Rage Issues

I've got a new project!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:58:00 +0000

I'm officially in the podcasting business now! Check my new show out over at www.morningnom.com!

Self Deprication

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:20:00 +0000

The Musical Fruit

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

the beer refreshing

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Start them young.

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Explosive produce

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Silent but deadly!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

A Taste Sensation

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

The Victimless Crime

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

STAND BACK! I'm having an idea....

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:55:00 +0000

FTP

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:53:00 +0000

Those bastards messed with my FTP paths... that last post turned out to be more work than I expected it to be. I had to do some corrective maintenance. Also, one of the e-mail accounts was loaded with crap that needed deleting as I'd sucked down all my storage space. All is better now though.

Being Lazy

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:05:00 +0000

So on most levels it looks like I've pretty much let this blog die. That's sad though. I've been babbling here for years now. Actually, I'm not exactly sure how many. I should look into that....

...Okay it looks like it's been four and a half years. It seems a shame to let it die now. I've been so negligent that I'm sure anyone who actually read this though, has stopped. Oh well, we'll just have to try and keep plugging away.

I think I need to sit and really think about what I want to do with this space though. I've tried a number of different things but never really found a focus for this blog. It was initially just a space to share the inane crap I'd found and the weird tidbits of my life. The problem is, everyone else gets the same links via e-mail and my life is actually pretty boring. Eat, work, sleep, repeat....

So I guess my plan is this, to rethink, retool, and upgrade the experience that is rageissues.com. I'd like to actually do something useful. Hey, it could happen.

I'm a bad bad man...

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Looks like I've created a crack head... I have a friend in New Zealand, one Philippa Ballantine (check out her web site www.pjballantine.net). She's releasing a new podcast starting, listen to it... I've heard the first episode it's good stuff.

http://www.chasingthebard.com/

Anyway, I've got her hooked on pixie stix. They can't get them there. MUHAHAHAHA

Also, as I know she has Google Alerts set up, I'm not mentioning this post. I'm curious how long it will take her to find out about this.

I'm still here...

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:45:00 +0000

Another month gone by, and then some. Damn I'm lazy.

Ok if I haven't mentioned this already, though I think I have, I'm addicted to Twitter. If you aren't on there you should be. My ID is Gutshot, look me up. What's Twitter? Just think internet cocktail party.

So, Easter this weekend. You know what that means right? Peeps and Cadbury eggs. I need to stock up. I'm pretty much hooked this year. Worse than the last couple. I'm considering actually trying Easter turducken. That's where you wrap a Cadbury egg in peeps and shove it inside a hollow bunny.

A junky always wants a fix.

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Yeah, so... I kind of started playing City of Heroes again yesterday. I'd been clean for 18 months. Dammit, it's fun though.

Jack the Ripper

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:03:00 +0000

OK, so this Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper book is turning out to be a pretty interesting read. The only problem I'm seeing though is that the author, Patricia Cornwell, is thoroughly convinced of her theory. As such she's being something less than impartial in presenting her case, for a lack of a better way to phrase it.

Personally when I know that I'm reading something where we can never beyond a shadow of a doubt prove a point, at least not on current evidence, I find it off putting when the author presents the theory as though it were cold hard fact. I'd rather just have the evidence presented and be allowed to make my own mind up. Maybe that's just me.

At the end of the day though, I think there's a pretty damn good chance she's correct.

On a roll

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:48:00 +0000

Well, I'm in a reading sort of mood right now. I really haven't been for the last few months but it's hit me the last few days. I guess it's the weather or the writers strike or some such. What ever it is, I've felt like reading.

That being the case, I've killed two books in the last couple of days. First was the one I'd been slowly chewing on since October (I told you I hadn't been in much of a reading mood), Dies the Fire. All in all I can't say it was a bad book. I can say however that while the premise grabbed my attention right up front, it didn't really hold onto it. There are two or three more books in the series. I won't be bothering to read them.

The premise as I said, grabbed my attention. The general idea is that one day, technology simply stops working. No electricity, no firearms, not even steam engines. There's really no viable explanation as to what works and what doesn't but the author does a good job in acknowledging that fact and moving on. In the end it's just a thought experiment. It just wasn't one interesting enough to keep my attention longterm.

So, I finished that one up at long last and moved onto a recently procured copy of Night Watch. Night Watch held my attention. A book of roughly the same page count as Dies the Fire, I flew through it (relatively speaking) in 3 or 4 days. Having seen and somewhat enjoyed the movie of the same name, I enjoyed the more in depth explanation of the Night Watch universe.

