I'm going to be in Maine until Sunday. Due to unforseen car trouble, I'm spending tonight at my grandmother's, so don't expect me online until late Sunday night.

If I don't come back, it's because a moose killed me, and I order you all to avenge me. AVENNNGE ME!

Did K last night. Totally (k)razy. Fun, but totally nuts.

I find it funny that I've still never really done pot though.

Still down with whatever the hell I have. I saw a third doctor today and no one is sure. They took more blood, more swabs, more pee, gave me a shot and changed my meds. I'm sort of over it. I'm also over my new diet of mashed plain potatoes, boiled chicken breast, ensure, jell-o, and juice. Will let you know more as I hear it.

Cheers,
Mgmt

just to be nice, i'll hide them behind a cut


As of right now I'm just past 4 weeks after surgery, and I'm back to walking around and such. I hope to be able to play some sports again within a couple months, and eventually (maybe several years later...)

I just attended this session at work about goal setting, so I want to kick one off...again.

( burnination )

Anyway, here's a little doodle I did of Wall•E during the session.

Ok, I have to admit, this is a pretty cool idea. It's a dehumidifier that can pull 5 gallons of water out of the air in 24 hours, then filters it with a carbon filter and ultraviolet light chamber, then serves it hot or cold. This would be perfect for me in the summertime. I HATE the humidity that comes with summer, so walking into a dry apartment with 5 gallons of cold water waiting for me would be a nice treat.

Batman's Tumbler and Batpod are currently touring the country. They're coming to Boston, but we don't know when yet (just sometime in the next 3 weeks). I want my picture with the Tumbler. Someone needs to go with me so they can take the photo. Who's coming?

Chop Shop's got some pretty sweet t-shirts for sale. They're not ON sale, but they're FOR sale. Some are a little pricey.

And finally, this guy Jim Dougan drew a comic called "How I Lost My S#?! At The Apple Store". Here's the rundown of what happened: He wanted to put a wireless AirPort card into his wife's PowerBook (he says it's a MacBook, but MacBooks come with an AirPort card already installed, plus they're not made of titanium). To do that, you need to unscrew the bottom panel of the computer. The screws, however, are very tiny and require a certain kind of tool. He calls a few Apple stores and the Apple repair center, and none of them know which one to use, until he finally calls a store that says they'll install the card if he can bring it in. So he does, they tell him it requires a Torx Wrench #8, and he is SHOCKED, ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED that they want to charge him $30 to install the wireless card. He then, as the title proclaims, "loses his s#?!" when they wouldn't let him use the wrench they had there to do it himself, storms out of the Apple store, and orders the wrench online (then whines that it's coming from Taiwan).

Dude, what did you expect from Apple? They don't like anyone opening up their computers, you can be damned sure that they're going to make it as difficult and expense as possible. You can't go to an auto shop and ask them to use their tools so you can save money. If you wanted to fix your own computer, you should've gotten a PC. Making a comic about how "you're a nice guy" and how the Apple store is a bunch of scammers isn't going to garner any sympathy from the internet. Also, they sell Torx Wrench sets at Home Depot, Lowes and Sears. You're a tool, sir. Your inability to use Google does not give you the right to flip out at retail employees (even if they ARE Macheads) in public. Seriously though, you should read the comments on that page...this guy is getting REAMED.

Ok folks, here are the websites I checked on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

Gizmodo
Neatorama
Boing Boing
/Film
Superhero Hype
Brass Goggles
io9
Shock Til You Drop
EDIT: Fark

Are there any that I should be reading, but I haven't discovered yet?

Just got an update on the "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" video game. It was originally thought that there would be no fatalities, since DC didn't want their boy scout Superman killing anyone. Ed Boon just announced that the MK characters and "DC villains" will still have fatalities, but the DC heroes will have "Brutalities". Does this mean we'll get to play as Doomsday, Braniac, Joker, Black Manta, etc?

Still no word on which playable characters we'll have. The only ones we know for sure are Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Batman, and Superman. Apparently Sonya Blade and The Flash have been seen in screenshots, as well. There will be a playable demo available mid-July.

