And wait, there's more!
Two updates in two weeks...that must be a record.

And the St. Louis Cardinals, having been on the receiving end of a freerolling team in the World Series, are doing the freerolling themselves, at the expense of the Detroit Tigers. I think that's really the difference so far. That, and Jeff Weaver turned into a real pitcher this postseason. I'm still trying to figure that one out, but I suspect it has something to do with studying his brother's relative success in Anaheim.

My main question is whether I'll actually watch the end of the Series. I'm sick and tired of putting up with Fox's bullshit. They, and their little bitch Selig, are a plague on Baseball, and I'm looking at dropping them like any other bad relationship. This would be the first World Series I haven't finished since...'83 or '81? Something like that. I'm somewhat sad, but sometimes you must come to terms with the reality that something you love is corrupted, claimed, zombified, or otherwise compromised, with the expectations of converting your loyalty into fodder. In such cases, the correct answer is to walk away.

The next question is, "What does November hold?" New apartment, massive testing effort at work, a Thanksgiving weekend casino trip, and an attempt to regain my cooking touch.

posted at: 16:11 | path: | permanent link to this entry

October Update...
Now that the weather's cooled off, I can get away with wearing a hoodie to work. It's just right for blocking out the damn overhead lights, and doesn't look silly, like a bush hat, photographer's hood, or similar. Perhaps an Indiana Jones-style hat would go with some forms of business casual. I'll have to keep that in mind once the after-christmas sales arrive.

After a brief correction, it looks like commodities are finally moving north again. Perhaps the vaunted oil baron election-buying machine ran out of steam. Oh well.

I went shopping for a new cellphone last week, and found that my overpriced, 'do everything' plan is now a bargain by comparison. This is depressing in so many ways.

Pay no attention to the Atlanta Thrashers. There is nothing to see here. It's just the opening week, it will be a long season, blah, blah, blah. Move along.

So, we had the Vampire: the Eternal Struggle North American Contenental Championship a few weeks ago, in East Point. It was a blast all weekend, and I got to put the "dark half" of my art collection on display -- this meant building a basic display backing to hang the framed pieces from, and that was interesting. Thanks to my engineer/designer friend, who reminded me of the K.I.S.S. approach. I ended up with three 2'x 4' plywood sheets, hinged in a zigzag pattern. cover them with cheap polyester cloth, place the assembly on a folding table, and presto! it's a backing.

posted at: 06:49 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Note To Self...
...always, always hit the gym a month prior to moving. ...never, never, own more crap than you can pack into one van.

posted at: 01:10 | path: | permanent link to this entry

Sanity Retained
And upon regarding the cultural wasteland that is North Fulton, where the towns brag about being briefcase communities for intown, I opted to remain in my current place...with an east-facing unit this time. It will be highly interesting to see how this goes, particularly with the new batch of plants I'll have to grow in morning sun.

And there was much rejoicing.

posted at: 10:34 | path: | permanent link to this entry

DragonCon 2006
Another year, another Con...This would be number 10, maybe 11. It wasn't as theraputic as last year's, but the four-day weekend was nice. My highlights, in no particular order:

• The Art Show: This year's show had plenty of space, a welcome change from previous years' cramped quarters. Some large-scale installations, notably the "Army of Darkness meets Monty Python" installation, Flesh and Bone. I freely admit: When it comes to auctions and art, I'm a bottom feeder. And I absolutely cleaned up this year.
• Drum Circle: This was an excellent circle this year. At some point, I kicked back with a pizza and beer, and just watched the dancers go. And some jedi looked really neat flinging the lightsabre around in the dark. Just keep them outside the circle, please.
• Rasslin'! This could best be described as a live-action drinking game, made more fun when I ran into Robert, we stood around and watched some of the action and silliness (Macdown!). Somewhere in the middle of all this, the Iron Sheik and Lou Albano made an appearance, to a totally surprised crowd.
• Iron ArtistThis year's surprise ingredient: Duality[ytilauD]. With a panel of judges and an emcee to keep things going for the hour, this was hilarious. The entries: A "wind in the willows" badger, with melting yin-yan pocketwatch, and a Dali-badger, painting a nesting self-portrait (homage to an actual painting by Dali, which I can't recall).
• The Costumes: This was a better-than-usual year for costumes; Super props go to the Silent Hill nurses (creepy2!) and the life-size Jabba the Hutt (ok, not a costume, but still...).
• The Games: Next year, I promise to play fewer games and party down a lot more. Then again, I say this every year. most interesting, new (to me) game: 150+ games you can play with stacking triangles. This will be hours, and hours, and hours, of entertainment for very little outlay. I like it.