Bethesda Announces Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For those whom might not know what I'm talking about: The Elder Scrolls (by Bethesda Softworks) is an action RPG series started in 1994 with Arena. You play in the world of Nim on the continent of Tamriel. The series is both remarkable for its setting (9 provinces each with a distinctive story and topography. Also 9 races, but they're not spread one per province) and game play immersion (to quote the manual from the 2nd game, Daggerfall, the developers wanted to create a "book with blank pages" that a player fills out with their actions).

So imagine my surprise as I read through my RSS feeds this morning and come across this lovely trailer:

It's Beautiful: XKCD's Optimal Tic-Tac-Toe Comic

This is going to be too big, just hit the jump

Happy Thanksgiving! (and a special recipe to boot!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and I hope Black Friday is nice to you all as well. So I'm sitting here with my oven on and I decided to share with you my favorite recipe, Broccoli Garlic Quiche. Seems a bit odd for T-Day but I'm sure my family will love it.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious:

INGREDIENTS

• All-butter pastry dough (or store bought, because I'm a lazy ass)
• 10 ounces (1-inch-wide) broccoli florets (with 1 to 2 inches of stem attached)
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (Omit if you have a someone who can't handle any spiciness)
• 5 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (2 cups)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Equipment: a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate or a 9-inch (2-inch-deep) round fluted tart pan with removable bottom; pie weights or dried beans.

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit dough into pie plate, letting excess hang over edge. Fold overhang inward and press against side of pie plate to reinforce edge. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Line pie shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Carefully remove foil and weights, then bake shell until deep golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Put pie plate in a 4-sided sheet pan. Leave oven on.
• While shell bakes, cook broccoli in a 3-quart pot of boiling salted water 4 minutes. Drain broccoli and rinse under cold water to stop cooking, then pat dry.
• Mince and mash garlic to a paste with a generous pinch of salt.
• Whisk together garlic paste, eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until smooth.
• Pour filling into pie shell and add broccoli, then sprinkle with cheeses.
• Bake quiche until custard is just set, 45 to 50 minutes. (Center will tremble slightly; filling will continue to set as it cools.) Cool at least 20 minutes.
• Serve quiche warm or at room temperature.

Random Crap I Find in the World

So I really have been searching, when I go to my local swap meet, through the Crap Pile and Kitchen Crap locations looking for oddities. Their stock doesn't change enough for me to find enough to make a full post on. On the other hand, I do find myself taking pictures (bad ones, I really need a smartphone) of other things I find funny/odd/scary and figured I could make a post with all of them. So here it goes.

How to play Facebook games and keep your friends happy

So as I was rummaging around my RSS feed I came across this link about how Zynga is going to make what appears to be a SimCity clone, and now they are worth more than the IP holders of said game, EA.

But scanning the comments I saw not complaints about how big Zynga is getting, but the fact that everyone hated either the status updates, or having to block apps they didn't like.

I felt odd: None of my friends have to do this because I take a proactive way of blocking the updates from those who could not care less to see them (i.e. non-players). So, below, I'm going to show you how to be like me: Play a metric shit-ton of games but keep those who don't happy.

End Game

I use chess a lot to describe my feelings and attitudes about the things that go on around me. I guess it's the rules of movement and lack of absolute chaos (pieces have set rules for movement and placement) that appeals to me. It also, I guess it shows my force of habit. A Knight will always move as a Knight. Queen, Rook, Bishop it will always be the same for every game.

An Artful Return: Keith Returns to Countdown in style

I'm just going to let Keith tell his story, he does it much better. Though of note I was a bit wrong about stumping for one of this donations, but it doesn't pan out as he donated after the person was on air not before. Keith will explain it better, just watch (oh and it's funny too ^_^)

I HATE Nursing Homes

Ok, this is going to be just a rant about the conditions of one nursing home. Namely the one my father was in until 10/29 (best birthday present ever was getting to drive him home that Friday). However in talking with others I’ve found that many of my experiences are in fact shared.
I’m going to go through this more or less as a narrative of the kind of shit I saw during my father’s experience there. So, with that, here’s my story.

My thoughts on the indefinite suspension of Keith Olbermann

If you haven’t heard as of November 5th Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olberman (henceforth referred as Countdown for convenience) was suspended from his show for making campaign contributions to 3 different candidates for the 2010 mid-term elections and not seeking approval from MSNBC producers.

That’s it, that’s all that has happened. It’s not that Keith did it, but it is that he didn’t seek approval for something that would have been (and was) found out by contribution rosters that by law must be published.
Now I’m going to go out on a limb, as an Olbermann and Countdown fan, and say I’m alright with him receiving a punishment for what he did. I’d also like him to return. He’s the only reason I even watch (via podcast, mind you) any MSNBC show. I don’t care for Shuester, Maddow, or O’donnel. I like Keith, I like his format, and most of the time I like his opinions. I don’t think he should be shoved off his show for one simple reason.
He never ‘stumped’ for any of those he sent a contribution to, period. While I may think he might want to screw his head back on a little tighter given that he thought it was in his power to disobey a rule of his employment, I don’t think is firing (which could happen as ‘indefinite suspension’ usually means that) will do much for him or his network. Plain and simple, bring Keith back if you want to keep your ratings and more importantly your viewers.
So why, you might wonder, do I draw the line on it being ok to donate money but not say anything? I think I’ll leave it to Rachel Maddow to explain.



