My Addled Brain

Currently playing: Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet

As you can tell from my lack of posting, I must be back home. And you’d be right. The "bachelor party" turned into myself and the soon-to-be-wed gentleman in question hitting a couple of rather disappointing bars before heading home for the evening. Oh well.

Been just as busy here, though. I’ve got more reports to put together than I can shake a stick at. And now the rumors are swirling that we may be opening an office here again, which would mean I wouldn’t be working from home anymore. I don’t think that would be such a bad thing - a clear separation between work and the rest of my life would actually be pretty welcome, not to mention a (presumably) shorter drive to work when I DO go in. So I’m all for it. As long as it’s not in SOUTH Tampa.

Just bought a digital camera, and it arrived today. I bought a FujiFilm FinePix 2600Zoom. It rocks. I got it after seeing my brother’s, and finding out he was VERY happy with it. For the stat geeks out there: 2.0 megapixel, SmartMedia(The good stuff), USB connection, and also makes 20 second movies (without audio, but hey, what do you want for an entry level camera?). And it only cost me $219 bucks (plus shipping, that comes to $248, but I did the second day air option.) So, here’s my Pimp Of The Day: Check out CentralDigital.

I got what I wanted, when I wanted it, at the absolute cheapest price on the ‘net. Sure, their web site looks suspiciously like Amazon’s. But I think that only adds to it’s charm. Robby’s happy I got it, too. And he’s already putting it to use; he just came back with a load of shots from a visit to a friend’s house. Here’s a fine example.

Personally, I think it’s a blackmail shot, but Robby insists it’s just a personal gag between a couple of buddies. That explains why he’s cutting letters out of magazines and pasting them on a sheet of paper, naturally.

As some of you know, I play Everquest. For those of you who have only heard about EQ through the recent news, allow me to pony up my opinion on this. (That IS why you visit my site, right?) As tragic as the suicide of anyone is, to point the blame at any one person, or thing, is rather insulting to not only the thing being blamed, but the person who killed themselves. Now, I won’t argue for a minute that video games can be addictive (especially since I am a living example of that addiction). But to say that EQ is "purposely made…in such a way that it is more intriguing to the addict" is a bit ridiculous. Of COURSE the game was made intriguing. IT’S A GAME. They’re designed to be fun and interesting, and to provide something new for the people who play. But making a game the scapegoat for a person’s suicide, especially a person who was "…diagnosed…with depression and schizoid personality disorder, symptoms of which include a lack of desire for social relationships, little or no sex drive and a limited range of emotions in social settings", is the desperate act of a mother who is looking for something - ANYTHING - to blame for the loss of her son. Mrs. Woolley, I feel for your loss. I really do. But if you think a lawsuit is going to fill that void in the world your son left, or accomplish anything other than keeping a bunch of lawyers fed for the next few years, well…I hope you find what you’re looking for. I just don’t think you will.

Now, having said my piece on that: I have been asked, by two of my friends in game, to marry them. Yes, really. They’re both great people, and I wouldn’t think of making fun of them, or their decision, for an instant. And that’s not my concern, anyhow. What I’m concerned about is: how the HELL am I going to officiate a wedding? Me?! Look at my last few postings - are those the thoughts of the kind of person you’d want to join you and your significant other together? I wouldn’t trust myself to do the right thing with a notary stamp, much less marry two people together in the eyes of [insert your deity here]! Dae, Steel (assuming you two are reading this)…I’m honored you chose me, and I’ll be more than happy to perform what you have charged me with. But the fact you two chose ME is the disturbing bit.

Updated: New E-Mail response