Here is a picture of Mt. Diablo Sunday morning after all of the rain and the big temperature drop. This is really cropped because I took it at the intersection in front of Target on Contra Costa Boulevard.Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Snow on the Mountain
Here is a picture of Mt. Diablo Sunday morning after all of the rain and the big temperature drop. This is really cropped because I took it at the intersection in front of Target on Contra Costa Boulevard.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cartoons - Revisited
All right, after some prompting from Aaron, I discovered that I hadn't really watched a one hour slugfest with Superman and Captain Marvel against Black Adam. I really wasn't paying attention. there were three other featurettes with it.
I have to revise my opinion of the Superman short. For it's length, it was pretty good.
The second short was on the Spectre. It was pretty typical of all Spectre stories.
The next was about Green Arrow with a cameo by Black Canary. It was fun and quick. It had lots of background references to the rest of the DC Universe.
The last was Jonah Hex. Hex has never been a character I've interested in. He's a lot like a Clint Eastwood character, with an even darker twist. For a mini-western it was pretty good.
I have to revise my opinion of the Superman short. For it's length, it was pretty good.
The second short was on the Spectre. It was pretty typical of all Spectre stories.
The next was about Green Arrow with a cameo by Black Canary. It was fun and quick. It had lots of background references to the rest of the DC Universe.
The last was Jonah Hex. Hex has never been a character I've interested in. He's a lot like a Clint Eastwood character, with an even darker twist. For a mini-western it was pretty good.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Cartoons
Tonight I watched three DC Comics animated features.
The first was "Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam." This was okay. It mixed the origin of Captain Marvel with Black Adam chasing after him. Toss in a little Superman versus Black Adam and you have an hour long cartoon that could have been half an hour. There were fun lines, but it lacked a lot. Not much story, and not great voice actors. I mean really, James Garner as the voice of the Wizard Shazam? Ridiculous.
The second was "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman." This one was fun. Using the classic artwork and voice actors from the old WB animated series. It moved fast with lots of action, and kept me guessing through most of it.
The third was Batman: Under the Red Hood." The final one had lots of good stuff in it. One of the best parts was Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Nightwing. I do miss Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker though. He lent a little credibility to the Joker's mania. This one seems a little forced. Otherwise, it brought a good tale to the screen.
The first was "Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam." This was okay. It mixed the origin of Captain Marvel with Black Adam chasing after him. Toss in a little Superman versus Black Adam and you have an hour long cartoon that could have been half an hour. There were fun lines, but it lacked a lot. Not much story, and not great voice actors. I mean really, James Garner as the voice of the Wizard Shazam? Ridiculous.
The second was "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman." This one was fun. Using the classic artwork and voice actors from the old WB animated series. It moved fast with lots of action, and kept me guessing through most of it.
The third was Batman: Under the Red Hood." The final one had lots of good stuff in it. One of the best parts was Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Nightwing. I do miss Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker though. He lent a little credibility to the Joker's mania. This one seems a little forced. Otherwise, it brought a good tale to the screen.
Irony Does Not Mean "Full of Iron"
My friend John has some of the best posts. Both at his blog and on Facebook.
Today, he posted a link to this article.
This was why I read The Year of Living Biblically, and why Jacobs took on his experiment.
I'll also bet this guy eats bacon and shaves.
Today, he posted a link to this article.
This was why I read The Year of Living Biblically, and why Jacobs took on his experiment.
I'll also bet this guy eats bacon and shaves.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Evidence
According to Private/Corporal /Sergeant/Captain Carrot, evidence means "that which is seen".
A while ago Jennifer and I took in all of our photographs to be scanned. It turned out to be quite a bit.
This means I have pictures of the many different hairstyles of my mother. The many hair lengths of me. The many friends from around the country. The many family members through the years.
Now of course they didn't end up very organized, but that's going to be one of my projects in the coming days in between filling out online applications and such.
