Temper Tantrums and Faux-controveries

Apparently a bunch of people are offended that Google's main page paid tribute to the birthday of labor leader Caesar Chavez instead of Easter.

Nice tantrum, Twitter-heads! I'm sure Jesus would have been down with you getting all outraged over the arbitrary date of Easter (which changes every year) instead of honoring a respected labor leader who helped people who could not otherwise help themselves.

I'm sure Jesus really gives a rat's ass about what's on Google's main page (or Bing's or whatever). 'Cause clearly the Internet would be of utmost importance to him after being gruesomely executed by Romans.

Sweet FSM, people... seriously? Get a fucking grip!

Review: The Bells of St. John (Doctor Who)

Last night was the premiere of the second half of season seven of "Doctor Who".

Here there be spoilers (highlight to view).
After the events of the last Xmas special, the Doctor has gone from being a world-saving hero to being a weird, uber-stalker as he searches for another incarnation of Clara "Oswin" Oswald, met previously in the Xmas special and a Dalek episode.

Meanwhile, people are getting forcibly-uploaded into "the wifi" as part of some sort of Matrix-cloud-thing by a bunch of people in suits in a dark room using disguised robots called "Spoonheads".

Don't think about the plot too much. It's silly, even for a kid's show.

The Doctor has been connected to Clara because "a woman in a shop" gave him a way to call him to fix her Internet access.

You see, Clara in the 21st century is a technologically-illiterate nanny. Her telephone call somehow connects to the phone in the TARDIS and hilarity ensues.

By "hilarity" I mean "contrived and ridiculously nonsense" but whatever.

The Doctor, in full stalker mode, crosses time to freak out Clara (who really ought to have called the cops... nobody seems to think about that).

And then she gets sucked into the wifi Matrix cloud thing. You see, she clicked a wifi link and got the attention of the bad people and they felt a need to eat her brain.

The Doctor rescues her and tells the suit people to fuck off. Clara comes back with some uploaded computer skills, via the suit people, for reasons that make no sense whatsoever.

All the suit people are essentially hacked by iPads and controlled by a woman who works for a mysterious "client" who wants these uploaded minds.

The suit people try to drop a plane on the Doctor and Clara. The Doctor saves the plane then he and Clara go to a cafe and have breakfast. There, the suit people hack a bunch of random folks (everyone gets brain-controlled by the suit people, I guess) while Clara mysteriously manages to hack back into the suit people's place and find out where they are.

The suit people zap Clara with a Spoonhead. The Doctor, using an "antigrav motorbike" rides to the rescue... only it's a reprogrammed Spoonhead who zaps the leader of the suit people. The suit people download everyone out of the Matrix cloud thing and it's revealed that the "client" is the Great Intelligence (wave if you know who that is). The GI's scheme of wifi control apparently works on everyone but UNIT for reasons that make no sense whatsoever.

The GI reboots every one of the suit people, revealing that the leader of the suit people got grabbed as a very young child (which was a genuinely-creepy scene, I'll grant that).

The Doctor remains stalkery and tries to get Clara to fly off in the TARDIS with him. She plays weird flirting games and the episode ends.



My reactions: I'd like to thank Steven Moffatt for turning the Doctor into an utter tool. I really need one of my favorite shows to become ridiculous crap. That's great.

Moff, you did great stuff with "Blink" and the Library episodes. I thought Russell T. Davies was doing ridiculous crap with his melodramatic, over-the-top stuff, but you've taken the Doctor to whole new lows. Bravo.

By which I mean, fuck the hell off.

The story was nonsensical and ridiculous. Having the Great Intelligence as the ultimate bad guy was solid, but the delivery was poor and the story felt clearly-incomplete.

The sloppy writing is really getting to me.

Grade: C- (and I feel I'm being generous)

Review: REI Thorofare Jacket

The San Francisco Bay Area is a great place to live.

It's got scenery, great places to eat, great places to drink, diversity, all that stuff.

And the weather is generally mild.

By "mild" I mean, it's often not in-sync with the rest of the world.

There's a claim that Mark Twain said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

I have no idea if that's true, but it's certainly a statement I've heard others utter.

A reality to living in the Bay Area, especially in the City or East Bay, is that you need to have a jacket with you most days out of the year.

Doesn't usually have to be anything heavy. Just another layer for those days when the fog rolls in while you're taking an out-of-town guest on a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Okay, in that case, it's best to bring polar fleece or somesuch, but in most other circumstances, I've found a light jacket suffices.

As such, I'm always on the lookout for a good light jacket.