I finished that up last night and almost immediately picked up Portrait Of A Killer: Jack The Ripper. This one looks to be extremely interesting. Patricia Cornwell, the author, took all the Jack the Ripper evidence and data she could get her hands on and applied modern forensic technology and processes. She's convinced she knows who he was. I'd have to say, from what little I've read so far, it seems pretty damn convincing.

Top all of this off with a book club meeting tonight and the world seems pleasantly "booky" right now.

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:40:00 +0000

So I think we are going to give it a shot. My best friend, Lawboy, and I have been discussing this on and off for quite a while now and it's never gone anywhere. Now I think we are actually going to go for it. I think we are going to start a podcast. We've got a couple ideas.

I won't say what we're going to do yet, and probably shouldn't even mention it. If we end up not getting it done, well now I've got a record of our failure. What the hell...

So, wish us luck and maybe you'll actually be listening in a few weeks. Let's hope it doesn't sound like crap.

It's that time of year again.

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:25:00 +0000

Just like last year and the year before, and before, and before, January hits and I get cabin fever. I'm back looking at hiking, backpacking, and otherwise outdoor websites. What's more, the sun is actually shining today. Remember the sun? It's that funny little glowing ball that sometimes appears in the sky. We generally turn it off around here in the winter so having it on for a day or two is a neat change.... I need to be in the woods.

Stream of consciousness

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 23:23:00 +0000

It's another day and frankly I'm still bored. That being the case, how about a little stream of consciousness blogging. I haven't done this in a while. Heck I've only done it once before. But then again, I haven't done much blogging lately anyway. So I might as well babble some... It takes up the time.

I should have thrown in some games or something. I have a couple big tote boxes full of board games that were in the back of my car a week ago... scratch that. They were in the back of my car up until a week ago. They had been there for a few weeks. I'm pretty lazy and had just left them there since, well, Thanksgiving.

Heck of a way to take care of my things, huh? This is why I can't have nice things. It's probably also the same reason I shouldn't have bought a house. My yard looks like crap. It's tiny, but I am horrible at taking care of it. The lawn need mowing, there are leaves everywhere. It generally looks like crap. I should talk to the neighbor kid and get him to mow it again. He's done it some in the past, but as weather has been wet he hasn't been doing it the last few.

I get so sick of the rain some times. It's been so gloomy in Eugene lately. I don't think we've had but a day or two of dry weather in the last 2 months. Sunshine comes in 1 or 2 hour blocks if your lucky. I don't think I've actually seen the sun in a week. Damn clouds. I feel like I'm growing mold.

I'd like to be out doing something. I know I did the same last year. If you were to go back and check the archive I know last January I was whining about being caught in the house then as well. I get cabin fever something horrible every year. I'd like to go hiking to tell you the truth.

I nearly grabbed the pack and headed out a couple of weeks ago. It was raining but I know a shelter that is in good shape, and would be more than dry enough to keep me happy. I was on the verge of going for it when I realized that by sleeping bag isn't rated that low. I'm pretty sure I'd have frozen to death. I can handle a little cold, but I know I've gotten cold in that bag in late August. I guess I could just buy a winter bag.

What's worse, if I buy a new winter bag I'll have got get another ground pad too. I'm using a short length Thermarest trail lite pad at the moment. With nothing under my legs, I don't know that I'd ever be comfortable in the winter. A thicker pad might be nicer too. My father is working with one of the inflatable pads at the moment that is pretty sweet.

Oh and since I'm spending the cash I suppose I'll need a 4 season tent too. My newest tent is pretty nice, but it is only a three season. Again, if I was under the shelter I wouldn't have to worry about snow load... But why let that stop me. I need something I can sit up in properly anyway.

On a totally unrelated subject, I think I should write a book. I have a few ideas bouncing around the back of my head. Nothing with any substance, but they are indeed there. The problem is, anything I ever write sounds way better in my head than it does on the page. 1:00 in the morning, lying in bed, half awake, the material I compose always sounds bad ass. When it's on the page, no, not so much... Maybe I'll make it a cook book...

Enough already.

More to come later I'm sure.

Ahoy!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 06:23:00 +0000

OK, I've got nothing really interesting to post tonight. Frankly I'm just bored and feel like babbling a little, so just put up with me....

So, it's 3 days until Christmas and I'm here at my folks' place. Now, for anyone reading this that doesn't know I live at an altitude of around 500'. My parents live 180 south of me and another 4000' up in the air. December in the norther hemisphere, specifically the pacific northwest of the US, means snow in the mountains. Usually the drive is just about 3 hours (180 miles at 60 miles an hour, do the math). Yeah, not so much yesterday.

