Burritos!

I love burritos. Everyone loves burritos. They’re big, delicious, portable, cheap, and ubiquitous — especially in this city, where you can’t go a block without passing a burrito joint. That’s in no way a bad thing.

Everyone also loves avocados around here. I don’t. I tolerate them but I’m no fan, guacamole excepted. But they’re all over the place and they occasionally find their way into my burritos. Not the biggest downer in the world, but it’s one of the few things that make me appreciate burritos slightly less. Then again, it’s better than discovering that, say, Taco Bell puts potatoes chunks in their burritos. Cheap bastards.

Speaking of Taco Bell, I haven’t been to one since moving to San Francisco. Their online store locater tells me there’s a few in the city but none in my vicinity. Certainly with all the local burrito joints there’s no real need, although I saw a commercial the other day for their Cheesy Beefy Melt. I have no idea if it’s a new creation or if they’re hocking a past product, but I’ll shamefully admit I thought it looked kinda good. Everything looks better at 3am after a night of drinking, but it’s best there’s no late-night Taco Bells near me.

TV!

South Park is back for another season. I guess that’s a good thing, although it appears they’re phoning it in now more than ever. But I don’t watch the show for deep insights or political commentary (good god) — I watch for the cheap crap jokes, so the laziness doesn’t bother me as much as it probably should.

The laziness of Lost’s writers, on the other hand, almost ruined the show last season. Well, the laziness and the obvious bullshit. But since scheduling the series’ end, they’re finally answering some fucking questions so I’m sticking around for now. Time travel or time warping is obviously a part of the island’s mystery and that’s an admittedly cool idea if they can pull it off. Keep the same plot themes but condense the show into half the episodes (and completely cut the middle half of the third season), and Lost would be one of the best shows ever.

And on best shows ever: The Wire finale a few weeks ago was… eh. I mean, it was great, but things got wrapped up a little too nicely for a show that was so rooted in the bleak reality of the systems we’re assigned. This final season is probably the weakest overall, in large part because of the shortened season, but also because it’s the one time where the motivations of the season’s “antagonists” — the Sun’s editing board — wasn’t fully explored. In a series that made pains to show both sides of the story, I think the journalists were the closest the show came to caricature. I’m familiar with David Simon’s experience at The Sun, and that he didn’t rail against his former organization too much is admirable. But this arc wasn’t nearly as compelling as the docks from season 2, or the kids from season 4.

That said, I needed something to fill the void after The Wire’s finale. Luckily, there was Brawl.

Brawl!

I love Brawl. It feels good to have a purpose in life again. Admittedly, the purpose is clearing the game’s entire challenge board, but hey, it’s something to wake up for. And if you think it’s a waste of time to complete the classic mode for all characters (done!) or clear a 15-minute multi-man brawl (done!) — well, you’re absolutely right, but break it to me gently.

After weeks of contemplation, I’m going with Lucas as my primary fighter, with Lucario, Meta Knight, and Olimar in the second tier. I’m also retiring Toon Link and Ness, as they’re not as fun as their Melee counterparts. But since the characters are a lot more balanced, I might just play on random. Except for Ganondorf, who still sucks the big one, and Ike, who’s way too cheap (anecdotally evidenced by the multitude of online Ikes).

Some people I play with turn off all items, claiming it’s more pure fight that way. Yet items are such a huge part of the game, and switching between playing with no items and full items is pushing me towards a haphazard strategy. But my argument for items isn’t exactly noble: I’m not really for all items… only the items I prefer. I turn off health boosts, stars, hammers, assist trophies, and any other bullshit power-up I believe tips the balance too much.

I originally thought the Smash Ball would end up in this category, but it’s a well-designed and important addition to the game. Unlike other items, there’s a lot of work to get the Smash Ball — instead of simply picking it up, the ball floats around the screen and has to be hit multiple times before it breaks. This gives time for another player to step in and steal it at the last second, and even if you do grab it, someone else can still beat it out of you. And then you have to actually pull the move off, many of which are by no means ring-out guarantees.

The biggest disappointment is the online play. It’s so horrible currently. I’m not sure why Nintendo hates online gaming so much, but the fact that it’s laggy as hell, that you can’t change options in anonymous mode, and that there’s no leader boards or voice chat is hugely inexcusable in 2008. Yet the crippled system is probably better left in its bastardized state for my sake, if I’m ever going to accomplish something worthy of being discussed in a real entry.

