Nerdier than thou

So, I was wasting time with the old roomie, and he caught me listening to the song called Promentory from the Last of the Mohicans OST *, and decided to comment on it:
"Hey, doesn't this kinda remind you of something?"
I reply, "What, riverdance?"
"No, that band.  What were they called?  Oh yeah, River Tam and the Fireflies"
"Okay, this is totally going on the blog"

Because who wouldn't want that?  Image blatantly taken from XKCD.

*Okay, I was actually watching this video with the song in it.

Pathetic

I hate it when I come across as a complete moron.  For example, I'm usually in quite the hurry when typing these things, and my typing accuracy is less than legendary.  So, I'll be pushing a post out during the short time I have while eating during my lunch break, and then I'll just post it at a random part of the day.  Come to find later that this weeks postings have been full of spelling and grammatical errors, because my spell check ceased to work.  Lovely.  So yeah, enjoy the new and improved posts from this week that are NOT as rife with spelling errors.

Anyways, things are shaping up to be really busy this weekend.  I've got a whole slew of  people that I've been meaning to spend time with, which I have not been able to in recent weeks.  I've also got to get back to dance lessons, which I'm pretty sure is going to be like starting fresh over.  Then, maybe if things work out right, I might also get to go on an explosion excursion.  Yippee.

What sick thoughts?

So, I live not too far from the Opsgear store over here, and despite my lack of funds to purchase anything fun there, I like their nice selection of goodies and friendly service.  Other than an absence of them, the place is just like a mall ninja's dream come true.  Just look at all the goodies they got just laying around:

But despite all the holsters, rails, webbing, and accessories one could want, I'm sorely disappointed that these guys don't sell guns.  There isn't a solid gun store within 45min of any direction (which in Utah is like a crime itself), which would give them a serious edge. 

On the bright side, I did hear that they planned on putting up a new sign at the door:

Oh, and stop all the presses.  The Meet the Pyro video is finally here, and it is amazing.  Must watch.  Right now.

Future is brighter than you think...

So in the past week or so, I can't help but be very entertained with all of the theological discussions I've been getting into.  I dunno what it is, but it seems just about everyone I've been chillin' with recently all seem to be eager to get conversations rolling about some kind of theological matter of any sort.  I mean, I must have gotten into four separate discussions in the past week alone.  Not that I'm complaining at all, I just find it curious that it all seems to happen all at roughly the same time.  So far, topics have included the specifics of pre-mortal existence, the immortality and reorganization of matter, justice and mercy (and how mercy doesn't make justice fair, just merciful), and the old testament and it's genealogical records.  Fascinating.

What's really scary is that I had someone try to tell me I was wise after one such discussion.  Uh, no.  I like to think I'm somewhat knowledgable, but I would hardly say I am wise in any way.  Bit of a watershed between the two in my experience. 

Anyways, even though I don't have any plans for today, it may might not be so relaxed as you'd think, as I have been putting off cleaning the apartment at a pace of reckless abandon.  I was planning on doing so yesterday, but of course I got more than a little distracted by the roomie and friends playing Diablo 3 again (Curse you Blizzard!).   So, it looks like a whole afternoon full of nothing but cleaning.

Bag lunch of meds

Well, there are so many things going on that I could talk about.  There's the RF-4 shootdown on the Syrian/Turkish border, or the new developments in the investigation of operation Fast and Furious, or there's the recent debacle with the INS.  Heck, even in my own life there's plenty going on; in fact, I planned on posting this yesterday, but I just ended up being too busy for that. 

But, I'm not gonna talk about any of that, because now that I have a little bit of free time, I'm too busy living the dream of flying 1960s and '70s era fighter jets in Strike Fighters 2.  I bought that game knowing I would like it, but this is the most fun I've had flying a jet since Falcon 4.0.  Compound that with the fact that I've recently downloaded the relatively unknown classic film "The Final Countdown" and you have a recipe for me not wanting to do much else but tear around in an F-14.

However, I will say that I really need to get the a/c fixed in my car.  Being that the weather is flirting with triple digits soon, it's starting to not only be irritating, but it's actually cramping my style.  Never thought I'd say that, either.

What's really frustrating is the fact that this cough is still sticking with me after all this time.  My voice still sounds like a cracking teen's who is chain smoking like a fiend.  I even had people offer me some under-the-table drug based solutions, but I think I'll wait till Friday, and get some antibiotics on the down-low.

