Sometimes a cigar...

...is just a cigar.

Bah!

That's not a fortune...

Yo ho yo ho...

"When's talk-like-a-pirate-day?"
"Sepember 19th. Yeah, we already have it all planned out."
"What do you mean?"
"We're going to get dressed up, have a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon, and then go out for dinner."
"Oh? Where're you going for dinner?"
"Arrrrrrbys, of course."

Heh. I guess your priorities are good?

"Have a good day. Try not to kill anyone."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't. I have homework to do today."

Okay, this is really amazing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otIU6Py4K_A

Never heard of it before. But now I want to go there...

"When I looked back from the top, the house seemed to have shrunken there in the darkness, to have become a piece of the desolation, like an empty beer can tossed beside the road. I crossed over and down, heading across a field toward the place where I had parked, wishing I had not looked back."

To me, of all the books I've ever read, that is up amongst the top couple most depressing passages I've come across. It's also an exceptionally good summary, in some ways, of Corwin himself - his life (at least as chronicled in the 10 books of the series) is horrifically tragic... But most of it is really never expressed except as a function of Corwin's own hindsight. His little internal monologue about his involvement in Bleys' attempt on Amber vs. his own attempt, his monologue over his deck of Trumps right at the end of the 5th book, even his discussions with Luke in the Hall of Mirrors in the short stories after the end of the series...

Thirteen Questions

Yes, 13 is a good number. Here. I know one person can answer or come close on *most* of these; quite a few people can answer one or two. I don't believe there's anyone that can answer all of them. Bonus points if you can answer any of them without referring to my blogs (either of them).

A) When, where, and with whom was the last date I went on? Why is it unlikely I'll go on another date with them?

B) Of all the people I've loved or been in love with, who was the first? Who was (or is) the longest?

C) How many and which musical instruments do I play, and - approximately - at what level? 2 answers are acceptable.

D) How many aunts and uncles do I have, and on which side? What are the two reasons why I've given 3 different answers for my number of uncles in the past?

E) When was the last time I played Crimson Skies, and with whom? What was the result? When is the next time expected to be?

F) When and what was the last movie I went to, and with whom? When and what is the next one I'm expecting to go to, and with whom?

G) Who is my best friend? How long have I known them? Where did I meet them?

H) What is my favorite role-playing game? Why? What is my favorite role-playing setting? Why?

I) What MMO do I play now, and in what guild do I play? What was the last MMO I played, in what guild did I most recently play, and why did I leave it? What other MMO(s) have I played previous to that?

J) What animals have I had as pets in my life? Which was my favorite pet?

K) What is my favorite city? What is my favorite country? If I could live anywhere in the world (ignoring such minor things as money, job, and other obligations), where would it be? Why am I not living there now?

L) What sports have I played in my life, and what ones do I play now? Only count ones on organized teams, though as a hint, none of them have been through any school I've gone to.

M) Not counting computers, what game systems do I own now? What is the first game system I ever owned? What game did I buy with it when I bought it?

Have fun.

A Short Interlude

(a portion of a phone conversation with my mother yesterday morning)

Me: "Did I leave my razor there yesterday?"
Mom: "Yes, it's on the counter. I assumed you left it here on purpose since you'll be back Friday. Did you want it?"
Me: "I didn't leave it there on purpose, no."
Mom: "What are you going to do for the week?"
Me: "I don't know... Grow a beard?"

The Big City...

So yes, Saturday was a trip down to NYC with my mother and son. I actually spent most of it just with my son; my mother had a hike thing of sorts with some other people she knows, and debarked at 125th St; so Aidan and I went the extra stop on the train down to Grand Central and then walked up to the park. I have to admit, I find it funny that Grand Central is closer to the zoo than the north end of the park is - Central Park is big, however, you look at it.

It was a good day. Visited all the animals; saw the sea lion feeding; had a long discusson about the differences between penguins and puffins; hung out with a puppeteer who did a little Humpty Dumpty show on the path (it was egg-celent!)... After lunch, my mother came down to meet us, and we took a pedal-cab down to Times Square.

