Unsolicited review #3

The SureFire 6P Defender. DAMN that's a bright flashlight! Solid, too! Bright! So very bright!

Pricy (I've seen them go for as high as $120). I got mine for about $20 or $30 out-of-pocket, all told, thanks to some leftover cash on a gift certificate, but I can't remember the original price. It was a two-digit number, if memory serves.

Anyway, it's a neat little light. Me likey.

Well gosh

My office awarded me "Scariest Halloween Costume" today.

I guess I should've worn a costume.

I just feel dead

Braaaiiinnnssss

Halloween on a Friday. How cool is that?

Even with the promise of some rain, Halloween on a Friday has a certain level of awesome that damp weather cannot overcome.

I wish I didn't have this odd throat tickle that makes me so blasted thirsty.

Hmm... maybe if I snacked on some... braaaiiiiinnnnssss

BOO!

And this Halloween pun pleases me.

It fits the season too.

Unsolicited Review #2

I lose pens like mad. When I do have pens on-hand, they're usually dead. I saw the Inka pen in REI while waiting to make a purchase and recalled reading some favorable reviews online. So I picked one up.

It's pretty neat. It unscrews into pieces that make a pen that's comfortable to hold or you can just yank out the smaller part with the ink for a quick jot.

The claim is it writes everywhere on any surface. I haven't tested that yet.

Unsolicited Review #1

Because I'm all about sharing my unsolicited opinions and I'm quite fond of a lot of junk, I thought I'd share my opinions on some of the stuff I regularly carry.

In this post, I'll discuss the Tool Logic Pro SL 2. What is that? Well, it's a multi-functional little thing. It's:

* A knife (as you can see)
* A whistle (in the base of the handle)
* A flashlight (the little tube thing... very bright, actually)
* A fire starter.

So that last bit could use some clarification. The pics don't show it, but you can pull the tube with the flashlight out. On the other end there's a metal extension of "Swedish Firesteel". If you strike it against steel (convenient that the knife happens to be steel...)it makes a spark to light kindling.

I'm no outdoorsman. I would be dead in an hour if I were dropped in the woods, even with this thing, but at least I could start a fire (which would probably be what kills me, but I digress).

This is the newer SL 2 model. As I mentioned in a prior post, I'd managed to break the non-working firesteel in my last model. I contacted Tool Logic for a replacement part to purchase and they just up and shipped me a brand knew knife for free. That was surprising and awesome. And the whistle works better on the new one! The only stipulation was that they asked me to ship the old one back in an envelope they provided.

And so I returned the knife. I feel a twinge from that. It was a good knife and I do get sentimentally-attached to my stuff. Still, it was a fair price to pay.

Introspection

Am I obsessing over Carey Mulligan, hot actress or am I obsessing over Sally Sparrow, the "Dr. Who's version of Nancy Drew" whom Mulligan plays in the awesome episode "Blink"?

Maybe both?

Focus! Must focus!

Clearly more coffee is required.

Still zoning

Mmm... Carey Mulligan...

Genius

Why did nobody think of this sooner?

Maybe "they" did and I didn't realize?

How is that possible?

Trick or Treat

If I got trick or treaters like this, I'd actually keep candy on-hand (besides the stuff I eat too much of).

This makes my head hurt. Then again, Dresden Codak has always done that. Sometimes in a good way.

This should be how things are handled in movie theaters. Maybe with a chainsaw subbed out for the axe, as needed.

Exterminate! Regenerate!

So David Tennant is stepping down from his role as the Tenth Doctor on "Dr. Who", or so the buzz says.

I'm of mixed feelings, myself. Tennant was a fantastic Doctor, but three years is a good run. I kind of wish Christopher Eccleston had done a couple of seasons, but that's life.

I'm quite curious who they'll tap to replace Tennant. Interestingly enough, I've heard Patterson Joseph tossed around as a contender. Having seen him play the Marquis De Carabas in the BBC NeverWhere production, I find myself intrigued with him as a choice. He'd be good. Very, very good.

So Steven Moffat gets a completely blank slate to start with. Excellent. My one request to Moffat would be to bring back the beautiful Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow, though I suspect that won't ever happen.

Mmm... Carey Mulligan...

What? Oh, sorry. Got a bit lost in the moment there.

Halloweening

To costume or not to costume. 'Tis the question.

Oh, I have a costume for Saturday. Is it what I want to wear Friday? Dunno.

Oh, the humanity.

THIS IS SO COOL!

Templar: Honor Among Thieves.

io9.com had a blurb on it.

Hello? Hollywood? This is what I want. Stop with the remake crap. Give me more of this and I'll give you my money.

And, lo! The halfway point arrived

And upon the Wednesday, there was much rejoicing as the Friday approacheth.

Is "approacheth" even a word?

[FLIP!]

Apparently this is the last dry day for a while. Welcome and much-needed rain is forecast for as early as tomorrow afternoon. It's foggy as all hell this morning giving my bike ride in a decidedly spooky Halloween flavor.

There must be something in the air because I passed no less than seven police patrol cars. Not all at once. No, I saw seven over the entire course of my bike ride in.

And I don't object one bit. Glad they're out. Makes the ride slightly less-creepy.

[FLIP!]

