Happy New Year!

It's me again. It's been just over a month since my last post, in which time I finished grad school and completed my Master's degree, celebrated Christmas with my family and friends, and, of course, worked.

I'm heading out soon to spend some more time with my immediate family and other relatives, but I wanted to pop in to wish you a Happy New Year and to thank you for reading this blog, if you by some chance happen to read it. I don't really do New Year's resolutions anymore, but I have three goals for blogging in 2011:

1) Blog more;

2) Not announce that I will write about something until I actually do it;

3) Figure out my long-term plans with my other neglected blog, Hired Minds.

We'll see which of these I actually stick to. :) Have a safe and fun NYE, and as the tired joke goes, see you next year!

Cobwebs

Just a quick note to wish anyone reading this a Happy Thanksgiving, and to let you know that I'm still here, just very busy. I have about two and a half weeks of class left until I have earned my Master's degree, so it's crunch time there along with work and my standard home and family obligations. As such I probably won't update this again until sometime in the second half of next month. I miss writing here, though, and am looking forward to getting the chance to do more. Not too much longer...

Oh, and this is the 50th post on this blog. So there's that milestone too.

Dusting Off the Blog

Apologies for the lack of posting in the past few weeks. I wouldn't say I've been particularly busy, just that I haven't thought to write anything here recently. I have class starting in a little over a week (my last semester of graduate school, assuming all goes according to plan), so I'm not sure how frequently I will be posting through the end of the year, but I will try to get something up at least once in a while.

The funny thing is, I often have good ideas for posts when I'm somewhere where writing one isn't possible (at work, on the bus, etc). I guess I need to do a better job of capturing those thoughts and expanding on them when I'm at home where I can write.

Back

My plane landed an hour ago, so I haven't been back too long yet, but I thought I should post anyway just to check in.

I had a great time in Vegas, and it's provided me with a lot of blog post fodder that will keep me occupied for a while (not just about what I did on the trip, but general observations and ruminations as well). Plus, I still want to write up a recap of the Minnesota Blogger Conference from a week ago, but that will be on my other blog. So, yeah, lots to do.

Hello New Visitors!

Just wanted to say hello quick to anyone visiting the blog for the first time, either because of the Minnesota Blogger Conference or for other reasons. I know this blog needs work, but I'm glad you stopped by, and I look forward to meeting you and reading your blogs as well.

(cross-posted at Hired Minds, my blog about contract and temporary work and life)

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted?

A week from Tuesday, assuming nothing changes between now and then, I will get on a plane and fly to Las Vegas for a few night's stay at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino. I should be excited about this, but lately, I'm not.

I planned this trip much earlier this year, after wanting to go somewhere due to not having been out of town all of last year and only escaping for a couple of brief times (one or two nights) this year. I'd been to Vegas before, and knew I liked it and can have a good time there for cheap, so I booked the trip. However, due to a couple of different reasons, my enthusiasm has waned. For one, this isn't the best time to be going out of town, and for another, I would like to go someplace I haven't been before.

However, at the same time, there are reasons why I should still go. For one, I paid for the bulk of the trip long ago and can't recoup the costs at this point, due to it being a package, and don't expect to spend a lot of money once I'm there -- I'm not a gambler and I don't have expensive tastes. For another, I'm not sure when I will have another chance to go on a vacation (I have tentative plans for next year, but they require the chips to fall right, pardon the metaphor), so I want to take advantage of this when I can. Finally, I don't do a good enough job of doing things for myself and just letting go and relaxing. I really think the trip will do me some good and give me a much-needed chance to clear my head.

No, the timing isn't great, but you can't live your life always waiting for the perfect time to do something. There's times when you just need to plow ahead and do it, and deal with whatever comes of it.

