Hope yer having a good one! I managed to get through on the phone to my family in New Zealand when I got home last night (which was early afternoon on Xmas Day in New Zealand) so that was pretty groovy. My sister Jo and her family were up in Auckland spending xmas with my mum so I got to talk to them all together. Bonus.

I couldn't get hold of Amber unfortunately which was sad - no answer on their home phone (I left messages on their machine anyway), and their cellphones just rung forever without even getting an answer service, which means it probably wasn't even ringing at their end. After about an hour and a half of repeated dialing I had to give up. I always have problems calling to cellphones in NZ for some reason. Bah.

We are just cruising today, hopefully we'll go see Lord of the Rings III later if the theaters are open. IceQueen is sleeping in as she couldn't get to sleep last night until the early hours of this morning, so I've taken the opportunity to do some more work on a new site design. It's looking pretty good so far ..pretty bright anyway. I'll wait and see what the other weasel has to say about it before I think about integrating it into the site here.

There's [allegedly] been some terrorist crap with several planes held at airports yesterday, supposedly with terrorists on board who intended to take over the planes and do a repeat of 911 on Los Angeles, Washington DC and also (again) on New York. Sooooo glad that they got caught. There hasn't been much more news released about it as yet; I guess we'll hear about it eventually and see if what was reported so far is actually what happened.

Ok that's all for now. Hope you had / are having a great day.

Don't ya just love it when some new trainee manages to inadvertently get access to their company website and posts something outrageous? This story from informationweek.com is a good example.

According to an urgent advisory issued Wednesday morning by the National Weather Service, the Earth had broken out of its orbit and was careening toward a fiery end.

Unusually hot weather has entered the region for December as the Earth has left its orbit and is hurtling towards the sun. Unusually hot weather will occur for at least the next several days as the Earth draws ever nearer to the sun. Therefore, an excessive heat watch has been posted.

Apparently it was only a test message posted during a training session, according to a Weather Service spokesman. At least that's what they want you to think. Classic.

Farewell to Quins aka Thomas (an acquaintance from the MUD) who died yesterday in Kuala Lumpur as a result of a motorbike accident. He will be missed by many. My condolences to his family and friends.

last player Quins
Quins's last logon was Tue Dec 16 05:22:09 2003
[40w 40t 40c 40m 40a] Quins ~Dragonsworn~

A special note of sympathy to his close life-long friend Packy who was at a cafe with Quins shortly before the accident, celebrating Quins' birthday which had been the previous day. Same for Suyee aka Chibi and a few others who are feeling this loss closely.

Did I ever mention that we get some very impressive sunsets here from time to time? The sky here seems so much 'bigger' than in New Zealand. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, I guess the clouds travel at a much higher altitude here for some reason, and it causes the sky (especially in the evenings) to look positively vast, much moreso than I've ever seen in NZ.

Tonight was a variation. On any given night you can look out our lounge window about an hour after sunset and see the lights of 10 to 15 planes scattered across the sky (fortunately we rarely hear them, they all travel at high altitude as much as possible to avoid noise pollution). There is not much wind about at the moment and only a moderate amount of thin wispy elongated clouds at very high altitude, but the temperature must be just right for the airplanes to leave long lasting vapor trails. When I looked out a little before sunset, the vapor trails were criss-crossing all over the sky. It looked like someone had scribbled over the sky with a light grey marker pen. Pretty kewl. Just thought I'd share that with you. The pics here are the view from our lounge taken on a different evening.

Saddam Hussein was captured yesterday by (allegedly) no less than 600 US troops, without a shot being fired, supposedly. He was found in an underground hide-out on a farm near his hometown of Tikrit after US forces were tipped off by a family member close to Saddam, ending one of the most intensive manhunts in history. US forces found weapons and about $750,000 in U.S. $100 bills with the former dictator, along with two AK-47s and a pistol.

Apparently Iraqis took to Baghdad streets dancing and firing rifles into the air celebrating his capture. Members of the Iraqi Governing Council who went to see Saddam Hussein said they found him tired and haggard, but unrepentant, even defiant. Saddam insisted to them he was 'a just but firm ruler.' When asked about thousands killed and dumped in mass graves, Saddam dismissed his victims saying 'they were thieves.' One member of the council said, "He was not apologetic. He was sarcastic and making a mockery of Iraqi people."

Adnan Pachaci, a leading member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said Saddam would be tried for his crimes against Iraqis, and would be tried by Iraqis. "The terrorist, Saddam Hussein, the biggest terrorist on earth, has been arrested," said Hamid Ali al-Kifaey. "He will be tried before a special court in Iraq soon. With his arrest the Iraqi people will begin a new life, and hopefully they will have a democratic and pluralistic system and no more mass graves, and no more Saddam Hussein and no more terrorism."