I was bitter this morning to discover that last night's "Fringe" was a repeat. *sigh*

Oh well.

[FLIP!]

It's supposed to be quite the downpour this weekend, if the forecast is to be believed. Figures it's the day of Jen and Erik's party.

[FLIP!]

Today's Quotes of the Day:

"He questioned my scienceness"

"We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." ("Russell, actually")

[FLIP!]

Yesterday's Moment of Supreme Irony:
From SFGate.com

[Snip] "What we're trying to do is get banks to do what they are supposed to do, which is support the system that we have in America. And banks exist to lend money," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. While there are limits to Washington's power to affect banks' behavior, the White House decided it was time to use its bully pulpit. [/Snip]

[Snip] There is little federal officials can do about it. There is no language in the bailout bill that specifically obligates banks receiving money to increase their loans. Officials had argued that attaching strings to the capital-infusion program would discourage financial institutions from participating. [/Snip]

Krispy Kreme

I do love Krispy Kreme donuts... at the time I'm eating them. About thirty minutes later I don't love them so much. The sugar rush is too much for me and they sit in my stomach like lead.

So, of course, I've had more than one today.

Don't look at me like that. You'd do the same. You know you would.

Moribito finale

I finished the last "Moribito" DVD last night. All said, it was a good ending. Creepy in parts but overall satisfying.

I can see that this was clearly based on a young adult story. The ending is very unlike most Japanese anime I've seen. To say more would spoil it.

Disorientation

I'm still having strangely-vivid dreams. I think I'm past whatever illness I had. I was, after all, feeling good enough to brave the fog and ride my bike to work with no ill effects.

Maybe it's just a weather thing that gives me the dreams.

I pretty much know they're dreams when they're happening. Usually. It's when they blur into what's "real" that I have trouble. An alarm clock goes off but my alarm clock in the real world hasn't done that yet. I'm talking with someone I know in the real world, but who is someone I don't know all that well.

When I can fly or move things with my mind, it's pretty straightforward. Clearly it's the real world.

Aaaah...

A blissful lunch of "Americanized" pho while reading from my book. And nary a scratch on the throat or a headache or any achy feeling.

Yay!

Mackie is back in town so we've talked a bit about his Call of Cthulhu game he ran back on the 18th. It really would make an excellent movie. My character (a mad scientist type) would have to suffer a horrific fate in the movie (in the game he survived undiscovered to wreak horrible abuses of science in the universe he travels around).

Ah, joy.

The gaming bug has bit me. I've dusted off an old contemporary sci-fi campaign I used to run and am comparing my notes with Erik (who has played that campaign the longest) to get my history right.

And I'm planning ahead for my next turn at bat for running our long-standing Fantasy campaign. I think I have my adventure idea pretty much laid out.

Yes, I'm dorking-up in my blog.

Don't judge me.

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

My latest viewing obsession is an anime that I've seen on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" segment called: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit aka Seirei no moribito

Wikipedia article (contains spoilers)
IMDB listing

Based on a series of Japanese kid's novels, the anime is about a mythical pseudo-Japanese culture. A female bodyguard named Balsa is returning to an empire she has friends in. She plans to get her spear (her weapon of choice) fixed up. As she's traveling through she saves the life of a young prince from drowning and winds up embroiled in palace intrigue. It turns out the young prince, Chagum, is allegedly possessed by a water spirit that will bring a drought to the land. Chagum's father, the Mikado, is thus trying to have Chagum secretly assassinated.

Chagum's mother hires Balsa to protect him and that's when everything gets crazy.

It's an interesting tale, especially when the background unfolds as to why Balsa opts to essentially plan to spend the rest of her life guarding and raising Chagum. The water spirit inside Chagum ties to the legend of how the empire was founded and how history isn't always accurate.

And it's kind of neat because there's no real "bad guys" in this. There are threats (soooo many threats), but all the perspectives in the story are rationalized to make everyone sympathetic.

And the animation is spectacular. Seriously spectacular.

I'm currently watching a Malaysian DVD set purchased from England through eBay (I love the 21st century). As advertised, this is a subtitled DVD set. The subtitles are surprisingly-good.

Not perfect, of course, but understandable (thus my surprise).

Best twenty bucks I've spent in months, truth be told.

It's... ALIVE!

[sound of creaking]

It rises from the depths of a dishevled bed.

It groans. It moves. Joints pop. Bones creak.

It stretches, ever so slowly. It shambles forth and performs morning ablutions.

Darkness flees from the burning light of technology's children.

It dresses and shambles forth to prepare food. A glowing box babbles away with tidbits of information. The day will be overcast. The weather will cool. There is talk of fuel prices. Talk of closing stores.

It consumes mindlessly. The elixir is not yet ready. It listens, but does not fully comprehend.

The elixir is ready. Sweet, sweet elixir of life.

Poured into a black mug the size of a fist, the elixir sits like liquid darkness. Tendrils of steam flow up from its bubbling depths.

A sip. Hot. Blissful pain.

Another sip. The pain becomes more manageable as life returns. Neurons, unused for an eternity, begin to stir. Consciousness slowly seeps back.

Another sip.

This... "news"... begins to make a sort of sense. The remainder of the fuel is consumed. The "news" re-cycles. Controls are manipulated. A new device activates. Animation fills the glowing box.

