Social Integration

As many of my Dear Readers know, I have a few social media accounts.  Since I don't play online regularly any longer, I haven't felt compelled to maintain this blog much.  But I don't want to stop journaling my life.  So, I've been using Twitter a lot recently, for book and movie reviews as well as #CuriousMithra musings.

I finally got my business trip pics uploaded to Facebook as well, but I'm such an FB noob that I really don't know how to tie it all together.  I'd like this blog and Facebook to be the authoritative records of my digital life, but I don't know how to integrate them, if that's realistically possible.

LordKaosu seems to have tweets going to his LJ, but I don't know if that's an app or manual copypasta.  I know there's a way to get this blog to tweet new posts, but as it requires trusting a third party with my Google account, no thanks.  What I really want is a safe and sane way for FB and blog updates to tweet, and for tweets to archive somewhere simple for archiving.

Until that day comes, I'll have to make do.

So, partly for completeness and partly for a starting point, here's where I keep a lot of my stuff:

* This blog
* Twitter (AerinRavage)
* Facebook (Aerin Ravage)
* Flickr (AerinOfSiren)
* GMail (AerinRavage)
* LiveJournal (aerinravage)
* No Google+ yet, despite the ending of the Real names policy

I also have Skype, AIM, Yahoo accounts (and even a DeviantArt profile) but those are just gathering dust.  I suppose if I ever get back into an MMO I'll use those for party/shell coordination and join the 21st century gamers.

Home Is Where the Trolls Are

(placeholder alert - I want to get these and some other thoughts down before I forget, but this post may change)

Since I've not been on any MMO's in ages, I've given PlayStation Home a serious shot.  As with most things, I'm AerinRavage there too.  And after many hours logged, here's what I think:

* It's a decent social platform, but it needs improved communication tools
* As a marketing platform, it's really hit-or-miss. Some promotions work well (Dead Island, Uncharted) and others are turn-offs (Resistance, X-Men)
* The "games" are a mixed bag as well, though the Home 2.0 update has at least improved things. Lag ruins the fun in many games, especially DDR ><
* Trolls, trolls, trolls. You all know how much I enjoy the psychology of trolling and being trolled, so I get a tickle from it all.  Even had an epic night where I tanked four or five hardcore trolls for 15 minutes or so
* USB keyboards. Less than 10 bucks. Please don't consume my evening with 7 wpm chats...
* Avatar customisation is a treat, but as long as I maintain my Sony boycott, I can't get the more stylish or fun items
* I think Home wants to be a true social hub for PS3 users but comes off like a poor IMVU clone

I've made a few good friends and have had a number of really fun and interesting conversations.  People like Dubbs, FFXIHealer, CherryHeartsMatt, MullacAbu, Femaelstrom, AJillSandwich, Tomaisin, and DonandGert have given me a reason to stop by Home but truly, there's just not that much there to hold my interest.

There's a screenshot function and I managed to get a few snaps of the Cantina mosh pit.  I'll grab those when I can and add them here.

Business Trip Part 2 - The Businessing

[And here's the second part. Still tl;dr but whatever]

From there, we stopped in Estes Park and Boulder, Colorado.  Estes Park was recommended by Ape's dad, and the easiest way to describe it would be to compare it to Gatlinburg, TN of 10 years ago. Lots and lots of t-shirt shops selling the same captioned tees, plus local and chain restaurants. There was a nice river running alongside the main drag, and we were a few days too early for the moose migration.  But I just didn't like it much.

Boulder was just because. We stopped at their version of an outdoor mall and walked around with Creature.  It was sundown and more of a romantic time than commerce-oriented. At 9pm, 12 hours after leaving Nebraska, we arrived at our Embassy Suites hotel in Denver.

Once again, we found ourselves in an Embassy Suites, which always reminds me wistfully of AWA. We got this one on a typical Ape steal-o'-a-deal, and aside from being in a kind of gritty location, the hotel itself was as nice as always.  We watched more TV and then crashed.  Why is it that it seems the nicer hotels have a more limited channel selection than budget places?  Same for Internet - most resorty places charge for it whilst most lower-end stops offer it for free.  Ape said it prolly had to do with each kind's target demographic - business travelers staying in the nicer places could fork out for better amenities.  Still cheesy...

Saturday was a typical whirlwind of activity.  After enjoying a wonderful Embassy breakfast, we went back up, got ready and headed out to Cherry Creek to meet a friend of Ape's.  She met us at the nicer mall there with her two young daughters, so of course there were many girly pictures taken.  We looked around for a bit and ate lunch in their food court.

Aside from a number of uppity stores, there were two highlights: a Lego kiosk, where a guy was selling mostly individual minifigs.  LOTS of minifigs.  Each side of his cart was lined with a wall of 'figs. It sure looked like he had representatives from every series.  I wound up taking pics of all of them and sending them to Younger, assuming he'd want something here as his souvenir.  I let him review those while I moved on.

The other "event" store was a Sony boutique.  It wasn't so much the room full of tech toys that interested me here.  It was the live-fire exercise in restraint, as I successfully maintained my composure and didn't grief the help.  I'm not normally a grudge-holder but the multiple indignities heaped upon me by Sony, or one of its tentacular arms, have put me off them.  But I smiled and spoke politely with ever-helpful salesfolk.  And they did have a few games on sale.

Before leaving, Younger called me back and told me what he wanted, so I ran back to the Lego vendor and  picked up an Admiral Ackbar (nope, not gonna!) and a Green Dragon.  We headed back to the garage, drove a short distance to a Whole Foods where we rejoined Ape's friend, and headed to Littleton.

Yes, /that/ Littleton.  We pulled into the Columbine High School grounds, not sure what to expect.  I know I *didn't* expect a festival and car show.  Our only goal had been to visit the memorial commemorating the terrible events and amazing heroism of that day.  Turns out the school was going to make us work for it.  The path we started on took us behind the memorial plaza, but there was no connection.  We did get a great walking tour of the sports field, the running track, and the nice kiddie park.

So, with two loaded strollers, our procession made a u-turn and eventually picked up the right path.  I must say, the design of the memorial is very tranquil.  I promise I'll get the albums and vids of this trip up soon! ^^  In any case, we all spent quiet time reading the plaques for the fallen students and teacher, as well as a rotunda-style assemblage of quotes spoken by various people during and after the tragedy.

After we took in the memorial, we went back to the grounds and took in the festival for about 45 minutes before we needed to leave for dinner.  Most of what was there (and there was a LOT there) was pretty standard festival/bazaar stuff.  A section of business representatives from the area and from larger outfits.  Food and craft tents.  Merchants of all kinds.  But one tent stood out as offering one of the neatest things I'd seen ages.  A vertical chessboard.

Imagine a frame with 64 small cubbies in it, arranged 8x8.  The chess pieces go in as you'd expect, but the twist is a "button" that marks that last move.  I chatted up the seller and he explained the idea was to allow games between people who can't always play face-to-face.  Think chess by mail, except both players visit the same space.  Each moves when they can and the board can be hung out of the way so that it doesn't take up unnecessary space and the board isn't likely to be disturbed mid-game.

Also, a woman looking at boards was doing so with an albino bearded dragon curled upon her shoulder.

Did I mention Colorado is a very liberal place?

