The last workday of June

• Most talented 6-year-old EVER! (Seriously! Watch at least through her song. You won't regret it.)
• Heat wave. Ugh.
• That's nearly it for June. Summer's off to an insane start.

Pedaling into banality

With the end of the oddly out-of-place rain, I've returned to bike riding.

I'm going to feel this later. The whining will be epic.

Twenty minutes ago, the fog was low and quite thick. It's starting to burn off and it's not even 8am yet. Weird, given how mild it was as I biked in. And by "mild" I mean "I really didn't need that windbreaker I was wearing".

That likely means heat. That will contribute to my whining.

At least I'm self-aware in that respect.

Now on to other matters

DOMA is dead. Prop 8 got kicked in the marital region and sent off to bigot-hell.

Now can we all just let people get married and move on to more other important things? Seems we've got a few choice items on the plate: climate change, snooping and spying (Hi NSA!), shrinking middle class, corporate malfeasance (Hi BP and banks!), and a lack of Doctor Who episodes to entertain me.

Priorities.

Blather bother and babble

• Cleaning crew keeps screwing around with my desk. It's getting annoying. Hm. Maybe it's the NSA. Heh.
• Yesterday, while going to get my laundry, I found an elderly neighbor had slipped on the steps and was unable to stand. Thankfully he was not injured and I was able to help him get to his apartment, but... damn. How long would he have been there if I hadn't crossed his path? Scary stuff.
• Watching the media and the government spin into crazy-land over Snowden is providing me with amusement. I look forward to the inevitable Hollywood takes on this. Sure, they'll mostly make out Snowden as a bad guy (probably chased by Tom Cruise) but who knows? Over 100K people signed a White House petition to pardon Snowden. Seems to me that indicates the public is pretty concerned about spying by the government and privacy protections.
• Why is it only Wednesday? Why?

Journalist, not activist

Alexa O'Brien's letter to the New York Times. It's a thing of sublime beauty.

A few of the things currently pissing me off

1. The apparent death of the Fourth Amendment (Hi NSA! How are you and the FBI doing? Find Snowden yet?)
2. California's Public Utilities Commission not wanting to fine PG&E for blowing up San Bruno.
   Seriously. What the fuck is California's Attorney General doing? What the fuck is Jerry Brown doing? Doesn't this seem... more than a little fucked up???
3. The teasing over the Prop 8 ruling by the US Supreme Court. Hell, the fact that there was a passed Prop 8 in the first place. This is goddamn California. We should be ditching crappy legislation like this.
4. The pending BART strike.

Not an inclusive list. I just felt like whining.

Where's Wa... um... Edward?

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

The human centipede comment is comedy gold.

a smattering of random nonsense on a Tuesday morning

You know how I was mocking the rain yesterday?

Apparently Mother Nature heard me and decided to take exception to my smartassery. A mite wet for this morning's commute. Plus it was hell trying to wake up with the rain determined to soothe me back to slumber.

My life is hard.

---

In a bought of nostalgia that I have no intention of explaining, I have been on a kick to hear Scottish/Irish folk music (the so-called "Celtic genre"). Pipes, fiddles, and bagpipes have been dominating my iTouch of late.

I really need to do a trip to Scotland.

---

Still haven't seen World War Z yet. I'm not sure why. It could be that it's got Brad Pitt and I'm afraid of watching another star vehicle film when I should be watching zombie carnage. It could be that I'm just expecting epic suckage. I dunno.

Wherein I talk more about beer... and other stuff

• Our rainstorm was a bust. Big shock.
• Last day of cat-sitting.
• Computer issues. The fun never stops. Why is it so hard to have technology that works?
• Found that I'd set aside some brownie bites from a lunch thing on Friday. SNACKS! JOY!!! Wonder if they're stale...? Wonder if I care?
• When not cat-sitting over my weekend, I spent a lot of time communing with the beer gods. At least one of those times was a visit to Brotzeit Lokal, a new biergarten along the Oakland waterfront.
  A bit difficult to initially find (and a locale that pretty much requires driving or bike riding), Brotzeit Lokal has a delightful selection of German and local beers as well as some Belgian offerings. Their food is outstanding. One of the chefs comes from Chop Bar (a wonderful eatery in the Jack London Square area) and it shows. I had the burger (Chop Bar does an outstanding burger) and Brotzeit Lokal's burger was heavenly. The fries... oh God. Unreal.
  The view is also outstanding (provided you snag an outside seat under the umbrella and you have one of those rare clear days).

Let there be Light(s)

Kickstarter, you tease! You keep tempting me...

