Archives: December 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Don’t know what it is lately, but I’ve been unable to commit time to writing something that I find interesting. Maybe I’m spending too much time e-shopping, or it’s the lack of sun. Whatever it is, I am definitely running on an empty tank of motivation/inspiration. I found myself having watched 2 movies in 2 nights this week, which is something I usually avoid since it’s just too much consuming and not enough producing.
It’s not just the blogging that’s suffered though, I haven’t done any weights for almost a week now (stressed my elbow a little bit), nor dented the mountain of paperwork that’s about to fall over and crush me, work has slowed to a snail’s pace (likely because Sharon’s gone), and I haven’t even made myself a real meal in many days.
Wherever this lethargy is coming from, it’s gotta stop because this is one of the feelings which I dislike the most in the world. It’s a hard funk to get myself out of since trying to get out of it requires me to motivate myself. You see where this is going.
In other news, I am, today, one step closer to a full blown career change.
Posted by Rayne @ 06:25 PM EST [Link] [3 comments]
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
So I bought the mobile version of bejewled for 5$. The demo version they included with the Razr just wasn’t satisfying anymore; there were many times when I could beat it with just one move. I guess microtransactions are the way of the future – or the present, really. With the incoming generation of new consoles adopting a similar approach for minor games, it’s going to be interesting to see if there’ll be an explosion of software that’s just a step above homebrew. Spending that 5$ really did feel justified though with the distraction it has provided me on the bus. There are ways to download games for the Razr without having to pay for ‘em, but the effort needed didn’t seem like it was worth saving 5$ for. This is the way of the future, folks!
Bejeweled is lots of fun. Not as fun as Tetris or Puzzle Fighter but it’s got its charms. My initial strategy with the game was to only match blocks at the bottom of the screen. I figured this would be the best way to play since it would cause the highest probability of cascades. This strategy served me pretty well, I was able to get up to 24 000 points. I was then told that one of the accepted strategies to play the game was to leave yourself at least two outs at all times. With that in mind for my next few games, I figured that my outs were always at the bottom of the screen; this gave me the most room on the board to play with. The flaw with leaving yourself two outs is that once you get to the point where you need to use them, it becomes totally random whether you’ll get new blocks that will end the game or not.
My current game plan is simply to play top to bottom. Get all the matches you can at the top of the screen and move down when you run out. This is slightly different from the two outs strategy in that you are not keeping an eye out for 6 specific pieces to avoid (accidentally) moving. It becomes more of a game of what pieces you can move instead of which you can’t. The downside to this is that it’s nearly impossible to get a large number of cascades or matches that are more than 3 blocks. Because you are constantly playing within the first 3 rows making small matches, it takes much longer to get to a higher score but it’s also the safest way you can play this game.
Posted by Rayne @ 04:15 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
I’ve been looking for pants lately. I’m down to only 3 pairs that I can wear to work and 3 that I bought when I was size 28 and don’t quit fit in anymore. Looking around Bayshore Shopping Center, I couldn’t see anything that I really liked. The problem is not so much that I’m picky but that I have a very specific idea of what I want my pants to look like. The sequence of events goes something like this: I decide I need pants, I decide that something fitting the description of “straight leg, low rise chinos” is what I want, I spend weeks looking for pants that fit this mental image. I am currently in the “looking for” stage for pants, all-season boots, and a casual jacket.
Shopping, for me, is generally like that. I’m not out to see what’s available or what might look nice; instead, I’m usually out looking for an item which most closely resembles the image I have in my mind of what I want it to look like. As you can imagine, this is often an exercise in futility since reality falls short in comparison to my idealistic imagination; some things I find get pretty close but there are usually one or two slight deviations which become total deal breakers.
As I get older, pickier, and have more disposable income, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find stuff that I truly like and am not simply settling for. There is a consistency that I’m trying to build towards in my closet and maybe my life in general, an image I am trying to project. What that is, is an entry for another day.
Posted by Rayne @ 03:36 PM EST [Link] [11 comments]
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time, hopefully people choose to participate! Basically, I write the beginning of a story and everyone gets a chance to write the following chapters (in the comments section). The story ends when it goes off the front page (which means after I post 14 entries [roughly 1 month]).
Story begins after the link.
[more]
Posted by Rayne @ 04:27 PM EST [Link] [22 comments]