AKA the weekend in which nothing Pride-related occurred.

Headed up to the Wisconsin Dells with my best friend Tony and his family. Tony had to go because his mother had planned this trip for his brother's birthday. Nevermind the fact that Tony's brother didn't even want to go, as he's a 20 year old hoodlum, and nevermind the fact that the fucking lake is GONE, and nevermind the fact that Tony's mom just wanted to go there to camp out, because there obviously aren't any campgrounds closer than the Wis. Dells...

In any case, I came at the behest of Tony so he wouldn't fucking kill himself being stranded with his mother. You see, Tony's brother was allowed to bring some of his hoodlum friends and his girlfriend, so he basically had free reign to just go off and do whatever he wanted with his cadre, which would mean Tony would be stranded with his crazy-ass mother. So, I was tapped and brought to alleviate said crazy-assness.

I'd never been to the Dells before, and I see why now. It's basically Amateur Vegas for families. The campground was a joke. I hate being able to see other campers from your campsite, and I mean, it was basically empty lots sandwiched right up next to each other. There were maybe 3 trees around... on our CAMPGROUND...

Also, the owner was fucking insane and rode around on his golf cart after 11pm to make sure no one left their site... even to go to the showers/bathroom... Very nazi-esque.

Also, it rained all weekend... but I love the rain, so that kinda' made it better for me.

Oh, and I got motherfucking eaten by mosquitoes. I don't know how, but one bit me right in the middle of my upper lip; not on the flesh part above the lip, the actual pink kissy lip. Miserable.

The highlight was Tony and I escaping the nazi searchlights on our final night and walking to the IHOP at around 3 in the morning. We had a rousing discussion over the "Endless Pancake" offer; do they mail them to you after you've left? What about a P.O. Box?

And then the highlight of all this was, on the way back to the site, there was a (unfortunately hetero) couple FUCKING on the side of the main road. No joke. Totally doing it. Totally naked. Totally within 5 yds of the main highway/road. It. Was. Nuts. The fact that this trip meant I couldn't masturbate for days, and then this on top of it, well let me just say I was ready to explode, in more ways than one.

My new mission in life is to have sex while camping.

1. To anyone who remembers Savage Garden's "I Want You"...What the hell is a "chicka cherry cola"? Sounds pretty gross.

2. After The Hobbitt, Guillermo Del Toro is most likely doing a Frankenstein movie. When asked who he would want to play Frankie, he said he'd like to use his go-to guy, Doug Jones. I could see that. Jones is like the Mel Blanc of getting into creature makeup.

3. wee_squirrel and I had the pleasure of attending darkdisney's wedding this weekend in Nashua. Apart from his apparent inability to get a garter belt airborne (although I suppose most of the blame goes to the low ceiling in the reception hall), it went off without a hitch. Well, I mean, they GOT hitched, but there weren't any problems. A lovely ceremony and a delicious reception, it was.

4. Now, I've never been exceptionally good with math...I got mostly B's in high school algebra and trig, but I was never a "mathlete". Apparently you can save more gallons of gas by switching from a 12 MPG car to a 14 MPG car, rather than going from a 28 MPG car to a 45 MPG car. By driving 10,000 miles, the 2 MPG difference will save about 120 gallons, while the 17 MPG difference will only save 95 gallons. I'm sorry, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this idea. Explain it to me like I'm a 4 year old.

5. I'm seeing Wall•E tonight. I can't wait. I've only found one bad review so far, and his only complaint was the irony/hypocrisy of a movie about the evils of consumerism, while Wall•E toys are all over the stores now. Of course, the review is from the Washington Times, which is owned by a guy who has said he's the second coming of Christ.

6. Jorge and I also bought our tickets to the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. Yes, I know it's three weeks away, but as of June 27, The Dark Knight has sold EIGHT TIMES as many tickets as Spider-Man 3 (21 days from the opening). Many theaters have already sold out their midnight shows, and some are evening having 3am showings. I was going to go in Joker makeup, but if I'm going to be waiting at the theater from, like, 9pm to midnight (want to get a good seat, you know), that might not be possible.

