Shoveled the drive today. Twice.

Well, the first time I used the snowblower. I had never used it before, and after going through the directions step by step, and after some cursing was involved, I got the thing started up and I plowed the drive. The second time was later on after I got home this afternoon, and I just used the shovel there. Thankfully the snow that time was manageable. Only took about ten minutes.

While I was out I got some great finds at the dying FYE here: the Hammer version of Hound of the Baskervilles and The Masque of the Red Death with Vincent Price. The latter movie was featured in this book which I've been poring over along with an awesome 160-page tome (with full color, behind the scenes photos) of David Cronenberg's Videodrome. Got home just in time before it really started to snow.

I also got a Bluetooth headset. Going to get that out of the box and play with that right now. Cheers.

Happy New Year!

Saying this on the 31st because I have to work tonight. Sucks, but the double-time holiday pay is great. I've got no new year's resolutions. I also don't believe in a new year "clean slate" like some altruists do. I still have to hold a job, brush my teeth and shave every morning (thanks to my new electric razor - thanks Mom!), and witness all the world's problems on the news regardless of what year it is. Just another page flip on the calendar for me.

I had no major plans anyhow, would I have not been working.

Now that I think of it, I do have a New Year's resolution. I need to do something about getting more work uniforms. I'm sick of having to take them home and wash them.

"Whaaaaaat?"

Got online after cooking over 25,000 pounds worth of corn this morning and played some MW2 online. I'm still just a beginner at best but it's nice to hear other players go, "whaaaat?", or "I call bullshit!" when I get lucky enough to end one of their long killstreaks. I'm going to try to play as much as possible to unlock the extra weapons and attachments, the ones players are expected to start out with just plain suck.

It was a major pain...

But I've finally got internet at home today. No more wi-fi bumming off of neighbors with jerry-rigged antennas or going out somewhere with public access if I want to get on.

Also Christmas went well. Got an electric razor and am happy as a lark with a clean-shaven face. On Christmas Eve I went to an uncle's house where every year he puts out a mind-boggling spread (at least 6-7 tables worth of food), got all kinds of goodies, and took a bunch of free stuff home. Thanks Stevie and Tammy!

Got to go into work later but so what? Doing an update on my PS3 right now.

Why do people find it necessary...

1.) ... to cut everyone else in line when buying gift cards? Gift cards are right at the counter but if they need to be processed and paid for like any other item at the store then someone buying them should wait in line like every other person at the store. I've been cut in line six times this week. It's getting old.

2.) ... to keep needles and straight pins in their mouths while sewing? There's a super nice lady at my plant that accidentally inhaled a straight pin while working on a sewing project at home. She's almost 100% better after a scary visit to the hospital and I have a little sympathy here...but haven't people heard of pincushions?

Holy crap I haven't seen this in A DECADE.

My head just almost exploded all over again. This video is boss. Thank God for Youtube.

How to get your ass kicked in school, just in time for the holidays

Saw this the other morning flipping through the channels after work. You can clearly tell the upload is not mine right away, judging by the Kenny-style banners imbedded.

Anyhow, this kid is ten and wrote a book about how to talk to Santa and get presents from the guy. The "naughty" and "nice" lists are especially dorky; to get presents from Saint Nick you have to have the demeanor and manners of Beaver Cleaver or one of the cast members on Mother Knows Best. Seriously? If I was ten and back in L.E. York Elementary School again I would have gotten my ass kicked by the other kids for still being excited over Santa.

I figured out the dude wasn't real in the school bus on the way home. The question I always had was, "if we don't have a fireplace in the house, how does Santa get in with the presents?"

And when an older fifth or sixth grader told another kid, "Santa isn't real, dumbass! The presents were bought by your parents," and made the smaller kids cry on the school bus I was kind of relieved. The concept of a complete stranger entering our home in the dead of night, eating our food, and leaving wrapped boxes was kind of starting to creep me out. And I think the Unabomber was just starting to get big on the news, so that kind of didn't help either.

Anyhow, I'm in the middle of a GREAT - albeit fledgling - discussion on sci-fi flicks as I make this post. We're talking about what our favorites are and mine has gotta be Event Horizon. Clearly my former partner in crime Paul Jankura (what's he doing now, I wonder?) would say "2001" without hesitation. That's a great one too, along with anything else Kubrick did.

My local FYE is going out of business.

It's the first time their prices have been reasonable in, well ... ever.

Either the sky just got really gray or my eyes are growing dim. I'm heading home regardless.