Now, the guy pedaling this little thing was an insane guy called Bob. He had a nasty habit of dashing between cars and in front of other cabs, which invoked an amazingly small amount of honking considering how often they had to slam on their brakes. My mother was terrified; I was greatly amused; and Aidan was uncharacteristically quiet, which I interpreted as discomfort. Bob apparently wants to move up to Albany area, but doesn't want to deal with the snow; when asked what he does in the City over the winter, he said he went to visit his family in Puerto Rico instead. :)

Soooo. Times Square. The only place we actually went into was Toys R Us; we browsed all over, went on the Ferris Wheel, and bought stuffed Angry Birds for both Aidan and my father (yes, my father is addicted to Angry Birds). Then we walked down to 42nd street and back over to Grand Central; we stopped at the Metro Diner almost across the street from Grand Central, at which point I woke Aidan up long enough to confirm he didn't want to eat, and we had pizza. Hopped back over the road to the train, got home... Oh, 7:00 or so when all was said and done.

Generally, a very good day. Though I had a headache afterwards that lasted until Sunday afternoon, which was no fun.

(Pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/neko128/sets/72157626596322595/)

"Learn about electricity, you will!"

Tee hee...

That's no moon!

Aidan's riding the ferris wheel in Toys R Us Times Square!

...The what? Where?

As an aside, did you know Mr. Ferris (of Ferris Wheel fame) went to RPI?

Just finished going through Central Park Zoo. Lots of photos to post later (was playing with autodrive), and one or two may even be good. Almost time for lunch...

Rollin' rollin' rollin'...

Yup, on the train to NYC. Anyone want to start a pool how long it'll be until Aidan gets fractious?

At least it wasn't the dryer...

Time to find out if USB keys survive washing machines!

Random Picturage...

I was looking through my pictures for something completely unrelated and found this one that I really like.



Just wanted to share.

Miniatures World - Of Doooom!

This came up on Slashdot:

http://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/05/12/020235/Brothers-Build-Worlds-Largest-Model-Airport

The link to the actual place:

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

The best comment is this:

All the taxiway and runway lighting is fully operational. Here's the night view. [youtube.com]

This isn't just a static display with a little repetitive motion. The planes land, and taxi to the terminal on the taxiways. They position at a gate. The jetways move into position and mate with the plane. Fuel trucks and catering trucks come up to the plane. After a while, the support vehicles move off, and a pushback truck pushes the plane clear of the gate area. The plane then turns, follows the taxiways, gets into the takeoff queue, waits at the threshold, rolls onto the runway, takes off, and disappears through the wall.

The vehicles run on the Faller carsystem, which is used for road vehicles all over Minatur Wunderland. Guidance is via little magnets that follow a metal rail hidden in the table. There are switches at junctions, and the control system is railroad-like. The vehicles are battery powered, and get speed instructions from a central computer, but steering is mechanical, following the track with the magnet.

The planes use the same system when on the ground. When they're in position for takeoff, a rod comes up through the runway and engages a big pocket in the plane. A second rear rod engages a smaller pocket in the rear. Takeoff is driven from equipment under the runway, which can move and tilt the plane. At the end of the room, the plane flies through a row of strips of "sky" painted material and disappears.

Behind the scenes, the planes then are brought down, and return to driving mode. They move around on a hidden lower level and are staged to simulate various flights. There's also automatic charging for all vehicles, which make stops at hidden charging stations as needed.

The airport is only a small part of the whole exhibit, which has a model railroad with 890 trains and 12km of track. There's a staff of 185 people. It's a major tourist attraction.

A short history...

Y'know, I know it's very funny to make jokes about "Indiana Toll" and "Robin the Cowboy" (...though don't even get me started on how a narrow-brim fedora makes me look like a cowboy, oh ye masses who understand not the hats of which ye speak...), but when exactly is it that hats fell out of style? 100 years ago, a hat like mine was normal wear for a polite middle-class man. In fact, 100 years ago was about when fedoras really came into style, from my research.

