Day Four: Where our hero earns his right to a cold beer

I was awakened quite early by an errant phone call.

Little did I know that this occurrence was the least of the many bad things that would cascade into my life by noon.

I really don't feel like going into the gory details, but here's the abridged and nonspecific version:

There was some bad news in an email, followed by an outright crisis of my own careless making, followed by frantic damage control, lots of furious errand-running, emailing, and phone calls, which finally culminated in a sudden and anticlimactic finish.

Throughout this ordeal, I had the invaluable assistance of a dear friend to whom I am eternally grateful. Thank you. I'd also like to thank those friends who kept my spirits up through compliments regarding my rugged good looks. Less-than-three.

The time for panic is over. Now I simply sit here, experiencing a calm reflection that the storm has passed. Alea iacta est, there is nothing more to be done. I await my fortune.

If I were the type to believe in omens, I'd take comfort from the following event - I went outside to relax with a cigar. While standing on the deck, I saw an incredibly beautiful blue butterfly fluttering about, and I thought "it sure would be cool if it alights on my hand, like in the movies". And then it did just that.

Exile: Day Three

Well, yesterday was an experiment in extended drinking. I was able to nurse a buzz for over thirteen hours! Best of all, thanks to proper hydration efforts I awoke today with nary a hangover.

Today, unfortunately, has been a day of business. No time to take care of the beer that desperately needs imbibed until later this evening.

The expeditions' spirits are still high, as of yet. We are in good cheer and although We miss the solace of community, We are able to fake it well enough by referring to Ourselves in the royal "We".

I shall keep thee up to date with further news, should it occur. Until then, drink a beer for Us?

Exile: The Beginning

Supplies were laid in, including that which is all-important: beer.

I've just returned from gathering supplemental provisions, and feel like I'm ready to settle in for my week's exile.

What's that? Oh, you haven't heard?

Yes, for crimes against hygiene, I've been sentenced to living one full week... completely alone.

Well, "completely alone" isn't quite accurate. There is my faithful companion, Shelby, whose chief distinction is a plaque that reads: "The world's most slobbery dog".

Worry not, dear readers; I shall faithfully record my experience for posterity. It actually began yesterday, and so far it has been blissfully smooth sailing.

For now, I must be off. It is the hour of the Vidya Game, and I am late for my labor.

The Churchmouse

I went for a bike ride this evening, and happened upon a cat that was chasing a mouse. The mouse eventually got away, claiming sanctuary on the holy ground of a Baptist church. I reckon the cat would have granted him solace, if only due to a strong fear of Cat Hell if nothing else... but just in case, I ran a bit of interference for the mouse.

And so I interfered with nature. I disrupted the local mouse genetics because if that mouse couldn't escape a fat lazy house cat in the first place, maybe it shouldn't be reproducing? The theory of evolution is based on changes resulting from genetic selection; whatever combination of genes are best at living long enough to reproduce, right?

I mean really, when you think about dog breeds or different types of crops, that's precisely what we've done. We selectively breed the plants and animals in order for certain characteristics to become predominant. So why is it that when you begin discussing the application of such practices on humanity, it suddenly becomes a terrible subject that should not even be considered? Eugenics seems like an idea that, at the very least seems worth discussing, in my opinion.

Controversy shmontroversy!

"These are the demands and sayings of Lee."

So I was chilling out, not really sure what I wanted to write about now, and then got caught up with the breaking news story occurring in DC about a gunman having entered the Discovery Channel building.

Apparently, he wrote a list of demands before taking his action, and published it at www.savetheplanetprotest.com. (The link's to the Google cache version since the original site is down.)

I started doing some digging and found this thread, in which you can see his extremist viewpoint being mocked by fellow conservationists who criticize him for being unreasonable and unrealistic. This was from back when he first got arrested for protesting outside of the building in 2008. His hatred seems highly focused on Discovery, and it is creepy and fascinating to see his anger displacement and fixation on the channel when

Very interesting how the internet has created a wealth of information that can be sifted through even as events unfold. If your google-fu is strong, it's amazing what you can find.


Craziness.

Homecoming

Gentle reader, please relax and allow me to regale you with tales of that Gotham jewel: New York City.

I arrived shortly after nightfall. Twas not my first visit to the Big Apple, so I immediately recognized the stench wafting in as the train's doors opened. My nose confirmed the conductor's announcements; I had arrived at my destination.

No doubt about it, New York is a huge city. Too big, in fact. I dislike how long it takes to get around, and how expensive it is, and how many people there are. And how dirty and stinky it was.

Don't get me wrong, though... It was lovely fun to visit, but I would very much prefer to not live there at any point in my future.

The week went by quickly. I engaged in various tourist pursuits, exploring Central Park, the Met, and the Natural History Museum. I visited Staten Island, saw the Statue of Liberty, hung out at 30 Rock, viewed the cityscape from The Empire State Building's viewing deck, and wandered the meandering streets of the Village.

I enjoyed traipsing around the city, despite the blisters on my feet. I ate delicious bagels for breakfast and dined on exotic cuisine by night. (Mostly Thai. Sooo good!)

All in all, it was glorious... and I am very pleased to be home.

"Better dead than red!"

Kotaku has a good little piece on Diablo III, if anyone's interested.

I'm getting ready to go to New York City for a week, so I'll not be updating. I'm looking forward to doing the tourist thing and getting my second glance at the Big Apple.

Travel is something I love to do. While I was living in Japan, I visited both China and Vietnam. I was very interested to see these communist nations, and was surprised to find that there really wasn't a huge difference in the city life compared to Western democracies. The lives that these commies lived actually seemed very similar to my own.

Nonetheless, this article is a good example of the potential downside of a "communist" government. (The article is from Game Politics, which is a really cool website if you're interested in that type of thing.)

If you are like me, a video game maniac who can literally play games for eight hours straight, then the article represents a horrible alternate reality. Vietnam's authoritarian government imposed limits on how much of one's free-time can be spent gaming.

I've heard of similar practices in China, as well. I can understand that they think its best for people to be productive and not waste their time on games, but it sure chafes me to imagine the government getting in my business.

Freedom truly is precious.