A gulp.

A nagging sensation. Eyes wander to a small device with numbers on it.

The glowing box and associated devices are deactivated. The last of the elixir is drained.

Implements are cleaned. More ablutions.

Footwear is selected, followed by an outer garment. Keys are located. Belongings gathered.

A door opens and then is closed. A lock turns.

A vehicle awaits. Another button pressed. Noise. Hated chirping noise, but far better than the alternative.

Enter the vehicle. Preparation. Turn the key.

The vehicle moves in the darkness. As this happens, liquid darkness continues its work of reactivating neurons.

Consciousness is so close. So very close.

Oh crap. It's f***ing Monday.

Son of a...

Fare thee unwell, unwelcome visitor

Yes, I'm talking to you, evil virus thing that put me down for a week.

Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out. Not that I have a door in me, but I feel my point is clear.

So take off, eh? Get out of here and don't come back, you damn bug.

Yes, I am talking to a virus.

Don't judge me.

Chotto Genki Desu

I think that means "a little better".

I'm actually feeling a lot better. I chanced another Nyquil dose (mmm... Nyquil) and slept a good 10 hours. I feel tons better. The sore throat is gone (for the moment) and I feel like I have more energy.

Yay!

Got a math lesson in my email this morning. Erik and I are discussing conversions for a GURPS campaign. Once again he corrected my math. Glad I didn't opt for any math-heavy professions in my life. Arithmetic? No problem if I'm balancing my checkbook. Algebra? Eh... Geometry? Not so good. Anything higher than that? Put a stake in me. Sucks that most gaming nerds are math strong. Ah well.

I'm a bit more than halfway through "Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit". It's refreshing to watch an anime that doesn't deal with end-of-the-world stakes. It's still got high stakes, but it's pretty low-key. Only a couple of battles. It's really well-animated and purdy-lookin'.

I'm about 132 pages into "The Hero of Ages". Most intriguing. Sanderson's got some solid stuff in his book. Why can't I write like that?

Getting out of the house

Due to the illness I've gone on about ad nauseum, I haven't really been inclined to go outside. I've stayed in and read "The Hero of Ages", watched my DVDs of "Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit" (anime), and dinked around on my PC.

Okay, the illness is part of it. The fact that it's unreasonably hot is another good reason for me to stay inside. It's friggin' October and it's hotter than it was in August and September!

But never mind that.

I got a gift card to a comic store in Berkeley last month. I decided to take advantage of my free Saturday and skip into the People's Republic to see if I could spend it. My goal was a trade paperback of Warren Ellis's "Ocean", but alas it's out-of-print (go figure). Much to my everlasting joy, I found the Dresden Files "Welcome to the Jungle" compiled in a hardback TBP and blew part of the generous gift card on that.

Woo-hoo!

And then I went to the Halloween store.

So, going to the Halloween store a week before Halloween? Not the smartest thing ever. Seriously. It's just not.

That said, the selection didn't suck, the lines weren't terrible, and I did find what I was looking for. Looks like I may actually have a costume together for Hallowe'en and All Saint's Day.

Yes. I'm dressing up for All Saint's Day. You didn't get the memo? Wow. I guess we know who the cool kids are, don't we?

I should've bought some makeup. Gah.

Lil' Evil

His name is Richard, Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, and mayor of a little village up the coast (very scenic during springtime, you should visit sometime).

He's also called "Dick".

Cute little bastard, huh?

Yes, I bought a plushie.

Don't look at me like that.

How to deal with a sore throat

[WHINE!] Yes, the virus lingers. [/WHINE!]

According to Urawaza I can sprinkle some shochu on a face towel and soak my neck with said towel.

Of course, I don't have any shochu. Presumably I could use other strong booze.

Interestingly-enough (to me, anyway, I expect anyone reading this to have their eyes bleed from utter, mind-numbing boredom, but nobody's forcing you to read this...), I found green tea is helping.

I've also noticed that I don't need Nyquil to have strange dreams. Thank you weird and stubborn virus. You can go away now. Seriously. Get the f*** out of here. We're done.

I hate being sick.

Playin' with the layout

I've added links to stuff.

Um... yeah. I guess that's obvious.

Okay. Nevermind. Moving on.

Gwah?

Wednesday night, I opted not to take Nyquil. I was feeling better. Seemed unnecessary. Besides, I don't want to get dependent on the stuff.

Yesterday I had an "offsite meeting" with my team. It involved lunch. Delicious lunch. Like a complete and utter idiot, I had a beer with lunch.

Wow, was that stupid.

By the time I got home after visiting my gran, I was feeling the congestion hitting me like a ton of bricks. I didn't take a step backwards. I did an acrobatic leap backwards into a pit of hurt.

Good times. So last night I decided to make use of the delightful, decongesting magic of Nyquil (largely 'cause I didn't have anything else handy).

And I dreamed.

I regularly read Gunnerkrigg Court among my weekly webcomic perusals.

I dreamt I was in Gunnerkrigg Court. To call the dream "weird" didn't begin to cover how utterly strange it was.

There were people I know in the dream. I sometimes wonder what criteria my subconscious uses to dwell on certain people. In some cases it's pretty obvious. In others, I have to scratch my head and wonder if my subconscious was just trolling around through dusty parts of my memory to do some housekeeping or something.

