Monday, April 30, 2012
Gettin' My Weird On
Goin' to the Weird Al concert tonight! (In Albuquerque! Where anyone on the street will gladly shave your back for a nickel.) And, man, am I looking forward to it. I've been playing Responsible Adult for far too long, and I am seriously ready for some R&R. Bring forth the wacky!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Project No More Damned Kittens: The Next Generation
The last few days have been annoying in all kinds of ways which are mostly too boring and/or I am too tired out by to get into, but I have accomplished at least one major thing: little Newt is now spayed, as well as being healthy and adorable. I just picked her up at the vet's, and he says it went well, so, yay. (Although she's not very "yay," poor little thing. She's much more, "Let me out of this kennel!")
Once she's had time to recover, Operation Find Newt a Home will begin in full force. Because much as I love the little critter, she really, really needs to go and live somewhere with fewer cats. Especially fewer intractably hostile cats. We'll see if I can find somewhere for her before I have to leave town to visit my sister in June. Can I do it? The betting pool is open!
Meanwhile, I was warned not to let her do any high jumps onto furniture lest she run the risk of pulling out her stitches. Which... Dude, have you seen this kitten? She jumps all over the damned place. I can't even pick her up without her jumping up onto my back. Sigh. Well, I removed all the little bookcases that she gets up onto from her room, which is giving me major flashbacks to the great plumbing/carpet fiasco, and built her a little ramp out of blankets and pillows from the bed to the window. I figure the bed is low enough not to be a problem, and there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to keep her from attempting that window, so I can at least try to give her a non-suture-ripping option for getting to it. We'll see how well it works. Having to rush a bleeding kitten back to the vet is all I need.
Once she's had time to recover, Operation Find Newt a Home will begin in full force. Because much as I love the little critter, she really, really needs to go and live somewhere with fewer cats. Especially fewer intractably hostile cats. We'll see if I can find somewhere for her before I have to leave town to visit my sister in June. Can I do it? The betting pool is open!
Meanwhile, I was warned not to let her do any high jumps onto furniture lest she run the risk of pulling out her stitches. Which... Dude, have you seen this kitten? She jumps all over the damned place. I can't even pick her up without her jumping up onto my back. Sigh. Well, I removed all the little bookcases that she gets up onto from her room, which is giving me major flashbacks to the great plumbing/carpet fiasco, and built her a little ramp out of blankets and pillows from the bed to the window. I figure the bed is low enough not to be a problem, and there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to keep her from attempting that window, so I can at least try to give her a non-suture-ripping option for getting to it. We'll see how well it works. Having to rush a bleeding kitten back to the vet is all I need.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Back From The Woods
Just got back from one of my rare-these-days trips to the movie theater, where I saw Cabin in the Woods. And very glad I am that I made the effort. I definitely recommend it. It's clever and surprising, entertaining and funny, a bit brain-twisting, and even a little disturbing, in odd and subtle ways. In the end, it also offers some commentary about horror movies that isn't entirely original, but is very apt, and is certainly presented in an original way. Which is probably about as much as I should say about it, but this is very likely one I'm going to want on DVD when it comes out.
I had, by the way, had the vague idea of also going to see The Hunger Games tonight, but ended up deciding that one movie per night was probably enough for me, especially considering that The Hunger Games is well over two hours long. It's too bad, though, because I'm sure that would have made for a very interesting double feature.
I had, by the way, had the vague idea of also going to see The Hunger Games tonight, but ended up deciding that one movie per night was probably enough for me, especially considering that The Hunger Games is well over two hours long. It's too bad, though, because I'm sure that would have made for a very interesting double feature.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
Currently...
Yes, it's this again!
Current clothes: Mostly-blue, not-too-loud Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned over a plain gray shirt. Blue jeans. White socks. Black sneakers.
Current mood: Not bad at all. I had a good weekend, my sleeping patterns are where they need to be, I worked a short day today, and I've managed to knock a few big items off my to-do list. All-in-all, it adds up to feeling pretty good.
Current music: Fashion Nugget by Cake.
Current annoyance: My plantar fasciitis is bugging me again, probably because I've gotten very haphazard about doing my stretches. Thank goodness (or podiatry) for the shoe inserts, though. Even when it's acting up, I'm mostly able to walk as much as I want with little or no pain. Which is particularly good, because I'm going out to visit my sister in a couple of months, and we're going hiking!
Current thing: I don't know. Lately, I've been in one of those moods where I really just want to spend all of my time lying on the sofa reading, but my ability to do that has been kind of limited.
Current desktop picture: Still the same Hawaiian mountain view as last month. I should change it soon.
Current book: 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares, edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg. It's a collection of very short horror stories, mostly about five or six pages. I've only read a few yet, but so far it's not bad. I've also just started I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech by Ralph Keyes, which I'm keeping in the kitten's room and dipping in and out of.
Current song in head: There've been all kinds of things swirling around in here, but I think often as not it's They Might Be Giants' "Dead."