Our last stop on our jam-packed weekend was an Italian restaurant called Cinzzetti's to meet with my first-ever boss and her husband.  However, "restaurant" as a description is totally inadequate.  Our friends got in ahead of us and were able to secure a table a bit before we arrived.  This struck us as unusual, because many places won't seat a party unless most of it is present, and, y'know, Saturday night.  So when we walked in the lobby and met my one-time boss, we had to thread our way through dozens of people.  I was trying to figure out what favor they called in to hold a half-full table so long.

Then we made it into the restaurant.  Or at least part of it.  The place was gargantuan.  They could hold a partial table because the place holds 600 people.  Not a typo.  I found a newspaper article in the back explaining that the location was originally a movie theater and office supply warehouse.  They specifically cater to groups, boasting "2 or 200, come on in!"  For once, I don't think it's advertising hyperbole!

So anyways, we all sat and spent a good while catching up.  Like 30 minutes catching up.  We haven't seen our friends since they moved out here though Ape's kept up via Facebook.  Finally, it was time to eat!  In addition to being ridiculously scaled, Cinzzetti's is a buffet and features five main "food bars" - soups, pastas, meats, breads and desserts.  And it was really really tasty!  So we spent a long evening eating and talking, until we just *had* to go.

It really was nice catching up with them, and getting to see recent pics of our respective kids, and hearing some interesting stories about college-bound teen parenting!  They are a really lovely couple, and like us, aren't afraid to be affectionate in public.  Ape and I would have done so as well, but Creature was sat between us /sigh  Oh, one other thing - normally, I feel reasonably clever, world-aware, and well-spoken.  Being with these two though makes me feel like a chronic underachiever.  Never mind a pair of Master's degrees - they're the most ambitious all-conquering people I know.  I really should seek inspiration, but, lazy Mithra.

We make a latish return to the hotel with plans of a little wind-down time before beginning the airport process early in the morning.  Two things stood in our way: a young lady was having her quinceañera and the parking lot was overfull.  So was the lobby.  I sent Ape and the baby up while I camped for an in-lot spot.  I got lucky pretty quickly and headed up, hoping the revelry wouldn't keep us or Creature up.

My other challenge was to get all our junk to fit our meager bag space.  Ape told me what was clean and what wasn't, and I set to work folding and stuffing.  It took an hour but I got all the bags sorted and ready.  Next time I vote for FedExing our dirty laundry back and using the new space for souvenirs.

The morning's drive to the airport and processing therein went much better than when we left home.  We had our "Amazing Race" moment as we went the wrong way out of the hotel and lost a little time getting turned around.  And dropping off the rental was interesting as there was no one to check us in and we were worried about a pre-existing rock chip that they covered in blue painter's tape.  All would be well though.

And our run through the airport was much much smoother.  This time, we got the scanner loaded like pros and I didn't get so much as felt up.  The flight out from Denver was uneventful but we had no time to eat.  So we'd planned to grab food in Houston and eat on that plane.  Do you remember the Amazing Race ep where one team just misses a flight, causing those on the just-rolled-back jet to cheer?  And then they went back to the gate?  Yeah, we very nearly had one of those.

Let me explain.  No, there is too much.  Let me sum up.  (Princess Bride!)  Our flight into Houston arrived on time, but for reasons that were never explained to us, our aisle passenger had MS and needed boarding assistance.  No worries there, as we have an aunt with MS and know how awful it is.  BUT...they unloaded all the other passengers first, then her, before us.  So we lost about 25 minutes of our layover/run to gate time.

So, on finally reaching the terminal, riding the tram and reaching the departing terminal, we looked for our gate.  B84 it said.  And look, the 80s are just over here.  At the end of a football field long hall.  Ok, ok, we're here.  No we're not.  Another hall, to just 80-84.  One more field later, we're in an elevated tower with our gate marked.  But there's no one there.  Ape stayed back to get breakfast so I looked around and eventually got in a customer service line.  The friendly girl told me 84 was downstairs.  O-kay.

I walk down the stairs and find myself in another terminal, with its own gate numbers! Aaargh!  So I find ours and lo and behold, it leaves in 5 minutes.  There's a guy there trying to get a standby seat and it doesn't take a high MND stat to realise he's about to get our seats.  The gate agent keeps asking me if I'm going to board and I keep telling her not without Ape.  We both watch the stairs for signs of her, and the agent continues to make final call announcements on her mic.

When Ape appears with literally seconds to spare, I frantically signal she needs to bolt, which she does as best she can with the stroller.  We get checked in and hustle with Creature plus all our junk to the gate.  Which is at the end of ANOTHER long hallway.  I was really getting aggravated by this point.  I mean, really, we had to be in Dallas by this point!  So we make it to the plane, which is on the tarmac with a rolly ladder next to it.  We quickly break down the stroller and bags and leave them and board.  I think one person got on after us but all eyes were on the disheveled couple with the wee one.

To make matters worse, I really need to go to the bathroom, having had no time since leaving the hotel some 4 hours earlier.  So the flight attendant graciously let me run back to the minuscule lavatory where I hoped they'd let me leave prior to takeoff.

After that near-miss, we had no further trouble with our return.  Ape's sis met us at our airport with the Clones and her mom.  Elder very nearly knocked me over, blindsiding me with a surprise bear-hug ^^  From there, it was lunch with most of our extended fam at Red Lobster, then home to recover and sleep.

Business Trip Part 1

[This is part one of a seriously tl;dr post]

Sometime early on Thursday the 8th, I was told one member of my team (and there are only two of us) was going on Monday to a client site in Nebraska.  My boss said he didn't care who went, and even offered to let us duke it out.  Was he kidding?  Iunno.  We had to sort it out quickly because we had to book travel departing just three days' hence.  Ultimately, it came down to a coin flip, literally.  Which I lost.

I had warned Ape this was a possibility and once I was the designated flyer, we tried to work out a way for her to come with.  We are rarely apart and to make matters worse, she was dealing with an arm injury which made it much harder to take care of Creature.  A day of frantic fare-searching later, we had our plan.  Unlike the five others (!) going from other teams, we would fly to Denver, rent a car, and drive the 5-odd hours into the client site.  With Creature.

So, Monday rolls around, and since our flight wasn't leaving until early evening, I went into work to try catching up on stuff for my other client, expecting the week in Nebraska to be focused on that one exclusively.  Leaving at noon-ish, I got home and Ape and I tried to get some rest before the evening journey.  7+ hours in the air plus 5 on the ground, not including moving through the airports and a layover in Houston.

Our plan to travel as light as possible and avoid checking bags meant cramming three people's things into two carryons, plus a backback filled mainly with our electronics, and a large baby bag.  You'd think we could get through the security line pretty easily.  Nope - despite Ape having traveled with the baby only three weeks ago, we looked like a couple of noobs, trying to get each other, the baby and all our crap onto the conveyor belt.  A very nice woman behind us, whom I suspect was in First Class, actually began hucking our stuff onto the belt!  It was exceedingly nice of her but dang did I feel like a useless Mithra!

To make matters worse, I got to visit the Nudie Scanner 2000.  Also, nobody told me that you were supposed to empty your pockets for that, as well as be beltless.  A TSA guy followed me in, asked for the contents of my pockets and my belt, then made me parade in front of the "backscatter X-ray imager."  Yeah, I don't /care/ what their official position is, they get to play with a nudie scanner all day.  /grumble

From this inauspicious beginning, we had a nice flight on a small plane into Houston.  We ate during our layover, then boarded a much larger plane for the leg to Denver.  This flight, being an evening flight, was about 20% empty, giving us plenty of room.  Things were great, until final descent.

