Disjointed Digression

Queue has been scratching himself so that he makes scabs on his head and neck. So I took him to the vet. The vet thinks it might be an allergy so we decided to start simple and cheap. The vet suggested we change his food and water bowl from the plastic bowls he was eating out of. Also she told us to give him some over the counter allergy pills. I was even given a little device to shoot the pills down his throat.
We decided to go with an alternate method of getting the medicine into the manx. We crush up the pills and mix it into some wet cat food. Since we have to give him the medicine ever twelve hours, Queue has begun to anticipate his twice daily “treats”. He has began to hang out under the table about an hour before he thinks he should get his “treat”. And when his “treat” is being prepared he is constantly under foot in the kitchen and meowing. Zaida also goes into the kitchen anytime anyone heads into the kitchen.
I came home the other day and Candy told me about how Queue was hanging out under the table, and looking at her, looking at the kitchen. She said if he had a watch, he would have been glancing at it. Tonight, we were in the kitchen I began making Queue’s “treat”, Candy was making something for herself to eat, therefore Zaida was in the kitchen too. Now keep in mind that our kitchen is not very large. About the third time Candy almost tripped over one of the animals, in frustration she said “It’s like a furry obstacle course in here!”

The other day as I was perusing digg.com, I found an interesting article. The title was “Xbox 360 (with Hardrive) $339″. I thought maybe Microsoft had decided to lower the price… But wouldn’t they go to $349.99 instead of $339? Seeing how I don’t have an Xbox 360, I figured I’d check it out. The link took me here. In the event that sit goes away, it’s a deal site, one that tells you about good buys you can find from various websites or sometimes brick and mortar stores. This deal was for 15% off at Overstock.com. 15% off a $399 Xbox 360 = $339. Just the day before I had thought about buying one at a local Gamestop or Bestbuy. So I figured I can’t pass up a saving of $70. There was a catch, of course. You had to buy something that was not entertainment related with the Xbox 360 to get the discount. The site had some “filler” ideas. One of which was a cushioned mailer for 88 cents. So I raced over to Overstock.com via the link on the site and added an Xbox 360, a second wireless controller, a game and an 88 cent cushioned mailer to my cart. I hit checkout and BAM! $75 off. I had all of it for less than an Xbox 360 (+ tax) at a local store. Now I had a feeling that it was going to a mistake on Overstock’s part, that I’d get an email saying “Sorry, we won’t sell you the Xbox 360, but if you really want that cushioned mailer…”
No such email came, instead I got an email confirming the purchase and later one saying it had shipped.
Jump forward two days, I’m getting ready to go to sleep so I can get up in the evening and go to work, when there is a knock on the door. It’s the UPS man! He has a sizable box! It says Overstock.com! I barely contain myself as a scribble my name on the LCD tracking pad thingy.
I rush back in the house and open the box… See the contents below

I began to laugh hysterically.
I had gotten the first of 2 shipments. A box that was about 1 foot by 2 foot by 1 foot with a cushioned mailer in it. I had a great laugh at the situation.

You know I joke about putting the dog into the microwave to let her lick up any mess I make, not to cook her!
I have never acted on it of course. Unlinke this guy who proposed taping a piece of bacon to his cat…
Bacon on a cat!

[Listening to: Cat Scratch Fever - Pantera - Detroit Rock City Soundtrack (3:47)]

