Force Fields, Fakes and Fringe

The word of the week is reticulated ...

March 22 - TeeVee

I’ve really been enjoying Castle lately: the levels of humour laced throughout the show take the edge off the fact that each show revolves around a murder, really. It’s also quite cool that a writer is the central character( and the titular name of the show! )that Nathan Fillion obviously has a lot of fun with. I’m no fan of cop dramas or shows like CSI, which despite the fact that they cater to a more thinking audience I just can’t bring myself to get into. I like to be entertained as much as anyone else, but I don’t go for deep drama along the lines of connect-the-dots. Humour me on this.

Another show I haven’t had much time to look at is Fringe, which recently posted a ‘Catch up with Fringe Guide’ on the Fox website. It looks to have a deep storyline, but I may just end up having to get it on DVD. Or blu-ray, by the time I end up getting around to it.

March 23 - Toy Memories

Packing up all my things, I’m still amazed that I’ve held onto so many things over the years – understandably a lot of those are books, but things like board games( Axis and Allies, anyone? )as well as my Lego and Star Wars collection... I’m loathe to part with them. I’m not sure if it’s because I keep hoping they’ll somehow rise astronomically in value so I can make a killing on eBay and retire at age 50, or something similar. Maybe it’s just a nostalgia thing, in which case it’s good I didn’t really have too many memories of my wading pool as a child...

Here’s another little bit of my childhood gone: there’s been a warning issued for all older Fisher-Price ‘Little People’ toys as a choking hazard. I remember playing with the Fisher Price castle a lot as a kid, but I never had the urge to chew on the toy and so endanger my life. Nice to know I was in danger back then and didn’t know it...

March 24 - Distance

Today I was thinking about friends and distance, of how one’s social circles can be circumscribed by proximity or by choice. In my case, my choice led to a lack of proximity to my friends, almost all of which are thousands of miles away, or in some cases merely avatars I interact with via the internet.

All right... I missed putting bacon in last week’s blog, but it seems nobody noticed. So this week, I bring you a liquid apology: Bacon Beer! And no, it’s not a smoked porter... I have no idea what that is.

March 25 - Pi Fields

One step closer from fiction to reality: word today that the British Army is experimenting successfully with creating force fields for use in tanks. How cool is that? In the same article they also state that armour covered in holes is more effective than regular armour... that doesn’t make me more confident.

On the topic of fakes: sometimes you wonder about videos on YouTube... are they faked sometimes? Have a look at this one, and you be the judge... myself, I’m pretty impressed! Quite cool that you can make a video of yourself, release it to the world and see what may result... which is usually nothing, as there are so MANY videos out there that the chances of getting noticed in the sea of silicon is almost zilch. Unless you’re the Star Wars Kid.

March 26 - Moving News

We signed the new lease agreement today for the Bear Mountain condo, for a 2-year lease – I made sure I checked things out with the help of this Lease Question List. We’re excited by the move, as it’s to a place that resembles a nice ski resort... without the snow or college-age crowds. There’s only one road in though, so I’m not so happy about that or the fact that it’s much further from work. Still, it’s better than the place we’re in now in many ways, so we’re packing up.

Today I received an email notice that my Xbox has been repaired and is being sent back to me... via the slow boat using Purolator. Still, it was nice that there was( and still is! )a three-year warranty on the thing – rest assured I will be testing it as soon as it arrives, hopefully this week.

March 27 - Movie and Work

Today before work, I managed to find some time to watch Inglorious Basterds which was surprisingly enjoyable. Knowing it was a Tarantino film going in, the violence was no surprise and didn’t detract too much from the film experience – I found it less over the top than I had expected. Any film where Hitler gets riddled with bullets is worth watching, as they are few and far between. I was disappointed in that there was less of a ‘Dirty Dozen’ feeling to the Basterds, who all get little individual screen time overall.

My sixth day of work today was only a half-shift at the MMart in Colwood, helping out so that the staffer there didn’t have to pull a 10-hour day... plus it was O/T, bonus. It was a nice shift, nothing crazy save the same silly woman who always comes in when I am there and for some reason takes every word I say as a personal insult – I’ve no idea why. I suppose I’ll have to work on my facial mobility skills, as she’s not easily picking up on my smile cues or friendly body language. Either that or: she’s an alien...? Maybe!

March 28 - Making Boxes

Spent today packing, packing and more packing. I’ve put away a lot of my books as well as my DVD’s; they’ll be put away until I figure out my available space at the new place which is short a den for my use. I’m hoping to compensate for that with a quieter location, a balcony with a view sans public park next door, as well as having accessible storage in the basement area.

By day’s end I was rather knackered, so I knocked back after dinner( perogies! )to watch a bit of television... and as usual there was little on. So I popped in the Crusade DVD and found solace in the excellent writing of JMS and the tremendous cast he assembled for the show. A bit of time to make up the blog and I was ready to hit the hay for another 6-day week. Huzzah.

Endnotes will reappear next week. Kawmint...?