Obligatory Random Mutterings

Ah, what a difference a new DSL modem makes.

---

I find it weird sometimes how different people in my life - people who are unlikely to be chatting with one another - can suddenly sync up and ping me over the exact same topic.

Makes me almost believe in telepathy.

That's creepy. More likely just a giant coincidence or I just know a lot of nosy people.

---

I'm now on... what? The fourth episode of "Alcatraz"?

Why am I still watching this show? I mean... seriously? Who thought this would make it as a series?

---

My rent's getting jacked up for the first time since I moved to my apartment some... six or eight years ago.

The funny thing is that I really can't complain. The rent increase is surprisingly-modest and I still get a pretty good deal, all things considered.

I'm kind of surprised this didn't happen years ago.

Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

---

I'm a week into my Facebook account deletion. Another 7 days and they formally nuke that sucker.

I have to admit, it's a weird feeling to not go to the site constantly. I've described it as an itch I can't scratch and it's much that same sort of sensation.

That said, I'm finding myself much more productive, both at work and elsewhere.

I regret nothing.

---

Sweet Captain Mosey, but how did January blaze by so FSM-damned fast?

A knife and a light

I have a love-hate relationship with Iain Sinclair and their wonderful things.

They have marvelous creations, but their distribution sucks on a level that boggles the imagination.

Some time back I had temporary amnesia and forgot how frustrated they made me with my efforts to get another Eon Extreme Floodlight. I saw they had a bundle deal for their upgraded knife and their Eon Classic flashlight.

I promptly gave in to my lack of any kind of self-control and submitted an order.

An eon or two (pun sort-of-intended) passed (see above re: complaint about their distribution process) and finally the snail on the slow boat from China (literally) made it through customs and deposited the order on my desk before vanishing in a puff of pixie dust.

I really like the Eon Classic flashlight. It's simple as simple can be. It's actually a bit more rugged-seeming than the Eon Extreme Floodlight, though it's really pretty much the same thing. The only differences between the "Classic" and the "Extreme" are the switch controls, the casing, and the ability to recharge.

The classic has a simple control. You push down on the activation button (ensconced beneath the aluminum shell) and the bright light comes on. Lift your thumb and the light goes off.

The classic doesn't have any kind of recharge plug and the battery (said to last for 10 years) isn't replaceable.

The "Extreme" has a more sophisticated control that offers variable beams and sustained light. Two clicks activates the low beam. Three clicks activates the blindingly-bright beam. One click deactivates. And this one is rechargeable with the mini-USB cable that's included. My main complaint about the "Extreme" (mentioned in a prior post sometime past) is that the frame isn't sealed very well. Mine came loose and I had to use super-glue and gaffer's tape to re-seal it. The loose frame may have been why the switch seemed wonky too. Thus my seemingly-vain efforts to get a new one. *sigh*

What really interested me was the upgraded knife. Sinclair upgraded the safety catch holding the knife in-place in its sheath-body. It's far superior to the first version of this little doodad. On top of it, they include a little booklet that's quite clear on how to open the sharp little bugger.

Sinclair's distribution may suck ass, but the production values for the knife continue to improve impressively and I must say I love the Eon Classic flashlight.

I just wish they'd get their production squared away for the Extreme and ship the damn things in my lifetime.

Would be nice to see their advertised camera actually go on sale as well. That looks fascinating.

Oh well.

Beer

I spent the weekend (and some time leading up to the weekend) enjoying more than a little beer.

It's what I do.

As part of being social, I left my local watering hole and journeyed to distant lands (okay, a few train stops away) to try new and interesting beer locales (and, in some ill-advised behavior, cocktail locales).

One beer stuck out in my frazzled memory more than the others: Brewdog Paradox Smokehead a "whiskey cask aged imperial stout".

The charming bartender lady advised me that other patrons described it as "drinking liquid smoke".

They were correct. It tastes exactly like that.

The black-as-sin brew conjured up memories of my uncle and aunt, both heavy smokers and their smoke-saturated home.

And it wasn't a weak brew at all.

It wasn't the Bavarian smoked beer taste I was seeking, but it sure satisfied. Might have been a smidge better, actually.

Miscellanea for Friday

Per the EFF, Hawai'i has tabled their ill-advised data retention scheme.

I'm somewhat-surprised that Hawai'i legislators really thought that was a good idea, but I guess it takes all kinds. Nice to know the outrage shut this down fast.

