Ranting for Fun and Profit

The Haul

2008-12-25T16:15:05Z

Various Candy - notables include a box of Quality Street, Reisen, and some Jelly Belly beans.
A Galileo Thermometer
Chrono Trigger DS
A LOLCats Book
Ocean's Thirteen DVD
Mug (with some hot chocolate)
Two shirts
SOCKS
A zip-up sweater
Gift Cards (Future Shop and Chapters)

My wife is SMRT and I am DMB.

2008-12-24T23:47:31Z

So, we have a real tree. Not a fan myself (of trees at all, live ones in particular), but A* likes them. We also have this fancy auto-watering stand. It has a removable bottle-thing to place into a receptacle, and it keeps the water level at a decent level.

Unfortunately, last night it sprung a leak somewhere. All of a sudden we had water all around the base, and I couldn't figure out why. I went through two rolls of paper towel, until A* mentions we should just water it from a can instead.

So I remove the reservoir, and lo and behold, the problem. The valve that's supposed to make a seal and prevent backflow wasn't sealing, so backflow. Remove the reservoir, no backflow. Viola.

My wife is SMRT. I am DMB.

Dear Denizens of Fanfiction.net

2008-12-11T04:17:18Z

Seriously, people. If I have to page down more than twice to get though your profile so I can see your ficlist, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Get a freaking myspace/facebook page.

20 1st Lines Meme

2008-12-08T17:44:39Z

Note that I had to cheat my arse off for this. I have a lot of non-music (comedy) and no lyric (pure instrumental) tracks in my iPod.

Oh the heads that turn
We are Americans
I know you think that I shouldn't still love you,
Oh, I can't wait to get next to you
I'm so worried about about what's happening today
Well grab your shoes and grab your balls
This is the part of the song
Think I'm gonna stay home
She's a Rebel, She's a Saint
We both lie silently still
Some of us, we're hardly ever here
I put a wheel in her right hand
Oh...come back proud Canadians,
There once was a town when the country was wild
Rat-tailed Jimmy is a second hand hood
Calling out to Idiot America
When I look around me
Mutual sight, Mutual sound
I could stay awake just to hear you breathin'
Times have changed and times are strange

She Sells Sanctuary (Cult),
Americans (Corky and the Juice Pigs)
White Flag (Dido)
Ashanti's Letterbomb (Dean Gray)
I'm So Worried (Monty Python)
Let's Go Bowling (arrogant Worms)
The Grunge Song (Corky and the Juice Pigs)
Home Life (John Mayer)
She's a Rebel (Green Day)
Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison)
Vultures (John Mayer)
Grandma - Live (Corky and the Juice Pigs)
War of 1812 (Arrogant Worms)
Steel Drivin' Man (Arrogant Worms)
Dr. Feelgood (Motley Crue)
Boulevard of Broken Songs (Dean Gray)
Canada is Really Big (Arrogant Worms)
Owwn Little World (Cellweller)
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing (Aerosmith)
Momma I'm Coming Home

Just Testing the Waters...A Skippy's List for SN

2008-11-03T06:29:05Z

In the tradition of my last variant on Skippy's List, I'm considering doing one for Supernatural. Before I go forward, I'd like to see what the interest would be.

It'd be titled 'Bobby's List of Things The Winchester Brothers Are No Longer Allowed To Do'.

I'd run the one a little different. Instead of going for comments, I'll do a series of posts with a submission email address, so I can manage them better. The Xander's List got a bit hard to manage.

So, let me know. If I get a resounding 'yes' I'll go ahead.

(And if you were sent here by the wonderful amystar, hi!)

Oh ye who love the rock, I beseech you...

2008-10-31T14:54:52Z

...explain to me the need for concerts to be played so damn LOUD?

So, last night A* and I went to the local Uni's bar, where they had David Usher playing, with Crash Parallel covering.

Note: Tickets said 8PM on them. Apparently, that was the 'doors open' time, as the bloody show didn't start for an HOUR AND A HALF. *&#$(*@#&!!

The Crash Parallel lead singer was getting off a cold, so his voice was off. They were still good enough that I picked up their CD from the swag dude, anyway. But to make up for the fact that his voice was off, the bloody sound guy turned up the effects and volume. And then didn't turn them down for David Usher.

I don't get it. I enjoy *music*. I like hearing it, being able to appreciate the guitar, the base, the drums, the accompanyment, and the singer. I do not enjoy having to plug my ears to drown out a substantial amount of the meaningless, ear splitting, discordant NOISE being pumped out of the speakers because of the insistance that I not only must hear the music, I must feel it in my cellular structure.

