Leaving me in stitches

I got to go to the emergency room yesterday evening.  It was terribly exciting.

I should back up a bit.

So, I had a little accident in martial arts class.  I'd like to glamorize it and say it was some funky martial arts move, but it wasn't that.  I had a collision with another student as part of a warm-up exercise.  The end result was a deep, nasty, bloody gash in me.

After the blood was more-or-less staunched (head wound, good times), I trekked home, changed into less-sweaty and bloody attire, hopped in my trusty Preciousssssss, and headed off to seek medical attention.  It was determined early on by the kind ladies who were bandaging me up at class that I'd likely need stitches and should probably have a medical professional confirm that.

Good times.

So I found myself in emergency.  Last time I went into an emergency room, a family member was having a very extreme bit of medical care.  Not a happy memory. And the nurse took note that I was shaking.  Heh.

The wait was pretty short.  I was called in for the stitches in a few minutes.  What surprised me was the airport-level of security.

Yes.  Metal detectors.

And I often carry more than one little tool or knife.  I felt like I was in that "Beyond Thunderdome" scene as I handed off my Skeletool and pocket knife (and a very tiny screwdriver) to the security guy for safekeeping.  I was terribly embarrassed too.

About a half hour later of friendly, courteous, and reasonably-painless medical service, I trekked out to reclaim my items with some stitches, a big bandage over said stitches, all sorts of instructions, and a throbbing arm from a tetanus shot (has it really been so long?).

I reclaimed my items and apologized to the security folks for stupidly bringing these things into an emergency room.

The security woman laughed and said: "Honey, this ain't nuthin'.  We seen folks come in here with butcher's knives and even a steak prong."

She produced said meat prong to support her claim.

"Hell, we were admiring the fine quality of things you have here."

(She was talking about the knife and tools, you filthy-minded reader, you)

Amused and relieved to be all patched up, I returned home exhausted.  The adrenaline had long-since drained away and I was feeling really tired and shaky.

All said, I'm surprised how well everything went. 

Oooooh... yessssssssssssss

A stain of brain matter

September ticks down to its final days.  Sweet mother of mercy this year is blazing by quickly.  Can't say I'm sorry.  2010 has not been the best of all years.

That said, it hasn't completely sucked.  I'm just not going to be sorry to see it go.

I've watched the premiere of season three of "Fringe".  I'm on the fence on it.  I love the show and I'm happy to see its return.  Going right into the alternate universe for an episode is pretty damn awesome. 

That said, I can't say I found an entire episode centered around Olivia to be terribly great viewing.  And the plot development with her seemed... unimpressive.  Maybe I'm just expecting too much.  The development in the "main" reality was even less-impressive.  I'm hoping for more interesting twists in the not-too-distant future.

The second episode of "Hawaii Five-0" was pretty bad.  'Nuff said.  The show is brain candy at best.  Trash at worst.

I caught a little of the new Cartoon Network show: "Sym-Bionic Titan".  I love Genndy Tartakovsky's work.  This is such an awesome homage to the mecha anime of the 70's and 80's.  Need more.

On that topic, I now have all of "Samurai Jack".  I've only skimmed a bit of what I've got.  I'm saving it for a down time in viewing material.  Love that show.

And finally... "Sherlock".

So, Steven Moffat, of season five "Dr. Who" fame, helped create a modern-day "reboot" of Sherlock Holmes.

A friend gave me the first three episodes. I've watched the first one and gotten through most of the second one. 

It's freakin' brilliant.  The second ep is a bit less-impressive, but the first one was utter genius.  Loved all of it. 

More, please.

Exactly

Ups and Downs

I awoke to warmer temperatures, the clanging of the garbage trucks, and allergies... or at least I think they're allergies.

I blazed through some more "White Collar" before the high point of my day: meeting my good friend Vicky for a fine lunch of Japanese food.

Mmm... Japanese food.

After that, I detoured to REI to get some Vibram Five Fingers to replace the damaged pair I have. They're nice and comfy.

Tonight's class was taught by the one teacher who tends to push my buttons in a bad way. I left class angry and frustrated, as often happens when this one guy teaches. I'm still trying to work out why this guy pisses me off so much. He's a nice enough fellow and a talented martial artist. I think his teaching skills don't mesh well with me.

