Something I must do

There are a lot of things I really need to do in California. I need to see my birthplace and try not to get shot in Redondo Beach. I have to take my eventual 3-series out there to drive Highway 1. I have to check out all the cool techie stuff up by the Bay - Metreon, touristy stuff, etc. And having the time to check out a bit of NorCal would be really nice, too. If I had the money, I could just take off for a few weeks over the summer and live out of cheap motels and I'd just go see the world and get really intimate with my 4 wheels. It'd definitely be an experience to remember.

A very good night in a-town

So tonight was the Super Smash Tournament of Death, in which I busted out with the Game&Watch and made it to the top 8. I'm very happy and thankful for Alex and Thomas for beating me into shape. It was mostly lucky draws that got me that far; there were certainly more than 8 people who would've beat me, even if Alex gets insanely nervous when he's in tournament matches. My first match was against some random Lamar freshman scrub who'd barely played the game in his life. People started making some noise that there was a Game&Watch moving through the brackets. Soph won her match against a chick named Beth, which pitted the two of us against each other in the second round. Soph certainly made a game of it and had me on my last life while the surrounding crowd wanted to see the blue G&W die like the little flat sausage-tossing bitch he is. Nonetheless, the blue sausage-tosser won, and in the third round I met up with Colin, who beat me down with Peach. That was the end of my run, but Colin made it to the semis, which speaks well for the guy who took me out. Frank won the tournament and the golden trophy.

On the way back, Alex and I got into a little bit of a race on Fielder. Nothing bad happened, and it was probably the best push the Camry's ever been given. Gotta love dry wintry weather and some nice high revvin'. I strangely feel a lot more comfortable racing after playing so much Need for Speed Underground. BUT - street racing is bad and dangerous, kids, so don't do it. Especially the UT readers - it'll get your car confiscated in Austin.

Upon getting home, I ordered myself a Radeon 9800 Pro which will hopefully arrive a day or two after Christmas. This puts my system at a *ridiculous* hyperthreaded P4 2.8C, 512 RAM, and a R9800Pro. If that doesn't run Deus Ex 2 / HL2 / Doom 3 like a dream, few things will.

I also talked to Andie, who complained in a post about going out and being bored - and left me an IM to the same effect. Once I got it, I called her to find her already chillin' out in the middle of nowhere with some Hard Lemonade. So much for that tonight, but alas, I've got posting and the new Al Franken book (still working on it) to keep me occupied. It's a really good night, and it ain't over yet.

The Pop Culture moment

So I'm back in Dallas and happily enjoying the relaxation and Christmas mood. I spent the first couple of days just watching TV and movies and such and now I'm easing back into the techie world. Here are my thoughts on random things I've encountered lately:

Blink-182's self-titled album: My first reaction was "WTF." My next reaction was that they should've stolen John Mayer's title "Heavier Things." He didn't deserve it anyway. Actually, Blink's should be called "Heavier Shit" just because. Everyone says it's a serious album. Fine. I can appreciate serious musicians. But why, Blink, why?! When I wanted fun and irreverence in my music, I turned straight to Blink and no other band. Even if it turns out to be a great album (so far I'm equating lots of it to the rest of the same lame pop-punk shit that's on the radio) I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that they stopped having fun. Something's wrong here. Seriously.

Michelle Branch going whore: It's kind of like finding out your innocent junior-high girlfriend is a porn star. You still watch her trashy, trashy stuff, and you find it incredibly hot, but you can't help but feel bad for the good little innocent girl inside who is no longer. BTW, the track I've heard off her new CD (a set of remixes to the new single 'Breathe') is craptacular. I think they're going to try to make a club-song-hit-generator star out of her and it's going to be sad.

The Bens: You guys heard about this? Ben Folds, Ben Harper, and Ben Kweller formed a singer-songwriter trio and cut a 4-track demo EP. Sign me up.

24: Keeps getting better.

Return of the King: Amazing. Best of the 3 movies by far. Incredible ending. Doesn't feel at all like 3.5 hours. Go see it, and in a good theater - the sound's incredible.

Mr. Game & Watch: He's officially my character in SSB.

New Crystal Method: OK, I admit, I've only listened to "Born Too Slow," which owns. But that makes me happy.

Need for Speed Underground: I'll do a review on this eventually, but I enjoy it.

Max Payne 2: Yeah, I finally finished it. Loved it.

Hardware: I'm contemplating going the softmod route - get a 9500 and mod it into a 9700 or getting a 9800SE and modding it into a 9800.

Home: What a nice place.