Right now, the task is importing them and then sorting through.
It'll keep me busy.
A while ago Jennifer and I took in all of our photographs to be scanned. It turned out to be quite a bit.
This means I have pictures of the many different hairstyles of my mother. The many hair lengths of me. The many friends from around the country. The many family members through the years.
Now of course they didn't end up very organized, but that's going to be one of my projects in the coming days in between filling out online applications and such.
Right now, the task is importing them and then sorting through.
It'll keep me busy.
Continued Improvement
I received an email this morning that at least gave me some uplifting thoughts.
I was from a company in Berkeley that said they had been in a rush to hire for a position, and I had missed their hiring by just a couple days. It did say that I seemed to have a solid resume, and was I interested in contract work.
We'll see where this goes, but it is my first feedback on a resume that I have submitted.
I was from a company in Berkeley that said they had been in a rush to hire for a position, and I had missed their hiring by just a couple days. It did say that I seemed to have a solid resume, and was I interested in contract work.
We'll see where this goes, but it is my first feedback on a resume that I have submitted.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A Good Day, and a Good weekend
Today Jennifer and I ran errands. Nothing really important, but we had a fun day together. I actually slept in a little for once. I woke up at the staggering hour of 8:30. I haven't slept that late in months. I had just been telling John how my internal alarm had been stuck at 7:00 for too long.
The job hunt progresses. It's a pretty good day when even on a Sunday you can get 4 resume submittals out. And two of those are to Apple and Google.
Yesterday being the second weekend of the month we had our roleplaying session. And for the first time we played at Steve's place in the City. And Steve GMed. It was a nice break for me (even if it has been several months since I've game-mastered anything), and a great break for John since he's been running things for a long long time.
The adventure was tons of fun, and towards the end at a pretty breakneck pace as Steve worked hard to get done in time for John and me to get to BART before thy stopped running. The urgency of the deadline required some pretty impressive speed of thought on all players and the GM as well. It was like reading a book towards the end and you feel your almost flipping the pages you're reading so fast to get to the end to find out what happens.
And it didn't detract at all.
We we all ready with required actions and reactions. We even handed off rule look-ups so that it didn't slow anything down.
And now the workweek returns, and I return to looking for work.
The job hunt progresses. It's a pretty good day when even on a Sunday you can get 4 resume submittals out. And two of those are to Apple and Google.
Yesterday being the second weekend of the month we had our roleplaying session. And for the first time we played at Steve's place in the City. And Steve GMed. It was a nice break for me (even if it has been several months since I've game-mastered anything), and a great break for John since he's been running things for a long long time.
The adventure was tons of fun, and towards the end at a pretty breakneck pace as Steve worked hard to get done in time for John and me to get to BART before thy stopped running. The urgency of the deadline required some pretty impressive speed of thought on all players and the GM as well. It was like reading a book towards the end and you feel your almost flipping the pages you're reading so fast to get to the end to find out what happens.
And it didn't detract at all.
We we all ready with required actions and reactions. We even handed off rule look-ups so that it didn't slow anything down.
And now the workweek returns, and I return to looking for work.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Reel Wisdom
So there's not a lot going on right now. I'm sending out applications, but I haven't heard back from anyone yet.
I found this though. The only things I think it lacks are a couple quotes from "The Princess Bride" and "John Q".
I found this though. The only things I think it lacks are a couple quotes from "The Princess Bride" and "John Q".
Friday, February 04, 2011
Why I Read Comics
Today after doing my allotment of job hunting, I took some time and watched a movie from Netflix: "Superman-Batman: Apocalypse".
It's an animated adaptation of the story arc from the "Superman-Batman" comic book where Supergirl was reintroduced to the DC Universe. It begins with her arrival on Earth, and her discovery by Batman. Then goes into her training with the Amazons on Themyscira, and her capture by Darkseid. Then it continues with her rescue by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda, and ends with Superman and Supergirl alternately fighting Darkseid at the Kent Farm in Smallville.
