ShinyPlasticBag

Well, I'm off to a cabin party tonight at Sara Bood's dad's place, which should make for a pretty amusing New Year's (better than last year, at least). I can't believe 2005 is over — it really went by fast. I hope 2006 is fun.

Anyway, about two years ago, I started keeping a text file full of humorous instant messaging exchanges between me and my friends (this was originally Taylor's idea, and I blatantly stole it from him). In honour of the passing of 2005, I thought I'd share some of my favourite stupid moments before I move “Textual Intercourse 2005.txt” to ye olde archive foldere.

Steve has some brilliant ideas about solving the world's problems:Taylor has a unique world-view:(Intermission: I'm splitting this into a read more sort of deal. Keep going if dare. Mwahaha. etc.)

Continue reading “Another Year of Stupid”...

• Written on 31 December 2005 & posted at 03:52 PM.
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Did you ever see Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Of course you did. Remember the scene with the night running towards the castle, who never seemed to get any closer until all of a sudden — BAM — he was at the gate? Christmas is sort of like that. There's such a huge build-up towards it, but when it finally gets here, it's gone in a flash. I'm sure this is just a symptom of the modern world's emphasis on this, the moniest of holidays, rather than some defect in space-time, but it's strange nonetheless. I hope everyone had a good holiday. And sorry you had a crappy one, Steve.

I received many goodies. This is actually my most awesome Christmas in terms of sheer greatness of gifts. Every gap in my arsenal of geekiness has been plugged up: I have a Monster Cable iCarPlay Plus to let me charge/listen to my iPod in the car, and a sweet new Motorola v710 into which to speak (bonus features: 1.2 Megapixel camera, Transflash slot, MP3 ringtones, voice regonition that's actually not pattern matching in disguise). Most interestingly of all, however, is a Nintendo DS.

I haven't actually owned a “modern” video game system since my Super NES back in the early nineties, but I'll tell ya, I'm loving this little bad boy. Mom helpfully provided The Sims 2 (which is not like the PC version, but is still a blast) and Super Mario 64 DS, which is a fantastic enhanced remake. Yesterday, I bought Mario Kart DS, since it's been all the rage online for the past month. The Nintendo WiFi Connection lets you race against people all around the world — it's a blast. I've also got Darryl tracking down a used copy of Super Mario Advance 4 (aka Super Mario Bros. 3).

So, those toys cover the basics: mobile music, mobile phone, and mobile distraction. I'm one lucky geek. Now, if I could only figure out something to do for New Year's Eve, I'd be really happy. Is that asking too much?

• Written on 27 December 2005 & posted at 05:40 AM.
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There's only a few things that are constant for the Christmas season, and that's the awful renditions of classic holiday songs that are put out by various pop stars each year. As far as I can tell, the only goal here, other than to gouge a bit more money from the populance, is to sing the song as slow as possible. Every year, it gets worse. Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera seemed to have this market cornered until Kelly Clarkson came along. I heard one of her songs recently and it was six hours long. That's six hours of Holiday cheer filled time that I will never get back. Grr.

For those of you who live under a rock, you've got to call the Virgin Mobile Chrismahannakwanzakah hotline. It's toll free and automated, so you can call with impunity: 1 888 353 7667. I guarantee you'll laugh out loud — it's offensively inclusive, which I think is the key to keeping everyone happy. I think there's a good chance that “Chrismahannakwanzakah” will enter the popular vernacular — I heard someone use it on the radio yesterday. It's catchy and sums up this time of year perfectly, and as an added bonus, it's also ridiculously fun to say aloud. Try it at home, kids.

Anyway, I've got to go to work. I'm actually already here, but I'm up in the library on one of the spare computers. Not the best way to accomplish my job.

• Written on 20 December 2005 & posted at 02:49 PM.
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Can you believe that I'm still sick? Dear lord. I came home from work on Sunday and I was sick. It's been five days. Now, I'm not nearly as sick I was, but I'm still sick. I called in sick at work tonight on account of frequent and unpleasant coughing fits. I'm really hoping this ends soon.

