HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Woot for All Hallows' Eve!

Don't miss today's seasonal Google doodle! (Available here after the 31st.)

The carousel goes round and round... just like my thought process. [Former title consideration + post starter.]

Brad Guigar of Evil. Inc. called attention to Gail Simone and Secret Six. I'm not familiar with Gail Simone or Secret Six but I'd like to look into them in the future.

Apparently, Final Fantasy XII came out today in the states. That may merit a stop by the mall. I like most FF games, notably FF7 and FFX. (Never did FF8, didn't like the cartoon style or the skill system of FF9, didn't like the garment system of FFX-2.) This could be bad on so many levels. (And yet oh so good.)

Not quite worthy of the quotes page but deserving of a mention & a nod here, Scott Adams had some fun things to say today. Initially he had me at "snake-dancing simpletons," but then I read on:

...Then during the period between the election and the impending Rapture, that traditionally elected President will get busy protecting the lives of stem cells while finding creative ways to blow the living crap out of anything that has the audacity to grow up and turn brownish.

The important thing with democracy – and this has always been the case – is that the citizens a) Believe the election result is based on the common sense and voting rights of the citizens, and b) Have enough handguns to wax any politicians who gets too seriously out of line (also known as a “check and balance”).

And here the definition of “seriously out of line” would not include humping interns and stealing from taxpayers. Those things should be allowed, even encouraged, so we can attract the most capable candidates from private industry.

Call me an optimist, but electronic voting machines make me feel good about my country.

Is it too late to start selling bumper stickers that say "I think I voted"?

I want one of those bumper stickers! (Not that I actually put bumper stickers on my car but it's the principle of the thing, y'know?)

Lastly, today's Indexed chart. I will likely end up putting a link to his on the 'About Me' page. Why? My birthday is April 15. (And yet the chart/comic is still equally applicable.)

Oops, one more note – Time Spiral came out for MTGO yesterday. I've already dropped some good coin into the new cards but I don't honestly regret it. It's a fun game and I got some decent cards to play with. I will likely be "donating" more coin to the enterprise shortly. If I were willing to be smarter, I would wait a week or two then do some rare-drafting but, alas, I am impatient.

My Mousepad

I love my mousepad. It was purchased across the ocean, during a visit to The British Museum back when I was studying abroad in England, early 2000. At the time of my visit, the museum sported an exhibition titled: The Apocalypse and the Shape of Things to Come. The exhibition featured art having apocalyptic themes. One of the works was a woodcut: Albrecht Dürer's The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (See also Wikipedia entry on Albrecht Dürer and The British Museum's entry for Albrecht Dürer.)

Although I was able to find some discussion of the print, I was unable to find a sufficiently detailed discussion as I recall reading on the cardboard that came with my mousepad. For example, a detail not included in the above-linked discussion is that in the woodcut, Hell (the gaping maw/dragon towards the bottom-left) can be seen devouring everyone, kings next to peasants, illustrating how everyone is seen in the same light come the apocalypse.

Then again, maybe I should just buy this book. (Oh, here's an essay on Dürer's series of woodcuts.)

In any case, it was an interesting exhibition and I am rather glad I purchased the mousepad. Right now, this is the only item of personal expression in my office. Some day I hope to expand to an artistic print with a comic book theme (maybe Alex Ross' classic X-Men) though I doubt I'll ever be able to have an action figure in my office (as nice as that would be, it's a little too déclassé for an attorney's office).

The Odd Bits

I have to get these down now, while I have 'em.

I found this site (Indexed) from a comment over at gapingvoid (linked to below and elsewhere). The blog itself is hilarious but I found one particular post/chart that had me laughing. Nuns!

Next up, we have a few choice bits from gapingvoid. Namely:

if in doubt, love

Microsoft poster

you're kinda cute

I have to add the gapingvoid widget to my blog. Such an excellent site/author and the cartoons positively rock. I should add the above links somewhere – maybe the memorable comics page or some such.

Anywho, back to coffee, patents and.. errr... more patents? (Patents, patents everywhere and not a drop to think!)

Memorable Overheards

Memorable quotations from Overheard in the Office or Overheard in New York.

Office1:

Could Have Happened to any of Us

Office girl #1: What's wrong?
Office girl #2, choking: I was miming committing suicide by glue stick and I accidentally inhaled.

