Won't decide your place tonight... · 2008-04-13 00:40
…it’s not where I should be.
So, haven’t updated in a bit. Let’s see what news I care to report.
– Habs go up 2-0 in an OT win. Sweet!
– Srsly. Why???
– I’m almost positive that I have developed the world’s worst Don Ameche impression. However, it may be the world’s only Don Ameche impression, which would also qualify it as the best…
– Again, WHY?!?!
– As always, so much to say but so little I want to say.
– GO HABS!! Go Arsenal!!!
– About to embark on the world’s first [afaik] WoWerHour. Let’s hope it’s tawdry…
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Every time I look in your eyes, I see St. Peter wave... · 2008-03-27 08:25
…dig my grave!
Well, kittens, I haven’t posted in a while. Sorry, but daddy’s been busy with work and whatnot. Anyway, stay tuned for a big announcement in which nothing of note will happen! Hasta la pasta, cock-knockers!
EDIT: According to “The Tman,” The Presidents of the United States of America [hereafter refered to as PUSA] have released a new album. You can get a copy through various means on the internets, or check out PUSA RADIO for free listens…
I've got a Dungeon Master's guide... · 2008-03-04 15:32
…I’ve got a 12-sided die.
R.I.P. Gary Gygax. Geeks worldwide are crying into their goblets of mead…
Ghosts · 2008-03-02 22:02
Completely unexpected, unexpectedly satisfying, and satisfyingly complex. So much to digest. Not enough coherent thoughts right now to discuss all of the aspects of this. I know, most of you don’t care. And that’s your loss.
Baby call my line... · 2008-01-26 07:51
…call me anytime.
Well, apparently I’ve been tagged, and though I hate chain letters [which this is, by the way] I’ll go along with it this time, if for no other reason that I have nothing better to write. I have no intentions of tagging anyone else with this assignment, though. I don’t like making people feel obligated to do things, unlike the assholes that come up with these dumb-ass chores. Anyway, without further stalling for time, here are five things you [probably] don’t know about me:
1.) I get an unhealthy amount of joy from singing and dancing to “Baby Don’t Forget My Number” by Milli Vanilli. I desperately want to make my own cheesy music video that both mocks and glorifies that song, and often amuse myself on long car rides by conceptualizing how the video will go.
2.) I have read less that half of the books I own, yet I continue to buy more of them.
3.) I have a 12-pack of Schlitz in my refrigerator.
4.) I have a strange fascination and desire to go out to sea, even though it scares the hell out of me.
5.) I don’t like talking about myself and have spent too much time writing and editing this list.
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It's a new year... · 2008-01-02 23:21
…careful what you pack.
So I’ve decided to forego the whole “2007 Year-End Review.” Why? Well, because I’m sick to death of them, for one. And because my posting schedule was sparse enough that you could just re-read last year’s material in about 10 minutes. Besides, you all know the salient parts anyway. I did this, I did that, blah, blah, blah. Whatevs.
Instead, I’m gonna tackle something that is more interesting to me. If you have an internets, you might have noticed that for some time there have been rumblings in the music industry. You know, piracy and all that rot. Many people, fed up by the RIAA’s shitty business practices, have decided that stealing their music is a preferable alternative to paying $20 for a CD that they only really want for one or two songs anyway. The fact that most of the profit from CD sales goes to record label execs and not artists doesn’t cause most people pangs of guilt, either.
It’s gotten so bad that the RIAA is filing questionable lawsuits against some people to protect their interests. After all, CD sales have been slipping for the past few years, causing the RIAA much grief. Some optimists are even heralding 2008 as the year the RIAA will die. Unfortunately for the RIAA, they were about 10 years behind schedule in predicting the next trend in the purchase and distribution of music: digital sales. Because of this, their sorry attempts to get back into the game have produced an equally mediocre result of mid-quality, DRM-infested songs. Apple was among the first to utilize this business model [fuck iTunes, btw] and although they have since tried to mend their ways I am still not impressed. Others have entered the online pay-per-song market, most notably Napster, Rhapsody, Wal-Mart [of course], and Amazon. I have to say, of the services that I’ve perused in the last few months, I’m not impressed yet by the idea of buying from these retailers. My reasons for this are twofold.