I define "good" as:

• Not too heavy
• Breathable
• Looks nice
• Comes in a color I like
• Has a fair number of pockets. The more, the better.
• Affordable

I have previously used several other kinds of jacket. I have a jacket I got from TAD Gear, but it's getting a bit threadbare and they don't make that particular type anymore. The closest I've seen since is their Pathfinder Jacket and that's not really what I'm looking for.

I've gotten a Duluth Trading company coat or two, but those are generally on the heavy side.

I've tried out the ScottEVest jackets before, but I have found they are not generally breathable enough for me and tend to have a few other issues that make me shy away.

So we get to REI.

I've been an REI member for quite some time. I find that funny given that I'm hardly the outdoors type. I originally joined 'cause I found myself buying a lot of bike gear there, then some garments, then bags/luggage, then disaster kit stuff and the next thing I knew, I was a regular when I could afford to swing by.

When you're an REI member, you get a dividend sometime around March that's based on how much you spent the year prior.

I didn't personally spend all that much (though, upon reflection, that may not be true...), but I have family who use my REI number when they make purchases, and that helps add up.

My dividend arrived with REI's 20% off coupon.

THAT makes things interesting. With the two, it's often possible to buy something substantial - good shoes, a nice bag, etc. - for a very reasonable price or simply with the entirety of the dividend.

Took me a while to get to the Thorofare Jacket in this post, huh?

I saw it while perusing REI's site for candidates to spend my dividend. It appealed to me. Given REI's extremely-flexible and customer-friendly returns policy, I figured this was as risk-free a purchase as I'd make this year.

I ordered it and it arrived Friday.

I'm in love.

The Thorofare is very comfortable. It's soft and light without being too light. Has enough substance to it that it feels like a layer while not burdening me. It's breathable and claims to be water repellent. I may test that later, should the promised rain arrive.

The colors please me. The exterior pockets have zipper closures and they're not the flimsy, sticky kind of zippers. These are solid, smooth-action zippers. There's three interior pockets. Two are deep pockets for maps, books, whatever. The third is a tiny, velcro-sealed pocket. Probably for change or a small MP3 player or something. I dunno.

There's snap cuffs on the sleeves and the jacket closes with both snaps and a zipper.

All-in-all, it's far better than I expected. This may well be my new favorite jacket.

Well-played

The plight of the Honeybees.

Is this what sanity feels like?

Bleary-eyed, I attempt to get myself into work mode on this foggy Friday morning.

For the record, every Friday is "good".

A little websurfing came across this little Kickstarter: the Tactical Pen by "Cybernetic Research Labs.

Bwah?

Okay, I own many pens. A few could be called "tactical", I suppose. They were a novel idea at first, but increasingly it seems that every Tom, Dick, and Cyborg out there is creating new pens with a "tactical" label.

And they're increasingly looking more and more weapon-ish.

So, back to these guys. Love the name "Cybernetic Research Labs". I wonder how many cyborgs they're researching out there in Tucson, Arizona?

Seriously, I really love the name.

The pen looks like something out of "Doctor Who". It's like a stabby Sonic Screwdriver in the drawings.

Will I get in on this? Not as my brain stands this morning.

• I have too many goddamn pens.
• I love my TiBolt pen too damn much.
• If I busted this "Tactical" pen out in a meeting, I'd probably get fired.

That said, it kinda looks cool. Certainly has that whole kubaton thing going for it. Hm... maybe I'll change my mind. I have time, I guess.

end of the day

Odd and interesting day, all things considered.

Oh, nothing specifically useful, as such. A short work day due to a medical appointment. A lunch at a brewery prior to going into said appointment. Public transit to said appointment (with the requisite cast of freak and such). A taproom and burger after.

Funny how I find myself in conversation in beer places. I usually go with a book and a desire to read. I always find myself talking to others at the bar, often despite myself. Today was no exception. Would-be brewers with expertise voicing many opinions on beers of many sorts.

Always makes for interesting conversation. I don't consider myself an especially-gregarious person, but I do appear to have an odd knack for finding interesting conversation where beer is served.

There's worse fates.

Sucks that it's a work night. Good thing I'm drinking a couple of liters of water.

Every Day Carry

One of my friends just taunted me to show off my EDC.

As I've had a few ill-advised pints (on a work night, no less), I'd almost consider such a challenge but paranoia still rules my decision-making process.

Plus, I'm not sure where my camera lies.

