I, uhhh, I Really Don't Know What To Say About This.

Bring Out Your Dead

So Celebhith choked her computer to death with pictures and videos of Clay Aiken. Consequently she bought a new one. The technician who set it up for her took the old hard drive and put it in the new machine, and she gave me the rest of the old computer. I had hoped to move my hard drive into her old machine since it has a far superior processor, but alas I have found that without the Windows installation discs I cannot do this. So what I have decided to do is turn the old, driveless machine into a unit with but one purpose...to play City of Heroes. To that end if any of you lovely folks have any old computer bits laying around just waiting to be recycled, can I have them? :-D Specifically I need DDR PC2700 RAM, a 350-400watt power supply, and a working monitor. So if you have any old stuff laying about that is just taking up space, I can make it live...LIIIIIVVVVVE!!!!!!!!!


Sorry, got a bit carried away. :-)


Rum and Egg Nog rules!!

Dr. Frankenmarius

Reflection(warning: whining ahead)

It's very quiet here in Castle Marius this morning. It's cool enough that the ever running fans are silent. The Child-O-The-Apocalypse is at her grandparents, and even the usual post-breakfast feline house trashing is over. The only sounds are the bubbling of the cats' water dispenser, and the ticking of the bathroom clock. And in this relative silence I find myself pondering the events of the past six months or so. I know that death and sickness are the natural consequences of life, but I somehow thought there would be another twenty years or so before I would have to grapple with those particular horsemen. Thursday, as you all know, was Thanksgiving here in the states, so as soon as Mrs. Marius got off work we piled into our remaining vehicle and went South. Four hours later we dropped the CoA off at her grandparents' and went to see my folks. I had intended to cook dinner for my parents, a plan I had hatched before my mom took ill, but several people descended upon them ere I could arrive and gifted them with enough turkey, stuffing, and other traditional dishes that all we needed to do was show up and help warm the plates. All things considered my mom looks well. She has put on a bit of weight since I saw her in the hospital, and the radiation treatments did not rob her of all her hair. She is very weak, however, and has little to no appetite. So dinner was shared by my dad, wife, and me. Hercules, the Shi-tzu puppy that is the newest addition to the household, was oblivious to the dampened spirits at the table, and it was a tasty, if not overly festive meal. After dinner was cleared we visited for a while longer, but soon everyone was yawning, and we left to go back to the In-Law's for pie and sleep.
Yesterday my wife and her mother braved the sales of Black Friday, and I even went out to get some shoes. All too soon, however, it was time to come home as Mrs. Marius was only able to get one day off. So now I sit in a dark, chilly, nearly silent house and try my best not to succumb to the cloying tendrils of woe that beckon just beyond my periphery. Perhaps this will help: Dear Santa, I have been a very good boy this year, and would really like it if you could kindly ask the universe to stop kicking us in the balls...just for a little while.

Sorry for the bummer of a post, and I hope none of you actually read this. There just seems to be something cathartic about posting my sorrows. It's almost like an emotional ipecac. I've been bottling this up for a while now, not wanting to unload on you all, my wonderful intertube friends. And don't worry, I'm sure before long there will be some news story that sets me off, or another Star Trek tidbit that stokes my outrage furnace anew, and The Corner will be a fun place again.


At least I really hope so.

Marius

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :-)

There But For The Grace Of God...

The best part of yesterday was getting two cavities filled. I'll let that sentence sink in a bit before I move on. Yes, I said the best part of my day yesterday was getting two cavities filled. We got a new dental plan at work this year, and so I finally got in to get a check up for the first time in an embarrassingly long time. I had one teensy little cavity, and one area that might become a cavity. So I went in yesterday to get the work done. The appointment was at 11am. I arrived at 10:55. By 11 I was in the chair. The dentist suggested that he could accomplish his work sans Novacaine, but if I felt anything at all he'd give me a shot. At 11:13 I was out of the door with two new fillings, no numb face, and having paid $20. It was the most amazing dental experience of my life. Then I went to work.

