The Ghost of ILM, Part 2

Anybody who remembers my Ghost of ILM post about Circuit City store #238, which is located in the less desirable neighborhood of San Rafael, will not be surprised that it’s on the list of the 155 stores that Circuit City is closing in their restructuring effort. There were people advertising the closeout sale in front of the Best Buy today. Kinda smart, there might be some great deals for anybody who lives in this area. But I don’t feel like spending big money on any consumer electronics right now. Given the economy, I’m wondering if anybody will.

2008 Election Results

We had this idea on our friends mailing list today…and Hugh did the Photoshop work to make it happen. I present to you, in illustrated form, the result of today’s election:

Update: It’s hard to be cynical after hearing both John McCain and Barrack Obama’s speeches tonight. I think McCain conceded gracefully, and is finding back to the old McCain that gained so much respect across party lines before the election campaign demons took over. And Obama was very good at being upbeat yet realistic, and rallying people for what will be a very difficult fight.

“Yes we can!”

I believe that, and if the entire country gets behind that message, we will turn the US around!

Pop Culture Wisdom

“We trade honesty for companionship.”
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

“Women think they’re so clever because they can fake an orgasm for the sake of a relationship, but men can fake a whole relationship for the sake of an orgasm.”
Playboy’s Party Jokes

(And no, neither of these quotes pertain to my relationship with Victoria I just thought they were clever observations.)

Another To Do List

Looking for alternate universe with 48-hour days. Can be second hand, but must be in good condition.

Now Playing: Dead Space

If there haven’t been many blog updates in the last week, you can lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of Dead Space. In times when I normally write my posts or work on BBelief2008, I have been playing Dead Space instead. When I should have been going to bed around midnight, I kept playing Dead Space instead. It’s one of the best games I’ve experienced this year.

(The following text won’t contain any story spoilers, and no major game spoilers. But if you prefer to not know anything about the game, you might want to stop reading right here.)

Dead Space is a case study in focus and execution. There are a few novel touches (like the 3D inventory and 3D UI screens), but when you get to the bottom of it, there’s a preexisting example for every one of Dead Space’s game elements. Dismembering enemies? Soldier of Fortune 2. In-game economics and stores? System Shock 2 (and, more recently, Bioshock). Node upgrade system: Final Fantasy X/2. Resurrection monsters: Archvile from Doom 2. Zero gravity sections: Prey. And of course Doom 3 paved the way, by the way of Event Horizon.

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The Burger King Diet

When the scale displayed 22% body fat at the beginning of this year, I figured that the time for a weight loss initiative had finally arrived. I wasn’t close to getting obese yet, but seeing how I was into my 30s now (when weight is notoriously harder to lose), and seeing how my physical weight had increased 25lbs since I had met Victoria (a gain I can squarely blame on Lair crunch time), I felt like I should reverse the trend while there was still time. Not through a fad diet, mind you. Through lifestyle changes.

Of course that meant eating more consciously, avoiding most fast food restaurants etc. I actually go to Wendys on a regular basis – their grilled chicken sandwich has honey mustard dressing instead of mayo, and substituting the fries for a side salad isn’t a bad deal at all. But I hadn’t been at a Burger King for ages. Until today, when I had to go to the Best Buy in Marin City, and didn’t have much time to find anything else to eat. There’s a Burger King right there, where my coworkers and I had some fun times several years ago – feeding burger meat to the eager pigeons (if you needed any more proof that pigeons are basically rats with wings, here it is). So I figured sure, why not? Maybe I’d forgotten that I once liked the place! So, picture me…

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