Let's Exist

Airplane Watching

2009-06-25T15:27:00.001-07:00

I went down to the navy base on Whidbey Island yesterday. My dad and I watched the growlers and EP-3s take off and land.
My dad used to be a navigator in EP-3s, so he told me all about them. It was really cool.

Micheal Jackson is Dead

2009-06-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

It's on the news right now.
I'm amazed it took this long. Updates to follow, I guess, if the damn news channel keeps interrupting my normal programming.

UPDATE: You know who I feel bad for? The Paramedic who had to administer CPR.

Tarantula

2009-06-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was offered a geriatric tarantula named Harry. I spent hours poring over books from the library before accepting the 21-year-old Chilean Rose Haired tarantula.
That's right: my tarantula is old enough to order a beer.
According to the books and my eyes, the tarantula is a female as opposed to a male... I'm just gonna call her Harriet. Problem solved.
She's very well-behaved and will sit perfectly still in my hand when I hold her. She eats crickets every so often and spends the days waltzing around her terrarium in no real hurry.
Admittedly, I am afraid of being bitten. All tarantulas have venom, but hers would not cause me any more injury than a wasp sting. I fear the mechanical pain of the bite- her fangs are massive. Because of this mild worry, I go out of my way to make her comfortable and happy and stress-free. In 21 years, her previous owner informed me, she's never bitten anyone. And Harriet was held a LOT. She was a classroom pet in an elementary school where children were permitted to hold her. Yikes. I guess that makes me a nursing home to, as I said, geriatric tarantulas.

Fathers' Day Wisdom

2009-06-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

My father once said, "Alison, you can't go through life wondering if there are narcotics in the peanut bag."

I'll let you think about that and stew for a while.

Dog-Sitting

2009-06-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

In addition to my two normal dogs, Star and Leika, a friend dog is staying overnight with us. Her name is Tuna.
Tuna's a golden retriever, and a service dog school dropout. I'm friends with her family, so we usually all go as a group to the park. Tuna's older than Star, but she's in great health and Star's always happy to have her around.
Leika isn't so pleased- Tuna likes to play with Leika's toys and Leika does not like that one bit.

Star

2009-06-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Star's still around and still kicking. The vet is amazed- he was sure she'd be dead by now.
She's slow and deliberate in her actions, but she still goes for a walk with me every day- usually a half-a-mile but sometimes more.

She's such a good dog. I've told her so many times.

The Faun

2009-06-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Worked on this for about three weeks- it's the faun from Pan's Labyrinth.

Terminator

2009-06-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

I got around to seeing the new Terminator movie today. Come to think of it, this is actually the first time I've seen a Terminator movie in theaters- I never saw 1 'til it was out on VHS, and the same with 2. I didn't have time to see 3 when it was in theaters (three was terrible, by the way). I have not watched the television series out of respect to the movies- if it's not Linda Hamilton, it isn't Sarah Connor.
4 was corny, but because it is an action movie, corniness is acceptable. Casting was excellent, and the T-800 had a big part toward the end. A CGI Ahnuld was even there, but no references were made to the T-800 from Judgement Day (my favorite of the movies).
See it. Maybe not in theaters, but see it nonetheless.

Star

2009-05-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

I found out a few weeks ago that Star, my dog, was dying. The vet said he'd be surprised if she lived a month and it's been two weeks. I didn't record this sooner because I felt like I needed to come to terms with the imminent death of my best friend.
She's still okay, and she's being a complete trooper. I've been spending as much time as I can with her, taking "me time" only when she's sleeping. I've been s
I love her, and I know she knows I love her, so I think I'm going to be okay. We have a place where we will bury her, and it's a forest owned by my friends where we always go camping. Star loved it there. In ages to come, her atoms will spread around that forest and past it, all over the world. Someday they may cross the universe.

Opera

2009-05-05T22:42:00.001-07:00

I went to my first opera on Sunday. I saw "Marriage of Figaro" in Seattle and I quite liked it.

Art Doodles

2009-05-05T22:41:00.001-07:00

Now it Makes Sense

2009-04-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was very small, my parents have taunted me with a joke:

Me: Where's mom?
Dad: She's at the post office.

My parents thought this was hilarious. But now, I finally understand how the Hell this got started.
I was google-earthing (is that even a verb?) and marking off all the places I've lived. I got to the base in Misawa, Japan, where I lived when I was little. I couldn't find our house because I couldn't find the playground and I didn't remember the address. I called up my parents.
Neither of them could remember the address! It had been years and years, but still.
Then they realized why they didn't know the address- we'd used a PO box and as a result my mother had to run to the post office every day in order to get the mail.
Me, the needy child I was (and still am?) I would always ask my dad where mom was when I woke up. She was always "at the post office."

And now I understand.

PS: I lived around here, though I never did find my exact house.

"How the Mind Works"

2009-04-27T21:54:00.001-07:00

My friend commanded that I share this on my blog. It is a conversation between myself and two close buddies.

Learning? In MY Videogame?

2009-04-11T23:12:00.001-07:00

I bought an awesome new videogame today called Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
It's a puzzle game, and while it's a little awkward dialog-wise (EVERYONE YOU MEET WILL FORCE YOU TO SOLVE A PUZZLE) it's totally badass.
I came across a puzzle. No sweat, I thought. Then I read it. I read it again. I ended up using algebra to solve it.
Dudes, my videogame is trying to make me learn.

Bag o Coyote

2009-04-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

I swear this story is true.

My friend collects animal bones and is into taxidermy. There were four people in the car. We were driving along one Monday (a very hot day) and we passed a mint condition coyote corpse. My friend freaks out and nearly leaps out the window to collect the body. To be honest I wanted to join him.
"No," our driver says, "We're going to Lowes and I won't have the coyote rotting in the warm back of my van."
The decision is met with protests, but we go to Lowes anyway. Everyone really wants to get back to the coyote. We pick up the 3mil 40 gallon trash bags on the way out and drive back the way we came. Fortunately for everyone involved, the corpse is still there. My friend bales and grabs the thing my the neck and carries it over. He bags it and we drive home. It didn't smell bad at all. Like wet dog. There's no external damage, so my friend thinks the coyote died of internal hemorrhaging or heart failure as a result of being hit by a car. He intends to perform a necropsy after he skins it.
It's a girl coyote and we call her Mrs. Fuzzles. She's mostly grey and is smaller than either of my dogs. I can't wait to see the taxidermied version.

Typography Experiment Page 4

2009-03-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Inspired and vaguely based upon this tutorial: [link]. The background and the overlay texture are from the wonderful Caleb Kimbrough at [link]. The main font is called aka for anyone who is interested. The rest is just arial.

Typography Experiment Page 3

2009-03-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

Inspired and vaguely based upon this tutorial: [link]. The background and the overlay texture are from the wonderful Caleb Kimbrough at [link]. The font is just arial.

Typography Experiment Page 2

2009-03-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

More of my Illustrator makings.

Inspired and vaguely based upon this tutorial: [link]. The background and the overlay texture are from the wonderful Caleb Kimbrough at [link]. The main font is called Germanica for anyone who is interested. The rest is just arial.

Typography Experiment Page 1

2009-03-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

I've been learning Adobe Illustrator and I've been experimenting with typography and designs and stuff.
The name is inspired by one of my favorite websites, Fuck Yeah Sharks.
Inspired and vaguely based upon this tutorial: [link]. The background and the overlay texture are from the wonderful Caleb Kimbrough at [link]. The main font is called Posiedon for anyone who is interested. The rest is just arial.

