Legion's Rants

March 6, 2007

See This? This is Sand!

I was reading an article this morning about people who work at Disneyland, but don't make enough money to afford a decent place to live. It said that some of them live in two bedroom apartments that cost in the neighborhood of fifteen-hundred dollars a month ... so they have to pack in three, four, even eight people into these apartments or motel rooms. The article was advocating that Disney should assist with various efforts to create low-income housing near the park.

As I was reading it, all I could think of was the late, great Sam Kinison ...

Kinison had a skit where he talked about seeing a commercial advertising ways to help the hungry in Africa or some such. He pointed out that the aid organizations were doing it all wrong. What they should be doing instead of shipping these starving people food is that they should be giving them a few hundred dollars and a U-Haul so that they can move someplace where there is food. The punchline was, "See this? This is sand! Nothing grows here. Nothing's ever going to grow here!"

And really, the Disney thing is the same situation. We shouldn't be making low-income housing so that people can continue to live in abject poverty in a hugely over-priced area. We should be giving these people opportunities to move someplace where they can make a living wage with their current skills. Or help them learn new skills so they can make a wage where they can afford to live in the area they want to live in. And if enough people see the situation for what it is and refuse to be treated in this way, then something will happen. Either Disney will have to start paying more for people to work there ... or housing prices will go down in the area because nobody wants to live in a place like that. Either way ... problem solved!

Update: Here's a YouTube link to the skit.

Posted by Legion at 8:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 5, 2006

Teacher Blows Off Own Hand in Front of Students

That is the headline I would have put over this article. And if I could have gotten away with it, it would have started with "Dumbass". The man picks up a 40mm shell ... which, by the way, is the size of a large grenade or mortar round while out hunting and assumes it's not live?!? The irony is thick here ... this is a teacher!

Posted by Legion at 9:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 5, 2006

Furniture!

Yes, I know I've been lax at updating. I haven't allowed an entire month to go by without updating in a long, long time. Let's hope this is the last time. Last month was pretty busy though ... and, being the first month of a new year ... and being that I turned thirty-five last month ... it was a time of introspection. Where am I going with my life? My career? Am I going to spend the rest of my life alone? Would that be so bad?

I've learned that I'm much better at getting things done if I can concentrate on what to do right now. If I try to come up with some big plan ... then all I do is plan and never get anything done. So yesterday, I used the SuperBowl as an excuse to buy furniture. I figured I'd want to have a couch to sit and watch it on ... not that I was having guests ... but maybe next year. So I drove off to my local Ikea and blew about $700 on a couch and a bookcase (the lack of places to store my huge collection of computer books has been driving me batty).

The other thing I discovered though is that I really need some help if I'm going to get this place looking nice. I was walking through Ikea and picking out a bunch of things and I looked at what I had picked and realized that not a single item matched any other item. I had chosen everything for its functionality and completely ignored its form. And really, I want people who come to my house to walk in and say, "Wow!"

So, hopefully, I'm on my way ...

Posted by Legion at 9:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 27, 2005

End-of-Year Summary

So I promised myself that I wouldn't let the year close without updating my blog. I was unsure what to write about, but since its been so long since I've written anything ... I guess I should just write about everything that's been going on.

On the home front, my apartment still doesn't have any furniture. Well, not what most people would think of as furniture anyway. The sum total consists of a really nice king-sized bed, two desks, a nine-foot-long folding table, and a high-backed leather office chair. My current plan consists of a couch and a loveseat for the front room ... preferably of home-theater quality, some bookcases and a really comfy reading chair for the office, and some freaking nightstands for the bedroom (rather than the icechest that I'm using for one now). Somewhere off in the misty distance we call "The Future" I'll think about a dining room set.

On the job front, after spending several days in Washington this month, I'm looking at finding a job back up there since that's where all my friends are (except Greon and Merksa and family). I figure that sometime this year, I'll be able to make that happen.

On the gaming front, I've reached level sixty in World of Warcraft and my involvement has been reduced to raiding. I miss the halcyon days of roleplaying the boredom away in EverQuest ... but as Greon has said, "WoW is too complete [to roleplay in] ... there's nothing that needs to be filled in!" So when I'm not playing WoW and I'm not fiddling around with my Xbox 360 ... I've been playing EVE ... and that takes a little explaining ...

Y'see ... Punish had mentioned it to me several times and I kept mixing it up in my head with the, now defunct, Electronic Arts MMO, Earth and Beyond, which I helped beta test ... for about two days before I got sick of it. It was EverQuest in Space and was truly, truly horrible. I think I beta-tested EVE too ... but since E&B had left such a horrible stain in my memory ... I ditched it too. What made me try EVE was Ctrl-Alt-Del's Tim Buckley talking about the depth of gameplay to be found there. And he was right ...

You see ... though I love the game that World of Warcraft is ... I love the idea of virtual worlds as well. Virtual worlds with virtual communities and virtual economies ... I love it all ... love figuring it out ... sussing out how it all works and how to achieve. And EVE is a virtual world ... hundreds of them, technically ... an entire galaxy to explore (though you can't actually visit the worlds except by orbiting them). It's a great economic simulation ... with people mining and selling the raw materials to people who manufacture goods to people who actually use them ... the true "nearly everything in the game is player made" bread-baking nerdvana that many MMOs seek to become. It even has player-run organizations based on modern-day corporations that have CEOs that can be deposed by vote and issue dividends to shareholders. I may get tired of EVE over time ... but for now it has me fascinated.

I'm not leaving WoW ... but I do admit to a certain amount of "ooo shiny!" in my personality ...

On the "what's next year looking like" front ... I plan to get my house more in order. I plan to really dig in and re-launch my professional career. I'm working on a personal programming project. Things aren't bad ... and they definitely have been a whole lot worse. Overall ... I guess things are still looking up.

Posted by Legion at 2:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 7, 2005

Doctor Appointment

Just got back from my first doctor appointment in at least ten years. I went in because I'm tired of my allergies that I've dealt with since I was twelve years old and want to see what modern medicine can do for me ... now that my employer has hooked me up with the über medical coverage.

I am what would be politely referred to as "overweight", which generally is an indicator for high blood pressure and a number of other maladies. But, my doctor gave me a clean bill of health ... blood pressure is 130/76 ... resting heart rate of 64. Now, I'm no Lance Armstrong ... but for someone who hasn't been focusing on his health for a good, long while ... I'd say I'm doing pretty well. Of course, this is no reason to get lax ... the goal is to keep these numbers (or better them) for the next oh ... thirty years? But its nice to know that I'm not starting out in the negative ...

Posted by Legion at 11:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 2, 2005

Turbulence

So one thing quiets down in my life and then something else pops up. It seems that my boss at work has decided to move on to bigger and better things. From his description, it sounds like a great opportunity for him and I'm happy for him. On the other hand, the person he's leaving in charge is probably the one person I have the most problems with in the group. Now, this isn't to say that these problems are serious ... I'm sure we'll get along just fine. But I am going to miss my current boss ... he's definitely in the top two managers I've ever had. On the gripping hand, this opens up other possibilities ...

This job was a turning point for me. I felt lucky to be considered, let alone offered the position. It is safe to say that I felt very obligated to my current manager. So were he to have stayed my manager, I would probably have felt obligated to stay in this group for a number of years.

But I have strong ties to Washington now ... my best friend in the entire world, Punish, moved there a few months ago. Baudmore and Lady Jade are there. DukeZuke is there. Bu is there. Each day, week, month I spend here ... the more this place feels like a hotel, a place to hang my hat until I get back to my real life.

With my boss gone ... the obligation seems to have melted away. I will do my best to not burn any bridges, as always ... but I just don't feel like I have to put my life on hold until everyone feels that I've moved mountains for them anymore. I've already started asking around about the possibility of me finding a job back in Washington sometime next year. We'll see what people say ...

Posted by Legion at 9:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 13, 2005

Good? Bad?

Not sure if this is a good or a bad thing...

Posted by Legion at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 7, 2005

Unbelieveable

I don't normally talk about politics ... unless its the politics surrounding computers or games or whatever ... ok, so I do talk about politics ... whatever. I've been biting my tongue on the issue of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. I tend to not side with the media on things ... at least not right away. But this is beyond words. And that's not the only thing I've seen that makes me sick to my stomach about how the federal government has mishandled this disaster. I may have more later ... but the short version is, I'm with Lum.

Posted by Legion at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 5, 2005

Successful Blogging

So I've been neglecting my blog over the last few months. I guess it boils down to the idea that I don't really have much to say. I've been feeling pretty isolated down here in California ... counting the months until I get to go back to Washington. Lately though ... I've been staring at my Xbox game collection. It's a group of games that, for the most part, have beginnings and endings ... they can be beaten. But, except for Halo, I haven't completed a single one of them. The only reason I have completed that one is because DukeZuke and I played it in coop mode over the period of a couple weeks. So I want to try to change that ... and give me something to write about as well. First up ... Jade Empire. Now ... I have no doubt that I probably still won't finish a bunch of these games ... because why keep playing if they just feel like work? But I'll still be able to write about what shiny thing distracted me ...

Posted by Legion at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 3, 2005

Whew...

I successfully upgraded to MovableType v3.2 today. It took a bit of doing and fiddling ... but I made it. In other news ... I was able to put up a Gallery v2 installation as well. I loaded it up with all my pictures from PAX and some other things that had been taking up space on my hard drive that people had mentioned they wanted to see. I guess I should start backing up my website now, eh?

