Marvel, Mickey and Muttering

A week ahead of... rain? Clouds? Sun? Who can tell?

Aug 31 - Four Billion for Marvel?

The entertainment news of the day: Marvel Comics is being purchased by Disney! Yes, you heard it right... Wolverine and Daffy Duck are going to be roommates. The news has spawned a legion of crossover ideas, but I think the most exciting of these are not related to the news at all. Instead, recently released dystopian visions of Disney icons make you brain spin in new directions - the Zombie Clockwork Goofy is especially chilling with its trademark smile. The folks over at Topless Robot have thoughtfully compiled a Top 5 Best and Worst of the Marvel/Disney merger, with some valid points.

Ouch... seems I overdid things this weekend playing COD4 for so long yesterday: my underarms are sore in ways I've not experienced since spending time on crutches when I broke my leg at 8 years of age. It's weird, but apparently not unheard of( especially Wii owners ) - trust me to find a way to injure myself doing nothing more strenuous than blasting away online with my friends. Dang... feels like I spent a few hours leaning on the ends of broomsticks, very uncomfortable.

What do do today when you're done your work? Why, check out IamBored.com - they have tons of things to do, and not a one of them work-related! 

Sept 1st - Not a Holiday

Up early today to head to the walk-in clinic... of which I ended up at the third choice, as the 1st was not( as listed online )a clinic but a doctor's practice and the second choice was closed today due to a doctor shortage - go figure. Anyway, after a nicely brief wait at the third place, the doctor told me that the swellings were most likely irritations from keeping my arms at my side all day Sunday - again, just as I had surmised. It was good to get a professional opinion, especially as he said they'd likely go away in a few day's time and had nothing to do with lymph nodes or other health worries - phew!

I've had cats for all my life, so discovering that being scratched by one can cause a disease is news to me - I can't recall how many scratches I've had over the years. But, like the song of the same name, Cat Scratch Fever is a real disease and one that you don't want to get; creepy, eh?

What's even creepier is the commercialization of MMO's: no longer are people safe from exploitation inside the fantasy world of places like World of Warcraft. Teams of spammers are now trying to make a buck within these worlds by trying to entice players to buy virtual goods or property using real cash. Strange or not, this is apparently a big enough problem that detective teams have been formed, closing hundreds of thousands of accounts - this article is rather surprising, and disappointing in that yet another venue has been found to exploit the public while they are trying to relax and have fun.

Sept 2 - 7 days until 9 - Borg?

In one week's time, the movie 9 opens, and I hope it's around long enough for me to find time to see it locally. As a matter of fact, since there's an IMAX theater in Victoria, I hope it makes it big and therefore translates to the IMAX screen - heck, if the recent Star Trek release can do it, why not an even cooler tale about creatures made of string, canvas and buttons?

While I haven't had the chance to talk to Telus yet about the extra charges on my bill, I did find this bit of interesting news courtesy of Pierre about cell phone contracts. I don't have one myself, but apparently Canadian cell phone users now have the right to refuse any changes to their contracts. Which I like, as they charge FAR too much if you decide that things aren't to your liking.

Work today was fairly long, as we switched over some parts of the computer system that runs our TCR machine - not that exciting really, but it means more work for us at the front counter and less for those at Head Office; not a great trade. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be that hard to grasp, so as we get used to it things should become second nature. Just one more thing to remember during what have become some very busy and very complicated days of late.

I also watched what will be the last broadcast of the local TV station, CHEK TV - they are being shut down by the money-losing CanWest owners, and tonight was a long farewell by staff on-screen, in the form of recalling their favourite stories. I really enjoyed watching them talk about all of the wonderful human tales they covered over the years, especially the one about the 86-year-old water skier who lives just down the road; inspiring! I hope that the employees of the CHEK station can make good on their plan to buy the station instead of having it closed, as it would leave quite a gap for local news on the Island.