Bluntly, Fox News isn’t news. Keith, while liberal, kept his overall preference for candidates minimal. He also broke a rule. He’s been punished. He can go on air and apologize. So long as he doesn’t fall victim of his own pet peeve of “to those I may have offended” we’ll be able to move on, and Keith can come back to really what he does best: Entertain me and other on a political level and at least some lean towards journalistic integrity.

I hate my head

So, Halloween. It's my birthday (no, really, 10-31-79 :P I'll be 31 this year), and it's a fun day to dress up.

However, finding a costume for me is always a hard thing. I've generally become good at being able to use other resources (non-costume shop ones) to fill out a particular costume. But there's one area that has always bugged me.... Hats.

I really just need to break down and buy Minecraft

Yes... I just blew an hours worth of my time doing this in the free version of Minecraft. And yes that's the Black Mage from Final Fantasy 1

Don't know what that is? Hows the moss on that rock you live under. It's been featured on webcomics (Penny Arcade for example), gaming news sites and there are dozens of videos on YouTube. Including this one, which is about as much Aspergers as anyone can take in a day.

Firemen Allow Home to Burn Down for Missing $75 Fee

I'm was at a loss of words when I initially heard about this.

67th Birthday (Father Update)

So yeah my father's 67th birthday was yesterday. I asked him if he felt old. "Older than dirt" was his reply.

I'm happy to see progress on his toe (or rater, the missing one), but it still hasn't healed 3 weeks later. It hasn't filled up with scar tissue either. So it's just the pit going into his foot. Not the best sign, really.

But some humor for you in this post: I got my father a birthday card that was entitled Anti-ageing quiz. It had a picture of a woman... Yeah she had to have 36F-24-36 as measurements. You open the card and it asks as simple question: What color was her purse?  If you asked "She had a purse?", the card told, you weren't old yet.

No one... not me, not even my mother, didn't have to turn back to the front to find the answer (Green). Laughs all around.

Dispite Better Ideas, Comic-Con to stay in San Diego

So while I perfectly understand moving to new digs is an utter hassel, you'd think this one would be a no brainer. However, announced today, Comic-Con is in fact staying in San Diego through 2015.

As I read the linked article, I think back to my previous post about Hall H and I have to say: You guys are missing the point.

Yes, getting a hotel for the 4 days is a pain in the ass. But that was besides the pont of my post. The SDCC is just too small to host this damn thing anymore.

And yes going to conventions is about waiting for your favorite panel to start... outside... in a line. But given that both Anaheim and LA have larger facilities that could handle multiple Hall H type venues. Think about spreading the damage out and how that would help.

*Sigh* I just don't get it. I will go back again next year, maybe even for a full 4 days if I'm lucky. I'll just be sure to bring some eye protection, or maybe even full riot gear if I plan to see anything in Hall H.

Exactly where the hell is Fall?

No, really, I'm quite curious where fall is. When I look outside today, I kind of half heartedly expect to see this:


 
But no, I get this:

Anyone that denies Global Warming is a fucking idiot

Surprising No One, Blockbuster Files for Chapter 11

This one picture tells the tale of a company that failed to adapt to a changing market. I actually have fond memories of Blockbuster as a child. Not many, but reting old NES games while SNES/Genesis were major players in the console market.

However, for all those memories, I also remember on very important thing about businesses, or just life in general: Adapt or Die. This is true in both a social context (Health Care Reform, DADT repeal, Racial Desegregation) as it is in business.

The above picture is a clear illustration of how NOT to do it. The moment Netfix or even RedBox came into being Blockbuster should have shit their collective pants. The RIAA certainly did when Napster came knocking at their doorsteps (and for what it's worth their reaction paved the way for much of the Bittorrent world of today).

But, back to Blockbuster now. This is a classic example of what happens when you fail to either anticipate or adapt to a change in the market. Netfix started in '99, plenty of time for Blockbuster to have changed their business to adapt. But in this case it wasn't aggressive enough, as they took a full 5 years to realize (2004) to bring a similar product, Blockbuster Online, to bear.

5 years, in this day in age, is an eternity. During that time Redbox came into being, meaning ol' Blocky had not a game of one-upmanship but a full fledged war (Two's company, three's competition). We've already seen the fall of Hollywood Video years ago. Slowly but surely the further fall of big name brick-and-motor video stores will follow. If there are any left.

---

There's a nice writeup at WSJ about the Blockbuster filing. Shows just how bad the company has gotten in the past few years.

I'm not making this up: Michael Jackson MMO in the works

The only thing I can think to say to this damn idea is "let the man rest in piece already!" But no, someone won't, and this monstrosity comes out of that:

[Planet Michael Website]

My brain hurts thinking about this. I can only imagine the activities this thing will have inside:

• Bribe the parents to keep quiet
• How to tell time (the big hand goes over the little hand)
• Baby catcher (failed in beta, Michael never dropped the kid)
• Military Fashion Designer
• Guess the Surgery
• Monkey Pet Rescue

I could keep going on with the jokes but it would be besides the point. This, honestly, is a money grab on the dead man's fame. This is just as bad, if not worse, than anything that happened to Elvis since his own death.

One Week Later, Father Update

So I'm sitting here, at my desk, a week after finding out my father was headed off to the hospital. I've learned a lot more about the particulars of what was going on the two weeks prior to this. Seems the last doctor/podiatrist visit for dad he had know things were not looking good. A few days later the right foot toe started becoming white (think dead skin for a visual). Again the problem of my father's "wait until it gets better" attitude my or may not have played a part in him waiting those 2 weeks to seek help.

