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Decode

(29 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

My grandfather had a stroke on Sunday. Unlike most people I've known who've had strokes, he's not affected so much physically as mentally, and we're not really sure how much he's been affected. He can't communicate well -- he has a lot of trouble finding the words he's looking for -- so it's hard to gauge whether he's lost a lot of his ability to reason or if he's just frustrated at the fact that he can't communicate.

My family would appreciate your prayers, for those of you who pray.

(3 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

He glanced at the post commander, and the man looked ill. When I was through, my father shook his head.

I felt alarm.


Shaman's Crossing, Robin Hobb

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

A Super-sleuth test with no Nero Wolfe? Bah!

( My Results )

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

If any of you have one, my Wii number is 7538 1976 4391 4885.

(Step into the parlor...)

Someone tell me it's pathetic to go join the one person who was in line at Toys 'R' Us to get a Wii.

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

I left my keys at the office today.

I walked 1.25 miles home before I realized this, walked a quarter mile back toward the office, thought I remembered bringing my spare key home (I accidentally left it at Dad's a couple of weeks ago), walked a quarter mile back to the apartment, couldn't find the spare key, and walked 1.25 miles back to the office.

Believe me, as fun as that sounds, it wasn't.

You might think that would put me in a bad mood, but you'd be wrong.

Why?

Consider this excerpt from Peter David's weblog:

Finishing proofreading "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14." As to what's coming up in that issue, two words: Ben Reilly. I will say no more than that (okay, Deb Whitman and the Vulture). But...Ben Reilly.

(Step into the parlor...)

I know it's a horrible thing to do, but I purchased Ultimate Alliance and I...

I...

( See the confession )

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

One of my daily webcomic reads is Least I Could Do. LICD is having a contest to allow people to win a few small prizes. (Warning: Some people may find this comic offensive; as Websnark once described it, it's very much "man" humor.

The contest is team-based, and each “team” consists of 2 individuals. Once a team is entered into the contest, there are weekly and monthly drawings to win prizes. If a team wins a prize, both individuals win a prize. For example, if your team wins the drawing for an Xbox 360, both of you will receive an Xbox 360.

Here’s the interesting thing. There’s no limit to how many teams one person can be a part of. Meaning, you can have/be on 1,000 different teams no problem, and all it does is increase your chance of winning. The contest is open to a big portion of the planet (see rules and regulations for specifics), and the only other real restriction is that posting your e-mail address or your contest link on the LICD forums is prohibited.

(Step into the parlor...)

The Urinal Test

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

(Step into the parlor...)

Happy Birthday, cyradis!

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

Snapple. Heh.

(2 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

... and now my cell phone refuses to charge. Woo.

(3 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

I lost my prescription sunglasses yesterday while kayaking (and, yes, I know it's kind of a silly idea to wear normal glasses doing that sort of thing), which I found very annoying. I had hoped that would be the low point of my weekend.

I was, unfortunately, disappointed.

On the way back from visiting Dad, my MINI had a blowout on the left front tire, which meant that I had to have it towed back to Dad's (it was closer than my place, and easier to get a tow truck in and out of), and Dad had to bring me back down here. Tracking down a run flat tire isn't going to be fun, I fear. On top of that, I forgot my clean clothes (doing laundry was one of the major reasons I went to Clay today), so I'm stuck with the few outfits that were already clean (primarily because I don't like them) until sometime later this week.

All of this has put me in a very bad mood. It's possible that the bad mood mostly stems from the fact that I'm still very tired (kayaking involved much more physical activity than I'm used to), I guess, but right this minute I think I desperately need some nice cathartic activity. Fortunately for me, there are lots of zombies to kill on Dead Rising.

(Step into the parlor...)

...but this says that the DMV office opens at 8, right?

So, why, when I call the number, does the recording say they're closed until 8:30?

(8 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

Happy birthday, therev (and all those other DJ usernames that belong to Owen)!

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

Okay, it's bedtime. If you're one of the people I lashed out at while upset this evening, I apologize for not having a bit better control of my temper.

(Step into the parlor...)

Not only was today the longest day of work ever, I forgot my keys at the office, and didn't notice until I had walked the mile home in some of the hottest, most humid weather we've had this summer.

*sigh*

Well, I'd better start the trek back, I guess...

(6 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

I got tired of dealing with hair (and I only had about 3/4 of an inch of the stuff -- I swear, I don't see how people with long hair can tolerate the stuff), so I decided it was time to shave it off. The problem with that is that I actually shaved at about fifteen to twelve, which means that my head's now all sensitive and I can't sleep on it.

Bah.

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

I enjoyed the movie very much, though I expect that comic book purists will be screaming bloody murder.

There was something disturbing me throughout, but discussing it would require spoilers, so I'll just stick that in my spoiler-filled review over at One Stack Mind in a little while (I have to do some research first to make sure my memory about what disturbed me is correct).

(Step into the parlor...)

I'm heading to Clay County for the evening, and possibly for the entire weekend.

Everyone have fun this weekend!

(Step into the parlor...)

...Okay, so maybe I don't want to be Archie, but I do want to dress like him. Especially the hats.

(2 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

I have air conditioning!

I'm not a big fan of air conditioning in general when I'm trying to be awake (I prefer the cold for sleeping, and the heat most of the rest of the time), but if nothing else, it at least sucks some of the humidity out of the apartment, which makes it possible for me to, you know... breathe.

(1 trapped fly | Step into the parlor...)

I've been told that women always make the first move when it comes to dating. Thanks to Sinfest, I now understand how that works.

(10 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

The linked video is graphic, and therefore, NSFW.

Reminder: it is not safe to stick things into your urethra.

(10 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)

One of my friends sent me the following e-mail today:

Hey. This is just something to consider. I was looking on www.weather.com checking the forecast for the next 10 days here. I noticed that it was supposed to rain 7 out of the next 10 days. That didn't sound too appealing so I decided to check the local weather for Ajo. It is supposed to be sunny for the next 10 days. Highs for those days are 100, 97, 92, 84, 90, 93, 94, 94, 94, and 95. And I'm sitting here in our 52 degrees freezing my backside off.

San Diego was sunny 8 out of 10 days (with 2 partly cloudy). It's highs were 66-68 each day. So I guess it is true about being 70 and sunny all year round.

(Step into the parlor...)

• All of Season Two of Veronica Mars has finished downloading, which means I have 19 episodes to watch.
• Lost is new tonight.
• I still have eleven comics left to read (as much as I love them, I can't sit down and read new comics nonstop the way I used to).
• The guys will, most likely, be on Xbox Live later.
• I've been invited to go to the baseball game with the guys tomorrow.

(Step into the parlor...)

The problem with comic collecting is that if you collect a moderate number of comics (which I do, I think), missing a few weeks at the comic shop leads to a big hit on your wallet when you actually make it in to pick the books up.

Because of the move and all, I've not gone to Cheryl's for the last two weeks, so I had three weeks worth of comics to pick up today.

The downside to that, like I said, is that I had to write a check that almost made me cry. The upside, though, is that I've got lots of reading to do.

(Step into the parlor...)

...had one of those conversations where you're convinced that every single word you're contributing just makes you sound dumber and dumber, but you just can't. stop. talking, so you become convinced the other party is growing more and more annoyed at your idiocy to the point where they're about to hit you?

Oh, really? Um, I mean... Good, me, neither

(10 trapped flies | Step into the parlor...)