Saturday, February 04, 2006
Power Outages
Three so far. That I've noticed.
Two were pretty early, during the first run of the storm. I was awake because the rain was coming down so hard it woke me. The first one I almost didn't notice... but there was a sound like "Wooom!" I noticed my clock blinking a few moments later, which is when I realized what had happened. No sooner had my sleepy brain worked through what had happened then it happened again. "Wooom!" Again, just a few moments later the power was restored. I slowly feel asleep.
Next time was about 5 am, and I was sleeping lightly. The "Wooom!" this time woke me, and I said aloud, "Another power outage!" and heard my hubby answer, "Another?" Again, it didn't last long.
I didn't sleep well, but at least we have power now (knock on wood) and no trees have hit the house.
Update: another short outage at 8am. Storm isn't over yet.
Update: 8:00pm - Power is finally back on. The power went out just after 8:40 am and stayed out for over 11 hours. The Doctor Who party turned into an amusing bust. We had four people show up to the powerless house. We sampled Italian sodas. We started the party by showing Firefly on one of the computers, then we went out for pizza, then came back and started watching a Doctor Who show on another computer... when the power finally popped back on. Let's hope is stays on for the big game.
Two were pretty early, during the first run of the storm. I was awake because the rain was coming down so hard it woke me. The first one I almost didn't notice... but there was a sound like "Wooom!" I noticed my clock blinking a few moments later, which is when I realized what had happened. No sooner had my sleepy brain worked through what had happened then it happened again. "Wooom!" Again, just a few moments later the power was restored. I slowly feel asleep.
Next time was about 5 am, and I was sleeping lightly. The "Wooom!" this time woke me, and I said aloud, "Another power outage!" and heard my hubby answer, "Another?" Again, it didn't last long.
I didn't sleep well, but at least we have power now (knock on wood) and no trees have hit the house.
Update: another short outage at 8am. Storm isn't over yet.
Update: 8:00pm - Power is finally back on. The power went out just after 8:40 am and stayed out for over 11 hours. The Doctor Who party turned into an amusing bust. We had four people show up to the powerless house. We sampled Italian sodas. We started the party by showing Firefly on one of the computers, then we went out for pizza, then came back and started watching a Doctor Who show on another computer... when the power finally popped back on. Let's hope is stays on for the big game.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Go Seahawks!
Let's make this an entirely Super Bowl entry.
First off, Go Seahawks!
I honestly have no clue which team is better. From the records alone, I would go with the Seahawks, but it's hard to ignore the Steeler's recent run (pre-playoffs included). They seem to be peaking at just the right time. I hope the teams are as evenly matched as they seem to be, because that will mean an exciting game. I'm a little surprised that all the experts are calling the game for the Steelers, though.
Hubby-Eric and I are starting to clean up the house for the big party. As I mentioned, the party actually starts tomorrow with our usual Doctor Who shindig (featuring the 8th Doctor). We will party into the night, everybody will go home for a few hours, then we'll have another party on Sunday for the Super Bowl, starting at about 2 pm and going until everyone goes home.
Everyone is invited, and if you want details or something, drop me a line to tegan@eskimo.com with a subject of "Seahawks Party" so I don't mistake it for spam. You are welcome to root for any team except for Pittsburgh. I've had one person ask if they can root for The Saints... that's fine, they aren't the Steelers. Eric and I don't do the alcohol thing, so BYOB if you need it to enjoy the game.
Not to disrespect Pittsburgh, of course. I've always kinda liked the Steelers. They certainly aren't a team I hate. Overall, I find trash talk between cities to be silly. Almost every city has something cool about it. And, heck, Detroit is cool too. Never been there, but I can still enjoy Motown.
Speaking of trash talk, I'm already sick of hearing about some stupid "feud" between Joey Porter of the Steelers and Jerramy Stevens of the Seahawks. I heard what Stevens said, and it was what any player going into the game should be saying. Porter responded a bit over-the-top, which just makes me wish Stevens had kept his mouth shut.