In a nutshell:

• Wallet with much stuff in it (none of which is cash... *sigh*)
• cell phone (my cell phone is an unimpressive thing but is always on my person, if not actually on)
• house keys
• car keys (if I'm driving)
• bottle opener/pry tool (some sort of Atwood tool, currently)
• office key
• (very little) cash and moneyclip
• Leatherman Wave
• handkerchief
• whistle
• change purse
• at least four writing implements... ye gods
• three flashlights
• tweezers
• Harp multi-tool
• gum
• Moleksine notebook
• watch

I might add a pocket knife to the mix if I have the mood, but not at the moment. There's very likely other stuff . I should pare this down. Three flashlights? Seriously? WTF? And that doesn't count what's in my bag...

Gems of the Interwebz

Found on RPG.net and lifted shamelessly 'cause they're awesome. Click to embiggen as needed to witness their true glory.

EDIT: Okay, I guess they don't click. Maybe use your browser's "view image" function to see these graphics the proper size?

Amazing

The most surreal places on Earth.

Just... wow.

Incoherent Mutterings on a Wednesday Morning

The latest alleged rain "storm" to hit the Bay Area seems a pretty resounding bust thus far.

---

While I do love Sloth and Gluttony, I dislike being inactive for long periods of time. The Gluttony tends to overwhelm and I find my health slipping into the bad zone.

So it's somewhat-ironic that I have to chill out for health reasons and heal from an injury. And it's helping! I'm pretty much going to have to declare the Spring (and possibly the Summer) a wash for martial arts classes. If I get enough mobility back, I may return early.

In the meantime, I really need to find a new activity. I guess going back to jogging isn't a bad idea.

Though I'm thinking housecleaning might be both good exercise and fairly essential. My apartment... ye gods.

---

I love REI's dividend season. I looooooves it.

---

It's Easter this weekend, apparently. Go figure. So I guess Cadbury Eggs will be discounted next week?

That won't be a dangerous thing at all.

I can't explain why I love Cadbury Creme Eggs so much. I really can't. They're cloyingly-sweet. They're not especially good chocolate.

Perhaps it's the heroin they must mix into 'em?

If they made dark chocolate creme and/or caramel eggs, they would clean up. I'm just sayin'.

Please don't listen to me, Cadbury. I don't want to die of sugar overload.

Morning Mutterings

The moon is full this morning and peeks furtively through clouds that tease of possible sprinkles later.

Good times. Love a full moon.

And I'm talking about the one in the sky, not someone dropping their drawers. Don't need the cheeky stuff.

---

So... the Veronica Mars Movie Kickstarter Project. Love it. I'm firmly backing this. I loved the first two seasons of the TV show (the third season fell apart for me, but such is life).

I am thoroughly-enjoying the disruptions this is causing in Hollywood. Though Time has some interesting things to say on the concept.

---

I will confide that Stephen Moffatt's interviews about the balance of the next season of "Doctor Who" are making me a little nervous. Lots of discussions of new monsters. I'm just hoping he's not overplaying this.

He's already overplaying things with his story-arcs. Meh. I need to learn to relax and enjoy the ride.

---

I would really like to be asleep right now.

Losing that Hellish Flavor

In the late, lamented show "Reaper", the Department of Motor Vehicles was one of those places in which you could connect easily to Hell.

Not too surprising. Most folks who have been to a DMV office probably thought they were already in Hell.

I have to give the California DMV full props for turning some of that around.

Last time I renewed my driver's license, I took a good look at my photograph in it and realized I no longer even remotely resembled that photo. A change in (ahem) hairstyle, the disappearance of a beard, a transition from eyeglasses to contacts. All of that kinda made it awkward for those rare occasions when someone needed to match my photo ID against my actual face.

In the interests of keeping my life simple, I made arrangements to get a new photo taken. I even navigated the dreaded pages of the DMV and made an appointment.

See, that. That right there. That is the key to having a positive California DMV experience.

There's two lines at the DMV:

• The line for the people who make appointments.
• The line for the people who really need to get a clue.

The day of my appointment, the line was going out the door of the DMV and we into the parking lot. I quickly determined that was the line for walk-ins. The folks with appointments went to a different line.

The appointments line did not quite have a velvet rope, a concierge, and fresh coffee but the feel was infinitely more civilized and easy-going. There were maybe two people ahead of me. A few minutes later, I was chilling in a lobby chair and waiting to see my number come up on the board. A few minutes after that, I was chatting with a friendly and helpful DMV employee.

Yes, that's right. I said "friendly and helpful". I was as shocked as anyone.

A few minutes after that, I was leaving the DMV with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

I'd taken a half-day from work for something that took me fifteen minutes, all-told. I treated myself to a tasty, beer-heavy lunch that day in celebration.

A couple of weeks later, I had a shiny new license with a photograph that looked more like me.

That was also an impressive deal. I recall the DMV taking many weeks (read: months - plural) to mail stuff. These guys had it to me in about ten days, all told.

