Phantom

Comic-Con brain dump

2008-08-02T05:17:07Z

I need a break from homework, so here's the complete, almost Twitter-y brain-purge of everything that I can think of from the vacation.

- Palm Springs was a great place to visit, but could never live there. 106 degrees in the summer, and we lost power on the first day. Losing power in Seattle means, at worst, you need extra blankets in the winter. Losing power in Palm Springs mean you watch the thermostat in terror as you have no AC to keep you cool.

- Mark of a good vacation: we went to a casino and I walked away up $40 from playing blackjack. I promptly spent that money getting everyone booze.

- Booze happened a lot, actually. Erik and Ashley (our hosts) are big fans of cocktail nights, as were we. :)

- The line for Comic-Con preview night damn near scared Val away from the whole thing. But it eventually got under control.

- Val's original plan: attend a few panels, then leave me to do my own thing while she goes to the hotel and watches VH1. Instead, she actually had a blast with everything. She's even interested in trying out Spore after attending the Will Wright panel. This is a woman who's had such bad gaming experiences that she couldn't figure out how to crash the car in Burnout. When we were at the airport, she was already trying to make plans to go next year. I had to actually talk her out of it.

- Best panels: Will Wright (as good as his games are, his PowerPoint presentations are better). Entertainment Weekly's Visionaries panels (for TV: Chuck's Josh Schwartz, Lost's Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, Pushing Daisies' Bryan Fuller, and Sarah Conner Chronicles Josh Friedman; For film: Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, Zach Snyder and Frank Miller). And Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog on a projection screen was awesome.

- Worst panel: World of Warcraft managed to ensure Val will NEVER play with me, as the questioners were some of the biggest neckbeards I've ever seen. The final question was par for the course, as some dipshit chick from Goon Squad asked a panel that was largely about the assorted merchandising products plus Blizz's main lore guy a convoluted question about why Blacksmithing wasn't raid-viable. Also, any panel where the line was too long for me to actually get in. Dollhouse, I'm looking at you.

- Got to meet ehadams and Ches! Or El and Gary. You pick how you want to refer to them. Either way, they were good people and it was cool hanging out. Sadly, I forgot that I was wearing a camera around my neck and thus forgot to document it.

And on that note, I'm going back to work!

So I had my wisdom teeth out today...

2008-06-20T23:38:01Z

And I have to say: not nearly as traumatic as I've been expecting. I had the surgery around 7:30 this morning (all four teeth done) and have spent most of the day resting in bed and eating yogurts. I'm a bit light-headed from the combo of hydrocodone, ibuprofen and antibiotics, but so far, so good.

I'm told Sunday will probably suck, though.

This link is full of win

2008-05-01T02:24:27Z

http://impulsivemp3.blogspot.com/2006/04/theme-death-cab-for-cutie-covers.html

Death Cab For Cutie, covering all sorts of people in various odd recordings.

It's a treasure trove for me, just because I've been trying forever to get a decent copy of the "Hungry Like A Wolf" cover from the 826 Seattle fundraiser from 2005. Death Cab For Cutie teaming with Mike Doughty of Soul Coughing, and LEMONY FUCKING SNICKET on the accordian/backing vocals.

And Ben Gibbard covering Michael Jackon's "Thriller" is just too absurd for me not to love it.

This summer's gonna kill me, music-wise

2008-04-26T04:02:01Z

So far, this year's seen new CDs from Nada Surf, NIN, Chris Walla, Gnarls Barkley, Flight of the Conchords, Magnetic Fields, and the Presidents of the USA.

Now, in the next month alone, we'll have:

Nerf Herder
Local H
Death Cab for Cutie
and reportedly ANOTHER new NIN album.

And the Cure is due out for a new double album soon.

My poor aching wallet. :(

Bye, Greg

2008-02-28T20:30:54Z

So most folks have probably heard this already, through FO, the GoG forums, or just through other LJ posts. But Greg Gilbert, aka ggilbert on Forumopolis and who I mostly new as Gregil in WoW, passed away of a heart attack yesterday. He was 27.

