X-mas List

Ok, my X-mas list for those who are in the unfortunate position of having to buy me presents. What I would like:

1. Cash. No, really. Our church is having a budget shortfall, so in lieu of presents to me a donation to them would be great. We don't have online donations, so I'll have to schlep the money there directly.
2. A Great Outdoor Fight t-shirt. I've wanted one of these for over a year.
   
3. The Achewood Cookbook. Yes.
4. The "Current Baby Status" compilation. This is one of the things that helped me realize being a father was going to be ok.
   
5. A fabulous device which makes a breakfast sandwich in one go. Heather won't get me this. It's the pinnacle of modern science, I tell you! A bit pricey though.
   
6. Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go. I want to get into some Bento making, mainly for Jackson, but to help me start packing and not eating out all the damn time. Plus, Bento! So cool!
   
7. Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness. My longest-favorite Webcomic in dead-tree form. A bit pricey.
   
8. Wolfgang's Big Night Out. Its classical music rock.
   
9. Da Vinci's Notebook: A Capella wackiness.
   

Halloween 2008

Yeah, yeah, I know. Halloween 2007 hasn't made it up here yet. I'll get back to it, I swear. Sorry for the delay, the conversion of Blogger to a Google property has made logging in more complicated for me. But I finally figured it out now.

So anyway! This was the year of Transylvania Polygnostic University's 2007 Mad Science Symposium. A collection of the brightest, evilest, and maddest practitioners of science out there. Good turn out with minimal body count this year:

In addition, we had a large variety of minions and henchmen:
Still, it is the Mad Scientists who were the primary attendees. We had your standards lab-coated ones:
We had some Mad "Pharmacologists":
A Mad Cyberneticist, with killer AI creation:
A Mad Necrotechnologist, with soulless monstrosity:
Horrifyingly cute Mad Medical Doctors and sexy mad Nurses:
Mad Veterinarians:

We even had some Victorian Mad Scientists fire up the old Aetheric Time Machine and make it:
Plus sundry other folks!

The Symposium had several events. First off was a Chemistry exhibition, with teams mixing up creations in test-tubs for judging:

After that, we had a Evil Laugh competition. The lovely judges:
Contestants:
Third, we had the "Build a Better Deathtrap" competition. Each team had to design a deathtrap that included three "iron chef" style elements: A robotic personality, an animal with something dangerous strapped to it, and defenestration. There was much intelligent planning:
Well, planning, at any rate.

Finally, there was a Science trivia contest with three categories: Science, Psuedoscience, and Technobabble. To "buzz in" the teams had to "ray gun" a henchman:
Good times! Thanks to all who came and dressed up! Some great costumes this year: