12 December 2005

Slight problem

Computer's dead for a couple of days, simply will not start. The power button takes about 150 presses before it kicks in...

Back when I can.

05 December 2005

Addendumb.

About the previous post, a quick note:

No, I'm not Liberal. Or Conservative. Or NDP. Or even Green. I'm not going to say what my affiliation is online because I don't think this is the right forum in which to do so. Add to that the fact that I really just don't give a shit about politics. One way or another, the government of Canada is going to screw us over a little bit. Really, I don't understand what everyone is complaining about. You're living comfortably, able to read this blog in the safety of your warm home in the middle of December, and you have no fear of terrorist attacks, gang attacks (Jane/Finch area exempted), or disease. Hell, even God hasn't sent malicious shit our way since Hurricane Hazel (the Hamilton tornado happened because God hates Hamilton, not the rest of us).

Look, every government has proposed lower taxes, and hardly delivered. Every government has promised more jobs, and only managed to make substandard busywork. And every one has promised to do...something...to health care, when in reality none of them are capable enough to do anything of substance.

My advice: vote for whichever party has the neatest logo. Or has colours that you like. Or barks the loudest in our farce of a parliament. Just do what you've been doing for the past however many years of your life since you've been able to vote: wake up in the morning, go to school, have your Tim's coffee, and complain about the Man. It's what we do as Canadians. What the hell would we talk about if we didn't have a vaguely shitty government to complain about? Weather, hockey and...weather.

Look, the point is, the whole popularity contest is a joke. When the time comes and the signs go up, it's like being out on the town looking to pick up. You have three or four people catching your eye, each promising you things that you only dream of. Can it be true? Do they really lust and pine for your affection? My, they look pretty well-off, what would they want from you? What can you offer? They just want your affection and love, and maybe a little bit of money. 'Alright,' you think, 'I've weighed all the differences between each one. I'll take one this one home, I've made the right choice'. Did you?

Point is: don't bother with the "facts" and promises, because they're just the martini from the night before you wake up in a ditch with a sore ass. And the people you had your eye on? They just tossed you there.

Moment of Zen: Happiness is a warm gun. Bang, bang. Shoot, shoot.

04 December 2005

A unique system of compatible bricks.

I realized this as I was watching TV:



Yeah, I'm not the first to notice. But I'll bet I'm the first to put together an image discussing it on 4 December 2005 at 6pm!

I'll likely come back with more in a while.

21 November 2005

One more thing...

Over on the right hand side of the page, under the archives, is a link to Child's Play. It's a charity that began in 2003 by the creators of Penny Arcade. Their original goal was to raise some money for the local children's hospital in Seattle, and in response, the gaming community rose up and in the first year raised over $120,000. Now in its third year, Child's Play has expanded out of the United States and across the world.

This year, Child's Play hits close to home for me, personally, and I'm sure with many people who read this blog. Donations are now able to be made directly to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, or Sick Kids. I know that during my childhood I spent more than my share of time there, and I'm sure people reading this know someone who has. If you've ever spent any time in a hospital, you know that there's nothing fun about it. This is where Child's Play comes in.

If you visit this page you can see Sick Kids' Wish List. It has games, books, dvds, videos, controllers, etc. You can donate either buying something on the wish list or by paying via PayPal at the Child's Play site.

Thanks.

20 November 2005

One of three delicious flavours

I just watched this farce of a show on TBS called Earth To America, which claims that it's an awareness event for global warming. The comedy is dull at best, with only a few standouts that perform as they're expected to. Quasi-host Tom Hanks opened the night with a good start: screwing up the URL of their web site and tripping over Kevin Nealon's name ("Nealond").

Most of the acts were just straightforward swill you already expect: Ray Romano's opening act set the stage for where the event is (Las Vegas), regailing us with overdone gambling and hooker jokes (oh, you sly fox, I never would have thought I'd hear jokes about those in Vegas!); Cedric the Entertainer and Wanda Sykes telling us how different black people and white people are (and how much the ozone affects them both in different ways); Rob Corddry's piece was pulled from an episode of The Daily Show, no new content added; Ben Stiller was the token "rich guy claiming he helps while pointing out what he doesn't - and shouldn't - do"; and Dustin Hoffman and Leonardo DiCaprio came together for a heartfelt plea to the world (which, contrary to Leo's claim, does not still include the USSR).

Not all of it sucked horribly, a few spots have been decent, like Robin Willams' compilation skit, while short, was better than the previous half hour put together; Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and Eric Idle's "Too Warm Trio" put together three men known for their comedic talent to do a low-key two-song set (and while I'm not his biggest fan, Martin sure can play the banjo); and Larry David's bitching about fake flowers and tuna sandwiches was worth the whole 2 hour ordeal.

Also, Robert F. Kennedy is really difficult to listen to. I have no idea if he has some problem with his throat, smoker or whatever, but it gives me that tight feeling right up in the lungs, it's weird.

Really though, the Earth is what the entire evening was about. With an event like this, really, how can Mother Nature not benefit?

I suppose I could ponder why I bothered to sit around for two hours and watch it, but there you go.

Other things!

Work is going pretty alright. The launch of the Xbox 360 looms very near, and the customers are getting anxious. They stand around in our store in front of the demo unit waiting for their turn to play, making wild claims and hoot and holler and all sorts of things. This is fine and all, provided they keep to their designated corner. When one strays from the idiot circle, however, they'll generally wander to one of us, which quickly puts us on edge. The sad part of that comic is that I was privy to this tirade. See, retail, she's a slippery mistress. You can't hop over the counter and choke the shit out of the real idiots; you're forced to sit and watch them wander off and pollute the rest of the gene pool. It's got a whole zombie effect to it, too. You can actually pinpoint the one shithead who started telling the masses the lies. You can try to correct him about his error, but it doesn't matter if he listens, the damage is already done and the idiot virus spreads. Even worse, whatever they're talking about gets garbled through a broken telephone, as it were. So, "The 360 plays every original xbox game!" becomes "The 360 plays every game from every system ever made, even cartridges!"