Posted by Legion at 5:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 31, 2005

I See Dead People

It is times like this that remind me why I don't read the news anymore. I heard about Hurricane Katrina from DukeZuke on my way to the airport on Monday. I thought I would read about it ... find out what happened. So I went to the trusty-dusty CNN.com and learned that they estimate at least 120 dead. Then I click another link about a stampede in Iraq ... at least 635 dead. A human stampede ... caused by someone metaphorically shouting fire in a crowded theater ... kills five times as many as the worst hurricane in recorded history.

Stupid people suck.

Posted by Legion at 9:58 AM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2005

It's July

And I really don't have anything to say. I'm working on the writeup of my case modding project slowly but surely ... but right now my life is very boring. I'm going to work ... I'm coming home ... I'm watching some movies ... then repeating the cycle. Later this month I'll be flying up to Washington to visit friends and to help prepare for PAX ... so my life should be more interesting then ...

Posted by Legion at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 30, 2005

Locked Out

I managed to lock myself out of my apartment for the first time ever in my life. I guess everyone does it once. Fortunately I was someplace with an Internet connection so I could find the complex's phone number online and call. The maintenance guy was really cool about it too.

Posted by Legion at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2005

Let No Good Deed Go Unpunished

I saw this article quite a while ago and really wanted to write something pithy about it. I wanted to cry out with righteous indignation. I wanted to point my mighty finger and say, "See? This is what's wrong with the world today!" But sometimes things just get too overwhelming and I have to take a break from what's wrong with the world ...

So instead I leave you with a new photograph proving the Lone Gunman theory.

Posted by Legion at 8:45 AM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2005

Campaign to Continue "Star Trek: Enterprise" Ends

You may have heard about the campaign to raise enough money to pay for another season of Enterprise. Frankly, I think they're out of their gourd and have no earthly idea how much money it costs to produce a season of a television show, let alone one with such high production costs as a Star Trek series. I know I shouldn't tear down somebody's dream ... but c'mon ...

I used to be a huge Star Trek fan. Hell, I own a numbered copy of Hamlet in the original Klingon! I dreamed of running off to the Bay Area to become a Star Trek extra at Paramount's Great America. So don't think I'm just some naysayer that couldn't possibly understand the love of a fan. But there's love and then there's obsession. You know, that rabid caricature of devotion that creates all sorts of evil like stalking, murder-suicides and campaigns to collect people's money.

Don't get me wrong ... according to this article they collected over $3 million from fans. Well, they collected $144,203 from fans and $3 million from some wealthy investors in the space industry. It could be that the investors are fans ... but somehow I think they had an ulterior motive. I guess its just my suspicious nature.

Even that amount didn't sway Paramount though ... but why? Let me tell you my theory ...

I stopped watching Star Trek at Voyager. Why? Because it was quickly becoming 90210 In Space. Significant portions of each episode were devoted to speculations about who was sleeping with whom or should be. Yes, those who know me know I love my T&A ... but that's not for what I watched Star Trek. I watched Star Trek for high-mindedness, for optimism, not for banal gutter-trawling. I have much more efficient methods for banal gutter-trawling, thank you very much.

Why did Paramount go this direction with the series? Because they were trying to appeal to a broader audience than just the geeks that had been fans of the series. They ruined it for me to get to the mainstream. Y'know what? I'm ok with that. They have to do with their properties what they think is best for them, meaning Paramount. But they couldn't find the commercial success they wanted for Star Trek in the mainstream. So they're cancelling the show. It's as simple as that.

And really, if I were an executive at Paramount I'd look at that $144,203 that TrekUnited raised and smile, pat them on their heads and send them home. That amount of money won't even pay for one actor for a season, let alone the entire panoply of people that run a show. The other $3 million to me doesn't count because it didn't come from people that will watch the show. And that's what Paramount really wants from Star Trek ... they want people who will watch so they can sell the show to networks ... so they can sell advertising. That's how the system works.

Besides ... the dream shouldn't be to continue putting out sloppy crap that is a cardboard cutout of the magic that was Star Trek. The dream should be to continue and recapture that magic. And Paramount has proven that it is not willing to do that.

Posted by Legion at 8:41 AM | Comments (0)

April 1, 2005

My Stuff!

The movers are coming today to drop off my stuff. The corporate housing was nice and all, but I sure have missed the little creature comforts I have accumulated over the past year or so ... especially my Media Center PC. It's back to no more commercials for me! And I just ordered a Media Center Extender for the Xbox kit so I can have all my Media Center coolness in my bedroom too, woot!

Posted by Legion at 6:19 AM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2005

Home Free

My life has been pretty up-in-the-air over the past month. Because I was out of work for a couple years, my credit has a couple somewhat serious black marks on it ... so finding a place to live wasn't the slam-dunk I thought it would be. But, I signed papers on an apartment this morning and placed my computer in it ... so officially it is home now. After all, home is where the computer is ...

Posted by Legion at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2005

Almost there . . . almost there

Wow, so tomorrow I leave for Seattle. I'll be stuffing the essentials into my car and making a run for the great North Wet . . . er I mean West.

It's really starting to set in now just how remote I'm going to be from my family. Suck Suck Suck. My little ones know that "Daddy's going to be in Seattle for a while" but they don't quite know what think. The boy is almost old enough to understand. I can see it in his eyes everytime we talk about it. They get big and he looks like he's about to say something but can't quite get it out. It tears my heart out just to think of it. He knows I'll be home to visit and that soon he'll be moving up there with me, to a new house with his two sisters and mom, but it seems like a lot to grasp for such a little guy.

This also comes just after I read an article about the 1,500 or so children of soldiers who have died in Iraq. I can never put myself in that kind of danger. There's just no way. I think I would have expatriated before leaving my family behind. How the fuck can GW sleep at night knowing that through his actions, hundreds of American children are now missing one of their parents. Not to mention the Iraqi's who have surely lost more.

So this entry goes from sad to angry in one paragraph flat. Things are much more complicated than they used to be.

Posted by Punish at 7:57 AM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2005

Redemption

I'm heading up to San Francisco today for an event where I most likely will run into a couple friends that I haven't talked to in about two and a half years. I haven't talked to them not because we had a falling out or anything like that, but back when I was depressed and my life was caving in around me I cut off nearly all ties to the outside world. Since this is the year that I'm trying to fix things that I've screwed up over the past few years, I'm going to touch base with them and apologize for disappearing without an explanation. We'll see how it goes ...

Posted by Legion at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)

March 6, 2005

Oh the Bitter Irony

As I was leaving Washington, I took a mental stock of all the things I had wanted to do while I was there, yet had not done. I never once made it to Canada, despite being in spitting distance of it for almost two years. I never made it back to Leavenworth. Hell, I lived across the street from a beautiful lake and never stopped to appreciate it once until the day I was leaving. I took some pictures ...

Posted by Legion at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)

March 4, 2005

w00t! Seattle Here I Come!

Well, I accepted a contract with Microsoft today! I was hired without even an in-person interview, which the recruiter says she'd never seen in her 6 years placing people at Microsoft. So, either I RULE, or the manager is desparate. :)

Posted by Punish at 1:47 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2005

Made It!

I planned to take it easy in my drive from Washington's Silicon Valley to California's. I had three nights and two days to get here ... so what do I do? I drive a pittance Friday night and then drive myself into the ground on Saturday. I got a wonderful chance to stop in and stay with friends Saturday night. And then the trials began ...

I got my "Welcome to the Bay Area" traffic jam and rainstorm upon arriving in the San Jose area. I had pleasantly forgotten what California drivers are like ... not that I have lost my touch. It's pretty ironic that the entire time I was in Washington, it was dry as a bone (at least by Washington standards) and what do I get the first thing when I come back to "sunny" California? Rain.

I also got this sinking feeling. Just driving around ... going to a restaurant last night ... I noticed that things were different. People were different. It was obvious to me that I am not where I was, nor am I from whence I came. This place is not home to me ... yet. What seems an eternity ago, when I was doing a lot of business travel, I prided myself on being able to be at home anywhere. I realize I am not that flexible this time around ... I hope its not permanent.

Having Internet access was a pleasant surprise though. If home is where the computer is ... then I'm home.

Posted by Legion at 5:05 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2005

Farewell For Now

Since I'm probably not going to get a chance to be on the Internet tomorrow, let alone post anything, I figured now would be a good time to say so long, farewell, aufwiedersehen, adieu ... at least for the weekend. I'm going to be in temporary housing for about a month and then I'll end up in my own apartment. Until that time, I'll be stealing moments to update on my new employer's connection. Boy, I'm going to miss WoW until I can get my own connection ...

So as I used to say long ago ... until Monday ... don't drown!

Posted by Legion at 7:49 AM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2005

One Week ... But Who's Counting?

One week from today, I'll be packing up and leaving Washington. It feels really weird to say ... and I've got plenty of things to still do, but I'm confident that I'll get them done this coming week. Some friends are coming over this weekend and we're going to have a big bash. Then it'll be getting down to work ... cancelling the utilities ... separating out my clothes into what to take and what to send with the movers ... separating out my computers and backing them all up to DVD.

I'm excited ... but I'm also feeling really pushed out of my comfort zone. I'll get over it, I guess ...

Posted by Legion at 8:04 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2005

Two Weeks

In less than two weeks, I'm going to be in California again ... working my new job. I've got so much crap to do that I keep putting off because it just doesn't seem real yet. I guess it'll seem real when I'm there ...

Posted by Legion at 7:47 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2005

Mmmmmmm Bed!

So I've been putting it off and putting it off ... and its times like these that the universe conspires against me. A couple days ago I contracted the evil plague that Bu incubated within his chest cavity and brought forth upon the face of the earth like the divine retribution I am certain it is. What event happened to coincide with this cataclysmic occurrence? A hole appeared in my air mattress. So not only have I spent the past few days sick ... but sleeping on the floor. Today I was well enough to go out and I bought a bed. I bought a really, really nice bed actually. I figured if I'm going to be sleeping on it for about ten years ... I wanted a nice one. Its going to be delivered Saturday ... yayyyy!

