Wow! Seriously?

Okay, how is Wonder Woman's new costume considered news to anyone who isn't a hard-core comic book collector?

Why does anyone at all give even one hint of a crap about this?

Seriously? Was it just a slow news day? There's nothing else of substance going on in the world?

Isn't Lindsey Lohan doing something idiotic to get media attention? Or is this her day off?

Just whose fault is it, anyway?

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Sing it, Jon!

Ah, Fox "news". You remain a source of unbelievable hypocritical bullshit. Don't ever change.

Robbin' Hood

This story is just too strange not to tell.

So I've whined about the fluorescent lights that are giving me splitting (and at times, crippling) headaches.

I'm not the only person in my office (or on my floor) suffering this problem, though I'm unsure if others suffer the same severity I deal with.

I compensate as I can. I have an IKEA-obtained leaf-shaped thing that's supposed to serve as a canopy for a child's bed over my monitor. I wear a baseball cap and sunglasses indoors, all day long.

My office HR department even suggested wearing a hat when I made a formal request for some kind of change.

Big help there.

I found out yesterday that someone decided to run with the hat idea.

One of my co-workers got a classic "witch hat" with some kind of weird dangly things along the rim. It's freakin' huge, but it appears to do the trick for her.

Got me thinking.

In ancient times (aka "college"), I obtained a monk's robe, complete with a detachable cowl/hood. I've used it as a Halloween costume from time-to-time.

Last night, I dug out the cowl and stuffed it into my bag.

So now I'm sitting in my office, wearing a monk's cowl and sunglasses while I work.

And I hate to admit it, but it's actually working to stave off the headache.

The Dark Side is stronger.

Windmills

I chose the wrong career.

I should've been a devotee of Don Quixote.

It feels as though all I seem to do lately is tilt at windmills.

Oh HELL YEAH!!!

Yes please.



I would fly to Japan to see this.

Not so much of the dealing

I couldn't take it.

I was snapping at people like an angry dog and it felt like acid was searing inside my skill.

I packed it in and went home for the day. While I have time-off to burn, I can't keep doing this.

I hate this.

Four more days after this. Whee.

Insert Copious Swearing Here

So they've enabled all the lights in my office, including the ones around my new cubicle.

It was my understanding that they were also going to put in "softer" bulbs that would be easier on the dozen or so of us who have problems.

Didn't happen.

Not even 6am and it feels like someone's trying to drill through my skull in multiple points while an army of gnomes is setting off bombs inside my brain.

Jesus Christ... how is it that there are people who don't find these goddamn things painful?

Going out with a Bang

I just watched "The Big Bang", the finale to series 5 ("season 5" for us Americans) of the revived "Dr. Who".

Not too shabby.

Not too shabby at all.

I can't wait for the next season.

The week ends

And lo! Friday arrives!

Is that sentence grammatically correct?

I don't care.

One day off of work and I return to a crapload of emails all warring for my immediate attention. Some asked for access to esoteric knowledge (I like saying I have "esoteric" knowledge rather than "lame crap that only a neurotic loser would have in his head" knowledge). Others asked me for the status on projects that I'm waiting for status on from others.

I love feeling like a domino.

And it's Friday. Tonight will involve more drinking as some co-workers and I say farewell to a much-respected director who is leaving us to further his fortunes elsewhere.

It's becoming a bit of a pattern of late.

I'm glad I did the crazy Russian ship adventure yesterday. I needed the break. Helped me clear some of the crap out of my head.

And I didn't cause an international incident. YAY!

Russian Aboat

Today I took the day off to join family in a tour of a rare Russian war ship visiting San Francisco.

We got into the city early-ish and made our way into line. By the time we got there, the line was easily 150 people deep. Maybe more.

And we waited.

It was a chilly, foggy, windy day in San Francisco. So it was a normal summer day, really. We waited and waited for the 10am opening of the gates to start the tour and waited as SFPD conducted security searches of people going in.

That caused a momentary start of panic. I'd forgotten I had a pocketknife on my person. I wandered off and hid said pocketknife under a bit of shrubbery then rejoined the family. About 11:30, we got through security without much issue. The police took custody of the Atwood Ghost I wear as a necklace. It's little more than a bottle opener, but I guess it looks like a weapon. Oh well.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I also dropped my money-clip (not holding money) while going through security.

And then we got into another line to wait to board the ship.