Makes mornings disorienting, to say the least. I'm glad it's Friday.

In unrelated news, my replacement ToolLogic Pro SL 2 came in the mail yesterday. YAY!

It's neat!

The Bug

The illness lingers. The sore throat is mostly gone, though it's still irritated a bit. I don't feel quite so achy but I still have the lingering headache and the lack of energy.

I have an offsite meeting with my department this afternoon. Normally I'd be excited. Today I just want the day to be over so I can go back to bed. I wanted to feel well enough to visit the gran, but I don't think that's wise. I dunno how contagious I am.

I say this knowing full well I'm contaminating work, but this place is a plague ward anyway. Anything I bring here is a drop in the bucket.

Isn't that true of all offices? Heh.

Wow. Okay.

I finished The Well of Ascension last night. I couldn't sleep so I went a couple of chapters into The Hero of Ages.

What an incredible series! Sanderson does incredible things with his characters. He keeps me guessing all the time as to what exactly is going on.

Utterly amazing.

Bleah

I just can't seem to shake this bug. Feels like my head is packed in wool. I have a headache that just won't completely go away. I feel light-headed and disconnected from everything.

This bug sucks.

Tool Logic

So some time in the past I purchased a Tool Logic SL 2 Pro pocket knife with the firestarter attachment.

It was pretty cool. A knife, flashlight, whistle, and thing to spark fire with. Sure, I have no outdoors skills, but these things still appeal to my inner-geek.

I was never able to get the firestarter to spark (I tried with my BBQ more than once). One of the several times I tried to get it to spark, the firestarter part broke off.

D'oh!

Last week I wrote to Tool Logic to inquire about purchasing a replacement insert for my knife. I like the knife and I figure it would be nice to get the insert again.

They replied on Monday offering to ship me a brand new knife, complete with insert, free. They requested I ship back the old knife in a SASE they'll include.

To this I can only say: duh... OKAY!!!

Hells bells, I've NEVER encountered service like this from a vendor!

So for that, I'm recommending them to pretty much anyone. I've actually purchased a couple of these knives as gifts for friends (I figure the combo of a flashlight, whistle, and knife is good for joggers, etc.). I can't say I've had problems (aside from the faulty firestarter thing that I really don't even need).

Real Americans

I got to see what a real American is.

Bless Comedy Central for clarifying that.

Modern Medicine

Ah, the wonders of Nyquil. Slam that stuff for three nights in a row and:

1) You'll get lots of sleep.
2) You'll likely hallucinate.
3) You'll believe it makes you healthy by forcing you to sleep.

I've slept a lot over the last few days, thanks to that wonderous stuff (and the cold, let's not forget the actual illness). This morning I feel like I was hit by a Mini instead of a heavily-laden truck. I guess that's an improvement. The sore throat is mostly gone and I can walk in a straight line (as much as I ever can). With that in mind, I'm at work now.

Good times.

And I found a parcel on my chair this morning from Saint Paranoia. Yes, an RFID-blocking wallet and passport holder.

Ah... ThinkGeek. You drain my money but bring me such geeky joy.

Suckage

I have a full-blown cold.

It really hit me hard yesterday. About 10:30 am I realized I just couldn't work any more. I was light-headed, felt like my brain was packed in wool, my throat hurt... actually, except for the sore throat, it was kind of a typical Monday.

In any event, I went home. I got some groceries at TJ's to enable me to feed myself and I rested.

Sometime around 6pm or so, I slammed some Nyquil and was done.

My alarm went off this morning and I was not feeling any better. I called in to advise my manager and my coffee buddy that I wasn't going to make it in. I then fell back asleep.

All told, I've gotten roughly 14 or more hours of sleep.

I still feel like crap. I can tell it's a cold. That whole body-ache feeling is pretty much a sign. The sore throat still tickles at me. I feel a little bit light-headed still, though less than yesterday.

Goddamn it.

I hate being sick.

Get your War on

These are funny.

Deeply disturbing but funny.

Political, of course. If you don't like to listen to political humor... well, then I pity you.

The morning of doom

And a lovely weekend it was, too.

Saturday was some quality Call of Cthulhu gaming in a sci-fi setting that left me blown away with the sheer awesomeness of it all. Once again, my good friend Mackie has left it clear who the God-Emperor of GMs is.

Sunday was time with the gran. Over the entire weekend I was feeling congested and believed it to be allergies (Mackie's cat was considered a primary suspect). As I got home, an achy feeling set in and was joined with a sore throat.

And it dawned on me that perhaps I do not actually suffer from allergies at this point.

I slammed some Nyquil (trusty Nyquil, how I love thee) and was down for the count for a good ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. Woke this morning to my alarm and grumpily made my way into the office.

It's a testament to how out-of-it I was that I got in and realized I'm ridiculously-early for work. I set my alarm assuming I'd bike in. I woke with the Nyquil brain-fuzz and the general crap feeling of still being sick and thought: "No... no bicycle for me today. Thanks."

Honestly, I'm debating how wise it was to come into the office. I don't feel so crappy that I can't work, though. And it would be more hassle to pack up and go home at this point.

This is going to throw a monkey wrench in my week. Bleah.