Alien Concept

2009-03-16T22:27:00.001-07:00

Some alien I made up.

Doodles

2009-03-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Just some doodles I've been kicking around.

Me And Star

2009-03-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Adobe Illustrator picture of me and my dog.

Today's Lesson: Always Play Along

2009-03-13T21:14:00.001-07:00

There isn't that much about this rule that needs explaining, except to say that the best conversations of your life occur when you play along with what other people are saying.

EX: Several years ago I was at a deli eating a delicious sandwich. I was alone. A guy comes in and he orders his food. Then he sits down at a table relatively close to mine and immediately engages in a one-sided "Did you know?" conversation about -you guessed it- Bigfoot.
Of course I do not believe in bigfoot. But I said I did. I sent a hail of innocent questions toward the man, such as "How big do they get?" to which he responded, "The males can be up to ten feet tall but the females are usually human sized."
Where he received this information I do not know. UFO sites, I suspect.
Our conversation lasted until I finished my delicious sandwich. I thanked him for his time and information and left, thinking that it had been a wonderful day.

Baba Yaga Digital Painting

2009-02-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

I know most of the stories- I just didn't follow them. This is my unfaithful interperitation of the Baba Yaga's appearance.

Darwin, Sweet Darwin

2009-02-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

February the twelfth was the 200th anniversary of Darwin. I celebrated natural selection by eating the flesh of many kinds of animals- hooray for genetic diversity.
Unfortunately, science's supporters face challenges. In the US at least, evangelical Christians who don't believe in science are kind of ruining everything.

Seriously, guys, not cool.

Let's just have fun with science on Darwin Day.

Aerial Cephalopod

2009-02-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

I made this for a creature-of-the-week on conceptart.org.

Hiatus Over

2009-02-10T21:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finished up my impromptu break. I'm focusing on my art more, and I've been writing some (but not as much as I used to). I've enjoyed myself profusely this past month.

In other news I'm helping throw a party tomorrow at work. I don't have high hopes about what's gonna happen- but there will be food and I need the brownie points. Another thing to note about work- I have my assistant back! Furthermore, all of the interns who have been working under me are getting really good at their work. I'm so proud of them all.

Weather Outside is Frightful

2008-12-24T23:57:00.001-08:00

Ah, the Pacific Northwest. Usually, we have decent weather, although we're quite famous for rain as well. This year we received a terrific amount of snow. To celebrate, I took photos... not all of which came out very well. These were the presentable ones, all but the last of which are from a trip I took to my favorite park.
Star is a regular wolf when it comes to the snow, but Leika's kind of a chicken.

Why Holidays are for Everyone

2008-12-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a very sciency household. My mother, while Christian, is very open to science and very loving of other religions and beliefs. My father is agnostic. Out of habit more than anything else, we celebrate Christmas.
Do we pray? No.
Get a tree? We grew our own Christmas Trees.
Do family stuff? Yes.
Dinner? Yes. Beef.
Presents? You betcha.
My parents have always been kind enough to explain other religions to me as well, so we have a menorah and we play dreidel. For all intents and purposes, it was a secular holiday.
Now the twenty-fifth is. Because the [United States] Government has accepted it as a national holiday, it's officially secular, and everyone can have trees without it meaning they worship the Christian version of God.
It's better this way. Give presents to your friends and family, and enjoy a holiday of your discretion*.

*A Merry Christmas, Chag Chanuka Sameach, a Wonderful Kwanzaa, and a Glorious Winter Solstice to all. Hopefully I've managed to cover all the major December holidays. If I've missed yours, please let me know so I can send you well-wishings.

Build-a-Squid

2008-12-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

You must try this. Build your own squid here.
Then, you should say hi to mine, Alison (named after me). You can search by name and everything.

The Wisdom of Friends

2008-12-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

One of my oldest and bestest friends said something incredible to me the other day (a few weeks ago, actually). He's not the comforting type, but I was really angry and upset at a person and he talked to me about it.
He put a hand on my shoulder and said seriously, "If you let every dumb bitch get you down, you're just gonna be dealing with dumb bitches."
And I think it's the greatest thing anyone has ever told me.

I have the leadership ability of Dan Quayle

2008-12-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

Think about that for a moment. That's a pretty cutting insult, that is- especially one coming from my computer.
Civilizations IV is addicting. Although I've only known it for a few days, I find that it and I have a love hate relationship- I hate it because it feels the need to insult me, but I simply must know what zany thing it will do next. Just today, as I was playing as Genghis Khan, [Digital] Ghandi offered me Bananas (1) for Hit Musicals (1). I told him, in so many words, "lolno." I'll be damned if I give out broadway for free.
[Digital] Catherine later asked me for a movie. I said no.
[Digital] Montezuma wanted my music. Again, I said no.
Then they all ganged up on me.
Because no one likes Dan Quayle.

Birthday

2008-11-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday today.
Goin' out for Italian food with the family.
Enjoy your not-birthday.

No Knowledge Gaps

2008-11-23T23:06:00.000-08:00

There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge:

No Gaps!

Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge:

Philosophy

Religion

Economics

Literature

History

Science

Art

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

As a rule I never publish the results of these strange tests that plague the internet, but I couldn't resist showing this one off.

Wall-E and... Macintosh?

2008-11-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

You know what's adorable? Wall-e and its cast of motley robots. I strongly regret not seeing it in theaters. The best thing about the movie was probably the title character's pet cockroach (who survives a laser blast to the face).
The worst part? All the robots are macs.
Wall-e makes that booting up noise we all remember from elementary school where they forced us to use those ungodly computers. Eve is clearly an Apple product- she has the same sleek look as an iPod. Lastly, a few of the robots speak in Mac-in-Talk. This made me sad, and may be why Wall-e is only my third favorite Pixar movie (after The Incredibles and Monsters, inc.) This does not mean you shouldn't see it. By all means, please do.
Bonus points if you catch Sigourney Weaver's Cameo.

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-23T15:28:00.001-08:00

It was a Saturday. Having awoken at the crack of noon, I decided it would be pretty sweet if I went to see the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.

The week previous, I was speaking to my friends about it.

"There aren't any gadgets," my friend complained.
"Why?" I asked. I'm a huge fan of Q and all his gadgets.
My friend shrugs. He just watches for the explosions.
"Is there character development?" I asked.
He looked at me like I was crazy.

So shoot me, I like character development- even in action movies like James Bond. When I went to see the movie, I was pleased to see that there was less character development than I'd expected, but Daniel Craig did jump a motorcycle from one boat to another.

"Windows Journal"

2008-11-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

Forgive my ungodly handwriting.

Goodnight, Sweet Princes

2008-11-21T23:03:00.000-08:00

What are the chances that both my laptops died within a month of one another? Well, it happened. My faithful third arms Lappy and Notey are both dead (but not forgotten).

I have replaced them now. Why? I've grown accostomed to a certain standard of living and quite honestly I can't get by with a computer that has the ram of something from the eighties. So I've got my new one, which is an HP I got from newegg.com. The only downside to my dual-core is that it runs Vista. I'll survive.

Dude it's SOOOO fast.

New Laptop

2008-11-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

My current Laptop's RAM commited suicide.
My other Laptop is just plain dead.

I ordered a new one yesterday, a well-priced HP with more than enough memory to fit my needs. I'm replacing the "Hewlett Packard" with "Happy Place" and it will be named Happy.

Pictures to follow.

