Archive for April, 2009
A collection of random thoughts
Apr 30th
I don’t have anything worth talking about that could fill an entire post, so I’m just throwing random thoughts out there. You ready? Can you dig it?
I’m getting a bit fed up with MLB 2K9. It’s just too easy to hit home runs. In a game between my roommate Chris and I, we managed to hit a total of 12 home runs. In a game he played online against some random person, the two of them managed to hit 15, with each having more home runs than base hits. Ridiculous. Between the home run fest and the frame rate slow downs near foul territory, it can be a bit frustrating at times.
My new phone, the AT&T Fuze, isn’t perfect. I’m having a hard time with battery life lately. I can’t even get through the day with it, regardless of how heavy my usage may be. The GPS is also extremely slow to lock on, though an upcoming fix from AT&T is expected. Either way, I love the phone, but I can easily acknowledge that it’s not perfect.
My rib is almost completely healed. I rarely feel any pain in it unless I accidentally lay down on that side and lay on my elbow. I can’t wait to get out and actually play some basketball. I need the competition.
I finally watched “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. It’s a good movie, but I think some people really over hype it due to it’s age. Half of the punches thrown in the movie look pathetically fake and some of the acting from the smaller roles is just sadly pathetic. Maybe the film just hasn’t aged well. I’m just not sure.
This injury is starting to annoy me
Apr 23rd
I’m a guy and, sometimes, a stereotypical one, at that. When I fractured my rib, I thought it would be no big deal after a day or two. This damn thing is now starting to bug me as I find myself consistently being hindered by it.
Besides that every sneeze hurts like a son of a bitch and getting out of bed is way more painful that it should ever be, today was the first day I ever felt truly held back by my fractured rib. After work, I went to the park with my roommate, Chris, to play some basketball. I can’t stretch, reach for the ball, run, rebound, or shoot any deep shots without nearly killing myself. All I could do was gingerly shoot around and walk after stray shots. It sucked. I wanted to play a game, no matter how out of game shape I am. I couldn’t and it’s really bugging me.
There’s no point to this post other than allowing me to whine a bit. I want to get healthy as soon as possible so that I can actually play ball, a bit, every now an then.
Stuck in Repair
Apr 15th
Allow me a moment to not keep it together
Put it all through the shredder and destroy every letter
The only way to get better is to fall to the bottom
Instead of clawing at walls that are built on the problem
Cause I’ll never solve them if my focus is wasted
On a stack of what’s baseless while I’m lacking the patience
The track of this hatred can just burn up a spirit
It’s an addiction I love, though, I know I should fear it
Cause I’m peerless by choice when I’m blinded by redness
I’m destructive and pathetic in every word of the sentence
And while I work in the presence of the sabotage that I cling to
I forget all the stress and the barrage that it brings you
The way that it stings you, clocks your bell and then rings you
And how, when you sleep, it awakes you to ping you
The way that it brings you to the holes that I fell through
Through the tears the I cry and the words that I tell you
But the hurt that I sell you, shouldn’t be up for purchase
It’s mine that I made in this search for a purpose
The rings of this circus have been built by insanity
These thoughts can result in a bit of calamity
An inner self tragedy where burdens are carried
And tied to a soul to which they want to be married
Though if they could be parried, I’d give up the affair
But this luck is unfair and I stay stuck in repair
Notes: It’s been a while since I’ve written anything this fast paced and tied together so well.
Crappy carnivals and fractured ribs
Apr 11th
You’d be surprised how easily the former can lead to the latter.
Wednesday, Melanie and I went to a carnival that was open in her neighborhood. It was small and crappier than most carnivals/feasts. We went anyways and took our chances on a few rides that looked like they were being run by drunken Mexicans and held together by rust and a prayer. The haunted ride was laughable and the ferris wheel shook a bit too much when the wind blew. The scrambler was a bit too much spinning for me, but I didn’t get sick. The bumper cars did me in, though.
Well, I think the bumper cars are what resulted in my injury. There were no seat belts, just a loose lap bar and, being a tad taller than the average person, I had to cram myself into the vehicle. After the five or so minutes on the ride, I exited with, what I thought, was stiffness in my right side. After leaving the carnival and heading back to Melanie’s, I decided to lie down on her bed. When I went to get back up, I felt a sharp pain in my rib cage and knew something was definitely wrong. After some self diagnosis and a quick look by her grandmother (who used to be a nurse), it would appear that I have a fractured rib on my right side.
It’s a good injury to have, in a way, because there’s no needed trip to the doctor (not an option when you don’t have health insurance). You just have to take it easy and let it heal itself. The problem is, though, that the smallest movements have the potential of aggravating it and causing a lot of pain. I’m still trying to figure out how to get out of bed without killing myself.
This is one of those “only me” moments. Let me tell you, though, a sneeze becomes such a frightening action when you have a fractured rib. You feel it coming on and know that, in a few seconds, you’re bound for a ton of pain and there’s little you can do to stop it.
A whole podcast about me
Apr 7th
There’s been an ongoing series of podcasts, over at Neowin, entitled “Meet the Staff.” The idea is pretty simple: The host (warwagon) interviews prominent staff members and helps the community get to know them better by focusing on their personal lives instead of just technology news.
Well, the fourth episode in this series happens to be about me. It wound up being a pretty long interview since I tend to talk a bit more than most people (partially because I’m comfortable with the podcast format, as opposed to some other staff members who are new to it). Either way, we cover everything from my first computer, to my love life, to some of my memories of Neowin. If you’re bored and think I’m even a little interesting, check it out. I tried to be entertaining.
Listen: Meet the Staff: bangbang023
A Lesson on Fire
Apr 7th
This was one of the funniest scenes of The Office that I’ve ever had the privilege to watch.
Nemesis
Apr 5th
Your power is confined to this temporary situation
Taste of what is factual hidden in this dissertation
Craving like the darkness for a drink of what’s to spill
Uncaring and so heartless, I am driven by temptation’s thrill
You’ve become my nemesis
As I seek for an end to this
You’ve become my nemesis
And I fiend for an end to it
An end to you
Not a man and never more, nothing but a jester whore
Reality is emptiness and a taste of what’s in store
Chauffeur to the desperate and the villains all the same
A smile doesn’t matter much when the teeth have all been stained
You’ve become my nemesis
As I search for an end to this
And I fiend for an end to it
And an end to you
I won’t beg and I won’t shatter
Silent through what doesn’t matter
Watching as you twitch and clamor
Praying for a sound to stammer
Every demon that’s held dear
Every breath behind your jeer
Mingle til they see the day
When all your angels go away
You’ve become my nemesis
As I search for an end to this
And I fiend for an end to it
And an end to you
End to you
End to you
Little evil messages that will be the end of you
Notes: The music that would accompany these lyrics is heavily inspired by Tool and A Perfect Circle. I’ve been listening to them a lot, lately.
