What Do You Mean, "Very Long Wait?"

Will whoever has disc 2 of Stargate SG-1 season 5 out from Netflix please just return the damned thing now? Thank you.

Is It Cold In Here, Or Is It Me?

Your results:
You are Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze 33% Dr. Doom 28% The Joker 24% Mystique 24% Green Goblin 24% Apocalypse 23% Dark Phoenix 20% Magneto 20% Two-Face 20% Juggernaut 16% Poison Ivy 16% Riddler 15% Venom 15% Lex Luthor 14% Catwoman 12% Kingpin 9%

You are cold and you think everyone else should be also, literally.

Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz

Time Keeps On Slippin'

You know, when I bought my alarm clock, the fact that it automatically adjusts itself for Daylight Savings Time seemed like a really nice feature. Now it's not only useless, but actively dangerous. Thanks, Congress.

Well, at least I actually got one more hour of sleep today than I initially thought I did.

Did I Miss Something Important In July?

I just found a folded post-it note on the kitchen counter, where it had apparently fallen out of one of the pockets in my handbag. It says "7-25." Underlined twice.

I wish I had the faintest clue what that was about.

Even More Random Than Usual Random Links

The 8 Most Common Sci-Fi Visions of the Future (And Why They'll Never Happen): Exactly what it says it is. Rather an entertaining list.

Lolthulhu: Lovecraft and lolcats, together at last, and frighteningly funny.

Pirates vs. Ninjas: A careful examination of one of the definitive questions of our time. In powerpoint.

The Church of Google: This has pretty much convinced me of Google's status as a divinity.

Free Rice: Addictive vocabulary game that donates rice to the hungry for every word you get right. I made level 49 at one point.

If This Is Paradise, I Wish I Had A Lawnmower

Current book is The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, which is all about what would happen to the world if humans suddenly vanished from the face of the Earth (although, so far, he's spent a lot more time talking about the past than about that hypothetical future).

I expected to find this book highly enjoyable and interesting, as when I was younger I frequently indulged in guilty but satisfying fantasies of being the last person on Earth, thus enabling me to finally get some real peace and quiet. (Think of Burgess Meredith's character in that old Twilight Zone episode. Indeed, the possibility of breaking my glasses was the only truly frightening part of that scenario for me.) Even now, I still rather like walking down deserted streets at night and imagining what it would be like if they really were deserted, trying to picture what things might look like a year or a century later.

Unfortunately, though, although it's perfectly good and readable, the book's main effect so far has been to forcibly remind me of the disturbing fact that nature is trying to eat my house.

I think life was more enjoyable before I became a homeowner.

Not Exactly Who I Was Hoping For...

Your Score: Rose

You scored 25% strength, 44% intelligence, 73% friendliness, and 21% escapology!

So you're in love with The Doctor. Who wouldn't be, with a gorgeous mug like his? But how much do you actually help him out? Not a whole lot. You're not the one who figures things out, and you're certainly not winning any awards for kick-assery. Even your solutions seem to cause more problems - remember the whole "swallowing the time vortex" thing? Yeah, that worked out well. Smooth.

Still, your pleasant enough to be around, and exactly what the Doctor needs to start getting over his emo side. It helps that you know how to dance.

Link: The Doctor Who Companion Test written by lobotomy42 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Nerdy in 'Querque

The Weird Al concert was awesome. I think Albuquerque may now be the best place to see Al, as this time it led to him doing, like, seven encores. The audience kept chanting for him to do "Albuquerque," and he kept pretending to not have a clue what we wanted, and coming out and playing random cover songs. He does a rockin' rendition of "Smoke on the Water," for the record. Finally he said, "Oh, you want me to do the song I wrote about the town we're in?" which led to what I am quite sure was the world premiere of "Rio Rancho" (that being the Albuquerque suburb the concert was technically in, as well very nearly the entirety of the lyrics). And then he did, in fact, do "Albuquerque," one and a fraction times. With extra doughnuts.

Also, there were Imperial Stormtroopers (although not during the encores). And I now have a "white & nerdy" t-shirt, which should serve to give people around me fair warning.