At this time in the semester my student workers become scarce as the due dates on the papers they've been putting off grow nigh, and being the Tuesday before Thanksgiving most of my help are busy packing for the trip home. But I did have a couple of kids come in to work, so we got a bit done, then I left early. But not to go home. As some of you may remember I spent one hellish year teaching at a local high school for the performing arts. A couple of weeks ago the Dance teacher contacted me and asked me if I would design the lights for their annual Nutcracker ballet. Out of all the misery and unpleasantness of working at the high school, working with the Dance department was the one of the only high points, so I said yes.

When I got there I met the new Technical Director. Actually this poor guy is the second TD they've had since I left, so it wasn't just me being a whiny bitch. Alas, poor N is being crushed by an even greater work load than I was. When I was there we had a 4 period day, with each period lasting about 90 minutes. N has an 8 period day, and is now teaching Drama 1!! Despite the fact that every single TD that place has had has told the administration that the job is too much for one person, they keep piling on the work. N is only half way through his first year there, and is already burned out. I'll be very surprised if he is still there next year. As for getting the lights set up, they are mostly there now, although I was there about 4 hours longer than I had hoped. I had forgotten how much harder it is to work in that monkey house, since the students are, for the most part, determined to break or abuse every piece of equipment in the place, and many of the lights no longer work properly. But it'll get done, and it'll look good enough. And the best part...I get to walk away at the end.


Sorry, N.

Bad Day at Work

Have you ever wanted to do something like this?

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Yeah, so, um, haven't been blogging much of late. Truth be told I've kind of gone into hibernation. It's almost like my brain has shut down a bit after the events of the past few weeks. Also, nothing much of note has been happening. I spoke to my mom yesterday, and she has finished her radiation treatments. They seem to have helped with her memory problems, and though she is weak she is no longer unaware of her surroundings. We'll be going down there for Thanksgiving. I'm going to cook. Pray for us all. ;-)

If all goes well we'll be recording the first episode of Starbase 66 on Sunday. I don't know how long it will take me to edit it for release, but hopefully not too long. I'll post a link as soon as one exists. The topic will, unavoidably, be the upcoming movie.

Things are slow at work, but I have several projects to complete, so we're staying busy. The semester is rocketing toward its finale, and before too long it will be Christmas break. It certainly seems as if someone greased the slippery slope of time.

And Winter has finally arrived to our tropical paradise. This is the second morning in a row that I've had to turn the heat on. And yesterday, when I took the CoA to the bus stop, the condensation on my windshield was actually ice! I'm surprised the news wasn't full of panic yesterday, as folks down here tend not to deal with ice very well, unless it is floating in a glass of scotch. :-D

And that's about it for now. I'll endeavor to snap out of my torpor and post a bit more regularly. I wonder if I'm subconsiously rebelling against the NaBlowJoeNoMo this year and posting as little as possible during November.

Mayhap I'll get out the Ouija board and ask Dr. Freud what he thinks.



Mayhap not.


Marius

A Ray of Hope

So the new trailer for Star Trek is out...officially. You can see it here. I have watched it nearly frame by frame several times, and I think I have figured something out. The starship interiors we have been seeing, with the white plastic walls and Vegas attraction panels may very well not be the Enterprise. There is another ship, The USS Kelvin, that plays an apparently sizable role in the film. That would explain the wrong layout of the bridge. So if that is truly the case, then I think I can set aside my quibbles about the outboard design of the Enterprise.


We shall see.

Marius the Slightly Ameliorated

Coming Soon

I had a marvelous conversation with my podcasting co-hosts tonight, and the recording of that conversation seems to be good. I'll listen to the whole thing tomorrow, as we talked for over an hour and a half, but we have a good chemistry and the time flew by. So stay tuned, gentle readers. Starbase 66 is nearly ready for launch.

