*gasp* I /walked/ to the post office just now!

And back!

It's hot.
I'm still wearing black.
It's hot and I should be asleep already.

I almost kinda sorta forgot to pay the house taxes some more. This was one reason for going.
But not for the walking.

I spent a good 10-15 minutes as a giant fruit-laced gelatin mould before I went. I'm still giggling.
Oh, and I just got a surprise promotion to a low-end officer position in Legio XIII's Amazon Auxiliary.

Yes, I still have eight dogs at my house, why do you ask?

The Zeusophone!

For those who haven't seen this yet, a group of Texas hardcore electronix geeks figured out a way to make Tesla coils sing. The longer, more precise, technical explanation is here:

11 minutes of electronics! And a demo.

...but the short form, if I understand correctly, is that the electronic input device - keyboard, guitar, microphone, whatever - sends its signal to something like an oscilloscope, which transforms the signal into light pulses. The light tells the Tesla coil to turn off and on, easily 400 times or more per second, depending on the pitch of the original sound. This provides modulation of the coil's otherwise-inaudible steady frequency. The optical input provides safety as well as precision - no chance the operator's going to get electrocuted.

BIG Zeus' at a con! This thing is loud, d00dz.

Here's some of the Geek Group's Greatest Zeusophone Duet Hits:

• Theme from Escape From New York (I like this one best)


• Theme from Weird Science


• Theme from Jaws


• Theme from Psycho

Thanks to cerrberus and Blade who did the most of the bringing-to-my-attentionness.

'Hastert Says He Will Not Run in 2008'

Finally - 'nuf said.