Office2:

One that Can Be Cured by Exorcise

Sorority girl, in Spanish class: 'Diabolico,' that means he's diabetic right?
Classmate: No, it means diabolic.
Sorority girl: So diabolic, is that like a medical condition?

Office 3:

Wait, No! That's What The Frogs Want!

Pilot: Tower, there's a piece of Foreign Object Debris on the taxiway in front of the tower.
Tower: Roger, we'll send a truck right out to pick it up.
Pilot: Tower, disregard the FOD. It just hopped off the taxiway.
Tower: Disregarding.

Random Quotes

With attribution where possible. [EDIT: I think I'm going to use this space for double duty, also listing here potential subtitle quotes for the blog's header. The current subtitle quote will be changed as I see fit.]


MISC./FAVORITE QUOTATIONS:

"Randomness is the spice of pumpkin donuts." -- me (10/29/06)

"If it isn't abundantly clear by now, I have no idea what I'm doing." -- me (10/29/06)

"I have not yet begun to [e-mail women in a mildly desperate attempt to meet someone]!" -- me (10/30/06)

"Patents, patents everywhere and not a drop to think!" -- me (10/30/06)

"There's always the hope of something better." -- me (10/31/06)

"I've generally done what I have when I could as it's come and that's how I've gotten to where I am." -- me (10/31/06)

"If the worm has displeased you, Dark Lord, why do you not smite him with your fiery vengeance?"
"Stop worshiping me!"
-- Ugly Hill by Paul Southworth (10/31/06)

"May you live to be a thousand years old, sir." -- Joe Versus the Volcano

"Ok, before we go in, let's go over some ground rules. No pantsing, no biting, no putting stuff in your nose, and no trying to convince people you are the Grim Reaper." -- Ctrl+Alt+Del (11/03/06)

I do not regret the things I've done but those I did not do. -- Empire Records

I'll try (almost) anything once, twice if I like it. -- me

"Sometimes all you want from life is a cup of coffee and to hold the hand of a certain special someone." -- Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid

"It amazes me, the will of instinct." -- Nirvana, "Polly"

"Curiosity hasn't killed me yet." -- kimma

"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -- LoxofDoubt

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies." -- The Beatles, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

"Curiosity may have killed the cat, Schrödinger only killed half of it." -- From this Wikipedia page (no attribution provided)

"The hills are alive with the sound of monkey." -- Get Fuzzy (11/14/06)

"It will be in the key of delicious." -- Get Fuzzy (11/14/06)

"If the price matters, you're not a true gamer." -- User Friendly (11/15/06)

"Depriving the American public of my talent is letting the terrorists win." -- Get Fuzzy (11/15/06)

I will require a mindless drone to do my chores and free up my genius. -- Get Fuzzy (11/15/06)

"Fire in the poop hole!" -- Ugly Hill (11/15/06)

"Is this a 'neener-neener' situation or more of a 'Who's your daddy?'" -- Dilbert (11/16/06)

"Victory is mine!" -- Family Guy

Kiss my awesome! -- diesel sweeties (11/17/06)

"One-handed naked Tetris it is, then!" -- diesel sweeties (11/17/06)

"Why can’t I control the weather?" -- Ryan Sohmer, LICD (11/17/06)

"Society would show wisdom if it let me run things." -- Ryan Sohmer, LICD (11/17/06)

"My mind is a dark and scary place." -- Ryan Sohmer, LICD (11/17/06)

"Never bring a snake to a gunfight, I think the saying goes." -- Lowering The Bar (11/16/06)

"What is the universe whispering to you?" -- Post Secret (11/19/06)

"You haven’t achieved equality until you’re a legitimate target for humor." -- Scott Adams (11/20/06)

"I’ll be happy when society realizes that all humans are mentally fucked up, just in different ways." -- Scott Adams (11/20/06)

"I reduced my world view to 'people who are important' and 'people who are too stupid to be important.' Everything else is just scenery." -- Stuart Booth (Comment at The Dilbert Blog)

"I am all things tough. I am Bucky." -- Get Fuzzy (11/20/06)

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -- C.S. Lewis

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." -- Scott Adams

"Unquestioned answers are far more dangerous than unanswered questions."

"If I had a tranquilizer dart every time I wanted one, there would be a lot of unconscious people in the world."

"We've got a blind date with Destiny, and it looks like she ordered the lobster." -- Mystery Men

"Smile... people will wonder what you're up to."