Sept 3 - Comics and Books

I like comics... especially webcomics. From Angels 2200 to Dr. McNinja, there's a TON of talent out there that now has the 'net available as a distribution medium - you never know what you'll find. I'm still going to be headed down to the local comic shop to collect a few things this fall though, among them the new Farscape comic series, which purports to continue the storyline thanks to the talents of series writer Rourke O'Bannon - sweet! November 1st, baby!

Which neatly brings me to: Neil Gaiman's library! Finally we can see what the inside of a top writer's library looks like - and I cannot imagine any top writer in the world not having a library of some kind at least worthy of the name. I love that even the one chair visible in the room is covered in books; a classic sign of a true book collector.

Tick... tick... tick. No, that's not the sound of a clock in Neil's library, but you're half right. News that men's biological clocks are ticking too is not really news to me, as I've suspected as much for years. Which means that if you're really paranoid about mutations to your man-juice, then you'd better go see these guys - fast. And bring some cash... or you may end up with offspring like this. I wouldn't complain though.

Sept 4 - Lego my Ego!

Today was a busy day at work, which was very gratifying to see as it means that our branch's business is picking up: a sign of better times ahead? I hope so - we did double our projected business today, which was fantastic as there's no calendar reason for people to be jamming themselves into the lobby. I also received a performance review today that was very favorable, so that made me perk up somewhat under the mountains of paperwork that keep ambushing me at my desk.

From work to play: where would a lot of us be today without Lego? Well, aside from the folks employed by LegoLands the world over, that is. For two guys whose fascination with coloured plastic building bricks never really ended, the answer is simple: build some really cool stuff and put it online on their website! The Brothers Brick have a gallery of some amazing things they've built, helped no doubt in a large part by all the specialized bits and parts that Lego has released in the last 20 years, a far cry from the simpler bricks I remember having at my disposal as a kid. They're still with me, though they've not seen the light of day in many years unfortunately... and from what I've seen, the sets have only become more expensive over the years. Especially if you want one of these! Or you could just build an 11-foot long Lego version of the Space Battleship Yamato...

But on the other hand, it seems Mega Blocks got the rights to Halo... two years ago, I was looking at this nice list of toy stores for cube dwellers, whose limited space means they can't spare the space for a decent collection of building bricks, or a 1/6 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Sept 5 - Windy Weekend Weather

Today was a fairly steady day at work, enough so that by the time the afternoon was well on its way to evening, I was feeling rather tuckered. Which was the perfect time for my DM to show up for an audit; she must have heard my eyelids scraping closer to being closed. Thankfully I run a tight ship, and we fairly well flew through the audit in a few hour's time. I was tired enough that when I headed home, I walked my bike up the hill to the halfway point, grateful that the rain had paused and the winds had died down completely - it was howling up to 65 kph here at times but thankfully little in the way of debris or branches were loosened due to the brevity of the gusts.

In the evening I played a little of the Batman: Arkham Asylum demo, and I liked what I saw. It was dark, moody and atmospheric - everything that a Batman game should be. Yet there are always dissenters, as this guy seems to be - is he being critical just to write an article, or does he have some good points? Have a look.

Saturday night: traditionally, it's the evening where you go out and enjoy yourself, free to entertain and imbibe until the beer goggles give the world around you a much more pleasing glow... and fuzzy outline. Along the same lines, there is also The Beer Goggler, which focuses more on curvy outlines attributed to imbibing - any night of the week.

Sept 6 - Feeling Slow, friend?

I spent the earlier part of the day trying to resolve some network issues( insert yawn here )at home. Seems that I didn't notice when I first set things up here, that I hadn't thought out how things would work to get the best speed out of my hardware... oops. So my parent's PC was happily connecting using a slower speed... which meant that my nice super-fast router was slowing itself down to accommodate them - doh! Today I dug out their 'old' router( brand new in mid-2008 )to hook it up and configure things better. Once I get the bugs out, it should mean that they connect to their router at their own pace, while my own hardware should sing along at a faster pace - we'll see how it works this week, after I run some daily tests. Here's hoping... at least the soreness under my arms has gone away, like the doctor said it would.

