Rings, Retro and Recovery

Just a few weeks to go!

July 5th - Travel

As above: in less than a month as of today, I will be in Niagara - I board my flight early the morning of July 31st from BC, and stay until the afternoon of August 8th; over a week! Thanks again to Martin's massive generosity, I shall be able to visit the place of my birth once again, see many of my friends and do Lots Of Relaxing. I'll be bringing my laptop of course, as I also hope to get some writing done whilst said Relaxing is in progress. There's a few spots I recall as being most excellently suited to such activities, with the minor addition of some ice cream and / or soft music, both of which are readily( and cheaply )available thereabouts. *grin*

For those of you with more means or wider-ranging travel dreams than I, may I humbly suggest bookmarking LonelyPlanet.com. The site is packed with travel tips and information, as well as inspiring ideas of places to travel to on this huge spinning blue marble we all share. Heck, they even have a section where you can debate( or discover? )what the Best Beer in the World is! I do also miss my 1,000 Places to See Before You Die calendar from last year, which is why I was pleased to see this recent article from Yahoo Travel on the same topic - now all I need is to figure what one of the many How To Get Rich Quick ideas to use.

Nah. I'll just take the financial advice in this article instead - much great chance of success, though over a longer period of time.

July 6th - Old Made New Again

You knew I was going to mention it: United Breaks Guitars. Watching that hit counter grow every day from thousands, to hundreds of thousands, to millions - wow. That's viral marketing at work, folks - the power behind such shows as Britain's Got Talent and all those. Media magnification© at it's finest!

Video games have always been near and dear to my heart, though I am the first to admit I enjoy the actual playing of them more than finishing them; more of a 'journey rather than the destination matters' thing, I suppose. I have a LOT of games on the shelves, more than I realized... far more than I ever collected compared to the few numbers of CD's, so I guess that's where my money went in those days, rather than into the vast music collections some of you hopefully still retain. As I look over my collection, there are quite a few gems there... so I was pleased as anything to discover that quite a few of those great games have been updated and collected for sale at GoG.com.

Good Old Games, as they call themselves, has updated dozens of older PC game titles for download and use on Windows XP and Vista( even 64-bit like mine! )at incredibly low prices - most of the games are $10.00 or less, with titles like MDK2, Descent( which made me ill the 1st time I played! )and the original Fallout. It made me smile to see so many, and I think I will have to get a few of my favourites to play again on my new laptop, along with a few I missed the first time around. Outdated as most of them are, the gameplay is where they shine, not the graphics which have marched solidly onwards over the years.

Yet there is a lot to be said for new technology... when it can bring you images like these. That's right, robot fans - Mechwarrior is back after being on hiatus since 2002. Bring on the battle tech! Best of all: MechWarrior 4 is going to be released for download soon, free!

July 7th - Coral and Contests

Scary news today: what with the current global economic crisis, Korean tensions, H1N1 and the loss of Michael Jackson, do we need more bad news? Sorry but yes... it's a big one. Despite warnings about Global Warming and the ozone layer, most people are not too worried about the environment crashing, thinking that films like The Day After Tomorrow are overdoing things in the usual Hollywood style.

But what it the world ended with a whimper, not a bang? That's just what scientists studying the world's coral reefs told reporters today, warning that this critical food-chain link is in jeopardy and may die out completely within the century. Think about it: dead oceans... dead planet. I'm scared all over again, now.

For those of you who enjoy entering contests, but are wisely wary of scam-sites that will sell your contact info to phone marketers like the scum at Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines, who pestered me some months back until I simply told them I was not planning to take any vacations in the next decade due to a total lack of money as a perpetual student in school. They stopped calling, amazingly. After much searching, I located LookContests.com, which is a wonderful free site that compiles ONLY legitimate contests from companies such as those from Ford, Skittles, etc - no chance of fraudsters taking your info here. A neat feature of the site is that it sorts the contests into categories such as daily, weekly or unlimited entries and lets you keep track of the ones you have already entered - great for those contests that will disqualify anyone attempting more than one entry in a certain time period. So far, I've not won anything... but as the saying goes: nothing ventured nothing gained. Better yet: no noticeable increase in my junk mail, even after a few months.