Yes, I Am White and Nerdy.

I think this is officially Albuquerque's Geekiest Week Ever, between the Mythbusters on Saturday and the Weird Al Yankovic concert tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the concert, but, man, I am not used to having a social calendar this full. Three fun trips into the city in the past month, and I'm starting to get that overstimulated introvert thing going on. I think I'm close to reaching the point where I just want to crawl into a hole with a stack of books and not talk to anybody for a week.

I Think Sleep Is A Myth.

Good thing today: I'm going up to Albuquerque to see the Mythbusters! Live! Man, those guys are my TV heroes. Right up there with the Doctor, but, y'know, slightly less fictional.

Bad thing today: I knew I was going to have to cut myself a bit short on sleep to make the show, but I expected to at least get some sleep. Hello, insomnia, my old friend. Why do you always pick the least convenient times to drop by? I blame work, as things last night were annoying and complicated, and left me rather keyed up at the end of the shift. Fortunately, I'm not driving, but my friends might just have to carry me out to the car when it's over.

Dr. Betty's Healthcare Insights

Once again, I am forcibly reminded how much difference an adequate amount of sleep makes to my general well-being. Also, remembering to take my allergy medicine on time is helpful.

A Tiny Bit Of Self-Promotion

On the off chance that there's anybody out there who is not tired of hearing me go on and on about Doctor Who, I will point out that, for a mere $4 (or possibly $6.50, depending on where you are), you can now obtain a copy of the latest issue of Fred Coppersmith's Kaleidotrope, featuring about 3,000 words worth of me yakking on about how Doctor Who is perhaps the single greatest thing since the invention of oxygen. And, oh, yeah, also a lot of fiction and poetry by people who are not me, but who I am sure are all very nice folks, too.

See? Even with massive bouts of procrastination, I do finish things.

We Are Living In A Material World, And I Am A Material Girl.

Your Score: The Empiricist

You scored 100 Materialism and 30 Phenomenology!

There are those who say that the truths of the universe can all be spun from a person's own head, but you know that knowledge is founded in sensory experience. You are the Empiricist.

The Empiricists presented the first true challenge to Rationalist dominance in Europe. Though they never achieved the sort of contorted reasoning found in Descartes, the Empiricists started a major shift in Western philosophy and the eggheads have never looked back. You live life by trial and error and don't believe anything is true without good reason. However, you leave more room for the internal world of personal experience than some, because after all, how can you truly know you aren't splotches of paint?

Thinkers you may agree with: John Locke, David Hume, George Berkely, Richard Dawkins
Thinkers that may challenge you: Immanuel Kant, St. Thomas Aquinas, Carl Jung

Link: The Metaphysician Test written by Jaylhomme on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Profit!

Happy surprise of the day: going to check the expiration date on my passport and discovering $50 in Canadian currency stuck inside it. I need to go and exchange those suckers, now that they're actually worth something!

Currently Meme, Featuring Two Whos For The Price Of One

Current clothes: Gray sweats, black Farscape t-shirt, white socks. No shoes.

Current mood: Lazy and procrastinatory. Last night's zombie-comedy-and-Indian-food expedition notwithstanding, this has felt very much like the kind of weekend for lying around watching DVDs and maybe doing random very small tasks around the house, rather than working on any of the more ambitious projects I ought to be doing.

Current music: The Who, The Ultimate Collection, disc one. I read an article a few years ago where some teenager who'd barely heard of any band formed before about 1990 was sent to various classic rock concerts and asked to report his opinions. He seemed fairly lukewarm towards most of 'em, as I recall, but he thought the Who rocked. I regard this as objective proof that the music of the Who is of timeless, ageless awesomeness. As if any such proof were actually needed.

Current annoyance: The fact that aforementioned unproductive mood has persisted for over a week now.

Current thing: Doing damn little, as per above.

Current desktop picture: A black-and-white Doctor Who wallpaper I found somewhere on the internet. It features the First Doctor standing in a wood looking, well, very First Doctor-ish, with Barbara and Ian (and the TARDIS) looking on.