Xmas in October

My friend Marc has performed double-duty today.

First off, he gave me the latest subtitled episodes of "Bleach" and "Naruto: Shippuden", the two animes that have me hooked worse than a heroin addict.

I just finished them. I am filled with geeky joy.

Or sugar. Could be both.

Second, he brought a package that came to my desk after I left the office. And by that, I mean he drove over to my place to deliver it.

Yes, "The Hero of Ages" has arrived (the latest and last "Mistborn" book in hardback). Okay, he had a stake in this. One of the two hardbacks is his, after all. Still, he could've just opened the package, taken his copy, and left the rest at my desk. He's a rock star for instead taking the classy route.

I'm not surprised, mind you. Pretty much all my friends are this awesome. I pick good friends. It's a gift.

So I'm about 2/3 through "The Well of Ascension" (book two of this series, if you haven't been keeping up). Now I can dive right into book three afterward.

Life is good.

Compression of Chronal Wavelengths

First off... why the HELL is 3pm taking so goddamn long to get here?

Seriously. What the frell is up with that?

Yes. I used a "Farscape" swear word. Try not to blush.

Secondly, Erik just shared with me that Loma Prieta (the earthquake) happened 19 years ago.

I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I didn't feel the quake. I was too far away. I remember hearing about it and the reactions, etc. It still wasn't a fun day. I can perfectly recall the knot of worry as some idiot newscaster claimed terrible disaster while I was unable to contact my family.

A lot has happened since then. Some good. Some not so good. I wonder if that "me" back then would recognize who I am now.

He'd probably be upset about the hair.

It's not like that was news back then, but still.

I wonder about some people I've lost track of in life. I wonder why the hell I did some of the things I did. I'm glad I'm not doing some of the things I did.

This meshes well with the weird dreams I've been having of late. I prefer not to dwell upon what my subconscious is screaming at me lately. I suspect it's a delayed reaction to recent landmark events.

Or I'm cracking up (more).

Or both.

Unsolicited Pronouncement

You didn't ask me for this, but I'm all about sharing.

Webcomics that everyone should be reading:

Sluggy Freelance
XKCD
Least I Could Do
Looking for Group
Schlock Mercenary
The Order of the Stick
Unshelved
Sheldon
Ctrl+Alt+Del
Sinfest
Gunnerkrigg Court

Those are the biggies, in my not-so-humble opinion. Sure, there are others that are worthwhile, but these are the ones that are consistently good and reasonably (or obsessively) timely in terms of updates.

Go forth now, ye noble explorer of teh Intertoobs and teh cyberspaces and peruse. Enjoy.

Shoo! Go on! Shoo!

Why are you still here?

Go!

Damnit.

Friday! I missed you!

Ah Friday! Welcome back! Here, take a seat. Can I get you something? Beer? Wine? Coffee? A soda?

Here, have some chips. I have pretzels too.

It's been a while. So, how's things been? Feels like forever since we last got together.

What? It's only been a week? No... feels like much longer. An eternity, my friend. An eternity.

This weekend? Oh, I plan to game with some friends on Saturday. I'll visit my grandmother on Sunday. Much the same as last weekend.

Here. Have a beer. Good stuff, eh? A friend brewed it for me. Tasty.

Good to see you, Friday. Good to see you.

The First Rule

Every time I go into an IKEA, I think of "Fight Club".

Part of that is due to how frustrating that place is to navigate.

Ah well. I have my lamp. Cost me twenty bucks.

I'm still full from dim sum for lunch and the thought of food makes me mildly nauseous.

Time to do some reading then crash.

Thank Azathoth tomorrow is Friday.

Or was it Nyarlathotep? No that's Monday?

Hastur?

No... Byakee. No, that doesn't work. Maybe it is Hastur.

Nah, it can't be HasAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

A sign of the Endtimes

My table lamp that I use to read with in the evenings is starting to crap out. I believe there's a short in it.

So I need a new lamp.

I have to run family errands after work today and I must read more of my book tonight.

Convenient places that sell affordable table lamps are Target and (god help me) IKEA.

I have, up to this point, sworn never to step foot into IKEA again. Every time I've gone there, a woman has been involved to somehow persuade me to brave the maze.

After every time, I've been overloaded with images of Swedish crap and sworn "never again".

So I've looked on Target's website and on IKEA's. I hate to say it, but IKEA has designs that work for me and are more affordable.

God help me. I may actually... willingly... set foot in an IKEA today.

Somewhere a snowball is flying through Hell.

Maybe.

Nomage

So my friend Vicky gave me a case of home-brew last month. At the time it had to sit a while longer before it was "ready".

Tuesday I put some in my 'fridge. Yesterday, I had one.

Ambrosia. Nectar of the Gods. Nummy-licious.

Those are but a few of the many words I could use to describe how tasty this brew is.

The rules of drinking homebrew (paraphrased) are:

1) Save the bottles afterwards.

2) Enjoy the beer.

3) Save the bottles afterwards.

4) Keep the beer in a temperate place outside of direct sunlight.

5) Save the bottles afterwards.

6) Save the bottles afterwards.

That's gonna be a lot of bottles.