Once a bad mood sets in, it's hard to shake. I stayed irritable until I got home, then chilled over dinner and more "White Collar". I had an IM conversation with a friend that didn't improve my mood, but that's my problem, not hers.

Retrieved some packages waiting for me at the office, then finished "White Collar". Delightful show. Now I know what happened in the first season. Yay!

Something with dinner isn't settling right. That's an unpleasant capper to the day.

Tomorrow is Oktoberfest. Beer time. I'm ready for a few pints.

Nomage

I have eaten far too much today.

Fattening and delicious breakfast followed by a delicious Thai lunch. A few crazed errands inland finished off some lingering issues for the month of September.

That cleared the path for dinner. Ye gods was that a lot of food.

It was dinner with a dear friend I've known for fourteen years now. I always enjoy the catchup meals 'cause my life feels so drama-free by relation.

An idle, offhand comment may have created a monster today. I'm undecided as to whether or not this is a good thing.

I'm almost done watching season one of "White Collar" on DVD. Damn that's an enjoyable show.

I love vacation.

Impressive

Five-Oh

Just finished watching the pilot episode.

Ye gods.

That was pretty damn awful. Whomever wrote the dialog should be fired with extreme prejudice. The plot was so painfully one-dimensional that it made my teeth hurt.

Oh, and the thought that the Governor of Hawai'i can create her own pseudo-nazi police task force that can violate Constitutional rights is pretty goddamn disturbing and bizarre.

Casting: Alex O'Loughlin (playing Steve McGarrett) is pretty dour and humorless. His character is going to be really annoying really fast. And he's the lead guy.

Scott Caan (playing Danno) is an even worse cliche, alas.

Daniel Dae Kim (playing Chin Ho Kelly) is entertaining enough. I could almost believe he's an islander when he slips into the pidgin, but I have to admit I haven't listened to pidgin in a long time.

Grace Park (playing Kona Kalakaua) is sexy and gorgeous, so that distracts me from the cliche of her being the quasi damsel-in-distress and rookie cliche.

That said, this show will totally be a guilty pleasure until the writing inspires me to break my television or cancel cable.

Book 'em, Dan-O

I recorded the remake of "Hawaii Five-O" last night.

I watched a little this morning. The intro music was the same. Made me happy.

I don't expect this to be any good, but the first five minutes were certainly entertaining.

F*CK YEAH!

Looping Around Again

Very nice and somewhat productive weekend.

I finished getting some gifts for a couple of friends. I drank a fair amount of delicious beer with my good friend Erik. I ate far too much delicious food.

Not too shabby, all said.

Short work week this time around. Got things to do (or not do, depending on my mood).

Well How About That?

And so it comes to pass that another week draws to a close.

Wow. That's kind of a bit melodramatic, isn't it?

Bah.

Next week should be awesome from an entertainment perspective. The remake of "Hawai'i Five-O" airs on Monday (starring Grace Park... mmm...) and the third season of "Fringe" airs Thursday. And the week ends on Oktoberfest.

GERMAN BEER, BABY!!! WOO-HOO!!!! DAS GUT! (I have no idea if I spelled that correctly as my entire German vocabulary revolves around food and saying "Gesundheit" when people sneeze.)

I have yet to get the second season of "Fringe" on DVD yet. Alas, the local stores either don't have it or have it for too high a price. I'll probably Amazon it in a week or two when the credit card gets a bit less radioactive.

I watch the first season over-and-over to a rather ridiculous degree, so I'm confident any money I spend on "Fringe" will be worth it for my entertainment and amusement.

I'm usually pretty easily distra-SQUIRREL!!!

Humility

Few things are more humbling than any kind of sports. Martial arts, being my sport of preference, has more than its fair share of ways to crush one's ego. Often this is done in a fairly spectacular manner.

My "favorite" lesson in humilty comes in the form of sparring.

Sparring, for the unenlightened, is semi-practical application of one's martial arts training using a time limit and various set rules (don't break bones, hit only the torso, etc.).

It drives home how good (or bad) one's style and form is. It reveals who is fast, strong, and well-balanced... and who is not.