Spockboy, Whoever You Are, You're My Hero

J.J. Abrams, You Have Some Esplainin' To Do

You want to do a prequel to Star Trek? Fine. I accept that they'll need new actors, different interiors, new situations(even though we know no one important can get killed) but the one thing you cannot mess with is my ship. Yes, I said it, MY FUCKING SHIP!!!!! That...thing...up there is the Enterprise from the upcoming movie. Does it look like a precursor to anything we've seen before? NO! I can deal with the 90210 cast, I can deal with whatever continuity fuck job they want to do, but don't fuck with the gods damned ship!!!!!!!!!!! There had better be a freaking great explanation for why this one looks more like the movie ships, and no where near like the TV Enterprise. It's not a bad looking ship, if it were to come from sometime after the V'ger encounter, but as the Enterprise just a few years prior to the series it just doesn't work. The deflector dish is wrong, the nacelles are in the wrong place. About the only thing that does work for me is the size and shape of the Primary Hull.

I know, I know, wait for the movie, but this is just giving me a really bad feeling. I'm sure I'll calm down, and if the movie is good enough I'll accept the hatchet job they've done on Matt Jeffries's beautiful design. If.

Grrrrr!


Supplemental:
Ok, I've calmed down a bit(and yes, I know I take this shit way too seriously) and I think I've located the source of my ire. The change between the Enterprise of the series, and of the movies was deemed a 'refit', but I always had trouble with that. There seemed nothing of the original ship in the refit, but all the external features were in the same place. The umbilicus between the Primary and Secondary hulls still connected in the same location, as did the nacelle pylons. Maybe it's because of my occupation but I look at this 'new' ship and I see that moving the umbilicus forward to where it will end up is not just a matter of changing the hull plating. It is a major redesign of both the exterior and interior of the ship. The same goes with the nacelle pylon placement. I also realize that I will be in a very small minority of Star Trek fans who would even care about such a thing. In fact, this may lead to some lively discussion on an upcoming podcast, since I know at least one of my co-hosts likes the design.

Ok, I'm going to bed now.

A Rational Religious View of Gay Marriage(yes, it's for real)

This is a brilliant editorial by Salt Lake City columnist, Robert Kirby.


Kirby on gay marriage: It's official - I don't care
Tribune Columnist
Article Launched: 10/24/2008 01:00:00 AM MDT

Robert Kirby
Related


Posted: 7:15 PM-
A couple of years ago, I wrote a column in which I announced my official position on gay marriage. Basically, I don't care.
Not only do I not care if gays get married, it is none of my business. As a flaming heterosexual, it's a full-time job for me just to keep my thoughts clean in church. I don't have the energy to fret about somebody else's libido.
The column must have resurfaced on the Internet. I'm getting mail again telling me what a failure I am as a Mormon because I'm not solidly behind Proposition 8. As I understand it, the California ballot item would prevent the domestication of homosexuals. Or something like that.
Here are just a few of the attempts to get me to see reason.
"Are you a member or not? Do you want gays to get married in the temple? Please follow the brotheren's [sic] council [sic] on Proposition 8. This is a important gospel principal [sic]." G., e-mail.
"No unclean thing can enter the house of the Lord. Gays are unclean because of the Scriptures. You have to be hot or cold about it or the Lord will spat you out." T., e-mail.
"Were you listening in church when the letter was read from the First Presidency about supporting proposition eight?" R.Y., e-mail.
"Get with Prop 8 or your [sic] a homo." Anonymous letter.
Hard as it is to counter such brilliant logic, my position hasn't changed. The only serious concern I have about gays getting married is that they'll register someplace pricey.
The church is serious about the sanctity of marriage. I get that. But aren't more potentially "dangerous" marriages already being performed out there?
For example, I hear in church all the time about marriage being ordained of God. But I also hear about how the glory of God is intelligence.
Shouldn't it be against the law for stupid people to get married? What's more harmful to society - two well-dressed men getting married and settling down, or two idiots tying the knot and cranking out any number of additional idiots?
You should have to pass a harder test to get married than the one we currently have. Essentially, there are but two questions: "How old are you?" and "Is that your sister?" Hell, you could pass this test just by guessing.
There are drawbacks. Most people get married when hormones and youth make them about as dumb as they'll ever be. So, even a relatively easy test would by default raise the age limit to about 40.
With an increased marriage age limit, there would be fewer births. Genealogy would become easier to do. With fewer births, there would be fewer children born gay. Hey, isn't that what Heavenly Father would want?
OK, I was just kidding about that. But if you're really serious about putting a stop to gay sex, let them get married.
rkirby@sltrib.com

