Welcome to Not-Summer

I walked outside in my usual summer attire the other night, to grab a quick smoke (yes, I know, I know). I was wearing a t-shirt, baggy cargo shorts, and bare feet. I stepped out onto the front step, and BAM! It hit me! It was fucking cold!

This is St. Louis, people, not Chicago. Chicagoans piss and moan about the alleged 'summer' they get up there, but having lived in both places, I can assure you that while they are experts on cold and losing, they don't know shit about heat. St. Louis gets crazy hot. 95+ degrees with 100% humidity is almost the epitome of uncomfortable.

Personally, I love it. I'm used to it, grew up with it, and don't feel compelled to spend a lot of time talking about it.

The cold, though...ugh. There aren't many things in this world that I don't like. Aside from cold, precipitation, dishonesty, Nintendo apologists, religious beliefs, those who are opposed to science, those that identify stringently with a political party, reality television, mustard, cloudy days, modern hip-hop, IGN, lobbyists, Dave Matthews Band, pickles, fans of the band 'Creed,' Ubisoft, Mac users, Windows, Gentoo snobs, people with hygiene issues, Miller beer, the Cubs, Cubs fans (I do like having sex with female Cubs fans, though), wholesomeness, non-organic food, young people, old people, people who don't like Pearl Jam, wheat bread, Faux News, Jack White, Roger Moore as Bond, Internet Explorer, people who pretend to like using Safari, people who refuse to use Firefox, people who pretend Chrome is secure and just as flexible as Firefox, late 90's pussy rock, people who replaced the word "terr'ism" with "comm'nism," people who argue on the internet, people who post long message board posts in an effort to argue on the internet, people who post long message board posts in an effort to argue about politics on the internet, people who post long message board posts filled with 'facts' taken from a Faux News propaganda blast in an effort to argue about politics on the internet, people who think a man's hand is cleaner than his cock, turkey on a sandwich that is not covered in gravy, people who get lazy when building a standard image, people who pay for non-gaming software, people who work hard at furthering a negative stereotype, Activision, subscription fees, being busy all the time, people that accept that this is all there is, and many more, I really don't have too many dislikes.

Chicago was a very difficult place for me to live. Mainly because it's cold 8-9 months out of the year, always cloudy, everyone's amazingly negative, and it's really like living inside a dome. A dome filled with cold and bad weather.

Aside from the miserable weather and environment, it was a damn fun place to go to college. The bar scene is amazing, and the women...my god, the women are beautiful and not nearly as uptight as the girls here in St. Louis. Chicago girls are better looking and much more liberal with their vaginas than St. Louis girls. I was so taken with them, I had to keep one for myself and marry her.

Anyway...

...things have still been crazy, though markedly less so. I'm in the middle of three straight days of no free time, in which I'm occupied all day and all night, and I am working to put a stop to this bullshit. There are few things I hate as much as having plans after a work/school day. If I've been busting my ass all day, I like coming home, hugging my family, climbing into a recliner, watching some sports, playing some games, running around with my son, some dinner, and then I like to molest my wife. I like being able to fall apart for a few hours after rigidly holding it together all day. If that makes you roll your eyes, please go choke on a spiked dildo and die of a hemorrhage while being skull-fucked. I'm old enough now to have preferences, and I'm probably a stronger man than you, anyway, which is why my life is considerably less complicated and compromised than yours.

Last night, it was the boy's b-day, tonight, it's my Java class (which is totally bad-ass), and tomorrow night, it's the Governor's Cup (Rams vs. Chiefs, final preseason game). My in-laws might be coming in town this weekend, which could be fun.

We'll see how the next two days at work are. Work is really the thing that either lets me post or kills it, since that's really the only time I have for posting right now. That'll change, as I get into a rhythm with each week.

My next post is going to be my hilarious email conversation with EA. You're not going to believe the shit that we've been saying to each other. I still think that there are some very cool folks who work there, but their bloated structure really caused some problems between us. I'm going to get that up before the week ends, so make sure you check it out. It's nearly the best 'awful' thing to happen to me.

Gotta head to my next class. Word.

-Blaine

Whoah.