I wish someone would explain it to me. What's the point of having it that loud?

I swear to Fnord, next concert, I'm going to steal some of those yellow foam earplugs from work and wear them. I'll have a better time.

Gamestop/Electronics Boutique are not bad Rant

2008-10-21T15:04:33Z

Brought to you by the latest bitching about EB/GS I've been subjected to, in which some guy complained about a bad experience with a specific employee.

Warning, naughty words.

*sigh* For fuck's sake. I'm tired of this anti-GS shit. So you had a bad experience with a specific employee. That does not mean the company is bad.

The GS (well, EB) I go to has been good to me for years. They know me. They acknowledge my continued patronage, they appreciate it, and they make sure *I* know they appreciate it. I get calls if there's a game out I might like. They don't bother me with the game warranty or trade in your games speeches.

As for reserves? Here they're REQUIRED, my friend. A lot of times they only get enough copies to fill the reserve, since my location is sometimes treated as an afterthought - which means if you don't have a reserve you're out of luck for at least a week, sometimes longer.

Sure, BB or somewhere else may be a great place to pick up games instead of EB/GS...if they happen to get the game. Up here in my corner of Canuckistan, the BB (or Future Shop) often don't get games on release day (or a day later) like EB/GS does. Sometimes they're as much as a week later. Sure, for an AAA title like Spore they'll have it in, but Dead Space? The local one didn't have one until 3 days later, and I sincerely doubt they'll have the PC version for a week or two after it's released, if they'll carry it at all. They're all about DVDs, 360, Wii, and PS3. Not to mention the fact that if the game's a month old, FS is usually more expensive, since they never price drop. And lets not go into the useless wastes of space they have working there.

Amazon's a nice idea, in the US, but for Amazon.ca, not so much. You have to spend $39 to get free shipping, and that's usually 5-10 days, and uses Canada Post, which is not so big on the package security angle - they often just leave packages on your front door, where they're sometimes stolen. Amazon.COM is bloody expensive to order from - $23 shipping for the last game I checked. Not to mention the fact that they (Amazon.ca) don't always ship on release day, and are often delayed a couple days.

And the alternate gamer stores aren't any better. We have 2 'mom and pop' game stores. One's really good for odd peripherals (best place in the city to get DS screen protectors), and the other's good for getting a fungal infection, since I don't think they've cleaned the place since Reagan was in office. As for game sales? They're usually 10-20% more expensive than Future Shop, let alone EB/GS. And the staff - yipes.

So yeah, it's fun to pick on EB/GS when they're one of a 1000 alternatives that all make a point of being useful, but when they're the best game in town not just for the way their corporation runs their business, but also for their staff - they get my business and my loyalty.

On politics.

2008-10-05T14:40:45Z

While my American friends are busy with their election, Canada is having one too. Basically, the Tories, who haven't been doing a *really* bad job IMO - like their fiscal policy, hate their social - have decided they don't like having a minority government, and are going for a majority.

I'm not going to go into the parties, I'm going to talk about my problem. In my riding there's a Tory candidate who has basically been owning this riding since he first won it (10 years or so). He's a fucking nut. Like so Religious/Conservative he's not entirely sure *fire* was a good idea. So conservative he doesn't like changing is underwear.

I don't care who wins the federal election, I just want this wackjob OUT.

www.morecowbell.dj

2008-09-20T15:45:54Z

So very wrong, but so very right.

Oh for Fnord's sake...HP Parodies.

2008-09-19T05:38:14Z

Does every bloody web comic in creation have to do a freaking HP parody?

Clothing: Okay, this makes no sense to me.

2008-09-18T22:27:51Z

Why does two different COLOURS of the same brand/model of jeans fit completely differently? I mean, the waist and the rise seem different. And it's consistent over multiple pairs of those jeans - the dark wash is more comfortable than the light wash.

Weird.

Cooking with Chris: Brining Pork Chops

2008-09-16T22:12:22Z

So, I'm trying this 'brining' thing, in which you basically soak the meat in a high-salt, high-sugar solution before cooking.

What I did so far:

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground pepper (fresh)
1 tsp Roasted Garlic & Pepper blend (from Clubhouse)
1 cup HOT water
1 bottle dark beer

1) Take the sugar and salt, and mix with stupidly hot water (boiling may be better, I used hottest my tap would give). Whisk to mix.
2) Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.
3) SLOWLY Add the bottle of beer - you don't want a mess. Whisk to flatten the beer and mix.

