Direction, Daleks and Dementia

The word of the week is: unfriend. If it’s good enough for Oxford, well...

Jan 4 – Crazy Costs

Castle was on tonight, and I find myself really enjoying the show – Nathan Fillion’s trademark quirky humour has just the right touch of laid-back irreverence to work perfectly in his role. The writing is smart, without a lot of technical gabble or 90-degree plot twists that don’t make sense. Add this one to the list to collect on DVD( or Blu-Ray for you cutting-edge folk )when it comes out.

In terms of cutting-edge, I am recently looking more heavily into current research on dementia, as one of my favourite uncles has quickly fallen into the terrible grip of Alzheimer’s. According to a recent study, dementia will cost Canada close to a trillion dollars within the next 30 years. Those are some scary stats, especially the part where the study states that dementia is the most significant cause of disability over the age of 65 in Canada. Seeing as my mind is my most valuable possession, and seeing the effects dementia is having on my uncle, I am quite concerned. The question is: what to do about it?

Thank goodness things are progressing in terms of research, and in ways you might not have guessed. For instance, did you know cell phones may help prevent Alzheimer’s? And here I was thinking that all that microwave radiation might have been bad for you ...

Jan 5 – Finding Friends

I like Sandra Bullock, and I’m not alone: her latest movie The Blind Side broke some box-office records today, pulling in more than $200 million USD domestically. Not bad for someone who says she’s a terrible celebrity – which I don’t believe, and the folks on LookAlike didn’t either, as they had a girl on there who could have been Sandra’s twin!

Today was a sad day for me at work: my immediate boss left the company today, which leaves quite a large pair of shoes to fill. I was incredibly impressed with their work ethic, job knowledge and professionalism when I arrived, so much so that I counted my blessings a few times that I had been lucky enough to move to Victoria and have them to report to. Now that they’re gone, I feel as though I still have a lot to learn as a manager, but I know that with the example and standards that they set, I have a very high bar to set for myself. I hope I can reach that level sooner, rather than later, if I am lucky.

So, I spent part of the rest of the day on MW2, which didn’t turn out half bad – for most of the evening I ended up with a decent bunch o’ folks, a few of which I added to my Friends on Xbox Live. It’s strange, but sort of satisfying to find ‘friends’ so easily: play a few games, listen to the banter, and the few people who don’t behave like autistic baboons get sent Friend Requests. Is this a sign of the future? Speed Friending©? Something new?

Jan 6 – It’s Just Evolution at work

The 2009 Darwin Awards are out, and the list is horrifically amusing: gold paint tops the list, and you’ll shudder to find out why... really. Every year I wait with dread anticipation to find out how the latest batch of people have removed themselves from our cluttered gene pool. I think what appeals to me is that these people did it to themselves and not through some fluke accident – they pressed the button.

Oh... my... gawd. It’s... The Republic Of Bacon.com ... Where you... *gasp* can win FREE bacon... for a decade! GO THERE NOW! They even have theme music!

Still no sign of Fallout3 at the local Future Shop, and their raincheck policy only holds for 30 days, which stinks. I’d like to get this game, but I’m not willing to pay top dollar for the privilege, so I’ll probably add it to my ‘Wait a year first’ list to pick it up for a decent price used. Or even new, if the price drops enough by then.

Jan 7 – Games and Galaxies

Not much to say about how I spent today: the morning was at a training session in Victoria, and the afternoon working until close. No excitement there, though I did have Wok Box for lunch – the portions are generous enough to double for dinner. Which I did. Yum!

Once I was home, I played the demo for Bayonetta, a wild visually stunning fighting game for the Xbox360. I’m not big on button-mashing, but this game has some amazing move combos that look fantastic with the massively magical and eye-candy-stuffed graphics. I’ll add it to my list of have-to-get-later games, along with Assassin’s Creed II, BioShock2, Dragon Age and a host of others. Where I will find the time is another thing altogether.

I know I’ve already mentioned it, but in case you didn’t catch on the first time: Watch Duncebucket. I mean, the promo has a redhead in it, fer gawd’s sake...! From dunce buckets to... Daleks? Have a look at how the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s entry on Daleks might have looked. Incredibly well done!

Jan 8 - Direction

This morning I was up and on my way to Victoria( again )for an 8am work meeting with the head honcho for all of BC. It was a directional meeting, unofficial but intended to give direction for this year for our operations and to answer other questions we had. I have to say, I came away from the meeting impressed and relieved that things are on track for us as a company – lots less stress, with more work, but that’s the kind of trade-off I like.

Today I also saw that something new coming to Xbox Live: The Game Room. Yes, now those who still love old-school games like Qbert, Gyruss or Pac-man can get their fix courtesy of their Xbox360’s, though you will have to pay for the privilege. Considering that many of those games are available for free online, the only appeal I can see is that one can earn MS Achievements for scores and accomplishments, which you couldn’t do back in the day.

After work, I walked home, which was actually rather nice. It takes about half an hour, along a route that for the most part has a path or sidewalk and is well lit. For the parts that aren’t, I have the usual reflective clothing, as well as LED lights – I’m surprised at how many pedestrians outside of the city of Victoria do the smart thing to remain visible at night.

Jan 9 – Electric Snowmen

Now why haven’t I heard about this before? I’ve made mention about how battery technology needs to be updated for today’s power-hungry devices – so why not make one that runs on sugar?

There’s no snow here, just rain – and I like it that way. Think, though: if there had been no snow around where Bill Watson was drawing Calvin & Hobbes, we wouldn’t have these snowmen scenes...

Which leads me to Five Rules for turning Your Idea into a Screenplay, courtesy of io9.com. Some great tips here, especially for people who may have a great idea but don’t know where to start. While I’m not sure how you’d sell it via an agent after you had your screenplay, the point is to get it written first. Maybe something about wolves in some kid’s walls... yeah, that might work. Or a fish.

Jan 10 – Bringing it Home

I spent a good part of the day playing( you guessed it )MW2, which was a mixed bag to start with. Then our group merged with a really cool bunch of players, and we had a blast from that point on. Unlike this fellow, who raised a lot of valid points about how MW2 can drive you crazy, the afternoon of gaming today was among the best I’ve yet had playing multiplayer. No griefers, no real campers, just a group of people out to have fun and not worry about the score too much. It was great.

Another part of my day was spent going through the storage bins in the basement, gathering old electronics for recycling. Here in BC we have a provincial system in place for recycling all things electronic, funded through a fee added to all new electronics sold in the province. No more hanging onto those old bits either, just take them to the local depot for disposal. Are you listening, Ontario?

For the most part, the first week of the year has me feeling less stressed and more positive about the future, both near and far. I’m still seriously considering taking up a more permanent residence in something like a tiny Tumbleweed home, which would mandate my checking out smaller land parcels around the area. Making sure it has room for a comfortable entertainment setup would be key though, as my current den runs to ten foot wood-panelled ceilings and is sixteen feet front to back. Hard to pack into a small house, but hey: it’s a rental anyway. Right now, affordable housing is a hot topic here in BC , with incomes generally not rising as fast as the cost of having a roof over your head.

Next week...Malapropriate© explained, courtesy of Brian. Maybe.