In a little over two weeks, this apartment will be gaining +1 to beautiful red-head content. I am really looking forward to that. I have really missed Jackie over the past year, and it has been pretty rough at times for both of us, but the long wait is finally (almost) over. It will be nice no longer having to fly across the country to see my fiancée.

I just saw a trailer for the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie for the first time last night. I really hope work does a screening of this movie, because there is no way I’m going to pay money to go see something that looks like it will suck as hard as this movie does. The trailer didn’t convey any sense of a plot from what I saw. I got the impression that the movie would be “How can we use X as an excuse to blow something up? Sweet! Let’s do that!”

On a somewhat related note: IMDB lists Simon Pegg, and John Cho as Scotty, and Sulu, which I just can’t picture. I just keep thinking of Shaun of the Dead, and Harold & Kumar go to White Castle, which is not what I really what I associate with Star Trek.

Industrialist with teeth
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I’ve had an image in my wallpaper rotation for a while now that has a woman asleep on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of electronic gear. On the right side, made up of the electronics it said “Fast Asleep”, but I was never quite able to make out what it said on the left.

Apparently, it was the cover art of an album by Funki Porcini (which also happens to be the text on the left).

Well, I’m sitting at EWR (Newark Liberty Airport), waiting for my flight, which doesn’t start barding for another hour. I got here at about 4:00 PM, expecting a bit of a wait getting through check-in, and security, but I managed to breeze through and was at the gate by 4:15 PM.

Laurie’s wedding was fun. Quite a bit of dancing with Jackie. (Yay!) As always the weekend went much too quickly.

Now it’s just hanging out at the airport for another 45 mintues until it’s time to board. (Not yay.)

Back to the daily grind tomorrow.

Peace Maker Kurogane is one I finished this morning. The synopsis at Anime News Network is a little misleading, in my opinion, however. My Anime List has what I think is a more accurate synopsis.

This is another one that really could have been told in half the number of episodes (13 vs. 24). Up until episode 22, it didn’t really feel like the story was actually going to go anywhere. All of the other characters were just kind of swirling around Tetsunosuke, while he basically did nothing. Most of the episodes are filled with Tetsunosuke either whining, or getting into trouble by goofing off. It doesn’t even really feel like he’s trying to become a full member of the Shinsengumi, which was the whole premise behind the series.

When Tetsunosuke finally gets to confront the person he thinks is responsible for killing his parents, the guy has no clue what Tetsunosuke is talking about. We never really find out who killed Tetsunosuke’s parents, or why. We also never get to find out why Tetsunosuke is referred to as being “tainted”.

Unless you enjoy watching anime with whiny main characters that complain all the time, and always seem to be saying “why me”, I’d skip this one.

Finished watching Oban Star-Racers on Thursday. It’s not bad over-all, but definitely glossed over the more interesting bits. I found myself being more interested in what was up with the temples all over the galaxy, who built them, why they’re in ruins. You do end up finding some things about them, and very little about their creators, but not until the last couple of episodes.

Every time there was a race, I kept feeling like I was watching pod racing from Star Wars: Episode 1. Eva/Molly’s “Star-Racer”/ “Pod racer” felt a lot like Sebulba’s.

Even though it’s 26 episodes, they probably could have told the same story in 13, without losing any actual content. There was a lot of focus on Eva/Molly’s “emo” moments, which got a little annoying after a while.

There is a pretty decent, unexpected surprise (at least for me), at the very end, involving one of Eva/Molly’s love interests.

Probably not a show I’d bother watching again, nor one that I would recommend anyone go out of their way to watch. If this one falls in your lap for some reason, it’s worth watching at least a couple of episodes to give it a try, though.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Happy PI day folks. Almost forgot about it this year. Jackie would have never let me live that one down.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Jackie,
originally uploaded by jacob.helwig.

For anyone that hasn’t already found out, Jackie and I are now engaged. I proposed, and she said yes, the morning of Feb. 28th (also her birthday).

We haven’t set a date for the wedding yet, other than knowing it’ll be some time after Jackie finishes up her (approximately) last year to go at EMU.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

For the first time in quite a while, there are actually a few games that I’m actually excited about.

In no particular order, they are Fallout 3, Fable 2, Lost Odyssey, and Too Human: Part 1.

I never did play Fallout 2, or Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, but I absolutely loved Fallout. I fell in love with the lore, and post-apocalyptic world. As long as they keep the same feeling to the world in Fallout 3, I’ll be happy.

I thought Fable was a little short, but I still liked the dynamic feel to the world, and your character. From what I’ve seen of Fable 2, it looks to be just “mo’ better”. I haven’t really seen much about “the dog”, other than you have no direct control over it. The dog will be like a real dog, reacting and learning based on how you treat it. So far it sounds similar to the avatars from Black & White, which is great in my book. More depth, and subtlety is always welcome.

Lost Odyssey looks pretty sweet from the trailers I’ve seen. The “ship” I’ve seen reminds me a lot of the air-ship from Final Fantasy VII (again, a good thing). The game appears to be pretty massive, since it is 4 discs. I’m kind of a sucker for large RPGs (Such as Final Fantasy VII/VIII).

Too Human combines future, spacey stuff, with Norse mythology. Again, I’m kind of a sucker for the “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” explanations of mythology.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

The song during the end credits rocks. That is all.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Well, day one of the drive is over. Dad and I stopped just past Omaha, Nebraska. Looks like we’ll have to drive a little longer tomorrow than we did today, to keep from having a long day on the 9th. Driving with my car on the trailer isn’t as bad as I was expecting.

