Back and Burnt

I have returned! I have a sunburn! I have a lot of laundry to do!

The trip is over. I'll put some more detail into a new entry but for now I have t deal with the fallout (such as laundry, cleaning getting my internal clock reset). I specifically planned to have the weekend before heading back to work to do this stuff.

So of course that's when my Dad shows up expecting to be entertained for the weekend. Crap.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that my land-lady just wanted to give me the "official" copy that the previous land-lady forgot to give me. The last one was very, very good as a building manager but was abhorrently bad at the paperwork, thus the difficulties in actually proving I am paying for my parking spot, banking mix-ups, the hole that is still in my kitchen wall and the complete failure of getting the buzzer for the front door working.

The bad news is I'm getting a friggin' cold! Just in time for my trip. I'd blame everyone at work showing up sick but I know I got it when I went to a former co-worker's place for a movie night and tried sheesha with about four other people hitting off the same hookah. And I knew that was going to happen...

Head in the Game

So 48 hours and change until I wing my way to Hawaii. I've been fighting a cold for the past week (which is still trying to conquer my fun). Now that sort of thing was inevitable but still annoying: just a variation of getting sick every Friday before a long weekend.

Strangely enough, I'm not quite as excited/nervous as I thought I would be. I'm managing to stay focused at work and the huge list of "to do" items for the trip is languishing somewhere on my desk top. I've covered all the major items but my usual list of checks and other preparation I haven't really touched yet (besides buying a new set of swim trunks that said "M" on the label but fit like "XL" around my skinny ass).

Oh, and of course a monkey wrench has been thrown into my pina colada. I received a notice yesterday that my land-lady wants to "review the terms of your lease". I'm not exactly sure what that means but it simply cannot be good. I'm pretty damn sure I've done nothing that would merit a "review" but we'll see what happens. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm being blamed for the monstrous amount of detritus near my car in the parking garage that has been spewed out by the white trash that parks beside me. I would think that it should be obvious where it's coming from: the clean, empty, well-maintained compact car or the rusted-out 4x4 that has beer bottles, fast-food bags and cigarette packs piled to the roof (and spilling out onto the pavement every time a door opens).

If that is indeed the case, I'll let my land-lady know I'm going away for a week and she can see the results for herself.

Signifying Nothing

Okay, actual computer game review time! This week, I review the long-time coming, finally here Spore.

Anyone who plays video or computer games as a hobby has of course heard of Spore. Wil Wright of The Sims mythology (at this point) has, for a few years, been presenting his visionary, er, vision of a game that lets you start as a single-celled creature and eventually take to the galaxy. In that time, there's been a lot of hype, a lot of excitement and last week a lot of purchases (and if you've ben following along, a lot of pirate copies, DRM political fallout and general hullabaloo). I picked up a legit copy and I'll totally avoid the DRM controversies here and review the game itself.

If you've read more professional reviews, much has been made of the fact that this game is actually five different games strung together. While very true, most good games are really just a set of interacting mini-games (Sid Meir's Pirates! being a very good example). Spore simply puts more distinct boundaries between them, the "meta-game" being the customization of some many aspects of you cell/animal/tribe/society/civilization.

The much talked-about customization - the result of functional/procedural programming techniques - shines through in (almost) every aspect of the game. A very significant game in and of itself, you can (and probably will) spend hours designing, building and tweaking pretty much everything you can control in this game. It's very much akin in spirit of biological Lego, very versatile and if the Sporepedia - the in-game catalog of what others around the globe have created - is any indication very, very much in use by the people who have picked up the game itself and the Creature Creator which is a free download. It is however more of toy than a game which is never a bad thing. I'm sure that some people will pretty much stick to that aspect (and hey, if you have fun, it's good) but for me it can only hold my attention for so long. While I can appreciate that facet of the title, for me it does not make a game in and of itself.

Let's move on to the game play itself. There are five distinct "phases" to Spore: single-cell, creature (where you evolve into a shore-going animal), the tribal phase, the civilization phase and the final (although vast) Space Civilization phase. Each has its own distinct game-play mechanics and goals and each are very reminiscent of other games out there.

