Today's big plan was a beach trip. Sis took the usual epoch to get her and her brood ready and we left close to 2. Vilano beach was nice, and not too hot. We didn't stay very long - I wound up passing on trying to read (glare was bothering me), laying out instead and then Ape and I walked up and down the beach a bit.
From there we went to Caddyshack's where I had a nice lunch and possibly the best sundae ever. Also lousy service... Note to waitstaff: When a customer asks you about your special, or about what kind of sundaes you have, or anything menu-related, saying "I don't know" is pretty much a guarantee I'm going to be unhappy. And when you try to stick me with a forced 18% gratuity after bungling both the order and the checks after failing to know your menu? Lousy Waiter, I'd like to introduce you to your boss. You two have fun now!
But the lousy waiting wasn't the only unpleasantness at our luncheon. Once again, Ape decided to make a thing out of my ordering Diet Coke. See, last night at my parents', she made a crack at dinner about the Coke Zero in front of the whole group. Tired of her bitterness, I shot back, "Jealous much?" She let it go after some generic "What's wrong with trying to be healthier?" exchange. This time she dug in her heels and we had a brief head-to-head. My favorite line from her? "I don't think I can be with someone obsessed about their weight."
Wow. Just... wow. I ordered a Diet Coke to go with my: Regular dog, chili dog, fries, and sundae. I'm a fanatic! ^.~
Did I mention how good the sundae was? I'm not big on ice cream, and even less so on sundaes. To me, hot fudge is usually too rich on the ice cream. Not this time. There was a nigh-unto-perfection synthesis of the ice cream, fudge and whipped cream. It was really really good! This was CamiCakes good! ~nom~
And poor Bro! He had no idea about Sis's desire to go to the mall after lunch, actually stating quite loudly, "Bull----!" when I mentioned it. I do worry about those two and how in sync they are... So after eating he took his boys home and Sis and Mimi rode with us.
We decided on the Town Center for shopping. Ape, Sis and Mimi went one way. I had a nice time with Younger, checking out both game stores, Target, Staples, and Movie Stop. Witch Hunter Robin is now 35 bucks but I'm thinking I'd be better served NetFlixing these things... I have a free month's pass; I should just do it.
Something cool happened at Target. While passing the Garden section on the way to Electronics with Younger, I got called out for my TWLOHA shirt. There were four teens lounging casually on a set of yard furniture and one of them saw my shirt. I thanked them and then something weird happened - they /complimented/ my hair. Again, I thanked them, slightly embarrassed. I mentioned I was actually trying for something like what one of their number was sporting and had a severe stylist issue instead...
Met my parents at Carvel so the rest of the crew could get dessert. Then home, where I worked on Ubuntu some more and caught this up ^^
Aerinravage's GamerCard
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
{Config}ulating
Sun: Slow cleaning day. Worked on Ubuntu some more, trying to get XI running on Wine. The installer fires but the game crashes. I think this box is graphically challenged because most of its issues seem to be caused with graphics-intensive operations. Need to find a crash log.
Off to din and game night at my parents'. Met by Sis & Bro and their boys. Got to see my dad's new work truck. Played Imaginiff and had the usual good time, especially trying to explain certain choices by certain people. After an hour+ of playing, all of us were in a close pack at the end. Having more trouble with her eldest and our boys.
Spent way too long trying to install Skype for Mom so she can talk to Catch in Mexico. Her net's acting up and I think I know why - she seems to be sending hits to a Russian search engine even in regular surfing - yikes!
Soloed a bit more on DNC but got bored. Jumped on Skype at Cold's insistence and he played more GH and then showed me the opening to Alan Wake. It *is* pretty creepy and atmospheric. He sent a great Gabriel Iglesias comedy skit amongst some older stuff. Very lol-worthy, literally!
-=-=-=-
Sat: Prince of Persia - Um, can I borrow that time-dagger and get my 2 hours back? If you ever need an example of what deus ex machina means, watch this movie. /sigh
It's not a bad movie, mind. The parkour is /very/ well done and it's a lot of fun in the best traditions of a Saturday popcorn flick. It's just the end that stinks.
Worked some more on Ubuntu, adding apps and configuring my preferences. Spent time chatting and Skyping with some old friends and some new.
Couldn't get a party on DNC and soloed a third of a level to 46 and then crashed.
-=-=-=-
Fri: Left work a bit late and then got into a thing with Ape about our timing for her work party. Nearly 4 hours at party, some funny stories and pretty good food but not much else. Thought about going to see a movie but Ape decided not to. We wound up renting "Everybody's Fine". Another nothing-like-the-trailers film...
Basically, DeNiro plays a recently-widowed father of 4 whose kids don't come round often. After bailing on his holiday get-together, he decides to pay each a visit at their respective homes. Here's where the movie gets neat - his travel scenes are punctuated by tense phone calls amongst the sibs. Something's up with David and they don't want to worry Dad. Who is more peeved than worried just now since David's not answering his New York apartment door.
As he visits, he learns his kids have pretty much hidden everything from him - grandkids' bad grades, actual job versus described job, etc. And the truth of David's absence becomes clearer. After his final visit, DeNiro flies home, despite massive aviophobia (Hi Bones!) and has a heart attack when the plane flies into turbulence and his nitrate bottle is empty.
On awaking in the hospital, three of four sibs are waiting for him and they finally own up - David's not there because David died in Mexico from a drug OD. Movie ends back at DeNiro's, as all remaining sibs (plus some SOs) prepare for the next holiday.
Wow - good drama but NOTHING like it was pitched!
Off to din and game night at my parents'. Met by Sis & Bro and their boys. Got to see my dad's new work truck. Played Imaginiff and had the usual good time, especially trying to explain certain choices by certain people. After an hour+ of playing, all of us were in a close pack at the end. Having more trouble with her eldest and our boys.
Spent way too long trying to install Skype for Mom so she can talk to Catch in Mexico. Her net's acting up and I think I know why - she seems to be sending hits to a Russian search engine even in regular surfing - yikes!
Soloed a bit more on DNC but got bored. Jumped on Skype at Cold's insistence and he played more GH and then showed me the opening to Alan Wake. It *is* pretty creepy and atmospheric. He sent a great Gabriel Iglesias comedy skit amongst some older stuff. Very lol-worthy, literally!
-=-=-=-
Sat: Prince of Persia - Um, can I borrow that time-dagger and get my 2 hours back? If you ever need an example of what deus ex machina means, watch this movie. /sigh
It's not a bad movie, mind. The parkour is /very/ well done and it's a lot of fun in the best traditions of a Saturday popcorn flick. It's just the end that stinks.
Worked some more on Ubuntu, adding apps and configuring my preferences. Spent time chatting and Skyping with some old friends and some new.
Couldn't get a party on DNC and soloed a third of a level to 46 and then crashed.
-=-=-=-
Fri: Left work a bit late and then got into a thing with Ape about our timing for her work party. Nearly 4 hours at party, some funny stories and pretty good food but not much else. Thought about going to see a movie but Ape decided not to. We wound up renting "Everybody's Fine". Another nothing-like-the-trailers film...
Basically, DeNiro plays a recently-widowed father of 4 whose kids don't come round often. After bailing on his holiday get-together, he decides to pay each a visit at their respective homes. Here's where the movie gets neat - his travel scenes are punctuated by tense phone calls amongst the sibs. Something's up with David and they don't want to worry Dad. Who is more peeved than worried just now since David's not answering his New York apartment door.
As he visits, he learns his kids have pretty much hidden everything from him - grandkids' bad grades, actual job versus described job, etc. And the truth of David's absence becomes clearer. After his final visit, DeNiro flies home, despite massive aviophobia (Hi Bones!) and has a heart attack when the plane flies into turbulence and his nitrate bottle is empty.
On awaking in the hospital, three of four sibs are waiting for him and they finally own up - David's not there because David died in Mexico from a drug OD. Movie ends back at DeNiro's, as all remaining sibs (plus some SOs) prepare for the next holiday.
Wow - good drama but NOTHING like it was pitched!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A Different Kind of Roll
5/27
I woke up in the middle of the night practically choking on phlegm. I'm finally succumbing to Elder's bugs... When I got up for real not long after, I seriously considered bailing on work. I decided to stay in my PJs, take Elder to school. and see how it goes on my way back home.
Honestly, I hope what happened at Chick-fil-a isn't a sign - Somehow my order got mangled, so that I did not receive my hash browns, and I got Coke instead of Coke Zero. I went inside and got the tots and declined to swap drinks as I'd already started drinking. The cashier was ever gracious, not accepting payment for the tots. I tried to insist and was rebuffed.
Back home, I still felt ill but decided to go in - I really want my time off for the summer. So I got ready and headed to work, about an hour behind schedule. Work was
uneventful and I struggled to find stuff to do prior to leaving. The small roll loomed ahead however.
And it almost didn't happen - Ape wanted a neck rub and I wound up falling asleep. She tucked me in later, thinking I'd already done my work. And she left Friday morning without realizing I'd never set my alarm. Thankfully, I woke up on my own before 8, checked the roll (all good), sent my notifications and got myself to work.
Wound up having a great convo with several people about lots of topics: Political ideologies, IP, tech, music, more IP, and stuff.
-=-=-=-
5/26
This morning was much smoother. Not blissful or perfect, but smoother. And pretty good, considering we're still talking abut a teenager. Work was total meh. I'm between major projects and don't have anything meatier than custom rules in Outlook VBA to keep me challenged. I did get some good feedback on my cosplay from one of the crafters. I need to get that page up and running soon.