So, anyways, he's in a nursing home now (one he visited in 2003 for a cellulitus infection in his right leg) for antibiotic treatment for 14 days. He'll be going in some time next week to have an angiogram done on his foot so see if a stint or such can be placed in his leg to increase circulation.

Other than that, my dad is himself: Opinionated, grouchy, but calm and chipper at the same time. Call it an oxymoronic mix, I call it old-fogey syndrome ^_^

Small update on my father

Doctor took a look today and said he believes they got it all. Just one toe (right 'ring' toe) Dad is being monitored for a few more days to make sure. White blood cell count has gone down but is not below a marker that indicates infection.  They're continuing with the IV antibiotics in the mean time in hopes they will not have to take more of the foot. He will probably go into skilled care barring anything further wrong.

Still on a path (Father Update)

So, contrary to someone's thoughts (which, mind you, gave me a needed laugh there Brooklyn) my father did go back to work after my last update. He'd kinda pushed himself back into it I guess in an attempt to have something to do. I guess in not having much more to day I'd neglected to keep and updated post on him. Sorry there ^_^.

He's gone through various modes of healing: Compression socks (which ended up being too tight and giving him more sores) to get circulation in his legs back, more antibiotics, and daily cleanings (done by my sister since he doesn't have the mobility to do them himself). One bothering thing was a sore he has had on his right toe. It wasn't getting any better, but not getting worse either. Doctor recently said it might take a year or so to heal, with anecdotal story of a 3 year long healing process from one patient.

If you know my father by now, you know he diabetes and lack of circulation in his legs causes issues. So this past Wednesday my sister Shawna, the one whom lives with my parents, calls me to let me know that things are not look as good again. He'd taken a night off of work with a fever a few nights before. Now his toe was starting to have it's wound seep. Infection returned it seemed.

Last night I got the most oddest of calls. My father let me know that his doctor made a decision to amputate said toe and needed a driver for this evening. I said yes, and quietly sulked at the thought.

This morning I got even worse news: Shawna calls me at 9 to let me know she's been awoken. The doctor has upped the time table as he feels there might be more at risk than just the toe. Given the time of this post he's probably being processed at the hospital, with some tests to determine exactly how far 'up' they'll need to cut.

I'm not in a greatest of moods now, sadly. :(

A Sucker Born Every Minute: The Vivitar 35mm Camera

Ok, I've officially seen everything. I half expect Vince or the resurrected spirit of Billy Mays to be hawking this product. You need to go to their site and watch the video. My father, for the love of him, is a Luddite. HE CAN EVEN USE A GODDAMN DIGITAL CAMERA.


But enough of that, the add has all the hallmarks of 'As Seen On TV' marketing.

It has the initial pitch

Then, a show stopper!

Oh how I love seeing those words. They are a mark of (lack of)

quality to any ad I see.

In the end, the deal was better than expected:

Now THAT looks like... crap. If you read the fine print, you pay an extra $7 "shipping and handling" fee for the first camera. Then another $7 for "processing and handling" for the second one. $24 is still cheap, but then you factor in buying more film and film processing charges and yeah this is a cheap alternative to downloading them to your computer. For Gaia's sake this is ridiculous. The features of "Built-in flash" and "Motorized Automatic Advance" reek of "We have extra stock of these. Jimmy, make an ad campaign to get rid of them now!"

And Jimmy did, and will reel in many poor saps.

Whoa, a 'The Next Generation' cast listing shows what could have been.

I pulled the below picture off of Gamma Squad's post on the subject: This is an internal memo about the possible casting for all major characters in the hit TV show of years gone by:

Click to see full size

All I can say is holy hell. I can't see anyone other than Stewart having played Picard. Denise Crosby might have made an interesting Troi, but Sirtis had bigger assets (two, in fact. On her chest ^_^ ). Sirtis was notably absent from the list, as is Brent Spiner whom played Data. I can't peg Reggie Jackson for Geordi, or Wesley Snipes for that matter. Speaking of Wesley... JD Roth? He was 19 at the time playing a pre-pubescent ubernerd/mary sue hybrid. Weaton was a solid choice, even though even he hated the character in the end:

Things that make me laugh at my job

Conversation that occurred today at work between coworker and I:

Coworker: It's just I hate when they call in with stupid questions.
Me: There are no stupid questions. Just sarcastic answers to simple questions *smile*
C: "Ahhhhhh How do I start my VPN?"
Me: (sarcastic "Birds and Bees" voice) Well when an Icon and a cursor love each other very much they go *click click* and 9 ms later a window is born.
C: What if it is two icons?
Me: (blank stare for a second)
(hysterical laughter from both of us)
C: It'd produce some kind of error, maybe a General Protection Fault?
Me: IRQL not less or equal to
(more hysterical laughter)
Me: Paging in a non-paged area?
C: Something like that.

#Blogin5 Challenge: Multidimensions and Gravitation Lenses

First off, if you read my post about chaos you know I have a rather odd look at physics of the universe, theoretical or otherwise.

I picked up on these two videos about 6 months go and I'm going to link them here before I go forward:




Ok this is going to be quick but at the same time your eyes will gloss over: If we take the idea that you can use the gravity of massively heavy objects to distort light, called a gravitational lens, does that mean gravity is a function of the 3th dimension? Or is it possible, given that light could be a function of the 4th dimension (given we can't exceed it or time). The reason why I ponder this is that you are effectively traveling through the same amount of space but at a given slower time. Time, being a function closer to length, has only one dimension. Does this mean that gravity bends it? Meaning it would be a 5th or 6th dimensional property? And maybe that's the reason why we've been unable to locate the particle that controls gravity, like we've located for the other 3 forces.