I don't know that I can say I knew him as well as everyone else. In terms of gaming, we didn't interact much outside of the general conversation channels. He was one of the "A-list" folks, and I've never been more than a part-timer. But I remember him as a great guy, and now I dearly wish I'd made the time to get to know him better.

phantompvp @ 2008-02-03T00:06:00

2008-02-03T08:08:48Z

I'm breaking two months of radio silence for this: I just saw Buttrock Suites tonight at the Triple Door.

If your in the Seattle area, were born before 1990, and have not seen this show, YOU MUST GO. I, in the meanwhile, have a newly-found urge to download Ratt and Scorpions MP3s off iTunes.

A liquor entry: the Chocolate Truffle

2007-12-09T05:56:15Z

1 oz Chocolate liquor
1 oz Kahlua
1/2 oz dark rum
splash of Cuarenta y Tres (a spanish vanilla-flavored liquor)
splash of Chambord
2 oz milk

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass.

This is a concoction I threw together over Thanksgiving, and which I just hammered myself on tonight. IT IS THE BOMB. The Cuarenta is tricky to find, but it's goodness.

I just had the most brilliant idea

2007-11-26T08:40:21Z

You know those giant inflatable things that you usually see on car lots? Like the giant monkeys and whatnot?

I just had the idea to create a giant inflatable Nativity scene in that style, to sell to megachurches. Here's the kicker: as part of the design, the giant baby Jesus inflates separately, so you don't have to inflate him until December 25th.

...I'm so going to Hell for this idea. But you can't tell me it won't sell.

EDIT: In the course of market research, I stumbled upon this glorious website!

phantompvp @ 2007-10-31T20:37:00

2007-11-01T03:38:30Z

My homework for this week: come up with three campaigns for Oberto Beef Jerky.

I'm currently gorging myself on research. Mmm....

I just took a massive dump...

2007-10-30T06:02:56Z

...from my camera. I still haven't had a chance to go through all the pictures for the past month.

But in the meantime, here's my dick in a box.

phantompvp @ 2007-10-12T20:55:00

2007-10-13T03:55:54Z

Val just bought me the Orange Box for an early birthday gift.

BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER EEEEEEE!!!

Homework

2007-10-02T06:01:43Z

First week of class, and the assignment is to come up with three full campaigns for Maglite 4D flashlights.

I think I have three good ideas, but I'm sorely, sorely tempted to add Val's idea for an unsolicited fourth: "Cro-Maglite." Because, as much as I tell her, "Oh, I really don't want to use puns" and yadda yadda.... dude, Cro-Maglite is fucking RIPE with opportunity there. Hopefully not in the annoying Geico way, too.

Back from Hawaii!

2007-09-30T07:14:11Z

Hawaii was absofrickinlutely beautiful. I am a tanned nerd.

Although not nearly as tanned as Andreas, my sister's supertan ~~boyfriend~~ FIANCE!!! Seriously, it took those two long enough. I think the carbon in her diamond took an entire volcano to produce. The thing's a gargantuan beast.

Other cool things:

- Papacito had a blast, which is good because the whole thing was about him. He was a bit put out that Andreas did not do the proposal in front of everyone, because that's how things are apparently done in Puerto Rico, and we had to remind him that he's not in Puerto Rico anymore. But I think being around all the hula girls and bikini babes lightened his mood. :)

- Val and I both developed colds, which kinda sucked.

- I learned that while I love swimming, I cannot scuba. The pressure in my ears absolutely killed me after 15 feet of depth. My dad, however, loved the experience and almost spent $150 to get fully certified before realizing that scuba in Puget Sound would be extremely cold.

- While being unable to scuba, I was able to trade for jetskiing and I learned that I'm a rock star at it. :D Or at the very least, I'm better at driving jetskis in a circle than most 18-year-old Japanese schoolgirls.