Take me out.....please?

Am I just awesome or what?  I think I must have put off posting on the weekends for three epochs already.  So, because I forgot to post yesterday, here you go.

Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out (Video)

USP ka-put?

Spent my entire lunch break trying to see how many cool apps I can squeeze on to one little android   Naturally, the absolute first customization I make to the the thing was putting a star trek live wallpaper on the bad boy.  I suppose you can guess where it went from there.  Yeah, my nerdyness knows no bounds.

As for something actually interesting, the roomie went to the range a few days ago to get some time in with his USP 40.  He was firing some re-loaded ammunition, and when his brother was taking some shots, it had a failure to eject.  The roomie was unable to clear the casing and decided to unload the gun and bring it back home for further analysis.  Upon further dissasembly, and some serious abuse with the cleaning rod, he managed to recover this little gem:

Thankfully there was no noticeable damage to the gun (and and more importantly, the shooters), and we pondered the reasons as to why there was no ka-boom or other catastrophic failure.  We came to the conclusion, that since the round cleared the weapon (presumably properly), that the casing was simply sub-standard; possibly weakened by reloading too many times, or after a particularly hot loading.  Interesting stuff, but totally reminded me of this comic:

Expansion pack

So, I had some pretty good ideas for some posts yesterday, and before I had a chance to flesh any of 'em out, I had to run errands, do home teaching, some cleaning, and laundry.  So, by the time that was done, all I wanted to do was sit and play some Strike Fighters 2.  However, I can't just play SF2.  As soon as I fire it up, I invariably spend hours upon hours of time trying to mod the crap out out of it more and more.  It actually got to the point that I was delving into .ini files to mod my own custom load outs for modded planes that I added earlier.  Results of my 2 a.m. modding binge below:

Okay, not exactly an operational load, but not entirely outside the realm of possibility, either.

Prototype Replacements

Some time ago, when I was in Civil Air Patrol, I remember getting my hands on some very detailed blueprints/diagrams for the F-35/X-35B through an acquaintance whose relative worked for Lockheed.  They were absolutely beautiful, massively large in size, of ambiguous legality, and I always wanted to be able to frame them and slap them up on a wall at one point.  Of course, being the immature little cadet I was, I subsequently lost them and have no idea as to their present speed and angels.

Fast forward to today, I think I have found my ticket to something even better.  Due to a small amount of boredom, and after a lot of internet searches, research, and painstaking brainstorming, I end up finding what I want by near accident.

I came across Aerospace Projects Review (another locally grown operation) and their blog through a link in the Secret Projects forum.  Although they don't have anything on the F-35B, it turns out they have something much better.  Some very detailed and high-rez  blueprints/diagrams for the F-23 and it's variants.  I'm totally gonna blow what's left of my cash on it, and see if I can't get a copy of it printed and framed to slap on my wall sooner rather than later.

Low rez samplings of the awesomeness that awaits:

Pretty darn good for a Monday

If anyone wants to know what it's like to be in my shoes for a day, here's a sneak peek:

I like my job, and I like being in a position to wave to all the nice people I know coming down the hall, but it's kind of frustrating when everyone thinks I'm giving them a hard stare from down the hall, when I'm really just looking at my computer screen.  And before you judge, this was taken on Friday, so I wasn't missing out on any real work by writing on blogger.

Not much else going on in my spot of the valley.  I had the roomie pick me up some of those tasty cashews from the fun show over the weekend, along with sending me a pic, but that was about it.

Oh, wait a minute. I forgot to mention that I was given some potent homemade grog to help ease my terrible throat as well.  I wouldn't reccomend it as a recreational beverage,  but it did help with the throat.

The source of all James Horner

Without much to talk about I'll resort to the old habit of posting some music for your enjoyment.  I'm a big fan of those slow movements by the strings section.  Oh, and happy Father's Day!

Prokofiev - Dance of the Knights

Fear and loathing in Salt Lake City

So, I was given a prescription for some codeine cough medicine that I just filled a few minutes ago.  While at the store, I was given the standard pep talk from the pharmacist about what to do and what not to do with the stuff.  It was at that moment that I realized just how good this stuff is, when the pharmacist looked me in the eye and said "Just make sure you don't go driving after taking this stuff."  If it wasn't for my horrendous sore throat, I would have found it hard not to shout "Scooore!"

