The second telling of Battlestar is coming to an end, and the tenth Doctor might be taking 2009 off, but The Prisoner’s coming back!  Creepy sci fi spy stuff as only the Brits can do it!   Yea for quality television!

Loved the matinee of Kung Fu Panda this morning almost as much as my lunchtime devotional reading from the local House of Wontonism.

There is excitement to be found wherever you go [in bed]

 Been a big fan of pandas for years, even though I think the whole ‘endangered on the brink of extinction’ schtick is getting a little old.  No, no brer zookeeper, no more forced breeding…and peel the next batch of bamboo shoots a little more carefully, please.  Roughage is important to species recovery.

Jack Black and the folks at Dreamworks took it to the next level though.  As a Samurai Jack fan I got all excited during the initial dream sequence, but that was nothing compared what I felt from the artistry of the main movie.  NSFW at all.  Even if there hadn’t been a good story and cool characters, I could’ve just drifted through the landscape panoramas for a few hours and still walked out of the theater satisfied.  Life is about the snacks, with or without a secret ingredient.

Nice visit to the zoo this morning.  Normally the bigger hunters aren’t out and about much during the day, but something must’ve been in the air this morning that got them all up and looking for breakfast tourists.  Snif, snif.  Mmmmm, scrambled eggs with a side of Iowa farmboy.

The bears were frolicking, the tigers and leopards were out, and even all the fun puppies (New Guinea singing dogs, African painted dogs, spotted and striped hyenas) seemed to be out and about. 

Randy still gets amazed at how much the hyenas and wild dogs (and even the New Guinea singing dogs) resemble Pongo. I agree on the resemblances, but just assume that an african mutt is an african mutt and somewhere back in time there have to have been some crossed genes. Still, it’s nice to know that even though he never bred a part of him is still out there, literally chewing up the world.

One of the downsides to being self-employed and taking a week off is having to go back to work eventually.  Having to face the pile of paper in the mail box and e-mail after e-mail waiting in the in-box.  All while still thinking about being on the beach and while the sun is shining outside.  At least Friday finally got here.

Marketing is an amazing thing.  Rather than slap a $50 cleaning fee on our bill to allow Diego to stay with us last week, The Cliffs allowed us to purchase the Laps of Luxury package.  For $50 we got a dog bed, a water bowl, a souvenir dog tag and a room service menu specially tailored for Diego’s needs.   They even had a vegetarian option for our canine companions.  My favorite?  The Chow Hound Chicken.

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Basmati Rice, Scrambled Eggs

• Small Dog 4 oz – 11.
• Big Dog 8 oz – 18.

I was tempted to order it for myself one morning, but no, we did not order it for Diego.  We love him, but not that much.

This is the third day in a row for triple-digit temperatures here, topping out at 108 yesterday according to the desktop widget.  Nice way to start the summer.  Too hot to do much of anything, including all the stuff I was going to get too as soon as I got back from vacation.  Feels like the vacation got extended, but without the handy walkway to the beach.

Yes, Spinner and I were married on Wednesday.  He proposed to me minutes after the Supreme Court decision was announced last month, and once I got over being proposed to via text message, I said yes.  After two and one-half years together there was never really any consideration of any other answer. 

We spent a lot of time exploring options, and in the end decided we wanted a simple and intimate ceremony for the marriage itself, to be followed by a reception/blow-out to beat all blow-outs for all the family and friends.  That second event is tentatively scheduled for October 4.

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Great article in the Washington Post on advances in swimming technique and training potentially explaining more of the recent advances in the sport that the newer high tech suit.  Separately, interesting to see that rather than follow Tyr’s lead and suing Speedo, Nike has reportedly decided to allow their sponsored athletes to wear Speedo suits, at least for the olympic trials.

- Last day of vacation.  First day I can say I just went surfing with my husband.

- The current translation of blushing June bride is sunburned June Party B.

- By some coincidental timing, some thoughts on marriage equality over at KPBS.

Love to have you all here, but since you can’t be, thought you’d enjoy seeing Diego’s morning run just north of Pismo Beach.  This was walking distance from our room.

Does everyone understand why he’s called the Blur of Fur™ now?