Miscellanea

So my neighbors no longer have the bumper sticker that provoked such unreasonable thoughts of rage in me. Funny. Maybe it annoyed other people? Maybe vandals? I suppose it's possible someone put the sticker on their car without their knowledge and they removed it themselves.

Do I care? Not so much, no.
---
Trader Joe's is an evil place. Belgian dark chocolate mini grahams. Unbelievably tasty goodness.

Why do you do this to me, Joe? WHY????

I'm so weak.
---

I got a SureFire flashlight the other day. No, I didn't pay over a hundred dollars for a bloody torch. I found a deal for MUCH less.

And DAY-UM but this thing is bright!

Painfully so.

---
The Hero of Ages is shipping.

Yes, I'm doing my part to keep the economy afloat in a recession.

It's a lovely excuse for my impulse spending habit.
---

Why isn't it Friday yet?

Trek-tastic!

Ah, J.J. Abrams. You are a holy man.

After the crap that was "Enterprise", I thought I'd never be able to stomach "Star Trek" again (although I admit I liked the "mirror universe" Enterprise episodes).

Then along came J.J. Abrams, the man who introduced "Alias", "Lost", "Mission Impossible III", and "Fringe" to my life.

Sure, "Alias" became crap at the end and "Lost" had a whole season of suck, but "Lost" has recovered. "Mission Impossible III" had Tom-nutjob-Cruise in it and it was still good! "Fringe" is the only tv show I actually like right now.

And he's doing the new "Trek" movie. I just saw some of the teaser stills.

I'm hooked.

I realize this makes me a total dog, but a huge selling point was the return of the 60's style mini-skirt for the ladies.

I love that.

If that makes me a pig, then so be it. Bacon I am.

Mmmm... bacon....

What was I saying?

Three Disturbing Things

This, this, and this (okay, this last one is just really funny)

Civic Duty

So I've voted. I get bitching rights if things go more sour in the future.

I like absentee ballots. Sure, I don't get a cute little "I Voted!" sticker, but I also get to avoid crowds.

Works for me.

Well that's that

I just watched the episode of "Heroes" I taped last night.

And, with no further ado, I managed to lose what little lingering interest I had in the series.

Coincidentally, I got my cable bill today and they increased the amount. This might be a good time to cancel or downgrade service, I suppose.

Me reed lots

I'm thorougly enjoying The Well of Ascension right now. I opted to just sit back, listen to music (with my new, malfunctioning, stereo then later my MP3 player), and burn through this book a bit.

Quite enjoyable. I didn't get terribly far, but I got a late start (I spent time researching ballot issues for my mail-in ballot and I had to kill time surfing teh intertoob for crap as well as hassle Erik and Mackie over game stuff).

Lately I feel as though I'm in an informal book club. My friend Charles the Book Pimp has, of late, pushed many a book in my direction that I've thoroughly enjoyed. Erik and my friend Marc have also been perpetrators in the inclusion of my latest reads. I've done my best to trade the favor.

So after Charles the Book Pimp managed to successfully pimp "Mistborn" to me, I read book one, pushed it off on Erik, and recommended the series to my friend Marc. Marc went to one of these mysterious "library" places I've heard of, blazed through book one, then got book two (which I'm reading now) and actually passed me in page count.

The bastard.

Then he approaches me yesterday and says "so... book three... it comes out tomorrow. How do you plan to get it? Amazon or Borders?"

Since Borders is walking distance and I won't have to cough up for shipping, I replied "Borders".

And then he pointed out that he wanted a copy of the book as well, which means free shipping from Amazon...

So two copies of The Hero of Ages should be en route soon. Since I went the freebie shipping route they'll probably head out next week or so, but that's fine.

It says a lot that it's hardback and I still want it.

It will be mine. Oh yesssss....

Truth!!!

In light of my prior post, this is so true!

Stuff

This is some products I've found useful or noteworthy. Yeah, it's kind of "marketing-whore-y" to list stuff in a blog, but I can live with that.

* Headblade: a neat little blade for shaving the head. Looks like a kid's toy, but it does a good job with the shaving. The blades are super-sharp, though. It's pretty easy to take a chunk out of the skull. I've found myself wearing bandages on the head a fair amount.

* Leatherman Skeletool: I love tools. I really do. This is one of the more useful multi-tools I've found. The weight is nice. All the various parts (pliars, screwdrivers, knife, bottle-opener) all work really well. Totally worth the money. I'm not sure I'd be in favor of paying for the more expensive one. The $60 one is good enough for me.

* SeV Essential Jacket (Men's): POCKETS! 'Nuff said.

Actually, anything by SeV pretty much qualifies for awesome.

Ditto anything done by Peter Atwood.

Rage

Ah, politics.

I try to sit back and not let the political arena bother me. There are people in this country who disagree with me on a number of political matters. In some cases, they're better-informed than I am. In other cases, they're not.

I try to respect other people's opinions. I try to just let it slide.

This election, however, is really fuelling my rage. Some of the ads and the claims are really pressing my buttons, especially in light of how fucked up everything is right now.

So I'm exiting my garage this morning and I see a bumper sticker on a car belonging to one of my neighbors. Said bumper sticker exhorts the so-called virtues of the candidates for president and VP that I have a lot of problems with.

And I suddenly felt this overwhelming sense of rage. If they'd been present (my neighbors, not the candidates), I probably would have started screaming at them over how hypocritical it is for them to support said candidates given their current living situation.