In my four decades on this planet, I think I've only experienced mortal terror once.  That was on the back of a motorcycle hoping like heck my friend wasn't going to do something boneheaded and dump us.  He didn't, but that was really scary.  That was also like 10 years ago.  The descent into Denver?  Thought we were going to die.

I'm no amateur in flight, just in white magery.  I've flown transcon, short flights and long, and been in all manner of planes including tiny turboprops.  As much as certain rollercoasters unsettle my stomach, airplane turbulence doesn't really bother me.  I'd just as soon not have it, but it doesn't usually freak me out.  Plus, I have a trick: During shaky flight, look at the crew and other passengers.  I'd wager on any given flight around half of the passengers are regular fliers.  So if most (or all) of the plane is calm, then the rough air must be OK, right?

Also, most of the turbulence I've been in is when the plane is climbing or dropping through clouds, or passing through a storm.  Landing at Denver was different!  Because most of this turbulence was much closer to ground level.  I'd testify that a lot of the rolling and juking was happening under 200 feet.  Close to the ground.  Within view of the airport.  I didn't like it one bit!  Nope!  I was too scared to notice that the rest of the plane was pretty sedate...

By the time we got off the plane and to the rental car, it was about 11:30pm, Mountain time.  Our poor terrified bodies thought it was approaching 2am, and we still had more than five hours in a car!  In which half our stuff didn't fit in the trunk &gt;&lt;  The girl at the counter tried to upsell us but all we wanted to spring for was a compact.  So we wound up in a 2012 Ford Focus.  Nice car but not for suitcases and a stroller.

I'll spare you the details of our drive, because it was dark and the surroundings mostly featureless plains (which we couldn't see anyway).  I pretty much gave out at about 3am and Ape had to get us the rest of the way.  I was so proud of her, because she hates night driving and she was as bushed as I was.  But we made it to the hotel safely.

Despite checking in at about 5 in the morning, we were greeted warmly and were told we had no room, as one of my colleagues told the front desk we weren't coming.  Um, what?  Also, the hotel was pretty full.  Uhh...  The girl told us we were getting the last room and so we hoped for the best.  I think we were expecting a closet or something, but we somehow wound up in a large room with two queen beds.  And a whole 'nother room next to it!  And an amazingly comfy bed ^^

So, after getting settled in, I got to sleep for like three hours before meeting the rest of the client strike force in the lobby for the ride to the hospital.  I'm gonna skip ahead a lot now, because my days were pretty boring.  But I managed to get a couple of lunches with Ape, and after dealing with a work-only mixer for the client and a "team dinner" where Ape was invited, we had a couple of quiet us-only dinners too.

We also got to watch the finale of America's Got Talent (but no sense), in which Team iLuminate lost, placing third or fourth.  The finale was between Silhouettes and Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.  He won, and deservedly so, as I thought Silhouettes kinda peaked after their "monument" performance.

Ape spent her days killing time, as this place had Walmart as their big thing.  Really.  Lots of local shops, a couple chain restaurants, and agriculture.  But, she found a library and some nice parks to occupy herself and Creature with.

Eventually, Friday morning came, and with it, our return to Denver.  The rest of my colleagues were flying home, wherever that was for each of them, but we had two more days.  The drive back to Denver was much, much better than the drive from.  We took our time, making a number of stops along the way.  Also, we had fantastic weather and could see many interesting sights near and far.

Some rather charming things about our visit: The hospital itself was new and decorated in a definite midwest/Native American style, but aside from that, it reminded me a lot of the hospital I first worked in.  I often wish I could return to a clinical setting.  And the people in it wore more than just medical hats-most also ran family farms or did other agricultural or hunting related activities.  Very self-sufficient types.

An aside: Since a frank chat with Ape a few weeks ago, we've worked out a few things, and I've been able to move myself out of the funk I was in.  Being given hope for my dreams really helped stop the nulling.  And on this trip, through some surprisingly beautiful (for its simplicity) landscape, I really felt much better emotionally.  To the point I wanted to take lots of pictures, which I did.  But I'm still physically exhausted, and as some of you know, I'm also a pretty lazy Mithra ^^

A lot of the pics are of various farming scenes - fields, equipment, houses and barns. And some animals: Mooo!  There's a bunch of landscape imagery too, with the flatness giving way to hills and rockier terrain as we moved from Nebraska to Wyoming. I kid you not, there were a few times I was wistfully reminded of Meriphataud Mountains.

Cheyenne, Wyoming was very nice after the "quietness" of Nebraska. Although, we passed a number of towns which were a /fraction/ the size of the 5k populace of our original target city. One was under 400 people! And we stopped at a remote outpost for a potty break wherein we were obligated to buy snacks. Which we kinda wanted anyway.

So, Cheyenne... Our target here was a Mexican restaurant called Guadalajara. It was very festively decorated and I have some pics. I also have memories of eating an awesome thing called a tortas.  It was a meat-filled sandwich but between the fresh-made bread and the seasoning on the meat, it was amazing!

...つづく (tsuzuku)

September 11

10 Years of Heartache

10 Years of Heroes

10 Years of Healing

10 Years of Hope

------------------------------

It's been a weird ten years, hasn't it?  Today, Ape and I watched a lot of the Memorial coverage, after having gone to bed watching some of the documentaries Saturday night.  It's still surreal remembering how I found out.

Driving to work at about 9am, in the rain.  Cars pulled over left and right.  me, wondering what was wrong with the road to take so many off the highway - oil? spilled nails?  Finally, I turned on the radio and heard the news.  At work, we all watched around a TV, and I was on the phone with Ape most of the day.

I still couldn't believe both towers fell.  I knew they took a hell of a beating from the impacts, but I figured the tops might collapse around the lower undamaged sections.  But they fell, two massive giants felled by human intolerance.

For me, one of the hardest things about all the coverage that followed, aside from grasping the sheer scale of the human tragedy and the physical destruction, was some of the imagery of the planes' impacts and the jumpers.  Knowing that I was watching human beings die right *then* was and is hard for me.  I know that Death is a part of life, and if you've been keeping up, you know our clan has been visited by the "natural" kind as well as the death that follows an accident.

I'm not a White Mage and healer by coincidence.  I've long been one who attempts to heal all, any way I can.  And images of actual deaths bother me.  News accounts of a gunned-down drug lord, or a school massacre, or a car wreck.  They all bother me, because I feel it in some way, knowing that what was lost is not just an animated collection of organic chemistry and fancy nerves.

People are the most amazing things God made and all of us are worthy of existing.  All life is precious, but, for the most part, it's only humans that seek out to hurt others by killing innocents.

I don't think I mentioned this part, but maybe I did.  Days after 9/11, I wanted bin Laden caught, caged, and paraded through every town in America, beginning with New York.  Whether he cared or not (and one assumes he didn't), I wanted our survivors to let him know how they felt.  It wouldn't necessarily bring closure, but at least it would de-anonymise the attacks.

Of course, the end of the tour would have been the end of the line for him.

Then, a couple months ago, when the news came that he was dead, I saw Facebook posts, tweets, news blurbs and more where many people were celebrating his end, and there was a definite undercurrent of relief and gladness at his execution.  I will not blame anyone for feeling this way - for feeling *any* way really, regarding this monster and his monstrous acts.