The crew took tourists in groups of 30. We made our way up the precarious and steep gangplank to the ship and made our way around the dark-grey and foreboding decks and halls of the ship while a designated officer tried to speak over the blustery winds.

Then we learned most of our particular group of 30 were native Russian-speakers. So the tour was mostly done in Russian.

Good times.

It didn't really matter. It was cool to walk around the decks of the ship.

The tour lasted maybe a half-hour. We were only allowed to stay on the deck and not go below decks. It was still interesting.

We eventually wandered off the ship and reclaimed our repossessed items. The police officer who held my Ghost bottle opener became my personal hero as he also found my lost money clip.

We left the secure area and made our way to the 21st Amendment for lunch and drinks. En route I recovered my pocket knife from under the shrubbery (one of these days I'm going to remember to leave the damn thing at home when I go to places that logically have security).

Beer + a tasty burger = happy tummy

It was a full day and lots of fun. I regret nothing.

Ouch

Now I quest for floor mats for my Precioussssss.

Floor mats ain't cheap. Not the ones that fit my car, anyway.

The best deal I've found thus far are cloth ones for about seventy-five bucks online. That doesn't include shipping.

And the installation instructions are a bit crazy.

Requires cutting into the floor of my Precioussssssss.

I'm not sure I'm ready to do this. That said, I'm not ready to pony up another hundred for Honda to do it for me.

In other news, it's Wednesday.

Okay, that's not news.

I'm resolving to take a more philosophical and flexible approach to the various other matters that are annoying the unholy sh*t out of me.

That resolution ought to last another two minutes.

Decline

In the last fifteen years or so, I have found myself with a fairly constant worry (above and beyond the mundane worries of war, ecological disaster, etc.). I worried that I was living in an era of the decline of the United States as a viable and admirable political entity.

One could argue the merits of "admirable" a great deal, but I'm talking about being from elsewhere in the globe and taking a look at the U.S. and saying "Hey! Those guys are cool!"

In the '50's and '60's, that seemed to be the case. Maybe even in the '70's, though I guess that was more an era of less-influence.

What brought this maudlin thinking to the fore of my afternoon?

this.

Seriously. A cease-and-desist letter over fictional UNICORN MEAT.

I'm upset that it's a fictional product, sure, but really? Someone took the time to write a 12 pages on this to support a cease-and-desist letter on a MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE????

When did people get so mind-bogglingly stupid? Has it always been like this?

Was I naively clinging to the belief that there were more intelligent people out there than is actually the case?

When is that comet coming, anyway?

Vague Much?

Every once in a while, I surprise myself by being able to perform tasks I didn't think I was able to do.

Every once in a great while, I manage to accomplish multiple tasks in a very short time-frame, including some tasks I didn't think I was able to accomplish.

It's a nice feeling.

I am, in the meantime, pondering exactly why I have a Facebook account. It's a massive time-sink, despite the fact I don't bother with their ridiculous clicky games.

splat

What I did on my weekend:

1) Get my new PC into my comfort zone. Mostly.

2) Discover that Zone Alarm's free firewall hoses my new PC and forces me to reinstall the OS in order to access the goddamn Internet.

3) Drank beer. Sometimes with friends. Sometimes while trying to handle 1 and 2.

4) Enjoyed the lack of fluorescent light-induced headaches.

5) Cleaned a giant pile of papers that I've been ignoring for a year or three. I'm not exaggerating when I say "giant".

6) Got a cover for the trunk of my precioussssss.... (aka my car).

7) Had two uncomfortable conversations.

8) Started working on plans 'B', 'C', and 'D'. Okay, I haven't really done much more than think about plan 'D'.

9) Played Olympic Phone Tag

10) Father's Day.

11) Slept a lot. Didn't sleep enough.

It's not even 6:30 am and I already have a splitting headache from the office lights. I never thought I'd come to the point where I had to wear a hat and sunglasses indoors.

Life is just fucking weird.

Who now?

Just watched "The Pandorica Opens", the penultimate Matt Smith-era "Dr. Who" episode.

Daaaaaaamn.

A little over-the-top, but... damn.

That's about it.

Lessons

Lessons learned this week:

1) Windows 7 does not like Zone Alarm's free firewall and will do horrible things to my PC when I try to install it.

2) If I'm exposed to a lot of bright fluorescent light for a sufficient period of time, I get nauseous.

3) It's apparently considered unprofessional to convert one's cubicle to a Bedouin-style tent.