• Apollo AP-1 Tactical Flashlight (910 lumens!)
• ChargeLight (250 lumens and able to be a backup power supply)

Halfway Point

• Summer Solstice. The summer season starts today. And it's supposed to be warm in the Bay Area. Interestingly-enough, we're supposed to have a drop in temperatures and rain next week. Yes, it's because we're the Bay Area and can't do things like normal people.
• Day two of cat-feeding. The more social cat has decided to treat me to purring and attention. The less social cat is hiding. I spent about ten minutes hanging out with the more social cat then headed off to work (I've got a crapload of stuff to do today) then remembered today is Bring Your Dog to Work Day.
  
  This ought to be good.
• Today's Worst Case Scenario calendar has facts on rats. I hate rats. That's all the facts I need on the little bastards.
• Friday. Finally. BBotE in my bloodstream. Now it's time to get to work.

Ramblings and rumblings and crumblings

• Day one of cat-sitting. And I'm allergic to cats. Though "cat-sitting" is a bit of a misnomer. I'm more "cat-feeding and cat-cleaning-up-after". Kinda. Still funny.
• Work is suddenly crazy-busy. Part of me likes this. Part of me would like to remember to keep a flask handy.
• Meetings. Sweet zombie jesus. What the HELL is with all the meetings?
• Re-watched "Samurai Champloo". Damn but that's a fun series.
• Working my way slowly through "River of Stars". While set in the same world as "Under Heaven", this novel is more plodding and random, at least so far. Still enjoyable, but just less-engaging than "Under Heaven". I think it's due to the lack of Kanlins (badass Shaolin-like super-warriors).
• I'm out of beer. *Sigh*

WWE Politics

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Review: Iain Sinclair Flashcard3 Classic Floodlight

I've made no secret of my bumpy road with Iain Sinclair LTD. They're a clever company that offers some truly brilliant products but is cursed with some of the worst production issues I've ever seen in a modern company.

I'm astounded they're still around, given the fact that 3/4ths of the products advertised on their site (all the electronic gear) isn't actually available. Oh, the EON Extreme shows as available, but try to order it and you'll quickly find out it's on indefinite delay.

Sorry, this is turning into a rant and that's not what I want. I actually have something positive to say about Iain Sinclair LTD this time.

So I remain on mailing lists with them. Masochism on my part, I suppose. Or just a hope that they'll get their production issues resolved ('cause I really liked the EON Extreme and am fascinated with the camera concepts).

Somewhere along the way, I got an advert for one of their "classic" flashlights.

You can get their main "classic" flashlight from a link buried on their site (essentially a dumbed-down EON Extreme without the powerful LED output and recharging gear). I've seen them available on ThinkGeek along with the knives (which remain freakin' brilliant).

Then they came out with a new thin flashlight: the Flashcard3.

First off, it's a really reasonably-priced light! Cheap, even! Second, this puppy is bright! It's brighter and has a broader, softer, light than the main "classic" light while also being thinner in frame. It's made out of some kind of... I don't know what... material. Feels like cardboard but I think it's some kind of plastic. Damn but it's bright! It's wider than the classic but insanely-thin. This really fits perfectly in a wallet.

For the price, I'd recommend buying a few and having them handy.

Hopefully this is the dawn of an era of more clever products from Iain Sinclair LTD that don't experience nightmarish production issues.

Epic yawnage

• I'm trying to figure out if I could possibly be more sleepy this morning. I don't think that's possible.
• Meetings fill my day. Meetings through my regular lunch hour, no less. Welcome, Monday. Fuck you, Monday.
• Thus far, "River of Stars" by Guy Gavriel Kay is entertaining, but not as fun as "Under Heaven". I'm about a quarter through, so I guess it's unfair to judge. Yet I judge anyway. Funny how that works.
• Explained "the Cloud" to a family member yesterday. Fun.
• I'm told by multiple sources that Man of Steel is quite enjoyable. It's still a rehashed origin story about Superman, who is a ginormous douche I do not care for, so I think I'll pass.
• So sleepy.

Elysium

Before this, I thought Pacific Rim was going to be the movie that was going to explode my grey matter this summer.

I think between Elysium and Pacific Rim I might actually spontaneously combust over the raw coolness of it all.

Meetings

Meetings. They are the bane of productivity everywhere. Rome did not conquer the world by having meetings. They conquered by sending forth armies to burn and pillage.

Meetings. I hate meetings.

Hi NSA!!!

Thank you xkcd!

Good Weird

This morning has seen a return of what I refer to as "ghost music".

An eerie, crooning, almost-whistling almost-humming sound fueled by the bay breezes, I hear it in the early morning hours at my workplace.

It's a little dose of mystery and weird that I find strangely-comforting.

A good start to the work week.

Dubious Honor

The NSA and FBI are spying on all of us.