And that in and of itself the problem. While the first four phases are fun, they seem a tad too easy and/or limited in comparison to the titles they emulate (RTSes, 4X etc). Having following this game for quite a while I can see that much of the game play has been very much "cutified" since the inception. Now I won't go blaming the publisher for that, but someone, somewhere made the decision to dumb it down for the (potential) console kiddies. Each of the first four phases left me wanting more in both game play and challenge. But once I went through each of them a few times (learning a few things on each replay of each phase) I finally moved on to the biggest part and some one say the "real" game: Space!

The last phase is very, very much a "sandbox": hundreds of stars, multiple civilizations and a plethora of things to do such as colonization, trade, exploration, conquest, diplomacy and so on and so forth. It's very much a 4X-style game with a wide berth for customization. I am a huge fan of the genre myself (Sword of the Stars, Galactic Civilization, Masters of Orion and others of that ilk) and at first this seemed to offer what each of those games had and more.

At first, it was fun as you start to go beyond your home world (although I did find a nasty bug) exploring your own solar system, discovering another star-traveling civilization, establishing a colony on a whole new world. The classic stuff. Then it got annoying. Very, very quickly afterward it got frustrating. And then it got turned off.

Now I'm willing to forgive some things to a certain extent. Remember what I said about the "dumbing down" of the other phases? The Space phase controls are very complex (and I question some design decisions there) and it does have a pretty steep learning curve. I'm pretty sure that this part was not "consolized" and I honestly can't see a decent conversion of the control scheme to a console controller. I'm actually fine with that to a certain extent: having an actual learning curve is usually a good sign. But as I attempted to explore, expand etc "random" events kept popping up with annoying frequency. You had to go fight off pirates (yay), save your colonies from ecological disaster, fend off incursion of alien civilizations (one of which I accidentally ticked off by taking something of theirs) and so on. And these alerts, crisis and general baby-sitting kept happening every couple of minutes. To the point of distraction. Now I do understand that these are supposed to be distractions but the sheer volume of them made the game frustrating to the point where I was no longer having fun. And that's the point a game gets turned off.

It's like Mom calling you to wash your hands, take out the trash, mow the lawn, get ready for dinner etc. every single time you settle down start building your sand castle.

I fully intend to try out the space phases again, but if I encounter the same gale-force level of events that preclude me of actually doing what I want to do sometimes then I uninstall (using up one of the three installs I'm permitted). I'm not holding my breath though.

So in short: "Spore" is an excellent showcase for what can be accomplished by using advanced programming techniques with the creature and world creation tools. However the game play itself for the first four phases are watered down versions of other games already available on the market with the fifth "sandbox" phase completely spoiled by the volume and difficulty of the continuous interruptions spawned by the game. I think if the developers didn't dumb down the game play elements of the first four games and actually gave the player a chance to play the fifth we would have a watershed moment in computer gaming. Instead we have a watered-down version of other, better games and given a hiding behind the shed for attempting to have fun.

More of the Same

Ya know, in the past week, nothing new has happened. Seriously, it was pretty much a boiler plate seven days. I worked, bought far too many books and DVDs, month end went into overtime (actually still is dammit), I went to the gym a lot, smoked cigarettes, drank coffee, avoided housework, watched UFC at Big M's (great new digs by the way M) played a bit on the computer and went about the daily grind.

I can't help it: I have the feeling that there is a size 22 shoe hovering over me in near-orbit. Chock full of radioactive space athlete's foot. Or something.

Call me paranoid. Now apologize.

And ... that's it. Really. My life is a neutral gray right now. That's not a necessarily bad thing but it's not exactly a state of bliss either. I am not used to this. What I am used to generally makes me break out in a cold-sweat at 3AM and of course it's nice that I can wake up and not have to have my little early-morning scream but it's also weird.

And even this post is boring.

Hello?

Anyone there?

See?

Insomnia

Well judging by the clock on the oven, it's only 11:30 PM but I can tell it's going to be a long night. Insomnia has reared its ugly, red-eyed, droopy-lidded visage again. I'm never sure why exactly I get it: sometimes it's stress but frankly I haven't had much to be stressed about. Sure, I'm getting overly worked up about the possibility of being swallowed whole by a Great White off the coast of Maui but even for my bad luck that's still a long shot.