But for me, there was a numbness.  I wasn't sure what I felt.  And then, after a time, came a feeling of finality.  Yes, I know there are more monsters out there, but THIS monster was no more.  Next came sadness, at seeing how people were celebrating the ending of a life.  I do not doubt that he, as well as many sociopaths/psychopaths simply need to go away.  But it did sadden me a little to see so much apparent joy in it.

Again, I do not blame.  But as a healer, it made me sad.  This was probably one of the most extreme cases of human wrongness since Hitler and Saddam tried their hands at genocide.  But there are many who die as villains and criminals for much lesser things and even still, there is a loss there that can never be recovered.

We shouldn't build bigger jails, though there is sometimes need.
We shouldn't torture and make to suffer those who have done wrong, though there is sometimes need.
We shouldn't seek to end lives, nor harm life for any reason, though there is sometimes need.

We need a way to heal.  To heal all wounds.  Those of the victims and those of the perpetrators of wrongdoing and in some cases, evil.  We need to heal /before/ there is a change in course to wrongness.

We should strive to build a world where no one feels harming others is the best way to meet their own physical and psychological needs.  Everyone was a child once.  Everyone was new, innocent, and amoral once.  We need to build a world where working together and preventing hate, intolerance and malicious greed is a common goal.

Am I an idealist?  Yes.  Am I floating in the clouds?  Most likely.  Am I wrong to want such a world?

I hope not.  But somebody has to believe we can all find a way to make everyone's dreams come true.

Sold!

Whilst perusing B&N for some new fantasy, I saw a book called Tattoo, by Kirsten Imani Kasai. The cover photo, of the book's title inked onto the back of a dark-haired woman, seemed interesting.

But it was this jacket blurb that sold me: ""I'm loving it - it's like furry sexy biopunk arctic witchery. Really." Annalee Newitz, Ed. in Chief i09.com

Then again, with glowing praise like that, this thing must be chockablock* full of thematic goodness!

*I almost wrote chocobo

What is this I don't even

Found this spam comment on my last post. I think I know why I have it, but I'm at a loss to figure out why it's on this post and not one of the Shiroma ones...

Links removed to deny spamming scumbags any joy. Also, I don't want my friends clicking on something called a vag tacho. /gigglesnort

"The [link]vag tacho[/link] that enables plug-in to OBD scan gadgets could be the same an individual as used by the dealership technicians as well. The number of examining offered for you is dependent upon the [link]Galletto 1260[/link]"

The uncertain optimism of the pitch (this /could/ be the same as a dealership's tool) makes me want to give them my credit card info, address, and BLIND FAITH.

Need To Update

Friday, 7/15: Did I really not post any post-HP thoughts here?!

From about a week ago: I think I truly now understand why cutters cut. No worries; I don't expect to do anything more than empathise. Also, turns out I'm a bonehead. Made a major miscalculation with regard to the family budget.

Wednesday 7/27: I took the plunge and rooted Mjollnir using adb on Linux. Couldn't have been easier and I love having total control. Between downloads of roms and explots, setting up adb itself and running the marathon of CL steps, I was at it for about 4 hours.

But I never had any problems and it was really easy. The actual terminal work was pretty painless, and as a bit of a shell scripter I can see how "one click" scripts could really do the job if coded right.

Spent maybe 2 more hours playing with settings, cleaning up bloat, looking for apps like a startup manager and BT keyboard interface. I grabbed three ROMs but I haven't tried them out yet.

Notes: Backup Master doesn't back up contacts (aaargh) and MMS restore doesn't seem to work. SMS to Gmail works great though, so I have all my pics there. Lost Llama's settings (double-aaargh) because I didn't know it saved its settings internally.

Friday, 7/29: Ape is *really* struggling with the finances (as drained by the addition) and possibly having to leave Katie and go back to work. I'm trying so hard to sympathize but it's not easy for me in the sense that I told her this was a likely outcome and that it was her idea in the first place! I *definitely* understand her not wanting to leave Kate. I don't want her working at all if possible.

Aerin the Plumber

Our house phone rang just after 11pm. It was a friend of ours calling frantically for help with a leaking icemaker water supply. A little unexpected ^^

So I grabbed a few tools, ran over to her place, got the supply knob unfrozen using a pair of pliers and asked her if she had a wet-dry vac to clean up the pool developing in her kitchen. I suspect that supply knob hadn't been turned since the fridge was installed who knows how many years ago. She could have fixed it herself but the little enclosure they put it in didn't really have room for a hand to grip the entire knob.

Hopefully she can get all the water up and avoid damage to her cabinets or floor.

Stop the Insanity

I can't beieve Sony is trying something so bone-headed so soon after the PSN hackathon.

Their PSN Pass is primed to kill the PS3 rental market and stop legitimate game sharing (think multi-gamer household to see why I'm so irate!) with a one-time code that links the disc to a single PSN account. Future users (through sale, trade or share) have to pony up an unspecified amount to gain access to PSN.

Whether Sony will bend a little and allow single PS3-sharing or x number of activations the way they do now for downloads is unclear.

This just days after I found out I lost all my "Welcome Back" goodies because I was too busy to free up 10 gigs of space prior to getting Infamous and Dead Nation and the two PSP titles. Bite me!

I am so ready to grab a used backwards-compatible PS3, the Cobra USB dongle, and a huge drive and:

* Recreate "The Fun Machine", with access to PS1, PS2 and PS3 titles, plus possibly DVDs if there's room
* Pirate at least the 4 titles I am entitled to. Maybe more. They just keep ticking me off!

Pink Floyd the Droid

50 points to whoever gets /that/ reference!

Tonight was Date Night plus Family Movie Night. This doesn't normally happen this way, but Transformers 3 was out and we all wanted to see it. Grandma was going to take the boys but a late plan change meant that we dropped the three kids off as normal and ate by ourselves, then picked the boys up for the movie, then dropped them back off again for the night. Confused yet?

About the movie. As I recall, 2 sucked. So badly that the head writers *apologized* for it. I think even Michael Bay (action auteur and Kyle's nemesis) apologized for it. And 3's trailers seemed good but inconclusive.

Go. See. It.

It's 2 and a half hours long, and after it ends, you'll feel like you've been riding thrill rides for that long. It's well-paced, often funny, and full of great action set-pieces that (with one exception) don't frustrate.

Also, Buzz Aldrin.

Buzz Freaking Aldrin.

You may not know this, but this Mithran is old enough to remember the end of the Space Race as recent history, and also to have lived through every moment of the Shuttle program, including the Enterprise. I even have an ancient NASA Shuttle t-shirt from waaay back. Elder has it now ^^

I don't normally go in for the "real men" thing, but the astronauts were indeed /real/ men (and later women) who braved the unknown, dodgy tech, and physics to go someplace I'd nearly kill to see firsthand. T3 opens with an awful lot of actual (and some doctored) space program footage and Kennedy/Nixon bits too. Later, Buzz himself makes a great cameo. I had to resist the urge to cheer!

But that was just the first bit of awesome. I won't spoil Number 2 outright. But he gets a "double" cameo and one of the best lines in the whole thing.

Also, Patrick Dempsey. As a high-powered playboy exec who just happens to be a pro racer. In real life, Mr. Dempsey has been racing in the Rolex GT series for three or four years now, in an RX-8. Yup. *My* car.