The plan after work was for Arby's - as much for Elder as it was for me. I like their dollar menu. But Ape asked me to come directly home instead of meeting up. She had a bad day at work when a mom yelled at her without justification. Thankfully there were witnesses and they know of this mother's history so there's no doubt who stands where.
So, I dashed home and we chilled for about 20 minutes as she retold the day's events before we headed out. At Arby's, two interesting things happened: I tried lettuce on my chicken sandwich, and, we played with the "drive-thru duck". There's a duck there that seems to live next to the restaurant mooching off drive-through delights. He's extremely docile and ate out of Younger's hand even. We pondered relocating him to Mimi's (as she has a number of "yard ducks") but didn't.
From there, it was a "clearance check" at Toys R Us, and both Clones found something to buy cheaply. After that, gas, and a quick stop at the site of yesterday's bus crash. There were flowers up and a sign, apparently posted by her co-workers, praying for safe driving in her memory. Back home just after 8, I did a quick check for hours on a nearby men's suit store and headed back out. Ape didn't believe me but I need the measurements soon. I don't think she was too happy.
At the tailors', I got a quick set of measurements and tried to tip the girl who took them but she wouldn't have it. I think there was a general bemusement among the staff when I told them why I needed measurements. One fellow seemed nonplussed, thinking I was getting fitted to then buy a regular suit elsewhere. He relaxed when I told him what I was really afer.
From there, I made YET ANOTHER trip to Target, as Ape needed a couple of things. I also grabbed a cute card with a hedgehog on the front, to commemorate "Half My Life Day". This little-known holiday is celebrated at different times by people, depending on when their spouses/partners have known them half their lives. I knew Ape for half hers on her 34th birthday, as we met on her 17th. My day was a little harder to calculate but thankfully I was bored Tuesday because I would have missed it! I thought I needed to get to 40 but nope. Today's it!
Back home, I kicked off the Ubuntu install on my unused PC. This one will replace the laptop on my gaming table so I can have a proper monitor and get familiar with a modern Linux desktop at the same time. I'm also going to see if XI will run on it!
Somewhere in all this, we heard the announcement that Lee DeWyze had won Idol - I knew it was going to happen, although I find Mamasox more appealing as a person. I expect both will do well, given their talent and appeal.
We also saw news of the BP "top-kill" attempt to staunch the oily flow in the Gulf. Immediately I thought of that "un tss un tss un tss" "club sound" as the mud-clouds pushed up by the pumps looked for all the world like dancing coral or algae. I'm weird, I know!
From there it was chill out time and a quick chore run before bed.
-=-=-=-
5/25
Had a rough morning with Elder, who had disobeyed and stayed up late playing games after lights-out. He was completely unprepared for school despite his claim to the contrary last night before bed. Plus, his attitude was horrible. He keeps saying he mouths off as he does because that's how they all talk in school.
I keep reminding him his mother is not school and he isn't to talk to her (or me) that way. And to highlight my point, I did something I'd hoped never to do. I deleted a game save from his PSP. Dissidia, in fact. A game he was enjoying greatly. I didn't say anything in the morning, knowing he'd act out at school. The plan is to chat after work.
Also, after dropping him off, I checked the air pressure in my new tires. Once again, the shop did not set them all the same. About a four-pound variance across the set... So I fixed them prior to leaving, setting all to 35. The tires are still clearly not as grippy and stiff as the BFG's but airing them to the same pressure helped quite a bit.
At work I looked into them and most opinions were along the lines of "cheap Chinese crap". Cheap?! Depends on your definition, I s'pose. They were the cheapest I could find, but cheap they were not. They'd better last at least as long as the BFG's!
Had a pretty interesting convo about Twilight and romance in the afternoon with my "nemesis", our other dev, and another team's analyst. Apparently I'm alone in appreciating Bella's desperate and reckless love for Edward... But the analyst and the dev mentioned "The Host", also by Meyer, recommending it highly.
I was able to leave work on time and just before arriving I passed what looked like an interesting accident. A car had rear-ended a city bus. Things on the scene looked calm so I hoped nobody was seriously hurt.
Got home and thought I'd have extra Vana time as Ape was off to her school's 8th grade graduation. Nope - Younger still had to get to TKD. So I ate (waffles for dessert - yum!), had my chat with Elder, and then we headed off. I ground XP in FF1 whilst Younger did his thing.
Back home, I jumped on XI and checked in. The Diabolos fight was still on but we had to wait for folks to arrive. Younger and I checked on DWTS and found out the first hour (of 3) was a repeat of last night. He called Ape to let her know not to rush but she wound up home almost in time anyway.
As Holy and Kym went to eat, I decided to run to Target for blank CDs. I'm going to toss the laptop and put the desktop at my gaming table. But I'm going to run Ubuntu on it rather than Windows. I'm going to try for fun to see if XI will run under Wine on that box. Plus I've been wanting to get used to a proper Linux desktop for some time and that PC's just sitting there. Aaand, it has a 19" monitor!
Anyway, I got back just after 9 and we began to gear up and move out. I outposted once word came down and was killed by a nearby Evil Eye. I don't remember the last time I got aggro at an outpost. Thankfully, Safira was right behind me and I got a raise. Ktulu joined us and the three of us waited by the Pso'xja tower for Nut, killing things to pass the time.
Inside, things went smoothly, except for my DC on zoning one time. It took too long to get back on but they waited for me :3 Soon, we were at the overlook, targeting Diabolos. The plan was for lots of stunning while I tanked. Saf was on nukes and Kym on heals.
The fight started out well and was progressing smoothly until about the 20% left mark. Diabolos knocked me off the rutting platform! I didn't even know he did that! Of course, the load of diremites below ate me alive. Thankfully, Nut and the others were able to hang on and we got the win! And none of them died!
After the lengthy cutscene I bailed as it was now 11. During the fight, Ape graded and made end-of-year certificates for her students. DWTS was on and we both kept tabs on it. Erin was out first (sad but expected) and the showdown between Nicole and Evan was fantastic. Nicole won, but honestly, it could have gone either way.
At one point, some of the others who were eliminated got to strut their stuff one last time. Buzz danced to the Star Wars theme. Poor Buzz. He still can't really dance. And in an illustrative moment, Kate danced to "Paparazzi" again. Her lack of skill progression versus the finalists' was super-evident. I feel for Kate, who really seemed to be trying to enjoy herself. But she can't really dance either. Would that she stayed the full length, who knows what her steps would be like.
During all of this, Ape was also checking FB and news. That bus crash I saw earlier? The driver, a young woman, died. /sorrow They said she completely failed to react to the stopped bus and plowed into it. The damage to the bus seemed minor, although her car's front end was toast...
Thought before bed: How the heck does my sis-in-law get away with almost never wearing her seatbelt? Rarely, when her kids choose to needle her about it, she will. But not for long. Year after year we hear the "Click It or Ticket" message, yet she never gets fined. I don't really want her to have to pay a big fine, or worse, get hurt, but it's so aggravating!
-=-=-=-
5/24
Not much going on... This week's code was done last week and my pet project is on hold pending formal scheduling of the work. About the only thing interesting from today was my trip to the tire store. Shiroma's been riding on the carcasses of the rears. Not good! And rain was forecast for the afternoon, meaning if I was unable to get the tires done, I'd have a handful getting back to work.
Things went well, if a bit slowly at the shop. I was able to read quite a bit of "Child of the Prophecy", book 3 of the Sevenwaters series. Yes, I picked it up again last week and want to get on with it. I'm annoyed with the story though - watching Fainne insinuate herself into the Sevenwaters estate on Granny's orders is maddening. She feels compelled to act because her father is held hostage by that same Granny. But the things she does in her desperation make me nuts.
Tires and alignment finally done, I returned to work. First impressions? The tires are softer and give more, affecting handling. Shiroma's more darty and floaty and I expect these tires will give up earlier in hard cornering and braking. /sigh
Later, at home, it was chicken and rice and DWTS and blogging. Not much else...
-=-=-=-
5/13 Addendum
Forgot about this stunning blog post.
Why My Skinny Jeans Don't Give You the Right to Rape Me
I woke up in the middle of the night practically choking on phlegm. I'm finally succumbing to Elder's bugs... When I got up for real not long after, I seriously considered bailing on work. I decided to stay in my PJs, take Elder to school. and see how it goes on my way back home.
Honestly, I hope what happened at Chick-fil-a isn't a sign - Somehow my order got mangled, so that I did not receive my hash browns, and I got Coke instead of Coke Zero. I went inside and got the tots and declined to swap drinks as I'd already started drinking. The cashier was ever gracious, not accepting payment for the tots. I tried to insist and was rebuffed.
Back home, I still felt ill but decided to go in - I really want my time off for the summer. So I got ready and headed to work, about an hour behind schedule. Work was
uneventful and I struggled to find stuff to do prior to leaving. The small roll loomed ahead however.
And it almost didn't happen - Ape wanted a neck rub and I wound up falling asleep. She tucked me in later, thinking I'd already done my work. And she left Friday morning without realizing I'd never set my alarm. Thankfully, I woke up on my own before 8, checked the roll (all good), sent my notifications and got myself to work.
Wound up having a great convo with several people about lots of topics: Political ideologies, IP, tech, music, more IP, and stuff.
