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20040229
 
Random weekend blog time
I don't normally post on the weekend, but I've got a moment, so I thought I would. That, and I'm kinda addicted to blogging. I had a nice half of the weekend so far! I had to tell you about it. I had a friend in from out of town visit. As I mentioned. His name is WOJO. Actually, it's much more complicated than that, so just to make it easy, we call him Wojo. He's a good guy. We got together at the Full Moon with a few other people and hung out, making nice fun of each other. I earned him a dollar by trying to get our waitresses's phone number. Another friend didn't have faith that I would do it, so I had to prove her wrong. Sadly, the waitress had a boyfriend. That, and there was a band playing, called Hero Factor. My sister said I needed to see them - yeah, they were okay. It made me realize Wojo and I could actually be a really good band, ourselves.

SO - today we got together and played a bunch of guitar. It was sweet. Especially since we recorded it. That's right. I managed to make a full CD out of our session, with individual tracks and everything. So luscious. It was a lot of fun. I'm listening to it NOW. Would you like to hear some of our fun? Okay, here you go. We do play some Barenaked Ladies from time to time, so we did a couple of songs by them. One song is Old Apartment, it turned out pretty good. It's a fun song. Our last song was Good Boy, it's slower. It sounded all right, too. We did have some crazy moments, though, and I have to share this last one with you. We did this before the real version, it's a slightly different version of Old Apartment. Rather fun. Hope you enjoy!

All of that was done with a single microphone, wired into my PODxt, wired into the computer. I played my Telecaster, Wojo played my 12-string. It was OODLES of fun. Too bad you couldn't be there. The other stuff I've recorded is all using the Variax, as well as the PODxt. Yesterday's track was all Variax. It has a decent acoustic sound, which I like quite a bit. I've written some of my own stuff, and some of it I wrote a long time ago. There was one that I started messing around with variations on a D minor. Then I found some OTHER chords that seemed to go with that. It's progressed a bit. Evolved, if you will. I call the latest version Eventual Evolution.

Ah, it's getting late, so I must get ready for rest. Busy day tomorrow! I have to help at a retreat. Important stuff. So I will leave you with the random link. Tonight I will leave you with some legal assistance. Need anything law-related? You might find your answer here.
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20040227
 
Lalalala laaaaa
It's Thursday! Well, technically, Friday. But yes. The weekend is about to begin. So what are you doing for the weekend? Something fun? Something busy? Something evil? Or maybe ALL THREE. I myself am rather occupied. Friend in from out of town! Yay! I haven't seen him in a very very long time. We played guitar together when he lived here. We could have had a band. There are some musicians who can't play together, they don't jive. Some can manage. And then some just WORK. He and I were like that. We wrote a few songs together, and even now, when we do get together and play, it's the same. I just wish there were more people like that around to make music with.

It was a busy busy day today. I went to the doctor! That was fun. I got a shot! Well, not really. They drew my blood! I should end every other sentence with an exclamation mark. That would be cool! Okay, that's enough. After this sentence! Anyway, they drew my blood. I'll find out tomorrow what kind of magical ingredients are in my blood. And if any of those ingredients are BAD ingredients. And I went to work, which was productive. Although there was some tension in the workplace. Lots of shouting, a bit of cussing, and storming out of the room. And that was when I was the only one there! No, actually, I was the calm one, just doing my work. I've done half the final 24 hours that have been allowed to give to this company, to finish his project. It's pretty crazy. I've been getting into it pretty seriously - so much so I keep forgetting I'm actually going to make money off of this. Which is cool. I'll do some more work tomorrow, then probably finish up next week.

I think I'll put up another song today for you, Faithful Reader. Yesterday's was, in fact, only a teaser. So I'll put up one that's a little more complete. When I started recording, I had only a basic program. I could record one track at a time. So to mix them, I had to basically lay them on top of each other, and pick how much time each track was separated by. It was a pain. I only made one two-track song. Then I found a better piece of software. But it was a place to start! It's my basic stuff. It was more experimentation than anything. But you can see that it's not too shabby.

Okay. My creativity ends for tonight. So that means I'll leave you with a random link. Do you know anybody in high school with awesome music talent? Or a band? There's a contest going on they should know about.
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20040226
 
I saw a movie tonight
Yes, it was the movie. I won't ruin it for you, so don't worry. It did affect me quite a bit. I ALMOST cried. It's very intense. I recommend viewing it at least once, make your own opinion of it. Remember, it's one person's interpretation, giving everything he had into his telling of the story. When I think of it like that, I do like the film a lot.

Ah. I've been giving out oodles of my creative juices to the masses, so why not some more? I've managed to find a place to put things, so I can link them for you! Just don't go sharing it with everyone. It's just for you. So here's some more! All the music stuff I've talked about, you probably sat there and thought, "Yeah, right. He's making it all up. He probably doesn't even HAVE a guitar." Well, here's the proof. Just a taste. Yes, it's really me, but it's only part of the song. If you would like more, just let me know! If you can figure out my link for smart people I put on the upper-right part. Then you can tell me how much you want to mosh to my music. And that you need some more to keep moshing.

Ah, I have another joke! This one I liked. Here:
A pompous minister was seated next to a TEXAN on a flight to Dallas. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The TEXAN asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust, "I'd rather be savagely raped by ten whores than let liquor touch my lips." The TEXAN looked at the minister, then handed his drink back to the attendant and said, "I didn't know we had a choice."
AAAAHHHHAHAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAhahaha ha. Ohh. And I'm spent.

I did have my test today! The one I put off by staying up writing blog stuff. I kicked its butt in a mighty way! After studying for approximately an hour. There was much rejoicing. I was actually smiling during the exam. Now I just need to work on thesis stuff. Bleah. That, and get myself paid.

Sadly, I don't have pictures yet, of all the pain I've dished out. I'll let you know when I do. For now, though, it's random link time! This is something I found that I thought went well with the movie. It takes a look at the reality of things. And what really happened.
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20040225
 
A tiddle bit earlier
It seems at least one person wanted the ending of the story I started writing. In a hurry. So I'm doing blog stuff before my standard time. But it's not time for the story yet! Patience, patience.

