A Limerick

Ahem...

There once was a man with red hair,
Who liked to go out to the fair,
But when he got there,
The people did stare,
And state many comments unfair.

-Nathan-

Freebies

So, I read Nathan's post on the video game he played early this morning.... and it got me thinking. With the sole exception of Spore, I have not played many video games at all in the past couple of years. In fact, I'm trying to remember my last video game purchase before Spore. I think it was when I randomly went and bought a Nintendo DS in my second year of University, when I bought Mario Kart and Final Fantasy 3. So, averaging it out, I buy approximately one video game every year. That's not very much.

But, on the other hand, I do enjoy a good video game. Especially one with multiplayer capability. I tend to not enjoy competition, myself, so if it's just me and one or more friends playing a game and laughing our asses off, then I highly enjoy myself. If it's just me, I don't like the games quite as much, but I can still enjoy it. Way back in my teens, I only really liked RPG's, but now, I'm all for the multiplayer. I never did finish FF3 on my DS... but Mario Kart has gotten so much mileage it isn't even funny. And I do not play single player.

So, trying to figure out why I don't play video games anymore, I came to a startling conclusion. When I first got into video games, I could go out and buy a new title for 15-20 bucks. When I upgraded from my SNES to a PlayStation, I bought Final Fantasy 7 for $12.99. And I was pissed because the system cost $120. To me, that was shelling out a huge whack of cash.

2 years ago, when I bought my DS, I paid about $150 for the system and $50 for each game. With tax, that almost cost me 300 big ones. Now I look at games for sale, and 50 bucks is cheap! I've seen games up to $80, and that's not including PS3's blu ray crap. In addition to that, each system costs way too much money, such as the PS3's 5 or 6 hundred dollar price tab when it came out. Games for the computer, then, seem the logical choice. But my computer isn't that good! Upgrading graphics card and RAM and all that stuff to keep up with constantly evolving technology.... it's an expensive prospect. Which is probably why I don't play games that often.

However, today I was browsing teh interwebs after reading Nathan's post, and I started thinking. I know, scary prospect, but I did it. I figured something along these lines: "You know..... right now there is a MASSIVE market for open source. Could there possibly be Open Source video games?"

....and whaddya know, my hunch paid off.

Let me just preface by saying I love OpenSource. While, admittedly, a lot of OpenSource programs are complete and utter crap, they have the potential to be absolutely amazing. For example, one program that I've followed for several years is something called Blender 3d. When I first looked into it, it was operating at version 2.37, and it was complete crap. I mean... it worked, but it was confusing, laggy, didn't do everything I wanted it to do, the list goes on. Since then, they've come out with 10 new versions. The steps they've taken are amazing. Now they're on the verge of releasing a new version which will hopefully resolve the unintuitiveness of it by having a complete redesign. I personally, feel that once this release comes out, this program will be a viable competition to programs that cost $5000. And Blender is free. The only obstacle it has right now is it's confusing interface, but all that is being changed. It is one of the top programs in the world, and it's all due to a community of people who donated their time and skills to developing something great and grand, and over the years, they've succeeded. A similar thing with OpenOffice, a program I use so that I don't have to shell out 150 bucks for MS Word.

So yeah, point being, I love Open Source. 95% of the programs out there are total rubbish, but given time and evolution (The uninspired ones will fail and their code will be absorbed into the good projects), they'll be grand. For instance: Firefox. the GIMP. Good programs, one and all. So I figured, let's check out these OpenSource video games.

First of all, I was amazed at the variety. FPS, RTS, MMO, Platformer... they've got something for everyone. The number of them that have servers for multiplayer ability amazed me too. It truly is astounding what they have done. Unfortunately, several of the games have lower quality graphics. For instance, they're basing one game on Civilization 2, as opposed to the vastly superior (and newer) 4. But some of the graphics are fully rendered, 3d imagery that rivals even the newest games. I am truly astounded at what they have done.

So today I played a game called FreeCol, which is essentially a remake of Sid Meier's Colonization (with a bit better graphics). Those damn Brits came out of nowhere and conquered my fort. Bastards. I don't even know where they came from. In retaliation, though, I captured 9 of their forts and sunk about 15 of their ships. Damn Brits won't mess with me again.

So if anybody is looking for a game to try out, perhaps with some online capabilities, and don't want to shell out a few bucks for it, I'd look at this article. Right here.

Some jewels, some lumps of coal. But overall... I must admit I'm very impressed.

3 cheers, OpenSource guys. I don't know how to code, but I wish you the best of luck all the same.

~Cow

RTS: Company of Heroes

FIrst off, I would like to apologize for my apparent inability to Blog daily. I have decided it is impossible given my divided interests. So instead I have decided to Blog as much as possible instead. Anyway now that that has been clarified I have a nice rant to give.

Let me start by explaining that I am an avid RTS gamer. I love the feeling one gets after having executed a flawless strategy and destroyed the opposing force to claim victory. But having said that I am frustrated often enough by the fact that so many people are that much quicker on the mouse than I and seem to be able to execute there orders far better than I. How do I with my busy life schedule compete with the gamers that devote so much of there life to the gaming world? Is there a way that I can execute my strategies that I am thinking in my head without being so utterly destroyed by the end despite any intial victories I gain.

For example, tonight just prior to this post in fact I was playing the American faction in Company of heroes against a Panzer Elite opponent. Now despite my amazing begining game (I excell in the begining due to the lack of units i need to manage) and my ability to conquer most of the map as the game progressed I was not able to press my advantage due to my inability to manage my larger army in a coordinated manner to eliminate my opponent. Argh, its so frustrating. I understand the game well and given the battle, which was a very good one and very fun, I should not be so annoyed. But I checked my stats the today and realized that I have almost double the amount of wins as I do losses. Not so good. And so I am frustrated. Is there a way to improve ones speed and multitasking ability without hours and hours practicing maneuvers?

The RTS genre in general is about the ability to control a large number of units quickly and efficiently in a coordinated manner. This means that despite my amazing overall strategies and tactics I can still fail to defeat someone who is terrible at both but faster at exploiting my weaknesses in speed. If he can attack two places at once I cannot keep up with the speed with which he attacks and inevitably loose troops despite having adequete contermeasures. Argh, I need to speed train somehow. Even though CoH is my favourite game (although hardpressed by Age of Empires 2) I find myself frustrated time and time again. I need to get faster. One day world, one day.

-Nathan-

It's Boxing Day

Eat leftover turkey, bitches.

(Yeah, I have absolutely no time to write a full blog post. Hopefully in the next couple of days)

~Cow

It's Christmas

Go eat Turkey, bitches.

~Cow

Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the blog,
Not a creature was croaking, not even a frog;
The posts were posted quite punctually,
In order for all to see.

The readers curled up tight and let down their hair,
Reading each and every blog post with care;
Nathan had long finished, and I was just done,
So I went for an evening of booze and fun.