Also also, Datsun 510 aka Bluebird. I wouldn't mind having one of these in RHD trim if I couldn't collect an AE86 Trueno...

All four of us really really enjoyed it. Heck, Soundwave's in it, although they changed his voice too much for my liking, and Ravage doesn't appear. I'm pretty sure his Ravage is where I got my last name from.

Also, I spent most of the movie thinking of Shockwave's "worm-bot" as a hydra when I should have just called it a shai-hulud. But more cybery.

Oh, that one disappointing set-piece? The building that shai-hulud bends in half. When will movies stop showing ordinary humans stopping a free-fall by grabbing onto something one-handed, or catching another falling human, without including dislocated shoulders?

Yes, I'm nitpicking human abilities in a movie quite literally crawling with intelligent, shapeshifting robots.

Panama City Beach

Do the local bands do a cover of GNR's "Paradise City" with the town's name instead?

For our first summer event, we went to PCB for 6 days and 5 nights. Ape got us a great deal on a townhome rental walking-distance close to the beach and big enough for the five of us. So, Saturday afternoon, we packed the van full of people and luggage and drove the five-odd hours there. Before I go too far, during this trip I used the heck out of Mjollnir's GPS, and it was awesome, except for finding a Dunkin' Donuts.

Highlights for now, details later maybe?

Saturday: Creature slept almost the ENTIRE way here. We got into town in time for dinner and met SIL and her crew at a place called Pineapple Willy's. Meh. While it *was* on the beach, there wasn't anything special about the food or the service.

Sunday: I had to work so Ape took the kids to Sis's place (a 14th-floor condo on the beach) to hang out and to meet some friends of ours from Alabama. They used to live close by and Ape watched their kids often, but promotions in the husband's job meant a relocation to 'Bama. I was supposed to meet them later on but timing got messed up and they had to leave.

Dinner at Red Robin and shopping at a place called Pier Park - think Town Center but super-close to the beach. Met a FFXIV player at GameStop when I asked the girl at the counter about the collector's edition. She was a font of info about 14 - maybe it's not so broken at this point.

Monday: Most of the day was spent in Destin and Fort Walton. Found another Town Center shopping area and had a nice time looking around, although Elder managed to slice his toe open whilst texting and walking >< Dinner later then a nice fishing village/shops area with a great feel to it. Open air movies playing (Wall-E), fishing boats coming in, a "large bird" photo stand, and more.

Tuesday: I need to check my notes, but I think today was go-carts for the boys, a trip to an arcade, and one of the worst dining experiences ever, at a place called Dirty Dick's. Supposed to be good steak and BBQ but it was anything but. SIL and Bro's steaks were overcooked, and too thin for their tastes. Ape and Younger's food arrived after everyone else had eaten (and Younger's order was wrong on top of everything else). Service was poor as well.

I called for the manager who was not very helpful and we left very dissatisfied, though I wisely passed on the food. I wound up with Zaxby's most delicious Sweet & Sour chicken sandwich. Later, when I went looking for their entry on Google Maps to put in my review, I couldn't find one. Younger was quick to theorize they deleted it to hide their lousy reputation.

Wednesday: The boys met SIL & Co. for a day at the water park. Ape, Katie and I went to Panama City proper and its mall for more shopping and walking about. Later, we had professional beach pics taken. Then, I finally got to see their condo - *amazing* place! I'd have left the front door and patio open most of the time just for the breeze and the waves! Elder and I watched an ep of South Park, a pretty good one wherein Mr. Mackey directs a kindergarten play.

Oh, the Dunkin' Donuts thing. On the map, I could see where I needed to go but was unsure of the street names. So Ape and I punched up Sally, my GPS friend and proceeded to drive in a large circle, ending up at a construction site next door to SIL's condo. To Sally's credit, the satellite never locked in for some reason, so I can forgive her. And other than that, directions to several places around PCB and Panama City were spot-on!

Thursday: Before leaving, we finally stopped by the dune buggy place to see if it was worth my time. The track layout was very well done, and long. But the cars were anemic power-wise. I was roped into taking Younger around so with two of us on board it wasn't much of a driving challenge. Solo, or with proper power, their place would rock!

On the way home, we stopped in Tallahassee for dinner and, you guessed it, more shopping. Din was Longhorn. We'd had enough of local fare after Pineapple Willy's and Dirty Dick's. And it was /excellent/. Shopping was a mall that time forgot, with many shuttered storefronts, but somehow featuring TWO places offering tabletop gaming. Dessert was DQ.

I had to work Friday, and since we got in so late. I was bushed. But it went pretty well and led into a three-day weekend!

Our trip was fantastic and Creature traveled very easily. We had a great time, for the most part with few problems. We'd definitely go back, but we'll need a good local fixer to connect us with decent local restaurants!

...And Small Furry Creatures From Alpha Centauri...

Courtesy of IMAlive's Twitter feed, this nugget of wisdom. Whatever my thoughts were on the subject, I'm willing to consider that I may have been wrong, or expressing them poorly.

To wit: Real Women, written by Hanne Blank.

Father's Day

Wouldn't have been a sweet surprise to get a trip to a salon for a mani-pedi and some much-needed hair styling? Even if only for the day? /sigh

Rumbling Hearts, Concluded

After RH disc 2 went back, I got Ghost In the Shell: The Music Videos.

Point. Less.

I was hoping for something AMV-styled from the great Studio I.G. and instead I got 5 songs set to three vids. More or less. And I'm sorry, but the songs were just not working for me. So off it went, to make way for...

Rumbling Hearts, the Conclusion!

I finally got around to watching it, having planned to watch it over the weekend and trade notes with LK. I was tardy watching, and even tardier with my write-up here. I can only assume he's already seen it.

So. I'm conflicted. And a little confused. I /think/ I know what happened but I'm not sure. And if I'm correct, I'm not sure I like the outcome.

Even still, it was one of the best stories I've ever seen, and a great find. As I mentioned before, I love the J-drama, especially school or work life drama. Those settings seem to really focus on character development and interaction, rather than using magic, tech, aliens, what-have-you to advance the story. Not saying any of those things is wrong, but when all you have is yourself...

I Need A New Prescription

I try so hard to empathise with people just trying to do their jobs. I just wish the fine folks at my CVS would try a /little/ harder.  To wit:

Last night, we dropped off Elder's ADHD scrip. At 9:57, we pulled away with a 15 minute ETA. Not wanting to go all the way home and back, we pulled into a nearby parking spot. Creature began chatting up a cutestorm ^^  Just over 15 minutes later, we drove back to the pharmacy window.

We had to wait behind another car so by the time our turn came, it was 15 minutes *past* the ETA. And by the time someone came to the window it was a few minutes later. And surprise, surprise. Our order wasn't ready on time. Or at all.

Without exaggeration, I think they blow their estimates by a material amount 3 out of 4 visits. Most of the time, we come back a little after the specified time, only to wait some more whilst they fill it from scratch. This waiting in line for a time to wait in line sounds familiar... Ah yes, Fastpass! But without a cool ride at the end ><

We were handed our prescription 38 minutes after we had left the window. More than once I've lamented to Ape about going there at all. Publix and Target are much better about delivery times.

Busy Busy Weekend!

Saturday: Racing in Ocala

What a difference a bit of weight loss makes! Today actually marked Day 3 of Silly Aunt & Catch's visit. The plan was for half of us to go racing and the rest to go shopping. With the Springfield Connection stuck working to restore his Joplin datacentre post-tornadoes (it was /really/ bad!) we were one short, but for the first time, one of the Clones joined us. Elder came with while Younger declined.