Why I Like Fall

In my last post, I mentioned that fall was my favorite season. Here's why:

-- My birthday is at the end of October. Reason enough right there, really.
-- Cooler weather. I don't mind warm weather as much as I used to, but my tolerance for it is limited, so I welcome the days where I can turn off the AC and open the windows, especially in my bedroom at night.
-- The leaves changing color. I love the reds, golds, and even the browns of the fall leaves, whether on trees or on the ground.
-- Football. I'm watching a Vikings preseason game as I write this. Skol Vikings!
-- Apples. Plus everything made using them.
-- Halloween. I've started to get back into it after not really caring about it for a long time. It's one of the best holidays.
-- Going back to school. That was more when I was younger (though I am taking classes later this fall), but I still get excited about school supplies for some reason.

If there was someplace on Earth that had an eternal fall, I would move there.

Hello, September

September is only a few hours away, which means Summer is just about over too. Technically, I know that the season has a few more weeks until the Equinox, but I never consider that to be the true end of Summer. For me, that's always Labor Day. Growing up, school always started on the day after Labor Day, since in Minnesota schools cannot legally start before then because the tourism industry wants families to still take vacations in late August (that really is the reason). Plus, it is the last day of the State Fair, which is another psychological end point.

I can already see some signs of the changing season. A few trees are in the early stages of changing color from green to red and gold, and there are grasshoppers jumping around when I go hiking on the weekends. Plus, it gets dark much earlier at night then it seemed it did only a couple of weeks ago. Not much in the way of cooler weather yet -- it hit ninety outside today -- but hopefully that will be here soon as well. It is one reason of many why Fall is my favorite season.

Actually, that would make for a good post, so you can expect to see that in the near future.

Procrastination

Well, the concert was awesome, first of all. I may post about it later on, since it will be a longer one if I do. But I'm putting it off for the time being, just like I unfortunately put off way too many things.

Really, I was even putting off writing this post. I knew though that I should probably get it out while I could, though, especially since I was tired from a long hike in the Minnesota River Valley this morning and wasn't sure how much energy I would have tonight. And just now, between the last sentence and this one, I took a ten minute break to start dinner and get something to drink.

Procrastination obviously affects a lot of people, and it seems to be worse for people who -- like me -- are also prone to being distracted unless we're really, really into whatever it is that we are doing. Fortunately, I find that there are ways to compensate for this. Deadlines are one good way, of course, as I discussed about a week ago on my other blog, but I don't want to retread that ground here too much.

The best way for me is just to figure out the most important task at any given time, and work on that exclusively until it is done, then the next task, then the next one. Even big projects can be tackled in this way, since a project is nothing but a bunch of small tasks put together. You don't have to build the whole house at once. If focusing on putting up a shelf -- or even just pounding in one nail -- is what it takes to get it built, then that's what it takes.

Now if you'll excuse me, there is a really cool website I have to look at before I hit "publish"...

Rushing Into The Weekend

Today was the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, which runs through Labor Day. If you live in Minnesota, you are legally required to attend. No, not really; I'm joking. But sometimes it does seem that way, considering the enthusiasm so many people have for it.

Normally I probably wouldn't go this year, since I went last year and it's more of an every two to three year thing for me. But this year Rush is playing at the Grandstand, and I decided, oh, why not? I was really into them when I was younger and I still like their music despite not being as obsessive of a fan as I once was. Plus, I always wanted to see them back then, but never had the chance, so this is a way of paying back my teenage self for being patient.

So, that's where I will be tomorrow night. Hopefully by my Sunday entry, I'll have my hearing back.

Special Appearance

Got distracted last night, so unfortunately I missed posting. Regular posting will resume tomorrow, but until then here's a link to a discussion on Girl Meets Geek about transit in the Twin Cities suburbs in which she quotes a Twitter comment of mine from earlier today (I'm @moerketim, who she quotes in her first point). It's a great post and I may discuss my thoughts on the issue here sometime as well.

What I'm Watching

Since I periodically do a post about stuff I'm reading, it seemed a given that I should talk about stuff I've watched recently once in a while too. So, here we go. Note that I didn't include links for these, because the Wikipedia entries would likely have spoilers and IMDB is just kind of a pain.

The Expendables: I saw this in the theater on opening night, so according to the hilarious fan-made trailer (NSFW, by the way, and that goes triple for the comments) I deserve to be a man. This movie is exactly what it says on the package, nothing more and nothing less. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you, but as a fan of old-school action movies and much of the cast, for me it was a very good thing indeed.

