No, this post isn't going to be an Obama endorsement. (Though I will vote for Obama just to send the message that it's time for another generation to take over.)

What shall it be about, then? This fellow's cartoon sums up my feelings nicely.

An occasional poop storm is to be expected now and then— that's just life. However, when regular poop showers ravage the land, and when it appears that those around one have been (unintentionally or not) engineering the conditions for the Perfect Poop Storm™ (with assurances all the while that things will get better) one can't help but feel a little nervous and perhaps a little angry.

I don't enjoy disappointing people. However, I don't enjoy being in a position that may eventually end in my becoming some sort of sacrificial scapegoat.

I'm happy to demonstrate dedication. However, I am not happy to have that dedication abused. It tends to dry up after that. I guess I'm funny that way.

So although at this moment, skies may be blue, and the sun may be shining more brightly than ever, I may just take a peek over the mountains and see if there isn't a land with a less poop-inclined climate.

It's Friday, so let's play Friday Fun: Superstitions Edition.

1. Any extra precautions for Friday the 13th?

Yes, I like to make sure that I've got a first aid kit with extra bandages, flares, utility knife, pepper spray, heavy boots, a padded leather vest, riot shield, helmet, stun baton, axe, shotgun with extra shells, chainsaw, caltrops, and fifty feet of rope.

2. What superstitions do you have?

If you say "paint up" at any time between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM, somebody will order a pizza from a certain pizzeria.

3. Do you think there is really anything to superstitions, or is it something we just talk ourselves into?

Yes! And by reading this statement, you are hereby tagged. You must now tag ten of your friends! Failure to replicate this meme will result in dire consequences, such as headache, cramps, diarrhea, or sweaty palms! The meme has you in its power! You must obey! Obey! Obey!

4. The movies,… good or bad? Scary or just campy fun?

Meh, not a fan of the Friday the Thirteenth film franchise, or slasher movies in general. But, I thought the television series was all right.

Now Reading: Wetware

Just Finished: In The Blink Of An Eye: How Vision Sparked the Big Bang of Evolution.

Five hundred forty-three million years ago, an event occurred that we call the Cambrian explosion, in which thousands of new species appeared overnight. Before this event, the seas were full of slow-moving, soft-bodied forms such as worms and jellyfish. After this event, animals with hard parts, such as shells, spines, and exoskeletons existed. What caused this explosion?

The author suggests that the emergence of vision in the trilobites' immediate (soft-bodied) ancestors brought forth the world's first fast moving predators. In turn, the presence of fast-moving predators caused new survival traits to be selected for in their prey, namely defenses such as shells, spines, and exoskeletons. This also gave rise to the hard-bodied trilobites, which ruled the seas of the Cambrian era much as the fishes do today.

It sounds plausible. However, one big question remains. Sight has been independently developed many times since the Cambrian explosion. The earliest mollusks and chordates were blind. These phyla independently evolved vision on their own. But why didn't vision evolve before 543 million years ago? The author speculates that perhaps the ocean or atmosphere transmitted insufficient light prior to this date, and suggests this is a question for other scientists to answer.

Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse the darkness.
—Terry Pratchett

I'm looking forward to the moment in which I can say, "I'm glad that's over."

Until then, I'll have to be content with, "This too shall pass."

In other news, today's my youngest brother's birthday. I'm sorry I can't say it in person, but happy birthday to you.

Coincidentally, it's also Erik Rubright's birthday. Now I know two people born on the same day. Well, other than myself and one classmate from high school, whose birthday was not only the same day as mine, but the same year.

I'm exhausted. It sucked. And I'm never doing that again.

Not that I'm gloating or anything. Gloating is the surest way to bring about further disaster.

Were it not for labor laws, your humble host would quite likely still be slaving away over a hot computer, with only bread and water for sustenance, a keyboard for a pillow, and an anti-static mat for a bed. Thanks, Nineteenth Century! I owe you one.

Friday Night:

Get Smart

I enjoyed this film a little more than I expected to. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had as much fun at a movie. It could be because I don't find most of the comedies these days very appealing. It could be that most of them are about a) guys trying to get laid or b) ladies looking for love or c) parodies that might be funny if you've seen the exact movies parodied. I can think of only a few recent exceptions, such as Hot Fuzz. In fact, that probably was the last comedy I really enjoyed.

Saturday:

Star Trek Exhibit

On Saturday afternoon, I went to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, where a collection of costumes, set pieces, models and props from the various Star Trek series are being displayed. It was wonderful to get a chance to see these items close-up. I even sat on what I was told was the original captain's seat. The lighting in the museum in general was pretty weird, and the cases all reflected like the dickens, but I still managed to get a couple of photos. I have put them into a set which you can see by clicking below.

