Adrian won their first round play-off game. I've got the highlight video posted on AdrianJournal.com.

I made a comment on a post on Kyle's site, and it got so long that I might as well put it here, too. Read this first: Ordering Narnia. Then my response:

When we bought the boxed set 4-5 years ago, they were in chronological order. But we did some research and read them in the order they were published. I think it was the best way to go. But keep in mind that The Magician's Nephew, the first book chronologically, also gradually introduces the reader to the world of Narnia through the eyes of a child. There's plenty of mystery and suspense. Lion is still the best intro and Nephew is better as a back story.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Another example. When I was going to read some Tolkien for the first time I was about 15. I asked someone which book comes first and they told me it was The Silmarillion. But don't start there, they said. Start with the Hobbit. But I was 15 and I knew everything, so I started with the first book chronologically. I plowed my way through, but needless to say, I wasn't interested in any more Tolkien for a great while. Someone at Truman introduced me to Tolkien properly and I read The Hobbit and the trilogy with great relish. Later I came back to the prequel and enjoyed it more for what it is, a history and a back story.

Somewhere along the line we became interested in telling and hearing stories in the order that they happened. But the best stories have always been told out of order. I'm reading Odyssey now and it's all out of order. Tolkien was the same way, as is Harry Potter.

Would history books be more effective if they took this same route? You could introduce the reader to the current world and make each history lesson a tangent that gives a bit more of the back story.

The Credit Card Prank
The Credit Card Prank Part II

This guy was able to sign his credit card receipts in all kinds of crazy ways, because nobody ever checks the signature. Does that make you feel safe?

Mirror.co.uk - News - TERRORISED.. BY A 10FT TOILET SNAKE

I think I'll just hold it in from now on.

(via J-Walk)

After a generally crappy day, this made me smile:

Made up words from the Simposns

World Beard and Moustache Championship

I don't have anything funny to add to this picture and link. I'm just happy that this competition exists.

(via J-Walk's Blog)

I've posted a report from our game night last night:

Game Night: 10-8-05

Steve, don't eat it. volume 9 - Steve eats a silkworm pupa for the latest installment of Steve, Don't Eat It! You've never read it? What, are you too good for Steve or something? Whatever you're doing now, stop it. Click the links and go read it.

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

I just heard about this today. WTF, man? What are these people thinking?

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.

(via Wonkette)

FEMA criticized for cruise ship deal - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

I just heard about this today. WTF, man? What are these people thinking?

The hasty appeal yielded one of the most controversial contracts of the Hurricane Katrina relief operation, a $236 million agreement with Carnival Cruise Lines for three ships that now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract -- staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties -- has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.

To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person -- and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.