Factotum: In a completely different direction, we have this movie, based on the life of author Charles Bukowski. For some reason, the movie was filmed in Minneapolis, because I guess filming the movie where the book it is based on took place (L.A.) was just too hard or something. I mean, I can't imagine filiming a movie in L.A., can you? Nevertheless, it was interesting to see places I recognized and have been to, even if the setting wasn't really used in the story. However, I ended up not really caring about pretty much anyone in the movie, as they just weren't likable and in some cases actually repellent. There really isn't any message or meaning to what happens, it just sort of occurs. I guess that's realistic, but it wasn't what I was looking for. However, a Bukowski fan (I knew who he was before this, but that's all) might see it differently.

Control: You would probably assume that a movie about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, would be rather bleak and grim. You would, in fact, be totally correct. However, I still enjoyed the movie, being a fan of the band and of others from that time and place. The actors all gave really convincing performances, especially the ones playing the members of Joy Division themselves, and the recreated concert and television footage is amazing due to the actors actually performing the songs (and doing a very convincing job doing it). I'd probably only recommend it to people with an interest in the subject matter, but if you have that, you'll like it.

Mad Men Season One: This is a strange one, since I've already seen seasons two and three when they first aired on AMC. Seeing as how I started watching the show partway through, though, it seemed like I should go back and see it from the beginning despite already knowing the season's main spoilers. Because the show is so well done, it's still rewarding to watch even though I'm aware of what happens. That said, the pace is definitely slower in the first season and it doesn't feel as lively, although it improves towards the end.

The Wire Season Five: I've finished the first disc of the last season of this show, and have three more to go. I can tell it's the last season since ongoing storylines are being wound up, it moves along more quickly, and characters from past seasons are being brought back to show what happens to them. It definitely has a different feel to it than previous seasons, but it's still an amazing show. Of all of the TV shows that were originally on pay networks but later brought to basic cable or broadcast channels (like The Sopranos or Sex and the City), I'm not sure why it was never done with The Wire. Not that much content would need to be removed, and it is a great show that more people need to see.

Heroism

You want to see heroism?

This here is true heroism at its greatest.

(Link courtesy of @ebertchicago's twitterstream)

Interesting Statistic

Technically, I crossed this threshold several entries back, but I was pleased to see that I now have more posts for 2010 so far than all of 2008 and 2009 combined. Though admittedly, 2009 only had one entry, since last year I was focusing on my other blog to the detriment of this one.

If I can keep up my current posting rate, I should be able to double this in only a couple more months, even if I don't write when I'm gone on vacation next month (more on that in a later post). Go me!

I Write Like Who, Again?

The answer to the question from my last post was The Expendables, by the way. Highly entertaining movie if it's the sort of thing you like (which I do), and whatever you thought of the trailer and ads is almost definitely what you'll think of the movie.

Anyway, there's a website people have been talking about lately called I Write Like, which supposedly analyzes a writing sample from you and tells you which well-known author your writing resembles. I don't know the technical details behind it, but just for fun I ran four of my posts from this blog through it.

Three of them came back as David Foster Wallace, while the outlier was Cory Doctorow. I've never read any of Wallace's works, and though I recognized the name, I only really knew that he was a writer and had committed suicide a couple of years ago. But reading about him in Wikipedia makes me definitely want to read his stuff for myself. As for Doctorow, I've read some of his essays online and articles in Wired, so I'm familiar with him. I guess I don't see the comparison, but I have a lot of respect for Doctorow, so I certainly don't mind.

Of course, you can't read too much into things like this. But they're fun to play around with, and the temporary ego boost is nice.

The Question Of The Day Is...

...do I go see The Expendables or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World this weekend?

Sew It Goes

On Sunday I did something I've never done before: I sewed a button on a shirt.