"Pigs CAN fly, if given enough thrust. But it's not recommended."

"Dance like it hurts, love like you need the money, work when people are watching." -- Dogbert

"We apologize for the inconvenience." -- Douglas Adams, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish

"Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." -- Shrek

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." -- Douglas Adams

"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." -- Douglas Adams

"Maybe the hokey pokey IS what it's all about."

"There are places within each of us that no one else dare tread." -- me (11/22/06)




MOVIE QUOTATIONS:

"My name is Puggy and I live in a tree. I hope I didn't ruin anything for you." -- Big Trouble

"We're on a mission from G-d." -- The Blues Brothers

"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away." -- Hitch

"Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away." -- Hitch

"So how does it happen, great love? Nobody knows... but what I can tell you is that it happens in the blink of an eye. One moment you're enjoying your life, and the next you're wondering how you ever lived without them." -- Hitch

"Begin each day as if it were on purpose." -- Hitch

"I'm a guy. Since when do we get anything right the first time?" -- Hitch

I'm a realist masquerading as a cynic who is secretly an optimist. -- Hitch

"Are you for real?"
"I believe so." -- Kate & Leopold

"The brave are simply those with the clearest vision of what is before them - glory and danger alike and notwithstanding, go out to meet it." -- Kate & Leopold

"Marriage is the promise of eternal love. As a man of honor I cannot promise eternally what I've never felt momentarily." -- Kate & Leopold

"I'm the Milky Way Man, and I know everything!" -- Addicted to Love

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, not small, but valuable. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void." -- You've Got Mail

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino." -- You've Got Mail

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does." -- You've Got Mail

"People do really stupid things in foreign countries." -- You've Got Mail

"I get around as nature intended: in a car." -- French Kiss

"The key to French waiters: If you're nice to them, they treat you like shit. Treat them like shit, they love you." -- French Kiss

"It is so nice when you can sit with someone and not have to talk." -- When Harry Met Sally

"You know, I have a theory that hieroglyphics are just an ancient comic strip about a character named Sphinxy." -- When Harry Met Sally

"Its amazing. You look like a normal person but actually you are the angel of death." -- When Harry Met Sally

"When I buy a new book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side." -- When Harry Met Sally

"The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) not at home, (b) home but don't want to talk to me, or (c) home, desperately want to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either (a) or (c), please call me back." -- When Harry Met Sally

"Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental." -- Sleepless in Seattle

"Don't let your brain interfere with your heart." -- I.Q.

"It was like death - but in a good way." -- I.Q.

"I would rather be an optimist and a fool than a pessimist and right." -- I.Q.

"If you had had a nickel for every nickel that he has, you would have a lot of nickels." -- I.Q.

"Jefe, would you say I have a *plethora* of piñatas?" -- The Three Amigos

"Well we really don't have a plan B. We didn't expect for the first plan to work. Sometimes you can overplan these things." -- The Three Amigos

"Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find... The Three Amigos!" -- The Three Amigos

"Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn"; The magician makes his ordinary some thing do something extraordinary. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before." -- The Prestige

Good Posts

From elsewhere.

[Reserved for future use.]

Explanation of Below

The two posts immediately below are part of the sidebar revisions. They are linked to and, shortly, will be populated. I may add a few other such linked-to posts, as the need arises.

Memorable Comics

Ugly Hill - 10/31/06

Dork Tower - 11/06/06

Diesel Sweeties - 11/06/06

Foxtrot - 11/07/06

gapingvoid - 11/09/06

gapingvoid - 11/09/06

Get Fuzzy - 11/12/06

Foxtrot - 11/15/06

xkcd - 11/15/06

Favorite Artists

If the artist/site's name is the link, it's for the official/main site. If there is no single official site, the link location is identified after their name.
---------------------------------------------------------------

FAVORITES (in rough order)

H.R. Giger

Alex Ross

Christopher Shy (Studio Ronin) (Shy Archives)

David Finch

Greg Horn

Joseph Michael Lindsner

Michael Turner (Aspen Comics)
(Also Peter Steigerwald and Koi Turnbull of Aspen Comics)

Marc Silvestri

Joe Benitez (Wraithborn Site) (Myspace)

Eric Basaldua (Fan Site)

