Gaming

I used to be a pretty big-time gamer. All you have to do is go look at my early posts on this blog to see me nerding-out over my Warhammer 40k models, posting reports on the battles I played at the friendly local games store. I haven't worked on a 40k model in, gosh, probably two whole years. I've been thinking I might start a few, just to pass the time, and because I have an affinity for things that are real and tangible.

I've lost most of my interest in console and computer games. I played a few levels of Halo with Frog last week, and while it was still fun, it just seemed like a waste. Sure, maybe a new game would be exciting for a while, but I also don't want to get caught up in gaming all the time like some Mountain-Dew addled teenager. I played Starcraft II for several hours this weekend; that was pretty fun. However, I've gotten myself to the final level of the campaign and it is hard. Hell, even just playing against a computer opponent in a custom game is pretty rough on any difficulty but easy. I used to play Warcraft 3 online with my buddy Dustin, Sergeant in the Air Force. We would even play in team tournaments and stuff every weekend or so...fun times!

Of course, Dustin is married with a new child recently arrived (Congrats, buddy!). Maybe less gaming is a functioning of growing up and maturing? Naw, I don't think so. Maybe just shifting interests? I think it is intriguing how in less than the past five years, women have suddenly become the majority of gamers...rocking all kinds of games on their phones, i-Pads, etc. That is pretty cool...if I had such a digital device, I would most likely be playing those kinds of games a lot. Back in the day I got a PDA when I started going part-time the community college (this was, like, 12 years ago now), and I actually wore it out over about 8 months of playing its couple of card games constantly.

I prefer games that get played in person, even if it is just something like Poker. Of course, I can always dream that I'll either make some friends who are way into Warhammer 40k, or convert some of my existing friends "to the hobby". Actually, what is more likely is that I will find some new hobby that involves finely crafting tiny pieces of metal...

Things I Like: Plants

I've been thinking that I would like to get some houseplants for the loft. I may be able to put together a cool indoor herb garden just by taking some cuttings from the garden. I think that would be pretty easy...to just cut an aggressively perennial herb like oregano in half and grow a small clone indoors. That would be what one would call a 'clone', right? It used to be one plant, now it is two living independently, but they still have identical DNA? For all of my practical knowledge about gardening and growing all kinds of plants, I feel like my deeper scientific and biological understanding is stuck at around a high school level, sustained by nature and science documentaries.

Having small versions of plants from outside being in the loft would be better than no plants, but, part of what is so cool about growing plants indoors is that you get to grow awesome plants that would never make it a varied and sometimes harsh climate like the one in SLC.

Plants are so cool! Exempli Gratia - I've seen a thirty or forty year old christmas cactus that had grown 3'-4' around, necessitating transplant into a big five gallon pot. Humans get old and feeble somewhat early in their lifespan, while many plants will only be growing and growing and gaining new strength all the time for most of their life, which can be thousands of years. Wow! Yeah, I like plants.

The Internet

I personally think that the internet is pretty fantastical and ridiculous. Instantaneous (almost) transmission of data all over the world? There are whole economies that exist only in cyberspace? Last night in one of my classes the entire chapter was about hacking and other malicious goings-on online. Then there are internet memes? Yes, there are...look at my vacbot posts. They fit this definition:

meme |mēm|
noun Biology
an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, esp. imitation.
DERIVATIVES
memetic |mēˈmetik; mə-| adjective
ORIGIN 1970s: from Greek mimēma ‘that which is imitated,’ on the pattern of gene.

I saw "I can has cheezburger" years ago, looked at lots of silly internet pictures, and recently made my own. So the internet has infected my body like a genetic disease? "I've gone mimetic!"

Like I said, fantastical and ridiculous!

The Loft

I live in the loft now.

Wait, what loft?

The loft I made!

Okay, so I didn't make it alone. The legendary Remodel Man of song worked it righteously, him doing most of it, and the loft is in Frog's attic who conceived of the crazy scheme to build a loft. I did a nice share of the work, though, and I am living in the loft now enjoying its many qualities!