Like beating all-star on intense with no continues. That’s the stuff legends are made of. I hope.

Because holy crap… that was a damn fine speech.

He eloquently addressed the controversy surrounding the relationship with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and what’s more, he confronted a dangerous topic with amazing tact and courage while raising the bar for race discussions. Certainly, Barack didn’t ask for this opportunity: some of Wright’s more inflammatory sermons surfaced last week, were quickly converted into sound bite form, and a few “God Damn America” videos later, the potential for disaster loomed large over the Obama campaign.

Yet Barack not only denounced Wright’s statements, he also defended the man and made it clear why he can’t disown his friend. Then he spoke to the reality of the situation, about how people on both sides of the racial divide still feel angered, and how that’s a real problem our country has yet to address. The juxtaposition of Wright’s anger with that of poor and middle-class whites was damned ballsy, and instead of empty promises, Barack only posed a challenge. But the thought of someone able to hold an intelligent discussion on matters like race in the White House makes me think we might not be completely fucked.

Hilariously, the outrage over Wright’s remarks is hypocritical and manufactured. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, for example, repeatedly preached that 9/11 was God’s punishment for America’s sins — yet many Republicans, including President Bush, met repeatedly with both, seeking their opinions on matters including the Iraq war. And John McCain recently — and proudly — accepted the endorsement of John Hagee, the man who said that Hurricane Katrina was the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans (then again, McCain keeps confusing Iran and Iraq, so maybe he didn’t know what was happening).

But that’s not the point. Instead, it’s that Barack demonstrated some serious presidential credentials. He once again showed he’s more than qualified to lead our nation. He treated the American public as an intelligent audience regarding a serious topic, and he did so while embodying the Christian principle of hate the sin, love the sinner. So it’s about time he knocked mud-slinging Hillary out of the ring, because there’s no arguing: he’d be the coolest President ever.

I thought I was being smart when I pre-ordered the game from Amazon months ago. While I think I’m being smart when I do plenty of things of dubious value (to include the selling and repurchasing of old controllers at loss), I took the “Your order has shipped” email in my inbox yesterday as re-verification of the original self-impression. “Haha, I sure am smart!” I thought as I walked to EB Games to buy my new controller. “I mean, no one is going to have copies of the game available for purchase, and especially not a day in advance of the launch date!” Thus imagine the ego-crushing surprise when I discovered that, albeit lacking in first-party wireless control options for last-gen systems, the store had plenty of unopened and unclaimed cases of Brawl sitting right next to the checkout line.

“Fuck!” I said, likely to the disdain of the mother behind me in line and hopefully towards the education of her impressionable children. But profanity was to be excused, as there I stood arms-distance away from my raison d’etre with the preordered copy sitting in some trailer UPS.com-knows-where (Sacramento). A tough call had to be made: I almost broke down and took another one for the US economy, yet ultimately surrendered to the logic that the marginal utility of a second copy likely wouldn’t justify the $50 cost. And while I could return the preorder to Amazon, a) the post office lost a package in the mail the last time I tried this, and more importantly, b) I’m too inept to return to sender. Well, inept or lazy, but either results in my owning two copies.

And I don’t need another copy. I also don’t need the extra day… or the extra practice. PK Starstorm FTW motherfuckers — it’s gonna be a brawl. Bring it on: 3437 2755 0525

With my Facebook page now updated and totally awesome, my other profile pages were looking a little shabby in comparison. I started logging into other sites to update those profiles, and then I stopped and took a drink of my beer, scratched my chin thusly (scratches chin), and realized this stupid system isn’t sustainable: as we become increasingly dependent on online apps, it’s only a matter of time before we break under the burden of maintaining so many separate profiles. We’re going to need a better way of managing our identity.

OpenID = Open, ID

That’s where OpenID comes in. OpenID is a universal, single sign-on system: once you have an OpenID account, you can use it to register and log into any site that accepts OpenID. This means you don’t have to create a new account, memorize yet another password, or worry that some jerk will take your username.

User authentication is performed by OpenID and then shared with the OpenID relying party. Since your identity is stored with the OpenID provider and merely shared with the relying party, you maintain greater control over your identity: no single third-party controls your information, so you can therefore update, move, or even delete your identity, completely independent from any relying party.

