Lake Luceroby guest blogger MonkeyPig

This is my trip to Lake Lucero today with my friend - BGH.

It's the source of the sands at the White Sands National Monument. It is a huge lake. When it rains in the spring and fall, rain wash the mineral from the mountain to Lake Lucero. The water dries and the minerals are crystallized. Wind shear off the crystals and send the gypsum particles to the sand dunes.

As you can see, there are nidus (nidi for plural??) of crystals. Crystals were forming in a cyote's paw print as well as someone's foot print.

Today was the end of the old moon. So, you can still see the moon in the morning sky. It was there until about 11 am.

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Don't you hate it when...

You know when you wait for over a year for a video game to come out, go to two places to get the game on the day it is released, then wait for the weekend to play it, and when you play the game and make a lot of progress (I mean a lot of progress), don't you hate it when your video game player shorts out (due to power supply issues) and you lose all of your progress?? Yeah, I hate when that happens, too. Especially when I finally got through killing off about 15 of these guys. So, I had to go through that all over again, but I've made back the progress. OMG, you guys, this is such an awesome game!!

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I am not competitive.by guest blogger MonkeyPig

But, I do have some pictures of the eclipse in Aug 28 2007.

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The Moon in Silicon Valley

We had a huge moon yesterday! For our brethren in Boston, here are a couple of photos to remind you of home.
Okay, I swear it looked bigger than that when I was driving home yesterday. Honest.

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Look Who's Eating the Cat Food!!

^^That's a giant raccoon eating the cat food on our back deck, folks! This thing was huge. Almost as big as a pig (a regular-sized one, not those gigantic freaky ones). It was so cute and fluffy!!!!

BTW, today, I received an email from a neighbor in the condos next door asking whether we own the cat who likes to sit atop a fence that separates our yard from the neighbor's yard. Said cat apparently visited the neighbor's back deck and, when startled, trampled some of the neighbor's new flowers. I told the neighbor that I didn't own the cat, and that my cat is an indoor cat who does not leave the house. Of course, I said nothing about knowing anything about the trampling cat or that it may be a part of my backyard petting zoo. Methinks it's either Slim or Skitty...

At first, I thought it would be Slim, because he's extremely naughty. But, come to think of it, he's too big to sit atop the fence and he isn't easily startled. Skitty, on the other hand, is very easily startled and I have seen her while away the days along the top of our fence. Might be her, but I won't turn her in. These might also be the complainy* neighbors who asked us to stop feeding the birds. *roll eyes*

*Yes, I know this isn't a word, but it should be, don't you think?

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From Mr. Nonny Nu

Hello, kiddies,

Good morning, good morning. What a glorious day. As I am sitting here eating breakfast, Mr. Nonny Nu informs me that he has submissions for the blog. So, here they are. This will be our first ever caption contest. Provide captions for the following. (I have provided my own to start us off.)

#1: Ancient Chinese secret...

#2: o/` Sweet six-teeeeennn!! o/`

#3: I don't need no stinking toothpick!!

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Microwaveable Pork Rinds!!!

OMG, can you guys believe these things exist??? Here's the site. I just now heard about this on "Unwrapped." Why didn't anyone tell me about these? I love pork rinds. I really really do. They said that people eat pork rinds with salsa and cheese dip. That sounds kinda gross. But, pork rinds with the red powder on them? YUUUUMMMMMMMMMmm...

We also saw how Cheez-Its and cheese straws are made. Now, Mr. Nonny Nu wants some cheese straws (because we already have the Cheez-Its).

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El Paso's Chile Pepper Challenge

Did I ever tell you about MonkeyPig and her competitiveness? Well, if you ask her directly, she will deny it until the cows come home.

"Noooooooo..., I'm not competitive...." *shit-eating grin*

But, 9 out of 10 people who know MonkeyPig personally, including her BFF and Mr. Nonny Nu, will bear witness to her competitiveness. Of course, I will also bear witness to her competitiveness, as you can see I am doing now, and will always willingly take time out of my full life to provide supportive evidence of said competitiveness to all who wish to know about it as well as to anyone else who has a spare moment and has not been alerted to it. Yes, dear citizens of TWoNN, MonkeyPig is competitive.