---

Friday has yet-again graced us with its magnificent Friday-ness. I suppose I shouldn't have had a three-pint dinner last night, as this morning is not the most fun I've had for the week. And the plan is to repeat at a different location after work today.

I suppose this constitutes a problem.

---

The fog is in today. It's so thick this morning that I actually had trouble seeing across the street when I left home.

It's deerstalker hat weather, let me tell you.

Way to be creepy Hawai'i

Per Gizmodo: Hawai'i wants to track all the websites you visit

Yeah, that's going to do wonders for the tourist industry there.

ow

This makes my brain hurt.

WALLET STUFF

Some time back, when I was flush with cash (we're talking almost a year ago), I went a little nuts on buying stuff for myself.

2011 was a depressing, ugly year and we all have our little ways of dealing with depression. One of my ways is buying stuff that catches my eye.

Somewhere on the Internet, I saw the Toner Machine Technologies wallet reviewed.

It came in aluminum or delrin plastic. It purported to block RFID signals (not really something I need, but I like to honor the gods of paranoia, where possible) and had all kinds of neat extras. It advertised a compass in the middle, a glass-breaker on one end, some tweezers, a toothpick, and a little pen. Further it advertised a sharp-ish striking edge for "those situations".

My inner-geek howled "I WANT ONE!"

Their site seems a bit wonky for taking orders so I actually mailed in a check. After a while, I called them up to follow-up and make sure they got my old-fashioned order. The very pleasant customer service rep advised me they hit a bit of a production snag and their wallets were delayed.

Long story short, I cancelled the order and checked in with them from time-to-time to see if they were back in production. When they had a shipping ETA, I renewed the order.

I'm guessing I made some kind of impression with my persistence. By this point, I really couldn't afford the wallet purchase as I was prepping for the holidaze and I really didn't need it, but I was somewhat obsessed. This was my Holy Grail for 2011. It became that itch I couldn't scratch. I was determined to see if I could get such a creature.

Wait, I promised to make the long story short, didn't I? Bah. Okay. By this point they were/are only selling the delrin wallets (I'd originally wanted an aluminum one, but they were not available for order at the time). There was another unforeseen delay in the delrin wallet order so they upgraded me to an aluminum one and it arrived shortly thereafter (I guess there were a few left in stock).

After all this time, I'd sort of forgotten why I was so determined to get the thing. I'd gone with CountyComm's Traveler RFID wallet for my needs.

Then I got the TMT Wallet and I remembered.

Oh this thing is a joy!

It's a solid little thing. It's like a Swiss Army Wallet! I ought to include pictures someday. It feels like it's going to outlast civilization and I believe the claims that it's water-tight. It comes with all kinds of specification information and has a fair amount of storage space for cards, cash, and what-have-you.

My Traveler RFID wallet has more storage space, but that's only because the thing is made of ripstop nylon that has a bit of stretch-and-give.

The TMT wallet feels like it could stop a bullet (I will never test this theory willingly). It's got removable clips within for cards and cash storage in addition to the other advertised features.

I stick with the Traveler wallet for EDC, simply because it holds the ridiculous number of cards and crap I stuff in my wallet as well as my little Eon Extreme Floodlight.

I like to switch to the TMT when I go out and don't need all the cards related to driving (insurance, AAA, etc.). Plus I just like the variety, 'cause I'm a dork.

But I'm a dork with cool stuff.

The TMT wallet is pretty bulky for "normal" people, but EDC types might find it holds appeal. I'm certainly glad I went through all the trouble to get one.

STUFF!!!

I've been a bit political of late. That's getting kinda boring, so back to the nice, fluffy stuff.

I got a new jacket the other day: the Duluth Trading Company Fire Hose Field Coat

In a nutshell, it's a faux-military coat complete with all the lovely, large-capacity pockets that make such attire popular. Like much of Duluth's wares, it's crafted of the same kind of material that fire hoses are made from.

Don't laugh. This stuff is awesome!

I've patronized Duluth Trading Company for a while (I believe I have many prior gushing posts preaching my love for their attire). I find their customer service to be top notch and their garments to be both comfortable and quite durable.

This jacket is exactly the sort of thing that makes me happy. It's got four outer pockets of varying capacity and the two lower pockets have hand-warmer pockets behind them. The lower pockets have enough capacity that I can shove my Kobo reader, carry case and all, into it and have room to spare. There's two inner pockets with capacity for a wallet or what-have-you. There's an elastic draw-cord on the inside to tighten it about the waist if that's needed and the elbows are reinforced.

If I scrape together the cash, I might get one in the other color (I got the "vintage olive" one).

