Wrapping Up 2018

I feel oddly-obligated to make a New Year's Eve post. Not sure why.

I've just finished (re-)watching Shaun of the Dead with some Zachary's deep-dish pizza and a bit of Campfire whiskey. That's pretty much the sum total of my New Year's Eve plans in a nutshell. I may pop another movie on. I may try a bit of writing. I expect I'll have a bit more Campfire. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother staying up 'till midnight.

2018 has been a really weird year. Can't say I'm sorry to see it go. I'm curious what 2019 will bring. I'm sure it will be interesting times.

Almost there...

As 2018 winds down, I sit nursing sore muscles. I overdid it yesterday. A life lesson: make sure your destination has what you're looking for before you walk a couple of miles to fetch something.

Got my SSD configured. Turns out I had to do things. Google pointed me to the things. I managed to do the things. I feel very empowered and technical, despite my inability to describe what I had to do to get everything working properly.

I'm set for New Year's Eve, for the most part. I couldn't get the beer I wanted (part of my fruitless trek yesterday) but I've got plenty of other stuff to make up for the lack. I've also got a deep-dish pizza waiting to be baked as my dinner tomorrow. Mmm...

I figure I'll marathon some movies, maybe all the Avengers flix in my library or the entire LotR series. If I'm still up around midnight, I'll toast the new year and go to bed.

Yeah, it's not exciting, but I'm not really looking for excitement.

2018 was a fairly ridiculous year for me. It certainly had no small bits of excitement. I changed jobs. I saw one of those "landmark" birthdays come and go. I thought I was going to lose my mind more than once. I changed Internet providers (aaah... to be websurfing at civilized speeds...). I did a lot of personal journey stuff that would mean nothing to anyone other than myself. All said, despite the worldwide shitshow that was 2018, the year itself treated me fairly well. Gonna be interesting to see where 2019 takes me.

Four Days Left

I'm kind of proud of myself today. Having no hardware skills whatsoever, I managed to clone my hard drive to a solid-state drive without issue. I even managed to expand the volume to take advantage of most of the drive!

For some really annoying reason, I can't seem to access about a quarter of the new drive, but there's got to be some way to make that happen.

Four days left in the year!

Thirteen Days Left

After today, that is.

I'm struggling with a decision: do I upgrade my current PC with a SSD and just keep going with it for a few more years or do I just bite the bullet and get a new machine? Getting a new machine means having to configure the hell out of it. That's gonna be a pain in the ass. But it would be a faster machine, if I did so.

Decisions, decisions...

Abitrary Countdown Start

Fifteen days left in 2018.

As Xmas looms and the rain pours outside, I'm finding myself thinking back on this year and wondering what the hell 2019 is going to bring.

I started 2018 changing jobs. I'd be lying if I said it was a smooth ride. More than once, I thought it was a mistake and considered walking and trying something else. All said, it's turned out okay so far. It certainly could be worse.

I've continued training in a new martial art. Haven't regretted it for a moment, though I could stand to be a bit more dutiful in attending classes.

I've managed a trip to England and seen more of the north. I got to explore York, including its myriad pubs and winding streets.

I've read a number of books. I've taken time to attend to life matters I've neglected for far too long. Hell, I've started reading philosophy.

My homeland is going nuts and it seems to be getting worse day by day. The planet isn't doing a whole lot better. The icecaps are melting. Climate change is far worse than anyone anticipated. Scientists believe we're going to hit the point of no return in less than twenty years. And the governments of the planet are not responding in time. Hell, in the US, half the country thinks climate change is a myth.

How can all that get fixed? What's the solution to all this? I honestly don't know.

I wonder if 2019 will offer any solutions? I wonder if I can come up with any?

Bolt-action pens

Another Kickstarter came in today. My ZeroHour APEX Bolt Action pen arrived, adding to my selection of "bolt action" pens.

Made me think a bit about the differences I've seen thus far of my bolt-action pens.

For the unenlightened, a "bolt action" pen is a pen with a little knob-like control that deploys the pen's ink-delivering portion akin to a bolt-action rifle's loading mechanism.

It's a new thing. Just roll with it.

Thus far, I have a growing collection of bolt action pens:

• The TiBolt by Brian Fellhoelter
• The GP1945
• The Titaner Bolt Pen
• The ZeroHour APEX Bolt action pen

Each has their pros and cons as I see them:

The TiBolt is a simple, basic, solid, titanium-frame, bolt-action pen. No fuss, no muss. Solid titanium. It's a dependable pen able to take Fisher Space Pen refills. It's with one of my notebooks at all times. In a worst-case scenario, it would serve as a reliable aid to delivering a bit of help in a close fight (as, really, would any pen). It's the first bolt-action pen I've ever obtained (or, at the time, even heard of).

The GP1945 is a clever riff on the concept, adding in a glass-breaker tip and an emergency whistle. A solid frame made of titanium makes for a delightful little writing instrument that can double as a bit of help in a close fight. The downside is that it takes very small refills that run out quickly. Kind of a bummer for an otherwise-awesome design.

The Titaner bolt pen has unique take on a bolt-action pen. Instead of having a side-knob control for the "bolt action" delivery, the tip of the pen serves as a rotating cover in a "bolt action" style. Further, it has a discrete glass breaker on the end and an hidden "pin" that's supposed to help with the little holes in cell phones that one uses for SIM cards. The pen is a solid, delightful little thing that takes Fisher Space Pen refills (a plus to me). The "pin" tool is a bit crap, in my experience. Still, it's a nice pen overall.

And that brings me to the ZeroHour APEX. ZeroHour has been one of those companies that has kept me interested in Kickstarter offerings, truth be told. I've backed their Flashlight offerings, a money belt, and their two pens. The APEX Bolt is pretty much the perfect pen. It's got a nice size to it. They offer aluminum and titanium frames that come with glass breakers and have the ability to hold screwdriver bits for those times when you need to have a pen-sized screwdriver. The Kickstarter had complications with the bits, so mine came without one but it's not like I need screwdrivers as a general rule. The glass breaker uses a ceramic nib instead of a tungsten steel point, which I'm a bit uncertain of, but it's not like I've ever needed a glass breaker, so it's unlikely to be something I'll ever notice in my life. The pen's size is bigger than their previous APEX pen. If one were forced to use a pen in a fight (cue Hollywood bullshit scenario), the bolt action APEX would be a better thing to have on-hand than their previous APEX pen.

Overall, it's kind of a wealth of awesome here. And now I have to acknowledge I'm developing a pen fetish.

Who would've thought that would be a thing? Fucking weird world.

Review: The Squid by Zombie Tools

Every year, just around Thanksgiving, the mad geniuses of Zombie Tools put out a special offering for about a day. This year, it was "the Squid". Based on an Inuit "ulu" knife, the Squid doubles as a nasty little payload for someone throwing a punch. Mine just arrived. I can't envision a situation in which I'd ever need it, but one never knows. And it's a Zombie Tools offering, so it's got a coolness factor that makes it totally worth it.

I have to admit, the Squid is a sharp little bastard and fits nicely in the hand. Doubt it would do me much good against a zombie (unless I have absolutely nothing else at hand) but it would do pretty good against a very mortal opponent in tight quarters.

God, I love these guys!

Blessed Rain

The rain has finally come to California. In the last week or so, we've gotten a nice downpour that's both cleared out the shitty, ash-laden, air and helped get the ground properly damp. I'll admit I'm damn happy to see water coming out of the sky.

I've got a crap-ton of N95 filter masks on backorder. This crappy air bullshit is going to happen again next year. I plan to be prepared. In the meantime, I'm enjoying being able to breathe properly.