11:00EST-WED-11/30/2005
- Poor Adrienne. I have a new love in my life and her name is EVE.
I've been playing this game for only a day or so now, but wow! I've always loved spaceship type games and this one delivers. My biggest complaint about a lot of the MMO's out there right now is their relative small size. Even in EQ which has the biggest ammount of content in an MMO I had seen up until recently started to shrink when they started making it easier for people to teleport around. You don't get an idea of adventure and exploration when you can go from one side of the planet to the other in a blink of an eye or to the moon right after that. In Eve, you do have warp technology, stargates, jumpgates, all that other stuff, but it still takes a lot of time to travel thousands of light-years. Thank GOD for Autopilot. Combat is convincing and not twitch based. I was a little dissapointed by that at first untli I started playing it more and realized that I'm not a fighter pilot. You start with a frigate class ship and can work your way up to cruisers, battleships, lots of different things. This requires a lot of automation and is very convincing of how combat would be in space. Much like combat is rapidly becoming in our current navies where weapons systems do all the work anyway and at insane ranges. Scale is something that is impressed upon me at every step. Especially after spending half an hour to to travel to a space station 6 warps and jump gates away only to open the map and see how little you've actually gone in the universe zooming by planets, space stations, other ships, asteroid belts, all sorts of amazing things to look at. Have you seen that shirt with the entire milky way on it and the You Are Here arrow? That's exactly what it looks and feels like, but in a good way.
1:29EST-WED-11/23/2005
- I just want to confess something. I don't watch much TV. No point in it for me. Of the few shows which are on that I actually enjoy, they are seldom on when I am willing or available to view them. I should convert my PC to a media box, but don't really have the spare cash or (most importantly) the drive to do so. Sounds too much like work. Sure, I could just get Tivo or something similar, but that goes back to spending money I'd really rather put into paying off my credit cards or some such.
I'm getting off track. DAMNED TANGENTS!!!
My confession. I wind up watching Adult Swim more than anything else. Good stuff. Plus, they are now showing the Ghost in the Shell series. Sure, I've already seen it all (got it on me compy!) but it's still nice to catch every once in a while with added commercials and a couch instead of a computer chair. While watching the TV, they used to show this commercial about some convention (I think) but all the people in the commercial were dressed up and dancing around as characters from their favorite anime. Here's the confession: There was this one girl that dressed like Major Motoko Kusanagi and I thought that was the hottest woman I've ever seen on that channel EVER. I wouldn't consider myself an otoku, but GOD DAMN! Even though she was only on screen once or twice for a fraction of a second, it's enough to leave a lasting impression. In fact, I wonder if I should send an email to Adult Swim asking them to pass on my praise for that woman in particular. But, only if she was actually a fan instead of some model paid to put on a pre-made outfit for the shot. If that's the case, fuck it. The last thing models need is one more guy to tell them they're pleasing to the eye.
21:19EST-SAT-11/12/2005
- Good evening, boys and girls. Tonight we're going to talk a little bit about cooking. Now don't get me wrong, this will be about as far from a fine culturally enriching culinary experience. Tonight's theme is bachelor chow. I learned a few tips on how to survive in the wild from my father. Sometimes you just can't afford to go out to eat every night. You'll have to learn how to actually cook something from time to time. It's infinitely cheaper, more healthy (usually), and quite tastey if you know a few tricks.
Don't Be Afraid to Forage
Guys, if you haven't done this before, you're not a man anymore as of right now. You've been stripped of your rights to call yourself a guy and scratch your balls in public. Foraging for a meal is a mental challenge. Call it an edible puzzle. The object of the game is to figure out what you have available and come up with some combination of ingredients that is filling, not too vile, and preferably not poisonous. Note, I did not list nutritious at all in this list. Nutrition is a luxury that sometimes we can't afford. Foraging in the cabinets, freezer, and fridge is your main battle ground but this is not always the case. For instance, I have hidden food around the house on more than one occasion and for radically different reasons. I have in a drawer near the computer a small handful of Reese's peanut butter cups. I hid them from the woman so I could enjoy them before she finished off the whole bag. In the same room, there is a half empty jar of peanut butter that I honestly can't remember how it got there. I also have a mostly finished bag of generic Oreos within line of sight of me as I type this. One moment please...
munch munch munch...
Nevermind. Also, if you happen to see a box that may at some point have contained pizza or some other such take-out, there's a chance there might still be something in there. Oh! Look at that. There's almost a third of a calzone in this box here and some peperoncinis from yesterday (or was it the day before?). Not too crusty. It'll do. A few seconds longer than normal in the microwave and it'll be ready to roll. Naturally, I've run out of that tasty marinara sauce. Probably the reason I stopped eating it 2/3 of the way through. No matter. I just checked my fridge and I have no marinara. Nor do I have regular spaghetti or pizza sauce. Good thing too. They're ok but definitely NOT marinara sauce that goes well with a Calzone for dipping purposes. One day, while foraging, I discovered a great dipping alternative that is almost always present here at my house in some quantity. Salsa. That's right, salsa is magic. Salsa is your friend. Pour some of that in a little cup and it's every bit as good as marinara. Maybe better! If you go to Wal-Mart, they frequently have little calzones like you would almost expect to see in a vending machine. They were like a dollar each. I bought 5 so I could eat for the rest of the week. That's when I discovered the salsa/calzone miracle. It's still a great meal that requires almost no effort.