How competitive, you ask? Well, she's a runner, and is addicted to endorphines (this will also be denied by her upon direct questioning). She runs about 2 times a week for about 7 miles. Yes, she's fit, but marathon fit? Well, we didn't know she was marathon fit until she decided out of the blue to run the El Paso Marathon--on the morning of the marathon. She didn't train for it. She just did it. I know, I know. You're thinking that Nonny Nu is just exaggerating because it sounds like MonkeyPig is just superfit. Well, no. You see, if she trained for the marathon, then it wouldn't be as big a deal as she would like it to be. So, she purposely didn't train for it just to see if she could do it on a whim. What a bitch, right? I told you so.

Then, there was the memorial of the Bataan Death March. Every year around BDM time, the march is re-created in El Paso (or somewhere around there) by the military and people run a marathon in commemoration of the march. The idea is to commemorate the event, you know? It's not really a race. And, those who don't start early enough can just do the half-march. Now, MonkeyPig wanted to participate but couldn't get there early enough, and had a problem with doing the half-march. Why? BECAUSE IT WASN'T A MARATHON AND WOULDN'T GIVE HER BRAGGING RIGHTS. Yes, she denied this, but her BFF told me it's true and I concur. When confronted with this, MonkeyPig looked like this so we know it's true.

There is nothing that MonkeyPig won't be competitive about. She even bragged to me once that she has a bigger bladder than I do. Wow. I'm so bested. I must train my spleen to become larger than hers. Oh, wait, someone doesn't have a spleen after her splenectomy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! I win!!!

Now, she joined the El Paso Bicycle Club and she's going to participate in the Chile Pepper Challenge. As you can see, there are several length options: 10mi mile, 34mi mile, 50mi mile, 62mi mile, and 100mi mile routes. (Deptarment of Redundancy Department is going to die after reading this...) Guess which route Ms. Competitive is taking?

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Write Your Own Rider!!

<--BUSTED!

Wouldn't it be nice if we here at TWoNN were all rich and famous? You know, when these celebrities go anywhere (like hotels, movie sets, McDonalds, Social Security office), they get to tell the proprietors of their destination what they want to have available to them once they get there. That is so awesome!! Just for kicks, I'm going to write my own rider, and I invite you all to come up with your own, too!! No request is too outrageous!

Okay, here's mine:




NO ARTICHOKES--not sure whose idea it was to use this as a foodstuff, but they, in addition to long-haired men--should be stoned.
Pepsi (the regular kind--none of this diet, caffeine-free Imposter frangrance crap) (cold)
Dasani water (cold)
Clementine oranges (any temperature)
Pringles (jalapeno, sour cream & onion)
Veggies with ranch dressing (carrots must be included, cold)
Celery with peanut butter (cold celery, room temperature PB)
Soup (hot, no chunkless soups please)
Stir-fried Chinese spinach with chilis and fermented tofu sauce (hot)
Chicken and beef satay with peanut sauce (hot)
Roti prata with curry sauce (hot)
Attorney (Tom Hagen or equivalent)
Gems (lime, orange, and lemon flavors)
XBox (Splinter Cell series, Medal of Honor--Frontline) (the Airborne one was too hard for me and I still have to figure it out)
Mr. Nonny Nu (this list is in no particular order)
Sushi (warm)
My sisters (no kids allowed--sorry, Midge)

You know what? As I was making this list, I really couldn't think of anything that I really really wanted with me, except for the last three items. I thought about something like 24-hour maid, or something like that, but it just doesn't feel right, you know? Okay, I'll keep revising this list to get it into shape.

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Long-Haired Men--Should They Be Stoned?

I mean "stoned" in the Biblical sense, and not the Haight-Ashbury sense. This is a pet peeve of mine, and since I can't think of anything else to rant about, I'm going to rant about this. Men have it so easy. All you guys have to do is shit, shower, and shave in the morning, put on a suit and tie, and you're done. You don't have all that other stuff to do that we women have to worry about (e.g., slacks or skirt, blouse or sweater, purse or bag, headband or ponytail). But, some of you guys can't even do that. Just look at this man here:No, I'm not talking about the one in the foreground with the caterpiller on his lips. I'm talking about Paul Newman, the best looking man I've ever seen in my entire life. (Sorry, Mr. Nonny Nu.) Now, if there's a reason why you're scruffy and dirty, then I'm fine with that. For example, if you were asphalting a highway, running from the law, roping a pig, or leading a group of people through Indian territory, then okay, I can handle it. You can always clean yourself up afterwards. But, why else would you have to have long hair or a scruffy face?

Seriously, folks, just look at the difference, will you?