Internet Harassment

2008-11-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

So I got a menacing letter today on none other than my (eponymous) Stumbleupon account relating to something I said here in my blog. Aparently they're a Palin supporter or something. I didn't care enough to analyze the writing. I'm actually kind of excited that this blog is getting its first ever hate mail, but part of me is amazed I haven't been scolded sooner. Not that I'd listen.
I'm a little hurt that they didn't take the time to read that my costumed, fictional, self-portrait that serves as my avatar is for my Time Travel Challenge, but then again it is the internet. I am, however, extremely thankful that my hater took the time to use proper grammar and apply proper spelling.

Anyway, the whole point of this post was to ask you guys.
Do you get this a lot, bloggers? Do people you don't know attack your personal character?
Why is it so damn hilarious when they do?

Veterans' Day

2008-11-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

Although Friday, we [At work] only got around to doing Veterans' Day stuff now.
I come from a long, long line of military officers. I have had ancestors in the revolutionary war (Americans), the [American] Civil War (Union), World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the [First] Gulf War. I cannot express how proud it makes me to be part of this lineage of service and dedication.
Today someone said that "winning a war was like winning an earthquake," and that all war is evil and wrong. They strongly implied that soldiers died and served for nothing.
That fucking pissed me off. I don't know if I've ever been angrier in my life. Granted, peace is the preferred alternative, but sometimes war is necessary. Consider the second world war. What else could we do when the Nazis were slaughtering people? And should we have ignored Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor? No. War is the last option, but sometimes it is necessary.
Sometimes it's ambiguous, and sometimes it is wrong, but that fault falls to the bureaucrats, not to the soldiers, who take and oath to defend their people and to follow orders, whether they think it's right or not. They are heroes.
So when this person said it was meaningless, I admit that I lashed out verbally at her. In a room with upwards of 200 people, I screamed at her and pointed at her and I told her very clearly that her words dishonored my family, that she dishonored our country, and that she dishonored all the dead.
She changed the subject, complaining about me making a scene. I didn't listen, I didn't care. I told her to shut up and I kept yelling. I think I just repeated myself. Like a child, she called me out to fight. I didn't respond to that, although I have to say I had so much adrenaline in me that I would have fought her to the death.

One of my bosses spoke with me later that day. He told me that his father and uncle had served in Vietnam, that it had been hard for them. He told me it was clear that I had a lot of pride, and I was never reprimanded for my actions.

Congratulations, Sir

2008-11-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

I am proud to think of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States. I am proud to live in a time when my country has progressed far enough to the point where the majority of the country doesn't care that their leader is a minority.

I am so fucking glad we don't have Sarah Palin near the Oval Office.

Fingers Crossed

2008-11-04T19:01:00.000-08:00

For Obama, who's doing very well.

Anything to keep Palin away from the Oval Office.

Día de los Muertos

2008-11-02T14:40:00.001-08:00

I will be spending the day of the dead at home in remembrance of my grandfather William.
He died five years ago in the summer, and every year on November second I take his army dog-tags out of a box and talk out loud about him.
In this box I keep photographs, his dog-tags, and his entire harmonica collection. I don't know if he even played the harmonica.
I would visit his grave if I could, but it is too far from my home and there is no "grave." Upon his death, he was cremated, and his two sons (my father and uncle) divided the ashes and then scattered them around my grandfather's favorite park.
Enjoy your Day of the Dead, everyone.

Me quedaré en mi casa hoy porque esto es el Día de los Muertos. Pensaré en mi abuelo, Guillermo. Él murió en el verano hace cinco años. Cada año el segundo de noviembre sostengo sus identificaciones de ejército. Hablo de él.
Tengo una caja. Esto sostiene fotografías, sus identificaciones de ejército, y su colección de armónica. No sé si él podría tocar la armónica.
Yo visitaría su tumba, pero no puedo. Es demasiado lejano de mi casa, y no hay ninguna "tumba".
Cuando él murió, sus dos hijos (mi padre y tío) tomaron las cenizas de mi abuelo y los pusieron en muchos sitios en un parque. El parque era el favorito de mi abuelo.
Feliz Día de los Muertos, cada uno.

ZIPLINE!

2008-11-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

So my friend got bored and installed a giant-ass zipline in his backyard.
No, really. I did the estimates and I figure he spent upwards of a hundred dollars on all the supplies.
You climb a ladder way high into a tree, fit your hands into some holsters, grab on for dear life, then jump like a maniac and slide 20 yards, then hit the ground running.
I was playing on it with my friend's sister (who helped make it) and she told me all about the making process.
God damn that's an amazing toy.

Incredible Hulk SUCKS.

2008-10-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

So I finally got around to watching The Incredible Hulk.
It was TERRIBLE compared to the first one. All the actors were replaced and not a single reference was made to the original Hulk, which is one of my favorite movies.
Although the action scenes were better and there was a touch of humor, it lacked the deep emotional aspect of the first one, which I love dearly for all the great emotions the actors were able to portray.
But, dammit, this new one was just horrible.

The Good Left Undone

2008-10-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite songs. This almost makes me cry every time I hear it. Strange for rock, yes, but the lyrics are touching, especially the last chorus about... you'll see. I'll bold it for you.

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
Bending there in my direction,
I wrapped a hand around its stem,
I pulled until the roots gave in,
Finding now what I’ve been missing,
But I know…

So I tell myself, I tell myself it’s wrong.
There’s a point we pass from which we can’t return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.
All because of you

I haven’t slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

Inside my hands these petals brown,
Dried up, falling to the ground
But it was already too late now.
I push my fingers through the earth,
Return this flower to the dirt,
So it can live.
I walk away now.
But I know…

Not a day goes by that I don’t feel it’s spurn.
There’s a point we pass from which we can’t return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.
All because of you

I haven’t slept in so long,
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

All because of you…
All because of you…

All because of you,
I haven’t slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
Inside these arms of yours.

All because of you,
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
No, not the kind with halos,
The kind that bring you home,
When home becomes a strange place.
I’ll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

*sniff*

Creative Writing Club

2008-10-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

So some friends and I got together for a creative writing club. Sounds tacky, yeah, but I've been having enormous amounts of fun.
We decided to make a character each and then collaborate to form one big story. After we finish, we're going to have copies printed for all of us.
The thing is, our characters need to be based off of ourselves. So, my character shares my name, my childhood, and even my appearance. Most of the other people in the group are altering the way they look, but I'm happy with me.
Anyway, the premise is that there's a refuge city underwater where the remnants of humanity are hiding from a nuclear holocaust. Character-Alison wakes up in a hospital there with radiation poisoning and no idea how she got there.
I still need to figure that one out. Oh well, the fun is in the journey.

Rover

2008-10-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

A monster I made up called a rover.

Cats

2008-10-17T21:58:00.000-07:00

Does it bother anyone else that cats seem apathetic when you are at home, but once you leave they get all depressed and then are clingy when you get home?

I've also discovered that I am prone to drawing cats when I listen to opera music.

Made in photoshop with only five colors.

Vines

2008-10-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

I made this today on a whim. I don't know who this man is, or what my inspiration was, but he looks very serene, which is a state I always strive for.
This was made in Photoshop elements. I only used five colors for the whole picture, but I layered and used opacity to my advantage.

His Noodly Goodness

2008-09-21T20:24:00.001-07:00

Ah, well, I've been meaning to make a mention of this for some time. Although I would officially classify myself as an Atheist (I love Science), I must admit I have a certain fondness for the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Read all about Him.

Screwed Over

2008-09-21T20:13:00.001-07:00

This is going to be a work rant. Skip over it.