Yes, it's pretty mundane, but in a weird way it was a big deal for me: I successfully did something that was both practical and had intimidated me for a long time. For some reason, I never learned it back in Home Ec in junior high (or if I did, I had long since forgotten it). And it wasn't something I learned in Boy Scouts either -- you'd think we'd have learned at least basic sewing, considering it could potentially have useful application in both the outdoors and day-to-day life, but I guess obscure knots you'll never use are more important.

Anyway, I had a dress shirt that was missing a button on the front, and since I have to wear dress shirts most days for work, I wanted it to be back in the rotation, so to speak. I thought about taking it to a tailor and having it fixed, but then I thought "This isn't something major like having a suit taken in; I should be able to do this rather than pay someone to do it." Plus, I already had the necessary materials in a storage box in the closet. With a button, black thread, a needle, and a helpful tutorial from eHow, I was set to go. It took a little while, and it wasn't the most elegant sewing in the world, but it got the job done.

I think it's a good metaphor for a lot of things in life: it's something that seems hard at first, and maybe even impossible. But a little bit of preparation and research go a really long way, and before you know it, you'll wonder why something like this ever intimidated you. And the nice thing about confidence is that it builds on itself -- if you can manage to do one thing, you can do the next, and so on and so on (or is that sew on)?

Bonus Post: Scheduling

I've decided on a posting frequency schedule for my two blogs in order to establish some regularity and encourage myself to post consistently. As of today, this blog will be updated on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Hired Minds, my other blog (there's a link over there on the right; this is a fast post and I'm being lazy) will get new content on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There may be occasional "bonus posts" like this one where I post on a non-scheduled day or multiple times in one day for a special reason. But otherwise, I will do my very best to keep to that schedule, and to that end I've already written the next post for both this blog and HM. So now I just need to think of something for Wednesday and Thursday...

Con-templation

Today is the last day of GenCon in Indianapolis, which is the largest convention dedicated to gaming in the country ("gaming", in this case, referring to board games, card games, RPGs, miniatures, etc). I went each year from 2000 through 2005, went to Otakon instead in 2006, and then back to GenCon in 2007, but haven't returned since then.

There's a few reasons for why I haven't been back yet -- we didn't have the best experience in 2007, so we weren't much interested in returning in 2008, plus we had taken a two-week trip to Japan earlier in the year anyway so we weren't itching for a vacation. In 2009, we still weren't quite up for it, plus our employment situations around the time when we would have needed to decide if we were going pretty much precluded any possibility of attending anyway. This year, I actually considered going back in late April, but the need to make the logistical arrangements so far in advance (due to the massive attendance and limited number of hotel rooms) meant that I had waited too long to be able to do it.

But now I am very seriously considering going back in 2011, even if I end up deciding (again) that it's the last time I go. I have a lot of great memories of GenCon, as it's where I've not only discovered games that I love to play and have introduced to other people (such as Apples to Apples), but it's also where I've met a lot of cool people and made new friends. As such, I feel I need to see if it is something I want to keep doing, or something I want to leave behind, but on a good note.

The Happiest Days of Our Lives

I just finished Wil Wheaton's book The Happiest Days of Our Lives, tonight after dinner. It's a quick read, considering I started on Sunday after my last post, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It consists of a selection of stories he's told on his blog, ranging from growing up in 70's and 80's California as a geek in the making, to anecdotes about his stepchildren as an adult. I think it's hard to do it justice in a short description, but if you're a fan of his blog, it's definitely worth a read. My only real criticism is that it doesn't work well as a stand-alone work in the same way that Just a Geek did (which I discuss here), so somebody who didn't know much about him already (or only knew him from his film and TV work) probably wouldn't get as much out of it. It works best as a follow-up to Just a Geek or a companion to the blog, and I think someone who reads it with that intent will find it very entertaining. Wheaton definitely has a gift for writing and mood, whether it be touching, introspective, humorous, or just plain crazy.

One of these days, I need to read his first book, Dancing Barefoot, which I haven't gotten to yet. If it as good as the two of his that I have read, though, I'm sure I'll love it.