Current book: The Last Resort by Paul Leonard. Yes, it's yet another Doctor Who novel. I do read books without the words "Doctor Who" on the front, honest. But I'm trying to get through these Eighth Doctor novels sometime before we end up on Doctor Eleven. I'm only a few chapters into this one. So far it's kind of confusing, but interestingly imaginative.

Current song in head: "Don't Let Him Go" by REO Speedwagon. Oh, the embarrassment.

Current DVD in player: Disc 1 of Crusade. I've actually seen five episodes of that now, though; I was told to watch them in a different order from the one on the discs. Sadly, the best things I can say about it so far are that it has one appealing character, and that sometimes it comes very close to being good. In the other DVD player is disc 2 of season 2 of Farscape. (Hi, Dad!) And in the VCR is a tape with a couple of episodes of Cosmos. I stumbled across the boxed set somewhere for $14, new. Even for a semi-obsolete format, you can't beat that with a stick. And, man, call me a sap -- a nerdy sap, even -- but I still find that show incredibly stirring. Dr. Sagan isn't exactly telling me anything I haven't already known for most of my life, but I still keep sitting up, leaning forward and going, "That is so cool!" Cosmos, to be honest, is probably responsible for me being where I am right now, as reading the companion book in the 7th grade was highly inspirational for making me want to study space science in the first place. I actually find myself vaguely tempted to pick up a copy for my nephew, as all kids ought to have the opportunity to let Carl Sagan inspire them to grow up and study science. And, Carl's wardrobe choices aside, the show is, all things considered, remarkably un-dated.

Current refreshment: Mint-flavored tea.

Current worry: I'm feeling too lazy to be worried by anything right this very second.

Current thought: "Don't let him go. Don't let him go!" Aargh. *bashes brain* Play some Who instead, damn it!

Good, Clean Zombie Fun

I went out last night to the local -- OK, semi-local -- indie theater with some friends to see Fido, which I believe was billed as "the heartwarming tale of a boy and his zombie." Very, very funny movie; I definitely recommend it. It's probably not coming soon to a theater near you, but I believe it's out on DVD very soon.

Apparently horror comedy is a bit of a theme right now, because a couple of weeks ago they were showing Black Sheep, which is both gorier and goofier than Fido, but which has, among other things, zombie were-sheep. I imagine you probably know whether that's the sort of thing that holds an appeal for you or not, but, if it does, this movie definitely delivers. That one's out on DVD this Tuesday, actually. (Hey, the fact that we get weirdo movies in Albuquerque at all is impressive. Nobody expects us to get them quickly.)

I Guess This'll Be The Last Doctor Who Discussion Post For A While.

Now showing in the United States: the Doctor Who season finale, "Last of the Time Lords." You may now talk about it here, if you so wish! I suppose the usual no-spoilers-for-future-episodes warning isn't exactly relevant anymore. I'll figure you can use your own judgment when it comes to discussing anything you may have heard about what's coming up next season.

I will also point you back to my earlier post about deleted scenes for this episode. If you're watching on Sci-Fi, I strongly recommend checking them out.

Me and Sarah Jane

The wrist feels quite a bit better today. Hooray! I can type!

Wish the rest of me felt nearly as much improved, though. My muscles are all sore from yesterday's yardwork activities, my allergies are acting up, my bunions hurt, and my sleep patterns are severely messed up from switching off of night shifts after a couple of months on them. Also, I appear to have become whiny.

In happier news, though, I've obtained the current episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, the new Doctor Who spinoff for kids, from the UK, and, oh, my, but Sarah Jane rocks. The show is excellent kids' TV, intelligent and fun. Watching it makes me feel like a happy seven-year-old again, which is pretty much exactly what I needed this week.

I Should've Bought A "Wrist Awareness" Bracelet.

Ow. I fell on my butt while doing yardwork today, and landed badly on my wrist. Fortunately, it's not my mousing hand, but it's a little painful to type. Possibly no one should expect any long e-mails from me for a couple of days.