Thanks to Barbs for emailing this - I had to publish it. Warning: Adult Content! ..sing to the tune of 'The Night Before Christmas'..

'Twas the night before Christmas, and Geez it was neat
The kids were all gone, the old lady in heat
The doors were all bolted, the phone off the hook
It was time for some nooky, by hook or by crook.

Mama in her teddy, and me in the nude
Had just hit the bed and reached for the lube
When out on the lawn there arose such a cry,
That I lost my boner and mama went dry.

Up to the window I sprang like an elf,
Tore back the shade while she played with herself.
The moon on the crest of the snowman we'd built,
Showed a broom up his ass, clean up to the hilt.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a rusty old sleigh and eight mangy deer.
With a fat little driver, half out of his sled,
A sock in his ear, and a bra on his head.

Sure as I speak, he was high as a kite.
He yelled to his team, but it didn't sound right.
"Whoa Shithead, whoa Asshole, whoa Stupid, whoa Putz,
Either slow this rig down or I'll cut off your nuts.
Look out for the lamp post, don't hit the tree,
Quit shaking the sleigh, 'cause I gotta pee."

They cleared the old lamp post, the tree got a rub,
Just as Santa leaned out and puked on a shrub.
And then from the roof we heard such a clatter,
As each mangy deer was emptyin it's bladder.

I was donning my jacket to cover my ass,
When down the chimney Santa came with a crash.
His suit was all smelly with perfume galore,
He looked like a bum and smelled like a whore.

"That was some brothel," he said with a smile,
"The reindeer are pooped, think we'll stay here awhile."
He walked to the kitchen, himself poured a drink,
Then whipped out his pecker and pissed in the sink.

I started to laugh, as he smiled with glee,
The old boy was hung nearly down to his knee.
Back in the den, Santa reached in his sack,
But his toys were all gone, and some new things were packed.

The first thing he found was a pair of fake tits,
Then shaped like a gun was a penis that spits.
A box filled with condoms was Santa's next find,
And a six pack of panties, the edible kind.

A bra without nipples, a penis extension,
And quite a few things that I shouldn't mention.
A cock ring, a g-string, and all types of oil,
A dildo so long, it lay in a coil.

"This stuff ain't for kids, Mrs. Santa will shit,
So I'll leave 'em here, and then I'll just split."
He filled every stocking and then took his leave,
With one tiny butt plug tucked under his sleeve.

He sprang to his sleigh, but his feet were like lead,
Thus he fell on his ass and broke wind instead.
In time he was seated, took the reins of his hitch,
Saying, "Take me home Rudolph, this night's been a bitch!"
The sleigh was near gone when we heard Santa shout,
"The best thing about sex is it never wears out!"

We're in the middle of a big snow storm here at the moment. It started on Friday mid-morning and stopped momentarily for an hour or two after midnight. The second 'wave' of the storm hit early this morning and we're right in the middle of it while I'm writing this.

I ventured out to the shops an hour or so ago for supplies. It wasn't very pleasant out there. The high wind made it a nuisance, fortunately I had my sunglasses so the wind-driven snow didn't blind me. The weather people are predicting another foot of snow by the end of the storm (about midnight tonight) which is impressive considering it's still autumn here and winter hasn't even officially started yet.

I managed to finally get to talk to Amber last night for about an hour which was awesome. She's growing up so fast! Some mail I sent her apparently never arrived, along with a parcel my mum sent her from Auckland as well which is a bit disappointing. Hopefully they will be getting a computer next year so we can email each other.

Happy Birthday Amber! I miss you. Wish I was there to celebrate with you.

Yup it snowed a few inches today while I was at work. Most of it melted away pretty quickly but there ya go, the first snow of the season for us here. Groovy. A little later I saw a pigeon walking around with a cap of snow right on top of its head. It looked hilarious. The pigeon was totally oblivious to it. Stupid bird.

We've seen a few movies recently - Matrix Revolutions and Master and Commander (with fellow-Kiwi Russell Crowe), and both were good. Apparently I look like Russell Crowe according to the other Weasel, her mother and [quote] 'everybody' [end quote from the other Weasel], including a homeless guy outside Madison Square Garden (he came up to me and told me I looked like 'that' movie star) ..personally I think if anybody looks like anybody, it's Russell Crowe that looks a bit like me ...gotta get these kind of things in perspective right from the start before they get out of hand, right? Right. Ok gotta go.