I've been busy. My 'real' job has taken over my life the last few weeks, but things should be slowly settling down, and I'll get back to my goal of 3-5 posts per week.

I'll be talking about the three corporations that have fucked me over, and I'll be posting documents to back up my accusations, so that will be fun.

I'll be talking about the holiday preview podcast Tony and I will be doing in September.

I'll be talking about the new Mass Effect DLC, assuming it ever actually works w/ the Steam version of the game.

I'll be talking about my continued journey down the dark path of the MBA.

I'll be talking a bit about what's been stalling me in regards to the book, and what my future plans are for the series.

Also, if you're one of the three getting a free book from me, they have not yet been ordered. I apologize for that, but I have my reasons. They'll be ordered in a week. If you have the sense to live here in St. Louis, then you'll get in two weeks. If you live elsewhere, you'll see it in about three weeks. In the meantime, why not tide yourself over with the $1.25 ebook?

I'm going to try and get a 'real' post up before the weekend.

So, to anyone who's read the book or is reading it: what do you think? Do you have any questions? How would you describe it?

-Blaine

Stopping to breathe.

We're a little poor at the moment, since that phat podcast money isn't coming in anymore (pfft), so I had to get creative today in the kitchen. I took pepperoni, folded it a couple times, inserting provolone in each of the folds, then smothered hot dog buns in pizza sauce, then slid the pepperoni/provolone into the buns. I then microwaved them for one minute, and BAM! The best lunch I've had in weeks.

Adversity forces creative thinking, which is something I like to be reminded of every so often.

Education
Finals start tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to getting them over with. It's been a bitch of a school year, and I'm looking forward to sinking my dagger into its breast, then getting my mind fixed for a few weeks.

I got Microeconomics tomorrow, a class I've thoroughly enjoyed, and I feel okay about that one. Then, Tuesday...wait, no one gives a shit. I hate reading these types of posts, what the fuck am I doing?

Anyway, I'm all done Wednesday, which I'm very much looking forward to. The See the Future DLC comes out for Fable II on Tuesday, so resuming my endless Fable II playthrough Wednesday night will be a nice reward.

Of course, I put myself back on my 8-4 work schedule the very next day, so no real partying 'til the following weekend. Then, we get to start being social again.

This and That
I'm not sure if everyone is wise to this fact, but bitmob.com has gone alpha and is up for your viewing pleasure. Even the alpha version of their site has me excited, as does their philosophy. If you were ever a fan of EGM or 1UP, go check out this site. For me, it fits very neatly with the other gaming sites I frequent (1UP & giantbomb & gamasutra & the escapist)

I really wanna now call out all you irresponsible fucks that give sites like IGN and Gamespot traffic, and thus clicks, and thus dollars, and ask you why you support paid-for reviews and shit like that, but I won't. I don't have the energy to lock horns with those that frequent the 'Wal-Mart' of gaming sites. Of course, without those people, who would I laugh at when I read comment sections for game reviews?

I'll post my thoughts on Star Trek at the end of the week. I'm the biggest Trekkie I know, and I want to see it again before I solidify these opinions. I know it's a fun 'popcorn movie' (all you motherfuckers who use that term should be set on fire while you're sent back and time and aborted with a shotgun blast) for most of you...non-Trekkies, but seeing my most beloved franchise 'rebooted,' so to speak, was exciting and traumatic, at the same time. I know I'm a huge nerd for being passionate about Star Trek, but it's a series that's always spoken to me, and I consider myself lucky to have something that means so much to me be so large and deep (ooh, that's what she said). I feel sorry for any of you people that ever feel ashamed for being passionate about something.

Phew. Moving on...

We started watching episodes of Party Down this weekend, when I was taking breaks from studying, and it's great! It follows a group of caterers who are stuck with their shit jobs, while each has a different dream they're chasing. It is hilarious, it is touching, it'll make ya squirm, but it'll also make you laugh your ass off! Watch it now!




Anyone out there got any good finals-related stories? I love hearing that kinda shit.