So, as I mentioned, I recently paid off my car. The bank holding the loan was typically-glacial in processing the paperwork to get the title transferred to me. I bugged them last week to find out what was going on with the pink slip.

I wanted ownership of my Precioussssss settled. Mostly 'cause I was nervous about the paperwork vanishing in the mail.

They assured me the paperwork had gone to the DMV. So I politely thanked the helpful rep and added another month to my wait.

Less than a week later, I got the pink slip in the mail from the DMV.

Bravo, California DMV! I honestly sing your praises now. You are no longer a gateway to hell, in my book.

Though perhaps it's my Pastafarian association that gains me special favor? It might simply be that they give preferrential treatment to the ministry? Hard to say.

The Right Fit

Cool Tools has a review of the Honda Fit today.

I recently paid off the balance of my car loan for my Fit (I call it "My Precioussssss" in my best homage to Gollum) and this article strikes a chord with me.

Since getting the Precioussss, I've been barraged by my dealership with offers to trade it in on a new model for "top dollar". I'm given to understand there's a demand for used Fits out there.

Ain't no way I'm going back into car payment land or giving up my car without some extreme circumstances. I haven't been this besotted with an automobile since I first started driving back in [insert ancient era here]. Kudos to my friend V for putting the idea in my mind to even look at the Fit.

The Fit is a joy. At first I was concerned with the small trunk space, but the car's configurable storage is remarkable. The back seats fold every which way, allowing one to get stuff into the car from either the hatch-back rear or from the sides (the doors open a full ninety-degrees).

And this puppy can corner like a dream.

The milage is pretty solid. I do lots of city street driving, so my milage isn't anything to write home about but the times I've taken it the distance, I've noticed it does quite well.

The Fit is just an insanely-fun car. If you have the chance, I'd recommend trying to take one on a test drive, just to see how it feels.

Weird

So if you view this blog in Chrome, it appears to jump you down to the bottom of the page where the calendar widget thingie is.

I have no idea why. Blame Google.

Random bits of Internet 'n stuff

• Karen Gillan!
• Game of Thrones cast with Funko Toys (Peter Dinkladge FTW)
• Polite boos permitted
• Happy Birthday Shat!
• 

In other news, today's "Worst Case Scenario" calendar entry gives survival time in water:

• Water temp: 32 F - you're going to be dead in 15 to 45 minutes
• Water temp: 32.5 to 40 F - you're going to be dead in 15 to 90 minutes
• Water temp: 40 to 50 F - you're going to be dead in 30 minutes to 3 hours
• Water temp: 50 to 60 F - you're going to be dead in 1 to 6 hours

Just in case you were ever wondering.

Kickstarters that currently intrigue me:

• Multi-tool wallet
• Bauhaus Titanium Key Carabiner (with bottle-opening capabilities!)
• Pocket Bands (not EVERYTHING I track is titanium, you know... though this would be awesome in titanium)

Just answer the question

This.

This right here.

This is what a real journalist is. This is what journalists should be goddamn doing.

If we had a couple of mainstream talking heads that could show a quarter of this guy's spine, we'd improve U.S. journalism a thousand percent.

Ireland rocks.

This is not the Bag-End of the matter

I think I have a problem.

Let me back up. So some time back, I somehow hurt myself. This is not a new thing. I don't seem to be able to go more than ten minutes in a day without stubbing a toe, pulling a muscle, or whatever. I'm not going to make it to old age the way I'm going and my hobbies certainly aren't contributing to my physical longevity.

This injury has been hard to diagnose. It's roughly localized to the neck/shoulder, which - according to doctors and physical therapists - could mean just about anything is messed-up.

Good times. That's the stuff I like to hear when I'm in pain.

I've been doing physical therapy to deal with this and otherwise resting said limb from the more egregious uses in martial arts classes (or just skipping entire weeks when the topic would require use of said limb).

This morning was one of the first in ages in which I haven't felt any significant pain. Just stiffness.

Then I got out of my car, grabbed my bag and... ouch. Wrong arm.

Reminded me of my PT's reaction upon first meeting me. I'd come straight from work and was lugging my bag as leaving it in my car was just an unwise move.

She blinked, looked at me, looked at the bag and said: "I think that's your problem right there."

I laughed it off but this morning I'm wondering if I'm being too flippant about this.