What I'm Reading

I've had a lot going on recently that has distracted me from the blog, but I figured it was time to share what I've been reading over the past few weeks, since the first time I did that was a couple of years ago. So, here you go:

Get Capone, by Jonathan Eig. A nonfiction book about Al Capone's rise to power in 1920's and 30's Chicago, and the attempts by the government to take him down. I found the depictions of the Chicago of that era to be very interesting, and the next time I'm there, I'd like to visit more of the major landmarks and establishments from that time period. A little slow in parts, but quite thoroughly researched and documented, and a book I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject matter.

Mysteries of the Middle Ages, by Thomas Cahill. I'm only partway through this, but I'm not sure where the "mysteries" in this book are, as it mostly discusses important personalities of the time period and how certain institutions and concepts (universities, courtly love, the emergence of reason, etc.) came to be. But even though I don't think the title is all that accurate, it is still a well-written and highly entertaining book. I haven't read anything by Cahill before and don't know much about him as a result, but if his other history works are as clever and engrossing as this one, I will certainly give them a try.

The Dogs of War, by Frederick Forsyth. I've been on a nonfiction kick lately, but I did get a chance to read this novel about mercenaries in Africa as well. Drawing heavily (very, very heavily) on his experiences in Nigeria during the Biafra conflict, Forsyth's novel is unique in how much detail he puts into it, separating it from novels with similar subject matter. The characterization isn't always very strong, and the major characters can be borderline cliched, but it was still a highly entertaining novel and made me want to check out some of his others, such as The Day of the Jackal.

I have other books "on deck" as well, the first of which is The Happiest Days of Our Lives, the most recent one from Wil Wheaton.

Weekend Update

As I mentioned in my last post, I was out of town for part of the holiday weekend at a friend's cabin. It was a lot of fun, and I've changed my mind from my earlier post where I wasn't sure of the appeal of cabins. Having experienced it, at least for a little while, I can see why people have them and like spending time at them. Sitting on the dock in the evening, relaxing and chatting with friends, ad hoc games of volleyball and ladderball, smores -- I totally get it now. Even the downsides like hot weather and bugs aren't enough to negate all the fun and good times.

This weekend has been spent watching the conclusion of the World Cup, spending quality time with my pets, and doing some cleaning and organizing around the house while listening to DVDs in the background (so far, Jonathan Coulton's Best. Concert. Ever. and the commentary tracks to Ocean's Eleven). I have a short week at work due to taking Friday off, so I expect to be quite busy for the next several days, especially when combined with a couple of other commitments in the evenings. So maybe I shouldn't work too hard after all.

The 4th of July

I'm heading out to a friend's cabin soon (ironic, I know, given my earlier post) to hang out, shoot off fireworks, and enjoy being outside. I've been looking forward to it all week. I don't get out of town very often, so I like to take advantage of these opportunities when I get them.

Have a fun, safe, and relaxing Fourth of July!

The World Cup

I'm not as into the World Cup as some people, but I've been watching the games when I've had the chance and checking the scores online the rest of the time. I'm enjoying it, even though I certainly don't know much about soccer (yeah, I know everyone else calls it football).

Since I only have the very basic cable package (i.e. no ESPN), and because ABC only has shown the games that have been on weekend afternoons so far, this means that I've been watching them on Univision much of the time. Even though I don't speak Spanish, and captioning doesn't seem to be available, it's still quite entertaining to watch. For one thing, the sportscasters are much more animated and energetic than the ones on ABC, which is an acceptable tradeoff for me in the absence of being able to better understand the action.

There's long been a stigma in the U.S. (though I think it is going away) that soccer is boring because scoring is so infrequent. I don't see why that is, and I've not found the games boring at all, save maybe for the blowout against North Korea. Hockey games, for example, don't always have more goals scored than your average soccer game.

I think that the World Cup and soccer in general will continue to get more popular in the U.S. as time goes on. Perhaps some day one of the major networks will give it the wall-to-wall coverage that Univision gives it now. Assuming, of course, that Univison doesn't become one of the de facto major networks. Which, to be honest, would be kind of cool.

A Road Not Taken

I've been watching the reruns of Glee ever since Lost ended. It's goofy and cheesy, yes, but it's also very entertaining, and the musical numbers are really well done.