What Country Do I Live In? (Ground Zero Mosque Rant)

I'm going to open up my rant here with two videos. But before I do, I will make this clear: I am in favor of this 'mosque' (see Olbermann's video) being built.

Frist, Obama's words a week or so ago:


Second up is Olbermann's special comment on the subject:


With those show, and using the date from both, I have to ask exactly what country did I wake up to today? I'm pretty damn sure that freedom of religion is protected under the Bill of Rights. Yep, it's right there under the first amendment in the free exercise clause. What's better in the wharrlgarble over this is the fact that it's not even a mosque. Yes there is going to be prayer, but so too would you find this at a YMCA. In fact, it just sounds like a YMIA-like building. To be honest, this sounds like a great place.

But no, religious intolerance has to come into play doesn't it? Listen, we're going to go through a rather hard concept to follow, or at least hard for closed minded people to follow. Freedom is a dual-edged blade. While I don't like the Westboro Baptist Church and their protests (though I did like the geek response to their Comic-Con one) my freedom in not likely thing and being able to express this dislike allows them to exist as well. There is no "because I'm right you can't be allowed to be wrong" in freedom. And I don't like having, as a pagan, Christians get in my face trying to save me. But their right to practice and spread their religion is what make our countries great. Want to be a different religion in a Muslim world? Well, you might be a Shiite or a Sunni in Iraq, but try to be a Jew or anything other than a Muslim you're in deep shit. Like dead deep shit. So we live in a 'free' world, but we don't want to tolerate other ideas/religions? Yeah that makes perfect sense.

In parting, I'll leave you with the words of Henry Rollins (from 2004 but still relevant):

I ain't scared of the 13th

I am not, to put it in a long winded way, triskaidekaphobic (from Greek: tris = 3, kai = and, deka = 10). I have fun, though, with days like this. I find superstition fascinating (just about as much as chemistry or politics, or gaming). All in all I have to say I am either a reverse jinx or somehow protected from superstitious harm. Perhaps because I was born on Halloween? Or maybe that just explains why I'm so damn weird XD.

I seem to flaunt bad luck charms wherever I go. I have for instance, as a child, owned one of these:

Mine was named Phidoux (you pronounce it 'Fido' in French)

I've walked under countless ladders (well, ones tall enough for me to fit under). I have done so many things I should be having the largest run of bad luck next to the Chicago Cubs. I actually have this book, and read through it for things I hadn't tried yet:

It has a horse, a rainbow, and an eagle on the front. Therefore it must be new age.

So basically, I have a field day on Friday the 13th. I see how many people I can spook. I have to admit, it's only a few :(

Hall H is a problem

You'll have to forgive the lateness of this post. I've been a bit ill the past few weeks so I had to put this post on hold. Who cares though, here it is:

I arrived at roughly 8:10 am on Thursday to attend SDCC. For the uninitiated the San Diego Convention Center is a 615,701 sq. ft. facility in downtown San Diego. To but it bluntly, the place is huge. Ginormous would even be a good word to describe it. So after getting my convention pass I make my way, I thought, to Hall H. I was initially stuck by Room 6A (far southeast) and was told, by a helpful staff member, to go towards the center of the convention to the exhibit level via the stairs there.

I go to said area only to be told by what ended up to be a not-so-helpful staff member that what I really wanted to do was go all the way around the center to get to the exhibit level. This would be fine for any part of the exhibit floor EXCEPT HALL H.

The reasoning of the second staff member sending us around the complex was that the escalator from there only lead outside. This happened to be exactly where we needed to go. So rather than have a minute chance of getting a decent place in line an excruciating 20 minutes was spend in a nerd herd (seen in the pictures below, taken by me) only to find out there was a shorter route.

So after wasting my time there doing this I come to the horrifying realization: I have no ability to actually get into line to see the panel I wanted to go see, Tron Legacy, because everyone is lining up long before I even reached the convention center. And that line was for Megamind, the panel before Tron.

I’m not alone is my anguish here: I had read up on several Comic-con “Survival Guides” prior to attending this year that Hall H is notorious for its line. No other place, from what I understand, has such a long line. Here is a a picture from last year. The most notable difference from then to this year was the addition of tents over the line to block out the sun. Here are some pictures I took from the ground myself this year:

That's the hotel, the tents, and a metric ton of people as I left at 7pm on that Thursday

Given this is the worst of the worst is it any wonder why there haven’t be any serious injuries in this line? Oh, wait, that’s right. The whole point of my thoughts here was because that is exactly what happened the Saturday of Comic-con.

---

Well, let me reference a later article here for a moment. While it is easy to believe the former, where the assailants didn’t know each other, the latter still tells of the tensions that come up at Hall H. If the men involved were friends, or even just a casual acquaintance, as the latter article presents we can still gleam that in the end there is just too little space for far too many people all in one place.

We need to ask ourselves what predicated this violence. It is an addition of several factors together. First Hall H holds 6500 people and has a line at least equal to but most likely higher than that number. Moreover no one is forced out after any panel discussion (this is true for any panel discussion). This leads to both camping in the line and camping out inside, watching several of the panels before you see the one you were actually waiting for. Like my example in my experience above, those that wanted into Tron Legacy were in line long before Megamind started.,

Because of the is the line starts early in the morning, long before the first panel of the day. This has the effect of placing too many people into one cramped space. And I speak of both line and convention hall here as they become inseparable at that point.

