The Day is Humped

"Balance is zero."

Depending on context, that statement is either awesome or incredibly terrible.

When talking about money owed, it's goddamn AWESOME!!!!

---

Lined up for PT. Whee. Nothing says fun like PT.

---

Weird, bumpy, bizarre day.

Yet I can't complain about how it's ending so far.

---

Successful final project: chocolate angel food cake. I declare it a tasty success that I probably shouldn't eat too much of.

Yeah. It's too late to claim that.

The Pen is Mighty!

What a weird day!

Yeah, you don't want to know. So instead I'm going to share the capper to my day.

I shall rewind a bit. Let us look back to the later part of 2012. It was November 2012 and I was not saving money for Xmas as I should have. I was instead lured by shiny, shiny things.

Things like Kickstarter offerings.

I'm a writer, both by profession and inclination, or so I often tell myself when I don't claim to possess super-powers and mad ninja skills.

As a writer, I possess a love of both writing instruments and notebooks. It's a thing with me. I love my Moleskine notebook and try to never be too far from it. I also carry at least two or three different pens on my person at any time (just in case one runs out of ink).

Yes, I know I'm OCD. Shut it.

So going back to Kickstarter. On one of the many blogs I peruse in my morning reading, I saw a post for the TiBolt, an all-titanium pen made in the good old U.S. of A. by knifemaker Brian Fellhoelter.

My interest was immediately piqued. (I really just wanted an excuse to use "piqued" in a sentence. Believe I'm a writer yet? Neither do I... *sigh*... moving on...)

I was a bit late in joining the Kickstarter and missed the early bird, but it turned out for the best. I put in for a regular TiBolt and today, after a day of consummate weirdness and crazy, it arrived to make my day so very much better.

PICS!



Okay, it's been established that my photography skills are seriously lacking. Still, it's an awesome pen. It's light (oh, so light) and the bolt-action is both smooth and weirdly-addictive. Okay, maybe it's not all that weird.

I've no idea when the pens go for sale to the general public. Probably best to peruse Mr. Fellhoelter's site for updates if the Kickstarter page doesn't have it.

Was it worth it? I mean, it's not a cheap pen, right?

Yes. Absolutely. Yes. SHINY!

Hump? What hump?

"Hump Day".

Always loved that nickname for Wednesday. Good that one day of the week is getting some action, I suppose.

---

For a none-too-brief moment earlier this week, I thought my luck had gone completely sour when a rather large bill I paid seemed to have gone awry.

Just confirmed the check cleared. I feel a mixed sense of relief and joy.

And pain, 'cause my bank account is just about empty, but such is the way of things.

---

I'm potentially adding a new and thrilling injury to my list of maladies. While I discovered said injury in martial arts, I'm not sure I can blame class for it. I have a sinking suspicion I acquired the injury another way and just exacerbated it in class.

Now I go through the joys of HMOs to work out the next step in treating this. Whee.

---

February's just about gone. I'd say that was quick, but it's February. It's always quick. At least payday comes faster.

---

Daylight Saving Time starts soon. I am meditating and focusing my rage for a proper tirade (or binger).

Things: Water Filters

Clean water is pretty much a necessity in life.

With climate change introducing all sorts of crazy into the world, forward-thinking sorts are doing their best to secure supplies of fresh water or working on technologies to purify existing water supplies.

Kinda makes paranoid types think ahead to how to handle one's own water needs.

For a few years, I've been looking at the Lifesaver bottles. I haven't gotten one yet. $230+ is not exactly pocket change, especially these days. Still, my bug-out-bag could always use a good water bottle. I've currently got a stainless steel water bottle and a Katadyn Pocket Water Filter taking up space.

Yes, I know the Katadyn is more expensive than the Lifesaver. Suffice it to say I took advantage of a sale and combined it with a gift card to take the "ouch" out of that little purchase, back in the day.

Now ThinkGeek has their own offering: The NDuR Advanced Portable Filtration Bottle.
For roughly forty bucks, they seem to claim functionality similar to the Katadyn and Lifesaver filters. Makes me wonder if this is a "too good to be true" scenario, though. I wonder what's involved in replacing the filter (if anything) after it hits the 100-ish galleon target.

Something to investigate, I suppose.

Eat Salt!

The weirdly-warm early-Spring-like weather has brought out the insect life. Little bastards.

Three blasts from my Bug-A-Salt made the experience more fun for me. Not so much for the bug.



I swear, it's a wonder my neighbors talk to me at all and don't just run away screaming.

Charting the Doctor

Via: CableTV.com
Genius. Just... genius (click to view properly).

Huh...

The Oscars were on last night?

Huh. Imagine that.

Yawn.