For your consideration.

That is a picture of a bear breathing fire. I apologize for the low resolution. The text reads, "Toasted Head Chardonnay". It's wine. A bottle of wine with a picture of a bear breathing fire. Working nights frequently yields moments during which one has to stop and say, "did that just happen?", and usually the answer is Yes, yes it did.

-Scientists knew

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I'm looking forward to this weekend being over, because it promises to be the worst one in recent history. Except maybe this next one. The smell of this entire month has thus far yielded nothing but disappointment and extreme frustration, coupled with a strong desire to kill or break something. I should take up hunting. No, actually I shouldn't, because I'd do it once and probably never again - from either guilt or laziness - and then I'd have a bunch of equipment that I'd be stuck with. What I should do instead is buy a pistole, and at times of great frustration, pull it out and fire a few shots into the air. 'Course then theres jail. I hate this month.

I work all night tonight and due to circumstances beyond my control and realm of acceptability, I would like to sleep through most to all of the day tomorrow. Consciousness promises to hold no joy tomorrow afternoon. I considered buying some Tylenol PM just to knock me out for the day, but decided against it for the fact that I don't want to get used to using drugs out of frustration. I've used the stuff before, specifically when a drastic and sudden change in my sleep schedule was required for a new job, and the stuff really does work wonders. But I'd managed to do so without any dependency, and I hope to keep it that way. Plus I don't really need that much sleep tomorrow. I simply want it.

As I followed this thought I imagined myself quite capable of becoming dependent on sleep aids, if I allowed myself too. I imagined myself unable to go to bed without them, unable to rest without them. I imagined myself building up a resistance to them, eventually needing more and more to get tired. I'm not sure how feasible that is, or if they qualify as being, "narcotic"(Tylenol PM and other non subscription sleep aids specifically). Nevertheless I saw it as possible. I have a tendency to form habits, and quickly at that.

Then I thought about people who are ACTUALLY addicted to drugs, and it was hard not to think of them as the victims. Victims of themselves, to be sure, but in a sense, still unwilling and halfway blameless. If sleep aids have a potential to be so potent, what about something more addictive like alcohol or coke? Ehg. I suppose it's all part of people compulsively needing to destroy themselves. Honda had it figured out in 1954. Drugs? Godzilla? Same damn thing.

-Blah blah blah

See how they bait their trap? I will help you spring it.

I saw a picture recently(online) of a man attempting to procreate with a giant scorpion. No really. It was captioned with, "That's it, the internet's over. Everyone go home." A recent romp of a friend's myspace profile and survey of the comments left by a heavily disturbed individual who has a thing for... I don't even know how to describe it, has lead me to this same conclusion.

Work has resumed as normal, so, you know. That's just... awesome. Apparently taking powernaps on one's break is cause for a writeup. I didn't GET written up, but I did get yelled at. I mean, I was on break. I didn't know.

This fortune cookie is stale. Also, has anybody else noticed that fortune cookies don't so much deal with the future as they do with moral lessons? Or deep, intimate truths about oneself? Like this one, this one says, "You are demonstrative with the ones you love" I think most people are, but what does that have to do with the future? I was hoping for tomorrow's weather, or at least some insight as to whether or not furnishing a cave is a good idea.

Also, if you feel so compulsed, feel free to click like a madman on the links at the top of this page. It mightbe a good idea.

-AJ

And by the way,

And friend recently said to me that words are the worst possible form of communication. This is the part of the dialog where I say, "and he's right."

And he's right.

They leave too much unsaid and too much open to interpretation. And we're ALWAYS wrong when we try to figure it out. We go nuts, and we suck at doing it. I've compiled a list of methods by which we SHOULD communicate, because animals do it, and it seems to work for them.

By scent
By dancing
With their antennae
Eyebrows
Growling
Smelling each other's butts
Killing each other

I've written a book on the subject, and Barnes and Noble will be carrying it in January. That's a lie. I've never written a book, and if I did Barnes and Noble probably wouldn't carry it. And no one would read it. They'd call it stupid. Except, for, like, that ONE guy who would read it, and love it, and tell his friends to read it, and they wouldn't because they're lazy or they don't read. He'd get like, one or two people to read it, and they'd be like, "it was alright."

-AJ

It'll be a day like this one.

Missy's funeral was this afternoon. The turnout was great - two hundred some people, at least. Cocoa has a huge Sanctuary, and it was packed. I saw a lot of people there I haven't seen in awhile, and it was actually pretty cool. It wasn't awkward or anything, even with Jackie. Jackie's a good person.