July 8th - Pedal Power

Today was a hot day, which means power use was up as people ran their A/C more to keep cool. In the future, as we all know, demand for electricity is going to outstrip supply, which is why it is important we develop things like the Smart Grid all the sooner. C|Net has an excellent article on the topic, which reveals many exciting possibilities, one of which I touched on previously concerning electric cars that may be used in their millions to assist the Grid at peak demand times. A sure sign that this is going to be the wave of the future are the various power-generation kits now available at places like Canadian Tire, hopefully just the start of simpler ways for people to reduce their demand for electricity. I know that such a unit here would easily generate energy most evenings, when the wind is high from the north over the lake; setting up a battery system to store that free juice would take a little doing, but it excites me that such things are now a semi-realistic option without huge expense or training involved. Even Vancouver is getting on board, with news that they are going to require all new development to accommodate electric cars, with plugs installed for charging. Progress!

Though it was rather sweaty today on the road, I'm back to riding my bike to work most days. At less than 2km( with a large cardio-improving hill smack in the middle )the ride there and back is a good workout but not such a drain that I arrive winded, or can't do it after a long, wearing day... I am glad to say that I am feeling very much recovered from my surgery, though I am going easy on the exercise - slow and steady are the increases, says the doctor. The same with my diet; I have had few nausea attacks since the operation, which I accredit to my system getting rid of the last of the poisons my malfunctioning gall bladder had splashed around during its overextended stay. I hope by the end of the summer to be back on track to proper health, while avoiding any temptation to fall into bad food habits - McDonald's has not seen me for the last ten years of my life, nor shall they ever again. Bleh!

July 9th - And I thought they smelled bad...

Some amusing news: if you want to travel into the future, apparently all it takes is to move to northern B.C. where the clocks are running fast... for over 65,000 people, that is.

A bit of a letdown today, regarding one of my more-liked shows on HGTV. It seems that Restaurant Makeover is not as highly thought of as I had surmised, though I admit it is somewhat formulaic and contrived at times. Still, I like seeing places go from blah to rah! so to speak, and it's an entertaining hour of non-violent TV which is fairly rare these days. Everyone needs a break from explosions, people screaming at each other and stress, wouldn't you agree?

Thus, the question runs to purchasing one of these - word is that they'll be available soon, though not in what sizes. Oh, the uncertainty - just like surviving a night outside on the ice planet Hoth!

And for those who may have thought I've left bacon out of this week's blog - think again.

July 10th - Debating About Working

Today was a Development Day at work, where another manager and I were walked though the Golden Path of Enlightenment, as envisaged by MMart. I was surprised by the depth of some of the material, and pleased that though it was challenging, I could see myself getting my head around it - albeit with the requisite hard work. It looks like my time at work for the next while is going to be even busier, what with managing the store, training a new hire and getting myself on track with new expectations and responsibilities. While I fully realize that I am not making as much as some managers in other businesses, I do not think I would have received even half the wide-ranging training I have been getting now at this company. What annoys the $%#@! out of me though, is all those earlier wasted years at CCCorp in ON, where I steered myself out of management for several good reasons, not the least among them their haphazard, half-assed promotion and training practices.

One of the topics covered was assisting employees in reaching their goals, be it at work or at home, including helping them save for things like vacations without breaking the bank. A possibility for them would be to work from home, for a few months to help supplement their income, without necessitating them taking a second job and so making their primary job( ie. MMart )suffer from the overload. A good site to help in finding reputable home employment is Monster.Ca, which has some tips on the topic, as well as WhyDoWork.com - I love the name!

Darn it, why can't we all just toss off the shackles of capitalism, to embrace something better? I recommend that you sidle on over to CreatedDebate.com to see what thousands of people have said about the mishaps and merits of the capitalist system designed to make the rich richer, and the poor, um... unemployed. Having seen myself some of the consequences of failing social systems firsthand in Mexico, I have to say that many of the socialist aspects of Canada are heartily endorsed by yours truly. Though I also feel that indeed, the rich get richer while the middle class goes in circles, and the poor get turned into mailboxes.