Maybe it's just boredom. Now, I'm firmly in the Rincewind school of boredom: it's rare and should be treasured as such. Truth to tell though, I haven't had this long of a stress-free run in, well, let's just say I had hair the last time this happened. Long, wavy chestnut locks past my shoulders. Hey, it was the late eighties. Gimmee a break.

September is of course looming and that usually means things generally pick up. I'm taking yoga classes, there's the trip, several luncheon arrangements, the play season begins again and of course there's always the gym. My goal of having a stomach that is shadowed by a chest by running 20k a week may actually happen before the trip! The extensive re-constructive surgery of my knees is well worth the effort.

That being said, it must be obvious that I actually have little to report. Long-weekends are always my "house chores" occasions where I do a top-to-bottom (okay, it's an apartment, front to back) scrub of the ol' Roost. I really should put that off until tomorrow: neighbors object to moving furniture and vacuuming at 2AM.

On the Geekier side: There are rumours that Joss Whedon will be holding a contest. He will be taking submissions from wanna-be villains: 3 minute videos for applicants to the Evil League of Evil. I, of course, will be making my humble contribution. No idea what I could possibly win, but what the hell. I'm bored and I'm buying a video camera for the trip. And no, I will not be appearing as myself: I'm more along the lines of "The Annoying Avengers" or similar. Besides, doesn't everyone want to be a villain?

I'd keep typing until I fell asleep but the carpal is acting up again....

Well, Something had to Give...

Okay the last post? That one where I seeming lost what remained of my marbles? Yup, no apologies. My guess is there's going to be more in a similar vein, although I'll give this whole "editing" concept a go before I hit the ol' "publish" button.

In the meantime, I got me a bushel of T-shirts from TShirt Bordello. Besides having the much-coveted Initech logo, they are one of the few online shirt vendors that offer shirts in colours other than black. Hey, I'm all for black. It's a classic. But once in a while I'm feeling blue/seeing red/green with envy/magenta with, um, mag...ne...tis...im. Or something.

Anyway, next rant will be my proof that Intelligent Design is a crock even if it is true. And yes, there will be an analogy with video games.

Moby's World Perspective Part 1: Rating Females, the 4 Tier System

I really shouldn't be typing this as my wrists are bound so I don't feel sharp pains up and down my forearms but since I can't use the computer I'm bored. There's only so much grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry, er, laundering and sundry chores I can do in a day.

A long while back I promised I'd explain my own rating system for the female side of the species. So here we go, Moby's World: Rating the Human Female (I'm so gonna lose my female readership over this. Sorry, The German.)

Anyways...

Since cavemen could count on their fingers, human males have been rating women on a scale of 1 to 10. "Oggette have sexy sticky-outie brow ridge and soft, luxurious facial hair. I give her 8". Now after millennia of this inaccurate, subjective system I'm here to propose a new system based on more modern pop-psychology and pseudo science (you know, those "institutes" that develop things like a better facial creme or hair care products). The Tier System!

Now if you take the numbers from 1 to 10, you'll note that if you start at the top with 10, move down a level using 8 and 9, move down another level with 5, 6 and 7 and use the lowest level for the remain 1 to 4, you have a pyramid. Okay, a triangle. I'd provide a diagram but my hands are bound, making the use of a mouse impossible.

So there we have 4 tiers: from top to bottom, Tier 1 (10), Tier 2 (8-9), Tier 3 (5-7), and Tier 4(1-4) plus a handy-dandy translation from the old, outdated and ineffective method to our new, scintillating, wonder-inducing tier system.

Now I hear you asking (as you report me to the local Women's Rights activist community) "what's the big deal? That triangle is simple a mathematical/geometric known behavior. Have you been taking too many pain-killers?" Therein lies the genius! Each tier represents not only a physical rating (considering only the topographical features of the female form) but contains, with a genius of simplicity, a sociological placement as well!

Every observer of the female form must know that women of the approximate physical attraction factor group together: the babes hang with babes, the plain janes stick to their own etc. Using that fact a single individual can be placed in a strictly subjective tier, but identifying the tiers' of their social peers also gives a great deal of information about an individual!

Let us take for example a group of three women. Using our original scale, Alice is a 6, Betty is an 8 and Carol is a 7. These of course are based simply on each individual without the social context: a strictly topographical assessment. Using our system, Alice and Carol are Tier 3 but Betty is a Tier 2. Let us now examine some possible scenarios and implications that are hinted at by the new system.