I was once asked if we sold shoelaces. That was a good day.

Moment of Zen: He's like an old-time troubadour, just wanting life and nothing more

15 November 2005

Mr. Peanut's fantastic night out

Just got finished cleaning up the blog. I've been meaning to adjust some crap for a while now, and I finally managed to sit down tonight and get it done. I've fixed a screw-up in the code for my Digg list, it actually updates now. The colours have been tweaked around a bit, I think for the better. Less bright on my eyes, at least. There are a bunch of quotes up top under the title image, and new pictures in the top right, both of which randomize when you refresh the page. Also, the archives have finally been made to work as they should, which pleases me. If any of you catch something here that's broken or missing, or you just don't like junk, leave a comment. Also, if anyone knows of any free iTunes-supporting Now Playing plugins for the blog, let me know. Thanks.

If you use MSN, check this out. I figured it out yesterday (pretty sure I'm not the first, but it's a revelation for me.) It gets rid of the lame-o tabs on the side of MSN without having to resort to any extra programs...Billy just hides this stuff pretty well.

So, some people have been asking what I'm doing with school. If I said I enjoy it, I'd be lying to you. I don't enjoy the tedium of having to make it there every other day, for very little reward. Right now, my focus is on work, and moving up in my store. With that in mind, my plan is to drop my courses at Brock and cut my losses, getting back what money I can from them. I'm planning on still taking classes, just through Athabasca University (recommended to me by my assistant manager and Chris.) My plan is to work my way up to assistant manager over the next year or so, and take classes via mail/internet on my own time.

This whole idea of major change doesn't bother me in the least. If anything, it's refreshing. I've realized that I'm happier now than I've ever been, living on my own, working, being with Elaine...all of it reminds me of a scene from Garden State.

You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you put your shit that idea of home is gone. You'll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's gone. And you can never get it back. It's like you feel homesick for a place that doesn't exist. I mean it's like this rite of passage, you know. You'll never have the feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I don't know, but I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all a family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place.

I'm in a place right now where I just put my shit, but even where my parents are doesn't seem like home. I'm not really sure why I've been thinking about that, but I think I'm on my way to creating a new idea for myself.

Moment of Zen: This one, potentially, could create a tiny spark.

07 November 2005

Happy End

Rock and roll, I've returned.

I got sick of my Rogers cell plan, the bastards spent nearly 3 years lying to my face. My $35-per-month plan was consistently my $150-per-month plan. The reason for this is they neglected to tell me that calls from outside my area were costing me, something that they had flat out told me that would not be any charge to me. Twice. So I've gone and broken it off, and gotten on with Bell. Old Bell had this deal, buy a plan, get a free fridge. Same plan gets you a camera phone. I figured, why the hell not? I am pleased. I have my unnecessary mini fridge, my unnecessary camera phone, and my unnecessary free unlimited use of many options like web, uploading, and text messaging. Necessity, I cast you to the wind.

Ah, the camera phone (Thanks, Drew.) The picture quality on my phone is much better than I expected (I coughed as I took that pic, blurry, yes). Picture posts may become a regular thing for six months, after which my photo service costs me, curiously, also the time when I cease to enjoy picture-taking.

Halloween! What a fantastically stupid holiday. Dress up to look like a bigger idiot than usual? Sure, I'm up for that. I have no pictures of my costume, but we shall say that the force was indeed with me that evening. Everyone else, however, managed to look halfway decent.

Chris was the sheriff that evening, keeping order in the room as the Leafs fucked up royally.

BUST OUT THE SIX-SHOOTERS, MOTHERFUCKER!

Eric, first of the two scumbags, is seen below with Gypsy Erica. There was groping all around, but then, there always is with Eric.

Unnnnhnnhhh....

And then there was Cory. Scumbag number two. All that I can really remember from the evening with any real clarity is his song, dedicated to his moustache. Dig this:

Moustache ride, moustache ride,
you can't hide from the moustache ride.
Moustache ride, moustache ride,
slip and slide on the moustache ride.


I can't believe I wrote that, but if I had to suffer it, so do you.

MOUSTACHE RIIIIIDE

Indeed.

Elaine and I had our six-month a little while back and finally her present arrived. I had followed the FedEx tracking, and wow, did it ever travel a distance. 14,000 km or something ridiculous. Starting in Shanghai, China, it hopped on a plane to Anchorage, Alaska. It then made its way down to Tennessee, then headed north to Mississauga. Then, as though in shipping purgatory, took longer time to travel from there to St. Catharines than it did from any other two points. After some hassle, Elaine finally has Christian (Ewan McGregor's character in Moulin Rouge):

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Shit, am I ever jealous. Eric's suggestion was that I keep this one and give her my old one, but meh, this way I will be persuaded to get one of my own soon enough. The video, it is beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful video, check out what we got at work:

ZOMG ISH OUT? NO NOT YET STUPID LOL

The Xbox 360 arrives at EB Games. The masses rejoice, then realise how much this whole gig will cost, then the masses say they'll "wait for the PS3". The 360 is nice, but actually, I'm more pleased with the screen they gave us than the console itself. The whole unit is about half the size of our original Xbox demo kiosk, but is still too big for our shoebox of a store. The controller, on the other hand, is a nice size, though the plastic it's made from feels cheap and too light to stand any sort of repeated use. Plus, they're starting to get gummy and gross.

My favourite on the system right now is the Call of Duty 2 demo, which plays just like the PC demo but looks a lot better than you'll get on an average computer. Watching customers play this and completely suck at it is probably the best part of my day. They get so mad, claim that they never saw the grenade, and storm out. Repeat for 8 hours, and you have my shift.

The Kameo demo just made me angry, since I hate Rare for not making an original game since Banjo-Kazooie. This game seems more intuitive than their usual fare, and more refined - as well it should be, since it's been in development since the N64. I'll wait for Perfect Dark Zero.