You have to read this paragraph first! And another one, too! And just maybe a little more after that. I have an exam tomorrow. I haven't studied for it yet. I probably should. But for some reason it seems I always manage to be very productive in OTHER WAYS when I have a test. The closer the test, the more productive I become. I've written a few songs that way. I think I invented a new way to play the guitar once, too. Anyway, this time I worked on my blog a little more. I have added a tasty new link to the nifty box you see in the upper right area of the blog. It's in case you decide you have to talk to me. But the link is only for smart people. Which means if you think you're smart, check on that address before you send to it.

Ah, I did a lot today. I went to work for the first time in over a week. Got a lot done. Seems like the guy I'm working for loves to change the project on a daily basis. Then he wonders why I didn't finish at the time I told him originally. Today he's given me a change that I'll have to manually make to EVERY SINGLE PAGE on the web site. It's not just a small change, either - it's complicated stuff. Extracting ASP code from the crevices of my other well-crafted pages, and inserting it into places it will still fit. Kind of like Operation. Man, that was a cool game. So yeah, it took a long time. And it will take more. And all this time - dang, what do I get from it? Oh wait - yeah, I get a lot of money. Okay, I'll keep working on it, I guess...

That, and for extra fun, I got to visit the DENTIST! Whee! My teeth are cleaner. Sadly, I have a cavity. I'm sad that I have a cavity. Just in time for Lent, though! Which is cool! But I can't think that it's cool, because it's sad. I apparently get really slow cavities, since this is one the dentist pretty much knew about two years ago. But he let it go, just in case it magically went away, I guess. Since it didn't, I get to have a filling. It's my second filling ever. Maybe in two more years I'll get a new one! Since I'll be tired of the one I'm getting next week by then. But I'll have straight teeth by then, too. I have secret braces, remember?

Kung fu was awesome tonight. I felt like a total badass. There was a guy in there, fairly young. He did sparring for the first time with us tonight. The place he took martial arts at before, they did full contact, no rules. So a lot of people got seriously hurt. Which isn't cool. Full face contact, even for inexperienced fighters. You could tell a lot about it when he fought. He did a lot of the poke a jab out but keep the head tilted back action. And if you rushed him, he turned his head immediately. Which is a regular reaction for someone not used to people rushing to throw punches at their head, I guess. Anyway, we have rules about face shots, which is that you can't throw any unless you like pain a lot. That, and you've been there a while. So I'm allowed to exchange those lovely types of punches. Me and the senior student, of course. Which goes to explain my black eye last week. Justin (AKA the senior student) was upset that he didn't get to see my black eye - he didn't even know about it until tonight. ANYWAY, we got into a one-on-one thing at the end of sparring, where anybody could challenge anyone, three point thing. I got challenged by a guy named J.R., who's been there a decent amount of time. (He's not up to face shot level YET, but he's close.) He got popped once by the new guy in the eye, so I think he was out of it. I pretty much annihilated him. Then I got to challenge someone! So I picked Justin, of course. It was an epic battle. We'd square up, he'd feint, I wouldn't fall for it, I'd feint, he might lift an arm slightly, just in case... then a mad rush would ensue. One of us for the other. It was close - the rushing works well. So it's going crazy, punches being blocked, five a second. (In reality, that might not be far off.) And then one slips in. One time we both threw simultaneous punches (to the face), blocked them, and then followed with a nice technique where you pull back on the other person's block and backhand them in the face. Yes, we BOTH did it, at the same time, and smacked each other. It was pretty funny. All right - so it comes down to two points each. And then it's a crazy rush at each other.... sadly, when the dust cleared, HE managed to get the visible point on that one. I WILL beat him someday, even if he has five years up on me.

But wait! There's more. After class, J.R. feels he has to spar me some more. And the new kid wants me to help him condition his arms (my arms are kinda tough from conditioning), so I do - and while I do, Justin goes and helps J.R. with some NEW fancy techniques. Secret techniques. So ten minutes later, after leaving the poor guy with bruises all over his arms (seriously, guys - I'll see if I can go in later this week and get a picture), it's time for me and J.R. to go at it. And the schmack talking begins. He's going to give me a run for my money. He's ready for the Max (somehow I started being referred to as "the Max" tonight, randomly). So we spar! And he throws his secret techniques. Three of them. One actually gets a little bit through. The others are blocked, but they were pretty good. And once he's finished the last one, he decides on a side kick. But I see it coming! So I leg check him. This means shin-to-shin contact - I raise my leg so his kick puts his shin squarely into my shin. And he pauses for a moment, then crumples to the ground. He was done for the night. Nothing permanent, but he'll have a nice bruise, too. (Maybe I can get a picture of that one, too.) For all the bruising I did, I have not a scratch on me from it (didn't even feel the shin one), which makes me feel like a badass. I'm not saying I AM a badass, just let me enjoy the sensation for one evening. It doesn't happen often. Usually I come back feeling like a lowly peon, wearing a new bruise or scratch or BLACK EYE. And I am sad. But for tonight... badass.