When out in the internet there arose such a story,
I edited my post so that I wouldn't be sorry.
To the BBC I went, looking for more news,
And at last I discovered the cunning ruse.

A photographer had finally taken a picture, you see
One that, when I saw it, took the breath out of me,
As the image loaded, I was amazed at the sight,
Of a sleigh pulled by reindeer flying off to the night.

I studied the man in the sleigh and I gave a great pause,
For I knew right away that it could only be Santa Claus.
I remembered the reindeer from my childhood days,
And I drew their names out of my memory covered by haze;

"That's Dasher, and Dancer... Prancer and Vixen!
Oh, Comet, and Cupid, and Donder and Blitzen!
But where is the Rudolph, the reindeer lead?
Did he miss his flight because he drank too much mead?"

My question could not be answered, I feared,
For all I knew he had never even been reared.

Suddenly, I then heard on the rooftop a clunk,
And the sound of merry laughter from one filled with spunk.
I was surprised and I leaped up quick,
For I knew that moment that it must be Saint Nick!

I logged off my computer, and slowly turned around,
And out of the chimney Santa crashed to the ground;
His coat was thick, and was a very deep red,
Whereas I looked like I had just gotten out of bed.

A sack of gifts he dropped to the floor,
He ate all my cookies, and looked around for more;
He looked just like I imagined, from all those years ago,
After years and years of being told he wasn't so.

He saw me standing there, and just nodded his head,
Then set about his business leaving all words unsaid;
He set out the presents with good cheer,
He even filled my fridge with my favourite beer!

He laughed merrily as he continued his work,
And I just watched; all I did was lurk.
He turned to me and looked me in the eye,
He smiled and all my apprehensions seemed to die.

With a pat on the back and quick wink,
He went back up the chimney as fast as I could blink;
I looked out the window, and to my heart's delight,
I saw his sleigh fly off guided by a bright red light.

I sighed deeply and came back to the blog,
Yet already my memory of him was being obscured by fog;
I realized then that he gave to me the greatest of all,
For the Christmas Spirit had been rekindled within these walls.

And so I say unto you loudly with great might,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

~Cow

Cat and Mouse

Torrential rain poured down in sheets, an onslaught of rain that would put the great monsoons to shame. Indeed, the wrath of all the mythological storm Gods seemed to combine to increase his punishment. He was cold and thouroghly drenched. He could see no more than an inch in front of his face and hear nothing but the pounding of the rain on the cold pavement. He kept running fear driving him forward.

A large shape loomed up in front of him and he stopped just in time to avoid smashing into it. It was a ruined wharehouse. He had been running fear driven for close to an hour. Originally, part of a ten man tactical squad he was the only one left. They had been hunted. Picked off one by one by an unseen menace. Men would jusst disapeer in silence with no one even noticing until the screaming started. He shuddered. In the last encounter he had seen a shape flash out in the hallway behind him and the blood of his sergent exploding all over him. He left his squad then in his panic to get out of the ruined apartment. He left them all to die. He had smashed straight through the second story window leaping into the rain. The impact of the ground had knocked the wind out of him and he figured he had cracked a rib or more but fear drove him on and he had run into the rain. An hour ago.

Suddenly, he became aware of how tired he was. Surely whatever it was that was stalking him hadn't followed him this far. It could have easily killed him by now. The rain likely confused the creatures senses as much as his perhaps it didn't stock him this far. His body was numb, both from fear and the chill of the rain. He couldn't continue running blind.

Pressing his shoulder to the wall he brought his gun up to his shoulder. Better to be cautious, he thought Cautious men live longer. With his shoulder against the wall he followed the wall of the building until he came to the half open bay doors. Ducking underneath and into the shelter of the wharehous he scanned the area for signs of life. Nothing. Then his knees gave out and he collapsed in heap on the ground. Fatigue, pain, sorrow and a multitude of other feelings washed over him then, but he forced himself to sob silently by biting the leather shoulder strap of the gun.

Time passed along as he rocked back and forth reliving the whole traumatic incident over and over in his mind but finaly he rose to his feet. He had enough sense to know he needed rest or he would never be able to continue. Rumaging in his pack he found a claymore and positioned it on the side of the door. Moving along the inside wall now he found a corner behind some crates where two solid concrete walls met and propped himself there. It did not take long for him to fall asleep.

He awoke violently to the sound of his exploding claymore and horribly violent shreiks. He could neither tell whether they were from pain or anger but the sound stopped his heart cold and froze him solid in place. Gripping his gun tight to his body he pushed himself harder into his corner his eyes searching the darkness in a desperate but futile manner. Did it know he was here. Could it sense him. A crash of metal collapsing took his glance upward to the right of where the door of the wharehouse was. Bringing the scope of his rifle up ever so slowly to his eye he peered through the nightvision enhanced lens. The crashing of metal had come from a collapsing stairway leading to a second story on the opposite side of the wharehouse. Scanning left and right with the lens he spotted no sign of the creature that lurked in the darkness. I need to go now while it doesn't know I am here. He thought but although his brain screamed about the urgency of moving his body was not functioning properly and he sat for another two minutes in the same place.

Thunder rumbled outside and the pounding of the rain on the wharehouse roof became the climactic percussion in the disharmonous symphony of his inevitable destruction. Fear crawled up his spine with needle like feet and only through sheer willpower did he resist gasping as a hot pain shot through his rib cage like a knife peirces flesh. Despair clutched his soul, its chilling claws grasping his heart with an icy grip that shattered hope and sanity. Desperate not to loose his grip on reality he frantically dug his hand into the secret pocket of his vest and extracted a needle. Again biting down on his shoulder strap he jammed the needle hard into the side of his neck. In this play, he decided, I am the hero.

He let his hand drop back into his lap regrasping the hilt of his gun. For some reason he left the needle stuck in his neck. He knew he was going crazy. The trickle of blood from the small hole in his neck was comforting. It meant he was alive. Hot Adrenaline poured into his body. A euphoric feeling swept over his whole body wiping his pain from his body even though he could not entirely forget his fear. His vision blurred for a moment then cleared and a renewed energy flowed into his body. Using the wall as a brace he silently got to his feet. The second story was too close to the way he had come in he had to leave by another way. Keeping his gun at the ready and moving only as fast as he dared in order to keep the silence he moved toward the rear of the warhouse following the wall. There had to be a second door out of the warehouse.

A short and violent shreik the rent throught the drumming of the rain. And the glance he cast over his shoulder caused him to miss his step. Toppling headlong into a a metal rack resulted in a resounding crash. Quickly rolling onto his back and bringing up his scope he spotted a shape exit the second story in a leap and disapeer into the metal crossbeams of the rafters.

