I hope you recognize the irony here: NBC, the network that made the Bonehead Move of the 20th Century when it cancelled Star Trek back in 1969, is about to take over full ownership of the Sci-Fi Channel! 7:16pm
 

Interstate 444 Update September 3, 2003 12:00 am

 
I recently did a couple of treatises on the unsigned Interstate 444 over at Roadklahoma, both as an endpoint page and an explanation as to why one of the exit gore signs was marked Exit 94D. Submitted the pages, and several of the pics, over to the guys at AARoads, who do the terminus pages for the interstate highways across the nation. Much of the information I gave them has now shown up on the I-444 page at that site, with my permission of course. Click on the shield in this entry to see what they wrote.

Alas, it appear the "Exit 94D" sign will soon be going away. ODOT is still in the middle of changing all the signs on this stretch of road, and when I drove by there earlier today I noticed two new poles directly behind the poles holding up the 94D sign. Within a couple of weeks a new gore sign will likely be standing there, one that doesn't have any mention of 94D at all. So it appears another part of Tulsa history will be going away forever.

Some things just need to be left well enough alone! 12:57pm
 

Son of Grand Reopening September 3, 2003 12:00 am

 
As you've noticed, the format has changed a bit from the original version of this page, back in the P.B. (Pre-Blog) days. The date of the article is now done automatically when I write the entry. I have arbitrarily stuck the time of the entry at the end of the article; gives me a more accurate time (before, I would guess how long the article would take to write and fast-forwarded the time entry that much). I'm keeping the P.B. entries over on the right side of the page, cause I think I said a lot of good stuff over there.

The new format also means I now have to come up with subject headers, which means, as with yesterday's entries, instead of saving up a bunch of unrelated stuff for one massive entry I can now break them up into individual subjects. Also, only the six most recent entries will appear on the main page. All entries, both current and old, appear in the month links in the right column, so if you don't recognize having seen any of the entries on the front page, you can go to the link for the current month and see all the others.

In other words: come early, come often! 9:36am
 

Mary Ann Goes Digital September 4, 2003 12:00 am

 
One of my regular web visits is to a site called TVShowsOnDVD, and that is exactly what they discuss: DVDs containing episodes of television series. If you want to know which TV shows will be the next out on DVD, this is the place to find out.

I felt it especially important to mention this site now, because I just saw the news that sometime next year will see the release of the first season of Gilligan's Island.

(For those who don't remember, the first season was the one in black-and-white, the one where the Professor and Mary Ann were listed in the opening theme simply as "and the rest.") 7:14pm
 

VCR Alert September 5, 2003 12:00 am

 
Sorry for the short notice, but I just spotted this one a few minutes ago: tonight on Turner Classic Movies is Zucker Brothers night, featuring three of their comedy spoofs, starting with "The Naked Gun" at 7pm (CDT), followed by "Top Secret" at 8:30.

There's a special pairing starting at 10:15pm. Their first movie, "Airplane!", is immediately followed at 11:45pm by the film that inspired it: the 1957 Dana Andrews drama "Zero Hour". The synopsis for this movie, as listed in my Dish Network guide: An outbreak of food poisoning forces an ex-World War II pilot to land a Canadian passenger plane.

Remove the word "Canadian" from that synopsis and it sounds a lot like "Airplane!", doesn't it? 5:04am
 

Is Rush Limbaugh a Big Fat Idiot? September 5, 2003 12:00 am

 
Rush Limbaugh has joined the cast of NFL Countdown, ESPN's pregame show, and made his first appearance last night prior to the Jets-Redskins game. After seeing him, I have to take issue with the title of Al Franken's book, "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot."

Big: if we're talking tall, didn't look that way. He was sitting next to host Chris Berman, and appeared much shorter than Berman. Of course, Chris is the host, so his chair may be set higher than anyone else's, but still...

Fat: actually, he didn't look that bad. Compared again to Berman, Limbaugh looked like Tara Reid.