For reasons I cannot fathom, I was put in the "advanced" group for last night's sparring. Essentially, I was constantly paired against lower ranks in sparring matches.

A few things:

1) I haven't sparred in this style in over a year. I keep missing the sparring practices (they're usually in later classes I don't attend or on the rare classes I miss).

2) I haven't sparred properly in over a decade.

3) I've never been good at sparring.

So I spent an hour getting my ass handed to me by people ranging from girls young enough to be my daughter (*shudder*) to guys a few years older than me. To be fair, I didn't do that poorly, but suffice it to say I won't be flipping people around over my shoulder on the street anytime in the near future.

And I did get my ass handed to me by one girl who could well be young enough to be my daughter.

Then again, I've always been of the opinion that women are better at applying martial arts than men are, so I'm fine with that.

I hate to admit it...

... but I'm kind of tempted to see this.

Hump Day

Nothing says awesome like starting my Wednesday with a few uncomfortable conversations.

Woo-hoo!!!

Wow

(Via The Red Ferret Journal)

SQUIRREL!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Islamophobiapalooza
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Pacific Gas & Enema

By now I think most people know about that little bit of trouble that went off in San Bruno.

So it seems that PG&E  must be concerned about scenarios like this.  They're asking for permission from the Public Utilities Commission (California's rubber-stamp for PG&E "oversight") to bill PG&E customers for disasters caused by PG&E that exceed their insurance.

Yeah, thanks PG&E.  You guys can't keep a handle on your responsibilities and you want to be able to use your position as a monopoly to screw over most of California.  Nice.

Jackasses.

AIIIEEEEE!!!!

It you watch the revived "Doctor Who", especially the new Season Five stuff (with Matt Smith) then you should know this:

Erik has doomed us all!

Thanks, Erik!  I'm... oh god!  It's crawling out of my eye!  ARRRGGGHHH!!!

No Incestual Fanfic!

Via Erik.

Geek and Gamer Girls video

EMBED-Geek and Gamer Girls Song - Watch more free videos

I found this amusing.

Seeing Red

Nothing says fun like waking up with a puffy eye for no good reason.

...braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiinssssss.......

What a busy weekend!

BBQ Friday night. RPG for the majority of Saturday. Solano Stroll and family stuff Sunday.

I'm trying to figure out if I got any sleep. And that's a bad sign that I have to try to figure that out.

Urgh.

Wow

Another nearly 12-hour game. Ye gods.

Origin of Whiners

Stupid contact lens is giving me trouble this morning. I'd switch to glasses, but then I couldn't wear the polarized sunglasses I need in the office to avoid the splitting pain caused by the goddamn fluorescent lights.

Apparently the ghost of Darwin is trying to tell me something.

On the plus side, Friday is here. Thus far, only good news has filled my inbox, though my day has barely begun.

Going to be a busy weekend. I think that's going to describe every weekend in September for me.

Best of all, I don't live in San Bruno. A freakin' GAS MAIN BLOWS A CHUNK OF THE TOWN UP!

Yeah. That's not scary at all.

Farenheit 451

I come from a family of folks who read for business and pleasure. Many among my family are educators. Some even studied to be librarians.

We like books, as a rule.

Thus, it should be no surprise that one of the gravest sins in my little world is the burning of books. I don't especially care what the subject matter is in said book.

It's pretty simple: BOOKS SHOULD NOT BE BURNED. Period.

You want to restrict information? Go for it. Lock away the books or whatever. Restrict publication if you're worried someone's going to build a doomsday device or raise the dead (or something worse than dead).

You want to burn books? Then I'm thinking you're asking to be beaten horribly.

Just sayin'.

So this asshole pastor, Terry Jones, wants to score some political points by burning qurans as a "message" with respect to 9/11 and that proposed mosque in New York.

He needs a good swift kick in the nuts all the way up into his brainpan. Burning a book is atrocious. Burning a book that's considered holy by a major segment of the world's population is just being an asshole.

I get that the proposed mosque in New York is controversial. I get both sides of the issue, but honestly? People need to suck it up. This is America, for god's sake. Freedom of religion is a right here. If folks backing the mosque can afford to buy the land, then they have a right to build the mosque.