7. I finished Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys last night. I really enjoyed it; I'm glad I adopted Gaiman as my "author to devour while Clive Barker finishes The Scarlet Gospels". So far I have American Gods, Smoke & Mirrors, and Good Omens under my belt. I didn't like Good Omens as much as I was hoping, but that's probably Terry Pratchett's influence showing through. I'm sorry, I really tried to like Terry's books, but I'm just not a fan. He has the dry British wit of, say, Douglas Adams, but without the follow-up absurdity that I really liked. ("The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't." - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I suppose I'll start Neverwhere next. STAY BACK! I HAVE A LIBRARY CARD AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!

Orson Scott Card on Obama and Clinton's presidential campaigns:

"Campaigns that subvert an ongoing war effort -- campaigns like the ones both the current Democrats are running -- offer hope to and stiffen the resolve of a nearly-defeated enemy, leading to the deaths of more American soldiers than would otherwise have occurred. That these candidates are free to run such a campaign is undisputed. That it is contemptible for them to do so is my heartfelt opinion."

What do you guys think of this?

Hi All,

I'm back but sort of ill. I got bitten by something, they're thinking a spider, and it got infected. I'm on meds which are keeping me pretty flu like which sucks. BUT it was still worth it!!!

My Peru pictures (all 1200 something of them) are on flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/rene10/collections/72157605850503716/

Later,
Rene

Ah, Martian Chess. Finally, the high school Chess Clubs and Astronomy Clubs will end their bitter East Coast/West Coast rivalries and have a peaceful meeting of the minds.

It can be played with a normal chessboard (or 2 chessboards put together) for 2 or 4 players, but for 3, 5 or 6 players, you'll need the special board configuration as pictured above. Oh good, I haven't even read the rules yet and I'm already confused.

How about you come back when I've mastered Tri-D chess, then I'll start thinking about Martian variants, ok?

On the plus side, the guy who invented it said he was inspired by Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Non-non-non henious!

Nike finally releasing their Back to the Future inspired "2015" sneakers at the end of this summer.

Ehhhhh. They're close, but having that enormous 'super-high top' look with the buckle ("Power laces, alright!") was the main appeal of the original design. Here's a screenshot for reference. Just seems like there's a lot more they could've done with this...for example, adding LEDs. :)

*hobbles to the computer*

Just ran my first 5k race. Finished in 35 minutes so that's...what? Around 11 minutes per mile? Something like that. Whatever, I'm just glad I finished it (the winner of the race did it in 14 minutes...the whole race...in 14 minutes). It was hard to keep a steady pace because there were 12,000 people running so I had to do a lot of dodging and weaving. I ended up walking for a little bit during the last mile. It was weird, my legs didn't really "cramp", nor were they in pain, but they just felt like they were stuffed with cotton. Like someone put a gaussian blur on my leg muscles or something. I don't know, hard to explain.

Now, I've always respected marathon runners. I've never been much of a "cardio" guy (or a "weights" guy, for that matter), so anyone who can jog/run non-stop for extended periods of time is A-OK in my book. I just ran a little over 3 miles, and if someone told me "Ok, now do that 7 more times in a row", I'd probably slap them, then step on their throat for even suggesting it.

But yeah, good job, Ryan. *pats self on the back*

So I don't know if anyone is reading this that isn't getting my email updates who wants to be getting them. I'm in Germany. I send out email updates every couple of days. If you want to get them, just reply here.

Tschüß
- BQ

Supreme Court rules that a sweeping ban on handguns in Washington D.C. is unconstitutional



No, pens don't misspell words, but having a pen in your house increases the chance of misspelling a word by about a billion percent. If you don't have a pen, you're not going to misspell anything you write, because you won't be writing. If you don't have a gun, no one's going to be shot by you. I agree with the Court's decision, I just wish the pro-gun supporters would've chosen some better signage.