All right. So you've waited long enough. The rest of my story! Keep in mind, I wrote this in HIGH SCHOOL. So if it's a tad sappy or not up to your Crichton standards, forgive me. And.... here it is.
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Ouija, Anyone? Chapter 2
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     “How many times have you done this, Jack?” Ben asked, almost cautiously.
     “Well... I haven’t. But I’ve heard about people that have, and like, all this freaky stuff happened, like, the posters all fell off the walls, and it started to thunder, and stuff like that. It’ll be cool!” Jack grinned.
     Sandy looked at Jack doubtfully. “Oh, please.”
     “Okay, now the way this works is that we all put our hands on this wooden thing and just let it move by itself. You’re not supposed to move it, or else you screw everything up. Just leave your hands touching it. Ben, you grab that pencil and paper and write down all the letters or whatever that this thing lands on.”
     Everyone bent over the board, albeit a few did so reluctantly, and put their hands on the triangle. Ben grabbed the pencil and paper and sat aside, watching with mute interest.
     “Okay,” Jack said. “Now, like, we ask it some questions. Me first.
     “Oh Ouija board, tell us who is the hottest of all babes.”
     Tony scowled at Jack. “Come on, give me a brea-”
     “Shh! It’s moving! It’s moving!” The wooden triangle was indeed, moving.
     Sandy’s eyes widened and she smiled in slight amazement. “Oh, cool, man.”
     They watched the triangle move slowly across the board. Everyone watched, captivated. Finally, it stopped.
     “Three.” Tony said, looking at where the marker had stopped. “Great. Real cool, Jack.”
     “Maybe that’s too long. Try asking it a yes or no question,” Sandy said, getting into the moment. “No, wait, I will.” She got a mischievous look and looked at Tony. “I got one. Okay board, tell me this: does Tony really love me?” She smiled at Tony, who looked a bit startled at the question.
     The triangle started to move. It floated around the board, and then stopped. Exactly on the space reading “NO”. Sandy looked disappointed. “I don’t think this thing really works, Jack.”
     Jack looked around at everyone mysteriously. “The Ouija board does not lie.” Then he cracked his trademark grin again. “Let’s try another one. Jamie, why don’t you ask it something this time?”
     Jamie looked around nervously. “Okay,” she said, barely audibly. When she asked her question, her voice was soft and quiet. “Is there anyone there?”
     The board did not take long to answer. YES, it said. Sandy’s disappointment faded. “Oh weird, man.”
     “My turn,” Jack said. “I’ve got a good one.” He looked at the board. “Spirit of the Ouija board, which of us will die first?”
     The triangle began to float around. “Write this down, Ben,” Jack said, staring intently at the board. As the marker paused at different letters, Jack read them aloud. “T... O... N...”
     Tony looked at Jack. “Ha, ha, very funny Jack, quit moving the thing.”
     Jack paled and looked at Tony. “But Tony, I’m not moving it.”
     The triangle continued. Y... S... T... E...
     “Well, whoever is, then stop it, this isn’t funny.” Tony started to look worried.
     Everyone looked at Tony, but no one said anything. Tony looked like he was beginning to get genuinely scared.
     V... E... N... S... O... N. The triangle stopped moving at the N. “Tony Stevenson,” Ben said softly, and unnecessarily.
     Sandy broke the silence. “Okay, someone was moving the thing. Even if no one’s gonna admit it. Let’s ask it something no one here could know. Okay, how about this: How do you know all the answers?”
     This time the triangle did not waste any time. It moved around more quickly than before.
     H... E... W... A... Ben wrote everything down. T... C... H... E... S... H...
     “So far, I’ve got ‘He watches’ written down. Weird.”
     The triangle began to pick up speed. E.. W.. A.. T.. C.. H..E..S..H..E..W..A..
     The marker was darting around the board, and now all the teens knew for sure that none of them was moving the wooden marker.
     Suddenly Sandy cried out. “I can’t take my hands off of it!” she cried desperately, her voice tinted with panic. Jamie felt panic, too. She was also unable to lift her hands.
     HEWATCHESHEWATCHESHEWATCHESHEWATC...
     Ben dropped the pencil and paper, now very scared, but the pencil kept writing, writing what was now unintelligible by watching the board, the triangle moving at a lightning pace.
     And the pencil wrote...
     HEWATCHESHEWATCHESHEWATCHESSATANWATCHESYOUSATANWATCHESYOUSATANWATCHESYOU...
     Sandy was crying now, out of pure fear and panic. The triangle was almost a blur.
     The windows to the room suddenly flew open and the rain came pouring in. Lightning and thunder came in violent bursts.
     Ben reached out and grabbing the moving pencil just as the wind blew out all the candles, leaving the room dark except for the illuminations by the lightning.
     Jamie felt her hands leave the triangle and she flew backwards, falling down. She felt someone trip over her, heard a scream of fear, panic, and pain, and then a small wooden snapping noise.
     The wind and rain slowed abrubtly, along with the lightning and thunder. Jamie got up and went over to where she remembered the door to the room. She felt around next to it and found the light switch. Click. The light came on in the room. Jamie looked around.
     Sandy was lying on her back, apparently unconscious. Jack was backed into the corner, white with fear. Tony was lying face down in Ben’s lap. Ben only sat there, holding the eraser end of a broken pencil. As he pushed Tony off of his lap, Tony turned over and what Jamie saw then horrified her beyond anything she had ever felt before.
     Tony lay on his back. Ben held one half of the broken pencil. The other half, the long half, was fully embedded in Tony’s right eye. Blood was everywhere. Tony’s left eye was unseeing. He was dead.
     Jamie took in everything she saw. Then she fainted.

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And so it ends. Wasn't it intense? I know I was scared. Maybe more stuff if you're interested. Let me know.

And so ends the LONGEST BLOG ENTRY EVER. I think. But before it's over - random link! Still need that, yes. Sadly, it's not that innovative. Just a group of people I rather enjoy company with. Maybe you'll find their company interesting as well.
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20040224
 
The evening is here so I have to blog again
Central time, anyway. It's after midnight! Woo! It's the time I seem to finally come alive. Which isn't really that good. I suppose it is if there are ladies around, but... sadly, I see none. Which is too bad for them.

So I was thinking today. Before you have a conundrum, yes, I think every day, but I mean that I was thinking of something I wanted to share with YOU, Loyal Reader. The movie I mentioned in the last blog entry. I'm really thinking this particular release will shake up the world more than people might realize. I mean, it's based on beliefs that affect most people's lives in one way or another, and for some people, beliefs that have changed their own lives in very major ways. I'm wondering how many people it will convert. Seriously, I think there will be a number that will after viewing this. Although I also wonder how many will go to view it simply to criticize, eager to pick it apart before it even begins. I'm anxious to hear what kind of soundtrack they've used. I'm fairly certain it will be a beautiful film, cinematography, soundtrack, and language, all-inclusive. It should be an incredible experience. I have faith that it will be.

Now that I've talked about religion, then the next obvious topic should be WOMEN. Mmm, good. Sadly, my Match profile, as sexy as it is, has not scored any serious points with the opposite sex. I will be bold and reveal what it's listed as, in case you should dare to view it. In the world of Match.com, I am known only as Nalae. Be careful! Just warning you.

Hey, Line 6 has a new instrument coming out! It looks pretty freakin' amazing. I play my Variax all the time. So I might have to seriously consider this as another investment. AFTER I get some money. But the wave of the future of guitar is hitting NOW! Lucky me! Yaaaay! Hmm... perhaps I am part of this so-called wave of the future...