Thus in an ideal world, I would be able to access my Facebook account — and every other account — through a single OpenID identifier. If I wanted to update my profile photo, I would simply update my OpenID persona and let that change filter to each relying party. No fuss, no muss, thus more time for beer and chin scratching.

Unfortunately, OpenID needs to overcome a few issues before identity management is anywhere near this easy or useful.

One key to the kingdom

Psychologically, moving away from the traditional username and password combination and towards a URL identifier will require some massaging with the general Internet audience. Then again, this setup could change with future OpenID implementations — in any case, a standard still needs to emerge.

It’s important to note that OpenID is still in its infancy. It only performs user authentication right now, so even if sites supported OpenID in its current state, the photo updating scenario outlined above isn’t possible… yet. But there are good people working to turn OpenID into a more complete framework.

Security will always be a top concern, as information consolidation has clear advantages but inherently raises the potential for abuse. Phishing attacks will rise; however, this doesn’t imply these attempts will be any more successful, nor will gaining access to an OpenID account necessarily be any more damaging: many people use the same password for eachsites they visit, while others merely resort to common, easily crackable combinations anyway.

Despite these challenges, the answer isn’t to keep the current, fragmented system we have today. Instead, a robust standard needs to emerge, users need to be educated on identity management, and companies need to continue improving their barriers against identity theft, including moves into biometric authentication as those devices become increasingly commonplace.

The future of identity

Just a year ago, OpenID was more the hobby of a few fanboys than a serious challenge to the way identities are stored and managed. But in January, Yahoo! announced that all 250 million of its user accounts would become OpenID identifiers, thereby tripling the number of OpenID accounts overnight. Google quickly followed a few days later by turning all Blogger.com accounts (50 million) into OpenID identifiers. Granted, these were small steps: neither Yahoo! nor Google support OpenID bi-directionally. So while you can sign into OpenID sites with your Yahoo! ID, you can’t sign into Yahoo! properties with other OpenID accounts.

And that’s the biggest problem OpenID has right now: with Yahoo! and Google’s support, almost everyone on the Internet now has an OpenID-enabled account. But very few sites, outside a number of geeky web2.0 sites, accept OpenID logins. And until the movement gains a certain level of traction, there’s perhaps more reason for companies not to accept OpenID accounts: business models that depend on confidential user information would certainly be at odds with OpenID.

Whether OpenID will eventually win out as the de-facto standard remains to be seen. Despite the recent support from Yahoo! and Google, there’s still a long way to go before OpenID is accepted by mainstream audiences. But momentum appears to be on their side, and the potential networking possibilities are tantalizing. Take the notion of reputation: whether it’s in the form of years of reviews, or sets of photos, or hundreds of contacts, the actions we perform online likely paint a much fuller picture of who we are than the bits of information we self-report on profile pages. Given an open identity framework, it’ll be possible to take that online “cred” with you as you explore new sites and communities.

It’s my life

Online identity management is usually addressed from a technical standpoint, despite its sociological nature. But sometimes it’s good to stop and think, how do you embody someone’s identity in a way to truly represent who they are? And regardless of the Internet’s wealth of information and connectivity, is it possible that providing users with increasing control over how they present themselves assists in closing users away from any dissenting viewpoints and cultures?

In investing so much energy into improving how we present ourselves online, are we missing chances to genuinely improve ourselves?

I believe we are. And I say that because I think I already know what my next Facebook profile picture is. So love live the MySpace generation, and OpenID: bring it on. Please.

It’s not often that I carry around loose change, so it’s typically a legitimate excuse. But I did have some last night, yet I still didn’t give anything away. It’s just too easy to argue that it’s my money, and I shouldn’t feel required to provide handouts every time someone comes up and asks for “whatever I can spare.”

Understand that I’m grateful no one has yet attempted to forcibly remove anything from my person. And I acknowledge that I’ve had plenty of advantages in life that distances me from the homeless situation. Regardless, it’s not cool being hassled every time I step outside. If only the city would do something about it.

The San Francisco treat

San Francisco’s homeless problem consistently ranks as one of the nation’s worst, if not the worst. A few years ago, the San Francisco Chronicle investigated some of the reasons and affects of the problem, but ultimately provided few solutions.