My boss's boss is a total bitch.
I've had the same job for two years. I'm amazing at what I do. My boss told me he was going to give me a promotion- and he did, until his boss screwed me over and gave it to another person with a quarter of my experience and no talent.
My co-workers have been amazing- they have stood up for me and gone to my boss independent of my will. I never asked for their help, and that they would help me in my time of need makes my heart swell with joy.
My boss, on the other hand, is kind of a coward. He wont confront his boss just yet- I think he's scared of her.
I don't know why she passed me up.

Mycrocosm

2008-09-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

No, I know how to spell microcosm. Mycrocosm, on the other hand, is a website manned by the clever men and women at MIT where one can make graphs for oneself to track... well, anything. I'm working on keeping tabs on myself now to see if I can spot trends in my behavior. I know it sounds overanalytic (and that may be the case) but I'm quite enjoying myself.
Below are a few of my graphs.

A Park Story

2008-09-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was in my favorite park today with some friends and relatives. There was a blue truck, and the people hanging around it were total white trash- drunk, doped up, and littering.
It so happens that one of my friends works for the city. He cleans up the parks, clears the trails, and maintains flowerbeds and other plants. He was a little angry that one of them had thrown a beer can in the road, so he asked one of the people to please pick it up.
Dumbasses that they were, they refused. We wrote down their license plate (despite the fact that the woman in the group parked her fat ass on the back bumper and tried to cover it) and called the cops.
I had to go home, but I got a call later that evening from my friend who works for the parks. The littering druggies were arrested and their truck was impounded.

Generic Update II

2008-09-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I'm getting over a cold just now.

Since Spore for the Wii was delayed, I decided to rent Pokemon Battle Revolutions in its stead. While not the best game, I've been enjoying it reasonably well.

I've also had the chance to mess around with the settings on my TI84 Silver Edition calculator. Apparently it knows how to calculate lines of best fit. While I can't see myself using that in my line of work, I am nonetheless impressed by it.

Lastly- and this one is just plain adorable- I went to the park three times today with my dogs. They're both pooped out, lying on the floor. One is snoring.

Design Ideas?

2008-09-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever asked for help from the public before, but it would be amazing if someone could help me think up design ideas for a "Top Secret" theme. So far, I'm stuck on dossiers and paper clips.

This is for my work.

Camping

2008-09-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

I went camping today. Not yesterday and not tomorrow, just today. Is that still camping? Oh well, we went to the place we always go when we camp.
Being as it's September, I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to go swimming in the Skagit River. For those not in Washington State, the Skagit river is exclusively run-off ice from the mountains. It was probably in the mid forties today. Yeah, it was freezing.
At first just three of us went to our favorite swimming hole. To get there, you have to climb down a wall of dirt and walk across some ouchy rocks, then cross a creek and voila- you're at my swimming hole.
It's almost six feet deep in places, which is really pretty impressive. I waded around for a while before a friend pushed me off into the water.
Jesus Christ on a bicycle it was cold. I shrieked really loudly- I wonder if anyone aside from my friends heard me? I also had some young fry try to nibble at the backs of my legs. A friend tried to convince me they were leeches, but I don't think leech bites feel like... tickles.
It was a good day.

Self-Portrait

2008-09-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

Generic Update

2008-09-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's another year of digital art and graphic design at my old job. This year our major project lost some employees... but I think we'll live. The current project is a books worth of page designs with one theme. It'll be pretty easy.

Also, I have 484 pokemon now. How badass is that? I'm thinking I need to make a trainer card just to show off to all of you.

Lastly, I was watching Speeders on CourtTv (or TruTv as they now call it) and I saw my friends' house on it. I would call them, but it's close to midnight in their timezone.

Sunday PAX

2008-08-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

was too short for me. (I had to leave early.)
All together, Pax was fantastic. I made some new friends, and vise versa. Traded some more Pokemon. I've got 482 Captured/493 Total. I'm so happy now!
Unfortunately, I'll not be showing any photos of myself on my site. Ever since that whole Myspace thing with the 29000 registered sex offenders, I've been pretty into staying quiet about my face and address.

Saturday Pax

2008-08-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

I started the day with an hour of SSBB with some complete strangers.
I went to the Mega64 panel and watched some hilarious clips from Version 3, including one with Derek rapping to random strangers about mundane things such as their pants. There was a Q+A where people asked some pretty crazy questions. One of them had the greatest Black Mage costume I've ever seen or ever will see. Then we watched two episodes of Version 3. Marcus remains my favorite character, and he has some great lines.
On my way out of the theatre I encountered a StormTrooper. It was a fantastic costume.
I finished the day by playing pokemon in the underground.

PS There was a giant statue of a beholder in the D&D exhibit. Over twelve feet tall not counting the eyes.

Friday PAX

2008-08-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

is so much fun. I've seen some cool cosplayers (including a perfectly executed advent-children Yuffie) and I met the Mega64 guys (my photo is going on their website because I spun their wheel of mystery and it landed on photo) and I got a personal photo of me with Shawn. I also bought a Mega64 T-shirt.
I also made friends with some people who play pokemon, like me, for fun and without obsessive behaviors. One of them was nice enough to give me some legendaries like Lugia and the Dogs. That was on Friday.
I saw some friends from work there, too.

St. John's Bible @ Tacoma Art Museum

2008-08-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

Also in Tacoma, I went to the Art museum with my mother and grandmother to see part the St. John's Bible- a bible that was commissioned this millennium. It is hand written in English calligraphy, and illuminated beautifully by several different artists. I am not a religious person, but I can very much respect the effort and beauty of a hand-crafted book, even if I don't believe all of the words.

Visiting Family

2008-08-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

Visiting my Grandmother in Tacoma was nice. I got to see my great uncle and aunt, as well as my two aunts from California.

The Latter and I went on a trip to Point Defiance Zee and Aquarium, and I showed them all the fun spots to go. Having spent much of my childhood at said zoo, I know it pretty well. It's always fun to see the sharks swim right up to the glass and nearly scrape along the side.
We also saw the Beluga show, where the beluga keepers communicate to the animals with sign language, and the animals perform certain behaviors that they would perform in the wild, like breaching and making cool sounds. They are always rewarded with fish.
There were meercats that were new additions, and they were cute. Smaller than I had expected, but cute.

Agathon Sees the Sea

2008-08-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is a historical fiction set in ancient Greece in the 1200s BCE. I almost never write historical fiction (and it's even more rare that I read it) but here it is.