For one. I don’t like buying substandard music, even if it is à la carte. The act helps support too many of this things that I don’t like about the RIAA. I don’t like buying a product and being told that I can only use it one way, and will be forced to do so through hardware or software restrictions. I don’t want to buy one copy of a song for my computer and then have to buy another copy that’s compatible with my MP3 player. And I especially don’t like supporting the machine that’s responsible for churning out shitty music. Which brings me to my second point, the meat and potatoes of my rant…
Over the past few years, I’ve become [somewhat] mature enough and financially stable enough to start enjoying music the way it’s meant to be heard. I don’t need to have all of my MP3s burned in medium quality 128kbps stereo. Hard drive storage and good computer soundcards are cheap enough that a lot of people can afford better quality digital music. Without getting into which codecs are better than the rest, or which is the optimal bitrate and how it should be sampled with whichever algorithm, I can say that there are plenty of good, free, open-source choices for lossless or near-lossless digital music that are highly compatible with most players. If it weren’t such an incredible hassle, I would go back and replace my MP3 library with FLAC. Actually, I’ve started to do so on an as-necessary basis.
Now, some of you I’m sure are saying, “We’re not all audiophiles, so why should we give a fuck about whether or not your music sounds abso-fucking-lutely great?” To which I would reply: I’m not an audiophile. Not in the serious sense of the word. I’m saying the technology is available, and I intend to make use of it. I would like an online music service that will sell high-quality music competatively and without DRM restriction. I understand that offering higher-quality downloads requires more server space and more bandwidth, thus increasing costs. I have no problem paying a little more for songs that are better quality. I would like more money [if not all of it] to go to the artists, minus the overhead for the retailer, and less or none to go to record execs who, in my opinion, are much less deserving of my financial support. I would also like to listen to some music that doesn’t sound flat and unwavering. I always wondered why some of my old CDs sounded so much quieter than their newer counterparts. Now I know why. And you know what, I kinda like my music to have a little dynamic expression. I like hearing all of the little nuances of a song tucked in underneath the melody. I guess I’m just picky.
We wait for Christmas to begin... · 2007-12-23 23:16
…to see the cracking faces.
First off, lemme say that I am fucking sick of Xmas music. Actually, I have been sick of it since Xgiving.
Secondly, I have been quite lax in adhering to my posting schedule of “shit out a post at least every month.” I know, I suck. Needless to say, the last month has been hella busy [isn’t if like that for everyone?] so kindly sod off. The best you would have gotten was a post that said FUCK XMAS over and over and over. Believe me, it almost happened several times in the last week alone.
Thirdly, this is also a shitty update, but I plan on trying to do a year-end recap sometime this week. Tha being said, I’ll probably post again sometine in February.
Merry Xmas assholes!!
– BrandoClausIn a blur of serenity... · 2007-11-15 23:33
…where did everything get lost?
Well, first and foremost, I am an asshole. But we already know that.
So, the dollar is failing. Let us begin wild speculations about the inevitable “Amero”.
Longcat is loooooooooooong. Don’t ask why.
The trees are bare and the sky dims early. I love/hate this for reasons I don’t care to elaborate upon.
Blah.
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And if you look at your reflection... · 2007-11-08 23:37
…is that all you want to be?
I drive a lot, and so I think a lot. My mind wanders across all range of topics, usually leaning toward the juvenile and the perverse. Over the past year or so, however, I’ve become a little more introspective. I suppose that becomes inevitable if someone spends enough time doing monotonous tasks. My more introspective moments deal with my course in life: where am I headed, what should I be doing, and how do I do it right? Of all the thinking, mulling, and extrapolating I’ve done over the past weeks and months, I’ve come to only one conclusion:
I am a selfish, selfish man.
