Current Mood: Playful

On Jeopardy tonight there was a category that reminded me of the old SNL spoofs, so here is my contribution for whenever they have a reunion show, even though it’s just a variant on a theme:

Sean Connery: I’ll take “Anal Event” for one thousand!

Alex Trebek: Actually, it’s “Annual Event” Mr. Connery.

Sean Connery: I’ll bet it’s a daily event for you Trebek!

Current Mood: Playful

Extra Life - Amusing video game strip

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DM of the Rings - Lord of the Rings as a D&D module. I cast Magic Missile at the darkness!

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Goblins - I seem to read a lot of D&D based comics. This one has great art and went from humourous to serious, but still interesting.

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Least I Could Do - Rayne is my hero, and a total childish misogynist. The strip has gone through a couple artist changes and the newest stuff is gorgeous.

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Penny Arcade - Video game craziness

Current Mood: Playful

Inspired by Toren’s recent flurry of posts about cartoons he likes, I’ve decided to do something similar with my favourite online comics, which I read every couple weeks, on average. I’ll put a handful of them up every post in a series, so you don’t get overwhelmed: ———- Breakfast of the Gods - Your cereal icons have grown up. Great art! ———- A Softer World - Bizarre narrative for pictures. %^$&ed up. ———- Nodwick - If you don’t know who Nodwick is then you’ve never read a Dragon magazine. D&D humour! ———- Butternut Squash - Bachelor fun. ———- Ctrl-Alt-Del - Crazy video gamer antics. More to come…

Current Mood: Alarmed

I bought some small packs of So Good chocolate soy beverage to see if it tasted okay, as my stomach seems to not like chocolate milk these days.  I took a sip and it was a little odd — kind of like some of the chocolate drinks on the market — but I kept drinking.  As I ate my french toast I noticed that my throat was getting uncomfortable as I swallowed.  I stopped drinking and by the time I was done my breakfast it was really difficult to swallow and I realized I was having an allergic reaction, although not to the level of anaphylaxis.  I took a couple Claritins and it was over an hour before I was able to swallow without discomfort.

I’m pretty sure I’m not allergic to soy, as Medifast uses a lot of soy in their meals and I never had any problems with them, but the ingredients also indicate several potassium compounds, most notably potassium citrate.  I’ve noticed that my mouth and throat get all tingly and uncomfortable when I eat foods containing large amounts of potassium like bananas or cucumbers, and I’m allergic to citrus fruits (again, not deathly — I can eat oranges without noticing symptoms), so I wonder if potassium citrate did this to me.  I’m sure not going to experiment; soy milk is OUT!

Current Mood: Happy

I have some friends who went vegetarian a while back, and recently vegan.  They seem to be in good health and good spirits.

After much private thought (as I have friends who are decidedly pro-meat) I have decided to do the same.  No more meat for me! I will no longer contribute to clearing rainforests for grazing land, or cruelty to cows.  I’ve bought a vegetarian cookbook and some vegetarian soups, as well as stocked my crisper.  Today’s the day!

Current Mood: Confused

So Geoffrey’s almost 6 and his comprehension is great.  He can read a fair amount of words, he’s good with numbers and he’s asking a lot of questions.

However, I don’t spend a lot of time with him so most of his questions are about the things we do together, like watch sci-fi shows like Star Trek or Dr. Who.

When his mother went out some nights to play Dungeons & Dragons he asked me what it was like to play it.  I couldn’t properly answer that so found some of the old D&D cartoons and burned them to a DVD for him to watch.  A few weeks ago he told me I had missed an episode.

“No,” I assured him, “those are all of them.”

“But then that means they never got home.”

Ouch…I forgot that there was never a final episode.  I assured him they did, indeed, get home, but there are going to be other uncomfortable moments as I try to share other things from my childhood.

For example, I’ve tried to get him to watch Star Wars: A New Hope a couple times now.  He gets BORED.  However, he could sit through all of The Phantom Menace.  Guess ol’ George got it right after all.

As I mentioned above, we watch some old Star Trek episodes.  He now wants a Star Trek shirt, phaser or communicator for his birthday.  However, once he’s caught up on the old episodes come the movies.  I already tried him on The Motion Picture and he almost fell asleep, so next is Wrath of Khan.  One problem:  I saw that when I was 12 and had nightmares about alien bugs burrowing into my ear for weeks.  What’s it going to do to a kid his age?  Guess I’ll have to go straight to TNG and hold off on the movies for a few years.