All right. To fill up a TON of space, I've decided to put some fiction writing in here. I wrote this in high school. I'm going to put one that has an interesting story attached. Part of my first relationship (yes, the online one) originated in a writing club. She actually found one of my stories had been plagiarized! Somebody tried taking it and passing it as their own. Actually, it took TWO people to do it. And then they tried adding some more to the end. Silly people. Their farce didn't last. Anyway, this was during some of my early fiction-writing days. The story is entitled "Ouija, Anyone?". I will give it to you in two sections. Chapters, if you will. It has intense moments, so be cautious if you're weak around scary stuff. Here you go!
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Ouija, Anyone?
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Jamie rang the doorbell, shivering in the pouring rain.
     She felt a little nervous about coming here. It was the first time she had ever gone to a party, even though this really wasn’t much of one. Just her, Jack, and a couple of other people she had met before from school. Jack had told her there were only going to be something like six people there, including herself. She didn’t even really know Jack that well.
     The door opened. Jack stood inside. He saw Jamie and his face broke into a grin.
     “Hey, good to see ya’! Almost everyone else is here. Come on in!”
     Jamie only smiled shyly and stepped inside. She wiped her feet on the mat and wiped off her brow. It really was pouring outside.
     Jack closed the door and ran ahead of her to the stairs. “We’re all upstairs. You want something to drink? A beer or anything?”
     Jamie was startled at Jack’s suggestion. She shook her head no. Beer? she thought. Jamie had never touched the stuff before in her life, and neither had her best friend, Nancy. She began to feel uncomfortable at the suggestion.
     “Suit yourself. Well, don’t just stand there dripping, come on up!” Jack bounded up the stairs. Jamie followed him into a room occupied by three other teens. Jack’s room, judging by the football paraphernalia.
     Jack motioned to the other teenagers. “I don’t know if you already know everybody, but I’ll introduce you, just in case.
     “This is Tony,” Jack said, pointing to a guy with a buzz cut. Jamie thought that he’d be at least six three if he stood up. He was a big guy.
     “Hey,” Tony said, and took a swig from his can of Bud.
     “This is Sandy,” Jack said, indicating a pretty girl with long dark hair, sitting unusually close to Tony. She, too, had a can of Bud, sitting next to her on the floor. Sandy just raised a hand in greeting.
     “And this is Ben,” Jack said, turning to the last person in the room. Ben was a quiet-looking guy with brown hair and very brown eyes. He looked as though he’d rather be somewhere else, kind of like how Jamie felt. He had a Pepsi in front of him.
     “Hi,” he said quietly, and gave Jamie a friendly smile. Jamie couldn’t help but to smile back.
     “Hi,” she said, even more quietly.
     “Everyone,” Jack said to the three sitting on the floor, “this is Jamie. She’s in my English class. She’s really smart.”
     Jamie only gave a small wave to everyone.
     Suddenly the phone rang. “I’d better get that,” Jack said, “no one else is here. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He ran off to another part of the house, leaving Jamie alone with the rest of the group.
     “Are you just gonna stand there or what?” Tony said.
     Jamie flushed and sat down hurredly in the nearest available spot, which happened to be next to Ben. She was glad to sit next to him instead of Tony.
     Ben just smiled at Jamie. Jamie wished she wouldn’t blush so easily. Sandy looked around dreamily, and Tony gave Jamie a wary look while drinking his beer, not bothering to turn his head to look at her.
     Jack came back. “That was Carrie,” he said, sitting down breathlessly in between Tony and Jamie. “She’s not going to be able to make it.”
     “Okay, so everybody’s here now. Are you gonna tell us what this big surprise is that you wanted to show us?” Tony said, a bit impatiently.
     “Check this out,” Jack said, getting up. He opened the closet door and reached up to the high shelves, pulling down an old box. “This used to be my grandma’s. It’s like, really old.”
     He wiped the top of it off, brushing away a thin layer of dust. “I haven’t gotten a chance to use it yet, ‘cause it’s only good when you got a lot of people.” He set the box down in front of everybody. Jamie looked at the odd writing on the cover. Ouija Board, it said.
     “A Ouija board?” Sandy asked, giving Jack a skeptical look.
     “Come on, give it a chance.” He opened the box and took out a tattered board and something else, made of wood, that looked almost like a triangle with a glass eye, on three legs. He unfolded the board and tossed the box in the corner.
     “Hand me those candles, would you, Sandy?” Jack said, pointing to a set of candles behind her against the wall. She handed them over and Jack set them around the room, lighting each one as he placed it.
     “What are you doing?” Sandy asked.
     “I’m just setting a mood. It’s cooler this way.” After all the candles were placed, Jack turned off the overhead light and sat down again.
     “Okay. Everybody ready?” Jack said, seeming eager.
     Tony scoffed and turned his head. “Man, this sucks.”
     “Just wait. It’ll get real cool.”
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Ah, and so it began. I'll give you more later. Patience. You can collect the pieces, using the magic of cut and paste, as they appear. Collect them - it's like a treasure hunt! Only the treasure is BETTER than gold! And there's enough for everyone! Yeah, right. Anyway, more later.

And what time does that make it now? What's that? Random link time? What kind of silly thing is that? I don't know what that is. But I did find this sitting around the web. It's good for any musician who has their instrument within earshot of the computer. But don't go TOO crazy with it!
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20040223
 
Back from a crazy weekend
Good to say, I think I'm not sick anymore. I still have a little of the nose blowing thing. But man! That virus is nasty! And a few more people have caught it, I think. I don't think it was from me, though. Just hope you don't get it.

It was a crazy weekend, indeed. It started with a nice dance on Friday night. Got a room in ACAC for it, and a decent deejay, too. Fun dancing. I will say that I had a very good time. I did meet a couple of lovely ladies, too, which was cool. One of which wasn't even IN the dance room. She was simply studying for her GRE, and looked like she needed a little bit of relief. So I went and we had a very nice chat. I gave her some of my vast experience, since I've already taken the GRE. Although I didn't study. But I did just fine. Anyway, I guess my mojo was working that night. Yes - the irony of signing up for online dating and THEN meeting women completely unrelated to online stuff. After that, unrelated party stuff. Chillin' with friends. Found out one of the ladies actually had ten years experience with Taekwondo, which led to some discussion of various moves, etc. (Make any jokes on that you want, it's already been done, I'm sure.) We traded a few, which I think made for amusement on the parts of the onlookers. I'm still a die-hard kung fu fan. Sadly, she knew not of Jet Li, so some education was given. Hopefully she'll see the light.