While I'm pimping Duluth Trading Co., I may as well sing the praises of their Flex Ballroom Jeans.

And by "ballroom", they're not talking about formal dancing. Just sayin'.

The flex jeans have a bit of spandex in the mix to let 'em stretch a bit. Gives them a loose, comfortable fit and the stretch was certainly nice around the Holidaze (what with all that eating and such).

One of the things I love most about Duluth Trading jeans are that they make the jeans' pockets with tough material (in this case, that fire hose material). Most jeans I've gotten from other sources (Levi's, etc.) have weak material for the pockets and the various things I carry in my pockets (*cough*Leatherman*cough*keys*cough*other sharp things*cough*) contribute terrible wear-and-tear, causing them to rip quickly.

To date, none of my Duluth jeans have torn. I probably can't get away with wearing them to a club in the City or something, but I'm not really a clubber, so it doesn't matter.

SOPA, PIPA, and before them ACTA

It was lovely to see SOPA and PIPA go up in flames as the Internet vented its outrage on the greedy bastards that tried to put the 'net in a gimp suit then break its knees.

Yes, my imagination has problems. Let's move on, shall we?

So, before those, there was (and still is) ACTA. The "Anti-Counterfitting Trade Agreement" is a secret treaty being arranged between all nations that's essentially a worldwide SOPA/PIPA.

Why is it secret? Oh because the sponsors realize if the details of ACTA were public, people would demand blood.

It's not really all that secret, though. It just hasn't hit the mainstream news yet.

There's a site: Stop ACTA.

Hopefully there will be lots more. BoingBoing, EFF, and similar groups have been warning of ACTA for some time. Check it out, then complain to your representative, as suits your level of interest.

Facebook-free - day one

I've decided Facebook is a bit like a substance addiction. I find myself looking for my Facebook bookmark then remembering I deleted it in order to not accidentally nullify my cancellation (if you log in during the 14 day period after you request deletion, you account is automatically reinstated).

I asked a friend what she saw. She said my posts all vanished. Another said I'm still listed in her friend list, but my profile page can't be accessed.

Interesting but now I feel a bit like a high school grad who can't help but drive by his old school.

Kinda weird.

In other news, my DSL modem is dying. Good times.

Jeez

First Facebook bugs the shit out of me with their constant jiggling with my account (thus prompting my deletion of said account).

Now Google is fucking around.

I have a G+ account. Looks like I'll probably nuke that as well, though I'm still undecided.

I don't really use many of Google's services, save for some gaming stuff I do with a small circle of friends, so the impact is minimal and I wind up using separate accounts for my gaming stuff.

Meh. Maybe it's all much ado about nothing. I mean, any and all privacy on the Web is more-or-less an illusion.

Still, I like my illusions.

Alcatraz

The latest J.J. Abrams story is about a series of prisoners and guards who vanish from Alcatraz prison in 1963, when the prison closed, and mysteriously wind up in modern-day San Francisco (which looks suspiciously like Vancouver). A team works to try to re-capture the prisoners and solve the mystery.

It's pretty standard Abrams fare. You have the mysterious, secret-keeping, asshole-ish leader character played by the ever-awesome Sam Neil. You have the perky blonde protagonist lady played by the very cute Sarah Jones (who looks more like a cheerleader than a cop, but whatever). Oh and you have Hurley. Oh, he's not Hurley from Lost. He's some kind of Alcatraz-expert who runs a comic shop. Don't ask. It's Hurley. Move on.

The characters are okay. There's a few underlying mysteries and some serious weirdness. I have no idea who the good guys are and I'm fairly confident Sam Neil's character isn't one of them, and that's fine with me. I'll still root for him.

The concept is weird. I think this could do well as a mini-series or movie, but as a syndicated series, this is going to get tired fast. It's too one-shot to sustain itself as things stand.

And as a native of the Bay Area, I'm finding myself very amused to see locations getting called out that look nothing like their real-world counterparts.

Example: in Monday's episode "Kit Nelson", a child-kidnapper strikes in Walnut Creek, California, then goes fishing in Lafayette Recreational Park (presumably at the resevoir there).

For the uninformed, Walnut Creek and Lafayette are a couple of bedroom communities in the greater Bay Area. They aren't even all that close to the Bay itself, so they're really more just inland suburbs.

And they're very dry areas.

So when I'm looking at a rain-rotted house purported to be in Walnut Creek, I have to laugh. When I see mist rising off of what is ostensibly the Lafayette resevoir and some grungy guy selling worms out of a trailer, I remember a community that is so whitebread and clean that they pull people over for busted signal lights and I laugh even more.