Posted by Legion at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2005

Background Check Passed

I got word from the HR person that I passed the background check they require before being employed. I don't know what it is ... probably because my dad was a cop ... but I always get nervous about for what things like that are looking. Will they deny me employment because my first bank account was cancelled by the bank? (Too many overdrafts) Will they deny me employment because I've been in a couple car accidents? It's like I assume I'm living in a police state where everyone is looking down on me until proven otherwise.

But ... I passed ... so there's nothing now between me and California!

Posted by Legion at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

February 3, 2005

Wish Me Luck Part 2

It turns out that they made me quite the attractive offer. The metaphorical offer I couldn't refuse, actually. So ... I'm moving back to California. I hate moving ...

Posted by Legion at 8:19 AM | Comments (0)

February 2, 2005

Wish Me Luck

A company is going to be making me a job offer today, which would entail me moving back to California. I'm not too keen on the California part ... but the team I would be working with is really great and seems like they would appreciate having me there. I'm just stoked that I'm back to the "companies making me job offers" state of being instead of the "me begging companies for the Mungo the Coffee Boy position." Just one short year ago, I would have had no choice but to take the job ... now I can reasonably see a circumstance where I would turn it down and stay here ... and that financially I'd be ok doing it.

Posted by Legion at 8:07 AM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

What Is It With You People?

I just got off the phone with Bu. He's going through some serious "an unexamined life is not worth living" shit right now. He and someone else I work with have both workaholicked themselves into a brick wall, had health problems and now are having to really look at their lives and how they live them.

It's stuff like this that makes me very glad that my first real job (after my paper route) was as a lifeguard. It sort of colors your outlook on life, y'know?

Sun? Check
Water? Check
Women in skimpy outfits? Check

Cool ... now lets just sit back and make sure nobody drowns ...

Posted by Legion at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

My Fifteen Minutes

Back at the beginning of last month, I volunteered to help with the Child's Play charity dinner and auction. My sole mission (well other than helping out in my own way for them to raise over $310,000 this year) was to bid on and win the most coveted prize of all ... an appearance in Penny Arcade. If you remember the story, it came down that after some furious bidding ... they opened it up to anyone or any group that donated a thousand dollars. Garrison Titan and I were one such group. Today is our time in the sun.

I have appeared in Penny Arcade! Ph34r my l33t sk1llz! You can't buy street cred like that. Oh wait ... I guess you can ...

Posted by Legion at 7:11 AM | Comments (0)

January 3, 2005

Happy New Year

... or something. I probably couldn't have ended 2004 on any more of an up note than I did, having gone from virtual destitution and nigh homelessness to being employed, then gainfully employed and finally having a place to call my own again. 2004 marked the end of a long depression for me and the beginning of a renewed faith in my ability to endure. So now what are my plans for 2005?

My one and only New Year's Resolution is to do better at keeping in touch with friends. You see, I have this problem with taking the time to sit down and write an email ... or call someone on the phone ... or wander by and say hi ... those little things that people like to have so they know you're still thinking of them. Somewhere along the line I just never picked up the habit ... I'm thinking of you, isn't that enough? Now you want me to show you I'm thinking of you? *groans*

Well ... that little quirk of mine has lost me a lot of good friends over the years. Here's a list in that highly contextual form that pretty much only myself, Punish and the individuals named should be able to decode: I Don't Have a Butt, King Arthur, My Name Ain't Baby, The Best Looking Comuputer Science Tutee I Ever Had, 70 Years Old And Always Had More Energy Than Me, and probably not finally but I'm drawing the line here ... We Share The Same Birthday But I'm Still 15 Minutes Older Than You. So, to the above people, I'm sorry that I let things slip away ...

As for my current friends ... I'm just going to work doubly hard over the year to ensure that they know they're appreciated, thought about and remembered.

Posted by Legion at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2004

My First Piece of Furniture

My first piece of furniture for the new apartment should be here on Thursday, if the UPS tracking system can be trusted. What did I get, you ask? Read on ...

Are you sick and tired of teeny-tiny, flimsy, particle board "computer" desks that couldn't hold up a one gallon milk jug without bowing ... let alone your monster 21" CRT? Are you pissed off at trying to arrange your computer components in such a way that you actually have two square inches on your desk for things like writing?!? Are you a computer enthusiast who works in a cubicle farm and have asked yourself like Jack Nicholson playing The Joker, "Where [do they] get all those cool toys?" or at least, desks? Well, I am.

Over and over again, I have looked for a computer desk that actually has space to be a desk as well as a place to rest my computer stuff. Y'see, the computer desk is the center around which my home universe revolves. Bedroom, TV room, kitchen ... it all exists to support my time in the computer room. It's my entertainment center, my source of news from around the world and my link to my friends and family. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time there.

Most "computer" desks are designed for what I suppose would be the "average person." The person that doesn't have a lot of room for their computer and just has it tucked away in the dining area or in their bedroom closet or some other place where it won't get in the way. Either that ... or the person wants to build a palatial estate around his computer desk, made to look like an exact replica of the study from Eight is Enough.

What if ... now, you may think I'm nuts ... but what if this problem has already been solved in offices across America and around the world? What is the most efficient desk for any working style? What won't restrict people to putting certain things in certain places whether they want them there or not? Yes, that's right ... cubicle furniture. Big, wide, open desks with plenty of space to put your monitors on the right and the phone on the left or vice versa ... or even, dare I say it, put your monitor in the middle and have workspace to either side? Its your desk ... go crazy!

I finally found a place that would sell me a desk like I have had at work for going on ten years now. It will fit beautifully here in my apartment and I'm sure it'll travel well too. It won't get in my way or clutter things up. They even have accessories in case I want to theme my computer room. It's going to be glorious!

Yeah, scary that I'm this excited about a freaking desk ... when I get a bed, be afraid ... be very afraid.

Posted by Legion at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2004

Slightly More Coherent

Tycho over at Penny Arcade has a pretty good rundown of a lot of the action. I was very proud to be involved last night and to be able to help out. But there is a funny story ...

"Off the chain" doesn't even begin to describe the feeding frenzy that was the bidding for the appearance in a Penny Arcade strip. I had budgeted $500 (thank you overtime!) for the privilege and could only hope that others would not value it so high (or have run out of money by the time it got to that).

As it turned out, I would be bidding against the CO of Garrison Titan. But one of the GT people came up with an idea, "Hey, maybe you could team up and both be in the strip?" What a great plan. It's crazy enough that it just might work! So I quickly located Gabe and Tycho and asked if such a strategy would be honored ... which they confirmed it would. So, much plotting as to how to fake out the other bidders ensued. "Ok, I'll be over here and we'll banter back and forth." "Yeah, I'll be on the far side of the room and yell out, 'You're going down!'" Much malevolent hand-wringing and evil laughter in hushed tones was seen and heard near the Garrison Titan tables. Our combined limit was $750.

Well, when push came to shove ... Gabe opened the bidding at a mere $50 dollars. Within 15 seconds, the bidding had leapt up to $750. I didn't even have a chance to raise my bid card or shout out epithets ... this was going all wrong! Then my bid buddy shouted out $825. Huh? Where's the other money coming from? Some other bidder went to $1,000. My dreams dashed, I began trudging over to the Garrison Titan tables ... where I heard furious cooperative calculations going on. Then the Imperius Maximus bid $1,200! Could it be that we just might snatch victory from the ignominious and seemingly ever-present jaws of defeat? At that point, Gabe and Tycho blurted out they'd take the five highest bidders ... at which point everyone was confused. They corrected and said they'd take any person or group that would donate $1,000. We'd won! We actually won!

It turns out that seeing how close we were, other people joined in the fray and helped out with the difference between $750 and $1,200. All in all, seven of us chipped in together and will be appearing in the strip and I couldn't be happier. What a great crowd! We took headshots of all of us, per Gabe's instructions, and will be sending them in post haste. I can't wait ...

Posted by Legion at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2004

Sideblog? Linkblog? Bloggadelic?

I've created a list of links in the sidebar (yes, right now there's only one so its not much of a list) that I've entitled "Interesting Snippets". Basically, its for me to post just a link with maybe a sentence of description without me feeling I need to post a full blog entry. Which brings me to ...

Why oh why do people feel the need to invent new words when the old ones would work just fine? Many people call this list of rolling links thing I've created a "linkblog" or "sideblog". How about just "links"? I mean really ... the fact that it only shows so many at a time doesn't really mean that it has that much in common with a blog does it? Its not really a blog at all ... unless you go back to the root of the word blog as a contraction of the words "web" and "log". So yes, it is on the web ... and it is a log of links.

I dunno ... I just think people make up new names for things so they can sound cool. Like my buddy Shafe-dawg and I in high school making up nonsense words (with even stranger spellings) to use in place of curse words so we could cuss and the teacher couldn't give us detention.

Posted by Legion at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

December 3, 2004

I've Always Said ...

... that I'm going to be immortal or die trying.

And in related news, the non-existent rumors of my death would have been exaggerated had they actually existed in the first place. The product that I'm helping build at work is in final prep stages for CES. As per usual, this means overtime for everyone ... overtime given out like candy in gilded wrappers ... overtime lorded over you like the unattainable supermodel ... oh ... and still more overtime.

Posted by Legion at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2004

'Tis the Season

Well ... I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately, hence the lack of updates. But there's a couple of little things that have been going on that fit in with the holiday season ...