______________________Lame:


______________________Hot:


Now, why can't all of you guys do that? About the only man I can think of who actually looks better when he's scruffified is Viggo Mortenson, but that's because he has such a small face with the tiny teeth:

______________________Hot:


______________________Girlie:


Okay, but back to the issue. What's the problem with society today that men don't even do these basics (keeping their hair short, their faces shaved, and their bodies in a suit--cowboy suits also work)? I know that it takes less time to just have short hair and no beard than it takes to do those ridiculous fauxhawks to achieve that "I'm too cool for good hygiene" look. Isn't it time that we stop fawning over these dirty clowns?

[edit] Alright, alright, I didn't mean it that harshly. I'm okay with a *little* scruffiness and non-suits as long as the outfit looks clean and not weird. But, the hair must go. There's just no reason for long hair on men. As GOB says, come on!!

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Music of the Week: Hotel California

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
this could be heaven or this could be hell
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the hotel california
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the captain,
please bring me my wine
He said, we havent had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the hotel california
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin it up at the hotel california
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said we are all just prisoners here, of our own device
And in the masters chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just cant kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
relax, said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

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Slavery--Still Alive and Well in Monterey Bay

Everyday, I get a "photo of the day" from National Geographic. Today's photo is of sea nettles from the Monterey Bay Aquarium:Now, if you reach back into your memory banks, I visited the aquarium with MonkeyPig not too long ago and posted some of my sea nettle pictures. Here is my favorite one:
I don't think that's half bad for a hand-me-down camera. So, my question to you is:

Who has the better photos of sea nettles from the Monterey Bay Aquarium?

Oh, by the way, did I tell you guys about the enslaved bears that MonkeyPig and I saw on Cannery Row that day? Right, didn't think so. Well, after we finished with our visit to the aquarium, MonkeyPig and I walked along Cannery Row. We saw the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company as well as the Wing Chong Building. We got some candy at the candy store. Yes, over half a pound of salt water taffey (and I don't even like taffey) and some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

We also chanced upon The Beach Bear & Co. As you can see, it is styled as a "bear builder's store." Due to my affinity toward bears, I, of course, was curious to see how bears are built. Lo and behold, displayed prominently in their storefront were enslaved bears. That's right. You heard me. Enslaved bears. The bears are used to fluff their fellow bears' stuffing (two are fluffing while the other two look as though they've folded), and also to operate the blower which delivers quick bursts of air onto "finished" bears to remove all evidence of the slave masters (e.g., hair, skin, anything to identify the slave masters).

After this shocker, MonkeyPig and I were just emotionally spent. And, what do emotionally spent people do? They eat, of course. That night yielded the best restaurant we visited during MonkeyPig's visit (thanks to Ghetto FOBulous for the recommendation!). At the Hu Chiang Dumpling House, we had:


Year Cakes



Drunken Chicken



Dumplings (of course)



Green Beans with Pork



Hot and Sour Soup

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Cripes.

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My 9/11 Outfit

For those of you who aren't aware, I have worn red, white, and blue outfits on every single 9/11 since 2002 (obviously, I didn't dress appropriately in 2001 since that was when 9/11 became 9/11). This is just one small rabbit expressing her love for her country on a(nother) day that will "go down in infamy." Whether we are liberals or conservatives, I think we can all agree that we all love our country. Here's a special shout out to the Californians who are stuck in Boston--hang in there!

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Tomorrow is 9/11--what are you wearing?

Wow, has it really been 6 years since 9/11? I can't believe it. I remember that I was sitting on a bus going to school when I first heard of the attack, even though I didn't know it. The bus driver got a call on his CB radio asking him whether he heard about what happened to the World Trade Center. The driver said that he didn't, and the caller told him to check out the TV the next time he came into base. Someone sitting next to me joked, "What? Did they bomb it again? " I didn't think anything of it and just went to class. Right after class, however, Mr. Nonny Nu called me on my cell and told me that a plane had flown into the WTC.

I asked, "Do you mean, like, a Cessna?"

He replied, "No, a jumbo jet. OMG, OMG, another one just flew into the other tower!"

Yeah, so that's how I heard about 9/11. What about you guys?

I hear that Osama bin Laden will be broadcasting a special 9/11 message in honor of this occasion. I don't know about you guys, but I will be wearing red shoes, a white shirt, and blue jeans tomorrow to work. Care to join me?