We trip over them on the sidewalk every day. We curse, hand them a dollar, or don’t. We feel pity, guilt and rage at their presence. The city spends $200 million a year trying to get homeless people off the streets and into a better way of life - but over 20 years, the problem has only gotten worse.

The more able of the homeless find their way into shelters, counseling and housing programs. But the most chronically indigent, called the hard core, steadfastly refuse most help and stay outside. These 3,000 to 5,000 homeless at the very bottom are the most visible, and they give the city its dubious distinction of having what many call the worst homeless problem in the country.

So it’s a recognized problem, and the city spends gobs of taxpayer dollars every year to mitigate an issue that only gets worse each year. Not that it’s a simple problem: there’s a sizable coalition defending the rights of homeless, preventing any type of Guiliani-esque purge. And the city’s mild weather attracts migrants from New York, Seattle, Chicago, and even Washington D.C.

But if we can’t depend on the government and Mother Nature for help, what is there to do? Without everyone moving to the suburbs, that is.

Tough love

The number of people begging for money really bugged me when I first moved to San Francisco. Realizing even then that I couldn’t make a difference myself, I still felt twinges of guilt when I passed the lines of people camped on the sidewalks, pleading their case for monetary sympathies. So I gave occasionally, soothing my conscience with a buck here and there.

Then a guy asked me for some money one day. He said he needed food, and I had a box of leftovers from an earlier lunch with me. I handed him the box, thinking I was doing something good — but the guy threw the food on the ground after he opened it, and then demanded cash instead. He didn’t even hand the box back to me, and I got salad dressing all over my shoe. That was fun.

I’ve since learned that there are plenty of kitchens and resources in this city willing to help if someone’s truly needy. At least three shelters are within a mile of my place. I memorized their locations and sometimes give people an address when they asked for money. I never got thanked.

I eventually settled on a tough love policy: you can’t have my money because dammit, I pay taxes that go towards this shit, and let’s be fucking honest, you’re just going to use it on drugs and alcohol anyway. Or maybe that’s just tough. I’m honestly not sure where the love fits in.

The moral quandary ignored

Here’s a partial list of homeless in the area whom I’ve come to know and avoid:

• The guy who squats at the top of the Stockton tunnel stairwell, making the already-narrow passageway even more awkward
• The guy who hangs out on Geary and accuses any moving object of being racist. He usually crashes around Post.
• The guy in Union Square who balances on the edge of an egg crate. Yeah, that’s it. He’ll stick out a cup for donations as people walk by, as he apparently believes standing at a slight angle is worth something.
• And of course, the losers who openly claim they’re going to use the money for alcohol, weed, crack, whatever. I’m all for self-deprecation, sarcasm, realism, social experiments whatever, but yeah, you’re not getting my money.

At least once per day I pass by a regular on my route. We go through the same motions as the day previous: he’ll ask for money and I’ll deny the request. Undeterred, he’ll start the game anew the next time we meet.

Seriously, it’s lame. That’s my only point.

Yet I’m inconsistent. I was walking home after grabbing a coffee earlier today and I gave a woman near my building the change I had. My paltry contribution wasn’t enough to even buy a McDonald’s burger, but she nevertheless smiled and told me that God loves me.

And I guess I felt a little better.

I support Barack Obama for President. My first-ever political donation went to his campaign last year. I voted for him in the California primary on Super Tuesday. And he’s an inspirational and engaging speaker — when CNN cuts to his speeches, I want to reach out and hug my TV.

Of course, President Obama is by no means a guarantee at this point. Even if he beats Hillary in the primary, he’ll have to duke it out with Old Man McCain. But if Obama continues to attract people to his message of change, and provided his campaign doesn’t make any stupid mistakes, I think even the most pessimistic liberal can afford a little optimism for the future.

Trust over experience

Senator Obama’s Achilles heel is his argued lack of experience. Clinton is sharpening her attacks against his record, and McCain will rightfully challenge Obama on this issue in the general election. But more than experience, I want to trust my President. Obama’s appeal is the hope that he’ll be open, honest, and rational when making the decisions our President needs to make.

I continue to view Senators McCain and Clinton as the embodiment of the old politics I don’t trust. McCain’s inability to stand up to Bush in… well, ever, and Clinton’s recent no-vote on the FISA bill prove their willingness to compromise their beliefs. I’m not arguing that experience isn’t important, or that Clinton’s and McCain’s years over Obama shouldn’t be considered an advantage. But I believe President Obama can, and will, surround himself with experienced (and hopefully non-partisan) individuals to provide him with the knowledge to make reasoned, well-informed choices for our country’s — and our world’s — future.