With Verizon, I have the “new every two” as part of my calling plan. A few weeks ago, my two years was almost up, so I went into the local Verizon store and picked out a phone that I wanted to upgrade to. I picked the Samsung SCH-a930.
I got to the counter and waited for the person in front of me was finished. I noticed that it took him a long time. When I got to the counter, I was told that the store was having problems with their computer system. A really loooong time. I figured I’d wait, I had nothing else to do since it was a night off for me. So I told them I’d wait. I was told that it might be over an hour, that was at nine thirty. At ten fifteen I was told that the store would call me and let me know when everything was done. So I went home and goofed off on the computer. At about noon, when I was planning on going to bed, the UPS guy showed up with a new Heatsink/fan for my PC. My PC had been running a little hot. I installed the Heatsink/fan, and again as I was going to bed, I was interrupted, Verizon called and said everything would be ready soon. At about 1:30 I had my new phone, came home and crashed.
As for the phone itself, I know it looks like a pager when its closed, but I think that’s part of what makes it cool. It’s different. I was thinking of getting a silver razr, but figured that since I already had a black razr, and that razrs were everywhere, I’d get something different. I must say that after using the phone (as much as I use my cell phone) for a few weeks, that I really dig it. It has good reception, and I good volume. I don’t think I will ever use all the features. Honestly, I have a digital camera, so I hardly ever use the camera on a phone, I have an ipod, so I don’t ever use a phone as a music player. A phone as a music player would drain the phone battery too quickly, in my opinion. Overall I dig the phone, it’s different, cool looking, and works really well.
Even though it took a long time to get it from Verizon, I think it was worth it. ANd I really can’t fault Verizon, computer problems happen.

I have been missing, absent, elsewhere, a no-show for far too long on my blog. For the very few who longed for my return, I hope that longing has been sated. Why I have been away, I really cannot say. It’s not like I’ve been overly busy. I’ve been working, sleeping and still playing too much World of Warcraft. I offer no excuse, as an excuse would just be a lie wrapped around an unwanted truth.

In my time away from you, dear reader I have done many things. A few of those things are suitable for public consumption.
I have seen a few movies, and will give quick reviews about them, since most of them are already passé.

Nacho Libre
Being a fan of Jack Black, and enjoying Director Jared Hess’ breakout nerdy comedy with no jokes Napoleon Dynamite, I decided I wanted to see Nacho Libre. The only thing I knew about Mexican masked wrestling was that it was (maybe still is) HUGE in Mexico. Going into this film, I had no preconceived notions about any aspect of it. I think that made a minor contribution to the fact that I really enjoyed the movie. I have seen a few reviews of the film and there is on thing in particular that I had to agree with. On a Geekdrome podcast it was mentioned that Jack Black detracts from the film when he breaks character. When he is not Nacho, but basically Jack Black doing his “thing” (a la the seen where his is singing and goes into his impersonation of a musical horn). As Jack Black that’s part of his shtick but it’s out of character for Nacho. But I digress…
Overall, I really had a fun time with this movie, definitely one that I’ll pick up on DVD. If you haven’t seen it, and enjoy quirky comedies, check it out.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Ahh, sequels… I really enjoyed the first Pirates. It was fun, and goofy in parts had good action sequences. As long as you didn’t take it too seriously, or think about it too much it’s a fun film. Therefore I wanted to see the sequel. As is the case for most sequels, the sequel tries to outdo the original. For Pirates that meant a grander scale, everything seemed bigger, more over the top. That includes the length of the film, at two and half hours it was too long in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong there are parts that are fun goofy and good action sequences. But there are also parts that drag on too long, or that seem to not have any real reason for being in the movie. Everyone is back for the sequel. Some might consider this a spoiler, but the much talked about Keith Richards appearance never happens. To be honest I was a little depressed about that one. Also it’s painfully obvious at the end that there has to be a Pirates 3. The special effects are top notch, and would be good to see on the big screen, but I’d go to a matinee. Or possibly wait for DVD. I just can’t wholeheartedly recommend paying $10 to see this movie.

Clerks II
As most of you know I’m a big fan of Kevin Smith. When he announced Clerks II “The Passion of the Clerks” I was pretty excited. Then for a few years while the film was being made, I didn’t think about it. As the release got closer and closer, I became wary. A big budget sequel to an indie hit? I decided I would see it, but that I would avoid hearing/reading/seeing anything about it before hand. I had done the opposite with Star Wars Episode One and look how that turned out! I had mentioned this to Candy and at one point when a trailer was on TV she shouted at me and kept my attention on her so I wouldn’t see/hear about the movie. Love is a wonderful thing!
About the movie itself: I feel that it kept to its roots. It was funny and goofy, and at times made you think. It lambastes popular culture, including, but not restricted to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars, and the upcoming Transformers movie. Also I felt that in parts the movie made fun of itself and didn’t take itself too seriously. My wariness was for naught. I highly recommend seeing Clerks II.