It wasn't Islam that caused the 9/11 attacks. It was a bunch of criminal, psychotic, fundamentalist assholes who were stupid enough to follow a psychopath. They killed to make us afraid.

They were no more Muslim than a mass-murderer is a true Christian.

And narrow-minded, hate-filled jackasses who burn books don't count as either. They belong to a different group: idiots.

Jawin'

Got a cavity fixed today.

That numb feeling is awfully nice when they're drilling away into that tooth, let me tell you.

Now pasta sauce cooks in my kitchen. I've prepped my meal offering for the birthday bbq I'm attending tomorrow.

Maybe it's time for a wee jog.

Sort of Pimping - Triple Aught Design (TAD) Gear

I considered properly pimping out Triple Aught Design (TAD Gear).

They're essentially a more garment-oriented, expensive, quasi-Army-surplus kind of place. They're mainly for people with too much time and money on their hands.

I'm not selling this very well, am I?

Before purchasing my car (and before the economy went south), I had a bit more discretionary income. While being anything other than an outdoors person, I do like durable, useful garments. I do hike on-and-off and I have often sort-of planned on going camping again (okay, probably not... but I could change my mind).

And I do like that "survivalist chic" look, plus all the stuff.

I can't remember why I trekked out to TAD Gear in the southern part of San Francisco one Thursday afternoon. The parking was impossible and their stuff was hell of expensive.

No, wait. I remember.

I was dissatisfied with my SEV Jacket and was looking for a nice, light jacket as a replacement. At the time, TAD Gear was selling a "garage jacket". It's referenced in some prior post I'm too lazy to look up. I bought it. I loved it.

I bought another and some wool hoodies to layer with it. All overpriced, but of good quality and very comfortable.

The site has been redesigned a couple of times. Their stock was pretty small when I looked at it this morning. I can't say they currently carry anything that tempts me, but they've had interesting stuff in the past and their store is kind of cool.

Disclaimer: I don't work for TAD Gear. I don't get any money from them nor do I know anyone who works for them. I do not have any kind of relationship established with them aside from being a customer of theirs.

Pimping - Duluth Trading Co.

Since I'm in a pimping mood (I need to buy a velour hat) I may as well go on.

I rarely read my older posts, so I have no idea if I've actually commented on sites I buy stuff from. If this is a repeat... well, ignore it and move on.

So, where was I?

Oh yeah, Duluth Trading Company.

So they also sell stuff. Mostly clothes, but they have other odds and ends. They bill themselves as a "workwear" site for blue collar folks (which I am most certainly not... I have trouble changing lightbulbs...).

I was first told of Duluth at a party held by the Veeb. Her friend Guy was wearing shorts made out of some kind of funky material (I later learned it was fire hose material) and he was extolling the virtues of the attire as well as its durability, etc.

The Veeb pointed me to the site. I looked through. I bought clothes. I got clothes. I bought more clothes. Rinse and repeat.

I started with their jeans. I always shred jeans. Not 'cause I'm particularly active, but just 'cause I'm not especially coordinated and tend to carry sharp things in my pockets (it's a wonder I haven't died of blood loss, actually). Duluth jeans have the distinction of having tough, deep, pocket linings made of this fire hose material.

I fell in love with the first few pairs and wear them obsessively. Later purchases have shown a slight decline in quality, but I think that's 'cause I've been getting the mid-weight versions instead of the regular versions.

I have even broken down and gotten a few pairs of the straight-up work pants.

These guys are proud of making their garments out of the fire hose material. I thought it was weird at first, but I have to say I'm a fan now. The stuff dries quickly, is mostly water and stain repellent, and quite comfortable. The work pants have lots of pockets, which always makes me happy.

I've also gotten several versions of the shorts. My favorite is the Ultimate Fire Hose Work Shorts. They have the best fit and most comfortable pocket placement for me.

They have shirts, jackets, t-shirts, etc. that I've also added to my wardrobe. I have yet to regret any purchase. The garments are comfortable, tough, and loaded with pockets. On the rare occasion I've had to return anything, the company has been easy to deal with.

I'd recommend them to anyone if anyone actually listened to (and cared about) my recommendations.