Thirdly, though mild this year generally the hot, dry July air drains even the most hardened con-goer. Imagine being baked in a low degree oven for several hours a day and you will start getting the picture. This admittedly was mitigated both by mild weather but also the strategic placement of tents to keel line-waiters in the shade.
Lastly is what I consider the weakest link of all : Comic-con ‘security’ is a volunteer force. I don’t mean to insult those that work SDCC for little or no pay, but you are not professionals whom would be trained to take care of scuffles. Or at the very minimum you are not police officers. You know, like the ones that had to be called in after everything went to hell and someone had a pen stuck in them?

Wrapping this all up into one neat package: It is a wonder why Hall H hasn’t destroyed the SDCC as of yet. Hall H is a nightmare situation. You mix in frustration of a long line in the hot sun, exhaustion of waiting several panel discussions, and general anger of not being able to sit and enjoy what you really came to see. Mix in more frustration as previous attendees are not cleared to make space for those in line. And you dare not leave as losing your spot will force you to wait in another long line. It comes to a point where even giving a friend some breathing room is asking too much.

---

It comes down to, most of all, crowd control. Like thousands of fans vying to see their favorite rock band. Don’t think this analogy is appropriate? It might be as the whole of concert attendance fixed itself after 11 were trampled to death in a 1979 The Who concert. Festival, or general, seating was listed as a cause in the lawsuits that followed. Cincinnati, host city of the dreaded concert, was the first to ban general (unreserved) seating, and other soon followed. Now it is almost unheard of to NOT have an assigned seat. In summary the issue is a lack of true crowd control, poor security, limited room for attendees, and the lack of a system to flush out campers from the system so other may enjoy the panels. This gives way to rabidness of fans,
especially of the geek type. It ends up being a match tossed into a pile of greasy rags.

---

If I am going to complain this much about something I feel I should at least try to offer some constructive criticism or more to the point some ideas on how to alleviate this problem.

The hardest thing would to do would be to abandon Hall H alltogether. No more big name, big studio presentations or panels. As great as this sounds for the trouble it would remove it would also remove much of the fun from Comic-con. In other words, bad idea that no one will take me up on. It would be a waste of space as the hall cannot be split up into smaller and more manageable viewing areas.

With that idea in the trash, an idea that would have saved 11 people 31 years ago would be assigned tickets. You would be stuck with whatever you were given, but also you wouldn’t need to wait in line forever and not be able to get in. This would either be purchasable or handed out in a fair lottery. This would also have to go hand in hand with clearing out the hall after every event. Would you stay after the credits in a movie theater to see the next film? No, you don’t have that right. Nor would you have the right, because you were more psychotic and got in line during the wee hours of the morning, to be seated for the next hall presentation. This, in my mind, would only apply to Hall H as the other rooms as of yet do not have the issue of overcrowding.
I use the word yet there because for all the good a ticket system would be it would also create problems. Have you ever seen scalpers for concerts? Imagine the cash a front row seat selected by a lottery would go for, or for that matter the fights over such a coveted ticket. But let us say neither of these ended up being a problem. Where do all those people whom would normally be cooped up in Hall H go? Everywhere else to be frank about it. As it stands you can line up before a panel and be relatively assured a place to sit. If we double or triple the lines, using those displaced in this scenario, we only spread the problem around. The problem of space pushed many major showings (mostly of full length movies/anime) to the adjoining hotels this year. The convention center has run out of space.

Therefore we can come to only one conclusion: The San Diego Convention Center has outlived its usefulness. Just as a child needs new clothes one they grow up so too does Comic-Con need bigger clothes. If we fix one are, Hall H or other, we only push the problem out to outlying areas. As it stands the security detail can’t handle a simple scuffle let along a full fledged assault. Even at over 600k sq. ft. we geeks are bursting out of the place at the seams. Or we get cramped back down into place like a pressure cooker, amplifying frustration until we steam over and have one taken by paramedics, the other by police.

---

Now you have to wonder where to put all of us if not in San Diego. I think I might have a solution. The Anaheim Convention Center over boasts 800k sq. ft., with several halls that hold capacities double what is in San Diego. And that’s just the main floor, with two higher ones available. That’s an extra level over San Diego. I don’t think Anaheim would even mind me mentioning them, seeing as they have been rumored to be bidding for the move. And this was long before the stabbing that occurred this year.
So if is is true it can’t happen soon enough.

Well this is sad: Two tour buses of High School Band members crash, two dead

I was a bando in high school. For those that might not know the term, it means I was a member of the Estancia High School Marching Band. I played the baritone horn, and a little sousaphone, during my 4 years in high school. One of the only things I miss from those years is the camaraderie of the group. We were family, in a way. I still kind of keep in touch only with those I knew during those years.

In all, we were a family: We fought each other and for each other. We loved one another as family and more. We weren't the greatest players but we didn't care. Our director, Linda, was both stern and kind. While those may be opposites in a normal world, in the bando-verse it means she pushed us to be the best we could be, but not to the point we hated her. Sadly, after I graduated in 1998, some rather unsavory elements (read: holier-than-thou students/parents) pushed the wrong buttons and Linda retired some years later. All in all though it was good times while I was there.

So you may be asking yourself where I'm going with this. Well, each year of band we would do what we called Tour. Tour was basically a gigantic field trip. In my years we normally went to San Fransisco (one year, my senior, was Las Vegas), when to a competition or something, then came home. It was a week long adventure of marching, playing games on the ride there, pulling pranks. We even had a tradition of stealing a road sign, preferably one that wasn't going to cause traffic accidents, to take back to the band room.