On the other hand, I rediscovered that I hate going to the pharmacist.  Whether or not it's just me, I don't know, but no matter how friendly, courteous, or helpful the staff is, those people will always come off as creepy to me.  Now I best be off, because I think I just entered bat country.

A few of my favorite guns

So, I'm not all that exited about the weekend this time around.  I'm still coughing up bits of lung everywhere, so unless a miracle cure is discovered, I doubt there will be any fun show shenanigans in store for me, even though I've practically been feeding a constant menthol IV into my neck the past couple days.

One thing nice about being sick the past few days, was that it served to remind me that I have the greatest friends in the world.  In a most caring and utilitarian gesture, the roomie got me some Fisherman's Friend to soothe the pain from the bits of lung coming out.  Now, maybe I'm just shopping at all the wrong places, but I had never heard of the stuff before.  He gave me the box and warned me that the taste is horrendous, but that the effect is twice as powerful as the taste.  He wasn't kidding. 

Later in the week, another good friend actually gave me his old Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S) that he was no longer using, so I could use the Diablo 3 authenticator.  Now, this baby has been ad-hocked with the latest in gingerbread ice cream snadwich technology, so even though I can't really use it as a phone, I'm really gonna enjoy having something that can not only let me use the D3 Auction, but that I can basically use as a mini-tablet and camera.  Expect to see more actual pictures of shenanigans taken by yours truly; possibly more than ever needed. 

The true icing on the cake was when I went to visit a dear couple I hadn't seen in a while.  Nearly as soon as I walked in, I was greeted with one of the greatest gifts ever.  A Blues Brothers T-shirt of epic legendary-ness.  Behold, feast your eyes:

Oh, and I have to give another hat tip to Tam, for nearly killing me with laughter (almost literally) by saying the greatest collection of words since the Emancipation Proclamation.  Good thing I'm a poor sucker that lives nowhere near Indiana, otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to propose.

aftershocks

Oh boy, it's a slow news day.  So the biggest bit of excitement so far was that I found out that no one in the office had heard of my Vicks Vapo-Rub shotgun shell idea.  After forwarding that to everyone, and a good amount of laughs later, we had to continue the riotous laughing by making fun of the boss who is buying a new 1911 in order to "possibly compete" (ie. probably never)with it, despite never having even held a 1911 before.  I aint got nothing against the idea of a tricked out 1911, but if you're gonna spend over a thousand bucks on a gun so that you can "possibly compete" with it, wouldn't you wanna at least shoot one first?



Yeah, he's actually getting the one with the same name as a condom, too.

Anyways, we continued on by watching that hilarious new video on the youtubes called I hate 1911s.  It's done by the same guy that gave us the famous I hate Glocks video, so go give it a watch; unless you're some kind of wussified he-she!

It's the most wonderful time every four months

It's time again for the infamous fun show this weekend, and I might actually go this time.  Not that I have any money to buy anything of interest, but it's become more than a ritual for me to buy those tasty candied cashews upon entry.  I also blame Tam for making me reflexively sing the even more infamous fun show song every single time I go there (I'm even singing it right now). 

I think I forgot to mention that the time before last that we went, we actually ran into some reenactors of sorts.  I say of sorts, because I don't think I saw more than two people dressed from the same time period.  Some were revolutionary-war era, others were civil war, WWI, WWII, and even a Vietnam G.I. -really!  Kind of an odd sight, but very entertaining. 

I must admit, the last show we went to had some pretty slim pickings in regards to anything very interesting, most of our guns shows around here consisting almost entirely of ammo vendors and the typical run-o-the-mill gun shop, but I'm holding out hope that this one should be a bit more diverse.

Always held at the South Towne Expo Center; and yes, it's spelled with an 'e' at the end.

Patient Zero

So, I spent the whole weekend in bed crying like a baby.  Okay, not really.  Just came down with the most horrendous cough I've had in a long time.  Which was quite annoying, because aside from the cough of doom, a sore throat, and almost losing my voice, I felt pretty good otherwise.  Whatever.  I seem to be doing much better today, though the cough still makes an appearance whenever I laugh, making me look and sound like the bastard love child of tuberculosis and bronchitis.  Looks like I might have to hit up a drug dealer for some seriously legitimate product.

As for other news, the roomie got one of those newfangled AR15 stocks that were featured on the Firearm Blog a while back.  A cool idea, but personally I fail to see the point, when I can get a different gun (i.e. not an AR-15) with a stock that isn't made of plastic, that can also fire while the stock is folded.