Disclaimer: I don't work for Duluth Trading Company. I don't get any money from them nor do I know anyone who works for them. I do not have any kind of relationship established with them aside from being a customer of theirs.

Pimping - CountyComm

Since Erik's "warning", I have since made yet another purchase from the fine folks at County Comm.

As a result, I want to pimp them a bit for the six people who probably ever read my rantings (none of whom will likely care, but what the hell).

County Comm sells... um... stuff. Most of it is the stuff EDC ("every day carry") obsessives like. "Tactical" bags (read this as: bags with lots of pockets for people who pretend they're badasses), flashlights, watches, and more esoteric things. I've obtained some neat pens from them (I'm a writer, I like pens). They sell "survival kits" (I always like those, even though I'm fairly confident I'd last five minutes in a real crisis situation) and other strange little things.

Essentially, they's kind of an "Army surplus" store that focuses on small stuff.

I first found the site linking from an article on pocket grappling hooks. It sounded so awesomely "James Bond" that I had to take a look.

They still sell the pocket grappling hooks (and paracord), though the hooks really aren't designed to support an adult's weight for any kind of climbing endeavors.

That's probably for the best. I haven't climbed a rope since high school P.E., and even then I did it poorly.

A lot of the stuff County Comm sells is surprisingly-useful. Little keychain doodads (including key rings) that I otherwise have to search a drugstore to find on the rare occasion I actually need such a thing. Can openers, radios, and tiny pry bars are only part of that list.

They even sell these things called "breacher bars" which apparently have multiple uses. I think my prybar covers most of 'em, so I haven't opted for one yet.

They have a fantastic little pocket shortwave radio with a built-in LED that's just too cool not to have. I think that's probably one of the things I've gotten from them that I'd recommend most to anyone.

And there's the "Peanut" lighters. Tiny little keychain lighters. Makers of fire.

I don't smoke, but it's still fun to own.

If you like little, portable things to have handy (tools, bags, etc.), it pays to peruse the site.

Disclaimer: I don't work for County Comm. I don't get any money from them nor do I know anyone who works for them. I do not have any kind of relationship established with them aside from being a customer of theirs.

Kinda Nutty

There's certainly something odd in the air tonight.

My friend AR said there were two armed robberies in her town. There was a moderate police incident in downtown Berkeley tonight as I wandered home and there was a police pursuit on the platform as I awaited a train. Looked like the cops lost the guy.

On top of that, I heard one of my neighbors have some kind of really bizarre hissy fit for the first time... um... ever. I still don't know who he was yelling at or why. I don't think I want to know.

Weird day. Fun day, but a weird one.

Lunch Adventure

One of my co-workers infected my brain with the thought of a restaurant supply store in the Berkeley/Emeryville area. It's close to one of the Berkeley Bowl stores and as I'd never been to one, plans manifested of a little lunchtime field trip.

What a hoot!

Berkeley Bowl (off of 7th street in Berkeley) is freakin' AWESOME!!! All kinds of stuff there, including a nice little deli. Best of all, they had some Scharffenberger chocolate I'd previously needed to truck to San Francisco to get. JOY!

The restaurant supply store was quite a trippy little place. I got a cookie spatula thingie that will be nice for baking endeavors.

What got weird was walking back, we detoured through Urban Ore Ecopark.

I've walked and driven past Urban Ore Ecopark many, many times. I always thought it was just some place that dealt in gravel or something. The bulding looks like hell and I've never given it any thought.

Oh, it doesn't deal in gravel. It deals in awesome.

When I was a kid, I remember many a tale of child characters who lived or had clubhouses in dumps, scrapyards, and the like. I'd like to claim that's why my natural tendencies are to have a place that's a messy pigsty (it beats the truth: I'm too lazy to do any proper housekeeping).

Urban Ore Ecopark reminds me of all those childhood-story scrapyard places.

They sell people's refuse. Old safes, toys, LPs, clothing, furniture, toilets, you-name-it... Essentially it's a junk store. It's a junk store that just looks... cool. I could spend hours dinking around in there. Hell I could just enjoy watching the quirky staff do their thing.

It was like wandering into a Neil Gaiman-themed fairy tale for a few minutes. Hell, the whole lunch had that feel.

OH HAPPY DAY!