Looking in this delightful bag of carrying capacity, I've got:

• A paperback book
• My e-reader
• A hat
• A first aid kit
• A water bottle
• A small umbrella
• A hobo knife
• Collapsable chopsticks
• Bike tools
• Allergy meds
• A freakin' toothbrush and toothpaste! How did that get in there?
• Food bars (mildly-crushed)
• Eyeglasses (huh... so that's where those went...)
• Some sort of multitool I'd forgotten I owned that's... substantial. (The Kelvin .23 if you're curious.
• A few removable bags with smaller subsets of tools, pens, cables, chargers, and FSM-knows what else

Perhaps I should occasionally clean out my EDC bag.

"What does not kill you makes you stronger", or so the saying goes. I'm pretty much living proof that's not true. This bag's weight is clearly trying to kill me and I don't feel all that much stronger.

I stand by my version: "What does not kill you tries harder next time."

A Kick(starter) in the Pants

I admit it. I'm a Kickstarter junkie.

I was first introduced to it through the Least I Could Do movie idea.

Kinda went downhill from there.

I'm surprised nobody's yet hit me over the head to make me stop playing with the TiBolt I've always got on my person (my current favorite Kickstarter acquisition).

And my Cthulhu Tiki Mug assails my sanity constantly.

So I'm trolling blogs while a program sucks productive use out of my PC and I came across this: the Multi-tool wallet.

Yes. Yes, this is a good idea. I like this.

Will I fund this? I may well succumb.

I have plenty of wallets. My CountyComm Traveler RFID Wallet satisfies my requirements better than any other, though I do like to mix things up and use my TMT (now Attacoa Performance) wallet when the mood strikes me.

Having an extra bottle opener in the form of a wallet would not go amiss and I like the James Bond-esque idea of having all sorts of little tools handy.

Plus there's a Titanium option, though that's a bit pricy.

Decisions, decisions...

The Midpoint Blues

The world's most pathetic rain "storm" is hitting the Bay Area right now. I guess I shouldn't complain with other parts of the country under inches, if not feet, of snow.

Still, we could use the rain.

I got nothin' else, really. I desperately want to be asleep in my bed right now.

Duh-duh-da-da-duh-duh-da-da-duh-duh...

I got season two of Game of Thrones on DVD and I've finally started watching it yesterday.

Damn but the casting for this show is brilliant. Peter Dinklage IS Tyrion Lannister!

Actually, the only casting I don't care for is that of Jon Snow, but given how blah the character becomes, I guess it doesn't matter. Maybe this actor can turn Snow into something before... oh why go there?

I love the fan concern that the show will quickly pass the point of the printed novels. Yeah, welcome to our world, newcomers. Those of us who have been reading the series from the beginning are MORE CONCERNED THAT GEORGE R.R. MARTIN WILL DIE BEFORE FINISHING THE GODDAMN SERIES!!!

It's not like he's slamming those puppies out, alas.

Oh, my weird subject line for this post? The theme song from the series, of course! What, you can't tell?

Ponderings on a Tuesday Morning

The mild winter weather is freaking me out. It really shouldn't be this warm. The lack of substantial rain is also a tad worrying.

I am apparently in the minority for worry. Most of the weather forecasters are all a-gush over the sunshine and premature Spring weather. My subset of heat-loving friends are enjoying the lack of winter cold, despite the fact that those among them who suffer Spring allergies are getting an early dose.

Hopefully this year is just a blip and not the start of a drought.

---

Successfully made a double-batch of Scharffenberger brownies as a bribe to the myriad co-workers from whom I require assistance and/or cooperation. I may have overdone it with a double-batch.

---

Spring begins tomorrow, if my calendar is to be trusted. Huh. I just noticed that.

---

It's going to be pure murder trying to get through this day without diving into the brownie supply at my desk. I already "quality assured" the batch yesterday. I must... resist... more... sugar... intake...

---

Today's entry in the "Worst Case Scenario" calendar describes how to survive a bunge jumping disaster. I expect to never require these tips as my brain would have to be six days dead before I'd ever even begin to consider bungee jumping of my own free will.

Erin go braugh - a little late

This was the first St. Paddy's Day in my adult memory in which I didn't do anything particularly debauched to celebrate.

Might have been 'cause it was on a Sunday, but I was pretty much doing nothing the days before.

Lack of funds helps. This month hit me with some heavy unexpected expenses. Part of it was a simple lack of motivation. I wasn't up to the crowds in the bars. I'm still recovering from a neck/shoulder problem that's frankly making me all kinds of grouchy.

And I'm - weirdly enough - just not craving the booze.

That's not to say this weekend was dry. Gave a local beer place another try. Had a whiskey sour with the family on actual St. Paddy's. Gotta honor personal traditions, after all.

I'm stil fried from goddamn DST. That doesn't help.

Finally Friday

Aaaah... the first week of Daylight Sucktastic Time behind us. I can't believe how hard it hit me this year!