That’s all for now (I’m sure for some of you it’s too much ) I’m going to try to write regularly again.

Yeah, so this past week I got a year older. Candy showered me with DVDs! Apparently she passed “Know your Geek 101″ with flying colors. She got me Babylon 5 Seasons 2-5 and X-Files Seasons 4-6. She is too good to me! We didn’t make a big fuss about the birthday, we went out to eat at the Macaroni Grill and that was about it.
Other than that I’ve not been doing a whole lot other than work and playing World of Warcraft.

Let’s Talk About Movies
I haven’t been watching as many movies as I used to. More and more I’ve been saying “I’ll wait for that to come to DVD”. What is kind of odd is that I’ll be all about seeing a movie at the cinema, but the week after it gets released, I’ll say “I’ll wait for that to come to DVD”. I’ve done that with V for Vendetta, and Da Vinci Code, just to name a few recently. The last movies I went to see in the theater were Ice Age Meltdown (meh the first one was a little better) and The Notorious Bettie Page. I liked The Notorious Bettie Page, it was a fairly good biopic, but I felt like there was something missing from the movie. I can’t say what, but it seemed to lack something. Even though it seemed like something is missing, I recommend it.
Since I’m a comic book nerd, I had to check out the Ghost Rider trailer.
Before seeing the trailer, I had my doubts about Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, but it looks like he might work out. From what I’ve seen in the trailer, I’ll go see the movie, but there is some potential for it to suck, which is the case for any comic book movie. Daredevil and Electra sucked but the trailers were not so bad, from what I remember.
Beav mentioned a pod/video cast called Geekdrome to me. So I checked out the latest episode. IMO, it’s not as good as Diggnation, but I subscribed to it. On Geekdrome they talked about the Superman Returns trailer. Talked is a bit mild, the fawned over it, damn near having an orgasm. I decided to watch this trailer that would change my life…
About 15 seconds into the trailer I remembered that Superman is my least favorite comic book hero. He is the Achilles of comic books. He only has one weakness…going on cocaine binges in Vegas. No wait, that’s not it, Kryptonite, that’s it. That’s his physical weakness, his character flaw is that he is too good. For example Batman has no problem dangling a bad guy from a rooftop to get answers, but I think Superman would frown on that. I really don’t know, since I haven’t read any Superman comics in ages because I think he sucks. But I digress…
Back to the trailer. It’s a Superman movie. It looks slicker than the old ones (obviously). But in essence it’s a movie about an almost invulnerable boy scout. I think I’m going to pass, or possibly I’ll wait for that to come to DVD.
Since I’m on comic book movies I’ll mention that I have not seen X-Men 3. But I have bought tickets to go see it on Sunday. I’m a little excited about the movie, but I find that these days I just can’t get as excited about movies as I used to. I blame this on Hollywood putting out shitty movies for the the past 5-10 years. There have been good movies in those years, don’t get me wrong. But for every Sin City there are 25 Stealths. I guess I’m tired of digging through a mound of shit to find gold flakes. I just hope that it’s not that I have out-grown movies, that I have lost my cinema innocence never to regain that sense of wonderment, the excitement at a trailer.

As some of you may know, I have an unhealthy fascination with the badger, badger, mushroom, snake flash animation. Well a few weeks ago, I was feeling nostalgic, so I looked it up and marveled at the badgers. Not being one to keep a fun time to myself, I sent the link to Candy. Her response was to send me a link that included this pic…

What was even more staggering was that you could buy your own lovable plush badger!
When I saw that I believe I said “OMFG! I want one!” So for an early birthday present, Candy got me one! As cheesy as it seems, I really love that little badger! But I guess that’s what comes from having an unnatural attraction to badgers badgers badgers badgersbadgersbadgersbadgersbadgersbadgersbadgersbadgers

So I’ve been really lazy of late. Well for most of the month of February, at least. I haven’t blogged except for about The World’s Fastest Indian. The month of February was pretty good. I had a great Valentines Day. Candy and I piled up our loot and snapped a few pics…

Candy bought enough candy for the both of us. I bought her the big tootsie pop pillow

And she indulged my weird fascination with monkeys and bought me an Ape of Love.

