RE: Happy Holidays

I drew you a cat. His name is Bowie because he has a blown pupil.
Based off actual cat.

Happy Holidays!

It's 75 degrees today and beautiful in Southern California, where I'm spending my vacation. I had a fabulous holiday. I hope you all did as well. I awoke to breakfast in bed, followed by gift giving, Mario Kart, wonderful company, and then Bag of Bones and a feast.

We brought Eileen a cat and all required feline amenities. Aaron received a plethora of cooking utensils (a set of pans, oven bowls, etc., etc.), Skyrim, a new leather belt, and some comfortable shirts. I received some lovely clothing, hand-crafted turquoise jewelry, a trio of sparkly stackable rings, a wooden tea chest filled with delicious teas, and my grandfather's gift to me will arrive once we're back in Sacramento.

I have tons more to say but sadly not the time to say it, so I'll keep it brief. You'll hear from me again next year, where there will undoubtedly be a blogsplosion! So stay turned for that. If I don't manage to get around to it before it's time, though I think I will, happy New Year everyone!

Caffeinari!!!

I'm not sure if this is something that happens to all narcoleptics or maybe just me, but it's something I experience several times per week if not daily. Heck, it may even happen to some of you normal folk. I don't know.

I've been prescribed what equates to top grade Speed for my condition but refuse to take it. Instead I self medicate using caffeine. Tea or coffee more often than not, all throughout the day. Sometimes however I wake up so remarkably sleepy that nothing I do seems to help at all.

Slept 8 hours. Still sleepy.

I start out slowly, hoping a cup of coffee will turn the morning around for me. Set me off to the right start I must just be shy of reaching.

Mmm, coffee.

And yet...

Not feeling it.

Not one to surrender so easily, I get another cup. Perhaps my coffee to water ratio was off today.

Surely, this will do it.

Nope.

$&#@ you sunlight.

Now I'm mad. But with nothing to direct my frustration towards, I glare out the window and seethe in the general direction of the sun for making it daytime. Then I drink four or five more cups of coffee as fast as I can.

What was that sound?!

Not even this wakes me up. Instead I just get paranoid. Every noise I hear is a burglar. Maybe I can work with this though. Maybe I can frighten myself into feeling less sleepy.

Maybe not.

So I get another cup of coffee and sip at it longingly. Forsaken by the sun and early birds everywhere.

Whatever. Why not?

Then all of a sudden without any warning at all, something happens. Something finally happens.

Oh my! What a nice day.

Suddenly I'm way more awake than I had been moments earlier. I'm also chipper. Even so, I somehow don't realize the caffeine is catching up to me, so I continue drinking my coffee until this happens:

OMG EVERYTHING!!!

Now everything ever is the best and I am able to do anything. Whatever I needed to do gets done in record time. Even things I didn't need to do get done anyway, because doing things seems like the greatest idea I've ever had. The harshness of reality melts away and suddenly the world is composed of rainbows, cupcakes, and purring kittens. It could be the caffeine Armageddon and I was the only one to be raptured but it doesn't matter because it's fantastic.

Then I crash and wind up laying on the floor of the computer room curled up beside the bookshelf. Immune to the effects of caffeine for at least six hours.

Sweden

Oh, hey Sweden. How's it going?

Recently Sweden has appeared on my audience summary and has already almost caught up with Malaysia in the way of number of viewers. Good job Sweden -- appear out of no where and take over. I like your style.

Have You Heard?

B-b-b--

The West Coast has a lot of interesting birds. Back East I could name every bird that flew by without a pause but here I'm clueless. Forced to scour the internet for answers. Many of you probably don't realize just how varied the wildlife is in different places around the country, so I decided to give you a little peek. While these might be common sights to those of us living in California and nearby states, back East all of this is totally foreign.

There are these giant black and white birds with long tails and yellow eyes that  are just really impressive to behold. My best guess is some kind of Magpie, but I actually have no idea.

King of dead grass!

There are also these large blue, gray, and white birds that I see from time to time that I recently discovered were called Scrub-Jays. I'm not sure where they got their name from, but they're quite beautiful birds with a color I'd compare to a clear sky.

King of benches!

I have yet to see any Condors, but here's hoping that one day I will have the opportunity. They aren't very pretty to look at, actually bordering on hideous, but I find them magnificent. As I do most birds of prey. I've seen several Hawk varieties, though we had those back East too. I hear there is a significant population of Golden Eagles and even some Bald Eagles out here, but like the Condor I've yet to witness any myself. There are a good number of Peregrine Falcons though, usually seen on our drives down to L.A. perched on fence posts.

King of fences!

Also, there are lots and lots of Hummingbirds! Such as Anna's Hummingbirds which look a lot like Ruby-throated Hummingbirds back East only the color encompasses their entire head. I see a lot of these around Burbank, sometimes three or four at a time all swarming around a patch of freshly opened flowers.

King of blurry images!

And Calliope Hummingbirds who, again, share a similarity to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds only their throat feathers are much longer giving the appearance of a beard.

King of beards!