Brutal week in many respects, though kind of mixed overall. In other randomness:

• My "healthy muffin experiment" is thus far not poisoning me.
• What I thought were shoulder problems are turning out to be neck problems. I am unsure how to react to this.
• Started Secrets of the Fire Sea by Stephen Hunt. It's book four in Hunt's "Jackelian" series, a Steampunk-ish science-fiction setting that's strangely-entertaining. I need to get my hands on the next two books: Jack Cloudie and From the Deep of the Dark.
• Doctor Who returns on March 30. That's a relief!
• In over a decade of practicing various martial arts, I am finally getting the basics of doing a spin kick under my belt. Kind of. This is most-certainly not a move I would choose to use in the real world. Awkward doesn't begin to cover how I move as I'm doing this.

The Fine Art of Teaching

Teaching is hard.

I've tried my hand at it. Despite knowing many teachers (and having a few in the family tree), I lack the gift. In my case, it's both a lack of patience and an inability to articulate concepts to people in any clear fashion.

I find that hysterically-funny given that I have turned around and become a writer, but that's outside of the scope of my little rant here.

It's difficult to be a good teacher. To teach, one has to be articulate, to be able to communicate concepts clearly, be patient, to inspire students to strive and improve, and know your subject matter. It helps to be funny.

Good teachers are a rare breed.

There are, alas, no shortage of bad teachers in the world. I've had one martial arts instructor who was a pleasant enough fellow outside of class. Put him in front of a group of students and suddenly Mr. Hyde made an appearance. He was unable to articulate what he wanted the class to do. He mixed-up his instructions ("left" when he meant "right") and got angry when students couldn't read his mind.

It got to the point that I just avoided going to classes when I knew he was scheduled to teach. It was that or lose my own frayed temper and that's never a wise move in martial arts classes.

Recently I had a brush with another flavor of teacher. This one wasn't bad like the other I mentioned. This one was a mix. This instructor could communicate concepts very clearly but had a slight patience issue.

And that reflected in getting a little verbally abusive.

I'm not a fan of the "drill sergeant gym teacher" routine. My memory of all my P.E./gym instructors in jr. high school and high school was that they were all ranting lunatics who spent a lot of time yelling and belittling students instead of explaining things.

This instructor took pages from that book. The capper was ending a class insisting that the students should feel ashamed for failing to give less than 110%.

Clearly math is another issue here.

I get feeling disappointed that students aren't doing what you expect. That's part of the teaching and learning process. I don't get the belittling.

I guess it takes all kinds.

It makes sense

I now understand.

Daylight Saving Time is a conceptual vampiric entity that is draining the collective life-force of specific regions. Amazing that the folk of Arizona, who in all other respects appear to be throw-backs to medieval times, are smart enough to avoid this trap.

Then again, folk of medieval times were pretty sharp about monsters, weren't they?

Need more garlic...

DS... you know what? Nevermind.

Too tired to whine about the time change. Need an IV drip of pure caffeine. Stat.

DST - Rant 4 for 2013 (and other stuff)

Daylight. Goddamn. Saving. Time.

Mornings are rarely worse than the first work day of DST.

Why? WHY? WHY ARE WE STILL OBSERVING THIS ANCIENT BULLSHIT? WHY???

You want your day to "get" an hour of sunlight at a different time? Change your personal goddamn work schedule! Don't force me to change mine.

Once again, fuck you Daylight Saving Time. Fuck you a lot.

---

So, a potential cure is Black Blood of the Earth. Going to have to restock soon. Hm...

---

Finished Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter. That was a kick-ass collection of stories. I want Richard Parks to write more of the adventures of Yamada Monogatari and Kenji the reprobate priest. I want more NOW!

I should now return to Corey Doctorow's Homeland but I've overdosed on "real world" news and it depresses me to read all about abusive surveillance state shenanigans. I may instead opt to go for Secrets of the Fire Sea the next in Stephen Hunt's weird steampunkish future-ish world.

DST - Rant 3 for 2013

Daylight.

Fucking.

Saving.

Time.

Oh, how I hate you.

A Saint for the TRUE FAITH

Religious persecution has been bested!

I nominate Niko Alm for sainthood in the Pastafarian Faith! RAmen!

Shiiiiiiny

I love the 21st Century.

Sure, we've got catastrophic environmental issues that will degrade our quality of life and may well destroy our civilization as it reshapes our world.

Sure the economy is spiraling into shit because a bunch of greedy rat-bastards continue to try to suck away as much wealth as possible, returning human civilization to a feudal-like era.