Now these three women are not far separated using either scale, so at first glance, there should be no surprise they are hanging around together. Maybe they are childhood friends or co-workers. As usual in any social experiment, there are always extraneous factors that disprove the theories. In the spirit of the state of science under the current Presidency, let's ignore the facts in favour of proving our theories!

Since most women group with others in their own "attractiveness level", why is Betty hanging with Alice and Carol? One possibility is that Betty has a slight self-confidence issue, not thinking herself quite as attractive as the world would see her. She considers herself a "T3" despite the fact she on a physical level a "T2". On the other hand, it's possible (though slightly less so) that Alice and Carol see themselves as Tier 2s, and they have accepted Betty (or insinuated themselves) as friends. But the most likely scenario is that both of the above are true: Betty is a little self-depreciating; Alice and Carol think petty well of themselves. So what does this tell us?

Not much except when you consider the following: women will consider only those males that are as attractive as they see themselves to be date-able! Now I hear you, what about the babes with the douche bags? With the money bags? Two factors come into play here: what the woman defines as "attractive" and how attractive the males see themselves, effectively meaning there is a Tier system for guys as well! However, it should be quite obvious that the placement criteria for each sex differs radically. At the heart of course is physical attractiveness, but self-confidence (even if unwarranted) plays a role: much more in the rating of men than of women.

How do we apply this to the real world? (Yes, I still have a tenuous connection to the real world). First, as a male, know your physical placement in the tier system. Using myself as a guinea-pig, I have been on the high-end of tier 4 for a while (say a 4 or 5), therefore from an initial-attraction perspective, I was a potential mate for those women who perceive themselves in tier 4. Now this does include some women who are actually in tier 3 but have self-perception issues and/or psychosis of one form or another (or both). As I've improved my physique, got rid of the glasses, reduced my hunch and gained a little self confidence, I can classify myself as low to mid Tier 3 (a 6 or thereabouts). This has shown itself as recently Tier 3 women looking twice at me and not for the purposes of remembering my face so they can pick me out of a line-up.

But the most significant implication easily (or conveniently) explains why beautiful women date douche-bags.

You do have to give them credit, douche-bags in general have good dress sense (while lacking all other kinds) which can mask physical imperfections. They also tend to keep themselves quite fit (as I see them all the time in the gym, I must assume that's pretty much all they do) so physically they can raise themselves at least a full tier on physical attractiveness alone. The clincher of course is that they see themselves as studly paragons of masculinity: they think they are gorgeous and completely desirable to the opposite sex and therefore are perceived to be so by most women (not all, thankfully). By fooling themselves, they can therefore fool others.

And that's why women are attracted to douche-bags! While time and experience (long-time exposure) with individual specimens may completely change their minds, it's that initial attraction of like-tiered (in both self- and others- perception) that gets them the girls.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll have to go buy some polo-style shirts and pop the collars (at least wearing three at a time, all collars popped). And buy six litres of Axe body spray. And get drunk(er).

At the Seams

Well any denial I was experiencing with the impending "Number of Doom" (40) has been cleared well away. I broke down and bought some wrist braces to counteract what has to be the dreaded Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed I was getting klutzy. Okay, klutzier. I would drop things like pens, notebooks, 25-pound weights (ow) etc. Last week I noticed that my hands and fingers felt a bit numb. This week: tingling sensations up and down my arms.

Now I had experienced this before a few years back. When I was beta-testing a couple of MMOs plus working 50+ hour work weeks I noticed the same numbness. It went away after a while so I put it down to bad circulation. Now that I think about it, I had finished the beta-testing about the same time I got my first team lead promotion. That meant I was no longer coding as much and that most of my time was spent in meetings (which numbs the brain but you can't get braces for that).

Since the demotion of course I've been pounding out code (or at least using tools) for most of the work day. I've also been playing computer games again after a long hiatus: Mass Effect and Tabula Rasa. And thus the strain on my poor piggly-wigglies. I'm also getting a fit-ball for both work and home computer desks as my neck and shoulders are killing me. I've always had bad posture but I've been feeling Quasimodo-ish for the past month.