This left me with about 2.5 cups of liquid. I took a glass tray and placed the chops in there, perforated them, and poured the mix over. I suspect using a zip lock bag may be a better idea, but this seemed to work. We'll see. I'll update with how they taste after I fry them up.

Edit:
1) Note to self, make sure you drain the meat thoroughly before cooking. Probably wouldn't have been a problem if I grilled it, but in the frying pan all the leftover brine turned into pure saltiness.
2) More sugar, less salt.

Overall, *really* nice, though. I'd like to try something similar on chicken. I advise some nice fresh bread for the juices.

Did I win or lose?

2008-08-22T23:34:16Z

I'm not sure if I managed to be up or down on this incident. So, I had my accident, car was a write off, right? Well, I'm looking at my finanaces, and I feel weird.

If I hadn't had the accident, I *probably* would have managed to pay off my Line of Credit, my CC, and have the car paid off by April (or May).

Because I *did* have the accident, I have paid off my line of credit, my CC, have a few hundred bucks in the bank (which likely means nicer present for Amy for XMas) and have new car, but I now have a car loan that I'm going to have 5 years to pay off. Oh, it's 0% interest on that.

So. Win, or lose? I feel rather odd about the whole thing.

Good/Evil Choices in Games.

2008-08-04T17:24:20Z

So I'm replaying Bioshock. In said game, your only real choice is whether to kill or save members of a group. Clearly saving them is the 'good' choice, and that's what I did when I played it the first time.

Now, normally, when replaying a game, people try for the endings they missed. However, I'm discovering something odd about myself.

I can't choose the 'evil' side. Can't do it in any of the Bioware games (except Mass Effect, where the there's no good and evil, only inclusive vs isolationist), can't do it in any of the RPGs I play. When I try, I feel anxious and vaguely ill, like I'm about to so something very wrong.

I'm honestly curious about this - at first glance, I'd call that a positive thing, but as I think about it I'm forced to wonder if it's a form of intellectual cowardice.

Hmm.

Dear Fandom:

2008-08-03T15:11:46Z

Why does every damn character have to either be a saint or a monster? Why can't they just be people with complex motivations and noteworthy/damnworthy character aspects? Cripes.

I wish I still had that essay I wrote once on why Claudius was a good guy and Hamlet was a dangerous nutbar that needed to be put down.

I has a new car!

2008-07-31T22:24:55Z

Not a newER car, and actual new car. *dances*

2008 Saturn Aura XE. Ocean Mist (kind of grey from a distance, and gets bluer as you get closer).

Is all nice and shiny.

Oh, because I forgot, the parts of the car story you missed:

1) I got 11600 from the iinsurer. Which means my car lost $2300 in value over 4.5 years. Which means I essentially drove it free.
2) As a car purchasing customer, I am an *ass*. I played those guys against each other without any sort of scruples whatsoever. Visited everyone, got prices on the cars I liked, and when I finally went to buy the car I wanted, I basically told them to 'beat that'.
3) Does anyone actually fall for that clearcoat/fabric coat/undercoat crap?
4) Wow, loan insurance isn't cheap. Costs me an extra $8/mo for life insurance.

Car Update 4? I think.

2008-07-25T05:18:08Z

This might count as five, I don't know.

So. Apparently the body shop reported the repair cost to SGI. Cost is like $900 over the limit the insurer gave them.

Speaking of which, $9600? WTH? If we take the 75% value damage limit the insurer uses, that puts the value of my car at like $12800. I *paid* $14k for it. So in 4.5 years it only lost $1.2k of value?! Even if I drop that original vlaue by $1.5k for the previous damage (which was claimed on already) we're looking at $10800, which is still huge.

Of course, now I have to wait for the Total Loss Department to make a final decision. Which *should* take hours, but will probably take days. Yay. I just want to go buy a car, damnit!

Car Update the Third

2008-07-22T15:40:02Z

It's a writeoff. *sigh* Now I have to wait for the bloody insurer to give me the cheque, and hope it's a fair amount so I don't have to take it to arbitration. I'd like to point out this has taken almost *3* weeks. Cripes.

ETA: Or not. WTF, insurer? Apparently they're still working out the final repair cost, so even though it's fairly obvious it's a writeoff, I still have to wait for a final number. Incase they change their mind and decide to repair it anyway. For more than $9.2k. When the fair value of the car is only $10k. WTF?

A HP fanfic convention I wonder about.