The King Kong trial looks beautiful, but the controls are absolutely terrible and incoherent. Controlling Jack in the T-Rex chase is like pushing a dead guy through a crowd while blindfolded, and making Kong himself fight with any sense of control is laughable. Mash X and B until you kill the T-Rex, but don't worry about trying to fight coherently, as you can't see when your hits connect or miss.

On the topic of work, I wish to draw your attention to this man. He gathers maybe 5 or 6 games, lays down as such, reads the backs and manuals of each game, gets up, leaves. I've only seen him twice, but every time is more magical.

Good night, children.

Moment of Zen: Divided, but I can't decide which side I'm on.

13 October 2005

I wish I had a food budget

Children, come around and hear a story. A story of a drink.

It's got blue curacao. It's got gin. It's got orange juice. It is called a ninja turtle. And I am enjoying one currently.

We (Elaine and I), just saw Les Miserables, and I feel very french, french, french. Apparently it was a bit of a different production, since it was all musical. Oh, sure, it's a musical, but even the spoken bits were...musical. I was pleased with the outcome, and I have nothing but thanks to give to Elaine's parents for getting her the tickets for her birthday. I've been downtown all my life, and never felt part of the haute couture, as it were. But here I am, drinking a ninja turtle in a condo in a luxurious-ish complex, overlooking Lake Ontario, post-theatre show, and I've elevated from the status of the common prole. Jesus neato, I'm even dressed up. Gussied, if you will. Compared to Elaine though, I'm not that fancy. She looks great.

Apple came out with their new iPod today, I am somewhat pleased. Their venture into video isn't too enticing, I won't be replacing my original 4th Generation just yet. I don't really care about being able to watch porno on the bus, let alone Transformers or Scrubs. I guess once their prices drop, perhaps, I might look into the 5G and maybe cut myself off from purchasing a PSP...for now.

Elaine doesn't like this drink, but I do.

I was home for the weekend, what with the Thanksgiving and all. I've got a drumstick warming slowly in the car, so I am pleased. Nothing like putrid fowl for breakfast. Mmmmmmmm.

Ah, here's poncy boy Ewan McGregor on the T-V. What a fancy git, apparently gets naked in every movie he's in. Apparenly a heroin-laced Ewan gets my girlfriend going, so I'm not sure what to think, really. Confusion, she sets in.

Hark! Another turtle arrives! I deem it Leonardo.

Moment of Zen: He'd just tape it to the wall and go to town.

07 October 2005

Red mosquito

A quick update. You'll notice this new bar on the side of the site, it's my Digg. Took me an assload of time trying to figure out how to implement it into the blog, but there it is. Digg is a site born of the mind of Kevin Rose, a tech guy who used to be on the old TechTV, and more recently (until quitting), G4. He's now doing two online shows, Diggnation which covers the top Digg stories with ex-TechTV guy Alex Albrecht; and Systm, a more technical nerd gig. Digg has news articles (mostly tech/gaming/science-related, you know I dig that crap) that people post, sifting the best articles to the top of the page. What you'll be seeing on the right are the ones I've dug, as it were. I've also cleaned up the HTML a bit more, and for what's it's worth, I'm going to teach myself this CSS, seems to me to be a step above the HTML.

I'll be off to see Jon Stewart now, goodnight, children.

Moment of Zen: Do the bearcat.

05 October 2005

Visa vie

I suppose it's time to post again. Hooray, fancy things for all.

My biggest problem with posting is actually the title. I'll sit down, ready to throw some words at the screen, and then Blogger's "Title" box mocks me. I think about it for a minute...and nothing comes. Once that happens, I'm pretty well out of steam in terms of desire to write anything. However! Today I am writing the post first, and title second, so I've eliminated the one who holds me back. I claim victory.

So the hockey begins tonight. I'll be working, so that's just wonderful. In lieu of that, I was playing NHL 06 last night, and I had the Leafs win 3-1, with Spezza getting Ottawa's only goal. Toronto's goals were scored by Sundin, O'Neill, and...Domi. I was surprised, too.

Speaking of surprises, I'm not sure that I mentioned it in a previous post (likely not), but Elaine and I picked up an Xbox not too long ago. Also, I exchanged my bulky PS2 for the sexy slim-line one:

I didn't think this would ever happen.
The 3 Systems: Sexy PS2, hipster Gamecube, and
garish Xbox now dominate my TV stand. Holy wow!

I don't quite believe it either, but how it worked out is that Elaine already had a few games for the Xbox (her brother has one), and I felt like catching up on all the games I never got to play in the past few years. My first opinions: Knights of the Old Republic and Halo? Suck. Maybe I'm playing them too late in the system's life cycle to enjoy them, but Halo - even on PC - was mediocre at best, and KotoR was far too tabletop "roll your dice"-ish for me. I'm loving Sonic Mega Collection, though, so that's a plus. Need to pick up an extra controller so Elaine can be Tails and get stuck in craters and whatnot. That's not a jab at Elaine, mind you, just that did anyone ever manage to do anything effectual as Tails?

And on the topic of Elaine, our six-month thing rolls around in November, but I'm not at liberty to divugle any information as to what we're doing. Not because I don't know, but because she reads this. Stop trying to get me in trouble, you asses.

We're going to see Jon Stewart on Friday, and Les Miserables next Wednesday, so the coming week should be decent. Sure, I have to miss an integral concert pertaining to my Listening to Music course, but bah, what's a few percent, eh?

This year's starting off right, I can assure you.

I travel in odd circles online, so please, don't ask me how I came across this. Cat owners, would you put your feline friend into what looks to be Vader's resperatory pod...OF DEATH? I'm reminded of what Tycho had to say about litterboxes once. To me, the whole thing looks hilarious, but then again, the idea of cats and cats in ill situations make me laugh. Like when my friend Katie mentioned, "during the summer there was a huge wind storm, and I think it blew our cat off the balcony." Glasses-removing laughter, that's what I was overcome with. At that moment I think the proper emotions expected were to be regret and condolence, but not so in my case. Pure, sheer, hilarity. I mean, I'm imagining it now, I know it's bad, but in my head I see this:

MURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR hahahaha

Look at him go! Hahahaha.
I'm going to hell.