Alas.

This is a shameful, heart-breaking, but well done internet hoax. A website was claiming that a Wonder Woman movie was in the works starring Megan Fox as the Amazonian princess. However, upon further investigation it turned out to be a Photoshopped fake. Sigh. You can read the full story here.

Red Herring

Let's face it, the old Soviet Union was no more Communist than we are a Representative Democracy. Those sociological labels were/are just starting points for governmental ideologies that morphed over time to become the hulking beasts that, in the former case, imploded, or in the latter case has ground to a near standstill. The Conservatives of this country scream like a cartoon wife who has just seen a mouse whenever the word 'socialism' rears it's head, but don't seem to mind government intervention when they're about to go bankrupt...or they just met their son's boyfriend. There was a lot of rhetoric from the Right that Obama's tax plans are designed to 'redistribute wealth' as if The Communist Manifesto is what he reads to his children at night. I have attempted to decipher Obama's tax plans, and they don't seem to be all that different from what we already have, except that instead of giving the tax breaks to the big corporations in the hope that they'll trickle the joyous bounty down to us little folks(how's that been working for you all so far?), the tax breaks will now go to those of us at the lower end of the ladder. We've endured eight years of being trickled on. Eight years of watching CEOs make obscene salaries while the workers of this country barely scrape by. We've seen jobs shipped overseas where labor regulations are non-existant, and the minimum wage is pennies. The rich have gotten richer, some of whom I will grant you worked their asses off for it and have every right to want to keep it, but the poor are getting poorer. And many of the poor are working every bit as hard as the rich, but without the tax balloons and stock options and other fiscal safety nets available to those at the top. I don't advocate rewarding welfare scam artists, or people who won't work, but I see nothing Communist with shifting the focus from those who don't really need any sort of help, especially since we have seen in graphic detail just how much some of the richest bastards couldn't care less about anything but the bottom line, to those who just can't get a toehold on the American Dream. Obama is not going to put on a green jerkin and start raiding corporate bank accounts and then dump the cash from a helicopter over 'the hood'. Hopefully what he'll do is make it possible for lower income families to finally make some progress toward not just getting by, but maybe even getting a little bit ahead. I don't think that makes him the new Lenin.

Have Some Cute

Woots!!

Isn't that a pretty picture? It felt so good voting for someone instead of against someone else for a change. Now let's hope that Obama keeps to his word and doesn't become just another disappointing politician.

The only fly in the ointment from last night is that too many inbred, knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, Bible-thumping, brain dead redneck retards voted for Amendment 2. Ah well, we may have lost this battle, but the war on intolerance and bigotry continues.

Man, I need more sleep. Maybe tomorrow.

Ciao, Darlings. :-)

Thanks, Weathereye

I Voted

The sticker says it all. Go Obama! Death to Amendment 2!!

Marius the Democratic

Damn!

Would you imagine that anyone could walk away from this with only some bruises and soreness? At the very least, Saturns are safe cars.


Shit.

Not Hurt

Ok, that was pain, this is pleasure.

Hurt

This song suddenly makes sense.

Vote

This is a little over the top, but it is entertaining.