I felt this sudden and overwhelming desire to smash the crap out of their car, too.

Thankfully, I don't act on impulses like this. Legal ramifications aside, it flies in the face of my belief that everyone is entitled to their opinion, blah, blah, blah.

And yet I'm still churning with barely-suppressed fury. It's not rational. It's not constructive or productive. It's not a good idea to have this fury or act on it. All the same, it's there.

Best that I minimize TV time 'till the election is over.

And so it begins

I can always tell when Autumn starts. Oh yeah, there's a specific calendar date and all that, but for me, personally, there's an indicator.

It always begins with one of two things: alcohol or exposure to a pet. Both booze and certain types of animals make me congested. Just one of those things. Usually, I'm good after a short period of time after exposure.

However, come Autumn, there's something in the air that hits me hard. The instigator of the congestion starts me getting all stuffy-headed and then I just stay that way for pretty much most of Autumn and a large part of Winter.

Sucks.

This especially sucks 'cause in terms of weather, I love Autumn. It's my favorite time of year (aside from the personal discomfort).

And I got to start with a double-whammy this weekend.

It began with the aformentioned trek to Forbidden Island (which, for the record, I don't regret in the least... mmm... tiki bar...). From the incoherent ramblings in my prior post, it seems pretty clear I had more than enough to drink. Saturday morning was... uncomfortable but not impossible.

Then the afternoon was spent at Erik's for a game. And they have a cat. Pom is an awesome cat, but she's also a long-haired one. About two hours into the game, I could feel my contacts burning and my sinuses reacting. By the time I left (well into the evening hours) I was fried.

Yesterday was more booze with the unnamed as part of an obligation followed by a visit with Wendell the cat. Wendell is a tabby and short-haired, so I don't (yet) react in terms of allergies. Not like I can tell as I'm reacting to the IPA from EJ Phair.

So this morning, I awake to that familiar feeling of not quite being able to breathe properly. The beginning of Autumn for me.

At least I had a lovely almost-full moon to light the way as I froze my arse off on the bike ride to work.

Drunken Emailing

So I'm back from a Forbidden Island run to burn off the craziness of the week.

I'm still feeling the drinks and I "only" had three. Ye gods they make 'em strong. Thank (some) god I didn't drive. (Thanks Vicky!)

And in my booze-influenced haze, I feel the urge to email a couple of folks. Thankfully, that still-sober voice in the back of my head that retains some semblance of rationality, is actually stopping me.

Yay rational voice!

How to deal with depression

The economy is in the shitter.

There's wars going on. The world feels less-stable than it did a decade ago.

There's endless stories of political and corporate corruption.

It's getting hard to envision any reasonable method for dealing with the future.

Everything good and tasty is bad for you.

Blah, blah, blah... I swear. It's like there's a hurricane of bad karma being tossed about these days. It's enough to drive people insane. No wonder so many people I know are so obsessed with some kind of escapism: drugs, video games, religion, booze, books, TV, whatever...

Thank goodness for escapism.

I, for one, am looking forward to my Saturday of escapism playing GURPS at Erik's tomorrow.

Table-top gaming is a somewhat sado-masochistic endeavor (which raises psychological questions I prefer not to dwell upon). Being a "game master" (running the game) caters well to one with sadistic tendencies (and meglomaniacal personalities with a burning urge to "play god"... it appeals well to me). Being a player in the game necessitates a certain degree of machochistic behavior (given the GM's usual inclination).

Usually, I am a GM. This Saturday, and for the next few months, I'll be a player. I like to think that the horrible abuse Erik will inflict upon my character will fuel my sadistic tendencies when I reassume the GM's chair.

It will be a good excuse for me when I indulge in evil again.

A lesson in diet

Dol sot bi bim bap (sp?) is a large meal. It's essential a heated clay bowl of rice, veggies, some meat (sometimes), and often an egg.

It normally comes with a small soup.

It's yummy.

That was lunch yesterday. And because I have a tendency to inhale food, it was joined with some of my friend's rice.

I was still full when I went to bed last night. That is a lot of carbs.

I can tell when I've over-eaten (besides the whole "I can barely move 'cause my stomach is too full" feeling). When the smell of food makes me a little sick, I've really overdone it.

So Tuesday evening, I made pasta sauce. My apartment still holds the slight smell of garlic, onions, and tomato. Normally that's fine. Yesterday? Not a welcome odor.

And yet, I have no regrets. None at all.

Mistborn

So finished Mistborn: The Final Empire last night.

Brilliant. Utterly brilliant.

The twist was entertaining. I sort of expected it, but not in the way it played out.

On to book two, The Well of Ascension now.

Heh heh heh

I lifted these off of Neatorama:

* Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
* And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
* Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
* Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous.
* One should NEVER generalize.

I'm pretty sure I've managed to violate every one of these a few times over the course of the day. Given that I write for a living, that's probably not a great thing.

Spewing randomness

Where to begin? Ah yes.

So I raved a bit earlier on about Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series. I'm nearly done with book one "The Last Empire" and it's actually getting better.

This guy is brilliant! The story is sound enough but it's really his narrative style that's selling the series for me. I'm sold enough that when book three comes out soon in hardback, I'll likely give in and just get it right then and there so I know how this damn series ends.

