Nothing Important

These past two weeks have been nothing but busy.  I've just been trying to stay in front of the wave, but I'm worn out.  I was in a wedding over the weekend, so that pretty much took up my free time.  The wedding was fun, though, and it's always a pleasure hanging out with old friends that I don't get to see as often as I'd like.  Now Spense is on his way to Cancun, hopefully before Tropical Storm Hurricane Mess Alex arrives.

I'm progressing steadily through my multiple books I'm reading.  Hopefully The Eye of the World will be reviewed by Friday.

I've got another Monday Night Tennis match scheduled for tonight.  Hopefully the storms stay away, cause I really enjoy playing every week.  (Excepting last week.  It was fun to be playing, but the guys we played were jerks and cocky.  One of them was very good and talented, but he was so full of himself that it wasn't really that fun.  We wound up winning and that guy acted like he was unfamiliar with losing.  Then he whined.  What a load o' crap.)

I got all the DLC for Fallout 3 over the weekend.  I'm not going to play any of it until I've progressed in my new game, but I've got it, so that's fun.  But I've been playing Dead Space.  I just love that game.  I'm playing through on Impossible mode, and it's quite difficult if you're not careful.  Once I beat Impossible I'll have everything beat, 100%, and be done with it.

Dave's back.  Good.  Reading your blog is always a highlight of the workday.  Did you get the package I sent you?

Not much else to offer other than Keisha and I are starting to watch Monk and she's fallen in love with Glee.

Another Licking Tongue… Maybe

Ladies, you won’t understand it when I say this, but having a thin wallet puts the world in a completely different perspective.  Perhaps some of the menfolk can agree with me.  I cleaned out my wallet the other day and it’s amazing how much of a difference just a few strips of plastic can make.  It’s like my own, personal comfy seat.

I like this proverb: “A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.”  (Proverbs 18:6)  I like it when I can read the Bible and laugh at something that’s strangely worded.  This is a pretty clear, to-the-point verse that really leaves no room for misinterpretation.  You act like a foo, Mr. T gonna pity you, and then he gonna beat you down.

So why exactly did The Hurt Locker win best picture?  I’m not saying that Avatar deserved it any more than The Hurt Locker did, but I think it did, maybe.  And I really enjoyed Inglorious Basterds quite a bit.  The acting was superb.  The plot was absurd.  Excellent.  But my favorite film up for Best Picture, which I reviewed here, had no chance in winning: District 9.

I beat Batman: Arkham Asylum over the weekend, just in time for tomorrow’s release of Final Fantasy XIII.  The game was very fun, though a bit too short for my liking.  On the plus side, the pounding of goons never got old, and racking up combos was always fun.  Detective Mode, which gives Batman a little x-ray/thermal vision, almost always came in hand.  The game was tough, too, and I died many times before I completed the last boss.  On the minus side, there weren’t as many major boss battles as I would have liked.  Many of Arkham’s famous residents were never saw in the game, only mentioned at.  Overall, though, I really did enjoy this game, and I can see myself playing through it more later on.

But the major thing that happened over the weekend was that our house now has another warm licking tongue in it.  Yes, we have a new dog.  I came home from work Friday, Keisha told me her friend was selling her one-year old Yorkie/Japanese Chin mix, we made an appointment to see it, and picked up the dog Saturday afternoon.  We wanted to get one for Stella so that she could have a playmate, and if the two get along well, then we’ll keep the dog.  So far, two days later, the two haven’t really been getting along, but they haven’t not been getting along, either.  Sofie (the new name for the dog) does not like to sleep and her house training is not very good.  Needless to say, I’m a little tired.  If we decide to keep the dog, I’ll put up some pictures soon.

A Toilet-Bowl Swirl of Thoughts

Racism will never end as long as we use the identifying label “Race.”  Why are racial statistics even aggregated?  It seems counter-productive to me.

I’ve lost most of my interest in Oblivion.  Truly, the most fun I’ve had has been doing the quests for the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild.  For some reason, the main quest just isn’t that attractive any more.

I bought a PS3, and it came with Dragon Age and Dante’s Inferno.  I’m selling my XBOX, which I bought less than 2.5 months ago, and definitely Dante’s Inferno, cause that just looks stupid. 

I love hot tea.  My friend from Iran introduced me to hot tea a few years ago and I’ve loved it ever since.  Boiling a pot and making a cup from fresh tea leaves is the way to go, but sometimes it’s an instant-tea day.

Google Wave.  Google Buzz.  Google Reader.  Gmail.  Google.  Google Calendar.  Picassa.  Dang.

Area of a full flowing circular pipe, A, is equal to
                       A=(πD2)/4

Area of a partially full flowing circular pipe, with the height of the water, Yo, over halfway full, is equal to
            A=(1/8)[2(π-arccos((Yo-r)/r)-sin(2(π-arccos((Yo-r)/r)))]D2

Area of Kentucky is equal to 40,409 sq. mi.

I’m about a third of the way into Best Served Cold.  Abercrombie sure knows how to write, that’s for sure.

In all, we got around 6-8” of snow or so from the other day.

Valentines Day draws near. 

