Welcome to the den of Snow Wolf

I have returned from Burning Man, safe and sound. Pictures and diary posts to follow soon. In short, I had an awesome time.

My birthday is coming up in less than a week (Feb 7th) and I don't have anything planned aside from the possibility of taking a (half-)day off to visit the places that give free/discounted things on your birthday.
Anyone else have a suggestion, like dinner, movie, or something?

No interesting plans or invites for events on 7/4. Guess I'll just watch the fireworks from the park, alone, like last year. I miss my friends and fun we had together on the fourth.

I've been pondering a Steampunk costume for a while. One thing in particular, because my mind seems stuck on it. I want a faux eye / camera eyepiece, as an excuse to take pictures of everything while also being in costume.

Initially the plan was to have the viewing LCD really close to my real eye, under the concealing headpiece, but I've learned the eye can't focus to an inch. So instead, the new plan is to put the display and controls on a wrist-mounted device, connected via a cable to the eyepiece which is mounted above or near my eye.

My father was an Electronic Technician in the Navy, so with his help, I figure we could take apart a digital camera, separating it in discrete parts. If anyone has experience in such things, helpful words or hands would be appreciated. I plan to get the camera(s) from a pawn shop, so the components won't break my pocket book.

I know... I know. I haven't posted here much (though I just checked.. it's been over a year). Since discovering Facebook near the end of last year is has grown to become my primary blogging location, aside from the short messages I send to Twitter. Since I feel I've left friends behind here, I will, over the next year, endeavor to change that. My plan is to find, or code, an app that will be able to post to multiple locations at once. I have my eye on FB, LJ, Twitter - based upon how long the message you want to blog is - but I maybe be able to incorporate Wordpress, Deadjournal, and other blogging locales. This is my resolution for next year because, dammit, I need to finish something. It's an ambitious goal, but are there any kind?

SO I suppose an update on me is in order. I'm still employed with GameInstinct in Redmond (software testing), still living in Federal Way (under my parents' roof) and still busing. I don't have a boyfriend or gridlfriend right now, but I do got out with friends (mostly my Browncoat posse) or go to movies. A friend has introduced me to the world of free preview movies (I've already seen Green Lantern), which I've been taking advantage of that when I can.

I had more to say, but I have to leave the computer... off to see Unexpected Production's Theater Sports as my NYE celebration. Enjoy yourselves, everyone, and stay safe in whatever you do.

As you may have, i've been largely absent from the land of Livejournal. A while I signed up for Twitter - to send a message to Major Nelson of all things, who can't be bothered to reply to his followers except in aggregate - and not too long after that I joined Facebook - so that I could coordinate for the Browncoat Ball - so I've been absorbed into the dynamic social networking dynamic of the two sites. I do occasionally come back here and check up on people, but it's easy to get out-of-date with things. If you want to join me in the craziness (if you havn't already), feel free to search for SnowWolf75 ... it's my username on both places, but unfortunately Facebook exposes my human name due something in their TOS. I might be able to switch it away, but name changes are approved by a person and they might not like me changing it away from my given name.

So.. twitter. Limited to 140 characters in your messages is an interesting
dynamic, so you have to say more with less... or at least link to a longer post. I don't know if they were in existence before twitter, but I've seen any number of url-shortener websites - 3.ly is my fave - as well as sites that store mobile pictures - twitpic, twitgoo, yfrog, phodroid, etc - to acccompany your short quips. You can follow anyone - unless they block you or have their account set private - but they don't have to follow you back. This is most evident with famous people. Major Nelson, Trixie, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, Molly Lewis, and Marian Call are all famous people, of one level or another, who have thousands or millions of followers and rarely respond to any one in particular. Molly Lewis (plays ukulele with Jonathan Coulton) and Marian Call (geeky, sexy folk singer whose favorite inspiration is Firefly) have responded, but only when they're not being spammed by fans (Wil is a fan of Molly, so when he posts a link to a vid of hers, she gets flooded). It's part sobering, part depressing to be one small voice in a sea of people crying for attention from their idols. Famous people aside, Twitter is good for the short and quick things... some of the posts I was making to LJ before I started twitter were of the same caliber (posting from cellphone via chat client). Thing is, I rarely got any response to the little things on LJ... on twitter it seems that since the little things are the only thing there, it garners a little more attention.