4) Reinstalling an OS after four or five pints is not a good idea.

5) The local dive bar is now considered one of the most popular spots to go in the area.

6) Rearranging my room after having had a frustrating week is not the wisest thing I could do.

7) I am far, far worse at martial arts than I first believed myself to be.

8) LCD monitors ain't cheap.

Hen da na!

I will never look at sushi the same way again.

(WTF Japan, seriously?)

The rest of my brain dump

* I wandered to other floors in my office to experience their flourescent lights. They ain't nearly as bad as what we've got on my floor. Not even by a tenth.

* I think I've worked out a way to set up a second computer desk in my apartment. God, I have problems.

* My NERF Assault Blaster is so goddamn cool that it helped me forget how pissed-off I was when my brand new PC was all virus-y and freaky.

* My car now has personal touches. Makes me love it even more. I'm not entirely sure how that's possible, as I'm already well into crazy obsession territory.

* Yesterday's meals were Korean for lunch and Turkish for dinner. I could comfortably eat until I explode in either country and die a happy man.

* Sweet Mother of Zombies! It's summer next week!

Yeah, okay. That felt therapeutic. Back to work!

Windows 7 Impressions

My new PC arrived yesterday.

After a fairly major disaster in setting it up the first time around, I wiped it back to factory settings and tried again.

It's gone somewhat better the second time around.

Interface:

One of the things I like about Windows is that I'm familiar with the overall operation of a Windows system. It's been pretty easy to go from Windows 95 up through Windows XP. Not a vast amount of deviation in screen display and layout. It's moderately-easy to find where files are and where stuff is supposed to be.

Windows 7 complicates things with the "Dock", a toolbar of applications deemed to be of common use. It hovers over active applications at inconvenient moments, depending on where your mouse drifts and I haven't found it thus far to be terribly-useful.

The layout of "where to find what" is otherwise pretty much Windows. It's not easy for me to find the things that I'm concerned about. My old PC was very much customized with a lot of third-party software to make things run to my tastes. I haven't found an easy way to disable default Windows 7 functions to enable the software I want.

Compatibility:

Windows 7 does not play nice with some programs. Specifically it hates my Poser 3-D rendering program (though, to be fair, this program has hosed past machines) and it won't even load my older copies of Photoshop.

Other Impressions:

At this point, the line blurs between hardware and software. The new PC is fast, but that's what I paid for. My initial experience has been somewhat-soured by the fact that there was apparently a problem enabling my antivirus.

So the first time I fired-up a web browser (to download the Zone Alarm firewall, of all things), my system was hit with a nasty virus that hosed it fast.

It was pretty easy to reset everything back to factory settings. It was even remarkably-quick. That was probably 'cause the machine is so fresh and new.

I haven't had a ton of time to play with the new toy. I expect I'll have other reactions (and hopefully more positive ones) as the days pass.

I probably won't retire the old PC entirely. There's still things for which it has use.

Poing

The see-saw week continues as Thursday makes its arrival.

I've been invited to join a "task force". I'm wondering if I need to get a beret for this or if they just issue one with the bandoleer.

My (NERF) assault blaster is supposed to arrive today. Yesssss.

My weekend plans just got kicked in the privates, but that's probably for the best.

It's not even 7:00 AM and I already have a headache from the goddamn overhead lights and I'm still hiding under my cloth screen. This bodes ill.

In other news: I'm still in love with my car.

Okay, that stopped being news.

Overwhelming Levels of Awesome

A blue laser that can light humans on fire and looks like a lightsaber that can be purchased over the Internet.

I never thought I'd see this day arrive.

For approximately $200 + shipping, I could have something that would almost certainly blind me and light my belongings (and my person) aflame.

If only I had not dumped so much cash into a car...

Aaaah

I'm adapting... or trying to.

Yesterday, after finally getting home, I hit a fabric store (a surreal experience, I must say).

I got three yards of cheap black cloth.

This morning, I came in early. My cube looks like a shanty town reject. I'm thinking of getting a shopping cart and loading it up with recyclables.

Oddly enough, the impromptu shelter is actually a huge help. It's filtering the light so I don't have a headache. It's likely to encourage me to stay at my desk and will probably make me more productive.

I'll probably be told to take it down by end of day.

Heh.

In other news: I love my car. I love it lots.

It's my PRECIOUSSSSSSSS!!!