I spent the day wrapping presents, which is always a fun endeavour. I'm actually the world's worst gift wrapper. Ask anyone who's ever gotten a present from me — about the only things that I can wrap halfways decently are DVDs, and my efforts there are still pretty lackluster. My dad, for some reason, is the greatest gift wrapper in the world. You will never guess what's inside a gift that he has wrapped — he'll use any available material to alter its shape, or stuff the gift inside of random (and unlikely) boxes. It's a gift.

Anyway, I've got to go finish up a few remaining items (including an awesome gift for baby Alex). I could also use some Neo Citran or something. So, I'm off. Happy voyages to lady Alex, who's off to Maine for the Christmas break.

• Written on 16 December 2005 & posted at 07:39 PM.
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Ye gods, I have had the worst flu for the past few days. I've been all headachey and sneezy and (worst of all) fevery. It's been pretty awful. I came home from work on Sunday morning a little bit sneezy and woke up feeling like death. I've basically been out of commission since then, firmly planted on the couch under a pile of blankets. I hate being sick.

I'm still not well, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to die now. I'll probably be fine tomorrow, which is good, because I have to do some Christmas shopping. A few of the gifts I bought online have arrived, so I can start wrapping (possibly tonight). Ideally, I'd be done my shopping by this weekend. As for Basemas, I have no idea what's happening with that. Involved parties need to discuss this. Personally speaking, I was thinking that we might delay it until after Christmas because (if we do the novelty t-shirt idea) there's no way we could get orders off of the Interweb in time.

Anyway, I've got to go up to the post office to pick up my copy of Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks, which I have been anxiously awaiting for the past two weeks. (I don't know what makes me more of a loser: the fact that I bought a movie about geeks or the fact that I'm impatient to watch it.) So, until next time.

• Written on 13 December 2005 & posted at 01:09 PM.
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Via los bio-dome: I'm done school! It's Christmas time! I'm at work! Hrm. Okay, maybe I'm not actually excited about being at work, but the other two things make me happy. Also, I saw Aeon Flux with Janet, Katie, and David tonight, and it was mighty good. Ergo, I'm in a net positive mood at the moment.

I was actually a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed Aeon Flux. When I saw trailers for it a while back, and was impressed by them. However, I reserved judgement, since there are far too many movies that looked good in trailers but ended up being awful. I've been disappointed so many times, you see. Anyway, the movie turned out to be fantastic. I got the same sort of vibe from Aeon Flux that I did the first time I saw the Matrix: it was a very interesting and novel concept that was extremely well done and well acted. Plus, it had some Charlize Theron side-boob action, so rock on. I definitely recommend seeing this movie — I'd go see it again.

In other news, we're well into the second week of December and have had scarcely a drop of snow so far. According to CBC.ca Weather, we'll probably have flurries tomorrow afternoon and then snow in the evening. This makes me happy. Mom's decision to winterize the car tomorrow afternoon appears to be pretty timely.

Anyway, break is over and I've got to get back to work. So, keep your fingers crossed for snow — it makes me happy and makes Katie complain, so it's a win-win. Later.

• Written on 09 December 2005 & posted at 01:20 AM.
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Hrm, something strange seems to have happened. It's not unprecedented, but it's December 3rd, and we have have precisely zero snowflakes thus far this year (well, I mean this side of the year). It's a bit disconcerting, to be honest...I love snow, and I always love the first snow of the season. In fact, I've actually blogged about it before, but I have no amusing pictures this time around (Note to self: more pictures on the bag! Text is boring!).

So, whilst it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit without any snow, things are slowly gearing up. The Roomies got their tree tonight and I helped them decorate it. The theme, as far as I could deduce from the decorations, was “Disco is dead”: it featured disco ball ornaments in two sizes (standard Christmas ball and tiny Christmas ball) and Janet's skeleton string lights from Halloween. An eclectic theme to be sure, enhanced by the glass bottle of orange pop perched atop the tree in place of a star.

I officially began my Christmas shopping, kinda/sorta/not really: I've started looking, and bid on something on eBay. I haven't put much effort into it, but it's a start. As much as I enjoy the whole gift-swapping experience, I always find it a bit hard to actually get going on it. I think a lot of things are like that.

Anyway, I should go — I've got to find something to occupy myself lest I fall asleep (I am, of course, at work). Good night.

• Written on 03 December 2005 & posted at 04:50 AM.
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