Tuesday, June 29, 2004

I am bored beyond measure and reason. I don't know what to do with myself. Why do I have such a problem with downtime? It really shouldn't be this hard to relax.

posted by pookzilla at 4:53 PM - 0 comments

Thank goodness that the Canadian muppets... er... make that populace decided on the devil they knew as opposed to the devil they didn't.

posted by pookzilla at 7:29 AM - 2 comments

Monday, June 28, 2004

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 today and I am filled with... Oh, what are the words? How about impotent rage. Yes, those will do. It is an extremely well made and powerful film, fully deserving of the praise it's been given. I find Michael Moore often comes off as a hypocritical bully, but this movie was quite tasteful (with one exception (highlight to read: He showed interviews with some soliders where they talked about how they liked to play music when going into battle (they mentioned "Bodies" by Drowning Pool in particular). I believe he was trying to make the point that when you send kids off to fight an unjust war they'll undertake unjust actions themselves, but the connection wasn't driven home hard enough. It came off like he was trying to score points off the soliders, and this didn't mesh with the theme of the movie at all.). I cried at several points, particulary when they (I'm not sure where the footage came from - Iraqi news or what) interviewed the Iraqi grandmother. When the movie was finished I was feeling quite angry and upset. I'll be even more upset in November when that no good son of a bitch Bush is re-elected. And I'm not even American.

posted by pookzilla at 4:15 PM - 0 comments

Sunday, June 27, 2004

I really shouldn't bother attempting to cook. I tried to make a channa daal tonight. It turned out...Abysmal. It looked like it was going well until the lentils went in - they just sucked up all the moisture and dried the whole thing out. Daal should be moist. This could be used for kindling. I can't even finish it.

*sigh* What to do now.

posted by pookzilla at 5:08 PM - 1 comment

I've discovered an awesome little Game Boy Advanced game called Bookworm while browsing ROMS for something interesting to purchase. It's a cross between Scrabble and Tetris (for lack of a better description) and it's dead 'ard addictive. Let me attach a screenshot (one which Aaron will appreciate):



I'm going to buy this just as soon as I can find it. I looked today at Loblaws and (shock) they didn't have it. Hopefully EB Games will. If push comes to shove I'll just order it from Amazon.

And for the record, my best word so far is GENOCIDE.

Edit: I've found that there are web and downloadable PC binaries of this game located here. Most excellent.

posted by pookzilla at 11:10 AM - 0 comments

Saturday, June 26, 2004

The plan was for me to go to see the 1:00PM showing of Fahrenheit 9/11. At 8:30AM I decided on a brief nap.

Four hours of troubled sleep later I am awoken by a call from my mother. GUH. I feel awful. I was sleeping in my chair with cartoons playing in the background so I was dreaming about Pokemon and strong men crushing my ribs. I can only assume that was the arm of my chair pressing into my back.

Maybe I'll see the movie tomorrow or Monday instead. Today is officially a write off.

posted by pookzilla at 12:37 PM - 5 comments

It's official - Eclipse 3.0 has shipped.

posted by pookzilla at 8:18 AM - 0 comments

Friday, June 25, 2004

Stress time is done. K is in Halifax. I am alone with my cat, a vat of curry, and my cat. Bring on the weekend.

posted by pookzilla at 5:22 PM - 2 comments

Thursday, June 24, 2004

A watched build never finishes. Except when it does. Time to go home. Yay!

posted by pookzilla at 9:08 PM - 0 comments

How does a girl start a day off with class, dignity and grace?

It's not by punching herself in the face when her hand slips while adjusting her bra. The problem only gets worse if she does it hard enough to split her lip open.

Ow. I am such a clod.

posted by pookzilla at 7:03 AM - 2 comments

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

We order Indian takeout today and whose order do they forget (and yet bill for)? Mine of course. I have to wonder why if someone is going to be screwed over it always has to be me. I have to say I'm not terribly happy with this arrangement.