Francis Manapul

J. Scott Campbell

Brian Ching

Paul Robertson (deviantART) (livejournal)

gabeart (PennyArcade's Gabe)

John K (of Ren & Stimpy fame)

Luis Royo

Joe Jusko

Keu Cha

Joe Quesada

Steve Dillon (Wikipedia)

Glenn Fabry

Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell

Greg & Tim Hildebrandt (The Brothers Hildebrandt)

Keith Parkinson

Randy Green (Fan Club)

Ivan Reis (Wikipedia)

Bob Wakelin (no link)

Todd McFarlane (Spawn.com)

Don Shank (The Powerpuff Girls, The Incredibles)

Airship Entertainment (Phil and Kaja Foglio)

William Wray

---------------------------------------------------------------

deviantART DISCOVERIES (no order yet)

Cyril Van Der Haegen (tegehel - deviantART)

Stanley Lau (Artgerm - deviantART)

Alex Casteels (bionic7 - deviantART)

Marta Dahlig (blackeri - deviantART)

Jaysun (Create-Destroy - deviantART)

Lisa (zemela - deviantART)

zilla774 (deviantART)

noah-kh (deviantART)

Dale Norvell (deviantART)

---------------------------------------------------------------

GALLERIES, COLLECTIONS, SITES & MORE

A Directory of some MTG artists

deviantART

Misc. Fantasy Art (MTG Salvation Forums)

Fantasy Fine Art

GFXartist.com

John Goodenough

D&D Gallery Links List

ArtWanted.com

ConceptArt.org

CGTalk

Bleeding Edge

The Saatchi Gallery

---------------------------------------------------------------

To Be Cateogrized (no order)

Alberto Cerriteño

Olimpia Zagnoli

Chain & Jane

Audrey Kawasaki

Chkuyomi's Crossworld

Cali Rezo

Blast From The Past

As I was poking around, I came across an old h2g2 series of posts (only 6 of them) that I wrote in January-February 2000 while I was studying abroad in England. Only two of them have any meat to them but it's interesting to see something I wrote over 6 years ago, and to remember where I was and what my world was like back then.

Then I get rather maudlin and think how much things have changed, and yet how some things (a few) are still very similar. Then I stop any further thinking down that line because it is mired in the past and not very fruitful at this time. Plus it's rather depressing.

Feral Random Halloween 40 Action Gezunheit

Okay, I probably need to stop obsessing over this and/or providing daily updates. I'll endeavor to do so (excepting notice of an actual reply) even though I had this great blog post planned about losing all hope and going to live with feral squirrels instead. Only it's doubtful that squirrels would be very accepting of me so instead I shall drown my meager sorrows with a Dunkin' Donuts iced latte. Yep, that was pretty much the gist of it. Although I do have literary aspirations (though no serious hope that this blog will fulfill said aspirations), I do not think I shall be missing my chance at a Pulitzer for failing to produce a full post relating to feral squirrels. (Oddly enough, I can be this random in real life and often I am. Randomness is the spice of pumpkin donuts.)

I like that last line: Randomness is the spice of pumpkin donuts. Mmmmm.. pumpkin donuts... Though I did have an orange-frosted donut with sprinkles this morning. I think it was somewhat pumpkin-flavored.

By the way, I pwnzored in tennis yesterday morning.

And I briefly played WoW last night, just took my Paladin to Baron Strat in a PUG (pick-up group). A little light-hearted fun.

Time Spiral comes out for MTGO tomorrow (Oct. 30). I dig MTGO even if it does suck a good sum of coin from my wallet. I like the game and I like having access to playing that game whenever I want. Imo, more fun than the real life version just for accessibility alone.

I'm at work today, hoping to get in some more billables before the end of the month. I'm behind this month, primarily due to extra days off and my wedding trip (which you will get a post about - I swear).

Much as last year, I have absolutely no plans for Halloween this year. I have no local friends these days. Consequently, I have no social life. Really bites.

Scott Adams, Dilbert creator and author, writes a blog (which will soon be linked in my revised sidebar). One thing he mentioned a week or two ago was his practice of daily affirmations. I'm not sure whether I believe in its presumptive "power" or not but I do believe that it likely helps one to focus on goals and better pursue them. I'm tempted to make one goal of mine be to not spend New Years or Valentine's Day alone again. Excepting the extremely rare New Years that I spent with friends, I have yet to spend a New Years or Valentine's Day with a significant other. T'would be a nice change if I could somehow manage it. Maybe I'll try that affirmations thing (writing your goal(s) 15 times every day).