First, there's the Child's Play Charity Dinner and Auction. I'm going to be volunteering there, helping set up, tear down and whatever odd jobs they need a big guy for in between. Part of the ticket price goes to the charity and then all of the proceeds from the auction do. Also, I am told that I can bid on one thing that's already caught my eye ... an appearance in Penny Arcade!

Additionally, I've received a couple things in the mail here that have made my new apartment experience feel just right ... and my mom taught me the right thing to do in this situation ...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. People-Who-Used-To-Live-In-My-Apartment,

Thank you for not putting in a change of address form too quickly on your move. Though the vast majority of your mail is uninteresting to me and has ended up straight in the outgoing mailbox ... the Victoria's Secret catalog and the December issue of Playboy have been greatly appreciated. This is just a small reminder to me of what makes America great, porn delivered straight to your door. Sure, some of it has to disguise itself as ads for merchandise, but that's just an expression of the freedom available to us! Thank you for helping me keep warm on these cold winter nights ...

Sincerely,

Legion

Posted by Legion at 8:57 AM | Comments (0)

November 1, 2004

Move Along, Nothing To See Here

Let's see ... weekend recap ...

• I'm jonesing because the WoW closed beta has been shut down to give them a chance to update the servers for the next stress test beta.
• My Vonage phone service is installed and works like a champ. I talked to a friend in Connecticut for a total of about six hours this weekend without having to worry about phone charges.
• My Media Center PC and I spent a bunch of quality time together ... recording shows, watching shows.
• Finally, I got the last of my stuff from DukeZuke's house ... I'm completely moved. Yay!

Other than that ... nothing to see here ... move along ... move along ...

Posted by Legion at 7:41 AM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2004

Getting Down Off the Wagon

Have I fallen off the wagon? Yes, in a way. The main reason why I wanted to post every weekday was because I wanted to see if I could move the blog to something that would actually provide a service ... like Lum the Mad used to do or like Penny Arcade still does. I was thinking of moving my blog into something that people would come to for a fresh perspective on either MMOGs or movies ... but what it boiled down to upon further reflection is that I don't really have that much to say.

In general, I like games and movies. There are very few movies out there that I can't get at least some enjoyment from. Games I'm a bit more strict with (especially MMOGs) ... but I'm still far from what I would call "critical." And really, in order to provide a service I think one has to be able to lay down the smack with regularity, with verve and with style. I've got the verve ... but the style and the regularity seem to be lacking.

So, for now, I think I'm going to return to my previous schedule of blogging only when I have something that I've just got to get out ...

Posted by Legion at 8:56 AM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2004

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

I just have to say that my new apartment managers totally rock! Over the weekend I pointed out three things that needed fixing in the place and when I got home yesterday, all three were fixed completely and cleanly. Other than what I asked for, my apartment was exactly as I left it that morning. I'm going to drop off a bottle of port as thanks before I head off to work today.

Now if only the cable company will fix my internet as efficiently ...

Posted by Legion at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2004

No Time For Love Dr. Jones

I got a lot of work done today and I got the papers for the new apartment signed. I relaxed with my soon-to-be-former-roommate and his girlfriend tonight watching movies and then played a little WoW. Now off to bed because I have a big weekend ahead of me ...

It's moving day ...

Posted by Legion at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2004

LUA

Nope, I'm not planning on talking about the lightweight scripting language for extending applications ... good guess though. No, in the spirit of the Dilbert Ultimate House, I bring you ... the Legion Ultimate Apartment!

Ok, so I don't have oodles of cash to pay a company to make cool 3D walkthroughs and such ... but you can imagine. And really, I'm not designing the apartment from the ground up ... I'm just putting my stuff in it. On the other hand, I am designing it to be fairly technology-riddled.

First, cable internet is going to be installed. The nice thing about cable is it seems to be less finicky than DSL and Comcast delivers up to 3Mbps instead of the common 1.5Mbps of DSL plans. From there, I have a wireless and wired router providing network connectivity to the office (the second bedroom really) via traditional wires and to the rest of the apartment via 802.11b/g wireless connection.

For the living room, I'm still working on my Media Center PC to provide me with PVR capabilities as well as function as a radio and music player. It will be connected to my file server (containing my music) in the office via the aforementioned wireless network. Additionally, the Xbox will be set up in the living room and connected to the internet for Xbox Live also via the wireless network.

Finally, I've ordered phone service from Vonage a Voice-over-Internet company. It gets me basic phone service, plus unlimited local and long-distance calling, plus all those add-on services the phone company charges extra for like Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Three-Way Calling, etc. On top of that, I can have a phone number up here and a phone number in Californa so my friends back there can call me at a local number.

Now all I need is a big screen TV so that I'm not watching movies and TV on a 21" monitor ...

Oh ... and furniture ...

Posted by Legion at 7:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2004

Just a Quick Note

I got the apartment I was hoping for! Its a great place and I couldn't be more excited!

Posted by Legion at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)

WoW Rules ... Tired Ramble

But I'm tired ... too much going on and not enough hours to sleep ...

New apartment searching ... Media Center building ... WoW playing ... movie watching ...

I did buy Donnie Darko the other day though. I want to watch it, but DukeZuke's girlfriend hasn't seen it yet ... so I'm waiting for her to have a chance.

When I move I really need to buy a huge cabinet to hold all my DVDs and I need to get them alphabetized again ...

Put it on the todo list ...

Posted by Legion at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2004

Fedex & Red Tape

I could have just replied to Legion's latest rant, but...

It is way more fun to post my own rant. Ok, I worked for Fedex. And I for one, am sooo happy they made that rule. Know why? For all of those boneheaded "customers" that would call and ask to hold it, then they would call back 3 days later screaming that you never delivered it!

Why would they do something like this? So they could be reimbursed the shipping charges. If a package is supposed to be delivered by 10 am, and lets say for the heck of it, it cost 35.00 to ship it. Some people have major issues paying money for something they want right now. They do not take into consideration the jet fuel, the fuel for the trucks, the cost of scanning that stupid package 500 times so that the same bonehead can track it. Not to mention the salaries for the handlers, pilots, drivers and the customer service reps.

And when the driver (me) finally gets the stupid package to the bonehead, they have the nerve to either rant and rave or brag he got one over on Fedex. And yes, I am supposed to smile and take it, but I got pretty good at smiling with "the motherlook". You know the one.. your children see it and they run for cover, a boneheaded adult sees it and they wonder if they are going to see the next day...

And why would I..the peon driver care? Because we have numbers to keep, and we get bonuses based on our numbers. That bonehead just screwed ME out of 35.00. Yay Mr. Bonehead, you are on my delivery shitheads list.. I just may put your next package next to that rotting banana peel I save for people that cost me money or cause me headaches.

So, there you go, my rant on why this policy is a GOOD thing, coming from a former peon Fedex driver.

Posted by Searra at 4:56 AM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2004

Red Tape

Y'know ... sometimes all the policies and regulations that humans put in their own way just make absolutely no sense to me. Why we create these shiny impediments to our progress I think I'll never understand. Here's my story ...

I'm having some things shipped to me to finish off my Media Center PC. Now, from experience, I won't be home when the FedEx guy comes ... so the package will go back to the FedEx office and be held there for me to come pick it up. But, in the past I would just call FedEx ... have them keep the package at the office and I can pick it up on the way to work.

This morning I call and FedEx tells me that the "recipient" (that would be me) does not have the authority to change the delivery type before at least one attempt is made. In essence, they have to come out and make an attempt to deliver it to my door ... then I can come in and pick it up. Until then, the only person that has the authority to have it held is the shipper.

So if I know that I'm not going to be there and there's no chance they'll be able to deliver it ... I'm not allowed to say that and just pick it up and everyone can be happy? Now, they did make an implication that this new policy is because the shipper might get upset that they didn't reach their committment to the shipper. So really, rather than getting upset at FedEx ... I should be getting upset at the psycho little anal bean counter that said, "Dude WTF ... you let this guy pick it up five hours earlier than he could've gotten it by delivering it to his door?!? We're changing our service to Airborne Express!" Yes, it is possible that someone called in ... had their package held ... then left it there for three days and the shipper got upset because it wasn't in the customer's hands ... but dammit ... that's just as bad.

I really don't care who is responsible for this crazy ass policy ... because FedEx is complicit in it. Yes, the customer is always right ... but sometimes the customer is a whack funky crack baby all growed up and picking it's nose and someone just needs to come along and say, "Dude ... put the finger down ... you're scraping brain pan there." Sometimes the customer needs a little edumacation rather than just a zombie-like bowing down to their every whim.

I confess I will welcome our new robot masters ... they can't be any worse than ourselves ...

Posted by Legion at 7:24 AM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2004

M is for Moving

DukeZuke came to me last night and asked me about my progress on finding my own place. We talked about it and though he still hasn't come out and said it ... he wants me out. So this weekend I'm going to do my utmost to just find a place. Hopefully I can be moved by the end of the month. Yeah, it may seem rushed but one time I actually started looking, found a place and moved in just under 72 hours. I'd love it if I could repeat that experience.

In other news, I was able to find a place that sells Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Unfortunately, you have to buy the software and the remote separately (though they do sell both) ... and you can only get the software in bundles of three. So maybe I can find two friends who want to buy it with me ...

But ... despite my whining and moaning about moving ... I am having fun designing the network that I'm going to have in my new place. I figure that my Media Center PC and my Xbox should have wireless access to the network ... so I'll have a wireless router. In my computer room (since I plan to have two bedrooms ... one will be the computer room) everything will be wired, eventually to be upgraded to Gigabit ethernet. Then I'll need one more hub ... so that if friends come over for a LAN party I'll have network ports for them in the front room.

Now all I need is furniture ...