-=-=-=-
5/26
This morning was much smoother. Not blissful or perfect, but smoother. And pretty good, considering we're still talking abut a teenager. Work was total meh. I'm between major projects and don't have anything meatier than custom rules in Outlook VBA to keep me challenged. I did get some good feedback on my cosplay from one of the crafters. I need to get that page up and running soon.
The plan after work was for Arby's - as much for Elder as it was for me. I like their dollar menu. But Ape asked me to come directly home instead of meeting up. She had a bad day at work when a mom yelled at her without justification. Thankfully there were witnesses and they know of this mother's history so there's no doubt who stands where.
So, I dashed home and we chilled for about 20 minutes as she retold the day's events before we headed out. At Arby's, two interesting things happened: I tried lettuce on my chicken sandwich, and, we played with the "drive-thru duck". There's a duck there that seems to live next to the restaurant mooching off drive-through delights. He's extremely docile and ate out of Younger's hand even. We pondered relocating him to Mimi's (as she has a number of "yard ducks") but didn't.
From there, it was a "clearance check" at Toys R Us, and both Clones found something to buy cheaply. After that, gas, and a quick stop at the site of yesterday's bus crash. There were flowers up and a sign, apparently posted by her co-workers, praying for safe driving in her memory. Back home just after 8, I did a quick check for hours on a nearby men's suit store and headed back out. Ape didn't believe me but I need the measurements soon. I don't think she was too happy.
At the tailors', I got a quick set of measurements and tried to tip the girl who took them but she wouldn't have it. I think there was a general bemusement among the staff when I told them why I needed measurements. One fellow seemed nonplussed, thinking I was getting fitted to then buy a regular suit elsewhere. He relaxed when I told him what I was really afer.
From there, I made YET ANOTHER trip to Target, as Ape needed a couple of things. I also grabbed a cute card with a hedgehog on the front, to commemorate "Half My Life Day". This little-known holiday is celebrated at different times by people, depending on when their spouses/partners have known them half their lives. I knew Ape for half hers on her 34th birthday, as we met on her 17th. My day was a little harder to calculate but thankfully I was bored Tuesday because I would have missed it! I thought I needed to get to 40 but nope. Today's it!
Back home, I kicked off the Ubuntu install on my unused PC. This one will replace the laptop on my gaming table so I can have a proper monitor and get familiar with a modern Linux desktop at the same time. I'm also going to see if XI will run on it!
Somewhere in all this, we heard the announcement that Lee DeWyze had won Idol - I knew it was going to happen, although I find Mamasox more appealing as a person. I expect both will do well, given their talent and appeal.
We also saw news of the BP "top-kill" attempt to staunch the oily flow in the Gulf. Immediately I thought of that "un tss un tss un tss" "club sound" as the mud-clouds pushed up by the pumps looked for all the world like dancing coral or algae. I'm weird, I know!
From there it was chill out time and a quick chore run before bed.
-=-=-=-
5/25
Had a rough morning with Elder, who had disobeyed and stayed up late playing games after lights-out. He was completely unprepared for school despite his claim to the contrary last night before bed. Plus, his attitude was horrible. He keeps saying he mouths off as he does because that's how they all talk in school.
I keep reminding him his mother is not school and he isn't to talk to her (or me) that way. And to highlight my point, I did something I'd hoped never to do. I deleted a game save from his PSP. Dissidia, in fact. A game he was enjoying greatly. I didn't say anything in the morning, knowing he'd act out at school. The plan is to chat after work.
Also, after dropping him off, I checked the air pressure in my new tires. Once again, the shop did not set them all the same. About a four-pound variance across the set... So I fixed them prior to leaving, setting all to 35. The tires are still clearly not as grippy and stiff as the BFG's but airing them to the same pressure helped quite a bit.
At work I looked into them and most opinions were along the lines of "cheap Chinese crap". Cheap?! Depends on your definition, I s'pose. They were the cheapest I could find, but cheap they were not. They'd better last at least as long as the BFG's!
Had a pretty interesting convo about Twilight and romance in the afternoon with my "nemesis", our other dev, and another team's analyst. Apparently I'm alone in appreciating Bella's desperate and reckless love for Edward... But the analyst and the dev mentioned "The Host", also by Meyer, recommending it highly.
I was able to leave work on time and just before arriving I passed what looked like an interesting accident. A car had rear-ended a city bus. Things on the scene looked calm so I hoped nobody was seriously hurt.
Got home and thought I'd have extra Vana time as Ape was off to her school's 8th grade graduation. Nope - Younger still had to get to TKD. So I ate (waffles for dessert - yum!), had my chat with Elder, and then we headed off. I ground XP in FF1 whilst Younger did his thing.
Back home, I jumped on XI and checked in. The Diabolos fight was still on but we had to wait for folks to arrive. Younger and I checked on DWTS and found out the first hour (of 3) was a repeat of last night. He called Ape to let her know not to rush but she wound up home almost in time anyway.
As Holy and Kym went to eat, I decided to run to Target for blank CDs. I'm going to toss the laptop and put the desktop at my gaming table. But I'm going to run Ubuntu on it rather than Windows. I'm going to try for fun to see if XI will run under Wine on that box. Plus I've been wanting to get used to a proper Linux desktop for some time and that PC's just sitting there. Aaand, it has a 19" monitor!
Anyway, I got back just after 9 and we began to gear up and move out. I outposted once word came down and was killed by a nearby Evil Eye. I don't remember the last time I got aggro at an outpost. Thankfully, Safira was right behind me and I got a raise. Ktulu joined us and the three of us waited by the Pso'xja tower for Nut, killing things to pass the time.
Inside, things went smoothly, except for my DC on zoning one time. It took too long to get back on but they waited for me :3 Soon, we were at the overlook, targeting Diabolos. The plan was for lots of stunning while I tanked. Saf was on nukes and Kym on heals.
The fight started out well and was progressing smoothly until about the 20% left mark. Diabolos knocked me off the rutting platform! I didn't even know he did that! Of course, the load of diremites below ate me alive. Thankfully, Nut and the others were able to hang on and we got the win! And none of them died!
After the lengthy cutscene I bailed as it was now 11. During the fight, Ape graded and made end-of-year certificates for her students. DWTS was on and we both kept tabs on it. Erin was out first (sad but expected) and the showdown between Nicole and Evan was fantastic. Nicole won, but honestly, it could have gone either way.
At one point, some of the others who were eliminated got to strut their stuff one last time. Buzz danced to the Star Wars theme. Poor Buzz. He still can't really dance. And in an illustrative moment, Kate danced to "Paparazzi" again. Her lack of skill progression versus the finalists' was super-evident. I feel for Kate, who really seemed to be trying to enjoy herself. But she can't really dance either. Would that she stayed the full length, who knows what her steps would be like.
During all of this, Ape was also checking FB and news. That bus crash I saw earlier? The driver, a young woman, died. /sorrow They said she completely failed to react to the stopped bus and plowed into it. The damage to the bus seemed minor, although her car's front end was toast...
Thought before bed: How the heck does my sis-in-law get away with almost never wearing her seatbelt? Rarely, when her kids choose to needle her about it, she will. But not for long. Year after year we hear the "Click It or Ticket" message, yet she never gets fined. I don't really want her to have to pay a big fine, or worse, get hurt, but it's so aggravating!
-=-=-=-
5/24
Not much going on... This week's code was done last week and my pet project is on hold pending formal scheduling of the work. About the only thing interesting from today was my trip to the tire store. Shiroma's been riding on the carcasses of the rears. Not good! And rain was forecast for the afternoon, meaning if I was unable to get the tires done, I'd have a handful getting back to work.
Things went well, if a bit slowly at the shop. I was able to read quite a bit of "Child of the Prophecy", book 3 of the Sevenwaters series. Yes, I picked it up again last week and want to get on with it. I'm annoyed with the story though - watching Fainne insinuate herself into the Sevenwaters estate on Granny's orders is maddening. She feels compelled to act because her father is held hostage by that same Granny. But the things she does in her desperation make me nuts.
Tires and alignment finally done, I returned to work. First impressions? The tires are softer and give more, affecting handling. Shiroma's more darty and floaty and I expect these tires will give up earlier in hard cornering and braking. /sigh
Later, at home, it was chicken and rice and DWTS and blogging. Not much else...
-=-=-=-
5/13 Addendum
Forgot about this stunning blog post.
Why My Skinny Jeans Don't Give You the Right to Rape Me
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Great Weekend!
Sunday
The big event today was Shrek 4. I think all of us loved it. Bring hankies for the end! Late lunch/dinner was at Red Lobster, also good. We weren't officially celebrating, but C had very good news that will be finalized in a couple days! In fact, after eating we ran by C&R's new apartment for a quick tour. Very cute place, and the hardwood floors and kitchen counters/cabs are great.
Rushed home for 6pm ZM5 run that didn't start until after 7, but it's done! Ran until about 10, hitting all 4 battles. Got Opo-Opo necklace from last fight in Ifrit's, with plans to sell for money. Didn't know fight was in Gemini...
Also watched Celeb Apprentice finale - Bret took the win, although there was a lot of thought that Holly deserved it just as much, if not a bit more.
-=-=-=-
Saturday
Out all day from 1-7. We ran around all day, taking care of gas, birthday stuff, two kid dropoffs for parties, Home Depot stuff and more. Then yardwork til 8, cleaning up the flowerbed and trimming and cleaning up around the yard. On XI until 3-ish. Eye Farming KRT with Ktulu, then Holla with KRT and Fhox. Spent time selling and sorting inventory.