We also passed “Iowa 80″, “The World’s Largest Truck Stop”. It was rather disappointing, since it didn’t really look like anything special. We didn’t stop there, though, we only drove by it on the freeway.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Well, we didn’t actually get on the road until about 8:00 Am, instead of the 7:30ish we originally planned. It’s not too bad, though.

Jackie was able to be over to see me off this morning, which I really appreciated. I’m not really worried about “us”. Jackie is a pretty rational girl, and it helps that we both actually wan this to work. I’m sure Jackie’s desire to leave Michigan helps, too.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Well, the truck is almost completely packed, and my car is loaded up on the trailer. All that’s left is to pack up a few odds, and ends, and to go to the Bruce Springsteen concert tonight, with Jackie, her mom, and dad, Jackie’s brother, John, and John’s girlfriend, Nicole.

The time is really flying by. I just hope the drive out to Oregon goes as quickly.

It’s kind of sad, but the thing I’m most looking forward to, about moving, and starting a new job, isn’t getting out of Michigan, going to Oregon, or starting the new job. It’s no longer having to deal with dial-up, and finally being back on broadband at home.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

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The Geek Code
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS d- s: a- C++++$ UL+++ P++++$ L+++ E--- W+++ N+ o? K? w O- M V- PS+
PE Y+ PGP++(+++) t+ 5++ X R tv b++(+++) DI++ D++ G++ e* h r++ y+
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

OmniCode
sxy cm178 kg81 skEAAF73 es= sp= Ag1982.August anE hdd Lo45.450,-122.872 GM-7DN ZoL&d LAEN CR(5).Software_Developer HbComputers&Games.Board&Games.Card&Games.Console Pll MvD.Car.Mazda_3&B RlD FHg IN16.FiOS PrPerl&PHP&HTML&XML

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Well, for those of you that

haven’t heard yet, it’s official. I’ll be leaving Michigan on November 6th. I’m going to start working at Rentrak on Nov. 12th, in Portland, OR. If I haven’t seen you in a while, drop me a line. Odds are I’d like to hang out at least once, before I head off to Portland. Especially since I don’t know exactly how often I’m going to be able to be back in Michigan. Also, let me know if you’d like my GrandCentral number, since I’m not sure if I’ll be getting a new cell number, when I get out to Portland.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Oi. This past week has sucked.

Lots of people slamming on their breaks for no reason on I-94, last Thursday (2007-09-06), on my way home. Long line of cars in front of me stopped, so I stop too. The Harley behind me? Doesn’t quite stop. Minor cosmetic damage to my rear bumper, and plate. His front fender is pushed in, and something is wrong with his engine, since it was leaking oil. No serious injuries (he ended up with what would probably be a few nasty bruises). I make the appointment to take in my car today, for the insurance place to check it out, arrange repairs, and get me a rental to use while it’s in the shop.

Yesterday (2007-09-13), on my way home at a four-way stop at Curtis & N. Terrirorial, I’m stopped at the stop sign, waiting for the car across from me to proceed, so that I can make a left turn. The Jeep that was stopped behind me at the stop sign, rear-ends me. No injuries again, but this time there’s fairly major damage to my car. Bumper is crushed in, and up. The hatch door is buckled, and won’t open.

I feel like I need to put a sign on the back of my car that says “Remember: You aren’t supposed to rear-end people.”

Luckily, because I (obvously) wasn’t at fault in either case, my deductible was waived for both, and since a motorcycle was involved in the first incident, I don’t have to pay for a rental to use. Also, luckily, I already had the appointment to take my car in, so I didn’t have to drive it around much with the smashed up back end. Unfortunately, the rental they give me to use is a Toyota Corolla LE. Of all the cars I have ever driven, this car has to be the most uncomfortable. The seat feels like I’m sitting almost even with the bottom of the side windows. The steering wheel is about even with my knees. Even when I tilt it up all the way, it’s only about an inch above the tops of my legs, which makes getting in and out, without hitting my legs on the wheel impossible. Supposedly this car is a competitor for the Mazda3, but I don’t see how. It’s just awful to drive. I never realized how good I really had it with my Mazda3, until I got stuck with this thing, and I’ve only had it for about an hour and a half now. It’s that bad.

I can’t wait to get my car back.

Update 2007-09-15: Got the seat to actually adjust the height. Still extremely uncomfortable to sit in the car. The steering wheel still feels extremely low, and the seat still feels like it’s pretty high in the car. I have to almost stretch to reach the steering wheel, when the seat is back far enough to keep my knees from being in the dash.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

For anyone that’s seen me, and seen what my drivers license photo looks like, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The last time my drivers license was updated, was when I first got it. I was 15, and 130 lbs. Nine years later, and 60 lbs heavier (I’m no longer a stick! Yay!), the SOS has finally updated my drivers license photo. I had tried getting it updated, when I had to renew on my 21st birthday. I renewed by mail, and sent in the updated photo, with their little “update my photo” paperwork. They ignored it. Oh well.

It was good for a few laughs, while it lasted. People would look at it and go, “there’s no way that’s you”. Unless, of course I was actually being carded for something (on the rare occasion that I’d get carded). When that would happen, the person usually wouldn’t even blink, and just accept it.

Anyway, the point is that I had to go through the process of renewing my license, and plate, and will be getting a license that doesn’t have a (nearly) decade old photo of me on it.

X-Posted from: Korova Milk Bar.

Free, to a…home: 1x 10-day Free¹ trial of World of WarCraft: The Burning Crusade. I haven’t played WoW in about a year, or so, so I have no real use for it. If anyone plays WarCrackCraft, but still hasn’t picked up The Burning Crusade, let me know, and the trial DVD is yours. Just arrange a pickup.

1. Requires full version of World of WarCraft® to play. [↩]