Posted by Legion at 8:09 AM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2004

Project Switcheroo

Tonight's project will be to take one working computer and some spare parts and make two working computers out of it. It'll be challenging ... and I may only get one up and running tonight. But it'll be really nice to have all the parts I've spent so much money on contributing to the welfare of the household again.

Now ... let's see where XP Media Center Edition 2005 is available ...

Posted by Legion at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2004

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

I'm back. There's really not much to say other than that. The security at the airports were a breeze. I followed the instructions and things were fine. I did have to plan for a bit more time than I was used to ... but that's not too big of a deal. More tomorrow, I guess ...

Posted by Legion at 9:20 PM | Comments (0)

October 7, 2004

Tonight I Travel

For the first time since 9/11 I'm going to get on a plane. It's not that I've been afraid to ... far from it. But I've been pretty much out of work and/or not able to afford to fly since then ... so I just haven't had the opportunity. So now I get to see first-hand what everyone has been complaining about for the past three years ... wish me luck!

Posted by Legion at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)

October 6, 2004

I Feel Like a Kid Again

When I was a kid once a year, typically for my Mom's birthday, we would go to The Nut Tree a little restaurant cum shopping center that was a special treat for all of us. When we were there, my dad would usually take me to the aerospace store that had all sorts of books, models and other delights all centered on planes new and old ... and space travel.

But it wasn't the science fiction stuff that they carried like I could find anyplace else. No, this was science fact. They carried books on what it was like to be an astronaut and how you could start training today to be one. They carried books on moon rocks and how the various space ships we had built were designed. It was a paradise for any kid, like me, who wanted to go into outer space someday.

As I grew up ... dreams changed ... things changed. I settled into more terrestrial dreams. I dreamt of being a physicist ... and then when money became a concern ... I got into computers. But always ... space was in the back of my mind.

And so, over the years, NASA has become somewhat of a disappointment. We went to the freaking moon man! What happened? Why aren't we continuing to push forward? Why don't we have more than a paltry few people in a badly welded and falling apart tin can in orbit? Politics happened ...

But that's ok ... other people are like me and see the benefit of pushing out into space. And they don't have to wait for the government to do it for them. I was excited when I heard about SpaceShipOne. I was even more so when I heard they had claimed the X Prize.

But the latest announcement takes the cake ... Ansari is turning the X Prize into an annual competition. I can imagine it now ... like stock car racing spurred on the auto industry in the United States ... hopefully so will the X Prize create a new industry here.

I feel like a kid again ... dreaming of figuring out a way to get in on the ground floor of that endeavor ...

Posted by Legion at 7:43 AM | Comments (0)

October 5, 2004

New Resolution

Well ... I've been thinking about it for quite a while and I think I can maintain it if I can get into some sort of routine. I really want to make at least one post on here every weekday. I'm not sure why I think its important ... maybe its just me trying to enact some sort of self-discipline. I hate routines though ... I'm the type of person that needs something new every so often to keep from getting bored. But I really want to see if I can make this stick. I've been doing a lot better with the site since I was able to get it back up ... so we'll see where I can take it from here. Maybe I can even commit to one movie review a week ...

Well ... let's not get carried away ...

Posted by Legion at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2004

Moving Along

I had a short little chat last night with DukeZuke. He's looking at what apartments are available for me and pointing out deals where he sees them. Hmmmm ... methinks he's giving me a hint. So October will be the month where I find myself a new place, it seems. No more big toys for me for a while ... it'll be furniture and dishes and gods know what else ... though my own TV will be a nice purchase. And I don't need to spend money on a DVD player since my Xbox works just fine for that ...

Posted by Legion at 8:17 AM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2004

Found Some Old Logs

I found some old logs tonight of conversations I had with Internet flames back in 1999. Man it's a trip to have an exact log of conversations ... and it's doubly weird to remember the feelings behind them like you're looking at someone else. Someone else because I was such a different person back then ... yeah ... just five short years ago. Kind of a sap, actually ... hehe.

Posted by Legion at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2004

Drunk and Melancholy

Warning ... rambling full-bottle-of-port content to follow ...

DukeZuke has a girlfriend and I'm being excluded more and more over time from activities around the house. I really need to find my own place. I just moved up here to Washington a little over a year ago now ... I left my friends, my family (even though I really wasn't very close with my family) ... everything I knew ... to try to start a new life.

Well ... I've started a new life. My new life is really, really boring. I don't have any friends to do anything with. I don't have places to go or things to see. I don't know where anything is. My friend Lorie warned me that it would be like this. I knew she was right ... but I didn't realize just how right she was.

The friends I do have here ... the ones that convinced me to give Washington a try ... well, they're like me ... but we don't have that history that I have with my friends in California. I've known Punish for over twenty years. Even Alan and Debbie I've known for almost ten years now ... and they're some of my newest friends. Scary, huh?

I don't know what it is ... I just seem to be making friends really slowly up here. I know part of it is that I just am not getting out and about as much as I used to ... but I'm getting older ... and all my friends are settling down with girlfriends and wives. They don't have time for single friends anymore ... or at least ... single friends don't do the same thing as married friends.

I'm not smoking anymore ... but I'm drinking a bit ... a little every night. That's not exactly the greatest sign. Of course, I've done that off and on for a few years ...

Guess I just need to get out more ... get laid or something ...

Posted by Legion at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2004

"Kidnapped"

Whenever my aunt and I get together, my husband calls it the "kidnapping of Searra".. maybe because I never seem to get home when we say I will..

I am always complaining about not having any good stores in my area. If I want to order a good book, I just go to the library and if they don't have it, I use inter library loan. This is good, but if I want it right away well there is usually a week or two wait. If we want to get components for the computer or a new stero system, we go on-line.

Well.. the other night, my Aunt, who is close to my age, "kidnapped" me. What this means is that she came over and asked me to go to the grocery store with her, which is only 5 minutes down the road. She has the new Sirius Satelite radio system in her car and we ended up driving around playing with it and checking out all of the 239 stations on it. We, had our coffees and music and we were having a blast. Well, we get to the store to buy her dog a specific snack the little old guy loves and find out that they don't carry them any more. So we start going to all the other grocery stores trying to find his "combos".

Then I come up with this great idea! Lets go to Petco! This is a 45 minute drive and I have not been up to this area in awile. We get there and what is there now? An entirely new shopping complex! There is a Best Buy, Babies R Us (why couldn't that have been there 2 years ago???), a Borders Book Store too and much more!

First we went into Best Buy so I could take a look at the Satelite Radio Systems, but we got sidetracked by all of those plasma televisions that beckon to you when you first enter. They were all playing the trailer to Sky Captain (in surround sound, of course) and we just stood there with drool dribbling down the corner of our mouths. When it finished and we learned that it was opening "In a theatre near you tomorrow!", we both said it was something we HAD TO SEE!

We looked at the computers and laptops, the video cards and mother boards, the stero systems and digital cameras, we even looked at the washing machines and office furniture.. we were in heaven!

From there we went to the bookstore where we looked at thier jazz collection and she bought 4 CDs and I bought one for my husband...yes, it was a peace offering.. since a half hour trip has now turned into a 2 hour trip... and we weren't done. Petco was next..where we played with the ferrets and other customer's dogs and she stocked up on combos.

We get into the car, so badly wanting to hit up Dick's Sporting Store, but now we realize that I have been gone for 3 hours.. and neither one of us brought our cell phones. I will NOT admit that that was done on purpose!!

We are driving home and my aunt is worried that my husband is going to be mad at us. My aunt is the one that introduced me to him so.. she should never worry..but me on the other hand... I told her not to worry, I bought him the cd and I knew he would love it (he did)...

Next week, she will kidnap me again and we will go to see Sky Captain. Wonder what we will tell the family then? *laughs*

Posted by Searra at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2004

Book Review? Huh?

Well, I was on my way in to work yesterday and I was listening to the radio, as I often do ... and I heard about this new book called How to Marry a Divorced Man. The title struck me as kind of weird ... but hey ... I guess some people need help with this.

But that was just the beginning ...

Basically, from the way it sounds its a guerilla guide to doing whatever one can to trick, cajole, bamboozle and force one's dream divorced guy into marrying you.

On the radio, they went over the "reasons to marry a divorced guy." One of them was "he's already housebroken." I'm sorry? I thought this was a book about marrying a guy ... not buying a puppy. Here's a quote from a review, "Sandbagging the kids to preserve precious closet space may not be for everyone ('Tell them foldable clothes made from synthetic materials are all the rage'), but for Fram's FateMates, the end seems to justify the means." Does this seem twisted and sick to anybody else?

Yes, I am going to buy this book ... and yes, I am going to read it from cover to cover. Why in the world would I want to do that? Because I want to know what women are telling other women to do ... and to think. I want to know what crap women are going to try to pull on me.

People have told me many, many times that I am very idealistic ... especially when it comes to love and romance. I've tried very hard to maintain that attitude ... because what's a dissappointed romantic? That's right ... he's a cynic. I generally don't like the world when I put my cynic goggles on (no, they're not glasses ... a cynic doesn't want contamination coming in from the sides of the eyes either ... you sneaky bastard ... thought you could get me, huh?). But if women are simply going to try to take advantage of me ... I guess I have to be on my guard.

Get this straight ...

I am not someone you can try to trick into being your dream guy. I'm me ... nobody else.

I am not your fucking meal ticket.

I am not a checkbox on your list of goals in life.

And I am most assuredly not your fucking teddy bear ... to console you when you've had a bad day and to be forgotten every other time.

Posted by Legion at 8:03 AM | Comments (1)

September 6, 2004

Moving Forward

Well ... the backend to the site was down for a couple days because I decided to upgrade to the latest and greatest Movable Type v3.11. I always have to be the early adopter ... I always have to jump in with both feet. But now things are up and running again and I can update the site ... yayyyy! And now for some current events ...