It rained on and off for most of today, whilst I divided my time between COD4 and writing, as well as a little Halo3 with the downstairs neighbour( he's extremely skill3d, by the way ). It was heartening to hear the rain coming down steadily; although it likely spoiled a few people's long weekend plans, the area around here has been so extremely dry that even people's discarded cigarettes had been worrisome in some rural areas. Soon enough, lawns around here may be green again, instead of the bright, dead brown that they have been all summer long thanks to the heat and water restrictions. Still, Australia's apparently had it worse than anyone this year.

To finish off the blog for the week, here's... the Oracle of Bacon! You can probably figure out how it works.

See the above link for Bacon-related goodness, and good-bye for now!

Moving, Movies and May St

Tuesdays... what happened to updating these things Sunday nights? Well, maybe next week... I have a few more things to add to the blog, which I will do tonight - I wanted to get it posted today, so here you are:

Jan 25 - Tensity

I've been trying something different at work, to see if I can change my daily stress levels around. I've made the effort to smile and make small talk with every customer who comes in, moreso than usual, to see if the level of Friendly can be raised - for the most part, it seems to be working. This is different from the false cheer that I can't stand when I deal with some in the customer service industry, that gets turned on and off like a spigot - I'm making the honest effort to be nice and jovial despite being tired, cranky and stressed for the last few weeks. So far, it seems to be working, as I've enjoyed my time at work a lot more than I thought, even though I work alone every day.

Not that there's a lot wrong with that, really. I suppose if I was a slob, I could leave the place a mess out of sight of the customers, or not wear deodorant, or do a ton of other things that would annoy co-workers, if I had any right now. Instead, I enjoy the freedom of keeping tabs only on myself, not having to put up with other's habits, and allowing the occasional gaseous expulsion to waft free. Which has been happening far more often of late, thanks to one of these before every meal. Digestively snap.

Jan 26 - Snopes, you say?

Bacon: now for dessert... on chocolate chip cookies! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

Speaking about fattening... well, not really, but I couldn't quickly think of a way to transition from bacon to internet scams; did I mention I am tired? Anyway, everyone receives emails, often daily, about things that sound too good to be true: scams, offers, spam, and urban legends all clog up email inboxes, not to mention those annoying chain letter emails... If you tire of these things, just go have a look at Snopes.com to see if what you suspect is true, that the sender( if a stranger )is trying to scam you or a friend( if they are known to you )is passing along something they really shouldn't. Every known spam or scam on the 'net is on Snopes, which makes it a GREAT resource to tell Aunt Bertha about next time she fowards you a 'warning' about gangs tossing shoes onto telephone lines in YOUR area... :-)

Jan 27 - Green

Green is the way to go these days in all things... which is great, as it also happens to be my favourite colour. Nowadays, David Suzuki is feeling like he's part of the mainstream, as the rest of the world is finally waking up to the message he's been preaching for the last few decades. Looking around the globe, there are some fine examples of green architecture out there, quite aside from the R2000 home program started in the 1980's and current market trends towards ultra-green residential housing. Though what a hand-crafted wooden iPod housing really has to do with green homes is anybody's guess.

It also occurred to me that there's an opportunity for a major spokesperson for environmental causes to step forth and take up the flag. One whose very appearance both speaks for the difficult task of protecting the planet, and the consequences of not doing so. I am speaking of a fictional character, one who has a long history in the comic industry, as well as other mediums:

The Hulk. He's literally green, and gets angry...with polluters. Perfect fit, no?

Jan 28 - Comics and Tigers

Calvin and Hobbes. Who among us DIDN'T read this fantastic comic strip in its heyday, and mourn it's sudden demise by Bill Watterson's decision to just stop? Well, for all of us out there who still wish for some Wit of Calvin's, I present to you: 25 Great Calvin and Hobbes Strips - not perhaps THE Greatest Strips, but certainly some of the very best. You decide.