Star Wars night, waiting for Ape! Saw end of Jedi, all of Hope, and most of Empire with the boys. Explained the 30th anniversary of Empire and the travesties in Hope's "special" edition.
-=-=-=-
Friday
Carabba's with Ape, sis/bro & Bran. Tried pollo rosa maria and it was pretty good but a little rich. Bed early.
The big event today was Shrek 4. I think all of us loved it. Bring hankies for the end! Late lunch/dinner was at Red Lobster, also good. We weren't officially celebrating, but C had very good news that will be finalized in a couple days! In fact, after eating we ran by C&R's new apartment for a quick tour. Very cute place, and the hardwood floors and kitchen counters/cabs are great.
Rushed home for 6pm ZM5 run that didn't start until after 7, but it's done! Ran until about 10, hitting all 4 battles. Got Opo-Opo necklace from last fight in Ifrit's, with plans to sell for money. Didn't know fight was in Gemini...
Also watched Celeb Apprentice finale - Bret took the win, although there was a lot of thought that Holly deserved it just as much, if not a bit more.
-=-=-=-
Saturday
Out all day from 1-7. We ran around all day, taking care of gas, birthday stuff, two kid dropoffs for parties, Home Depot stuff and more. Then yardwork til 8, cleaning up the flowerbed and trimming and cleaning up around the yard. On XI until 3-ish. Eye Farming KRT with Ktulu, then Holla with KRT and Fhox. Spent time selling and sorting inventory.
Star Wars night, waiting for Ape! Saw end of Jedi, all of Hope, and most of Empire with the boys. Explained the 30th anniversary of Empire and the travesties in Hope's "special" edition.
-=-=-=-
Friday
Carabba's with Ape, sis/bro & Bran. Tried pollo rosa maria and it was pretty good but a little rich. Bed early.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Two Worlds
5/20/2010
All but Elder went to CFA for dinner and we got a bunch of coupon-powered freebies. I ate too much >< From there, we grabbed some cleaning supplies from Target and headed home. We pretty much watched TV while surfing and playing PSP. The Gray's finale was really really good!
-=-=-=-
5/19/2010
Fantastic chicken dinner - Chad booted from DWTS. Casey booted from Idol.
General puttering around in XI. Brief chats with Fhox and Soho. Tried Campaign on DNC45 for a lark - total fail. Went looking for Hakutaku trigger eyes and wound up lost and dead in KRT.
-=-=-=-
5/18/2010
DWTS is getting really good - the remaining 4 are excellent. I still favor Nicole and Evan.
Not much in XI besides two weaponskill NM kills with Srkon and Ktulu (?). Maharajah was cake but the scorp was very tough. Great lol when someone mentioned max eva and died immediately after.
All but Elder went to CFA for dinner and we got a bunch of coupon-powered freebies. I ate too much >< From there, we grabbed some cleaning supplies from Target and headed home. We pretty much watched TV while surfing and playing PSP. The Gray's finale was really really good!
-=-=-=-
5/19/2010
Fantastic chicken dinner - Chad booted from DWTS. Casey booted from Idol.
General puttering around in XI. Brief chats with Fhox and Soho. Tried Campaign on DNC45 for a lark - total fail. Went looking for Hakutaku trigger eyes and wound up lost and dead in KRT.
-=-=-=-
5/18/2010
DWTS is getting really good - the remaining 4 are excellent. I still favor Nicole and Evan.
Not much in XI besides two weaponskill NM kills with Srkon and Ktulu (?). Maharajah was cake but the scorp was very tough. Great lol when someone mentioned max eva and died immediately after.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday
Ahh... Back to work... More cleanup, believe it or not. But more progress on my pet project. It's really coming along well at this point!
After work, I headed home to one of my favorite dinners. Don't laugh - I'm a simple Mithra. Hot dogs, mac & cheese and brown sugar baked beans. But this time, Ape added a twist (Shyamalan style?) with chili for the dogs. Omnomnom!
Not much else, besides family Simpsons time, dishes, and then DWTS. I remarked that Bruno looks fit to jump out of his pants tonight - "Calm down, Bruno!" But to be fair, Erin and Nicole were amazing. Aaron too. I kinda checked out on Chad whilst blogging. Sorry 8-5!
I was also distracted by tweets from Tycho: his remarks on a capella Metallica courtesy of Van Canto led to a bunch of 8-bit tunage, and then to an odd Metallica fan dance by renowned theatre performer Taichi Saotome. I could kill so much time "free-linking" on YouTube. Maybe that's why they get 2 BILLION daily hits?!
After work, I headed home to one of my favorite dinners. Don't laugh - I'm a simple Mithra. Hot dogs, mac & cheese and brown sugar baked beans. But this time, Ape added a twist (Shyamalan style?) with chili for the dogs. Omnomnom!
Not much else, besides family Simpsons time, dishes, and then DWTS. I remarked that Bruno looks fit to jump out of his pants tonight - "Calm down, Bruno!" But to be fair, Erin and Nicole were amazing. Aaron too. I kinda checked out on Chad whilst blogging. Sorry 8-5!
I was also distracted by tweets from Tycho: his remarks on a capella Metallica courtesy of Van Canto led to a bunch of 8-bit tunage, and then to an odd Metallica fan dance by renowned theatre performer Taichi Saotome. I could kill so much time "free-linking" on YouTube. Maybe that's why they get 2 BILLION daily hits?!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Out of Town
I left work early Friday and drove (admittedly sleepily) to Orlando. Ape left early this morning on the Safety Patrol bus bound for Universal. My job was to meet them close to dinnertime so that if need be, I could rescue her from the park. As luck would have it, she caught a shuttle to our hotel and I was able to met her there. At Embassy Suites! I was able to get a free Coke on arrival and I spent a lot of time over the next 3 days pretending I was at AWA. -crosses fingers-
After a surprisingly-deep chat about stuff, we met up with her sis's brood who was just arriving. We ate a pretty good dinner at Uno's and then went back to the room to chill. Well, I chilled - the others went swimming. We were both exhausted (her from a full park day and me from the previous night's CoP) and we basically crashed. Well, I had a work-leftover to handle but it was quick.
Saturday was Magic Kingdom day. Of course, we took advantage of the free breakfast - I must learn to *stop* eating their omelettes. They give me tummyaches. Leaving the hotel, we parked at LBV and rode the bus in to avoid the 14-dollar parking fee. It took longer to get in than expected, but we still had plenty of time for fun. Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Stitch, Thunder Mountain... From there we all headed to dinner at Lone*Star. It was pretty good, aside from a bit of unpleasantness with Bro and his oldest. Their Younger keeps egging him on and then the older one catches dad's ire... I finally said something to Sis about it.
Back at the hotel it was more pool time, some 'Net time and then bedtime. We worked hard to stay hydrated in the heat, buying a drink or two and grabbing the free icewater they offer. Oh yeah - silly Space Mountain line wrangler: Telling me "no" is pretty much inviting me to find a way. It's basically what I get paid for. Granted, taking drinks past a checkpoint (into a 70-minute wait!) isn't quite in the spirit, but /come on/!
Oh - near the end of the day, at Mickey's PhilharMagic!, my "Poke Me" shirt got me a poke finally. One of the staff girls poked my chest as she came into the waiting area from the auditorium. I gave her a "whoo-hoo~" and quickly realized the Doughboy sounds more like "tee-hee!". Oh well, it was silly fun!
Sunday was another day in Mickey's World. After the ob:breakfast, we packed our cars and headed to Animal Kingdom. I'll be honest. Up to now, I've never considered myself an AK person. But as I age (hopefully gracefully), I'm finding that I appreciate things more openly. So it was with a mostly-open mind that we drove in, eschewing the free-but-slow bus thing so as not to be late for the Survivor finale.
In line to pay for parking, Sis was ahead trying to get us a deal. When she moved up, I took my turn and the drone in the booth took my card. "(giggly) So, sob story didn't work?" "(emotionless) 14 dollars Sir." "(a little catty) Why not take that money and buy a personality?" Moments later, a scooter drone would fuss at me because I slowed to check on Sis's parking - I thought they were holding a spot for me. /sigh At least the rest of the day would be great!
I marched ahead to get the full crew fast passes for Expedition Everest, which we missed last time. Then we did Finding Nemo: The Musical. Think elaborate puppetry, following the movie's plot. But the human performers are actually performing visibly themselves - they're clearly meant to be seen dancing, singing and emoting. The puppetry was fantastic and despite the oddness of basically two entities in each role, it was one of the best stage shows I've ever seen.
So I made darn sure I got into The Lion King. Oops. Not as good. Not only was it not the story of Mustafa and Simba, Father and Son, it was a bit too Cirque de Soleil for me. I can't appreciate everything! Please don't misunderstand - it was very well done, with most of the good songs and lots of audience participation. Hakuna Matata comes to mind here. But the story, such as it was, stunk. And some of the songs simply didn't fit. Also, unlike the actual Lion King musical (as I recall), the dancers were more akin to cosplayers than puppeteers. Although there were 4 nice sets with animatronic animals representing the 4 "cheering sections". I was appropriately enough in the lion section.
I was alone at The Lion King - the others took in the bird show and some kids' carnival games. Then it was time to head to base camp. Returning to "Asia" I slowed down to take in the atmosphere. I'd really like to learn more about this part of the world and it culture. And I felt Disney's Imagineers did a solid job with the theming. I met the crew with about 10 minutes before our FP window opened and so we chilled and exchanged show stories.