I picked up a Trek 4500 mountain bike today. I've been toying with the idea of what should I do for exercise? My personal favorite would be swimming, but alas ... it takes a bit too much time. I mean ... you have to get your stuff together ... drive to the pool ... get your workout ... dry off ... shower ... drive home. It's like three hours invested for a half hour workout. My theory is ... with a bike ... you get on ... you go ... you come home ... you shower. All told ... about an hour for a half hour workout. Not bad, eh?

And this brings me to another subject ... service. Y'know ... I worked for nearly five years in retail. Personally, I think everyone should spend at least two years in retail or food services as a basic requirement for citizenship. That would give anybody with a conscience a decent understanding of how to treat other people ... and also what jerks some people can be. The idea is ... more tolerant of nice people ... less tolerant of jerks.

So since I spent so much time in retail ... I expect to be treated with a certain amount of respect and to be taken care of when I come in talking about spending large sums of money. The first place I went to had a great website with a lot of information that was very helpful. Unfortunately for them ... they dropped the ball when it came to the actual sale. I came in talking about buying a bike and they first said that they had to transfer something from the other store. No problem, just call me when it's all ready. Ready in two days? Ok ... just call me. So when they call me the next day saying that they didn't know what I needed and I had to repeat it all ... I started thinking someone was smoking a little too much wacky weed. Then ... after that ... I never hear from them. So I call them. Oh? You sold it? Oh wait ... no ... you have one? But you need to build it? It'll take a couple days and you'll call me?

As Bill Cosby would say ... riiiiiiight.

So then I go to a new place and they show me all around ... they suggest some other things to think about ... they bend over backwards to give me what I want. Oh? You can have it tomorrow with all the accessories already installed? Here's my credit card ... let's just take care of this now.

See? It's that simple ...

Posted by Legion at 9:06 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2004

Letter to My Parents

I suggested today that my mom read my website. I didn't realize that this would be the first time that I actually admitted in front of my parents that I smoked. They've seen the evidence a couple times ... but the words were never said. It was a strange, sinking feeling when I realized that.

But also, I think my mom blamed herself for some of the turmoil she saw reading the site. I think maybe the comment about my sense of humor might have set some of that off. She sent me an apologetic email ... and (though maybe she might not like this idea) I thought I would share my reply.

I know that you're worried about having been too hard on me. And ... in one respect ... you were. But it's ok. It was hard growing up with a cop for a dad ... but I also learned a lot that taught me how to deal with the world and how the world actually operates. It just was hard for me to assimilate it until much, much later.

I was talking with my friend Searra today. We trade stories and moral support. I talked about how you two raised me ... and how there are some things that I think I would have liked improved in hindsight ... but I had my own demons to battle too. I had to try everything out for myself. I couldn't trust that the two of you actually knew what you were talking about. I had to and still do have to just jump in with both feet. Part of that is being a first child. Part of that is just me. Searra has a daughter that's about 16 now ... and we talked today about how to trust her daughter with freedom. I think that's one thing that you two could never do with me ... but in talking to Searra ... I see how hard it is too. I know it was hard on you two that I forced my freedom upon you ... and it wasn't necessarily the best strategy.

But ... through all of it ... I've come out on my feet. I've learned from all of it. And I maybe in some weird Bizarro universe I could ask for better parents ... but at this point, I don't want to. I want all the things that I learned from you two ... the good and maybe the not so good. Because even the not so good trained me ... eventually ... when I could sit down and look at it ... for other things.

Don't beat yourself up ... if I'm not allowed to ... neither are you.

Love to You Both,

Legion Vielenamen

Posted by Legion at 12:02 AM | Comments (0)

July 24, 2004

Trying Out Some Old Activities and Looking for New Ones

It's been over a week since I've posted. It's been kinda busy around here. I've actually been reading. I've actually started staying up way too late reading my books and going to work tired ... like I used to do in school so long ago.

I've also been noticing that when I do that, my outlook on life is significantly more bleak. I'm more easily depressed and feel defeated more quickly. I don't really want to be like that anymore. I spent too many years of my life just watching time go by ... thinking that I didn't have any control over what was going on. So I'm working on reading more, but during the daylight hours.

I'm also looking for something interesting to do. Something to get me out and about. Maybe even involving some exercise. I was looking at taking up aikido again, but none of the classes I was able to find fit in with my schedule. A few dive shops in the Seattle area are having a sale this weekend ... maybe I'll check that out. I've always wanted to get into scuba diving. I just never did anything about it.

Maybe now is the time ...

Posted by Legion at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2004

Finally!

Ok ... so I used to live in California. But last year I moved to Washington, mainly to break myself out of the rut that I was in and see if I couldn't get some work up here. I succeeded on both counts. But there were some things I had to give up to do it ...

Besides the obvious giving up of spending time with the friends that I've known for ages ... including my best friend, Punish, whom I've known for over 20 years ... the first thing I had to give up was the sun. This wasn't so hard ... that's kind of an occupational hazard for computer people. I'm quickly approaching the your world orbits a ball of fire point. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Another thing that I had to give up is knowing where everything is. The psychological effect of this cannot be underestimated. When you're just visiting someplace ... it's not so bad. People know that you don't know where anything is when you're just visiting. But when you move someplace ... people just assume that you're going to pick up on it and blather off things like, "My buddy just got a great deal on a house in the Northwood area." Which when you don't know where the Northwood area is ... or what type of neighborhood it is ... you can't make any sort of quantitative or qualitative analysis of the sentence. You either have to sit there and nod saying things like, "Ah." Or you have to say, "Please ... where is Northwood, what is it's history and socio-economic status?"

Last but not least ... I had to give up bookstores. I mean, maybe it has something to do with this mad scientist contraption that blots out the sun nearly every day (people tell me they're called "clouds") ... but I could've sworn I've seen at least one native Washingtonian read. Sure ... there's Waldenbooks. But anyone who reads at or above the college level knows that Waldenbooks is the grocery store generic brand of bookstores. It's like those bookstores in airports ... you know the ones ... the stores that have a smattering of books that are on the bestseller lists and a selection of fashion magazines and romance novels and a clerk who's lucky to have read more than the application form for a fast food joint ... let alone read enough to graduate high school. There's Barnes and Noble too ... but they're pretty much Waldenbooks with more floorspace.

But finally ... finally I've found a Borders! And it turns out that it's only about 20 minutes from where I work! (Another Washingtonian thing ... anything is a minimum of 20 minutes from anywhere ... so that's really close.) I had to control myself from buying the store right then and there just so I could dump a bunch of books on the floor and curl up amongst them, nigh unto smothering myself. The staff was helpful and friendly ... even moreso than I've come to expect from Borders down in California. They didn't know of the books I was asking about ... but they bent over backwards to find what I wanted ... even unto ordering a book so I could look at it and decide if I wanted to buy it. I mean ... c'mon ... you can't get any better than that.

Accept no substitutes ... give me a Borders or give me ... ummm ... uhhh ... something better!

Posted by Legion at 8:22 AM | Comments (1)

July 14, 2004

What I Want In a Woman ... Besides Me

Well ... along with all this bad-habit-dropping ... I've been doing a lot of thinking. The ultimate goal of this exercise is to get my life straightened out so that I can move on to other goals ... y'know ... house, significant other ... maybe wife someday. That kind of thing. So since I've always been pretty willy-nilly about whom I choose to date ... I figured I'd write down all the things that I know I want. When I'm thinking objectively that is ...

Because I am who I am ... and movies are an allegory of life in general for me, the easiest way I know how to go about this is to pick female characters out of movies that exemplify the qualities for which I'm looking. I can't currently remember enough examples ... but I want to get this posted ... so I'll update this from time to time as I find more.

Dr. Maureen Robinson from Lost in Space ... independence.

Amy of The Kid and Julia from Defending Your Life ... Childish sense of wonderment and love of life ... "Look at the moon, it's so big and round!"

Alicia Larde Nash from A Beautiful Mind ... patience, understanding and a fondness for non-traditional means of expression.

Gail Jones from My Life ... loyalty, support and a need to have me involved in her life.

Speaking of loyalty ... Max from the Dark Angel TV series is a pretty good example too. Other than that though, I think she's kind of a bitch. And yes, I know a lot of women were like, "Finally, a strong female character!" and they'll probably get all bent out of shape about me calling that character a bitch ... but y'know what ... you can be strong and not be a bitch. That's something that's lost on a lot of women today.

Finally, someone who'll love me for my faults, not in spite of them. Some may think that this is the wrong way around ... but I don't think so. I'm no saint ... and I don't want a woman who can't handle that I hate sometimes ... that I want to hurt people sometimes. I don't want a woman that can't understand the things I've seen in my life and can't at least be sympathetic with the way I've chosen to cope with them ... even if perhaps it's not the best way. I have seen first-hand the evil that men do ... and I'm not above doing whatever I have to in order to protect my friends and loved-ones. But I also need a woman who'll encourage me to be better ... not someone to wallow in misery with. I do that just fine on my own.

A dirty angel ... someone who's seen the world as it is and strives every day to be what she could have been ... should have been. Just like me.

Posted by Legion at 8:10 AM | Comments (2)

July 6, 2004

Bad Habit Overload

I may be biting off more than I can chew, but all at once I'm trying to quit smoking, give up Pepsi (caffeine), change my eating habits and stop biting my fingernails. So far the not biting my fingernails is working pretty well ...