The weather is threatening to not cooperate. We've got a major windstorm supposedly headed into the state today and tomorrow. Stores that sell or rent generators have been gearing up just in case. We don't have a backup plan if the power goes out here, so we're just keeping our fingers crossed that the storm is a fizzle.
I recently bought a Girl Genius mini-button from Cafepress to go on my "fanbag". I looked all over for a button of the same size with the Seahawks logo on it, but couldn't find anything. All the pins I'm finding are more expensive enamel pins. I'd like a cheap little metal one. And one for the M's, too. Most of my current ones are DC Comics related.
Right, enough of that. Go Seahawks!
First off, Go Seahawks!
I honestly have no clue which team is better. From the records alone, I would go with the Seahawks, but it's hard to ignore the Steeler's recent run (pre-playoffs included). They seem to be peaking at just the right time. I hope the teams are as evenly matched as they seem to be, because that will mean an exciting game. I'm a little surprised that all the experts are calling the game for the Steelers, though.
Hubby-Eric and I are starting to clean up the house for the big party. As I mentioned, the party actually starts tomorrow with our usual Doctor Who shindig (featuring the 8th Doctor). We will party into the night, everybody will go home for a few hours, then we'll have another party on Sunday for the Super Bowl, starting at about 2 pm and going until everyone goes home.
Everyone is invited, and if you want details or something, drop me a line to tegan@eskimo.com with a subject of "Seahawks Party" so I don't mistake it for spam. You are welcome to root for any team except for Pittsburgh. I've had one person ask if they can root for The Saints... that's fine, they aren't the Steelers. Eric and I don't do the alcohol thing, so BYOB if you need it to enjoy the game.
Not to disrespect Pittsburgh, of course. I've always kinda liked the Steelers. They certainly aren't a team I hate. Overall, I find trash talk between cities to be silly. Almost every city has something cool about it. And, heck, Detroit is cool too. Never been there, but I can still enjoy Motown.
Speaking of trash talk, I'm already sick of hearing about some stupid "feud" between Joey Porter of the Steelers and Jerramy Stevens of the Seahawks. I heard what Stevens said, and it was what any player going into the game should be saying. Porter responded a bit over-the-top, which just makes me wish Stevens had kept his mouth shut.
The weather is threatening to not cooperate. We've got a major windstorm supposedly headed into the state today and tomorrow. Stores that sell or rent generators have been gearing up just in case. We don't have a backup plan if the power goes out here, so we're just keeping our fingers crossed that the storm is a fizzle.
I recently bought a Girl Genius mini-button from Cafepress to go on my "fanbag". I looked all over for a button of the same size with the Seahawks logo on it, but couldn't find anything. All the pins I'm finding are more expensive enamel pins. I'd like a cheap little metal one. And one for the M's, too. Most of my current ones are DC Comics related.
Right, enough of that. Go Seahawks!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Rapid Reviews - 25 January 2006
Batman #649: "All They Do Is Watch Us Kill Part 2": I'm not sure what to think. If the latest crisis is supposed to be getting rid of darkness, this issue definitely illustrates some of that darkness. 
Wonder Woman #225: "Nothing Finished, Only Abandoned": This is an excellent wrap-up story. It is a bit abstruse in the captions, but it works. The isolation of Diana is complete. Not bad.
JLA: Classified #16: "The Hypothetical Woman Part One: Never Brought To Mind": I love the diagnosis on The Flash. Heh. One of the best lines in comics ever. Not a bad set-up for a story, not a bad start. I'm looking forward to seeing what the general's weapon actually does.
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #4: "Hunted": I like Soranik Natu. The rest of the characters bore me. The story bores me. The threat doesn't seem threatening. I'm not enjoying this tale.
Fallen Angel #2: This just gets more and more complicated and odd. Wait, is this really only the second issue of the new run??!? My.