These two points, the traffic and the bus rides, brings me to a sad story today. Two bus-loads of students from a Missouri high school collided with a pickup and a semi-trailer. Two were killed: The pickup driver and one student. My heartfelt remorse over the loss of both the driver, Daniel Schantz, and the student Jessica Brinker and her family who have now lost a loved one. When you are in a group like that, even in a big city (these students were from a town of about 600 or so from what I gather), I can only imagine the pain this tragic accident has caused.

In the end we, where I went, were family. Though we never had this tragedy I would never wish it upon my worst enemies. It would make those enemies even madder at me than normal.

The Prop 8 decision: A good read.

So I picked up the final ruling that overturned the disastrous Prop 8 last night. While some of you may get glazed eyes when reading leagalese (or weaslese, depending on your view of the profession), I find them fascinating. I blame having worked as a copy boy for civil bankruptcy firm about 10 years ago.

Comic-Con 2010, my report

Whoa boy, here we go. This was and is my first *con experience. So to be honest I did not know what to expect. This is going to be a photo report of sorts, as they tell my story a bit better than I could. With that, lets dive in.

First off understand I'm normally a night person. Late night, not getting up at 4:30 am to get to somewhere 4 hours later. I may only be an hour and half away from San Diego I still knew I was going to hit traffic. And due to my need of coffee a well placed stop before Camp Pendleton was in order XD Also hit traffic in Carlsbad. But at least I was dressed for the occasion.

Comic-Con 2010, the mini post

Ok so this is going to be a short post. I just got back from SDCC 2010 and I'm tired. Some highlights:

Really want to buy Slaughterhouse when it comes out in Fall. Saw 38 Studios trailer for Kindoms of Amalur, The Reckoning. It's an epic "FUCK YEAH". It'll be a single player game first, then MMO. Speaking of MMOs, played DC Universe, Aion, City of Heroes Going Rogue, Tera Online, and Vindictus.

I mention The Reckoning because it was really the only panel I went to. I was going to go for the one to Tron Legacy. Which was in Hall H.

That H stood for hell. As in where the line went to and back. And stood for Hilton, which is where the line was forming for the panel that was scheduled BEFORE Tron.

*sigh* I'm tired and cranky. A full post will follow. Ciao.

This is why I loved chemestry class as a teen

It's absolutely fascinating to see the product of what is basically energy in a pure form being transferred from one process to another. Energy released from Hydrogen Peroxide (how many of us have that I wonder ~_^) and diphenyl oxlate is sent to florescent dye. The dye releases a photon. We see the photon and convert it, with our brain, into light and colors. Elegance in complexity.

And it is a pity (or maybe a godsend, given the stupidity of humanity at large) that you can't get DPO (or TCPO, as in the video, which is easier to handle). It isn't exactly available as readily as H2O2. In fact my cursory look shows you'd have to buy about 4 different chemicals to make some. That's tall order.

It makes me wish I had become a chemist. I started out one coming out of high school but burned out on the course work, and switched to IT/Business. :(

Oh, and if you don't happen to know what the video is talking about when it mentions Mountain Dew, here's the video. Realize this is fake as there is nothing in MD to cause this reaction. Someone poured an active glow stick into the bottle.

Tales from the Crapiness

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. I'm still recovering but I decided to go ahead and put a post together for you all. On the 3rd I went scrounging again for the greatest finds in the Crap Pile and Kitchen Crap to bring to you. Here's my recent findings.

Hopefully you don't need to cut anything, because the only offerings here are 12 soups spoons or 12 forks. And though you wouldn't think it, these are aluminium not plastic. Not a bad deal at $2, but still not worth it for the fear of it being coated with lead.

Being a guy I don't see the usefulness of this one. I guess if you gals want your bra straps to slowly strangulate your neck you can hook one of these things in and let it do it's magic.

Wow, that's a cheap Forty.... oh wait, 40 CDs. It holds 40 CDs. Damnit, I wanted a drink! Or a bottle, as the case may be.

Hard to see, but our old friend the Specuallty cloth is under this Beauty Scrub Cloth. And again with the whiter than fscking white skin from using this. At this point, I'm thinking about using an SOS pad rather than this. It might actually be gentler!

Speaking of fine engrish. Spange? Really? I'm really trying to figure out what accent I need to put on to convert sponge to this. And it's one of those plastic ones even, not a true sponge.

Oh god, the stupid it burns. Here's the thing. Some Grandma, somewhere, just bought this for her grandson who's into "that rangers thing." Bonus points here: Displays "New Arrival" and "Collect Them All" on the cardboard. 1) This never 'arrived' on TV as far as I can tell (Unless its a Super Sentai team I've never heard of) and 2) I have them all right there, and I know this because you're so goddamn cheap that you will never release more.

Ok, I know what a pie shield is. My question is thus: Why make it into 5 easy to lose pieces? yes I know you can shield different sizes of pies but how often do you switch between say a 9" to a 12"?

Going further down into the useless category. Really? Is the can lid too good for you you need to spend $5 or so on a piece of one-use-only crap? Has Alton taught you nothing?

Don't Make Bets Where I Work

Yeah, so a couple of executives made a bet on something (neither is tell anyone what the best was). One lost... and it must have been a hell of a bet because the loser is wearing this today.

(Face covered to hid embarrassment)

So yeah, Happy 4th everyone (and a belated Canada Day as well)

Oh god please don't suck: Woot.com aquired by Amazon

So yesterday my twitter account gave me a rather big shock. Woot.com, the originator of the deal-a-day marketing craze, has sold itself out to the largest web retailer in the world, Amazon.com.