Then it was time to climb. We got to the boarding platform very quickly and, for our first-ever ride, scored front-row! Elder and I took it, and Ape and Younger were just behind. Once it started I did my usual "pretend it's a motorcycle" and actually posted in my seat and leaned all over the place. When the g-forces weren't kicking my tail! And I'll say this - the extended backwards-in-pitch-blackness section owns. For having zero loops or rolls this thing is wicked fun! So naturally we checked with Sis, whose boys wouldn't touch a coaster if it were made of chocolate and whose husband is kinda iffy on such rides. She told us to use her passes and so we did! In a span of less than 10 minutes we rocked that mountain! Elder even found a goofy cain wallet in the seat pocket (which we turned in of course!).
Oh yeah - aside from several "Epic!"s at getting a front-row seat, Elder screamed "This...is...Spartaaaa!!!" at the top of the big drop. When asked why he delivers the line in a crappy English accent, he shrugs. lol
From there, we stopped to let Younger grab a Lego set, and I looked for the Medieval Market Village. I want my cosplay gear something fierce, but I really like that set too. And it's back in stock online... After that, it was gas & go, headed to Red Brick for our customary "headed home" dinner. It was good as usual but I think next time I'm going to try something else. Sis wanted dessert (of course! But no Cold Stone Creamery please!) and it was clear we were going to be late for Survivor.
So I told Ape to call Mom and have her put the phone near the TV. This wasn't optimal, but it was good enough that we could keep tabs on the first challenge. Bye~e Colby! We got home in time for the second and final elimination. When it turned out that Russell won it, I assumed Parvati was homeward bound. But the moment they tossed Jerri, I congratulated Sandra. And left. I cannot stand the "jury phase" and actually check out at this point. It stops being "Outwit - outplay - outlast" and becomes "who ticked off the fewest jury members?"
I did laundry and straightened up. Found out that Sandra *did* win. Her big claim to fame? TWO titles, and not a single challenge win! The ultimate stealth player, right? The exchange betwixt Russell and Boston Rob was priceless and led me to suggest an upcoming season to Jeff: Those two, picking their tribes schoolyard-style. Slightly-altered rules to encompass a true team concept for some of the time. Captains are vulnerable after the merge but not before - better lock in support early, boys! Nicaragua looks fun though!
Just before bed, I sent out my 4th cosplay RFQ, the first three being busts... ><
After a surprisingly-deep chat about stuff, we met up with her sis's brood who was just arriving. We ate a pretty good dinner at Uno's and then went back to the room to chill. Well, I chilled - the others went swimming. We were both exhausted (her from a full park day and me from the previous night's CoP) and we basically crashed. Well, I had a work-leftover to handle but it was quick.
Saturday was Magic Kingdom day. Of course, we took advantage of the free breakfast - I must learn to *stop* eating their omelettes. They give me tummyaches. Leaving the hotel, we parked at LBV and rode the bus in to avoid the 14-dollar parking fee. It took longer to get in than expected, but we still had plenty of time for fun. Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Stitch, Thunder Mountain... From there we all headed to dinner at Lone*Star. It was pretty good, aside from a bit of unpleasantness with Bro and his oldest. Their Younger keeps egging him on and then the older one catches dad's ire... I finally said something to Sis about it.
Back at the hotel it was more pool time, some 'Net time and then bedtime. We worked hard to stay hydrated in the heat, buying a drink or two and grabbing the free icewater they offer. Oh yeah - silly Space Mountain line wrangler: Telling me "no" is pretty much inviting me to find a way. It's basically what I get paid for. Granted, taking drinks past a checkpoint (into a 70-minute wait!) isn't quite in the spirit, but /come on/!
Oh - near the end of the day, at Mickey's PhilharMagic!, my "Poke Me" shirt got me a poke finally. One of the staff girls poked my chest as she came into the waiting area from the auditorium. I gave her a "whoo-hoo~" and quickly realized the Doughboy sounds more like "tee-hee!". Oh well, it was silly fun!
Sunday was another day in Mickey's World. After the ob:breakfast, we packed our cars and headed to Animal Kingdom. I'll be honest. Up to now, I've never considered myself an AK person. But as I age (hopefully gracefully), I'm finding that I appreciate things more openly. So it was with a mostly-open mind that we drove in, eschewing the free-but-slow bus thing so as not to be late for the Survivor finale.
In line to pay for parking, Sis was ahead trying to get us a deal. When she moved up, I took my turn and the drone in the booth took my card. "(giggly) So, sob story didn't work?" "(emotionless) 14 dollars Sir." "(a little catty) Why not take that money and buy a personality?" Moments later, a scooter drone would fuss at me because I slowed to check on Sis's parking - I thought they were holding a spot for me. /sigh At least the rest of the day would be great!
I marched ahead to get the full crew fast passes for Expedition Everest, which we missed last time. Then we did Finding Nemo: The Musical. Think elaborate puppetry, following the movie's plot. But the human performers are actually performing visibly themselves - they're clearly meant to be seen dancing, singing and emoting. The puppetry was fantastic and despite the oddness of basically two entities in each role, it was one of the best stage shows I've ever seen.
So I made darn sure I got into The Lion King. Oops. Not as good. Not only was it not the story of Mustafa and Simba, Father and Son, it was a bit too Cirque de Soleil for me. I can't appreciate everything! Please don't misunderstand - it was very well done, with most of the good songs and lots of audience participation. Hakuna Matata comes to mind here. But the story, such as it was, stunk. And some of the songs simply didn't fit. Also, unlike the actual Lion King musical (as I recall), the dancers were more akin to cosplayers than puppeteers. Although there were 4 nice sets with animatronic animals representing the 4 "cheering sections". I was appropriately enough in the lion section.
I was alone at The Lion King - the others took in the bird show and some kids' carnival games. Then it was time to head to base camp. Returning to "Asia" I slowed down to take in the atmosphere. I'd really like to learn more about this part of the world and it culture. And I felt Disney's Imagineers did a solid job with the theming. I met the crew with about 10 minutes before our FP window opened and so we chilled and exchanged show stories.
Then it was time to climb. We got to the boarding platform very quickly and, for our first-ever ride, scored front-row! Elder and I took it, and Ape and Younger were just behind. Once it started I did my usual "pretend it's a motorcycle" and actually posted in my seat and leaned all over the place. When the g-forces weren't kicking my tail! And I'll say this - the extended backwards-in-pitch-blackness section owns. For having zero loops or rolls this thing is wicked fun! So naturally we checked with Sis, whose boys wouldn't touch a coaster if it were made of chocolate and whose husband is kinda iffy on such rides. She told us to use her passes and so we did! In a span of less than 10 minutes we rocked that mountain! Elder even found a goofy cain wallet in the seat pocket (which we turned in of course!).
Oh yeah - aside from several "Epic!"s at getting a front-row seat, Elder screamed "This...is...Spartaaaa!!!" at the top of the big drop. When asked why he delivers the line in a crappy English accent, he shrugs. lol
From there, we stopped to let Younger grab a Lego set, and I looked for the Medieval Market Village. I want my cosplay gear something fierce, but I really like that set too. And it's back in stock online... After that, it was gas & go, headed to Red Brick for our customary "headed home" dinner. It was good as usual but I think next time I'm going to try something else. Sis wanted dessert (of course! But no Cold Stone Creamery please!) and it was clear we were going to be late for Survivor.
So I told Ape to call Mom and have her put the phone near the TV. This wasn't optimal, but it was good enough that we could keep tabs on the first challenge. Bye~e Colby! We got home in time for the second and final elimination. When it turned out that Russell won it, I assumed Parvati was homeward bound. But the moment they tossed Jerri, I congratulated Sandra. And left. I cannot stand the "jury phase" and actually check out at this point. It stops being "Outwit - outplay - outlast" and becomes "who ticked off the fewest jury members?"
I did laundry and straightened up. Found out that Sandra *did* win. Her big claim to fame? TWO titles, and not a single challenge win! The ultimate stealth player, right? The exchange betwixt Russell and Boston Rob was priceless and led me to suggest an upcoming season to Jeff: Those two, picking their tribes schoolyard-style. Slightly-altered rules to encompass a true team concept for some of the time. Captains are vulnerable after the merge but not before - better lock in support early, boys! Nicaragua looks fun though!
Just before bed, I sent out my 4th cosplay RFQ, the first three being busts... ><
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Rolling Past Bedtime!
Tonight I will have two rolls, both of which should be fast. But Friday morning is going to be torture. Up at 4:30? Early to work then off to Orlando...
Also, Ape's mad at me for not putting her to bed - her back was hurting and she fell out at 11:15. Or so I thought. She said she was up when I came to bed but faked sleep because she was mad. Not nice!
...later that day...
Work's frustrating me this week. Problems have been dragging me down and eating up my coding time. Thankfully the problems aren't of my doing but it's still a pain being in "crisis mode" for an extended period.
Afterwards, came home to a nice dinner then took Younger to TKD. Played more FF1 there and realized I'd missed a good opportunity to grab higher-tier black magic to speed up battles. I've basically been grinding XP, in no particular hurry for the next quest-point. So I was actually two tiers behind and actually missed the shops on an earlier visit to the Elven castle. "Here lies Link" :3
Back home, I was going to jump on XI immediately but Ape needed help with her resume. I asked her to write the job update blurbs whilst I was at work but when I opened Word I found bare bulleted lists. Between converting three years' worth of bullets to narrative text, mysterious Word disappearances, and formatting the text in my goofy (but cool IMHO) resume format, I was at it for 2 solid hours. I was afraid I'd missed the climb and I still had oodles of cutscenes to plow through.