Quitting smoking really isn't that hard for me. There have been many times where I've been motivated to just not smoke ... usually due to environmental factors such as being on a roadtrip with a bunch of friends who don't smoke. The part that's hard is the not starting up again after the environmental influence is gone. And then there's the nervous habits that come from not smoking ... like biting one's fingernails ... which I'm also trying not to do.

Giving up Pepsi is probably just as hard ... because there's not the social stigma attached to it (unless you count the rabid Coke drinkers, but hey ... they're nuts anyway). And it's doubly hard now that I work in a place where they offer free Pepsi ... as much as you want. Though giving up Pepsi should counter-balance the nervous habits ... I think ...

Changing my eating habits shouldn't be too hard. I'm giving myself one last hurrah before I get down and dirty with the Atkins. I went to the store and bought anything I wanted ... ice cream (which I haven't purchased any for the house in at least a year or two), alcohol, hotdogs with all the fixin's, etc. Searra is helping me with recipes and moral support and such ... so this should be easier than the other two.

As far as biting my nails ... a few years back, I started going to a salon to get haircuts given to me by beautiful women. It was a lot of fun ... they'd serve beer ... they'd chat and fawn over me. One time, on a lark, I got a manicure. And that helped break me initially of my nailbiting. I'd start to go for my nails and I'd think, "Hey! I paid good money for these ... stop that!" So now, I've actually got nails again ... because I just got back into that mode of thinking.

Now if there was some similar mental trick for the other stuff ...

Posted by Legion at 1:27 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2004

Traditions Among Our People

Back in the day, we used to go to the movies all the time. Now that I have three kids, trips to those hallowed halls of escapism are few and far between.

I was reading Penny Arcade today and this article really brought home to me the lack of movies in my life recently. The part that really got to me was when Tycho wrote about seeing Spiderman 2 at the midnight showing. His comment went like this: I had an opportunity to see Spider-Man 2 at midnight, which is a tradition among our people as you well know.

Oh yes, I do know! There was a time when I knew about most of those midnight excursions and did my best to get there, or at least to arrange an afternoon off work where our group of friends would get together and go have a few drinks and see a movie. Heck, there were a few summers where we did that nearly every week!

So, I'm reading this article and I start to get this hollow feeling inside. I totally miss this kind of thing. I didn't realize just how much I do miss those trips to the movies until I read that. I thought 'Yes! That was a tradition among our people!' But now, it's a tradition I don't get to enjoy nearly as much as I used to. I have other responsibilities now and one of them happens to be a family that cheers when I get home. I mean literally cheers. Not a bad replacement, come to think of it.

Posted by Punish at 7:25 AM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2004

Fast Food Experience

Having a four year-old, McDonalds, Burger King or even Wendy's is a once a week affair...

Ok, so when I go into a fast food restaraunt, I do not expect friendly service. I feel I have gotten out of there lucky if my order was not messed up beyond recognition.

Personally, I would not bother with any of them if my four year-old was not such a good girl, that once a week we take her as a treat. Well, this week she had to get 3 immunization shots and she was such a trooper, we threw in an extra trip. Today, she decided she wanted to go to Wendy's. They have a garfield toy in thier Kid's meals. I have never gone into Wendy's before.. I have gone through thier drive-thru, but never "dined in".

Today, my daughter insisted we "dine-in". They were very pleasant when we ordered and did not mess it up either. Ok, I thought, so they are not bitter teenagers hating the extra acne developing due to the fryolator.

We take our food and sit down and have a nice meal (for a fast-food place that is), when the manager walks over to us and asks US how everything was. I was speechless, I looked over at the fast-food menu to be sure that I was indeed inside of Wendy's and not inside of our favorite restaraunt. He then gave my daughter some stickers and of course that made her shine. Somewhere, I found my voice again and managed to squeek out "everything is fine, thank you".

After he left our table, to inquire with the other customers, I looked at my husband and asked him if I should leave a tip. He laughed and said that he felt like he just stepped into the "Twilight Zone". I agreed it was rather surreal. We gathered up our daughter and started to walk out to the car, when another employee coming back from dumping out the garbage, smiled at us and told us to "Have a nice day!"

We responded politely with "You too!" and climbed into our vehicle .. I looked at my husband and asked him if it were still 2004? Or did we somehow warp back to 1954?

Has society gotten so rude and impatient that an act of kindness and just general politeness has totally sent us off our rockers? Well, I for one, enjoyed it today, and I WILL go back to "dine-in" at Wendy's. I just hope it was not a once in a lifetime thing...

Searra

Posted by Searra at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2004

Hello

Ok, so this is new to me, even though a close friend says it is not. So, here goes, I am Searra, I am not normal (thank god).. I like lots of things that have nothing to do with one another.. you could not put me into a catagory.. unless ecclectic were one.

I love to play games (not head games..they just suck), bake and cook, I love my garden and I like to clean.. yes I do. I think the best when I am cleaning. I love Mozart but then again Led Zepplin, Kenny Chesenny and Heart have their places in my CD collection too. Love the feeling of sitting on the 4th turn during a really good Nascar race, but it feels just as good to be sitting there watching a Broadway Play or on the town lawn listening to a qunitet at Sunset.

I love to decorate and I am always changing something in my home. And you will always find a vase of flowers on my diningroom table. I like debating the 4 versus 5 bolt rear end (get your head out of the gutter this is about CARS) with my Dad as well as theories of physics with friends.

I think my ecclectic personality comes from my humble beginings (yes, I mean poor) combined with the love of reading and the desire to know more. I come from a family of motorheads on my Dad's side and farmers on my Mom's side. I need to diagnose that noise from under my hood, I go see my cousin, need to find out what is eating my tomato leaves, I go see my great-Uncle.

I can't spell for anything and I have to find out about getting a spell checker here! *hint hint*

Ok, I hate stupid people, paying more taxes because of said stupid people, and people who think they know what is best for you when all they want is power (book burners be damned!) A rant for another time.. but how could you burn Judy Blume?!?!?!?!

I have a tendancy to go on tangents so you can either hop on the tangent bus or skip it...up to you. In other words, sometimes a topic may start off with good intentions, but it will most likely turn into another one eventually.

So, with that, Hi and hope you like reading whatever I feel like writing about.

Searra

Posted by Searra at 9:00 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2004

I Think I'm in Love

Where I work now, most people have offices. Some of them are drab, boring affairs ... very clinical. It's obvious that the people who inhabit them are simply there to work ... that they live someplace else. Then there are others where the people who use them have grown roots within that office ... they've infused it with a part of themselves.

One such office belongs to someone who has definitely caught my eye with this posted on her office door:

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

For those of you who don't recognize it ... it's a quote from Say Anything ... the classic 80's movie where the guy in a trenchoat holds the boom box above his head playing the Peter Gabriel song, In Your Eyes. That quote was once my philosophy in life ... back when my career goal was to be a lifeguard for the rest of my life. Needless to say, I was impressed that a female where I work would have that on her office door.

Ok ... maybe not in love ... but definitely in lust ...

Posted by Legion at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)

Why Paying for Things Is Good

In the United States, we have a thing called "contract law" and at the base of it there's offer, acceptance and what I'll call remuneration (since I don't remember the real legal term). Basically, what the remuneration part means is that there has to be something in it for both sides ... X is exchanged for Y. It doesn't have to be money ... it can be goods or services too. And recently, a free blog hosting service shut down abruptly.

Now, the free part is important ... because in the absence of other compensation being given to the maintainer of the service, there was no contract. Sure, it isn't cool that people are without their blogs and can't even make a backup, but if they had paid even just a dollar a month for the service ... even just a one-time fee of a dollar ... they would have a contract. They would have a legally enforceable contract.

Why the heck is a contract so important? For one, it's important because when there's a contract ... people take it more seriously. There's legal grounds there to have the government step in and enforce the arrangement. If there's no contract ... there's only someone's personal whims holding things together.

At one point, people used to say that if I fixed their computers they'd feed me. I always made it very clear that I'd fix their computers whether they fed me or not ... that the remuneration was not a part of the deal. Why? So that I was fixing their computers for free ... and if three weeks later their hard drive died it would be that much harder to sue me.

Free is all well and good ... but if you don't protect yourself and your rights with a contract ... then you can bitch all you like, but sympathy? That's the next door down.

Posted by Legion at 7:45 AM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2004

PAX Meet and Greet

I'm off to the PAX volunteer Meet and Greet at the Penny Arcade offices in Seattle. The kind lady running the show referred to it as addressing a room full of teenagers. Well ... I guess either I'm the odd man out or I should be calling the National Enquirer to give them my story.

Posted by Legion at 3:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 7, 2004

Scars

I had a girlfriend who bit me once, quite literally. I was certain that I would have the scars of that event for the rest of my life. I was in the shower this morning, getting ready for work ... and realized that they were gone. It was an interesting revelation that what, at the time, was so grievous is now just a fading memory ... simply an, "Oh yeah ... I remember now, it was this arm."

Posted by Legion at 8:40 AM | Comments (0)

June 3, 2004

Why Did I Ever Start Blogging?

Once upon a time, there was a website called "The Rantings of Lum the Mad." It wasn't just Lum, though ... it was a bunch of his friends as well. They shared the site ... and it was good.

It was a site about gaming ... MMORPGs, in specific. But it wasn't just a review site. They talked about issues ... real issues in how people relate to the world through this new style of game. They did it frankly, honestly and without a bunch of mealy-mouthed "I'm afraid I'm going to get sued" crap. They were just regular people ... with regular opinions about games and gamers.

And that's what did it for me. I realized that I too was a regular person ... with regular opinions ... and that at some times they were quite strong. If I read Lum's opinions ... then perhaps others would like to read my opinions. Even me ... because sometimes I get really inspired and it all just flows out of me, but later I can't remember all the points I made in my little mental conversation with myself. So I use my blog to save it for posterity.