Also, I don't know if I'll be posting again before Thursday. If I have time, I would love to, but no promises. As I said, I'll be studying and testing my ass off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Okay, just wanted to drop you all a line to let you know that I hadn't, in fact, abandoned this blog. I've just been busy as hell. Back to studying.

-Blaine

Docta Jones! No time for love!

So, this is the week before finals, so pardon me if I'm a bit brief for the next 10-11 days. In addition, I have my wife's and hetero life mate's birthdays this week, as they were rude enough to be born in the same week.

Thank the maker that my wife and I got married, though, so we could quit celebrating our fucking dating anniversary, which fell exactly a week after my wife's birthday. May is an incredibly expensive month for me.

I keep getting interrupted by panicked phone calls @ work. Like right now. FUCK!

Anyway, I'm gonna make this brief, since everyone else's sky is crashing down around me.

The Weekend
We watched Havoc last night and it was almost as heavy-handed and "the audience is stupid so we must put them in a headlock and beat them over the head with totally un-subtle plot devices)" insulting as Crash, but it had lots of nudity, so it was a better movie. Both are still bad movies, and steer wide of them if you haven't already.

I wish there were more films made for people that aren't afraid to be challenged and provoked, more films that made people think, and they're getting fewer and far between each year. It seems like for every the Reader and Watchmen, you have a million fucking Spidermans and Crashes and...argh. I don't need every film I see to be a monumental mind-fuck exploration of what it means to be human, but don't treat me like a "Dancing With the Stars"-watching, mouth-breathing retard, either.

The weekend was okay, if a bit rainy. Tony acquired several new Wii games, which we tried out. I should add that this is a totally alien experience for him and me, since, while we both know he has a Wii, we tend to snicker at it as we walk by. However, I can safely say that House of the Dead: Overkill, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and Madworld were all fun little games.

We closed out the evening with some Guitar Hero: World Tour, which Tony purchased after we canceled the podcast. Former listeners will remember him dragging Guitar Hero's battered and broken corpse behind his verbal pickup truck, but then...he flip-flopped. Yup.

It is not even close when it comes to how much better Rock Band 2 plays. I'm decent, at least, on guitar, in these games, and the note-detection is utter shit in Guitar Hero, when compared to Rock Band 2. I guess they're basically the same game, but I was a little annoyed at how ridiculously precise I had to be in GH. I've played actual guitar for over 20 years now, and I can tell you my timing would've been good enough to actually play these songs, but...ah, forget it. It's an okay game, but Rock Band 2 just seems like a more laid-back, fun time.

Crunch Time
This is the last week before finals. Anyone who's ever opted for higher education knows that, in some ways, this week is actually a bit more stressful than finals week.

I've got things to wrap up for Microeconomics, Statistics, Java Programming, and my computer hardware class. I'm also thinking about formally joining the grad school this summer, but we'll see.

After 5/13, the class side goes away, and I'm left with just the work side. I work for my school, as well, and lemme tell ya, if it weren't for the fact that my coworkers are awesome, I might lose my mind at work during this point in the semester.

That last sentence was, until recently, followed by a description of exactly why my job becomes difficult at times, but I thought better of it. Just know that people all come together to shit on the IT guys when times get tough.

So, yeah, the next week and a half, I'll be kinda underground. I won't be going out (save for the Lady's and John's birthdays), I may or may not be on Steam/Live/PSN, and I'm gonna try and post at least a little each weekday, but we'll see.

I dunno why, but the last 2 semesters have each been a total bitch-kitty, and I'm looking forward to recharging this summer. I'm still taking classes this semester, but it'll be tremendously streamlined, relative to what I usually put up with.

To any and all faculty and students ready to pull their hair out from finals right now: PLEASE be kind to your IT folks. They want you to have a smooth, painless experience, as that makes their lives smooth and painless. Some are more competent than others, I agree, but being nice to them just makes it easier for everybody.

Man, it's weird being 30 and back in school.

Does anyone out there have a crazy finals story? Or a good story from this past weekend? Any cool TV/movies/gaming stuff they wanna share? Hit me up with a comment! Ya don't even have to register!

-Blaine

PS - Dollhouse was awesome this past Friday. Check it out.