And so the villan re-enters the play for the final battle with the hero And when does the hero not come out on top? he forced himself to think before remembering the fate of Hamelet even after disposing of all the villans. Something warm dripped onto his cheek. Blood! Rolling as fast as he could to the left off of the collapsed rack he narrowly avoided a fleshy hook that desended like lightning from the rafters peircing straight through the metal of the rrack and hauling it into the rafters.

Screaming in fury and rage he unloaded his gun spraying an entire clip into the dark area where he thought the creature would be. He was rewarded with a shreik and then moments later a crashing sound as a shape tumbled from the rafters into a pile of crates. Scrambling to his feet he tore a grenade from his vest pulling the pin and hurling it in the direction of the crash before reloading and ssprinting for the rear. An explosion. More shreiks. Of pain? No, of fury! Raising the sight to his eye he spotted a door in the wall. The sound of claws on concrete and splintering crates told him whatever was stalking him was in close pursuit. Sprinting now. Three more, two more, one more step and then a muscular force slammed him aside like a sledgehammer would crush an egg. He felt more bones shatter in his body as it impacted on the ground and the needle he had left in his neck tore itself free with a big hunk of flesh. He felt no pain thanks to its contents though and through sheer willpower forced himself to crawl behind some dark crates. There was a smashing sound as a huge wooden crate crashed down beside him splintering in all directions. The shreiks now sounded more like shrieks of glee than pain.

Its playing with me, as a cat plays with a mouse. He realized. But I'm not going to give it the satisfaction. If I am going to die I will die a hero! The scraping of claws drew nearer and he waited. Another crate crashed down on the oposite side of him this time. I am prepared to die now, he thought Where before I was afraid now I am not. I no longer fear death. It is a but a glorious end to tragic play filled with pain and sorrow. A play where a hero finds his courage in the heart of a battle for humanity and his own life after the death of his comrades. Death is but a path to a glory beyond life that is free from the pain, guilt and greif. A death without fear means a place to reunite with comrades you lost no longer ashamed for you faced the undefeatable horror to avenge there death. This play may be scripted as a tragedy but I, the hero, must overcome the enemy before I fall. If the mouse must dies so will the cat choking on the bones of the mouse. He pulled the pin of a grenade and clamped it in the teeth of his mouth. Then as the crates behind him exploded and a razor blade peirced through his stomach he died at peace with himself. And as the jaws of the beast opened to eat him his own jaw slackened no longer held closed with his life and the grenade exploded in fire and flame. Here ends the final act.

-Nathan-

Ah ha!

I remembered my password!

Yeah, so I accidentally deleted all my cookies yesterday, and I lost the automatic sign in to this site. And it occurred to me that I had no idea what my password was. But at last, I remembered! Praise me! For I am incredible and all knowing!

Anyways. I baked cookies. And they are delicious. I amaze myself sometimes. My cookies are a little slice of heaven. Seriously, I should become a saint or something. I am just that amazing.

So I finished off my Christmas shopping today. It was pretty easy. But walking around on the side of major highways is a harrowing experience, I must say. Very busy, very icy, and all the people in the cars are all idiots. Seriously, it's rare when I feel that unsafe. I didn't like walking around out there. It was unpleasant, to say the least. But I have presents bought and all the grocery shopping for the next few days done. Party in the house.

In other news, my dog is a doof.

Cookies taste great. I heart cookies. I'm off to eat them now.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve, y'all!

~Cow

Musical Tragedy

So today to my utter suprise and misery I returned home from Christmas shopping to find almost my entire library of music wiped clean from my hard drive. And even though I did not have a big collection I have some rare musical gems that are very difficult to find 'free of charge' online. Hence, my utter dismay at loosing such a fine collection to an unknown catastrophe between yesterday and today.

Now let me give you some examples of songs that are difficult to find and download for free. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place but I was having no end of problems getting ahold of these (title - artist): C'est la Vie - Jean Michal Jarre and Natacha Atlas, Eat You Up - BoA, California - Sarah Sleen, Tokyo 3000 - Joshua Cunningham, Gate of Eden - Adam Dinger, Touch Her Heart - Reconceal.

No part of the difficulty is a lack of music downloader but I find many of these songs just aren't on programs like limewire anyway since they are not mainstream enough. I can find them on youtube which raises the question of if there is a way to convert youtube files to music. Perhaps I will search for that right now after posting this blog.

And just so you know I listen to other more 'normal' music too I just like a lot of different music especially for inspiration to write. For example, every tried downloading movie trailer music as inspiration for writing a battle scene. I recomend some of the stuff by X-ray Dog myself. Also the battle scores from movies like [i]Chronicles of Narnia[/i] and perhaps something like the Imperial March from [i]Starwars[/i]. Anyway, I find myself enjoying everything from country such as Big and Rich and Taylor Swift to Linkin Park to Guns and Roses and Led Zepplin to Mozart and also much of the above Trance I already listed. Does that make me crazy? I like to think of myself more as a musical connoisseur. Anywho if your interested I posted the videos of two of the movies I like below that you can check out if your interested.

-Nathan-

Tokyo 3000: Joshua Cunningham



Eat You Up - BoA

Speaking of Humanity....

It'll be a short post this evening.

Today was a very weird day. Normally, when I say that phrase, I'd normally launch into some diatribe about a series of somewhat amusing or unfortunate events that occurred during the course of my day. And while there were a couple of odd happenings today, they weren't anything that I would really describe as "weird". Yet this still managed to be one of the weirdest days I have had in a very, very long time.

I'm still a little perplexed by it, honestly. And by little, I mean a lot. I have yet to figure out where my reaction came from, because how I reacted to the event is totally and completely against my nature. It's amazing, really, how the simplest of events can have such a profound impact. What happened, you ask, that made me so utterly confused that I am unable to figure out how to describe my thought processes? Why, it's quite simple, really. Somebody showed me a photograph.

And now you're laughing at me. Yes, yes. Your reactions are apparent to me. For I am all knowing. But seriously, a photograph has made me re-evaluate my view of my view of the world. Not that a re-evaluation of ones views and beliefs is a bad thing, but it certainly is a little.... drastic?

And what, you ask, photograph could possibly make you question your world view so much? Well, I'd normally post the picture, but since it was somebody else's picture, uploading it to this blog would be claiming it as my own property, which it is not, so I can't do that. But I can do one step lower, and just post a direct link to the picture. May I present, ladies and gentlemen, the picture that seriously made my day really weird: Right Here.

Awww, you say. Ain't that cute. How could that make your day weird? Well, let me tell you. My reaction, when I saw that, was something I did not expect. My reaction was, pretty much, word for word as transcribed here.

........I want that.

And I can't figure out for the life of me why I want that. It's totally out of character for me. I've prided myself on my dislike of "miniature humans", as I call them, but I want that one... gah, I'm confused.

Oh, the humanity.