I’m not crazy, I’m just a little unwell.  No, seriously.  But I am getting better.  Maybe when I do I’ll have something better to say.  Something that makes more sense.  Cause really, if you boiled this post down, the only thing worth saying was the top point.  The rest is just chaff.  Worthless chaff.

If you don’t have anything meaningful to say, then keep your mouth shut.  Yeah…

Ughhhhh

Yeah, so I don’t feel any better. Everything tastes like snot and mucus and my head is borderline explosive. I had a moment of sweet bliss this morning around 5:00 when I woke up, took my Vicks nose spray and gave myself two bursts up the nasal cavities. I lay there on my back, able to breathe, and fell back asleep.

Now I’m sitting here wondering if I’m going to make it through the day or if I should just go home and lay down. For now, I press on. For later, who knows?

In news, and I’m sure most of you know, Pat Rothfuss has once again posted a few blog posts about the Heifer Fund fundraiser. In fact, he’s formed a group called Worldbuilders, which I think sounds pretty sweet. Last year, Pat matched every dollar donated, which happened to be around $53k. He almost went broke from that, so this year he’s matching 50% of every dollar. There are thousands of prizes to win through the fundraiser. To be eligible you must donate through Pat’s page. More information is available here at his blog.

So, since I’ve felt like a sack full of crap for a few days I’ve been laying on the couch quite a bit. That means I’ve been playing a lot of Oblivion, which I’m finding pretty fun and entertaining, though not as much as Fallout 3.

In other news I managed to clear up around 2 gigs of my iPod by down converting many of my higher bit rate (~anything above 192kbit) to 128kbit. I can’t really tell a difference in the sound quality. So yay to me.

Yet another piece of news is that I failed (miserably) at my NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words. I made it to 21k, got a little bored, got really busy, got some other excuses and stalled. So, perhaps one day I’ll finish the story I started. I’ve got goals and things set for it, but I don’t know. I kind of see myself as more of a short story writer as opposed to long stories.

No one figured out my second favorite Disney film. Really. I thought it was pretty obvious, but apparently not. Of course, it’s highly probable no one bothered to look. I doubt I would. See, sometimes I get my wires crossed and my audience mixed up. I’m doing this whole blog thing for myself, and when the fancy strikes, for you folks. (O the sweet, sweet taste of pumpkin delights.) Often I find it difficult to differentiate between them, but the difference is there.

In STAR WARS related news, check out this "Best of Star Wars Twitter Thanksgiving Meme" thing. My favorite was either "It's as if millions of green beans cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced" or "I am altering the meal. Pray I don't alter it further." Pretty funny stuff. And also there's this Storm Trooper Elvis cubecraft thing, which I printed out and made. As a word of advice, if you do this, use the suggested cardstock paper, not regular paper. Mine was pretty tough to do since I used regular paper.

I don’t really want to be staring at a computer screen the rest of the day. I bought a new digital camera. I passed my Erosion test that I took a week or two ago, so now I’m an officially state-certified Erosion Inspector. Goodnight moons. Writing Wednesday tomorrow.

Musical Interlude

“And I think it’s gonna be a long long time til touch down brings me ‘round again to find I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh no, I’m a Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone.”—Elton John, Rocket Man

“People always told me that bars are dark and lonely, and talk is often cheap and filled with air. Sure, sometimes they thrill me, but nothing seems to chill me, like the way they make the time just disappear.”—My Morning Jacket, Golden

Man, I can’t find a decent video to “Golden,” which I wanted to share today. Core dump. Instead I’ll have to embed this video, which isn’t anything special, but it does let you hear the wonderful song that I’m talking about.

It’s really quite amazing how music affects some people and does nothing for others. For me, music is a large part of who I am and how I go about my day. When I can close my eyes and listen to the exciting combination of voice and instrument come together in a beautiful mix, it’s like I can feel something working that’s right and pure.

On some days one song may inspire, while on another it could just be noise to me. But no matter what, I have to have music playing if I’m going to be productive. I usually prefer slower, folkier, acoustic sounds when I’m concentrating or trying to be artistic. And for some reason, on rainy days I like to go through my ipod and play songs that are about rain. Sometimes, though, I feel like playing very loud stuff, just to get the fun and energy from the music.

And listening to music almost always makes me want to pick up my guitar or sit down at the piano and play. There’s something immensely satisfying just feeling the frets beneath my calloused fingers as the steel strings are pressed. It’s comforting and unchanging. It’s relaxing and pleasurable. WARNING: YOU SHOULD SKIP THE REST OF THE POST. IT’S POINTLESS. JUST WATCH THE VIDEO AND SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND AGONY OF READING THE REST.

I don’t know what the point of today’s post is. There’s no insight, little musing, and a music video. My mind feels like it’s going a million different places at once, like there are avenues of my brain that need to be explored, but I don’t understand. I do like lists, though.

1. My Xbox 360 arrived yesterday via UPS. I set it all up and then the darned thing wouldn’t turn on. Apparently the power supply brick/cord is broken, which is a common problem I discovered. So I get to ship it back to Best Buy and have it either replaced or refunded. Bummer.

