roho took a few pictures. I just need to transfer them off my CompactFlash card, resize and crop them and save them in a format and size that's appropriate for the web. Not all of them turned out -- my digital camera sucks, and now that urocyon and I have talked about light metering I'm starting to get a better idea why the camera did what it did today. Still, failures aside a respectable number of the images turned out for everyone to get a good idea of what I looked like. I'll post them tomorrow, and you all can get a good laugh.On the way home we stopped at Sam's Club for some supplies. I needed more Atkins shakes, so I restocked on those. While there I also got myself a PS2 game, Tetris Worlds. I'm an old Tetris addict, back from the 1980s when I first was introduced to it on the Apple IIGS. Ever since I first found that game I've loved it, and it has been almost a decade since I last played an authentic version. Sure, there's Bubbles on my SideKick, but it's a poor substitute for the real thing that originally got me hooked. I happened to find this copy in the bargain bin and decided that I might as well get it. Along with the PS/2 game I also got a copy of the Anniversary Edition of Scarface, 28 Days Later and Dreamcatcher. I also did a bit of early Christmas shopping and found another gift for my uncle the construction worker (
yotogi will remember the name "Uncle Fuzzy," I believe). While we were wandering about we happened upon a package set from Bombay. It's a "Collector's Edition" set which includes a 750mL bottle of gin and a designer martini glass. Roho and I each got one of those, and I think the glass looks really classy. I wish I could get a few more, they'd go well on the bar that I'll be putting in once I get my house.Once we got home it was a necessary for all of us to have a bit of quiet time. Roho played some more of the game he's been engrossed in on the PS2 ("Ratched and Clank," I believe) while I worked on a couple of different projects online. I've gotten the SSL certificate renewed for my server so now things like the Webmail Interface are working again in a secured manner, which makes me happy. I'm halfheartedly considering applying that SSL certificate towards the POP3 and IMAP server so that I can offer those as encrypted services too, but there's really not a lot of demand for it. I guess one thing at a time is the motto of the day, and this was a step in the right direction.
Once I managed to get on the PS2 I dropped in my new game and played for about 45 minutes or so, thoroughly enjoying myself once I got past the lousy menu interface and into an actual game. I had no idea you could give a story line to a game like Tetris but these guys have done it. For the most part I ignore it... I just want to get the pieces to line up so I can get my high score up there. After I finished up a few games I spent a bit of time talking over ICQ to
chebutykin in an attempt to troubleshoot her problems sending mail via my server (I swear that Comcast is redirecting her SMTP traffic to their ESMTP server) and her FTP problem (she keeps getting logged in as anonymous for some reason I can't fathom, a problem I simply cannot reproduce). It's frustrating, but... well, I guess I'll have to work my way through it. She's promised to catch up with me on Monday (the 27th, I hope) to do some further troubleshooting.Tonight we watched another episode of Babylon 5, which allowed
enveri to complete the "War Without End" mini-saga. It had been a while since I saw that particular sub-plot myself, and I continue to be amazed at just how creative that series was. If ever there was a benchmark in television for "high storytelling" I really think Babylon 5 was it.There wasn't much else of note today -- the cats are continuing to learn to get along, and we've discovered that Marcus is quite the explorer. This morning I heard a frightful banging and found that he had opened the foyer closet, lept to the top shelf and knocked everything down to the ground. I'm glad it was only some shelving and boxes this time, but we're going to have to kitten-proof the apartment before we all go mad. He's got a lot of pent-up energy and if Ra was any indication at that age it won't be subdued any for about another 18 months.
Tomorrow it's back to the office, with lots of work to be done. I need to fax a number of documents to one of my mortgage lenders and do a bit more research on how I want to actually go through with the loan once I find a suitable house. Like everything else in this world it's a series of pros and cons that must be weighed against a future that is about as clear to us as mud. Such is life, but I'll -- ahem -- muddle through.
A stranger is putting the tease on