Pact #4: It's really late, and it focuses on my least favorite of the four characters. I think if this had come out a month after the others, it would have fit in and I would have a higher opinion of it. But six months after the last issue... and it didn't have any major appealing stuff in it. Not horrible, but not great, either.
Local #3: "Theories and Defenses": My least favorite of the series so far, mostly because I just couldn't get into the stories. This was four different tales in one with an overall theme and narration. The artwork continues to grow on me. And it's still head and shoulders above most other comics.
Usagi Yojimbo #90: "The Ghost in the Well": Ooooh, I love ghost stories in this book. And a nice murder mystery, too. Looking forward to the next issue.
Wonder Woman #225: "Nothing Finished, Only Abandoned": This is an excellent wrap-up story. It is a bit abstruse in the captions, but it works. The isolation of Diana is complete. Not bad.
JLA: Classified #16: "The Hypothetical Woman Part One: Never Brought To Mind": I love the diagnosis on The Flash. Heh. One of the best lines in comics ever. Not a bad set-up for a story, not a bad start. I'm looking forward to seeing what the general's weapon actually does.
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #4: "Hunted": I like Soranik Natu. The rest of the characters bore me. The story bores me. The threat doesn't seem threatening. I'm not enjoying this tale.
Fallen Angel #2: This just gets more and more complicated and odd. Wait, is this really only the second issue of the new run??!? My.
Pact #4: It's really late, and it focuses on my least favorite of the four characters. I think if this had come out a month after the others, it would have fit in and I would have a higher opinion of it. But six months after the last issue... and it didn't have any major appealing stuff in it. Not horrible, but not great, either.
Local #3: "Theories and Defenses": My least favorite of the series so far, mostly because I just couldn't get into the stories. This was four different tales in one with an overall theme and narration. The artwork continues to grow on me. And it's still head and shoulders above most other comics.
Usagi Yojimbo #90: "The Ghost in the Well": Ooooh, I love ghost stories in this book. And a nice murder mystery, too. Looking forward to the next issue.
Rapid Reviews - 18 January 2006 - Part II
Green Lantern #7: "A Perfect Life": Yay, a new storyline! Boo, it isn't very good.
Legion of Super-Heroes #13: Well, the long story appears to be finished. The backup story was good, and I loved the appearance of Polar Boy in the "letter column". Not bad.
Birds of Prey #90: "Perfect Pitch Part 5": So many good little bits in this one. Batman being out-thinked. The kiss of the Canary. Zinda's response to Canary explaining about Creote. Lots of good bits. And the story wraps up. I'm happy with it.
JSA: Classified #7: "Honor Among Thieves" part 3: Ma Hunkel shoulda kicked their whiney butts. I didn't really care about much else but how Ma was. I think the story lost me in the last issue. At least Ma's ok.
Conan #24: "The Magistrate's Wife": I like how all the pieces of the story combine in this one into one event. Conan's lessons in life are always amazing and amusing. This book is my favorite guilty pleasure.
Legion of Super-Heroes #13: Well, the long story appears to be finished. The backup story was good, and I loved the appearance of Polar Boy in the "letter column". Not bad.
Birds of Prey #90: "Perfect Pitch Part 5": So many good little bits in this one. Batman being out-thinked. The kiss of the Canary. Zinda's response to Canary explaining about Creote. Lots of good bits. And the story wraps up. I'm happy with it.
JSA: Classified #7: "Honor Among Thieves" part 3: Ma Hunkel shoulda kicked their whiney butts. I didn't really care about much else but how Ma was. I think the story lost me in the last issue. At least Ma's ok.
Conan #24: "The Magistrate's Wife": I like how all the pieces of the story combine in this one into one event. Conan's lessons in life are always amazing and amusing. This book is my favorite guilty pleasure.
Random Thoughts
How about a break from the reviewing for some links and thoughts?
Are you going to the Emerald City Comicon? Polite Scott hopefully will make it. I intend to go.