By the way, and rounding back to point #1 of this post, if I don't hear from girl1 in the next few days, I think I shall send one or more messages to others. I'm lonely, I'm desperate, I'm not very proud - what have I got to lose, right?

Also by the way, I watched the second hour of The 40-Year-Old Virgin last night. Absolutely hysterical! I loved it! I'll have to get that on DVD sometime. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do. One eery similarity between me and Steve Carell's character: the action figures. I was almost yelling at the movie when he was packaging them up to sell. If you collect action figures, you just don't do that! You don't sell them! After all, what's a collection if you don't have anything in it? (Hint: It's not a collection.) Yeah, I wouldn't sell any of my action figures, though mine aren't worth a tenth of what Steve Carell's were worth so it's easy for me to say that.

Yeah, I need to pull the action figures bit off my dating profile. I was trying to paint myself as a pseudo-geek though I think that bit pushed it off the edge into full-blown geekdom. Gah.

If it isn't abundantly clear by now, I have no idea what I'm doing.

And this post has run its course. Tune in tomorrow for another exciting episode of: "What the Hell was that?" Until then, goodnight, godbless and gezundheit!

ADDENDUM: I'm having problems posting this, as many other bloggers are, due to some 001 javascript error with Blogger. Thus, this post may not actually see the light of your computer screen until a subsequent date. Somehow I don't think this will affect your daily life nor my musings on squirrels. [12:37 PM]

ADDENDUM II: Oddly enough, the drafting and attempted posting of the first Addendum resulted in actual posting. Thus my Addendum I has been thwarted. THWARTED!!! KHAAAAAAAANNN!!! [12:38 PM]

ADDENDUM III: And yet, my attempted posting of Addendum II resulted in the same 001 javascript error. Methinks the internet gods doth joke at my expense. *sigh* I am un-thwarted, much to my own detriment. [12:40 PM]

P.S. No more Addendums about this thing. It posts or it doesn't. Yeesh.

Thus Far

I have not heard back from the victim woman yet though I know she's logged into the site since I sent her a message. I tend to get a *little* bit OC when it comes to this stuff. At the moment, I think I'm being pretty good by checking the site only 2-3 times a day. That's restrained for me. (And I occasionally have a problem with restraining myself from things. e.g. Occasionally I'll hit a book store and cause $40+ damage to a credit card. I suppose "impulsive" might be a better way of putting this. See e.g. graphic novel collection, unread books collection, DVD collection, etc.)

Today I am focused on being unproductive. So far I have been very successful. It's not difficult to meet your goals if you structure them the right way. (But I am in no way espousing such a point of view as a way of life.)

A Song in My Heart

I've been listening to all of the songs on my iPod using the shuffle option. Basically I'm listening to all of the songs, one at a time, in random order. I have 1658 songs on my iPod right now so it might take me a while to finish them all (if I ever do, which is doubtful).

I just hit a favorite song from a 2-CD set called Cruisin': The Best of Drivetime. This is a UK-only CD set (apparently).

Track 13 on Disc 2 is "Dance the Night Away" by The Mavericks:

Here comes my happiness again
Right back to where it should have been
'Cause now she's gone and I am free
And she can't do a thing to me

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell
And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go

Those are the lyrics, with the last two stanzas being repeated somewhat. (See this page for the entire song.)

I don't know what it is about the song - it gets my toes a tappin', has me unconsciously attempting to sing along (out loud) and just generally enjoying the sunny side of life. I love it. I've purposefully listened to this song easily 4+ times in a row in the car before (with the CD, long ago). And the entire 2-CD set has great songs. (A recommended purchase, easy.) But man, this song just does it for me.

It's incredibly nice and great when a favorite song pops up on my iPod during shuffle. Just about makes my day.

Another comic!

Another geek dating comic only from UserFriendly this time. Spot on like the other one. I count 5 references to 3 different geekish works. I second Greg's reaction - she had me at "Friday." (Which incidentally is a pretty good Heinlein read.)

Is it sad that I could find and appreciate all 5 of the references? (Probably.)

Errata

Instead of anxious, I meant the word apprehensive. Mild difference.