Knowing that the roads were crap and weren't likely to change for the better I decided I'd be better off to leave sooner than later. That 3 hour drive took me an extra 2 and a half.

In case you don't know this already, 5 and a half hours in the car by yourself blows. The only thing keeping me sane was my iPod and the good people of the podcasting world. If you are a podcaster and for some strange reason reading this, thank you...

Anywhoo, I survived and now I'm here.

BOOKS!

I know I made a feeble attempt to turn this into a book blog some time back. It was working decently until October rolled around. October saw me take 2 weeks of vacation and spend almost none of that time reading. Then November hit and I didn't read anything to speak of then. Not reading anything kills the idea of running a decent book blog.

There are some better points of my printed word obsession to report however. Point number one is that I dropped 2 new books into my Librarything account and wouldn't you know, it put me up to 400 books. OK I know that 400 books isn't really all that much, but keep in mind I own all of those books right now. That's not just the books I've read. Every one of those is sitting in my house right now.

Is it so bad that I want my own library? Ikea has a set of books shelves with a sliding ladder. Come on, that's cool.

Other thing is that I've killed a couple more books in the last few days that I haven't reported here. Number one, Goldfinger. The Bond books are still a lot of fun, but holy crap, you could not get away with writing some of what Fleming put in there in this day and age.

The other book, OK, I admit I haven't finished it yet, but I'm reading the Sherlock Holmes stories. Barnes and Noble has their classics collection "The Complete Sherlock Holmes" vol. 1. First I feel the need to say that the idea that "the complete" anything volume XXX amuses me. If it's one of a number of volumes, it isn't complete, now is it?

The point though, is that I am indeed reading it. And you know what? They read really well. I was a bit afraid that they might be.... um, a bit shall we say, overwhelmingly Victorian. Not so, not so at all. If you don't believe me, just hit the Project Gutenberg web site and pick up a free copy of A Study in Scarlet and give it a read.

OK, enough already. I should go to bed...

Holy crap it's been a long time since I've posted!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:38:00 +0000

It's been since August second.

I'm not abandoning my blog if that's what you are thinking. Actually you probably aren't thinking anything as you aren't reading this or even thinking about this blog having long ago given up reading it as it appeared dead.

Truth be told, I'm not sure what to do with this space. My blog has always lacked any focus. I tried the book thing for a while... but my time for reading has been little as of late. Not enough to keep up a decent site. So things are just going to hang as they are for a while as I try to decide what, if anything to do with this space.

Busy busy busy

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:42:00 +0000

I've been on the go quite a bit the last couple of weeks. Sadly that hasn't left me much time to read, nor the energy to focus.

I have been doing a little reading though. I bought a copy of "The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane" some time back and have been getting in bits of it here and there. While not as good as Conan, it has been enjoyable.

Sleep is for the weak!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:08:00 +0000

As I mentioned last week, I recently purchased a copy of the Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them box set. I'm sure this makes it pretty obvious that yes, I am a geek and yes, I did read Harry Potter this weekend.

I'm not going to go into any detail as I hate spoilers and don't want to ruin anything for anyone else who may have as yet not read it. I will say that I enjoyed it and am happy with the ending.

The book itself, all 785 pages of it, showed up on my doorstep (literally) at about 9:30 Saturday morning. From that point on, I largely did nothing but read. I took time out for a shower and some food, but that's about it. I finally finished just before 2:00 in the morning.

My sister on the other hand, didn't get her copy until some hours later. I'm pretty sure she saw the sun rise before she finally finished and went to bed.

It's like a magic trick!

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:17:00 +0000

Wow! I've finished another of the three books I was reading. What's with that?

Being that it was in reality a quick read, I busted out the last of Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill last night. May I say, that Churchill was a hell of an interesting guy. If you haven't read anything about him I highly recommend you do. This book, Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill, seems to be to be a good place to start. Never having read anything about the man before myself, I highly enjoyed this book. The author presents a nice range of viewpoints, making the very specific point of trying to show both sides of the coin when discussing several aspects of the man that was Winston Churchill.

My only complaint is that, as the book is quite short, and as there was a great quantity of information to impart, at times if feels almost like reading a high school student's report about Churchill. Mind you a well written report, but still quite simple and largely a high level overview. None the less, there is a lot of information conveyed to the reader and it has only served to interest me further. I will doubtlessly be reading more on Churchill in the future. What's more I'll likely now read some of Churchill's writing.

And when in doubt you can always default to Wikipedia: Winston Churchill