Yeah, that's not really news.

Best line I've seen on this:

If it makes you feel any better, America, you're are all honorary Muslims now. #nsa #spying - Saladin Ahmed (one of my favorite Fantasy authors).

I'll be genuinely curious if the public actually reacts to the spying revelation. This sort of thing has come up a lot in the last few decades, but surveillance just seems to get more and more intrusive.

Under Heaven

I just finished "Under Heaven" by Guy Gavriel Kay (which is the most SCA-worthy name I have ever seen in ages) over pints and a burger.

FSM-damn, but I loved this story!

Set in a land known as "Kitai" (a faux Tang-era China), the story is of Shen Tai, a second son of the family of a famous general and a gift he receives that leads to chaos, war, love, and death.

The narrative had me hooked almost from the very beginning and I found I had to force myself to read it slowly so as to enjoy it properly. The plot goes between several characters, mainly Shen Tai and his sister Shen Li-Mei and the crazy stuff that happens.

It's a gorgeous story, for the most part. I wish Kay had split this into multiple volumes so I could get a better sense of some of the "off camera" things that happened as well as several of the sub-plots. The ending felt a little rushed, but was satisfying enough.

There's a sort-of-sequel set centuries after the conclusion of "Under Heaven" that is in hardback now. I have to get my hands on this.

For Bare-Bones Organization

WANT!

Alas, that comes to about $60-ish USD. That's going to have to go on a list somewhere...

A Letter to the Future

Dear Future Self:

You're going to be tempted to do some really stupid things, especially on a bike. This is because you're impatient.

It would probably be a good idea to reconsider. One of these days, your luck is going to run out and that is going to suck a lot.

Sincerely, Present Self

xkcd nomenclature

Office Spacing

Yesterday was such a lovely day. People were nice. Got a few surprises. It was just... nice.

Then I looked at my schedule for today and realized half of my day will be spent in meetings.

Half.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Mind. Blown.

Suggested by a friend. Okay, picture this: Chiwetel Ejiofor as the Doctor. Peter Dinklage as the Master.

My brain went boom.

Somewhere in a dark pit...

I have thoughts on how George R.R. Martin can be encouraged to focus his attention on the next book in "A Song of Ice and Fire".

They aren't good thoughts, but... well, if you're expecting sunshine and unicorns, you're reading the wrong damn blog.

What's my idea? Oh, details are probably unnecessary. Suffice it to say there's a phrase I think would be used a lot:

"It puts the chapters in the basket."

You're welcome.

Huh

If the Internet is to be believed (I love writing statements like that), "Game of Thrones" aired the Red Wedding finally.

Those of us who slogged through the books knew this was coming, but those poor folks who haven't enjoyed George R.R. Martin's prose were in for a bit of a shock.

To those folks, I'd just like to say one thing:

You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

bllllaaaaaarrrrggggghhhhh

So by now the news is everywhere: Matt Smith is handing in his bow tie at the conclusion of the 2013 Xmas special and regenerating into lord-knows-who.

Let the insane frothing of fandom start on who will be the next Doctor. Will we pander to the mobs or go against expectations? I'm not sure I care anymore at this juncture.

I will say that the best suggestion I've heard thus far is for Peter Dinkledge to take over as the Doctor. If it were not for the fact that he IS Tyrion Lannister, I'd say he'd be the only choice.

No, I think the best possible option right now is someone a little intense and scary. Ian McShane.

C'mon, you know it would work. Get a Swearengen-esque Doctor with some kind of scary sword-cane swagger-stick and a dark suit walking into a room and watch Daleks wet themselves in fear. Then maybe bring back the Master played by Rutger Hauer and you're in for nothing but good times.

I'd like to claim that's all my idea, but this mainly comes from a good friend of mine who is as rabid about Doctor Who as I am (perhaps more).

---

Spent the weekend outside of the man-cave for the most part. The world is a strange place. In-between drinking holes, I encountered people and I have found them delightful and weird. I hit Off The Grid at Fort Mason in San Francisco for dinner Friday night. We got buzzed by a surveillance drone while eating bacon burgers with bacon bouquets of bacon that were trying to stop my heart. It was delightfully 21st Century.

Went to a going-away-party for my Doctor Who friend on Saturday that wound up at Forbidden Island in Alameda. Mai tais are always a good conclusion to an evening.

I was on a multi-national stretch of the bar. At one point I was sitting by an Australian, a Canadian, and an Irishman and his Italian wife. The Australian baited the bar manager with trash talk over Star Trek and there was some classic 1960's "Batman" on the tv screen.

I tell you, can life get much better? I don't think so.

Of course, now I'm broke and a good couple of weeks away from my next paycheck.

Siiiiiiigh.