The Gospel According to Jon Stewart

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I have to agree. I'm disappointed in this administration.

The Perfect Shitstorm

Well today just sucked ass.

I should've known when I rode my bike into a head wind this morning.

The bother over the lighting is almost minor, save for the pounding headache I had at the end of the day.

Learning of one of my co-workers whom I like and respect leaving did not help. That's gonna suck on an epic level.

The clincher was the flat tire I got on my bike as I rode home. That was a hoot. I couldn't find the puncture nor could I re-inflate the tire.

Thank god for my friend P who gave me a lift to BART. From there, everything evened out to normal.

I'm exhausted and my day isn't over yet.

Salt and Coal Mines

I try not to whine about work.

Mainly that's 'cause I love my job. I enjoy what I do and even the frustrations inherent in my job are a billion times better than crap I dealt with in other jobs.

I like the people I work with, for the most part. I generally get along with everyone.

The pay doesn't suck. The benefits are pretty damn good (especially the vacation). The dress code (such as we have one) is awesome. They're even flexible on my hours to accomodate my class.

My manager rocks. My teammates are cool. My immediate neighbors are all pleasant enough.

What could possibly be wrong?

Light.

Flourescent lights are the bane of my existence. I've never enjoyed them. I always got headaches when I was under them for too long, even back in school.

The lights my office currently use are particularly vile. On their lowest setting, they induce headaches in me after maybe ten minutes. On their highest setting, I nearly go into seizures.

For years now, my floor has been divided between the "light side" (meaning the lights are on) and the "dark side" (dominated by similar-minded folk who cannot handle the overheads).

That division ended today when upper management mandated that all lights are on all the time. No arguments. That is what it is. Suck it up.

Actually, we're told to complain to our managers, but that's pretty much the same thing.

So now I sit at my desk with sunglasses and a hat on in the vain hope that it will lessen the impact of the lights until my day ends.

This will all end badly. I know it.

Facts of Life

I can't ever have kids. Ever.

Background: as I've frothed at the blog about, I have shiny new car. Said shiny new car has a car alarm.

Said shiny new car is also garaged under my bedroom.

Every time I hear something that might be a car alarm, I jump up and reach for something that inflicts pain on others, then move for the door.

This morning, I forced myself (psychically kicking-and-screaming) to ride my bike to work. As I was getting ready to head out, a car alarm chirped. Might have been mine. Might not. Dunno. I grabbed something appropriately heavy and nasty from my various implements of anti-social in my apartment and methodically went through the parking garage like a psychotic madman to hunt down anyone or anything that might be a potential threat to my precious.

Seriously. I was in my bike gear, including my gloves. My gloves have carbon fiber knuckle plating for pain-delivery (not including the nasty club I was carrying). And I spent all of my class last night polishing my punch delivery.

I didn't see anyone in my garage. Might have been from a neighbor. Doesn't matter.

My paranoia is in full swing.

And this is for a car.

If I had kids, I can only imagine how batshit crazy overprotective I'd be.

Must... take... pills...

Everyone Knows It's Windy

After a week+ of not really touching my bike, the last thing I needed was a headwind while riding my bike to work this morning.

I want to sleep for a week.

Accomplishments

1) New car

2) Pasta sauce

3) Cookies

4) No hangover

5) Defeating a ninja clan in honorable combat

Not bad for a three day weekend. Not bad at all.

It's good pasta sauce, too.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

I forgot to mention one other enabler in my Fit-ness craze.

My friends M and X recently purchased their own Fit from the dealership I went to. By strange luck, I got their sales rep and he did right by me, especially after I told him how happy M & X were with their purchase.

M had thoughts on the different models (the base Fit and the Sport Fit) but I was less-concerned with the issues he noted. As I was going through the process of buying the car, I was busy texting M about my color choice and type.

They were supportive and happy to see that I followed in their footsteps. Apparently my car is the "younger brother" to theirs. Don't ask.

Lodging

Just saw "The Lodger", the third-to-last of this season's "Dr. Who" offerings.

It was far, far better than I expected.

Clever plot. The POV characters weren't nearly as annoying as I thought they'd be.

Next week, the two-part finale begins. Can't wait.

Fit-ing in

In many ways it's the Veeb's fault.

In many other ways, it's my own tendency to like shiny things.

Mostly it's the fault of that damn second law of thermodynamics.