I don't think the hills around the Lafayette resevoir are populated by evergreens and they are certainly more dry-gold than green.

Still, I appreciated a shout-out to some of the little-known communities of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. I can't wait to see if Newark or Antioch make an appearance. Would be a hoot to see Novato show up as well. I'll enjoy seeing the parched hills of those communities looking suspiciously well-watered and Canadian.

And it's done

I took the plunge and deleted my Facebook account.

If all goes well, in 14 days all that crap I had in there will be permanently gone.

I'll miss keeping in touch with a few people, but I've come to realize that if I'm only keeping in touch through Facebook, that doesn't speak highly of the relationships in question.

Bring on the Dragons, baby!

新年快樂

Or, "Happy New Year", as I'm told these characters roughly translate as.

It's the Year of the Dragon now. Time to get scaly!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

There are no spoilers in this. It's just a brilliant, BRILLIANT montage!

[EDIT: That's not really correct. There's one giant spoiler at the end only if you have not seen "The Wedding of River Song"]

Wikileaking

Like him or hate him, one has to admire Julian Assange for his guts.

He gave an interview to Rolling Stone that you can read here.

It's worth a read. This guy is hard-core, no matter what you think of him as a personality.

Sing it Jon!

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Blackouts and SOPA/PIPA

Today's the day a whole bunch of sites (Google, Wikipedia, etc.) go on blackout to protest the ridiculous bullshit of SOPA ("Stop Online Piracy Act") and PIPA ("Protect Intellectual Property Act").

I must admit I'm curious to see if all this protesting will actually make headway against the seemingly-inpenetrable bubble of stupidity that is Congress.

I hope so.

Pet Peeves

A few things in the long list of stuff that bugs me:

* Websites that don't have a prominent sign out or log off button or link. I'm lookin' at you eBay. And Amazon? You could stand to fix that as well.

* People who cut you off in the far left lane of the freeway, then slow down so traffic on the right passes them. WTF people? It's the passing lane! Don't get into the goddamn lane if you're not planning on moving quickly!

* People who don't put their trash in the trash bins. They should be made to sleep in a bed made of their trash for a full night for each time they do this.

* Looking at package tracking and knowing my shipment is just sitting on a shelf for an arbitrary delivery schedule.

I share 'cause I care.

No, that's not true.

Rage

There's a lot of things in the world right now that make me really, really angry:

* PG&E stuffing the pockets of their executives with money intended for safety. (One might recall a little problem a couple of years ago...)

* Banks getting rich by fraudulent business practices, getting bailed out by tax money, then giving themselves bonuses.

* Indefinite detention powers claimed by the U.S. government (essentially pissing on the corpse of the Bill of Rights).

* Opt-out options.

Wait. Opt-out? Why would I by angry about those?

I'm angry that I have to opt-out of anything. I have the ability to opt-out of businesses sharing my personal info with every dickhead in the world. I have the ability to opt-out of Google's G+ integration feature. I have the ability to opt-out of getting called by telemarkers via the "Do Not Call" database.

Why the hell should I have to be the one to initate an action to undo unwanted intrusions in my life?

Why the hell should phone companies be selling my (UNLISTED) number without my permission? Why the hell are ANY companies sharing my personal information with ANYONE without my express permission?

Hell, I don't even care about the Google thing. I just don't conduct searches on Google while logged-in to my account. Problem solved there.

I find the intrusiveness of the world increasingly abhorrent. I don't agree with the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world who claim that we "don't want" privacy.

I find it mind-boggling that our elected government cannot, for the life of them, do their goddamn jobs and protect the public from all the abuse of these corporations.

I really find it mind-boggling that we can't elect people who can do these jobs.

I can't say I'd do better, but I'm obviously no politican...

Today is a day when I do believe I will require a few drinks... after work, of course.

Doctor Who

I have been remiss in my commentary on the latest "Doctor Who" Xmas special: "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe".

Once again, Moffatt's team pulls off a satisfying Xmas storyline. It wasn't (in my opinion) as solid as the "Christmas Carol" one from last year, but it was still entertaining. I liked Claire Skinner as the unflappable Madge Arwell and I found myself enjoying the kids as well.

The story itself was excessive in sentimental drivel, but I'm willing to cut them slack for Xmas specials.