I've re-read the books many times. The story is fun. It allows the heroes to let loose. And good triumphs.
The conclusion in the movie has Superman presenting Supergirl in her uniform to the Amazons and she makes a speech about how she does not yet feel worthy of the uniform. But she promises that she will.
It's a little sappy, but it made me smile and actually tear up a bit.
***
I've fallen a bit behind on my comics lately. The comic store in Livermore that I go to was closed for a long time for some unknown reason. I haven't been back to see if it has reopened. there was just a note on the door saying it would be closed until further notice. I had to do something to continue and catch up.
When I went to WonderCon last year the LICD/LFG booth had business cards for this webpage called Comic Pull. I was happy with my store at the time, but I began trying them out in December.
All orders are 10% off and large enough orders are free shipping. You can also get bags and boards for a very minimal price.
What I've had to get used to is the arrival in a box. There's a bit of fun in going to the store and picking the books off the shelf. In checking the covers and seeing other books you might want.
I think this is why I'll be so resistant to going digital with comics. It seems pretty stupid.
But I've got about a month and a half of comic books stacked up waiting to be read. I've had books come in from the library that I've had to read, and I've been really into the Discworld books.
After watching this movie though, I'm going to get back into reading more regularly.
It's an animated adaptation of the story arc from the "Superman-Batman" comic book where Supergirl was reintroduced to the DC Universe. It begins with her arrival on Earth, and her discovery by Batman. Then goes into her training with the Amazons on Themyscira, and her capture by Darkseid. Then it continues with her rescue by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda, and ends with Superman and Supergirl alternately fighting Darkseid at the Kent Farm in Smallville.
I've re-read the books many times. The story is fun. It allows the heroes to let loose. And good triumphs.
The conclusion in the movie has Superman presenting Supergirl in her uniform to the Amazons and she makes a speech about how she does not yet feel worthy of the uniform. But she promises that she will.
It's a little sappy, but it made me smile and actually tear up a bit.
***
I've fallen a bit behind on my comics lately. The comic store in Livermore that I go to was closed for a long time for some unknown reason. I haven't been back to see if it has reopened. there was just a note on the door saying it would be closed until further notice. I had to do something to continue and catch up.
When I went to WonderCon last year the LICD/LFG booth had business cards for this webpage called Comic Pull. I was happy with my store at the time, but I began trying them out in December.
All orders are 10% off and large enough orders are free shipping. You can also get bags and boards for a very minimal price.
What I've had to get used to is the arrival in a box. There's a bit of fun in going to the store and picking the books off the shelf. In checking the covers and seeing other books you might want.
I think this is why I'll be so resistant to going digital with comics. It seems pretty stupid.
But I've got about a month and a half of comic books stacked up waiting to be read. I've had books come in from the library that I've had to read, and I've been really into the Discworld books.
After watching this movie though, I'm going to get back into reading more regularly.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Tennant Issues
About 4:00 we started having drain issues. The shower drain started backing up, but everything seemed okay once the water stopped running.
Then about an hour ago one of the toilets didn't flush, but backed up instead, and water started coming up the shower drain and tub drain in the hall bath.
Plunging did nothing. Absolutely nothing.
So we called our landlady. She was drunk, as she is so often in the evenings, and we told her about our situation. She said we must be psychic because we always get them when they are out of town, or getting ready to go out of town.
So now we're waiting on her to get back to us on an emergency plumber to come out and visit. If she can do that threw her haze of alcohol.
Then about an hour ago one of the toilets didn't flush, but backed up instead, and water started coming up the shower drain and tub drain in the hall bath.
Plunging did nothing. Absolutely nothing.
So we called our landlady. She was drunk, as she is so often in the evenings, and we told her about our situation. She said we must be psychic because we always get them when they are out of town, or getting ready to go out of town.