Agathon did not like heights. He had never liked heights, nor would he ever grow to like them. He didn't know how he'd let his friends talk him into going up there in the middle of the night, but the point of the matter is that they were at the plateau that would someday, long after their deaths, become home to the Parthenon.
“I bet the Gods don't have a view like this,” Errikos said from behind.
The young man shuddered and turned to look at his friends. He received reassuring smiles from all four of them, and attempted to smile back- even though his stomach was twisting around and around like an Ouroboros trying to devour its own tail.
“Should we really have come up here?” Agathon asked. His voice sounded like the whisper of a sick old man begging for water.
“Absolutely,” Adrastos said valiantly. He clapped a hand on Agathon's shoulder. “You haven't lived until you've seen the sea.”
“From the Acropolis?!” Errikos cut in. “Adrastos, that's ridiculous. We live in Athens. Gods, your stupidity makes you sound like a Spartan.”
Agathon, Errikos, and Nikias laughed raucously while Adrastos's cheeks turned red. Jokes against the Spartans were better than... well, they were better than pretty much everything. Maybe that was just because they were in their teens. The little children never understood the jokes, and the adults seems steeled to them. Whenever Agathon brought a new one to his father, (“What is a Spartan's favorite book? They don't have one because they can't read!”) the man never found it as funny as Agathon did.
Nikias was the first to finish his giggle fit.“No, seriously, Adrastos, why'd you bring us up here?”
“If you guys would just listen to me, I'll show you! The sea is over there!” Adrastos pointed southwest towards Piraeus. It was true, Agathon knew, that if you were in southwestern Athens and there was a strong wind coming from where Adrastos pointed, you could smell the sea. Or rather, you could smell what the men said was the smell of the sea. Agathon had never had reason to doubt his father and uncles and all their friends.
All of the boys squinted and followed Adrastos's finger. Agathon's stomach slipped and tumbled as he was once again reminded how high up he was.
“That's not the sea,” Errikos said doubtfully. “If you weren't trying to pull our legs, then how come you brought us up here in the dead of night? Morning wont come for hours.”
Agathon answered for Adrastos, “We all have chores and school during the day. Besides, I think I see it.”
The Aegean Sea. The people of Athens had only started calling it that once their king had drowned himself in it. Agathon always thought of it as a terribly unlucky name, but the people in his polis and polises around it didn't seem to care. They were just happy to have something named by them.
Sometimes Agathon thought that his people were too smug, as Spartans always said (although none of the boys had ever met a Spartan) but he always stifled thoughts like that. He'd probably get a beating from his father if he ever voiced them.
The more they looked at it, the more they thought they could make out the rippling waves. The more they thought they could see the waves, the more they thought they could see white moonlight dance at the crests. It was a lovely sight, lovelier than Agathon would normally have thought something could be (Except maybe for Timo, the pretty girl his age who lived nearby his home).
“I can see why people devote their lives to sailing,” he said after a bit.
“That's what I'm going to do when I grow up,” said Errikos.
“You just made that up,” Nikias sighed. “You always say, 'I want to do this' or 'I want to do that' but you know you're going to be a shepherd like your dad and I'm going to be a soldier like mine.”
Errikos shrugged. “Yeah, but living on a boat like the Argo would be cool.”
“Have fun fighting those dragons and harpies,” Agathon said. Being pulled away from the hypnotizing sight of the sea made him queasy again. “And let me know when you find that fleece, would you?”
Again, everyone laughed, even Errikos.
It wasn't until Apollo started to draw the sun into the sky that they climbed down the side of the plateau and split up to go to their homes. Agathon was not apprehended. In fact, his parents never found out about his night-time excursion.

A brief epilogue- The boys thought about that night all their lives. All of them grew up to be sailors against their fathers' wishes. All of them fought in the War of Troy under the coward Menestheus, and none of them had any regrets.

Old Stories

2008-08-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

I was with my friends. There were a lot of us, and we were talking about jobs.
Someone said that bodyguards made a lot of money. We got to arguing about whether it would be a good job.
"You might have to die," Says my friend James.
"Naw," I said, "You just let the guy die and skip the final paycheck."
----------
"I bet I could beat up a hobbit," said a kid who was about seven.
My friend retaliates, "You are a hobbit."
----------
I was writing in a library once, and this kid comes up to me and asks, "Why are you writing with your left hand?"
I'm a lefty, would be the obvious answer but I couldn't resist. I said, "So I can be just as good with my left and my right."
"Well, how's your writing with your right?" He asks. I scrawl my name on the paper with my right hand. Needless to say, it's horrible. He says, "It's weird, but you're better with your left than your right!"
I say, "I know, I guess I'm better with my left. Practice makes perfect."
And the kid walked away. In retrospect, I think he may have been mentally retarded.

How I Met Your Mother

2008-08-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

My apologies (to myself). I haven't been keeping up with this digital journal of mine.

I've discovered an amazing show called How I Met Your Mother. I first decided to watch it after noticing that Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible, I call him) plays one of the main characters.
I wish I'd discovered this show sooner because it's a riot. The gist is that Ted, the "main" character, is telling his two kids in the year 2029 about how he met their mother. The show chronicles his antics in NYC when he was in his late twenties. His friends Lily, Marshall, Robin, and Barney are also main characters.
In the picture, from left to right, Ted, Marshall, Barney, Lily, Robin.
NPH plays Barney, an incredibly rich ladies' man whose life is a string of cigars, alcohol, and one night stands. He loves his life. He's my favorite character.
The show is better than Friends. Seriously.

My Poor Leika

2008-08-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

My golden retriever was so sick today. Being that it's the summer, I woke up today at three o clock and went to let my dogs out.
I only found one dog. Confused, I called for the other.
I found her, trapped in the bathroom. She'd thrown up all over the walls and floor and I think she'd had diarrhea as well. I got both dogs outside and Leika kept throwing up. She's all better now, thank God.
It was the worst thing I've ever smelled. Thank god everything's cleaned up now, and she's okay.

She's curled up on the couch next to me. She's probably very tired.

Is it Wrong to Eat Meat?

2008-08-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

Generally? No. If it's a chicken, cow, pig, turkey, fish, or related animal, it's perfectly fine. Humans evolved eating these things, and we need a lot of protein to get around. Animals are almost never killed inhumanely. Furthermore, it's absolutely the most delicious thing I can think of.
It's not okay to eat meat if the animal wasn't killed humanely. There are laws about this in the United States and in pretty much all the developed countries, so when buying at a shopping center, you're good to go. It's wrong because it is preying upon the suffering of another.
It's also not okay to eat the meat of an animal that can't afford to lose a member, such a s a gorilla or a tiger. I have heard that they are being eaten by the rich now. It's simply in bad taste to push a species to extinction because you want to be cool.
It's also not okay to be PETA. I love animals. I think they're swell. But I also think that humans need to eat.

Be On Look Out

2008-08-04T00:21:00.000-07:00

B.O.L.O. was my favorite computer game as a child. At school, at the end of the day, nine of us would pile onto the computers and play a networked battle. My friends and I all had our codenames for it, and we even signed our yearbook photos as such. I was Zalo then.

I rarely see those people anymore. That makes me terribly, terribly sad. I miss them, I love them.

The object was to collect pillboxes (turrets) and then place them again so they work for you. It's a war game, but I love it. I, of course, play WinBolo (the version for windows.)

If you see me, say hi. I'll be playing as "Alison".

There is Something Wrong with People

2008-08-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

I ran into a person on the internet today. It was an accident, I don't even know the person. I know that I should not listen to the internet, and I do not, but sometimes hearing how someone thinks is just to much.

I was on gaia online (Find me, I'm Trivia_Master). I was in a thread discussing last names. I said,

"I wont tell you what it is, but it requires a wad of phlegm to pronounce. (No, it's not Arabic, it's Irish.)
It means, "The family that brings bad luck" but I'm actually the luckiest person I know. Only good shit happens to me."

Then she chimed in (with no provocation) and said,

"If at all you believe in karma one day every bit of that good luck with reverse upon you. In likelihood either your first child will die or you will die young."

That was shaking. I thought, "Why on earth would anyone think like that, let alone say something so awful?" I responded thinking that she must not understand what Karma was,

"My dear, I don't think you know how Karma works. Good things happen to me because I'm a good person. I donate bits of my salary to Red Cross. I help old ladies across the street. Karma is not about balance between good and evil, it's about "what goes around comes around." I do good things, good things happen to me. My parents were the same way, and they have been happily married longer than you've been alive.
Now, if I were a bad person, if I didn't help people who needed me or if I hurt someone, then of course bad things would happen. But I don't, so they don't.
If you would like to get technical about what Karma is, religiously speaking, I would tell you that I have faithfully preformed my Dharma in life and I will continue to do so until I die, even though I am not of that religious persuasion."