Do you like Solo? If you do, check out this interview with the editor. Upcoming Solo artists: Berni Wrightson, Brian Stelfreeze, Jill Thompson, Scott Hampton, Sergio Aragones, Brendan McCarthy, Kevin Nowlan, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and George Pratt.
The 2006 Seattle Reads featured work is Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. I read it and liked it. I think it would be very good for everyone to read it, so I'm glad the Seattle Library is promoting it.
Super Bowl Ads rundown on CNN. Favorite quote: Burger King, which has run several humorous --or creepy, depending on your point of view -- ads throughout the NFL season... I vote creepy. I hate those ads. I pretty much never want to eat at Burger King again.
Thor's Helmet. Cool.
The true story of Robinson Crusoe... or rather, Alexander Selkirk.
What does the moon smell like?
Little Bunny Foo-Foo Busted. Via Rachel Hartman.
Larry Osterman uses the Maginot Line to explain firewalls.
Here's a unique form of lobbying. I wouldn't ever contribute, but it's nice to see a netroots lobbying effort.
Are you going to the Emerald City Comicon? Polite Scott hopefully will make it. I intend to go.
Do you like Solo? If you do, check out this interview with the editor. Upcoming Solo artists: Berni Wrightson, Brian Stelfreeze, Jill Thompson, Scott Hampton, Sergio Aragones, Brendan McCarthy, Kevin Nowlan, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and George Pratt.
The 2006 Seattle Reads featured work is Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi. I read it and liked it. I think it would be very good for everyone to read it, so I'm glad the Seattle Library is promoting it.
Super Bowl Ads rundown on CNN. Favorite quote: Burger King, which has run several humorous --or creepy, depending on your point of view -- ads throughout the NFL season... I vote creepy. I hate those ads. I pretty much never want to eat at Burger King again.
Thor's Helmet. Cool.
The true story of Robinson Crusoe... or rather, Alexander Selkirk.
What does the moon smell like?
Little Bunny Foo-Foo Busted. Via Rachel Hartman.
Larry Osterman uses the Maginot Line to explain firewalls.
Here's a unique form of lobbying. I wouldn't ever contribute, but it's nice to see a netroots lobbying effort.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Rapid Reviews - 18 January 2006 - Part I
Infinite Crisis #4: "Homecoming": Lots of lots of action in this one, but not as much by way of revelations as the previous issue. Superboy... wow, some action there. I don't really know what else to say. Nothing about Atlantis in this one, so not much for me to be excited about. I do wonder how much duplication is going to happen between the two earths. Of course, that kind of question may well be very premature.
Action Comics #835: "A Contagion of Madness": Is this the first appearance of Livewire in the regular DCU? I like the character, it's nice how it all fit in with the existing story, but Byrne's art seemed completely wrong for Livewire. Ah well. A fun story, despite the art.
Flash #230: "Last Man Standing": Is this the final issue? The "Next Issue" box misleadingly says "The Flash #231" and calls that the final issue. Not very useful to readers who don't get Previews and can't check. It continues the boring story from the last few issues. Not impressive.
Phantom #9: "Slave Trade" part one of two: Nice illustration of how good intentions don't always end up in good results. I'm looking forward to the next part of this one. I want to see if the lessons are taken to heart.
PS238 #14: This is the only issue of this series so far that I read and then, instead of gleeing and telling everyone to go read it, had to sit back and think about it for a long time. This one needs previous issues to understand the full implications, and the final page nearly made me cry. I want the next issue NOW!!!!!
Noble Causes #16: It sure seems like everything pulled together in this issue... but of course things are never as they seem in your standard soap opera. And this has a lot of aspects of the soap opera. I didn't like the flashback style of telling the story in this one. It made the book a little too disjointed. Overall, no bad.
Action Comics #835: "A Contagion of Madness": Is this the first appearance of Livewire in the regular DCU? I like the character, it's nice how it all fit in with the existing story, but Byrne's art seemed completely wrong for Livewire. Ah well. A fun story, despite the art.