Church was good this morning.

So was lunch.

And I would like to go live in a cave. You don't pay bills and people don't bother you. It's quiet. Even the sun leaves you alone. Of course, then you figure, you have to furnish it, and furniture is unwieldy enough when you try and take it through a door. Never mind a cave. Caves - real caves, mind you - are nigh impassable. They're usually underground, and there's rocks everywhere. Big rocks. And if there's ever an earthquake, Nelly, you're in trouble. Though, if you had inflatable furniture, you could just put it in a backpack and take it where you wanna go. They have those inflatable chairs, you know. And some air mattresses could even pass as a full on bed. Lighting would be an issue too, but you've always got batteries. And they make those headlamps that run off of some special kind of stone, and water. No, seriously. Wiki it. I bet they make lanterns out of the same stuff, and even if they don't already, you could probably make one yourself. You'd just need a bigger rock.

Then I guess you might have to worry about bears, but if you go deep enough underground, what bear is going to bother? I'd think the only reason a bear would go that far into a cave would be to hibernate, and like, I know bears climb trees, but I'm not so sure about rocks. Real caving involves a lot of climbing. And if the thing's going to hibernate, he'd be asleep the whole time anyway. So you'd be like roommates. That would be awesome. Bear roommate.

Wait, what would be even MORE awesome is hibernating. God in Heaven, I would pay money to hibernate right now. For like, a month. January fifteenth is almost here. The day of destiny. The day of reckoning.
That aside, hibernating would be amazing. I'd eat a bunch, climb down in my cave, and then chill on my air mattress for a month. And I'd be unconscious! I can think of a few people who would love that. At least I think they would. And that aside, I definitely would.

I gotta stop drinking caffeine. It's poison.

Work tomorrow night. Ten hour shift. Great way to end a vacation.

See now I can't stop thinking about hibernating. I think they make drugs for that, but I guess those could also kill you. I wonder if Ebay has morphine.

-AJ

"And slam shut the jaws of oblivion."

Yesterday was a great day. I'll just say that.

Also, I'd like to reiterate that I hate pews. Pews.

Long day. Long night, too. Woke up at about six forty five. Still on Texas time. And since they're an hour behind it makes it all the worse.

Talked to my dad today. He's a good man. The best man. Yeah. Best.

Wanting to stay in San Anton. was not unfounded. I'm not sure if the grammar in that phrase was entirely correct, but I'm cool with that. It's good to be home - whatever that is - but being away from home was nice too. But you know. Florida has a Katie.

And I has a sleep.

-AJ

We don't get it.

Any of it.

"You'd be the same if you could see! So lets have another drink!"

Here it goes again.

Idle Threats are childish.

We watched Hot Rod yesterday, and I can safely say that it's just as good the third time around. The movie is a variable roller coaster of hilarity. What Napoleon Dynamite would have been if Will Ferrel had been involved in it's creation, and also, if it hadn't sucked. Move over John Heder. Andy Samberg is in town.

Life resumes tomorrow, though I'm putting my best effort forth to prolong it until Sunday afternoon. I may skip church Sunday morning, seeing as I'm not playing drums and I can't stand sitting in the pew. Does that make me a bad Christian? Because I hate pews? Some would say so. Hm.


I'm not sure what to make of Project 86 these days. A new album only months ago, and already a new EP is coming out on iTunes. Don't bands typically release EPs before they make it big? Not after they've released five or so albums successfully? Hm.

Alright, never mind, I get it. It's a companion to Rival Factions, their last album. I'll have to torrent it later, as I don't, and refuse to, use iTunes. It's an abomination.

Maybe I'll do that now.

Four games to go before I make my top 10 list for the year, and only one more movie. Wait, wait.

...

Five games. Two of them are at my house, right now, so, there ya go. I'm tempted to just type the thing now and revise it, but I won't. Safe to say Halo 3 will be in there. Wow. Imagine that.

-Prime

Today's Fantastic Link Adventure

60 pounds? Of what?

"How do your folk manage Rishathra?" "We don't."

Hot Rod came out today, and it should go without saying that I am nothing short of jovial. My family and I are sitting down to watch it later this evening. I'm stoked. I love that word. Stoked.

