Day off unloading

It's my first real "day off" since...Christmas? New years? Something like that.

It's nice! I'm seeing fires go off around my absence at work a little bit, but my boss was adamant that I ignore it and just take it easy, so that's what I'm doing.

After sleeping in (some), I messed around with the internets until Alex got out the door, and then eventually decided "I want breakfast." As I showered, I debated where to go until the idea of a really big cinnamon roll sounded -fantastic-, and the roads had finally been plowed to "drivable", so I went up to Tuttle Mall, bought a cinnabon and some coffee from Caribou, and sat at one of the Caribou tables, listened to music, and read No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, my birthday gift from Alex. It's not so much a stream of words from Bourdain, but a thoughtful "this is what this meant to me" sort of experience, centered around the pictures taken during the first 3 years of filming, and a lot of stories about all those people you didn't see because they're working the cameras and such. Very nice. And fortunately, I still had something to eat when I hit the "Food Porn" section, or I'd have probably gone out and gotten something to eat RIGHT THEN.

I really enjoyed it, and it was just amazing to be able to sit as people wandered around me, and just read, drink coffee, and not have to worry much.

I stayed out of the Blueline, so I didn't spend $300 on a Zherdev jersey (at least for now...I make no promises when my bonus comes in), but I did wander through K-B toys and was stunned by the markup on everything in there.

Still, between this, that, and the other (AUGUST? AAAA. Too long!), I had a jones to build some lego. I decided to swing over to Sawmill and hit the Toys R' Us there.

...kind of a mistake. The lego section was pretty good there, but most of the rest of the store looks like the shelves are being stripped bare, and no replacement stock. (There are aisle markers for Transformers and G.I.Joes, but I'll be damned if I could find a single one there). Pretty depressing, but I did leave with one of the Mission to Mars sets (the Switch Fighter, since it looks really cool, and comes with a bonus alien ship), and a few mini-Racers to take into work, I think, and build at my desk. It was nice to get the legos, but it was a very depressing walk out of that store. In general, I wonder if it's being closed down, and if it is, that means that one of the toy stores that I always got excited to visit (it's about a half mile from my Dad's office, so it used to be that if I'd been good that week (and sometimes not...), we'd meet Dad at his office on Friday afternoon after school, we'd go to dinner somewhere around there, and we'd go to Toys R' Us and depending, either I'd get to pick out a Transformer or a Lego kit, or maybe Dad had something special in mind. (Super Soakers in the summer, nerf guns if he thought they looked cool, sometimes football gear or a few times a bike as a hint to GO OUTSIDE, my first model kit, way back then...) But it was always neat, and brightly lit, and they always had so many things...and that's gone now.

But, I got legos.

After some lunch and a short detour for the downed power lines on Leap Rd. (which also had the house blacked out for awhile), I started work on my legos, and I'm looking forward to hitting Easton tonight with people.

I'm also debating...I got pointed to a blog by Stephen Fry talking about the ASUS "eee", and I'm kinda....hm.

I admit, if I got a "Workhorse" laptop, I'd probably be bootcamping a Macbook Pro. But for just "I want a laptop in the living room so I can browse and IM and crap while watching TV"...it'd be good for that, and it's starting to get a bit more attractive. Hmm.

Meanwhile, if you're not on the Tor books "Watch the Skies" list (and why not?), they're giving away free books in PDF or HTML format every week until their new Sci-Fi books website/community thingy launches. I'm not sure I'm sold on the community aspect, but today's download is John Scalzi's Old Man's War, and it's good. You should sign up and get free books.

...aaaaand, I think that's about it for me. I'm gonna take it easy, keep playing legos, and maybe put a picture up or something when I get these guys done.

I'm having a great day. Hope you all are, too.

Oooo. Really keen use of the old classic space logo, tho.

I'm working on the tank, right?

And I'm noting there's an "Alien containment chamber", which is cool - space prisons are, oddly enough, kind of a lego tradition going all the way back to the first Space Patrol sets. You lock the bad guys up, and you can have battles about trying to get them out or keep them in!

But I'm also noticing that the "containment chamber" almost looks like it's attached to the -engine-? I mean, it's cool if you're fighting a war in space because the bad guys attacked first.

It is -not- cool if they only started shooting us because we decided they're the planetary equivalent of 98 Octane.

LEGOS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO COME WITH AN ETHICAL CRISIS, DAMMIT!

Wheeeeeeee!

Fun and strange times at Gameworks tonight with the Hack3r crowd and some other EVE players.

After an only somewhat harrowing drive over (pretty much straight ice was falling from the skies at that point, or near as to make no difference), I got to Gameworks at about 6:15ish and staked down a table for us near the pool tables. A drink, a little gnosh, and all was well.

The strange moment occured somewhere inbetween getting my first black and tan and my food arriving. A Black girl in a half-Hijab (head, neck covered but face visible) suddenly sat down at my table next to me.

"Hello! What's your name?"

"I'm Matt. How are you?"

"I'm well. Are you here alone tonight?"

"I'm waiting for some friends, thank you. They should be here soon."

Pause.

"Well, I'm very glad to know you."

And then she got up and went away.

The cynical part of me says it was the worst attempt ever by a hooker at picking me up, or a precursor to getting my wallet stolen (or both), but I just kept cool and the girl (yes, girl - she couldn't have been older than 19), left the bar area without incident.

(Speaking of, I thought the bar area was supposed to be 21+ at all times? Sure didn't seem like it...)

Sy and CR arrived not too long after, then Blipangel, a father and son combo from the OHIO-PILOTS group, a few guys I didn't catch, then Calius and his wife, V0dka, and Forsetti.

Much pool was played, smack talked (the table we played on was -shit!- Weird bounces everwhere...and I sank the 8 ball early, twice...but at least V0dka did it 3 times...and nearly hit me in the head twice with the cue ball besides!), I played some "Too Spicy", a shooting game, some pinball, some Time Crisis and House of the Dead, and even a spin on Asteroids for nostalgia's sake.

Now, I'm home, and there's talk of going marauding. We'll see if I can stay awake!