I really wish Moffatt would include more actual villains in his stories. Aside from The Silence and one blissfully-brief pass with the Daleks, we haven't had any really solid bad guys for Matt Smith to counter. Most of the time he's dealing with purely-misunderstood threats.

That kind of moral ambiguity is all fine-and-well in stories from time-to-time, but I want more Harrison Chases in the Who-niverse and fewer River Songs.

Sherlocking

I've seen "The Hounds of Baskerville", episode 2 of "Sherlock".

I refuse to discuss it in any detail out of deference to those who hate spoilers, save that I will say I loved it about as much as I loved "A Scandal in Belgravia".

Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt do it right.

Gatiss apparently wrote "Hounds" and co-wrote "Scandal" with Moffatt.

I've decided Gatiss is a god of awesome.

Jon Stewart helps explain Congress

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Goals and Stuff

It's pretty much the expected behavior to have resolutions and life-plans in a new year.

I figured I ought to give it a try again, if only to see how fast I drop these little resolutions:

1) Exercise more.

I got a used copy of P90X from Amazon. I've actually started the program. I can't get through some of the DVDs, mainly due to lingering injuries and/or joint issues. Otherwise, I'm finding them a surprisingly-fun workout.

Painful, too. Goddamn painful.

2) Give more money to causes I support and dump less money into shiny junk.

In the wake of the reprehensible indefinite detention legislation, SOPA, and similarly un-American legislative developments that are cropping up, I'm going to try to shift more cash into ACLU, EFF, and Amnesty International.

We'll see how long that little bit of altruistic fever stays with me.

3) Get my bike fixed before the end of March.

A nice, simple goal. Given my tendency to procrastinate, I stand a 50-50 chance of actually meeting this goal.

4) Delete my Facebook account if they force that stupid Timeline thing on me.

I've had a love-hate relationship with Facebook since I joined it. I keep my account locked-down. I think I have a smidge over 50 friends. I share practically nothing of substance.

I really only use it to stay in touch with a few friends whom I'd otherwise never hear from. Some of my friends post some really funny stuff. It's got some solid entertainment value.

That said, I find myself constantly annoyed by Facebook's arbitrary behavior and their abhorrent privacy policies. I find myself often trying my best to kill tags people assign me and try to filter out as much of the chaff as possible to just see the stuff I care about.

Their new "Timeline" layout is annoying, intrusive, and spastic to look at. So they're obviously planning on forcibly-converting everyone to this new format.

I'm finding that these headaches are increasingly not worth the hassle. If this is the only way I can stay in touch with some friends, then they're probably not really all that good of friends to begin with.

There's also G+, but overall I'm finding myself disenchanted with these social media sites. They're increasingly not being worth the hassle.

Good times.

I've considered other resolutions. Maybe eat healthier. Work on projects that are a bit more worthwhile than my usual stuff. Websurf less.

I'm not going to kid myself. I wouldn't follow any of those resolutions worth a damn, so there's no point putting them on the list.

Maybe I'll just resolve to remain fickle. That's a resolution I can stick with... until I decide not to.

Sherlock

I've had the distinct pleasure of being able to see "A Scandal in Belgravia", the season-opener for series two of "Sherlock".

Wow. Just... Wow.

This is A game stuff here.

The twists. The turns. Right up to the last moment, I was just dizzy with loving the story.

It helps that it introduced Irene Adler, "The Woman" from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original series. The modern reimagining of her was pretty entertaining and watching her fence with Holmes was awesome.

A good way to start a new year.

2012: Day Three

Second goal of 2012 accomplished: obtained a copy of Beachbum Berry's "Beachbum Berry Remixed" which includes Beachbum Berry's "Intoxica" and "Grog a Log".

What does this mean? I do believe this means I will try my hand at tiki drink mixing this spring/summer.

My first goal was exercise. After jogging some thirty minutes or so yesterday, I made an attempt to try P90X.

So... yeah.

I have a minor shoulder injury. It's pretty much healed, but still gives me the occasional twinge. Despite this, I tried the chest-and-back P90X exercise. I couldn't make it through the first twenty minutes of the hour-ish workout before I realized I was experiencing pain that fits in the "bad" category.

I did step up and try the "Ab Ripper X" workout. Ouch. For what that's worth, I did manage to finish it.

I went to bed early last night and I slept like a baby.

I only hurt a little bit this morning and my shoulder doesn't hurt more than usual, so that's promising.

Not bad for three days into the year.

2012

Aaaah. First day of a new year. No hangover. Tasty breakfast with Black Blood of the Earth included.

Okay, Mayan doomsday myth, take your best shot.