Two days left of my vacation, and then I depart for Florida. I still have another three before I have to return to work, and I'm grateful for that. Other than getting my living quaters straight I'm planning on taking it easy for the first couple days I'm back. I'll probably get some drum practice in, maybe sleep, or something. I don't know. I'll have to go in and check the schedule at work too, see when I need to stay up all night to get myself back on the proper sleep rotation.

Beyond that, there will of course be the normal - if one can call them such - day to day goings-on of sunny Brevard County. Not sure how I feel about that. Don't get me wrong - I want to go home, but I'd rather not have to deal with all the annoyances and responsibilities that encompass day to day life. I've had too much time to think about the things that annoy me in the time that I've been here. Ah well. There are plenty of good things. Katie, of course being the main one. Halothons. And a drum set. I've been itching to beat on some drums. It'll also be good to sit in my car again, which reminds me, I still need to have it looked at.

Being here has, on the other hand, reminded me of how cool my family is. We got to talking about some things at the dinner table the other day, and I recalled an incident somehow pertinent to the conversation in which I'd be aggravated to the near-limit during YPB practice. I was surprised at how they'd agreed with me. Moreover, I was surprised that it surprised me. I'm not used to being agreed with these days. Most people seem to need to challenge the things I say - make me justify them. Perhaps I'm imagining it, projecting the attitudes of a few people in some select situations onto the majority, but nonetheless, it was nice not having to second guess the words that had come out of my mouth. Also, free food. Free food rocks.

That aside, there's not much else to say. I plan on typing something up about Larry Niven before long, but I may want to finish another book or two first. So far I've only got Ringworld, The Ringworld Engineers and Protector under my belt. I might finish The Ringworld Throne first, and then offer further commentary. Who knows. I may forget and not do it at all, unless I somehow find a way not to be so busy upon returning to Florida.

Hm. I'll have to work on that.

-Prime

Thank you Mr. Book.

Barnes and Noble has yeilded, and I am victorious.

The Ringworld Throne, The Man Kzin Wars(I), and A World out of Time. All rare. Plus, Kzin Wars was a special edition, $3.99. I smiled, as next to it on the shelf, was a copy of the exact same book, a later edition, which was priced at $7.99. Gwaaaag.

I almost purchased a LEGO Batman set(retailed at somewhere between fifty and seventy dollars) for $9.99. Mark down. However, Marshalls used a deception tactic in placing the item in the wrong bin. My intention to resell and profit was dashed. Yar.

-Aaronus

So I was thinking-

-And I decided that I'm really, really glad I'm on vacation. I still have, like, five days before I go home, and I plan to enjoy them to the fullest. I've only been here since monday and I've already reconnected with my family, played Jet Force Gemini, made a video with Jet Force Gemini(see below) and decided that I'm not always wrong when people piss me off. A conversation at the dinner table validated that. Next time I get booted out of a song with no explanation and then get yelled at for leaving the room and am then told, "You can't just leave", my answer will be a resounding, "Yes, I can." Being a volunteer carries with it certain rights which I am hesitant - nay, unwilling - to relent. But I digress. The issue in question is long since over, and it's time to move forward. Like a boat.

I think I'm going to sign up for Gamefly when I get home. Why? Because Blockbuster online isn't doing much for me, and I'm tired of scouring the pathetic chain for my game rentals. And I'm not watching that many movies anymore. I may keep the Blockbuster online sub and then register for Gamefly in addition. I can afford it. Or I may downgrade with Blockbuster just to justify the expense. I may do neither. Either way, it shant be long before I'm playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam, Blacksite: Area 51, and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I have been denied these repeatedly by Blockbuster. Enough is enough.

Avast.

-Prime

Project Log - 11/13 - 11/24

11/23 - Conceived brilliant video project born of Halo 300 trailers and nothing else to do

-tested DVD recorder. Found that N64 has copy protection chip.
-tried in vain to utilize hi-8 camcorder.
-continued to argue with DVD recorder. Failed.
-decided to attempt VHS recording followed by DVD conversion. Succeeded.
-finished VHS recording.
-attempted vhs/dvd conversion. Failed.

11/24

-reattempted vhs/dvd conversion. Failed.
-tried several disks
-cursed dvd recorder.
-bought new dvds
-tried again
-failed. again.
-cleaned dvd recorder.
-reattemped vhs/dvd conversion
-succeeded
-attempted dvd rip. succeeded.
-attempted import. failed.
-attempted conversion. succeeded.
-attempted import. succeeded.
-began editing. took four hours.
-finished editing. attempted finalization. succeeded.
-attempted upload. failed.
-rebooted system.
-reattempted upload.
-Succeeded.