July 11th - Sad in Sunshine

I was definitely glad to be off today, as I was feeling rather sad... odd, given the sunny weather; not sure why, maybe events are catching up to me - hard to say. I think my annoyance of the afternoon gave way to melancholy, as I tried yet again to enjoy the deck out the back but was defeated by the idiots at the park next door. John Q. Public, take note: if you are in a huge park for the day, where the houses are mere specks in the distance, enjoy yourself and let your kids romp.

However, if the park is a tiny postage stamp nestled into a neighbourhood where the homes are RIGHT NEXT TO THE PARK, don't let your pack of little monsters scream their fool heads off ALL DAY LONG while pushing each other off the dock on the nice, QUIET lake. People like myself may come out onto their decks, some fifty feet away or so, and stare at you with their arms crossed, perhaps becoming angered to the point of calling the police to have a chat with you. And that's what the nice, calm neighbours might do, at the very least. Be warned.

In any case, I settled inside for most of the day, where closed windows and earplugs abated the noise and consoled myself with words. I read a good deal of a book I've not looked at in over a decade: The Ring, by Daniel Keys Moran and was loosely based on Wagner's tale Der Ring des Nibelungen. Moran also wrote Emerald Eyes, another novel concerning telepaths. I wonder what he might have been like if tapped to write a few episodes of Babylon 5, where telepaths figured prominently in the major plotlines. Interesting thought, and amusing along the same lines as this never-published article about how he came to write The Ring... which is a warning to authors everywhere.

In case you haven't checked out his site recently, Neil Gaiman's been quite busy in his usual excellent way. Being one of my favourite authors, I find his semi-regular journal a great read, as it shows his writing style at his informal best without adding in the( many )extra passes that editors and himself make on his words. Stellar.

July 12th - Duty Calls Again!

Popping onto xBoxLive! today, I ran across the guys playing COD4 online, just like last summer - so much for COD5, yay! I happily spent a good part of the day gaming with them, enjoying the banter and the basic pleasure of blasting the crap out of the enemy; very cathartic. Damn, I know I've said it before, but it is just awesome to be able to game with some of my good friends from thousands of miles away - great to 'see' you, guys.

The evening saw me working on my NWN project, talking with several of my project comrades and plugging away at my current slice of the pie. I am writing up small 1 or 2 sentence random item descriptions, to be integrated into our own unique item generation code. Simply put, it will randomly generate 'treasure' items based on a number of factors in the game, allowing a vast range of uniquely tradable( and thus valuable )items to be made without needing to hand-create thousands of them one by one. In essence, we will allow players the thrilling possibility of getting some Really Cool Stuff when they adventure, with a little hard work on our part beforehand translating into a fantastic in-game experience. I'm really gobsmacked that I've managed to assemble such a talented and dedicated crew to do all this, so doing my share is as vitally important to me as keeping the whole thing on track.

So, it's back to work... I've items to imagine!

Animation, Alias and Assh... er, Jerks

I hope everyone had a good Christmas, be it family-oriented or materially satisfying! I never did develop a taste for eggnog, so I'll settle for some hot chocolate while I write up this week's blog:


Dec 22 - Star Wars is Toast

For those of you out there who always have that one impossible-to-buy-for person on your lists, I present the perfect gift: the Star Wars Toaster. Yes, your loved one or friend can greet the day with the image of Darth Vader seared into their bread of choice, feeling the power of the Dark Side flowing through them to give them the energy they need to face any challenge. You can complement this amazing piece of kitchen technology with the only logical choice of knives to slice your bread: the Jedi Ginsu Knife! Indeed, the Jedi Ginsu slices through almost anything, bread included, and stores easily in the smallest of kitchen drawers.

Considering that my menu of food choices keeps shrinking due to my recent plumbing problems, toast is still a good standby choice. Not to mention a cheap one too... and some people have raised it to an art form. Apart from the occasional grape jelly, I tend to go plain.