All of which is true of course. I asked her later why she believed the worst of the world (based upon her initial statement). She said,

"Who said that was the worst? I quite find rapture in such things taking place to ones who are not myself. It makes me happy."

How could anybody live like that? How could you go through life with so much anger and vengeance and hate inside you that you want people that you don't know to feel pain? It makes me sad.

Awake all Night

2008-07-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

I can do this.
It's four in the morning.
I'm at my parents' place.
My father has a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at eight.
He's not allowed to eat until then.
I'm staying up all night so I can be up by six.
I will cook bacon. Lots of it.
And I will eat it in front of him.

(I'll save some for when he gets back.)

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog

2008-07-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

This is, quite possibly, one of the best things ever. It's a three-part story of a villain, Dr. Horrible, and his attempts to join the Evil League of Evil... but he's also in love with a girl from the laundromat named Penny. He accidentally introduces her to his arch nemesis, and "Captain Hammer" and Penny start dating.

Also? There are songs. It's a musical. As much as I love Les Miserables, Dr. Horrible is so much better.

Unfortunately, you can only get it through iTunes, but it's four bucks for all of them, and completely worth it. The website is here.

Improv Everywhere

2008-07-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

"Improv Everywhere" is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time. People gather and stage scenes to get reactions and to have fun. Here is their homepage. They have done some amazing things, and I hope you read all of their feats! My favorites are "The Shark" and "Safety Shark" and "The Amazing Hypnotist."

There Wont Be a Single Thing that You Can Do

2008-07-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

There Wont be a Single Thing that You Can Do is the sequel picture to Never Coming Back. I just finished it last night.

I don't know if I'm as pleased with this as with Never Coming Back, but I do like it.

I decided to leave Urchin (The character on the left) androgynous and the other guy (Whom I have been calling "Hand" after his creepy blood-red claw) is about as translucent as he was in the previous picture. (The Chorus of the song says, "He's a ghost he's a god he's a man he's a guru") I can't tell if he's more or less menacing here. His hand is the only thing about him that's opaque.

Urchin manages to shine. I'm going to BS my way out of this and tell you it's an intentional metaphor representing good and evil. Does Urchin look uncertain to you? He's supposed to.

In no way is this a masterpiece, but I like it.

"Never Coming Back"

2008-07-22T01:57:00.001-07:00

Never Coming Back is a digital painting I made a little while ago and forgot to share here. It's one of my greatest artistic accomplishments, and it's inspired almost entirely by the song "Red Right Hand" by (correct me if I'm wrong) Nick Park. I prefer the version preformed by Pete Yorn, which is the one I listened to when I made this baby.

I'm even working on a "sequel" picture that pics up where the first verse leaves off. Theres a vague but important story in the song that I want to tell with pictures, and unless the song's writer says no, I'm going to keep making my art.

Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana BATMAN

2008-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

I saw The Dark Knight.
God I wish they'd give Adam West (who was Batman in the corny old show that I loved as a kid) a cameo. If they could've I'm sure Bob Kane (the creator of the series) would have gotten a cameo, but he's dead.
Seriously, though, Adam West. Dude should have been in the movie.

I've been a Batman fan longer than I've been an anything fan. Even, like... everything. Seriously, I was into Batman before The Lion King.
Yeah.
When I was a toddler I had Batman PJs with a built in cape. Almost every picture I have of me as a tyke shows me in the Batman PJs. Beat that.

ANYWAY it was a good movie. I'll buy it on DVD and watch the special features when it comes out. It was good. Better than Batman Begins and WAAAY better than the old Batman movies. It also got points for more explosions and we got to see the gross half of Two-Face's (Aaron Eckhart's) face. Niiiiiice. Sorry Tommy Lee Jones, but Eckhart beat you. His face was way more disgusting.

The Joker was good. Scarier than I remember from the cartoon and the other TV shows. Much scarier, much more violent rather than simply chaotic. At first when I was thinking about Heath Ledger, all the things the Joker said were painfully ironic but then I forgot Heath was dead and it was okay. I loved Jack Nicholson, but he never played the joker. JACK NICHOLSON ONLY PLAYED HIMSELF IN THE JOKER COSTUME. (That joke isn't mine, by the way, that's my friend's joke.) I had somehow hoped that Mark Hammel would play the Joker, though, because he did so well in the cartoon.

Micheal Kane's Alfred is still the best character in the movie. He's got some great zingers just like in Batman Begins.

Damn, though, I still need to see HB2 in theaters twice more. Dark Knight was good, but it wasn't Golden Army Good.

Criminal Defense

2008-07-18T19:13:00.001-07:00

I just spent the last week as a defense attorney for a mock trial thing. I lived at Western this last week... hopefully that explains my negligence as far as this blog is concerned.

I had a ton of fun and all that, but it was EXHAUSTING. I was up so late and awake so early. On the bright side, I was given free all-you-can-eat meals for a week. I burned all the carbs, though, because I had to walk MILES to get to the meeting spots.

The trial I worked on ended in a hung jury. I found out later that the votes leaned in favor of the defendant... so, that was basically a win for me.

But I will never be a lawyer.

Publicons

2008-07-11T22:59:00.001-07:00

Publicons is a very entertaining site where you can make a banner with your interests in it. Here's mine:

You should try it- it's fun. The catch? It's in German!

So Many Things

2008-07-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Agh, I've had a crazy-ass week. For one, my computer got a virus while I was on vacation and I had to get it fixed while I was on vacation. It sucked, but it's all better now.

I saw my Shakespeare play, Midsummer Night's Dream, which was absolutely stunning. I like Shakespeare- but only the comedies and Hamlet. Anyway, Midsummer Nights' Dream was wonderful. The fairies had the craziest costumes- picture men in tutus and fishnet clothes with combat boots. It was crazy. The acting troupe were hippies. It was crazy.

LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY Hellboy 2 came out. I saw it noon on opening day. It rocked. It rocked hard. I loved it. There was a lot more Abe. He has a lot more buddy time with Hellboy (they get drunk and talk about women troubles and sing to Barry Manilow) and more brother-sister time with Liz. Myers' absence is explained with one line of dialog, which I found to be particularly hilarious. My goal is to see it in theaters a total of three times.

A Lovely Day

2008-07-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

I made it to Ashland. It's very nice here, very warm. I went swimming in a pool with my cousin... tomorrow I'm going shopping with her. I saw one shop with clothes in it that were AMAZING. I am absolutely going to get this one dress so I can turn it into a costume. A steampunk costume, I think, because I have pretty much every costume except a steampunk one. Oh well.
I'm not going to any plays until Thursday... I think.

In somewhat (but not really) related news, Hellboy 2 is out on Friday. To use a phrase from the comics, "I find that my ability to wait and how close the goal is are inversely proportional." This will only make sense to people who know what inverse proportions are.

Longest Drive of my Life

2008-07-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

Eight hours in the car from Ferndale, Washington to Corvallis, Oregon. I saw a sign for a place called Butteville that I have promised myself I will visit someday.

I talked science with some family I met up with in Corvallis and now I'm watching MiB. God Will Smith is hilarious.

I also made friends with the adorable little fishy in the pictures.