Add the fact that I need to shove a piece of plastic in my mouth every night to stop me from grinding my teeth to nubs. I'm pretty sure the next logical, inevitable step is to get a Rascal, hike my pants up to my nipples, replace my hips and finally get that house so I can shout at kids to "git offa mah lawn!".

On another note I went and did something that seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to be a case of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished". I won't go into details but in a fit of moronic magnanimity, I attempted to give moral support to a stranger. For my trouble I was told, and I quote, "you are a psychopath and you will get yours". Yup, say what you want about the wages of sin but virtue doesn't pay at all but is just as taxing.

Update: Crap. I started reading old posts after I posted the above and got into the parts when I was dating Laroo. Crap.

Summertime!

Man I am loving this heat. Not just for the scantily-clad, sweat-clinging lovely creatures walking around (although that is a huge part of it) oh no. You see I grew up in Regina, and although the winters had most of us spray CFC laden chemicals in the air to speed up global warming, the summers were hot.

Perfection would be a pool without the 10% urine content of public swimming cess-pits.

Lamentably I'm on call this week or I would have gone down to the reservoir and rented a sailboat. Also L'il Bro B is in Vancouver else we'd be hitting a patio.

Other than that it's been an uninteresting week event-wise. I have been getting quite a few deja-vu as of late so Fate has something in store for me. I know that sounds weird: I'm not a spiritual/paranormal believer by any stretch but when this occurs, something big has usually happened. That or I'm not getting enough sleep with the heat.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prep the BBQ for a nice New York cut and roasted corn. Livin' is easy....

Wheels Keep Turnin'

While I wait for month end to finish (one that has gone well for once) I thought I'd regale you with some of my life stories, or at least stuff that happened this past week.

To start, L'il Bro' B finally moved from Cowtown to Vancouver. It seemed a leetle beet more of a drawn out process than it should have been but I've never done a move out of the city so I could be wrong. He's moving to take a promotion at his job, and he's not going to miss the "dipshit ignorant sausage-fest Calgary" at all. And you thought I was bitter. I do have a feeling he may miss his brothers a bit, but only a bit. He's the brother who tends to "go dark" for weeks at a time. I'm guessing he'll still do that but for much shorter periods. Bonus: I have a place to crash when I go to Van!

In Entertainment news, I saw Spamalot! with Capa and Big M (and their "dates") last night. It was just as good as the first time when I saw it in T.O.. Granted the performance wasn't as "tight" (it's the traveling troupe) but it was just as fun. It also cemented the idea if I could find a woman who can sing and dance (and have the figure of same) and make me laugh, I'd get down on one knee and propose there and then. Bonus: rampant, blind and unrealistic optimism has proven to be good for your health.

In Auto news, I got myself new tires for the Moby-Mobile. What with all the cash that flowed away for the Mid-Life Crisis Tour '08 I was still a little hesitant to get them. The ones I had were the original set when I got the car in '01 but since I have less than 60K on the car I wasn't sure I needed new tires.

I needed new tires.

The difference is amazing! I actually splurged a bit and got something with high wear and traction ratings. The drive home today really opened my eyes: better acceleration, much better handling and quiet. Money well spent, and I'm sure even more so when the snow hits the ground. Bonus: got a very deep discount due to where I work.

And finally in Health news, this weekend I fell off the wagon, rolled down the shoulder, launched off the cliff and caused an impact crater a quarter mile away. You can still see the smoke coming from the impact epicenter, which is from my cigarette.

But it occurred to me today that since the last time I had quit using a patch, they radically changed the chemical composition of the patch. Which would explain (to a certain extent) why the damn things didn't feel like they were working at all. Besides, Big M's aunt (Auntie S), an experienced nurse, told me that most people who quit successfully used the gum instead of the patch. Now that they don't taste like the bottom of an ashtray, I bought a crate and will be trying that out this weekend. Bonus: less vulnerable to colds as that chemical in the patch that gets the nicotine under your skin also gets everything else it comes into contact with under said skin.

And so it goes...