So my trusty Toyota Tercel, a faithful companion of twelve long years, hit a point where retirement was in its immediate future.

Such is the way of things.

It was hardly a surprise. I've known for a few years now that I'd be needing a new car. I've been shunting money into savings in anticipation and just trying to settle on a choice.

So now we get to the Veeb's part. ("The Veeb" is a code-name for a friend who is a devious and awesome enabler)

The Veeb told me of the Honda Fit and described a trip into the mountains with some friends. She spoke highly of the roomy interior, the pep, and the overall nice aesthetics of the vehicle.

I started my investigations into the vehicle shortly after that.

In recent months, I've looked at lots of cars. Hondas, Toyotas, Mazdas, etc. Mainly Japanese cars. My luck with American cars has never been good. My poking around always brought me back to the Fit. Consumer Reports gave it a great rating, save a certain dislike they had for the headlights on low beam.

Finally, last Friday, my mechanic told me that my trusty Tercel was needing nearly two grand in repairs.

My Tercel wasn't worth two grand, save perhaps in sentimental value.

The time had come to stop procrastinating and bite the bullet.

That afternoon, I test drove a Fit.

I loved it.

I went out that evening to geek and drink tiki drinks (GeekiTiki!). My mind was partially on the Fit. At this point I was just trying to work out how much I'd put down and what color I'd choose.

Yesterday, I got the pink slip to my Tercel. I trucked in to the dealership. Three and a half hours later, I drove my new Fit home, then in to see the family. I even considered taking it to the south bay for our family obligation, but I resisted.

Last night I drove it home from my parents' house, very late. No problem with the headlights.

I love this car in an entirely-unhealthy way.

Having car payments again sucks.

Having new wheels rocks.

And I gotta give props to Honda. Their people were pretty cool. No-pressure. Easy-going. Nice.

It helps that I was a referral and I have outstanding credit. And I put down a crapload of money up front.

Me likey the new wheels.

Automobiles

Let's talk cars, shall we?

They're expensive.

Duh.

The minute the car keys are in your hand after purchase, they depreciate in value. Once you drive, boom. Lost even more in value.

And they need lots of love and attention. Expensive attention.

Thus comes that moment of depreciating returns when you get maintenance done and are told: "Here's the $1,700 more work that needs to be done. Soon."

Then comes the time to take a long, hard look at your wheels. Is your car even worth $1,700 by this point?

Can you afford new wheels?

Is this a bad time for a new debt?

It's all good times.

Y'know... in the way that it isn't good at all.

Needless to say, I'm in the position where I'm evaluating whether or not new wheels is a great idea. I'm about 90% certain that come this time tomorrow, I'll have a new car.

I'll miss my trusty old car. I really will. It's just time.

*sigh*

In summary

* Car service - ugh

* Allergies - ugh with a side-order of bleah

* BWAH??? (courtesy of V). Not really anything I'd personally wear, but all the same... um... wow.

NERDS!

To wit I say: "duh"!

Poopie Joke!

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Yeah.

Faux-Friday

It's my Friday.

Couldn't come a moment too soon. Ugh, what a week.

Primal Scream

[Inhales sharply]

[Bellows incoherently and very, very loudly for a good twenty seconds]

[rinse and repeat]

I'd say I need a vacation, but the evidence points to the contrary.

[Inhales sharply]

[Bellows incoherently and very, very loudly for a good twenty seconds]

Whose Ass to Kick

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It's like Jon Stewart hears my frustration telepathically and then turns it into a segment on TV.

I think he's my god.

Raised to Disneyish Heights

Some days just come with a silly theme.

Today's one of those days. There's an exhausted giddiness that's in most of my interactions with others.

While getting coffee, I found myself in a good five-minute discussion of how Disney is dysfunctional and perverted (when compared with the Republican nuclear-family view).

Evidence:
* The only Disney heroine who has both parents is Sleeping Beauty and she's in a coma for most of her story.
* Donald Duck is a sailor, has three "nephews" but you never see or hear reference to Donald's sibling(s), and he wears no pants. Same with the "nephews".
* The lessons taught to boys and girls are... well, there's tons of discussion on this topic.

Moving on.

Then there's the discussion I had with my friend V that wound up with this quote:

Sloth vs OCD in a cage match to the yawn!

Yeah. Good times.

It's just gonna be one of those days.

Aliens vs. Ninja

I'm having a nerdgasm.