Flash #230: "Last Man Standing": Is this the final issue? The "Next Issue" box misleadingly says "The Flash #231" and calls that the final issue. Not very useful to readers who don't get Previews and can't check. It continues the boring story from the last few issues. Not impressive.
Phantom #9: "Slave Trade" part one of two: Nice illustration of how good intentions don't always end up in good results. I'm looking forward to the next part of this one. I want to see if the lessons are taken to heart.
PS238 #14: This is the only issue of this series so far that I read and then, instead of gleeing and telling everyone to go read it, had to sit back and think about it for a long time. This one needs previous issues to understand the full implications, and the final page nearly made me cry. I want the next issue NOW!!!!!
Noble Causes #16: It sure seems like everything pulled together in this issue... but of course things are never as they seem in your standard soap opera. And this has a lot of aspects of the soap opera. I didn't like the flashback style of telling the story in this one. It made the book a little too disjointed. Overall, no bad.
Rapid Reviews - 11 January 2006
Hey, time for a few more reviews, eh? It's been a couple-three weeks or so...
Angel: Old Friends #2: Not bad. Not bad. I'm curious about the cliffhanger, and I'm enjoying the artwork. The humor captures the style of the show. Overall, I'm happy with this mini so far.
JLA #124: "Envy Is The Key": I really don't like this version of the Key. Nor am I really sure what happened to Manitou Raven, so that bit is just annoying. Nice enough cliffhanger, but overall the story left me cold.
JLA: Classified Cold Steel #2: "The Sleeping World": I wanted to like this story, but it's so confusing that I couldn't follow it without rereading the first issue, and even then it wasn't easy. I love the art, it's got it's own style, but it didn't make the tale any easier to understand. It's good, but hard to read.
Oz: The Manga #7: "Discovery of Oz, the Terrible": This continues to be a great adaptation, right down to the final journey of Dorothy and her friends from the original book, a bit that is often ignored. I'm really looking forward to seeing the collection of this, and I hope it sells well.
Angel: Old Friends #2: Not bad. Not bad. I'm curious about the cliffhanger, and I'm enjoying the artwork. The humor captures the style of the show. Overall, I'm happy with this mini so far.
JLA #124: "Envy Is The Key": I really don't like this version of the Key. Nor am I really sure what happened to Manitou Raven, so that bit is just annoying. Nice enough cliffhanger, but overall the story left me cold.
JLA: Classified Cold Steel #2: "The Sleeping World": I wanted to like this story, but it's so confusing that I couldn't follow it without rereading the first issue, and even then it wasn't easy. I love the art, it's got it's own style, but it didn't make the tale any easier to understand. It's good, but hard to read.
Oz: The Manga #7: "Discovery of Oz, the Terrible": This continues to be a great adaptation, right down to the final journey of Dorothy and her friends from the original book, a bit that is often ignored. I'm really looking forward to seeing the collection of this, and I hope it sells well.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Joss Whedon is my Master Now
grr arr
Random Bits
Video of the Giant Pacific Octopus "attacking" a remote controlled submarine. It looks like a nice little curious investigation that freaked out the controller of the sub.
A piece of malware that is shipped and installed with a bunch of games has triggered a boycott, and when Boing Boing reported on it, the makers of the malware threatened to sue Boing Boing. Go look at the games list and make sure you don't buy any of them.
Sleepless in Seattle recut as a horror film. It works surprisingly well.
Do you need some graph paper? Go here and generate your own graph paper in handy PDF formats.
And, speaking of PDFs, are you irritated by how slowly Adobe Acrobat Reader loads files? Go get the Free FoxIt PDF Reader and never wait 5 minutes for a PDF file to show up again. I've found that it works particularly well in Firefox when combined with the PDF Download Extension. I set the PDF files to go to FoxIt and everything loads super-fast.