To make this shorter, aside from 4 hours on the road and some well-earned Subway, we had almost two hours of racing excitez (please don't sue me LK ^^). Catch and I ran 3 races and Dad and Elder took two trips. Having my own helmet was nice, but next time I need to bring a hairband to control my mane.

My dad and I are ridiculously competitive when it comes to motorsport. Ask him about the Mercedes Invitational smart car race he owned, and the almost-bigger than a smart car trophy he got -.-

This time however, I was 20% lighter. Making me a leaner, meaner Mithran racing machine. I won all three of my races, against our group as well as the others filling out the grid. Only Catch and Dad were able to give me what-for, but not for long!

Also, my dad is Alan-oblivious when it comes to anything not in front of his car. Course marshals, flags, track markers, nada...

Sunday: Creature's Christening

Ape's been working herself up over this and today she gets the payoff! We got to church on time (for once) and had good seats. I think we had at least 20 people in our party. The service was a usual one, and I missed a lot of it having to comfort Creature outside. But then it was showtime. Joining us on the altar were my sis and, filling in for the Springfield Connection (stuck in Joplin rebuilding his datacenter), my BIL.

Also up there were two other families and their little ones. Father did an awesome job, and we even got a great pic of him holding Creature ^^ She didn't scream or anything when she got dipped. I think when it came my turn to apply the chrism on her forehead that I Crossed her upside down...

From there we all caravaned to a new spot for us, a local diner that has been getting rave reviews (and a little national attention) for its breakfasts. We had a bit of a wait, there still being close to 20 of us. But we got in before the heat claimed any of us. Did I mention it was hot? Really, really hot? I was glad to have brought a change of clothes, which went on after church.

Shortening this story: Some "relative" stress at the noise and tight confines, but I thoroughly enjoyed my noms. And I wound up getting some pancakes from one of the kids (my meal had biscuits instead) and they were fabulous. *Everything* was fabulous! I had enough left over for later that night. Which was another family game night, as is our usual thing.

Monday: First Class and Last Pass

I went straight from work to meet Ape, mom, Sis, Catch and the boys for X-Men: First Class. "Firstly", this movie rocked. From start to end. But I'm not sure why they keep calling it a reboot. I'm no comic book nerd, so maybe I'm ignorant of the backstory subtleties here, but I didn't see anything that would prevent X1, X2 and X3 continuing the story arc. No matter, it was awesome!

From there, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dessert and goodbyes. Sis and Catch had to leave early Tuesday to return home. It sucked not having SC here but we're just glad none of our relations was killed or injured in the tornado rampage that nearly decimated Joplin. His on-site pics are bizarre and disconcerting. Without sarcasm or mockery, it was a lot like going into Promyvion for the first time. The /wrongness/ of it all...

Rumbling Hearts, Cont.

I LOVE THIS ANIME!

No, seriously, I love it! I just finished disc 2, and the story is flat-out heart-wrenching! I can't wait for / dread reaching the end of this one. It's been a looong time since I've experienced storytelling like this. Last Herald Mage comes to mind...

Also, just when I wanted to write off A Little Snow Fairy Sugar (somehow wound up starting this series on season 2...) the last ep on the disc got me. Overall, what I've seen (7 eps) is light, comedic anime candy. But two of the stories were deeper than expected, and the last one, about Saga's mother's piano, was surprisingly tender. I almost (almost) want to get the next disc to see what happens!

Also also, I wonder if "Sugar Baby Love" is available somewhere...

Whoops!

I decided to forgo shopping for the PS2 net adapter and just swiped mine back from the Clones. I fired up TFM and to my surprise, it logged in. I had expected my account to be inactive, but I guess my master account stayed and just the FFXI-related service accounts dropped.

Anyway, I went through the reactivation screens, and just when I thought I was going to get confirmation Aerin was still in there, I got billed! Aaargh! It never asked for payment, and I don't know if the card I last used was even good, but I cancelled immediately and emailed customer support. Still waiting to hear back.

Also, in account news, I called Xbox support about the troll that used my email to register a Live trial. Oddly, their recommendation is the first thing I thought of, and the last thing I expected to hear: Seize the account through a password reset. No prob, Bob!

Also, also: I'm feeling "nulled" again. My emotions are a mess and I really wish I could find a therapist...

Siren Shout-Outs

In checking my blog for TK references, I found *her* blog:

TigerKirara's Journey

I looked for a cheap PS2 net adapter so I could get my TFM running (to later log in to POL for character reactivation), but we ran out of time. It's been over 5 months and I don't know if Aer's still available to "raise" but if so, I may just do it.

Yes yes, I know I keep going back and forth! I never said I was a terribly decisive Mithra!

{Gather Together}

Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for 1987.

If you'll allow me, I'd like to relive the past for a bit. I know I'm going to get a few minor details wrong, but nothing materially significant. And, as is my normal M.O., it'll make sense in a bit.

1987 should have been the third year of my online life, and Aerin would have been about a year or so old. The Eighties were a great time to be into computers, as the BBS scene was thriving. I had already been to a "board party" or two, where one or more sysops would throw a bash for their users. Often, in addition to barbecue, snacks, drinks and the like, there were often some computers and consoles set up.

This party would be different, in that (I hope my memory is not betraying me) tonight's main attraction was the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not everyone watched, but many of us crowded around a TV on one room whilst others continued their merriment*.

There is something to be said about large-scale shared experiences: The Kennedy Assassination, Elvis's farewell, a midnight movie premiere or product launch, Oprah's last show and so on. You may personally only be doing something with a handful to a few hundred people. But you know that elsewhere, there are perhaps thousands more going through the same experiences.

These board parties were kind of like that for me, since online was usually one or two people concurrently, versus 50 of us around a pool. Add to it something as geekily important as ST:TNG (go Wil!) and you have a shared experience to remember.

As I've said before, XI is like that for lots of people. But through all of the online fun I've had since the BBS days (PS2/PS3/PC gaming), it's been over 20 years since I've been able to meet up with others sharing my experiences. Well, to be fair, I did meet a few XI players at AWA, but not from my server.

Today, I got to meet LordKaosu, and TigerKirara! A few weeks ago, I found out that LK was planning a Florida trip, and after some juggling, Ape and I were able to meet up with LK and TK for an afternoon of fun and food. And some Pokemon shopping.

I want to thank both of them for putting up with our tardiness. I know you said it was no big deal but my WHM guilt is ever-present ^^ 30-odd late minutes notwithstanding, we had fun walking around a mall, then had a fantastic lunch at a brewhouse. Fantastic, I said! And for us, a mind-blowing dessert. There was chocolate. Fudgie stuff. Dark Chocolate. Some chips. Maybe some more chocolate. Ghirardelli (wow, I got that right the first time ^.~) may have been involved.

All joking aside, we all had a great time talking about all sorts of stuff, very little of it being XI-related. Though I finally learned what TK stands for and recall seeing her from time to time :3 I hope the two of them had as much fun as we did, and Kat did her best to steal the show. TK seemed totally smitten with her, and so I've found someone else who is as weak to a baby's charms as I am!

I wish we'd had more time to actually *do* something (we had thrown up Ocala Grand Prix as a possibility) but we made the absolute most of the time we did have. They're scooting back north tomorrow afternoon, so I'm just thankful they were able to take the time from visiting fam to meet up with a nostalgic Mithra and family!