Thankfully, the crew waited on me and I hustled as fast as I could. I'm skipping through the story pretty quickly, to my likely regret later on... Anyway, I finally met them in Attowha Chasm for the climb. Which is pretty cake with a controller and careful camera rotation ^^ But we weren't done. The crew, minus Med but plus another, wanted to soldier on to the Diabolos fight! It was already close to midnight but I figured what the hey - I had to be up for work until about 1 anyway.
We-e-ell, the pre-req work, and the actual journey to the BC, and the fight put us 3 hours past that. And we lost too. For some reason, Itomaru and I were the only ones to 2-hour and I *think* we had Diabolos down to about 25% at the wipe. In any case, it was interesting and we had fun. And getting back will be much quicker. Ktulu and I are both out of town for the weekend so who knows what will happen...
In Ape-news, she woke up at 3, and pitched a fit. I mean, she was mad. She said some mean stuff and stormed off back to bed. 45 minutes later she repeated this exercise. /sigh I've all but lost my AIM friends and cosplay plans aren't working out so well. Will she not be satisfied until she takes away everything Not-Ape from me?
Also, Ape's mad at me for not putting her to bed - her back was hurting and she fell out at 11:15. Or so I thought. She said she was up when I came to bed but faked sleep because she was mad. Not nice!
...later that day...
Work's frustrating me this week. Problems have been dragging me down and eating up my coding time. Thankfully the problems aren't of my doing but it's still a pain being in "crisis mode" for an extended period.
Afterwards, came home to a nice dinner then took Younger to TKD. Played more FF1 there and realized I'd missed a good opportunity to grab higher-tier black magic to speed up battles. I've basically been grinding XP, in no particular hurry for the next quest-point. So I was actually two tiers behind and actually missed the shops on an earlier visit to the Elven castle. "Here lies Link" :3
Back home, I was going to jump on XI immediately but Ape needed help with her resume. I asked her to write the job update blurbs whilst I was at work but when I opened Word I found bare bulleted lists. Between converting three years' worth of bullets to narrative text, mysterious Word disappearances, and formatting the text in my goofy (but cool IMHO) resume format, I was at it for 2 solid hours. I was afraid I'd missed the climb and I still had oodles of cutscenes to plow through.
Thankfully, the crew waited on me and I hustled as fast as I could. I'm skipping through the story pretty quickly, to my likely regret later on... Anyway, I finally met them in Attowha Chasm for the climb. Which is pretty cake with a controller and careful camera rotation ^^ But we weren't done. The crew, minus Med but plus another, wanted to soldier on to the Diabolos fight! It was already close to midnight but I figured what the hey - I had to be up for work until about 1 anyway.
We-e-ell, the pre-req work, and the actual journey to the BC, and the fight put us 3 hours past that. And we lost too. For some reason, Itomaru and I were the only ones to 2-hour and I *think* we had Diabolos down to about 25% at the wipe. In any case, it was interesting and we had fun. And getting back will be much quicker. Ktulu and I are both out of town for the weekend so who knows what will happen...
In Ape-news, she woke up at 3, and pitched a fit. I mean, she was mad. She said some mean stuff and stormed off back to bed. 45 minutes later she repeated this exercise. /sigh I've all but lost my AIM friends and cosplay plans aren't working out so well. Will she not be satisfied until she takes away everything Not-Ape from me?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mammet Matters
I logged in just before 8 with plans to party on DNC until 11-ish but Lees had other plans. There'd already been work by the shell to get to 3-3, The Climb. I was still on 2-3's end. Lees asked if I'd do my CS work and the 2-5 Mammet fight and then stick around for 3-3 with the whole crew. This was a great surprise but, as with all things XI, it took close to 90 minutes just to flag everything, prep, and meet up at the 2-5 zone-in. From there, it was over an hour bouncing Gauntlet-warp style from distortion to distortion until we found the right 2. Then the fight itself was over 20 minutes. We employed the usual strategy - 1 tank + 1 healer per Mammet.
I paired with Balin, Lees with Budeko and Oddball with Zelia (I think). I did OK as PLD but it got dicey when I ran out of MP and realized Lees and I never got off a trade for meds. But Balin kept me alive and eventually, we won. It was close - when my Mammet went after Balin (I hadn't been doing a lot of voking) I pulled it back and wound up using Vince at 9 HP - and hoping like mad there wasn't going to be a nuke. Oddball finished hers and then we teamed up to polish off mine and Lees'. Tomorrow night's plan is to go CS-crazy and be ready for the climb. I have a Nexus Cape so I'm hoping it will speed things. I have a roll then so I'll be on longer than usual anyway but sometimes I hate all the time-killing busywork...
As it was, I didn't log out until about 11:45 then cleaned up a bit before shutting down the house and going to bed.
I paired with Balin, Lees with Budeko and Oddball with Zelia (I think). I did OK as PLD but it got dicey when I ran out of MP and realized Lees and I never got off a trade for meds. But Balin kept me alive and eventually, we won. It was close - when my Mammet went after Balin (I hadn't been doing a lot of voking) I pulled it back and wound up using Vince at 9 HP - and hoping like mad there wasn't going to be a nuke. Oddball finished hers and then we teamed up to polish off mine and Lees'. Tomorrow night's plan is to go CS-crazy and be ready for the climb. I have a Nexus Cape so I'm hoping it will speed things. I have a roll then so I'll be on longer than usual anyway but sometimes I hate all the time-killing busywork...
As it was, I didn't log out until about 11:45 then cleaned up a bit before shutting down the house and going to bed.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Moody Monday
Spent most of the day cleaning up Friday's mess. Also got to work some on my pet project, which is now nearly "function-complete". I have one major function to polish off, plus GUI cleanup and lots of little tweaks to enhance the reliability or smoothness of the app.
At home, it was lasagna night, followed by DWTS. Once again, Nicole and Aaron prove why they're the best. Only got to see the first 30 minutes or so because Ape got spazzy with the remote. /sigh
Started FF 1 on PSP in the meantime. It took me a bit but I realized I already started this on GBA awhile back. No matter ^^
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Packed Weekend
Mother's Day!
I awoke early and picked up breakfast for the brood and after big hugs from Ape on the sweet card, we slowly made ready to head out for the day's festivities. We stopped at our shopping center so Ape could get some gifts for the other moms who would be joining us for dinner later. I went to get my hair fixed. Remember the hair sorceress who did my first 'do? She was there and fixed me. I think she was genuinely disappointed in what the other stylist had done. I have her card now and will make sure to always have an appointment with her!
Then it was time for the movie. Which was /incredible/! I won't go into specifics, but whoever said this one was all flash and no soul was watching something else. My one nitpick was the Monaco Historique GP. Go watch and see if you see what I didn't like to see ^.~
From there we went to a great restaurant in a historic part of town. Most of us really enjoyed our food although Sis wound up giving me more than half her French dip. Two of the boys colored their menus and I took them for my wall at work. After a quick ice cream cone stop and a pit stop at home to get the kids ready for bed we headed to Sis' for the Amazing Race finale.
After a cheesy move at the airport by Jordan, the Brothers never lost the lead. At ILM, the Cowboys had a pretty good chance to gain ground but played fair and waited their turn, refusing to stoop to Dan & Jordan's level. Well, maybe a little. At the ILM challenge, Cord tried to goof Dan's directions up a bit by yelling randomly over the cube wall dividing them. See, Jet and Jordan were wearing mocap suits and Cord and Dan were watching their virtual siblings (cyber-cowboy hat FTW!) and directing them through Star-Wars themed levels. One misstep would "reset" them so careful coordination was key.
Anyway, after a surprisingly-boneheaded move by Cord, it was too late to catch the Brothers who would go on to win. Extra fun at the finish line courtesy of Caite and Brandy!
I was very disappointed but I loved how Jet summed up their run: "There are things that are more important than money. The experience of being able to travel all the way around the world with my best friend and my brother and then in the end having our character and integrity intact. We can walk out of here with our heads held high and look people straight in the face and tell 'em we won second."
DH is so-so (getting a little dramatic, and yes, I know it's a soap), B&S ended with a very touching solo by Scotty - He sang "The Parting Glass", originally by the Pogues. Anyone who says music isn't powerful isn't listening right...
-=-=-=-
Saturday
When we woke up, the plans were for hair appointments, Iron Man 2, and Daytona for the speedpark pass and then maybe dinner in Daytona. However, when we started getting ready, Elder was not up to it. He was very nauseous and so we had to make a call. Ultimately we chose to save Iron Man for Momma's Day, but continue with the hair and Daytona plans, sans Elder. Maybe I should have skipped the hair appointment too.
Basically, I wound up with a wreck. I specifically asked for a cut that would compliment long hair without looking like a mullet. So when I wound up with a mullet I was pretty torn up over it. And then the extended fam made fun of me. And then I realized what I should have asked for. The "Casey James". So now I have to see if it can get fixed and find out how far back this puts me. It was after 3:30 before we left, stopping for McD's before hitting the highway.
From there, we headed to Daytona and made it in at close to 5. We found the speedpark quickly and braced ourselves, hoping the gift card would get us something fun. Did it ever - we thought we had to pick and choose a couple of things off the list but it turns out we got it all! So we took the freebies (two tickets for the dragsters and two unlimited go-kart armbands) and got to the fun.
