Complex Numbers

Revisited: "No Links"

Today's trip down Memory Lane (a street which, for me, is a winding dirt road with numerous potholes) involves what was, apparently, a rare personal update from August of 2009: "No Links" 

It's been pointed out to me (though I already knew it) that most of my recent blog entries have been, well, links to funny stuff. People like links to funny stuff, but maybe someone's reading this to actually find out what I'm up to.

I've since expanded my repertoire to add links to serious stuff (that I sometimes make funny), blogging contest responses, and Revisited entries like this one.

Thing is, not much has been going on in Waltzland. My wife's away for a few days, leading me to discover that bare skin sticks to my computer chair.

I want to clarify that this was what's known in comedy circles as a "joke," and is not reflective of reality. However, it was August, so I don't know; maybe I was wearing shorts. And yet, that's the part most of the comments latched on to.

Work is slow, because despite the stock market's optimism, the economy still sucks golf balls through garden hoses.

2009 was, as I recall, the beginning of a bull market that would last over a decade, finally turning bear just last year. But we couldn't have predicted that then, nor could I have predicted when the local real estate market, which kept me able to eat and drink beer, would start cranking back up. Turned out okay for me, though.

It's been raining a lot around here, which means I haven't heard shit about "drought," "water restrictions," or "hot enough for ya?" First person to mention "drought" to me this summer gets a super-soaker in the face.

As I recall, there was a local drought one summer in the 90s or noughties. The details, and the year it happened, escape me, but I do recall that after a sweltering summer with constant reminders to take shorter showers, let your lawn die, and not flush the toilet until it became absolutely necessary, and other exhortations to please, for the love of god, conserve what little water we have left in the reservoir... after all that, the local water authority complained about having lost money that year, and thus wanted to institute a massive rate increase.

This led to me swearing to never conserve water again, because the only reason to do so would be so that they could raise rates afterward.

Well, we haven't had a significant drought since, and I do try to conserve water, so, so much for that.

I've been going to a local science fiction & fantasy book club for the past few months. We meet once a month to discuss the assigned book, plus whatever other books we've been reading, and to complain about crappy science fiction movies (that is, this year, every one except Watchmen and Star Trek. Shut up, Stik.)

That was a fun club. I don't remember what other movies came out in those genres that year, and can't be arsed to look it up, so I also can't remember what I'd been arguing with Stik about. (Stik, your memory is much better than mine, so feel free to remind me.)

I think I'm the only married person there. Surprisingly enough, at the last meeting, women outnumbered men (and we didn't end up discussing Twilight).

Yes, that was a sexist comment, I know. After that, no one invited me to be a public speaker. Oh, wait, no one invited me to do that before the comment, either.

Oh, and I went to New York City over the weekend. Somehow never got around to mentioning that. I've been there three times this year, now, so it almost seems routine. Got some good pictures, though.

Three times might be my limit. Usually, I visit once or twice. During the... you know... that dropped to zero for a couple of years.

Which reminds me - I finally broke down (literally broke) and bought a Nikon digital SLR. It fucking ROCKS.

That was a good camera—for the time. Haven't used it in years. Smartphone technology quickly left its picture quality in the dust. As I have no intention of getting back into professional photography, or even serious amateuring, the built-in camera is good enough for me, and it's way easier to carry around and back up.