Demonstrating Absurdity

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Anyone got it? I'm looking to exercise some wi-fi muscle.

Now, I know that I'm the ripe old age of 23, so my hearing might be going, but I swear that I heard a version of "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, being sung by Gwen Stefani, on the radio today.

Someone please tell me this isn't so. And if it is...what has our culture of music degenerated into?

( 2007 meme )

Well, I don't really have any New Year's resolutions. Just the same crap I've been dealing with:

1. Finish that GODDAMN BACKLOG of games. It's never-ending, I tell you. After I finish Call of Duty 4, Ratchet and Clank Future, and Mario Galaxy (oh, and thank you Lydia, for bringing Guitar Hero II into my home, taunting me, causing me to lose precious hours that could have been spent...curing cancer or something. <3), then it's back to the backlog (Persona 3, Digital Devil Saga 2, Radiata Stories...I'm looking at you)!

2. Actually write a decent amount in my novel. 8 pages of the new one, and about 50 pages total of scrapped ideas make 2007 a pretty crappy year for my writing.

3. Hopefully learn enough Japanese to actually pass one or two of those JLPT tests.

4. Remove all references to Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan from the news. This one may take some work, so I'm going to need lots of dynamite and cute, furry animals.

Alrighty - Here's the rundown:

Call of Duty 4 - PS3
Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Kitchen Mixer
Jensen GPS (Never heard of the brand, so I'll see how it is when I get home)
Polo Shirts
Underwear (Woo!)
$55 iTunes gift cards
$50 Amazon
$100 other

:D

So I got bored at work today, and started reading about the whole glow-in-the-dark cat thingy over in Korea. Yeah, it's only under UV light, but still, that's fantastic for science. By showing that they can manipulate a simply-coded gene across a clone, then this opens the doors for even more complex codes.

However, many people seem to be missing this point. The comments section over at MSNBC is extensive, hilarious, and worrisome, as far as the human race's intelligence is concerned. Take a look!

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/13/514602.aspx?p=0

So, anyway...Sunday night, I was just hanging out, playing some WoW (I know, I know. Shut up), and Mom calls me to check up on me. Nothing too out of the ordinary, until...someone starts knocking on my door.

It's the girl from next door, whom I've met only in passing, but thought was really cute. She's carrying a six-pack of Michelob Light (ew, but ok).

So you know, first I thank Santa for bringing me Christmas early, and then I tell Mom I gotta go.

( Cut for mushy stuff (not dirty) )

So yeah. Some interesting developments this week. Met an amazing girl...but more on that later. :D

So...I spent most of my day cleaning, and decided that I should spend some time experimenting in the kitchen. So I put her on the counter, got out the whipped cream, and mounte...er...what I meant to say was I went through several trials of making tomato sauce.

After a few tries, it turned out pretty well. I think it may need some lemon juice, or crushed red pepper flakes, but for the most part, it's pretty damn good.

Anyway, if you're interested, here's what I did.

(amounts are estimations, since I pretty much eyeballed most of my ingredients)

1/3 c. Cabernet Sauvignon
28 oz. Crushed Tomatoes (that was the size of the can)
1/4 c. Red peppers
1/4 c. Celery
1/4 c. Sweet Yellow Onion
1/8 c. Fresh Basil
3 cloves Garlic
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
Dash of Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Reduce the wine in a pot on medium-high, until it begins to get a bit thick.
2. Mince (or chop in a food processor) the peppers, celery, onion, basil, and garlic.
3. Lower the temperature to medium, and carefully add the olive oil (if you have a splash guard, it will help a TON. Don't do what I did. ^^;).
4. Once the olive oil is heated up, add the minced veggies/herbs, and sauté them until they've gotten a little brown around the edges.
5. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, the parmesan cheese, and the oregano. Stir until everything is evenly distributed. Add salt and pepper as you like.
6. Simmer on low for about an hour, stirring a few times every 15 min or so. The sauce should thicken up a bit by then.
7. Serve on pasta, toasted bread brushed with olive oil, or whatever.

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/extras/stillalive.php

Sweet, the Portal SDK was finally updated in Source. Now I can create to my heart's content. I've got some pretty good ideas...I'm actually going to try to create story to it, sort of like a Portal 1.5. It'll start outside where Chell ends the first game, and I'll basically make her have to walk into another facility, where she gets trapped by another AI (me, in digitized form :D), and has to make her way through the facility, with even trickier and sometimes more deadly puzzles.

I don't think I'll have a tutorial stage, since most people who play the bonus maps will have likely finished the original, so I'm gonna get right to the tricky stuff.

One of the cooler ideas I've thought of is to use the Weighted Companion Sphere. Basically, I'll make it so that you have to make it go down a long track, using portals to make it change direction, go over gaps, and avoid the particle-item-destroyer-thingies. Finally, once it makes it to the bottom, it'll fall into a pit where a button will make a platform rise up to where you are. Standing on the platform causes it to descend, and then you can continue on.

Another idea I have just involves a ridiculous amount of flinging. Angular flinging, too. The point of this one will basically be to force you to create a lot of momentum by flinging yourself -horizontally- a few times, and then finally you place the out portal on an angled platform, which rockets you up to the door.

I can't wait. I just need to figure out some more of the Hammer SDK nuances, and I'll be set.

I promised it, and here it is...with a side of kimchi. For those of you not familiar with Korean food...just trust me. This stuff kicks ass. :)

Made some dduk-bok-ki last night. It was amazing. I'll post a pic later, when I get home.

Oh yeah, was watching Ratatouille and House during that time too. Can you say "squee?"

:) Enjoy. I suck at taking nighttime pics, though.

Yargh...I've got 17 out of the 18 gold medals in Portal. Stupid level 17 and its Least Steps challenge is absolutely ridiculous. It's a huge combination of skill and luck. Case in point:

You need 150 steps. I made it in 153. The three steps I need to shave off are all going to have to be taken off somewhere random, because I'll have to land perfectly on each jump, not make any needless movement, etc. On the other hand, Least Steps hasn't been as irritating as I thought before, but this level is pretty freakin' difficult.

Ok, sat down, started Portal, and about 2.5 hours later, finished.

WOW. What an awesome game. Entirely too short, but the ability to make maps, unlock some achievements, etc., will help the replay value.

The robotic female voice that talks to you throughout the game is absolutely hilarious.

Ok, so I've had Stealth for about 7 months now, and there are several things I've come to learn about cats. Don't get me wrong, she's great, there are just some indisputable truths to kitties.

1. Cats will play with anything that dangles. Period.
2. This comic is true.
3. So is this comic.
4. Never ever let the cat come into a room when you are naked. See truth #1.

Ganked from CJ and Alethea:


1. Project Manager
2. Heating, Air Conditioning, Refrigeration Tech
3. Race Car Mechanic
4. Heavy Equipment Mechanic
5. Farm Equipment Mechanic
6. Computer Engineer
7. Aircraft Mechanic
8. Motorcycle Mechanic
9. Diesel Mechanic
10. Automobile Mechanic

Maybe...1 or 6 I could see, but that's about it. The other 8 don't make any sense.

Honorable mentions are:

29. Mathematician
35. Logistics Specialist
36. Technical Writer
40. Computer Programmer

For all of you out there who are emo, I'm just glad that you aren't Rosie O'Donnell. What a freak.

On an unrelated note, MoveOn.org can go fuck itself.