Which leads me back to The Far Side... did the general public really understand that comic? It was so far out there in terms of funny for its time that it made Peanuts look like the scribblings of children... though considering it WAS a comic, maybe that's a compliment. I do know the Far Side Halloween TV Special was WAY out there, but it was great to see those out-there comic panels come to life... creepy, distorted, surrealistic-in-some-way life at that. Gary Larson, we miss you and Bill Waterson both.

Of Fumes and Final Thoughts: Unfortunately, I had to go back to the old apartment tonight to finish cleaning the oven, which was the only thing that had to be done again - I'm not one for using Easy Off due to the fumes, but in this case the landlord insisted. At least he sprayed it in the morning so it had all day to work, as well as for the fumes to( mostly )clear.

Jan 29 - More on Moving

The unpacking goes well, coming along apace. I do some in the mornings, then more as I find the energy after work. My mom, though she is limited in mobility and has other major health issues, has been great as she plugs away steadily at the work - most of the rest of the house is already put to rights.

I suppose I should talk a little about the place: it's on the shore of Langford Lake, about ten minutes north of Victoria. Langford itself is a bustling place, with a lot of new construction and a ton of things going for it, with all the amenities including a huge 'power center' for shopping in addition to a vibrant downtown.

The house itself is a large backsplit, nestled down away from the road tucked between neighbouring properties and so sheltered from noise and weather both. The lower level is given over to another apartment, whose occupants we've met - friendly, quiet and accommodating folks. The upper level is more than spacious, with a giant kitchen flanked by a living room and dining room. The front has a sunken living room for my use, that has to be seen to be believed - pictures coming soon. There are two bedrooms, plus a master bedroom, two bathrooms( one of which with a massive skylight )main floor laundry, double garage... and a hot tub on the rear deck that faces the lake - what a view! All of this means plenty of space for my stuff, as well as privacy.

Jan 30 - Boxes Are Evil

Now that most of the boxes are either emptied or relegated to the Toss In Storage Pile, the place is looking mostly livable... except for my den / living room. I just haven't had the energy to get all the books onto the shelves, or do more than hook up the TV and the 'net routers to the cable connection. Which is odd in itself - the cable, that is. When I first attached MY cable modem earlier in the week, the blasted thing didn't work and still doesn't - naturally it's the one I bought, whose 1-year warranty expired two weeks ago. The one from my parent's place works fine, thankfully... and it's the one they're still renting, 'natch. *sigh* I swear electronics come with Warranty Suicide Chips.

While I am not exactly in the business of Evil Lair Decorating, there is something to be said for Evil on a Budget... which also segues into setting up a great Evil Lair. Yet what use would be an Evil Lair without superheroes to defend it against? Here is a list of the most popular superpowers that wannabe-heroes of today are wishing for. Strangely, being bulletproof is not high on most people's lists...?

And if you want to see something truly evil, have a look at this - "Roxanne" by the Police as sung to the tune generated by Microsoft's Songsmith program. Ouch, my bleeding ears! The horror!

Jan 31 - End of the Old

The month wrapped up in a blur today, which was even busier than yesterday. Again, I find it odd that I can go an hour without any customers, then five show up all within five minutes. There is no common thread I can discern, as they don't do it at lunch hour, or all get off the same bus, or show up just after picking up the kids from school... damned odd, but it keeps me on my toes.

Do you ever get the feeling that things are being recycled in Hollywood? Or in the entertainment world in general, mining old hits for new viewer ratings? While I usually deride such mediocre efforts, sometimes a few of these reworkings work out, like BSG and (hopefully) the upcoming The Prisoner too.

There are a few movies I am looking forward to seeing in the next few months: Coraline, of course - it's Neil Gaiman, why would you NOT see it?? Also the Transformers sequel, plus one I'd not heard of before this week with a catchy title: Monsters Vs Aliens - no word on a cameo by a Predator though.