Adrenaline Jolt

Driving my Preciousssss in to work this morning has become a routine task. I navigate between people who think they're on the German Autobahn and people who are clearly still 90% asleep and driving like zombies.

It's an experience.

It's not the sort of experience one wants to add road debris to.

It was therefore a bit of a shock when I saw sparks flying from a car off a lane to my left and about four car lengths up.

And then the crap went flying across my window.

Yeah. That was exciting.

I'm thrilled my window didn't break, crack, or chip. I'm ecstatic that my Preciousss appears otherwise unscratched or damaged. I'm beyond thrilled I didn't join the half-dozen people I passed along the side of the freeway with flat tires.

That sort of excitement I don't need this early in the morning... or really ever.

Well that was lovely

Three days of being little more than a houseplant. That was quite nice.

I think the only constructive stuff I did at all (aside from drinking too much on Friday night, leering at college girls, and getting properly schooled in pool) was family-related business.

I honestly can't think of anything else I could possibly have gotten done over the weekend. I think I did laundry, but I clearly did it as a zombie.

I'm not sure I even went outside, truth be told.

Very relaxing.

Late Warnings

Erik was kind enough to warn me last night of the dangers to my credit card posed by a site known as County Comm.

The dangers have nothing to do with anything sinister, mind you. Erik took note that said site sells many a thing that I would purchase in a heartbeat.

Alas, he warned me a couple of years too late. I have acquired many a flashlight, bag, pen, and what-have-you from their long list of many useful little things. Their prices are individually quite good, but it really adds up fast if you get several things from them.

And I have gotten many, many things from them.

I regret nothing.

Towel-tastic!

Erik sent me this.

I'd be tempted to get this movie, but there's simply no way there's more awesome scenes than in this clip.

Reactions

I consider it one of my duties in life to share any particular trash that has become a centerpiece in the dysfunctional stew that is my existence in the mortal coil.

So it was only natural that I shared my DVD of Ninja with a few hapless souls who would appreciate it for what it is.

The reactions have been most entertaining.

Yesterday I cornered the latest lucky duck to get his take on the movie. He told me he had to watch it muted because the dialog was too painful. His fiancee was strangely-fascinated and watched the entire thing through with the sound on. (He's found his soul mate if she didn't walk away after watching this movie...)

It is sort of like looking at a particularly horrible and gruesome accident in some ways. You know it's an atrocity but you can't tear your eyes away.

I think I've reached the end of my short-list of victims for this particular film.

Probably for the best.

Now I'm working on another, potentially-worse, series: "The Ancient Dogoo Girl"

I was pushed towards this by a sadistic bastard who shall remain unnamed. It's two discs of a Japanese action-comedy that takes bizarre to a new level.

How do I express this?

Erik still refuses to forgive me for subjecting him to the live-action Cutie Honey movie.

"The Ancient Dogoo Girl" is worse. It is so much worse.

I will, of course, watch the series all the way through. I suspect I have to or some creepy ghost-girl will climb out of my TV and gnaw on my brain or something.

It's a welcome distraction from the heat, at least. And I'm hoping it will keep me from entering the kitchen and feeding my sugar addiction.

I can dream.

Bleah

I can see I've previously expressed my distaste for hot weather.

I suppose I have nothing to add to that sentiment at this time.

Septembering

Never fails.

Even as a child, I remember September being the hottest month of the year. So far, this year's September is no different and is starting off pretty toasty.

It's frying brains, too.

I had to truck into Berzerkely to run an errand and I swear I got behind every brain-dead half-wit that Berkeley could offer up to put in my way.

I really wish my car had rocket launchers. No... I was too close. Machine guns...No, I'd still have the rubble in the way.

Disintegrators! That's what I want on my car!

That would be lovely.

All the same, I found surprising parking karma. I got a *gasp* free parking spot while I ran my errand.

That took the edge off.

Or it could be the beer I had when I got home.

Either way.

So all I need to do is make it through the next two days then it's a bit of family fun on the weekend. The weekend after is a potentially-disastrous game. Already two of the kids are fighting. *sigh*

Good lord! I just realized every weekend in September is booked solid!

Goddamn that was fast.

Tick-Tock

It's freakin' September already.

Ye gods.