~Cow

Humanity

Many a time the I have been absorbed in my own world pondering the vast mysteries of the globe and how to make it a better place. Lately I find myself doing it more and more for I think many people ignore the dire straits of the planet in favour of more optomistic pictures. But by ignoring these problems what kind of legacy are we leaving? I can't say it is a good one.

When I was young I remember being taught that it was up to my generation to fix the problems that were created by our parents. Yet when I look around now I see many possible ways to solve problems but at least double or more new problems we as humans are creating. Most of these can be resolved easily too but they aren't and I ask myself why they aren't.

Obviously some problems are easier to solve then others and most of the big ones will take time to fix but isn't this all the more reason to start changing the world now? Regardless, after every instance of pondering I always end up feeling inadequately equipped to fix the problem. I am neither rich nor famous enough to command influence nor do I have a great amount of time with the rat race of a world we live in. Either work or school make it extremely difficult to have time to even plan small things much less follow through on them. Moreover, while I know every little bit helps I can't help but thinking we as a species need a far bigger change or we are done for.

While I still haven't seen the movie 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' I know the basic premise is that an alien, played by Keanu Reeves, comes to earth to pass judgement on whether our species is worthy of living. If you were to ask yourself that question would you give us a good verdict? I don't know if I would. So I put the question to you, what can we do? How can we make a big change and, furthermore, a lasting change that will benefit the human race for generations to come? Is it even possible or are we inevitably done for?

-Nathan-

The trailer for 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'

A Poem to Late Nights

What once was bright,
Shrinks away in fright,
Except for me,
I'm out to party.

Nightlife is the way to go,
How about a movie?
A late night show.

Hit the bars or maybe clubs,
Find sum chicks or handsome studs.

Drink and dance all night with glee,
Returning home wholly merry.

The night is good,
I like it so,
Despite all this friggin snow.

"Night for the win,"
I say with a grin,
"Enjoy the night,
With all your might!"

---

Wow that was lame.

Oh well i'm over it. See you all next blog.

-Nathan-

A State of Decline

I must admit something right here, right now.

I am afraid.

Why am I afraid, you ask? Well, it's rather simple, really. I am, from this post on, in a state of decline. How can I possibly ever, in my whole life, hope to beat coldplosions? I mean, I could change the name to snowplosion (which I am beginning to think sounds fancier than coldplosion), but really... I have nowhere to go but down. You are now witnessing my demise. Watch, with amusement, as I try to rail against the growing darkness. Watch as I fall from grace into the fiery embers of hell. It promises to be amusing, to say the least.

Today, I'd like to talk about airplanes a bit, if you'll bear with me. Me, I've always liked airplanes. They're pretty fancy what with their going super fast and whatnot. And they also fly, which is awesome. But, what may or may not be commonly known is just how much flying costs. I just checked an airfare.... Both WestJet and Tango, two of the cheapest airplanes around, flying from Kelowna to Vancouver, a distance of 400 kilometers as the plane flies..... costs, with takes, about $170. Which is, for the distance, a bit pricey, in my opinion.

But that's nothing. My impending trip to Europe, the flight is expected to cost a little over a thousand bucks from Vancouver to England. I can understand a flight halfway around the world costing a fair chunk of change, but to me, that seems a bit steep. I would imagine about 600-700 bucks as being reasonable.

But then there's this: I've been looking into the many different ways to travel around Europe. One way that is often cited is by airplane. When I first heard "Let's fly from London to Edinburgh", I immediately wrote it off because I don't have that kind of money. If a flight from Kelowna to Vancouver costs $170, a flight from London to Edinburgh should cost about $200. Or so my logic said. I didn't even really look into it. My mistake.

My father was the one who was bored and started glancing at various methods of transportation. He found out something very interesting. A flight from London to Edinburgh can cost as much as.... wait for it, wait for it.... $35. And yes, dollars. Not pounds. To which I say "guffah"? A Greyhound type bus, from Manchester to Glasgow: 1 pound. 1. I kid you not. Last time I went to Vancouver, a ticket, booked several weeks early so there was a massive discount, was about 60 bucks. This bus trip, of a similar distance, cost, in Canadian dollars... 2 bucks. To which I must ask this simple question.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT AND WHY THE HELL CAN'T WE DO THAT HERE?

A trip from Barcelona to Dublin... 30 bucks by plane. I'm telling you, if Air Canada could have essentially domestic short flights that cost 30 bucks, people wouldn't hate them.

Take notice, North America. Cheap transport is the future! Now reflect your prices accordingly! Take up the fight, people! Stick it to the man! Demand cheap transport! Travellers of the world, unite!

I shall see you all upon the eve of the revolution.

~Cow

Damn

I couldn't think of anything to post about today. Nothing at all. And I don't really have time to post anything in depth, either. So I am left only with this random thought.

Explosions are fire, no? They're an extreme exothermic reaction resulting in heat, flame and overall boomness. This being so, explosions are sheer awesome. I like explosions very much. They're great.

But what about the opposite? I know the technical opposite is an endothermic reaction, causing energy to fall within, resulting in collapse of a sort. Endothermic is a process wherein energy is contained, and exothermic is where energy is released, if I remember my grade 9 science class correctly.

But what about another type of exothermic reaction? An extreme build up of cold? Cold, ice, snow... and boom! The only thing I can think of that is remotely similar to what I'm talking about is an explosive being detonated underneath a snow bank, but that's just not the same thing. I mean... it may look similar, but it's still heat and fire... just with a lot of debris in the form of snow and ice being thrown around. So it's the same... only different.

But no... I'm talking about a new thing which I shall hereby dub the "Coldplosion". You hit the detonate button, and rather than everything being seared and scorched... it all gets frozen and frostbitten. How awesome would that be?

And it would be useful, too. Think of the implications. Firefighting, anyone? Massive forest fire... detonate a coldplosion. Fire goes out. Kaboom, teh awesomeness.

I swear, I should be leading the scientists for what they should be developing. Seriously. Coldplosion. How awesome is that?

~Cow

Woops

Well so much for the only rule of this Blog. Amazingly I half forgot this thing even existed for a period of close to four days. Not so good. Whats worse, however, is the fact that I am still not used to writing a blog everyday and I keep forgetting to look for interesting topics to write about. Thank gosh this is only a practice blog.

Indeed, finding a topic for a blog post at the moment without sounding boring, stupid or being super short and uninteresting is rather difficult. I would compare it to trying to fight a rapid badger with a spoon. Sure you may scoop out his eye or shove the spoon in his ear but in the end your likely to die or at the very least contract rabies. Similarly, for every good post you write there is at least seven otherones that you have to put massive amounts of sheer will power to even write a title for them. And once you've got that far you have about as much of a chance of writing an interesting blog as a blind hunter does of shooting at a single flying swallow three hundred yards away.