You've got it wrong, by the way. I don't do it to turn heads; I don't do it to make a point. I do it because 1) I need something to keep the sun off my head; 2) if I'm going to wear a hat for that purpose, a fedora is my favorite style; and 3) I really do just like the style for myself. Forget you all - go and have fun with your baseball caps. I'm going to do what I think is best in this case, though too much of society snickers down its sleeve at me.

Honestly, it may be my grandfather's fault. He wasn't what I'd describe as a gentleman - he was curmudgeonly and difficult by the time I knew him - but about certain things, he was very... Proper. And when I was younger, I distinctly remember a soft grey fedora he had that matched a specific blazer he used to wear. And somewhere in the back of my head, even though that was a huge minority of the time I spent with him (far, far more of it was him in swimming trunks and flip-flops or sandals, sunbathing or swimming or doing yardwork)... Somewhere in the back of my head, that's really how I remember him - a stately old man in yesterday's polite dress, with a somber but kindly look on his face. How much of that is the nostalgic goggles of youth I don't know, but there you go.

Ignoring baseball caps, the first hat I wore was this ridiculous yellow bucket hat with - if I remember right - a red, white and blue hat band. This I wore for years in Junior High and High School, right up into college. Similar to the pic here. There are a few pictures of me floating around - old ones - of me wearing it. The one that sticks in my mind most is a picture of me at my sister's graduation; I was looking back to my left over my shoulder and scowling. Lena, you'll probably remember it... But I can't find a copy online.

When that hat died, I wore a blue bucket hat for a while - into my marriage, in fact. It was very similar to the yellow one, but colored differently. Pretty much, it was a direct replacement... In a slightly less frightening color.

While I was married, though, I got a Minnetonka fold-up hat - lets say, 2003 - and went through three of those in the last 8 years. They were technically a leather pork-pie, I think you'll find (the crown is wrong and the brim too wide for a fedora), but you can argue it, certainly.

And then, of course, recently came the current one, as of last week: my felt fedora. And say what you want, mock how much you want... I'm happy with it - thrilled even.

Ode to a Nightingale

This is posted for one of you in specific. You should know who you are, even if you think I'm nothing more than a crazy old man.

-----

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness, -
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster'd around by all her starry Fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
And mid-May's eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.

Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain -
To thy high requiem become a sod.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now 'tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music: - Do I wake or sleep?

-Keats

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

I don't know why, but I've had this song stuck in my head since yesterday evening. I'm not sure what triggered it - this is a song I've always found both depressing and inspiring, and it's usually triggered by certain... Mental patterns, lets say - but there you go. If you haven't heard it, in my opinion it's the best song from Les Miserables.

And yes, this is a song I learned to sing back when I was singing avidly. I've found myself singing it under my breath all morning.

---

There's a grief that can't be spoken.
There's a pain goes on and on.
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone.

Here they talked of revolution.
Here it was they lit the flame.
Here they sang about `tomorrow'
And tomorrow never came.

From the table in the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
I can hear them now!
The very words that they had sung
Became their last communion
On the lonely barricade at dawn.

Oh my friends, my friends forgive me
That I live and you are gone.
There's a grief that can't be spoken.
There's a pain goes on and on.

Phantom faces at the window.
Phantom shadows on the floor.
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more.

Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me
What your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will sing no more.

Something I was expecting finally happened. Not waiting for, in particular... Just that it had to happen, and it finally did. And I discovered I couldn't handle it as well as I feel I should.

I'm going to go hide for a bit.

After a long night of debugging a production, I'm in the office, and I ask "Anyone have $1.25 so I can buy a soda?"

Someone says "Sure!" and hands me the money. Then he says "I always enjoy giving money to keep me up all night."

I burst out laughing. Noone else in the room laughed. I guess I just have a dirty mind.