Sure there's an ever-increasing risk of some batshit crazy lunatic getting a nuke and blowing giant, radioactive holes in the Earth and killing millions.

Sure, we're becoming a psychotic police state.

But technology is inventing awesome stuff! You can get a flashlight that can generate 400 lumens on a single CR123 battery!

BOO-YAH! In your face larger-and-more-important concerns!

DST - Rant 2 for 2013

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[Stomps foot on floor furiously]

I don't WANT to lose my hour of sleep!!!!!!

DAMN YOU DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME!!! DAAAAAAMNNNNN YOOOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!

Eldritch doom, sword-wielding detectives, and muffins

I'm still waiting to hear if the meteorite "defrosting" in Japan is going to hatch into mindless horror. I think they're likely screwed when Ghidora starts laying the smackdown. Only Godzilla can save them and we all know how well that goes for real estate values.

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Had free time yesterday and hit Barnes & Noble. Found myself buying a couple of books. Big shock. While waiting for friends and associates, I had a pint and started to read one of them:

Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter by Richard Parks is a sort of pulp noir story, only it's set in Heian period Japan. So the main character, Yamada Monogatari, is narrating the story in modern-ish vernacular, but he's really a down-on-his-luck Japanese nobleman who has been forced to turn to mercenary/detective/demon hunter work to pay the bills.

The book is a collection of short stories about Yamada and so far they're kicking my ass. I know a tiny bit about the Heian period from some light reading done after watching some films set in that era. In a nutshell, it's really before the Shoguns rose to power. Demons and ghosts are pretty common ocurrences in the stories told of that era. So really, you've got a sort of Sam Spade/Harry Dresden walking around with a Tachi instead of a revolver or magical blasting stick.

It's kicking my ass. Love this stuff.

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So far my "healthy muffin" experiment hasn't poisoned me. Yet.

This is sweet

Politely refusing to talk to DHS checkpoints.

This stuff is awesome.

Bringing a box cutter to a knife flight

The TSA has finally found a brain cell and is allowing small (less than 6 cm) blades on airplanes. Oh, and golf clubs.

Still don't allow box cutters. Not that I'd ever want to carry a box cutter, but it's still a weird, nonsensical restriction.

Interestingly-enough, these loosened restrictions mean that the Titanium Utility Ring is now "TSA legal".

The revised rules otherwise make a certain sense. The knives have to be folding but not able to lock. So small Leatherman or Swiss Army tools can be carried as tools while large lockbacks or full-sized Leathermans or similar items that can be more effective weapons get put in checked luggage.

Note I said "more effective". Let's face it, a resourceful and properly-trained person can turn innocuous things into a weapon or figure out ways past the unfunny comedy of airport security theater.

At this rate, we may actually have something that might be vaguely sane airplane security rules just in time for the collapse of human civilization. Go hope!

March 6, 2013 - the world gets weirder

Belgian and Japanese scientists found a giant meteorite in Antarctica.

They're thawing it in Japan, according to io9's article.

In. Japan.

Seriously, has decades of kaiju movies taught them NOTHING?????

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Hugo Chavez is dead. I'm finding myself amused by all the people frothing at the mouth to either defend him as though he was some sort of hero or condemn him as though he was some sort of super-villain. He was a charismatic, if flawed, politican, like many. Venezuela could have done better and it could have done worse.

We (the U.S.) don't have any moral high ground to condemn Chavez. Hell, our own elected leaders claim they can kill U.S. citizens at will, even on our own soil and can lock up anyone indefinitely by claiming they're an "enemy combatant". As soon as our leaders went there, we took any and all moral high ground and blew it up.

Chavez, by all accounts, left behind a country with some serious inflation and violent crime problems. He had his share of fuckups. History will judge, fair or not.

Not sure if I had a point. Meh.

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Finally got a little rain today. Emphasis on "little".

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Experimented last night with a "healthy muffin recipe". Whole wheat flour, blah-blah-blah, fruit, blah-blah-blah, oatmeal, blah-blah-blah... they look like a nightmare but they taste okay. Time will tell if I poisoned myself.

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Carrie Fisher is reported returning for the Disney Star Wars sequels. That gives me some hope that these might actually be entertaining.

DST - rant 1 for 2013

When I finally invent/gain access to a time machine, suffice it to say that anyone involved in Daylight Saving Time should expect no mercy from me whatsoever.

George Vernon Hudson? You couldn't just alter your work schedule. You had to go fuck things up for everyone so you could poke around with bugs. In essence you're bugging the future. Yeah. You're screwed.