Alright, I've got to drive to Guelph, thank god. Gets me out of Thorold for a few hours at least.

Moment of Zen: Far too much oatmeal. Far too much.

16 September 2005

Something quick

Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo. What are you doing? I'll have to give it a try, but man, even the PS3's boomerang looks more inviting.

It's as though a good old friend has turned and went insane, putting on a turtleneck and rubbing themselves in the dirty bits with old Mac parts.

Wow.

10 August 2005

Swill! Precious swill!

Though it's relatively well-known that I usually despise e-mail surveys, I figured that this might placate readers' hunger for a post. Somewhat.

Have you ever...

-Snuck out of the house? A couple of times. Busted by the dogs upon my return, usually.

-Gotten lost in your city/town? Thorold is a big area, compared to what I'm used to. Not back home though, couldn't if I tired.

-Seen a shooting star? Yeah, I think a whole shower at Kev's cottage once, too.

-Been to any other countries besides yours? France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Monaco, Morocco, the States, and The Bahamas. The Bahamas suck, for the record.

-Had serious surgery? Twice, both trying to recover vision in my left eye, to no avail.

-Gone out in public in your pyjamas? Not recently, but my housecoat doubles as a wonderful Jedi robe.

-Kissed a stranger? Not that I can recall?

-Hugged a stranger? Probably.

-Been in a fist fight? I've gotten my ass kicked a few times, but random slugs have been tossed around here and there.

-Been arrested? Nearly, but it was a false alarm. Long story.

-Done drugs? MAN, THERE ARE SO MANY COLOURS ON THE SCREEN. I CAN'T TAKE THIS! BLARRGH!

-Had alcohol? Oh, never. And by "never," I mean "yes, very much so."

-Laughed and had fizzy drink come out of your nose? Actually no, I've never had the displeasure. I don't laugh that way, I guess. I just choke.

-Pushed all the buttons on an elevator? Shit yeah, it's the little bits in life that make it worth living.

-Made out in an elevator? Man, good call.

-Swore at your parents? Nearly every day. Never like "Well fuck you too!" or anything. More like "Oh, shit, sorry mom."

-Kicked a guy where it hurts? ELAINE HAS.

-Been in love? Aye.

-Been to a casino? Blarrgh. Damn you to hell, quarter slots. YOU WILL BE THE END OF ME.

-Broken a bone? Nope, I'm unbreakable. But there was this one peculiar "pop" that I'd like to forget...

-Been high? Not for a long while.

-Skinny-dipped? Shit, I've got to conquer the act of swimming, or else people will wonder why there's a naked guy drowned in the Thorold pool.

-Skipped school? Some things were just too important to pass up. In short, yes.

-Flashed someone? If flashing doesn't include being watched while I sleep by a creepy man across the road, then no.

-Saw a therapist/counsellor? No, I'm fine being loopy.

-Done the splits? Are you on dope?

-Played spin the bottle? If by that you mean "get drunk and imagine bottles spinning, but it is only your head," then yes. Otherwise, no.

-Gotten stitches? Seven when I almost chopped off my right index finger. My poor clicking finger, I care too much for you.

-Drank a whole 3 litres of milk in one hour? I would die, you inconsiderate asshole.

-Been to Niagara Falls? Living 10 minutes away, yeah. Had never been behind them until last year, it wasn't too bad. Couldn't see shit though.

-Gotten the chicken pox? OH, THE POX.

-Gotten them twice? POX-RIDDEN ONCE. POX POX POX.

-Crashed into a friend's car? Not a friend's car.

-Been to Japan? Hope to.

-Ridden in a taxi? Even when I don't have the currency and require bailing out, I'm there.

-Shoplifted? Does it count if you lift from your own establishment? Otherwise, no.

-Been fired? My old video store, it was a mutual split. I just slept through my shift, best sleep ever.

-Had feelings for someone who didnt have them back? I guess so.

-Stole something from your job? Oh, here it is. Everyone from Nobleton got videos for Christmas! HOORAY.

-Gone on a blind date? Every date I go on is a half-blind date, oh ho ho!
No, I have not.

-Lied to a friend? Only if it was to protect them.

-Been to Europe? Yeah, a few times. Love it there.

-Slept with a co-worker? Jesus shit no.

-Gotten divorced? No, don't count on it.

-Had children? THEY ARE DELICIOUS. No.

-Seen someone die? I once shot a man in Flin Flon.

-Been to Africa? Well, Morocco. So, yes.

-Driven over 400 km in one day? More than once.

-Been to Canada? From Quebec City to Alberta. Want to visit the Maritimes (if they stop smoking a bit, for Christ's sake), and BC. Chillin'.

-Been on a plane? Yeah, can't sleep on them though.

-Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show? I think so, long ago.

-Thrown up in a bar? Not that I remember. I don't think so, no.

-Eaten Sushi? Vegetarian, yeah. I'd try the fish one, but I know I won't dig it.

-Been snowboarding? Once, that sucked. Got going pretty well, realized I couldn't stop, nailed a snowboard trailer. I was trapped, and two nice Chinese ladies helped me out. They mocked me.

-Been water skiing? Haha, I'd die.

-Met someone in person from the internet? Soon, at Otakon. I'm a huge nerd.

-Been moshing? It's fun to mosh to shit like Gordon Lightfoot, but at a concert, no.

-Been to a motocross show? I would, mrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnn!

-Lost a child? Define "lost."

-Gone to college/University? Brock, nothing, then Brock again.

-Graduated college/University? Ask again in about 15 years.

-Tried killing yourself? Not intentionally. (See two posts down.)

-Tried hurting yourself? I get my fingers stuck in the straw holes in cups you get from McDonald's and Wendys. They hurt, but they are so mysterious! I MUST KNOW THEIR SECRET.

-Taken painkillers? I think I did for my stitches.

-Had someone cheat on you? Nope

-Love someone or miss someone right now? Yes and yes.