Booked

Ah, the end of the weekend. The five days were nice, but I could use a couple more to recover the chore-flurry. However I'm more than willing to forego time off now in anticipation of Maui for the B-day. I just booked the hotel (yes it's cheesy), which means all the big expenses have been taken care of. I didn't get the full-on-the-beach room, rather a "full beach view" which saved me a couple hundred bucks, but at least it ain't a glorious view of the parking lot. It includes a car rental, which is cool, breakfast each day and a massage, and was cheaper than just the room. Yeah I know, there's a catch somewhere....

So now some wardrobe: shorts, a couple of shirts and a hat. And now that summer is almost over, those should be cheap like borscht.

I so need a beach. I've been saying that daily for three years but now it's gonna happen! And on my birthday! I'm gonna be as drunk as a sailor at the luau....

Meaning, with my luck, I'll wake up the next day as "crew" on a cargo-ship headed to Siberia.

It Must be Fate!

Why, oh why is it that every time I take time off I get sick by day two?

And I know exactly who the culprit is. While buying $5 DVDs at BestBuy at lunch, the girl at the checkout sneezed right in my face. She didn't even attempt to turn away or cover her mouth. That was Tuesday and most colds have a three day incubation phase. I got the histamine feeling around noon today. Right on schedule.

Gotta go drink a gallon of Echinacia (sp) tea.

Holiday!

Yay! Not three, not four, but having myself a five day weekend!

Man I have a lot of crap to do.

• Clean car inside and out
• Get new tires
• Help L'il Bro B move to Vancouver
• Clean the house
• Book a hotel for Maui
• Take L'il Bro G to Lethbridge
• Avoid checking my work email

So really if I only do one of those a day, I'll be okay. Whew!

The non-smoking thing is sucking at the moment. The last three days were just a great ball of fun trying to conduct not one but two month-ends. Rerunning last month end and starting this month end is confusing as hell. And to top it off, we have new people involved in the process. They're good people Stewart, fine Americans but they don't know what the heck they are getting into. I really wish "the wagon" had seat belts. And child-proof locks. And while I'm wishing, erotic massage and instructional seminars by Amazonian astro-physics PhDs. Good for your mind and body!

Okay this week has obviously taken its toll.

Non-Smoking

So no smokes for the last 48 hours, almost exactly. Okay 46 hours.

I won't go into the knuckle biting, sweat-inducing, temper-flaring moments of the past couple of days. Yes, I technically quit last week but I managed to fall off the wagon several times and a boat once. Do not attempt to go boating with a little brother who takes the position of "captain" way too literally. Cap'n Bligh ain't in it.

Besides the long term health benefits of not smoking $12.49 a day, I found (again to my surprise) there are short term benefits. As I've mentioned, I've taken up running on the treadmill and try to get in three 5-K runs a week. I mostly managed, but with a couple of two-minute "breaks" of just walking.

Today, I went the whole 3.1 miles at six miles per hour straight, no breaks. Plus I managed to up my weight on all my sets and almost get to max reps. Which is unprecedented.

There have also been some mental benefits. Capa may have noticed that I was boppin' in my cubicle all day. On the way home from work I couldn't wipe the cheesy grin off of my face. And generally I went the whole day without homicidal mania kicking in even during the drive to work. So that's good right? And maybe just maybe there has been a subtle confidence boost: I noticed I was being checked out by women at the gym and they weren't repulsive (urinating dog! urinating dog! Pratchett reference).

Now I'm still going through withdrawals. I'm chewing through a pack-and-half of gum a day and gnawing tooth picks like I have a recessive beaver gene of something. But this time it feels good and right.

Mind you all the good things above may just be my version of dead-baby-crawling-on-the ceiling (Trainspotting reference) but even if it is I'll take it.

I'll be able to afford the week in Maui I just booked for my birthday/mid-life crisis. And I won't be as embarrassed to take my shirt off at the beach. There's still the dead-white skin that is my heritage but at least there won't be as much of it.

"Doctor Horrible!"

Okay, seriously folks, go here. It'll only be around for a few days.

If you are or were ever a fan of Buffy, Angel or (and I know almost all of you are) Firefly then go get some more Joss Whedon goodness.

Sorry about the links to Fox but technically they own the rights to all the shows they canceled.

Why haven't gone yet?!? Go!

I am such a fanbois.