Yet it would be entirely to irresponsible to shirk my duties as a poster on this blog. In fact, the entire point of this blog was to improve our creative skills and the ability to keep an entertaining quality to our posts. Difficult, yes, but hardly impossible. As President Elect Obama once said (or maybe far more than once) "YES WE CAN MAKE A GOOD BLOG!". Okay maybe I'm paraphrasing a little but you get the point.

I may have already been defeated by the only rule that really matters but I do not intend to give up. Did Custard back down at the battle of little Big Horn (even though he probably should have)? NO! Did the Rebellion give up when the Deathstar was built nigh indestructable? NO! Will I give up on this blog? Maybe... BUT NOT NOW!

Actually, on second thought I'm kinda hungry. So I probably will actually stop writing now. But rest assured as the terminator once said "I'll be back" and likely with a vegence, or at least another post.

An Ode to Nathan

I originally rewrote the lyrics of Pearl Jam's "Where oh Where Could my Baby be?" into "Where oh Where could Nathan be?" because he hasn't followed his own rule of posting every single day. However, I forgot one little thing. Pearl Jam wrote that particular ditty to be a love song. In the end, even though my rewrite was completely different.... it still came across as homoerotic. Which was unintended to say the least.

So you won't be seeing it today. And I am going to bash my head against a wall repeatedly until I am too braindead to remember what it said. Needless to say, this will create a lot of blood and the wall will surely be covered with grey matter. That being said, I will be selling tickets to the "Cow Brain Bashing" event, tickets going at 50 bucks a pop. I'll need some form of funds to keep me provided for once I'm a vegetable.

Come one, come all!

Moral of the post, though: Hurry up and post, Nathan! Before I have to insert insults into my vocabulary. I may be forced to rewrite even more songs. A horrifying notion, surely. So post and spare everybody the pain.

Remember folks, 50 bucks!

~Cow

Mmm, soup.

Did I get your attention? No? Damn. You suck. Soup is great, you should be ashamed of yourself.

To those who were intrigued by my title.... I love soup. It's great. It goes real well with sandwiches. And I love sandwiches with a hearty passion.

And I believe this post sums up, in 75 words or fewer, my feelings on soup.

See you tomorrow.

~Cow

In the World of News

Unless you've been living under a rock, the world has seen its fair share of news over the past several weeks. I tend to frequent Globe and Mail and the BBC myself for news sources, and I know I should add more to my arsenal, but I usually run out of time before I'm able to find other newspapers. However, I have friends that frequently supply me with articles from Fox News and CNN, which is decent, I suppose. Yet I have yet to go to their web pages to find any sources of news.

But, as I was alluding to earlier, it seems like the world has been seeing some very newsworthy happenings recently. Obviously, this economic downturn certainly takes the cake for having the most coverage. I could go off on a tangent and question how it makes sense for Wal-Mart to run promotions saying "You have no money, so buy from Wal-Mart where everything is cheap", but I won't. Because my topic for today is too important.

Allow me to use the Globe and Mail website as an example for the point I am about to make. The Globe enables the use of comments for any article that is posted on the site, meaning that I can read an article and type up a short post of what I think of it. When I first started visiting Globe and Mail, the big stories got approximately 4 or 5 comments, and the little stories had none. Nowadays, the breaking news tends to garner approximately 20-30 comments, the little stories netting about 4 or 5. Recently, though... a few stories have garnered a little bit extra attention.

For instance, there's been this whole thing in Parliament recently. When it was first announced that the Liberals and the NDP had formed a coalition and were ready to take down the Conservatives, the story managed to get a couple more than 30 comments. Note the sarcasm. Honestly, I stopped checking after the count read about 1200 comments. And that was the one article. They released like 10 different articles a day while the event was going on. It attracted massive attention. In other words, it was big news.

The economic crisis has been having a similar response across the world. People are worried, and they want to see more information about the stuff. The Globe and Mail articles are getting anywhere between 50-100 comments per post, which, considering there have been about 5 articles a day since the Bush Bailout Plan, is rather an impressive feat. And understandably so. People want to hear about how the world is potentially going to fall apart. Is the World Order going to survive the next year? Let's find out by reading the news! It makes sense. The popularity of such articles makes really good sense, and I welcome the increased attention and the increased discussion because people are making an effort to be informed. This is a good thing. It's high time people started thinking for themselves.

But then... I open up a web page to read the news, and I see something on the front page which should not be there. I don't see many comments, but the news is apparently as important as a political debacle, a economic recession, or any one of the various wars being waged across the world. The War in Afghanistan hit a grim milestone of 100 Canadian lives lost recently, solemnly marked in Canada, but it wasn't quite as important as this story was across the world. A New York Executive admitted to scamming wealthy individuals and banks around the world out of an estimated 50 billion dollars, but it that didn't get past this story. An American Governor allegedly attempted to sell a seat in the senate and was arrested for his actions, but that story wasn't quite as important as this one.

No, no, Ladies and Gentlemen. Oprah has hit the 200 pound mark. Hundreds of lives in Afghanistan, Thousands of lives in Iraq, billions of dollars being forfeited, political crises, millions of jobs being potentially lost, trillion dollar bailout packages....... and Oprah ate a little too much chocolate?

To which I must respectfully ask: Who cares? Really? How is Oprah not being able to fit into her little black dress more important than, say, this drastic leap forward that German scientists have supposedly made in the war against AIDS?

What a strange place we live in.

And on that bombshell, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I've got a pretty good idea of what I'm going to talk about, so I'll see you then.

Check this Post Out

I've got to start doing these in the morning. If I don't do them in the morning, I almost never do them. My motivational skills need work, evidently.

Anyways, now comes the long awaited post that I mentioned yesterday! Time for me to discuss travel planning! Excited? I sure am! Check this post out! But, before I get to the regularly scheduled post, I noticed that I have a smudge on a key on my keyboard. I shall clean it by rubbing the key vigorously. Watch closely: kjkmjnkojkijkijmkijkijhuikjhnkijkiojnmkjmkijikjnhjkmjn nmkn nmjkn mkjn/kl;mkm,mjm ,lmkm, lm,m, mm,k mlkkjopioijko mk nmk, mnmkljnbjkpomklokp.

Woops, missed a spot. l,,kolk,kkolokliokloikikikloikloilkmn. There. I think that got it. Woo hoo! Clean keyboard!

Which brings me to the post of the day. Today's post. Hopefully I'll get it done in the time left of today. If you're not already aware, I am currently in my final year at university. Come the end of the semester, I shall have my BA and a whole wide world for me to burn to the ground once I conquer it. Er... I mean... a whole wide realm of opportunity to explore. Yeah. That's what I meant to say. In an effort to know my future domain in greater detail, I have decided to do the traditional coming of age ceremony of our culture: EuroTrip.

