‘Twas caviar
This weekend was good. I got to chill a little bit, which I’d long needed. Had caviar for the first time ever; it tasted mostly of salt, and slightly fishy. I’ve heard it’s served on buttered toast, and I think that would improve it quite a bit.
I also tried the Lord of the Rings online role-playing game. The first thing I noticed is that it’s certainly prettier than WoW (and therefore needs more video processing power than, say, my desktop can handle). I enjoyed the Minstrel class I tried – there’s something entertaining about whipping out a lute in the middle of a melee and dealing damage with a few bars of a song.
But, when all’s said and done, I enjoy the slightly surrealistic graphics of WoW – they seem to fit with a world which has so many fantastic shorthands for everyday actions – and the LotR game takes itself fairly seriously, which also isn’t really what I’m here for. I might play it if there were a Mac version and no other competitors, but my subscription will stay with Blizzard for now.
This week’s Doctor Who episode brings the Series 4 average down to .667. Even discounting the goofy, thoughtless science – which is hard, since one element is a major plot point – there wasn’t much special about it. Donna was great; her emotional arc about the future of humanity and our ethics, and the conditions of the Ood provided a welcome touch of development.
But overall, the episode was fairly formulaic, including at least one completely gratuitous CGI death, and someone trying viciously to kill the Doctor for no reason at all. One touch I did like: minor spoiler
2008: A Hampton Roads Odyssey
BIG weekend.
rhaps and shrewlet came down, partially to socialize, and partially to pick up some unused floor tile from Starr’s mom.
I won’t list all the places to which I drove on Saturday and Sunday, it would be tedious for both writer and readers. But my destinations involved finances, prescriptions, breakfasts, lunch, dinner, additional socializing with Dwight, Bert, and Meche, HD channels for the TV, tile collection, and flowers.
The irises were interesting. Turns out that they were free because I had to dig them out of the lady’s downtown Norfolk garden myself. In the rain. And I hadn’t brought tools. And there were two hens and a rooster looking over my shoulder and providing constructive criticism.
On the other hand, the additional HD channels were all free, and consisted of content such as Discovery, Science, Food Network, Bravo, and TLC: the only sort of channels our TV tends to be tuned to anyway. We did watch 2001: A Space Odyssey on Universal HD, learning that yes, a pretty movie gets prettier at 1080i.
Good weekend, but I’m pooped.
Bugs in the System
First, the very good news. Starr called this morning to tell me that the doctors have figured out exactly what she is suffering from: Microscopic Colitis. The short version is that it’s definitely intestinal and quite treatable; Starr will have to go on a 6-12 month course of medication, after which the problem will probably go away completely.
Suddenly, my own breathing and heart rate are much improved.
I ordered a pizza last night because I needed comfort food. Usually, I eat half of a large for dinner. Last night, I had to stop myself at three-quarters. Starving much? I tried to game a little to relax and get some endorphin production going, but my brain wasn’t functioning enough for anything more ambitious than the WoW fishing mini-game. Jumped from skill level 155 to 190 yup yup.
I am not a fan of this early Daylight Savings thing. I hate getting up before the sun; just when I was getting used to seeing daylight out of my bedroom window, boom I’m back to darkness. Now I have to wait for the season to catch up again.
Starr should be in for a few more days of observation. Thank you very much to everyone who has already, or is planning to call or visit. It’s been gold to us.
Tweets for Today
- 09:29 Too much Food Network last night. Dreamed that pastry chefs were building meiran’s new car out of layer cake, fondant, and icing. #
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Pef
Pretty ‘meh’ day today. Today started with the “alarm in the middle of dreaming sleep” which can and did leave me shaky and slightly sick. Starr made me a nice breakfast, and I threw most of the morning ills off by the time I got to work, but it set the tone for the day. Very little today has gone properly, and I’ve been unable to finish almost anything I’ve started.
At least the weekend’s coming up. That’s gotta be a good thing!
Brain in the high-tech gutter
Really. The model on the new Microsoft Mactopia page looks like she wants to charge me $2.95 a minute for something, and it ain’t tech support. Are they diversifying now that Bill’s leaving?
Rough night last night. Starr was quite ill with food poisoning all day and night, and I was way overdue on laundry even without the upcoming con to consider. Did get three loads done, including the kilt, and I think she mostly forgave me for my unskilled nursing attempts. We had no trouble conking out when bedtime rolled around. I swear, at this point I’m considering afternoon naps for the weekend.
Speaking of MarsCon, a preliminary schedule‘s up. At least I hope it’s preliminary. Not only is everything I wish to attend scheduled directly against something else I wish to attend, but there is one timeslot where it appears the webcomics guests will need to be in two places at once.
Tonight: more laundry, packing, and cleaning out the car.
Tweets for Today
- 08:25 End of a loaf of garlic bread for breakfast. Yummm. Frost on all the laws this morning… boo. #
- 11:35 NEED MOAR PANTZ. Nearly all the ones i have don’t fit any more or are coming apart. 🙁 #
- 14:19 Boy, you plug one bad FireWire hard drive into your machine, and everything stops working. #
- 14:25 @dragonpearl: Any good dales at the CompUSA near you? #
- 14:30 Y’know, my typing ability, never stellar, has declined noticeably in the last few months 🙁 #
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Tweets for Today
- 09:19 Trans-Siberian Orchestra just amazed me last night. Rarely have I heard and seen such joy and passion in Xmas music. #
- 10:44 I just now really, really, really wanted to be snarky and unpleasant on a message board, and I restrained myself. I am proud. #
- 13:11 Chinese lunch saying goodbye to coworker. Program manager decided to treat everyone. Day is not sucking. #
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A VTSFFC Party, Day Two
I slept quite late Sunday morning; I’d not had enough rest in the last week, and a five-hour drive is still draining even when it’s pleasant.
shrewlet fixed a big breakfast for us. I was starving, I honestly ate too much. I spent a few minutes checking e-mail and trying to log onto WoW – I’m trying to earn enough quest tickets to win a prize in-game – but I couldn’t get a good connection. It wasn’t long before I had to give up and get dressed for yubbie and colleenk‘s wedding.
Wile dressing, I amused myself by considering the far greater number of times I’ve worn a Starfleet uniform than a suit, but it’s not as if I’d forgotten how to put it on. Dwight and I left the Arthur digs early, for we had stops to make – I picked up a cute card for the happy couple – and we arrived pretty much on time.
Listing the LJ and fan folk who were there would be quite tedious, so I shan’t try. The wedding was wonderful. Colleen was gorgeous and Ron looked great. I saw people there I hadn’t laid eyes on in years!
That sad part was that I couldn’t stay for the reception – we had a 5-hour drive back (6, really) and Dwight had to be home in time for an early work day. So I didn’t get to pass on my congratulations in person. But the pictures prove I was there!
Home now… I had a great time, and wish I could have spent more time at that end of the state. The Roanoke and New River valleys need to be brought at least 2/3 closer to Hampton Roads (or vice versa).