Ape declined, leaving the adrenaline to Younger and me. And we had a riot of a good time! On the dragstrip, I took Heat 1 when he red-lighted. He took Heat 2 by .027 seconds, and I bested him on the third by nearly 2.5 seconds. From there, it was a couple of long stretches on two of the three go-kart tracks with the usual putt-putt slow cruise. In fact, the dragster operator jokingly warned us to do the karts first or have our expectations dashed. I basically told him that happened when I walked in the door. I've raced real karts. I've done SCCA and a Skip Barber school. I was there mostly for Younger and for what adrenaline I could get from the sensations of motorsport.
I didn't realize it then, but I wound up with a pretty large burn on my back, plus gasoline on me from one of the karts. Remember this point as it will be back later.
Feeling the heat, we cooled off inside and I took a turn at DDR. I hadn't played in a couple months but muscle memory is a persistent thing. Even on new songs, and being a little achy from the track, I surprised myself. I think a lot of it is the fact I'm continuing to lose weight and found it easier to move quickly.
Anyway, we left and found a mall (of course!) and spent a little time there. I wound up buying new shorts and a "Poke Me" Pillsbury Doughboy shirt. I shucked my gassy clothes and washed up and felt *much* better. The rest of the shopping was pretty standard stuff. So then it was time for dinner. Which was Outback and a fantastic dinner!
We headed home after 10 and I thought I was on the way to another Valor Knights Dynamis run. Nope - after leaving Ape watching SNL I found out they ran at 8. But Med was on again and was hankering for more CoP fun. I joined a Minotaur run and we took a light beating but made it. I left with Med's orders to work out the next set of cutscenes prior to the next run.
-=-=-=-
Friday
Aerin is no longer a Holla-back girl. Or maybe she is. I dunno. Does anyone know what the heck Stefani means in that song? But I'm getting ahead of myself...
After my marathon roll, ending at 3:45am, I (sort of) slept in until about noon. I didn't have any messages, so I wasn't expecting there to be any fallout from the roll. After all, everything looked good. But when I walked in close to 1, our BSA was looking really stressed... Turns out the biggest piece of the roll was nonfunctional outside of Jax. Oh boy... I didn't leave until after 6...
Anyway, it'd turn into a lazy night as Ape wasn't up to much and we knew Iron Man 2 wasn't going to be a night-movie due to the cost. We wound up renting Sherlock Holmes and ate chicken and noodles. Well, we didn't get to the movie until close to 10. And Ape kept leaving for phone calls and Bran fell asleep. I watched to the end and was pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure I'd have wanted to spend the dough for all 4 of us to see it in theatre.
What I liked was the way they'd stop from time to time for Holmes to recount all the steps used in his inductive reasoning. And the story was a pleasant surprise. Action was fun too. Downey is really growing on me with this and Iron Man. And other stuff.
Ape crashed early so I wound up logging into XI and very quickly was presented with a Holla run by Med. Budeko, Ktulu, Safira and Kiosuke joined us. I've been on 10 of these before, and many of them featured looong pre-fight preps like Med's tonight, but even so, none went so perfectly as this one. Super-cake. I wound up in Lufaise Meadow with Ktulu and we made our way to the Tavnazian Safehold.
Very quickly, we wound up doing Dem as well, which closed out Kiosuke and Safira. I was beat but I was so happy to finally be done I didn't care. I didn't care I missed the map quest either ^^ But now it was bedtime. Past, even.
I awoke early and picked up breakfast for the brood and after big hugs from Ape on the sweet card, we slowly made ready to head out for the day's festivities. We stopped at our shopping center so Ape could get some gifts for the other moms who would be joining us for dinner later. I went to get my hair fixed. Remember the hair sorceress who did my first 'do? She was there and fixed me. I think she was genuinely disappointed in what the other stylist had done. I have her card now and will make sure to always have an appointment with her!
Then it was time for the movie. Which was /incredible/! I won't go into specifics, but whoever said this one was all flash and no soul was watching something else. My one nitpick was the Monaco Historique GP. Go watch and see if you see what I didn't like to see ^.~
From there we went to a great restaurant in a historic part of town. Most of us really enjoyed our food although Sis wound up giving me more than half her French dip. Two of the boys colored their menus and I took them for my wall at work. After a quick ice cream cone stop and a pit stop at home to get the kids ready for bed we headed to Sis' for the Amazing Race finale.
After a cheesy move at the airport by Jordan, the Brothers never lost the lead. At ILM, the Cowboys had a pretty good chance to gain ground but played fair and waited their turn, refusing to stoop to Dan & Jordan's level. Well, maybe a little. At the ILM challenge, Cord tried to goof Dan's directions up a bit by yelling randomly over the cube wall dividing them. See, Jet and Jordan were wearing mocap suits and Cord and Dan were watching their virtual siblings (cyber-cowboy hat FTW!) and directing them through Star-Wars themed levels. One misstep would "reset" them so careful coordination was key.
Anyway, after a surprisingly-boneheaded move by Cord, it was too late to catch the Brothers who would go on to win. Extra fun at the finish line courtesy of Caite and Brandy!
I was very disappointed but I loved how Jet summed up their run: "There are things that are more important than money. The experience of being able to travel all the way around the world with my best friend and my brother and then in the end having our character and integrity intact. We can walk out of here with our heads held high and look people straight in the face and tell 'em we won second."
DH is so-so (getting a little dramatic, and yes, I know it's a soap), B&S ended with a very touching solo by Scotty - He sang "The Parting Glass", originally by the Pogues. Anyone who says music isn't powerful isn't listening right...
-=-=-=-
Saturday
When we woke up, the plans were for hair appointments, Iron Man 2, and Daytona for the speedpark pass and then maybe dinner in Daytona. However, when we started getting ready, Elder was not up to it. He was very nauseous and so we had to make a call. Ultimately we chose to save Iron Man for Momma's Day, but continue with the hair and Daytona plans, sans Elder. Maybe I should have skipped the hair appointment too.
Basically, I wound up with a wreck. I specifically asked for a cut that would compliment long hair without looking like a mullet. So when I wound up with a mullet I was pretty torn up over it. And then the extended fam made fun of me. And then I realized what I should have asked for. The "Casey James". So now I have to see if it can get fixed and find out how far back this puts me. It was after 3:30 before we left, stopping for McD's before hitting the highway.
From there, we headed to Daytona and made it in at close to 5. We found the speedpark quickly and braced ourselves, hoping the gift card would get us something fun. Did it ever - we thought we had to pick and choose a couple of things off the list but it turns out we got it all! So we took the freebies (two tickets for the dragsters and two unlimited go-kart armbands) and got to the fun.
Ape declined, leaving the adrenaline to Younger and me. And we had a riot of a good time! On the dragstrip, I took Heat 1 when he red-lighted. He took Heat 2 by .027 seconds, and I bested him on the third by nearly 2.5 seconds. From there, it was a couple of long stretches on two of the three go-kart tracks with the usual putt-putt slow cruise. In fact, the dragster operator jokingly warned us to do the karts first or have our expectations dashed. I basically told him that happened when I walked in the door. I've raced real karts. I've done SCCA and a Skip Barber school. I was there mostly for Younger and for what adrenaline I could get from the sensations of motorsport.
I didn't realize it then, but I wound up with a pretty large burn on my back, plus gasoline on me from one of the karts. Remember this point as it will be back later.
Feeling the heat, we cooled off inside and I took a turn at DDR. I hadn't played in a couple months but muscle memory is a persistent thing. Even on new songs, and being a little achy from the track, I surprised myself. I think a lot of it is the fact I'm continuing to lose weight and found it easier to move quickly.
Anyway, we left and found a mall (of course!) and spent a little time there. I wound up buying new shorts and a "Poke Me" Pillsbury Doughboy shirt. I shucked my gassy clothes and washed up and felt *much* better. The rest of the shopping was pretty standard stuff. So then it was time for dinner. Which was Outback and a fantastic dinner!
We headed home after 10 and I thought I was on the way to another Valor Knights Dynamis run. Nope - after leaving Ape watching SNL I found out they ran at 8. But Med was on again and was hankering for more CoP fun. I joined a Minotaur run and we took a light beating but made it. I left with Med's orders to work out the next set of cutscenes prior to the next run.
-=-=-=-
Friday
Aerin is no longer a Holla-back girl. Or maybe she is. I dunno. Does anyone know what the heck Stefani means in that song? But I'm getting ahead of myself...
After my marathon roll, ending at 3:45am, I (sort of) slept in until about noon. I didn't have any messages, so I wasn't expecting there to be any fallout from the roll. After all, everything looked good. But when I walked in close to 1, our BSA was looking really stressed... Turns out the biggest piece of the roll was nonfunctional outside of Jax. Oh boy... I didn't leave until after 6...
Anyway, it'd turn into a lazy night as Ape wasn't up to much and we knew Iron Man 2 wasn't going to be a night-movie due to the cost. We wound up renting Sherlock Holmes and ate chicken and noodles. Well, we didn't get to the movie until close to 10. And Ape kept leaving for phone calls and Bran fell asleep. I watched to the end and was pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure I'd have wanted to spend the dough for all 4 of us to see it in theatre.
What I liked was the way they'd stop from time to time for Holmes to recount all the steps used in his inductive reasoning. And the story was a pleasant surprise. Action was fun too. Downey is really growing on me with this and Iron Man. And other stuff.