- Speaking of which, I did not realize that the population of Hawaii is at least 30% 18-year-old Japanese schoolgirl. Somehow this part was skipped on all the orientation videos. At first I thought this was cool, and thought I might be able to find some cool Japanese import stores on the island. I had no such luck, and eventually realized that people from Japan have no need to fly to Hawaii to buy imported versions of their own crap.

- Sushi rolls made with Spam is damned fine cuisine.

I took a lot of pics, including a few that I could probably sell for $20 a pop at local fairs. I'll try to get some of those up later, along with anecdotes. :)

Phantom: coming soon to a convention near you!

2007-09-18T02:06:24Z

This is going to be a busy year.

In six days, we fly out for Hawaii for Papacito's 80th birthday. It's currently 58-degrees, and I'm probably the only person in Seattle who's shopping for shorts and flip-flops.

Meanwhile, Val just bought tickets Sunday night for the comic convention. You know, the one in San Diego? BEST GIRLFRIEND EVER. It's all part of our big West-Coast road trip that we'll be running next year.

All that, and also a suite at the Doubletree for Norwescon 2008. And PAX, too.

In non-con news, Sunday night was my last WoW night until December. I'm making the choice to quit outright while I'm in school, because it's too much of a distraction otherwise. I've tried juggling it in teh past, or scaling it back, and it's still interrupted my focus. So I'm shoving it to the side, and will maybe pick it up again briefly during Christmas break.

Lastly: Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream. A free, four-disc techno remix project using the music of FFVII as a template. If you like electronic or orchestral tracks, or are a fan of FF7 like me who is now totally nostalgic for the game, then this is worth a download.

This link is for Chris Trice

2007-08-22T01:50:53Z

So Val and I have a friend, Stacey, who did a short film. It ended up on YouTube, and Stacey asked us to check it out?

Chris, do you recognize this co-star?

Because I'm addicted to Flight of the Conchords, and must share.

2007-08-07T01:21:15Z

Goodspaceguy Nelson for president!

2007-08-03T06:47:35Z

I know he's only running for King County, but I think this guy's got what it takes to go all the way.

"To lower the cost of medical care, let us allow more people to work and compete in medical care."

I mean, duh, how obvious is that? Where's your Michael Moore NOW?

"Spend the library money first on opening the libraries, instead of hiring highly paid staff at above market rates which then requires closing the libraries because there is not enough money for both highly paid staff at above market rates and open libraries."

Because any idiot can be a librarian! Why the hell should we pay them a lot?

And from the King County Voter's Guide...

"Governments should make showers available to our people and should give employment as helpers to minimum wage applicants. We could then open our libraries more and investigate more crimes. Governments would then be supporting the minimum wage (minimum wages cause unemployment among people-with-problems.) Governments should be the employers-of-last-resort. Unemployment is a huge waste."

Unemployment IS a huge waste! Unemployed people should be helpers! That's how Santa solved the problem of unemployed elves!

Preach on, Goodspaceguy. Preach on.

(In all seriousness: if you're a Seattle resident, vote for Lauren Briel for City Council position 1. Lauren bears the unique distinction of being my former neighbor, and Val's treasurer on her campaign. I sincerely believe that Lauren's a terrific candidate for the position, though you wouldn't know it because of the way the local media has completely blown her off, and I'd really like to see her succeed in this.)

Re: Harry Potter

2007-07-23T06:54:44Z

I've never read a book so fast out of fear that it'd be accidentally spoiled for me by some loudmouth on a bus to work. I don't think I've ever before read something that was part of a huge nationwide phenomenon. I'm not sure I'll ever get the chance to do it again my lifetime. As much as I love ASoIaF, I can't see it being the sort of book that a huge cross-section of people will be talking about in the streets, as has been the case here. I'm actually kinda sad about that.

But the job is done. And best of all, the book was a satisfying conclusion.

phantompvp @ 2007-07-14T09:01:00

2007-07-14T16:02:39Z

Val just had her gallbladder surgery yesterday, so she's laid up in bed. Meanwhile, I'm just kinda chilling out waiting for the new sofa couch to arrive from IKEA.