With this decision, however, comes difficulty. It has been said by a great philosopher that with great power comes great responsibility. However, in this case, with great fun comes great planning. Oh my goodness, such a royal pain in the ass. Kind of like Prince Charles. Royal pain in the ass. Though if I say that while I am on my EuroTrip, I could be executed for High Treason. Another thing to take note of for my future endeavors.

....I'd like to take the opportunity to note that I have absolutely nothing against Prince Charles and that I merely said what I said as a joke. Please don't have the Rozzers waiting for me once I get off the plane. I'm sure you're a nice guy, Chuck, and I'd love to have the opportunity to consume wine and cheese with you and yours whilst making pleasantries and small talk. Someone may want to double check for me, but I think that last sentence right there is the most awkward sentence I've ever written that has correct grammar. I amaze me.

Moving on after that protection of myself from future lawsuits, the planning of a trip is an incredibly complex thing to do. Flights, for instance, can vary hundreds of dollars depending on if you travel on a Thursday or a Friday. Places to stay can vary an insane amount of money depending on when you go and for how long and how many people you're going with.... the more I think about it, the more I think I owe Mrs. Shaw and apology. I once told her that math was useless, but it seems as if I'm using it now.

The planning of a vacation is an entire lesson of optimisation. If I stay in London from Monday through Friday, then head on out to Manchester for the weekend, then go up to Edinburgh for Monday through Thursday, then down to Oxford..... Good lord, it's painful! I swear, the cheapest way of doing this trip is the most awkward to ever do it. If you take into account food, transportation, and lodgings, it's cheaper to go from one country to another country, then back to the country you were in than it is to just stay in the country you are in. It is bizarre and awkward. But I suppose that's the joy of planning.

So, at the moment, it looks like I'll be heading predominantly to England and France. I'll do some Spain, but I probably won't nab much else unless I fly into Amsterdam instead of London, which would then take me through Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Sounds weird, but to me it makes sense. The entire thing is kind of off kilter.

However, I can't set anything in stone until I know for sure when Graduation ceremonies are going to take place. And I need to know from a friend whether or not I will be accompanied. Dammit, Michelle, respond to my email! Flights are cheaper when you book for 2!

....Oh, yeah. And I may be going with some girl who I led in a Youth Group about 5 years ago. I still find it weird that she's 19. In my mind, she's 13. How weird. Some people seriously grow up far too fast. She's among them. It's no fair!

Anyways, yeah. So that's my backpacking trip around Europe. Staying in hostels, living off the land, hanging out with the prostitutes. Sounds disgusting, but it's just the kind of disgusting we're all looking for, I think.

.....I'd like to take a moment to apologize to prostitutes, hostels, and land living offers.... I mean no disrespect. Just, stereotypically, you're in professions that are seen as being dirty. I'm sure you're not dirty. It's all good, doncha know.

Perhaps I should stop talking before I get in more trouble with people I haven't yet offended. Hi. No need for lawsuits. It's all just jokes, doncha know. Yeah. Rock on people. Don't hurt me. I didn't mean to offend. Honest.

I'm gonna go run away in fear like a little girl now. Later!

~Cow

Once again the night has come and guess who is up doing writing? Me. Yup, I was actually on here earlier but I couldn't bring myself to write anything. Now at least I have something to write about. Brains!

Well not so much brains themselves but those loving (or not so much) creatures that love to eat brains, Zombies. Recently been playing the game Left for Dead (and if you haven't seen the trailer for it check it out below it is amazing) and it is pretty much the best thing to do with a group of friends. Whether four of you cooperatively blast your way through the levels, you play versus online or with your friends or you single handedly face the zombie hordes i guarantee you will have a good time.

Cooperation is the key to survival, althoughlots of bullets help too, and it is actually amazing how important it becomes. So important, in fact, that if someone say doesn't run fast enough or doesn't cover there respected flank they are liable to large amounts of verbal abuse when you have to come save there ass, given that is you survive there mistake. The game adapts to the skill level and number of players adding more randomly spawned zombies to the level the better you are so you always have a different experience.

And if you play as the zombies in versus you can have an equally exciting experience trying to destroy the survivors. This is just as much fun especially if you play against other friends playing as the survivors. Successfully, ripping out someones internal organs as the hunter while they scream for help brings a great amount of joy to my heart. Ahh, the wonderfull life of the undead hordes. But I digress.

My point in this post is that I am now thouroghly addicted to the game. I can't get enough of it. I want more and more and more. Its purely epic. And if you haven't tryed it yet get out there and try it or download the demo. It is pretty much the most amazing thing since sliced bread, no joke.

Cheers

-Nathan-



ps. It is actually that crazy in game often worse.

'Tis the Season

Okay, I have decided to type this up using the key which I unceremoniously omitted in my last post. Already, it's helpful. Oh, sweet L key, I love you so.

Anyways, I've been crazy busy these past couple of days. Well, mainly yesterday. But I completely forgot to type up an entry. My bad. I should be poked with a kazoo in the arm. That's how bad a person I am. I deserve such a horrific treatment. Shame on me. Anyways, I thought I'd do a quick overview of what happened to warrant such a horrible act so as to miss a day. Then continue the narrative with what happened today. It shall be a long and harrowing tale, one of heroics, love, and woe. Only without the heroics, love, or woe.

My Saturday morning was pretty standard. Woke up, had breakfast, and started studying for my exam. All happy and good. Head out to the University to take my last exam (my final final, per chance?), and what should happen? Four car pileup. If you aren't aware, the clouds decided to dump about a foot of snow on the ground within about 24 hours, and traffic was complete and utter hell. I was smart and left for my exam early. I still got to my exam late. I was lucky the prof let me even take the damned thing, but I wasn't overly fussed because the exam was a piece of cake. It took me about an hour to do. Easiest exam ever.

However, I made the poor decision to give a friend a ride home from the exam. So I came out of my exam.... and waited. I went to the cafeteria, bought a coffee, drank it, and waited. And waited some more. Then I waited for a while. So I went to the library and read books for a while, until finally, at around about 4:30, my friend showed up and I could leave campus. After the obligatory sweep snow off car and scratch off ice, of course.

The hell that roads were to get to the university in the afternoon became nightmarish in the evening. Every single frickin' corner, I slipped on. And I have the best winter tires that money can buy! Driving my friend home took far, far too long. But I pulled it off and everything was happy go lucky. Until I got the call from my brother, who needed to be picked up, halfway across the flippin' city. Picking him up took me about a hour and a half in the conditions that we were driving in, and I passed about three accidents. I was glad that I was not involved in any of them (though I may have inadvertently caused a couple), but it was not a pleasant trip. I got home at around about 7, and then I proceeded to have to do a bunch of crap for my mother (she can be a little poor around computers). So I ended up hitting the sack at around 12:30. I will admit right here, right now, that posting a blog post did not even occur to me during that day. It was very busy.