Indulging

At the risk of jinxing the situation, I'd just like to say:

IN YOUR FACE, PG&E!

I'd like to follow up with a hearty "BWAHAHAHA!"

And I'm flipping you the bird, PG&E. Yep. In between typing every word of this post, I am flipping you off.

That's how much I despise the dirty campaign your Prop 16 nonsense was.

Shifting Week

Yesterday at this time I looked at the calendar and despaired. Not even half-way through the week.

Somewhere along the way, I realized my car was overdue for a service. A short phone call later and I had an appointment to take my car in.

I didn't have to request Friday off to deal with this.

Didn't stop me, but I didn't have to do it.

So, now I have Friday off. I can sleep in, then hop a train to get my car when it's ready. If luck is with me, I'll make my afternoon class for the requisite abuse. If not, I won't shed any tears and will instead truck immediately in to a bar to meet with geeky friends to have drinks and discuss "Dr. Who" before watching an episode at a friend's house close to the bar.

I like these options.

Subarashii desu ne!

Bay Area Summers

Aaah... I love the San Francisco Bay Area.

Summertime means keep a jacket in your bag.

Every other day is a completely different weather pattern.

Good times.

(Yes, I know it's not technically summer yet)

Letting the whine breathe

I honestly didn't think I was in such lousy shape. I kept active after class ended back in May with running, bicycling, and basic calisthenics.

Up to that week of stomach flu. I didn't do anything for that week but suffer.

I suppose it hit me harder than I thought. It's that or I wasn't exercising as much as I thought.

In any event, class is seriously kicking my ass this time around. And not in the "some-kid-is-stomping-me" way.

I nearly slept through my alarm this morning. I was all set to ride my bike to work, but I had to own up to the fact that I don't think I could have made the trip.

Tomorrow's class is gonna suck.

zzzz*wha?

Aaaah... nothing like a sudden urge to take a nap.

Too bad my office doesn't pay me to sleep.

*sigh*

Advancing Decrepitude

This weekend's overall theme appeared to be little messages of how I'm becoming my grandparents.

It hit me first Friday. I don't want to talk about Friday.

Saturday I nagged one of my friends to turn off the light in my kitchen. I think I said something to the effect of: You know electricity costs money, right?

It didn't come out as funny as it sounded in my head.

Sunday was the kicker. I was out picking up comic books and got in a conversation with the staff over nerdy topics (shocking, I know). We got on the topic of implanting RFID chips under the skin.

The newest staff member at the comic store - a teenage(?) girl - was all for the chip and any other cybernetics. No paranoia regarding technology in the least. Wide-eyed and eager, we determined she's ready for the singularity.

Me? I'm going to be composted by our mechanical overlords.

They'll have to find my cave first.

Blargh rawr grah ugrh grunt

One of my friends - trawling teh Intertoobs - found the alleged promo score for The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan's live-action take on "Avatar: The Last Airbender". He forwarded me some tracks.

Apparently it's done by James Newton Howard rather than the Track Team, the guys who did the TV series.

Can't say I'm impressed. The Howard stuff I've heard sounds very... bland. The Track Team's score for the TV series had a better feel for the setting and the energy level of the show.

Of course, the Howard stuff might have the same thing going for it, which doesn't bode well for the movie.

***

Ah obsession. You are a cruel mistress. Why do you taunt me with so much shiny? Why?

Oooh... shiny...

***

The weather has finally shifted to the point where I'm busting out shorts. I love my office lack-of-a-dress code.

***

I'm still shocked my 12-hour marathon game on Saturday actually went through okay. There were a few bumps but it seemed to play out fine.

***

Multiple mai tais over the weekend have helped me rebuild a bit of my shattered alcohol tolerance. The mini-keg of Newcastle Erik brought to the game also helped.

And my tolerance still isn't what it was.

***

Summer officially begins in two weeks. Apparently.

wow

Another marathon (nearly 12-hour) game.

This sort of thing was so easy when I was in my 20's.

Yoda can stick it

One of the things I really hate about martial arts is the tendency to try to incorporate mystical bullshit into instruction. It always comes off as some Jedi-wankery.

You're thinking too much.

Feel, don't think.

Let yourself just react. No, you're doing it wrong.

Use the For... Oh wait. No, they don't say that one.

First off, I've rarely been accused of thinking "too much" over the course of my life. Indeed, overthinking is rarely my problem. So I find it funny (and really annoying) when I'm told that while trying to figure out how to actually apply a lesson in a scenario.