A Good Day to Quit Smoking

As usual, my timing is impeccable:

1. I was awoken at 4:35 AM this morning by the dumpster-divers rifling through the last night of Stampede trash. An altercation about who got the half-full bottle of something or other ensued and was ended when said bottle was smashed over one of the opponents' heads.
2. Was the first at work this morning and discovered that most of the weekend processes didn't.
3. Somehow I got roped into being the contact for my team on a new project which at first seemed like a simple matter but by the end of the day looks to be a political nightmare.
4. I had to (and still am) running month end for the third time this month because of, well, I don't know really.
5. Minor plumbing problems (kitchen sink not draining) on Saturday resulted with me coming home today to a giant hole where the wall used to be. Sawdust, muck, water and dirt everywhere.

Needless to say, tomorrow is Day 1 Version 2

Burning Sensation

Wow. In my efforts not to spend money, one of the biggest hurdles is to keep myself entertained. Or at least busy. When I'm bored, I spend money on tings that relive the boredom for about an hour. This is costing about $20/hour on average.

So toady after the gym (I'm paying for it until the office moves to the new building) and grocery shopping (stuff that's absolutely required and on sale) I started burning the CDs I've purchased over the past few years and never got around to burning. These have been languishing in various nooks and crannies in my car for a while.

38 CDs. And about half of them "Best Of.." albums. I must be getting old when I buy those. That or the music is.

And of course as I burn them, they get filed into the big box (why keep CDs around?). And I gotta wonder why I have some of the stuff. "Shonen Knife"? "Enigma"? Okay, I an understand the kitsch factor. How the hell did I wind up with a "Spice Girls" album? Either an ex- or a drunken purchase (probably a combination of both).

What I was happy to see are the "harder" bands like "Primus", "Cake", "Tupelo Chain Sex", "Ministry", "Day-Glo Abortions" etc. Apparently I was into the whole Ambient Electronica thing when I got my iPod and didn't load up with something a tad harder. I haven't burst an eardrum in a while so it'll be a nice change. Also found my old "Supertramp" and "Yes" albums if I wanna get groovy.

Man I love hearing this stuff again.

Impulse

Okay the whole not doing the impulse buy is harder than I thought. I picked up "Midway Arcade Classics" and "Guitar Hero 2" for the PS2.

And two weeks worth of nicotine patches. Quit day is Monday. We all know how this is gonna go....

I'm Moby the Sailor-man!

Yesterday was my first full-day sailing lesson with Li'l Bro G. Although the weather was less than cooperative, and there were times that G and I almost came to blows (the little boats we were on are a bit "tippy") it was a blast and a half. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks of this: I could see myself sailing the ocean-blue as a retirement plan. Especially if my home-port was somewhere in Italy.

So as befits sailors returning to shore, the Bros and I went drinking, fighting and lookin' fer wimmen. Actually went to a strip club to watch Ultimate Fighting Championship but that's as close as you'll get in the middle of Bald-Ass Prairie.

On the work front, my stock-purchase program kicked in for my last check and, well, let us just say I see a lot of Kraft Dinner in my future. Ouch. My take home dropped over 40%! I'll have to fill out one of those "Mr. Tax Man, please stop raping my bung hole until tax-time" forms. I'm even considering stopping smoking. Really. Not going to happen, but it may be a last resort.

My Mass Effect review has gone critical. It's long, meandering and really doesn't say anything you can't read anywhere else. So I'm going to start again. And probably start the game up again. But in the mean time, here's what I learned from playing Mass Effect:

1. You can be an asshole or you can be a saint. But if you try to be a bit of both, you won't get very far.
2. The women who are strong, funny and fun think I'm a dork.
3. The women who are socially inept shut-ins with strange skin conditions throw themselves at me.
4. No matter how extensive the character creation engine is, I'm still ugly.
5. When I'm in charge, expect any order issued to be ignored in favor of standing and staring at a crate.
6. Pointing a vehicle in the direction yo wish to go and hitting the gas will get you there eventually.
7. No matter where you go, someone else got there first and will charge you a fee to enter. Or just shoot at you.
8. Blasting zombies with a "boom-stick" is great fun no matter what the age, epoch, universe and cause of zombie-ism.
9. The exact item you need will be in the store the moment you can't afford it.
10. The universe is out to get you. This can be handled with bigger guns, better armor and the ability to throw shit into outer space with the power of your mind alone.