Otherwise, same old same old.

phantompvp @ 2007-07-04T16:00:00

2007-07-04T23:01:05Z

Transformers rocked. Even if the plot was directly lifted from Independance Day.

phantompvp @ 2007-06-25T18:28:00

2007-06-26T01:29:49Z

Chris Benoit was found dead with his family today.

I can't remember the last time I was this stunned by the death of an entertainer. But this guy was just spectacular.

phantompvp @ 2007-06-18T20:38:00

2007-06-19T03:42:50Z

Star Wars Hero's Guide should not be this hard to locate, even if it IS out of print. My Sunday D&D group is starting a Star Wars campaign, and I've been trying to find the book to get access to the prestige classes (and also to help Dan map out his feral Wookie Martial Artist). The cheapest I can find is on eBay, and even there it's $45.

As for me: I'll be playing Tresso Wee, a Gungan Scoundrel with an emphasis on starship piloting and thievery. I'm kinda seeing him as what you'd get if you put Han Solo, Malcolm Reynolds, and Sir Apropos of Nothing into a blender with Jar-Jar.

It's alive... IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!

2007-06-18T07:14:37Z

I *finally* have a fully-functioning computer with a consistent internet connection. It's been two weeks.

The problems started on the 31st. As I was going to bed that night, my PC just died. I suspect it was due to buildup, but my old power supply was fried. That was easy enough to fix, but getting back online was a different story.

It seems that while Ryan was packing up his computer, he unplugged and replugged the router. However, he confused the plug for the router with the plug for his 400W speaker system. As he described it, he could actually see the soul of the router escaping in the ensuing puff of smoke.

He tried to get me a refurbished router from his new roommate. But after a week of trying to get it to configure, the thing was just unreliable. By all accounts, it's a common problem . Ryan's said he's willing to give me $50 to offset the cost of replacing the router. In the meanwhile, I was able to get a new router (different brand) which has been running voer a couple hours now with no problems. So I'm back!

I'm also living with a girl now. She's very pretty and smells very nice, and is waiting for me to go to bed since we have to work tomorrow. So I'll have to talk about that in a later post.

I'm a sheep

2007-05-31T00:44:03Z

Ask me a question, and I shall answer it someday!

D'oh.

2007-05-29T09:02:06Z

My mouse has been dying, so I needed an upgrade. After thinking it over, I decided to splurge, and picked up the new Logitech MX Revolution. Yes, I dropped $100 on a mouse today.

From what I read, it sounded like a very solid mouse that would work well with all the graphics work I was doing. The reviews I saw all talked about how incredibly accurate it was. And in theory, a wireless, rechargable laser mouse would have fit me perfectly, considering I still use my dad's old oak computer desk which low-res optical mice have a hard time with, and I hate mousepads.

But it's driving me nuts. For one thing, the mousewheel is terrible. They built this fancy "frictionless" wheel, so it has no resistance. The problem is that resistance turns out to be how most other mice-wheels know when to stop spinning. I'll be reading a page, nudge the mouse slightly, and have the picture in front of me shift because the motion caused the wheel to start moving. Beyond that, I forgot exactly how much of a strategic error it is to have a wireless device when I live in the shadow of three radio towers. Having your mouse lose its signal while you're maneuvering a web page or text document is annoying. Having it lose signal while you're trying to play whack-a-heal in a World of Warcraft raid and watching people die because your curser can't reach them is really, really annoying.

So I'll be taking it back, and probably picking up a fewer-frills, corded model. It was an interesting experiment, and there's probably a moral in here about how luxery items aren't really luxeries. But dammit, it seemed cool at the time.

EDIT: I hereby officially retract all complaints about the mousewheel. I just found out that it actually has a programmable toggle, so it can switch between original click-wheels and free-spinning depending on the program you're working in. That is really, really fucking cool.

It still has occasional hickups where the signal fades, but meh.

This also probably changes the moral. The new moral is "Sometimes cool shiny shit can be really cool and shiny."