Idiot: um, no comment. 4:46am
 

The Roadklahoma Update to End All Roadklahoma Updates, Part One September 8, 2003 12:00 am

 
FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!

What began at around 4pm last November 8th at the eastern terminus of OK-166 in Sapulpa has culminated 9 months, 29 days and three hours later, at exactly 7:00 last night at the western terminus point of OK-37 in Hinton. Translation:

The Oklahoma State Highway Terminus Point pictures have all been taken!!

Saved the longest for last. Left the house before dawn, 5:45am, so I could get started early. Reached the first spot 186 miles (and 2 hours 45 minutes) later in Lawton, and generally went in a clockwise circle around the area of southwest Oklahoma that I had not done yet, to finish in Hinton. Made it back home 15½ hours after I left, for a Roadklahoma record 882-mile roadtrip. During my excursions I have visited all 77 counties in Oklahoma (the quickest visit being to Dewey County: in it for about a minute and a half while traversing OK-33 along the southeastern corner).

Between roadtrips and work, the car has advanced nearly 20,000 miles since I started. Still not finished yet: still have to make the web pages to put the pics on, which I'm hoping to complete within the next two months (the first anniversary of Roadklahoma). Then it's on to Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, though admittedly not with as much zeal as I did with Oklahoma. 9:18am
 

Six Degrees of Air Disaster Movies September 9, 2003 12:00 am

 
Just started watching Friday night's Turner Classic Movies airing of "Zero Hour", the movie that inspired "Airplane!" as previously mentioned here. Learned something interesting:

It's always been obvious that "Airplane!" was a spoof of air disaster movies, "Airport" being the biggest one of the bunch. What I never realized until I saw TCM host Robert Osborne's intro to "Zero Hour" how closely-connected the two "Air-" movies actually are:

• As said, the inspiration for "Airplane" was the movie "Zero Hour"

Reminder to Self... September 11, 2003 12:00 am

A Happy Anniversary for Some September 11, 2003 12:00 am

I know whereof I speak: my parents' wedding anniversary falls on April 19th, the same day as the Oklahoma City Bombing. 7:19pm
 

R.I.P. John Ritter September 12, 2003 12:00 am

 
My entry yesterday about trying to think of the happy things that happen on September 11th seems to have taken a stronger meaning with the death of John Ritter. September 11th is going to be a very yo-yo-ish good-bad anniversary for the Ritter family.

His youngest daughter turned five yesterday.

I'm tired of September 11th. I've had it with that day. I realize good things happen on that day, but the bad is far outweighing it (for me as well: my birthday is exactly six months away, as far as you can get from March 11th on the calendar).

So I say: let's get rid of it! Let's eliminate September 11th from the calendar permanently, and add September 31st to the end of the month. Under this plan, Friday September 10th, 2004 would be followed by Saturday September 12th.

Crazy idea, I know, but I gotta do something. Either the antidepressants I'm taking haven't kicked in yet or I'm beyond hope. 8:09pm
 

Revenge of the Return of the Curse of the Son of the Bride of the Journey to the Center of Abbott & Costello Meet the Grand Reopening, Part III September 14, 2003 12:00 am

 
This blog program I'm using will let me change the date, I've realized that from the beginning. What didn't occur to me till about an hour ago is that I can use that date-change feature to turn my older entries into the blog format.

So I will slowly be converting my pre-blog pages into the blog format, in reverse chronological order. The last five old-format entries have already been converted. 9:13am
 

Isabel Attacks! September 14, 2003 12:00 am

 
The current 5-day forcast for Hurricane Isabel has it headed straight for Washington D.C., due to arrive Friday morning.