So now we're waiting on her to get back to us on an emergency plumber to come out and visit. If she can do that threw her haze of alcohol.
February Blessings
I got an email this afternoon.
From the sergeant working our case in Martinez.
He talked to the DA last week.
And he's now working on a court order.
He thinks he'll be able to get our property released next week.
There's your happy Valentine's Day.
From the sergeant working our case in Martinez.
He talked to the DA last week.
And he's now working on a court order.
He thinks he'll be able to get our property released next week.
There's your happy Valentine's Day.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Four Years and 10 Months
Today, two months shy of my 5-year anniversary with ETIC, I was let go.
I knew something was coming, because they had lost their contract with Exxon. Exxon had done a reverse auction for a lump sum cost to completion of the major remaining sites in northern California. The contract ended up going to another company, and my former management feels this company underbid quite a bit.
So I'm now looking. I will be getting a nice severance package, so I'm not under too much pressure, but I'll be starting my search in earnest next week.
I ask that everyone remain positive, and send only good thoughts my way. I have lots of friends and former co-workers who know or will soon know. I am sure I can find a new position somewhere soon.
I knew something was coming, because they had lost their contract with Exxon. Exxon had done a reverse auction for a lump sum cost to completion of the major remaining sites in northern California. The contract ended up going to another company, and my former management feels this company underbid quite a bit.
So I'm now looking. I will be getting a nice severance package, so I'm not under too much pressure, but I'll be starting my search in earnest next week.
I ask that everyone remain positive, and send only good thoughts my way. I have lots of friends and former co-workers who know or will soon know. I am sure I can find a new position somewhere soon.
Happy Thoughts, Happy Thoughts
So, I'm going back to work today, again.
The pressure in my ears is doing better, but is still present. The spiking headache appears to have gone away. I'll see how today goes.
In other news, Monday I got an email from the sergeant in charge at Martinez PD. He told me he has an appointment to see the DA today to make his case.
Jennifer and I are keeping our thoughts focused on the speedy return of our jewelery. We want the case to be strong, and for them to get a conviction, but we want our stuff back.
The pressure in my ears is doing better, but is still present. The spiking headache appears to have gone away. I'll see how today goes.
In other news, Monday I got an email from the sergeant in charge at Martinez PD. He told me he has an appointment to see the DA today to make his case.
Jennifer and I are keeping our thoughts focused on the speedy return of our jewelery. We want the case to be strong, and for them to get a conviction, but we want our stuff back.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
I Was Doing So Well
Yesterday I went in to work. I warned visitors off with a Biohazard sign on my door.
Really.
And then I came home and was feeling pretty good; looking forward to feeling better.
Last night it took a while to get to sleep. I felt like I'd had caffeine, and was awake until after 1:30.
This morning I woke up and it feels like there's a spike in my left temple. And when I cough it gets worse.
So I'm at home so that I don't have to deal with bright light.
Really.
And then I came home and was feeling pretty good; looking forward to feeling better.
Last night it took a while to get to sleep. I felt like I'd had caffeine, and was awake until after 1:30.
This morning I woke up and it feels like there's a spike in my left temple. And when I cough it gets worse.
So I'm at home so that I don't have to deal with bright light.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Down with the Sickness
Last Saturday was our monthly roleplaying game. One of our members came to the game and was just getting over being sick. As of today (as far as I know) I am the third of the remaining five to have gotten sick after the game.
Mr. Wilson's new epithet shall be Plague-Bearer.
So Thursday I had that one-sided sore throat where you ca pinpoint the exact location of your tonsil.
Thursday and Friday I was experiencing big bouts of sneezing. And I mean big bouts for me. Sneezes coming in groups of four or more.
Then Saturday I felt really bad. Nose plugged. Sinus headache that sort of thing. Pretty much the same today, but no relief on the headache. At least yesterday there were points where it didn't feel like I had earplugs jammed deep in my ear canal.