Fourth of July

2008-07-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

It was good. My aforementioned family was present, including an uncle who wasn't there previously. I blasted rock music..
Where I live, there are fireworks laws... but they aren't enforced. As such, we have access to some pretty damn huge fireworks. Like, crazy huge. The make the sky so bright you think it's day.
We made a game trying to hit lawn ornaments across the street. Of the nine of us, I was the only one who managed it.
Photos to come once I get around to it.

Also, I'm going to Oregon for the next week for the Shakespeare festival.

Wait, What?

2008-07-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

So I was out with my family (Myself, both parents, aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin once-removed,
step cousin once-removed, and second cousin) and we were headed up from Ferndale (my town) to Mt. Baker, which is a mountain not too far from where I live. On our way back, we got lunch here, and I ate four pieces of pizza; half a pizza. My father beat me by one slice only because he didn't eat the crust and I ran out of pizza to eat.
Anyway, the obvious hilarity of the place is that it's a micro-brewery and a wedding chapel. Holy crap.

Family Visit

2008-07-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow morning my family from Texas is visiting. Thank god they're not average Texans. They're actually quite astute.
I'm not suere what it's going to be like once they get to my place, but I wont be able to have as much "Alison Time" as I usually get. At east my dogs will be happy to have visitors- Star and Leika love people.
I cleaned my room for their visit as well. it was an absolute mess (which functioned for me but not for my visitors.) That I managed to get it cleaned in a mere three days is nothing short of miraculous.

Turdillo

2008-06-26T22:55:00.001-07:00

I made this today. It's a turtle-armadillo mix. I call it the TURDILLO. As an afterthought, I realized that the first syllable is "turd" but then I decided it was funnier that way. Go figure.

He eats shrubberies and digs holes in your backyards if you live in a desert like place. They are very friendly unless you aren't another turdillo, in which case you should run away.

Hey, Science, will you make this dream real?

The Most Adorable Thing Ever

2008-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

I mean, really, have you ever seen a more remarkable animal? This one is a dumbo octopus. According to Wikipedia's article on dumbo octopuses, they "hover above the sea floor, searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans. They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, or by waving their ear-like fins. They can use each of these techniques separately or all simultaneously. The males and females are different in their size and sucker patterns. The females lay eggs consistently, with no distinct breeding season."

Balloonacy- Hey ballooners!

2008-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Internet balloon race? It's pretty cool. You race by surfing across the internet. My site is one that people might end up crossing on their trek to the finish line! I hope you guys take a look before barreling on your way!
Interestingly, balloon was one of my very first words. However, I couldn't say it right. I said it, "boo-ah".

Play!

The Time-Travel Challenge!

2008-06-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making a major thought experiment for everyone to take part in- I call it "Alison's Time-Travel Challenge" and it can be found here, in the new blog I've made for it. THE OFFICIAL SITE.

I hope it does well. At least my friends can participate...

Shirking Responsibility

2008-06-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

I spent an hour and a half under a table today, avoiding work around the office. At least I was with friends- five people under one table. We played a game called Fruit Basket upset- which involves everyone periodically trading places- not easy under a table.

Well, the important part of the matter is that my boss didn't find us and we didn't have to take part in the annual filing of paperwork from Hell. We file our paperwork and take care of all of our responsibilities- but then my boss gives us his! It's completely unfair.

Ka-Boom! Thermite!

2008-06-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Thermite is the name for a specific chemical reaction that makes super-hot flames for a short period of time. The temperatures can reach up to 2500°C. Holy crap, am I right?

The chemical formula we used: 2Al + 1Fe₂O₃->1Al₂O₃+ 2Fe That is to say, we mixed iron oxide, or rust (Fe₂O₃), with Aluminum (Al) and got it really,really, hot. After some flames and a ridiculous amount of heat, we ended up with aluminum oxide (Al₂O3) and iron (Fe) in the form of slag.

In the process, we melted a bowl and a chunk of scrap metal. It was awesome, and I think it's a lot like art. The photos of the aftermath appear below. (Those aren't my hands in the pictures.) Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.

It melted the bottom of the bowl! We checked to see if it was hot- It was warm but not painful.

A close-up of the slag in the bottom of the bowl.

We held it to the side to see if it was really , truly, fused.

And it was.

We realized we'd melted through the bottom and it now stuck out weirdly.

There's that weird thing again. You can see the dent in the metal where it went up toward the heat source.

It looks like a mountain... or dog poo.

Today was a very good day.

"Warning Sign Generator"

2008-06-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

This warning sign generator is great fun. You can make signs and print them out or just be as silly as possible, like me. What can I say- it's what I do best.

I'm putting this one on my wall or maybe off to the side on the blog once I figure out the CSS code for it:

Make your own sign!

Bubble Shooter

2008-06-17T22:03:00.001-07:00

I found a great game the other day. It's really addicting, but I love it! The goal is to eliminate all of the bubbles by getting three or more of a color together. Don't pop them right and you have to deal with even more of them! It's great fun.

BUBBLE SHOOTER

My high score: 100872 on Novice mode
If you beat me, I'll put you up here with a link you your blog.

In other news, I wrapped up a big project for work today- I feel like I've accomplished a lot. On the other hand, I wont get to see my friends for a while after this, so I'm a bit down about that.

Oh, well, we exchanged Wii numbers.

Zeerase Eltha

2008-06-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

This is about the main character from my book, Zeerase.

Zeerase Eltha is a familiar. According to historical texts, she is the first human familiar ever. Zee dwells a lot in her memories, contemplating deeper things than what the world around her can offer. She likes kind people and wont suffer mean ones if she can help it.

She looks to be about fifteen even though she's twenty years or so old. Zeerase is short for “her age”. She has dark skin, blood colored hair, and piercing green eyes. This genetic combination has never been adequately explained, but her mother thinks it has to do with Zeerase's enigmatic great-great-great-great-grandfather.

The right half of her scalp is scar tissue only- she doesn't have any hair growing there. There are three distinct lines where the flesh and part of her cranium was clawed. She has a similar mark on her left shoulder and another on hr right hip. She is riddled with other scars as well, but none are as bold as those previously mentioned.

There is a look about her that suggests that she was once very pretty... although she is not ugly, her serious face and brooding nature make her seem less-than-gorgeous. Because of her seriousness, people who see her tend to ignore her. When she does smile, Zeerase Eltha could light the world with metaphorical sunshine.

Zeerase has a black jumpsuit that covers her from her toes to the base of her skull. It zips up the front. The fabric is old, stained, and the creases at the joints are obvious. There are armor plates (steel) on her shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips. She also has black combat boots with steel toes and black gloves that she doesn't usually wear. The material is exceptionally weatherproof.

Zee has a sword that she was given several years ago. It has the general shape of a cutlass, but lacks balance and a good curve. The sword is not particularly sharp or well made, but it works about as well as Zee can wield it- that is to say, with great imperfection.

She has no formal martial arts training, but experience has taught her how to throw a good punch or kick and when to duck and cover. She is quick and nimble, but she loses her grace when she gets tired. She is also relatively good at getting out of holds. Part of this comes from how slight she is but most of it is from having “been there, done that.” A vast majority of her martial skill is based upon adrenaline.

If she is hurt severely enough, she will run away, recover, and start the fight again.

As far as magic goes, she can conjure it around her hands and solidify it when she needs to. She can use it to make floating shields in the air to protect her from attack or she can make daggers to stab with. Her favorite way to attack is to make the magic into solid orbs and throw them like baseballs. Without solidifying her magic, she can light up a room with a hand and even temporarily blind people. Of course, all of this uses enormous amounts of energy.