Unfortunately, the old Lum the Mad site is no longer. There are no more rants about games from Scott Jennings who was once Lum the Mad. I won't bore you with the details of why, but he's got a new site that I have linked on my main page. There was, though, one rant on the old Lum the Mad site that stood out among the rest that really showed me that blogs could be something more than just "Dear Diary" fluff.

I leave you with ... Broken Toys.

Posted by Legion at 3:04 PM | Comments (2)

June 2, 2004

A New Month

Not much to rant about really. I'm getting used to my new job ... but I still haven't settled into a routine. I'm generally not big on routines, but I know I need to get some started because things are just too chaotic in my life right now. I need to be dependable at work so that hopefully I can make this a long-term thing instead of another flash in the pan.

Posted by Legion at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2004

Updated to Movable Type 3.0

I've updated to the v3.0 Developer Edition of Movable Type and other than the fact that I had to rebuild my site from the ground up ... I like it. It's got a few new features and I like the changes they made to the back end. Unfortunately, one of the changes they made to the system is the stylesheets which broke the cool look I had selected for the site. Since v3 of Movable Type is so new, I'm having to update it by hand myself. So if things look weird ... that's why.

Posted by Legion at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

May 9, 2004

Old Entries

I've found a backup of the old site, so I'm slowly importing the old entries into the new system. So if you see mysterious additions to the site with old dates ... I'm not trying to hoodwink you ... just doing some continuity cleanup.

Posted by Legion at 6:10 PM | Comments (0)

Movable Type

As one can see from the bottom of the page, I have used the renowned blogging software Movable Type to build this new version of my site. I decided to use it for many reasons ...

First, because I could use it without having to register with anyone else to have them update my site. Although, all the blog services (Movable Type even has a service like this) have an option for setting up a blog on their system for free ... I personally prefer knowing that I own the site by paying for it and having a relationship that's been built over the years with a solid hosting company. This way, I own it ... I maintain the blog ... the hosting company maintains the server and the connection ... and I'm happy.

Second, because everywhere I went people were saying that it was the best blogging software available. I took a look at the features and it had everything that I knew I would want from my experience with the first iteration of the site and my experience with setting up other sites of this type. One of the main features that I knew I wanted was customizability. I wanted something that I could make work the way I want it to work ... and this system offers that more than any other system out there, according to the reports I read.

Now, I did have a little trouble with the installation. The installation documentation (the rest of the documentation seems to be quite well done) wasn't quite clear in parts ... but Movable Type is donation-ware ... so I'm not going to complain about the price. Although it is funny that they have an installation service that will set it up for you for $40. Now, I've set up more than my fair share of websites (given that most people set up one, if any ... and I've set up four and been a party to a few more) and I had trouble with the instructions ... so I would wager that most people would have a rough time of it ... the installation service sounds like the way to go to me.

But now that it's installed, I couldn't be happier. The system is easy to use ... appears to be easy to maintain ... and has everything that I could want and more. I'd definitely recommend this system to my friends.

Posted by Legion at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

legionrants.com is Back Online!

After being down for about nine months (consequently the same amount of time it took me to find a job) I have finally gotten the money together to resurrect this home that I both loved and neglected. A lot of changes have happened in my life, but all of them, from what I can tell so far, for the better. I hope to write about my continuing adventures through this world ... as well as pontificate about movies and my techie toys. As Agador Spartacus said, "Very happy to see joo again ... or for the first time."

Posted by Legion at 9:20 AM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2002

Its Good to Be the King

I've been floundering a bit while looking for work. It's hard to get turned down over and over and over again. I've been feeling pretty worthless and my friend, Punish, has been doing his best to encourage me. He's been a real pain in the ass sometimes.

But he's my best friend and I know he's got my best interests at heart. He and I have been friends for over twenty years. That's really something. He's seen me through girlfriends ... through my marriage and subsequent divorce. He even helped me move out when it came down to that ... even though it looked like my ex would freak out.

Lately, he's been trying to get me to write code. We've been looking for something ... anything to do to get both of us back on our feet. And I've just been feeling like I can't do anything. It felt like my muse had left me with nothing left to write ... programming-wise, that is.

Well, I sat myself down this morning. And I've written some damned good code. It's not yet finished ... but I'm barely taking a break to write this. I haven't even eaten yet today I've been so stoked at the ideas flowing through me. (Though I did take some time out this morning to work on my car.)

I guess my muse is back ... and it's a great feeling. I wonder what the Muse of Programming would be named?

Posted by Legion at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)

November 6, 2002

I'm Working

I have taken a job as a phone support person for a major cellular phone company in their "Web through the phone" department. It has the potential to be an interesting job ... and I've learned a bit about cell phones that I didn't already know ... but ...

I hate that I had to take this job instead of doing something that really challenges me. I've done this kind of thing for years ... and I finally had hope that I never would have to do this kind of thing again when I finally got a series of jobs as a software developer.

But the market is crap right now, especially in the tech fields. There are tons of people out there just like me that are underemployed at best. I'm hoping to hang on here until things get better and then move on up ... again ... as I did before.

But for now, things are still poopy and I don't like it.

Posted by Legion at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2002

You Get What You Pay For

Yes ... there haven't been any updates in the last couple of weeks. Only a day or so after the last update, my web hosting service decided to make a rather far-reaching change to the configuration file of the server that I'm running on. What this meant was that any new post (or edits to old posts) got corrupted. It took me six hours yesterday of debugging to find the problem ... but it's fixed now.

Whew ...

Posted by Legion at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2002

Hmmmm

Not sure I agree with it ... but here's my result from the "Which Muppet Are You?" quiz ...

	Yuoo ere-a zee Svedeesh Cheff! Yuoo ere-a a guud cuuk, thuoogh yuoo cun't speek Ingleesh fery vell. Bork Bork Bork!
Take the What Muppet Are You? Quiz!

Posted by Legion at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2002

Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Amazing! I've lived in this God forsaken apartment complex for almost four years now ... and I had my first honest to goodness conversation with a neighbor.

Ok ... well it might be partially due to the fact that I'm sure by now the children in the complex talk about me like the neighborhood boogeyman. You know ... the place that all the kids run past on their way home from school because "a witch lives there" or whatever. The places where people are seen moving around inside ... but "nobody" ever sees anyone coming or going.

But I digress ...

I'm a fairly solitary person when it comes to living arrangements. In the past, I've left "being neighborly" up to my significant other ... and probably will continue to do so in the future ... when I have one.

I've noted that this complex that I'm living in is one of the most "live and let live" places I've ever been in. I mean ... you'd have to chop up ten people, store them in your bathtub, and let the stench draw in all the dogs in the area and subsequently drive them away before anyone would come investigate ... babbling things like, "he was so quiet."

Now if I can just survive through the summer and then figure out how to get some of the college ladies who live here transiently to "be neighborly" ...

Posted by Legion at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 1, 2002

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

I realized a couple days ago that it's been about three months since I've posted anything new on the website. Unfortunately, I just haven't been motivated to write. I guess I feel that everything I say is unoriginal and someone else somewhere says it better ...

Either that ... or I get halfway through the rant and I realize that I've run out of steam or the whole thing is, in general, uninspired ... and I just have this thing about posting pure crap on the 'Net.

Also ... something else that makes it hard for me to write is that I've finally bitten the bullet and after 25 years of typing on Qwerty keyboards ... I'm switching to the Dvorak layout. What this means is ... for the past month I've been typing as horribly as I did when I was in 5^th grade on my dad's old manual typewriter. Theoretically though ... I'll reap the benefits of less hand strain and faster typing speed at some point. Though I could already type about 80 wpm on Qwerty ... so I'm not sure that going faster than that is a real benefit. But ... I forsee years and years of typing ahead of me (being a computer person does that to you) ... so anything that'll make my hands last longer is a good thing, I guess.

I have been working on a couple of things for the site ... but only sporadically since the work on this site is entirely fueled by inspiration ... and I've been sorely lacking in that. Anyway, I plan to put up a database of the DVDs I own ... partly for my friends to know what I have so they can borrow from my library ... partly for me to know what I have so I don't buy duplicates. But it might be interesting for others to see what I have ... can't imagine why ... but hey, who am I to judge? The other thing I want to do is build a database of my favorite quotes for a "Quote of the Day" feature. The holdup on both of these is the boring data entry part ... the rest of it is fun.

Anyway ... my New Month's Resolution is to update the site once a week at a minimum ... even if its pure pablum I'm posting. I hope you enjoy ...

Posted by Legion at 2:55 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2001

I'm Alive

Well, lots of people have been worried about me since I haven't been updating the site. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The rumors of my falling off the face of the earth have been exaggerated." Things have been ... interesting. Not quite at all what I've expected. But, I'm trying to get back to business ... and I hope to have a number of movie reviews going up soon. Stay tuned ...

Posted by Legion at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2001

I Know ... I Know ...

I haven't updated the site in a while. I've been busy with real life stuff and working mainly on the part of the site that will make it easier to maintain. Just bear with me, I'll be adding more rants soon ...

Posted by Legion at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)

August 2, 2001

Our First Movie Review

Below you'll see our first movie review. One in hopefully a long line of reviews. For those of you who don't know me personally, I watch a lot of movies. I own, at last count, over 200 DVDs. So, as I watch movies in the theater or from my collection, I'll post my thoughts about them here. As always, let me know what you think.

Posted by Legion at 1:51 AM | Comments (0)

July 31, 2001

legionrants.com Is Open for Business

Welcome to legionrants.com! I hope you have a pleasant stay and will return soon to see what mischief with which we come up.

Posted by Legion at 1:38 AM | Comments (0)