I only have before pictures for now, so here is the story of the loft:

This is the very back corner of the attic space, which has become a 1/2 bathroom. I just noticed these photos all have dates, but it is the wrong date...This work happened a month or so ago. You can see where we've framed in a wall to separate the bathroom from the main loft.




The above picture is the view from the back of the loft. The camera is facing west, the bathroom is on the right.


If you walked towards the window from the back of the loft, you would be at the top of the stairs, with the view shown in this third picture. The floor in this picture is now cut away, vaulting the downstairs ceiling up to the loft. That small triangle space, that has a bundle of insulation and a pile of scraps in the corner? That is now a cool shelf space, to display regalia, memorabilia, art, and awesomeness.



This final picture is downstairs in the dining room. Those stairs now have a fine craftsman railing, and that ceiling is long gone. The dining room is the last room in the house to finish, although it won't be nearly as much work as putting in the loft.

It has been a huge job, causing me loads of stress, and it isn't over yet. Things have calmed down, though, and I am now lord of the upper realms...or something like that. I think what I am trying to say is that the loft is freakin' awesome, and I am a nerd, and now I totally have the space and facilities to nerd out completely.

Taxes

They say there are only two constants in life: Death and Taxes!

While I do know a thing or two about death, I know a whole lot about taxes. I ending up taking the 'Personal Income Taxation' class at school twice; the first time through was my first semester after finishing junior college and while my test scores had me set to get a 'B' in the class, I slacked off on a final assignment which caused me to fail. So after a couple of years, I took the class again last semester and scored a solid A- and was regarded by my classmates as the student who best understood the complex issues and concepts of taxation.

So this semester, I signed up for the IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a free tax return preparation service offered by the IRS to help so-called low income taxpayers to get their taxes done. I volunteered myself and was confirmed by my classmates as the 'Site Coordinator' for the VITA office we set up at our college. So while I have actually prepared the least number of returns out of all the students working in the office, I still probably have the best overall understanding of the myriad different deductions, credits, forms, and procedures involved in filing a tax return.

Now I need to get my own tax return filed. This is the last week our site will be open, and while I didn't have enough income in 2011 to have to file (oh the life of a starving student), I did have a good chunk of tax withheld that I will be able to get refunded.

So...I've got the taxes pretty well figured out...but this death business, well, I'm not so sure about that!

Happy Easter

Well this is certainly a strange date for Easter...the first whole weekend of April? Seems a little soon. It makes sense in a way, though, because I think Easter is a fairly strange holiday. Like Christmas, the timing of the holiday is lifted from pagan nature-worship. However, it is celebrating the most unnatural life-after-death of the Christian namesake. I've seen some snarky talk on the internet calling Jesus a zombie...pretty funny stuff!

While I don't exactly self-identify as a Christian, I definitely believe in the best of the Christian values: forgiveness, charity, aspiring to love thy neighbor as thyself, not coveting your fellow humans' stuff or spouse or accomplishments. As a lowly human, it can sure be difficult living up to those values, but I do try.

Who wouldn't want to live the virtues of a water-walking, sick-healing zombie? I mean that as a joke, hopefully not in too poor taste...I have a lot of respect and appreciation for the good things religion brings into this world, even if I don't subscribe to a particular belief system. Have a happy Easter, everyone!

Landlocked Blues

So today I deactivated my Facebook account. Gosh, the internet sure is boring without checking updates and chatting with peoples. It is certainly for the best, though, as I wasted a lot of time mulling around and seeing what everyone was up to. I will definitely be paying more attention in class now; I had developed a pretty bad habit of bringing my laptop to class for legitimate reasons like accessing online course content but would just end up distracted instead. I got several peoples' contact information before closing the account down, though not as many as I would have liked. Still, I let everyone know and gave them a week or so to get back to me...I didn't want to make a huge fuss about it. Although, I suppose announcing it on Facebook itself and then having a post about it here constitutes a fairly decent fuss...

I still don't think anyone reads my blog, but that is fine. Unlike Facebook, I'm not making my posts here intending for them to be seen by people. This is much more focused on me, an outlet and place to put things for myself. I'll probably start posting regularly now, too!