So then Saturday - I was tired, it had been a late night. But I hung out with a friend I hadn't seen in a while, I introduced him to Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time. The fact he had to be introduced to it was sad. It's such a good, good piece of software. There was that, some FF:CC as well, although it's much better with three or four people. Strangely, his XBox had parental control enabled, and he didn't know the password. Which was amusing. So he couldn't check out my Ninja Gaiden demo! Which is too bad. Because it's pretty sweet. I guess demos are worse than a Mature rating level.

Then trying not to pass out for most of the day. Ended up having an interesting discussion with a friend. Will change the way things go for the future. It was kind of sad. We'll see what happens. Then it was practicing on the guitar. I haven't done pure practice with the guitar in a long time. Get my chops GOING. See if I can pull a few licks off at 200 bpm.

Sunday was cool. I will say, though, most of my time between Saturday and Sunday... guess what I spent it doing? And your first two guesses don't count. Yeah - I went to bed at midnight, woke up once randomly at three (since that's closer to my normal bedtime, I guess), bathroom break at 7, then unconscious until four in the afternoon. Do the math. You know how many hours that is? That's a crapload of hours. But I felt a TON better afterwards. Really. I think that signified the end of my illness with a bang. Or maybe more like a deep breath.

Then church! Like a good boy. We played some exciting songs! Yay! Sadly, it's the last excitement for a while, since LENT is upon us. Yes, my non-Catholic boys and girls, LENT means it's time to be sad. And give up something, as well, so that you can be extra sad. Something that you like. So you can't have it anymore. Until the end of Lent. That, and church has to be sad, too. So you can't play happy music. No. It has to be sad music. That's how things are.

And now it's Monday. Whee! Mondays suck. But today's not so bad. I have a test on Wednesday, so I should study some for it. That, and finish one of my websites today. For CASH MONEY. And maybe get some pizza. For lunch. I think I will! I'm completely hooked on the Pizza Hut P'ZONE. I can't get enough of it. P'zones and Pepsi make me happy. Which I'd better get LOTS of before Wednesday. Ash Wednesday. It's sad. The beginning of Lent. Lent is sad. It's okay, don't start crying yet. It's not until Wednesday.

Ooh! But a new movie comes out on Wednesday. A controversial movie. Oh yes, it'll rattle everyone up. To give you an idea - I am, as you all know, a very manly man. But watching one of the trailers for this movie (a leaked trailer, not the standard one) actually rattles me, every time I watch it. So for mere mortals, it'll probably have a pretty good emotional impact. Be warned. I'll be watching it at least twice, probably more.

Okay! My blog has gone on long enough! For now. Random link time! Ooh, I've got a good one, this time. It's about a particular guy. He made the news. And he has a lot of fans. You should check him out.
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20040220
 
Hey it's after two I should write a blog
Yeah, I'm finally getting better. I left the apartment for the first time this week. I think there might have been some new buildings constructed that I haven't seen before. It's been a while.

Sadly, I missed out on the workshop. So I didn't get to help teach women how to kick butt. Although I did get to hang out with my Knight friends! Yes, I am a Knight of Columbus. In some sort of weirdly parallel situation, there was talk about how a few of the guys would love to see me in a brawl of some kind. I'm guessing it's because I'm not a very threatening looking guy, so it might be interesting to see how I'd handle a bigger guy. I'm supposed to help a friend learn how to spar some this weekend sometime, that should be fun. He's definitely bigger than me, and he's been doing the weight routine for several months now. Although his training is mostly in physical fitness and prowess, more than specific butt-kicking skill. Like ME. So yeah, it'll be interesting. Maybe I should charge admission.

I've been playing a lot of guitar lately. It's come to my attention there aren't a lot of really talented guitarists around the places I hang. If I could find any, that'd be cool with me - if you hang with more talented people than you (at anything), you tend to learn faster. That applies to pretty much anything. So I've just been playing for fun lately. On the Variax. So luscious...

Well, I made first contact with the Match thing. I may even get a date out of it! Which would be kinda scary. Good thing I know kung fu. But seriously, I'm surprised it worked so quickly. I'm still very wary of it all. We'll see if it goes anywhere.

And tomorrow's the beginning of the weekend! Woo! Sadly, I think I have a test I need to study for. Which sucks, since I missed the last two classes. That, and work to catch up on. But it's Friday, you don't work on Friday! Well, I don't, anyway. I try not to, at least. Sadly, I probably will. Unless I'm asleep until four. Ooh, that sounds good.

Okay, random link. This is random. Which is okay, since it's my random link. Even though my mom works at TV Guide (and does an excellent job at what she does), I don't like dealing with their web page. I have an alternate choice I prefer looking my listings up on. Maybe you can, too.
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20040219
 
Finally getting better
I can feel the mucus drying up! (The first sentence of a composition is supposed to grab attention.) Although it makes blowing my nose a pain in the butt. Or nostrils. And the coughing is waning. So I might be better by tomorrow! Which would be cool, I'm supposed to go help do a women's self-defense workshop tomorrow. I need to get better so I can get beaten on.

Ah... Match.com. It's something I signed up on a long time ago, for kicks. My first relationship happened online, actually. An interesting experience. A cross-country experience. I'll leave you yearning for more on that one. Anyway, I've decided to upgrade my profile a bit, and went ahead and [gasp] shelled out some money to be able to establish contact with people. It's not a lot of money, so I figured it might be fun. I'm not expecting anything but maybe talking to some interesting people. We'll see how it goes.

Woo! I've had some free time today (being sick and all). I've managed to find ZSNES! One of the few consoles I don't have with me now (back at the parents' place). It works very nicely for what it's supposed to do. I've spent a decent amount of time becoming familiar again with Super Metroid. So luscious... yes, Super Metroid is one of the BEST GAMES EVER. Inspires me to get back into game programming. So much to do, not enough time...

That, and I also found a WinAmp plugin. It's called SNESAmp, and it can play .spc files in WinAmp. Which basically means it replicates the sound as it was originally heard, does it quite well. I was quite enjoying Castlevania 4 music, as it has some of the BEST GAME MUSIC EVER. Truly.