No, pay no mind to me in my next statement: If they (Amazon) do anything to my beloved (Woot) I will come to each of the high brass and castrate them with a rusty spoon.

*ahem* With frightened rage out of the way I'd like to say that Matt Rutledge is one seriously humorous guy. He sent out this email to the Woot employees announcing the acquisition. It reads in part:

Over the next few days, you will probably read headlines that say “Matt Rutledge revealed to be monstrous pseudo-human creation of Jeff Bezos.” You might even see this photo making the rounds. Rest assured that these rumors have nothing to do with our final decision. We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor’s wife on our iPods.

That right there is genius XD. We also have some nice photo evidence of the Frankensteining of the two companies cultures.

And even the Woot Monkey got involved in the action:

All in all I have to say this is a fairly fun press release for what amounts to a metric shitton serious business practice. I hope it all goes well (again, castration by rusty spoons Amazon, don't for get it ~_^)

NOT LONGER POWERED BY THE AIR WE BREATHE

One year ago today we lost a great man, a great entertainer... oh wait, excuse me:

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY WE LOST A GREAT MAN

Bla bla bla yes I know the joke is old. But June 28th, 2009 was a real shocker. I thought at first the reports of his death were a joke. As more and more came in on the news feeds I realized we all were going to miss out on some truely epic and, more importantly, new products that he would hock. We'll still have the nostalgia of seeing his previous products like this one:

Wait just one fucking second, I've see this before. Holy SHIT! I HAVE seen it before

That's it, that's what happened. Billy didn't die from Oxycleaning his nose, causing him to have a heart attack. Vince offed him in a fit of rage over having the same damn product.

---

In all actuality, I had seen Billy's version of the producted at the Kitchen Pile several times. In fact seeing it there was the idea for naming the post about Vince Shalomi. Every time I tried getting a pic of the box, thought, I kept missing. Thought about even buying one, just to say that I have one. Anyways, may the man rest in peace. He gave me many laughs at his expense, hell I think he wants those laughs. As someone once told me: If you don't have haters you're not doing it right.

Driving Grandpa around in the La-Z-Boy

I love the "used parts" painted on the side. Make me think they're driving the guy to the ER and he has an organ donor card XD

McChrystal Relieved: How it couldn't happen any other way

I'd like to start off by saying that I think this General is now going to become a martyr for the right. But, as it were, there's not a whole lot this asshole could do to keep his job. Let me explain.

Article 88 of the Uniform code of Military Justice clearly states:

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

So, I want you to reimagine this for a second. Actually, screw that I'm going to tell you the most sure fire way to get fired.

Get yourself a nice PA system. Something that can broadcast, oh say, at least a city block or more. Moreover I also want you to have the cash on hand to post a few press releases in your local newspaper. Now, I need you to set up that PA system around your place of employment (or former employment, given the state of the economy -_- ). Now, pick out a busy day at said employment, fire (pardon the pun) the PA. Now I want you to say just about the nastiest things you can about your boss. Maybe even his boss, or some middle managers between you and him. I want you about as contemtuous as you can be in your comments. I also want you to write it all down, and buy some ads in your local paper and reprint your words there. Now, sit back. Count how long it takes for you to get fired. Shit, count how long until your bosses sue you for slandar.

Pulling back from the hypothetical and diving into reality: McChrystal is a dumbass. He damn well knew his words were going to be printed. He basically was up for court marshal over this, but Obama gave him an out. Either way it could have gone (Court Marshal, Fired, or Resignation) his infamous wisdom became a CLM.

It should also be noted that he wanted to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, polar to what Obama (shit, THE US PEOPLE) want to do. If he had played it smart he wouldn't have been taken down like this, raked through the mud by everyone.






[Edit] Here's a prime example of what McChrystal did, in civvie terms

Times Square bomb suspect pleads guilty

Interesting. Faisal Shazad pleaded guilty. No plea bargain, no "nope I'm not going to admit it" not guilty plea. Just "yeah I did it."

I'd say this boggles my mind but it really doesn't. I think this guy got way in over his head and now is, like a gentlemen, taking the blame. Given this guy obviously missed a few of the bomb making classes (fireworks? Really? Timothy McVeigh took more care in constructing his own bomb) he has also cooperated with investigators, spilling the beans on all he knows. He is facing live in prison, but I think that is justifiable given his intent and the fact that he failed. We.Got.Lucky. The next person they find to do his type of job will be better, and we had better be prepared for this.

Merry Solstice and Happy Father's Day

So I didn't get a chance to post more junk pics because I still stuck raw eggs when taking pictures (and trying to not look like I'm taking them, lest I piss off the junk pile owners) so I'll have to get back to that at a later date.

I hope everyone had a nice Father's Day. I did, though it is still marked by the fact that my own father is still of ill health (mentioned here, here, here, here, and finally here). Sores are now on both feet. Really worried about how all of this will play out. But on a brighter note I did give my old laptop to him. Even put an Atari emulator on it, so he can play checkers (which he has held the breakage of said cartridge over my head for years). All in all good family times.

Also warm wishes and a merry summer solstice. Though the weather here is a bit dreary right now (64F and cloudy), the June Gloom should clear by the afternoon. Can't believe it's summer already. Can't wait to hit the beach more. The Twins, as they are, will be out in full force, if evidence of my trip to the beach a few weeks again was any indication. ^_^

Stuff the Shamwow guy wouldn't sell

So you wouldn't know it but I go to the OC Fairgrounds quite a bit, but it's mostly on the weekend for and out-of-the-way grocers market where I score quite a bit of deals on fruits and vegtables. So today I fill up my backpack to the brim and then some (Fair is closed next weekend so I needed to stock up) and I decided to check out the other booths.

