Legend of the Seeker, based on “The Sword of Truth” novels, is an archetypical (that is to say, cliche) fantasy show on par with Xena, full of sketchy special effects and cheesy dialogue. But I have a huge crush on Kahlan so I’ve decided the show is awesome and I’m going to watch it. So there.
Don’t Press the Button
Something I like to do: Make random widgets in Photoshop.
Banks
Does anyone know why Banks won’t process many transactions on the weekend or on holidays? Most of the time everything is completely run by computers. Whenever I speak to a bank employee, they is often “nothing they can do about it” because “the system won’t let me.” Computers don’t sleep. So what can’t I make a payment today just because it is President’s Day?
A Visit to the Greenbelt
I went for a walk in the Greenbelt area with my friend Kristina. Initially the day promised sunshine and clear skies, but by the time we arrived it had turned cold and windy. Tons of people, Valentine’s Day couples mostly, were moving along the trail with their dogs. Beautiful spot, just wished it were warmer.
Near the falls someone’s canoe had tipped over and they were slowly making their way back to shore. A Labrador made a brave attempt to rescue the paddle that got whisked away downstream, but returned to shore wet and paddle-less. These waters are cold in the summer. I shivered just watching this guy wading through the chest-deep water.
Afterwards we sought out the warmth of a sushi restaurant. Hot miso soup was just the thing.
Dying of the Light
The little red light on top of my projector came on. While not quite as alarming as the Xbox’s red ring of death, the light is indeed a dreadful harbinger. The lamp has surpassed 1800 hours of use and needs replacing. Of all the material objects I possess, my projector is one I actually have attachment to. Without it, there would be no movies, no video games. The projector makes everything go. Without it, my PS3 is just a wedge-shaped hunk of (questionable) modern art.
Every month it seems that there is some event, some newly awakened need, which siphons away whatever extra money I might have. This month it will be the projector lamp.
Buzz
This is getting ridiculous. Someone needs to write a compelling narrative which makes a case for how all of these social media widgets integrate in real life. These whatzits just appear on the internet and everyone starts using them because they are the new thing. Are they useful or are they answers to questions no one is asking?
I need to take some time and think about what it is that I want. How do I want all this information to be managed and what level of interaction I want with other people. By default it feels like there’s a fire hose of data. I want a single method of parsing that data down to the most granular level. I want to know about this person’s updates, but not this other person’s, but I want to have access to both of their contact information.
Time to give Facebook and Twitter another close examination. See what switches need to be flipped.
The Wire
I finished The Wire season 2 tonight. I never really thought much about cop shows, but I really like this one. It’s one of those character driven shows where there are 6-8 story arcs happening through the season. The characters have true depth and facets. The good guys aren’t completely good and the bad guys aren’t completely bad.
Unless the quality takes a serious turn in season 3, I’m in it for the duration.
Sick Day
Yesterday I thought I was just tired from lack of sleep and travel, but I was up at random times coughing up foam. Today I felt wretched. Called in sick, went back to bed, had some proper rest and food. It was one of those days where I wished there was someone else around that could go to the store and get food or say soothing things to me. Sigh.
Disney Quest
Last night after Dave and I had recovered from our space shuttle adventure, we went back over to Downtown Disney where we checked out the magic store and the LEGO store and had lunch at Planet Hollywood. Later that night we popped into Disney Quest, the five story virtual reality and arcade complex. Continue reading →
Last Chance to See
We woke up at around 2PM on Sunday. After some discussion it was decided that we were going to make another attempt to see the shuttle launch. Neither of us was up for another 11 hour ordeal on the tour bus, not to mention the $110 it would cost for new tickets. Continue reading →