Well, it's random link time. This one is related to my online dating topic. I got it from a friend - it's more on the topic from someone who knows about it. Worth checking out, before blasting me and my silliness for trying out the online thing.
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20040218
 
I'm not that tired yet
So I'm going to write some more. I actually got some food in me, so I'll let it digest. A Red Baron personal pizza, good stuff. It would have been even better if I hadn't spilled some SUPER HOT sauce all over my hand. Thankfully I had a cold Pepsi at my side, to ease the pain.

Now that our commercial segment is over, I'll say that the caffeine probably helped wake me up some. Maybe that's not a good thing. Oh well. Ce la vie. Eso si que es. Portimi il guitar. Well, I was looking through music I haven't listened to in a while, and found some good stuff. There's the stuff everyone likes, like Journey. But there's some more obscure stuff that might be worth knowing about. One, which I recommend listening to if you have the means, is Edgar Cruz. I saw him live years ago. Incredible guitarist. I like his angle. But he's mainly classical, and since I'm more of a ROCK guy, I don't think I'll end up there. And did you know Milla Jovovich put out a couple of albums? It's kinda cool. I've listened to only the Divine Comedy, but I sorta like it.

I've been discovering that a surprising number of people actually READ my blog. Why would you do that? That, and a lot of people I didn't know read it read it. (That's [red] it [reed] it. English is confusing.) I'm managed to re-contact a VERY old friend (well, our recent communication was a long time ago, I'm not saying they're old) through this. Which is cool. That, and CLAIRE wanted me to give a shout out to her. I never understood shout outs. It's not like we need to say shout OUT - would you think I was otherwise going to shout in? At any rate, she wanted a shout out, so here's your shout, Claire, and I'm handing it out. As opposed to in.

Ah... I found more old stuff. I never throw anything away. Which also means I can never run for any sort of office. But it means finding old stuff which can be very enlightening. I found stuff I wrote before my first degree - pictures, poetry, that type of thing. Quite interesting. If anyone's interested, e-mail me. I might even put some of it up. Actually, I'll put one up. I really don't know the original date of this one, it might even be from high school. Classic poetry. Here you go...
I go into the marble chamber
Feeling bad and sensing danger
I sit upon the bright white seat
And everything I had to eat
Comes out.

Yep. Quality material. The other stuff, in actuality, is pretty depressing. This one was the exception. I did get into creative writing for a period, wrote some fiction, poetry, all that. As well as get into art. Mainly pencil. But there's not enough time for all of it! You have to pick your options! So I picked kicking ass and taking names. And making music. Yeah.

Okay, enough, enough. I'm going to read through some of my old stories, see what types of things the younger me wrote. For now, another random link. This one recommended by a friend (same person who sent yesterday's link), on theories about the construction of relationships. Scary to think this guy's theory might actually have merit.
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STILL sick
Yes, still sick. I feel pretty wretched. Coughing a lot, finished off one box of kleenex, all that. I do hope I'm better in the morning. I had stuff to do I was looking forward to, and I don't want to cancel. Ugh - when you get chills from the cold dampness on your shirt sleeve when you've sneezed too much into it - that's probably not good.

I did get some good food, though. A couple of friends have been nice enough to bring me stuff to eat and so forth, which I am very thankful for. Always helps. I slept thirteen hours last night, so perhaps I'll try going to bed sometime soon. I'm actually quite tired already.

I watched Fight Club tonight, with the commentary. Made me feel a little strange, identifying more than normal with the film. There's a scene where some characters are asked what they would like to do before they die - made me think of my life, what I might be missing. In reality, I think I've actually done a pretty decent job of jumping into things that interest me. If anything, a little too much, perhaps. Overzealousness. But I do have some skills that I rather like having, as a result. Which is cool. Now all I have left is a Nobel and building a nice family.

I'm tired. So that's all for tonight. Random link! I've been listening to a certain band's older music lately. They were an inspiration to me, and the old garage band I was in played some of their non-album stuff. Good stuff.
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20040217
 
Can't sleep
I'm up late again. I tried going to bed early, but I think I might have gotten a little too much sleep last night. And I'm COMPLETELY sick. It sucks. And blows. My nose, that is. A lot. It's now red, to further decorate my face, with the black eye now changing into more interesting colors. Ugh. I did stay up and watch Tron, though, which was cool. What an enlightening movie. I had no idea computer programs struggled so hard to do their jobs. I'll have to program with more care from now on.

Ah, but when the movie shuts down, what's on? Why, an advertisement (also known as an infomercial) for a pill, to increase a man's "special part" up to 25%! Money-back guarantee! And the first bottle is free! 98% effective! Man, I'm a fool for not buying it, apparently. Or am I? Makes me wonder what types of things people will try selling in the next few years. "New! A sock insert that will make you up to three feet taller, by injecting chemicals through the skin!" Or maybe "New! An innovative poster development! Purchase one of the person you would like to look like! Stare at it two minutes every day, and you'll look more and more like that person! Money back guarantee!" Sadly, if they were invented, they'd sell well. Hmm...

Woo! I got an extension on my big homework assignment. Apparently people were having trouble doing the Linux version of the project, and after looking a little into it, our prof discovered it doesn't work in Linux. Yeah, that might make it a little harder to finish. So there's more time there. But to tide us over we get a test to have fun with. Since we're graduate students, it won't be just on the notes. We should study RFC data, as well. Yeah, because that'd be easy. And maybe a bit out of the 600+ page book we have. And other stuff. And the review? It'll probably be populated mainly of him listing the enormous number of sources test material might come from. That by itself should take up one whole class. Can't wait. Oh wait, I can.

Okay, I think I'm going to try going to sleep again. Maybe it'll work this time. Perhaps a cough drop first, to ease the sure-to-start bleeding in my throat, so I can fall asleep. But first! A random link. This time it's from a friend of mine, who sent me a little soliloquy about the fun women can provide certain guys. Sadly, I think he's not too far off the truth.
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20040216
 
The weekend hath ended
I'm still tired. Didn't really rest properly, but I did get some sleep. Sadly, I also got a sore throat. Not sure what it is (allergies, sickness), but hopefully it'll go away.