Feb 1 - A New Month, a New Place

Sunday found me crawling around the new place, puttering and poking into odd boxes to find things. While I kept a numbered list of box contents, there are still quite a few things stuffed into various odd boxes and other places to try and find. I found myself in dire need of relaxation today, as the week has been simply exhausting with the move and the very very busy month-end at work. Fourteen hour days are no fun for a week, especially when time not spent earning a wage is spent hefting boxes around and cleaning. When was this even fun, I wonder? I know I enjoyed moving to Port Dalhousie, but after that things just became a chore... good thing I was able to do a lot more under my own power back then.

I went to my delayed company Christmas party this year, which was a subdued affair - since we had our budget cut in half, only two stores( plus me )were able to get together, compared to last year, when everyone met for dinner... darn economic crunch. We all met at Nautical Nellies, which is a steak and seafood place downtown which bills itself as "the Best restaurant in Victoria BC." The food was very good in decent portions, if a big pricey - similar to the Keg, which sits on a corner as well just a block down the road. It was nice, in a way, to just sit at a large table and talk with people, as I don't see much of any of them while working on my ownsome. I left after only a few hours, heading home in the rain as I was rather tired.

For those who like moving reading, I suggest Ebon Musings, where the author digs deep into the Bible for his own amusement much akin to the spirit of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. If God is watching, I don't think He would be amused... but I know He WOULD want a word with His editor about doing a Revised Bible. Or maybe a Coles Notes version?


All for now - next update Sunday night, since I have Sundays off. For now.

Coraline, Car Wars and Colds

Seems I am playing catch-up with the Blog, yet again another entry finished on a Monday morning instead of a Sunday night. Still, it's DONE, so that's all that matters... words on a page, not a blank 'Under Construction' banner of old.

Aug 18th - Failure to Launch

The shift today was frustrating; yet again another Monday Product Launch, and for the second time in two weeks nothing worked correctly. The promo contest managed to crash the system two times out of three, and resulted in reams of wasted paper as multiple print commands were sent for every transaction. Seeing as we do not have the fastest PC's on the block either, this resulted in some rather long transactions as I had to start them over several times each, hoping for success.

On a lighter note, I was browsing around a few of my thousands of bookmarks and came across this place. I collected Playmobil as a kid, and though most of it is lost or sold off, I still fondly remember the amazing Pirate Ship I got for my eighth birthday - wish I'd had a pool to play with it in, but one can't have everything; it was still a damned cool toy. Seems something just as cool has come down the pipes again: a Roman Colosseum! Something else that I do not have the time or space for, which is a pity, as the Roman Empire was another bit of history I really enjoyed as a kid, and still do today. The chariot race in Ben-Hur still stands out vividly in my memory, despite the fact I have not seen it in many a long year. Playmobil chariots...

Aug 19th - Neil Gaiman

I was digging around YouTube, and stumbled across quite a few videos of Neil Gaiman, author of such works as "Neverwhere", "The Sandman" and the movie Stardust. Neil is a mesmerizing speaker when reading his own works, as I had the privilege of hearing at the Torcon2003 SF convention on a Sunday morning. The room was packed to the gills as he read an excerpt from "A Study in Emerald" in which Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft merge universes in a world that seems all-too chillingly real - download the free Mp3 of the story at the bottom of the blurb here. Near the end of the Torcon reading, an usher tried to signal Neil to "wrap-up" quickly. Neil paused, looked around at the sea of rapt faces and told the usher "You had better let me finish, or they WILL kill you," he said with a gin. The usher promptly vanished as we all laughed and waited eagerly for the end of the story.

More good Gaiman News: a stop-motion version of Coraline is coming out, being done by the creative genius who did A Nightmare Before Christmas, Pete Kozachik. You can see a preview of it here - looks amazing! You can read more about Neil Gaiman here, in his own words - he keeps a daily blog. Mesmerizing!