Another time-waster that I found not too long ago was ordnance.com.  It's chock full of awesome goodies that I'll never be able to afford.  That doesn't stop me from window shopping, though.

I'm pretty sure some of this hardware will be used on me if I don't start feeling better...or come back from the grave.

boooooooooorriiiiiiiiiinnnnggggg

Karma has come to visit me so it can laugh maniacally in my face.  I'm sitting here, just being sick.  More sick than I've been in a long time.  It's taking every ounce of my concentration to just type this right now.  Thank goodness I had a couple pre-written blog posts ready to go, just in case this kind of situation happened, or else nothing would have been written the past couple days.

Anyways, here's some ridiculously nonsensical music to keep my mind off of it.

Cowboy Bebop OST - 24 hours OPEN

Maybe this was a bad choice; the song causes me to laugh.  Laughing causes me to cough like a dying smoker that's also dry heaving.

Blue light special

So, I heard form the roomie that there's a massive sale on Kel-Tec RMR-30s going on, and that is getting me all sorts of exited.  I always thought the pistol was kinda cool, but the carbine is a must-have!  I mean, just look at this little beauty;  a longer barrel for higher velocity, with a stock and longer sight radius for better accuracy, and still has the same 30 round mag full of .22 magnum.  All for just over $400 bucks, no less.  Man, I may pull that starving maneuver for two weeks just to get one.

An extended magazine with 40 or 50 rounds would totally round out the ensemble.

In unrelated news, I forgot to mention that I finally got to go visually plunder the new Utah Natural History Museum a couple weeks back.  When in development, I heard that Rio Tinto poured millions of dollars into the place, and well, it certainly shows.  With the exception of all the air museums and the gun museums, it had to be by far one of the coolest I've ever been to.  It's some super-cool stuff, so if you haven't been, I highly recommend it; especially if you have a date that is interested in anthropology or paleontology (or just likes looking at dead things).

I'm a workin' on it

So, I'm actually going to the fabled Star Trek Convention in Vegas this year (happening in August).  Even though I'm a huge fan of Trek, I always thought that the conventions were a bit nerdy even for my taste.  However, I'm being supplied a ticket, so naturally I want to go. 

I'm really eager to get some more of my friends and acquaintances to go so I feel less weird while walking among the throngs of those that are setting a world record for most people dressed in Star Trek outfits in one gathering*.  We'll see how that goes. 

Not much else going on this week, which is quite out of the ordinary for the past couple months.  However, seeing that it is a Friday, I'm sure that'll change rather quickly.

*Okay, I'll admit it, if I had Scotty's vest, jacket, and an awesome fake mustache, I would not only dress up as him, but I'd stay in character the whole time.  Totally worth it.


But reading Klingon?  That's hard.



boomstick bemusings

Oh, router firmware, why must you cake out after being updated?  I think that should be a sufficient explanation as to why I have not been posting in a while.  Anyways, on to the topic of the day.

You know, I love guns.  Love 'em.  However, it seems I'm turning into one of those "rusty old addicts."  What do I mean by that?  Well, I seem to have a fascination with firearms that are of an antique status, that are unique, or just plain odd.  I've always been attracted to things that are not only brutally functional, but have a history to them as well.  For example, I have no desire whatsoever for any AR-15 style rifle*, a bullpup style weapon, or any kind of fantastic plastic pistol (well, except maybe the PMR 30). 

All my friends are of the persuasion that they all need the latest and greatest, all of them chasing after ARs, Glocks, or HKs, whereas I would gladly take something like an M1917 .45 revolver over a Smith and Wesson M&P anytime.  No one else I know of seems to share this same attitude and they tend to mock me for it from time to time.

What is it that persuades me to choose an M1 Carbine over a KRISS .45, or my Jericho 941 over an XDM?  Simple.  It's the same reason I argued with my boss about the Winchester 1897 vs. a Mossberg 590.  There is almost a 0 difference in capability; one is just newer (and maybe a bit lighter) than the other.

*Okay, I'd toatally love to build a bunch of 'em, but I'm not all that stoked to own one, I guess.

Still waiting

Random thought of the day: I like to think I used to have somewhat of a good amount of patience, but it seems anxiousness catches me more regularly these days.

Anyways, now for something completely different.  Like some music that I'm supposed to be posting on Sundays.

Dvorak - Symphony No. 9