It seems like that is the only thing in my life I am really certain of. The fact is, I make and spend more money than I know what to do with. My quality of life is absolutely phenomenal, and I’m grateful for that. And granted, I don’t mind sharing the wealth with friends and family when needed, but I don’t consider that being charitable. That is automatic, because when the roles are reversed I get the same comforts from family and friends that I can give.
No, what I am talking about here is charity on a larger scale. My most charitable contributions end up in the give-a-penny tray at the gas station. I try to make up for this by being kind to others, for the most part. By doing things like holding the door open for the person behind me or flashing a smile at someone who’s having a bad day. And while these things sometimes please or even surprise people [especially with elderly people who never grew up having a sense of entitlement], they don’t really help. Smiles don’t feed the hungry, and common courtesy won’t clothe the cold.
Of all the people in my circle of family and friends, I consider myself to be by far the most materialistic. And while I can justify some of my outlandish and unnecessary purchases [it is my hard-earned money, after all], I can’t reconcile the fact that I don’t really give anything back. I’ve learned that money and material things can bring happiness for me, at least temporarily. But it’s not substantial; it doesn’t appease my conscience. It’s getting harder to look the other way when I see homeless people wandering the streets at night. It’s getting harder to skip over the countless stories of worldwide suffering and death that make up the daily news.
At this point I usually find myself arguing [in my head, anyway] over whether people are inherently good or bad, what the nature of those behaviors is, and why I should even concern myself. Usually, I talk in circles and end up more frustrated than before. Reading other people’s ideas don’t really help either, because I either disagree with them or get bogged down in the details. Why should I bother? I still don’t know what to think. But I feel like I should be more charitable. Maybe that’s the reason.
This rant is entirely about how I view myself, so rest assured that I don’t think less of people who don’t feel the same. If you don’t feel like being charitable, then don’t be. If you already give your time or money, then kudos. If you’re on the fence like me, think about it. But don’t do it because it makes you look good. Don’t do it because your neighbor, your teacher, or even your god tells you to. Do what you feel is right. Or not.
Call me naive, idealistic, or even a bleeding heart. I don’t believe I can cure the suffering of the world. Some of that suffering is probably deserved, anyway. I can do a little better, though. I plan on doing better.
Breathe, don't breathe... · 2007-11-06 00:18
…stay a little while, on my linoleum.
A quickie tonight, as that’s all I’m good for right now.
Tomorrow [or now, depending on when you read this] I will begin working for my new employer. Ostensibly, nothing will change during my day-to-day life in the near future, since the buyout went through smoothly. However, going from a company of a few thousand employees to a company of over 460,000 employees over a large and diverse area of business leaves me with a few more career options. I don’t know what this means for me yet, but I think it’s a good thing.
My favorite time of year is here and already it’s slipping away. The weather is great, and getting better every day. The scenery isn’t too bad either. Such a shame that the last two months of the year are always the busiest.
Had another round of visitors to Ye Olde Springfield last weekend. Good times were had by many. I always like having people come up, and after two weeks in a row it’ll be a change of pace to have an empty house this weekend. On the bright side, at least now I can walk around without pants on and leave my porn out again.
I haven’t been able to reign in my sleep schedule since I was on vacation a few weeks ago. I don’t think is has anything to do with the recent daylight savings change. More likely, it’s from staying up nights on the weekend, sleeping late on Sundays, and trying to reversio the whole procedure for Monday. That, and lengthy midday naps when I can get them.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised to hear a lot of good muzaks lately, most notably Tweaker and Saul Williams. Check out Saul for free [or $5 for a lossless download, well worth it since it all goes to the artist and NOT to a record label]. I can’t say I’m a big fan of hip-hop, but if it were more like this and less about the bling I would be more open to it. Oh yeah, the link is HERE.
I should try to get some sleep now, despite the fact that I’m wide awake. I need to actually get some work done this week without dragging ass.