Musings { Blogasm

I don't know where this is going, I just thought I would drop a stream of consciousness all up in here.

I turn 31 next week. I am a little bummed about it, but only because I am no longer in my 20s. 30 has not been bad at all and I will miss it. For my birthday all I really want is to see my parents. So I think I will.

4 days later I travel with Nerdwife and Celesathene for 20+ hours on a road trip to Idaho for a friends wedding, then hurry back for the guy hanging sheet rock to advance completion of the 'Nerd Lair'. Both Nerdwife and I both look forward to splitting our offices so we can each have a little more room. I right now consume more than my fair share as I have a lot of bulky computer things.

My cat Muffy is getting old. She is 14 and I have had her for 13 years. She has developed a hyper-active thyroid, not uncommon in older cats, but it has required a change of diet and medication. Giving cats medication is unpleasant for all involved. Muffy especially is a wily, hyper-intelligent cat that has a supernatural ability to turn to liquid on command, she can open doors and ooze out of tight holds with the greatest of ease. Wrap her in a towel? Whomever came up with that idea for managing a tough cat can bite my ass. All it manages to do is turn the cat and towel into a feline cannon as cat grabs purchase and shoots out at warp 9.

I have been playing the game 'X3: the Reunion' a lot, it is an amazing game where you get a ship, some credits and from there the rest is up to you. I have amassed a trading flotilla and have multiple factories. I am currently engaged in exploring uncharted sectors and opening new trade routes. It is completely open ended. But it has Starforce copy protection which bites, and I didn't realize it until after I had installed the game and played for a while. I hate Starforce, but became too attached to the game to uninstall it and bring it back.

Here is my reading list:
New York Times (daily)
Coffee: A Dark History by Anthony Wild
Pirates on an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe


I have only nerded 3 times this summer.

I have put on almost 350 miles on my bike this summer in 5-12 mile trips around town.

I have not lost any weight, but I feel better.

We joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) and I have eaten more vegetables than in the last 4 summers combined.

I have been actively working to bring about change in the political arena and break this Republican stranglehold on our lives.

I have watched a lot of movies thanks to Netflix

Notable movies I've seen:
Eraserhead
Blue Velvet
Jesus is Magic
Aristocrats
Cafe Luminare
M
The Battle for Algiers
Bio Zombie

Notable movies I've seen in the theater:
none, Clerks II was good, but nothing has stood out for me since the Film Festival last year (I missed it this year).

'Snakes on a Plane' was better than I was expecting, but it was still a terrible movie, but I laughed hard and the theater was filled with people who went and did not take the movie serious, which made it a fun carnival atmosphere, much like when I saw Star Trek 10.

My best musical finds this summer:

Shiny Toy Guns
Ladytron
Yuki
Telepop


Concerts I've seen this year:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs


Plays I've seen:
none, its been a slow year for me and the theater.

Museums I've visited:
Walker Art Center
Minneapolis Institue of Art

Fishing, lots of fishing this summer. I convinced a few co-workers to go with me after work, which has been a dream of mine since I worked at Acxiom. I don't keep anything, but it is fun to be out on the water. A couple of my co-workers are fly-fishers and are willing to teach me.

Trips planned:
Idaho
LISA 2006 in Washington DC
Europe?

Podcasts I listen to:
Evil Genious Chronicles
Off the Hook by 2600
Not Your Usual Bullocks
Thing a Week
This Week in Tech
EFF Line Noise
NPR Science Friday
Rocketboom
Doctor Who: Podshock
Minnesota Stories
Ask a Ninja
Hope is Emo
Microbe World
Universe Today
Radio 360

Blogs and News:
City Pages
Alternet
BoingBoing
Wonderland
Aggro Me
The Register
Slate Magazine
Salon.com
Nuketown
Rootprompt

I can't wait for Battlestar Galactica to restart.

To quote T.S. Elliot in 'The Lovesong of J. Alfred Proofrock':

And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor --
And this, and so much more?--
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
"That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all."

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

I grow old ... I grow old ...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.