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Music of the Week: California Love

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Cry's Electronics

Has anyone heard of Fry's Electronics (I call it Cry's)? They used to have super lame commercials that were extremely low-tech and featured a smiley-faced yellow computer chip. Boy, did I hate those commercials. Cry's is a chain of stores that supposedly specializes in electronics but also offers magazines, assorted candies, maps, home appliances, and other non-electronics. Each Cry's is themed. The one in Woodland Hills, California, has an Alice in Wonderland theme. The one in Palo Alto has a Western theme. The one in Campbell has an Egyptian theme. Yes, what you see here is an Egyptian shrine/temple:Now, everytime I am about to go to Cry's, I have a melt down. I literally have to mentally ready myself for my visit. I don't know if others feel this way about Cry's, but it creeps me out. In an age of personalized service, Cry's is the only place that attempts to make everyone feel like a number. They have only recently upgraded their floor staff to English-speaking ones. But, the kicker is their receipt inspection policy. They herd you through a line of cash registers, and then when you get to the door, they insist on checking your bag to match up your items to your receipt. Look!


Well, this girl is not having it anymore. I am sick and tired of people rummaging through my stuff. I mean, I paid for it already so it's mine. These guys should just eat their shop-lifting losses like every other mega-store. It's not like they have better prices than, say, Circuit City, so who the hell do they think they are to check my private property? So, nowadays, I don't let them check my bag anymore. That has been my practice for the past 5 visits (about 2 years now). The secret is to have a hard look in your eyes as you are exiting and no eye contact. If you are with someone, don't chit chat with them. Make sure all of you guys look like anyone who dares approach you will be mowed down. Most of the receipt inspectors will avoid you because they aren't really that thick-skinned (especially the women). But, if you are approached by a thick-skinned male inspector who has the audacity to say, "I need to check your bag," your response should be, "No, this is my property," and then continue walking out. That's what I do. In fact, that's what I did yesterday when I bought Medal of Honor: Airborne. Yeppers.

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Hi, everyone!by Sushi Cat (guest blogger)

Dear TWoNN Friends,

Hello, everyone! Sushi here. Some of you may know that my mom has been looking for a doctor for me. I haven't been feeling like myself recently. A couple of months ago, I got sick. I don't know what happened, but I just didn't feel right. I couldn't eat much and I wasn't really drinking much water. I just hid in the linen closet and slept all day for a week. Then, I felt better and I thought everything was over.

But, then, I just had an insatiable urge to lick my fur. I kept licking and licking my coat until I got some bald patches on me. And, I started to lose a lot of weight, even though I ate everything in sight. Mom and dad were worried. But, they knew I didn't like to go to the doctor's office. See, I'm a real homebody and I don't really like to go anywhere. I just get mischievous sometimes and run outside when nobody's looking, but I don't really want to go anywhere. I just want my mom and dad to come looking for me! So, they got me a doctor who made housecalls.

The doctor came to look at me and tried to get some blood samples, but my little kitty veins just wouldn't cooperate. I even got nicked a little when the doctor shaved my arm. She glued me back together, though. Well, there was just enough to determine that I have hyperthyroidism and am at the very very beginning stages of kidney failure.

I know, the three of us were a bit worried while we were waiting for the results. But, you know what? I'm 16 years old. So, I'm about 75 years old in cat years. So, it's about right. I'm glad that I got checked out by my doctor. Now, I have to take medicine twice a day for my hyperthyroidism. It's delivered via a needle-less syringe into my mouth. In the morning, I get fish flavored medicine and, at night, I get liver flavored medicine. Dad is good at giving me the medicine, but mom is still learning. She just doesn't have the timing down yet, but she's improving. This is a good turn of events! I'm going to start feeling like my old self again. In fact, here I am in my guitar room (dad doesn't know I strum on these while he's in the shower), and here I am playing with mom's camera leash!

Okay, I'm going to take a little cat nap.

Later skaters!

The Sush

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Well, well, well, if it isn't Green Thumbs McGillicutty...?

So, someone has gone to trial and has asked someone else to water their plants for them. I'm a very organized rabbit, and have taken this request rather seriously. Lookie here. That's right. Every Monday and Thursday, I will be poisoning watering Green Thumb McGillicutty's plants. See? Here I am watering them now:
Of course, I will not treat them as well as I do my own plants. That would be unreasonable.

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Birthday Bear!!

Mr. Nonny Nu pictured at left; Nonny Nu in one of Mr. Nonny Nu's old suits; Sushi in another of Mr. Nonny Nu's old suits peeking out from behind the cake.

May your days be filled with snow, pre-pounced seals, Nonny Nu, and Sushi cat!

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