Know your shit before you go on national TV

That said, if you’re an Obama supporter on national television, you should know a little more about him than the slogan on his campaign signs. Just yesterday, Chris Matthews went apeshit on Texas State Senator Kirk Watson for being unable to list a single Obama legislative accomplishment. While Matthews was an ass, is an ass, and will forever be an ass, Watson should have been able to list one accomplishment.

Watson went back home, presumably looked up Obama’s Wikipedia page, and posted a list of Obama’s noteworthy accomplishments to his blog. Be sure to take note if you’re going on Hardball any time soon. But let’s be honest — every candidate has uninformed supporters within their base. It’s a moot issue to point at “uneducated” Obama fans because there’s just as many blind supporters on the other sides.

A state senator should know better, however.

Poor, poor Hillary

It’s hard not to feel bad for Hillary at this point. No one’s calling her the front runner anymore — but to me, Hillary was always the front runner in the same sense that Guiliani and Romney were the Republican front runners a few months ago.

I have no doubt that she believes she’d be the best choice for this country. And I admire her campaign (for the most part): we need people like Senator Clinton in order for our democracy to survive, and she should be commended for that alone. However, it’s simply the wrong time for her candidacy. It’s a shame this was her only legitimate shot at the presidency, but she’s an inspiration to a new generation of women who will carry on her work — so there’s that.

Obama and Hillary are 95% same candidate anyway. Clinton’s supporters bemoaning the competition as a beauty contest need to give it up: it’s the Democratic primary. Of course it’s a beauty contest. All things being equal — and they pretty much are — I’m going to pick the more attractive candidate. That’s just being smart.

Barack the White House

Obama is the best choice we have — for Democrats, certainly, but I believe for the entire country as well. He’s exactly the type of leader we need: smart, inspirational, and (I don’t think this can be stressed enough) not old as fuck. An Obama presidency would be a big step in getting our nation back on the right track, and it would provide us with a reason to feel proud once again (despite Michelle Obama’s recent gaffe, when was the last time you felt pride in our country’s actions?)

Barack Obama is a winning hand. It’d be such a damn shame to fold and have McCain’s 2-7 offsuit take the pot. He’s so old he wouldn’t get a chance to spend it.

So the new design is an initial step to get back into the blogger’s groove. But that’s only part of the solution. I’m going to follow a few other guidelines as well — my short list on how to be my own better blogger — at least until I get tired or drunk or find something better to do.

Keep things short and to the point

A lot of my older posts are too long. They’re boring, they ramble, and when a point exists, it usually isn’t clear. I use plenty of cute adjectives but they’re mostly filler. So I need to do a better job of getting to the point: if Twitter’s 140-character updates, Valleywag’s 100-word recaps, and reddit’s description-less headlines prove anything (no, it’s not the power of social structures or some bullshit like that), it’s that shorter can be better.

Break out the subheadings

I’m a big fan of subheadings. They make it easy to scan and help reinforce the overall point. I’ve experimented with subheadings a few times in the past and I think they’re just swell, so I’m going to try to use them more frequently. Many of my favorite sites use subheadings to great effect, and I’m hoping to mimic their literary successes.

Write more consistently, frequently

This is the obvious one, and it’s also the hardest. Setting a schedule would be lame — I don’t want to produce something for an arbitrary deadline when I’m feeling uninspired. But on the other hand, I need to do a better job in maintaining some sort of consistency and frequency if I expect any real value from my posts . So I think I’ll set aside a little more time towards writing and researching and plagiarizing other sites formulating original content.

There’s a real benefit to blogging, hence why I feel compelled to give things another go. That said, I’ll also be the first to acknowledge that a post outlining blog improvements is a complete cop-out towards the actual goal. But now I’m covered for the next three months, so I’ll see everyone some time in May!

…

Crap I did it again

Oh well.

