Postcard Update – Wrapping Around
Posted February 26th, 2008 by Howard Tayler
The postcards, as you can see from the picture to the right and the picture below, are starting to spill around the corners of the wall we started them on. I’m not sure how many there are… well over 100, though, which is nicely heart-warming.
I have two new favorites. Pictured on the right, you may notice a Koala card with a blue fiddly-bit sticking out of it. A yellow fiddly-bit might have indicated that this card had its own hypernet node. The blue is probably just an annie-plant. I have no idea what the Koala needs that for, but I know better than to argue.
Not pictured, because I keep playing with it — an actual birthday card featuring Captain Kirk and Mister Spock on the cover. The dialog on the front reads “Analysis, Spock. If all the candles on that cake were to be lit simultaneously…”
When you open the card you discover that it is electronic. Spock’s voice, sounding crisper than I think it ever did coming from a ’60s-era television, says ominously “Annihilation, Jim. Total, complete, absolute annihilation.”
As I said before, it’s not on the wall because I keep playing with it. Apparently somebody is easily amused.
Explore posts in the same categories: Home & Family
February 26th, 2008 at 11:38 am
How many from the middle east have you gotten?
February 26th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I’m glad you love the card so much. It makes it worth the time it took to choose in the store.
Ona
February 26th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I was rather amused by that same card, but the sister I was getting a card for isn’t into Star Trek at all, so I left it there.
February 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I hope you noticed the one of the B-36 Bomber I sent. It was my grandfathers, and it had been in my family over 50 years! “Copyright 1956″ Under the stamp it says “Place 3 cent stamp here”!
I’d been going to put it on ebay for months but it just didn’t seem right. THis seemed like a way better use.
It might not be the coolest card you get but I can promise you it is the OLDEST one. :)
February 26th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Tak: I did like the B-36 Bomber. Very cool… though I’m not sure it’s the oldest card up there. A few people sent things that have been cluttering desk drawers for decades. I’d have to sit down and check dates.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
! I see mine – it’s the Shuttle one up there. That’s just the first of *three* – I did get you a fourth, but then I remembered that Sandra said it had to be “child-friendly”…. so I didn’t send it. (I know that *you* would have liked it, but she wouldn’t!) I had wanted to send you one for every decade….. oh well. Yowl if you can’t figure out postcard #2….. ;)
*sighs* speaking of “kids”….. time for me to scoot; the family Siamese wants me to come out & play. (Did you know that cats have the intelligence of a 2-yo child? )
February 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Ha! We sent that same talking card to my wife’s brother.
Long story short, he’s high-functioning autistic, and his main coping mechanism involves living in the Star Trek universe. Most folks who meet him figure it out in just a few minutes. (My wife gets to ask me “So, what’s YOUR excuse?”)
After his father died last year, my wife’s stepmom called to tell us what he’d told her. “It’s okay, Mom. Scotty got to Heaven and found out he needed some extra help.” We all had a good cry about that.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Aha! That switch in the middle? That doesn’t do anything?
THAT is why my hall light keeps coming on at odd hours.
STOP THAT.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
MadMike: Actually, that switch in the middle runs the overhead light for that room. The one to the left does the light up the stairs, and the one to the right does the one in the entry.
It’s the switch behind the Fiddly-Bit Koala that toggles your hall light.
*FLICK*
See?
February 27th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Wow. Lately this forum keeps reminding me of TV stuff. In this case, it’s Homer Simpson explaining some light switches and saying “I don’t know what this one does.” (It turns on some Christmas lights from 1987.)
February 27th, 2008 at 1:42 am
I thought that switch was the one which operated the house’s teraport
drive. :)
“HURRY UP! WE’RE GONNA BE–”
[*PORT*!]
“–late?”
And Ketira: I have a part-Siamese cat. I think she’s smarter than
most two-year-olds. She actually *tells* us when she wants one of
her foam-rubber toy balls thrown for her — she has a particular
vocalization she uses, which means “Why isn’t one of you idiot
bipeds — yes, you at the computer, I’m talking to you — throwing
this ball for me?” :)
As for sending a card: I can’t find one which really says “Oregon”,
the state which actively discourages people from coming to it. So, in
a way, Not Sending A Card fits the criteria for Sending A Card. :)
For my next trick, I will now prove Black Is White, here at this
crosswalk…. :)
February 27th, 2008 at 6:22 am
You’re apparently not the only one easily amused – the description of the Trek card made me laugh. My postcard, on the other hand, is a very mundane photo, and is probably going to be a little late.
Cheers
February 27th, 2008 at 10:21 am
WooHoo! I can see my hou…er…card from here!
It’s the robot arm playing with blocks, up at the top of the stairs – Admittedly, it isn’t actually representative of where I live, but as I’ve moved enough times for the number to end in “teenth”, with another pending within the next year, location has become largely irrelevant.
Schlock Mercenary can always be found at the same URL though, and for that I’m grateful. Thanks again for sharing the universe of Schlock with us all, and of course, happy birthday!