Aug 20th - Car Wars

Evening shifts are day-eaters, in that by the time the noon-hour rolls around, one has to get ready for work - and that's the end of the day. I much prefer morning shifts, as I get home in the early afternoon and still have the evening to do as I please - I always feel rushed if I only have the morning to work with; maybe its the open-ended versus the have-to-be-at-work-by-this-time schedule thing. It's just so odd not to give specifics in this blog, but then I understand about security concerns for my workplace. Knowing that my blog is monitored is somewhat stifling, but it presents a challenge to me as a writer to convey my thoughts without compromising the security or integrity of my employer... not easy to do if you want to make it more than pablum-fare to read

Speaking of fare, it seems that the old B-movie classic Death Race 2000 is being remade. The video preview of Death Race 2008 is out, starring Jason Latham of The Transporter fame. Fans of the old tabletop Steve Jackson game Car Wars, such as myself, might wonder if this will actually be the first film to come close to capturing the phrase "Where the right of way goes to the biggest guns." Crude, but an interesting analogue to today's society. Interestingly enough, Car Wars predicted a fuel crisis in the year 2000, followed by various other disasters that resulted in an altered history in which oil-based fuels are rare, airships powered by electric fuel cells ply the skies, and the roads are ruled by cars touting machine guns and spikedroppers... are we there yet?

Aug 21st - Fleet Week and Star Wars

Another morning shift today, with the weather turning grey again. The ride to work is always showing me something new, though I really wish the one yard I walk by would stop using such large amounts of pure organic fertilizer on their flowerbeds - phew! Even under cloudy skies, the walk is relaxing despite being uphill. Homes are well-kept, unique unto themselves and surrounded by lush greenery, the result of lots of TLC and abundant rain obviously.

The annual Fleet Week down the coast in San Francisco is coming up in a few months, where the US Pacific Fleet comes back into port for its yearly stop. - the Snowbirds will be performing this year too! Apparently a very talented wag decided to make this video showcasing what would happen if the Imperial Fleet of the Empire from Star Wars made a showing instead... very well done, subtle and seamless - makes all those hundreds of Star Wars Kid videos seem cartoonish in the extreme.

Aug 22 - Getting Bugged

Worked the morning shift today, feeling a little rough. Seems I've managed to pick up a bug this week - my nose started jogging yesterday and is in full run today. Good thing I made sure to have kleenex on hand at work just in case of such things... when the facets really start to leak, the handy roll of TP just doesn't cut the mustard. Sad to say. For some reason I thought that tonight was the night for the local Jazz Festival, but apparently it is next week, or at least that was what the ticket says - go figure. So I had the evening to rest up, and I did in a big way - I practically fell over after dinner, with brief moments of consciousness until a wave of weariness carried me away well before 11pm. Erk.

Aug 23 - Sweating a cold

Glad I had the day off today, so I could spend it resting up and trying to get rid of this bug. I kept the heat theory in mind, and the apartment was a toasty 29 degrees, with the windows open just a crack for airflow - the PC and Xbox put out a lot of heat both. I ran a summer party today online today in NWN, which had been in the plans for a few weeks. So I spent most of the day around the TV, chatting with people and getting other things done in conversational lulls. It was a little odd, being home sick but at the same time talking with dozens of people as they dropped by my 'online tavern' - yet another use for the internet nobody foresaw back in its early days. A good time was had by all, and at least my online nose wasn't a kleenex-killing machine.

Aug 24 - And on the Third Day He Sneezed

I took today off as well( thanks Meaghan! )as I am still feeling clobbered - the nose is under control but the throat is touch-and-go. Still using the Heat Theory, that a little sweat is good for the soul and bad for bugs. A few games of COD4 were all I got in before several of my Niagara friends lost power due to a thunderstorm in the area which knocked them offline for the day. So I played a few games of Civ: Rev, the first ended when the game crashed, and the second was a clean sweep for Lucas - payback for a similar game I won some weeks ago. Well done.


And done is what I am, for another week. Hopefully I get my energy back enough to get some work done this week, as the weekend past was a total wash. At least the struggle with Blogger was a little easier this time, popping back and forth between Opera and FireFox seemed to do the trick; about an hour's work.