"Feel, don't think" is usually just a lazy way of saying "you're focusing yourself on the wrong thing", like thinking of your attacker instead of how to react to your attacker, or something like that.

This Yoda bullshit works fine in a Lucasfilm. They can lift spacecraft with their minds, throw lighting, and use energy swords that slice through plate steel. I'm not being taught to do any of those things.

Mysticism is annoying under most circumstances. I find most mysticism to simply be a little act of smoke-and-mirrors tossed up by people who lack the ability to properly explain their viewpoints (or who choose to obfuscate their viewpoints). When it comes to an actual bit of instruction, I find mysticism to be completely unacceptable.

It's hard to say that to a black belt's face and expect to retain my teeth, though.

*sigh*

Two of my Favorite Things

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck Airs Israeli Raid Footage
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

1) Glen Beck shown as a batshit insane dumbass

2) Jon Stewart doing the showing of said batshit insane dumbassitude

Bullet Bit

Yep. I just bought a new PC.

Good times.

"We Need to Talk"

There's nothing more wrenching than starting the morning with two emails that essentially say: "We need to meet and discuss [X] matter."

1) I hate the subtext of emails like this (the implication being there was a f*ckup and I'm on the list of people suspected as responsible.

2) I hate meetings. I hate 'em a lot.

That said, there's few things that bring more relief than looking over both matters and realizing I'm pretty much in the clear.

Happy Friday!

Goals and Other Miscellanea

I've met most of my personal goals this week.

I returned to martial arts.

I finished my prep for Saturday's game.

I cleaned up some stuff that really needed attention.

I figured out why one of my flash drives keeps generating a virus warning on a friend's laptop (hint: it's not my flash drive that's the problem).

My home PC is really ready to be retired. Just need to bite the bullet and settle on a new machine then get the order in. Between my home PC's firewall software and the antivirus updates, the poor thing is ready to choke just on booting up. Trying to do other tasks (use a word processing program, a Web browser, email, or god-forbid all three) makes the machine just spasm and slow to a glacial crawl.

flabby

Martial arts has started again. Technically it started last week, but one day was a ceremony and the next day was just sort of silly.

In retrospect, I probably should have gone.

The warm-up yesterday was surprisingly-difficult and it really shouldn't have been. My arm kept cramping-up while trying to do push-ups. It helps that I really haven't been keeping up on push-ups, so... yeah. That just sucked.

Yeah, I was essentially doing no exercise for a good week and a half due to flu, but all the same... ugh. That was a little humiliating.

Maybe next class will be better.

Steampunky

I'm about 2/3rds through The Court of the Air. I'm going to have to start dedicating more time to this book. It's too good to keep in my "read at lunch only" slot.

I picked up the sequel, The Kingdom Beyond the Waves yesterday. Nice to have a backup handy.

Book Review

I just finished Magic Bleeds, the fourth Kate Daniels book by Ilona Andrews.

It was quite the hoot.

I'm not super-easy to please with the modern-fantasy venue. If it's not Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, I usually find myself quickly-annoyed. For a while I gave Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series a try, mainly 'cause three friends whose opinions I value loved the series.

I hated it. I found Harrison's heroine, Rachel Morgan, to be a whiny bubblehead and the narrative to read like a bad romance novel. It's pretty much the banal crap I expect Twilight to be.

I picked up Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. It has a ridiculous number of parallels with Butcher, Andrews, and Harrison's stuff. In some ways that was good. In others, not so good.

I enjoyed the first two books of Briggs' Mercy Thompson books (Moon Called and Blood Bound) a fair amount. The third book, Iron Kissed was... less. I have Bone Crossed and got about a third in before I realized I was completely uninterested in the plot. I attribute that to Briggs falling into Harrison's style of making the series a bad romance novel.

I started to think that was just an attribute that female fantasy authors had (yes, I indulged in sexism...) then I read the first two books in Morris and Chastain Investigations series by Justin Gustainis.

Yeesh what a bunch of drivel.

So it's just that there's a lot of authors out there who suck (in my opinion).

That brings me back to Ilona Andrews.

Her heroine, Kate Daniels, is an ass-kicker who would make Lara Croft whimper and cry. For that matter, Xena: Warrior Princess would probably be her b*tch too. Not to keep this strictly to gender roles, I'm pretty damn sure Daniels would make a light meal out of Indiana Jones, Jason Bourne, etc.