I NEED to finish my one web page. Maybe tonight. Who knows. I've been bad about it. I've realized if I'm given a specific assignment and/or a date to get it done by exactly, I'm quite efficient. If I'm given a completely open assignment ("Do what you think would be good, whenever you can") for somebody else, I tend to not work at it nearly as well. The other job I've been doing is going quite nicely. Which is good. I do need to work on the school stuff this week, though. Including thesis stuff. Maybe finish that up tomorrow.

I've started feeling a little more chipper this weekend, even if I'm not physically tip-top. I did get to hang out with more genuinely single people, which was nice. And even with one who is normally always attached to a significant other, without that significant other there (not that I have a problem with her). It was kinda refreshing.

Church was weird - I played guitar and didn't sing. Which meant there were a lot of songs that normally have harmony that didn't have harmony tonight. That, and I could hear my guitar a lot more clearly than I normally do. And I have to say that I'm not too shabby. Woo! But I did miss singing. That, and the black eye, I think had a lot of people looking at me a little different tonight. Plus the faces I think I was making trying not to cough.

I've decided that I really like "Angel's Son" by Sevendust. It's a very good song. Just so you know. I did learn how to play it - you have to drop D the guitar on both E strings, and then drop the WHOLE guitar a couple of notches after that. It's a rather strange tuning. But it sounds incredible on a 12-string.

Random link! This is a little similar to some links I posted a few blogs ago, but it's good enough to put up separately. The Metroid series is excellent, and the music is pretty darned good, as well.
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20040214
 
Finally tired
I'm changing the sleep schedule, finally. I woke up in the AM this morning, incredibly. Although I went to bed in the AM, as well. After having a strange conversation with someone online. As a result, I've lost sleep. I have a sore throat, am exhausted, and feel kinda crummy. Hopefully getting some rest tonight will fix that.

I did a lot today at work, which was cool. I'm finishing up the project for that job, and hopefully I can get involved to make some decent money. To help pay bills, and maybe start paying off my loan. Although I really need to do my OTHER work project. Hopefully I'll finish that one tomorrow. But with work and kung fu, I'm tired. Bleah. Although I did get to have some fun at a Coffeehouse get-together with some people. Karaoke Revolution was played, and it was fun.

I will complain, though. About being single. It's nice and all, but it has its downs occasionally. Like when you hear people right outside your window hugging and saying sweet nothings to each other, and crap like "I'm never going to let you go" and the love this and love that. And when your two first major relationship ex's are both engaged (one for sure, the other I think) and the other one's in a long-term relationship, and the guys you hang out with all the time are also fully occupied with their own personal female companions. I feel like a portable third wheel. "Oh? You don't have a third wheel? Here! I'm good at that!" The truth is it's probably good to be single at the moment, but even I am human, and sometimes it would be nice to have someone to see at the end of a long day, to trade stories, or even just to listen to their stories. Plus the hugs. I'm a tough guy (currently sporting a nice black eye), and I don't often openly admit it, but I like hugs.

Anyway, it's most likely the jump in stress level from sleeping ALL DAY LONG and not worrying about work or assignments to all of a sudden having to get up at a certain time, have work that needs to be done on multiple levels, major school assignments, and more visits to close family members in the hospital. It takes at least a couple of days to adjust. My dad is okay, though, I'm glad he got a good doctor. I think he'll take a few days to rest and recover, and hopefully he'll get a good exercise routine going on, get the healthy things going on.

Hey! It's Valentine's Day. Oh boy. That just MAKES MY DAY. That's about all I have to say about that.

Okay, enough of my spilling bad vibes out everywhere. Let's do a random link. I don't think I've put this up yet, but if you like Halo at all, you should check this out.
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20040212
 
I should sleep soon
Maybe I'll actually go to sleep before four tonight, for a change. I woke up before two! Hey, a step at a time.

I did go ahead and get Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. It's quite cool, with multiplayer. Requires a Game Boy Advance and a link cable, for multiplayer, though. It's all right, works out nicely. Learning curve takes a little bit of time, but once you've got it down, it's nice. It's not traditional Final Fantasy style, more like a Diablo/Gauntlet thing going on, but it's still good. If you've got people to play it with (in a cooperative fashion), it's worth trying out.

Well, as of today I'm super busy. Oh boy. Got my major class project assignment, got started on thesis work, got a definite job (on top of the other part time work I'm doing) to put time into, AND got a new game. Oh well. My rest and relaxation to the extreme couldn't last forever. Hopefully I can find a way to schedule it all properly.

I did do some exercise today - tried out some rotation between walking, running, sprinting. Worked very nicely. I felt it. I think it ended up being a little over a mile, which isn't too bad for starters. Exercise is good. Try it! Maybe you'll like it!

Hey! Conan O'Brien is now in Canada. In Toronto, to be precise. I'm happy about it. One is because Conan is cool. Two is because Toronto is cool. For those ignorant of the fact, I happen to have been born there, which makes it extra cool. Yes, I'm Canadian. Deal with it, eh. At any rate, you should check it out - the crowds are pretty crazy.

I have a joke! It's kinda funny. Here it is.
-----------
A girl asks her boyfriend to come over Friday night and have
dinner with her parents. Since this is such a big event, the
girl announces to her boyfriend that after dinner, she would
like to go out and make love for the first time.

Well, the boy is ecstatic, but he has never had sex before, so
he takes a trip to the pharmacist to get some condoms. The
pharmacist helps the boy for about an hour. He tells the boy
everything there is to know about condoms and sex.

At the register, the pharmacist asks the boy how many condoms
he'd like to buy, a 3-pack, 10-pack, or family pack. The boy
insists on the family pack because he thinks he will be rather
busy, it being his first time and all.

That night, the boy shows up at the girl's parents house and
meets his girlfriend at the door. "Oh, I'm so excited for you to
meet my parents, come on in!"

The boy goes inside and is taken to the dinner table where the
girl's parents are seated. The boy quickly offers to say grace
and bows his head.

A minute passes, and the boy is still deep in prayer, with his
head down.

10 minutes pass, and still no movement from the boy.

Finally, after 20 minutes with his head down, the girlfriend
leans over and whispers to the boyfriend, "I had no idea you
were this religious."