1. Spoon — Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2. The National — Boxer
3. Okkervil River — The Stage Names
4. Battles — Mirrored
5. Of Montreal — Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
6. Radiohead — In Rainbows
7. Voxtrot — Voxtrot
8. Super Furry Animals — Hey Venus!
9. Modest Mouse — We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
10. Animal Collective — Strawberry Jam

No, it didn’t take me a whole month to review my library and filter my list down to ten entries — although 2007 was a pretty damn good year for music. I just got distracted.

And yes, I kinda hate myself for including Animal Collective.

The Oreo is a good cookie. Perhaps it’s a great cookie. I don’t know what cookie I’d pick if you pinned me down and asked me for the greatest cookie, but once you stopped pinning me I’d likely bash your head in with a folding chair.

But one problem with the Oreo is that it goes stale fairly quickly, It’s a downer to bite into an Oreo, only to then realize the cookie portion isn’t providing the crunch it should. Back in the day, you actually had to transfer your cookies from the original packaging to a air-tight environment if you didn’t want stale cookies. So imagine my delight upon discovery that our modern world™ has stepped up once again, now providing us with packages that include resealable adhesive flaps on top. Grab a few cookies and let the package worry about repackaging itself — no more worries about soggy Oreos for the lazy jerk!

I remember the Oreo halves being much harder to separate years ago. The Oreo recipe was recently updated to remove hydrogenated oils, and it’s possible the answer lies there. It’s also possible I was pretty incompetent back in the day, littered among the crumbs of broken cookie shells that professed my shame.

Nabisco claims that Oreos are “milk’s favorite cookie.” I’m not brushing off Nabisco’s claim, but questions need to be raised: Did Nabisco actually survey milk on its preference? If so, did their representatives remain evenhanded, or were there biases towards Oreos? And what were the criteria to get into milk’s good graces? If it’s dunkability, isn’t milk admitting it enjoy being penetrated by Oreos? Is this what Nabisco is implying?

Regardless, Nilla wafers could give Oreos a run for their money anyway. Now that’s a cookie: unassuming, light… fuck, I think it’s time for another run to the store.

But in hindsight, there was nothing to worry about. Neko was singing it up with the rest of the band, the Warfield was a great venue, and the band put on a sweet show with a setlist so close to perfection (”Star Bodies” being the only notable omission). Someone even taped the show and made it available for download.

It also made for a good excuse to go drinking on a Monday night, to start the week off right. And in the midst of an alcohol-induced haze the following morning, I checked out my top overall Last.fm artists and realized I’ve seen a decent number of my favorites live.

At least once: Phish, Radiohead, Belle and Sebastian, Umphrey’s McGee, Wilco, Dave Matthews Band, Yo La Tengo, The New Pornographers, Spoon, The Flaming Lips, Built to Spill, Grandaddy, Pearl Jam, Sigur Rós, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Pixies, The Books, Architecture in Helsinki, Sonic Youth, Trey Anastasio, Silver Jews, Mogwai, Beck, The Fiery Furnaces, moe.

None at all: Talking Heads, Pavement, Modest Mouse, The Beatles, Super Furry Animals, The Wrens, The Mountain Goats, Elliott Smith, The Arcade Fire, Led Zeppelin, mclusky, Weezer, Sufjan Stevens, Blur, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, Bright Eyes, Bloc Party, The American Analog Set, The Shins, The White Stripes, Pink Floyd, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Velvet Underground, Boards of Canada

My top 50 is actually evenly split… and technically, there’s a number of bands on the no-see list that broke up before I was born, so I’ve seen more than half of the bands possible.

Good for me. And that’s all I’ve got.

…

Really.

…

Well, I did lose my earphones some time Monday night. I tore my place apart trying to find them without any luck, and ended up buying a new pair later that day — watching my iPod fall useless was too much to bare. Then I found the stupid missing earphones three days later, in my sweatshirt pocket which, of course, was the last place I didn’t look.

Two pairs is the new one pair, yet at the rate I burn through earphones it’s not really bad a purchase. Still…

…

Completely off-topic, I’m so overjoyed with this week’s earlier announcement that Smash Bros. Brawl will be online — after waiting so many months for the official word, I was fully expecting the opposite announcement. I’m glad it didn’t come to that.

In preparation, I just need to get the wireless router set up here… actually, make that “buy a wireless router.” I should also look into a better Internet connection because holy fuck the DSL is slow here. And one can’t help but wonder if I’d be more on top of these things if I didn’t spend so much time drinking vodka and rocking out to indie supergroups.

…