I'm not convinced she could take Harry Dresden, but I'm going to resist further fan-babble. Suffice it to say, Kate Daniels is awesome and tough. Despite the fact that Andrews spends a ridiculous amount of time having Kate in a cliche love/hate relationship with "Curran the Beast Lord" (a hilarious caricature who fits perfectly in Andrews' narrative) I find the four books (so far) in the series move quickly and keep an even mix of action, humor, and fun.

Her mythology is also intriguing, especially in the form of the heritage of Kate Daniels. I'm not going into it in this rant 'cause it would spoil things.

Hm... this isn't much of a review so far, is it? I haven't really talked about the series.

Okay...

The first book - Magic Bites - introduces Kate Daniels, a "down-on-her-luck mercenary" with an undead-melting saber and a mysterious past who joins an order of modern-day knights to avenge the death of her former mentor. Her investigations force her to cross paths with the Masters of the Dead, a group of wizards who "pilot" vampire bodies (it's creepier than it sounds) and the Pack, a group of shapeshifters led by the Übermensch-cliche, Curran the were-lion.

The second book - Magic Burns - takes Kate on a job for the Pack and has her winding up battling rogue gods, then adopting a hapless waif.

The third book - Magic Strikes - goes a bit more into Kate's background as it relates to her deadly father and why she has to keep her heritage secret. Oh, and there's a death-match battle with super-demons. Good, clean fun.

The fourth book - Magic Bleeds - further explores Kate's family as she's forced to resolve her romantic tension with lion-boy while battling a family member of hers who is seemingly-unstoppable.

All four books are quick reads. They're an even mix of action, romance, humor, and bloodthirsty chaos. I have to admit I can't wait for the next one.

Meh. That's enough.

Winning Big

I have weird relationships with my friends.

For example, I have promised one friend that I will indoctrinate my friend's offspring into a cult that worships Cthulhu. I've offered to provide tiny black robes and wavy-patterned daggers as part of this.

I'm not allowed to babysit. Works for me.

With another friend, we try to top one another for the most horrible things to say about the other person. We say some pretty awful stuff. If you overheard us, you'd assume we hate one another.

So I have a friend at work with whom I have a "tradition" of sorts. Every morning, I pop my head into her cube and say "Good Morning!" in the most annoyingly-chipper voice I can muster. If it's a Friday, I add in "Happy Friday!". If it's a payday, I add in "Happy Payday!".

It's become a morning ritual akin to my morning coffee or my nerd-rants with others.

These "Good Morning!" greetings have evolved into a competition of sorts. My friend (I'll call her 'E') and I race to say "Good Morning" first. On Fridays, it's a rush to say "Good Morning! Happy Friday!". If it's a payday, then it's "Good Morning! Happy Payday!". If all three coincide... well it's quite the fast ramble.

Our competition escalated when I started doing artwork posters and leaving them taped to her monitor to "win" the contest.

I did say my interrelationships were weird.

So 'E' skipped town on a much-deserved holiday for the next couple of weeks.

On my monitor was a detailed list of days containing "Happy Friday" greetings and "Good Morning!" greetings to cover the nine work days she's out.

At the bottom, in tiny print: "I win "BIG""

I'm torn between escalating even further and rewarding this level of OCD.

And it was a much-needed laugh for a Tuesday morning.

Ignoranimusness

Few things inspire a strong feeling of ignorance than technology.

I should back-up.

So I'm looking into getting a new PC. My old one is starting to show its age and it's about time.

I've started looking at a few of the basic standbys (Dell has worked for me in the past, but I'm not married to the idea of another Dell and Newegg has some options).

And then I encounter the lingo. For example:

ZT Affinity 7359Ma Phenom II X4 955(3.2GHz) 6GB DDR2 1TB ATI Radeon HD 4650

Yeah. Okay. So... I get that "6GB DDR2" is the memory (RAM). I get that it's a 1 Terabyte hard drive (whee!). I assume the processor is the "Phenom II X4... yadda yadda". I just don't have a clue if that's good or not.

Yes, I can (and will) do research to familiarize myself with what constitutes a good processor vs. a bad processor and what numbers I have to pay attention to, but it's galling to look at all this and feel like my grandmother.

And having to do research flies in the face of my "I WANT IT NOW" instincts. *sigh*

MUST! SEE!