No calzone? That's ok. I love to make tacos but frequently run out of shells or meat. For some reason, I sometimes have tortilla shells laying around and some shredded cheese that is threatening to go bad some day. Time to put it to work! Throw a shell on a plate, sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese and some salsa. Even if it's left over hot sauce packets from your last Taco Bell outing. Nuke for 17 seconds and the cheese has just begun to melt. More cheese requires a wee bit more nuking. Roll it up, and enjoy your spicey cheesey bachelor wrap!
I mentioned that my father taught me how to eat like a bachelor king. Here are his tips... You can buy canned food for remarkably low prices if you know what to look for. Sometimes you might find that you prefer store brand goods to name brand goods that charge 2-5 dollars per can of whatever. Two good things to look for are chili and beef stew. Rice is about as cheap as it gets. It's about as expensive as Ramen Noodles but it doesn't include spices. That's up to you. If you want to eat a bowl of rice covered in butter or soy sauce, you go right ahead. I've done it. It wasn't worth it, but I didn't go hungry. My father taught me that if you cook up some rice and cover it with a can of chili (Personal favorite: Van Camps) and mix it up, that shit is delicious! It looks kinda funny and you can disturb your friends but it really can't be beat. Beef stew over rice is just sa good. Personal favorite is Armour. Most stores won't carry it because it's so cheap. I occasionally get lucky. It also happens to be my favorite tasting. Beats the pants off of Dinty Moore (imho) although the meat isn't as high quality and the... uh... stew(?) part is more gelatinous and contains ingredient that I'm sure are quite questionable. Still, it's that gelatinous ooze that makes Armour beef stew so good! I sit down with a bowl of that stew and a loaf of bread to sop it up with and I'm in heaven. So, there you go. That's two new meals that you can try that usually cost less than a dollar per serving. The beef stew costs twice as much as the chili but you get twice as much. To get the best rice to topping ratio, I've found that one and a half cups of rice (pre-cooked measurement) to a can is the best ratio. With the chili being under a dollar per can and the beef stew usually being close to two dollars, the chili is the better buy. Sure, the cans of chili are smaller so you don't get as much but trust me. One can of chili goes a long way. =)
A loaf of bread. If you have a loaf of bread that isn't too moldy, you will never starve. Just about ANYTHING tastes pretty good on bread. Jam, jelly, peanutbutter, toasted with sugar, honey, butter, salsa, stew, cold cuts, cheese, the list goes on. I shouldn't even need to mention how to eat bread. As such, I'll move on.
Ramen noodles. Yes yes yes, twenty packs of ramen for a dollar at some stores. Great stuff. Don't let the packages fool you. It's all the same. The only thing that's different is what -exactly- are in those little packets of spice. That's where you're paying for it. Don't be ashamed to have your own little selection of spices or a whole spice rack. You'll want it down the road. My personal favorites are Hot-n-Spicey, Chili, Beef, and Oriental. First off, I have to ask why they even bothered making an Oriental flavor of Ramen. Really, do you see what I'm getting at? Redundant much? Maybe not. Moving on; I've found that the Hot-n-Spicey and Chili flavors offer the most potent flavors if you like spicey foods. Some people prefer to eat it like it's shown on the label. Like a miniature thing of spaghetti. I prefer to eat it like a soup. Much more filling, and a lot more delicious, imho. While you're boiling the water, throw in a few spices. Salt amplifies whatever flavor you are going for. Get a little bit of that in there. If you like pepper, don't be afraid to go for that too. Ground red chili pepper? If you're lucky enough to have it like I do, then by all means, kick that shit into overdrive. Do NOT under any circumstances add any Tobasco or other such things. Take my word for it. The vinegar in it is overpowering and quickly becomes the only thing you can taste, even with half a salad bar of other spices having been added. Something about the way it cooks, I dunno.
I could go on, but I'm tired of writing. Enjoy!
18:10EST-FRI-11/4/2005
- I was just watching downloaded episodes of Rome to bide time until I get to go home when Vince started making the most painful noise I have ever heard. I ran out of my office to discover that he was laughing. Laughing at this: Butt Rocket. What more can I say? I laughed. I cried. It was better than Cats. I will watch it again and again... Well, not really, but I'll spare you the rant about Darwin's Law that this video sorely deserves but I think the video speaks for itself. Any additional commentary on my part is unnecessary.
11:37EST-THU-11/3/2005
- Damn, I love the Fall season. Spring is nice and all but over way too quick. Fall, on the other hand, is awsome. Falling leaves to play in, perfect camping weather, I get to wear my jackets again, playing Airsoft won't cause heat stroke, and other all around goodness.
I think I mention how much I like Fall at least once a year but I'm not too keen on looking back over the years I've been writing this blog to see. Frankly, I don't think anyone who happens across this blog will be particularly interested in doing it either.
Instead, let's celebrate the moment! Mmmmm... Campfire food. /drool I've never been much of a fan of SMORES but if offered one, I'd probably eat it. Me? I'm most likely to pull out a box of pop-tarts and some cans of soup or Chef Boy R Dee. Cut the lid only half off so it can vent but not get ash in it, put it right up next to the fire, and enjoy a poptart as you watch the label burn off. After a couple of minutes, she's ready to be rotated for the next poptart. Maybe a hot-dog while you're waiting (if you brought any). Find some way to pull the cans out of the fire, let it cool for a bit, open the rest of the way, throw a spoon in and you're set!
I think I need to buy a new tent. I can't seem to remember where the last ones went off to. You know what they say about losing stuff. Moving two times is equal to a house fire. That means I've suffered the equivalent of 5 house fires in the past few years. I'm sure I'll suffer more.
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