ADDENDUM: I found this post (So what was the bar exam like?) from here. It describes sitting for the bar exam to a T! Which, incidentally, I shall be doing (again) come the end of February. Oh mighty bar exam, how I loathe thee. Let me count the ways... [9:00 AM]

Biting the Bullet

I think I'm going to finally try it tonight or tomorrow. Online dating. *shudder* *cringe* Okay, the shudder&cringe is more for dating in general since my "experience" in this illustrious enterprise is relatively weak. I've been on dates before but, well, certainly not recently, certainly not while living at home and certainly with no real strong impetus.

Except nowadays I'm feeling this.. push, like I should start looking for a gorgeous female to date et al. I'm also kind of tired of going stag to weddings and of leading a solitary life.

So I shall venture forth and see what I shall see. Of course every word I type here is another minute I avoid surfing over to the free dating site of choice and choosing a viable female victim upon whom I shall inflict the pleasure of my company.

I should have worked for Hallmark.

Hi, this is a spleen. And, oh, here's a Hallmark card for your birthday. Cheers!

Yes, that last line made little-to-no sense, even to me. Yeah, I'm a little anxious here. So many reasons to be a coward and wimp out. One reason not to.

So I shall venture forth where I have not dared. I don't know how much I'll write here. Mayhaps I shall disclose all. Mayhaps I shall disclose little. If the past is any indicator, you shall be hearing the sordid details of my fantastic triumphs/failures in due course.

But for now, I am off. Woman, you have been warned. I go forth to victory or defeat, head held high, with hope and faith as my guides.

ADDENDUM: Message-1a is away! I sent it to a Yale biochem grad student who, based on her profile, shares some of the same interests. I wonder what will happen... Let's call this girl1 (in the naive presumption that there will not be a girl2, girl3 or girl 4). Further updates as events warrant. [10:34 PM]

Ka-Boom!

It's a post explosion! Two in one day!!! What ever shall become of me?

Just ordered two t-shirts from diesel sweeties. I wanted to snag a Space Demon From Beyond Pluto Shirt before they were taken off tomorrow. Plus the comic roxors my soxors and is well worth "donating" some money to (where "donating" means giving them my money in exchange for material goodness a la t-shirts).

Minorly interesting, the info page on DS states that non-commercial republication of single DS strips is generally okay. While I might otherwise be one to occasionally abuse generosity (only occasionally), on this occasion I shall honor said allowance.. but I want to highlight a DS strip that made me smile.

It's this DS strip:




See the first panel? He's an android and he's sleeping and dreaming and... *sigh* Let's just say it's a geek thing. A Sci-Fi book-reading geek thing. A Sci-Fi book-reading geek thing that had me smiling and ordering a t-shirt of the balloon in the first panel. Because sometimes I really do wonder: Do androids dream of electric sheep? (I like to think that Philip K. Dick has somehow seen this and smiled.)

A Toast!

Someone found my blog while looking for this. Eventually it will either be cross-referenced or quoted on my Welcome page.

From The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists:

"To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Jim Pascoe

ADDENDUM: Added to About the Blog page. [9:21 PM]

Sunny Skies, Freezing Winds

A non-sequitor for the title. Hah.

A separate post about my weekend wedding adventures is forthcoming. I swear.

A few random bits for the now, though.

And lots of one-line, one-sentence paragraphs.

Because it's just that sort of post. Or at least it was. (If you catch my drift, and I most certainly think you do.)

First we have a Dork Tower comic that speaks to all geeks. Although I have not as yet attempted to date while living at home (and I will so attempt in the rather near future), I could easily picture a first date going like that, especially the toys line. For I am the grown-up kid who refuses to grow up and still yet peruses toy stores. Just ask my friends – I've trained them to cringe when we pass a toy store and the inevitable "Mind if I stop in for just a sec?" follows, coupled with the equally inevitable five minutes of shelf perusal and subsequent determination that buying something would only make things worse. Trust me. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.

Though the descriptions of graphic novels, "speculative fiction," adventure gaming and anime are spot on. Hehe.

Second, we have ugh -- I'm not going to be able to directly link the posts. Grrrrr. Bad blogging system there. Okay, we have a few posts over at diesel sweeties -- Double crud. It looks like the author doesn't retain past news postings. Le grrrrr.

Take two. Action!