Michael Enzi and Fred Upton? I would never be so crass as to make threats to anyone in Congress. That would be foolish (and illegal). Your trick-or-treating excuse for extending DST? Bullshit. Utter and complete bullshit. I would use my time machine to ensure you were never elected into office and instead wound up working as fry cooks in a run-down McDonalds.

I suppose it would be more practical to simply conquer the world and then erase DST from history. I might do that too, but I'm a petty, mean-spirited creature so I might first mess with people.

Things Not To Do

When juicing citrus fruit, such as lemons or oranges, do not do so if your hands are dry and cracked.

My only comfort is that my screams were doubtless manly and fierce.

Well... fierce.

Well... they were screams.

Very loud screams.

Woh-PAH!

Cool Material has a list of 14 martial arts movies every guy should see.

My take follows. I'm proud to say I've seen most of these and own most of 'em.

1. Ip Man: Own it.
2. Hero: Own it.
3. Enter the Dragon: I need to get a copy of this.
4. Ong-Bak: Don't own a copy. Awesome movie, but I'm not sure I'd re-watch a lot.
5. Brotherhood of the Wolf: Own it.
6. 13 Assassins: This needs to be in my library stat.
7. The Man from Nowhere: Own it.
8. Kung Fu Hustle: Own it.
9. Once Upon a Time in China: Own it.
10. Kill Bill vol. 1: Own it.
11. Iron Monkey: Own it.
12. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Own it.
13. The Legend of Drunken Master: Have not seen this! Need to watch it...
14. Seven Samurai: This needs to get into my library. Saw it a looooooong time ago.

Excitement

Today's determined to stress me out. Between software/network issues and account alerts, I'm pretty on-edge.

I could use less of this excitement in my life.

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Learned "knife defense" yesterday. So what that amounts to is "if you see someone coming at you with a knife, run."

I already have experience with running away from people holding sharp implements that they'd like to violently introduce to my tender body, so I had that down. The rest of the tips were kinda cool too.

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In today's "Worst Case Scenario" calendar advice: gestures to avoid. So apparently when folks are done drinking, they up-end the empty glass and put it on the bar instead of just telling the bartender "I'm done".

Fascinating. Even more fascinating is that in "some pubs in Australia" this apparently signals a belief that you can kick anyone's ass in said bar.

So the lesson here: don't up-end the damn glass unless you're Bruce Lee reincarnated.

ramblings from the bottle

• Whiskey is an excellent pain killer. Y'know, if you're in pain. Perhaps from some shoulder injury that hurts like hell.
• I cannot stop playing with this TiBolt Pen. I loves it. Shiiiiiiny.
• I think I have a titanium fetish. Is that even a real thing?
• Kickstarter may be a dangerous thing, but when it comes through, it's freakin' awesome.
• Okay, that bit earlier about the whiskey? Might possibly... just possibly be affecting me now.
• I'm finding myself regretting never seeing The Hobbit in theaters without the 3D/high-frame-rate bullshit.
• St. George Spirits single-malt whiskey. Tasty stuff.

Yeah, okay. I think that's enough for today.

A bit of Friday blathering

I love BoingBoing. They may well be my favorite read on the Internet.

Thanks to them, I'm hooked on Corey Doctorow's dystopian "Little Brother"/"Homeland" books.

And they seem to be on my wavelength in a truly disturbing fashion. See this.

Totally something I'd buy: the Titanium Escape Ring.

My love of shiny titanium things coupled with a James Bond-esque bit of functionality would make me eye this with favor. Not as cool as Titanium "Man" Ring, but it's pretty swank.

A shame the escape ring seems to come in only one size. [EDIT: I'm wrong. They say they special-order other sizes.] Oh, and it's not currently available for sale.

It would compliment the "Man Ring" (love that name) and the TiBolt pen that I can't seem to stop fiddling with.

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A moment's insanity last night led me down the rabbit hole. I started (*gasp*) housecleaning. I have to figure out what to do with a lot of junk that's too nice to toss in the trash but too random to just drop at Goodwill. Though maybe Goodwill would be into it. Hard to say.

I'm limited in some of the heavier housecleaning by injury. I can't lift especially heavy things at the moment which rules out a lot of crap.

Oh well. It'll give me something to do in the future.

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Today's entry in the "Worst Case Scenario" daily calendar has a chart of edible plants of the desert. If we don't get rain soon, I expect this little entry might be very useful.

Melodramatic? Me?

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It's bothering me a lot that "Arrow" is probably my favorite show on TV right now. Not that I watch a lot of TV anymore.

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It's freakin' March. The horrors of Daylight Saving Time starts in a little over a week. Spring hits ten days later. Time no longer flies. It's doing the Kessel Run in the Millennium Falcon.