I hope most of you have forgotten about it, but in case you haven't.... the Star Wars Holiday Special is still out there, lurking... 1978's contribution to some of the worst TV schlock ever. So bad it's good, akin to some of those great B-movies
like Plan 9 From Outer Space or After the Fall of New York. Only this one has wookies... which are infinitely better than the ewoks, imho.

Dec 23 - Alias Flash

Though it's been a while, I've started re-watching the Alias TV series with Jennifer Garner. The layer plots, slick production values and eminent watch-ability of its cast have drawn me back, with a few sites such as Alias Season.com to fill in the blank spots when I don't quite catch all the plot points flying around.

I purchased another one of only a few XboxLive! games today, as I find most of their content rather lacking... but I have a soft spot for Bomberman. It is one of the original 'party games' the first of which caused a craze in Japan back in the early 90's, and I first played it on my venerable TurboGrafx-16, which was designed as a 5-player party machine itself - the two fit perfectly, and more than a few parties were enlivened by exploding bombs and trash-talking amongst friends.

On the topic of good games, go check out The Ten Most Addictive Flash Games Ever... see if you agree. There are so many sites out there nowadays with free flash games, that you could feasibly dispense with console games or PC games altogether... though you have to beware of some really awful games.

Dec 24 - Holiday Movies

I spent part of my day relaxing, as it is only one of two days off for the holidays.

In the early afternoon, I headed over to my parents place to spend the holiday with them. My sister was not able to make it, though that was itself a good thing given the horrible weather that had stranded thousands of people and canceled flights in B.C. Why not skip the travel insanity during the holidays, and use things like Skype instead, you might ask? Somehow I think that being with family during Christmas will always win over even just seeing family, though you'd cut out things like your uncle's halitosis and the vicious pinching fingers of well-meaning aunts seeking your cheeks like hawk talons... *ahem* Love my family, but I am glad in some ways that I am an adult now, at Christmas. Only some.

We watched Elf in the evening, which seems to be the new holiday movie of choice, though I am still partial to Scrooged along with A Christmas Story and Its A Wonderful Life. Wil Farrell playing Buddy the elf works perfectly with his talents as a lovable innocent adult in an unfamiliar world, and I was also impressed with the low-key performance of Zooey Deschanel, who also happens to have an incredible voice.

One thing I miss about Christmas eves of yesteryear is a roaring fire. I grew up in a house that had a large, wood-burning fireplace and I remember many a Christmas was spent in front of that fire, with the warmth from the crackling logs spreading throughout the room and the Christmas tree standing tall nearby... but not too close, as we usually had a real tree in those days, as fake ones were too darn expensive still. Today, most fireplaces I have seen are of the gas or even electric variety, relegating the old open hearth and wooden logs to homes that have easy access to wood supplies and folk who don't mind clearing away ash.

I think it's worth it; I especially enjoyed the time I spent living in Fonthill, in a home that had TWO wall-to-wall wood burning fireplaces, one on each floor.

Now that was cozy at Christmas!

Dec 25 - Earthquake, or digesting dinner?

Apparently there was a small earthquake at 12:11am far offshore, a 5.9 that was too small to be felt. Still, it is a reminder that I am living in an area that is exposed to such things, unlike Niagara which only has to worry about smog, thunderstorm-spawned tornadoes and bad winter weather. Who remembers the 1996 tornado that struck the drive-in theater in Thorold, which was scheduled to show Twister ? It made it to Letterman and Bob Saget, so apparently a few people took note. Not a bad film either.

I watched both Shrek the Halls and the not-so-seasonal Arthur and the Invisibles, which was the made-in-france super-expensive 3D animated film that didn't do so well over on this side of the pond, perhaps due to its rather lackluster and nonsensical story. Mind you, the animation itself was incredible, showing just how far the graphical movie arts have come since the days of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I was disappointed, as the direction was Luc Besson, who made one of my favourite films, The Fifth Element... which starred Mila Jovovitch, who seems to have a penchant for making bad movies too. Guess that's why she and Besson married each other and soon called it quits.