I suspect we could have chatted on for hours, as there's a lot of fun stuff mixed across us with our jobs, our backgrounds and our likes & dislikes. If we ever get New York planned out right we'll have to try connecting with them on their turf.

Side note - I got a kick when I realized *both* LK and I wore con shirts ^^

* My mom informed me that some of the /other/ merriments included heroin, which led to a police raid sometime after she retrieved me - O.O

Apple Sauce

We went to my favorite mall for a little fun, lunch with friends and maybe a PS2 net adapter for me.

While at the Apple Store, the clones and I were messing about with some MacBook Pros hooked up to speakers. And the internet. Where Nyan Cat lives. I don't know who started it, but we had three lappys with speakers cranked queued to the original Nyan Cat vid. We counted down and simultaneously clicked "play". We laughed!

I don't know if anyone else did. And I caved about 29 seconds in and paused the vids. But hey, bonding with the Clones - priceless!

Also, as part of searches for Nyan Cat remixes, I found DJEphixa and GoingQuantum. Both seem to focus on dubstep and hardstyle, though DJEphixa's got some nice surprises in his setlist. Some Zelda, Portal and Donkey Kong Country remixes. And a couple of amazing tracks with a singer called Veela. That are so good I'm gonna buy them shortly.

I also ran across another XI remixer: UnrealNero, who had a few mixes up on Newgrounds. Including a Gustaberg remix! I positively *detest* Gistaberg the zone, but Gustaberg the song is among my faves, after Zitah and some of the battle music.

Tactile Sensations

I've been listening to book 6 in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series. This of course after doing 7, then 5, so I'm a bit out of sorts. Anyway, this early recommendation from a good friend has turned out to be a delight, and I'm glad to see by way of Facebook updates that Ms. Hamilton is at work on the beginnings of the next volume.

So, as I was listening yesterday, something dawned on me that I don't think had ever dawned before. If you're not familiar with the series, please allow me to set the stage so that my dawning will make sense.

Merry is a princess of Faerie, specifically in the Unseelie Court. For reasons that are made clear earlier in the series, she and a number of guards and support staff choose exile from their faerie sithen to escape the cruelty and/or machinations of Merry's aunt (Unseelie queen), cousin (prince), and the mad king of the Seelie.

She works in Los Angeles, as a detective. Neat, huh?

Anyway, Merry has what amounts to a harem or men (and some women), as part of the goal of her exile is to become pregnant and extend the bloodline. Childbirth among the sidhe has been basically nonexistent for centuries. So there's quite a crowd.

Before one gets the wrong idea, it's important to note that, for most of the sidhe, intimacy and physical contact are as natural as shaking hands or having an intense conversation. They almost universally take pleasure and comfort in gentle contact (soft caresses, hair twirling, resting hands or arms on shoulders or backs, etc.), even whilst conducting business in Faerie or in our world. To the uninitiated, it looks quite orgiastic. And it often goes there.

But many times, the physical contact is used more to "buffer" one another from some emotional or physical stress. And while reading the descriptions of how some of Merry's men would stroke an arm or thigh, bury a face in her hair, and so on (all while she was sorting out some new political intrigue and doing much the same to them as well), the Dawning occurred.

Ape and I do pretty much the exact same thing. If we're within arm's reach of each other, one or both of us is holding or pressing something. Hair and feet most often, with arms and backs thrown in. It can be very pleasing while being platonic, and it is indeed *very* comforting and relaxing and reassuring to have the touch of our beloved so close.

Also, as it happens, I play with her hair often while driving. And *that* drives Ape's sister mental. It's quite funny, really!

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

(I'll try to limit the "don" jokes)

After a full afternoon of yardwork, Elder and I met with the rest of the weekend crew for pizza. On arriving, my nephew (the one who had First Communion with the Clones yesterday) came up to me. A little sheepishly, he asked if I'd be his godfather. While the adults had talked about this for some time, I was a bit surprised, but accepted his honor graciously.

I'll leave the northern family drama for another time, but basically, for reasons that are meaningful only to him, the original godfather has chosen to stop associating with the southern families. His loss!

So that means I'll get to be involved in his Confirmation as well as that for the Clones - neat!

Now, to get my cut of his car wash business... (oops! Sorry!)

Weird Feelings

I'm not sure why, but it seems that I'm more sensitive to others' emotional spikes lately. Meaning, if someone near me is expressing intense emotion, I feel it more strongly than normal. I've always felt others' emotional states but this is different. I can't help but wonder if it's tied to the fact I'm not using my healing gifts much...

Actually, that would make sense, and would also explain why things like the restaurant service Friday night got to me so quickly...

/sigh

First Communions

Today was a long day, capping off a longer journey. Today, both Clones (and their cousin) had their sacraments of First Communion! They had to wear white suits (which we rented) and we were all at the church for close to 3 hours, between pre-show, the procession, the regular service (including Communion for all, beginning with the 50 or so kids) and the post-service pictures with our collective 20-odd guests.

This was followed by dinner with just about everyone who came to see them. It was all very nice!

Also, prior to leaving for the afternoon, I saw two more episodes of Rumbling Hearts. I really *really* love this show. I can't wait to find out what Takayumi does about his new predicament...

Service, Anyone?

I try so hard to be understanding and empathic with restaurant waitstaff. I know they have a hard job, and I've known many folks who put in their time in the salt mines.

But, I do have a couple of pet peeves with regard to table service. Foremost, if I have to stop eating because my drink's run out, that is a problem to me. And having to wait to pay, to the point of making smalltalk waiting for the check or our change is tiring.

Furthermore, if I have to get up and track down my server or another staffer, it puts me off a generous tip. And it likely makes them feel uncomfortable or harassed.

Last night, I had to get up *twice* for help and when I went to the restroom, I actually recalled my "Centering Myself" post in an attempt to remain calm... Lame!

Two Tiny Updates

* Power Gig went back without a hitch. I explained that the box was misleading and that it seemed a pointless product if it couldn't be used as a real guitar in the game.

* Netflix has added support for 6 existing Android phones, including the HTC Incredible. But not the Thunderbolt as yet. C'mon guys! Please? Pretty please?

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString

Why didn't someone tell me sooner that I was wasting my time? When this was announced, all the press suggested it was a "real guitar game", and a path to beginning real guitar proficiency. When it hit retail, the box didn't really say much one way or the other, other than the axe itself boldly claiming that real rockers use strings.

So, I watched my usual haunts for signs of clearance-binning and yesterday I finally scored. I got the PS3 guitar bundle for 25 bucks. Took it home, set it up, and realized I'd basically been had.

Yes, the included guitar (plasticky, three-quarter scale but very solid-feeling) is a real electric. It plugs into any standard amp. But to use it with the included game (whose plot made me think of Rock 'n Rule) you basically neuter it into a standard five-button controller.

Really?

All that potential and it doesn't even include a tuner? Wow.

To top *that*, it seems the guitar has no MIDI capability and cannot be used as a real guitar with any software or system.

So what the heck was the point of this thing supposed to be? And how could I have been so naive?

It's going back to Best Buy if they'll have it. I guess I'll have to wait for the Rock Band Squier electric to get binned if I want to play guitar like an actual guitarist.

Whiling and Filing

'Member when I said I gave up cosplay planning for Lent this year? I also gave up my nails.