Edit: I was struck by an unexpected outpouring of chivalry today. One of the guys (dunno which one) forfieted his curry for me. After they had finished, one of them came by and said they found an extra curry, but I was there when the box was unpacked - there weren't any extras. Nice huh? They offered to begin with but I'm a stubborn mule so I felt obliged to decline. But after the fact, with the curry sitting there in my lap, what was I to do?

posted by pookzilla at 12:30 PM - 5 comments

Monday, June 21, 2004

I woke up today in an OK mood. Nothing special, but I've had worse. And then my cat decided to join us in bed. He was so happy to see us he just had to say good morning. He was purring, pawing and headbutting. It was so nice. That really perked up my day. It was good.

posted by pookzilla at 6:02 PM - 0 comments

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Someone at work pointed me at a really awesome (and bizarre) website the other day: Infinite Cats. I really need to get Cthulhu in on this - it's just so silly.

We bought some awesome brushed steel cutlery today. Individually the pieces weigh a tonne. Oh how I hate wimpy utensils.

Edit: I've put up a short bio, a link to which can be found in the upper left hand corner of this page.

posted by pookzilla at 11:46 AM - 2 comments

Friday, June 18, 2004

We're having another late night but that's OK - we're getting Thai food brought in. MMM. Pa nang. It's been a pretty crazy week but I think we're in good shape for the release.

posted by pookzilla at 6:49 PM - 0 comments

Thursday, June 17, 2004

I was in the office for close to 17 hours yesterday. Let's hope today is a bit more concise.

posted by pookzilla at 10:35 AM - 0 comments

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

So I was thinking about my favourite music today, trying to compile my top ten favourite albums. I can't manage to get them in order, so here they are in random sequence:

Slowmotion - The Watchemen
The first disc marked a complete divergence from their old sound. I hated it at first because the band meant so much to me growing up and I was afraid of the change. After giving it a fair listen I really did love it. Sadly it really did signal the end of the band.
The Process of Belief - Bad Religion
"The process of belief is an elixer when you're weak/I must confess at times I indulge it on the sneak/but generally my outlook's not so bleak"
Silent Radar - The Watchmen
"Smiling faces are my Dionysus." Beautiful. No band has had a bigger impact on my emotional development than The Watchmen. They sang all the right things when I was a basketcase. I don't think they really helped though, because I'm still a basketcase.
The Thorns - The Thorns
Anything that Matthew Sweet touches can't be that bad, but this album is great. Such wonderful harmonies. And they cover a Jayhawks tune. They are so under appreciated.
RUSH - Vapor Trails
Some people think RUSH's latest work isn't up to snuff but I couldn't disagree more. Perhaps knowing the circumstances under which it was produced slant my opinion.
The Misfits - American Psycho
A guilty pleasure, I assure you. Every song sounds identical but it somehow works. And it's great music to program to.
Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity
The guitar work near the end of Peruvian Skies makes me squirm.
Holly Cole - Temptation
Take one sultry jazz singer and crossbreed her with Tom Waits? Pure gold. That she had the nerve to do an entire album of Tom Waits covers is amazing in and of itself.
RUSH - Caress of Steel
The Fountain of Lamnath weighed heavily during my developing years. A quest for something that cannot be attained that ends with you arriving back where you started? Yah, I can dig it.
Judgement Night Soundtrack
Another guilty pleasure, although it has some quality tracks as well. Rock/Rap hybrid music that doesn't suck. Linkin Park - take note.

posted by pookzilla at 5:44 PM - 6 comments

Sunday, June 13, 2004

Memo to Aaron - your team is pap. :)

posted by pookzilla at 4:36 PM - 3 comments

K and I saw Prisoner of Azkaban today. It's my favourite of the books and it's now my favourite of the movies. Nice and dark with none of the unnecessary setup of the first and second movies. It cut right to the story proper. Effects wise I was particularly impressed by Buckbeak. As far as CGI creatures goes, he's just about as good as they come. Also, the Maruaders Map was quite excellent. I LOVED the idea of the map when I first read it and they really did it justice. I only wished it had a bit more screen time. I also wish I had one of my own. Sigh.

posted by pookzilla at 3:31 PM - 0 comments

Saturday, June 12, 2004

K and I have been teaching Cthulhu words and phrases. It's been remarkably easy - our boy is smarter than we had given him credit for. So far we've taught him:

Nummies
this means wet food. He gets very excited at the sound of this word and heads directly for the kitchen.
Crunchies
this means dry food. He doesn't get quite as excited but will sometimes head for the kitchen. He'll always follow you to the kitchen.
Birdie
this means there is a crap-hawk on the balcony that he should investigate. He will freak out at the sound of this word and run to the window and make chittering noises.
Milk
this means he'll get a drop of milk. He'll head to the fridge and rub the edges.
Treat
this means human food. He'll come to sit at K's feet (not mine) and stare at her, begging.
Sit up
this means he should perform. We use this in conjunction with nummies, crunchies and treats. He'll sit on his hind legs and reach his front paws into the air. Originally I had tried using "Sit Pretty" but he gets the word "Pretty" confused with "Birdie" and would get distracted, looking toward the window.
We're also trying to get him to learn "Out" which means he should go to the balcony door for a trip outside. We can get him to speak using "You want that", "What's that" and "Speak to mum" but we haven't really narrowed the command down yet and it's hard to say if he's reacting to the words or if he's getting impatient. We use this when giving him food.

Who says cats can't be trained.

posted by pookzilla at 8:19 AM - 0 comments

Thursday, June 10, 2004

So I slog my way to the post office today to pick up a parcel. The card arrived the other day and I've been wondering what it could be. Did someone send me a present? Did my mom bake me some cookies? Did my father send me the antique stereoscope I had offered to buy from him?

No.

Sympatico sent me yet ANOTHER modem.

This makes three. *sigh*

posted by pookzilla at 5:50 PM - 2 comments

Monday, June 07, 2004

Our cat has recently inherited an old wingback chair that used to belong to K. He sleeps on it constantly. I was looking at it just now, marveling at how filthy with fur it was. Mixed in with the fur was an oddity - one of his whiskers. I've seen them fall out before, but this time an idea occurred to me.

I could use it for detail painting.

It's perfect! It's very fine, but also firm. Perfect for fine details such as eyes and writing.

Now if only he'd donate a few more...

posted by pookzilla at 5:39 PM - 1 comment

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Note to those who might care: I've given up on ICQ. I cannot be arsed with that piece of garbage any longer. If you want to get ahold of me you can contact me on MSN using pookzilla at hotmail dot com.

posted by pookzilla at 4:56 PM - 7 comments

The snake is "finished."



When I say "finished", I mean "no empty spots." It's going to require a lot of touch-ups when it's healed. I'm worried about scabbing in the ditch of the elbow - it absolutely OOZED lymphatic fluid afterwards. It was to the point where I could flex my arm and watch it come out. It was very gross. It is quite stiff and sore today. I've been trying to keep it straight but it's been rough. If anyone ever gets the urge to tattoo that area they should really know what they're getting into - incredible pain and discomfort both in the tattooing itself and in the healing. Oi vey.

posted by pookzilla at 11:39 AM - 4 comments

Friday, June 04, 2004

I spent close to 8 hours at work today tracking down one bug that could be fixed with a two line swap. I'm still not convinced that I understand the problem. *oi*

On another note, I'm seeing things through rose coloured glasses. No really, I am. I had my glasses tinted. They look quite nice. I need to dye my hair red or pink to match now.

posted by pookzilla at 6:41 PM - 0 comments

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

So I decided to give Freeciv a try. It contains 0 polish and is virtually unsuable. Full navigation using the arrow keys is not possible, so I have to resort to using the mouse. Additionally, ending your turn also doesn't have a keyboard accelerator (that I can see).

I have I've heard OSS zealots rave about this for game for years. I see nothing to rave about. Rant, perhaps. Sometimes a bit of polish carries more weight than a feature. Hint.

posted by pookzilla at 8:05 PM - 0 comments

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

I came home today to find my two new Ikea DVD towers on the floor in front of the TV, DVDs strewn about. Thankfully the TV and DVDs weren't damaged. The towers had a minor chip from one shelf but that's it. We got off lucky. I KNEW we should've screwed those things to the wall. They're nice and secured now, let me tell you.

*grumble*

posted by pookzilla at 5:42 PM - 0 comments