It was a good day, spent relaxing in the company of my family and far from the worries of current events. My plumbing behaved itself, thanks perhaps in part to the enzyme supplements I am taking... I was worried that the turkey dinner would prove to be a problem, but apparently my holiday gift was to be able to enjoy it AND not see it again in any improper manner. Joy!

Finally, what would Christmas be without... zombies? The Twelve Days of Zombie Christmas will give you the answers you need - brains. Arrgh.

Dec 26 - Nien, it is 9 !

I heard about the latest Time Burton animated film over at i09.com which is a great place to peruse the many facets of SciFi goodness. They ran an eye-popping( ow! )article about the film, which is currently under development for a near-future release. The feature film is based off a short film by creator Shane Acker, which is a tale about a post-apocalyptic world devoid of humans, but not all life... you can see the feature film's trailer at his official website. His is an interesting story about the leap from short film to feature, definately worth the read in this recent interview.

On the track of creating fiction, sometimes you get stuck. For those times when the blank page is a black hole staring you in the face, there is 911: Writer's Block, where you can turn to for inspiration when all else fails. The site is part of WeBook.com, where writers can gather to create stories together. Sounds like a virtual group hug to me, but it looks intriguing enough to try.

Oh, and since it was Boxing Day, I headed out to make only one stop to pick up some inexpensive DVD's at London Drugs - more seasons of The Simpsons, Stargate: SG-1 and all three seasons of Arrested Development, a series that Rene put me onto some time ago and I have been looking for since... on the cheap, of course! I was in and gone in less than 10 minutes at 9am, the most civilized Boxing Day sale I have ever been to, especially compared to last year's zoo at Future Shop that I lined up at 5:30am for... never again. Considering the current economic downturn, I would not be surprised to see sales continue well into the new year as retailers struggle to stay afloat. Some higher-end ones have already gone under and more are sure to fall as consumers close their wallets and strive to save.

Which means gift cards are a bad idea, given that if a company goes under, any cards outstanding will not be honoured as they are considered part of debt. Good luck going to court for your $25.00 card!

Dec 27 - Weary Weekend

While waiting for many a film to arrive in the coming year, some folk get a little impatient... like this fellow, whose obvious ardour for all things Thundercat shows in his spectacular fan-made movie trailer, which skillyfully blends clips of actors from dozens of movies, adding special effects and overlays. It is quite convincing, along the lines of the fake Phantom Menace trailer from the late 1990's, of which I still have a copy floating around somewhere... surprisingly, it is nowhere to be found on YouTube!

Work today was steady but unremarkable, which is the way I like it - the fewer emotionally-twisted children masquerading as adults that I have to deal with, the better. Sometimes I wish I had the ability to move one of my eyes independandly of the other... I can only imagine how well that would work to defuse and confuse tense situations, when one eye keeps drifting off-center. Surely it would work better than an eye-twitch, that keeps getting worse as the person keeps being a jerk... hint, hint? Too bad that the rule holds that the worse a jerk the person is, the more oblivious they are to other people. just do not confuse the oblivious ones with the real serial jerks out there....

Dec 28 - Sunday Games

Unsurprisingly, I am going to mention... the sun. Since it was out and shining today, the snow piles melted considerably, leaving the streets far more navigable than they have been for the past week. It was nice to return home on relatively dry pavement, instead of picking one's way down hills mostly covered in ice. Victoria has quite a few hills to it, if you travel around the city a bit, which only adds to its charm, I think - the Niagara Escarpment is lovely, but can't hold a patch to the mountains here.

Feeling sheepish? Fatigue getting the better of your reflexes? Then test your reaction time with a little virtual sheep-herding... with a tranquilizer gun. Go on, you know it sounds like fun... or are you still feeling a little baaa-humbug from the holiday craze? *grin*

As most of you know, I am not a sports fan... nor is proficiency with a golf club high on my list. However, when I find a game called Medieval Golf online, my interest is perked... especially since you play it with arrows. Ah, to have time time to indulge that particular one of my hobbies... soon, I hope.


All for now... more news as I trip over it - see last week's blog for some major news of mine, the entry is highlighted in red.