This (these?) may sound like trivial and odd Lent sacrifices. You'd be right, except for the fact that not having my nails done in my usual claw-point style has really been, uhhh..., clawing at me.

Today, I fixed that. Whilst kicking off Rumbling Hearts, I filed my nails. Soooo much better!

PSN Network... "It Only Doesn't"

I am one of the 100 million. I haven't seen any evidence of funny business on any of my credit cards. And since I have no clue which one I used ages ago to buy Penny Arcade's game (I can't even log in to check!), I don't know where to focus.

Honestly, I'm not overly concerned yet. I'm betting they didn't get full CC details, and spammy card offers get ignored all the time.

What ticks me off is that I haven't been able to play GT5 or GTA online in weeks. Nor to check out the new GT TV content. Also, I kinda miss PSN Home. I didn't use it much but it gave me a chance to hang out virtually.

But all those things are free, and so I'll fume over /here/ for a bit and get on with my life.

Oops - forgot Netflix. That *ISN'T* free and not only can I not watch on my PS3 (Why? Really?) Netflix seems content to ignore Android devices for now. It certainly seems that once they do support Android it'll be on a go-forward basis, tied to some form of TPM chip or somesuch nonsense. All indications are that there will be no streaming love for current devices.

And *THAT* my friends is a real problem for me, as I traded my iPod when I got Mjollnir. So, for like a month now, I've been mostly stream-free. The DVDs I get are nice of course, but my "sit down and focus on subbed anime" time is rather limited these days.

If I'm up and about the house, I like to stream to the big TV, as do (did?) the Clones. When I'm resting before bed and the lights are out and Ape's watching whatever on TV, I liked to stream eps of South Park, Xena, whatever.

And now I can't do either, thanks to boneheadedness.

I'll reserve judgment on Sony pending their wrap-up of their mess and their actual compensation package for members. -Psst- Vouchers for downloaded games are no good, Sony - I have no room on my HDD as it is, with GT5, GTAIV, Fallout 3 and a couple others eating up multiple-gig chunks apiece.

Netflix is easier. I'm cancelling at the end of the month and if I can actually speak to a human I'll tell them why.

Trying to Return to Vana'Diel

Yes kids, I'm that cuckoo for Square's cocoa puffs. If I can get a sense that Aerin is still reviveable I may rejoin Siren. I can't take it anymore. I spend waaay too much time reminiscing and missing the fun. I know it won't be 100% roses and sunshine if I do make it back. But I think I need to do it for my sanity.

For Lent this year, I gave up my cosplay plans (for Lent's duration, not forever). Actually, up to now, I haven't sewn or sketched anything. I had sort of hoped by shutting down that particular dream that it (and Vana) would leave my system. A sort of fantasy detox.

It didn't work... I'm thinking of cosplaying more and more and as I try to remember why I want to slog through the muck that is XI, I'm remembering many touchstone moments with my shells and some random folks. It also doesn't help me forget when I get blog posts out of the blue from other players (Hi Imma!). I *love* these - don't get me wrong. It just means I go back and relive more memories.

Killing one's internal identity is harder than it seems...

More Me

Ok, I succumbed. I have a Facebook account and I activated my Flickr one off my extant Yahoo account, all because of Mjollnir.

Also... *squee* I found Pharaoh Atem's site with 80 remixed FFXI tunes! And apparently he cosplayed a Mithra - I think he stole my "ear" notes, but they look fantastic!

Musical Memories

On Monday, I discovered that Mjollnir* can stream net radio.  Then I made myself sad.

I found Psycho White Mage Radio.  And four years of memories came flooding back.  /sadmithra

I do so miss Vana'diel - I sometimes wonder if I should stop torturing myself and drop the Twitter XI feeds...

*This is a temporary name on the assumption I find something more suited to my personality.  Doesn't help that I just listened to "And Another Thing" which has more than a few thunderbolt courtesy of Thor.

Testing Thor's phone

I'm dictating this to my phone I don't really have much of the status point of this is pretty cool.

okay no that's pretty close I have to edit a little bit later.

bye bye

After The Dream Ends...

...there is often another...

Hello all. I think I have a problem. I've noticed in the past several weeks that I feel less "Aerinny" than before. I know part of it is that I'm not expressing my personality as a goofy WHM Mithra. But a lot of it is the loss of having a use for my gifts.

OK, that's a little over the top. But, honestly, I haven't found another outlet for my gifts and I think lack of "spiritual exercise" is affecting me negatively. I'm grumpier than usual and have less patience. Some of that may be due to lack of sleep caused by a pregna-momma sleeping fitfully next to me ^^

While playing Portal and Fallout 3 recently (don't laugh - I have a four-year backlog of PS3 and PSP classics) I have tried to follow the path of light. In Portal, that pretty much meant not killing a single turret. I took great pains to evade and avoid them using cubes to block them or in many cases, jumping behind or beside them with careful portal placement. Once there I could safely turn them around (despite their cute protests) and walk away safely.

Overall, not a very good WHM outlet.

Fallout 3 is better, in that it has a very clear karma system with costs and benefits of playing well with others or laying waste to anything in your path. Up until the Garden of Eden mission, I had not killed a single human. I achieved this by tanking escort missions and disarming enemies when possible. A3-21's Plasma Rifle with a few VATS perks makes that pretty easy. Also, there was much running like mad and eating lots of found food.

Oh, I'm also on a med-and stim free run. 3 meds (2 by accident) and 12 stims only.

So, Garden of Eden. Of course, I rescue Fawkes. And since anything that aggroes me sets *him* off, he winds up doing a lot of killing. I'd rather he didn't but in only two cases did I actually instigate a Super Mutant Gatling Laser Roast-a-Thon. Both times involved slavers. RIP Eulogy Jones... I'm on the final mission and only have like 3 side-quests left so I think I did OK.

My kids still don't get why I'm trying to avoid killing, even in self defence. At this point I have a few groups out to kill me on sight: Raiders, Talon Company, and the Enclave. If they'd just ignore me, I'd turn Fawkes to melee and keep him close. But they don't and, conflicted as he is, he seems to really like mowing down smoothskins.

But even with all that (and yes, the Clones have called me out on my Fawkesian hypocrisy), I *still* don't feel right.

And GT5? There's not much use for a WHM there.

So, what to do? I've thought long and hard about TWLOHA's ImAlive project. If I thought I could do that without drowning in the pain of others, or becoming overly concerned about individuals, I'd do it. But it's a big commitment and Kat's due in 6 short weeks ^^ If I do go for it, I'll let you all know.

Oh, almost forgot - I must announce that I'm extremely proud of Elder. He has taken up my calling in his MMO of choice. Seriously! He spends about as much time talking and listening as he does questing. I've given him some gentle advice but otherwise I want to see where it goes. After going through his pre-teen and early teen years wondering if he cared about anything outside of himself, I'm so happy to see what he's been up to in there!

Also, now that I have a paycheck again, I'm thinking about grabbing that sewing machine and seeing what I can come up with in a month and a half. Ape got many wonderful and adorable outfits at Kat's shower and I think there's some I could ape (ha!) pretty closely with time and practice.

And I *still* want to cosplay this September. I saw some screenshots from one of the recent XI updates of new gear that looked A LOT like my plans for my Druid ensemble. Weir-r-rd.

With all my hopes and dreams,

Aerin