February 27th, 2008 at 10:26 am
No card from me. No time to find one to send, sorry ^_^;
Ahh, you’ll get something from me in person if you’re guesting at comic-con in San Diego, and if you aren’t, you’ll get a very long, and probably confusing email :P
February 27th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
csadn- is yours heard through a solid door? ;> I know that feeling…. and get a laser, but be careful not to shine it in her eyes. Mine loves it, especially when she’s frisky enough to play – she keeps thinking it’s a “bug” that she has to catch! Then there’s her other favorite – feathers. I’ve yet to see a cat *not* play with those. :>
But, back to the strip…..
February 27th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Ketira: Are you aware that you’re infringing on a patent?
Someone actually patented using a laser pointer to play with a cat. I doubt it’d hold up in court, but with the US patent system, you never know…
February 27th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
@Sam Two words for you re. the patent: “Prior Art.”
D.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
It would only be infringing to do it for profit, without credit, or without royalties.
Fabricating your OWN laser, hand and cat arrangement is either “parody” or “substiution.”
February 27th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Substitutiary locomotion?
February 28th, 2008 at 2:06 am
Ketira: Through *two* solid doors and a good 20′ away. And she’s
not even a pure-blood Siamese — she looks like a basic Dilute
Calico, until one notices:
1) At certain angles, her head is really Pointy;
2) Her claws do not quite retract fully;
3) She has the different-color toes common to Siamese;
4) She has a very dainty bone structure, with a lot of mass
transmitting through very tiny feet (and she has this remarkable
talent for stepping on — how shall I say — Someplace No Male
Should Ever Be Stepped On…. (Ow.)
I occasionally call her a “Malaysian” cat — “she’s *almost* Siamese,
but not quite”. :)
And if anyone ever tries to sue me for using a laser pointer to
exercise my cats, the suer (?) will be receiving a lot of exercise,
too — running away from Me and MY VERY LARGE, VERY SHARP
AXE. >:) (Actually, I use two of them — “the Axes Of Evil”. ;) )
February 28th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Ah the fiddly bit card. At the time of construction I forgot the blue-annie plant vs yellow-hypernet rule. In addition, using the koala bear card was not intentionally referring the Ob’enn. In hindsight a pretty funny selection tho.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:21 am
@csadn
#4 sounds especially horrible when combined with #2…
February 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
@csadn: Mine’s not a lap cat – but it sounds like yours is part Bluepoint! (I had one about 20 years ago; she was about 20″ or so, and *half* of that was tail.) …oh, whack the person a few times for me, would you? I can get my Sakura running in circles that way….
@Howard – YE GODS! Don’t EVEN go there! (….and said movie is on DVD, btw; I know ’cause it’s on the “on-demand” themed movie channels right now.)
February 28th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
….and I meant with the laser, not an axe. I wouldn’t intentionally hurt my anti-depressant! *purrs at the “baby”*
February 29th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Dev Dot Nul: I’ve heard of prior art being thrown out because it wasn’t documented until just after the patent application was filed.
As I said, with the US patent system you never know.
So, how far back is the prior art documented? I know I have undocumented prior art on the one about swinging sideways on a swing…
I think the best defence against such a suit is probably just to wait for it to be laughed out of court. I’m not a lawyer, but IIRC the penalty for patent infringement is damages, or triple damages if you infringed deliberately, and 3×$0=$0.
February 29th, 2008 at 1:53 am
swj719: YOU. HAVE. *NO*. IDEA. :P
Ketira: Not sure what she is — we got her from a shelter; all we know
is she was just finished having a litter of kittens, and that action had
been taken to ensure she will never have kittens again…. :)
And no, her tail isn’t inordinately long.
Now, our Younger Cat — the Feral-Born Male…. :) *HE* is well-
equipped for the arboreal life; his tail is about as long as my forearm.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:15 am
I’m off for another fine day of trying to not drop newborns so I don’t have the time to look up the patent just now. Is a design or a utility patent? If it’s a design patent on a particular implementation of a kitty laser, it’s probably valid, if silly. A utility patent for the whole idea of playing with your cat would probably get laughed out of court.
Unfortunately, if it’s in court in the first place, it’s too late; only lawyers leave court smiling.
D.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am
IIRC it’s a patent for the whole idea of using a laser pointer to play with a cat “or any animal with a chase instinct”.
So… probably best not to bother seeking legal representation until you see whether the judge takes it seriously? And refer the plaintiffs to the reply given in the case of Arkell v Pressdram.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Sam, did you just get attorney on me? I’m going to have to bathe in, and gargle with Betadine before I can go back to work.
Insofar as legalese can be humorous, that one is pretty good.
D.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
You know, my fiancee has the same Star Trek birthday card. She got it about 6 months ago. I still randomly hear: “Annihilation Jim. Total, Complete, Absolute Annihilation.” followed by 3 minutes of giggling. I thought the card was cute… but now…
Well, let’s hope it runs out of power soon. I mean, how long could one of those batteries last, right? Right? o.O