Woke up this morning, and I had to go out again because I had a friend in a Christmas pageant. She played the angel. I was amused. Bright blue hair + Angel = Amusement. Then I had some more Christmas shopping to do, which was fine, I suppose. Didn't buy anything, but at least I looked for stuff. Then, me and the father went out to look for a Christmas tree. We found this massive tree (about 9 feet tall) that is probably the biggest Christmas tree that I've ever seen in my life. The thing is frickin' huge, but it was cheap, so we bought it. Boy, it's quite the tree. Then I came home and walked the dog. And then I started writing this, and I've been distracted about 16 different times. But I think I'm making headway. Woot.

Oh, and I should mention, I've recently become distracted by The Breakfast Club, one of the greatest things to come out of the 80's. So I've been watching Breakfast Club YouTube videos while I've been watching this. Yeah, my drive is my greatest weakness.

So, I think I'm all caught up. That should do me for the day. Tomorrow I shall discuss my new project for the time off between semesters: travel planning. It promises to be an interesting experience.

Oh, damn. I totally forgot to hit the publish button. Okay, so this is being posted about 4 hours after it was done. Yes, I'm a genius. I know. Go away. Bother Nathan. He's the one that actually deserves it. Let me sleep in peace.

Later

~Cow

Night Life (or lack of)

Want more from life? Yeah so do I. I dunno exactly what it is I am going to do to get more out of life but I know I will find something. Personally though I don't think I should be searching for it at nearly 3:00 in the morning. I can barely type this little tiny paragraph without making a mistake. However, let me show you what I did find on the web that was of interest to me. Really not much actually. Browsing the web for inspiration. Since I enjoy martial arts I thought I'd look up Bruce Lee as he is as inspiring as they come as far as self trained martial artists go. And I found this...



Somehow, I ended up at this...



Anywho.. i'm off to bed. Maybe I'll write more about what I actually meant to say today when I wake up.

Cheers,
-Nathan-

No Way in "L"!

Again, I am hard pressed to find a topic for today's post. Which means that I'm going to have to do something off the top of my head. And, as it happens every day, I have no idea what to write.

I suppose I have the opportunity to discuss matters of state, education, or existence. But that seems to be overdone these days. TV? Perhaps, it's an idea. But damned if there's anything good on the tube these days. Most of the good shows disappeared some time ago.

Tech, maybe? Some of the advances they've done are pretty impressive, but I can't say I know enough to discuss this stuff for any duration. I'd enjoy doing a post on breakfast baked goods, but it seems as if I have done so within the previous few days. My exam today is not worthy of being recounted, so I shan't peruse that topic.

So I'm stuck here with nothing to say. I'm pretty bored, too. I've been stuck at home watching TV. NCIS for three hours makes for a fine viewing experience. Newspapers aren't interesting enough these days. Nothing that catches my attention. Ooh, Numb3rs just came on..... but it's a rerun. Sigh. Such boredom. Under other circumstances, I'd write a story, but I see that my comrade has beaten me to that.

So yeah. Here I am. Typing. And I'm continuing the typing. For no reason. Just typing. Wee! Oh, and I'm trying my damnedest not to use a certain key on this keyboard to type up this post. It's frickin' hard. That key is a handy one, I must say. Not using it is a crime.

Anyways, I can't think of anything interesting to say, so I shan't say anything more. I hope that my next post won't be as boring as this one has been. Though this has been a bugger to write. I bid everybody adieu!

~Cow

A Tall Tale

So being in much the same circumstances as my counterpart poster Cowpants I did not feel like repeating an argument against the banes of school. But due to the fact that school owns my life right now I have very little exciting things to tell you. Actually nothing exciting. Life pretty much sucks.

Nothing interesting ever happens in my neighborhood anyway. I mean there was that one time during the great banana riot when six oppressed machete weilding natives tried to settle the great strike with force. Unfortunately we all know how that ended... The Royal Canadian Mounties pretty much settled the dispute with that one well placed hockey puck and voilla everyones back to work. But I mean really, who hasn't that happened to.

I remember my father telling me tales of the excitement and adventure he used to get into as a child. Like that onetime him and Grandad had to cross the great Canadian desert in search of water to fill Lake Okanagan which had sprung a leak. Yeah, its a good thing the Inuit had a nice new pipeline that melted the ice from the artic circle and pumped it down in our direction. A couple of negotitions between my Grandpa and my Dad resolved that and they were back in a jiffy. Metaphorically speaking of course since it is hard to say a forty day journey across the desert on dogsled is a jiffy.

Then again that whole pipeline adventure has been a major source of global warming these days what with the receeding iceline. Some of us here don't wonder if we shouldn't just turn the pipe off and live of cocunut milk. Personally, I figure we should go back to the days of dogsled since the massive tanks we use are hardly good for the enviroment. I mean come on, how many times have you actually had to use the cannon. SERIOUSLY! And no I don't count that one time it scared the crows out of the cornfield as a good reason. When your Panzer is taking up four times as many stalls as my small dogsled team and pumping noxious fumes into the air I think there is a problem. But what can you do?

Anywho, I think I am going to go back to my homework now. Afterall, there seems to be a peacefull witch hunt going on outside and the joyuous cries of "Burn her, burn her!" have always made my studying go better.

Cheers!
-Nathan-

To study or not to study

So, have you heard the latest news in the polls? After a recent commission by University Students, major Canadian pollsters have released a new nationwide poll. After reviewing 120,000 people across the country, the results are clear: Homework is the embodiment of evil on Earth.

Finally, a poll that makes sense. One that actually could make a difference in our lives.

I, for one, hate homework. Though there is one thing that I hate more than homework, one thing that I think is worse than the embodiment of evil on Earth. And that is studying. Why in the world I have to waste my time cramming information into my head so that I know it for approximately 24 hours, at which point I can promptly forget it is completely unknown to me. As much as I hate essays, I can understand the purpose behind them. They make sense. When writing an essay, you learn stuff. It's good. It's happy. Everything in the world is pleasant. They're just a pain in the butt to write.

Exams on the other hand.... they just suck. I can't say I've ever come out of an exam feeling like I learned something. I can't really say that I've walked away from a test thinking "There. That right there totally just tested how much I know." I dislike them. I dislike them very much. I think this calls for a riot. Or something. Maybe a simple post detailing my dissatisfaction with exams will suffice for the time being.

Nevertheless, today was a day spent trying to avoid studying for my exam tomorrow. Intellectual History of the 19th century, I believe. Can be interesting at times, can be extremely boring at others. Just a hell of a lot of reading that I have to remember, hence my complaining. I spent my day doing 3 different things to stall off the inevitable doom of studying: Christmas shopping, Top Gear, and Futurama.

Christmas shopping was fairly uneventful. Went out, got a present for my mother, and got screwed by the company. Totally overcharged me. I shall be returning to get my 15 bucks back. Wankers. You may burn with homework in hell.