The Happening

2008-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

It's the new Shyamalan movie. I've never seen a Shyamalan movie I didn't like- and that includes The Happening. Although, to be perfectly honest, Unbreakable is still my favorite of his. Shyamalan is most famous for his movies The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Village. Other than that I don't know much about him.

Anyway, the Happening was a good movie. I saw it today and I tell ya, it was a nail biter. Don't listen to the papers- go see it. I laughed, I cried, I jumped out of my seat. I can't imagine anyone regretting seeing that movie.

Except that I no longer feel completely safe in large groups or around plants.
The park sort of creeps me out now.
And lawnmowers.
And old ladies.
And hot dogs.
But especially plants.

Lucid Dreaming

2008-06-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a lucid dreamer to an extent. That means I can actively control what I do in my dreams, but sometimes it takes me a while to realize I'm in my dream.

Anyway, I was dreaming last night and I've sort of been haunted by it. Okay, not sort of. Really haunted. In the dream, there was a lot of senseless death, and although I don't know how the deaths came about, I got the sense that it wasn't normal or natural.

I wandered around as best I could, but sometimes it's hard to change direction and I wound up in Central Park of all places. I've only been once before, but I'm sure that's where I was.

In the asphalt trail were bits of glass. They were worn down and not sharp. I was transfixed. I couldn't look away. I touched them and got the sense that they were wrong on a fundamental level so basic I cannot comprehend it.

I was terrified. I still am. Thoughts?

EDIT: I checked the internet about various meanings of things in my dreams. Here is what dreammoods said on the topic of broken glass.

"To see broken glass in your dream, signifies a change in your life. You will find that a situation will come to an abrupt and untimely end. " Well, this doesn't seem to great, but the glass in the dream wasn't broken, it was just in pieces. On the topic of looking through glass: "To dream that you are looking through glass, represents your openness and non-defensiveness. Alternatively, you may be putting up an invisible emotional barrier around yourself." I wasn't looking through glass, but I was looking at glass.

On the topic of pavement (there was no entry for asphalt) it says: "To see or walk on pavement in your dream, suggests that you have a clear understanding and grasp of a situation. You are standing on solid ground. The dream may also indicate that you have paved and laid out the path toward your life goals." I am confused by this, because I felt the opposite in my dream. I'd also like the note that I tried to leave the path but it was hard.

As for the park: "To dream that you are at a park, represents a temporary escape from reality. It indicates renewal, meditation, and spirituality. It also suggests a readjustment period after a serious personal conflict or an ending of a passionate affair. " Ignore the bit with the affair.

The entry for death only applied to people I knew or myself, and neither of those were in my dream- just deaths of random people. In a way, that's more frightening.

This is Bad

2008-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Cracked dot com gives a list of five psychological experiments that prover humans are doomed.

I provide a link to you here.

I have always believed that humans are like these experiments say they are, but hearing the actual percentiles made me feel very very sad. I'd heard of three of these experiments before (the last three) but I'd never known the results. Pardon me while I go sulk.

Pranking a Telemarketer

2008-06-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

I got a call from telemarketer today. A friend of mine was over, and he suggested that I prank him.
True story, I swear to God.

Him: Hello, I'm calling about-
Me: Can I interest you in some lamps?
Him: What?
Me: Can I sell you some lamps?
Him: [Suspicious] What sort of lamps?
Me: The clapping kind. You know, like on the TV.
Him: [Suspicious] How did you come by so many lamps?
Me: Internet.
Him: So why don't you sell them over the internet?
Me: I don't trust it. I prefer the phone because I know I'm talking to a person and not some computer.
Him: [Suspicious] But you bought them on the computer.
Me: Yeah, and they sent me a crapload of them that I don't need. I don't trust them anymore.
Him: [Five minute marketing spiel] ... so it will be good if you donate a hundred dollars.
Me: [Pause] Will you accept the donation in lamps?
Him: No, I don't think so.

No, really. I did.

Ten Favorite Songs

2008-06-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

I think music helps define people... so here are my ten favorite songs. I choose based upon the lyrics and upon the overall sound and feeling.

The Scorpion by Megadeth

Favorite Quote: "I will promise not to sting / I will tell you what you want to hear / and not mean anything / Then I'll treat you like a dog / as I shoot my venom in /You pretend you didn't know that I am The Scorpion"
Emotion: Generally smugness, confidence and anger. It's the sort of thing you expect from someone who's totally complete but also a supervillain in a comic book or something.
Discovered: When I stumbled upon it in the form of a [very suggestive] Slade AMV. It remains my favorite AMV to this day.

Because of You by Kelly Clarkson

Favorite Quote: "I watched you die / I heard you cry / Every night in your sleep / I was so young / You should have known better than to lean on me / You never thought of anyone else / You just saw your pain / And now I cry / In the middle of the night / For the same damn thing"
Emotion: Regret and sadness. The speaker laments someone from her past and the effects on her life now.

Open Wounds by Skillet

Favorite Quote: "How could you hate me / when all I ever wanted to be was you? / ... / How could you love me / when all you ever gave me were open wounds?"
Emotion: Confusion and frustration. Much of what is said by the speaker take the form of questions and unsure statements. The explosiveness of the chorus shows how aggravation has build up over time.
Discovered: As a Terra/Slade AMV. It's my second favorite of all time.

So Far Away by Crossfade

Favorite Quote: "Watch me wave / goodbye to yesterday / nothing left in my way / feels so good to say: / I'm so far away"
Emotion: Relief and boundless confidence that the speaker has for himself. He is not tied down to anyone or anything and is open and free after being weighed down for a long time.

Shangri-La by angela

Favorite Quote (Translated from Japanese): "I'll surely leave the distance behind / knowing my own strength / With my inexperienced heart not understanding even that / Now I can say it- this is paradise / Goodbye, days of my youth"
Emotion: I can't even begin to describe it. This song is all about finding your own paradise in life and the speaker's preconceptions about life and what she discovered in life.
Discovered: by accident. When I first heard it I disliked it- then I fell in love with it.

Whispers in the Dark by Skillet

Favorite Quote: "No / You'll never be alone / When darkness comes you know I'm never far / Hear my whispers in the dark"
Emotion: Devotion.

Stricken by Disturbed

Favorite Quote: "You'll never know how your face has haunted me / My very soul is bleeding this time / another hole in the wall of my innder defenses / leaving me breathless another time"
Anger and frustration are dominant. The speaker has an angry voice in general, and reproach haunts most of the lyrics.

The Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin

Favorite Quote: "There's a fine line between love and hate / And I don't mind / Just let me say that I like that / I like that"
Argumentative.

Angels by Within Temptation

Favorite Quote: "Sparkling angel / I couldn't see / your dark intentions your feelings for me / fallen angel tell me why? / what is the reason / the thorn in your eye? /I see the angels / I'll lead them to your door / There is no escape now / No remorse because I still remember / the smile when you tore me apart."
Emotion: Remorse and reproach. The speaker references losing trust in someone she was fooled by and that really horrible things happened to her that she leaves to the listener to figure out or imagine. The earnestness in her questioning lyrics is heart-breaking.
Discovered in an AMV about Orochimaru and Anko from Naruto.

Cold by Crossfade

Favorite Quote: "Never meant to be so / Cold to you, I’m sorry about all the lies / Maybe in a different light / You can see me stand on my own again cause now I can see / You are the antidote that got me by"
Emotion: Love with apologies.

If you ever see one of these on iTunes or something, get them.