I’m a Loser Baby

August Open Thread

Can you guess where I was over the weekend?

1) Oh, Mary, Don’t You Weep - Bruce Springsteen (Seeger Sessions)
2) In God’s Country - U2
3) If You Could Read My Mind - Johnny Cash (American V)
4) Knife Edge - The Alarm
5) Queen Jane Approximately - Bob Dylan
6) David Bowie - Blue Jean
7) Rock the Casbah - The Clash
8) Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
9) Excuse Me Mr - No Doubt
10) Harvest - Neil Young

Bonus: Outsiders - Franz Ferdinand

Link Love for Other Random Ten Players:
-A Modest Construct
-Area 151
-The BM Rant
-Freakapotimus
-The Smedley Log

In response to the post I made about my flight to Los Angeles, Sherri W. pointed out that there’s always someone who’s had a worse flight than you.

Yeah, I’ll say. Like the people on Virgin Atlantic Flight 45 on July 21st.

I’m paraphrasing here, but you’ll get the gist of it:

At around 6 pm, as we were descending into JFK, we were told that we would have to go instead to Philadelphia International Airport because JFK was shutting down due to the bad weather conditions.
…
Over the next 7 hours, we were told that the Philadelphia airport was bullying the crew and allowing other diverted planes to disembark and refuel over us because Virgin Atlantic had no right to be at that airport. And to add insult to injury, the fuel company was demanding to be paid in cash in full at the time of refueling.
…
Finally around 9:30 or so, we finally began to refuel and were told that we’d be in the air in no time. We started to taxi down the runway and then….stopped.
…
The flight supervisor came on again and said that if we didn’t land within the next 20 minutes, the crew would be over their allowed hours worked, and thus would be illegally operating the plane.
…
So we had to disembark in Philly, which would be a little difficult seeing as how we still had no gate or way to get through customs…

Dan Rubin over at Blinq reports that most of the story is true, according to Philadelphia International Airport spokesman Mark Pesce. You can visit the links below for more detailed information.

Man, that puts things in perspective.

Further Reading:
-Virgin Atlantic Flight 45 [Consumerist]
-Bringing The Benjamins [Blinq]

I’m a little late in reporting this, but I’m still catching up, so bear with me…

I now present you, via Philebrity, with more idiots who illustrate the need to eliminate The Ducks:

Teen tourists from Maine proclaim city, duck boats cool [Philadelphia Business Journal]

“I learned a few things. We saw where that girl who made the flag lives and where the money is made,” said Chelsey Pratt, referring to the Betsy Ross House and the U.S. Mint.

People! Stop it!! Don’t give them free publicity!! Don’t invite anymore mentally defective tourists to “quack” at Philadelphians as we walk through our most historic streets.

Just, just… just STOP!!

Further Reading:
-Biz Journal Inexplicably Delivers Ride The Ducks Blowjob Piece [Philebrity]

Previously at the Landslide in my Ego:
-Quack Quack
-Fight Back — Join the Résistance!

As you might have guessed from the leg blogging post, I was in California over the weekend; more specifically, in Santa Monica. But alas, I was there for work, and it was a short trip, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see much.

The trip got off to a shaky start, beginning with my flight from Philadelphia. The plane actually boarded on time, but we got rerouted due to thunderstorms and had to wait while we took on more fuel.

Well, we made it to the runway, but when we were finally the second plane in line for takeoff, a storm rolled in and pounded the airport, grounding all flights for 20 minutes or so.

After the weather cleared, they announced that the storm had affected flight control, but they would have it fixed right away. A few minutes later, they informed us that we were reverting back to the original flight plan, which had us taking off in a different direction. That meant that we had to go to the back of the runway queue and start over.

So we taxied to our new position, and waited. And waited. And waited. Until they told us that during the storm, a flock of geese had landed on the runway, and we would have to wait until they were cleared out. (At that point, everyone on the plane just burst out laughing.)

We finally took off two and a half hours late, and people were getting pretty hungry. Too bad they ran out of food. And ice. Oh, and did I mention the screaming babies? Because there were three of them.

I eventually landed at LAX and made my way down to ground transportation in search of a cab, grumbling to myself about the hotel not having a shuttle. I almost didn’t notice the man in the suit standing there holding a sign with my name on it. That’s right, to my shock and wonderment, there was a car waiting there for me. ME!! And at that point, the trip started to improve.

More on this later (possibly with pictures if you’re lucky). Right now I’ve got to go earn my living.

I thought this was so funny: ihumpedyourhummer.com

Previously at the Landslide in My Ego:
-…And the H2 You Rode In On