-Had a crush on someone you shouldn't? Probably, they always passed though. Except that Ginny Weasley. Mmmmm.

-Fucked up school because of a problem with weed? Not weed. Beer and Super Nintendo played a major part in my downward spiral to success!

-Own an iPod? Yeah, 4th Generation 20gb model named Maho.

-Fancy someone on your friend list? Elaine's on my list, so yeah.

-Kissed someone of the same sex? Nope.

That's the end of that. There you go.

Moment of Zen: Why is the hamster's ass blue?

08 August 2005

The suburban house is under quarantine!

Just curious, are you interested in these? $250,000, eh? Pocket change.

Moment of Zen: Stop! Stop pooping in the tube!

07 August 2005

They'll hiss at you!

"Finally," cried the masses.

I just missed out on going to the States with Elaine and her family. My stomach aches, no doubt thanks to a delicious-yet-unnecessary toasted Western I had at lunch. You see, my stomach has had quite a glorious history of sucking:

When I was about fourteen I decided that water was boring. I desired sugars and bubbles and all sorts of fancy things not found in bland, adventureless water. Thus I turned to Coke, Crystal Light, and probably juice boxes or something. I don't know. Let me tell you, kids, when your body tells you to drink water, I stress that one must actually drink water. My body wanted it, but I was too stupid to realize it. I even made my grandparents take me to the local pool so I could swim, which was completely out-of-character - if you don't know me, I am the least sea-worthy person on the planet. I didn't listen to my body and paid for it in spades. To make a long story short, I ended up in the hospital with very severe dehydration. I was in there for a good few days, and my parents were none too pleased with my predicament. Following my stint in the hospital, returning to normal, I realized "Oh shits, my stomach, it hurts when I have the milk products." Turns out, lactose intolerance is sometimes an offshoot of dehydration. Fun times.

Beyond that, I ate a box of Certs in a few days when I was about fifteen, and essentially turned my stomach's fluid from an acid to a base. To this day I can't swallow spit from gum, toothpaste, or eat acidic or minty things much. Also, eggs give me issues. Ergo, the problem with the delicious toasted Western.

Back to why I didn't make it to the lovely state of New York this evening:

Aside from my stomach being in vague, recurring agony, I also wasn't too sure on whether or not my license would be sufficient I.D. to enter the country. Elaine's parents assured me it would, but my stomach and lack of identification said no. Also, her brother mentioned that if it didn't work out, they could leave me at duty-free for a few hours. I like him.

Moving on to other matters...

No more "rock-out with the drop-out" parties, at least for a few months - I'm going back to school! I finally signed up for classes, so I should change the "school status" bit at the top to "attending!" or something equally nifty. I'm not - as I had hoped - a film student, but meh. My course load is interesting and easy, so I doubt I'll be stressing half as much as I did in first year. BA in Gen. Arts, here I come.

In a related note, my Super Nintendo time will be severely cut this year to prevent any...mishaps.

We got a hamster, Elaine and I. Well, she bought it, but as long as it's here littering my floor with errant shavings, it is mine as well. Here're two pics of her. We bought her at SuperPet under a week ago and she's already spoiled. I mean, check out her goddamn cage, seriously. She loves the fucking tubes way too much. Her name is Bantha, a name clearly used in upper-class circles. It was either Bantha, Hermione, or Adi Gallia, so I think our choice was the best of the three (or lesser of three evils?).

Speaking of girlfriends and animals, Elaine moves in September. The animal being the cat, who she cared for over the summer. Pepsi, insane stinkbomb of a cat, I salute you. For you have not scratched me in a way that would draw blood, as any other cat surely would have. But man, do you ever reek. At SuperPet we were standing in line while getting Bantha, and Elaine said to me, "Oh, hey, a robot litterbox!" I told her that as good an idea as it sounds, people have not had good times going down that road.

A few things before I go:

  • This pleases me.
  • This is handy, if it works. I'll have to try it in the library.
  • This is the best picture I have seen in a long while. (Yes, it's old. I forgot about it.)
  • And this demands your attention immediately.

See you in September, perchance.

Moment of Zen: "You mean there's a course called Listening to Music? Sign me up for that shit!"

02 August 2005

Well...

T-Rex means well!

Long story short, no post tonight. But tomorrow!

14 July 2005

Rattle and Hum

I'll just touch on the fact that I'm sorry for not having posted in a while.

Sorry.

Now that that's over with, good evening to you, children.

I don't know about where you are, but it's fucking hot here. Actually, that's a lie. I do know where you're from. I'm watching you.

No really, I am. I get all this info from my SiteMeter. I know many things, like what browsers you use, what your resolutions are, etc.

For example:
-57% of you are using Firefox. I'm so proud of you.
-38% of you are still using Internet Explorer. I realize that you are special and represent the Dipshits of the Internet, so you are excused.
-The people using Netscape, Safari, and whatevertheshit else, you're excused. As long as it's not IE.

Next, 97.92% of you speak English. 2.08% apparently speak Spanish. Gracias por hacer mi olor del blog como habas y burros.

The monitor resolution results are neat:
-Most of you use 1024x768 (38.54%).
The next two are tied at 21.88%.
-1280x1024 users, you're hip. You obey my rules as deemed at the top of the blog. Five gold stars.
-800x600 users upset me. And then I realize that it's not my eyes melting, so, have fun with that.
-1152x864 is something I've never used, but 15% of you have. Congrats.
-1600x1200 and 1152x870 confound me because they're both odd, and I am incapable of utilizing either. I am not pleased.

The bit that I find most funny is how the blog is come by. One person came upon it by searching for Underoos Commercials. I wonder about people. In case you're wondering, if you Google "Underoos Commercial" this blog is the 57th result. I almost feel like an internet superhero. Moreso a pedophile, but superhero somewhat.

Seems that Blogger got themselves image hosting. To celebrate, here's this guy.

I think I'll stick with the photobucket.