The boy turns, and whispers back, "I had no idea your father was
a pharmacist."
------------
HAAHAhahaha ha. Yes.

Okay, enough of that. Random link time! This is something you should know about, but if you don't, then now you do. News, if you will. It's good stuff.
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20040210
 
Other stuff
Yes I'm updating within 24 hours. Omigosh. Some stuff I hadn't covered.

First of all, the important stuff. Regarding family, all that. I'd talked about my sister and the craziness that happened there. Well, she's doing okay now, thankfully, although she's moving apartments, which is stress in a different sort of way. This time it's my dad. A couple of weeks ago he had a heart attack. Thankfully, it was very minor, and he went to the doctor just in case. He thought it might just have been something like indigestion. But lo and behold, it was a heart attack. They took him in for a couple of days, did an angioplasty, put two stints in, and he's going to go back Thursday to a follow-up. He had a test today to get the information on how much more needs to be done. It seems like he found out early enough that he'll be okay. Which we're all very thankful for - it's been a crazy couple of months for the family, though.

Aside from that, I'm finally getting onto my thesis. It begins by writing a paper (a smaller paper) covering all previous efforts on the type of algorithm I'm working on. Only ten pages, easily doable within a week. That, getting back to work, paying bills on time... man! I might not be able to sleep all day anymore! That makes me sad.

Okay, kung fu tonight. I'm starting to push the sparring aggressiveness up a notch. Although I think I went a notch too high. I sparred a guy who started sparring for the first time - sadly, I didn't KNOW he just started today, and he was going pretty rough, so I went rough back. He ended up stopping with a bloody nose. I felt quite remorseful. Then there was the woman who always hits a little harder than normal, she's actually quite tough. She decided to try a Muay Thai stance, with both hands above her head. Yeah, that only works if you're willing to take hits and are allowed to actually attack the legs and knees. Which we don't do in sparring, since that type of thing can CRIPPLE you for LIFE. So she ended up taking many blows to the stomach, and a few to the head. She finally gave up halfway through, and had to rest for the remainder of our time. Then it was continuous sparring time with the senior student, which was quite fun. You know you need to be in better shape when you prefer to get pounded in the face than spend more energy to throw more attacks. Although I actually did smack HIM in the face a couple of times, for once. Oh! And I didn't say - last week I sparred one of the other instructor students. He threw a ridge hand into the side of my head. I barely felt it, but it actually bruised his fingers. On my head. Hee hee!

I learned to play a new song. It's got good lyrics. Kind of sad, but it's good to use to get ideas for personal songs that I'll be writing eventually. I actually learned it a while ago, because somebody else asked for the chords for it, so I figured it out. It's a good song, though.

I may start playing a NEW video game. With other people. Apparently it's really fun. So I might have to schedule in some time for that. Rough stuff. Yes.

Ah, that's enough for today. Time for a random link. You heard right, my readers - A random link. The luxury of FIVE random links was reserved only for yesterday as a special case. Today you get only one. He's one of the best animators out there. Did work on Matrix Reloaded, the second X-Men movie, and assorted other stuff. You have to check out KB2. Trust me.
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Okay, so I've been away
Yes, I've been LAZY. And NOT UPDATING. My blog, that is. In case you hadn't figured out that's what I was talking about.

But I'll make up for it! My crazy life! I really haven't done a whole lot of new things. I did some more music stuff, some more kung fu, etc. I finished the first project for the class I'm in. I actually procrastinated until the last night (of course). I heard some people spent over six hours at a time on this bad boy. So I naturally still put it off. I worked on it an hour the night before, and then an hour an hour and a half before class. And yes, I finished it, and still had time for a shower. "But your class isn't until 4:30!" Yes, that's true, and I COULD have been working on it earlier. But I wasn't. Why? Because I was sleeping. Yes, the utter contempt you're probably feeling regarding my slovenly behavior with the very IDEA of sleeping in past two in the afternoon. But it's so luscious. Anyway, hopefully all my well-restedness allowed me to brilliantly get a good grade on my project. We'll see.

Hey! I may have a job again. It found me, I really was fine being a slug and sleeping all the time, doing only what work was necessary to get by. Although I really should use some time to clean the apartment fully. But it's such a scary project. The work thing is nicer. If it works out, I'll get paid depending on how well the project I'm doing turns out. If it goes REALLY well, I'll get paid several digits (in dollars) for only a few hours a week, if that. I'll just have to cross my fingers on that one.

But yes! I now have a reason to actually return my sleep pattern to a more North American time zone. Instead of Japan. Doing the work thing (which initially WILL take a lot of effort), actually getting down and dirty with the thesis, and on TOP of all that, making sure my apartment gets cleaned. Maybe even stays clean. Goodness. Maybe if I have some more time, throw in some extra exercise. I've been reduced to only a few hours a week of martial arts. Somehow I still am more toned than most of the guys in class, though. Must be all that extra pizza I'm eating. Yep.

Okay. I haven't put a link in yet, so my random link time must be here. And to make up for lost time, I shall put in an uber collection of random links. Here we go. First off - commercials are strange. Some are strange enough that I can't help but like them. Quizno's has just released some commercials to demonstrate what I'm talking about. They're linked from the main page.

Oh? Want more? How about somebody with just TOO MUCH TIME. Kinda like me. Except instead of doing productive stuff (on occasion), he makes a bunch of weird gaming parodies using real game animation. Some of which are naughty. And maybe, perhaps, a little juvenile. But that's okay.

Speaking of video games... random link number three! The Minibosses! Coolest band EVER. Well, for now, anyway. They don't have vocals, but don't need them. If you had a Nintendo, you'll find their stuff lovely. If you want to download some of their material, look around. You might find a place or two.

Number four. Yes, they keep on coming. Ever wish you had a drum beat by your side? But didn't? Well, now you can! Yes, that's right. Learn how right now!

And we'll end it on a cool note. It's one of the most ingenious ads I've ever seen. You just have to watch it. It was done for real, no camera tricks. I'll just tell you they had to do it more than once to get it to work the way they wanted. But it's legitimate.

Okay, so maybe I'll remember that I have a blog I can make ubercool (I needed to use uber again) with all the time I've had. While I have it, anyway. More often.

Random link! In the FIVE paragraphs above, silly. Above the above one, anyway.
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as of 10/23/03

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