Now I decided today to peruse the rest of The Marketplace, as it's called and I came upon and old favorite: there's several locations I call The Junk Pile and The Kitchen Junk Pile. The Junk Piles have cheap crap, just in cardboard boxes ranging in price from $1-5 dollars, depending on what the operators think the stuff is worth. Kitchen Junk Piles have just as much junk, but they're on shelves and cost more and are, by their name, used for the kitchen.

I decided today to take some pictures and show you just how odd some of this crap is. Let's take a look shall we? (Note: Most of my pictures from my camera came out crappy, so I plan on going back to get some more tomorrow. The spot I get my food from, Bruce's Produce, gives away free passes to The Marketplace if you
buy enough. I got two passes today, and my back hurts from hauling all that home in my backpack >_<)

First item is from an aforementioned Junk Pile stop. 'Specually Bath Belt' is the best engrish I seen in a while. Also more than mildy ecchi as well. Strategically placed bubbles keep it from going full hentai. What can't be seen in my pic is that this is basically a plastic washcloth, with material that looks more like a kitchen scrubber than anything I'd use on my body for bathing purposes. My guess is that those are soap bubbles, but clouds of skin ripped off by used of this thing. Not recommended, even if it is only a buck.

Next, from the Kitchen Junk, are cute little mini whisks made to look like pigs. While PigglyWiggly is how I first read it, there are no Ls in this. But, then again, a nursery rhyme about going home without supper is also not the best association to have about something used to prepare food.

Not content with just having a bagel cutter? Why not execute the sonofabitch with this sleek little device. Maybe the bagel had subversive thoughts? Murdered the cream cheese? Was looking to cause a Muffin Revolution? Yep, time to kill it in on swift move.

If I'm going to be barbecuing, I'd want more that 6 patties. But I do have to give props where they are due, as this would be the least worthless crap I found at the Kitchen Crap today. I could totally see the commercial for something like this. Oh wait, there is something similar, but only does 5 small patties:

Last but not lease I have a question to ask. Exactly at what size do they become cake rather than cupcake? I mean seriously.

Another great video of the day

Best Lady Gaga cover EVER!

Yes I'm Evil ^_^

Am I the only one that doesn't give a shit?

I'm going to go out on a limb here (and some much catch a small pun there ^_^) and speak my mind on something: I don't care that the Lakers won. Actually, when it comes to sports I, to quote, "frankly don't give a damn" about professional sports.

I just don't know why. I have actually tried to sit down and want to watch a game of any sport and... I just get bored. There's nothing there that holds my attention. Unless things go bad. A good example would be the last World Cup. You know, the one where this asshole decided to disrespect his game and headbutt a player over some harsh words? I was housesitting for my sister at the time and decided to watch the game. Worst.Mistake.Ever.

But I see my disgust for pro-sports everwhere. Do they honestly deserve the millions they get paid? In my opinoin, no. But I'm a minority. I can sit in front of a comptuer for hours on one game and get just as much enjoyment. I just wish I didn't have to hear my neighbors while last nights game was going on. Hearing shouts of 'Oh come on you motherfucker' loud enough for my whole apartment complext to hear is NOT my idea of an enjoyable evening. Sorry, no.

Chaos Ramblings

<<Cross posting from LiveJournal>>

Ok so this is going to be a weird ass post. I was half asleep last night when this happened but still awake enough to remember it. Sometimes when I'm lying in bed I tend to start day dreaming (a misnomer, as it is usually night) about things. Some things that come up are profound enough to jump me out of bed to write them down. I think it has to do with a loose mental state or something.

So anyways I'm sitting in front of a chessboard with with someone (Editing Note: I'd explain more, but both the chessboard and person are insignificant to this post so I omitting them) trying in futility to get them to understand my way of thinking. So I think to myself "what is chaos" and my answer is "I don't know, because there is no true chaos in this world"

Waitafuckingminute, what? Yes, no true chaos. Lets say I pick up a single grain of sand and drop it on to the board. Fine, we won't know truly where it will land or how it might roll afterwords. However, this is not a chaotic as it may seem. The laws of physics dictate exactly where it will fall. Mind you the variables of speed, friction from air, momentum, and the transfer of energy to the air and board are themselves so complex as to take a single computer model years to calculate. However, you can eventually calculate it. And there in lies my definition of true chaos.

In a truly chaotic state the grain of sand would so much fall down and hit the board. The minute you let it go... on moment it is there, the next in Egypt, next floating somewhere outside Alpha Centauri (yes I've been playing that game again), and so on. The real question become 'will the sand ever reach the board?' A better one is 'how can this universe exist with matter moving all over the place?'

It can't exist. We live in a world of ordered chaos. We are patterns in chaos, you and I. We exist because there are exactly 4 forces holding all the shit together. It's an amazing thing when you really understand the scope of it. ^_^ (and yes I'm excluding string theory here for the purpose of a cohesive argument)

Ok so enough of that. I'm probably going to make everyone's brain bleed if I continue ^_^

Returning

So I'm just going to pick up this blog and just run with it again. I'm not looking for format, just dumb ramblings, reviews, thoughts. Next post'll be a weird one. I guess I'll turn this into a more public version of my livejournal/dreamwidth account. Fun cross posting MADNESS!