---
I'm the only person I know who watches "Fringe", yet the show got picked up for a full season. There must be other people who watch this show. I suspect they're also the mysterious other people who watch "Lost". I know they're out there, but aside from my folks, I don't know anyone first-hand who watches and enjoys that show.

And it makes things maddening when I want to geek out. It's hard to geek out too much with the 'rents.

Just sayin'
---
The economy is in the crapper, or so it seems. All that said, there's been some interesting analyses of how things are on KRON (which currently has one of the most beautiful weather casters I've ever seen grace the TV... Evelyn Taft... mmm... but I digress).

The newscaster yesterday evening made an interesting point of stating that the underlying foundations of our economy are essentially sound. Most of the current post-bailout troubles are caused by public panic fueled largely by the way the situation's currently being reported.

I can't claim to be informed enough on economics to know how true that statement is. It is interesting, though. I doubt this current downswing is entirely a "wag the dog" kind of scenario, but it raises an interesting question of how much of this is self-fufilling prophesy, y'know?

I'm not inclined to stuff my mattress with cash just yet.
---
I love autumn. I love the smell and taste of the air. I love the cold mornings and evenings. I love the leaves turning color (especially now that I don't have to rake up any of 'em).

<WHINE>I'm not so big on the cold mornings, warm afternoons fluctuations. Wearing layers is all fine and well, but it's a bit awkward when bicyling to work. My backpack can only hold so much on the route back.</WHINE>

I hope we get more rain this year. We could use it.
---
And it's only Tuesday. *sigh*

Drunken Food Songs!

Yay! Dr. Horrible creators!!!

Where in the what the?

How did Monday get here so fast?

Isn't that always the question on Mondays?

This weekend was certainly a blip on the radar screen... barely. I can't remember if I did anything Friday night. I think I drank beer and watched "Forbidden Kingdom" (a pair of tasks that go well together).

Saturday was low-key enough. I'm told it rained, but I never actually saw this alleged "rain". Just the after-effects (damp ground, etc.). Had dinner with the 'rents. Picked up comics. Everyone I talked to on Saturday was really strangely chatty. I was at the comic store for a good 45 minutes. About ten of those minutes were spent picking out comics and paying for them. The balance was talking to (and mainly listening to) the staff at the comic store chat about a wide and random assortment of things. And it went on from there.

Sunday was a friend's wedding at Mills College. I've never been to Mills before. It is a gorgeous campus and it actually had fall colors there. It was a good time. The wedding itself was short, sweet, and to the point. The ceremony might have been fifteen minutes. Maybe twenty. The balance of the afternoon was the reception, which had a chocolate fountain and Fat Tire beer.

I was happy.

I found myself exiting the same time as a friend from work and his family. For the first time that I can recall, I found myself holding on to one of my friend's kids.

Kids are surprisingly awkward to carry and a mite heavy. My respect for parents has gone up another couple of notches. And my desire to have kids of my own dropped another million notches.

hrrgh?

I was all set to watch the Veep debates. Really, I was. I know they wouldn't have done much to change my opinion as to who I plan to vote for in November, but I was curious.

My copy of "Iron Man" came in yesterday. So I watched that during dinner, then with nary a thought of the real world and the fascinating drama of politics, cleaned up, grabbed my book, and read 'till I crashed last night.

Forgot completely about the debates until this morning.

I saw clips of it with the news this morning. Doesn't seem like I missed anything substantial or surprising.

Who would've thought that our politics would get to the point where people cared what the Vice-Presidential candidates had to say? Cheney may be a fountain of pure, unadulterated evil, but ya got to credit the guy for making the VP spot interesting.

I still hope someone puts the guy in jail for eternity, but credit where credit is due.

Huh. That turned into more of a political rant than first intended. Oops!

Mistborn

Okay, I'm hooked.

"Mistborn" (aka "Mistborn: the Final Empire") by Brandon Sanderson is rocking my world.

And there's two more books in the series! YAY!

All a-shiver

I watched the episode of "Fringe" I taped on Wednesday (yes, taped... I still use VHS... I'm slow to adopt technology. Sue me.).

With this week's episode, Abrams has won my absolute loyalty to this show.

Strange McGuffin things.

Weird hairless guys in suits with odd diets and telepathic powers.

Ray guns.

Mind-reading nose-zappers.

Ghosts.

And of course the obligatory mad scientist.

I love this show now!

Of course, by saying this, I've just doomed it to cancellation (like "Firefly") or a sudden and severe drop in script quality (like "Heroes", "Lost", etc.).

Holy October, Batman!

It's mildly-amazing how fast October got here. In a month and change, we'll know who the next U.S. president will be (poor guy). In less than three months, Xmas comes along to kick us all in the wallet.

Nice time for Wall Street to melt, huh?

So I finally watched my tape of "Heroes" from Monday night. I found myself fast-forwarding through most of it. It's amazing how fast that show fell into a rut. I think "Fringe" is really the only show I watch that I enjoy these days. And "Fringe" won't be a long-lasting show. I can already tell that.

Though I've been wrong before.

And October Madness begins soon. I think I have something going on every weekend 'till mid-November at this point.

I guess it's better than being bored.