Lily's Eyes

Neville	Archibald
Strangely quiet, but now the storm
Simply rests to strike again.
Standing, waiting, I think of her.
I think of
her.	Strange, this Mary,
	she leaves the room,
	Yet remains, She lingers on.
	Something stirs me to think of her.
	I think of
From death she casts her spell,	her.
All night we hear her sighs,
And now a girl has come
Who has her eyes.
She has her eyes.
The girl has Lily's hazel eyes,
Those eyes that saw him happy long ago.
Those eyes that gave him life
And hope he'd never known.
How can he see the girl
And miss those hazel eyes?	She has her eyes.
	The girl has Lily's hazel eyes,
	Those eyes that closed and left me all alone.
	Those eyes I feel will never ever let me go!
	How can I see this girl who has her hazel eyes?
	In Lily's eyes a castle
	This house seemed to be,
	And I, the bravest knight, became,
	My lady fair was she.
She has her eyes.
She has my Lily's hazel eyes.
Those eyes that loved my brother-never me.
Those eyes that never saw me,
Never knew I longed
To hold her close,
To live at last in Lily's Eyes!
	Imagine me, a lover!
I longed for the day
She'd turn and see me standing there.
Would God had let her stay!	Would God had let her stay!
	She has her eyes.
She has my Lily's hazel eyes.	She has Lily's hazel eyes.
Those eyes that saw me
happy long ago.	Those eyes that first I loved so!
How can I now forget	How can I now forget
that once I dared to be	that I dared to be
in love alive and whole	in love alive and whole
In Lily's eyes,	In Lily's eyes,
In Lily's eyes!	In Lily's eyes!

Gah...

Wow, today has been a screwed-up day in so many ways. *sighs* Just a quick whine. I'm sure I'll post something meatier later...

Quote of the Day:

"...And that's what you get when you wake up late in the day and realize all your pubic hair is gone."

...No, I really don't know either.

Currents

The air is visible around you, rising up and off your lips in slow currents

And I watch as your face is framed in its slow currents

Drifting curls a trailing path

A long drag becomes a dress of blue and ash

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn

Burn as brightly as we can

And if it's gotta end then let it end in flames

Let it burn all the way down

The air is visceral around us

Turning in its simple steps on slow currents

and I watch as it pirouettes and spins in slow motion

A long drag becomes a slow dance and a halo of ember

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn

Burn as brightly as we can

And if it's gotta end then let it end in flames

Let it burn all the way down, all the way down

And if this is ever meant to end, then I hope it ends where it began

So hot with love, we burned our hands

If this is ever meant to end, then I hope it ends where it began

So hot with love, it burns our hands

If it is born in flames then we should let it burn

Burn as brightly as we can

And if it's gotta end then let it end in flames

Let it burn, let it burn

If it's gotta end let it burn

If it's gotta end let it burn

It ends where it began, so hot with love, it burns our hands

-Dashboard Confessional

It's always the stupid little things...

This time, it was the Count of Monte Cristo. I'd bought it to read with you, and now I can't.

*sigh*

It's here!

<3

Cheap shipping FTW!

Now, I'm really excited. I want to leave work just so I can go get this.

And it's worth noting... I ordered it at 12:18 AM Monday morning (just after midnight), and paid for the cheapest/slowest of 7 shipping options... But it's still out for delivery on the truck in less than 53 hours from the order. That's awesome.

Anastasia: Fine... So you think you're gonna miss it.
Dimitri: Miss what? Your talking?
Anastasia: No! Russia.
Dimitri: Nope.
Anastasia: But it was your home.
Dimitri: It was a place I once lived. End of story.

!

Wow, 91,000 people visited the Tower of London over Easter weekend? Not bad. Not bad at all.

Ocarinas Revisited...

I was wrong - they go up to $2,000 for the work of a particular artist from Taiwan.

http://www.stlocarina.com/102725.html

http://www.stlocarina.com/102723.html

The son of a coworker of mine stopped into the office for a few minutes last week. My coworker told me today, the thing that stuck in his son's head about me? The fact that I was chewing on a toothpick. My coworker then commented that he had never even noticed...

I chew toothpicks every day. I'd have thought he'd noticed. That's all right - I'm sure there're plenty of things I don't notice, also.

I love this park...

Ahhh, that glow, and that odd chill under a breeze. I'm going be *so* sunburnt tomorrow, but an hour and a half walking around the island was worth it.

A beautiful day...

...hanging out watching the boy play soccer. The breeze just makes it perfect. I think today is going to be a park day, after lunch, to sit at Peebles Island and practice.