I was in swing and jazz choirs* from eighth grade through my senior year, so I can identify with parts of the show, though it definitely takes a lot of artistic license with what being in and performing in a such a group is actually like. But that's fine; it can do that.

It has also made me think about why I stopped doing it too. I had been in these kinds of groups for five years straight when I finished high school, and of course was in the concert choir on top of that. And then there was the occasional school musical, to say nothing of church youth choir and the summer musicals for that as well. So yeah, singing was a big part of my life, but when I reached college I needed a break from it. I didn't audition for any groups my freshman year, though I thought I might by the time my sophomore year rolled around. However, life and school got in the way, and I never did get involved with vocal music again. The closest I get nowadays is the occasional game of Rock Band at a party. And I can still do great on Expert, too, which shows I still have some ability, I guess.

I do wonder what would have happened if I had stuck with music. I certainly wasn't going to become a professional or anything, but maybe I would still be doing the occasional community theater gig, or not be too shy to get up and do karaoke at a bar. But then, I don't think it's too late for me to get back into it if I really wanted to. Just a good training montage or two, and I'd be ready to go.

* A note on the hierarchy of school music groups. At least when I was in high school, there was definitely a ranking amongst the different types of ensembles. Back then, show choirs were at the bottom, as they were seen as being about flash more than musical susbtance (I don't and didn't agree, of course). Jazz choirs were the next rung up due to the higher need for technical ability and the perceived greater academic legitimacy of the music compared to pop standards and show tunes. At the top were the pure a capella groups, since there's no such thing as an okay a capella group -- if you're not good, you can't do it. Like I said, these aren't my opinions, but it was the consensus at the time.

The Social Media Experiment, and My Other Blog

Honestly, I really didn't miss Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook when I took a break from them this past weekend. I went from late Friday afternoon to late Sunday afternoon without touching them at all. I was going to try to go until Monday morning, but jumped back on Twitter briefly on Sunday before checking back into all of them on Monday.

Considering how attached I am to Twitter in particular, that was quite an accomplishment for me. I'm on it throughout the day, pretty much from when I wake up to when I go to bed, unless I'm somewhere where checking in is just not feasible. It's nice to know that I can quit if I want to, as they say. And it was definitely good to free up some of that mental space to be able to do and think about other things for a little bit.

Changing direction, I actually posted on my other blog, Hired Minds, last night. It was a very short post, as it was just a quote I am fond of and its attribution, but it was the first time I'd posted since late April, which itself was either the first or second time I'd posted all year. I started that blog after this one as a means to write about life as a temp, contractor, consultant, or whatever you want to call workers who are "hired guns" (I actually wanted to name the blog that at first, but changed my mind) who work at a company, but are not of it. For a while I was pretty good about updating it, but I stopped after a while. I think it was going permanent last year that did it; that and being much busier with schoolwork this past academic year than I was the previous year. But I have not said all that I want to on the topic, so I am making yet another go at it.

Social Media Break

I'm taking a break from social media this weekend, which for my purposes I'm defining as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Obviously, blogs don't count for this.

I feel like I am on the first two of those way too often, and Twitter most of all. Sometimes you just need to step back and be separated for something for a bit and have fewer distractions. I'm going to try to limit my time online in general as well, and focus on quality interactions and content when I do so. Less is more, as Mies van der Rohe said.

Cabin Culture

So, yesterday's post was about rainy summer weekends, and today's continues the summer theme by talking about cabins.

I've never been "up to the cabin," as people around here are likely to go once the weather starts warming up. Many people I've told this to react with shock and bewilderment, as if they understand those words individually, but the way in which I put them together made no sense. But it's true; I've never participated in this very Minnesotan of activities.

The main reason, of course, is that no one in my immediate family owns one. And I don't think anyone in my extended family does either, though I might be wrong on that. So I admit to not really knowing what people do at cabins. It seems like the same type of things one does when camping (which I have done a lot of, between annual family camping trips growing up and my years spent in Scouts), only with the ability to sleep indoors at night.