A few neat things I've found recently:
- Are you stupid hot? Try making the most ghetto air conditioning unit ever. I'm so tempted.
- A pretty neat Live TV kit in PC form. Saves so much on equipment it's ridiculous.
- Capture images from Windows Media Player. Self explanatory, good if you ever want to post pictures of whatever the shit you're watching, I guess. I tried it out. Works perfectly.

I've got three things that currently make life awesome:
- My rock axe. More photos here.
- Harvest Moon for the GBA. It is 1997 for me all over again. I love this game far too much.
- Elaine.

I need some food. Next post will be sooner than expected (I figure this gives me at least 2 weeks of leeway).

(Oh, by the way, anyone reading from #forum-m: I'm still alive. Promise. And yes, I am coming to Otakon.)

Moment of Zen: O baterista~!

05 July 2005

I lied.

I'll have something up soon. Just not today.

Going to Toronto tonight and Weezer tomorrow. Perhaps I'll throw down some filth on Sunday.

Moment of Zen: The best thing - ever - is when she smiles.

12 June 2005

EFGC,DEF,GABF,ABCDE

Just a placeholder until I come up with something good tomorrow.

Also, welcome back to Canada, Zinny. Egg. :P

Moment of Zen: I approve of this, Mr. Saeba. I approve.

09 June 2005

I want to just shake them

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Decided to treat myself to some birthday Cons.

Moment of Zen: Try writing a witty closer when it's thirty-fucking-three degrees at 7:30 at night.

02 June 2005

I said you gotta put me on

I'm killing time here in the fishbowl at school, just chillin. Halfassed some homework.

If you're feeling it, let me know what you think of the new theme, and if there's anything I'm missing or should change.

Thanks

Moment of Zen: Shit, am I ever hungry. Let's sit down.

27 May 2005

I just can't get there with these dirty shoes

"Few days" wasn't the best choice, I guess. Today's post is a bit of a mixed bag, some things neat, some less so.

Work's been going well, finally getting paid today. Not particularly exciting, as all of my funds are going towards the "Dan needs to live and pay bills" fund.

If anyone actually does read this, they may or may not know that in Los Angeles last week E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) was held. If you don't play video games, you do not give a fuck about the rest the next few paragraphs. I'll let you know when it's all over.

Anyhow, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Revolution (Nintendo's next generation system...you remember Nintendo, right?) were all debuted. Well, technically the 360 was debuted on the 11th on MTV, but that was pretty much to placate their bonehead core audience. God love the Madden/Halo dipshits, if it weren't for them I probably wouldn't have stories to relate when I came home from work.

The 360 looks like an amalgam of a Mac and the Dell PoS units we have at EB. Now, the shape of a system really is what makes the console, much like the colour of a guitar affects its sound. Which is to say, not at all. I still think, though, that old Microsoft could have come up with something better than their "sucked in cheeks" box (MS' words, not mine). The controller looks like someone left a Dreamcast pad near the oven for too long, but then I've never liked MS' controllers, PC or otherwise. Their projected backwards compatibility idea is absofuckinglutley ridiculous. Microsoft, charge me $300 for a faulty OS. Force 3/4 of my friends to use MSN so I have to keep it on my computer. Have cables that burn carpets. Fine. Just do not make some games backwards compatible and some not, you cashgrabbing fucks. Not that I care much, as I hate Halo and can't see any other reason why I should own an Xbox over a PS2 or GameCube. Time will tell, I guess. For me, the 360 is really a wait-and-see thing.

The PS3, in terms of looks, is fucking hilarious. It looks like a chunk off of Amidala's Naboo cruiser, for shit's sake. Oh, sure, it's the most powerful and promising of the new three systems, but Sony could have come up with something that looks less like a building in the 50's view of the future, and more like...oh, an entertainment console? I'm worried if Sony throws out their shitty new controller design that it'll just come right back and end up in the box with my $500+ system. Also, the Spiderman font I don't understand. Why choose a font that even Idiot McEveryguy automatically associates with Spidey? Sony wipes their ass with money, no one will care if they reuse the current PlayStation font. I wouldn't.

I'm not going to get into the Revolution much, since no one really knows too much about it. I will say that the DS has been enjoying ridiculous sales (which surprises me, I never sell them), and now that they've figured out how to run Linux on the thing I expect this to help quite a bit. Also, the Game Boy Micro is the most hilarious excuse for a cash grab ever, but more power to Nintendo for trying.

This sort of wraps up what I wanted to say about video games. Non-gamers, I'm done. You can continue reading now.

I've been writing again. Found some old crap I was working on about a year ago, kind of lame. World War 2 stuff, but I'm not gonna get into here. I'm also kicking around a bit of a script thing that's kind of set up the way High Fidelity was, but I think I might just throw it to paper in the form of a comic. Who knows. There's money to be made in the indie comic scene, so it might be worth my while. Putting this to drawings might prove difficult, but I'm up for it:

"When you're starting to see someone or you catch yourself digging someone, your music tastes change, ever so slightly. You might catch yourself listening to shit you normally wouldn't, or are normally too depressed to put on. You, time, the songs, they all slow down, and you smile as you toss on the headphones and think about nothing and everything. Oh, sure, it sounds lame, but you do it. If you don't admit it, you're just lying to yourself. Let me paint the picture for you: You're listening to Weezer. Blue album. Your mind drifts to the person you're thinking of, right? So, are you going to listen to Buddy Holly? No. There aren't any homies to diss your girl, since she's not your girl yet. You can't imagine anyone fronting, or wondering why they're so vi-o-lent. You're not going to listen to No One Else, unless you've misinterpreted the lyrics and figure that Rivers Cuomo was talking about a nice guy and a nice girl and their nice relationship. You might have some problems with this song, my suggestion is to read up on that one.

No. The song you're going to listen to is Only In Dreams. You know that feeling you get when you're in Costco and you grab some eggs, and almost drop the bastards because your brain became an omlette thinking of her? Or when you're gassing up, try hitting $15.00 and you get $17.33 and curse her? That song describes the shit you're going through. She's everywhere, everything, and even is between molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide."