Facebook is another dynamic all together. Their status updates are still short-and-sweet - less than 300 characters - but you can post a 'note' that is unlimited that most people will see. Then there are the games - FarmVille and Mobsters are likely well known to even those not on FB - of which there are tons... they calls them apps and even some of the polls you take install as an app (to your profile, not computer). I've willingly limited myself to a few games, lest I get drug down into and buried by the endless requests for trading or help. There also events, photo/video storage and tagging, groups and fansites.

Now I have a phone that can connect to all those network easily (except maybe LJ). Last Saturday I splurged and got a new Motorola Droid though Verizon. It is super fun to play with, but there are many things to still get used to on it (small keyboard, sensitive touch screen) but it feels like I've made the right choice. I'm still in the phase of trying out lots of apps to find my happy medium... Also with the phone is another type of social network, based also on ones location. Loopt, Latitude, and Foursquare use the GPS in the phone to place you on a map for friends to see. Foursquare is interesting because it seems more like a game, presenting you with points based upon places visited, new places, etc. On the other side is the video/audio aspect of the phone (I streamed TED episodes while bored on a bus) which I'm finally becoming current with. And under it all is Android, a rather customized Linux OS. Granted, to get the power to modify your phone to the extreme you have to 'root' it, but I'm fine with the base system for now.

This is the closing paragraph and it was meant to say something further, perhaps even insightful. However it's over twelve hours since I started this and my train of thought is already in the barn, resting. If you read this, please say hi, so that I know my efforts aren't for naught.

So the bus schedules have changed and my route is minorly screwed. They deleted the route that I usually took, so now I have to opt for the earlier (5:43 which eventually gets me to work about 7:25) or later (6:18 which get me to work by 8) bus. Granted, I can still take the later bus, but it's dangerously close to get me there late, should I miss it or a connection due to traffic. So I guess I aim for the earlier bus now...

On the plus side, though, I got to see a bunch of stars this morning. Clear morning so stepping out my front door I was faced with a very bright Orion hanging above the neighbors house.

So as a few of you might know (or extrapolate based on my plea for tickets last week), I went to PAX last weekend. It was wonderful, hectic, funny, and HUGE! I brought back trial games that I likely won't play (most PC). codes for 360 schwag, tidbits aout upcoming games, a plushie of Maw, pictures of various people/things, and con crud (which is worrysome because there are reports of H1N1 from attendees now). Aside from the crud, it was wonderful and I'd so do it again next year.

So... pictures first. I signed up for a Flickr account sometime last week for a few reasons, but Pax has deflowered its pages. Since I used an alternate sign-in that most wouldn't recognize, here's the link for my Pax 09 set. More images will follow about the bed & breakfast that we stayed at.

Friday: Julie (julesong) managed to get her pass Thursday night and slightly cheaper than expected, so she got to spend most of the day at the con, collecting schwag and watching the keynote. I met her shortly before 5pm (took a little time off work to do so) and browsed for a while, but at 5 she loaned her badge to the masseur (love those french words) that worked on her feet. At 7:30 we went to see the Assassin's Creed ][ demo, which was prefaced by gameplay of Splinter Cell: Conviction. I've ne'er really been a fan of the Splinter Cell series, but the improved speed and decreased stealth shown in the demo might make it an interesting play. Of course, I was there for the AC2 demo, not Splinter Cell. Upon entering the hall, we were flanked by people in monk outfits, handing out a pamphlet that read 'The first one is always the hardest' on the cover. It was tough to open because doing so severed the picture man's head from its body... outside image, inside image. The gameplay demo went rather well and showed a few new locations/abilities, including pickpocketing money then hiring thugs to distract guards with it. The scenery was impressive and pretty, which made Julie want to play it (she's been there). Of course, I have a preorder for it, so I know I will. :} Somewhere around 9 we finally got to the B&B, then late dinner with Kikki, one of my Firefly Meetup friends.

Saturday: got up _way_ too early to get in line for concert wristbands, then ducked out of line once they were acquired. Did a quick errand back to my house to get a savegame onto my 360 memcard, but ended up not using it due to a miscommunication. Most of the day comprised of wandering around and drooling at things like the gaming tables from Geek Chic. Along the way we happened by the land of Sony and became entranced by a cute 'game' called Eyepet. Employing the PSEye on the PS3, it uses augmented reality technological to display and interact with a fuzzy monkey/dog creature that looks so adorable. You can groom/color it, play games, draw for it (which it can turn into robots, planes, or cars), feed, bathe, and do a checkup on it. When I get a PS3, that's definitely one of the games I'll be getting. We also attended the Star Wars: The Old Republic demo panel, and although the graphics and character classes were nice, the announcers speeches were a bit too canned for my take. Everyone that attended the panel got a code for a free download of KoToR (don't know yet if I'll use mine or not), but I understand it'll be available on Steam for really cheap soon.