Current DVD in player: On the treadmill, I'm still watching season one of the original Twilight Zone. In the living room, I've just finished disc one of Torchwood: Miracle Day, meaning I'm now three episodes in. Given the universally negative responses I've seen to Miracle Day, I was in no hurry to watch it, but I somehow felt like I ought to, eventually, if only for completeness' sake. So, now that it's out from Netflix, I'm finally watching it. And, yeah, so far it's not good. I suppose it's not actively bad, really, at least not in any interesting ways. It's just... not good. Which is a pity, considering that it has an intruiging premise. Not exactly an original one, admittedly, but their approach to it is interesting, with a lot of details that have the potential to make it a really effective horror story. It's a shame it's all mixed in with some wince-inducing pseudoscience, but, oh, well. This is Torchwood. My expectations for plausibility are low. No, the real problem is that so far the plot is just not at all engaging, and the directions it seems to be going in are not promising. It's also already giving the impression of too little story being dragged out over too many episodes. And I'm already tired of "Ha, ha, Americans and British people are different and use different words for things! What a hoot!", something that too often seems to be standing in place of both comic relief and character development. Ah, well. At least Jack is still pretty. Very, very pretty.
Current refreshment: Lemon ginger tea.
Current worry: As mentioned above, I'm going out to visit my sister in a couple of months, and I need to figure out what I'm doing with the cats. Since Happiness needs to take pills now, I can't just have somebody come by and dump food out for them this time, plus if the kitten's still around then, I very likely still won't be able to leave her alone with the other cats. Fortunately, I have several options, but all of them worry me slightly.
Current thought: I need to go pay some more attention to the kitten. And get some exercise. And maybe do the dishes. And maybe I ought to go watch another Torchwood episode. And, still, all I really want to do is lie on the sofa and read. Ah, well.
Current clothes: Mostly-blue, not-too-loud Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned over a plain gray shirt. Blue jeans. White socks. Black sneakers.
Current mood: Not bad at all. I had a good weekend, my sleeping patterns are where they need to be, I worked a short day today, and I've managed to knock a few big items off my to-do list. All-in-all, it adds up to feeling pretty good.
Current music: Fashion Nugget by Cake.
Current annoyance: My plantar fasciitis is bugging me again, probably because I've gotten very haphazard about doing my stretches. Thank goodness (or podiatry) for the shoe inserts, though. Even when it's acting up, I'm mostly able to walk as much as I want with little or no pain. Which is particularly good, because I'm going out to visit my sister in a couple of months, and we're going hiking!
Current thing: I don't know. Lately, I've been in one of those moods where I really just want to spend all of my time lying on the sofa reading, but my ability to do that has been kind of limited.
Current desktop picture: Still the same Hawaiian mountain view as last month. I should change it soon.
Current book: 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares, edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg. It's a collection of very short horror stories, mostly about five or six pages. I've only read a few yet, but so far it's not bad. I've also just started I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech by Ralph Keyes, which I'm keeping in the kitten's room and dipping in and out of.
Current song in head: There've been all kinds of things swirling around in here, but I think often as not it's They Might Be Giants' "Dead."
Current DVD in player: On the treadmill, I'm still watching season one of the original Twilight Zone. In the living room, I've just finished disc one of Torchwood: Miracle Day, meaning I'm now three episodes in. Given the universally negative responses I've seen to Miracle Day, I was in no hurry to watch it, but I somehow felt like I ought to, eventually, if only for completeness' sake. So, now that it's out from Netflix, I'm finally watching it. And, yeah, so far it's not good. I suppose it's not actively bad, really, at least not in any interesting ways. It's just... not good. Which is a pity, considering that it has an intruiging premise. Not exactly an original one, admittedly, but their approach to it is interesting, with a lot of details that have the potential to make it a really effective horror story. It's a shame it's all mixed in with some wince-inducing pseudoscience, but, oh, well. This is Torchwood. My expectations for plausibility are low. No, the real problem is that so far the plot is just not at all engaging, and the directions it seems to be going in are not promising. It's also already giving the impression of too little story being dragged out over too many episodes. And I'm already tired of "Ha, ha, Americans and British people are different and use different words for things! What a hoot!", something that too often seems to be standing in place of both comic relief and character development. Ah, well. At least Jack is still pretty. Very, very pretty.
Current refreshment: Lemon ginger tea.
Current worry: As mentioned above, I'm going out to visit my sister in a couple of months, and I need to figure out what I'm doing with the cats. Since Happiness needs to take pills now, I can't just have somebody come by and dump food out for them this time, plus if the kitten's still around then, I very likely still won't be able to leave her alone with the other cats. Fortunately, I have several options, but all of them worry me slightly.
Current thought: I need to go pay some more attention to the kitten. And get some exercise. And maybe do the dishes. And maybe I ought to go watch another Torchwood episode. And, still, all I really want to do is lie on the sofa and read. Ah, well.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Some Random Links For April
Cat vs. Internet: The cat fights dirty.
Alcoa Bald Eagle Camera: Live baby eagles!
Welcome to the VLA: A series of very short videos about the Very Large Array, the surrounding areas, and related projects. I haven't watched most of them yet, but if you click on "Operations Site" and select one of the options with "VLBA" in the title, you can get a small, partial glimpse of where I work. Although they don't show the actual operations console. Probably it's not photogenic enough, being afloat in a small sea of post-it notes.
Dr. Who RPG: The last couple of seasons of Doctor Who, in the form of a video game. Very funny. Also extremely spoilery.
Alcoa Bald Eagle Camera: Live baby eagles!
Welcome to the VLA: A series of very short videos about the Very Large Array, the surrounding areas, and related projects. I haven't watched most of them yet, but if you click on "Operations Site" and select one of the options with "VLBA" in the title, you can get a small, partial glimpse of where I work. Although they don't show the actual operations console. Probably it's not photogenic enough, being afloat in a small sea of post-it notes.
Dr. Who RPG: The last couple of seasons of Doctor Who, in the form of a video game. Very funny. Also extremely spoilery.
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