Oh shits, I'm off to work.

Moment of Zen: I find it funny that Third Eye Blind's gayest sounding song is "Just Want To Be Your Friend"

27 April 2005

I am

moving.

See you in a few days.

Oh, the memories.

Moment of Zen: I just watched an Underoos commercial from the 80s and I've never been more horrified.

20 April 2005

Eight-bit music is still music

Back in St. Catharines, got lots of packing to do for next week. Ergo, short post today.

I'm a fan of finding pictures of unrelated people who look like each other. I also enjoy comparing them with said pictures, for all to see. I've done it before, once or twice. And while I didn't come up with this image of the new Pope, I appreciate the research that went into creating it. I also find it hilarious.

I'm totally getting smited for that.

As for the Pope himself, I've been semi-following Pope-a-thon 2005. Ratzinger will have an uphill battle trying to follow in the footsteps of JP2 (which, for the Rhodes Scholars out there, is not Jurassic Park 2). I feel sorry for him though, a lot of the pundits out there are calling him a transitionary Pope. Yes, the man is old, but he's still on the ball and relatively healthy. Give the guy a chance.

Whistler, of the Megatokyo Forums, said of Benedict upon his appearance on the balcony:
"He came out and waved with both hands. That is a good sign, being German and all."
I laughed.

Empties Day was last week. For the perhaps one person who reads this and doesn't live in Ontario, we're given $0.10 on every empty beer bottle we return to The Beer Store, the cleverly-titled, Government-run beer provider. Our rough count was around 22 2-4s, somewhere around 580 bottles. The return process was fun. Only in Canada, I think, would people understand if you've got your 4-ways on, a trunk full of empties, and driving 20kph in a 60 zone. What a great country this is. Oh, by the by, photographic evidence of our lovely day.

I have next to no love for theatre, silly singing and prancing, and basically stage-bred pretention, but these people deserve a large award, possibly crafted of clay and encrusted with shiny bits.

This guy is sometimes funny.

Dinosaurs, though, are always funny.

Moment of Zen: T-Rex, we're going to sneak into bed with you tonight! We'll be like - "Hello T-Rex"

19 April 2005

There were also neat fish.

So, I just ate some melon. I promised myself that I would never talk about what I've eaten in this blog to make filler, this melon is something else. Shit if I even know what breed of melon it is, although my money is on delicious. It is as if the finest melon in the world entered my very kitchen, laid itself upon my counter, and said unto me "lo, I am melon incomparable. You will verily eat me and be happy beyond description. Your euphoria will be equaled only by beating like level 15 in Tetris or something."

It's some pretty good melon.

I've got some interesting times ahead of me, it seems. As reported by many sources, EB Games was bought out by GameStop. Since GameStop is an exclusively American store, I didn't think that this would affect EB Canada, but lo and behold, it does. Seems every overseas (and over-49th, I suppose) EB Games will, by Q4 2005/Q1 2006, become a GameStop. I don't know if I'll still be with the company by then, but if I am, it'll be interesting to see the changeover happen. I really doubt they'll pull restaffing shenanigans, but the district managers might get a shakearound...who knows. I just find it amusing that I technically work at a place I've never even been to before.

Time for bed.

Moment of Zen: It is 2005 and the great battle of Autobot City has not started. I feel let down.

14 April 2005

Neat things

Bitch, bitch, bitch. It's been a long while, I know. Alright, a long while. But there you are, and here I am.

Our internet was down for a few days this past week, which is one reason I will attribute to my delay. The reason for this, not unlike the last time our internet was down, was a mouse. Chewed through our phone cable, really did a number on it. I had no idea that the mouse had done his thing, so in the clamour to regain connection, I called Bell, who promptly sent us a new modem. This one has little feet, and is admittedly cute. Go modem go.

Work's been alright, albeit a little bit lagging. I really could use some more hours. It's a great job, I absolutely love it, but the pay's low and the hours are few. My requests for more hours fall on deaf ears, I think, but meh, it'll do for now.

I was explaining to Kevin my quandry regarding this summer/fall. Right now I work at EB Games, for not very much per hour, and not many hours. I need to afford rent, books, food, gas, and frivolous things. Currently at EB, this is not possible. So, I can either go home once my lease here is up and work for my dad (or the Farm Service, perhaps) this summer, or I can stay here and take some summer classes. However, if I stay here, I'll make a lot less money, unless I take another job. If I take a second job, though, I won't be able to take classes. If I can't take classes, I might be screwed for credits that I need to hop into 2nd Year Pop Culture courses. And that, friends, requires money. Mr. Heller, I could have been your muse.

One of my favourite things in the world is live music. A few weeks ago we had a glorious jam right in our goddamn living room. Alex, Sean (whose MySpace address eludes me at the moment), and Kev managed to take a break from school to come down and rock right the hell out. Even stupid Sarah garbageface managed to show up. Even though the mic situation left something to be desired, it was a most excellent rock show.

I've never been super-vocal in my appreciation of Weezer. I really dig Weezer. Granted, I was weaned on the Blue Album, and hadn't listened to anything since then for a long while. Long story short, they're due for a gig in Toronto very soon, 6 May, or something. A girl I know wanted to see them, so I figured I'd hop on the internet the second the tickets hit the public. Well, the dipshits at Ticketmaster decided "oh, let's let people buy tickets in packs of up to 20! Clearly everyone will get a ticket this way. We are so clever, hehehe!" Nice try, assholes. Go look up "Weezer +Toronto" on eBay, it's fucking silly.

I wanted to see U2 as well, but I'm not even going to talk about that.

The Tea Party, however, are coming to town. This is a fantastic thing. I likely wouldn't have thought of going, as no one around here seems to like or appreciate them. However! A girl came to our house bearing cookies, red hair, respect for Akira Kurosawa, and decent taste in music. So, she comes over to visit Eric and we started talking about music, and I think we're going to see the Tea Party at the Moose and Goose next month. It shall rock, and it shall rock hard.