It seems like I always hear about the work involved with them, though. The first weekend of the year is spent getting them ready, and the last is spent closing them up. Sometimes, people spend three our four weekends a year working on their homes away from home. Presumably, they actually get the chance to enjoy them at some point.

I'm not trying to rip on cabins, particularly since I don't know what of I speak. And if someone invited me to theirs, I'd gratefully take them up on it (not that that's a hint or anything). That said, I like going to new places when I travel, so the idea of having a cabin, vacation condo, etc. that I always go to doesn't necessarily appeal to me all that much. I like being places I haven't been to before.

Rain Days

This weekend was rainy, occasionally chilly, and overcast around here, which made it a good time to stay inside. Now, a lot of Minnesotans don't like this kind of weather in June. I like rain and cool temperatures, but I sympathize with them -- nice days are so scarce here that people want to make the most of them when they're around. June in particular is usually a good time to be outside in this state, as it tends to be milder than what we can get in July and August.

I have nothing against spending time outdoors; I went for a hike at Lebanon Hills yesterday right before the rain hit and usually spend some time outside every weekend. On the other hand, it is nice to have a good excuse to spend time inside doing things like watching movies, napping, and getting housework done without people practically being offended that I'm not outside and wondering what the hell is wrong with me.

w00tstock

I went to w00tstock at the Guthrie Theater last night, which was all kinds of awesome. It's kind of hard to explain in a blog post, so I recommend checking out the link if you're curious. It was really something to get to see so many people I'm a fan of (Paul and Storm, Will Wheaton, John Scalzi, Adam Savage, and many more, including a special appearance by Neil Gaiman) in one fantastic venue.

If it comes back, I'm definitely going again.

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day in the US, which for a lot of people means being at the lake, grilling, traveling, and enjoying a day off of work (at least for people with office jobs).

But it's also important to remember why we have this day, so take a moment to do that too.

Lost No More (No Spoilers)

Last night we had a mini-marathon of the last four episodes of Lost, as well as the two-hour special that aired right before the finale. We had them sitting on our Tivo for a while and had never gotten around to watching them, due to being pretty busy, so with the series ending, it seemed like the right time to finish it off. Plus, I figured I could only stay unspoiled for so long.

I know people were quite divided on whether or not the show ended well. I don't want to get into a big discussion of its merits or flaws -- there are certainly enough of those elsewhere on the Web already -- but overall we were both very pleased with it. Yes, there were a few plot threads and elements they didn't address, but in terms of character development and their personal stories, they reached a highly satisfying conclusion.

Eventually, I want to go back and watch the series from the beginning; the special and certain moments of the finale reminded me of a lot of awesome scenes from earlier on. And I'm also looking forward to being able to finally watch Glee in real-time next season too.

A Name Change

I've finally settled on a new name for this blog, which you can see at the top of the page.

I got the idea for this last week when, after finishing my Imperial Platter from Leann Chin (bourbon chicken and cream cheese puffs with fried rice, my standard), I unwrapped my fortune cookie and broke it apart to read the fortune.

Except, the fortune was blank. Just a strip of paper with nothing on it.

At first, I thought this was just funny, but then I realized that, if I reeaally wanted to read way, way more into this than is warranted, I could interpret this as a sign meaning that my fortune is in fact blank, and that I can write my own. Now, I don't actually believe in signs like this, so in fact this is more of a reminder of something I already knew rather than a deep revelation.

But hey, I like the name, and I think it's a neat story. So there you go.

Reboot

So, it's been well over a year since I last updated this blog. As such, I've decided to reboot it and take it in a new direction. Rather than just focusing on writing, it's going to be a general-purpose blog where I talk about whatever I feel like at the moment. Writing will certainly be a large part of it, but it could also include everything from book reviews to interesting pictures I take. I think it will be easier for me to commit to a blog if I don't pressure myself to keep a particular theme all the time.

I may change the name; I'm not sure about that yet. And I will also include a blogroll that links to whatever I happen to find interesting and worth a read. Eventually I may even move this to another host, but I'm not sure on that yet.