Even a couple of Black-chinned Hummingbirds, which have a misleading name. The color is far more purple than it ever is black. Unlike a lot of other Hummingbirds the rest of the plumage is kind of dull rather than the vibrant greens you see on both male and female alike of other types.

King of purple!

One of the things that surprised me was the amount of Swallows in the cities. When I think of Swallows, I imagine Barn Swallows out in the country somewhere away from the busy streets. However, in Sacramento particularly there are flocks of them along the river. Of several varieties.

King of trees!

Of course there are also more common sights, such as Sparrows and Pigeons which can be found everywhere. Same as they are back East. I haven't seen any Chickadees here though. I guess maybe they prefer the colder weather? I also haven't noticed anything such as the Red-Winged Blackbird or Golden Finch either. Though I have seen plenty of Crows and even a massive Raven. Back East you see mostly Blackbirds and Starlings rather than Crows, so it's kind of interesting to see an entire murder of them just hanging out.

Even the Gulls here are more diverse, ranging from sleek aerodynamic birds I've never seen before to the basic Seagull you spot everywhere. I haven't seen any Canadian Geese here, not even flying overhead which is hugely shocking to me. Canadian Geese rule the skies where I'm from and you'd often see numbers upwards of twelve or more at any given time in any given season. Instead they have weird things like the Coot.

Yes, those are its feet.

Disclaimer: I did not take any of these photographs. They are the result of Google Search. While they are fantastic, I claim no rights to them, etc., etc.

Star Wars: The Old Republic III

I'll say.

This is my third entry regarding SWTOR. Part one can be found here and part two is located right there. Seems to be that my original suspicion regarding the pre-launch guild system has been confirmed. Maybe I should be a gaming prophet rather than a simple reviewer.

Originally Posted by DavidBass

RP-PvP – Players are encouraged to roleplay and act ‘in-character’ while playing on an RP-PvP server. Players are automatically flagged for PvP outside of the designated 'safe' areas (such as Origin Worlds, Capital Worlds, and the Republic/Imperial Fleets; see below for more info).


The pre-launch Guild Headquarters currently allows you to select between three different server types for your guild: PvE, PvP, and RP, which will determine your server placement during Phase 3: Deployment. During Deployment, we will be placing all eligible guilds that select 'RP' onto RP-PvE servers by default. If a guild wishes to exist on an RP-PvP server, they will need to create their guild manually on a new server once they reach their Capital World (Dromund Kaas or Coruscant) and create their guild.


The decision to make RP-PvP servers an option for players was made recently, which is why the choice was not available in the Guild Headquarters to start with. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes, but we hope you are as excited as we are to be able to choose this option for your guild in the game at launch.

This means that even if your guild has been per-registered for months now, you will still have to choose your server manually, race to get off your Origin World, pay the fee, and create your guild before someone else claims the name. Which is, more than a little disappointing. Though obviously I can't claim to be shocked.

Popcorn Ninja

We made an attempt to watch the new version of The Thing this weekend, which was so boring that it put Aaron to sleep. We didn't make it beyond the beginning before deciding to switch movies for, well, anything else. Sean popped some kettle corn and brought the bowl over to where Aaron and I were seated. Well, where I was seated. Aaron was sort of lounging across the love seat with his leg propped up on my shoulder. Effectively rendering me unable to move. He was more central than I was so Sean decided to place the bowl on sleeping Aaron's stomach.

This disturbed and roused Aaron, confused and hungry for kettle corn (apparently). He almost spills the contents by flopping a groggy hand at the bowl, unaware that it is full of food. But even in his half-awake state he expertly manages to determine what is in the bowl and decides that he wants some. Right then. I guess he figured by our reaction to his swatting that he had knocked some out of the bowl and onto himself when he tried to 'defend himself,' so he grabbed what he thought to be a piece of kettle corn and proceeded to toss it into his mouth. Oblivious to the weight and color being all wrong.

I know right away that it is not a piece of kettle corn and want to interject before he puts it into his mouth. However in my fervor all I can get out of my yapper is, "That's not kettle corn! It's a ninja!" Which, looking back, only further makes it seem like we're screwing with him. He puts it into his mouth regardless of my well-intentioned warning then gets a weird look on his face and spits it out. Because it is a ninja.

Popcorn Ninja!

Earlier in the evening Aaron had found the ninja on the end table beside the sofa and proceeded to use its tiny knife to poke me. Repeatedly. Shortly thereafter is when he dozed off, clutching the ninja in his hand while the rest of us made a valiant effort to get through the beginning of The Thing. As he slept however, his grip loosened and the ninja was abandoned on his chest. Forgotten by all.

I don't know if the rest of the room caught what was going on right away, because Sean and I were laughing so hard and Aaron just looked really tired and confused. Also? The movie was not that funny. I'm not certain which struck me more ridiculous, that Aaron had attempted to eat a ninja, or that I was so very concerned about it. As if the ninja would actually murder him from the inside, it would have easier access to all his vital organs after all.

There you have it, the night my fiance almost accidentally a whole ninja. Aaron: Ninja Devourer.

P.S. Yes, Sean, that is your ninja. It was a stow-away on my sweater.