Oscar Nominations. I'm as interested in these as I was in the Razzies.
A piece of malware that is shipped and installed with a bunch of games has triggered a boycott, and when Boing Boing reported on it, the makers of the malware threatened to sue Boing Boing. Go look at the games list and make sure you don't buy any of them.
Sleepless in Seattle recut as a horror film. It works surprisingly well.
Do you need some graph paper? Go here and generate your own graph paper in handy PDF formats.
And, speaking of PDFs, are you irritated by how slowly Adobe Acrobat Reader loads files? Go get the Free FoxIt PDF Reader and never wait 5 minutes for a PDF file to show up again. I've found that it works particularly well in Firefox when combined with the PDF Download Extension. I set the PDF files to go to FoxIt and everything loads super-fast.
Oscar Nominations. I'm as interested in these as I was in the Razzies.
National Gorilla Suit Day
Monday, January 30, 2006
The Ultimate Comic Shop Map
Mark Evanier directs everyone to THE ULTIMATE COMIC SHOP MAP upon which you can find a local comic shop whereever you are... assuming that all the local comic shops have been submitted. Go submit your favorite shop.
Random Thoughts
Here is a cute picture of a pug for my in-laws to enjoy. I'll note that the picture came from a pug blog.
Colleen Doran has a great story about a convention she attended.
Warped Wisdom from Viginia Hey (the blue woman on Farscape).
The Razzie Nominations have been announced. Lucky me, I haven't seen most of the films mentioned in the nominations.
Last Kiss Comics went Seahawks crazy this week. heh.
Wreck this subway car! "The council in Amsterdam has issued a call for vandals to attempt to trash a prototype of the city's new subway car, which is intended to be proof against even the most determined wrecker. Amsterdam's public transit vandals are the source of perverse pride among the municipal government there, which regards them as the toughest and most extreme vandals in the world." heh.
Alternate to Oil. I just wish there was a massive, countrywide initiative to get refineries up and running and stations delivering the new fuel. Or we could just follow Brazil's example and let the market do the work. Oh, just go read the article. It's all in there.
You Break It, You Buy It? No, they are forgiving the museum-goer who tripped on a shoelace and broke three Qing dynasty Chinese vases. Ouch.
Could obesity be caused by a virus? Don't laugh. Oh, all right, laugh away. I sure did, and I'm fat. The next question then becomes, is there a cure? If it is true, it would explain a number of my friends who simply cannot lose weight no matter how much they exercise or diet.
Colleen Doran has a great story about a convention she attended.
Warped Wisdom from Viginia Hey (the blue woman on Farscape).
The Razzie Nominations have been announced. Lucky me, I haven't seen most of the films mentioned in the nominations.
Last Kiss Comics went Seahawks crazy this week. heh.
Wreck this subway car! "The council in Amsterdam has issued a call for vandals to attempt to trash a prototype of the city's new subway car, which is intended to be proof against even the most determined wrecker. Amsterdam's public transit vandals are the source of perverse pride among the municipal government there, which regards them as the toughest and most extreme vandals in the world." heh.
Alternate to Oil. I just wish there was a massive, countrywide initiative to get refineries up and running and stations delivering the new fuel. Or we could just follow Brazil's example and let the market do the work. Oh, just go read the article. It's all in there.
You Break It, You Buy It? No, they are forgiving the museum-goer who tripped on a shoelace and broke three Qing dynasty Chinese vases. Ouch.
Could obesity be caused by a virus? Don't laugh. Oh, all right, laugh away. I sure did, and I'm fat. The next question then becomes, is there a cure? If it is true, it would explain a number of my friends who simply cannot lose weight no matter how much they exercise or diet.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Your Local
Brian Wood is requesting "My Local" entries to put in the back of the Local comic book and on the Local Blog. If you haven't seen them, all you need to do is take a picture of something in your area and send it with a short paragraph talking about either the place you live or where you come from.