For the rest of the month it’s been work, sleep, try to have fun on the days off as usual.
I guess I’ve got a bit of bloggers block still. On top of that I’m having a hard time getting into books I want to read. I mean I have like five or six books that I have started, two of which I’m over 100 pages into. So technically I’m currently reading Streams of Silver, The Legend of Nightfall, The Psycho Ex Game, Anansi Boys, Weave World and Cell. I think that Cell might be the one I stick with, I’m feeling up to some Stephen King.
Although I do have a few projects underway… I’m going though my comic book collection and culling out ones I want to try to sell on ebay.
And In a fit of insanity, I ordered the biggest, coolest Star Wars Lego set EVER!

So once that comes in I’ll probably be working on it for months.

I guess I’ve rambled enough for now… one other thing, I have added new pictures of Queue and Zaida to the galleries on the main page

Candy and I have started to watch Lost season one on DVD. We both seem to have the same opinion about it. We don’t really like it, but are giving the show a little bit of latitude, we both agree that it’s “like watching a train wreck” we don’t like it, but can’t look away. So far we have watched nine episodes and neither of us are “hooked”. Having been told to watch the show closely, I wonder if we are watching too closely… For example we have spotted a few flubs. We noticed that a few characters’ scars miraculously disappeared in a few days time. Locke can walk, but didn’t have to go through any physical therapy regimen to rebuild his atrophied legs. If he couldn’t move them for four years, I doubt he would just stand up and walk. We both noticed that the same couple walked past in the background two times in successive shots. But I digress…

With forty some odd people on this island, only about 10 are prominent in the show. With the way the plane broke up, it’s amazing that that many people survived. I haven’t looked into it, and did not notice if it had been mentioned, but the plane they crashed on appeared to have 2 engines, probably a 737. A 737 has a maximum passenger capacity of 189. Add in ten flight crew and that’s near 200 people. Roughly a quarter of the passengers survived the plane crash. That is pretty amazing, considering the way the plane broke up, in the air. Supposedly the tail came off in flight, and the cockpit broke off as well, also apparently in flight. The plane would have to have been crashing already, or dangerously low to the ground and travelling at a slow speed for all the three pieces to have landed on the same island. This island must be huge. Maybe that is covered in subsequent episodes, I dunno. It just seems a little too far fetched. Those are some of the things that are bugging me.
What bugs Candy is the “supernatural” elements. The “monster” in the jungle to Candy is just cheesy. I have to agree, the shaking and knocking down of trees, the mechanical sounds it makes… cheesy.
Maybe all this stuff gets explained, but I don’t know if we will stick it out long enough.
The only thing that we like are two of the characters Locke and Sawyer.
Anyway… Lost might be lost on us. I think we might give it a few more episodes, but I doubt if we’ll make it much further. A lot of people we have heard talk about the show were “hooked” after the first show. We however were not.
I guess time will tell…

I don’t know who else does this, but sometimes in traffic, I have an internal commentary on other drivers. I know some people are oblivious to all the traffic around them ( one person in specific… let’s just say that I’m glad I don’t have to drive in Boston) Not that I can really say much about my driving, usually when my driving is described the words “under speeed limit”, “slow” and “grandma” are used. But I digress…
The other day, I’m driving home from work, and I come to a stop at a red light. At this light there are 2 lanes, the left lane turns, and the right lane can turn or go straight. If you stay in the right lane and turn, you are set up for turning right a little ways down the street. In other words you wouldn’t have to try to move back over a lane. So there I was at the head of the pack at the stop light, there were 3 vehicles behind me. One gets out of line and gets into the left lane. I had a gut feeling that this vehicle was going to have to try to cut back across a lane in a short while. So I’m thinking this driver is making a mistake, “what a retard” I think. The light turns green, I cross the intersection and turn left, sliding into the lane to turn right shortly. In my rear view I notice the vehicle trying to move over. After I made my right turn I watched the mirror and finally saw the vehicle make the turn.
Now, I thought, maybe I should have been nice and tried to let this vehicle in. But that occurred after the fact. And I felt a little guilty then, because said vehicle was a short school bus…