2. I made yet another cheesecake last night, this one a simple, plain cheesecake. I’m thinking about putting a spider web design on it for the Halloween party, but I’m not certain.

3. The fan, to my left, sitting on the filing cabinet, above the computer, right next to my Boba Fett bobble-head figure, is wobbling, wobbling wobbling.

4. Do you ever think about the community of bloggers and how cool it is that we can communicate across the world with people? How, in my case, the love for a single book (The Name of the Wind) can connect you with people that have similar, yet different, tastes? It’s amazing, I daresay, what we have.

5. I can see myself sixty years from now being a crazy old man, his mind shot and addled, unable to discern the difference between reality and fiction. Space cars will whizz by me as I walk down the sidewalk, toward the Old Timers Park, where people like me will gather to remember.

6. I’m not in a mellow mood, but at the same time I am. I’m confident that I’m not doing all that I should be doing, but I wonder how I can actually do more. Does that make sense?

7. This one’s right-justified, just because it’s awesome. I signed up for a free Snuggie. I hope against hope that it’s not a scam. What’s cooler than a Snuggie?

8. I think I’m going to try and put a blurb of my NaNoWriMo story up on my author’s page, available here. If you’re interested in following my progress or anything like that, that’s where all the info will be.

9. Beware and abstain from tofu.

10. As a fun, side project, I recently started writing an epic poem. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had writing in a really long time. This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy writing and that I don’t have fun, but this poem is an attempt at comedy, and I’ve found myself laughing at my own jokes, which I think is okay. I’ll probably be sharing that for the next installment of Writing Wednesdays.

11. I had this weird and terribly sad, but ultimately happy, dream last night. We (I’m not sure who that includes, but definitely me and Keisha) were hanging out on this pier with somebody that had made this device that let people fly in the winds. For some reason we decided Stella, our perfect puppy, needed to try it out. As soon as she was in the air the winds picked up and she went flying off into the horizon, leaving me and Keisha screaming for help and a puppy barking in terror. I took off flying after her, but she was too far gone and I couldn’t find her. Far, far away I landed at my mom’s giant mansion on the ocean (we live in KY, so I don’t know how that’s possible) and was tired and sick and sad. Then, all of a sudden, a soaking wet and horribly distraught puppy crawls onto the sandy shore, and when she sees me she breaks into a run and jumps into my arms and starts licking me. Then I woke up. Of course I pulled my puppy close to me and scratched her belly. Man, I love that little thing.

Usually, my Friday posts are a different sort of post. By Friday, I’m burned out and ready for the weekend, and by Monday I’m ready to start posting again. Sometimes I have things to muse on, but usually I just cap-off the week with a crappy post. Dang, I wrote more than I thought. Blah. Such is the life.

October

"October and the trees are stripped bare of all they wear. What do I care? October and kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, but you go on and on."--U2, "October"

I really like that song. The piano play is beautiful, and the song seems to encapsulate the essence of Fall. But you don't have to take my word for it.

As September ended, a new video game came out. One solely for the Wii. Back in January I played Dead Space for the PS3 (click here for the post) and I loved it. It made me realize how much fun a FPS can be. The story line pulled me in, and the game play was fantastic. When I buy a PS3 (someday...), Dead Space will be one of the first games I get. On September 29, Dead Space: Extraction came out. This game is a prequel to the original, and it helps build up the events that lead to the USG Ishimura's condition. While the graphics for the Wii are nowhere near as solid as the PS3 or xbox360, the game pushes the limits for the system. I'll be renting it soon and giving it a whirl. Nothing like a good scary game for the Halloween season. If you want to watch the game preview, click here.

This whole mess with Roman Polanski is terrible. How can people back his side and support him? Who cares if it's been 30 years? He broke the law and should be tried accordingly.

If you've ever wondered what Afghanistan looks like, you can click here for some mesmerizing photos. While many of them feature soldiers, they're not all terrible like the ones you see on tv. I really like picture #19. You get a warning for picture #17, so you should read the caption of the picture before clicking on the link.

I'm almost finished with A Circle of Souls. Next up? STAR WARS Fate of the Jedi: Omen, The Last Argument of Kings, the entire saga of Y the Last Man, or Warbreaker. As you can see, I've got tough decisions to make.

Last night for supper I made a sweet & spicy teriyaki tuna & crab meal for supper. I then ate a chunk of it with chop sticks, but the noodles were too small for me to successfully grab, so I switched to the fork. I'm still learning to use them. All in all, it was quite tasty and super easy to make.

I think I'm going to have "October" in my head for the rest of the day.

An Ode to Excel

I can't figure out Blogger and how to get this to show up nice and pristine to where you don't have to click the image to enlarge it. Everything I do blurs and distorts the image. If you can't read the image, I believe you can click on it to enlarge it.

Well, that's that. *Ahem*

Some updates it is then.

1. I've got just over 50 albums left to get through on my ipod journey. That's exciting.

2. It's hard to make myself stop reading Before They Are Hanged. So far, so good. Thanks once again David.

Sorry for the weak post today, folks. Life is catching up with me, if you can imagine. But I'll be back.

Song Lyric: "Adia I do believe I've failed you..."--Sarah McLachlan, Adia