Current Mood: Happy

On Saturday Lara and I went looking for an HHR to test drive, or a Vibe.  The GM salesperson told us that they didn’t have any HHRs and we wouldn’t find a Vibe anywhere in BC since the next year’s model is coming out.

We went across the street and took a Dodge Caliber out for a drive.  Nice, but bulky.  Lots of room, and a beverage cooler just above the glove compartment! The salesperson asked if we could meet his manager otherwise he’d “get in trouble”, so we went in.  He then started to price us out on one, but I was curious to see how much it would come to since the Caliber was the least expensive on my list.  After a half-hour of him quoting too-high numbers regarding the overstock of Calibers he had on hand with too many options I stood up, pointed at the Caliber for $277/month sticker that was on his window and said, “that, plus air conditioning and automatic.”  Another 15 minutes and we had $325/month after taxes (I wanted no more than $300).  Tired and hungry, we thanked them and left.

The next day we went to another Pontiac dealer closer to Lara’s place on a lark and found that they had a couple Vibes on hand.  We took one out, liked it (sporty and easy to park), and within 2 minutes of returning he had a quote in front of me that was $50 less per month than the Caliber, which is the less expensive vehicle, especially when you consider the Caliber quote was for $2,000 down and the Vibe just $1,000! Dodge, you have been completely outclassed…for shame!

I’ll be picking up my new Vibe tomorrow after work! Vroom!

Current Mood: Confused

I went and test drove a Mazda 5. It has all the amenities of a minivan but drives like a large car. Very roomy and peppy.

The only drawbacks are that it’s the most expensive of the remaining vehicles on my list, the mileage is worst for highway and second-worst for city, and the engine is a bit loud…the latter two things part of the whole “zoom zoom” image Mazda is trying to project. It is a peppy vehicle, and I liked the rain-sensing wipers, but…not enough.

I also dropped by Saturn in Langley on Sunday and…found it closed. No sale for you! I still want to test drive the Astra so I’ll be going to the Richmond Saturn, which is open on Sundays.

Current Mood: Confused

So after a bit of investigation, here’s where we stand (sorry for the formatting problem, but Wordpress doesn’t have many HTML options for font size):

I can’t find any information on the Impreza’s gas consumption, but with the highest monthly cost there’s no point. The Matrix and PT Cruiser are the next highest. I’m surprised about the PT Cruiser’s poor mileage. All 3 go.

Style-wise, I was dithering between the PT Cruiser and HHR; I like those classic lines. Notice that the HHR is now the second-highest priced vehicle remaining on the list and the mileage also isn’t that great? I’ll reserve judgement on it until after a test drive.

Current Mood: Confused

I’m in the market for a new vehicle. Mine is Mellissa’s old one, so I think a fresh start is in order. Also, it’s dying. It can’t idle for a few minutes without blowing blue smoke out the back and it makes “pocketa pocketa” noises. Nobody can do anything for it. It’s a 1997 Toyota Tercel with over 225,000 km on it, so it’s had a good run.

I was thinking about when Puck got his new car and I wondered why he got a hatchback. When I thought about it more I realized that without a trunk it’s much easier to park. Certainly when backing up I have trouble because from the driver’s seat it’s hard to tell how far my bumper is from what’s behind me. If the rear window is at the back it’ll be much easier. That being said, I don’t want less cargo space than if I had a trunk. If it can hold 3 comic longboxes while the back seats are up then I’ll be happy. Also, I don’t want a low car, as I’ve hit my head getting in and out of the Tercel a few times.

So, a hatchback, and I’ll need the following as well:

• Airbags
• ABS (who remembers to pump the brakes when they have to stop suddenly?)
• Air conditioning
• Keyless entry

I’ve got my list down to the following:

• Chevy HHR
• Chrysler PT Cruiser
• Dodge Caliber
• Kia Spectra5
• Mazda 5
• Pontiac Vibe
• Saturn Astra
• Suburu Impreza
• Toyota Matrix

The following were rejected out of hand due to being too small:

• Chevy Aveo
• Honda Civic
• Honda FIT
• Mini Cooper
• Pontiac Wave
• Toyota Yaris
• Volkswagon Golf
• Volkwagon Rabbit

The Mazda 3 looks really nice, but there was a news story on a flaw where if you pushed hard on the locked door it would just pop open. They’ve fixed it, but I’m seeing Mazda 3’s all around town with dents on the doors because the criminals know about it too.

The Ford Focus…well, it’s a Ford. ’nuff said.

The VW Jetta wagon and Toyota Prius start at $30K, half again as much as some of the ones I’ve already priced, so they’re out.

Are there any that I’ve missed?