I'm just waiting for the White House to blame Isabel on al-Qaida. I'm sure they'll figure out some way to do it. 8:22am
 

Interesting tibdit September 16, 2003 12:00 am

 
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh? 5:50pm
 

Real Sign September 18, 2003 12:00 am

 

9:47pm
 

For My Co-Workers Transferring to Raleigh: September 19, 2003 12:00 am

 
TV Land and the city of Raleigh, N.C., will honor The Andy Griffith Show with a bronze statue capturing the show's famous opening sequence depicting Andy Griffith and a young Ron Howard in their roles of Sheriff Andy and Opie Taylor, walking hand-in-hand. The statue will be placed in Raleigh's Pullen Park and unveiled at a special ceremony set for Tuesday, Oct. 28. Griffith will join Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker for the event.

One of you guys please try to attend & take pictures for me. 6:13am
 

If You Value Your Sanity... September 20, 2003 12:00 am

 
...do not click here. 6:52am
 

Urban Legend: Equinoxal Egg-Balancing September 23, 2003 12:00 am

 
The myth goes that eggs will balance on their ends only during the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox, of which today is one (first day of fall). Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day debunks that myth rather easily. Eggs can be balanced any time of the year, it's just extremely difficult to do.

Back when I was a kid (physically, that is; mentally I'm told a lot of me is still there) I was able to balance an egg on the sidewalk on a very hot August afternoon. After which I took said egg & tried to fry it on the sidewalk. That test didn't work as well. 9:15am
 

The 258th Sign of the Apocalypse September 23, 2003 12:00 am

 
A new cable/satellite channel is in the works, with plans to launch by the end of the year: Reality TV. According to the press release:

The channel will feature first-run reality series, classic reality series and U.S. premieres of reality programming from around the world.

"happy, happy, joy, joy," he said with as much sarcasm as he could muster. 8:59am
 

R.I.P., "Big Guy"/VCR Alert September 24, 2003 12:00 am

 
Gordon Jump, best known to my generation as Arthur Carlson, station manager of WKRP in Cincinnati, but known to today's youth as the Maytag Repairman in numerous commercials until his retirement last year, died the other day. In thinking of his career, I am reminded that, as Carlson on WKRP, Jump gave us one of the classic lines in television history:

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

And for those of us who saw the episode when it originally aired, this'll make you feel old: this coming October 30th will mark the 25th Anniversary of the episode's first broadcast. 12:10am
 

Caped Crusaders Are From Mars, Catwomen Are From Venus September 28, 2003 12:00 am

 
Try to picture this: a Batman movie, made in the late 40s, with an all-star cast:

Basil Rathbone as the Joker
James Cagney as the Riddler
George Raft as Two-Face
Marlena Dietrich as Catwoman
and Gregory Peck as Batman

It almost happened. Back in 1946, Hollywood and the company that then owned what is now DC Comics, were interested in the idea of a Batman feature film, pitched to them by the person who would've written and directed it: Orson Welles.

To read more of the story, and find out why Welles' superinflated ego prevented it from happening, click here. 9:24am
 

The 259th Sign of the Apocalypse September 29, 2003 12:00 am

 
Plans are in the works for "Weekend at Bernie's 3."

Bernie died in 1989. Wouldn't he be rather rank by now? 11:54am
 

All Quiet on the Job Search Front September 30, 2003 12:00 am

 
As I'm typing this, my official layoff from work is nine days and 22 hours away. (Actually, it'll probably be a few hours earlier than that; not likely Human Resources will keep us the entire day that Friday.) A few resumes have been sent out, and I've been on one interview so far, although nothing panned out on that one. There's a nibble in another department, but nothing will be decided about that position until after the layoff has already happened. It sounds very promising, but at this point I've learned not to keep my hopes up too high.

The first of the group is leaving for Raleigh this week; Saturday was his last day in the Tulsa office. The rest of those going, everybody on my shift 'cept me, leave next Monday, with their last Tulsa workday this coming Friday. The place just won't be the same with those guys gone.

Course, I'll only have a week to dwell on it before I'm gone myself. Only in my case it's not to Raleigh, but instead the unemployment line.

As a going-away present for the transferees (actually I'm just too lazy right now to make a separate entry just for this), got a pic for them: Halle Berry in the costume she'll be wearing in the upcoming "Catwoman" movie. Mee-yowsa! 7:54pm