Ape crashed early so I wound up logging into XI and very quickly was presented with a Holla run by Med. Budeko, Ktulu, Safira and Kiosuke joined us. I've been on 10 of these before, and many of them featured looong pre-fight preps like Med's tonight, but even so, none went so perfectly as this one. Super-cake. I wound up in Lufaise Meadow with Ktulu and we made our way to the Tavnazian Safehold.
Very quickly, we wound up doing Dem as well, which closed out Kiosuke and Safira. I was beat but I was so happy to finally be done I didn't care. I didn't care I missed the map quest either ^^ But now it was bedtime. Past, even.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Mad Stepping
Thurs - Mega-Roll
* At school once more for a tag forgotten in the trunk... Told Elder later he'd owe me five bucks for my time and trouble...
* Continued work on my pet project - I'll be doing lots of cool stuff in this one. Production JUnit, Swing GUI, and all manner of filesystem and hardware access.
* Tonight is the Three-Fer, three rolls going at once. I'll be up for who knows how long and I plan to be on AIM if that works with Ape.
* Thankfully, I don't have to take Elder in the morning so I can sleep in, and have a shorter Friday!
Wed - Cinco de Mayo / No Net Day
* Back at school for a lunch forgotten in the trunk. 20 minutes' delay!
* Started work on my pet project in earnest (details to follow). Otherwise, it was a long day.
* Went to Firehouse for a delicious dinner and then picked up all the boys from CCD.
* Something was not well with our ISP and so net access was sporadic and even then, not available on all machines. I couldn't get onto XI until after 9:30 and by then it was too late to party. SO I retired with Ape to the back and messed about with my cosplay page. Also watched a very informative vid courtesy of LK's LJ.
* Because of major homework isues with Elder, I only had time in XI to say hi to Soho and Deej. Soho was his usual non-talkative self and Deej was waiting for Kush to come on after work.
* Aaron Kelly eliminated from Idol, meaning Bowersox, James, Mike and what's-his-face are all that's left.
* SVU was really good - the Bulgarian baby broker was a perfect "untouchable cocky" until he got hosed.
Tues - Dancing With the Stars?
* Bye Pam!
* Built Cosplay page. Check date. Sent RFQ to that Mandarin costume store. Will send to GSTQ once I get basic measurements... Would love to see their take on things given the almost cross-play nature of my outfit and their specialty! :3
Mon - Dancing With the Stars?
* Went into Elder's school to look for his missing camera - no luck. Also picked up (most of) his History Fair project board.
* DWTS was pretty good - the team dance was good and "Team GaGa" owned. I think Nicole's the best but I doubt she'll win. Aaron's really good too though.
* Got a party on DNC with Maddog. Pretty routine birds-in-the-past party. I got stuck pulling and was fussed at repeatedly for not pulling fast enough. I was trying to avoid two birds at once and maybe my timing was slow. But still... Maddog would occasionally pull for me and we nearly double-pulled a few times and once, in his eagerness, he pulled way too soon and two of us died. In any event, I made it to 45! Haste Samba - {Do you need it?}
* At school once more for a tag forgotten in the trunk... Told Elder later he'd owe me five bucks for my time and trouble...
* Continued work on my pet project - I'll be doing lots of cool stuff in this one. Production JUnit, Swing GUI, and all manner of filesystem and hardware access.
* Tonight is the Three-Fer, three rolls going at once. I'll be up for who knows how long and I plan to be on AIM if that works with Ape.
* Thankfully, I don't have to take Elder in the morning so I can sleep in, and have a shorter Friday!
Wed - Cinco de Mayo / No Net Day
* Back at school for a lunch forgotten in the trunk. 20 minutes' delay!
* Started work on my pet project in earnest (details to follow). Otherwise, it was a long day.
* Went to Firehouse for a delicious dinner and then picked up all the boys from CCD.
* Something was not well with our ISP and so net access was sporadic and even then, not available on all machines. I couldn't get onto XI until after 9:30 and by then it was too late to party. SO I retired with Ape to the back and messed about with my cosplay page. Also watched a very informative vid courtesy of LK's LJ.
* Because of major homework isues with Elder, I only had time in XI to say hi to Soho and Deej. Soho was his usual non-talkative self and Deej was waiting for Kush to come on after work.
* Aaron Kelly eliminated from Idol, meaning Bowersox, James, Mike and what's-his-face are all that's left.
* SVU was really good - the Bulgarian baby broker was a perfect "untouchable cocky" until he got hosed.
Tues - Dancing With the Stars?
* Bye Pam!
* Built Cosplay page. Check date. Sent RFQ to that Mandarin costume store. Will send to GSTQ once I get basic measurements... Would love to see their take on things given the almost cross-play nature of my outfit and their specialty! :3
Mon - Dancing With the Stars?
* Went into Elder's school to look for his missing camera - no luck. Also picked up (most of) his History Fair project board.
* DWTS was pretty good - the team dance was good and "Team GaGa" owned. I think Nicole's the best but I doubt she'll win. Aaron's really good too though.
* Got a party on DNC with Maddog. Pretty routine birds-in-the-past party. I got stuck pulling and was fussed at repeatedly for not pulling fast enough. I was trying to avoid two birds at once and maybe my timing was slow. But still... Maddog would occasionally pull for me and we nearly double-pulled a few times and once, in his eagerness, he pulled way too soon and two of us died. In any event, I made it to 45! Haste Samba - {Do you need it?}
Sunday, May 2, 2010
1-3 Day
Sun
Ape brought me Bojangles breakfast after First Communion - yummy! Thankfully, she let me sleep in. I was still very beat after all the work and heat of yesterday's garage time. It's nice though, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in there!
Soon, it was time to head to Elder's bowling party! We stopped to get the cake on the way to alley, and still managed to get to the lanes a little early. The bowling party was great - most kids came, Elder liked his stuff, and some of his friends thought it was cool I played YuGiOh and video games! I wound up dueling two of them but, as I noted to them at the time, my deck is ancient and lacks any of the newer "gambit" systems.
Went to The Loop after with Sis and her boys - had to get Mac & Cheese kids meal 'cos I'm still feeling icky. It hit the spot though! Back home for TV time and the penultimate Amazing Race. It was pretty good, except for the "speedbump" facing the cops. Lamish. But my 'boys finished a solid second, dealing with their tasks in the usual efficient manner. Brent and Caite continue to annoy. Cops eliminated.
Otherwise, DH is getting needlessly complicated and B&S I'm not so sure of right now.
-=-=-=-
Sat
* Ape and I enjoyed a childless morning by going to Bob Evans for a very nice breakfast
* Worked like a dog from 2-6 re-orging garage and oil changes on both cars
* Because of a mixup (Ape called someone else) I didn't know she was going to be gone until nearly 7 instead of the expected 4-ish. I nearly passed out twice from the heat and the exhaustion of all the work I did
* Finally got to eat, at like 7:30. Steak & Shake - great, plus I got a kid's Grape Kool-Aid shake. Aside from the bits of unmixed powder q: it was tasty
* Quick run to the mall and managed to get Elder a pay-as-you-go phone with a Texting Only kind of plan
* Early night for Ape -First Communion at her school in the morning
-=-=-=-
Fri
Umm... Ape and I worked on some relationship stuff after dropping off the boys.
Then saw Kick-Ass. Fantastically fun movie. Hit-Girl reminds me of Bayonetta in terms of the gunplay. No, I didn't play anything of Bayonetta besides the demo.
Some more talking followed...
Ape brought me Bojangles breakfast after First Communion - yummy! Thankfully, she let me sleep in. I was still very beat after all the work and heat of yesterday's garage time. It's nice though, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in there!
Soon, it was time to head to Elder's bowling party! We stopped to get the cake on the way to alley, and still managed to get to the lanes a little early. The bowling party was great - most kids came, Elder liked his stuff, and some of his friends thought it was cool I played YuGiOh and video games! I wound up dueling two of them but, as I noted to them at the time, my deck is ancient and lacks any of the newer "gambit" systems.
Went to The Loop after with Sis and her boys - had to get Mac & Cheese kids meal 'cos I'm still feeling icky. It hit the spot though! Back home for TV time and the penultimate Amazing Race. It was pretty good, except for the "speedbump" facing the cops. Lamish. But my 'boys finished a solid second, dealing with their tasks in the usual efficient manner. Brent and Caite continue to annoy. Cops eliminated.
Otherwise, DH is getting needlessly complicated and B&S I'm not so sure of right now.
-=-=-=-
Sat
* Ape and I enjoyed a childless morning by going to Bob Evans for a very nice breakfast
* Worked like a dog from 2-6 re-orging garage and oil changes on both cars
* Because of a mixup (Ape called someone else) I didn't know she was going to be gone until nearly 7 instead of the expected 4-ish. I nearly passed out twice from the heat and the exhaustion of all the work I did
* Finally got to eat, at like 7:30. Steak & Shake - great, plus I got a kid's Grape Kool-Aid shake. Aside from the bits of unmixed powder q: it was tasty
* Quick run to the mall and managed to get Elder a pay-as-you-go phone with a Texting Only kind of plan
* Early night for Ape -First Communion at her school in the morning
-=-=-=-
Fri
Umm... Ape and I worked on some relationship stuff after dropping off the boys.
Then saw Kick-Ass. Fantastically fun movie. Hit-Girl reminds me of Bayonetta in terms of the gunplay. No, I didn't play anything of Bayonetta besides the demo.
Some more talking followed...
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