Onto Top Gear, which is quite possibly one of my favourite shows of all time. I am a person who has a great appreciation for creativity, and those Top Gear guys have quite a bit. Normally, when people think, "Let's test to see how tough a truck is", they hook up a trailer to it to see how much weight it can carry. These guys drop sink it in the ocean. Then drop an RV on it. Then stick it on top a 30 story building that is being demolished. Then light it on fire. Now that, my friends, is a real test. And the fact that the truck survived all this, still being driveable without needing any new parts, means that if ever I'm in the market for a pickup, I'll be looking quite seriously at the Toyota Hilux. I love that show. What an awesome job to have.

Lastly, Futurama. 'Nuff said.

Those last two are two great ways to waste time. The first one... Not so much. But, hey, it wasted time. I shan't complain too loudly.

Anywhoo, I suppose I should actually go read now. Until tomorrow, peeps.

Cow

AWESOME in Christmas Party Form.

So, having just arrived back from a staff christmas party for the restaurant that I work at I realized all of a sudden, and to my utter horror, that I still had not posted my Blog for the day. Egads!! And then I log on to the sight of an epicly hilarious post about the breakfast bagel that will probably be twice the size of this when I am finished. This blog has the potential to be great. If only I had a topic of delight and joy. Oh wait... i was just at a party.

So first let me explain the normal staff party. Everyone gets together for a christmas event, a few people drink to much, a few reputations are made that are soon forgotten but in general a lot of fun is had. Now let me explain this particular jobs traditional christmas party or even just general party. We are not there for fun. Noooo we are there to have a WILD TIME!!! Most places we hold our parties don't survive. First there was the one I only heard about. Needless to say we had a blast the golf course did not. We are not aloud to go back there anymore. Then there was the party on the houseboat. Yeah, broken glass tables on dancefloors don't go over so well. Not aloud back. Then there was the one held in the a rented villa. A bunch of furniture got shreeded and some ended up being burnt to a crisp. Can you guess? No more there. The one at the casino had a person crash headlong down a huge flight of stairs. Can't have one there anymore. Do you see a pattern?

Now despite the mishaps, the gongshows and the ruined reputations that always follow a staff party everyone agrees that you should never miss one, EVER! If there was a 'best party of the year' list for the entirety of our city they would make first hands down every year. The camradery is great, the food excellent (and being a restaurant that is important, oh and having someone serve you for a change is awesome) and the booze cheap. However, we run into a slight probalem. Where can we go that will be able to survive the storm of a party that is bound to happen. Hell, is it even possible to survive our swirling chaotic vortex that we call fun without the host breaking down and blubbering about how he is ready to commit suicide.

Well I think we actually might be allowed back into the place we had the party at this year. And if you don't understand this is a big deal. We had a successful party with no expensive destruction. It required a room made of concrete and stone flooring with nothing breakable but the galss for the drinks. It required a DJ with the charisma and sheer willpower to hold our attention for longer than two seconds and play music that wasn't crappy. And it required a host that was willing to let the party go. The result. I think we might have had the best staff party I have ever been at. Was there organized awesome? Hells yeah! Was there hot chicks! Hells yeah! Was there booze! Hells yeah! Was there dancefloor antics good enough to blow your mind? Hells Yeah! Did I have fun? Hells Yeah! Did I mention there was booze? Hells Yeah! Need I say more...

Needless to say I feel really sorry for the prof marking my exam I write tommorow. Yeeeaahhhh...good luck interpeting the jargon on that one. It was totally worth it. Already planning for next year.

-Nathan-

It Begins.....

Yeah, I haven't a clue what I'm doing, either. It just occurred to me that there has note been a topic decided upon yet. So I suppose I could write an entry on not having a topic, but that seems like a boring venture. Instead, on this fair morning, I shall talk about a subject near and dear to my heart. I speak, of course, about bagels.

They are a deliciously divine food, I must say. Recently, I purchased a pack of 6 multigrain bagels, and my goodness, have they disappeared. Not because they're being thrown out, no sir, but they are being consumed at a startling rate. Logic dictates that this can only be because they are delicious. And we all know how much of a fan I am of logic. It is with this knowledge that I can honestly say that bagels are one of the greatest breakfast foods created by humans. Admittedly, there are a lot of bad bagels out there, which is an injustice to the bagel society as a whole. But a good bagel, slightly toasted, is unbeatable. Well, perhaps not unbeatable, for a good English Muffin can give a bagel a run for its money in the breakfast baked good category, but a bagel is certainly well placed and well received. I can think of no breakfast more enjoyable than eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and a toasted bagel. Actually, I can think of French Toast, that's pretty good. But society dictates that bagels and French Toast should not be mixed for some reason. Throw off societal norms, say I! Bagel eaters of the world... Unite!

If it is not plainly evident, I am writing this post while very hungry. I am using the temptation of the last bagel in the fridge as a self-reward for completing this entry. So, as soon as I finish this... I eat. This is a prospect that pleases me greatly. However, I shall also be saddened. For the bagel which I shall eat in a few moments is the last of the bagels in my place of residence. And the prospect of soon having no bagels is a prospect which deeply saddens me. I do not relish the fact that soon I will be bagelless. It is with a heavy heart that I shall eat my bagel, and the victory of completing this post will be a hollow one. Bagels are a fantastic creation, and I do not wish a lack of bagels upon anyone.

So, everyone, have a bagel. Feel them, taste them, love them. Such a delicious baked good in the form of a ring has rarely been seen in this world, and shall never be seen again. I believe I shall start the worldwide "Bagel Appreciation Day" shortly. I expect such an event to catch on readily.

On a separate note, the spellchecker in this thing is dumb. Apparently, I spelled "multigrain", "hashbrowns", and "bagelless" incorrectly. I can understand bagelless, because I made that up, but the others are ridiculous. Sigh, what a world.

Till next time,

Cow

Post 1

Hey all,

Well I got this invite really late so I will just be testing things out in this blog post. I have to say that I am stoked for this whole idea. i am ready to accept the challenge. I don't know for sure if I can keep up but 'Maning Up' can't hurt. I dare you to be a better poster than I am. I dare you! I don't think you guys will be able to keep up. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, for some entertainment value and to keep you reading I happened across this site that I have been using to improve myself as of late. Take a look.

http://www.mrkent.com/index.htm

Thats all for now.
Cheers,

Nathan

The Challenge

G'day all,

Lets get straight down to business. I challenge you who are about to start writing this blog to write at least a blog entry every day. This blog is where we hone our skills. This blog is our writing experiment. This blog will become your bane. Will you let it get to you? Will you fail the challenge?

HELL NO!!!!

So man up and get writing boys. I want to amp up our creativity. Only one rule: Keep it clean.

Have at her!

-LeFox-