Second, we have some news postings over at diesel sweeties where the author describes a cease & desist letter from Lucasfilm Ltd. demanding the author stop selling a few t-shirts whose designs potentially bear some similarity to Star Wars entities.

I hate this kind of thing. It's a mild overextension of their copyright rights and is, well, wrong. In my opinion, (which is a very non-legal and non-binding one not offered as an indication of any sort of direction one should take nor an opinion which someone with an ounce of intelligence should rely on or follow) they don't have the law wrong per se. But neither does the t-shirt artist. His pixilated designs are, again "in my opinion" (as the entirety of this may be taken), fair use as derivative works. They should be safe, and they are – just not from those who seek to unfairly overextend their copyrights. So, in this case, the 800-lb. gorilla shall flex his muscles and thus, head thrown back roaring his/her battle cry unto the heavens, triumph this day. The poor, starving webcomic artist and novice t-shirt designer shall remove the allegedly infringing products since he cannot well afford the ensuing litigation.

And so it goes.

Though I wish, oh how I wish, the t-shirt designer would leave the designs up and thumb his nose at the gorilla, proudly proclaiming the rights that he (apparently arguably) clearly retains.

And if that last sentence wasn't clear, the short-short version: flip off Lucasfilm, say "screw you" and keep at it. Challenge them instead of bowing to their seemingly insurmountable weight of unsold Star Wars paraphernalia.

Man, I am wordy today. But I think that may be a facet of my job at times. Meh.

Anyways, grab your shirts now, before he takes them down on Friday. I for one shall snag at least one of them. They r teh kewl. Or something.

P.S. The title describes Connecticut upon my return. So cold. (At least in comparison to Texas.)

Wedding

As might be expected (and was), I have run out of time. So here's the short version.

My cousin is getting married on Saturday in Houston. (There's a contingent of relatives, cousins, who live in Houston.) So I'm flying down today and coming back next Tuesday.

I'm pretty excited about this trip. Weddings are usually fun. I haven't been to Texas before (at least not in a non-only-passing-through-the-airport way). I'll see relatives I haven't seen in a long time - as long as 10+ years. I'll get to see what life is like (somewhat) down in Texas. I'll get to see what my cousins are like in their home environment. (Trust me - well worth the price.)

All in all, a good time I predict. I've got my iPod, a new digital camera, my cell phone, a tuxedo for the wedding (black tie optional - I'm dressing to impress, or at least make an impression), I'm good to go.

But first I must finish gathering things and packing. No sweat.

Cheers!

Random Gatherings

Too many for separate posts. Brief comment follows the listing.

If You Are An Atheist... - Fun "discussion" of atheism over at gapingvoid.

Overheard at the Office: Ruckus & Chickens Hehe.. she said "ruckus"...

Overheard at the Office: Desperately Lonely (Am I that desperate yet?)

Okay, maybe not too many but I didn't feel like more than one post right now. Bite me.

Going to Houston, TX tomorrow for cousin's wedding. Will try to remember to write a separate post later tonight on it.

The Top Ten Milestones of a Young Patent Attorney

Over at Phosita: The Top Ten Milestones of a Young Patent Attorney.

Dead on. I'm at 7 of 10, though I doubt I'll hit the other 3 any time soon.

Apple Juice Prostitutes

From The Dilbert Blog:

Today is the day when I am most likely to hear the phrase "You smell like a cider whore."

Remember

Something my previous guild's leadership should have remembered (from here):

...because you never know if all you're hearing is the vocal minority, or if one person speaking represents nineteen people who don't.

I maintain that I was not the vocal minority but rather I was the one person speaking as a representative of nineteen who don't.

And I don't really feel that guilty about it. (Probably nor should I.)

Happy Friday the 13th!

For a little irrelevant context - on the morning radio show I listen to (Z-100 Morning Zoo), Greg T The Round-Headed Frat Boy was breaking one mirror and hour (for 4 hours) in celebration. I listened to breakage no. 3. Thus far, no ill will had befallen them... except Danielle throwing up and Greg T getting hit, in the eye I believe, by a small piece of flying glass. Yep, nothing at all.

And I saw this over at Daily Kos:

"Let's pretend this [electric] plug is 'Iraq' and you're trying to connect it to the 'War on Terror,' which is this avocado. You can do it, but here's the problem: the avocado still doesn't turn on. And now your plug is covered in guacamole."
---Jon Stewart

Mmmm.. guacamole...