Concerts: they deserve their own heading. :} On stage first, and not technically part of the concerts, were two groups of contestants in the Omegathon. True to form with the rest of the convention, they played a song from the Beatles Rock Band game, and the higher scoring group went on to play against each other in the final round on Sunday (which I think was Connect 4). Next up was Freezepop, an electronica group - three guys with a female singer - which was fairly good, if a bit heavy on the bass. When the beats got going people would bounce in the rhythm ... and halfway back in the hall where me and my friends sat we could still feel the floor noticeably move. While listening I kept thinking I had heard them before, so after researching I found they've had a number of songs in most music games released recently. I didn't feel I got much from seeing them in concert, aside for seeing the lead singer, however. Next up was Paul & Storm, an odd pair of music geeks with an interesting sense of humor. One of the songs called 'Opening Band' has lines like "We are the opening band / We’re probably not the band you came to see tonight / But it’s alright, ’cause soon we’ll go away". They also had this great skit for an announcer for Nun Boxing, done in Gregorian Chant style and without accompanyment. The headliner of the show was Jonathan Coulton, a person i hadn't of until recently from a select few, who didn't take the stage until nearly midnight. He is a geek to the core and his songs prove the point, with most of them involving mad scientists, monsters, or zombies. Two songs that are stuck in my head since the concert are The Future Soon and Code Monkey, available at his website as well as inside youtube videos due to his use of the Creative Commons license. He also has a plethora of songs, due to his Thing-A-Week project, where he recorded a new song each week. Midway through the set he brought out Molly, a former fan and now part-time accompanist, as well as Paul and Storm. Together they did a number of songs including a 'serenade' to Wil Wheaton (who was lounging in the front row) during which Wil blushed and squee'd. I think they did three encores, but it still wasn't enough... I'm hooked now. Julie and I went back to the B&B, but I almost succeeded in locking her out in my sleepy forgetfulness.

Sunday: very abbreviated, but we did manage to win stuff from Intel - a shoulder-bag for me and a cap for Julie. Someone close to Julie was having problems, so we cut the day short so she could focus on that. I wandered around seattle for a little while, looking for free internet, before ambling home.

So now it's been a week since I started writing this entry. -.- I did get sick, but was much better by Friday, so I dodged the swine bullet. I've been listing to one or two of JoCo's songs once a day.... I should just buy an album or two and just listen to them at work.

I know it's a shot in the dark, but if anyone has a 3-day pass to PAX (this coming weekend) and doesn't need it anymore (time, money, laziness, whatever), please contact me ASAP. julesong was planning to go with me but didn't catch a ticket before they sold out.

I thought I should post again... havn't in a few weeks. Not much has happened, but I have joined twitter finally (same user name) and facebook will come sometime. I purchased an upgrade to my GPS recently, so now I have a Garmin Colorado 400t. It has a rotating wheel selector, better antenna, and a number of features like gps-based games.
Of things to purchase, I also have my eye on a PSP-2000 (to mod so I do screenshots/vids of games) and a slim PS3 (due to recent price drops and addiction to God of War), but those will come in the following months. I'll be going to PAX in a week, RainFurrest, and SteamCon.

However, this Wednesday I had the fortune of attending a show called Monsters of Accordion at the Triple Door. The setlist comprised primarily of accordion players, with a tuba and drums as backup. The show was pure awesome, too!!
Jimmy the Pickpocket (guest): http://www.thebadthings.com/ (cycle the track selection at the top to 'Just Four Weeks'
Eric Stern: youtube vid, which is slightly different because he didn't have the band as backup, though he did hold a note that long
Geoff Berner: Weep, Bride, weep which supposedly a retelling of song done at jewish weddings. Last.fm audio track.
Steven Iancu: youtube vid of one of his songs... half of his songs were in japanese and hard to listen to.
Jason Webley: music page for him.. he played songs off of Against the Night and Counterpoint, some of my favorite songs.
And for encore, all the artists came out and did an accordion rendition of Triller, with Eric Stern doing the announcer part, improvising it to be specific to the seattle audience.