If the sinus pressure is no better tomorrow, then I'm staying home.
On a happy note for me, the Steelers and the Packers won. It's a sad note for Jennifer who was rooting for the Jets and da Bears.
Mr. Wilson's new epithet shall be Plague-Bearer.
So Thursday I had that one-sided sore throat where you ca pinpoint the exact location of your tonsil.
Thursday and Friday I was experiencing big bouts of sneezing. And I mean big bouts for me. Sneezes coming in groups of four or more.
Then Saturday I felt really bad. Nose plugged. Sinus headache that sort of thing. Pretty much the same today, but no relief on the headache. At least yesterday there were points where it didn't feel like I had earplugs jammed deep in my ear canal.
If the sinus pressure is no better tomorrow, then I'm staying home.
On a happy note for me, the Steelers and the Packers won. It's a sad note for Jennifer who was rooting for the Jets and da Bears.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Volume, Volume, Volume
This week's big new appears to be that Starbucks is adding a new size of drink. There is apparently an uproar that the drink size (31 ounces) is larger than the average human stomach.
My first reaction is, "But what is the size of the average American's stomach?"
And then I look over at my old 7-Eleven soda mug. I use it at work for water now. I've got a few and they hold 1.538 liters. That's 52 ounces. And the last time I checked, 52 is greater than 31.
My big mug is about 10 years old.
But let's go a little further back. Think hard now. How long have you been able to buy 32 ounce sodas at any fast food restaurant you might care to name? And most of those have free refills.
Someone at Starbucks is just good at PR and they've got people talking about the new size.
My first reaction is, "But what is the size of the average American's stomach?"
And then I look over at my old 7-Eleven soda mug. I use it at work for water now. I've got a few and they hold 1.538 liters. That's 52 ounces. And the last time I checked, 52 is greater than 31.
My big mug is about 10 years old.
But let's go a little further back. Think hard now. How long have you been able to buy 32 ounce sodas at any fast food restaurant you might care to name? And most of those have free refills.
Someone at Starbucks is just good at PR and they've got people talking about the new size.
Monday, January 17, 2011
No LotR, but 30StM
Friday night, Jennifer and I ended up not watching "LotR: The Two Towers". We ended up doing other things, and watching recorded television.
Saturday, I was in Albany for a triumphant return to gaming with the guys. We had a thoroughly fun game with multiple opportunities of showing off for all around.
Sunday, I went to Freeborn Hall at UC Davis with the Sorrells to see 30 Seconds to Mars in concert. It was some of the most fun I've had at a concert in a long time. The crowd which wasn't too bad, and were so into the show. And of course the music was great too.
Saturday, I was in Albany for a triumphant return to gaming with the guys. We had a thoroughly fun game with multiple opportunities of showing off for all around.
Sunday, I went to Freeborn Hall at UC Davis with the Sorrells to see 30 Seconds to Mars in concert. It was some of the most fun I've had at a concert in a long time. The crowd which wasn't too bad, and were so into the show. And of course the music was great too.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Return to Middle Earth
Last night while we ate dinner, Jennifer and I watched the most recent episode of "Undercover Boss".
Then we were flipping channels because she told me there were new Encore movie channels available. I saw that "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was on, and we watched the Council of Elrond scene.
So we decided we had to watch the whole thing.
I'm a bit tired today because it was the Special Edition, and we didn't get to bed until after midnight.
Tonight, we'll watch "The Two Towers" and Sunday night (Saturday being GURPS night for me) after football, we'll watch "The Return of the King".
Then we were flipping channels because she told me there were new Encore movie channels available. I saw that "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was on, and we watched the Council of Elrond scene.
So we decided we had to watch the whole thing.
I'm a bit tired today because it was the Special Edition, and we didn't get to bed until after midnight.
Tonight, we'll watch "The Two Towers" and Sunday night (Saturday being GURPS night for me) after football, we'll watch "The Return of the King".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)