Fall back men! Arm the War Platypie!

I am at a loss.


I have been employed by CVS for just barely a month and am in the middle of my forth week of work. Twice my boss has gone on a childish tirade, stating that, "work isn't being done" and that, "I will fire all of you blah blah I'm probably in menopause". Today she kicked us out of the store. Kicked us out. My lord, if I'd known this would happen, I'd have stayed at Target. Well. Maybe. I'm considering giving them a call, because I honestly don't know if I have a job right now. This isn't worth ten fifty an hour. I'm sorry, but when I work for eight hours with one twenty minute break, in the middle of the night, and the woman in charge can only rage on me for some underlying and yet-to-be-revealed reason, I begin to seriously question the worth of my situation. Nevermind that things seem to have flared up with the youth ministry team, again, though that situation is much less volatile and much more solvable. Sort of.

Oh, and my CDs. That's an atrocious boil if ever one has existed on the moral complexion. I spent a good two or so hours in the stock room last night, and knew ahead of time that I'd be doing it, so I brought a couple CDs upstairs with me to pass the time(theres a store provided CD player on one of the shelves.) I was told on my first day of work that using said CD player was acceptable. I have done so. I've forgotten CDs before and then gone back for them the next day, each time without incident. I forgot some last night and came back for them today. They were gone. June, the Cosmetics manager, informed me that my boss had put them in the office. I suppose she intended to confiscate them. The fit of rage, however, which I assume she was in at the time, hampered her innate female ability to hide things, and I quickly discovered them. I unconfiscated them. Let it be known that they are safely nestled in my front passenger seat, and shall remain until I choose otherwise. I'm looking forward to hearing about that one.

In the mean time, Blacksite comes out in a few days. Timeshift is out now, though I've yet to play it. I gave the demo a try a few weeks ago and was killed within the first ten minutes. I only tried once. Perhaps a second go-round is in order. Perhaps not.

I've actually done more reading lately than anything else. My intellectual side has been tickled silly by Luis Wu and Chmee/Speaker To Animals in The Ringworld Engineers. The book is a sandwich. Layer after layer of joyous sci-fi goodness, seasoned by the condiments of punctuation and wordplay, and sandwiched between two slices of intelligence-bread. Mm.

I suppose I should try at sleep. The other Supervisors and myself are making a call to the District tommorow, in hopes that he can sort this out. My ideal scenario? Joan is put on leave/fired, and Carol is given charge of the store ad infinitum. She's definitely qualified, and she's real cool besides. If something like that doesn't happen, or I get written up one more time, I may be in line at the unemployment office.

The Ediface?

I've just finished with the Blacksite: Area 51 demo on XBL, and I have to say - I'm impressed. Perhaps not so much with the demo itself, as thus far, I've yet to see anything particularly amazing, but it was strangely satisfactory. This is strange, for me, as in the wake of Halo 3 it seems unlikely to impossible that any shooter could deliver a performance worth mentioning.

"Hey, you guys play Blacksite yet?"

"No.*SPAHTAHN LAYZAH*"

I'll admit - I am one of the many, many schmoes who has become an unwavering addict to the furious torrent that is Halo 3. It has swept me up in it's solid, satisfying mechanics and permanently duct taped a Brute Shot to my virtual hands. I am forever "pwned", as the kids say.

It seems unlikely that any shooter could hope to compare for at least the next year and a half. I wonder if Midway could have chosen a less appropriate release date that less than two months after the launch of one of the most anticipated entertainment events in history.

I was doubtful that I could be satisfied with another shooter any time soon. After playing the Blacksite demo, it seems I was wrong.

In other news, Beautiful Katamari has me by the hair. I've finished the game's main, "campaign" mode, but I still find myself going back for more. It must be that addictive, "DOINK" noise that sounds every time you pick something up. Or maybe it's the soundtrack with the ridiculous Japanese music. Maybe it's the whole thing.


Going back to Halo. I realized today that if you're in a ranked matchmaking game, the map loads, you hate it, and your fellow players don't Veto(because they're morons), you can abruptly reset your console in order to exit the match, and your rank will not be affected. Not that this is a good idea, as a matter of practice. But if I got stuck in one more Crazy King match, I was gonna lose my mind.

Oh, and don't try to rent The Orange Box. It's impossible.