So, Black Kitty and I are perhaps going to collaborate on a children's book. Check out her comic, and support Drunk Duck.

I'm listening to Depeche Mode and I'm not going to change it. I must be tired. Good night, masses.

Moment of Zen: I just can't get enough...I just can't get enough...I just can't get enough...I just can't get enough...I just can't get enough...

17 March 2005

I've got a feering!

Love. Green, green love. And a moose.
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

01 March 2005

Placeholder for something creative

I'll try my damnedest to get something up tomorrow, I've been too busy recently to put anything of worth. I sit down for 5 minutes, trying to think of something to type, and it just doesn't happen. Hopefully tomorrow.

And now some screaming:

One last thing before I quit
I never wanted any more than I could fit
Into my head I still remember every single word
You said and all the shit that somehow came along with it
Still there's one thing that comforts me since I was
Always caged and now I'm free


Hooray for Grohl!

Edit: Some minor tweaking done. Blog links have been changed/purged, new links/feeds have been down further, and begging for hosting of a winamp "Now Playing" image is under Music.

Glorious!

10 February 2005

Call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane

Alright, I'm forcing myself to post. See, what I've never liked about blogging, be it here or during my Xanga days, was the sense of obligation towards this stupid thing. Like you really want to hear about my life, what I buy, and how awesome I am.

Oh well, here goes.

In my absence, I've left home after the Christmas break, finished up work at the Farm Service and hooked myself up with a gig at EB. Thereby explaining the Nintendo DS lanyard featured in the picture below. And no, I don't wear it outside of work. Much.

As for the job, I'm digging it quite a bit. The guys I work with are all pretty decent folk, albeit a strange lot. I guess I can't say I wasn't expecting it though, what with being nerds and all. Can't fault them for being what I am, I suppose. The pay isn't great, but meh, it's a job that I can actually say I'm enjoying. This is not a normal occurance, so I'd better hang around for as long as I can, I guess.

There's a more favourable aspect of working there (or less favourable, depending on how you input this). Half the time I come back from work I look like this:



I really shouldn't be spending the money, but some days it's far too tempting. Other days I don't buy anything, I just put money down on things I likely don't need.

I guess that's enough for link whoring, I sell enough games during the day. There goes that sense of obligation again.

I've got the Griffin iTrip for Maho, but I'm getting rid of it. It works just fine, except that since I live so close to the border I get a lot of cross-mojonation with the signal, so it's basically useless for me. If anyone who reads this wants to buy it off me, drop me a line. What I'm going to do instead is get a new deck, which, while sounding pretty major just so I can let Maho play in the car, is a necessity anyhow. My stock deck is starting to crap out, and not pleasing me in the least.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it, I got Zelda: The Minish Cap a while ago, it slipped my mind. Likely because I beat it in two days. Great game, though.

I've recently been listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, something I will be mocked severely by certain parties for. I still don't like Billy, Christina. I'm just catching up on things I missed in the past ten years, don't get too excited. And I can't get "Today" out of my head.

Happy Chinese New Year, with aid of random Chinese baby!

I've got to get up somewhat early tomorrow, I'd best call it a night. Sorry for filler, and the lack of content. Don't tell me I never give you anything though.

Moment of Zen: There are days when waking up is the best and worst thing you could do.

\o/

24 January 2005

Do you want scratch insurance for three dollars?


Hosted by Photobucket.com





Another test post from this new thing I found on Photobucket. Me and my elitist lanyard, for I work at EB!   

Photobucket

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

10 January 2005

One, two, three...fourteen?

Don't give me any shit, I've been busy for the past week.

As promised in the last post!

I don't really know what to tell you about my religious beliefs. I don't have many, per se, but what I do have is interest in them. For example, I do believe that at one point over 2000 years ago, Jesus lived and died. Somehow I can't argue that. There's too much evidence of his existance, his being has changed the world far too much to think that he never existed. As for his miracles, that's a different story. When the world is in turmoil of any sort, they turn to one person to bring some shred of sanity to an insane society. I feel that Jesus was no different than Mother Theresa or Ghandi. A person who stood up for their beliefs, someone who was so devoted to their cause that it'd prove dangerous to their own well-being. I feel that Jesus did exactly what he felt needed to be done, standing up for the weak, and - albeit paying the ultimate price - succeeding.

As for the Da Vinci Code (I know that should be italicized, but I'm on a Mac right now, and blogger doesn't seem to take too kindly to this...), it as well shares some of my sentiments towards Christianity. It would be almost silly to think that Jesus was completely disinterested and avoided "carnal sins," or that he - God forbid - didn't desire to marry. Historically, the "sacred union" of marriage was a social must, both men and women during the time of Christ were looked down upon were the not wed. I am no heretic, mind you. I was baptised a Protestant and raised with a Roman Catholic slant (Ireland wouldn't know what the hell to do with me, eh?), and I'm not about to throw away either of those in order to shed any religious affiliation I may be accused of, good or bad. I just strongly believe that Jesus and Mary Magdalene, both of royal lineage, wed. After Jesus' Crucifixion Mary fled to the south of France, where I like to believe that the bloodline of Christ Himself could potentially still run.

Just wanted to put that out there. Send hate mail or something, I'd love some intelligent bantering (sorely missing that in my day).

The Two Saints mentioned in my last post are simple. St. Catharines, where I'm going to go back to Brock University for 2 or 3 years, and St. George, as in the University of Toronto Campus where I'll finish off my academic career. I figure if I'm going into the banal elitism of Film school, then why not do it with gusto?

Maybe I'll wear a silly hat.

Moment of Zen: I've got a car, I've got some gas, oh let's get out of here, get out of here fast

06 January 2005

This title is profound.

Tomorrow, I promise. I had the drive to write, but I've lost it. Give thanks to MSN for that, and my unwillingness to ever use the Busy status.

In tomorrow's post:

Religion!
The Da Vinci Code!
The Two Saints of my scholastic future!
Pomp with little circumstance!

And quite possibly, dinosaurs.