2008-07-19T22:51:42Z

Why when Harry (or whomever) flees England to go elsewhere, does he 9/10 go to Australia?

Okay, when does the other shoe drop?

2008-07-19T14:42:07Z

You ever have a project that goes so damn *perfectly* the only thing you're left with a vague feeling of disappointment/apprehension that nothing went sideways?

That was my major installation Thursday. Everything went *perfectly* and we were done 2.5h earlier than I expected. Sure, there were some minor annoyances the next day, but they were not even 2-minute problems. I deal with worse on a daily basis.

Now, it *could* be said I got all the bad luck out of the way over the year-log delays it took to actually get the work started, but still, it was kinda freaky.

So. Much. Epic. Win.

2008-07-19T03:31:08Z

http://www.drhorrible.com/

GO, damn you. NOW.

Sick.

2008-07-17T14:23:28Z

Amy and I went to Taste of Saskatchewan last night, this big 'festival' thing where all sorts of local restaurants set up kiosks to sell small portions of their food at. Each one has 3 items, and it costs $2-4 for each one.

After our visit last night, I was feeling okay. An hour and a half later, I was so tired I had to go to bed. A few hours after that, I woke up in such stomach pain I was moaning out loud (how Amy didn't hear me I'll never know) and had to go camp out in the bathroom for about a half-hour, because I was sure I was going to be sick.

This morning I don't feel much better.

I can't afford to be sick today. I've got a major switchover happening at work, and I'm going to have to be there late.

NOT happy.

What the hell?

2008-07-17T03:28:53Z

Since when is LJ putting things in auto-cuts with a big 'may not be suitable for minors' warnings on it?

'Scuse me whilst I roll my eyes so hard I risk a sprain.

Car Update the Second

2008-07-15T15:14:48Z

So. I had my appointment with the adjuster. His estimate is $6780 to repair the car, and I'm pretty sure that's about $280 over the insurer's 'write it off' limit.

After some argument, I managed to get them to send it off for a 'repair cost' estimate, where they send it to the body shop, they do a quick look at it, and if they can repair it for less than the estimate (using used/aftermarket parts, but still guarranteed) then they'll repair it. Also, the previous damage (hit and run) might also affect all this.

I'm kind of hoping they *do* decide to repair it. Even with all the extra money this is costing me, I'd rather end up with being paid off on everything (except my house) by April-June, and not have to suck down *another* car loan, even if it's going to be for a newer car with better gas milage/nicer stuff/etc.

*sigh*

Here's hoping I hear back from them soonish.

Update: They called, and the 'limit' for the total repairs from *both* claims, the front-impact and the hit-n-run, is $9200. As it stands, the expected cost is about $8500. What this means is, I have to wait for the autobody shop to do a 'tear down estimate' on the front-end damage to find out if they total-loss it. Yay, more waiting.

Car Update

2008-07-11T05:26:04Z

So, I finally found out why it took so damn long for me to get an appoitment with the adjuster at my insurer - apparently the adjuster my case was assigned to had been taking 4 day weekends for the past couple weeks, but because he wasn't on official vacation, he was still getting a full load of cases - and falling pathetically behind. I bitched and got my case moved to someone else.

So meeting time is Tuesday at 8am. Whee. I remain hopeful they'll write it off (which means newer used car for Chris) but knowing my luck, no joy. I'm wondering if the pre-existing damage claim on the car (minor hit and run damage) may affect that.

Kinda ticked about the way it looks like my license points will get hit. Currently I'm at +4 points. I'll lost 4 points for that ticket, and 6 for the accident, putting me at -6. If they hit me with the ticket first, I drop to 0 and then -6, and end up paying nothing due to their double-strike rules. Accident first, I hit -2 then -6, for some small penalty. Where it gets really fun is I'll probably have to appeal because they might not apply the double-strike rule properly. Whee.

Could be worse - one of my co-workers had a *cherry* Fiat Spider that got totalled, and stupid insurance company put his cost of replacement at $800, because they found one for that much in BC - which, upon investigation was a hulk with massive body damage, no suspension, and no engine. His appraiser's estimate is that the car was worth $20k at least. So he's in arbitration. Fun.

Now, the current question is do I just want to keep the rental car over the weekend (at $35 - essentially Sunday free) or do I want to save the money and return it Saturday morning, and rent another Monday?

Hmm.

Oh, random thought for the day: Why do we write ten kilometers as 10 km, ten miles as 10 mi, ten pounds as 10 lbs, 10 decibels as 10 db, but 10 dollars is $10?

Weird.