Dick's Last Resort

On Saturday night, I went to Dick's Last Resort to meet up with some friends that I used to work with, and to listen to some good music. I realized that as unfulfilling as the work was at my previous job, and as awful as the customers were, the people that I worked with were really special. (This conclusion might, of course, have been fueled by the large amount of beer consumed by myself.)

Sunday:

LEGO Indiana Jones

I spent most of the rest of the weekend in the one air-conditioned room of my humble domicile, playing the LEGO Indiana Jones adventures. This game is a lot like the LEGO Star Wars Trilogy, with the obvious absence of Force-using characters. Although these games can involve a lot of obsessive-compulsive loot collecting (in order to unlock extra characters and levels) they typically don't force the player to repeat one level over and over until the One True Sequence Of Button Presses can be divined.

In all, a pretty good weekend.

Now Reading: The Diamond Age

Just Finished: Wetware

All right, so Wetware was recommended by the Paperbackswap recommendation engine. It was originally published in 1988, and I think this shows in the writing, which is strewn with all sorts of futuristic invented slang. It is very easy for such supposedly grungy street talk to come off sounding rather silly and made-up. By the second or third chapter, I was prepared not to like the book, as it seemed somewhat juvenile, as though it were maybe written for young adults. Perhaps the spelled-out accents ("kin ya git mah porse offen the soh-fah?") and SHOUTING IN CAPS gave me this impression. But, it was a short book, so I read on, and the story itself was a bit intriguing, though several characters' storylines seemed to me to suffer from excessive twists.

Now, I don't feel as though I'd read anything new. Rather, I feel as though I'd been looking at a very interesting fossil of a recently extinct common ancestor of a family of modern species. That is, I vaguely recognized various themes and ideas in this book which have since been elaborated upon, refined, and improved by later authors. For example, robot evolution, polymorphic nanotech materials, human-machine hybridization, etc.

In the end, I ended up liking the book a bit after all. I'd be interested in reading the previous and next books in this series at some point.

It's Friday, so it's time to play the Fifty Question Meme as seen at Voenix Rising.

1. You have 10 dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station. What do you get?

Mmm, gas station food! I guess I'd get some honey-roasted cashews, maybe some of the yellow Hostess cupcakes (or the orange ones, if they have them) and a Slurpee.

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be?

The leviathan.

3. Who’s your favorite redhead?

Well, it's not Clay Aiken I'll tell you that much.

4. What do you order when you’re at IHOP?

Some honey-roasted cashews, maybe some Hostess cupcakes... Oh, wait, IHOP...? Uhm, pancakes, then?

5. Last book you read?

Wetware.

6. Describe your mood.

Grouchy.

7. Describe the last time you were injured.

I bonked my head on the corner of a fusebox. Hence the grouchiness.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?

Someone with really excellent cell coverage.

9. Rock concert or symphony?

I've been to rock concerts. I'd like to give the symphony a shot.

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?

The plain, boring blue gradient that came standard.

11. Favorite soda?

Ginger Beer

12. What type of shirt are you wearing?

A tee shirt.

13. If you could only use one form of transportation?

Levitiation, that is to say, self-powered flight.

14. Most recent movie you have watched in theater?

Get Smart.

15. Name an actor/actress/singer you have had the hots for.

Well, it's not Clay Aiken, I'll tell you that much.

16. What’s your favorite kind of cake?

Yellow, with chocolate frosting. And not that nasty fake frosting that comes on grocery store birthday cakes, if you please.

17. What did you have for dinner last night?

Burgers. Burgers and barbecue beans.

18. Look to your left, what do you see?

A number of doors.

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Depends on the shoes.

20. Favorite toy as a child?

LEGO, of course.

21. Do you buy your own groceries?

Since I'm not a subsistence farmer, yes.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?

Yes. They also talk about me in front of my back.

23. When was the last time you had gummy worms?

Do they still make those?

24. What’s your favorite fruit?

I happen to be fond of nectarines about now.

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?

That is Photoshopped, I swear.

26. Do you like running long distances?

Walk? Sure. Briskly, even. Run? Not so much.

27. Have you ever eaten snow?

Yes. Apparently people like to put maple syrup on it or something like that. Some kind of tradition or something.

28. What color are your bedsheets?

I think I'm using the gray zigzagged ones right now.

29. What’s your favorite flower?

The artichoke.

30. Do you do ballet?

Oh, that would be quite a sight.

31. Do you listen to classical music?

Yes.

32. What is the first TV Theme song that pops in your head?

I wish it was UFO, but instead...