This one listed because I used to love watching WKRP, and because he died of Pulmonary Fibrosis. Here’s wishes that he is able to breath freely on the other side (and that the phone cops don’t come for you because of that stunt Johnny pulled).

Gordon Jump of ‘WKRP’, Maytag ads dies

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — Gordon Jump, who played a befuddled radio station manager on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” and made his mark in commercials as the lonely Maytag repairman, died Monday. He was 71.

Jump suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, said his cousin, Katherine Jump Wagner. The illness causes scarring of the air sacs of the lungs, leading to heart or respiratory failure.

So it seems some enterprising sales person has decided to post comments that are ads for someplace to get a certain pill that will help prevent hangovers. To this person, stop it. Your comments have been deleted. This isn’t the place for that. Sheesh.

So, I haven’t had a chance to post what I’ve been watching lately, so thought I’d give a quick update. I’ve been checking out a few series that have been out for a bit. Namely GetBackers, Princess Tutu, Puchi Puri Yuuchi, Hanaukyo Maids. I’m finding them all appealing in different ways. Hanaukyo Maids is cute and sweet, but with a bit too much fanservice. It’s one thing I don’t quite get. The show itself could be just as good without showing as much skin. Princess Tutu is another one of those shows where the writer must have taken too much acid at one point. But it’s very good. One of the more interesting stories I’ve seen in a while. And I’m a sucker for anything to do with fairy tales. Puchi Puri Yuuchi is just cute and fun. So far not much substance, but it is enjoyable to watch.

And last but not least, Getbackers. I started watching again based on the recommendation of a friend. And I have to admit I’m actually pretty much enjoying it. It’s an interesting mix of action and fun stuff, complete with a character who slips into chibi mode way too often.

That’s it for now, and I’ll try and write more often in the future.

My latest online addiction is Button Men Online. I found the link to this over on a friend’s LJ and quickly found myself playing in a bunch of games at once. Button Men is a dice game from the cool people over at Cheapass Games. Someone made an online version of it and I’ve been enjoying it quite a bit. One thing I like is the pace of the games. You make a move in a game, then go off and wait for the other person to make their move. So it isn’t really real time. But it is a nice distraction to jump over to when I need a break for a second. And it really takes about a minute or less to make a move. I will say that the game can be a little confusing at first and I don’t think the rules are necessarily that easy to understand. One thing that is nice though is you can play a ‘for fun’ game with a mentor who will answer questions for you. And I just got notified that it’s my turn again, off I go.

A friend pointed me at an article about some strange plaques that have been found on roads around the country. The author certainly did quite a lot of work trying to find out about these things. Of course the geek in me is already making note of this for the next time I need some ideas for a role playing game.

Perhaps the urban equivalent of a crop circle. A mysterious sign appearing in the night. A cryptic message left behind by beings with a seemingly extraterrestrial agenda.

Or perhaps by a paranoid journalist-hating Nazi. In some cities, the basic tiles are sometimes accompanied by an adjacent tile that urges people to “Murder all journalists, I beg you!” And in Philadelphia, next to one of the regular tiles, was a long rant, also made up of individual hand-formed letters imbedded in a tile, that blamed “hellion Jews” (whatever they are) for a long list of personal problems that the tile maker seemed to be experiencing. [Kansas City Star]

There’s another page that lists where people have found these plaques. Kind of bizarre and neat. Makes me wonder what I’d do if I wanted to do something like this. Maybe I’d put signs in strange places with the recipe for brownies.